Happy 3rd Cake day to Intl Wota!!! Thanks for the years of bringing the J Pop blogging community together!

Now, as a celebration, let’s all have YUMMY CAKE!

Of course, there’s never a party unless the 2 top frontgirls of the 48 family show up ready to sing!

And for all of the fans of Watarirouka Hashiritai (I’m a fan :D) here’s a little preview of their swimsuit photobook. I think Kikuchi Ayaka isn’t inluded in most of the shots though, but still, GO BUY IT NOW!!! Cuteness overload!

No party should even happen without the participation of the hottest AKB member ever! And if anyone dares to comment saying “She’s not in AKB anymore, dumbass” I’ll go berserk. Maimai how I love thee <3

 

For people not too fond of curves, Shinoda Mariko is the slender beautiful girl you’re looking for

But then again, if you prefer Moe, there’s Tomochin!

And I’ll make use of this post to do the news updates I’ve been neglecting so much because I’m busy as hell This is Queen & Elizabeth people, they’re releasing a single with one of those guys in thighs. They’re awesome and hot and amazing, so go buy it and ignore the guy in thighs XD

And of course, everyone’s favorite H!P reject is here XD It’s Team B captain herself! The lovely reaction queen Kashiwagi Yuki!!! (and her boobs XD)

And to round it up, a picture of my favorite girl in the world, cosplaying as Avril Lavigne… except, looking 48976 times fiercer than Avril could ever dream of

So yeah, HAPPY CAKE DAY! Hopefully many more years of wotaness are still to come Oh, and I was actually thinking of posting tons of Namida Surprise screencaps for the occasion, but I really hate that song so I decided against it XD 

CONGRATULATIONS TO AKB48 ON THEIR FIRST PLATINUM SINGLE!!!! <3 <3 <3 There aren’t words to describe how proud I am of my girls! just… BAWWWW

Now, let’s review my favorite song of the single! And the one with the crappiest PV XD Here’s the amazing, the awesome, the hilariously yankii MAJISUKA ROCK ‘N ROLL!!! This single doesn’t feature all of AKB, well, they are all in the A-side, but not majorly, except for Acchan, and Kitahara Rie XD but Majisuka has Nakayan and Haachan! My favorite underdogs!!!

First, I’ll start by giving you a little background information. This song is the opening of AKB’s drama “Majisuka Gakuen” a campy full of LOL and WIN show about a girl who’s all autistic but goes berserker whenever someone says the word “Majisuka (seriously)” to her. This girl (played by Maeda Atsuko) was recently transfered to “Majisuka Academy” a school for yankis, in which a group of mighty girls called Rapappa call the shots. And Yuko is the leader! YAYNESS. It’s an amazing show, really. If only because it’s really funny to watch all the girls acting like yankiis and kicking the crap out of each other (in fights that look faker than anything Disney Channel has done in the last few years XD). 

Here, have a screencap of Rappappa

Left to right, Shibuya (Itano Tomomi “Tomochin”), Anime (Nakaya Sayaka “Nakayan”), Black (Kashiwagi Yuki “Yukirin”), Sado (Shinoda Mariko), half of the head of Jumbo (Tanabe Miku “Tanamin”) XD, Yuko (Oshima Yuko), Gekikara (Matsui Rena), Rice (Yonazawa Rumi “Yonechan”), Torigoya (Kojima Haruna “Kojiharu”), Showa (Katayama Haruka “Haachan”)

OK, so here comes the review!

So basically, this PV is all about the characters of the drama, as they involve in some sort of yankii party in one of the class rooms, confetti in the air and crazy dance steps included, of course XD

Acchan starts the party with her famous “If you can’t be serious, you can’t win!. Let’s go ROCK N ROLL” You know, Acchan’s character in the drama is a completely introvert girl who has no emotional range whatsoever XD The funny part is that most fans are sniggering because it’s pretty much like her. And then she goes into super saiyan mode and kicks everyone’s butts

This is a look at the Majisuka Academy sign thingy. The funny part is that they tried really hard to make this set look all run down and stuff, but some of the public schools back in my hometown looked totally like this XD

Here are three of the four Queens. The top 4 fighters of Rappappa, Kojima Haruna, Itano Tomomi, Matsui Rena. I absolutely ADORE how badass Tomochin looks with the heavy makeup and sassy attitude! I’ve found a new love!!! XD XD XD I’m so looking forward to her in K6!! Also, well, Haruna has been the same airhead she’s always been in the drama as well as in real life, and we haven’t seen Rena yet, but I really want to see how she’ll turn out because she’s a super polite and nice girl, so seeing her do a yankii will be interesting!

Sayaka looks particualrly gogeous in her yankii get up (more on this later) then tehre’s of course, Takamina, although I don’t really know where she stands in the story of Majisuka Academy, and Mayuyu, who is the creepiest character ever, but it’s absolutely amazing at it.

Team Hormone! Nito Moeno, Takajo Aki, Sashihara Rino, Kitahara Rie and Komori Mika. They are the best comedy relief ever!

And of course, the best character ever is Oshima Yuko, who plays the violence-happy, psycho leader of Rappappa <3 <3 <3 

The Rappappa headquarters!

Here’s Mariko, looking like she REALLY means business!

The kabuki sisters, Kuramochi Asuka and Kasai Tomomi. I must make a special mention to Tomomi who is one of the sweetest girls on Earth, but I still loved how she portrayed this character

Here’s a screencap of Acchan together with SAEMAN <3 <3 and Nachu LOL Nachu is so hilarious! Her character is kind of wimpy and annoying, but she does a good job at being funny nonetheless…

It’s the fearsomely MOE loli trio! Lovetan, Myao and Manamana!

IT’S PARTY TIME! You know, still, as you can probaly tell from this review turning into a review of Majisuka Academy instead XD I think that this pV was the worst because I’ve already seen the Majisuka opening a lot of times, and I’m familiar with it. But it’s still a nice concept, good for promotion, and fits the rock n roll music pretty well. This is my favorite song of the single, BTW. I love how upbeat it is! Gets me pumped up instantly!

Mayuyu’s character in the drama is a smart scheming creepy girl. It’s really scary at times LOL but she’s great at it!

Oh, Sayaka, you SEXY!!!

Scary Mariko is pretty scary O_O That’s the rest of the gang behind her, this is the climax part of the video, when all of Rappappa starts gathering along the corridor, starting from the weakest, until finally Yuko joins them and they face Acchan and Nachu

*RAWR* Yuko!

There’s a finale to the PV where Nachu and Acchan stare at their opponents, but they’re boring so they’re not included here XD

I recommend to all of you AKB fans to go and watch Majisuka Gakuen, it’s being subbed by Nihongogo, and it’s pretty funny and entertaining when you get past the predictable plot and lame acting by some of the girls XD

Also, buy Sakura ni Shiori! It’s an amazing single, and the cheeky Majisuka Rock n Roll is just another reason to pick it up!

Hi people! I really love the Sakura no Shiori single, you know. Not only do I find SakuShio to be one of the most beautiful songs Akimoto’s ever written, I also like to *gasp* sing along to it XD AND OMG SALES FIGURES JUST LOOK AT THAT!!! OVER 200000 ON THE FIRST DAY WOOOO!!!! That’s not something many artists can boast about right now, so I’m really happy fro my girls <3

But what I like the most about this is that AKB is covering all of its bases with this release. 

Want a pretty choir song? (well, most of you have already said DO NOT WANT but still…) have Sakura no Shiori

Want a cheeky pseudo rock number? There’s Majisuka Rock ‘n Roll for you

Want a remembrance of AKB back when its emo teen angst songs made it to the singles? Just take a look at Choose Me

Want bouncy ultra happy lolis? Go for Enkyori Poster

This efficient marketing strategy makes me a happy fan

So, to honor this amazing release (it is amazing in my mind XD) I’ll do a long assed screen cap chock full review for all of you guys!! Yay!!! Also, please remember to buy this single and support AKB48!

Sakura no Shiori “Bookmark of Cherry Blossoms”

So, the first 2 minutes or so, what we get are glimpses of the theater stuff hurrying to help the girls get ready for the shooting of the PV. My cousin actually thought that this PVs location was a store because of the tons of clothes and stuff XD

Those are the girl’s official AKB coats, as we got to see in the Junen Zakura Making Of. And that is the tiny AKB Theater in Don Quijote… Oh, the memories…

And the AKB48 Dressing Room gets a special appearance here too XD This isn’t the lamest thing I’ve written here, because I’m a super lame person, but I once had a dream that involved being in the AKB dressing room, and having to perform a group song next but I couldn’t fit in any of the girls costumes so I panicked XD LOL

And then we get a look at the dedicated staff members as they help the girls get into the really complicated hakamas. The girl in the screencap is Team K new member, Nonaka Misato <3

And then, finally, the actual PV starts, and we can see the girls in their hakamas and elaborate hairstyles basically hanging around, singing and looking pretty, while doing not much else XD

Sayaka love is a must <3 The PV alternates between takes of the girls hanging around looking cute in hakamas to being organized in some sort of circular formation and singing while doing the actual choreography in this dated school uniforms with wings

LOL Yuko looks like she’s about to sneeze or something XD But still, I took the screencap because it might be one of the few pics when we can see Haruna acting all flirty towards Yuko, since it’s usually Korisu harrassing her while she looks all “Geez, crazy, get off of me”

Everyone has already hyped about it, but this scene is very nice to look at. Acchan plucks a feather from Takamina’s wings and blows it in the air… While Jurina just stares XD Still, looks oddly relaxing or something

That’s Ueno 48, supposedly. The girls went to various landmarks of prominent Tokyo districts. I think Akimoto is trying to reinforce his “JAPAN48″ concept in a not so subliminal way with this kind of takes XD

Shinagawa 48! This time it’s just Mariko, Takamina, Tomochin, Haruna and Yuko fixing their bangs XD

Of course, you can sell 220000 copies in the first day if you learn how to pout like Tomochin XD She looks like an adorable duck in this pic right here XD

You know, I absolutely adore Yuko, but this is the most hideous hakama in the bunch. Like , seriously. It’s painfully plain, it looks washed out and it’s just… disgusting. Poor Yuko, she should’ve gotten a pretty colorful one with cute flowers like the other girls *shakes fist*

I like this screencap because Reina is like ULTRA HAPPY while the others are all like we live here in Tokyo so w/e. This is Asakusa48, BTW.

OMG Sae why are you so cute! <3 You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that Sae is the perfect girl you would want to have as your girlfriend (well, if you’re into girls that is XD) Maybe her PB title has been subliminally inducing me to think so?

Shibuya 48! Hmm… I can’t even write the word Shibuya anymore without thinking of Tomochin XD Anyhow, I really like the wings, even if people think that they’re tacky and stupid, I think that they are a cute touch!

I absolutely love Jurina’s hair feather thingies <3 Plus, you know that story on the tabloids about Shinoda Mariko being AKiP’s mistress? I think it’s gotta be Rie who has an affair with him or some important producer XD She’s ALL over the PV. Seriously. She’s in more shots than Acchan!! (BTW, that’s just meant as a joke, I love Rie and I’m glad that she’s getting a huge push)

 

That’s “Location Bus 48″ Or Loke Bus 48. It’s just a shot of Takamina and Tomochin sleeping and Rie (!!) playfully laying over them

Yoyogi 48 wandering around the famous Stadium. I think that the concept of this PV is so ridiculously simple that it’s endearing in its own way. It’s always cute to watch the girls interacting with each other, and the little hop hop hop dance they do before the bridges (I don’t know if you are getting what I’m saying at all XD Acchan and Yuko do it in their closeups…) is insanely adorable. I want a gif of that but I’m a computer retard so I’ll have to settle with what I have

And of course, mandatory Acchan take <3 She looks lovely all doubtful while she checks her cellphone. I love her red hakama, it makes her stand out a lot, and her simple but classy hairstyle really fit this kind of clothes and music

Ok, so expect to see Majisuka, choose me  and Enkyori Poster by friday, today got horribly late and I need to sleep I’ll just say one more thing about this song, it’s a really well made piece of music. If you still don’t believe it, listen to the off vocal track. It’s absolutely stunning! The strings are amazing, the piano is wonderful and I could go on. I’m happy that such a beautiful song came from my favorite idols <3

Also, yay for 200000 sales on first day! Next days will most likely exhibit a drop in sales XD However, I’m still incredibly proud of the girls who made it this far. It’s really been a long journey from the old AKB I grew to like, back when Team B didn’t even exist, to what they’ve become now. I’m happy to have been somehow part of the ride as a fan since the old days, back when people made fun of their poor sales and concert venues. What I like about following an idol group like this is to watch the girls grow, and finally adjust to really becoming idols. It’s very interesting, and it’s the first time it happens to me!

Matsui Jurina “The ace of SKE48″

Back when it was first announced that SKE48 would be formed in Nagoya, everyone was skeptical at best. When the release of the much anticipated “Oogoe Diamond” single came, and this weird little girl was featured ALONE in the cover, everyone flipped out. She was all over the PV, front and center, getting lots of line, and stealing the spot light from the ever leading Maeda Atsuko. People were mostly, raging. But everyone thought that this would just be a phase, a publicity stunt of Akimoto’s to promote the newly formed SKE48, and they lulled themselves into thinking that this anomaly would go away with the next single

But then lo and behold, Junen Zakura came around, and there was Jurina back in the center! XD The instant rage built up in many AKB wota’s hearts and the started claiming “Get her out of AKB PVs, she’s not even part of the group” and “She was just smacked there in the center for no reason at all!” and that’s pretty much where things still stand for many AKB fans. Jurina is still in the center, and she’s been featured prominently in all of AKB’s PVs after Oogoe. But I do think that she deserves her position in the center, so I’ll try to articulate a bit about that. The first easy comparison one might draw when thinking of Jurina is to Kusumi Koharu of MM, as both were deemed “aces” of their respective groups right after they joined. But reading an interview with Oshima Yuko, where she compared the Jurina situation to when Goto Maki joined Morning Musume, it seems more like that. She was a lot younger than her team mates, she was also placed in the center, and she pretty much pwned everyone else from there XD

I was surprised with her sudden center position at first, but not too much, because I try to keep in mind that there’s more of a business tint to the idol thing rather than an “artsy” approach. I knew that Akimoto needed to push SKE. Why choosing an 11 year old to do this was what left me puzzled at first, and some wacky theories exist around the internet, that claim that Jurina’s grandfather owns the Sunshine Sakae building where the SKE48 theater resides. But I don’t think that this is necessarily the reason why Matsui is the star of Team S, even if it turns out to be true. One has to watch her perform to understand, she’s incredibly talented! 

She might not be the best singer, but she’s good enough to stay on pitch and has a decent voice. however, it’s when she dances that she shines the most, it’s impossible not to look at her. She has a lot of stamina, and yet her steps are always precise, and at all times, there’s a huge smile on her face (which has made her haters call her The Joker XD) you can tell that she’s absolutely enjoying herself fully, and that makes her very appealing as an idol. Her very young age might also be a factor for her earning that position, because she’s simply a kid having fun, and I think that she stresses herself a lot less than the other girls in AKB about popularity and things like that.

And it’s also her youth that makes her refreshing among the other AKB girls, who are all savvy when it comes to show-business. Even though Jurina doesn’t generally perform any cam-whoring stunts, she just kind of exists there, as happy as always, simply enjoying herself on TV shows and the such, and her normal behavior sets her apart from the act of the AKB girls. Let’s look at an example of this, in AKBINGO they used to have a fast word game, much like Shiritori; one of the categories was “scary things” so at one point of the competition, one of the girls in Jurina’s team said something lame to win in that category because of the rush XD So when the hosts pointed this out, all of the girls in the group went “NO, LOOK BUT IT’S REALLY SCARY WAAAAH WAAAAH” but Jurina remained completely unfazed. When the guests asked her about this she replied “Well, I don’t think it’s scary at all”

In the end of the day, the fact that prominent members like Acchan or Yuko see her as an actual threat to their position in the group should give us all an idea of what Matsui Jurina is capable of. You all might keep hating on her all you want, she’s proved that she’s got the talent to back her front position and also outshine some of her seniors at times! She’s definitely serious about her job, or at least, as serious and dedicated as a 12 year old can be. I’m actually happy that Akimoto is capable of spotting talent like this, it shows that he really has a knack for idols

Really, I should be writing an entry about Onyanko Club because they so manage to make me ultra HAPPY whenever I listen to any of their songs! Their whiny voices and super sweet tunes are just instant K.O for me, I want to prance around in a school uniform and sing along while I bob my head stupidly… But I can’t write about them because I know next to nothing about them XD Except that they were pretty famous, sang pervy stuff sometimes, and one of them went and married Aki-P.

So, instead of that. I’ll try to have a little discussion about some of the most prominent aces of the 48 franchise. Granted, I’ll try to be as unbiased as I can, and while I don’t really hate any senbatsu, there are many that can be a bit grating for me :P 

Maeda Atsuko “The face of AKB48″ 

There’s so much that could be said about a girl as wildly popular as Acchan that even people who don’t know much about AKB recognize instantly, but incidentally, so little is said… People just leave it at “She’s a quiet demure girl so the japanese like that” but somehow I get a feeling that there’s a lot more underneath it. In a recent interview, Acchan said that she’s regarded as “a girl who’s never thinking about anything” and I think that it really shows. The reason why Acchan is popular it’s kind of strange when you consider other frontgirls in AKB or even outside of it. Take Takahashi Ai, for an example, she’s an easy comparison to Acchan (who isn’t liked by many western fans), because they are both quiet girls who people can even deem “boring” However, Aichan is clearly the most talented girl in MM right now, she’s the best singer, a great dancer and she is dazzling when performing live…

I’m no Acchan hater, I like her voice, and I think that she’s a good dancer and definitely holds her own, but honestly, talent wise, Masuda Yuka can outsing her ANY day. And 1/4 of Team K can dance much better than her. Then there’s the people who say that it’s easy to choose Acchan as a favorite because of her beauty. Acchan is a pretty girl, no doubt, but Shinoda Mariko is in a different league when you compare the two of them, and yet Atsuko is the quitessencial front girl. One can also say that japanese fans like a quiet, demure girl, which is the most popular theory for Acchan’s rise to fame, but this is only partly true, as Nakaya Sayaka, my favorite B member is rock bottom in the mixi popularity rankings while she’s a lovable, quiet and nice girl.

I recently read an interview with her that shed a little light on her center position. She said that she’s always been an introverted girl so much that even though she wanted to try for AKB48, she wasn’t even capable of telling her parents about her true wish until they came up to her and asked her if she wanted to go to the auditions. She also talked about how it was Natsu sensei who wanted her to be part of the frontgirls at first, because Akimoto hadn’t even noticed her, and how “Nagisa no Cherry” is a song that she really hated back in A2 because it made her backdancers mad because they had almost no lines while she was at the front. This is a lot of pressure, especially for a girl who isn’t naturally strong willed or driven at first impression

But that might be the reason why she’s at the front, more than anything else. She looks like the kind of girl who would break, but she’s competitive enough to work hard for her spot in the front, and for keeping it. She also mentioned that back when Oogoe was released and she had to share the center spot with Jurina, she had to step up her game because Akimoto started hinting that he might give the top position to Jurina if she didn’t get better and better. The reason why she has remained at the top is that her willpower has kept her there, it might appear as if she’s just thrown in there because Akimoto likes her, but make no mistake, Acchan knows her game better than that.

In all honesty, the reason why I like Acchan is that I can relate to her to a certain extent. She’s one of those characters that are endearing because they make you want to root for them. She’s an introvert, she’s not the best singer, she’s not the best dancer, yet she just wants to be in the center, and even though it might look like she doesn’t care at all (her bored expressions are priceless XD) if you have a chance to check out her blog entries, AKB is a really big part of her life, and she’s constantly thanking everyone who has supported her. She’s a funny case in that respect, in a group full of girls with a lot more spark and attitude and drive, what makes Acchan stand out is her slow but certain approach to popularity, by being herself and not creating a character like her fellow group members she comes across as a genuine girl, a flawed teenager full of doubts and fears, but one who’s honest enough to show herself  just like that.

All of this leads to the simplistic conclusion that in a group with the “girl next door” type as the main goal for its members, a girl like Acchan will naturally excel. But I liked trying to look a little bit more into her idol persona, whether I succeeded or not is a different story. I wanted to discuss Atsuko first because she’s the most complex one IMO, precisely because of her simplicity. I could write words and words and words about spirited camera hogging lovable girls like Sae, but with Acchan, there’s only so much you can say without repeating yourself XD. In any case, take this from me, Acchan will stay in the front for as long as AKB as we know it exists, so I respectfully advice all the haters to get used to her

Hi people! Here’s the tracklist  of the latest AKB48 Shibuya AX Concert Request Hour Set List Best 100 (LOL what a long title…). I’ll make a few comments on some of the songs, and I got all of this info from Stage48 so credit goes to them entirely.

100 - ↓38 - A4 - 7時12分の初恋 (7 Ji 12 Fun no Hatsukoi) –> I think that this was the return of the A graduates. Kinda sad that it’s No. 100 now… 
99 - ↓29 - A2 - 涙の湘南 (Namida no Shounan ) –> MAIMAI!!! Yeah. I love this song so much, I don’t care it’s 99, I’m just so happy it’s there anyway!!
98 - ↓85 - A3 - 小池 (Koike) –> LOL Quintessential rebound song AKB version
97 - ↓30 - K4 - 回遊魚のキャパシティ (Kaiyuugyo no Capacity) –> My favorite group song from K4 <3 <3 <3
96 - ↓49 - A4 - ただいま恋愛中 (Tadaima Renaichuu) –> And my favorite song from A4! Yayness! This one was performed by the kenkyuuseis, I think
94 - ↓82 - H1 - 僕の太陽 (Boku no Taiyou) –> I actually like this single, even though everyone else hates it <3
94 - ↓93 - H1 - ヒグラシノコイ (Higurashi no Koi) –> I expect it to be sung live, like it has in previous versions. Yuka = So much love
93 - 初 - A5 - 真夏のクリスマスローズ (Manatsu no Christmas Rose) –> Uh… I don’t like this song at all. Sad because I love Chiichan, Mariko and Yukari. Who is the 4th member anyway? Have they decided on it yet? XD
92 - 初 - S2 - Glory days –> I expected this to be a LOT higher due to Jurina being in it…
91 - 初 - A5 - JK眠り姫 (JK Nnemurihime)  –> Meh. 
90 - ↑97 - K3 - 脳内パラダイス (Nounai Paradise) –> ONETWOTHREEFOURABCD LOL This song wins at life.
89 - 初 - N3 - Girl’s talk (ノースリーブス)  –> Good to see no3b doing well
88 - ↓62 - A2 - ガラスの I LOVE YOU (Glass no I LOVE YOU) –> Oh God, please, make them stop singing this!
87 - 初 - B4 - そばかすのキッス (Sobakasu no Kiss) –> Wtf? Japanese fans sure are different from western fans when it comes to their taste in songs XD I happen to love this one too though
86 - 初 - S2 - チャイムはラブソング (Chime wa LOVE SONG) –> I seriously don’t want to hear this anymore either. It’s been overplayed to death
85 - 初 - B4 - アイドルの夜明け (Idol no Yoake) –> Marching band!!! So amazing <3
83 - ↓42 - K4 - ごめんねジュエル (Gomen ne Jewel) –> Umeda performed instead of Yuko I love Ume, but come one! This is a Yuko unit that I absolutely adore!!!
83 - ↓15 - H2 - confession –> And Yuko was here instead. I like sexy Yuko, but I prefer to see her in Jewel. I think they placed her here because she’s in Majisuka nad has to look cool, because Amina has become the staple performer in this unit otherwise…
80 - ↓39 - H2 - 夢を死なせるわけにいかない (Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai) –> YumeShina!!! I really like this song. Glad it made it!
80 - ↓21 - H1 - 向日葵 (Himawari) –> No Maimai, I’d guess…
80 - 初 - K3 - くるくるぱー (Kurukurupaa) –> LOL Kana got her wish granted XD Glad tos ee the K graduates come back
79 - 初 - A5 - スコールの間に (Squall no Aida ni) –> Umbrellas. And that’s pretty much it…
78 - ↑89 - A1 - スカートひらり (Skirt Hirari) –> Senbatsu version (not original senbatsu though) I’ve seen it 678999 times already
77 - ↓59 - K4 - 16人姉妹の歌 (16nin Shimai no Uta) –> THIS. It’s the best Team K song to ever be performed at AX!
76 - ↓51 - H1 - RUN RUN RUN –> I’ve always had a special little place in my heart for this one. Although it isn’t that special.

75 - 初 - A5 - 君に会うたび恋をする (Kimi ni au Tabi Koi wo Suru) –> LOLZ @ the haters. I adore this song, so glad it made it high in the list :3
74 - ↓45 - K3 - 君はペガサス (Kimi wa Pegasus) –> Yay! Pegasus!! It’s never lost it’s cool prince-ness XD
73 - ↓52 - A3 - 誰かのために -What can I do for someone- (Dareka no Tame ni -What can I do for someone-) –> Uhh… For old time’s sake?
72 - ↓12 - H2 - 記憶のジレンマ (Kioku no Dilemma) –> Asuka and Natsumi version. This makes this unit a non-Team K members unit now. Weird.
71 - 初 - A5 - 長い光 (Nagai Hikari) –> Cute song.
70 - 初 - C/W - 白いチューリップ [from 渡り廊下走り隊 2nd single] (Shiroi Tulip) –> No idea. I’ve never listened to it *runs to listen to all Watarirouka B sides*
69 - 初 - B4 - タンポポの決心 (Tanpopo no Kesshin) –> Ahh!! I love this song!! And that makes me certain that most fans hate it in this side of the world XD
67 - 初 - C/W - 飛べないアゲハチョウ [from AKB48 13th single] –> OMG!!! Tobenai!! Such an awesome song!!! I’m ultra happy it got here!!!
67 - ↓23 - B3 - ワッショイB！(Wasshoi B!) –> AIKYOU SAIKYOU or whatever. This song is epic.
66 - 初 - B4 - みなさんもご一緒に (Minnasan mo go Issho ni) –> Team B attack!
65 - 初 - SG - 初恋ダッシュ [渡り廊下走り隊 1st single] (Hatsukoi Dash ) –> I’m glad to see Watarirouka owning so much, they’re a great group!
64 - 初 - SG - やる気花火 - [渡り廊下走り隊 2nd single] (Yaruki Hanabi) –> I want to see the transition between all of this Team B madness though XD
63　初 - SG - チューしようぜ [AKB48 + Idoling!!!] (Chuu Shiyouze!) –> AISHITERU AISHITERU! All AKB version! And I think I saw Chikarina here!
62　↓11 - K4 - おしべとめしべと夜の蝶々 (Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou) –> Talk about a huge drop -_- Casual fans definitely made this year’s AX a lot more… Interesting…
61 - 初 - — クリスマスプレゼント [no3b] (Christmas Present) –> My least favorite Persona song, but still, amazing!
60 - ↓44 - H2 - Bye Bye Bye  –> I’m sick of hearing this song already. But it’s a nice position because no3b can sing the 2 songs in a row
59 - 初 - K5 - 抱きしめられたら (Dakishimeraretara) –> OMG!! I adore this song completely! It has some of the most coherent lyrics I’ve ever heard in an idol song XD
58 - 初 - S2 - ウィンブルドンへ連れていって (Wimbledon e Tsureteitte) –> No Tsukina, but Jurina XD I knew she couldn’t be stuck in such a low position
56 - 初 - K5 - わがままな流れ星 (Wagamama na Nagareboshi) –> Yay! This might be my second favorite duet (fave is Haru ga Kuru Made, which is nowhere to be seen ofc -_-)
56 - ↑96 - H1 - 竹内先輩 (Takeuchi Senpai) –> Classic. You can’t not like this song.
54 - ↓35 - A2 - 渚のCHERRY (Nagisa no CHERRY)  –> Acchan fest!
54 - 初 - K5 - 虫のバラード (Mushi no Ballad) –> Sayaka Solo!!! ;_; So glad it made it ;_;
53 - 初 - N1 - 誘惑のガーター - [SDN48] (Yuuwaku no Garter) –> Yay! I finally get to see sexy Yukarin!
52 - ↓50 - K2 - BLUE ROSE –> There’s not much that hasn’t been said about Blue Rose already…
51 - 初 - SG - 強き者よ [SKE48 1st single] (Tsuyokimono Yo) –> OMG! Best single ever! Epicness.

50 - ↓8 - Chocolove - 明日は明日の君が生まれる (Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru) –> No Rina
48 - ↓41 - SG - 夕陽を見ているか (Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka) –> LOL Another single western fans love to hate on. I don’t like it that much either.
48 - ↓16 - K4 - 支え (Sasae) –> WE ARE THE TEAM K!!! Oh wait, wrong song XD But kinda like that anyway though…
47 - ↓7 - K3 - MARIA –> This song needs no description. It just owns so much.
46 - ↓9 - B4 - 純情主義 (Junjou Shugi) –> Yay! Haachan love! <3
45 - ↓27 - K2 - 禁じられた2人 (Kinjirareta Futari) –> The classic lesbian ballad XD
44 - 初 - A5 - AKB參上！ (AKB Sanjou!) –> Most played song in my iTunes! It really is a great anthem for AKB
43 - ↓14 - A4 - Faint –> HANA OMG OMG OMG OMG HANA HANA HANA HANA OMG OMG
42 - ↑68 - A1 - Dear My Teacher –> I wonder what was the lineup? Probably the current Team A…
41 - 初 - K5 - 逆上がり (Saka Agari) –> K5 is pretty much unloved XD Only the units made it, and then, not even all of them did ;_; I’m glad the title song got a decent positin, everyone hates it, but I think it’s great
40 - ↓17 - A5 - 戀愛禁止條例 (Renai Kinshi Jourei) –> Title song from A5… Not a fave of mine…
39 - ↓19 - SG - Bingo –> BINGO is such a good single! 
38 - 初 - B4 - 愛しきナターシャ (Itoshiki Natasha) –> Cue crazy headbanging.  Team Karyudo FTW!!!
37 - ↓25 - K3 - 草原の奇跡 (Sougen no Kiseki) –> With Sayaka solo lines please :3
36 - ↑46 - H2 - となりのバナナ (Tonari no Banana) –> Whoa, Banana is actually going up instead of down! Tomomi was right! They’ll be No. one in 3 years! LOL
35 - ↓13 - A4 - 純愛のクレッシェンド (Junai no Crescendo) –> Awesome song is always awesome.
34 - ↓5 - K4 - 最終ベルが鳴る (Saishuu Bell ga Naru) –> Saishuu Bell dropped a lot
33 - ↓6 - B3 - パジャマドライブ (Pajama Drive) –> One of the best unit songs.
32 - ↓10 - SG - 桜の花びらたち (Sakura no Hanabiratachi) –> Performed by the new Team A line up, if I’m not mistaken.
31 - 初 - S2 - 雨のピアニスト (Ame no Pianist) –> Definitely deserving of its position. I don’t know who subbed for Moe though…
30 - 初 - SG - ナットウエンジェル (Nattou Angel) –> LOLZ I had no idea!!! XD This song is hilarious! 
29 - 初 - A5 - ひこうき雲 (Hikougigumo) –> Theater girls or Team A? I wonder who performed… My money is on team A of course *rolls eyes*
28 - 初 - SG - タネ (no3b - Tane) –> I like this song, it sounds happy but it’s about breaking up with someone
27 - 初 - S2 - 手をつなぎながら (Te wo Tsunaginagara) –> Whoa unexpected. Kinda. Well, it’s not a bad song…
26 - 初 - C/W - FIRST LOVE –> OMG. I didn’t think Erepyon’s solo would end up so high! It’s truly one of the most beautiful AKB songs IMO, so I’m glad it got high enough (this song makes me sad though…)

25 - kuroi tenshi (takajo,maeda,fujie) /full/ [A5] –> Welp. That was completely expected
24 - kodoku na runner /full/ [SDN1] –> Glad to see another SDN song make it!! I’m so excited!! If we had LOD’s of their stages, I’m sure they’d become my favorite *48 group :D

23 - tenshi no shippo (nakatsuka,oota,nakaya) [B3] –> Nakayan power! 

22 - kataomoi no taikakusen (nito,komori,yonezawa) [B4] –> Weird to see it so high, but it’s a really good song anyway. I don’t understand Moeno’s popularity though. Sometimes she shoots right up, and then in the election she didn’t make it to the undergirls even…
21 - aitakatta (shuffle) [A2] [B2] [KII1] [MAXI ---> We all know Aitakatta by now I'd hope

20 - ENDROLL (umeda,noro,oshima,matsubara) [K5] –> Yay! Yuko unit! This song I think has also quite coherent lyrics for an idol song XD You know, I think people didn’t like K5 because it wasn’t very Idoly. It sounded more mainstream, I think

18 - relax! (no3b) [MAXI] –> No3b keeps succeeding (2 songs are No. 18 because they were tied)
18 - only today [A4] [c/w] –> Always a fan favorite. I learned to love it a lot through my years as an AKB fan…
17 - zannen shoujo (nakatsuka,watanabe,uchida) [B4] –> Mayuyu unit, ofc. Very cool.
16 - kuchi utsushi no chocolate (kashiwagi,hirajima,oota) [B4] –> Yay for pervyness! 

15 - korogaru ishi ni nare [K2] –> I’m so glad it made it to Top 20 at least… I really wanted the girls of Team K to sing this together for the last time…
14 - tsundere! (sato a,itano,kitahara) [A5] –> Definitely one of the best units in latest stages.

13 - baby! baby! baby! [DIGI] –> Now THIS is weird. It didn’t even rank that high the year it was released!
12 - temodemo no namida (kashiwagi,takajo) [B3] –> It’s completely lame to not bring Mikachii back, and especially, to replace her with a girl that isn’t in Team B. I love Akicha as much as anyone else, but this is just wrong.

11 - nakinagara hohoen de (oshima solo) [K3] –> YUKO > ALL.
10 - BIRD (shinoda,takahashi,miyazawa) [A3] –> Sae instead of Maimai? I’ll take what I can, but… Maimai…
*9 - 3 seconds (persona) [soundtrack]  –> This song is epicness. I love the boyband look too XD
*8 - shonichi [B3] [c/w] –> We know Shonichi too, right? It’s been a B side of 2 different singles already…
*7 - heart gata virus (kojima,kitahara,takajo) /kojima speech ver./ [A5] –> I’m sure that almost 60% of the people who voted for this song wanted Maimai back. It sucks that she was only in Namida no Shounan at 99 position, when she had this song in the top 10 for her. Meh.
*6 - namida surprise [MAXI] –> I can’t get to like this single. I guess I never will…
*5 - RIVER [MAXI] –> LOL Theater fans hated RIVER I heard, but then I guess casual fans pushed it this far XD
*4 - oogoe diamond [A5] [S1] [MAXI] –> Diamond is such a good song!
*3 - 10 nen zakura [MAXI] –> Unexpected. I had no idea 10nen Zakura was so important. Maybe there’s hope for SakuShio
*2 - kimi no koto ga suki dakara [c/w] –> What. the. flying. fuck. LOL. This song is so… unremarkable in many many ways… But I guess that’s the way people like their songs, girly, cute and with sunny PVs.
*1 - iiwake maybe [MAXI] –> My favorite single of 2009 hands down. I concur with the masses who voted it No. 1.

yeah I’m to lazy to edit them so that they look all nice and samey, so w/e I’ll re edit whenever S48 has made the top 25 pretty like the rest of the list

So yeah… My favorite AKB song wasn’t in the ranking… Sucks to be me XD

Also, my favorite Team (which is K, BTW)only had 19 songs in the ranking.

Oh well, maybe I’ll have better luck next time? Or… I don’t know, maybe next time I just won’t care, let’s see how this evolves…

Hi people! First of all, I have to get something off my chest, so here goes:

If anything I’ve ever written in this blog or anywhere around the internet has ever offended any of you in any possible way, I apologize. I’m trying to become a more sensible and peaceful person, so please forgive me if I’ve said anything inappropriate. I mean it in the most honest way.

Ok, now, let’s move on to the things we love! AKB48 and SKE48! Wheeee! But first, OMG have you watched the Sakura no Shiori full PV? It’s so pretty *__* I’m loving the single so much already! If you want to check it out, it’s upped at H!O.

Today, I’ll do a brief track by track review of S2 (although I really should be reading about Kawasaki’s disease XD) Also, the translations are made by me, so they’re nowhere near accurate XD They’re just supposed to give you an idea of what the song’s about anyway

1. Bokura no Kaze “The birds are flying freely towards a new horizon”

The opening song of B2 is a standard cheery idol song. Pure pop, complete with cute lyrics about overcoming obstacles in your life and how you have friends who help you out with everything always and stuff like that. It does sound a tad bit generic, though, so it’s not really a favorite of mine, however, I do appreciate the fact that it’s an upbeat number, and has a nice jumpy choreography that really showcases the high energy level of Team S’s girls. Also, tambourines! OMG I love them!

2. Mango no. 2 “Fast, fast, I want to become an adult! I want to throw away my sneakers and wear big high heels”

This song begins with Jurina saying “Uuuuhhh Mango number twoooo—” and then the girls come out and GUESS WHAT YOU GUYS, it’s actually mambo! LOLOL I love it when AKB (or SKE) have latin sounding music! It makes for great danceable numbers, and I also really really enjoy them because, well, this is the music I grew up with. So yeah, I’m in love with this cute little mambo number! The tempo is kind of slowed down though, but it still makes for a super cute choreography! And I also love the lyrics about wanting to grow up fast :3 I don’t know why though… Maybe I can relate to that feeling, because all the people around me were always older than me XD

3. Chime wa Love Song “The school chime is a love song, a dear melody to me”

This song has been way overplayed already. Whenever SKE appears anywhere this is the song they sing, but of course, it’s because it’s actually a very idol-y song, about a girl who looks through her classroom window at her crush so whenever the school chime rings she is happy because she can see him if only for a bit. Yeah, those lyrics are lame unless you’re like 14, but whatever. IT has just the right measure of energy and cute dance steps to make it catchy. It’s not a favorite of mine, though. I don’t understand why didn’t they give this awesome (albeit a little too colorful outfits to the more tropical Mango No. 2 but w/e)

4. Te wo Tsunaginagara “Under the gate where cherry blossoms bloom, while I’m feeling nervous, pushed by the spring breeze, it’s the first day of school”

Yay! Rika-chan screencap FTW <3 Anyway, the title song, is a very energetic one, albeit a little generic. However, it has a nice melody and it has parts where the audience can scream “HEY HEY HEY” along with them, so fans always like that kind of stuff XD My only complain about this one is the fact that it sounds too similar to CHIME sometimes, so yeah. But even though it might not be musically awesome, it’s pretty nice to watch the girls perform this, they are super happy and interact with each other cutely

5. GLORY DAYS “every day, everytime, I’m living today as well”

This is Jurina’s unit from S2, where she sings along with Kuwabara Mizuki (left) and Nakanishi Yuuka (right). This is the dance unit in this stage hands down, and although I didn’t really like it at first because it’s all over the place, music wise, I like the reggae feel it has at some points Also, the dancing! OMG! These girls move around so much that I had to put my video player in slow motion in order to take screencaps of them, it was insane! I also don’t get why Kuwabara ended up so low in the general AKB/SKE ranking this year, she’s a really really good dancer, and that should count for something Not a fan of the hats or the feather boas, but they make it work surprisingly well!

6. Kono Mune no Barcode “I only want the security camera to shoot the proof of the fact that I came here”

The songs so far have been either kiddie stuff, or bright cheery songs about “be happy, you’ll never be alone”. This is the first grown up song, with a moody tune and lonely lyrics about… well… shopping in a convenience store? XD Akimoto is at least original in his lyrics, I give him that XD This song compares love with things like “being read by a register machine” hence, the barcode in the lyrics. I especially like the line about the security camera because WTF? Who thinks of that when you say “break up song” Also, I used to love the outfits way more than I do now, the non-Aki girls (That’s Deguchi Aki in the screencap, BTW, the other girls in the unit are Ono Haruka and Takada Shiori) used to wear a really cute and stylish stewardess like little hat, and I really can’t understand why it was replaced with these random yellow things. I love this song, the music sounds even a bit soulful XD If such adjective can be used to describe idol music… And the vocals by the 3 of them are flawless and not grating in the least! Definitely a favorite.

7. Wimbledon he tsureteitte “Your sunburnt skin is surely a gift from the sun, right?”

And here comes the loli unit of S2! featuring Yagami Kumi (blue), Takai Tsukina (pink) and Mori Sayuki (yellow). This unit is pure idol pop in all is glory, classically made, completed by puffy dresses and ribbons and lace everywhere! These dresses are absolutely adorable as far as I’m concerned, I love them! Of course, the lyrics are kind of lame, but whatever! We’re not into idols for their lyrics most of the time anyway (except if you’re a trascendental weirdo like me…) The reason why I like this song the most is because its lyrics remind me of “Suki yo Captain” another Jpop song I really like. It’s a cute unit, to sum it all up.

8. Ame no Pianist “The pianist rain softly plays a Chopin farewell song I know”

This was the first song that made the SKE non-fans pay attention to the group. It’s kind of cheesy, but so amazing! XD Kind of like a guilty pleasure of sorts XD The girls are decked in Moulin Rouge-esque outfits, and they sing this sad break up song. The most remarkable part is the choreography, which is very intense, and goes along with the piano background really well. The girls in this unit are Yamashita Moe (left) Matsui Rena (center) and Matsushita Yui (right). Most improved mention goes to Rena, who manages to own this song as a lead, even though her vocals in her previous unit, Classmate weren’t as smooth as here. Rena is so hardworking <3

9. Choco no Yukue “Hey, tell me about the whereabouts of that love, did it end up in your tummy?”

OMG! Rika-chan unit!!! Yay!! <3 This unit is a completely cute song, about a girl who made Valentine’s chocolates for her crush and then leaves them in his locker but forgets to put a card with her name on it XD I think the comparison of love = chocolate is really cute and idoly. And I really like that line about the girl wondering if her love ended up in the guy’s tummy XD It’s all so cute! The girls in this unit are Hirata Rikako, Oya Masana, Hiramatsu Kanako and Shinkai Rina

10. INNOCENCE “Before you take off my uniform, tell me that you love me once more”

Of course, me being the huge pervert I am, this is my favorite song of the stage, It’s a really sultry song about a girl who’s going to lose her virginity, and the part I like the most is that *48 decided to be politically correct for once and the only girls who get lines in this are the legal ones Yay! Because, no offense to the lolis, but I like older idols a bit more *shrugs* This song sounds amazing thanks to the fact that all the solo lines are given to girls who can really sing

11. ROMANCE ROCKET “In a romance rocket, just the 2 of us, we’ll travel to the farthest ends of the galaxy!”

The only words that come to mind whenever I think of this song are “Weird and Bouncy” this sounds borderline denpa even XD And the chorus has some really catchy rhythm that I’m sure I’ve heard elsewhere before. It works though, and I like aliens, I think they’re cute, so I like songs that feature them as a main subject This song is really really weird though, in a cute way but… yeah, insanity. The male “Oh yeahs” can be annoying after a while though. Another guilty pleasure here XD

12. Koi no Teikoku to Taisaku Oshiete “Nobody has noticed, but behind his glasses, he has round eyes, and if he cut his hair, he might even become cool”

This song makes me happy for no reason whatsoever XD It’s a cutesy song about a girl who falls in love with a geek It reminds me a lot of a mix between Ki ni Naru Tenkousei and Heart Gata Virus But music wise, it’s a bit like Doku Ringo wo Tabesasete, in that the girls sing a solo line and then another girl says something cute like “KAWAII!” or something like that. It’s hard to explain. I just love this song <3

13. Daisuki “No matter what hard things might happen, it’s going to be ok from now on”

Oh, how I love this song. There aren’t words to express it. This song really made me cry the first time I listened to it. And I hadn’t cried about an idol song for like years. Seriously. I can’t even remember the last time I did. This song is kind of a ballad, slow paced and very pretty. I love the lyrics, although they are really generic about loving someone and being there for them. Also, the white dresses are so pretty.

14. Rope no Yuujou “The friendship rope, while it’s tied, we can go together to paradise or anywhere we want”

This is the first rocking song of the stage, and it’s really nice. I’m a bit fed up with the lyrics about friends, it’s like “Yeah, I get it, friends are nice, now STOP IT!” Ugh. But, other than that, the outfits are incredibly fierce, and military inspired. And they also have props! Yay! They use a rope to symbolize friendship and have an interesting choreography to showcase it. Yeah, you kind of have to watch it to get it though, but I like the music a lot. I wish Team K gets similar songs in their latest stage ;_;

15.  Kayoubi no Yoru Suiyoubi no Asa “The me who cries too much, cries until the morning comes, because I can’t open the door”

This song is SO good. It’s not even funny. I was seriously converted into a fan when it started playing. The music is incredibly catchy and dramatic, and the macarena-like choreography works surprisingly well, although I was expecting headbanging here XD As always emo lyrics are popular within Akimoto’s works, this one is no exception but just… wow… it’s a really good song, by all standards.

16. Tooku ni Itemo 

I haven’t even bothered to listen to this song paying attention to what it says. It’s just a boring ballad, but almost every stage has one of its own, so it’s ok. 

 

S2 is a great stage, I highly recommend it even for people who don’t like Matsui Jurina, she’s not all over the place in this, and the girls from S2 are very charismatic and talented, it’s a stage that you will definitely enjoy, one of the best in AKB history IMO!

You know, with everyone in the H!P fan world praising Aibon (after ditching her for her scandals and PBs *shrugs*) because she said that AKB was nowhere as good as H!P is, I had an epiphany!! It was simply triggered in my brain!!!!

EDIT: No need to curse all that much in the blog *seatdrop* See, I got carried away because sadly, IRL I curse like a pirate XD

Here’s how my thought process went: 

1. OMG WTF?

2. That’s not really classy of her to say, especially when AKB girls are all super humble, and there are quite a few of MM fans in the group, who openly admit it and gush about their favorite idols! And even the girls who aren’t fans, they always refer to MM as their “big and important senpai” looking up to them and stuff. They’ve NEVER EVER claimed that they were even a competition against H!P in any way…

3. You know what? I don’t give a fuck. H!P could be the best thing in the music world, music and performance wise, I’d still stick with AKB songs because…. I’M TOO OLD FOR H!P!!!

Ok, now before I get flamed like crazy, allow me to explain myself:

I know that there are fans of H!P who are WAY older than me, and of course, fans of AKB who are younger than me too. (I’m 22, BTW) but the truth is that I’m a straight girl, I don’t like watching girls in my daily life, and the only reason why I watch these particular girls is because I like their songs, and I feel like I can relate to them somehow. (and that’s why I watch their idol DVDs too, of course *whistle*)

now, you might ask wtf does this have to do with anything? Well, I used to be a very mentally innocent person when it comes to love, so I adored Berryz songs, and (believe it or not) their lyrics too. It’s just like Ray wrote not so long ago, some people think that music is a trascendental thing, like finding a BGM for your life and everything that happens in it, well, I’m like that exactly.

So, back in the day, whenever my bf didn’t call me for days I always blasted Gocchin’s “Yokohama Shinkirou” in rebound mode or something like that. And of course, the first date was actually me humming “Tanoshii na lalalala Tanoshii na Hora! DEETO wa tanoshii na”

But then…

Well, let’s just leave the details out and say that a few years went by, and I grew up while H!P just became disturbingly younger and younger every time (disturbing for my life BGM purposes I mean XD). And, also, Koharu happened. With her sugar high songs with random instrumentals and derailed smile in her PVS and I went “Uh… not really my thing”

And while this might ruin my net reputation forever (like I have one LOL) I just have to accept the truth, I’d much rather listen to lyrics like “We fell in love like a roller coaster, our skins longing for each other, we dreamt a fleeting dream” than a song about a Bus Guide (really, honestly, I truly did love Berryz so much, but then I sort of… can’t relate to such songs anymore!) So yeah, you’re getting this kinda right, I grew up and then I didn’t care about Amulet Eggs people or something like that it’s like “Omg they’re 9 kthxbai”

So yeah, the next point you’ll say is “AKB has lolis too! And of course, innocent songs as well!!! WTF is wrong with you, you bitch???” and I’ll say: Yeah, but not quite. I don’t like the AKB lolis for the most part, and the vast majority of my favorite AKB members are over 18… and while sometimes I do hum GARASU no I Love you to myself, I’d rather hum “Junai no Crescendo” LOLOL

I also have to point out a funny thing that happened to me that made me realize why I might have given up on H!P, randomly, Abe Natsumi and Yajima Maimi’s duet “16sai no koi nante” started playing and, while paying attention to the lyrics, I could totally relate to EVERYTHING Nacchi was saying, shaking my head at Maimi’s naive lines. So I thought “Damn, I’m elder club fan material… Now it’s really for sure!!!” XD XD XD Ahhh… growing up sucks D:

To sum this up, as it’s always been the case, it IS a matter of liking one thing or the other, but for me, and around the time AKB48 was actually created, I wanted to listen to something a bit more grown up lyrics wise. 

Please keep in mind that not all of us girls want to listen to STRAWBERYY PIE AYAYAYAYAYAYAIIII FOR MAI DAAARIN!!! all the time… *shrugs* And this of course, doesn’t mean that I think AKB lyrics have a mystical and philosophical depth unbeknownst to man kind prior to their existence, because, come on, these girls have sung about ALL of the freaking bones in the human body! It’s just… I like their lyrics more and that’s it.

So if in your mind AKB = slutty

in mine H!P = teen love

They go together sometimes yeah, but that’s a whole other post and for a whole different kind of media that’s not exactly this blog XD

Hello people! Here’s my mini review of SKE48’s Team S second stage DVD! I think that some people might be shunning SKE thinking that they are a subpar spinoff of AKB48, but I wanted to show people, both old fans and new, how much I love this team, and how incredibly talented and hard working they are! This new generation of idols are all stars! Starting from the miracle child, Matsui Jurina, the face of SKE48

 

Well, I don’t know much about Masana, she’s quite pretty, and I get an “Invisible frontgirl” vibe from her. By that I mean that somehow I feel like she’s getting a small push by the management, because she’s in the front in quite a number of songs, and she’s the lead in Choco no Yukue, her unit. I don’t really know about it, though, it’s just… a kind of Kobayashi Kana-esque feel, in that they’re both given some extra lines and close ups even if they aren’t senbatsu

 

Haruka looks very different in pics than the image she projects on stage. I mean, she has this super cute set of fangs (like Nono’s XD), so whenever she grins, she gives out the vibe of being a cute and bouncy kid, but don’t be fooled! IRL she’s like that, but when she performs, this girl is fierce! She has one of the most powerful voices of Team S, and she’s also a great dancer. The best part is her whole attitude, she exudes such self confidence that she just makes you look at her! Definitely a favorite of mine!

 

Mizuki’s talent makes her outshine some of her more famous team mates sometimes XD She’s an incredibly good dancer, even in Team S, where many girls like Jurina, Kuumin, Yuka or Moe excel. She’s always super energetic, and she moves her body in ways that I can’t quite comprehend yet. I have to analyze the tsuyokimonoyo PV more, but in this stage performance of the first SKE single she’s in the center most of the time with the Matsui stars. That means that she’s an almost senbatsu! Wow!

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!!! I was on vacation so I had to leave for a while, but I wish you all a very happy new year, and I hope that you can keep supporting AKB48 this year as well

 

Anyhow, the latest news that’s buzzing all over the internet is the new AKB single, entitled “Sakura no Shiori” which means “Bookmark of Cherry Blossoms”. Well, the reason why people are talking about it so much it’s because it’s a bit… unusual for an idol single XD

Here’s a screencap of the first live performance of the song (ofc it wasn’t really sung live at all XD)

Well, don’t be fooled like I was the first time I saw the screencap, it’s not AKB’s cover of Serafuku wo Nugasanaide, it’s Sakura no Shiori which so happens to be a…. choir song!

*big sweatdrop*

And I really do mean a choir song, beautiful harmonies, simplistic background music that gives it a very elegant feel… All of that is there. But the reason why fans in this side of the world are climbing up the walls in despair? They don’t like it because they think that it has no hook, and it’s not idol sounding music at all!

I have to say about that, that AKB is at least very versatile in its catalogue XD And this is another proof of this. I don’t think that people should underestimate Akimoto, he surely knows what he’s doing. I think that his plan is to turn this one into THE graduation song for all of Japan, hence it’s choral nature and the simple choreography. I wouldn’t call it a remake of Sakura no hanabiratachi, this is a completely different song! (although the lyrics of this song, SnH, 10nen Zakura, Sakurairo no Sora no Shita de and Saigo no Seifuku are very very similar)

Sure, it has no instant “hook”, sure, it’s not something you can sing along to in a very easy way XD but I think that it’s a very well crafted song for its purpose. I mean, I can totally see people singing this at their graduation day!

Takahashi Ai must be eating her heart out XD “Oh, crap, how come they are the ones who get a full blown choir number :(”

All in all, I’m in love with this song, and I think that it’s very clever to use the big amount of girls in AKB as a choir, but I’ll agree with everyone else who thinks that it’s a kind of risky move for the group.

But don’t forget that the awesome Majisuka Rock n Roll is the coupling track, and also, Team YJ and Team PB’s songs are included, which guarantees a very interesting single, to say the least! If you’re not a fan of choirs, then support your idols singing idoly songs like “Enkyori Poster” which is also included here, or the emo “Choose Me” or the cool “Majisuka Rock n Roll” If Akimoto has a good selling startegy, it’s how he includes so much good original stuff in singles, there’s something for everyone!

Here, while you analyze the situation, have another screencap!

This song is so peaceful… I’ll definitely play it on repeat whenever I’m stressing out!