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!