Hi people, today I bring you guys the scoop of the latest AKB news. First off, let’s get the bad news out of our system, shall we?

1. AKB48 isn’t going to Kouhaku this year: This really crushed me. All of the girls were always super excited about how they would love to sing Oogoe DIamond at Kouhaku this year and stuff, and they get this??? I don’t understand, really. If anything, AKB has become bigger and more mainstream than it was last year. And Oogoe has sold like 60000 copies, which is pretty impressive. But yeah, idols aren’t trendy blah blah blah, Kouhaku is going to be revamped because nobody watches it blah blah blah… Good thing Perfume were invited, or else I’d be like WAY TOO mad. BTW, Was I the only one who wasn’t in the least surprised that MM were left off this year?

2. My little squirrel is sick T_T: Well, if you’ve ever read this blog you must now that the lovely, dorky and super talented Oshima Yuko is my favorite member. And now she’s sick!! She got appendicitis (ouch) and had to be operated. Luckily, though, everything went alright, and she’s returning to her home on december 5th. GET WELL SOON KORISU!!!!

Ok, now let’s get to the good news;

3. Ohori Megumi stays!!!! Yay!!: Meetan aka. Ohori Meshibe managed to sell 10125 copies of her solo debut single, Amai Kokansetsu, thus she gets to stay in AKB48!!! She was really put through a lot, and pushed along the way, like a pro. She’s really amazing and deserved to stay!!

Of course, lots of perviness to be expected

4. AKB48 Late Night Live: I don’t know the exact name, and this is sort of old news anyway But still, in spring next year they are starting this new series of live shows, where only AKB members who are over 18 can perform, and only fans who are also of that age or older can attend. Apparently, the girls will be wearing sexier costumes than the usual uniforms, but that’s all of the info that has been released so far. I wonder… from Team A, that’s just Haruna, Mai, Mariko and Nozomi, right? Oh, Amina is over 18 as well, but IDK if she’ll be performing. Team A just got a whole lot younger O_O Sorry Acchan fans, you’ll have to pass on this one…

5. AKB48 Concert at JCB Hall on December 20: Yeah, that’s all there is to that, but you know, just in case.

6. Yuko PB release “Yuurari Yuuko”: I’m SO buying this. Even in my parents think I’m into girls (i’m totally not). Anyhow, there’s a handshaking even scheduled for December 23rd, in case you happen to be in Akihabara that day and have spare money, buy 3 copies and get a polaroid and a special DVD of the event. Sounds yummy!

7. AKB48 Set List Best 100 at Shibuya AX reloaded: I’m really sorry that I couldn’t report this earlier, so that all of you could’ve voted for your favorite songs, but I’m on finals this week, so there’s a lot that slips my mind really… The voting finished December 1, and there were only 6 or 7 days when you could vote. The conert will take place around January 18, four days, as last yeat, with a setlist that features 100 songs that fans can vote for, thus, the number one song (and I’m pretty damn sure it will be Sakura no Hanabiratachi this year and next and forever and ever but W/E) is the one that got the most votes and that’s how the order of the songs goes. I hope that people voted for the newer stuff, I mean, I love Don’t Disturb, but I’d rather watch something newer performed in that stage like… A5 stuff or H2 (which was horribly neglected last year BTW)

My own vote log:

1. Korogaru Ishi ni Nare (fave song FTW)

2. Junjou Shugi (A B3 unit song featuring my fave Team B member, Katayama Haruka. Sexy stuff!)

3. Heart Gata Virus (A5 Unit song featuring my fave Team A member, Oshima Mai! Cuteness!!!)

4. Rider (I want to see the graduates again T_T)

5. Faint (OMG HANAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!)

As you can see, I missed 2 days of voting because I’m lazy, but yeah…

 

Ok, that’s all I can think of for now, I’ll get back to you if I get more information! Remember to buy at least 5 Yuko PBs, because she deserves all your love and support and cookies and money, k? I know I’ll be buying my own share, even if I have to beg and cry to my parents for a credit card…

 

Hi! I’m super super busy, I have 2 huge exams next week, which is why I haven’t been able to update. I’m sorry! 

This one is a super fast news post, but I hope to dwell more into this after I’ve gotten those horrible exams out of my system!

1. Oogoe Diamond, AKB48 latest single release, debuted at #3 position in Oricon, and has sold so far an estimate of 14000 copies!!: Yay! This makes it the highest ranking single for AKB, as well as its highest debut!!! I’m extremely happy and proud of the girls, they have come such a long way… Ok, sappy comments apart, please do buy this single, it’s great and totally worth your money! Plus, you get the ultra-loli Matsui Jurina from SKE48 standard cover as well as a random one! Why not try your luck? You could end un with Acchan even!! So please go and buy 20 copies or just one, if you’re not willing to be a total wota just yet…

2. Ohori Meshibe Debut CDS “Amai Kokansetsu” released: Yeah, this is old news… I thought that it was sort of impressive to see how Meetan made it to the top 30, but still, she still has some 6000 more copies to sell if she doesn’t want to graduate X_X So, again, please go and buy this ASAP, I swear hat you won’t regret it, the song is surprisingly good and quite sultry, while the PV is pure fanservice (it even features Maimai, Yuko, Yukarin and Nozofisu, so you know that AKimoto means business!!!) So yeah, please do the fandom a favor and buy at least 2 copies, because if Meetan graduates, we’ll be screwed because nobody will ever be as perverted as she is!!! And besides, nobody has to know that you own a CD called “My Sweet Hip Joint”, so don’t worry about that XD

3. Team A 5th Stage “Renai Kinshi Jourei” started: With as many as 11 original members of Team A gone, and 5 more absent, the opening day of this stage was pretty much filled with Kenkyuuseis. However, this is a good stage in its own right, and let’s all wait for the DVD release to watch Acchan’s super sexy dark side in her “Black Angel” song *drool* 

4. Drama “MENDOL - Ikemen Idol-”: You all must know, Miichan, Harunyan and Takamina dressed up as guys, it sounded funny as hell, but nothing had me prepared for what came of that show! Let me sum it up: Attempted rape, Lolita Miichan, whips, girl on girl action, guy feeling Haruna’s chest… It’s all done in a very funny way, despite the campyness XD

5. Nakata Chisato “Chiichan” added to Team A: Oh, my favorite Kenkyuusei!!! Yay!! Chiichan is perfect for that Team, and I hope that I can get to see her when I go to Japan this december… 

So, that’s it for now, I really have to go study now Please remember, buy buy buy Oogoe and Amai Kokansetsu

5 girls of Team A are going to graduate, they announced it last night at the last show of the night. The girls are Narita Risa, Tojima Hana, Komatani Hitomi, Nakanishi Rina and Ohe Tomomi.

Only my favorite members of Team A minus Maimai… Sucks to be me…

Damn! I didn’t even get to do profiles of Ohyay and Hana!!! I’ll finish those as a tribute, I promise!!

Now, pictures… so we can all remember this lovely girls, and how much they will be missed…

KOMATANI HITOMI

 

 

First up, Hiichan. I was never a big fan, but it still pains me to see her go, she had a very nice voice, and that’s something I always like in an idol. Haruna must be crushed now that her best friend is leaving…

 

Still, she probably got sick of being stuck in the back, so she’s going to try her luck as a full time model. I wish her al the luck in the world, she’s very pretty and I’m sure she’ll do great in gravure

NARITA RISA

 

 

OMG!! Of all the people in the whole AKB that I could see graduating, Risa was among the least likely in my mind. I was very moved with her answers in the “48 questions” thing of the Team A PB, she said that she would always work hard in order to be more popular and stuff along the lines. She probably got sick of always getting even more demoted…

 

I still wish that she didn’t go… her charm and girly manners were very fitting for Team A and I really liked her as a performer…

 

And I wonder what’s going to happen with her afterwards… She doesn’t have an agency to back her up, nor does she have the typical gravure model appeal, she’s more of a cute girl. Maybe she just got sick of showbusiness altogether…

 

Well, I wih her all the best in her future affairs, and I hope that she pops up again somewhere, I mean, she’s totally built for idolness, which makes me even sadder somehow

OHE TOMOMI

 

Ohyay has been absent for a very long time due to an illness… I feel sorry because she was a much needed different character in Team A, adding a little variety to the otherwise pretty typical girly idol Team A. I will really miss her, and she was a great singer too… Damn, am I going to be able to like Team A after all of this? 

 

She’s probably tired of showbusiness as well, or has decided that it isn’t so good for her health, much like the reasons Team B Inoue Naru stated for her graduation

 

It is kind of interesting that Ohe, Nakanishi, Tojima and Narita are all close friends. I don’t know if this is a good or a bad thing, but at least they’ll be sharing their graduation concert with their best friends (and Hiichan XD)

NAKANISHI RINA

 

Oh, how this pains me! Rina has always been one of my favorite Team A members. Her sweet natured ways and angelic voice made her an instant favorite to me. She was also absent for a long while because she had asthma, but then seeing her back on the A4 revival made me think that everything would be ok now, and I was really happy that she was chosen for the Baby Baby Baby PV

 

But then she didn’t get chosen for Oogoe Diamond, which I found a bit strange… I figured that her frontgirl position was going to be given back to her, and everything would be alright with the world, but it wasn’t like that at all. Actually, she didn’t even perform in a lot of songs she should’ve been in for the Shibuya AX concert, maybe due to her poor health, I don’t know, that still seemed unfair to me

 

Ultimately, Rina’s health issues coupled with her gentle and sweet nature don’t match well with a rising group like AKB. The competition must be on at this rate, and I can imagine Rinatin backing off from all of that. Still, this is a very sad loss for Team A, and for AKB as a whole. And of course, it also means the end of Chocolove…

TOJIMA HANA

 

It must be nothing new for you readers, but Hana was my second favorite Team A member. So right this moment I am in total denial. Maybe that’s why I’m not even crying yet, I’m hoping that someone will post saying “Oh, it was all a joke, they’re not graduating” But I know that that’s highly unlikely right now

 

Hana is a fierce performer, her dancing skills are unmatched, and even though she has a high pitched voice, she is an extremely accomplished singer. That’s also another thing I liked about her, how she looks so fierce and then opens her mouth and has this sweet little voice… Hana was the main reason why I stopped grieving about Maimai’s supposed graduation, and now, go figure, Hana who I clinged on to so much is leaving while Mai stays… talk about ironies of life…

 

She has a promising career in modelling, and given her undeniable beauty and how much the camera loves her, I’m sure she will succeed, and I will bleed my wallet to buy her PBs if they ever pop up… Still, I don’t want her to leave. I’m going to Japan on december and I was already planning on seeing her specifically, even trying to take a polaroid with her… I’m in denial here.. I can’t take this…

 

So now who’s going to be Team A’s quota of fierceness? All this new Kenkyuuseis they’re adding are cute as they come, but that’s all. Hell, most of them can’t even sing! I fear for A5 now. I’m not even looking forward to that anymore… (see, I’m entering the depression stage of mourning really fast)

Goodbye, Hana. I promise that I will support you in anything I can, and I hope that you have a very bright future ahead of you. You are too cool, I’m very sad to see you go, but if this was your choice, then I will respect it and try to keep supporting Team A, because I know that that’s what you would’ve wanted us to do, no matter what…

 

And now, with my weeping wota heart out of the way, we can discuss the practical issues that arise with this sudden announcement. Team A gets reduced to 13 members, making it the smallest team. Also, they lose 5 of their original members, a frontgirl (Rina) and a girl who was rising and rising in popularity (Hana). This is a very serious situation, considering how Team A has always been the front group of the collective, and it makes me wonder if they’ll be adding at least 3 Kenkyuuseis (to form a 16 member team, like all teams are supposed to be) out of the blue. This wouldn’t be good, I mean, as far as theater regulars are concerned, some Kenkyuuseis are even more popular than some members, but this still means a huge change in both the image of the Team and the “feeling” it has. I bet they regret sending Cindy and Nacchan to Team B right now…

The girls will stay until Team A 4th Stage revival ends, which will be in about 10 days now. I wonder if the management knew about this choice with enough anticipation as to plan A5 (which is already being rehearsed) without all of these girl. The girls will appear for the last time in the NHK concert (the concert with the funny name “I bet you can’t leak this concert’s recording, right?” if I’m not mistaken), and that will be their graduation concert, and the last DVD where they will appear. There won’t be a DVD release of Team A 4th stage revival, but there are a few Live On Demand concerts for Team A that we’ll probably be able to get our hands on to watch the girls in action for the last time. 

WTH is Live on Demand, you ask, well, it’s an internet broadcast of one of the shows of the day, and if you pay a certain amount of money, you get to watch it for a limited period of time, because they are DRM protected. This was kind of OT, but since I didn’t make a post about that, I might as well clarify the whole thing right here.

Bottomline, these girls will be missed, and I fear for Team A, because Mai and Mariko still remain absent from most of the shows at the theater, and nobody know whether they’ll be staying or leaving. Team A will change completely after these 5 girls are gone, but let’s do our best and try to support the remaining girls, as they all work very hard and deserve all of our gratitude and respect during this hard time.

Hello everybody! My PC crashed again, so I’m updating from my laptop… I don’t know when will this be fixed, but hopefully soon enough. 

First of all, I’d like to congratulate the Saeyaka  Paradise Blog for appearing in a japanese magazine! This is a huge achievement, and I bet it feels great to get aknowledged in such a way, so here’s hoping to world domination next, webmistresses!!

And next, some news straight from the your favorite theater, at Don Quijote, no less!!!

1. Baby! Baby! Baby! DVD scheduled for release this friday!: Yes, finally, what all of you fanboys had been waiting for, the girls in bikinis, singing in a pool and dancing their silly little choreography! It comes in 3 different varieties too, the Pink edition, which includes a PV version of each girl separately (yes, that means roughly 4 minutes of your favorite AKB girl in a bikini). The blue edition features a Making Of, with all the members, and the Green edition comes with a recorded performance of Baby!x3 at the theater, featuring each team and their go at it. Please order all three of them, I mean, come on! Bikinis!!! And half naked Acchan!!!

2. New single!!! A new single is going to be released on October 22nd, under the King Records label. The single’s title is “Oogoe Diamond” which roughly translates to “Loud voice Diamond”. This is the first single to be released under this label, which makes all of us wonder whether they have left Sony altogether. Speculation suggests that the “Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008″ poster scam (remember, the one in which you had to buy like 1000 copies of the CDS to attend a special concert) might have had something to do with it, but I guess we’ll never know. I, for one, am really ecstatic to hear about them switching labels, because the latest AKS releases (the Shibuya AX concert and Babyx3 DVD) are more difficult to buy for foreigners (especially if you happen to be a foreigner living in Colombia D:) so a more gaijin-friendly label is great for us overseas fans! On the other hand, Defstar was a more mainstream and bigger label, so I don’t know what to make out of this info… Oh, and before I forget, let me tell you all that the choreography for this PV will not be the usual amazing Natsu-sesei, but another name familiar to all you H!P fans: RYON RYON. Seeing ow she was responsible for Gocchin’s really cool and elaborate choreographies, maybe we can expect great dancing displayed in this single!!! I love AKB’s simplistic choreographies, but I can’t deny that I’m really excited and looking forward to see the girls do something more… edgy

3. Assorted News: Oshima Mai (aka the hottest idol to ever walk the Earth) is releasing a PB on 9/11 (her birthday) The slogan? “A PB full of things that interest adults” You know you want it. Also, Shinoda Mariko is releasing another DVD, and Calendars for 2009 are already on sale! There’s the AKB48 calendar, the Maeda Atsuko calendar, one for Ono Erena, one for Oshima Mai and one for Oshima Yuko. AKB-fy your life with any (or all) of these beautiful calendars in super big and amazing B2 size!!! Yay!

4. The WTF? News: Kikuchi Ayaka is featured in all of the special versions of Babyx3, so if you’re a fan, there’s your last chance to say goodbye.

Also, Ohori Megumi (aka Pervy queen) is releasing a solo single with the stage name Meshibe (pistil) Ohori. So everyone went all WTF? because Ohori isn’t really known for her vocal talents per se, but because she is one really kinky girl! So our first guess was that it was probably going to be a mock single featuring her pole dancing or something like that. And then, there was a special episode of 0ji59fun, where the main feature was Ohori’s struggle to be a popular idol despite being 25 years old, and the oldest AKB48 member. It was pretty heartbreaking (although it does seem like a scam to me) to see how she talked about having so few fans, and how fans lined up for handshakes with the younger girls and never for her. Also, she talked about how she was never selected for a single until Babyx3 came along, and how she’s never in the front of any song. So then, after all that pity fest, it’s announced that she supposedly met with chief Akimoto, who told her that she was too old ofr an idol, so they would test her popularity with a solo CDS release. The deal is this: If she doesn’t sell 10000 copies of the single, she’ll get kicked out of AKB48. O_O This just gets more WTF? with every line I type (God, I wish I was making all of this up) Also, she isn’t to release the single with her real name because Akimoto doesn’t want AKB to be associated with her in case she fails, so she was given the stage name Meshibe Ohori. She graciously accepts the deal and decides to give her best at it.

Ok, let me say it once again: WTF???

Sure, this is all a tactic to boost sales, and I don’t really believe that Ohori’s idol life has been all that painful, but putting a member’s future on the line like that? Sounds pretty damn mean to me. And then, 10000 freaking singles?? That’s a hell of a lot. Seriously. Chocolove (by far the most succesful subunit of AKB48) only managed to sell 9500 copies of their highest selling single. And that unit combined Sae, Sayaka (tw of the most prominent Team K members) with front girl Rina of Team A. Ohori isn’t even as popular as any of the members I just named (maybe she’s more popular than poor Rina-tin ATM?) and she’s supposed to sell more than them? I’m speechless…

Ohori isn’t my favorite member, but I’ve always seen her as an important part of Team K with her “sexy persona” being so radically different from what we’re all used to see in idols. I don’t want to see her leave, and I’m sure that most AKB48 fans feel the way I do, but just how many copies of that damn single do we have to buy to keep her in the group? This makes no sense, and it’s stupid. I’m sure that it’s all a gimmick, and that Meetan will stay in the group, but toying with the fans hearts like this is just evil.

Also, I really do wonder what will Akimoto say if Ohori doesn’t manage to sell all of those singles (because, you know, there’s a decent possibility that she won’t be able to do it). I really don’t think that he would kick her out, because she does have a growing fanbase that would be pretty pissed if their favorite girl was let go for such a stupid reason as this one.

Not much else to say, we’ll have to wait and see what happens, but if you can, do buy her CD, she’s pretty amusing and I’m 200% sure that the PV will be something really perverted…

5. Tomorrow is my birthday!!! Yes, I’m turning 21 tomorrow, so I plan on making a strictly eye candy post to celebrate! Yay!!! Do look forward to it, please.

Well, first of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has visited my blog, I’ve had over 8000 page views, which is a much greater response than I ever expected to get, so I really want to thank everyone who has visited and came back. I love blogging, I absolutely ADORE AKB48, and I’m thrilled to see that at least a few people have grown to love the group because of this blog, it makes me incredibly happy because that’s why I created it in the first place, in order to spread the love.

I want to thank Tokyograph for linking to Aitakatta, it’s really an honor for me, and for my relatively young blog.

And now… on to the real news.

Somehow things are going a bit shaky at Don Quijote this week. Remember sweet little Team B member Ayarin? Well, turns out that she was fired. Which of course, sucks majorly but was the logical step in the idol world.

The fact that foreign fans can’t help but think of how lame each and everyone of this boyfriend scandals have been also helps state even more the difference between japanese fans and us. Idols are what they are, and if we can’t really grasp the whole concept, then sucks to be us, because that’s not going to change. I keep telling this to myself, but I feel like I’m more hurt about the fact that this had to happen in my beloved AKB48 than about Ayaka herself.

I mean, not that I don’t feel sorry for her and her fans, but I read from someone at Stage48.net that Ayarin’s friends had posted stuff on their blogs about how they hated Otakus and how she was thinking of quitting AKB because of the scandal. I don’t really know if this is the truth, but what I do know is that what Akimoto wanted to accomplish with this whole kicking her out thing is to set the rules even clearer than they were before for the girls. You screw up, you’re freaking out. There’s no suspension, no pretending like nothing happen. Unlike H!P, who try to be aimed to a wider audience, AKB has always been wota-oriented.  If a girl (or her friends ) diss the wota, then there’s no prentending it didn’t happen (like  H!P  did with Ishikawa Rika and her big mouth) because the wota are the reason why  the whole group exists,  and Akimoto aknowledges it, he respects them (and in fact, he once said that he was a wota himself on TV…) and he’s not going to have his whole group boycotted by some 15 year olds, and he’s making that a very CLEAR statement for the other girls.

I feel bad about Team B, they always work so hard, and for them to lose a front girl like Ayarin, must be pretty tough and frustrating. And then comes the DVD question, are they going to edit her out of B2? I sure hope they don’t, like I said before, she wasn’t really my favorite girl voice-wise, but she’s all over the place! If they cut her out it won’t even make sense anymore. I don’t think they’ll do this, though. B2 must be out for all of us to get our filthy paws on very soon, but it also raises questions about another DVD, B3. That stage has been performed over 150 times now, which is a lot. I’ve read that people aren’t as excited about it as before, let’s say it’s getting old. So that one must be ending pretty soon, but what are they going to do? I wonder if they already filmed it? And if they did, are they going to re shoot almost everything? And include Sashihara as Kikuchi’s permanent replacement as she has been in the latest B shows? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I do wonder who will be pushed to the front now that Kikuchi is gone. I mean, a part of me is always kind of excited when a big Momusu member leaves just to find out who will fill her position. This isn’t the same of course, but Ayarin and Mayuyu were the face of Team B, so it’s almost certain that a girl will be pushed into that position. I’m thinking Kashiwagi might be the logical choice, given how she leads a lot of songs, and is an amazing singer. I would love to see my beloved Haachan in the front, of course, but I’m good with any girl who is a good singer.

Like I said before, please support AKB48, and especially Team B. They are all very committed hard workers, and they deserve all the love and support in the world after all of this chaos.

And finally, to wrap this whole scandal business and never look back at it again, I really wish all the best for Ayarin. She proved to be a great performer and a very fun girl to watch, it’s sad to see her leave. I hope that she can experience the life of a normal teenager now, and that there are many many good things in store for her in the future.

Hi again, people. So, let’s play a game called “guess which Research Student (aka SEED) was added to which Team?” Well, let’s not play that, because I seriously have no idea of who is who, regarding SEEDs, I only now that there’s a gorgeus one named Chisato somewhere, and am crossing my fingers so that she ends up in Team K-ickass (and yes, I do know that she’d be perfect for Team A, but screw them :P)

So, this girl named Nito Moeno was added to Team B! Yay! Apparently, she looks a lot like prominent B member Kashiwagi Yuki, this is a fact that has been stated by many people anyway, I, on the other hand, think that she looks freaked out in all of the pics Congratulations to her, anyway!

Ok, so with those news out of the way, let’s head to the reason why I made this post. The AKB48 girls have already publically stated (in a Hey!Hey!Hey! appearance) that Akimoto has told them that they can’t have boyfriends. This is nothing new to all of us idol-wota people, and even though H!P has a rate of 2 - 3 boyfriend scandals each month ever since last year, AKB fans remained peaceful and cozy in our comfy little idol niche, until these news surfaced…

Meet lovely Team B frontgirl, Kikuchi Ayaka, also known as Ayarin.

Isn’t she adorable?

Apparently, little Ayarin, 15 years old, has found out about the greatest thing a 15 year old can find out about, that is: Boys, of course. Her alleged boyfriend is this unknown guy who posted a purikura of them, surrounded with lovely pink hearts, and which candidly states that they’ve been together for 3 months. (Ah, I remember back in the old days, when 3 months meant SO much in a relationship…) So here’s the pic, for future reference, I do think that they look pretty cute together, but I’m a sucker for romance and all that crap women love.

The guy isn’t all that cute though, poor Ayarin…

This news had been out for a while now, but for some reason (probably due to denial, or to the reaction of UFA to all of the Kid’s scandals these days) I assumed that nothing would happen to her, that she’d be performing like nothing had happened, especially because a few days ago it was announced that she was going to be transfered to famous agency “Ogipro” along with other Team B front girls, Nacchan, Mayuyu and Harugon. Ayaka would also be one of the most pushed-to-the-front members, considering how Team B’s sole representation in any single is constantly Mayu. However, she’s been in 2 singles, which is way more that some poor Team A or K members (not to mention her fellow B’s) (Of course, I’m not counting BINGO! or Sakura no hanabiratachi 2008, because those included all of the members, but really few were actually featured in the PVs)

This is bad news for Ayarin, because apparently she hasn’t been performing often in Team B shows lately, and also, SEED Nito Moeno was suddenly added to Team B, which now has 18 girls. People are speculating whether she’ll be silently thrown out of the group, considering how Team B girls aren’t really the busiest with other kinds of work and usually attend shows regularly…

My personal opinion on all this is that I’m tired of this crap. I’m really tired because ultimately, this was the reason that drove me away from H!P, and I don’t want it to happen again, because AKB is a very important part of my life. Everyone has already stated their opinion on the “no boyfriend” policy, seeing how frequent this type of scandals are becoming, especially among the younger girls. My POV is that although that rule is crap, it does make sense, considering what the idol image is all about. I seriously don’t think that these girls don’t ever go out with guys, I don’t think that all of them are virgins (I mean, look at Ohori, she’s clearly none of that XD) I don’t care if they are or not, because this whole idol thing is an act they put up with for the fans, I appreciate that, and I would also appreciate a little bit of… common sense when it comes to handling their personal lives.

I don’t know if I’m talking BS here, but paparazzi in Japan seem nowhere as wild and suffocating as the US ones, I don’t blame the girls for their stuff getting posted in newspapers and the such, because they are entitled to their privacy and it’s really none of our business, but if you already know the rules, then you can play the game without any problems. I don’t know if I’m making my point clear (because I have a bit of a hangover, so I’m dying here…) but what I mean is that it’s been proven before that idols actually do date people (like Iida Kaori and Tsuji Nozomi), and they don’t always get caught, you know, because you have to know how to handle it. Of course, it sucks to have to hide and go to small places to have fun just because some crazy guys with cameras are interested in getting you kicked out of your group, but this wasn’t the case with poor Ayarin, she was sold by her own boyfriend. Ouch.

That reminds me of the Kamei non-scandal. Which I think was true to a certain extent, because we all know that she’s too hot to not have a boyfriend. Ayarin should probably tell her future dates that when your daily work consists on putting on frilly pink costumes and singing girly pop to a crowd of grown men with glowsticks who dance along with you, you probably need to keep your date under the radar. Ayarin is only 15, so of course, she shouldn’t be blamed for this. I’m sure that if this scandal doesn’t get her kicked out, she will learn how to deal with this annoying “no boyfriend” situation, and not exactly by not having a boyfriend (like all wotas believe their pure innocent idols do) but you know, the old fashioned sneaking out and hiding.

Now, what if she does get kicked out? Well, personally, I’d be sad (because I’m always sad when an AKB girl leaves) but Kikuchi isn’t really one of my favorite members. I’m glad to see all of the support she’s getting, because I do give her credit for always trying so hard at everything she does, even though I don’t really like her voice all that much and I’ve stopped hoping that “those guys from agencies realize that this is a stupid policy, and finally remove it and then all of us will be happy and no girl will ever get kicked out and W will reunite again yay!”, because I’ve learnt the hard way that to agencies, idols are pretty much disposable, regardless of how big their fanbase might be. This is of course, partially due to the fact that an idol is a very VERY manufactured product, and while all of them bring something fresh and original to the table, they can be easily replaced by someone pushed to the front for long enough, regardless of her charm, talent, beauty or whatever.

Bottomline (because I really need to get some sleep) is that as long as an idol group keeps being labeled as one, girls who belong to said group must hide their boyfriends or get the boot. It’s that simple. I’m with all of you people who say that she’s a teenager, she should go out, enjoy the life of a normal teen and whatever, just… you can do all of that and not post it in your blog when you know your gf is going to be fired because of it. Or maybe the guy didn’t do it on purpose? God knows that people are capable of such a good natured stupidity at 15…

So, people, support Ayarin, and Team B. They are amazing, and she’s a very good idol who has earned everything with hard work and a huge charming smile.

Bye bye!

Hi everyone! This isn’t the special entry I promised a while ago, but it’s still AKB48 news, so I really felt like posting it.

The SEED adding crazyness continues, with Kitahara Rie added to Team A (damn! If they add one more SEED to that Team I’ll be a n00b all over again, I can’t recognize this girl for dear life)

Moving on, we have another SEED, this time joining Team B, Sashihara Rino. Let’s hope that she’s a good singer, after listening to Team B’s Senaka Kara Dakishimete, they are in desperate need for good singers. Yukirin, Haachan, Naruppe, Nakayan and Matsuyuki can’t make everything sound lovely, more help is needed.

Ok, after all that talk about SEEDs, let’s have more talk about SEEDs! Yay! No, I kid. former AKB48 SEED Deguchi Aki has officially joined SKE 48, which is amazing, because she’s an incredible performer and I didn’t want her talent to go to waste! The other semi-familiar face is Takada Shiori, who apparently is the sister of really neglected obscure former Team K member, Takada Ayana. Poor Ayana, I never even heard of anyone being her fan or at least liking her to some extent. That’s pretty sad considering how she was in team K for 3 Stages…

Poor Ayana didn’t even get a different profile pic in all the years she spent in AKB! Just the old and ugly Aitakatta pic… Sad fact.

Well, apparently, Team K members feel the same way that most people do about poor Ayana, seeing how Ohori Megumi (aka. Pervy Queen) posted an entry in her blog saying how she hoped that Shiori would fulfill her sister’s dreams. Ouch. I mean, Takada was in Team K for 3 freaking stages!!!! YOu would think that’s enough but apparently no…

So here’s the pic of SKE48, yes, I am aware that some of the girls look seriously hideous, but this is a common thing in AKB48, at the beggining they kind of look like little trolls, and then a little make over and voila! perfectly cute idols.

So, other than that, the other pretty big happening in AKB48 was the release of the 3 DVD set, the Shibuya AX concert held in January with a countdown of the top 100 songs of AKB48. Funnily enough, this was released almost simultaneously with Morning Musume’s Single Daizenshuu DVD, which I found to be an interesting coincidence, to say the least.

Of course, comparing an AKB48 concert with a MM concert is probably not a very wise thing to do, because regardless of what most people believe, the 2 groups are radically different from each other. MM concerts tend to be all over the top, flashy lights and effects, huge venues, a short tracklist of singles and album songs and hideous costumes of course While AKB48 stick to their “homely” feel even in big concerts. It’s all about the girls, not the show. So the feeling is really different.

However, I couldn’t help but thinking about this a bit further. What if MM would actually perform 100 songs? I’ll tell you what, it would be boring as hell. And no, I don’t mean it out of hate, but simply because while MM’s singles are probably stronger than most of AKB’s stuff (you know, production wise and stuff), their B-sides and album songs tend to be pretty blah, if not downright boring and/or impossible to listen to. Does MM even have 100 great songs to perform? Of course, not all of the songs AKB performed are great songs, hell, one of them wasn’t even a song! (the overture) But the music style of the group allows for songs to be kept in the same line of quality, generally speaking, so nothing falls out of place, and this consistency in the composition of the songs makes up for great concert material, even when songs are taken out of their original Stage Performance context. MM doesn’t necessary have that consistency, because they don’t actually need it. They put out a single, they need the A-side (which will get promoted) to be really good, the B-side to be passable and when all of that needs to be put in an album, then we get the really supbar album songs. This isn’t a bad thing, I insist, it’s just meant to fit into the needs of the group.

Going even further along with this commentary, I must say that some key members were missing during parts of the AKB concert, like Acchan, Maimai, Miichan, Tomochin and so on. The absence of said members didn’t really affect the overall quality of the concert, but it sure hurt some unit songs, where a stand in needed to be placed. Besides, what’s an AKB48 concert without Acchan’s face shoved in your eyes every 2 seconds? It felt kind of weird, and going back to the comparison thing, in MM this kind of stuff just doesn’t happen. See, in AKB the most popular girls get signed with various agencies, which manage their career outside of the group (like acting, modeling, TV hosting, gravure, and so on). So if the girl has to, say, go to a photoshoot on the day of a concert, she misses the concert. So we could safely say that AKB is a side project for the most popular girls (like Oshima Mai, who hasn’t even been seen at the theater much in the A4 revival). MM is radically different, all of the girls are signed to the same agency, and their idol career is their main thing. They never do anything that isn’t sponsored by their agency, and of course, their work schedules for things other than MM never conflict with an important concert.

Well, taking all of this into consideration, I’d like to have a word about the quality of both concerts. I was sincerely blown away when I watched MM’s concert. I used to be a huge fan, then Koharu’s screeches, Reina’s spastic winking and poor Aichan getting shoved in my face all the time drove me away in order to keep my sanity. I still download MM’s concerts, and watch them merely out of tradition. Sure, there are girls I love to watch, like Risa, Eri, Sayu or Aika and Aichan is amazing to see live, but the magic was gone. The excitement I used to feel whenever something new was released just wasn’t there anymore. Last concert I watched I skipped like half of it. I don’t even know the new songs (nor do I want to) so I get bored. And in that same train of thought, when I saw this one up in the H!O tracker I thought “Hmm… let’s see Koharu butcher all of the MM songs I love” and then I sat down and watched it and I was blown away. This concert moved me, it made me remember how much I love this girls and why I stuck with them for so long. This is hands down the best MM concert I’ve seen in quite a long time, and I’m glad I watched it, because every second of it was entertaining and nostalgic all at the same time (and Koharu’s horrible singing didn’t appear in most of the songs, thank God)

And what about AKB’s concert? WOW. That’s all I can say. I can only feel even more proud of being a fan after watching it, knowing how hard on the girls it must’ve been to rehearse 100 freaking songs while having to perform twice a day a completely different thing from what they were going to sing. They all are in full spirits, energetic, dancing their hearts out and 0wning this thing from beginning to end. I thought that a concert like this would bore me to death, but I didn’t even skip one song. Not even the ones I don’t like, because the new performances were incredible. These were 4 different concerts, I believe, which might be the reason why they always seem to be so pumped while MM kind of half asses some of their dances (especially in the first part) in order to have energy for the rest of songs.

I can’t draw a conclusion from this, other than saying that both concerts are great, definitely worth watching. And that all of you people starting in the AKB fandom, this concert is a great way to know all of their popular songs, and realize how AMAZING they are on stage, all of the three teams!

Thanks for reading!

Hi everybody! I happen to be on vacation now!! Yay!  It seemed like that awful semester was going to last forever, but thankfully, it didn’t, so now I’m at my parent’s house, with no TV, and a really crappy internet connection. I don’t really know if I’ll be able to continue with my profiles in this conditions, but I’ll do all that I can, I even brought my screencaps from my apartment PC so we’ll see how that goes.

In the meantime, I found a survey that I really felt like answering because it made me feel very nostalgic, I don’t know it it’ll do any of you readers any good, but I felt like posting it anyway.

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to? The first one I can’t even remember, because I was a little kid and the people who dubbed the shows I watched didn’t bother dubbing the songs, so they were aired in japanese. Anyway, I’m rambling. The first purely Jpop song I listened to was Hamasaki Ayumi’s “Audition”

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away? I loved it. It was so “happy” and nothing I had heard in either spanish or english brought about that feeling of carefree joy, so to speak. I was immediately hooked.

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time? WANDS - Sabitsuita Machine Gun de Ima o Uchi Nukou. I felt in love with the vocalist’s voice, and that song is still incredibly beautiful to me, I’ve been listening to it since 1999

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest? I guess I still have a casual liking with my first Jpop love, Hayashibara Megumi, but the artist I have been a huge fan of for the longest time is Sakamoto Maaya, who I’ve liked since 2002.

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player? AKB48 - Daruikanji

6. Is that song your favorite? I wouldn’t say that it’s my favorite song ever, but the dull mood of the song really fit the way I felt all the past semester, so I guess that’s why I listened to it so much.

7. If not, what is? That is a very tough question, because there are many songs that have been dear to me, but right now, I’d say that “Korogaru Ishi ni Nare” from AKB48 is my favorite song.

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who? AKB48 is the only group that I almost never skip in my iPod. The reason is that their songs vary in style a lot, so there are ballads, rock, pop, cute stuff and so on, so no matter what mood I’m in, there’s always something great to listen to

9. What is your favorite agency? Horipro? lol That’s the agency that signed one of my favorite AKB48 members, Oshima Mai

10. What is your favorite group/singer? Group: AKB48, more specifically Team K. Singer: Still Sakamoto Maaya, she soothes me with her beautiful voice.

Well, that is all XD I wanted to comment on the fact that my favorite ex Momusu/H!P girl Got Maki has signed with Avex!!!! Yay!!! I’m very happy about it, and unlike many people who hated on her and called her a “ho” in the last stages of her career, I really liked her latest releases, and she worked very very well with the sexy image, which I’m sure she’s going to be given again when she finally starts releasing again… In short, congratulations Gocchin, I’m always going to be a fan no matter what

And to make this post more AKB48 oriented, (or at least a little) I want to say to all of you people that AKB48’s latest single, the cellphone only release BABY BABY BABY is available for download through your Docomo cellphones the tracker at Hello!Online so head there right now everybody! (I would provide a link, but this crappy computer decided that it won’t load that page so…)

The single includes the very catchy and summery  titlr song, along with Team B’s “Shonichi” (Opening Day) very awesome song, Himawari 2 “Yume wo Shinaseru wake ni Ikanai” (I can’t let the dream die) which is a dramatic song full of energy, along with (if I understand correctly) the theme song of Team B “Wasshoi B” which is full of crack, as everything Team B usually is, and the long version of “Koi no Chewing” also by Team B’s loli characters, Hell, this is like a Team B release! And if that wasn’t awesome enough (and Team B is, trust me) BABY BABY BABY comes not only in its original version, but also in the “Jounetsu no Inori” (prayer of passion) version which slows the pace a bit, and “Tsuyoku no Taiyou” (Strong Sun) version, which makes it sound really old school, but in a great way, of course.

If that still left you doubting, then let me tell you something about the PV, which I haven’t seen, because it’s cellphone only, but as we “speak” tons of japanese nice NinjaPirates are trying their best to uh… make it possible for all of us to see it. Anyway, the PV starts with Acchan getting freaking nekkid!!!! That’s all I need to say, right? But if that wasn’t enough for you (boy, you’re made of stone if THAT wasn’t enough for you) then I’m happy to tell you that all of the girls appear in bikinis in this PV, yes, you heard me right, all of them! And super sexy hottie Oshima Mai is a front girl, so you can stare at her all that you want (I know I want…)

Heh… that made me feel like a sales person in an infomertial, but give BABY BABY BABY a shot, it’s a great song, it’s already stuck in my head! And the PV won’t take too long to surface this side of the web, so I’ll be updating you all with the details.

In the meantime: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JYyiaOiShLY&feature=related <— A preview of the PV, which is pretty cool itself!

Ok people, see you soon, because I’m thinking of going to visit my bf in his hometown, and there must be internet there, you know!

Hi people… guess what this post is about? More news! Damn, if only they churned this earlier I wouldn’t have to double post, but this is pretty big, so I thought it deserved its own post anyhow.

So, looks like Tsuku isn’t the only one in high hopes of conquering the world, but while Tsunku has managed to bore all of Japan with MM and is now heading for Asia, Akimoto is going to try and take over Japan. Yeah, just like you read it fellows, in words of their management “AKB48 is going to expand through the country” WTF? This was bizarre enough, and then came the real news: Oh hi new Akimoto project!: SKE48. I’m not even kidding. I wish I were, though, because this is just painful! I don’t know the details yet, apparently there’s a press conference scheduled for June 5th where all of our questions will hopefully be answered.

So why do I think that this is painful? Well, because of the suspense, of course

I’m trying to look on the bright side, but I’m failing at it ATM… Are they going to have a group that mirrors AKB? I mean, Team S, Team K (repeated? Damn!), Team E? Seriously 48 more girls? Producing stages for 6 different Teams? I don’t know what to think of this yet… However, I am sure that Akimoto’s greed knows no boundaries! 96 girls???? This makes H!P look normal-sized! How do you manage to keep up with so many girls? You have to be insane in order to spend enough time to get to know 96 freaking girls! (and OMG it would take like all of my freaking life to screencap, research for info and profile all of them XD)

Ok, I’m jumping into conclusions here, but the brilliance of this idea leaves me in awe. Sakae is a geek district of Nagoya, like Akihabara is of Tokyo, apparently. There are geeks all around Japan, that is common knowledge, I mean, geeks are everywhere! So instead of trying to lure them into Tokyo to see AKB48, they can go to their local geek place and see XXX48! It’s a great plan, actually, because geeks will get hooked, that’s for sure, and more money will surely come to Akimoto’s bank accounts, but…

Will these alternative groups release mainstream singles? Will they ever get invited to Kouhaku? Will AKB48 tour with them? Surely, the chance of these other groups of succeeding even in the moderate way that AKB has is minimal, and my guess is that they will remain that, local groups, and that when Akimoto found out that AKB48 was becoming a bit too famous and “Idols that you can go and meet” was going to be hard to keep up with (I mean, try going and meeting the popular girls, like Acchan, Mai, Haruna… they are doing other activities all the time, and thus, don’t attend lots of shows), he decided that he’d probably be better off pimping AKB48 as the hybrid wota-mainstream group it has been all this time, and make other groups just for the purpose of milking wotas. If this is not what he thinks, then I really don’t understand how is ANYONE going to keep up with being a fan of a group with so many girls…

You know, people poke fun at how shady some of the business Akimoto does are (like that 55 poster thing) but I think I’ve never came to realize completely the fact that this guy means business. I mean, we all know that idol pop isn’t exactly about artistic freedom and great voices, but in my head this whole AKB48 expansion thing equals just one thing: $$$$$$

I hope that nothing of this is the truth. I’m all for supporting as many offsprings of the original as I can keep track of, but this also makes me a bit worried. I think that few of the original fans of AKB48 will be getting into the other groups all that much, if at all, but that in itself leaves me hanging there… I can’t go and watch AKB48, but I can’t really go and see any other group either! What are we, the fans from afar, going to do? This sounds more dramatic than I intended, but what I really mean is that… it will take too long to learn 48 more names…  (and I’m not even talking about profiling them, although that IS my biggest concern right now XD)

No auditions have been announced yet, but the press conference might just have that purpose. Maybe they will just stick all of the research students in the first team? I hope that no girls get transfered to SKE (damn that thing can’t even be pronounced properly), like CIndy, Nacchan and Shiho were to Team B, because while I’m all for transferring between Teams of the same city, it would break my little wota heart to see some girls having to part with their AKB friends and embark into a completely different thing in Nagoya…

Well, whatever the outcome is, I hope that it includes more charismatic, fun, pretty girls, great songs, amazing choreogrphies (wait, are they going to drag Natsu-sensei all over the country to train the new girls?) The logistics of this project intrigu me the most, I must confess, but I will still support the “48″ franchise for as long as they can keep me entertained and make me a happier human being

Hi everybody! I’m back with the latest news about our favorite Akihabara girls, along with a big and juicy rumor, that is nothing more than a rumor for now *shrugs*

1. The place where you can find all of AKB48’s lyrics romanized, most of them translated and colorcoded too, the awesome AKB48 Lyrics Paradise, has a new layout and an improved lyrics viewing system that allows you to view kanji, romanized & color coded lyrics and the translation in the same page! This is a great system because it makes it simpler to know all you want about the song in just one click! Please do visit, it’s a great site and the wonderful haruna_hamasaki has put a lot of work into this, so go and find out at last what our little idols are singing!

2. Sato Amina was added to Team A. Well, this isn’t news, actually, but they announced this after the post I made about the Research Students who joined teams A and K so I thought I’d inform, in case somebody missed the news

Doesn’t she look a lot like Country Musume’s Miuna? I call her A-miuna in my head because I’m a dork XD Well, we’ve already had the chance to see her in action in H1, and she is a very good performer. Great dancer, always full of energy! The only thing that bothers me a bit is her voice. She stays on pitch and has a good beat, but the tone of her voice is a bit… squeaky, to say the least. However, she is very good at using her voice to its best, kind of like Kasai Tomomi and her anime moe~ voice, and she still manages to sound great with it! Amina still has to work a bit more to get to that level, but she’s on a great path already! She fits in Team A perfectly, and I’m actually a convert. I adore this girl, she’s so likable!

3. TEAM K 4th STAGE!!!!!!: God! I almost died in happiness when this news came out! The title of the stage is “Saishuu Beru ga Naru” which translates to “The last Bell Rings” Well, it’s a bit of a weird title, and I actually think that it sounds like a ballad title… Still, it’s Team K, so everything they do absolutely kicks ass! It starts on march 31st, and trust me, I will be here fangirling about the previes, reviews and everything else once we get them so stay tuned! I wish for lots of Yuko, lots of Umeda Ayaka, lots of Saeyaka, Kasai, Erena, Naruru, Mocchi… Oh well, you get the point! Team K is my favorite Team so I’m absolutely thrilled to see that this is finally happening!!!

4. AKB48 1000th performance!!! Well, this weekend was the 1000th time that AKB48 performed in the theater, as regular theater attender Tatami Mats informed us at S48, and other than the regular performance of A4, which was incredibly crowded, and featured all of the Team A original members (that is to say that Team B’s Hirajima and Urano as well as graduated members Orii, Hoshino, Kayano and Watanabe attended) Also, after the A4 performance ended, the original Skirt, Hirari unit performed, and then all of the original units from A1!! Apparently the fans were very supportive, and even in the cafe were shouting the mixes and cheering for the girls. So congratulations to them, and here’s hoping for 1000 more great shows!

5. AKB48 Cellphone release of new single: There’s going to be a new single released in June by AKB48, called “Baby Baby Baby”. This release is going to be cell phone exclusive, for Docomo users. I hope that it turns out to be like H!P’s Lalala blablabla song that got released as a single afterwards… Girls to be included are the following:

Team A -
Itano Tomomi, Oshima Mai, , Kawasaki Nozomi, Kojima Haruna, Sato Yukari, Shinoda Mariko, Takahashi Minami, Nakanishi Rina, Maeda Atsuko, Minegishi Minami: Hey, why stop there? Why leave Awesome Hana (TM) outside? I mean, Team A is everyone and their dog’s favorite, but this is ridiculous. I’m sure that some of the girls who appear in every freaking single could use some free time now and then… This is a cellphone release for the love of God! Not even then can they refrain from selecting lots and lots of Team A members… Oh well, thank God that Nozomi and Yukarin made it, because I effing love them more everyday and their gravure PBs and DVDs aren’t going to sell themselves, you know! That’s the reason why they were selected for this single, I believe, but I couldn’t care less. Also, I can’t deny my happiness for the Maimainess included in this. I approve.

Team K -
Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka, Oshima Yuko, Ohori Megumi, Ono Erena, Kasai Tomomi, Miyazawa Sae: Well, Saeyaka + Yuko + Erena + Kasai is a given in almost every AKB48 release, but what totally made my day was the inclusion of poor neglected Umeda Ayaka who is in my top five of AKB48 members. Her voice is amazing, and she dances like there’s no tomorrow… Well, I’ll leave that for her profile, but you see, she was sadly absent during BOTH Himawarigumi stages, which caused me to weep in sorrow, but now that she’s back I’m absolutely thrilled to see her as part of a single. (I don’t care that this is a crappy cellphone release either. She rocks. Period.) Another interesting addition is that of Ohori Megumi, who has been increasing in popularity levels ever since 0ji59fun started featuring her as a regular. That girl is hilarious because of how she turns every little innocent thing into something sex related. This is her first single appearance, so I’m glad she made it!

Team B -
Kashiwagi Yuki, Kikuchi Ayaka, Watanabe Mayu: Mayu and Ayaka come as no surprise (Ok, I won’t lie, I still can’t see what’s so great about Ayaka but whatever…) and one of Team B’s best singers (also famous because she was one of the finalists for MM 8th gen Audition) Kashiwagi Yuki will also be part of this release. I’m glad to see 3 Team B girls, but come on! They should’ve been more B and less A girls IMO…

And here’s the craptastic cover (But it’s all redeemed because Mai appears in it)

Mai looks lovely, as usual. Acchan is totally rocking the long hair! I don’t like Haruna’s plain straight hairstyle. Mariko looks HOT! And Mayu… she… doesn’t look right at all…

WHERE THE HELL IS TEAM K IN THIS FREAKING COVER!!!! Go die on a stick Akimoto. Team K owns.

I won’t make ANY comments whatsoever about the hideous outfits. I think I’ll wait for the PV. Maybe they were just for the press conference? *crosses fingers*

6. Is avex interested in signing AKB48?: This is a mere rumor, but one that worries me a lot. Supposedly, avex was even looking into giving them a new theater, which would be one of the floors of their Shibuya building. Of course, signing with a big big name like avex means possibly more recognition, but then I sadly remember all of Girl’s Box, and how they were painfully neglected until they either disbanded (I’m still not over SweetS…) or went into indefinite hiatus. And it makes me really worried! Also, working for a big company would limit the creative freedom that Akimoto has over the group, and this could potentially ruin the whole “edgy” image that I like so much about AKB… Also, what’s the point of a group named “AKB48″ if they are not in Akihabara anymore? The geek appeal would be lost, but I think that’s a double edged sword actually, considering how DEVOTED their fans are, and how they would be probably ditched by mainstream audiences, like so many girl groups these days…

Actually, I’d rather see them stay how they are. I read somewhere that Noro Kayo has said in 2 different radio interviews that she’s already going to release a CD with avex, but knowing Nontii, it might very well be a prank of some kind and not necessarily a true fact. If they do go into avex, then I seriously hope that they aren’t treated like all of avex’s girl groups have. That would be very unfair for this group of girls who have worked really hard to get where they are!

Ok, that is all! See you next time!