Where’s Natsuki?

This is great!  I was really hoping more AKB48 blogs would be popping up.  And if you have ever ventured over to Stage48.net, you’ll recognize the author, who goes by RocketStarLauncher!

So it looks like RSL’s blog will be a worship site for Team K’s Sato Natsuki…Kawaiiii!  Those bucktoothed smiles get me every time!  The blog just started this weekend, and already we have a report on the AKB48 rankings on Mixi, Nacchi’s bio, and a picspam post, very nice!  From what I know of RSL, this site looks promising.  Recommended!

Crystal Tokyo
Ohori Meshibe

I’m not sure where I found these…probably surfing around the Stage48 website.  But these two sites are dedicated to Maeda Atsuko and Ohori Megumi.  Neither blog is new, Crystal Tokyo has been around for two months and seems to be mostly a plethora of Acchan eyecandy downloads.  The Meetan site, hosted by Chou has been around for about four months.  She hasn’t posted too many entries, but since Megumi is my favorite member I thought I would include it in hopes that we get more frequent coverage!  And with the group’s growing popularity I thought it was about time we featured more blogs dedicated to the girls of Akihabara.

AKB Fashion Check! Yay!! K2
AKB Fashion Check!! Yay! K2 pt 2.
AKB Fashion Check!! Yay! K2 pt 3.
AKB Fashion Check!! Yay! K2 pt 4.

Ahhh K2, Seishun Girls!  Before I saw the new stages K2 had to be my favorite of all!  And Team K is Cat’s favorite too, so she had a blast going over the great costumes the girls got to wear.

The highlight of part one are those hot leather outfits from Blue Rose.  No, Meetan didn’t rip her clothes off here like she did at AX, but they still look sexy as hell!  On post #2 Cat gets to do a little fangirling over Oshima Yuko, who is her favorite member.  I love Yuko too, great smile and personality!  Then there are plenty of pics of the animal costumes from Ame no Doubutsuen, which have Cat wondering why Berryz Kobo’s monkey outfits couldn’t be this cute.

Part 3 is a mishmash of color, from the tropical dresses to those AKB48 Yukata’s.  To answer Cat’s query, those Yukatas were on sale at the AKB48 store.  And the highlight of the last post (and perhaps the entire entry) are those hot latin-flavored costumes from Cinderella wa Damasarenai.  Cat’s love for this stage shines through in this post.  And the girls look great most of the time.  And in true Aitakatta fashion, there is an endless supply of screencaps to enjoy!  Recommended!

Ito Yuna Can’t Vogue, Fukuhara Miho is a Hippie and CHEMISTRY Doesn’t Deserve a Mention
More Video Talk: Buono, capsule, GIRL NEXT DOOR (Where A Sane Person Exists!)
No Sleeves and HANGRY & ANGRY: When New isn’t New and when New is WTF

Recommended reading. broomhead continues to cover some recent videos in a style that can only be described as “painfully honest.” If the titles of the posts don’t give it away, you will be able to make no mistake about his opinion on these videos once you start reading the reviews. He keeps it simple when necessary (on CHEMISTRY):

This video is so boring.

… focuses on the minor details occasionally (Buono!):

To go all K on this, I counted 50 Rottaras. That is a lotta love.

… and sometimes manages to drop a line that will have you giggling at its honesty (HANGRY & ANGRY):

She bangs the guitar like a tambourine.

If you are keeping up with recent PVs, you should be reading these reviews. Some of it may just be telling you what you already know, but broomhead often manages to make observations that aren’t going to necessarily enter the mind of your average jpop fan, and that is why these posts are worth reading.

AKB48 expands with “adult” concerts, HKT group

Tokyograph has some great news for fans with a new group for the Hakata ward of Fukuoka planned, to be titled HKT48, but more importantly the site also reports on some interesting information regarding AKB48’s new series of adult idol shows, “Saturday Night 48″

It’s a bit of a surprising notion for AKB48, who are already seen as somewhat provocative in their material of past singles. The idea of adult shows goes against the virginal idol image that a lot of fans like to have but it’s nothing we haven’t seen before in some of the sexy styled idol groups in the past. I guess it’s all a question on how racy these shows will be but with AKB48 having such a broad age range, they should allow for the older girls to get a bit more of the spotlight. I have to admit, if I was in Japan, I wouldn’t turn up the opportunity for a little Saturday Night delight

AKB48 Fashion Check!! Yay!
AKB48 Fashion Check!! Yay! A1 Pt. 2
AKB48 Fashion Check!! Yay! A1 Pt. 3

In honor of the memory of Mr. Blackwell (OK, I’m making that up)  Cat has started a new blog series focusing on the many costumes of AKB48.  And what better place to start than at the beginning, with the First Stage of Team A!  Cat goes into great detail, with plenty of screencaps from each song.  She notes the good, not so good, and ugghh.  And Cat picks a winner for the girl who best wears each costume.  At the end of the third post, she also gives us a summary and overall winners of the stage.  Proving if nothing else, if Cat sees this all the way through, this is going to be a long series!

But to me the neatest thing is revisiting this stage, and how much younger all of the members look.  And it has only been what, 2 1/2 years?  It’s also nice to see some of the graduated members in action!  Recommended Eyecandy!

Relax! PV - Puppies! xD
PERSONA!!!!  3seconds!!!!!

Hinatin has the full PV of Relax!, the first single of AKB48 sub-unit No Sleeves and the theme from Mendol!  Hinatin loves the puppies in the PV, I really like that the song has more of a techno sound than the TV show opener indicates.  It almost sounds like a song Perfume might record.  There are also a few screencaps here as well.  Kojima Haruna looks absolutely gorgeous!

Hina also has the full version of 3seconds, which is the song the mythical Mendol group Persona has recorded as their first single.  It is available here via YouTube and mp3.  It is also a pretty cool song.  I still think they sound like girls on it, even if they are supposed to be males.

And if you haven’t had the chance to catch this show, I highly recommend it.  It is really good!

AKB48 goes international!

Yes, you heard that right.  The folks at AKB48 have started constructing a website to cater to English speaking fans.  This comes on the heels of the recent NetCinema LIVE ON DEMAND, where you can download the latest stage show for a fee.  Management is apparently thinking big and reaching out to their fans from across the globe, cemented by this quote from Akimoto Yasushi…

“From now on, I want a service in English, Chinese and Korean, so it can quickly
reach overseas.”

Obviously the ladies a SaeYaka Paradise are ecstatic, as I am too.  Although I had just begun figuring out how to read their Japanese website!

CK’s Japan Tour, Fall 2008 Day 1 ~Hello Ayaya!~
CK’s Japan Tour, Fall 2008 Day 2 ~An Unexpected Trip to the Don Quixote Theater~

Recommended reading. CK is currently living it up in Japan, and in the midst of his hopping around from place to place, he’s giving us updates with a Japan Tour journal.

On Day 1, he had quite a hectic day, seeing as a few hours after landing he was off to see Matsuura Aya in concert. I have to say that I am absolutely jealous that he went to see Aya, and his description of the concert makes me really want to see some footage. The concert was at a Jazz club dinner theatre, which made for quite an intimate setting. Oh, how I wish I could go see Aya in concert like that…

On Day 2, it looks like CK’s settling into being in Japan quite quickly. He describes a stop by an official H!P store and took a photo of some of Berryz Koubou’s battle concert outfits in the store window. He then goes on to explain his quest to get in to see an AKB48 show… It’s definitely something else. I don’t think I’m a big fan of their system of getting in to the show. “Your ticket has a number on it, but then they call you into the theater randomly. So ticket #1 has the same chance as ticket #250 to be in the front row!” … How odd.

More on Hug Meeting

Santos reports that Oohori Megumi’s debut single has fallen well short of the 10,000 mark necessary to prevent her graduation in its first week of sales, selling only about 4,000 copies. It seems highly unlikely that she will manage to sell another 6,000 copies. I’ve got to wonder, is this all a publicity stunt gone wrong, or did the AKB48 producers expect for this to happen all along? Either way, I feel sorry for the girl. Even more so when I read the rest of the post, which deals with some of the questionable things that may have gone on at her hug meetings.

Oh Sup AKB48

Amy of Merry Go Round shares with us one of the best AKB48 performances I have ever seen. The stage is pretty good compared to their others and…Oh, wait! It’s the Hello! Project Eggies, not AKB. Honestly, Amy said what I’ve been thinking for the longest time; the Hello! Project Eggs are H!P’s answer to AKB48. I wonder if their school uniforms are getting in the way, too. SB sure hopes so.

REVIEW: MESHIBE (MEGUMI) OHORI (AKB48) “Amai Kokansetsu” single

Actually, it’s 9,998 to go after watching Megumi purchase a copy for her grandmother (?) on yesterday’s episode of AKBingo.

CJ already has a copy of Meshibe Ohori’s brand new single.  We get to see pics of the cover and messages from her teammates included in the CD/DVD.  He has also uploaded the PV, and what a PV it is!  Believe me CJ, your jaw isn’t the only one on the floor!  5 stars out of 5 from CJ…Sexy eyecandy to the max!

Meetan is so awesome I can’t stand it!!!  Must…watch…PV…again!

THE NEW RESEARCH STUDENTS: HOW DID THEY DO?

I am so jealous of Samantha.  She got her laptop back from repairs just in time for NetCinema’s announcement that they would be offering two AKB48 stage concerts for free.  Samantha gives a short report on each stage (B3 & K4), noting the lack of certain team members and the addition of MC segments which are usually deleted from the DVD’s.

She then goes on to give her impressions of six new team members and Research Students, who got a lot af screen time because of the absence of quite a few lead girls.  Ya know, we better get used to this because we are going to be seeing a lot more of them with all of the recent graduations.  Samantha goes into great detail on dancing skills, vocal talent, and overall stage presence.  She was most pleasantly surprised with the performance of Fujimoto Sara, who at 4′ 6″ (!!!) held her own with the rest of Team K.  It’s a very informative post for anyone looking to learn more about AKB48.  Recommended reading.

AKB48 member holds ‘Hug-meeting’

Santos has managed to combine two of my favorite things he has written about on his blog lately.  The wacky marketing tactics of AKB48, and the hentai comic “Shining Musume”

As you have probably heard, 25 year-old Ohori Megumi has been given the following challenge…Release a solo single, and sell at least 10,000 copies or you will be forced to “graduate” from AKB48.  Now personally I think she will have no problem hitting the 10K mark with this kind of promotion.  But to be sure, Megumi will be doing four “meet and hug” events to promote the single.  That’s right, buy a CD, get a hug!  Santos sees this as one step closer to the AV idol industry for Megumi, and likens it to a Shining Musume comic episode where “Chamigawa Rika” (LOL) had a similar event where she shook male fans genitals for buying her CD.  Once again, I have to read this comic!!!

Interestingly, Santos sees this as a morally reprehensible event.  But I don’t know.  Carnivals have had “kissing booths” for years.  And is a hug really that morally corrupt?  Obviously it promotes Megumi’s sexual undertones.  But IMO that is what makes her stand out!  Whatever the motivation, I really hope Meetan-hime surpasses ten-thousand singles as she is my favorite member of AKB48.

My only complaint is that I will be arriving in Japan ten days after this promotion…drats!

Oogoe Diamond from the PoV of an AKB48 newb

Usa-Chan was originally going to do a serious view of this PV.  But being unfamiliar with so many members names, instead she gives us a totally snarky “train of thought” with screencaps.  Usa-chan spends most of the review making fun of Acchan and Watanabe Mayu, and trying to figure out who the new “mystery girl” is fronting the group (11 year-old SKE48 member Matsui Jurina!).

This an example of the types of PV reviews I love.  And it reminds me of Woody Allen’s “What’s Up Tiger Lily?”, Spike TV’s “MXC”, and American Wota’s “Berikyuu” reviews.  If you aren’t sure what the plot or dialogue is, just make it up!  The result here is even more entertaining than the actual video!  Very funny, and some great screenshots.

It’s the final countdown (doo doo doo doom doo doo doo doo doom)

NO!!!!  Not Reinyan, she is so cute!  Actually that is part of the reason Cat has Fujie Reina at the bottom of her list.  Not just because she’s cute, but because she is so popular only because she is cute.  And according to Cat, Reina hasn’t distinguished herself as a performer to earn the popularity she has enjoyed since her recent promotion into AKB48’s Team A.  As an example, Cat has embedded a performance of Honehone Waltz illustrating Reina’s lazy performing.  Although I personally enjoyed that performance, I must agree that overall it had an amateurish feel to it.  Reinyan’s antics were a big part of that.

But we all know how difficult it is for Cat to say something negative about an AKB48 member.  She finishes the post with hope that Reina improves with experience.  I hope so too, she is adorable!

SaeYaka in Oogoe Diamond PV

Heiwa and Ange love the new song and PV, especially because of Miyazawa Sae’s omnipresence throughout.  The Twin Towers have loaded up a few screenshots featuring their favorite members, and my favorite scene in the PV with a very unhappy Acchan.

And I must agree!  I really like this song, especially the chorus.  And the PV, complete with dramatic moments and location shooting is very refreshing.  It makes me wonder why H!P doesn’t do more PV’s like this.

Naru Inoue graduates from AKB48

Via Tokyograph.  Naru Inoue has announced via AKB48’s official blog that she is leaving AKB48 and will be working hard on her future career.  Apparently this sudden announcement comes after Naru was forced to miss several events due to poor health.

Good luck Narupon!

It’s doom time again!

This is the 3rd part in, I’m guessing a four-part series?  We’ll see.  Anyway, Cat gives us #30-50 of her favorite members of AKB48.  And it’s interesting to see some of their “heavy hitters” ranked so far down the list.  The amazing thing is Cat even has wonderful compliments for some of the lowest ranked members.  There is plenty of great eyecandy to check out, especially of Komatani Hitomi at #47!  And Cat’s Blog is always a great place to continue the daunting task of learning all of the team members’ names!

Lets compare: AKB to H!P
Mai Satoda scares the crap out of me.

Misa does a very quick job of comparing AKB48 with Hello! Project, using a few pictures to represent different aspects of both companies. There’s very little substance here, but the quick bursts of snark always help.

An earlier entry is full of screen captures from Ongaku Gatas’s Come Together close-up PV, and expect digs at everyone involved.

No Sleeves vs Men-dol: Who’s Hotter?

Recommended Reading. Let’s all open our minds a little here. Ray is excited about the new television drama starring three members of AKB48, although he doesn’t have very high expectations. C’mon, this premise has been done one way or another a dozen times or so! But it does has him wondering who is hotter? The members of No Sleeves or their Johnny’s-looking alter-egos?

Now this is Ray we are talking about here. So this type of analysis wouldn’t be complete without references to prosthetics and Caligula-like scenes in the Don Quixote Theater, ultimately turning my thoughts to the fantasy of having all six of them!

And the idea of the girls pulling a “Dirk Diggler” while whispering “I’m a star, I’m a star” would possibly be the greatest moment in the history of television!

AKB48 says, ‘You can’t leak a recording of this concert, right?’

Recently it was reported that a rough version of AKB48’s new single, Oogoe Diamond was leaked onto the internet.  Allegedly the producers were ready to take legal action against whoever was responsible for this dastardly deed.

Santos smells something fishy about the entire situation, especially in light of the title of AKB48’s November concert tour, “Will the recording of this concert be leaked?  Never!!”  Heaven knows the good people that handle the group have been known for their “unique” marketing tactics.  Santos draws parallels to the marketing strategies of the WWE, going as far as comparing Akimoto Yasushi to Vince McMahon!

This is coming right on the heels of the Meshibe Ohori-Ten Thousand singles sold or you’re out campaign.  So I don’t put anything past these guys anymore.  But I still love AKB48!  Recommended reading.

The HUGE ranking of Doom (doom doom doom doom…)
And even more doom!!!

It is one thing to rank ALL the idols under the AKB48 umbrella. It’s another thing entirely to rank them and write about why they rank where they are.

That’s what Cat at Aitakatta has undertaken in the appropriately named “HUGE ranking of Doom.” The order is ascending, which eliminates the suspense but gets right to the point. Strange enough, her #1 ends up being someone who she hasn’t done a profile on yet. Also, there is no doubt that it pains me to see Maeda Atsuko at #28.

Bikini! Bikini! Bikini! NOT!

Hina purposely ignores the stand-out features to AKB48’s “Baby! Baby! Baby!” in this PV review. Needless to say, this isn’t a long entry. Hina has her interpretation of the Maeda Atsuko scenes and the dance scenes, along with a gif that I can’t take my eyes off of.

Groped Sayaka

There’s not much to say about this entry from SaeYaka Paradise. Oh, but that’s doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything to see here.

Three AKB48 members debut as male idol group in TV Tokyo drama

Via Tokyograph. The three members of AKB48’s new sub-unit No Sleeves will be starring in a late night drama called “Men-dol ~Ikemen Idol~”. The story is described as three failing idols who witness a serious crime are saved by a producer who allows them to debut as male idols. No Sleeves’ new single “Relax” will be the shows theme song.

So I am guessing the writers of this show are fans of Some Like It Hot, where Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis do the exact same thing? Anyhow it’s good to see the girls of AKB48 continue to get television exposure. The Tokyograph article also has a link to the official website. It debuts October 10th.

Summer Sea
Pajama Drive
Back to School with Nacchan

Julia of Wings of My Heart has created a new blog dedicated to singing the praises of AKB48 member Hirajima Natsumi. Efforts like this will got a long way in exposing Nacchan - yes - at least to our community. I don’t know what “Summer Sea” has to do with Nacchan, but it is a catchy name.

The entry “Pajama Drive” shares Nacchan in pink pajamas. She is ridiculously cute in this.

The next entry, “Back to School with Nacchan,” is sharing a streaming video of a Nacchan vlog. I believe that sharing Nacchan vlogs is one of the main features of this blog, so this is a good example of things to come. As for the video, Nacchan has a LOT of pens. I have no clue what she would need 20 pens for.

AKB48 Live at Shibuya AX, Nobody Told Me How Awesome This Would Be!

CK bought the massive Shibuya-AX DVD and goes over it. This entry really stands out because CK attended the 4th day of this show and mixes in anecdotes in with the actual review.

It bears repeating: the Shibuya-AX DVD is massive. Thus, this entry has a lot to cover. CK goes over each night and, to his credit, doesn’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the material to review. CK is really a fan of AKB48 these days, even to the point where he is proclaiming that he enjoys it more than Hello! Project, so that probably made it easier to go over the entire concert. Not only does he do a good job of going over the performances, he has embedded media for you to watch it as well.

Should I be all apologies?

Cat has been doing profiles of AKB48 members at Aitakatta! for some time now. It has really helped me out in learning some members. This entry helps out even more as it briefly goes over all the members that Cat has already profiled. I still freaking love Maeda Atsuko, but Cat does a good job in convincing me to be a fan of AKB48 members like Kojima Haruna, Takahashi Minami and Sato Yukari.

I would also suggest linking back to the original profiles of the members, to make it easier to view the full profiles and to turn it into a reference point.

AKB48’s new song gets leaked before completion

Tokyograph reports Oogoe Diamond, AKB48’s upcoming single was discovered leaked onto the internet.  Given the single hasn’t been completed, there is strong suspicion that someone inside the company is responsible.

What I find interesting is that the fans apparently notified the group’s management about the incident.  So I guess the AKB Wota have a conscience after all!

Nemousu TV Vol. 5

Hinatin has screencapped a television program where members of AKB48 spent the day taking care of a bunch of nursery school students.  It looks like it was a cute show, but I don’t remember having to strip naked when I was a preschooler.

And this goes without saying…SB, NOT ALLOWED!!!

NEW KICK-ASS AKB48 UNIT!  HELL YEAH!

Hinatin is excited about “No Sleeves”, a new unit from AKB48.  According to Tokyograph, the groups name is meant to represent the groups casualness.  And that they will be foregoing the usual AKB uniforms for more informal attire.  Hinatin sees this as a “can’t miss” unit with the three girls chosen for it.

Their first single is due out November 26th.