Chuo Dori

Finally getting to talk about A6.  I have been procrastinating this post for a week now.  Not that I don’t like the Stage, I really do!  I daresay that it is my favorite of the three new Stages.  Well, K6 has some of my favorite songs overall.  But to me A6 is solid most of the way.  Onto the show!

I really like the “Zenza Girls” concept.  And I like the idea that the kenkyuusei rotate, giving us a good chance to see all of the AKB48 hopefuls.  Of the three “ZG” songs, “Miniskirt no Yosei” is my absolute favorite.  It is the cutest, and to me the most catchy.  It has sort of a “Tsunku” feel to it as well, and I mean that in a good way.  Cue overture…

ARE YOU READY???

*

I have always felt the opening set is a big factor in “making or breaking” the entire set.  If there is nothing to get you excited in the beginning, it sets the wrong mood.  Personally, I felt A5, K5 and B4 all started with subpar songs.  But this round K6′s RESET and B5′s Yuuki no Hammer are strong songs.  Unfortunately I don’t think Mogugekisha measures up to those.  I especially don’t like the opening video.  What the hell is that?  It looks like the queue at Old Trafford before a Manchester United-Liverpool match!  Not to mention, I’m not big into girls in trenchcoats.

To me the biggest winner is the 4th song Akogare no Popstar which brings tremendous excitement into the opening MCs.  I especially love the progressions in the verse.  Such a pretty song too.  Ibitsu na Shinju is also very strong, and very sexy.  BTW, I much prefer Oya Shizuka when she wears her hair down like she did on this night.  She looks so much cuter that way!

I don’t think it was the best opening set I have heard, but it was redeemed by the last two songs.  It’s not that I hated the first two either, Zenjin Mitou isn’t bad.  I just didn’t find them to be all that memorable.

A quick break, and a quick look at lovely Wasamin and her first introduction as a member of Team A.  Wasamin ganbatte!

I’m sure you’ll agree the unit songs are the most fun part of the stage.  it is always exciting to see who gets paired up, and what kind of song they get.  I don’t necessarily buy into the “smaller is better” theory when it comes to units.  Some of my favorite unit songs have been the 5-6nin, and there are some 2-3nin unit I have never cared for…

I bring this up because the song I like the most out of all the units is Saboten to Gold Rush.  By a mile!  A lot of people dislike this song because it has so many members in it.  It’s too bad.  This song has such a great 70′s rock feel to it, just like listening to The Raspberries or The Knack (for obvious reasons).  I just love that style of music.  BTW, isn’t this perfect for Mariko considering her past wardrobe choices of Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead shirts?  (hehe)

The other superior unit is definitely Takamina’s solo Itoshisa no Akuseru.  Sure, it’s filled with over the top emo moments, which are Minami’s speecialty.  But it is a great intense song, without being over-emotional in theme.  Not quite as powerful as Sayaka’s solo, but intense in a different way.

To many people’s surprise one of my least favorite units happens to contain my Oshimen.  I loved watching Wasamin perform in her very first unit.  She looked so cute in that hat.  But I just find Hoshi no Mokougawa to be boring.  Also surprising, I found the Sasshi/Akicha duet to be forgettable too.  Hard to believe with those two on stage.

The wildcard song is the first one, Ude wo Kunde with Acchan, Mochi and Nakayan.  This song grows on me the more I listen to it.  The spanish guitars in the background are so pretty.  As far as Nakayan’s piano is concerned, I’m not sure what to say.  i love the idea of her playing the keyboards, but it definitely got in the way of her performance.  However when I watched the 2nd performance I felt the lack of piano made the song slightly less special.  So it’s a tough call.  To keyboard or not to keyboard?

So far a decent show.  Nothing spectacular, but not bad at all.However, here is where things are about to get hot!

Wasamin/Rabu Kissu!!!

First off, I love when the girls wear costumes like that.  Very sexy, without being overly accessorized.  I just love a girl in a red dress.  It fits the next set of songs so well.  Utsukushiki Mono and Ai wo Kure both have that sexy latin/r&b style.  It fits AKB48 quite well.  As for “Utsukushiki”, they need to work on mixing the spoken word parts better over the chorus.  the girls’ mics were too low, so you couldn’t hear them half the time.

Matenrou no Kyori brings us back to traditional J-pop, with a great guitar driven melody.  I swear at some angles Akicha looks like MaiMai!

AkiP usually likes to write a bittersweet/melancholy song for the main set end.  This song fits that them quite well.  But what is up with those slacks?  I’m not a big fan of idols in slacks, especially those of the “bellbottom” type.  They are just a weird style.  At the end of the day, Inochi no Imi isn’t bad, but it doesn’t blow my doors off either!

ENCOREE, ENCOREE, ENCOREE

*

The Encore begins with I’m Crying which sounds like it is straight out of the SDN48 catalog.  I say sexy because they are back in their infamous schoolgirl uniforms.  I hadn’t noticed it, but someone mentioned this is the only part of any of the present stages where the girls wear Seifuku.  Wow!!!

The most uplifting, and one of my favorite songs of the stage has to be Zutto Zutto.  This song has everything!  Great tempo, killer harmonization in the chorus and some amazing key changes throughout the song.  Some might say it has an anime feel to it.  But that is right up my alley.  I just love this song so much.

It was so sweet to see Takamina and Acchan get emotional in the final MC.  This was a big change for them, losing key OGs, and waiting so long for their new Team debut.

And for the final song, a new anthem…

Not a bad one at that!  My fellow original Team K fans will kill me, but the only team “theme” I have ever liked is “Wasshoi B”  I’m not saying Pioneer is as good as that, but in and of itself it is a good song, and I am sure we can look forward to many performances at upcoming major concerts!

Show Over!

There is a lot to like in this Stage.   Very few songs that I didn’t care for, and many that I enjoyed immensely.  Of all the new Team Stages, this one is the Stage I want to see in person the most on my next trip over.

I am so proud of Wasamin, she did such a super job!  I loved that they had her dancing out front quite often in every song.  And she tried so hard in the MCs.  She is so cute!  Even hen she gets a round of “Ehhhhhh??”s I am sure she will get more comfortable with each performance.

In fact, I thought all of the non-senbatsu members did a great job!  Some of other girls who had my attention included Mocchi, Shiichan, Harugon and Rabutan.  Kudos to the cameraman for getting everyone involved!  Finally, my Top 5 songs of the stage…

5.  Matenrou no Kyori
4.  Itoshisa no Akuseru
3.  Akogare no Popstar
2.  Saboten to Gold Rush
1.  Zutto Zutto

Okay, now it’s time for me to give Team B’s 5th Stage a 2nd chance!

CK in California

Let me start by saying I am so excited about AKB48′s upcoming single.  I pre-ordered it the moment it became available on HMV because I didn’t want to get stuck in a one-week backorder like I did with the Ponytail CD.  Sure, I hadn’t heard the songs yet.  But that hasn’t mattered to me for a while now when it comes to AKB.  The producers have done a great job packaging a single that is full of great material.  Even if I don’t like a title track, there is always a c/w that catches my fancy.  Such was the case with Sakura no Shiori and RIVER.  I already knew I would love this single the moment I saw the PV preview for Namida no Seesaw Game, which I spoke about two posts ago.  I loved the concept of the girls as classic R&B artists on a show like Soul Train.  Totally cool, totally hip.

But I didn’t expect to love Heavy Rotation as much as I do.  It is everything I want to see in my favorite idol group’s PV.  Cuteness, sexiness, quite a bit of teasing and some amazing cosplay.  To me it is candy to my eye.  I can’t get enough of watching the PV, even if none of my favorite members are in it.  I’m not alone in this opinion as I have read many reviews of people literally drooling over this PV.

But Heavy Rotation is not without it’s detractors.  That’s okay, everyone has different taste.  I can see how some could find it a bit gratuitous in it’s blatant fanservice.  I wouldn’t call it the greatest song either.  It is definitely the PV pushing it over the top.  But there is something that I have found annoying for a long time, and I’m about to get it off of my chest.  I know I am going to piss a few people off.  So be it.

Throughout my life I have found that I enjoy rooting for underdogs.  I did it as a sports fan when I was a child, and I find I am the same way with idols.  In my 3+ years of being an AKB48 fan, I have come to an understanding of what rooting for underdogs looks like.  It means that I don’t expect my Oshimen to be front and center in PVs.  Heck, she might not even be in them  at all.  It means maybe she will get to sit in on an episode of AKBingo!  And if she is lucky she will get to say a line or two.  The bottom line is I root for my favorites, and relish in their victories during the few moments that they stand out as idols.  What I don’t do is bitch and complain every time they aren’t the focal point of attention in AKB-land.

It just seems like with every release we need to hear from the “peanut gallery” about it is some heinous crime that certain girls aren’t included.  Or with the Senbatsu election itself.  How annoying it was to hear people bitch that their favorite member dropped a few spots, and now they are only in the middle of the Senbatsu.  As someone who roots for a member that ranks somewhere between 40-48 it is quite insulting.  Oh boohoo she dropped to number 13-20, what a tragedy! So you can say it annoys the hell out of me to hear people complaining that their favorite members didn’t get any close-up screen time in the new PV.  First off, I don’t remember that promise being made to begin with.  All I know is that the Top 21 members got to be part of the team that creates the new single.  How the creative team chooses to promote the song is their decision.  The last thing I want as a fan is to have a video crammed with a bunch of unnecessary close-up shots just so every girl gets their chance to be featured for 2 seconds.  Because then AKB48 videos become Harry Potter movies, filled with unnecessary filler so the hardcore fans don’t go batshit because a scene from the book isn’t included.

So if the director chose to use the Top 10 girls for the lionshare of the PV, threw in a tub of Matsuis and used the rest of the girls as backdancers…So be it.  I still love the video, even if NONE of my favorite members were in it.  That is simply the way it is with AKB.  Some girls get the focus, some don’t.  It isn’t some tremendous “injustice” if certain girls don’t get their face time.  Every single girl in AKB48 has fans.  We all buy the product, and we all voted in the senbatsu election.  So I ask you…what makes YOUR Oshimen so much more deserving than anyone elses?

Nobody is saying you can’t bitch about the way things are in Akihabara.  Go ahead, whine all you want.  It’s just that the more you complain about your Oshi not getting their fair share, the more everyone else gets annoyed with you AND your Oshi by default.  It is like me with Takahashi Ai.  I used to love her to death, but now I find her annoying.  Why?  Her fans, that’s why.  I do feel badly about it because it isn’t really fair to Aichan.  I don’t like rooting against idols.  But subconsciously that is what happens.  At least for me it does.  For what it’s worth…

So is it a great single, or an awful single?  I guess that depends on who you ask.  As for me, I am giving it a big thumbs up.  My only concern is “where do they go from here”?  I can’t imagine them getting any sexier than this.  So my guess is the next single will take a completely different direction.  As for Heavy Rotation and sales…I wonder how it’s gonna do?

I’m not worried.  I have a feeling that about a quarter million wota hit the “buy” button the moment that video came out!

CK in California

Okay ladies and gentlemen, it is time for one of the hottest groups in the land right now.  They have a new single out, and it’s surely gonna burn up the charts with a groovin’ sound.  Let’s all take a ride on the Sooooooooooul Train with the Undergirls and Namida no Seesaw Game!!!

Okay, I like this guy.  But he would have been even cooler if he had more of a baritone voice like Don Cornelius.

Hehehe

—

Needless to say I love the concept for this PV, which is the c/w track to AKB48′s upcoming single “Heavy Rotation” due out next month.  Watching this performance really shows how Akimoto’s musical influences are rooted in the classic 70′s and 80′s.  The song itself passes as a traditional Pop Idol song, but in this format it plays perfectly into the classic R&B genre…

By the way, I swear I am going to puke if I hear anyone else say this was derived from the  PV to Wonder Girls’ Nobody.  First of all, everything from the intro to the outfits to the audience and the logo were obvious nods to the classic Soul Train.  Second of all, who do you think Wonder Girls were paying homage to?

Anyway, back to the fun.  I want to see the full PV as I never got a good look at some of my favorite girls in the PV.  But the member who really captivated me like never before was SKE48′s Takayanagi Akane.  She has such a pretty smile!

I have had a hard time picking a favorite member of SKE48.  But at the moment I am really starting to like Akane a lot!  Anyway, back to the PV…

The only thing missing here was the famous “Soul Train Dance Line”.  I know many fans prefer it to be “all girls, as little of the extras as possible”.  But to me it would have been hilarious to focus even more on the dancers in the crowd.  And it’s not like we don’t get enough of the girls in every other AKB production.  Jeez, the members are omnipresent on TV, in magazines, you name it!  And then people bitch because the PV doesn’t focus on the girls for 10 seconds.  To be honest some of my favorite moments of this video were when they focused on the band and the crowd.  Oh, and then there was the guy watching backstage…

I love that guy!

—–

Anyway, kudos again to AKB for going totally “tongue-in-cheek” for this video.  Once again more evidence why AKB48 keeps the audience coming back time and time again.  I can’t wait to see what video concept they will come up with next!

CK in California

I remember a day long long ago, while watching the AKB48 Budokan Concert on a brand new Black & White Philco T.V. in front of the local F.W. Woolworth’s department store…AkiP’s henchman tgsk came out and announced that our beloved Teams would be reformed beyond recognition.  The surprise announcement was met with anger and despair.  Has Akimoto lost his freakin’ mind?  How can he do this to the girls?  How can he do this to us, the fans???

From dread, to anticipation, to frustrated impatience…The day has finally come.

This is the Team K.  The new Team K that is.  Sure there are a few key members left over.  But after watching the premiere performance of “RESET” it is the addition of new members that is setting the tone for this team.  That and the overall songwriting.  K6 is filled with energy and fun, not to mention some great dance routines.  To me it is the perfect Stage to open the new shuffles.  And it again begs the question “Why do we bother second-guessing the decisions of Akimoto Yasushi”?

So who wins in this new Team K…

Tomochin Wins! Not that she wasn’t winning as a member of Team A.  She is a Top 10 Senbatsu, she gets plenty of work outside the AKB48 Theater…But here she isn’t competing with the likes of Takamina, Acchan, Mariko and Kojiharu for front girl attention.  In fact you can make the argument that in this stage she IS the front girl for Team K.  I have long said she is one of my least favorite members.  But over the last year she has repeatedly shown me that I should reconsider that opinion.

Miichan Wins! Miichan has been slowly fading from the spotlight as an original member of Team A.  The mixi rankings back that up.  And while she isn’t constantly in front like Yuko and Tomo, I haven’t experienced her this enthusiastic on stage since A4.  So I think Miichan sees this as a new opportunity, and she is taking advantage of it.

Moeno Wins! She isn’t a front girl…yet.  But she is right behind the leaders and a key member of the Team.  She sounds great along side Itano in her unit song.  She is going to get the opportunity to show everyone how great a performer she is.  And of course she is adorable!

Ucchi Wins! She won the moment she started crying during her heartfelt opening MC.  I always wondered how she felt being the last person promoted during the shuffle announcement last year.

Sayaka Wins! She wins because she embraced what it really means to be the leader of the Team.  It isn’t about being the “front girl”, which she is totally capable of.  It is about making your Team as great as possible.  It is about knowing when to be visible, and when to be invisible.  Everyone looked genuinely excited to be performing that night.  Sayaka is the perfect team leader.

The fans win! Hehehe, lucky bastards!  I wonder how many FC memberships they have???

Oh yeah….

9th Gen. RS Wins! Lemon no Toshigoro is growing on me with each listen.  And getting the opportunity to perform as an opening act for Team K is great exposure for them!

Just because I didn’t mention certain people doesn’t mean they didn’t “Win” in my book.  Those were just a few of the stand out performances to me.  The only knock on this stage that I can see so far is that most of the songs maintain a similar rhythm and tempo, causing many of them to be less distinguishable.  It is evident in the opening set, although I think it sets a tone for the entire show.  Question:  Will RESET replace Korogaru Ishi ni Nare as the quintessential Team K theme song?  I hope so, frankly I was getting bored with the old one.

One thing is for sure, everyone is going to love Uhhouhoho.  I love it too, but it isn’t all the “gorilla chanting” that I like.  Musically it embraces my favorite elements in an AKB48 song, and I love the verse!

To me the unit set is an across the board win!  The only song I hear getting a lot of criticism is Ashita no Tame ni Kiss wo.  While I agree it is the least exciting song of the set, I actually do like it.  It’s just that the other songs are full of awesome.  I adore the Tomo/Ono/Nito unit.  The three of them are perfect together!  I love Sae’s unit as well.  I’m having trouble deciding which is my favorite song of the set.  Seeing Misato up there with Yonechan and Sae makes me smile…

I might be in the minority here, but I just love Kokoro no Hashi no Sofa!  The song itself is in a genre I haven’t heard AkiP dabble in too much…Modern Country.  And it’s so pretty.  I am mesmerized by the melancholy bridge.  Yuko dominates the song, but she is lovely in it!  Surprisingly the song I was least enthusiastic about was Gyukuten Ouijisama, which to me sounded a bit generic.  Not that I disliked it, but the other four were much more memorable.  On the other hand, putting Chris and Uchi in the “cute” unit is good for their image IMO.

The songs leading into the encore are the most generic sounding, and to me the least exciting part of the show.  I really like the uplifting feel of White Day ni… The encore is another story entirely.  I like all three songs, and Yume no Kane will probably stand out for the intense and anguished performances.

By the end of the show I think it is safe to say Team K’s 6th Stage is a total crowd pleaser.  Will it go down as one of AKB48′s “Best Ever” Stages?  It might be a little to early to tell, but I think most everyone is going to love the show.  It does a great job of whetting our appetites for A6 and B5.  If those stages are as good as this, Akimoto’s shuffle idea may go down as nothing short of genius!

And that’s coming from someone who’s Oshimen is Ohori Megumi!!!

I am having a tough time picking a “Top 5″, and I am sure I will go back and edit this later.  But here goes…

5. Lemon no Toshigogo (Yes!  Haha!!)
4. Seifuku Resistance
3. Uhhouhoho
2. Kokoro no Hashi no Sofa
1. Kiseki wa Ma ni Awanai

The Top 2 are interchangeable as I love both of them so much.  But yeah, it is safe to say the “Unit Set” was my favorite

CK in California

B.F.A.???  Try Beyond F#@king Awesome! Just watch…

Queen & Elizabeth ★Love Wars★PV
Uploaded by SASUKE365. – Explore more music videos.

Everything about this is no less than 100% total WIN!  The song kicks major major ass.  Both of the Tomo’s are totally freakin’ hawt…not to mention the bevy of schoolgirls dancing around them.  And the video is pretty funny too.  You gotta love the fight stopping when the girls pass by (Hehehehe)

Jeez, this video has everything!  I’m not even going to bother recommending that you buy this CD/DVD.  I swear to god, one look and you will be sold.  Promise!

CK in California

I’m not sure what to say…

Let’s let the song speak for itself.  This is the premiere performance of AKB48′s newest single, Sakura no Shiori...

I have now watched this three times.  And I am still puzzled where AkiP and the gang are going with this.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful song.  It is supposed to have a Springlike feeling, but to me it screams “Winter”.  Actually…

I take that back.  The one thing song definitely doesn’t do is “scream”…at all.  I think the issue I have here is this song in no way resembles the AKB48 I know and love.  It isn’t dissimilar to the idea of The Sex Pistols doing boyband pop.  Or Pat Boone singing Heavy Metal…oh wait, he did do that didn’t he?

Anyway, maybe I like Sakura no Shiori.  But that doesn’t mean I am in love with the idea of it being AKB48′s 15th single.  It sounds nothing like any song I have ever heard them do before.  I have seen comparisons drawn to Sakura no Hanabiratachi and Saigou no Seifuku.  But c’mon, those songs “rock” compared to this. The other thing is that it just doesn’t relate to the demographic that has been buying their product up until now.  I am trying to imagine your average wota “deathlooping” this song on their Ipod, or me cranking this song in my convertible AKB-mobile while I drive down the highway…

Nope, I just don’t see it.

But like always the AKB “suits” will find a reason for us to purchase multiple versions of the single.  What’s that you say, the two versions have a different c/w track?  And what?  Handshake event tickets?  I swear these guys are like heroin dealers.  They know what the wota want, and they will be sure to entice the fanbase with plenty of incentives to buy the single over and over again.

And will I break down and buy both versions of the single?  Right now I say I’m not sure, and I will wait for previews of the other tracks.  But who am I kidding…

CK is a good little AKB-soldier

CK in California

And then you have a new concept, the “Theater Girls” PV!

I honestly wasn’t keeping track of all the updates when it came to AKB48′s new single.  And after I read the member list of the three different teams to appear, my first reaction was “Where’s Meetan?”  My second reaction was “Hikoukigumo?  Geez, that song is old!”

And it is old.  It has been 12 1/2 months since Team A’s 5th Stage debuted at the Theater.  It has been performed at every major concert AKB48 has performed over the last year, including the Webster Hall show in New York where they sang it twice!  I am the proud owner of two “Hikoukigumo” flags.  One from Japan, and one NY edition.  BTW, I have always loved the song.  It is one of those “you have to see it person” types of songs that really benefits from the audience participation.  Translation:  The flag-waving makes it awesome!

But what really benefits this track is the use of all new members to perform it.  Unlike when Team B’s “Shonichi” was one of the B-sides to Namida Surprise.  There are zero members of the original team here.  The difference is subtle on the recorded track.  But the accompanying PV makes this almost seem like a brand new song.  And when was the last time we saw the likes of Umechan, Kana, Tanamin, Nacchi and Nakayan featured on a PV?  Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s all the “never before seen” members that makes this even better!  My only real complaint was that I barely noticed Wasamin!    (Goes to watch the PV again)

I can’t begin to describe how excited I was to see Tanamin actually in a PV! <3 <3 <3

The video also serves as a great advertisement for seeing AKB48 at the actual theater.  The camerawork does an excellent job of painting the theater in an great light, which is even more amazing when you consider how “lived in” the place is when you are actually there.  And obviously they had all of the fan “extras” going the extra mile with the cheering.

At the end of the day what we have here is an awesome three-song single.  And when you couple that with the bonus DVD the package is even better.  Yes, AKB48′s management quite often gets accused of “wallet rape”.  But when you think of all the effort that went into the production of this product, it is an excellent value.

Once again I ask the question “Is this the shapes of things to come” for AKB48?  And wouldn’t it be cool if every single featured three teams with three songs and PVs.  Then no one could say their favorite girl got shafted.  Everyone would have their opportunity to captivate the fanbase…

Isn’t that what the upcoming shuffles are all about anyway?  Enjoy!

***

<3 <3

CK in California

And as a total AKB-fanatic, I am loving it!

As a possible result of fan complaints about who makes it into AKB48 PV’s, management decides to hold a “Senbatsu Election” to let the fans decide who would be featured in the next single.  Not surprisingly, much of the same cast of characters were elected.  But that wasn’t the end of it.  We had “Undergirls”.  And I for one was more excited about that PV than the main track, especially with Meetan making that team.  To me one of the greatest things about Tobenai Agehachou was the chance for members like Yonechan, Haachan, Natsumi and Akicha to appear in a PV.  And now management has taken it a step further…

The upcoming single ‘River’ will have three different tracks, performed by three completely different teams.  And the best part is all three performances have their own promotional video.  This means that a huge percentage of AKB48′s members are now having the chance to appear in a PV.  Is this a manifestation of the “new look” AKB48 concept that we will be seeing after the Team’s shuffle?  On one hand, I think this is great for the girls.  Think about all of the members who have been working hard for their respective teams for the last few years and have never had the chance to be prominently featured.  Now here is there chance to be up front for a change.  Judging by the results, it is a sensational idea.  The “Undergirls” and “Theater Girls” videos are totally awesome, and IMO blow away the A-side track!

Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara is the “Undergirls” contribution to the single, and it is everything I had hoped Tobenai Agehachou would be.  Not that I didn’t like that song, it was just that I thought Iiwake Maybe was so good.  But to me THIS song is perfect.  It has a great upbeat track.  The girls are beautiful.  The rain/pool sequences are a great idea (wet t-shirts, hehe!).  But the best part is the members chosen.  Most of them have never been featured in a PV before…

OMG!!!  Moeno with closeups!  She always looks embarrassed when she smiles.  So cute!

Harukyan gets a featured part?  That is great.  But the hard-working longtime Kenkyuusei needs to learn to smile when she sings.

SUUUU-CHAN!!!  And Haachan looking fierce as usual!

Wow has Kikuchi been “reborn hard”!  It seems like yesterday she was released from the group.  And here she is!  What a great success story.  But the stars of this PV were Akicha and Sasshi.  And both of them proved here that they are front-girl material!

I can’t pinpoint it.  But Takajyo Aki has a quality that simply says “star”.  The camera loved her throughout the PV

And Sasshi was just pure awesomeness!

Let’s not forget Rena from SKE.  I just LOL every time I see her because she has such a cute personality.  And the “glasses look” is pretty hawt!

So is this the “new look” AKB48 where everyone gets a chance to be featured?  And I wonder if this tactic will have a positive impact on the bottom line?  And that means sales.  To the AKB faithful this is nothing short of pure win because nobody is getting shafted and there is something here for everyone to love.  On the other hand, we all know how overwhelming a “huge” idol group can be to the casual fan.  And here is a video filled with members a lot of people simply do not know.

But the good news is the song is great, as is the “Theater Girls” version of Team A’s “Hikoukigumo”.  I will talk about the genius of that PV in the next post…

CK in California

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the AKB nine that day.  The score stood four to three with one inning left to play…

And when Takamina died at first and Yuko did the same…

A sickly silence fell upon the Team B-ers at the game…

Then from 100,000 throats and more there rose a rusty yell.  It rumbled through Akiba, it rattled through…err G-Rosso?  It knocked upon Mt. Fuji and recoiled upon Sofmap,  for Acchan mighty Acchan was advancing to the bat.

And then there was much singing, dancing and bike riding!

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.  AKB is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.  And somewhere Akimoto is laughing, and somewhere Wota grin…

Because there is much joy in Akiba – Iiwake Maybe is TOTAL WIN!

Enjoy

CK in California
(inspired by Ernest Thayer’s Casey at the Bat)