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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

Of lots of Babies, a loud diamond, randomness and Meshibe Ohori

Cat gives us the details on the new singles and latest happenings in Akihabara.  First, we are finally getting a wide release of Baby Baby Baby on DVD.  The song has been out for a while, but some of the DVD extras really sound great.  I want the pink version!  On the new single Oogoe Diamond, Cat is hopeful that the new label it is being released on will mean greater accessibility.  After what I went through to get the Shibuya AX DVD, I am hopeful too.

The big news (to me at least) is the whole Meshibe Ohori “drama”.  Personally I am not too sure what to make of this, and neither is Cat.  It sounds like yet another publicity stunt.  Would they really unceremoniously throw Ohori Megumi out of AKB48 just because she didn’t sell a prerequisite amount of singles?  The whole bit sounds pretty callous to me.  As Cat so eloquently puts it…

WTF???

In Defense of Idoling!!!  (True Life Seek)
Venturing outside the cozy borders of the Don Quijote Theater  (Aitakatta!)

Did I cause this?  First, Silverbolt posts an upload of a recent Idoling!!! concert DVD, then Pengie and I “innocently” poke fun at the group in recent posts.  All of the sudden Idoling!!! is a major topic here at IW.  If we aren’t careful, they just might become the biggest J-pop group in the West!

Broomhead comes to the defense of Idoling!!! by noting the comedic aspects of their shows.  He finds it ironic that anyone could be critical of their vocal abilities and still be a fan Hello! Project.  And ya know, when he puts it that way it makes total sense.  Broom has also embedded a video of a practical joke being played on one of the members.  Why don’t they do that on Haromoni@?

Cat violates the First Commandment of her blog, “Thou shalt not cover anything not associated with AKB48″.  The nice thing about this post is how Cat goes into it with such an open mind.  Overall she didn’t love the concert, but did find some things to like about the group. Ultimately she sees Idoling’s rightful place in the idol world.  But I was kinda bummed that she identified my favorite member (Yazawa Erika) as the chubby one.

So are Idoling!!! the real deal?  Or are they the “Sanjaya” of International Wota?

-Sigh- (Aitakatta!)
明日の道 (Wings of My Heart)

It’s a sad day in Akahibara.  Well maybe not for a few delusional wota.  We found out earlier via Tokyograph that AKB48 Team B’s Kikuchi Ayaka has been fired from the group.  This seemed like it was inevitable for a little while now.

Cat takes a practical look at the situation, noting the difference between Japanese fans and fans from the outside.  She hypothesizes on what the future of the unit will be, and asks us to lend some needed support to Team B.

Julia took the news a lot harder, especially since it ruined what seemed to start out as a very good day.  Ayaka was one of Julia’s favorite AKB48 members, and she questions why she continues to be a fan when she is repeatedly disappointed by these scandals.  Not the scandals themselves, just the fallout.  And you know depression has really set in when you begin reciting Phil Collins’s lyrics.  Just thinking about Against All Odds is enough to make me slit my wrists.

Once again, good job wota…morons!

No wai! Boyfriend scandal in AKB48? Oh noes!!1!! (Aitakatta!)

At Aitakatta, Cat first shares news of the latest AKB48 SEED member to have been promoted to the main group: Nitou Moeno, Team B’s newest member. She then goes on to share the news of 15-year-old Team B member Kikuchi Ayaka’s current boyfriend scandal, involving a purikura photo of her and a boy leaked to the internet. The picture isn’t suggestive in any way, but they wrote “3 months together” on it. Cat shares the picture and gives us an overview of the situation, and explains that such scandals were what drove her away from H!P, so she’s tired of them and not happy to see this happening in AKB48.

What Cat doesn’t mention about this scandal is the fact that Kikuchi has been absent from performances ever since the scandal broke. Her picture is still on the wall at the Akihabara48 theatre, and her profile is still on their official website, but there have been online announcements a few days before every recent Team B show that she would be absent from the performances. Just as I’d expected, another announcement was made today, and she will still be absent from the next set of Team B shows. We’re left hanging, wondering whether she’s going to be kicked out of the group or if she will, indeed, return. I feel like that’s the biggest blow - being made to wait, wondering what will happen, for this long. Goddammit, if she’s going to be kicked out, let us know already so we can deal with it.

It’s like the summer of 15-year-old idol boyfriend scandals. Lovely.

Sakura no Hanabiratachi ga saku koro…

Cat gives us an update on recent happenings for a few AKB48 SEEDS, including one moving to the new Nagoya franchise unit SKE48.  We also get a glimpse at the first girls to join the new unit.  I’m guessing this is Team S and Team K?

Cat goes on to talk about the new Morning Musume and AKB48 concert DVD’s, which coincidentally (?) were released at the same time.  She also gives us a little insight on why she hasn’t liked Morning Musume as much as she used to.  But she ultimately enjoyed the quality of both shows. 

And YOU TOO can have your very own local J-pop group!  For franchising opportunities, please contact Akimoto Yasushi.

Komatani Hitomi aka. Hii-chan, Hii-pinku

Cat is back to the profiles! This profile is on Komatani Hitomi. It is a gigantic post and full of screencaps, which I guess I’ve come to accept as a typical Aitakatta! post. Cat does a good job of pointing out memorable tidbits of this Hitomi girl early on - that she like Morning Musume and Michishige Sayumi.

Cutie Party Survey thingmy (ROBOKUCCHI)
Misa’s J-Music survey (LOVE Tantei)
Cutie Party: A J-Music Survey (Solo Space)
Cutie Party Survey! (ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute)
Fun With Surveys (Bikkuri Project)
Ta-da! (Aitakatta!)
Cutie Party Survey (Shanimuni Paradise)
J-music Survey Response (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)

I’m glad that people love doing surveys and I am glad that people are responding to Misa’s. To reiterate, Misa has put together a 10 question survey in order to find new music. I can see lots of blogs benefiting from this though, as it sets up a nice profile for them to promote themselves to others. You could easily find blogs that you weren’t reading to have similar tastes.

Robokucchi, LOVE Tantei, Solo Space, ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute, Bikkuri Project [who also answered a question that pengie from unchained previously asked], Aitakatta!, Shanimuni Paradise and H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business all answered in this batch.