5 posts tagged “akb48”

The following two clips are from the two most recent episodes of AKB48's television program, "AKB０じ５９ふん".  All you need to do is watch the first minute of each clip...

 

(warning: mature content) 

 

Ohori Megumi FOR THE WIN!!!

Check out the look on her face after they show those videos, such a naughty girl!  And look at the horror on her groupmates' faces, priceless!  If you read Maeda Atsuko's expression, I'm sure she is thinking "OMG, am I going to have to do that next week?"

To semi-quote Broomhead, MANY MANY MANY BUYS!  Team K's Ohori Megumi has always been my "second" favorite member of AKB48.  But after this, I think she might be my favorite human on the planet!  And whatever you do, don't pay attention to :17 of the first video!  I guess she is the newest AV idol!

There shouldn't be any doubt about what direction AKB48 is heading! 

CK in California

(Videos are from You Tube user "akb1ji59hun"  Check out the page for complete episodes of the show.)

Surveys are fun!  This one is from Cutie Party, here goes...

 

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?

I'd like to answer this question last (see below)

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?

Yes, I would say it made me a fan

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?

The J-pop CD that has been in my collection the longest AND I still regularly play is Pipo Angels' "Luvly Merry-Go-Round"  I love that song.  And I love that group!

 

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?

That would have to be Shonen Knife, because I have liked them consistently since I discovered them while I was in college...

 

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

I can only base this on memory, since I don't use a media player other than CD's and YouTube.  But the song I have listened to the most would have to be Ne~e by Matsuura Aya

6. Is that song your favorite?

I've never thought about it, but it might be

7. If not, what is?

Difficult question.  Ne~e is my favorite Ayaya song.  I'll list my favorites of a few UFA groups:

Morning Musume:  I Wish

Berryz Koubou:  (tie) Berry Fields or Fighting Pose wa Date Ja Nai

C-ute:  Ookina ai de Motenashite

Melon Kinenbi: Kokuhaku Kinenbi

W: Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro

Mini Moni:  Mirakurun Guran Purin

ZYX: Shiroi Tokyo

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?

The only J-pop artist I can think of is Buono!  But they have only produced one album and one additional single.  As for J-Rock, I have three Ketchup Mania CD's, and I like just about every song on them

9. What is your favorite agency?

Up Front Agency, I thank heaven for their existence!

10. What is your favorite group/singer?

Matsuura Aya

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to?

I had to think about this for a minute.  The first Japanese pop song I ever heard (and it came out long before I was born!!!) had to be "Sukiyaki" by the great Kyu Sakamoto.  It is such a beautiful song, and proof positive that it IS POSSIBLE for a Japanese artists to "strike gold" in the west as it was a #1 song on the billboard pop charts in 1963!  And it is probably the best known Japanese song in history.  Sadly, he was taken away from us too soon in the 1985 crash of JAL Flight 123 in Gunma...

Rest in Peace, Kyu-chan

CK in California!

Tomorrow is going to be great!!!  It is my best friend Dan's birthday, and we are renting a limousine and spending the day in Napa Valley cruising from winery to winery.  Just one of the many cool things about living in Northern California.  The tough part is picking the appropriate gift.  I am very bad at gift giving, and always put it off until the last overly-stressful moment.  On Wednesday I finally broke down and asked Dan what he wanted for his birthday.  He plainly stated, "I want you to take me to see Iron Maiden tonight!"  Little did I know...

Dan has always found my transformation into a J-pop fan a bit...comical???  Dan is strictly a Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Ozzy kind of guy.  Dan also knows that I used to be a big fan of those groups many years ago.  So in his mind this was going to be as much of an intervention for me as a birthday gift for him.  Unfortunately for Dan I was the designated driver for the event, which meant one thing...

I control the CD player in the car!!!

Yes, the conversation during the car ride to the show was pretty interesting.  It must have gone something like this...

CK:

Dan: Yeah Chris, But...

CK:  I know Dan, I know, but...

Dan: Whatever Chris...

Okay Dan, fine.  I'll continue to fantasize about Reina, Ayaya and Nacchi while you fantasize about Bruce Dickinson and Sammy Hagar.  And anyway it's my car so Mr. "Metal for Life" gets to be the latest lab rat in the Western J-pop experiment.  I honestly didn't hold out too much hope to convert him, but at least I would get a chance to share why I like these groups so much.  I decided to ease him into it...

Ketchup Mania ~ I figured musically they would be pretty palatable for Dan.  And I was correct, although it took a few songs for him to get used to Hiro's high pitched voice, which Dan compared to "Chip n' Dale".  But overall he liked them, and thought the drummer kicked a$$.

The Possible ~ Of the two singles I have, I think he preferred "Happy 15", as he laughed everytime they screamed "HAPPY!!!"  Plus he preferred the "slutty" (his quote) outfits on that CD to the cuter look in "Love Message".  His best observation being that Kanami looks like she is "begging for it"

Buono! ~ He got a kick out of the cover, but that's about it.  He thought they were just o.k.

Perfume ~ He hated!!!  And I think he found AKB48 only slightly more tolerable, only because I was telling him what some of the lyrics meant.

Morning Musume ~ He seemed to find surprisingly listenable.  As I mentioned before I didn't have high hopes, so anything he didn't hate was a victory!  So much for the experiment, onto the show...

 

Now to be honest with you, this was actually the SIXTH time I had seen Iron Maiden live, although it was only the second time I had seen them in the last twenty years!  Boy do I feel old, and boy do they look old!  And the girls in the audience were probably pretty cute in 1985.  And now...sheesh they all look old too!  But it was really a great show!  Musically speaking, Iron Maiden is an amazing band.  They are all terrific musicians, and the songwriting is so creative!  Their lyrics can best be described as "an evening watching the History Channel".  There is no group quite like them.  Then again, there is nothing quite like a Hello! Project concert either.  But the motivations for seeing each respective show is quite different.  Personally I'd rather stare at Charmy and Maimi than Jannick Gers and Nicko McBrain any day of the week!  Then you have the fans...

Most of the fans of the 80's metal scene have grown up and gotten responsible jobs...MOST of them.  Yeah, they bang their heads and flash the "Lucifer's Horns" hand signal, but it's all so "kitschy" now!  The audience in general looked like stockbrokers in Halloween costumes, and many of them even brought their kids to the show!  I found them a lot less scary than the rabid J-pop Wota-gei Otaku's.  Now those guys are scary!

So I'm glad I have a varied musical taste.  I can have as good of a time going to a concert like this as any J-pop group.  But as for which one I prefer?  My vote is for the "kawaii"...

Sorry Dan, the intervention didn't work.  The biggest lesson learned here?  Henkka aka H!P Metalhead is an amazing anomaly.  Trying to convert a true hard rock fan to J-pop can be sort of fun, but it's mostly frustrating and painful.

Oh yeah...Happy Birthday Danny-Boy!!!

CK in California 

**edit**  Originally this was a track-by-track review, but I thought it was overlong, so I pared it down**

 

It feels like Christmas time around the CK household...

No, I don't mean I still need to take down the lights and the tree.  It's as if I "feel" like a kid at Christmas, and the postman is my personal Kris Kringle.  A new J-pop product has been in my mailbox just about every day this week.  Hmmmm, every day?  Maybe it's more like Hanukkah, Oy Gevalt!!!

Two CD singles from The Possible ~ I've already reviewed them here

Two H!P Concert DVD's ~  Summer 2002 and Summer 2004.  The Kago/Tsuji graduation is an amazing concert, for so many reasons.

Two Ayaya Concert DVD's ~ Spring 2005 and Autumn 2007.  I was so impressed with her latest concert.  It was far better than I expected.

I ordered most of these almost a month ago, so the wait was excruciating, but worth it.  I am highly satisfied with these purchases, and look forward to writing more about them in the coming week.  And I got one more...

 

Team A 4th Stage - Tadaima Renaichuu

I have always wanted to get an AKB48 DVD, but could never figure out which one.  Team A is my favorite AKB48 unit, but I also like many of the girls in Team K as well.  I've considered getting "First Concert Aitakatta", but never pulled the trigger.  The reason I chose this was made easy after reading the great review of it posted by Aitakatta!  After reading part 1, I immediately bought this DVD.  It has also occurred to me that I have never really posted anything about my experience seeing AKB48 in person.  There are a few reasons for this.  I had just arrived in Japan when I saw them.  It was my first time ever in an Asian country.  The language, culture shock, jetlag, and concert experience itself were so overwhelming.  I felt as if I really couldn't give a well-detailed impression.  This won't be a total track-by-track review, but the beginning of the show was the best part of the entire DVD... 

Tedama Renaichuu ~  One neat thing I immediately noticed is how many songs AKB48 has in their arsenal that we rarely get to hear.  Without experienceing the "Stage" material we only get to hear the singles, and the "Set List" CD is mainly a compilation of those singles.  This is the first time I've heard this song, and I like it alot.  The "Oh Oh Oh" part is very Brazilian, straight out of Carnaval.  There are no big solo lines here, but Minami M. keeps catching my eye.  She looks like she's having a great time!

Kuma no Nuigurumi ~  Is this in the AKB48 Theater?  That place is absolutely TINY!!!  Shibuya AX, where I saw them, was much larger by comparison.  Another great thing about the "Stage" DVD is getting to see lesser utilized members.  Ohe Tomomi is far and away my favorite member, as she is almost never seen in any PV.  She looks absolutely adorable here.  This is a very cute "Doo-Wop" song.  I'm not sold on the polka-dot skirts.  Some of them look cute, but the one's that go up to their chests make the girls look chubby.  The stand-out performance goes to the Teddy Bear that they tossed around.

Only Today ~  Three songs I've never heard before, and I love each one!  Apparently one of the Wota agree (more on this guy later)  Minami M. is catching my attention again.  I've always thought she was sorta strange looking, but I am quickly changing my opinion.  Mariko's singing and Kayano's cheerful dancing also stand out.  This is great!  I am finally going to learn all of their names!

The next five songs split the team into smaller groups.  This is nice because we really get a chance to see each member up close.  The first two songs were very pretty ballads.  I epecially liked that Ohe got an early solo line, even though Atsuko dominated the first song.  Oshima Mai looks alot like Erika Umeda, only much cuter.  But I really love Hoshino.  Haru ga Kuru Made sounds like it's from the Burt Bacharach collection!  I really liked it.  And then along came...

Junai no Crescendo ~  Pretty strong grouping of the Minami's and Haruna.  Sexy outfits.  Now about "that guy"...

There is one particular Wota in the audience who is screaming throughout the entire performance.  And he is especially vocal here.  I mean this dude sounds like he is being disemboweled in the theater.  Is this really appropriate?  There has been alot of talk on the posts about the role of the Wota in the J-pop phenomenon.  Santos blogs about it often on his site.  Broomhead just did a post about it.  Whenever I read these articles, I always say that "I am not Japanese, so maybe I just don't understand the culture" ...

You know what?  The hell with that!  This guy is an idiot!!!  If someone acted like that at a concert in the US, they would drag him out of the arena strapped to a stretcher and take him straight to Bellevue!  And America is the biggest collective champion of idiocy on the planet.  This a$$hole isn't even listening to the show, he is just screaming like a moron.  But alas, it is a scene I remember all too well... 

Just getting into Shibuya AX was an ordeal, as we had to line up in groups.  I first had to figure out which group I was in.  Then they literally call you to the gate by number, ONE AT A TIME!  I am glad I had brushed up on my Japanese counting (I was #240)  When I got in it was literally a "free for all" for spots.  I didn't want to get crushed so I stayed to the side near the exit.  Even before the show, you could see these guys "getting ready" to go crazy.  It was like being in the Greasers' clubhouse in "The Outsiders" before the big rumble with the Soc's.  Once the show started, it was like being inside an insane asylum.  There were quite a few young schoolgirls in the crowd, and looks of "sheer terror" on their faces were pronounced.  It is no wonder dickheads like this give the whole J-pop scene a bad name.  This is not a good example of Japanese culture, it is "Jackass" culture.

Other than that, this was a nice performance, very cool song.

 

I didn't like Faint or Kikyou much at all.  I've always liked Rinatin, there is something so sweet about her disposition.  But frankly she hasn't stood out to me in this show.  As a performer, I much prefer Mariko here.  She has a certain allure to her, while Rina just relies on being cute.

The rest of the show was a good mix of "Stage" songs and singles, and what I thought were great outfits one after another.  First we had the schoolgirl outfits we all know and love.  Then cute, casual and summery, which might be my favorite type of outfit they wear.  They wore them here on BINGO!, one of my favorites.  BTW, Kayano seems like she was the best dancer in Team A, which isn't a huge accomplishment...

Another song I really liked near the end was  Love Chase.  BTW, Would someone tell that guy to shut up already!!!  This is the biggest "rock" song of the night.  Lets see who the headbangers are...Rinatin?  Finally that girl woke up!  Little Kayano, I figured that.  And again, the Minamis.  I just noticed that I have hardly mentioned Atsuko Maeda at all in this review.  Even with all of times she is pushed to the front, she seems kind of boring.

 It's settled, Takahashi and Minegishi are the two best performers in Team A .

They end the night with Nante Suteki na Sekai ni Umareta no Darou.  An AKB48 lullaby sung in their cute little Nightgowns...super-kawaii!!!  And a few of them get teary-eyed as this is the "farewell" performance for Hoshino Michiru.  This is a very sweet "end" of the set.  The Encore is Hoshino soloing on Ganbare! while the rest of the team look on.

You know what, I had alot of fun watching this.  It made me want to see more "Stages", as there is so much more to learn about AKB48.  This show made me a fan of members I never noticed as much before.  Of course I loved getting the chance to see Ohe perform.  I think she'll always be my favorite.

Something that came up for me in this performance was my personal debate of whether or not I am a Wota.  Sure, I have Wota tendencies.  The maniacal collecting of merchandise, the overwhelming desire to see the concerts, and of course I'm blogging about it.  But if this jerkoff who almost ruined the DVD in an example of Wotaism at it's best, I am happy to say I have at least not crossed that threshold...yet!

It is okay to be a fan...but you don't have to be a DICK about it!

CK in California  

I enjoy reading "Aitakatta! an AKB48 Blog".  Even though quite often the many screencaps jam my computer.  What's up with that?  Or better yet, what's up with my computer?  Anyhow, I didn't know they were rereleasing this single until I saw it on International Wota.  I really love this PV.  It's well acted, and it's well produced.  It also feels like the right way to rerelease an indie single.  Only three PV's have ever gotten me teary-eyed.  The long version of I WISH, W's Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro, and now this one.  All of this got me thinking (uh oh)...

Quite often I get bummed out when I read negative reviews of Hello! Project singles, PV's, concerts, Haromoni@, etc.  I only discovered the J-pop and idol phenomenon a year ago, so it's all fresh to me.  It has impacted my life and my heart so profoundly in that one year that I take any mention that they are stale, passe', or producing uninspired material personally.  Jeez, I flew to Japan for cryin' out loud!

But maybe it is because the truth hurts.

Let's start with the video above.  How many videos in the past, I dunno, two years have Hello! Project put out that have the production value of Hanabiratachi?  I can't think of any...maybe Tokaikko Junjou comes close.  Then I find this on You Tube...

 

 Is this an AKB48 television program?  I didn't even know one existed.  As True Life Seek says on his Haromoni@ reviews, this is the kind of stuff Morning Musume should be doing, and I believe once did.  I love when our idols are the butt of the jokes, and it gives us an opportunity to get to know them without having to buy a DVD Magazine.  Appearances in films like Pinch Runner, Ayaka's Surprise English Lessons, Utaban, and especially Meccha Meccha Iketeru are what had me fall in love with Morning Musume in the first place.  We want to know these girls intimately.  And as much as I enjoy haromoni@, watching MouTube videos just doesn't get it done.

I remember a recent post (forgive me but I don't remember who it was) who said that you can't judge the group's success based on album and single sales, and the whole female J-pop genre is in a slump.  That may be true.  But it troubles me to see Morning Musume performing at Tokyo Welfare Meeting Hall which seats...I dunno, five thousand people.  When not long ago they were booking Saitama Super Arena, a much bigger venue.  Even the concerts last month in Yokohama, Sunday night was definitely sold out, but Saturday night had quite a few empty seats.

My point is this...When I was in Japan, I got a chance to see a lot of Japanese TV.  How many mentions of AKB48 did I see?  Three.  All on the morning shows, with live shots of the concert at Shibuya AX and even an interview with Atsuko Maeda.  How many of Hello! Project?  NONE!  I only saw the Yattarouze PV on a video show (at 5am!), Uta Doki Pop Classics (late at night) and haromoni@.  The producers of AKB48 seem to be doing all the right things to promote this group and build a fan base.  While the producers of Hello! Project seem to be comparably limping along.  And it isn't the fault of any of the performers.  Maybe it's time for the folks at UFA to add some fresh blood to the creativity department.  I want to see Momusu, Berryz, C-ute, Gatas, ALL OF H!P enjoy great success so WE can enjoy them for a long time.

Now I've only known any of these groups for a year now, so I don't consider myself an expert by any means.  It's just something I noticed.

Congratulations to AKB48 for what I think is a stellar promotional video!  I'm so happy that I got to see them at Shibuya AX, I just wish I hadn't been so jetlagged at the time!  I'll leave you with a video from my favorite AKB48 member, the adorably funny Ohe Tomomi.

OH-YAY!!!