Happy 4th Birthday AKB48

December 8th marked the 4th birthday of super idol group AKB48.  Yes, it was on that day in 2005 in the theater on the 8th floor of the Don Quixote building that producer Akimoto unveiled his newest phenomenon of 20 girls who would form Team A. Of course that was just the start and 4 months later 18 other girls joined to make Team K and lastly in October 2006 the final piece of the puzzle (Team B) would be formed. Look how far they’ve come since that time. Targeting exclusively at first to the otaku population of Akihabara as ‘idols you can meet’ and evolving slightly over time they’ve now switched over to mainstream where their appeal goes right across the spectrum from young girls to otaku and foreign fans.  Not bowing to the ’stay safe’ subject of songs that other idol groups stick to, producer Akimoto has not been afraid to tackle serious issues in AKB48 songs and long may that continue. To me when Morning Musume was getting increasingly stale after the resignation of my favorite member Mikitty, AKB48 was like a breath of fresh air and my fandom has only gotten stronger as I’ve watched the girls grow before my very eyes.  2009 has been an amazing year for them. Could 2010 be an even better one for them? We’ll find out.

Idol War – AKB48 vs Morning Musume

According to CD Japan and HMV, Morning Musume and AKB48 look set to release their new singles on the same day next year – 17th February.  If this is true, it’ll be the first time ever for both idol groups to go up against each other in the first week. Last year it would have been difficult to announce who would come out on top but now the odds are firmly stacked against MoMusu. AKB48 will wipe the floor with them unless the mowotas  buy multiple copies of the single. Even then I don’t think it will be enough to upstage them unless AKB48 come out with a useless song.

AKB48 Preparing For War Against Morning Musume!!

More on AKB48’s New Drama Series

Although the plot for their new drama hasn’t been revealed yet, the roles have been announced and they are as follows:

Roles
Maeda Atsuko – Maeda Atsuko *Transfers to the school and into 2C.
Yuko-senpai – Oshima Yuko *Leader of the strongest gang / wind instruments club “Rappappa”.
Sado (Sadist) – Shinoda Mariko *Subleader of Rappappa, manages the top 4.
Torigoya (Aviary) – Kojima Haruna *One of the top 4 in Rappappa, loves chickens.
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Shibuya – Itano Tomomi *One of the top 4 in Rappappa, gal.
Black – Kashiwagi Yuki *One of the top 4 in Rappappa, single mother.
Gekikara – Matsui Rena *One of the top 4 in Rappappa, absent due to being sent to reform school.
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Shibuya’s Underlings
Dance – Yagami Kumi
Anime – Nakaya Sayaka
Jumbo – Tanabe Miku
Rice – Yonezawa Rumi
Showa – Katayama Haruka
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Team Hormone *A yankee group that chats in 2C while eating hormones.
Wota – Sashihara Rino *Leader.
Unagi – Kitahara Rie
Akicha – Takajo Aki
Bungy – Nito Moeno
Mukuchi – Komori Mika
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Kabuki Sisters – Kasai Tomomi & Kuramochi Asuka
Nezumijo – Watanabe Mayu
Chokoku – Akimoto Sayaka
Sansho Sisters – Oota Aika, Oku Manami, Miyazaki Miho *Small, but together they’re strong.
Gakuran – Miyazawa Sae
Nekketsu Seito Kaicho (Hot Blooded Student President) – Minegishi Minami
Matsui – Matsui Jurina
Erena – Ono Erena
Minami – Takahashi Minami *Involved in Maeda’s past?
Onizuka Daruma – Nachu * A yankee that eats chicken wings when she wins.

Quite an interesting cast of characters. I just can’t get it into my head seeing Mariko as a sadist! What kind of sadist will she be – one that uses a whip or other instruments to control her underlings? I’m hoping that Sayaka gets a nice juicy role in the series. I like that they made Yukirin’s character a single mother.

Below are 4 pictures from the press conference to announce the drama series. Yuko really looks older in the 2nd picture. Some forums have pointed this out and I’ve got to agree that Mayuyu does look like Yui Aragaki in her photo.

AKB48 To Star In Their Own Drama

Mark your calendars down for Friday January 8th on the TV Tokyo channel at 12.12am as this will be the start date for AKB48’s new drama series called “Majisuka Gakuen” which has been written by their producer Yasushi Akimoto. This will be the same timeslot as “Men Dol” when it aired in 2008.

The lead role goes to Acchan but all members are expected to appear in the drama which is based around teenage yankees or delinquents. We could even see some SKE48 and SDN48 members in it too. You can check out the official website of the drama: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/majisuka/ . I can’t wait to see this drama. Roll on January 8th.

AKB48 – River (Nemousu TV Original PV)

This is the 2nd of the alternative River PV’s that was made in New York. This one contains the rest of the members that wasn’t in the other PV directed by JX Carrera. This seems to be not quite as popular as the other one. It’s quite dull in comparison as it contains less colors but I like it better as it’s got my top 2 favorite members in Yuko and Takamina. Which one do you prefer: the original River PV, the JX Carrera one with all the face paint or this one by Mike Fox which has the girls following cryptic messages?

AKB48 – River US Version PV

Many of you have no doubt heard about the 2 alternative River PV’s that was shot very quickly whilst AKB48 was in New York. 8 girls participated in the shoot for this one: Sae Miyazawa, Sayaka Akimoto, Erena Ono, Miho Miyazaki, Minami Minegeshi, Tomomi Itano, Takajo Aji and Sato Sumire. It’s a very simple and original PV and a lot of fans like it a lot but I still prefer the original. There’s another PV that was made too which I’m going to try and find. To watch how they made both PV’s, watch Nemousu TV episodes 5 and 6 which is what I’m about to do right now.

4800 Pics Of AKB48 To Download!

The company Verbatim are doing a promotional campaign with AKB48 in which you can download 4800 pictures featuring individual members.

These aren’t some crappy pictures with poor quality, they’re all high quality as I’ve been on the site myself to have a look. The only downside is the Verbatim watermark at the top left hand corner but that doesn’t bother me really. I’m sure there’s a way to get rid of it.

There are several folders within each members names containing childhood, backstage, blog, private, sports and other pictures. There’s bound to be something you’ll like there.

Happy downloading and here’s the URL for you: http://www.verbatim.jp/akb4800/

Fan Steals AKB48 Members Mail

There was something in the papers last week in the UK about how gangs can go about stealing identities by directing mail from your house to another address. It seems that a fan did the same to some AKB48 members by redirecting their mail to his address. It’s a very serious breach on how he got to find their addresses and I’m sure heads will roll for this. Here’s what I found online about it:

“URAWA, Saitama — An obsessed fan stole about 200 items of mail from members of girl pop group AKB48 by registering false changes of address, say police.

Kota Shibuya, 25, an unemployed man from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, registered his own address as that of a member of the group, according to police. Urawa Police Station said they have referred Shibuya to Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office on additional charges of theft. He has already been indicted for theft over a related case.

In the specific case of which Shibuya is accused, he registered his address as that of one member of the group between September and October last year, and received two items of mail addressed to her. The deception was uncovered in May this year after a member of the group reported to police that her mail wasn’t being delivered.

An ensuing investigation found that he had registered his address as that of 11 members of the group in total, after getting their addresses from other fans. There are over 40 members in the group. He said the post office never asked him for the pop group members’ ID.

Shibuya was earlier indicted on charges of stealing 22 pieces of mail addressed to two members of the group between October last year and June this year.

Police say Shibuya managed to get his hands on around 200 pieces of mail in total, including mobile phone bills and training schedules.

“I just wanted some of their stuff, I didn’t care what,” he said.”

It’s even been featured on the news (sorry it’s all in Japanese):

Yet Another New AKB48 TV Show!

Starting on November 18th on the Enta371 channel at 10pm is AKB 1/48 (AKB Yonjuuhachi bun no ichi). Each episode will focus on one member doing something interesting for the cameras. The first episode will feature Rina Chikano and Reina Fujie. I guess having the girls on 4 TV shows already isn’t enough for their growing popularity so they churn another one out for the fans which reminds me that I’ve yet to catch SKE48’s show.

AKB48 Achieve Another Milestone

AKB48 achieved another fantastic milestone as River continues to break records for them. They finally smashed through the 200k barrier with total sales now standing at 205,005 for the single. It’s amazing what they’ve done this year and I’m hoping that 2010 sees their popularity grow even more. It’s also nice to hear that more young women are now attending their concerts than ever before which shows their appeal isn’t just for wotas anymore.