The 3 covers for AKB48’s next single have just been revealed and if you thought the girls would appear on them as they are in the PV for the song you’d be wrong. I actually think the covers look so much better than the PV. It’s a shame they couldn’t have looked like this in the PV. They look like they’re on a set of a fantasy type movie in their outfits. What do you think about the 3 covers?
Type A
Type B
Theater Version
I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the ultimate AKB48 DVD boxset which is coming out on the 15th October. As you may remember, AKB48 held a number of concerts at the Tokyo Dome City Hall in which they performed past and current stages from 24th May to June 12th – this also included SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48.
For those that couldn’t go to Japan and see these superb concerts, you now have a chance to buy them all on one massive DVD boxset which holds an incredible 23 DVD’s!! All of the concerts that took place will be on this boxset plus 4 making of DVDs, 19 bonus photos and a 42 page photobook. This does sound tempting doesn’t it until I reveal to you the price you have to pay for this phenomenal boxset – a whopping 34,800 yen (nearly close to the equivalent of $500 USD). Now whilst I might like to buy the whole shebang, I think I’ll pass thanks to the price. Perhaps if I manage to find it somewhere in Tokyo during my travels in November/December for maybe 25,000 yen I might dip in to my pockets to buy it.
If you’re still not put off by the price tag of the boxset and plan to buy it then I salute you!! You’ll still be able to buy a smaller boxset (4 in total) which splits the concerts up and they’ll be priced at 9,980 yen each.
This is the breakdown of what’s on each DVD and which group(s) performed each concert:
DVD 1: K5th – Saka agari (AKB48 selected members)
DVD 2: K4th – Saishuu Bell ga naru (AKB48/SDN48 selected members)
DVD 3: H2nd – Yume wo Shinaseru wake ni ikanai (AKB48 selected members)
DVD 4: SDN1st – Yuuwaku no Garter (SDN48)
DVD 5: A2nd – Aitakatta (SKE48 Team KII)
DVD 6: B3rd – Pajama Drive (SKE48 Team E)
DVD 7: A5th – Renai kinshi jourei (AKB48/SDN48 selected members)
DVD 8: A6th – Mokugekisha (AKB48 selected members)
DVD 9: K6th – RESET (AKB48 selected members)
DVD 10: A4th – Tadaima renaichuu (AKB48/SDN48/SKE48 selected members)
DVD 11: B4th – Idol no yoake (AKB48/SDN48 selected members)
DVD 12: A3rd – Dareka no tame ni (NMB48)
DVD 13: K2nd – Seishun Girls (NMB48)
DVD 14: H1st – Boku no Taiyou (AKB48/KKS selected members)
DVD 15: K3rd – Nounai Paradise (AKB48/SDN48/KKS selected members)
DVD 16: B5th – Theater no megami (AKB48 selected members)
DVD 17: S2nd – Te wo tsunaginagara (SKE48 Team S)
DVD 18: S3rd – Seifuku no me (SKE48 Team S)
DVD 19: A1st – PARTY ga hajimaru yo (AKB48/SDN48 selected members)
DVD 20: MAKING K5th/K4th/H2nd/SDN1st/A2nd
DVD 21: MAKING B3rd/A5th/A6th/K6th/A4th
DVD 22: MAKING B4th/A3rd/K2nd/H1st/K3rd
DVD 23: MAKING B5th/S2nd/S3rd/A1st
The wait is over! The dance version PV for AKB48’s 23rd single is finally out. I’ve listened to the song many times over the past 2 weeks and it’s really grown on me. The PV whilst simple and some might say dull is great. It’s supposed to be a serious song and that’s what you get in the PV – no smiles at all from the senbatsu.
Enjoy the PV.
Here’s a sample picture of the one sheet B2 calendars that will be coming to the shops very soon. So many beautiful pictures! If it was difficult to choose a calendar before, it’s just become even harder now to decide which one(s) you want to buy!
I’m not really sure where this has come from but female readers of a certain magazine have been voting for the Top 10 Most Hated Women Celebrities and unfortunately AKB48 appear on the list. A lot of the comments why women hate these celebrities is rather petty and reeks of jealousy such as “only works with hot guys” or “annoying and fake”.
Erika Sawajiri can celebrate the fact that she’s no longer public enemy no.1 as she’s finally been pushed down the list. That honour has now gone to Masami Nagasawa whose hate brigade has slowly but surely been on the increase for the past 2 or 3 years. Morning Musume’s Sayumi is very close to the top. What these people don’t understand is Sayumi’s narcissist personality is only a character she plays and one she does rather well I might add. I can understand that many might find her ‘I’m always cute’ act a bit annoying. As for AKB48 on this list, a breakdown of which AKB48 member they don’t like would have been nice to see. I guess it was only a matter of time before we would get to see them on this list.
Here the Top 10 in full:
10 Asako Itou
09 AKB48
08 Akiko Wada
07 Keiko Kitagawa
06 Sasaki Nozomi
05 Tsuji Nozomi
04 Erika Sawajiri
03 Saki Aibu
02 Sayumi Michishige
01 Masami Nagasawa
Starting next month, SKE48 will follow AKB48 and NMB48 in finally getting their own weekly show on NTV.
SKE48 no Magical Radio will mainly focus on Rena, Jurina and Akane Takayanagi and according to what I’ve read about the show it’s not going to be like any other idol variety show such as AKBingo or NMB48’s Naniwa Nadeshiko. It’ll be more akin to a drama than a normal variety show. I’m all game to see something a little bit different. The plot of the show as such is Akane hosting a radio show on a fictional radio station in Nagoya and being forced to host the show with Jurina who plays a former child actress in order to attract more listeners. Rena’s role will be the director of the radio show.
Being an SKE48 show, of course we’ll get to see other members of the group popping up as various characters on the show alongside Masayasu Wakabayashi from the comedy duo Audrey and actor Jiro Sato. What happens each week on the show is a bit of a mystery right now as there’s no real script. Everybody will be forced to ad-lib according to the situation that occurs each week. This show really does sound more and more interesting to me so I’m looking forward to checking it out.
It all kicks off on Tuesday night October 11th at 1.59am.
Going to Tokyo during the next 12 months and even better will you be celebrating your birthday in the city of your favorite idol group. Well your birthday could get better now because just announced and starting next month, AKB48 will be having special birthday shows in their theater each month……….and only fans celebrating their birthday during that month will be able to attend these shows and that includes us foreigners too. This is great for me as I’ll be celebrating my birthday in Tokyo in December so I want to know how to apply for these special shows and will there be any treats in store by the girls to you e.g perhaps pick a couple of people by lottery from the audience for a birthday 2-shot with your favorite idol or you get a piece of birthday cake from them? The translation on the web from Togasaki’s blog regarding this new development is rather crap so if anybody knows what you have to do to apply then give me a shout.
The newest AKB48 attraction opens in Akihabara this week – the brand new AKB48 cafe and shop will have it’s grand opening on Thursday 29th September and it’s location couldn’t be more easier to find for fans – it’s very close to the Electric Town exit of Akihabara train station, next door to the Gundam cafe.
This isn’t just an ordinary place for fans. Theater performances will be broadcasted to a special area in the building on a large screen in which you can relax on comfortable sofas enjoying the performance. A buffet will also be available so you can stuff your face whilst watching the girls!! This will cost 2700 yen and you have to book in advance. The cafe area will have I think AKB48 themed food. For 2000 yen you get your food and drink plus a commemorative photo. But if you want the ultimate experience then you can hire a private viewing room for up to 16 of your friends for 10,000 yen for 2 hours. All of AKB48’s DVD back catalogue will be available to view here. Unfortunately you won’t be able to just walk into the cafe area as you’ll have to make a reservation for that as well. Same goes for the private viewing room.
As for the shop, am I taking it that the current shop which is currently on the 5th floor of the Don Quixote building is closing and moving here? I’m not 100% sure but you might need to make a reservation to go to the shop too (this will only last for the first couple of months just like the Harajuku shop). The website doesn’t make it clear that’s the problem. I’m looking forward to visiting the place in December.
This is the link to the official cafe/shop website: http://www.akb48cafeshops.com/
It seems these days that China loves to copy everything Japanese. Not content with copying mascots, theme parks and anime characters now they’re copying idol groups too.
Say hello to AK98 which is the chinese equivalent of AKB48. This new idol group is run by a company called sina.com. I don’t know if this is true or not but apparently it has cost the equivalent of $4 million dollars to create AK98! Their manager says he has never heard of AKB48 but if you take a look at the audition video below why do they play Baby Baby Baby as the background music. Sorry but I don’t buy this excuse at all. Some of the girls in the photo above have been made to even look like their Japanese counterpart (I can see Miichan, Chiyuu even Takamina without her bow). The AK part of the name BTW means Angel Kiss. Does Aki-P have a credible claim to sue sina.com for copying his idol format?
Thanks Asuka for informing me about this group.
Here’s the PV for NMB48 ‘s 2nd single Oh My God which has a football theme to it. The story behind the PV has the NMB48 members playing a match in which they’re being destroyed by a rival school until at half time Erika Jo enters the fray and inspires a comeback though we never get to see what the final score was and it ends on a bit of a teaser as we don’t know what happened after the PK – did it go in or not?
It’s a nice enough PV and the members look great in their cheerleading outfits.
IXA Ready - Fist On! 