Nogizaka46- AKB48's official rivals?

As announced a couple of months ago, AKB48 producer Akimoto Yasushi has created AKB48's official "rival" group, Nogizaka46. Unlike SKE48, NMB48 (my current addiction; I love them) and SDN48, these are supposed to be rivals to AKB, implying that the playing field for current idols is so relatively weak that AKB48 needs a group produced to be a rival. Which, despite the current idol boom and the ridiculous number of idol groups out there, is kind of true. AKB48 doesn't have a group that's direct competition.

According to sources like Tokyohive, they won't have a theater (unlike the AKB sister groups) and already have a senbatsu of 16 of the 36 chosen members.

As shown by various websites they have a young average age, which I think is a good thing. The public in general prefers its idols young, and the fact that AKB48's average age in most senbatsu lineups is about 18-19 (with Jurina kind of throwing everything off) is a bit of an anomaly for idol groups. Another interesting thing is that they won't have a theater, which means that they'll be focusing on other things than getting that together. This is what I think might turn off some of the more serious AKB fans; I know that NMB48 was cemented as one of my favorite idol groups when I saw their stage show and enjoyed it thoroughly. However, this might be good for the group members as a whole. AKB48 and the ultra popular members of other groups (Matsui Jurina, Matsui Rena, and perhaps Yamamoto Sayaka and Watanabe Miyuki) are busy busy people, doing stage shows, promo events, variety shows, etc. This might make the group a bit less of a difficulty than the main ____48 groups are.

The one thing I'm reminded of is when Tsunku created TNX and the Nice Girl Project to be "rivals" to Hello!Project. In fact, it's almost exactly like that. However, TNX ended up being a bit of a trainwreck. Not saying anything about the members, but the sales were terrible and I don't know how much they ended up using that "Hello!Project rivals" concept. Then again, that was introduced far after H!P's peak, so I'm betting that Nogizaka46 will fare MUCH better than Nice Girl Project did.

Only time can tell what will happen with this group, but I'm kind of excited to see what happens!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 29

Day 29: In your opinion, who is/was the best leader of an Idol group?


This is honestly fairly easy for me. Granted, I could be biased as hell. Ishikawa Rika was v-u-den's leader, and I really think she did an excellent job; Erika and Yui were brand new when added to v-u-den, and yet the group really gelled like they'd been there for a while. No one felt weird or out of place, at least to me. I also love Yajima Maimi, and she impresses me as a leader, too. She really does take care of her group. One thing I saw was an interview with both Berryz and C-ute around the time of their concert together. The whole group was talking about their H!P Kids days, but Kanna wasn't a part of that (since she was added later). Maimi made an effort to ask Kanna what she thought. 


This also brings up the question of what makes a good leader. Leadership is really not THAT significant, because the idol who's the leader doesn't make any of the business decisions, doesn't write the songs, doesn't make any of the big decisions. Often times, I don't really think that leaders of idol groups do all that much at all.


However, a good leader of an idol group is one that I think brings all the girls in the group together behind that one person, loves and works hard for the group that she's in, and works hard for the others. And the person I think does that best is...

AKB48's Takahashi Minami.

I just can't help but admire the ways she really loves AKB and puts so much effort into making it a great idol group. I always have had the impression that even if Takamina wasn't in the most popular idol group around, she'd still love the group dearly. She's a member that the others can get behind, and I really appreciate that!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 27

Day 27: An Idol you have a particular appreciation for.


Another toughie. Before I get to the real answer, I have to say that I appreciate all idols like crazy. Idols have tough jobs. They work very hard each and every day, training, singing, dancing, performing, on variety shows, etc. These girls work full-time, and if they are underage they still go to school (any idol that ends up going to university as well gets my wholehearted appreciation). In addition, these girls aren't paid THAT well (compared to Western celebrities, at least; these girls aren't rich). Also, unless you're someone like Maeda Atsuko or Takahashi Ai, chances are that you'll have to see other people prefer other girls to you, which has to be a tricky thing for self esteem. These girls are put through a lot, and so I think every single girl who decides to be an idol and sticks with it and the hard work deserves a lot of appreciation.


However, one of the many girls I really appreciate is...

AKB48's Hirajima Natsumi!

Most people do forget, I think, that Nacchan was one of the original founding members of both Team A and Team B. She's probably the least appreciated of the original members who haven't graduated yet, and that's a shame because she really has great energy and is really a fun member. She's also a great member in Watarirouka Hashiritai. 

Nacchan is a wonderful member, and I know I appreciate her!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 26

Day 26: An Idol whose character you like.


This one's kind of tricky for me, because it'd be SO easy to name any one of my favorite idols. I'm going to say that this means character as in on-screen personality, and not actual character (i.e., not Charmy Ishikawa or Lovely Takahashi, actual separate characters).


With the given fact that any of my favorite idols (Ishikawa Rika, Oota Aika, Iwasa Misaki, Sasaki Ayaka etc.) would probably take this spot if I wasn't trying to be comprehensive about things, a character I like is...

AKB48's Sashihara Rino.

If you follow AKB then you're probably very familiar with Sashiko's antics, but if you're not, Sasshi is a wota. Big time. She followed AKB a lot before she joined, does wotagei, and talks about idols. A lot. Sashiko has been growing in popularity, and I imagine that her wota fandom is a huge part of that. I know that I can identify with her; if I was anywhere near as outgoing as she is, I'd probably act as affectionate with idols, too.

I have no idea if this is true or not or what Sasshi's fan demographics are, but I'd imagine she'd be a great figure for Japanese female idol fans, as a way of going "see, Sasshi's into idols, it's not super weird for me to love them as well." Maybe the widespread appeal has been doing good things for her popularity?

Like I said, I really don't know, but it'd be interesting to find out. But yeah, Sasshi's very fun. She even has her own term for when she gets overly enthusiastic about her fellow idols, Sasshiharassment.

Which often is directed at my oshimen, Oota Aika. So yeah, I can totally relate to Sasshi.

おめでとう、Happy Disco!!

People who read my blog (I love you!!) I have some news.

This is my 100th post on Happy Disco. Yaay!!

This is the first image you get if you search Happy Disco on Google Images. 

My infatuation with idol music isn't going away anytime soon! Usually when I start up projects/blogs like this I get bored quickly and stoop doing it, but I really do enjoy what I do here on Happy Disco.

First up: If you guys read this and have read my blog before, what types of posts do you like? Would you prefer more straight up reviews, more lists, more rambles about the nature of idol pop? I'm just curious to see what people would want to read from me.

Secondly: I'm still continuing my 30 Day Idol Challenge and Tokyo Idol Festival series', but I'm thinking that since the 30 Day Idol Challenge will end soon that I will start a new regular segment. What do you guys think I should do? Reader feedback yay.

And since I want to make this a fun 100th post, in honor of my long posts here on Happy Disco I'm going to do a list of my top 10 idol PVs. (in no particular order).

Note: This list is largely personal, and I'm also betting that in a day or two I'll find a PV that will make me wish I included it in this list. Also it's only idols, nothing else.

SKE48- 1! 2! 3! 4! Yoroshiku! 





I feel like, if anything, this PV is proof that you don't necessarily need to have a story to make an interesting PV. This is in my opinion a perfect idol PV. It's shot well, edited interestingly, and even when they're focusing on things like the dance shot, it's not shot at some unmoving flat angle, but moves around and really makes it interesting. This is the first of SKE48's "Let's hire the entirety of Aichi prefecture to be in our PVs", and while I really like Banzai Venus, I think that the extras had a better role here. They really do a lot to add to the excitement and really keep the energy up high.

Finally, the PV really plays to the strengths of the girls which is always something that a good idol PV should do. This one plays to the fact that SKE48 has really strong dancers by having the dance-off scene as well as focusing a lot on the dance shot, since they have an interesting dance.

This PV is just a joy to watch, and I absolutely love it.

v-u-den: Kurenai no Kisetsu



In my opinion, this is the forgotten v-u-den PV; the one that no one really knows or thinks about. However, it's one of my favorite PVs of all time.

Again, there's no story except Rika, Erika and Yui all have to look sad. However, the scenery and set pieces in the PV are absolutely gorgeous. I'm not very knowledgeable about cameras, lightings and settings for those things, but I'm curious about what they did with the color with some of this. I think they might have changed something? But the colors do seem warmer some places and cooler in the dance shot, and whatever it is it looks cool.

The part that just wows me and that I love about this PV is all the playing around with mirrors. In addition to being great set pieces (the cracked mirrors near Erika are particularly stunning), the way that shots play around with them is amazing. I'm particularly fond of whenever they look into the mirror so that it looks directly at the camera. Also, from what I know of filming, I know that mirrors have their own set of issues, since they tend to reflect things which often can include the people filming the thing. When the PV director inevitably went "alright, this PV will center around MIRRORS" they were obviously taking a bit of a chance, but it totally paid off.

Beginner (original ver)- AKB48



I'm so happy that AKB48 released this PV on DVD so I didn't have to use the low quality PV obviously filmed by a phone that I first saw this PV from.

This PV is very well known among current idol fans as the one that got banned, that AKB wasn't allowed to air on TV so they had scramble and come up with their PV that got on the DVDs and could be aired places, a mix of the dance shot and the making of.

However, the original PV is now in high quality thanks to new DVDs and it totally deserves the praise it's given. It has a really interesting Matrix-like story of the girls being plugged into games and banding together to stand up and stop fighting each other but fight the system, the machine they're in. The moment when Acchan finishes screaming, tears away from her old arm and evolves to be able to fight the system just sends shivers up my spine, as well as the moment when Yuko hugs Takamina so Jurina can pull the plug.

This is a PV where I desperately want more, so I can know a back story. And that's why it's up there among my top ten PVs.

Top Secret- Hangry & Angry





This is definitely a bit of a personal choice for me, but a year and 9 months or so later (wow, it does NOT feel like that long ago) I STILL love this PV and watch it on a regular basis. This is another one with amazing sets, good design, and it's really edited interestingly.

However, in my opinion the biggest strength is the performance of Yossy and Rika. Like I said in my Reconquista review, one of the biggest strengths with Hangry & Angry is that Yossy and Rika have been active idols for over 10 years now, even though they were probably the most famous back at the start of their careers. They both have a LOT of experience and as such always give really fantastic performances live and in PVs, and this really reflects that. The way that the two of them act in the PV, interact with each other and the camera, it really speaks wonders of their experience.

So while the PV is made very well, Rika and Yossy are really the stars of the PV, as they should be.

Enkyori Poster- AKB48's Team PB




However, despite the experience of Rika and Yossy lending well to their performances, the girls of Team PB do really well. So well that, after I saw this vid, for a while I decided that I was a "Team PB oshi" and that I would support all the Team PB girls forever. That's not so true right now (though I do love all the girls in Team PB), as I'd probably, if anything, would classify myself as a Watarirouka Hashiritai wota.

HOWEVER, the point still stands that all the girls are outstanding in the PV. It solidified my bias towards Oota Aika and it definitely moved Maeda Ami and Miyazaki Miho up further in my ranks. Myao in particular.  She basically nailed this PV.

The one thing that eluded me for a long time, though, is WHY I thought Enkyori Poster was so brilliant. It's fun to watch because the girls all look like they're having a blast and they all do very well with their energy. But why is this PV considered one of my top 10, with such simple backgrounds and props?

Well, after thinking this it really hit me how brilliant this PV is. The song itself is pretty simple; it's about the feelings of a fan who loves and supports their idol. The lyrics have in the past made me tear up with things like

"though it seems that i can't quite meet you you are there by my side more than anyone else
at times I make mistakes and about to give up I will just gaze and dream of you meeting me face to face" (taken from Stage 48's Studio 48.)

Those words are really particularly meaningful to me and a lot of idol fans; who hasn't gone through a rough patch at school or work, and come home and just watch things with idols to self-medicate? I know that when I'm feeling down and when I feel like I can't do anything, what I really do is watch something with Rika, Lovetan, Wasamin or one of my other favorites and just imagine them.

This PV takes those lyrics and takes that thought, and moves it to one guy's room. Now, he's fantasizing about the girl(s) (he's totally Yukirin oshi) in his poster, but then we move to the posters. As we would expect from this being a PV, the girls sing and dance like usual. However, we sometimes see through to the other side of the room from in the poster, to see that it is really a poster, to remind us of what we're watching. Furthermore, whenever the girls sing and dance around the room, the posters are blank, so we know that this is about the girls of the posters.

There's more to it, though; one of the things that I liked a lot about the PV originally were the different angles that we see the girls at in the dance shot. However, the camera rarely moves during the dance shot; it moves once or twice panning the girls. But the thing I realized is that the angles that we see the girls in the dance shot, the unmoving shots, are really the angles that might be in a poster, further cementing this.

The other parts of the PV are close up shots and the girls dancing in the guy's room. However, during the close up shots, nearly everything that the girls do is straight up posing in ways that would be seen on a poster. They only move freely in the guy's room when the fantasy is at its peak. When the fantasy is confined to the posters, every move is a cute pose, reminding us that these girls are just on the poster and not in reality.

Finally, we see a shot of the man staring at Yukirin, cementing the fact that the PV was his fantasies of his 

idols, not reality.

Mirai Bowl- Momoiro Clover

First off, if you haven't seen the extended version, do so now. You'll be glad you did.

Sorry I can't embed it!

This is gold. It's set up like a cheesy old-fashioned sitcom, with the introduction at the beginning and a laugh track and cheesy music. The story is an obvious Grease parallel... only that there's a relationship between a girl named Sandy (Kanako) and Danny (Akari). Two newsies are there to get them together (Shiori and Momoka), I guess? Also, Danny is a super amazing bowler, so that's important for the music part of the PV. However, Leader (Ayaka) wants Sandy too, with Reni as her assistant. In the drama part of the PV, I have to say that I love Ayaka and Reni's part the best. Ayaka's deep gangster voice and Reni figuring stuff out by going "give me chappa chappa etc." is just amazing and hilarious. They kidnap Kanako by going "It's a UFO" and pointing.

I love all MomoClo PVs dearly, but I had to pick this one because it has the most hilarious plot of all of them. The girls know how to ham it up in these roles and it's just funny because it doesn't begin to treat itself seriously. These girls are also really great dancers and performers and that in itself makes it really fun. The comics-style effects are also really fun, and the break where they actually have the bowling game over Kanako's heart is just super fun to watch.

Not putting Ikuze Kaitou Shoujo, D' no Junjou and Pinky Jones on this list was super hard,  but just by PVs Mirai Bowl never stops being really fun. It's one of those PVs that seems like it must have had a fairly small budget, but made the most of whatever budget it had and then some. No matter how high or low MomoClo's budget is, they totally make up for it and then some.

Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou - AKB48





Yes, I picked the suicide PV.

Keibetsu never fails to make me emotional and cry. You just feel the hopelessness of the girls throughout the PV, and the images of Yuko going to commit suicide are just heartbreaking.

This PV, even though it was in AKB's early years, has a lot of depth and maturity to it. The way they act, when you see Sae leave the school because of bullying, leaving Yuko alone, you feel like there's more to it than just what you see in the PV.

The color scheme is also dark, fitting in with the rest of the PV, and the looks of the girls at the end, almost going "You know what you did" just never fail to be haunting. I know people who miss AKB48 from when they were less popular because of stuff like this, and I honestly don't blame them. I love the current happy idol music that AKB and co do, but songs and PVs like Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou are certainly missed in the current lineup.

Meguru Koi no Kisetsu- C-ute

This is definitely a big change of pace from Keibetsu. XD

I love this PV so much, you guys have no idea. On the one hand I really really like C-ute from a visual standpoint (if that makes any sense) because I love how they dance and perform with such energy. This is super apparent here in the dance shots, close up and other shots, where C-ute is in high form, doing very well.

The reason that Meguru Koi no Kisetsu is on my list and not any of the other C-ute PVs, however, is that this is a perfect example of how a budget isn't anything. This PV doesn't look like it cost  much of anything; a few backdrops, a few props, nothing radical that would cost a lot of money. However, the seamless way they move between all the backdrops and use them creatively is really something. I've seen a lot of people complain about the budget in H!P videos, when this PV would seriously counter that. PVs are a lot more interesting when they take whatever budget they have and use it creatively, like they did here.

This PV is fun, really enjoyable, and overall really well done.

Watarirouka Hashiritai- Gyu




Guys. I love Watarirouka Hashiritai. So much.

This is probably my most subjective pick on the list, but I don't even care because I love it. The whole PV is like a drama; I can imagine that this is some romcom drama about five girls with their own problems and relationships and it'll be one of those things where they all bond over their relationship troubles and stuff. This is something I want.

But anyways, they all have their relationship things:

Harugon (Nakagawa Haruka) doesn't have any relationship issue. She and her "boyfriend" (which is one of the MSN messenger "people"; was this sponsored by MSN?) are all happy and in love. Good for her, I guess.
Lovetan (Oota Aika) has an unattentive boyfriend who flirts with other girls and not her, even though she's the girlfriend. This is where you have to suspend disbelief in the PV, because who would choose other girls when there's Lovetan. Though her slap is kind of my favorite moment ever in any PV. When this came out I watched that slap about 10 times in a row.
Nacchan (Hirajima Natsumi) is basically playing me, because she has a thing for her teacher. In the PV she hugs her teacher in what could potentially become harassment? Teaching the English word for hug, yeah right. And the whole classroom claps, which makes me think that the classroom is writing Nacchan/teacher fanfiction.
Ayarin (Kikuchi Ayaka) gets confessed to by a guy but then turns him down. Which makes me believe that this is the final test after her scandal; if she decided to get with the guy then she's gone for good. But yay, Ayarin stays.
Mayuyu (Watanabe Mayu)... runs? Mayu, running isn't acting, oh wait, for you it is, OK. I've heard theories that she's romantically involved with another girl because they take Purikura together with some other girl (which is usually just with girls) and I like this theory a lot.

This is a fun PV with a fun story and it's about hugging. I love hugs. So, it's a favorite.

Zutto Suki de Ii Desu Ka- Matsuura Aya







The rest of the list is in no particular order, but this is my #1 favorite PV ever. I think it's ridiculously well-crafted, creative and beautiful. The way that they use a continuous shot through all the beautiful sets is really well done. If you watch the PV making of it isn't editing trickery or whatever; they really did do most of the filming in one fell swoop, with Aya running around the backs of sets to get where she needs to be. It reminds me a bit of one of the scenes of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that involved the main actors running around the backs of sets to get places. If I think "Oh, maybe Michel Gondry directed this PV?" then you KNOW it's a great PV.

It's not only doing the continuous effect, but it also has really gorgeous sets; I particularly like the one with the clocks. It has a twinge of a surreal feel, too, since you see the way it gets to all the different sets that are clearly fabricated.

Still it's gorgeous and I love it.

A very subjective list (that took forever to write), but there you have it! Happy 100 posts, Happy Disco!!!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 22

Day 22: Favorite outfit an Idol has worn.


I have a confession to make.


I really hope that it's not going to hurt my wota blogging cred, but it's the truth.

I'm basically in love with Yasai Sisters. The song, the PV, I love them both.

I can't really pick a favorite costume; I'd legit wear all of them. Well, except Sayaka's. And Suuchan's. But other than those, I'd gladly don the Tomato costume, the red pepper costume, Lovetan's Petit Vert costume, all of them. 

I really like this PV/song more than I probably should.

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 21

Day 21: An Idol who has charisma.


Dictionary.com's definition of charisma: "2. a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people."


And since I seriously doubt that idols are dealing with spiritual powers. Unless we believe that Mikitty really is a goddess. In that case punish me, Miki-sama.


Charisma is, to me, the most important actor in an idol. While people go over singing skills, dancing skills, acting skills, personality and looks, all of those are second to the factor that is charisma. Charisma is simply the thing that sets apart an idol. All other flaws can be forgiven if a girl has serious charisma. Because it really is that "it" factor, the unknown thing that just makes someone interesting and appealing.


And the one idol I'd say has oodles of charisma...

AKB48's number 1 front girl, Maeda Atsuko.

Now first off, let me preface this by saying that while I like Acchan, she's not my favorite AKB girl. She's definitely not in my top 5 members and probably not in my top 10 AKB members. However, she has oodles of charisma.

Acchan's value as front girl of AKB48 is something that's been contended for quite some time. And it's somewhat fair. Acchan doesn't have the best singing voice, the best dancing skills, the best looks (though she is very pretty) the best acting skills, and while she has a sweet, girl-next-door type of personality she's not particular in that regard. Yet there's just something about Acchan that's compelling and hard to deny.

When I first got way into AKB, I was kind of anti-Acchan. Not TOO bad, but I'd definitely wonder what Acchan has that my favorites didn't. However, what Acchan really has is this great charisma that makes her successful.

I think every idol needs charisma, but it's Acchan that definitely has it.

~Summer~ Time to be Refreshed by Idols!

I was absolutely excited to be informed that I was going to blog for the International Wota Summer Refreshment Program. I absolutely love the Intlwota site and not just because I've been getting plugged there lately. XD I've been checking the site and their chatroom, Wotachat, for much longer.

So, since I was excited, I decided to take this post and Happy Disco on a field trip; where to, might you ask?

The world-famous Mall of America.  (I know it's world famous because I've seen enough Japanese tourists there). It's just a train ride from my house, so I know it like the back of my hand.

Yeah, my local mall has a theme park INSIDE it. But I didn't ride any rides today, because they're expensive and I've been on them before. 

I worked here for a summer. Doll Hair Stylist. So if you guys ever need an American Girl doll's hair styled, I can do it for you.

For my summer refreshment item I went to my absolute favorite food place in the mall to get one of my favorite desserts ever; I went to Paciugo, a gelato chain. I like other places at the MoA; if you want to be into Japanese culture go to Tiger Sushi, which has really yummy stuff. Mmmm.

I ended up getting amarena black cherry, meringue, pannacotta and my absolute favorite flavor, Mediterranean sea salt caramel. Mmm. The gelato was a lovely and delicious treat and is definitely refreshing...

As are idols! (oh GOD, why did I think of this segway when I was at the mall??)

How I wrote most of my first draft; a journal and my Charmy Kitty pen. And yes, I bought a Charmy Kitty pen for exactly the reason you're probably thinking right now. 

Lately I've been working on a post about why I think AKB48 is so popular. This question has many answers (one of which is the focus of that post which will probably be up in a week or so), but one think that I think is valid in how they've maintained their popularity since River came out in late 2009 is their seasonal schedule.

I'm not going to judge anyone for what they listen to or how they listen to it; however, I know that when I listen to music on my iPod, I have very specific tastes that change with different times.

If I'm not being clear, let me explain. Earlier today I was mowing the lawn and doing yard work. When I was working, I put my AKB music on shuffle. Did I feel like listening to Tobenai Agehachou? I love the song, but no. How about Bird? Again, it's a great song, but not fitting the mood. How about Ponytail to Shushu? Perfect.

People have been noticing AKB48 operates under an annual schedule for years now. Their first single, Sakura no Hanabiratachi was graduation themed, something that is a huge part of the spring-season for Japan. Two years later, Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008 came out, and since then every year has had a spring/graduation single; 10nen Zakura, Sakura no Shiori, and this year's Sakura no Ki ni Narou. 

However, recently AKB48 has started adding more to this by having summer-themed songs. Now, this isn't completely recent; I'd argue that both BINGO and Baby Baby Baby are pretty summery. They're upbeat, happy (even if the Babyx3 PV has its fair share of weirdness), and are set either on a beach or at the pool. However, it seems like the newest tradition is directly about summer (and hair accessories?) with Ponytail to Shushu and Everyday, Kachuusha. Both have been released about the same time, right before we're in the middle of summer, and are upbeat songs about summer and youth. It also helps that the PVs feature bikinis.

What I mentioned before about what songs I chose to listen to during the summer might just be me, but I really don't think they are. A while back, at a meeting at work, we were all asked what our favorite summer song is, as kind of a fun question. I actually mentioned Everyday Kachuusha (even though no one else knew what that was), but nearly everyone picked pretty similar songs; happy, upbeat, feel-good songs. 

Another example: I personally love holiday music (see my post about idol holiday music last year). However, even though I love it a LOT, I don't want to listen to it right now in the dead of summer. I want idols singing about having fun and wearing bikinis. 

Again, I don't want to speak for everyone here. But as a general rule, I think that people, especially casual listeners, will want to listen to happy, fun, upbeat songs as part of the summer experience. What I want to emphasize here is the casual fan. Of course the hardcore AKB48 wota isn't going to care what type of song AKB releases in summer; if AKB48 were to go "Christmas in July, we're going to dance around dressed as Santa!" it would probably end up selling a good deal of copies to hardcore fans. However, that's probably not going to grab the casual listener, unless the casual listener likes that kind of silliness. 

Getting casual radio listeners to go out and buy a single is probably one of the big ways an idol group can grow. Of course, they're grateful to their hardcore fans. However, these summer songs could be something that would promote growth within AKB48. A casual listener might go "I like Ponytail to Shushu as a good summer song, I think I'll buy that" and then when the next single comes out go "AKB48 did well last time, so I'll pay attention to Heavy Rotation."

At this point, though, AKB48's growth is so huge that I'm going to point to a smaller example: the relatively new idol group from Avex, Super*Girls. At this point AKB48 is so in the public eye that the "AKB48 does Christmas in July" would in fact sell well. Even if they did Kwanzaa in July, people would go "Ok, I don't know what that is, but it's AKB48 so I'll buy it. "

Super*Girls are not the biggest idol group in Japan by a long shot.Their first single, Ganbatte Seishun did pretty well, with about 13,500 singles sold. They had an album before that and even before that they did live performances. 13,000 is fairly respectable for a debut idol group. It's not spectacular, but it's not terrible.

Then, this happened.

Super*Girls' new single, Max Otome Gokoro, ended up selling over twice as much as their first single, over 29,000 copies. They didn't beat Morning Musume but came pretty close. Now, I'm not going to say that the only reason that the song did so well is the summer-theme, but that has to be part of the reason. I mean, that level of growth has to come from somewhere, and I have to think that having a summer-themed song and PV is part of it. I know that I didn't really pay that much attention to the group before this single, and I know that I love it. 

Conversely, I have to do a bit of criticism of my own favorite group, Momoiro Clover. I'm not going to blame the girls at all. However, when Ikuze Kaitou Shoujo came out, there was a pretty big buzz surrounding the group. It then ended up taking the group about five months to put out a new single, but they had had the preview for the B-side, Coco*Natsu, out for a while. 

Despite the group having some buzz in the idol community, there was very little growth in popularity. Again, there's probably a dozen reasons why this happened, so many so that it can't be pinned on just one thing. However, I'd argue that maybe part of it was because Pinky Jones ended up being the A-side, Coco*Natsu was the B-side, and it ended up being released in November. I wonder if there would be some growth if Coco*Natsu was the promoted A-Side and it was released back in July? There's no way of knowing, but I think there's a good shot. 

The same week that Max Otome Gokoro was released, Morning Musume released their latest single, Only You. I'm sure if you follow Morning Musume you know that their sales have gone down considerably. However, Only You was pretty low as far as sales go, dropping even further. They still ended up beating out Super*Girls in terms of sales; however, I'd go so far as to say that Super*Girls "won" because of their considerable growth as a group, in contrast to Morning Musume's decline. 

A lot of things are thrown around about why Morning Musume's sales are declining, which is especially pertinent because of the current idol boom Japan is facing right now. Japan loves idols. However, I also wonder what Morning Musume's single would have done if it was happy, summery and had bikinis in it. I mean, I still listen to Morning Musume, and I follow the group mainly for Erina and Aika. However, if I had to pick one song only I'd for sure go with Max Otome Gokoro.

Take from this what you will, and it's certainly not a be-all end-all thing for sales. However, I know what I like to listen to in the summer; happy, upbeat, summer-themed music, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. 

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 19

Day 19: Which Idol would you like to be for 1 day?


This actually took some thought from me. 


In the past my answer was always Yoshizawa Hitomi, since she's good friends with my favorite idol, Ishikawa Rika, and if we were doing Hangry & Angry things that day I'd have to be very close to Rika, which would be super exciting for me.

However, despite how much I like Hangry & Angry, Yossy and Rika, the fact is that Yossy isn't a very active idol nowadays. Sure, she's been keeping herself busy with Dream Morning Musume, Hangry & Angry and other activities (one other reason I couldn't be her; I am NOT running marathons). I wanted to find an active idol. 


So after some deliberation (and the loveliest IM from my friend Dani, who compared me to Maeda Atsuko in a very positive manner), I chose...

AKB48 Team B's main front girl, Watanabe Mayu. Now I know that Kashiwagi Yuki has beaten Mayuyu in the senbatsu election. However, a this point in time it really feels like Mayu is still the definitive Team B girl, who sets the feel that Team B has. It's like when Yuko beat Acchan in the senbatsu election; Acchan was still THE AKB48 girl, no matter what the election said.


I would want to be Mayuyu simply to feel how it would be to be a major idol player. These days the AKB48 girls are SO busy and are working almost daily. These girls work REALLY hard. And I think it would be really interesting to see just how hard it is to be one of these idols we love so much.


I could have chosen Acchan, Yuko or any other front girl for this purpose, but if I could be Mayu for a day then I could perform the Team B stage, which would allow me to perform Yuuki no Hammer, Inseki no Kakuritsu, Theater no Megami, Hatsukoi yo Konnichiwa and, most importantly, my beloved Team B Oshi. Mayu gets to be in the kickline for Mariyannu's line, which would be amazing for me.


Plus, Mayuyu is really close friends with my favorite AKB48 girl, Oota Aika, so I could be like "Hey Aichan, let's go have a sleepover" and we could hang out outside of work, and I could probably hug Lovetan, which is kind of my dream. Basically I'll be whichever idol gets to hug Lovetan; though maybe not Sashiko.

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 18

Day 18: Favorite Idol concert.


Hi there toughest question ever.


Here's the thing. Some people really like getting every episode of certain TV programs to follow idols. I like live performances. I can't watch every concert, and my hard drive prevents me from seeing everything, I try to find performances on YouTube and watch them, especially with songs I like.


After much consideration, I have to name a couple of them.


First off, it's not ONE Concert, but it's the AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 Series. If you're not super familiar with AKB, this is the annual concert where AKB48 fans vote on the songs to get in the concert; the songs are then performed in reverse order from the most votes, starting at 100, moving down to the most voted song of the year.


One of the reasons I love these concerts is really because it introduces you to a lot of songs. Occasionally I'll skip some song, or not listen to a subgroup or unit song because I'm not as into the members of that unit. However, watching one of these concerts does a LOT to inform you about AKB48. There are quite a few songs that I learned about because of these concerts; I'm not a big Team K fan, so I didn't know about how much I love 16nin Shimai no Uta until I heard it at a concert. 


Finally, it really allows the fans to participate in the concert directly; you get to see which songs are really popular. Sometimes I disagree with the fans; the fact that A6's excellent song "Akogare no Popstar" didn't show up is disappointing. However, it often allows for some great moments.


One of the most memorable performances in this series was for the 2009 concert, when Team B (often regarded as the underdog team) got the #1 spot with their song Shonichi. It was a really amazing story of the underdogs winning, and it never fails to get me crying. 

It's so moving, to see my favorite AKB girl, Oota Aika, crying like she is. It's just a great concert series, and definitely one of the highlights of an AKB48 fan's year.

New AKB Dating Sim set in Guam~

It was just announced that the sequel to AKB48's first dating sim (or rather, rejection sim) game, "AKB 1/48 Aidoru to Koishitara", which will be titled "AKB 1/48 Aidoru to Guam de Koishitara" (REALLY original title there) will be released in October.



I talked a bit about the first game here but even though some people are somewhat negative about it, I don't think it's a bad thing. I've seen the videos of my favorite, Oota Aika, and yes it has made me flail about uncontrollably when she tells the camera (me!!) that she loves me. It's marketing at it's finest; who DOESN'T want to have their favorite idol tell them they love them?

My only issue is that I'm a DD (meaning that I like everyone). Lovetan is my favorite, so I'm sure I'd go with her, but rejecting the rest of them would be HARD. I'd be going through the game and then suddenly I have to reject Mariyannu? I LOVE Mariyannu! I have to reject Wasamin? How does that happen? I'd also have the issue of going "OK, I'll replay the game, but THIS TIME go with Wasamin!" and then run in to the roadblock of having to actually reject Lovetan. This game would be emotionally stressful XD.

This time around, I don't think there's many more differences other than the whole "It's in Guam! Bikinis, hooray!" I mean, it'll be cool for us fans to see new vids of our idols telling us they love us. But if someone was a casual fan, I doubt this game would be super popular, especially if they had the first one.

I don't think the brand new Team 4 is included in the game, but they have the 90 minute video which includes Ichikawa Miori going "Anata no Kanojo ni naritai no~" Instead of "Fresh lemon ni naritai no~" which made me giggle.

All in all, while this is definitely not revolutionary (especially being a sequel to their other game), I'm excited to see the stuff surrounding the game. I don't have a PSP, so I doubt that I'll be getting this game, but I bet those AKB fans who have a PSP are thrilled right now!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 13

Day 13: Your favorite AKB48 member.


This is super ridiculously easy for me...

Just from looking at my blog, it's pretty easy to see that I'm a huge Ishikawa Rika fan. However, what's not as apparent is my undying affection for AKB48's Oota Aika.

First, you can obviously see she's cute. I really do go for the cute types, so straight away I noticed her adorableness, her one dimple, and the fact that lolita clothes REALLY suit her. 

Then I noticed her on stage; Lovetan (best nickname ever, am I right?) always looks like she's having a blast on stage. She's not the best singer or dancer, at least technically, but she's always really fun to watch in performances. This next performance in particular is REALLY fun to watch, especially near the end, to see how fun Lovetan is.



Then I started to learn about her personality; Lovetan is a HUGE anime nerd, and talks about it nonstop on her blog, and is really not afraid to say anything about that. She is slightly sharp-tongued, but in an adorable way. Basically, Lovetan is pretty honest and says what she means, which I think is a good quality in an idol, since so many idols are kind of fake. This ends up being kind of funny, because while she often complains about being harassed by Sashihara Rino, she later complains about being neglected by Sashiko. Ahh, Lovetan, you can't get it both ways.

She's also a Miichan wota, which ends up being an adorable thing.

And a while ago I was able to watch Lovetan's birthday LOD, where she was read the SWEETEST message from Iwasa Misaki, who talked about Lovetan being really nice and inclusive to Wasamin, even back when Wasamin was a kenkyuusei, and now they're close friends. It's the sweetest thing and Lovetan ends up crying, as did I, when I first heard it.

Lovetan is an amazing, funny, wonderful AKB48 member. She has a fantastic personality, cute appearance, cute voice and great performance skills. I'm always proud to be Lovetan oshi, because she's just THAT amazing.

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 10

Day 10: Your favorite "undebuted" Idol (Hello! Pro Egg, AKB48 Kenkyuusei, etc.)


Just because, I'm going to name two!


The first for Hello!Project fans is the (former) H!P Egg Sekine Azusa. Now it looks like Sekkii is going to get some work in Up Front Girls and UFZS, but since the group is mainly doing KPop dance covers at the moment I'm still counting her as undebuted. 

She's a GREAT performer. She has oodles of stage presence in addition to being one of the most skilled singer and dancer of the H!P Eggs and possibly of current H!P despite being relatively young; she gained some good recognition when she did a duet of Romantic Ukare Mode with Kikkawa Yuu at only 12 years old! In my past idol rankings I've always said that I'll push Sekkii up higher when I get more stuff with her in it, and it looks like UFZS/Up Front Girls might do that. She is such a sweetheart and I love her. 

And now, my other favorite undebuted idol...

I like her better than Sekkii, which I never would have thought about an undebuted idol, especially an AKB48 Kenkyuusei. Since the whole concept of the KKS is that they have to keep reauditioning and might leave at any time, I've been hesitant to get behind an AKB48 Kenkyuusei.

And now she's pretty much tied with Oota Aika for favorite AKB48 girl and second favorite idol. What.


I just love Natori Wakana that much. When I first saw her perform Romance Kakurenbo (the   solo song that a kenkyuusei performs before a performance of the Team B 5th stage) I was immediately interested. She has oodles of stage presence ALREADY, and this was her first ever performance of everything! That voice, that performance. It was amazing. Then I saw her performing with the Kenkyuusei the song BINGO during the Request Setlist 100 2011 and she was just so cute and energetic in how she performed it. 


Finally, I saw her in the 11th generation Kenkyuusei special on the show Ariyoshi AKB Kyowaku, where they all competed in various tests. One of them was picking up snakes (there were three of them) and putting them in boxes. In the previous challenge, Wakanyan had shown her fear of lizards (by having one mess up her dancing). However, she braves through it and the snake BIT HER. Instead of freaking out and throwing it off her, she takes the snake that's biting her and puts it in the box. And then goes for another snake. That's bravery. (However she did get either last or second to last in the running competition because that was too much XD). It shows a really strong personality and I just found that amazing.


Yay Sekkii and Wakanyan!!

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 8

lol I'm late.

Day 08: Which Idol's voice do you like best?


This is a bit controversial in American idol fandom, but I REALLY don't care about voices that much. If a voice is annoying I'll dislike it, but it's not 100% necessary for an idol to be really skilled at singing. I love voices that are traditionally seen as "bad."


I guess I have two examples; the first is of course, Ishikawa Rika. I LOVE her voice to pieces. Some people hate it, and I just think a couple things. First off, singing live IS a bit tougher on her, since she does have a pretty low lung capacity and asthma; she has some breathing issues, so when she's dancing around singing live isn't so easy. However, I love her voice ESPECIALLY in non-traditional things, like Dekiru Onna and in As For One Day. That's where her voice shines; it's so hauntingly beautiful. 




I LOVE Rika's voice as the first line here. She's good enough to be a soloist, IMO. If she sang more things that sounded like Dekiru Onna I would love everything.

However, my current vocal love is AKB48's Natori Wakana. Wakanyan is ridiculously talented, even for being a research student, and I want nothing more than for her to get lots and lots of solos with this voiiice. I normally don't care about vocals, but when they're as beautiful as Wakanyan's she MAKES me care about hearing her more and more.

30 Day Idol Challenge Day 6

A bit late, but I'll do two days today.

Day 06: Your favorite subunit


And the answer is definitely, absolutely....

The lovely Watarirouka Hashiritai (7).

No matter what lineup: The original four, that group plus Ayarin, and Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 which includes Komorin and Wasamin, I love them all.

They really are a great match, all seven of them. They're all really cute, singing and dancing to really cute songs, and all of them do so with such enthusiasm and energy (and yes, I include Komorin in that count). They're the type of group I'd 100% follow even if they weren't all associated with AKB48. They fit so well together, that I just love them. 

30 Day Idol Challenge- Day 3

It's the third post I've made in a row! Wow!

Day 3: If you are a boy, who would be your girlfriend?

Now, obviously I could very easily say my idol favorite, Ishikawa Rika. I do think she would be the perfect girlfriend. She's caring, funny, seems like a good person to be around, quirky, and the fact that she's drop dead gorgeous doesn't hurt. 

How can one woman be so beautiful? It's enough to give me a complex

However, IMO this is the easy way out. I mean, she's my favorite idol ever, and if I was a boy I have no doubt in my mind that I'd go for the cuter/feminine girls. I mean, that's my idol type. I tend to go for the girly-girls. 

So, I was thinking "Hm, Rika's too easy. Who else of my favorites would I like to go out with?" The highest girl on my ranking that I could think of is the AKB48 KKS Natori Wakana.

She's cute, a fantastic singer, a really good performer, and is seriously brave. (Watch the 11th gen KKS special of Ariyoshi AKB Kyowaku (sp?); she picks up one snake, it bites her, and she picks the next one up) I LOVE Wakanyan so much, that even though I haven't seen her in that much she's my 3rd favorite idol ever (after Ishikawa Rika and Oota Aika). 

However, I don't know THAT  MUCH about Wakanyan. I know that I adore her, but she still hasn't really gotten enough exposure to show her personality. Granted, I think she's shown herself to be really cute and great, but would I want to date someone I didn't know that much about?

That's when it hit me. The girl I'd want to date so much if I was a Japanese boy and had any chance in hell with her. 

The choice was obvious! My choice of girlfriend would be the lovely Iwasa Misaki, AKA Wasamin. Now, Wasamin's totally an underdog; she's not a frontrunner in AKB at all, not making it to the top 40 in the senbatsu elections, and her only big promotion has been a DVD with Komori Mika as well as her stint in Watarirouka Hashiritai 7. 

However, in the past six months or so I've gone from knowing next to nothing about her to being a huge Wasamin wota. Why? because she's that fantastic.

The first place I knew of her was actually in my AKB Oshi Oota Aika's birthday show. In that show, the message that was read for Lovetan's birthday (by.. Sasshi, maybe? I forget) was by Wasamin, who said lovely things that ended up being something that further cemented Lovetan as my favorite. But even still, the sentiment was lovely and sincere, and I wanted to know more about her.

Wasamin really just seems to be this all around wonderful sweetheart. Many fans know her and love her for her voice, which is indeed fantastic. But to me, the things that have really endeared Wasamin to me have been her personality. She's definitely not the outgoing type. However, she just seems to be one of the sweetest girls in all of AKB, with a lot of maturity. Also, one thing I've noticed is that even though she's potentially one of the least popular girls in AKB, she always seems to be enthusiastic about the group. She also doesn't try and conform to the group, and I mean that in a good way. How many idols actively sing enka in events, even though that's not necessarily popular with wota? Enka's not even my thing, and I've got to appreciate Wasamin going with what she likes. 

I'm also completely charmed by Wasamin in this vid. She's just such a sweetheart, it's unbelievable.

So yes. Even though I gave it a lot of thought, I'd TOTALLY want Wasamin as a girlfriend, with both Rika and Wakanyan as 2nd place.