A Tribute to the Queen

Let me be clear from the start: I'm not an Atsuko Maeda ("Acchan") fan, nor do I particularly like Acchan. Not a big fan of her personality and character, especially when she becomes all "Yeah guys, I'm popular so I can't be stuffed doing anything".

But sometimes, you've got to take off your bias-tinted glasses. Each and every one of our personal opinions of her is insignificant and irrelevant when you look at the amount of effort she has put in for the group thus far.

Beyond 1830m

夢の河は過去から今へ今から未来へと流れてる。"The river of dreams runs from past to present. It keeps flowing towards the future". T/L Credits

The familiar yet crowd-revving tunes of Heavy Rotation closed off what was arguably the most important three evenings in the entire history of AKB48 thus far, as the members said their goodbyes, showered in a glittering stream of confetti, motivated by the spectre of a shining Atsuko Maeda ("Acchan") in a gleaming white wedding dress moments before, herself looking forward to a bright and uncertain future ahead.

Fantasy Series: Family and Friends - A Primer

Same basic rule as per other "Fantasy Series" blog posts apply here too.

Shot taken at a restaurant.  She'll probably kill me for uploading it here. 

Imagine a world where everything about AKB48 does not exist (i.e. Aki-P did not form AKB48), yet the girls retain all their stereotypical and notable characteristics. And imagine if some of them lived where you live, formed a part of your actual social/friendship circle and co-existed in your daily life.

Welcome to my world.

Some Booze, Blokes and a Smoko

This can be interpreted in so many different ways, I don't know where to even start...

If you haven't heard already, five HKT48 girls just got given their marching orders - I don't buy this "they left for their own personal reasons" spin, and neither would most people. Days before this happened, one of the girls who left, Yui Komori (Uitan, hereafter), left a rather ominous, premature graduation message (translation here) on Google+, which was quickly redacted later on and taken down. Not long before that, the ever-controversial Rino Sashihara (Sasshi, hereafter) left some rather strange comments about two of the girls and about AKS management in general. And earlier this month, Yuko Sugamoto (Yuukosu hereafter) apologised in response to some allegations against her for meeting up with some guys. Rumours were, and still are, flying around concerning alleged scandalous behaviour - underage drinking, smoking and a select few wota getting "special" treatment - from the HKT48 girls which possibly led to the sacking, even before Sasshi and Uitan posted.

And as we all know very well, AKB48 scandals and the fanbase are a rather lethal mix.

Crisis in Sakae...?

Everyone's favorite faces of surprise, shock and destructive doom. Well, almost everyone...

Doom and gloom predictions seem to be in vogue lately, if we're talking about SKE48. Looking at the news recently and going through the usual fan opinions might make one think SKE48 should go on life support, if it wasn't on it already.

Thinking about songs

I think this needs to be said, just to clear things up once and for all, because certain people exhibit a clear lack of understanding as to how I think about things and form an opinion, especially when it comes to music.

This is how I form opinions on songs:

Sampling
There are two types of sampling: first sampling and full sampling. Both essentially give the same first impression, the difference coming down to timing and nature of the sampling (first: usually small radio rips, minute samples from tie-ups etc.; full: PV rips, leaked releases). In both cases, they do not constitute a definitive opinion, just an impression of how I think I might like it or not. A taste of what to expect, so as not to surprise myself later down the track.

2 week breeding period
Every song that enters my (iTunes) music library goes through an initial 2 week burn-in in full, at the highest possible quality where possible. This allows me time to get used to the nuances and nature of the song much more than based on a quick couple of listens. From there, I make a more solid opinion as to the song. Often, it can be significantly in contrast to (or not that much different on the other hand) to my first impression. For example:

• SKE48 "Aishiteraburu": First impressions - decent, but middling. First opinion - great. So much so, that long-term, it's now 5-starred on my iTunes. 
• NMB48 "Nagiichi": First impressions - bland and derivative. First opinion - yeah, it's pretty good depending on mood/context. 
• Same can be generally said with (e.g.) Virginity, Kazanbai, Sweet & Bitter and quite a lot of other songs. Historically speaking, they tend to be more positive than on first impression, but that is not always the case (e.g. Fruits Snow).

General listening
A general term used to describe my daily listening habits. After an extended period of time, I come to a far better understanding of the song in question, in which my opinion of it either remains the same, or I give a more favorable perspective of it.

I do not expect my thinking process here to be anything radical - in fact, I don't see this being any different to how other people form their opinions on songs.

Having said, I do apologise to all those affected for my possibly over-reactive behaviour. However, I absolutely do not apologise for my impressions/opinions at whatever stage of the process I am at.

Fantasy Series: Idol University (Part 2)

Continues from here.

Fantasy Series: Idol University (Part 1)

This is the first in a series of blog posts, where I kick the boundaries of reason, reality and common-sense to the curb and let my imagination go wild. Don't expect any form of "serious commentary and opinion" here - just a whole lot of bizzare and downright silly "what if" scenarios. You have been warned.

Imagine if the prerequisite to getting into an entire fandom was a university-level degree, and that there were schools providing such education for interested people.

Enter the Idol University.

Challenges Facing the Next-Gen

To use a oft-quoted statement from the boss, Yasushi Akimoto ("Aki-P"), himself, "2012 will be the year of reform". Atsuko Maeda ("Acchan") is going. The Tokyo Dome concert goal is fast approaching and about to be realised. Where to from here? Eyes are slowly starting to turn towards the next generation of AKB48, one that is not led by the Atsuko Maeda-Yuko Oshima-Minami Takahashi triumvirate. If one pays regular attention to AKB48's activities, we can surely put the pieces together. But just because we might be able to piece a picture puzzle together doesn't mean it's a good-looking picture in the first place. I will attempt to dissect a few important factors that need to be considered at this critical point in AKB48's history.