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.
Whilst the final night was expectantly dominated by Acchan tributes and songs, the other two nights were just as significant in nature. The Tokyo Dome Concert series were expected by many to throw up some major clues surrounding the future direction of AKB48. So when Togasaki (Tomonobu, AKB48 general manager) stepped out onto the stage dressed in a well-fitting tux on Day 1, just like every other time (in history past) that he appears on stage, the heart of the entire fandom stopped beating. And boy, he didn't disappoint.
Shufflin' like a boss
Many have expected it to come, even more feared its return since 2009. Arguably one of the biggest shake-ups in AKB48 history - yes, even bigger in scale than Budokan - and right up there with Acchan's graduation announcement in March, Aki-P laid down the crux of his master plan for the future right from the get-go in Day 1. Tears were shed and emotions were high, both on and off-stage, physically and virtually. The complete list of members and teams affected have been posted here, but suffice to say, the implications of these changes are vast. Let's have a look at the major features of this 48-wide shuffle:
1) A complete rebuilding of each team from scratch, aka. "Tearing up the existing team list and starting from the ground up".
Regardless of which reasoning theory you subscribe to - the "rebalancing according to election ranks/implicit popularity" seems to be a common and, in my opinion, plausible one - it is apparent Yasushi Akimoto ("Aki-P") must've told himself and/or his management staff to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and redraft the entire AKB48 team lineup from scratch. Indeed, a quick scan of the name list suggests a complete rethink, historical affiliations and image thrown out the back door (I'm looking at you Haruna Kojima and Mayu Watanabe), save for very few. This move would undoubtedly inject some freshness and life into a group that was, in the face of consumer interest waning, gradually becoming increasingly comfortable in their status quo - Aki-P is a firm believer of the girls rising up to new challenges. However, this complete rebuild also inherently devalues the team system and the image each team wishes to portray; consider how many girls have actually retained their existing spot. Any semblance of a "legacy image" might be found through the retaining of certain "core" girls in each team (e.g. Mariko in A, Yuko in K, Yuki Kashiwagi ("Yukirin") in B) but even that's a particularly weak argument in the grander scheme of things. Particularly for the veterans (and especially for those theater-goers) who have grown to know and love AKB48 for some time, this is a pretty important issue and such a team shuffle, bigger in scale than Budokan 2009, risks alienating this highly important consumer group. The challenge for Aki-P, then, is to redefine each team's image so as to maintain a balance between freshness and familiarity.
2) Team 4 no more
One of the biggest "casualties" was the elimination of Team 4 completely, its members reshuffled into the other existing three teams. Perhaps Aki-P has finally woken up to the criticism seeping underneath the carpet, so to speak, concerning the (arguably flawed) existence of Team 4 in the first place - some of its issues I have covered here. This announcement could be a signal that a (current) Team 4-centric strategy might not be a good strategy (compared to possible alternatives) going forward and answers a question some of us, myself included, have been asking since the creation of Team 4: why would the 9th-11th gen. KKS not be better served if they were allocated into A, K and B? Or it could simply imply that Team 4 was never meant to be permanent (a "stopgap measure", if you like). Combined with a policy shift (see point 5 below), the overall effect implies a (temporary) stoppage of AKB48 blowing up into some kneejerk alpha-numerical team soup (remember, Team 8 was actively being considered not too long ago; of course, the TDC shuffle doesn't prevent Aki-P reviving Team 4 and 8 later down the track either). It's not entirely smooth sailing though: deleting a whole team is costly for all involved, even if it was packaged as part of a whole group shakeup. Team 4 already has quite a number of unique songs (Hashire! Penguin and Chokkaku Sunshine come to mind), a fairly vocal fanbase and could operate as a standalone team. Not to mention the close bonds formed between its members since KKS days (indeed, many Team 4 girls still wish to be identified as a "Team 4" girl), although such could likewise be argued with the other girls in the 48 Family (and look what happened to them). You effectively not just devalue "Team 4", but are stripping it bare and leaving it as a mere shell of what it used to represent. Then again, I ask: what (kind of image) did Team 4 even represent and what was its place in the family in the first place? Especially if it was intended to be nothing more than temporary, if we take a more cynical perspective?
3) Dual membership and cross-group transfers
Just as Aki-P forewarned since SSA, we were to expect more of these dual-membership moves between groups in the future. We certainly got some more in TDC; the increasing member fluidity across the entire family demonstrated so strongly here as an integral part of the future of AKB48, and implied that it will be here to stay, for now. In other words, the "sister groups to AKB48" and vice versa moves shouldn't at all be a surprise. Looking at the actual moves in a bit more detail, Rie Kitahara's ("Kitarie") (to SKE) and Yui Yokoyama's (to NMB) moves seem to play to their regional affiliations, whilst the other two suggest only of a "learning experience" akin to the motivating factor behind the SSA transfers (which, of course, would also apply to Kitarie and Yui). What is more interesting, however, is Aika Ota ("Rabutan")'s direct transfer to HKT48 (as opposed to mere dual membership with the others) - whether she personally requested the move or forced by managerial discretion (for as yet unknown reasons) is debatable. Problem is that, indirectly, this transfer just makes (Rino) Sashihara's deportation to HKT48 "punishment" a total slap in the face for those calling for her blood. Putting on your cynic glasses for a minute, one might view this as a "punishment for Rabutan", having done nothing wrong, and adds more fuel to the already fiery "managerial injustice" fire. Nevertheless, Sashihara would be very delighted to see her anyway...
4) Passports to Shanghai and Jakarta
Don't say we weren't warned about it. Now whether the girls affected actually asked Aki-P to sign them up, as their entries might suggest, or were compelled by management to do so (given some of their actual reactions on stage to the announcement) depends on how cynical you are of management/the idol world in general. As for me, on balance, I'm taking a cautiously optimistic stance: whilst I don't dismiss the notion of "everything is fabricated in the idol world", these are international transfers after all - one does not simply
5) Member number policy shifts
Another important point that was mentioned involved the implicit "no more than 16 members in any one team" rule. Which, largely, has been abolished as of this team shuffle. There's also a disclaimer attached though, that despite the removal of this rule, only 16 members can perform at any one time during a standard theater show. Whilst the abolition of this unwritten rule makes some sense given how Aki-P loves to bring in new members more than it "kicks out", it only serves to highlight this very problem - members aren't leaving. The only fix, then, is to remove this artificial limit and inflate the size of each team. Whether this will be sustainable in the longer term remains to be seen. Moreover, the theater performance limit probably speaks more of the physical constraints of the AKB48 theater than anything else I suspect. In any case, it does solve the aforementioned Team 4 "problem", but it also looks quite ungainly to simply just expand the team member limit in an effort to try and rectify this long-standing issue.
6) From Captaincy to Manager-in-Chief
Minami Takahashi ("Takamina")'s promotion to an entirely new role as a "general manager" of sorts was certainly unexpected. As the current defacto "captain of the entire AKB48 family", I see this not only as a formal recognition of her importance as the backbone of AKB48, but an elevated sense of responsibility that has been bestowed upon her. It would be slightly far-fetched to suggest she's replacing the man Togasaki himself, but what exactly this role will entail, whether she'll continue to perform in her usual function as a Team A member (as well as in most of the singles etc.) or taking more of an operational and backseat role, is still unknown at this stage. Remember, she's no longer captain of Team A - that has been entrusted to her fellow elder stateswoman Mariko - so I would expect her to take on larger, more important tasks throughout the entire AKB48 family. For now though, she can wear this badge of honour with pride. But there might be another reason, as Day 2 revealed...
The Short Girl Takes On the World (?)
Not to be outdone by her promotion, Aki-P gave her a nice little present the next day: her very own solo single debut. About time, really: Takamina is one of AKB48's better natural singers - yes, more so than some of the other solo debuts (I'm looking at you, Sashihara or (Tomomi) Itano). Then again, better late than never at all. So what can we expect? In terms of the actual release, proper, not much - it's a single release, how can it be possibly so different to the other previous solo debuts? However, there is one very interesting factor: it's being handled by Universal Music Group Japan. You might at first think, "So? It's just another Big 3 record label operating in Japan. What's so special about UMG?". Have a look at the artists that are currently on their label, for starters: SNSD, KARA, Dreams Come True, SDN48. The first three are big names worldwide and in Asia. Perfume's just signed on to UMG too - why? The potential for international reach, and it shows: a quick search of iTunes Music Store Australia shows you can now buy their UMG-label releases, Spring of Life and Spending all my time - for AUD$2.19 - without needing to be in contact with any Japanese music store (digital or otherwise). The not-Asian UMG representative, who appeared on screen to give Takamina the big news and speaking in English, also adds a nice "international touch", too. Of course, I'm not saying Takamina's signing on to UMG would necessarily give her international exposure from the get go - apart from their first release in Korea, SDN48 didn't either. Nevertheless, UMG gives her the potential for it, if she indeed wants to pursue that path. And for UMG, it's a huge sigh of relief after the loss of SDN48.
Three days of giant cylinders, cages and cakes
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| No, this isn't something out of AKB0048. Or Alien, for that matter. |
No, I couldn't be there at Tokyo Dome. Time and money are against me. But it would be amiss of me if I didn't make at least a small mention of the actual concert proper.
Day 1, we saw the past amalgamated with the present, starting from the beginning of time, where the opening words and notes of "PARTY! ga Hajimaru yo" echoed across the stadium, channeling the spirit of December 8 2005 throughout. Day 2 pushed us right into the heart of 1830m, with a smattering of tunes taken from the newly-released album. Day 3 looked back at the past to look forward; a concert dedicated to Acchan herself, the star of the show. Indeed, many a tear was shed when the notes of Yume no Kawa played and the lyrical melody touched the heartstrings of member and audience alike.
Most of the setlist across all three days, apart from the aforementioned highlights, consisted generally of stage song shuffles and long swathes of single medleys, with only a few short appearances by a select few from those in Sakae, Namba and Hakata. And yes, what better way to cap each day off than with a combination of Gingham Check, reminding us that it's coming out in three days, "AKB48 patriotic" songs like Shoujotachi yo and First Rabbit, and of course, the omnipresent, high-energy Heavy Rotation. No real surprise, then, as far as the bulk of the setlist is concerned.
I eagerly await a Blu-Ray release. Sorry, DVD's not enough AKS.
Reactionary
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| Despair, Grief, Trolling and Rage. Sums up post-Day 1 fan reactions, really. |
As one would expect in any announcement-filled AKB48 concert series, fan reactions would be mixed. This weekend was no exception: reactions to the shuffle ranged from outright rage, shock & awe, to a pleasant sigh of relief (although generally, most of them leaned towards the foremost). Whilst no doubt there will be some anger directed at management and Aki-P at the enormous impact of these changes, it's better to keep calm and breathe. Yes, some fans would certainly be miffed that their oshi is being shipped overseas and are concerned that quite a large number of team bonds have been severed (in the case of Team 4, the entire disbanding of the group). Indeed, the "AtsuMina" (well, obviously, considering half of it is heading for the sunset anyway), "SaeYaka" or "MaYuki' shippers would feel quite depressed at the outcome. However, I feel that in these important times, we need to look to the best interests of the entire group's success, not just being self-interested. Everyone wants their girl to be happy. But in the process of doing so, sometimes we forget the big picture. Sure, I suspect there might be some short-term teething problems. Yet it often ceases to amaze me how far we've come since those fateful days of Budokan 2009 - million sellers, the Japan Record Award, international fame and household name status. We need to look to the long-term aspirations, growth and eventual success stories of AKB48. Because ultimately, this is what AKB48 is all about - meeting challenges, putting the effort in to overcome them and being rewarded.
Towards the Future
Now that all has been said and done, the goal that took 7 years reached and all, what next? Indeed, there was nary a mention of "new stages" or other big ticket items (no, the 28th single nor Request Hour 2013 don't count) that would really underline AKB48's future even more. But at least we now have a clearer picture, regardless of good or bad you might think it is, of where AKB48 intends to head post-Acchan and post-TDC. And hopefully, the group will continue to shine as brightly as Acchan's wedding dress did tonight in the days, months and even years ahead.
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