Let it be known that I have absolutely no interest in modeling or high fashion.

This is definitely not the show for me.

But it has an interesting cast!

Actually, I decided to watch this for two reasons. One of them is Akarin, who I’m very curious to see how she develops especially when she can’t lean on SayaMilky but has to lead on her own. Akarin typically displays a ko-akuma character, which literally translates to “little devil,” but I like to metaphorically translate it to “bitch”.

I don’t really like bitches.

On the other hand, she’s also shown that she’s capable of being nice and even a leader in certain circumstances, such as in MCs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her really take off one day.

The other reason I wanted to watch was to see how Rippi fares. She has a really sharp and entertaining tsukkomi, but when it comes to her actually doing stuff she seems really clumsy and/or shy. Can she get out of this looking good, I wonder.

She’s also stated aspirations to be an actress but says that she judges her acting skill based on how many scripts she’s gotten: none.

Wow.

They squeal over their long legs. Forget that, some of them are quite hot, lol.

Their teacher belongs to the promotion company erg-Au. What? Who comes up with these names?!

Rippi ejects here. “Look at me, there’s no way I’d become a model. My chest starts where their legs start.”

The classic Rippi tsukkomi. Well done.

One thing that really bothers me, and I don’t know if it’s just the way she puts on make up, but she looks like she’s sad all the time, giving us the dreaded Jaden Smith look. Man, that look bothers me so much. It makes me worried about something for no reason.

The three girls get to practicing.

And she laughs at how bad they are.

They get hella schooled, but it looks like they didn’t even really want to try when they did their example walks.

Meanwhile, Rippi goes to clothes design school.

This dress looks like it’s made of toilet paper, lol.

And then more boring walking lessons.

“I think my chest got bigger.”

I can’t imagine this series being that entertaining, especially since they were mostly quiet. Haru complained a lot but that’s nothing new, and generally there wasn’t a lot of talking except when they were in the car.

I also can’t imagine any guy being interested in this. Maybe a biomechanics major or something, but learning about how to walk like a female model is just not a very useful thing, nor is it particularly interesting. Oh well.

Title: Ishizuka Akari’s Wish

http://ameblo.jp/nmb48/entry-11793788180.html

 

Hello!

This is Ishizuka Akari, also known as Anchu.

Thank you for looking after me.

Since 3/11, 3 years have already passed.

I will never forget what happened to me 3 years to this day.

 

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46, the world would change.

 

3 years ago, I was just an ordinary student in Chiba.

Like always, I was going to school without a care in the world, preparing for club activities…

Then the earthquake hit.

At first, it was shaking just a little bit, and just as I thought it would settle down…

With a feeling that I’ve never felt before, the shaking intensified.

The 13-year-old me felt that, for the very first time, she was prepared to die.

Club activities were cancelled, and we all huddled together, scared, as we returned home.

I commuted by bike so I put on my helmet as I went home.

With my helmet and my bike I could use them as a shield, but, I felt scared for those who were walking and didn’t have anything to protect them.

On the way home, I remember being shocked at the number of collapsed buildings, and I was scared that more earthquakes could come.

I couldn’t sleep at all that night.

The great Eastern Japan Earthquake… the damage wasn’t limited to those collapsed buildings.

There was the damage that came from the tsunami caused by the earthquake.

Even the biggest people and the tallest buildings were washed away one by one.

 

I saw this video on the news.

It was such a shocking video. It was the first time I saw things fail to hold up, and I had thought it was just a CG movie that they made up.

Furthermore, it wasn’t big news but

Asahi City in Northern Kujuukiri Beach in Chiba also received some damage.

When I was in primary school and I belonged to a mini-basketball team, we played against a team from Asahi City, and I was really shocked that this could happen there.

Furthermore, there was the nuclear disaster.

That day, the wind and weather in my area was alright.

 

It didn’t exceed the standard but compared to other areas it seemed a bit high, and it might have been my imagination but I had nose bleeds 4 times that day.

 

Lately, my throat has been hurting when I sing…

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.

 

It’s scary to live life being fearful all the time.

 

But it’s not anybody’s fault.

That’s why, instead of being sad, I laugh, and I think it’s better if life is just fun.

And so today, I performed in Osaka, Namba’s NMB48′s Revival Support performance.

I wanted to go to the disaster areas and help, I wanted to cheer them on with my heart, but because of the circumstances my wish couldn’t be granted.

Although I couldn’t go to the disaster area, maybe by singing here I could be just a little bit helpful.

Someday, I want to fulfill my wish and visit the disaster area.

I don’t know when the next earthquake could hit.

It could even be as soon as tomorrow.

No matter what happens, I will be cheery in my own way, and I will sing on stage to make other people happy.

In order to make a lot of people happy…

Now, normally I don’t read people’s blogs, because the blog system in NMB is a mess. I was intrigued because I was paging through G+ and she directly linked to her blog. Usually the girls will say “Hey, I wrote a blog! Check it out!” but Anchu actually provided the link.

And, well, what a post. I’ve been starting to like Anchu a lot lately. Before I only knew her from her Geinin appearance and thought of her as just some funny girl who yells a lot, but as I’ve been watching the stages, she’s calmed down a lot and is starting to show a lot more maturity. She’s a lot better when she shows a more human side, like in the skit when she was worried she wouldn’t be able to memorize her lines.

This post really brought that into perspective. Ninjas came into my room and started peeling onions.

This appearance was so adorable! Maybe because the gymnast, Shirai Kenzou, had the best reactions, and he’s no slouch either. I heard Gold Medals are hard to win. The only one I have is flour that I use to make baked goods.

There he is! Confessing his love!

Last year, I think he got medal at some big event (maybe Worlds) and the coach was trolling him to confess his love for his favorite idol, which happens to be Yamamoto Sayaka. This year, they decided to prank him by having Sayaka surprise him.

This dude even has a move named after him. At 17.

Explaining the infiltration plans.

Sayaka dresses up as this stuffed animal, and Shirai will do his patented twist flip and introduce the special show. Little does he know that his beloved idol is trolling him in the costume.

First she has to get through the door.

Secret hug that he will treasure for the rest of his life.

Then boom, here comes the surprise.

Wait just kidding, just trolling.

SURPRISE!

The reactions between the two were so adorable. It was like a real life J-Drama, as both of our protagonists were blushing at each other while telling each other how awesome they were. Sayaka even brought a surprise for him.

Doing work in the kitchen

Handmade donuts. I bet if she sold them on Yahoo Auctions she would make thousands of dollars.

Shirai is ecstatic and follows up perfectly to all of Sayaka’s comments. For example, Sayaka tried to twist the donuts four times, since the move that Shirai is known for is a quad-twist. As you can tell by the picture, it didn’t come out that way. Shirai just casually says “It’s okay. There are two twists in each donut, so 2+2 = 4 for the quad twist.

This kid is smooth!

I uh… regret taking this picture.

And here comes an incoming side rant:

It’s weird, I used to be a huge Sayaka fan. In fact, I won my trip to the election based on my message to her on Google+. But I have to admit, when you get really popular, and you earn the attention of all the fans, you do have to feel left out. It’s not like I’m trying to be hipster or anything, like “Oh, I liked her before she was popular,” but there’s only so many people you can really pay attention to in life that you can’t expect to get the same treatment you did before.

I still am a fan, but she seems to be walking the path of so many other girls that exploded in popularity… or with AKB, when the whole group exploded in popularity, that I just respect them more as celebrities and less as “idols you can meet.” They may not have graduated from the group, but they have in my mind, and now I put her on a level where I put all the other Japanese celebrities I like, like Ueto Aya and Ishihara Satomi.

One thing I really don’t want to do is identify myself as “that” fan, like when you go to a handshake and you do something silly in hopes of being remembered, like have a goofy haircut or dress up in a ridiculous outfit. You see things like this and it makes me feel good knowing that she has such a well-respected fan.

This probably explains why BII became my favorite team. They’re talented and underappreciated, and it makes me feel good knowing that I’m one who does appreciate them, that I can make a difference, that I won’t be some random guy that wears a silly hat but because they aren’t popular, they can build up a more robust fan relationship.

Ah, but who am I kidding… I haven’t even been to a handshake event yet. Just waiting for my one time where I buy like 20 tickets and go all out for my trip. =)

Been trying to catch up on a lot of NMB48 stuff. Still bitter over the shuffle, but lately Stage 48 has gotten some good members and posts so it’s been fun recently. I’ve been struggling to find something to write about.

In the meantime, enjoy some random video content, some of it subbed, some not. You’ve probably already seen it if you follow S48.

Some people have said that they want to get to know BⅡ but they can’t because there isn’t a lot of subtitles and stuff. And by some people, I mean one person.

Well, not to worry!

Here’s a very brief description of each of the members.

Akazawa Hono (Honori)

-Takes on the sexy character of BⅡ, not much to really say other than that. She has a very tiny mole under her left eye and jokes about how it makes her sexier.

Ishizuka Akari (Anchu)

-A ball of energy, aspires to be a comedy actress. She isn’t as crazy as she used to be but is still a strong presence in shows and MCs and can be quite loud.

Ijiri Anna (Antan)

-One of the older members of BⅡ. Pretty good at talking and MCs. She tends to yell a lot and has a kimochi warui (creepy/gross) character.

Ueda Mirei (Miire)

-Not known for doing much besides being cute. One time Mako told her to demonstrate her killer tsukkomi and it was terrible. Also refuses to let her face be seen without makeup.

Yuuri Ota (Yuuri)

-A bratty girl like Shuu, loves to make fun of other members. Great talking skill aside from that.

Katou Yuuka (Uuka)

-The lesser known of the two BⅡ members who get into senbatsu. Calls herself beaver. One of the top dancers in NMB. Some Japanese fans like her childish face combined with her oppai, but I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Kamieda Emika (Emichi)

-Likes horses. Has a palindrome for a name in Japanese. Accused of acting like a kid (burikko) all the time and enjoying being bullied. Rose to fame after getting 2nd in last year’s Janken tournament. Also somewhat known for having a really nice body.

Kusaka Konomi (Konomin)

-Often called enoki for her resemblance to that mushroom, also known for looking sleepy all the time. Very skilled dancer. She tends to be very tennen (like Kojima Haruna, free-spirited yet kind of “dumb”).

Kushiro Rina (Rinacchi)

-Prominent mole on her chin, also has the “idol look.” Quiet in MCs, and also takes care of a number of hamsters that she likes to talk about.

Kurokawa Hazuki (Haako)

-Deceivingly bratty like Shuu and Yuuri, but she frames it so that she sounds nice. Also acts childlike like Emichi. Decent performance level and a loveable smile.

Kouno Saki (Sakipi)

-Former local Hiroshima idol, plays off of her Hiroshima hometown image. Is extremely smart and could have attended Tokyo University (the premier university of Japan). Multi-talented, can play a number of instruments and has artistic skill. Was nicknamed Keromatsu (Froakie) by Shuu, and now is sometimes called Doraemon because of her high-pitched voice.

Kobayashi Rikako (Rippi)

-Loves fashion and has pretty good style when she dresses off-shot. Known for being short. Also has a really good tsukkomi. Graduating from the group soon to pursue fashion studies.

Muro Kanako (Murokana)

-Athletic with model aspirations. Talks a lot about dieting and exercise. Had a slight rise to fame when competing with Suda Akari in a limbo competition.

Yabushita Shuu (Shuu)

-The ace of the group. Extremely bratty and makes fun of people a lot like Yuuri. Infamous for going up to Yokoyama Yui and saying “Pearls before swine” when she noted that they both got pearls for the HA! filming, not knowing what the phrase means.  Killer smile.

Yamauchi Tsubasa (Chuba)

-The youngest of the group. Out indefinitely because of a foot injury. Known for being one of the best singers in BⅡ, she schooled everyone when they went to go karaoke.

My friend Kinchan is a member of Ayaka-chan’s Seitansai committee and is collecting messages and drawings for her. If you would like to send anything, please email them to the address in the photo. English is fine, as Kinchan is also bilingual.

I can’t say I’ve been her biggest fan, but she’s always impressed me in subtle ways. She played the piano as part of an orchestra during the 3rd Anniversary Concert for 12/31 and it was an absolutely spectacular performance.

I think it’d be great to show that foreign fan community support is very strong, so please send messages if you can!

It’s funny, this is my 200th post and I was going to make an extravagant entry about where I wanted to go with NMB and what my past has been like.

Then a bunch of stuff happened. None of it bad, in fact, it’s great if you’re an NMB fan.

-I joined the Teppen subs group!

http://www.dailymotion.com/teppensubteam

So now instead of getting all the fluff that you normally get when you read my blog, you actually get subs and you can form your own opinion! No more criticism of Japanese markets and 24-hour rice stalls! No more making fun of comedians trying to snatch 20kg!

I’ve been working on getting the Geinin movie out, that should be our first project and what a collaborative effort it’s been so far. By the way, if you are going to watch the subbed movie, please please please please please purchase the DVD. The Geinin movie is technically an indie movie and it helps so much to buy it and support the filmmakers. This isn’t Hollywood accounting where the actors get paid $50 million and the poor guy doing the lighting gets $18k/yr but he’s the one making the anti-piracy commercials, and a movie that makes $500 million with a cost of $200 million gets written down as a loss. Nope. Support it!

Please buy our movie…

-Stage48 is actually popping!

I actually got pretty bored with the NMB forum on S48 for a while. Not much news, I contributed a lot but there wasn’t much response, and it was pretty barren. And I usually don’t check the other forums.

But lately, there’s been an influx of active posters and it’s been really fun again. It actually feels like a good online community, so it’s pretty cool if you’re interested in something like that. I know, it’s been pretty tough because of the Daisokaku, and some of us occasionally get really salty and flame AKB’s management, but things have smoothed out and now we’re on track to enjoy the results of the NMB Request Hour.

It also helps that some of us new posters are less member-focused and more group-focused so you can generally get knowledge on most of the members. Especially as some of us favor less appreciated members.

Personally, I’ve been favoring the Aika Power lately…

-I joined a local fan group!

To be honest I was a little nervous. I had/have a lot of nerdy hobbies, like gaming and anime and such and generally there have been some communities where I just get completely weirded out. Idols perfectly fit in that stereotype.

But the group is fun. I can make really weird jokes like comparing the Clippers management with AKB management and people will get it! I can poke fun at people’s spending habits playfully without having them get offended! I met someone who has a bigger bench than me and a girl who’s almost as obsessed with food as I am!

Not only that but I needed to get rid of those negative stereotypes I’ve had in my head. Most of the people I’ve met that are idol fans are completely normal and socially-adjusted. Even some of the people that aren’t, hey, it’s not cool to hate. They get enough of that. People just need to be comfortable in this world, it’s hard enough.

So yeah, in a way, I’m even more active. Just not on my blog.

I don’t know why this picture is here. Oh well.

Where do I go from here? I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll still do some text translations. All of my video translations are up on the channel. We’ll see if my blog format is still necessary anymore. I’m not even sure what you guys think, so we’ll see!

I am actually really proud to be an NMB48 fan right now.

But first, the story of Team BⅡ.

To be honest, I was not a big fan of BⅡ to begin with. Yup, I was pretty much an N guy, as after all, they had the majority of TV time.

I remember reading about how they were only the team that failed to sell out their TDC revival concert, and had to campaign and hit the streets in order to complete the sell out. How sad, I thought. Nevertheless, I still didn’t really pay attention to them. Occasionally I would read about their new campaigns, like how they would learn Almond Croissant on live instruments, or learn the Party ga Hajimaru yo stage for only one performance, but that was all.

(This video was from a stage performed shortly after the TDC incident, and it was a skit on how they didn’t sell out as well as coming up with the Damasareta to Omottete Tabete Mitara Keikaku campaign.)

And so I even went to the 3rd Anniversary Concert and was mega disappointed with the setlist. However, in the process of watching the concert, I realized that my Japanese actually progressed to the level where I could understand MCs.

Starting with BⅡ‘s new Stage, I began to watch all the stages. Not just BⅡ‘s, but also Team N and Team M. And I started to really like BⅡ. Not in that way where you find girls that you just randomly like, but I really felt that a lot of these girls were legitimately talented. And that honestly became why I started to really get back into NMB again, because I was starting to find girls where I found a discrepancy between their popularity level and what I believed was their talent level. Whether it was the sharp tsukkomi of Rippi or the amazing dance skill of Uuka and Konomin or the underrated singing ability of Haako and Emika, I felt that they would benefit a lot from my support.

So I did support them. I became a BⅡ fan.

I was really bummed when they announced the graduations. I feel that the saddest graduations are the ones where you think they haven’t come close to realizing their full potential. There was even Honori’s mysterious graduation, where she didn’t even have a show; she just left after the final BⅡ performance.

And of course, there was definitely a huge blow felt with the Daisokaku, especially as the team that blew up the hardest was BⅡ.

With NMB Request Hour coming up, I decided to vote for the BⅡ song, Almond Croissant Keikaku, or AmoKuro. The song carries a lot of significance. Truth be told, it’s a pretty mediocre song, but it was the rallying song of BⅡ. They would mention it, use it as part of skits, it was THEIR song. Whenever they made videos, they would use AmoKuro. As much as I liked BⅡ, I also understood that they still weren’t that well known. You can look at G+ numbers and see girls like Sakipi and Antan and Haako getting 200~400 +1s while someone like Sayanee was regularly topping 5000.

I was really quite surprised to see AmoKuro take #9 at the AKB Request Hour. I think the votes were collected before the Daisokaku. And with NMB’s Request Hour voting coming after the Daisokaku, I thought it would be a great capstone to end the old BⅡ run. But I still didn’t expect it to be #1, I just really wanted it to be #1.

So, this year… I was ecstatic to see it rank at #1. According to Emika, it finished around twice as much as the 2nd place song, Zipper. And even more tremendous was the fact that management decided to bring back the 3 graduated members of Mako, Rippi, and Honori for this performance.

As a fan, this really meant a lot to me. This meant that the fans really do care and appreciate these girls, even if they’re not always at the top. This meant that management respected the fans wishes and the girls themselves by bringing back the graduated members for this performance. It was a moment that touched the fans, the members, and the management.

It makes me know that I am in good company with other fans, and that management respects and even helps our dreams come true. I’ve never felt more proud to be a fan.

There was always something about having this idol hobby that felt uncomfortable. But after this, I can safely say I feel comfortable supporting the group. I feel like being a part of this made all of my support well worth it.

I told myself I’d quit when I turned 30. I don’t think that’s happening.

BOSS

I’ve been following this YNN series with Lemon, Yamarina, Maokyun, and Fuuchan.

I’ve always felt Fuuchan had this latent character that is highly amusing, but it gets deferred for the stereotypical (boring) idol personality. It’s starting to come out here.

In the last episode she got really bored with the resin decorating and started trolling everyone. This time it’s her thing, so let’s see what happens.

Apparently, she was raised on a farm. You wouldn’t know it based on how her face is caked with makeup.

Yo dog, just chillin’

They literally drive out to the middle of the countryside to make ice cream. That’s… an interesting choice. Especially nowadays, with all sorts of ice cream technology. Gelato has become especially interesting lately. Do you know the difference? Gelato apparently doesn’t mix in that much air so it’s a lot more concentrated.

And look at all them flavors!

When I graduated university, I wanted an ice cream maker, so my older brother bought me one… like a $30-40 Cuisinart model. It does its job. It’s actually quite fun, at least, before I discovered my lactose intolerance. Well, that was fun while it lasted.

However, that doesn’t stop me from being quite educated on how to make ice cream. Yo, I watched the Alton Brown Good Eats episode on ice cream. That makes me an expert over the internet!

Miorin gets the sake-flavored one. What is she thinking?

When I made ice cream, I was told there were two types: Philly-style, which is just milk and cream, and a custard-style, which requires the annoying process of tempering and heating egg yolks but gives a smoother, creamier product. I don’t know if I ever did the custard-style properly. There’s this thing where you have to check if it coats your spoon and I never understood how to tell if it was right. Well, either way, at least I made some good ice cream.

By the way, basic vanilla bean ice cream made at home is so good. So good.

Strangely, their recipe uses powdered milk, which is something I haven’t seen.

They use Philly-style. I am aware there is no Philly in Japan. I wonder what they call it. After heating and mixing the base, they cool it in a tray of ice cubes. Not sure why they went so old school. We just stick in the fridge.

After that, it’s time to mix the ice cream.

Now, you want to talk about old school…

So to get the creamy part of the ice cream instead of just a frozen block of milk and cream mixture, you need to provide some agitation while the mixture freezes. This allows the sugar to bind in between instead of staying separate… I think. I forget. Alton Brown, help me please. For my ice cream maker, it uses a bowl that has to be frozen in advance, and then it rotates on a machine with this funny sort of spatula stuck in it, which provides the agitation. The old school days had a bucket trapped in another bucket filled with ice and operated with a hand crank.

These girls?

They have their base in a bowl, they put that bowl in a bowl of dry ice, and manually stir.

Yeah.

Sounds like a pain.

Fuuchan stains herself 3 times. Insert all the funny jokes with a milky white liquid on her apron.

The work is so annoying that Fuuchan employs child labor for the task.

Then they all eat ice cream and everyone has a grand ol’ time.

When I think about it, Team M has a lot of characters who I wouldn’t rank among my favorite, but who I’d follow if I see them on TV. It seems rather unfortunate for them. Maokyun is one of them, Renapyon is one of them, and I’d probably say Fuuchan is the queen among them.

Also I miss ice cream. I really do.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Anchu lately. I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s the fact that her look changed dramatically.

Old Anchu.

New Anchu.

No, that’s probably not it. I ain’t one of them people who only likes people because they look good. I’m supposed to like you because you won the genetic lottery and the lottery of life? I refuse to believe that about myself!

Well, I do like pretty people for being pretty, but only on the same superficial level.

I think.

I don’t know. Now I’m questioning myself.

So who is Anchu?

Ishizuka Akari — Former B2 member, Current M member

“Chu! Chu! Chu! With Anchu blowing a kiss, she’s aiming for a spot as a comedy actress!”

(Wow, that didn’t translate very well. There are lots of puns with Chu as well as “Getttchu” that are completely missed.)

I was first introduced to Anchu on Geinin 2, when she appeared with Momoka and Yamamoto Hitomi. She was a big ball of energy and performed a role where she would go and taunt all the members of the rival comedy club before sinking into Momoka’s arms and saying it was scary. That is pretty ballsy to go up and taunt your real life senpai like that.

The story further continued when they went behind the scenes and it turned out that Anchu was really bad at memorizing lines to the point of crying. Yup, that’s Anchu!

When I watched her B2 stuff, she also seemed really confused on what kind of character to have. One day, she’d claim to be an alien. The next day, she was a Dragon Quest otaku. The next day, an anime otaku. It got pretty strange, but I guess it was part of her real character, which was ADD-ish. The problem was that Anchu could be capable of some great MCs when she was firing on all cylinders, but she could have a lot of very strange moments, and more often than not she was a miss more than she was a hit.

As for me, I got slain by the Uuka Faint unit. It’s no surprise that that unit singlehandedly led me to become a fan of all 3 girls that were part of it, and sadly, they were all moved to separate teams.

Anyway, moving Anchu to Team M was probably the best thing they could do with her in the shuffle. Obviously, I think she was doing very well in old B2, but I’m not sure how she’d fit in with new B2. (Actually, maybe she would do well in N, they really do need a character like her, but I digress.)

Team M’s identity as the weird oddballs of the entire family makes it a great fit for her, well, at least when she succeeds. When she has good chemistry with Momoka it seems to work out really well, but there are a lot of times when Anchu bombs pretty hard and Momoka is just like, yeah, moving on.

Still, her Kantou-ben MC has to be my favorite MC of hers and perhaps a Kami MC for NMB.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2xO47Lpm5Frkv8wR2P

While her on-stage character is decent, the random glimpses of her true personality have shown that she actually has quite a bit of depth.

For example, after an old B2 post-performance breakdown, Uuka was kind of salty and reportedly wrote a pretty cold mobame that night. The next day, she posted a picture of her and a crying Anchu, saying that they made up and that Uuka likes Anchu, with Sakipi and Shuu commenting on how relieved and moved they were. And if G+ is any indication, they became better friends after that incident and actually hang out more.

Or, the post-earthquake post that she wrote on how she became determined to work in comedy.

Or, for example, her stress when trying to learn lines for the BII skit. Usually we’re used to hamming it up on delicious idol tears, like when Ripopo goes to a haunted house, but there was something very real about how she was worried, and it really put it into perspective on how she’s just a teenage girl just trying to make it.

When I think about all this, I feel that it would be great if Anchu turned out to be something, and her personality is one that draws me that wants her to hit more than miss, to be successful, and to enjoy what she’s doing. She’s definitely a work in progress now, but I’m really rooting for her to improve and get better.

Thanks, Nana.

For my next creative project, I’m going to be working on a podcast. Stay tuned! Hopefully it’ll be more informative than this blog. I wanted to stop updating it but I keep seeing random positive feedback which makes me think that this blog is a valuable resource.

And I finished the first episode! Or second episode, I guess, since the first episode will remain forever hidden. Maybe.

Oh man, the 2013 Nagisa is hilarious.

So today (or yesterday, I guess) was Shibuya Nagisa’s 18th birthday. I’ve moved past my Nagisa-phase already. That killer smile and her looks reminded me of the feeling you get when you had a crush in high school, and just like high school, I grew out of my crush.

I think she’s still cool though. Just not face-on-pavement when I see her cool.

But, I have to say, the development of Nagisa has been quite interesting to watch. Let’s ignore Tentoumuchu and focus on how she’s grown in NMB, specifically in regards to how instrumental B2 was to developing her skill.

Well, you two look quite happy about it.

Team B2 was the most mysterious team coming out of the shuffle. They shuffled most of their members out, they added a lot of wild cards (Lemon, Umechan from AKB, 4th gens like Chihhi, the 2 sisters of the Baka Shimai, the ace Milky) and they looked like they were the team that had the least amount of thought put into their chemistry.

And we were wrong.

In my opinion, they are the overall strongest team of NMB. I’d take Team N’s performances and Team M’s MCs, but for the complete pacakage it’s hard to mess with B2.

However, one thing that was very instrumental to Nagisa’s growth was B2.

First of all, she was given Mushi no Ballad. And let’s be honest, when she came out, it was terrible on the ears, nothing but a screaming mess of a song when it was known for such powerful singers like Akimoto Sayaka and performed by other strong vocalists of AKB like Takahashi Minami.

A solo? For the new 4th gen on the block?

Doubt rippled across our minds. Maybe she only got it because she was favored, gori-oshi, massive push, etc.

But, if you listen to her now, she’s decent! She’s nowhere near as good as Akimoto Sayaka, but she gives a spirited performance with a live voice. And that’s incredible, that out there one of the girls who is no doubt going to be an ace of NMB in the future, has grown this much and accepted this challenge and conquered it. In my opinion, she deserves her senbatsu spot after this stunning turnaround.

The other part of B2 that helped her out was being surrounded by great talkers. During her time with the KKS, she relied way too much on “Nagisa-mae ni machiawase ya de!” to bail her out of any situations in MCs, and it was a bit annoying and grating and one-note.

During the MC she is helped out a lot by Kinoshita Haruna, who is one of the best talkers in NMB and manages to bring out the best in other people. (She is also key to the growth of Chihhi in B2.) Not to mention, Milky and Shuu practically mocking her Nagisa-mae saying and getting a little boost by her more popular senpai.

Speaking of which, she has managed to forge a friend with Shuu and thus her Kusogaki/trolly side is starting to come out and it’s really improved the way she’s talking. She’s developed a lot of charisma on stage because of that influence, and she’s been able to challenge her senpai when they talk.

The possible faces of a new generation?

If you watch her birthday stage, she’s in tears when she talks about how she loves B2 and how they’ve supported her and helped her become who she is. It’s really hard to deny that she was put in a really good environment to grow in, and now she’s gearing up to be a future ace and may someday break the stranglehold of SayaMilky.

(Now, if only Aika could catch up, then we could have the second coming of the rivalry/love-story of SayaMilky…)

As someone who started watching stages since 3rd Anniversary, it definitely looks like Yamamoto Team N is struggling, especially compared to Nana Team M (whose core didn’t change and was only bolstered by the addition of the rising star in Mirurun, experience in Reinyan, and young crazies like Anchu) and they aren’t gelling nearly as quickly as Team B2, which was an eclectic group on paper but an exciting group to watch on stage.

If I were to give my own personal reasons as to why I think N is struggling, I would say this:

1 – A lack of leadership from Yamamoto Sayaka/Jonishi Kei

oh fuku captain my fuku captain

Sayaka is at the theater fairly often, but I do feel as if her AKB kennin is distracting her from growing the team. Make no mistake, Sayaka is the de facto leader for all of NMB, and the general impression is that that all of NMB is still in awe of her. Her presence seems to make the team a little bit happier during MCs. But with her career starting to take off, AKB kennin, and solo work, it’s tough on her to also captain a team.

I’m utterly confused by Kei. She seems to have good rapport with many of the members and not just Team N members but Ms, B2s, even KKS. But in terms of stage shows she seems to disappear during MCs, which is far from helping the younger members get better.

On the other hand, I do really like Akarin stepping up as the “3rd Captain”, she really seems to do her best helping everyone out and has a tendency to turn around some of the MCs. I’ve been enjoying her growth a lot lately.

2 – Nandomo Nerae wastes a lot of talent

Hey, you’re not in the song…

The original version was great. Maachun’s silly faces, Moka punching, the general confusion on Ripopo’s face… the song was so unique for all those members. Now it looks completely weird. I have no idea why Murokana is there. Keila went from her high ranking Kataomoi to this strange position and then to graduation. Sakipi is Moka punching, and I’m not sure why. This unit completely backfired due to the shuffle.

3 – Where is Yukirin?

Are there two unders in this picture?

Yukirin only showed up twice; Shonichi, and for her birthday. And her birthday stage was really fun, but she just isn’t around enough to help grow the younger members. I appreciated Uuka and Yuuri making fun of her for not showing up and all that, but if she’s not around, doesn’t really help the team.

4 – The strange perma-subs

Poor Megu…

Megumin has probably performed Zipper more than Milky at this point, Rururin subs in plenty for Aika when she moves to do Yume no Dead Body in Sayaka’s absence, and Yuumin has stepped in for Keila since her graduation.  But during MCs it seems as if they are shut out, and of course they wouldn’t appear with Team N for their tour. That kind of hurts.

5 – Their talkers aren’t as crazy as the other talkers, and they all have the same style

Rika, Sakipi, and Yuppi are all good MCs, but more like hosts. I would have them MC my wedding, but if I want to see some comedy and them getting all crazy, it’s just not going to happen. Furthermore, the way they talk is very similar. This especially hurts during the post-unit MC when they have to talk with Aika and Naru, with Aika being super shy and Naru being the only boke. Compared to M’s unit with Nana’s general MC strength (which doesn’t decrease too much when she subs out with Ayabaa/Aapon) and B2’s absolutely brilliant unit with Haru/Konomin/Umechan/Churi or Haako or Ayatin, N’s is just kinda ho-hum.

6 – Medley seems weak

While I like the selection of Boku ga Maketa Natsu / Mattemashita / SeiRap it just seems like a weak grasp back to 1st-gen when the landscape has already shifted dramatically. They should be given better songs. I guess it’s kinda cool that Sayaka does Mattemashita instead of Boku ga Maketa, but still, I’d rather have songs that are either just straight singles, or encompass more of the members.

Team N right now is lacking the craziness that the other teams have, as well as the chemistry. But I do think N has a ton of great upside as well.

1 – The B2 commentary was voted best show on YNN

I mean if Aika can win an award for talking, something good’s gotta be going on.

Aika, Naru, Kei, and Ririka formed one of the coolest talk units. The combination of Naru’s absent-mindedness, Kei’s random fangirliness, Ririka’s nerdiness, and Aika being super serious and made fun of for that was great entertainment. I do think it only worked because of the format allowing us to explore their characters (I don’t think Aika looking all serious for a 5 minute MC will make for better MCs), but if they can somehow leverage those skills I think we’ll have something good going on.

2 – Ririka might be able to save MCs

And if she can’t, then everyone can just smell her hair.

Ririka is such an X-Factor. Her oddity and wota-leanings should really be able to boost MCs once she’s healthy and back performing, especially with Rika/Sakipi/Yuppi. They can only pick on Naru for so long, and then she just spaces out anyway. She may have the courage to break the kouhai/senpai wall that is most visible in Team N.

3 – Tremendous performance level with even more potential

I’d probably put this among performances I want to see the most.

No words have to be said about Sayaka. Aika has those days where she sings Yume no Dead Body phenomenally, and she’s a great dancer too. I’m happy to finally see her in HajiHoshi. And as much as I like Aika, Chuba taking her position in Kono Sekai was amazing. The other day I was watching ONEW and I remember watching Uuka and I was impressed with her dancing ability even though it’s not even a song with great dancing in it. Yuuri is super cute and has went from clumsy dancer who can’t crack 3rd-gen KKS to ably performing Fumo, and she hasn’t regained her MC form that she ably captured with old B2 so there’s room for her talk skill to grow. And I think Murokana can still do something, even though I’m not sure if she’s found what her calling is. She seems pretty popular for not doing much in stages.

And we still haven’t seen performances like Sayaka/Rika acoustic Mushi no Ballad.

I’m not sure why, but I would declare Team N as my favorite NMB team right now. Maybe because I like underdogs. Maybe because I’m a recent oshihen to Aika, who just barely beat out one of new favorites in Uuka, and they still have my old oshimen in Sayaka. Maybe because Sakipi was one of my old favorite B2 MC leaders when she would run the quizzes with Mako and Honori, maybe because I’ve come to really like Naru’s silliness, and because Ripopo will always be one of those dark horse girls that I love to cheer for–and she’s been looking great lately. Plus there’s just tremendous growth coming out of Akarin. And we still haven’t seen too much of the Ririka beam.

I wouldn’t count them out just yet. They’ve got an amazing amount of potential and upside that just needs to be brought out, and it appears they’re slowly getting on track.

No, Aika! That’s the wrong beef! But it sure looks good…

After the debut of the new AKB single, I started reading comments on 2ch. They were mostly negative, though the thread I was reading was something like “Hahah this song sucks” so of course, it would be negative. Anyway, there were a couple of comments saying something about how releases this year were pretty crappy among all the other groups but Nogizaka’s were particularly good.

I decided to update my tired old playlist and put the new single on it as well as some other stuff. (AAA is always nice and reliable. What a great group!)

I found this song I really liked called Nanimo Dekizu Soba ni Iru. The instrumental arrangement was great, it has a good melody, the lyrics were awesome and really touching… but there was something about the vocals that kind of bothered me. It all made sense when I watched the performance.

When I listened to it, in my mind I envisioned a band playing and a soloist singing. You know, like if you showed up to a bar and they were playing music, it could be that song. It was that kind of sweet song. What I got instead was that. The reason why the vocal performance bothered me is because it used the infamous AKS technique of having everyone sing at once, making a good live performance practically impossible even though the song is screaming for it.

Even the older AKB songs had distinct groups of members singing, with Oogoe Diamond being the classic one because of how prominent Kojima Haruna’s voice is. But now it just seems like they want to lump everyone in together and create this muddy, artificial track, robbing any hope of musical identity that they could hope to have.

And I’m sure they could pull it off in the way I envision it too. I don’t know anything about Nogizaka but I bet there are some really talented girls in it. I can totally imagine Sayanee doing an acoustic cover of this song and slaying, but I have to use Sayanee as the example because I only know NMB members.

The dance adds nothing either. It just looks like typical idol dancing.

I’ve read some background around the song too, some members are calling it Meikyoku (which I suppose is one level under Kamikyoku?) and I can totally see why, because it is a great song. If only it had that final push to make it legendary.

But alas.

Maybe she’ll be the butt of all jokes

Actually, I don’t care.

I’m a pretty opinionated person, don’t get me wrong.

I used to be all “rah-rah love ban sucks lol” but now… now I just don’t care. I’ll debate with people if they want to hear it but I don’t need to wear it on my sleeve anymore. Everyone expresses their opinion, nothing really happens, people just end up getting angry at each other. The only time I get really mad is when people are ignorant and make up stuff even when the truth is right there, with failed Japanese translations being the hardest offender. Then it’s my job to snuff it out!

But I… I don’t care anymore. People are too pent up nowadays. Better to be relaxed and enjoy things instead of yelling at random people on the internet for some reason over how you think society should be run.

Good thing I’ve matured. I think.

How strong is that 1st-gen though?

One thing I hear often from more general 48G fans is the concern over NMB48 being really imbalanced in terms of popularity. They’ll look at the handshake numbers and see Sayaka towering above all, Milky not far but still behind, Miru catching up, maybe Nana because of the graduation…

Then a huge gap.

I think some of us fans have tried rationalizing it one way or another, I know I’ve probably used all of these.

“6/35 slots could be the same as 15/15 slots.”
“Popularity varies city by city.”
“It’s not fair because they can just see them at AKB handshakes anyway.”
“Albums are expensive.”
“They probably used it all up on the other events like the autograph one.”

But when I think about it, it really doesn’t matter to me whether it’s imbalanced. What I do know is that the girls I do like are getting work. And I like a lot of the girls. And the work they’re getting is pretty decent too, it may not be national, they may not work with top of the line talent, but the content is usually interesting.

I’ve never believed popularity should be a goal. It’s such a nebulous goal, especially in show business. You could get on TV for weeks saying something dumb like “I didn’t do it,” and then the next day no one cares about you and you’re off the Krusty show.

Instead, you should strive to boost your skills in being entertaining. You should get better at talking and telling stories. You should get better at dancing when you need to dance, singing when you need to sing. Are you modelling? Can you strike the right poses, give the best smiles?  How about social media, are you connected as best you can with fans? Are you giving fans what they enjoy seeing, whether it’s silly jokes or good pictures or funny videos?

All of that is what I want to see them get better at. That’s something more concrete that they can work on. Not “Fuuchan needs to become more popular.” I mean… how? What?

And then, not to be hipster or anything, but it’s actually quite nice to like an unpopular member. You can get a better relationship with them at handshakes since with less fans they’ll tend to remember your name and what you talked about with them unless you’re absolutely memory god-tier like Sayaka. You don’t have to wait in line, you can just go at your own pace. That’s not to say that once they become popular it’s time to move on, or that you’d actively oppose them becoming popular, but at that early going rate, as a fan, it should be enjoyed and it should be more fun! Why complain?

If Sayaka/Milky ever leave, I’m not sure how troubled NMB48 will be, but at the moment all of their members seem to be improving and becoming more skilled and comfortable on camera and a lot of them have really bright futures. Aika/Yuuri/Shuu/Nattsu are all incredibly young and have yet to even hit their prime, so it’s an exciting time to be an NMB fan right now. There is no need to be concerned about the future.

A friend of mine asked about whether you need to spend a lot of money to keep up with being a fan. I got a little incensed so I wrote this:

Money being washed away so quickly…

Last year, when I went to the 3rd Anniversary, aside from not having a splendid time I was also a bit peeved over all the money being spent. Photos, pins, oshi towels, oshi this, oshi that. People decked out in full oshi gear. I hate it. I hate the exploitation that these groups do, the #truefan-ness of needing to collect everything, that makes you believe you are a better fan, etc. And to top it all off I hate that they are willingly exploiting the nature of humans to collect things, to complete sets, and to pressure fans like this. That is why I don’t collect photos or anything of that nature and why I refuse to support the election. I only buy functional things and/or items that I wish to support. I’ll buy Blu-Ray concerts because I support concerts, I’ll buy TV series on DVD/Blu-Ray that I like because I want to support that TV series, etc. And personally I only do that after taking care of myself, taking care of my bills, taking care of my investments, and figuring out my excess money.

This year, I took “The pilgrimage” to go to a handshake event (and not get 4th Anniversary tickets nor win a theater show). Travel fees + an extreme amount of singles = lots of money. This is something that Japanese fans won’t have to put up with, they don’t have to fly across an ocean, they might not have to pay for a hotel, it’s much easier for them. They can make a day trip. I have to take a full vacation. If I were to play the game to keep up with Japanese fans, I will lose.

As for the actual handshake, my overall goal is not only to get a good experience but also to give them a good experience as well, and in general that’s how I want to treat all people. I don’t want to say things like “You’re cute” or “I like you, go out with me” etc., that’s lame and boring for both sides. It’s also why I liked seeing the low-tier members because they probably felt cool that this guy from the US came to see them. I’m still on the fence on whether I’d do it again, but it’s definitely a unique experience and it’s way more worth it to me than some photos. And it’s super expensive, which I guess I could afford because I didn’t spend so much money on collecting things.

Meeting them is great, but as an international fan you need to realize that it’s a completely different experience than being a domestic fan. It costs way more money, you can’t see them on a continuous basis and develop that sort of steady fan relationship, there’s a language barrier, we can’t go to the theater whenever we want, and so on and so forth. There’s no way you can “keep up” with domestic fans, so embrace the international side. It’s very extreme for an international fan to be able to attend events. This club makes it look like it’s normal for international fans; it’s not normal at all and it’s really extreme in the first place to be an international fan.

Ask yourself what you want to get out of being a fan and things will fall into place. Do you think any person would truly be happy with a fan who spent all their money to be poor just to shake their hand? Unless they’re heartless, no, they shouldn’t be. Take care of yourself first and be a person that they would want to meet, don’t devalue yourself and rely on them to give your life meaning, give your own life meaning first and use them to augment it. That’s what bothers me about this “obligation” word, as if there’s something about some idol that’ll complete your life, that’s just wishful and desperate thinking that won’t pan out.

Let me put on my serious face first. This will probably function as my post on why I’m a fan and what I get out of it.

Okay.

For me, one of the cool things about the handshake system is the fact that you can actually make a real impression on them. I very much remember my handshakes with Sakipi, Naru, and Yukitsun because it felt as if they were excited and thrilled to see me, and I think that’s really cool; that as a fan I’m able to give back to them, to let them know that their work is not vain, that there are people that enjoy what they do even if they are as far away as America. And that is my favorite part. It’s not so much that I get a handshake so that I’m the main beneficiary, but that we can mutually get a great experience out of it. THAT is what I love about being a fan of the idol system.

As Ririka said in her speech when she undered for Cameron, the fan-idol relationship is one of reciprocating love. When you’re a fan, the best thing to get is having your idol succeed, and when your idol succeeds, they’re able to give back to you. Now, Ririka quoted all these philosophers and I don’t quite remember which ones and how, but that was the core idea of her idol theory and to me it made perfect sense. With that in mind, a handshake event is not just for the fan, but also for the idol.

It extends beyond that as a fan too. When you have a good conversation, it’s fun to share that with other fans and it feels like we all grow together.

When I say I’m not worthy for Sayaka, I frame it in that idol-fan relationship. Sayaka really is a great idol. For my handshake, she seemed really locked in and interested in me as a fan, and yet there were a lot of fans of all flavors behind me and in front of me. Young, old, male, female, handicapped; it seemed that when everyone walked out, they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

And Sayaka did too.

To think that she treats all the fans as well as me is really something.

With that in mind, as a fan, I don’t feel like an offer as much to her as she offers to me. For Jo, I felt like I made her day just because we have the same name. For Sayaka? I don’t think I can ever do that. She’ll make you feel great as a fan, but it just seems like you can’t give that back.

And that’s okay, but it’s not what I prefer to get out of a handshake event. (This is also why I’m not particularly fond of the shamekai event; the photo is mostly for the fan, doesn’t really do much for the idol unless you somehow come up with a pose that they find genuinely amusing, made even more difficult with the table.)

I still like Sayaka. Don’t get me wrong, she’s one of the preeminent members of NMB and manages to entertain whether on variety or performing on stage. But as a handshake, I just don’t feel like I will make an impact on her the way that she does on me, and so I’d much rather visit the other girls.

With that said, that’s just how I treat handshakes. Everyone’s different. Unless you share the same non-standard, atypical views as me, then of course you can visit her and be stunned at how great she is. That’s fun too, and I’m happy (if not a tad jealous) that other fans are able to enjoy the handshake experience in that way.

Anyway, this felt nice to write. I’ve never really thought about this so it was nice to think about what it personally means to be a fan and why I enjoyed the handshake event as much as I did.