Single AKB48 61st single [Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da] - (2023/04/26)

Not all of them tho.

I know this will sound stupid but do you know anyone in Austria that could use their number to get you a code? They won't have access to your account because they'd need your mail and password. The only downside is that if Bili asks you to confirm something with the associated phone number you're going to have to ask them. But that's very rare. Most of the time Bili will stay logged in and when it isn't you just need mail and password.

That'll do then. You don't have to waste your time doing the same thing twice.

Okabe's scenes remind me of Ikumin and Nagi's solo scenes in Kegarete iru Shinjitsu's MV. I had to check if it was the same school.

 

This is surely a music video that appeals to fans, rather than general public.

I can see fans watching full mv to see their favorite members being featured with so many screen time. But i doubt general public will spend 4 mins watching what to them random cute girls staying still doing random stuff without much coherence and relatedness. This would work if we have 4-7 members but it felt overwhelmed with 16 members

It lacks a feeling of suspense to patiently wait that 4 mins and it lacks the rigor to be rewatched.

 

Can you imagine this fair share of screen time was done back in 2011-2012? Acchan fans would burn down AKS Headquater.

 

This is the opening of a slice of life/drama anime live-action adaptation.

 

I miss the days when the girls knew the lyrics before the MV shooting. This shooting looks beautiful but totally off. Like there is no connection. After I have been watching it for 3 times, I feel like every girl would be a better director I hope the dance version is way better and they release some kind of tiktok and instagram version

 

Some theories from twitter (especially @windystarmoon) that might make the video more enjoyable:

• The individual scenes represent an activity or lifestyle that the girls might have, had they not become idols. Berin might be an artist, Momoka could enjoy festivals etc, but they also can't help but love the idol life and their fans. That's why they all come together in the end to perform for us.
• Another theory is that these are all dream fragments of someone in love with a classmate. The scenes are slow because they're from a dream and the dreamer can only remember that one moment, nobody else in the room, nothing else going on. The focus is entirely on their crush.
• Not a theory, but actually works: every scene has something in a certain number and they increase per scene. 6 pillars in Hiichan's scene, 8 instruments in Yukirin's scene, 11 sheets of calligraphy in Odaeri's scene. @windystarmoon found all except Sorara's 13, so try and find them all or check her twitter This number of objects in everyone's individual scene also represents their position in the choir scene, e.g. Hitomi is in position 6 as she's in the middle row.

Spoiler: Sorara's 13

There are 13 broomsticks in the back

The song has really grown on me and although it doesn't change the fact there is no hook, I do like it a lot more than I did first time hearing it.

EDIT: Edited the name of the twitter user, as I'd gotten it wrong previously.

 

Spoiler

I spotted the broomsticks and I tweeted to @windymoonstar but she said she also saw it on Discord. It's possibly the most difficult to spot in the MV partly because it's not very obvious anyway but also because the 13th broomstick (the first on the left) is almost entirely hidden behind the wall column, you have to look very closely to see the right-hand end of the broom head just sticking out.

 

I love theories. Which one of them is Mephisto?

 

More on the J-pop/K-pop hand move style
You may see the difference through =LOVE's choreography

More orthodox J-pop idol style

if the video does not show watch the video here

K-pop imitation

if the video does not show watch the video here

Cre8boy captured the difference of K-pop's more delicate and detailed hand move. His usual choreographies are more of orthodox J-pop style as you can see from this piece of NMB48.

I guess DH may intentionally add and promote the hand move for tiktok sake. I doubt if it is too complicated. It is a series of hand moves while viral tiktok move usually is simple, a single move or a series of few moves.

By the way, I've seen Thai wotas complaint the song sounded flat/outdated, sounded like a mixture of various AKB48's old songs.

Hiichan's voice fits K-pop high-pitched energetic cute songs such as IZ*One's Airplane, STAYC's Teddy Bear, Twice' What Is Love. It also fits J-pop chipmunk-ish cute songs like =LOVE's latest song (Sora ga Trigger) too. To simply put, her voice is very 'peculiar' and fits only few specific types of songs AKB will never release.

UMG is simply the 'distributor'. Its responsibility is whether the song is available on Spotify, Tidal, whether the CD is sold on Amazon or Target, whether AKB48 can perform on SXSW. The quality of the song & music video is completely DH's responsibility.

Will general public cares at all if the MV is coherent/relates to the song? They will just find the MV is cute and colorful and may find too many big-close-up shots cringe. That's it. To non-fan, unless the MV is so terrific or terrible, it does not really matter I believe. Even, some lyric videos get dozens millions views without any promotion. MV is rather a 'compliment' to the music and the performance of the group.

How suspenseful can a mv of a cute song be? Can you give me some examples?

 

And ?
What suits you doesn't suit everyone.
Also if you could accept that you aren't alone and cut your constant Kpop compare it would ease the discussion.

Something tells me Mayuyu's fans can't agree with that.

did you understand everything in the 1st teaser ?

 

This K-Pop discussion is getting really tiresome indeed. Is it possible for AKB to release a song nowadays without the word "K-Pop" making its way into the conversation? I doubt this would happen this often had Produce48 not been a thing, but still, come on. We're talking about a Japanese idol group, here. They'll never do straight K-Pop releases, so can we just move on already and enjoy their music for what it is?

 

Out of interest; Conversely, do K-Pop fans also discuss that their group's songs are too J-Pop'ish?

 

Yeah, I remember GFriend was often compared to J-pop for their concepts in the beginning.

 

I don't see it happen a lot, but what I do see a lot is the comparison of K-Pop with specifically Black associated music (American Hip Hop, RnB, Rap, etc) - which makes sense to me, there's a lot of rap in K-Pop and also now lately reggaetón is becoming more prevalent (Le Sserafim's Antifragile, Kai's Rover).

I also think there is a lot of K-Pop in J-Pop, and like the entire idol industry comes out of Japan, so K-Pop is also inspired by J-Pop... However, my question is, why does any of it matter? Music will change continuously based on what's popular because producers want to have the next big hit under their own name. All that matters is that the music is enjoyable.

 

If they really want to be international, Universal should invest in teaching atleast some of the girls English and Korean language, and also make an English and Korean version of Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da. Kpop songs (or as I'd like to refer to it, "international pop" since it's an amalgation of different tones and themes of different countries and cultures) regularly get Japanese versions, what if a Japanese "international pop" song by AKB48 gets an official English and Korean version?

 

It will happen as long as that one certain member continuously brings this up. I dont mind and i dont have problem with @welp. But tbh only he brings kpop into every discussion.

I have difficulty seeing the differences between 2 videos welp share. So they use a lot of hands, so? What is kpop abt it?

There are ways to elevate suspense in cute songs:
a) making members do tacky things but remember to connect it at the end (aka coherence and ending). even if the ending is so tacky and it does not make sense, it will even be better.
B) use background scenery that is not so common (japanese has a lot of hidden gems), make them interact with them)
C) color grading and teaming members up
D) over-used in japanese mv but: storyline

I believe many japanese fans would be enraged if they releases korean version @IkemenSteelD and speaking/singing english is difficult for most members. (Turning away remaining fans with purchasing power isnt exactly a wise thing to do)

 

Yeah @welp , I think you should cut it out lil bit... (at least)

I love kpop, listen to it every day, stan a lot of groups, have an ult group and bias.
but I barely post stuff that is related to kpop in here just for a simple reason that it's just not the actual right place for it.
and the way you doing it (from what I see at least), it's like you're here just to talk (borderline bragging?) about kpop.
which is totally fine if it's in the right environment, but I don't think here is.

also, you as kpop fan (i think it's safe to assume you're) should know that even in kpop, a lot of fans of a group often don't like when their group being compared to the other.
here is no exception, so I don't get why you doing it.

at this point you should also realize that there are people in here that dislike to just straight up hate kpop, heck.. even anything related to it included (Hiichan for example)
and don't want it to have much influence on AKB or at all (and I don't mind that at all, I love both for what they are).
and most of the people just don't really care or mind... but the way you keep shoving kpop this-kpop that, I doubt it will end up in a positive way even for them no matter if your point or opinion is valid or not.

 

Its not unusual for KPop groups to release a Japanese version since they want to get a slice out of the Japanese music market, the 2nd biggest music industry in the world. It doesn't really make much sense for a Japanese artist or group, though, to release Korean versions since the South Korean market is not even in the top 5.

If AKB wants to appeal to the international market using the KPop formula, I don't think it's the language that they need to copy. Maybe their management should buy the catchiest poptunes they can afford from the US or Europe, hire world famous choreographers, and let the girls practice the song and the dance for months till they can perform it with robotic precision and synchronization. That is hoping it coincides with a Japanese government program with the main purpose of promoting Japan pop culture overseas.

 

3rd sales 2nd round
Suzuku Kurumi 84/40 (97)

Stage48: "I've always liked Kururun."

 

They live under a rock as always. Me? i put 7 points for her already on s48 member ranking