Album [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [Tsugi no Ashiato] 14/01/22

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Do you guys think a thread could be made for this (if one hasn't been already)?

I keep coming here expecting news about the album itself but it is always event discussion.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Hi, do you think Micchan, Kitarie slots will be sold out after this ound? Is it safe nough to put application for these girls? Thanks

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

i applied for 1 naachan and 1 renacchi for 5th slot, would it be risky if i tried to apply for sahhoo for 5th slot as well? my 6-8th slots are for mayuyu (1 each) and I'm not prepared to take the risk to share those slots with other members, in case of unforeseen circumstances i'm trying to make the most out of this event so i try to apply for as many members as possible. so if it's risky, i don't mind not applying fr the sahhoo one (since I've secured 3 with my oshi ^^) thanks!

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Like you guys I was originally freaking out about whether if I could fit more girls in specific slots. Since most of us here has no experience in 2 shot event, just organize it as you see fit so u won't regret for any reasons. Waffles, Ten, HRP all have shared with us about their experiences and general guidelines/advices.
The way I see it now since I can't go to Japan as much as I'd like to. I'd rather have more tickets on me so If I have the time I can Queue for as much as I'd like instead of regreting not able to see someone even when I had the time. Not saying to like apply 5 girls in 1 slot, but if there was any tickets that I werent able to use for any unforseen circumstance, OH WELL, life happens, was worth a try.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

No, we've always discussed the respective events in the thread for the release, whether it be for 1830m or the single releases. There's no reason to change it now just because it's a 2-shot event. If you're only looking for news, just keep an eye on the OP, I'll edit it if they announce the new songs or covers or whatever. Besides, it's an album, it's not like there's as much to discuss as a single.

With those members, you should be fine. I don't expect any of them to have long lines so you should be able to make all of them on time. I believe the staff usually does post up a map showing which girl is in which lane the night before too on the Official AKB Blog, so if you really want to be efficient, you could even study the locations beforehand. Otherwise, the map/chart is also posted at the event.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Regarding the theatre version pictures, will it only have AKB48 photos or inclusive of sister groups(or just the Senbatsu sister group members) too? I can't recall about 1830's...

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

It'll include any girls that are part of the songs in the album so basically all the 48girls if they include another one like Aozora yo Sabishikunai ka~

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Going to address several things in one post, as I just got back from the Heart Ereki handshake event. After what happened today, I think the thread needs a dose of event reality.

Each slot has a 1 hour period where you can check-in. Unless the member still has a line from the previous slot. Then they will delay check-in until the lane clears from the previous slot. This happened several times today, where you could be in the lane, but not check-in until 15-30 minutes after it opens.

You might think you can leave and come back, but the hold is only for check-in. Nothing prevents the fans from queueing up to check-in. So unless you want to get stuck in even a longer line, you stand in that check-in line as soon as possible. Which means your first handshake in each slot could easily take 30-45 minutes. Which it did several times today.

Complicating matters today, was some staff were suddenly very diligent about checking your address. For the first time in over 100 check-ins, I was suddenly being told that my passport wasn't sufficient. In the end it was misunderstanding, but it cost me 15 precious minutes in the lane sorting it out. Another S48 member even more because they had to go up to the Chara-Ani booth, wait while they found someone who spoke English, only to literally do nothing other than say "yeah, it's okay". Again - 15-20 minutes gone, and they don't give you a pass into the lane if it closes before you get back.

Not to mention, just because they resolve it with staff at one lane, doesn't mean you won't go through the hassle at another lane later in the day. As I mentioned earlier, it's not a big deal and chara-ani has always been good at resolving these things. But again, precious time wasted.

Later in the day, I experienced some serious delays in my oshi's lane. She may not be senbatsu, but she has a very dedicated and passionate fan base, which causes her lane to be as busy as a senbatsu member. Her Slot 5 ran 20 minutes into Slot 6, which meant her break started late.

Slot 6 started 40 minutes late, ran through the end of the scheduled time, through the 30 minute scheduled break, and 20 minutes into Slot 7. Her lane started nearly 30 minutes late 2 slots in a row. It was so bad, the staff made special exceptions for both Slot 6 and 7 to extend the closing time. Note: These are exceptions, not the rule.

What it comes down to is this:

I would not take anyone's word on what is doable in terms of schedule. Unless you have been there, know the system, and know how things work, and know the member and their fans, it's just a guessing game. I could say that based on experience, Member X usually has light lines. But I may not know if something special is happening, like their birthday, 200th, 300th, or 500th theater performance, or half a dozen other things that could make the fan community pick "that day" as the one they want to make special.

Yes - you could potentially see 5+ members in a slot, but based on my experiences, there is no way I'm going to try for more than 2 members in each. Yes, I may be sitting around when I could have seen other members, but I'm also only focusing on members I really like and have a rapport with.

Which leads into my next topic - be reasonable.

Don't order more tickets than you can realistically use. Because every ticket you don't use, is one that could have gone to someone who could. It's just the same as being asked to share a pie, and then cutting yourself the biggest piece (or keeping the whole thing for yourself).

These events are all about supporting the members, they aren't supposed to be about you. The members are very savvy for the most part, and if you are just going there to say 'hi' to as many members as possible and get a photo, it's going to show. They are real people, not pokemon.

If you are focusing on getting "the most popular members first", rather than ones you really want to see, it seems a bit greedy and shallow to me. I would hate to lose a chance at seeing my oshi, because I was too busy someone who is more publicly well-known.

Similar thoughts on "who do I have the best chance of winning?" The question should be, "who do I want to see the most?".

You don't need to fill or max out your schedule. 2-shots are nice, but it's nothing compared to actually having a real one-on-one exchange with a member you like. Photos are nice to show other people, but they don't say anything about your relationship with the member. Rather than spend money on albums/2-shots you may not be able to use, why not save it for the next handshake event? Who knows, it may even be on the day before or after that 2-shot event...

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

I just want to add something about 2shots as tensai mentioned about the one on one exchange, you don't really get a chance to talk to the member you're seeing.

Depending on the girl, all you'll get out of is "what pose do you want?" and you answer. Staff takes the picture, you get a sec or so to check the pic and you leave. This is based on the 1830m 2shot event.


Hopefully, by the 2shot event, most staff will know it's ok and people here won't run into problems at the lanes~

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Totally agree with this. A couple of my friends were saying I was "crazy" for applying for the specific members I chose right out of the gate from Round 1 (Shiichan, Okapan, Natsumikan, Hirari, and Miorin) instead of trying for more popular members like Yuko, Sayanee, or Mayuyu. My reply was "but these are the members I really want to meet and support". It's not that I don't like or support the other members, but the members I chose to apply for are ones I'm a big fan of, the ones who I collect all their photos, pay most attention to when I see them on TV shows, in magazines, or in a concert or single DVD. I want to show my support to them by showing up as their fan!

On a side note, I purposely kept my slots down to one member a piece (except for Slot 4 which has Natsumikan and Okapan, which shouldn't be a problem), mainly due to wanting to leave as much time as possible to deal with any hiccups that may arise, so that I don't risk missing out on anyone that, as Cristafari put it, I'm passionate about.

I basically picked 4 out of my top 5 current favorite members (Yamada Nana is the missing one in case anyone is interested, and yes, I did apply only for her final open slot on 5/24 during round 3, which was luckily in a slot all by herself at the end of the day as well).

Although if Chiyuu or Shinoda were still around, you bet I would have put effort into them first.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Based on my experience, I completely agree with what Tensai mentioned above. What if someone didn't feel well and suddenly you're faced with almost 5 girls in consecutive fashion 'cos they pushed you and everyone else back to the next slot? Which means you have no time to break between each member and each lane was literally a giant snake full of people? I know - it happened to me.
Moral of the story: don't be a glutton. You never know what will happen on the day.

Might I add one more thing: knowing how some of you are judging by some of the posts I see in this thread, I suggest that if you're really worried about every little thing that could pop up at ID checks at each lane, go early before slot 1 even starts and get your ID checked out and tickets authorised (get them to stamp it for you or similar) by Chara-ani at the Chara-ani booth. Hopefully that should prevent the overly diligent lane checkers from raising too many questions.

But you never know, right?

Was talking to someone who also went to the 1830m event, and speaking from my own personal experience with HKT48: you do actually get a little bit of time to talk, because technically they can't push you out until you've taken the photo. But yes, I suppose it would depend on how popular the member is (e.g. Yuko).

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Is there some sort of misunderstanding? Why does it seem like you're directing this at me?
I didn't meant apply like so you could SEE everyone or take a pic with EVERYONE for the sake of doing it. I simply encouraged people who still had members they wanted to meet but was unsure if they could fit them in their schedule instead later regretting they didn't on the day. At the end of the day like you and Cristafari said, as long you get to see the members you really want to see that's all that matters.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Has anyone done this before? Is the Chara-ani booth generally easy to find? Is it inside or outside usually?

I don't mind going early in order to scope things out and prepare. In fact, my first slot isn't until number 3, so I was already planning to come in before that for planning and knowing where to go for each lane.

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm sure things will get clearer as the date nears. It still seems so far away!

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

While I totally understand and respect what Tensai and Chris are saying about not being greedy and ruining other fans' chances, and going to support only your oshimen ... I would also like to point out that they've had the luxury of meeting many members several times already, and from those experiences, were able to pick out their oshi and can now comfortably say who they want to focus on / show support to.

For fans who've only seen the girls from afar and have never had any real interaction with the members though, it could be a little harder to narrow down the selection, because a lot of the girls seem equally nice and deserving support on tv.

Of course of all the members I've applied for, there are ones I'd like to meet more than others, but who can guarantee I can win tickets for them? If I only apply for those few girls (like I did in round 2) and end up not winning any tickets, I would be devastated.

Maybe after seeing / meeting more girls at my first ever handshake-like event, I'll be able to narrow down my choices and do what the other senpais are doing at the next event.

@ Tensai: your pokemon analogy is really good, and really reminded me how I should (shouldn't) treat / see these idols. Thank you. If you're also going to be there on May 24, I'd love to meet you and shake your hand (maybe even get a 2-shot with you too) u

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

The pokemon comment is true, also, prepare what you want to say to her because I sometimes get nervous and I don't know what to say XD and I end up staring at them for 5 seconds hahaha (fortunately, Micchan was nice on me in this point and just smiled and told me it was ok, telling me my japanese was good xD). Anyways, I would recommend applying for the members you like or you are interested in... But don't get discouraged if you don't get big reactions cough takamina cough, sometimes they do not feel at their 100%, afterall... They are humans too

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

My comments were not directed at anyone in particular. Both on Stage and elsewhere, I see a lot of questions on "should I apply for every slot that is still open" or "how can I get the most members into a slot". The problem is that unless you know the member, how their lotteries normally go, and what their lanes are like, you could easily get in trouble. You don't want to accidentally end up with 10 tickets for a member, go do the first 2-shot, and then realize it wasn't what you expected.

I'm not trying to direct anyone one way or the other, I'm only trying to give an honest perspective from someone who has been on the ground. I can't predict the future, so I can't give advice on whether 2, 3, or 5 members would be good for a slot. All I can rely is my own experiences, and remind everyone that Chara-ani is only obligated to ensure you see 1 member in each slot (since they always let everyone in who lines up for check-in).

That's what the individual handshake events are for, and I don't know if you'll get the same experience from a 2-shot as you would from an individual handshake.

They have these events nearly every month, and one thing that surprises me, is how affordable a trip to Japan suddenly became when a 2-shot was in the mix. But when you look at it, price wise:

1 album = One 2-shot and maybe 5-8 seconds for a quick chat
2 singles = 20 seconds to have a conversation with the member

A 2-shot is definitely nice, but in the end it's only a physical thing. I'd gladly take 20 seconds of pure time with my oshi, than maybe 10 where half of it will be spent on things other than conversation. I've also found that these events are addictive, rather than trying to cram a lot into this one event, maybe save some money for another trip/event. (and as I mentioned, there are open days on every weekend the 2-shot events are scheduled, and there could be national events or individual handshakes for the upcoming singles on those days).

If you want to fill up slots, and have fun with some random members, I would go for the unassigned tickets. You may see more of the theater girls and kenkyuusei, but honestly they are the most fun I've ever had at handshake event.

 

Re: [ALBUM] AKB48 5th Album [TBA] 14/01/22

Honestly speaking, it was the 2-shot that finally motivated me to plan this trip and fly to Japan just for an AKB48 event.

I don't normally collect official photos (and have never bought a photo that didn't come free with a cd/dvd), but the idea of a photo with me and a member just seemed really, really attractive to me - enough to justify the cost of the flight + 1-night hotel ...