Your AKB48 Experiences

@naruse wow you have so many photos!! It took me awhile to scroll through the entire thing

Btw I really enjoyed your Sayanee photo. I think she likes taking those kinds of photos best since it lets her let loose the most, so I hope more fans will make her do the weird faces and hengaos and interesting poses (if 2-shots continue that is)

And wow, she really can be quite a fisher lol. Sasuga.

 

Time to write before I forget any more~

I had a blast at the 2-shot event this year, it was a nice change from the handshakes. One thing about it is you don't really have to plan that much ahead of time on what you are going to say since you hardly get any time to say it anyways.

Before 2shots I managed to go to a Anta Dare show! Naruse had just gotten into japan and told me he was thinking about lining up outside the cafe since it was after 3pm. I headed over there and got in line just in time a minute or two after 4. My number they wrote was 55. I was kinda far in the back but after a decent while I got called and went on up to get my ticket! Naruse didn't make it but I met another fan who had seen us talking about it on twitter and we were in the back inside (ajito but I don't know if he's on stage). Anyway, even though I was in the back it was fun and I was still able to fine. The members were the K and B draftees. Moe and Hinana have a great thing going and are super cute together. The B girls are a good combi too since Aeri is really loud and active while Saya is very subdued. All in all I'm really glad I got to see one of these~
back-left corner lol

5/17 Pacifico Yokohama
This was a really tiring day, I had girls in all slots. No time to eat the entire day and I only sat outside for 20-30 minutes one time. Other than that I was in line, lol. It started off with me getting lost on the way to Pacifico since @naruse told me the wrong stop for the subway . However, I only had one member in slot 1 so I made it to the event around 9:30 and still had enough time to queue up.

Slot 1- Churi

Spoiler

I knew fusion pose so I decided to try that one out first since Churi seems pretty cool. A lot of times she acts goofy but she was really pretty when I saw her. She also poses perfectly, I found out they all are pro at posing. I've never practiced posing or done much but smile so I was pretty jealous lol . Anyway, she was really friendly and her hands were really soft too. A good member to break the ice~

Slot 2- Mocchi, Hillary, Shibata

Spoiler

After Churi I immediately lined up for slot 2 and mocchi had a decent one. She's really easy to talk to, like someone who would be good to know in real life. I dunno. Anyway I just told her to do a normal pose to start off with, then asked her to suggest a pose. I definitely did NOT know that all girls default to HAAAATO when you ask them to suggest a pose. This I would soon learn



Hillary was next, as I walked in I said hi and we talked for a second in english. I told her to suggest a pose again and she was like "...heart?". Lol, "uhhh" and she said "it's embarassing isn't it?". We didn't have any more time so we went for it. Then I said "ok, teach me something that isn't haato". "Okkk, how about ROCK?" Afterwards she asked where I was from and I told her san antonio. She responded of course with "WOWWWWW that's far!" I can't remember what else but she was really cool. I liked how I could actually talk to her normally.



Shibata I don't follow too closely. I actually forgot I won her ticket until the event happened lol. She's very cute and has some crazy eyes though. Glad I went~ I almost forgot, she did make a great attempt at talking and finding out where I was from afterwards. Kudos!

Slot 3- Yagi, Yui, Koami

Spoiler

Yagi is the only member that makes me nervous . I try and talk a lot more with her. This time she was very calm, I wonder if she was feeling weak because I think she was sick at the previous 2shot and used a chair. She looked so delicate! (especially with that small hairstyle) I had three tickets and really pushed the limit because we started out talking before I even got to the first pose heh I was also wearing a NGO shirt under my red one so I let that out and showed her too. I told her to suggest a pose and she suggested a very normal one where we just leaned in and looked at the camera (no haato! as expected from my oshi).

Then I suggested E.T.. It was just a pose I thought of that day lol. Yagi pulled it off perfectly, she's really good at the wierd, airhead-type poses. I wasn't ready and got caught looking at the camera dammit.

Third pose I asked her to suggest again, I thought she didn't understand me and started explaining until I realized she was trying to get me to understand the pose the whole time. She was just staring at me smiling. I understood, shut up, and stared into her eyes for five seconds... ...so pretty and cute. wow


Yui is kind of mellow, but I actually was pleasantly surprised this time around. She was better for me in the hellos and goodbyes than my last handshake. I just told her to do Team K and I used the wrong hand.... She's a pro as usual.


Last for this slot was Koami. I've only noticed her in recent months. I dunno, she's really cute in stage and I was surprised to find she's one of the older members in ske. Again, I wish I had practiced expressions before-hand lol. I just smile most of the time. Good experience all around.

Slot 4- Fujita, Abema, Mogi

Spoiler

I got in the habit of taking my bag off and kicking it on the ground as the lines progessed. I knew it was going to be a long day. Fujita is very pretty in person, her dark skin is definitely a charm point. She was more mature and talkative than I expected too. She did a good job asking where I was from and such after our pose. Btw I asked her to suggest, and yes we did haato.


Abema cracks me up, she's someone I would like as a friend irl too. I asked her to suggest and she's like "....umm....haato??" like it was some amazing suggestion she had just come up with LOL. I just laughed and said lets do it. She threw in a peace sign also, niceee .

Then I suggested the K pose. Notice how perfectly she is at standing on her footprints


Mogi is another girl I don't follow too much but she's been growing on me for a while. She was nice, we did the classic haato. I can't remember much else but I'll get a ticket for her again.

Slot 5- Aamin, Suzu, Annin

Spoiler

Ok, pretty tired. I had a bag of chips at least and sat for twenty minutes before this one. Aamin and I were supposed to do the "wow" pose but I f'd it up by doing a "wtf" pose apparently. She aced it though, aamin is always kind too.


Suzuran is great, she had a lot of energy at the time . We didn't do anything other than the normal "HI, arigatou!" and "thanks so much!" because our time was pretty short. She seems really genuine though...


I remember Annin being surprisingly friendly when I saw her last time and wasn't disappointed this time either. I had planned to get her to do the fusion pose because I can't picture her doing that at all . However, she didn't know what the hell it was so we just defaulted to haato . Afterwards I scolded her for not knowing fusion (jokingly of course) and she still found time to ask where I was from and such. Sweet girl.

Slot 6- Kitarie, Juri, Yagi

Spoiler

Kitarie was great, she spoke some english when I went in and was really attentive, not jsut going through the motions. Afterwards she asked where I was from and managed to explain a word or two that I wasn't understanding before I was dragged off. We actually got some decent conversation in


When I got to Juri I couldn't think of any new pose (I was probably tired) so I just did thumbs up, lol. I didn't mean for the pic to come out salty lmao, sorry juri . It was quick and we didn't have any time to talk other than hello and thanks~


More yagi, she remembered as usual and greeted me with an "Ohhh second time!" I noticed before that her picture-taker-lady is iffy at best and has trouble focusing...Anyway, we got the K pose done and the second one didn't really come out right but it's all good haha. I tried to get her to do some thing with her lips but it's too hard to describe, especially in japanese

Slot 7- Ricchan, Kitarie

Spoiler

I got into Ricchan's line really early so the wait wasn't a killer. I knew if I was going to survive Rie's line again I needed to make my wait as little as possible. She was super cute, I've liked her for years so I'm glad I finally got to do this.


When I got into Rie's line again (it's long as hell I dunno) I noticed a person or two in Yuko's lane next to me who I had seen in the previous slot. Wth, how did they get Yuko tickets for multiple slots?? Anyway, I managed to talk to Rie more this time and also told her I had to leave after this and go to back to texas (ok so I had one more day in japan but it's almost true). Rie seems like a cool chick.

Slot 8- Shihorin, Yagi

Spoiler

Shihorin was someone who left a really good impression on me last year when I had her for handshakes. She just seems genuinely excited to see you every time . She's really nice, I wish she had more people in her lane. There was this one Shihorin wota guy wearing a jersey who looped like 10 times. He seemed pretty cool and had a group of friends waiting for him every time.


Last one! If it was anyone else I might have skipped by now...lol. Need to tell yagi bye though. I was super tired and it was the last slot so I came up with an idea and just told her to act like she was asleep . When she got it her head just dropped lol. Afterwards I told her I had to return to texas, good luck in sousenkyou, and that I had 65 votes. She thanked me a lot and told me goodbye and thanks for coming~

Phew, that was it. I hung around a bit since a lot of people were waiting for certain girls to come out and tell everyone bye. Yuko wasn't going to finish anytime soon though so I headed back. I got home around 10:30 or 11 I guess. Got some instant ramen before realizing I actually didn't have a microwave in the hotel room and that was that. Successful trip ~

 

@t3hDave & @drazaar : Oh my goodness, thank you for the reports !! So envious to see people taking pictures with my oshi(s)~~

 

@convenience93 thanks alot. Sayanee definitely fished the hell out of me and it was obvious she shined most in those hengaos so I asked friends for gag suggestions. Was my first experience with her so it definitely exploded right out of the gate. Now just the long wait to be able to see her again

@drazaar yea that was my bad but you could've used some extra walking to burn off those booze Anyway had a blast hanging with you so until next time!

 

So many great write-ups of the 2-shot events. Thanks for everyone who took the time to do this, they were really enjoyable to read and the photos were awesome. It was also great meeting so many of the international fans, especially those who I met for the first time, including S48’ers, @SunnySK42, @Youkokurama, and @hobolic (though only briefly).

I’m going to take a bit of a different approach with mine, as I’ve done so many novel length write-ups in the past. I’ve been to several events since my last write-up, and been focusing on my favorite members. Gotten into a very comfortable rhythm with them, so rather than posting all my photos or detailing all the conversations, I’m going to share my three favorite moments.

Note: I also saw Mitsuki, Mocchi, Tani, Sarina, Annya, Miorin, and Rikopi at this event.

Spoiler

Hirata Rina
One thing I like about seeing Hirari, is that her handshakes (and now 2-shots) are always unforgettable. It’s nice to be able have a conversation where neither of us are struggling with the language.

Told her it was great to see her as always, and congratulated her on the recent anniversary with AKB48. Talked about how I had been to one of her first shows. We must have chatted for a good 10-15 seconds, the staff really didn’t seem to rush us at all. (probably all the English was throwing them off).

Decided to do the Janken pose, and told her I would be scissors. She asked me if I wanted her to win or lose. I told her to do rock, because she always had to win. We struck the pose, and I suddenly realized an idol was standing VERY close to me.



Definitely something I’m not going to forget.

After the photo I told her I was hoping to win the Team B show next Saturday, since I had a May birthday. Sadly, we’ll never know if I would have won (it was one of the canceled shows). As I was leaving, she asked if I was living in Japan now. I told her that I was still flying out to see them (how I wished I could actually live in Japan).


Yokoyama Yui
I had two 2-shots with Yui for this event, but the first one was a warm-up for the main event. I had brought my YUIHAN license plate all the way from California, and more than anything else this trip, I wanted a 2-shot that featured the three of us.

Since you can’t go in with things in your hands, I had no choice but to rig up a way to wear it around my neck. The next 15 minutes in line were a bit awkward, as I caught several people doing double-takes and trying to secretly take photos. Best of all, watching some of the guys looking at me, and then looking a bit wistfully at their Yui souvenirs that they were wearing around their necks (concert tickets, other 2-shots, etc).

The question is - what would Yui think.

She greeted me as usual when I came into the booth, but then saw the license plate and got this look of surprise and delight. I held it up for her, and explained that it was my actual California license plate. Got a very nice ‘wow’ from her, and I didn’t even need to ask her to pose, she knew exactly what to do.



As I left, I thanked her for everything, and let her how much she meant to me. At the moment, this is probably going to be one of the last times I’ll see her at an event, so I’m really happy it was one of my best experiences with her.


Uchiyama Natsuki
(Note: I’m spelling her nickname the way she’s been signing it on her theater cards).

I had three tickets for Nakky, and to be honest, it wasn’t near enough. The earlier 2-shots in Slot 6 and 7 were amazing. In Slot 7, she got so close I don’t know how the staff allowed it. But the most memorable, and most fun, was the final one.

I had met up with @SunnySK42 so we could go through her line together. I wanted to wait a bit, so I introduced Sunny to some of her committee. While talking, I found out that the staff was now being very strict with Nakky’s 2-shots. Everyone, and especially her, was being instructed to stand directly on the footprints, stay very far apart, and most of all, no touching! (I even saw a photo that had been taken earlier, which showed her and the fan with feet on the mats, and her desperately trying to lean over to get as close as possible)

They were also supposedly cutting out any excess conversation or chatter.

So when I stepped into her booth this time, I expected everything to be very business-like. I did not expect to see an additional staff member standing by the bag table, a very stern-looking staff member. We barely had time to get through our usual “hello’s” before they started telling us to pose. I told her I wanted to do Temodemo, so we got into position.

The trick with the Temodemo pose, is that your arms need to cross. Even though we weren’t touching, the crossed arms were too close for the staff. They kept motioning for us to to move our hands apart, which we did in increments, but it was still too close. Finally the new guy came up and physically moved our arms apart, which ended up with our hands with about 6 inches between each other. Then Nakky noticed my hand was facing the wrong way, so she grabbed and turned it the right way. Which got us both another round of scolding from the staff.

The camera girl shouted “Hai - Cheese”, and as she moved to her thumb to press the shutter button, Nakky quickly moved her arm to once again cross mine, right as the photo was taken.



The staff in unison all crossed their arms and started shouting “Dame Dame!” Nakky started giggling, while I just looked at her in amazement, and the staff debated whether they should do a retake. In the end they just gave this look of resignation and waved me out.

At which point Nakky grabbed both my hands and started thanking me for coming, and asking me if I would be back again. I had to tell her it was my last one for the day, but I told her I would see her next week at the handshake event. She told me to come see her up in Iwate the next day, and I seriously was considering it at that point. She was in pera-pera mode at this point, so it was really hard to keep up with what she was saying. Then she stopped, thought, and said in English “I hope for good luck in Election!” I told her that I was definitely supporting her (and seriously, everyone should be throwing some votes her way, she is just amazing both on stage and off).

The entire time I had been backing up, so she was now nearly standing in the exit lane with me. A security guard (not staff) stared to walk over to see what was going on, and she ducked back in. I apologized to the staffer as I checked the photo, and I think the stern-looking guy had to hand me my bag (she grabbed my hands too fast for me to pick it up).

Since Sunny had to wait a bit, I can only think that they must have gone over the rules with her again. But based on Sunny’s story, it sounds like she had pretty much decided to do things her own way for the rest of the night.

Yeah - I'm proud to call her my one and only oshimen.

Bonus 2-shot: Since I know @Cristafari will ask - I didn’t forget about Wasamin.

Finally, after a very busy day, I could finally cross “2-shot with an AKB48 member” off my bucket list.

 

Great read as always @Tensai, and the photos are awesome (especially the one with your licence plate)!
Too bad we didn't get a chance to talk properly on the day.
You've sold me on Nakky though, so maybe we can catch up later in Nakky's lane at a future event?

 

Great write-ups everyone! Lots of very nice pictures and it's always fun to read about these things. @Tensai, it was really nice to meet you that day too and thanks for introducing me to the committee members! I completely missed the additional staff member in Nakky's (good to know about the spelling by the way) lane but I guess they were more lax with me anyway. @hobolic you should definitely meet her if you get the chance!

I keep kind of wanting to meet Hilary but I worry that it would be awkward... maybe I'll try though if I get the chance, it sounds like everyone has had a good experience with meeting her. And awesome license plate picture with Yui!

 

Is it a farewell? You're not going to see her again?

 

Been a long time since I've posted my experiences here, and I've done so much since then (Kokuritsu Concert, AKB48 Draft, IWA grand opening, HS events, etc) But i'll post about my latest experiences which were the 2 shot events.

*warning large photos*

Spoiler

2 Shot event in Yokohama Pacifico - 17 May

Ishida Anna:
This girl is just a beauty, which I told her and she thanked me. I'm not really too keen on doing the "ハート" pose, but if I were to do it, I would do the big one lol.


Aigasa Moe:
I've been a fan of Moechin for awhile (see http://stage48.net/forum/index.php?threads/your-akb48-experiences.113/page-278#post-561364 for my first encounter with her) unfortunately I don't go see her as much as I used to, but nevertheless a great time seeing her. Told her that I always enjoy seeing her perform Seifuku Resistance and that hope to see her perform it again. She smiled and thanked me (though she gave me a look slightly reminiscent when I talked to tomochin) then asked what pose we should do, I asked if we can do a jumping Hi-touch, she asked the staff but they said no, so she then suggested the "ハート" pose, couldn't say no to her...


Morikawa Ayaka:
I brought my Adidas x AKB48 Samurai Blue Jersey just for this event and it turned out better than I had expected. I'm starting to get hisashiburi (long time no see in Japanese) from her, which is nice to hear from a girl you support. I told her she looked wonderful (I could've used more adjectives but we were limited on time) I asked for her to point at the jersey, and she lit up when saw the back which had her last name on it. Probably one of the best poses of the day.


Kotani Riho:
Ripopo is one of those girls that is just fun to be around with. I've seen her the weekend before at the NMB random 2 shot event though she didn't recognize me (probably cause I dyed my hair) I asked her to recommend a pose for us to do, and she said let's do this YO! pose. I agreed. After the photo, I told her that I'll see her tomorrow(NMB had an HS event in Osaka the following day) and she seemed very happy about it.


Jonishi Kei:
One of the main reasons I went to see her was due to me getting her theater photos from previous singles lol. So I decided to take the plunge and see her. When the curtain opened, I saw her smiling at me... she was more petite than I expected. She giggled a bit after we did the pose. I thanked her and told her I'll see her tomorrow as well.


2 Shot event at Tokyo Big Sight - 24 May

Sashihara Rino:
What a way to start of this event.
I planned for this photo op with her since they announced the 2shot event. If you watched the Koichun Fan Version Video, I was the person in the beginning, wearing the same hoodie. I told her congrats on her prelim first place but was cut of by her pointing at the Hoodie and going WAHHHH! I remember this! (I also gave her this hoodie a while back). I suggested the "Come on, Come on, Come on baby" pose and she agreed and struck the pose. As I was leaving I told her good luck at the election
and that I hoped she'll win first again, she gave me the ganbarimasu look.


Furukawa Airi:
Airin is just awesome. I told her that I loved her Chibi-Airi design and that I wanted to see more. She asked me what pose we should do, since I digging JoJo and she does amazing JoJo poses I decided to go with that, heck she even asked me if there was a specific pose she wanted me for her to do, I told her any pose she wanted to do is fine with me and she delivered.


Kuramochi Asuka:
I'm getting to the point that I'm comfortable seeing Mocchi and not getting too star struck (but she still looks stunning and catches me off guard). Mocchi knows I see her a lot and actually remembers me... how you ask? She actually commented that I changed my hair color. I was surprised that she'd mention that. She asked what pose we should do and I told her a batting pose and she ok'ed and posed. As soon as she posed, I squatted down to look like a catcher, Mocchi giggled and asked if I was a doing a catcher pose. I nodded my head and the staff took the photo. Afterwards she said that it was a fun photo/pose to do and I agreed and waved goodbye.


Hirata Rina:
Lady Liberty Hirari looked stunning. Like many others have mentioned, it's really easy to talk to her for obvious reasons lol. I asked her if we can do a two man B pose like in Team B oshi. Asked me how to do the pose, which kinda baffled me a bit. I explained the pose but she said she doesn't think it's allowed, so I then asked for a hi touch but she said the same thing... I then ran out of ideas, so she said a thumbs up for team B and I agreed. Before I left I told her good luck at the election and that I voted for her and am rooting for her (which I did and am)


Maeda Ami:
Oh Aamin, she's lovely. I congratulated her on her placement on the prelim results and told her she looked cute. She thanked me and I asked if she can do an air kiss, She said いいよ in very cute way.


Tanabe Miku:
Being a fan of tokusatsu myself, I had to see her. As soon as I entered, I saw that she was dressed in the outfit she wore for her election poster this year. I was double-thinking what pose to do with her since she was dressed like that, but still decided to do a henshin pose with her.


Morikawa Ayaka:
A happy Aaya, is the best Aaya and that's what I got. She greeted me with her beautiful smile as I passed through the curtain and complimented me for the Cinderella glasses I was wearing. I told her that she looked great and asked her what pose we should do. She suggested the あーやロイド pose. I'm not sure if she remembers or not but this was the pose I did with her for my first 2shot with her for the 1830m event almost 2 years ago.


Okada Nana:
One of my favorite 14th gen girls and she was straight majime here as well. I asked for a kicking pose and she agreed but was kicking toward the camera at first but when I turned around and took my pose, she noticed and turned toward me which was what I wanted.


Ota Aika:
I had this idea in my head that I wanted complete Tsundere experience from lovetan, but as I was waiting in her lane I had second thoughts and wanted some love from her instead. She is a very lovely girl and I'm glad to have seen her. I asked for a winking pose from her and she happily did, though didn't catch the wink lol.


Abe Maria:
This girl is both pretty and a blast to take a picture with. I asked her to do a model pose, which at first she was kinda confused at what I said (probably how I said it) then it clicked with her. I took a look at her first before I posed and and she looked like a natural at modeling. Both the staff handling my camera and Abemaru was laughing afterwards and you can see why. She said something to me afterward which I didn't quite understand but sounded like me being a model or that was an interesting model pose lol.


Shimazaki Haruka:
The saltmeister... yes, I went to see her... this was during Slot 6, so I knew she was gonna be tired around that time slot, but around slot 2 I saw a tweet of a photo with her sitting down already! WTF! So my pose was slightly decided then... As I was lined up for her lane, I decide that I'll be wearing my Shimazaki Salt shirt. Not sure if the others in line understood what it represented but they were looking a my shirt a lot lol. Got in behind the curtain and I saw Paruru, just sitting there and I said Konbanwa to her but she didn't reply back nor shook my hand and she just tilted her head a bit. As I sat down, she already started to do the peace sign... so I did the best I can with it and returned the salt lol. I thanked her and left her booth... sigh.


Kuramochi Asuka (again!): Mocchi is just great, I can't tell you enough how amazing this girl is. She greeted me and a was still all smiles (this was one of the later slots) I told her that today was fun and I've enjoyed seeing her. She asked me what pose we should do, I asked her to pretty much play/pull my ear. She giggled a bit, smiled and nodded. After the photo, I thanked her again and told her that I'll see her next weekend. *one of my favorite photos for this event*

I had a lot of fun with the girls those two days and I hope they too had fun as well. I also enjoyed sharing pictures with the people I was with in the venue and laughing at our ridiculous poses and pictures. Good times all in all.

 

Your batter pose with Mocchi was the smartest idea i've ever come across! And Omg the salty experience! you and @ithebigc are complete masochist! lol

Damn this festival of 2 shots events is really making me so envious! Every photo are so awesome!

It looked like a great experience, thank you for the write up Memorybreak

 

I didn't realize it until afterwards, when I was trying to figure out why the staffer who normally checks the photo was standing in front of the table. Maybe it was a staff change? To be honest the entire thing was a bit chaotic. The only other one where I seem to recall three was Mocchi, where they literally were shoving everyone out after the photo (so much that I had to go back for my bag)

I have awkward moments with Hillary, because it's so easy to break that 'fourth wall' when speaking English. In February when she was dressed up in lolita fashion, I told her that she looked cute, and we both looked at each other like "whoa - that feels kinda strange when you say it". I think if I had said "kawaii-na" it wouldn't have felt as weird. But she's so much fun, and every experience has been memorable.

Right now I don't have any tickets with her for future events (either I was skipping that single or I didn't win the lottery). With all the things that are going on, it will be months before I have another chance to even apply for ticket. I may decide to go out on this high note.

 

@Tensai damn and I thought I got close to Hillary, you might as well ask her for a piggy-back pose next time since you're in full-blown rebel mode after that nakky 2shot

 

I don't have anything to add, but I wanted to thank everyone who wrote about their experiences in the 2-shot event! I had fun reading everyone's reports.

 

Great reports @Tensai & @memorybreak , glad you had tons of fun too. Makes me regret slightly that I chose to pass up the 2shot at Intex before I left, but if I did go to that, I probably would have missed the HS at Pacifico on the 6th and not gotten over with Moechan, so yeah I can't complain especially when there will (hopefully) be 2shot again sometime in the future.'s

@Tensai kinda disappointed you didn't go with that little bundle of joy that is Kiichan! I mean how could you not wanna go to see the little tsundere!! Your Nakky reports (in person and written) never fail to amuse. That girl really is such a livewire and I almost feel sorry for the staff who police her lane/booth. I do wanna see her even just once but then looking at her mammoth lines, I dunno (I know I shouldn't comment in that after waiting in Yuurin's).

@memorybreak nice one with Moechan! Great that you can help show off her actual persona rather than the one this forum seems to attach to her of being a Tomochin clone. Looking as adorable as always and is pretty much the real her (she's hiding that goofy side still!). Aaya and Popos showing what great girls they are again. Glad you're getting there with Aaya, hopefully soon enough it'll be like how it is with Mocchi!! That Abema is just...LOL...

 

Finally finished writing my report for the 2-shot event on 5/24.
It took much longer than I thought. Let me try to keep it short and simple.

But before I start, I have to say that it was a really nice experience to meet not only the members, but also other stage48 members. To talk about AKB48 together during an event is another highlight for the day!


I had 5 tickets :
3 x Unassigned tickets, 1 x Takahashi Juri, 1 x Shiroma Miru

Block 2: Murayama Yuiri

Spoiler

This was the first time I attended any AKB48 events in Japan, so I was pretty nervous.
I selected Yuirii as the first member for the event partly because she always gives me a genki impression.
When I first saw her, she was as kawaii and genki as I expected.

To prevent any waste of time, I started to talk to her when I was putting down my bag.
I first told her that I was from Hong Kong.
Then she looked quite excited and said (in Japanese): Hong Kong? Impressive! Thank you!

Then we shook hands. Her hands were soft and warm (I remember this very clear even until now)
During the handshake, she said something to me, but I couldn't understand (Sorry ..)

She then said (in Japanese),"Not understand?"
I understood these words, and then replied with a smile and nodded.

After that, she started to make the heart shape with her hand.
She looked rather frustrated and a little furious at the time.

During the photo taking, my hand was shaking. Not sure whether Yuirii could feel it.
The staff then told me that my head stayed too close to Yuirii.
I guess I was really too nervous.



After the photo shot, Yuirii shook hands with me again.
I told her that I liked her a lot and she thanked me again with a sweet smile.

When I was ready to leave and checked the photo, the staff told me that I left my bag.
So I entered into the room again and waved at Yuirii once more.
Her smile melted my heart again!

Block 5: Shimada Haruka

Spoiler

I went to queue up together with @SunnySK42
She took 2 photos with Shimada before during Block 4, so I asked her for some opinions first.

The lane was rather short, so when it was about my return, I was thinking like:
"What? Me already? I am not ready yet!"

I could hear Shimada's voice when I was at the front of the queue.
It was such a familiar voice as I used to listen to AKB48 今夜は帰らない… a lot when the 9th Generation members were hosts.

Similar to Yuirii's case, I started to talk when I was putting down my bag.
I said I was from Hong Kong and she replied (in Japanese), "Hong Kong? Really? Thank you!"

She is really not that fat as people say. In fact, she looks healthy and fit.

During the handshake, I asked her whether she was still learning Chinese.
She answered in one or two sentences, but again, I couldn't understand.
But from what I read from her face, I think either she is not learning it anymore, or she is facing a very hard time learning it.

We did a simple Team K pose.



I wore a cap during that shot. There is "Shimada Haruka" written on it with a tennis ball. I asked another fan to design and I arranged to make it for Shimada's birthday 2 years ago, and I sent one to her at that time.

Sadly, I think she didn't notice it probably because I am taller than her and she might not see the words.

After the shot, she talked to me again, which sounded like a continual answer for my question on Chinese learning. Again, I couldn't understand what she said ...

I used my very limited Japanese and said, "Once more"
She answered me something but the only part I could understand is "but I really like it".
From her answer, she probably thought that I asked her to learn Chinese once more.

The truth is, I wanted to ask her say one word in Chinese.
But ... You know my Japanese standard now.

Block 6: Shiroma Miru

Spoiler

(Usual start, so skipped)

Then Mirurun replied (in ENGLISH), "Hong Kong? Very Good! Thank you!"
She also made a Thumb Up pose with a playful smile.

Then we shook hands, which surprised me a lot as it was done with two hands separately.
I know many members are doing handshake this way now, but it was the first time I experienced it.

Without a table in between, handshake in this way made us stay even closer than normal handshake.

For the photo, we did the pose she used on the cover of the sousenkyo guidebook.



After that, I said in Japanese that I liked Mirurun a lot.
And she replied, in English again, "Thank you" and "Byebye"

Block 7: Takahashi Juri

Spoiler

Finally it's time to take photo with my oshi.
Since I have another shot in this same block, I went to queue up a bit earlier.

When I was waiting outside, I heard Juri's voice.
The words "ありがとうございます" sounded a bit similar (from my view only) to "おめでとうございます" which I heard a lot in the recent AKB48 mobile game.
"It's really Juri's voice!!" That's what I was thinking at the time.

Again, I said I came from Hong Kong.
She thanked me without any excitement or whatsoever.
Maybe she had met many fans like me already, or she simply felt tired, or she needed some warm-up after the break.

Juri then asked me about the pose.
I planned to do a round face like this Google+ picture

But when I pointed at my face and started to do the round face, Juri already moved her eyes to the camera.
So she only used her two fingers to point at her face but didn't do the round face.



Actually I bought a headset very similar to the one she wears in Sailor Zombie (see red arrow).
I also wore a green jumper, to make myself a bit like Mutsumi.

But, without learning from the lesson of Shimada's photo taking, I didn't ask Juri to look at my two costumes. And she probably didn't realize it.

When I left, I said I supported her since the debut of 12 Generation.
But maybe I was not loud enough, or I didn't say it clearly.
She only thanked me and said bye to me without much energy.

Block 7: Kitagawa Ryoha

Spoiler

For my last unassigned ticket, originally I planned to use it for Iwanaga Tsugumi.
However, during Block 7, the big screen showed that it was not allowed to use unassigned ticket for her.

I was extremely sad as it should be available according to the list published a day before.
And I even borrowed from a friend her birthday tee so that I could wear it during the photo taking.

Anyway, I still needed to look for an alternative.
And at the end I picked Ryoha.

When I looked at her from outside for the first time, she seemed to be quite tired and moodless.
This made me quite worried, but luckily when I entered into the photo taking area, she smiled again.

As I didn't prepare anything to say to her, I only said I was from Hong Kong and I liked Ryoha very much.
She replied with a smile, which I call a Ryoha type of smile. Very unique type.

For pose, I decided to do the same one I failed to do with Juri.
From what I knew, I thought Ryoha is rather shy.
So I worried that she may refuse to do that pose.

But actually she did it immediately when I was showing her the example.
Her face was so cute when I looked at it face to face!



When I left, I said I would see her the following day in the SKE handshake event.
(I may write a report on this too later, not sure whether I have time though).

Summary of the feeling:

Spoiler

- Yuirii is really cute, nice and friendly. I like her much more after meeting her this time.
- Shimada is like a good friend to me. I wished I could know Japanese better and be able to talk with her more.
- Mirurun is another type of friend who love playing.
- While it was a disappointment to me during Juri's photo taking, it didn't change the status of my oshi
- Ryoha is very much like a girlfriend who has an ever-changing emotion and temper, but it would be forgiven as she is too cute!

At the end, I stayed until Yuko's farewell as it was her last 2-shot in AKB.
Although I couldn't understand what she said, I could see her red eyes with tears.

We would definitely lose a lot of fun without her in AKB.

 

My turn at a 2shot write up...
I attended the events on 5/17 and 5/24. I actually did not plan on going to the one on 5/17 at first, so I only got a handful of day-of tickets for that date. As always, it was great meeting up with all the people around the fandom who I interact with regularly, and putting more faces to names with all those who I met for the first time. Too bad it takes a fairly major event like this to make many people come out at the same time. I don't think I can say anything about the overall event that somebody else hasn't said already, so I'll just go into the 2shots..

Spoiler: 5/17

I went into the event not wanting try to overthink about poses especially since I don't have much a rapport with any of them. So Every pose on 5/17 I left up to the member to decide. Which I soon found out will result in a lot of hearts...

Sato Mieko
first 2-shot, and with the member who I had the best handshake experience with from prior event. Probably because was nobody in her lane, her staff was pretty strict. They told me to go to the information booth afterwards because of no proof of address, and hurried me out through the whole process. With the few seconds I had to say anything I thanked her for the 2-shot and gave her a belated congrats on finishing a marathon. She was pleasant as always.


Koishi Kumiko
I had other plans for my tickets until I found out draft members were participating. Kumiko immediately jumped near the top of my lists, since she's the only draft member who really caught my eye. I think she was just super-excited to have anyone come into her lane, but her energy was overwhelming. I congratulated her on her promotion to team E and she thanked me profusely. Plus during the pose, she leaned right into my shoulder


Kotani Riho
My favorite NMB48 member. She thanked me for coming and asked me what pose. I let her choose and she was "RAWR." After the picture, she told me to come see her again. I replied to her that I'll see her the next day. "In Osaka? Really??" I gave her the thumbs up on the way out.


Sasaki Yukari
It may be because I saw her later in the day, but she was pretty meh by the time I got to her. Already switched to glasses, and didn't have much to say. At least she smiled this time.

Spoiler: 5/24

Furukawa Airi
Airin had a decent line at the start of the day, and she all business with me. When she asked which pose, I tried demonstrating one one of her stiff blank stares. She didn't seem to want to do it or misinterpreted what I was going for, so she was like "peace?" So i went with it. If there's a member I just can't seem to click with, it would probably be Airin. Maybe because she senses I'm not into anime and stuff.

Matsui Jurina
This girl's enthusiasm is so awesome, it's hard to believe there are people who don't like her. I wished her luck in the upcoming election. I thought this pose would be fun to do with her because of a similar one she had done with Yuasa a while back. The staff said the hand touching was NG, but she told them to STFU and take the pic. ok, not really.. but that's what it felt like when she waved them off.


Koishi Kumiko
Just based on the previous week's experience, I was already determined to see this girl more (and already had handshake tickets for her on 6/1). In Kumiko's only time slot, I was already already in the adjacent lane for Jurina. For the 45minutes or so I was in Jurina's lane waiting, I only saw 1 person go into Kumiko's lane, and it was some dude wearing a giant daikon costume. Eventually, she got tired of waiting around, so she came out of her booth and started trying to fish people in Jurina's lane by waving at people. I waved back at her just for kicks.
When I looped around to her lane, she was super-excited again. Right off the bat, thanked me for coming again, so she recognized me from the previous week. I thanked her for such a great 2shot. Then instead of asking for a pose, she suggested we hold up our fingers to represent her name (9-3 -> KuMi). I don't think she thought that one through... because I thought I was going to be 9 since I'd be on the left of the pic, but she ended up doing it.. and I scrambled to get 3, and didn't bother putting down my other hand... so that's what we ended up with.
After the picture, her staff let me talk it up with her for like another minute probably because they felt bad for her. We made the usual small talk and she was working her fishing skills the whole time (which I totally let myself fall for). I explained to her I was from Chicago. She said she really want to go there. I told her she should come for the awesome pizza. When someone else finally came to her lane, the staff told me to gtfo. She then told me to come see her again. When I told her I'll see her once more next week (#ITSDH), she squealed with delight.


Sato Mieko pt.1
Mieko was much more fun this time around than last. When I greeted her, she also then recognized me from the previous week. Like I saw the very moment the lightbulb turn on in her head. She thanked me for coming again, and I told her it was because she's the prettiest in 48G. She seemed pretty happy to hear that.


Takahashi Minami
The oshi. It was a very brief interaction and she was all business considering how jam packed her lane was. I told her I hope her rank in the election goes up from last year. I asked for the team A hand pose and was surprised she was ok with doing it. It went by so quickly that I didn't realize our fingers didn't quite line up.. but oh well. All that matters is that she looked good.


Sato Mieko pt.2
Now she was really surprised when I came around to see her another time. I wished her well in the upcoming election and told her I'll vote for her. For the pose, I demonstrated it, and she knew I got the idea from her election appeal comment video, so she was all about it. She ended up switching her pose at the last second, which threw me off, but it still came out ok. On the way out, she told me to come see her again. So I told her I'd see her at the handshake event the next week.
Then outside the booth I saw 3 staff guys huddled around my phone checking the picture, probably because it looks like I was touching her. After some discussion, they gave it a pass and let me be on my way.


Kotani Riho
Once again, another member that recognized me from the previous week. She didn't even let me talk and was like "see, I remember you. You were in Osaka last time," and even tried speaking to me in English. This is why it's better to focus on building relationships with your faves rather than seeing a handshake event as an cheevos list. I'm waiting for the day she asks why all the gaijin fans keep asking for fistbumps.


Morikawa Ayaka
A-ya is one of the girls who I wish I had more time to talk to. She always looks good and really deserves more attention than she gets. But since I don't have much experience with her, I let her choose the pose.. so hearts it was.


Muto Tomu
Pocket-sized idols are the best ones, and gums is no exception. I wished her luck in the upcoming election. When it came to pose, she suggested a heart, but I opted for peaces instead.


Oba Mina
I was rather disappointed by her sitting down because I had really wanted to do the sushi zanmai pose with her. But I guess it's normal for her to be sitting later in the day. I told her that the color white suits her well. After the picture, I thanked her in English which gave her a little surprise. She asked me if I knew any Japanese at all, and I told her just a little. She then gave me an evil giggle.


Iwasa Misaki
I used my last day-of ticket on Wasamin because I know I'll never hear the end of it from Cristafari if I didn't see her. I didn't get a handshake from her and she went into a pose immediately after I got into position. Understandable since it was already late in the day. After the picture, I said thank you in English. Upon hearing this, she decided to try to practice her English on me. She then tried the "I love you" on me, but I responded with "No.. you love Chris, right?" She then had this look as if she got caught red-handed. Then on the way out, I laughed and told her I was going to tell him about it.


Yokoyama Yui
Last two-shot. She looked a bit tired (maybe bored?) when I was talking to her, so I tried to keep it simple. I wished her well in the election. For the pose, I tried demonstrating to her to re-enact the gut punch she gave to Tano.. but at the word "punch," she decided to do this pose instead, so I went with it.

All in all, it was a very fun and memorable event. Just about all the members looked good, and lots of good times were had amongst the fellow fans I got to hang out with. And what happened the day after the 2shot event just makes me even more thankful that we got the opportunities we did get.

 

Thanks for all the reports guys, keep them coming!

@naruse I felt the same way about Furuhata Nao. Unfortunately when expectation != reality, it really warps the opinion one can have. Maybe she wasn't feeling well that day (both days? haha) or maybe handshakes are her forte instead.
P.S. still jelly about your 2shot with Mayu. Also your Sayanee 2shot is great.

@Cristafari Yeah that one turned out real weird lol. Friends back home gave me crap for not having good poses, but let's be real here... when you haven't met these girls yet or haven't done 2shots with them before, you're not going to be very prepared. Props to @naruse though. Still impressed with how many tickets and how many witty photos he came up with.

And as always, it's great meeting up with other fans at the events and in Japan in general
Dang it @memorybreak resize your photos / use thumbnails kekeke

 

Wow, great write-ups everyone. Though they do make me of course, very jealous. I really want to go to a 2-shot event. I'm hoping and praying someone will have the goodness of heart to post a guide on how to attend, as I'm totally clueless. Anyway, I went to Yuko's last stadium show last week. It was getting a little long, so I decided to break it up in two parts. Here's Part 1:

Yuko Oshima Stadium Graduation Show Report (Part 1)

On June 8, 2014, I saw Yuko Oshima’s last stadium concert at Ajinomoto Stadium. It was my first stadium show for AKB48. It was a bittersweet experience.

Winning the Tickets
I won two fan club tickets by applying on the website. I tried applying for 3 tickets to the March 29 show, and failed, but then scaled it down to 2 for the March 30th show. After the cancellation, we were given the option of refunding our tickets or transferring some or all of our tickets to the June 8th show. I of course chose to transfer.

the Prologue

Spoiler: March 30th was a crappy day that ended on a really high note

So it really sucked that the show was cancelled, but I was stubborn enough to stick around the venue for a couple hours. I wanted to get more information and maybe sneak a peek at an AKB member as they were leaving. Initially it just got more frustrating. All I could get in the way of more information is “We’ll tell you later” and I was THIS close to seeing Minami Takahashi. She peeked out the window of the vehicle she was in and waved to fans. I was on the other side of the street so I only saw the excitement of others. I was later rewarded when Yuko herself came out to personally apologize to us fans. Yuko is sooo gorgeous in person, and I saw her closer there then I ever did at the stadium. I thought that was a really classy thing for Yuko to do. I’m sure she was just as disappointed about the cancellation as we were, but she made it about us. What a team player! Seeing Yuko up close will always be a treasured memory

Before the Show

Spoiler: My feelings and the stadium atmosphere before the show

So the long anticipated day of June 8 finally arrives, and with my spirits sky high after Mayuyu’s senbatsu win, I am on the way to Ajinomoto stadium.

I am pumped for this show. While I know that a stadium show won’t match certain elements of a theater show, I am every excited for two things:

1)While I’ve gotten to see and high touch some amazing girls, I have seen a precious few senbatsu members, heck, if you count the newly elected senbatsu, I haven’t seen any of them. And all my favorites are going to be there: Mayuyu, Yukirin, the Matsuis, NyanNyan, Paruru, Sae-chan, Takamina, and of course the beautful idol, the star of stage and screen, the gravure cover girl, the displacer and successor of Acchan, the queen of AKBingo, the senior Oshiri sister, the kami 7 staple, the delightful squirrel, the super sempai of 48groups, the girl whose image and voice is playing in my head on heavy rotation, my oshi, the one the only....Yuko Oshima.

And they’ll all be under the same roof..or lack thereof.

2) Also, songs I’ve heard before! I own over 100 AKB songs, and it will be nice to hear at least one of them live. I was giddy with excitement after I saw the 3/29 show setlist. How will this compare?

It’s an entirely different experience from going to my familiar and beloved Akihabara. The biggest difference is the sheer size of the thing. The train is packed with wota. The 7-11 near the station is full of people and running out of food (hungry wotas). A sea of wotas are moving towards the stadium.

I was a little worried about what the beefed-up security would be like but it was no big deal. A quick bag search and metal detector, less of a pain than for a normal concert in the States. Ajinomoto stadium is a nice stadium. Large, comfortable seats, clean bathrooms.

So time to find the seat. Actually, time for schwag! On arriving, we get white Yuko Oshima glowsticks for the encore, an explanatory flyer, and a green Yuko Oshima flag to wave. Sweet, free schwag! Once I get settled in, I realize I have over an hour before the concert starts. Time to buy schwag! I go halfway around the stadium to the AKB shop, where I am about to buy....Wait, a second, is that...Mayu Watanabe, just walking around the concourse? No, it’s a female fan, dressed and made up to look just like Mayuyu. Very cool. Anyone who says that there are no AKB fans who are girls clearly hasn’t been to an AKB concert, many such fans are here, representing in AKB-style outfits. I love female AKB fans, I even brought one with me, her name is Natsumi.

Anyway, so I am now in possession of 4 AKB glow sticks (one in each team’s color), Yuko Oshima Harucon DVD with limited edition cover and accompanying limited edition poster, and am over $100 poorer. A worthwhile trade off.

Get some food, now all there is to do is wait. The anticipation is killing me.

The Show

The voice of Yuko herself welcomes us to the show. We are shown a video on the jumbo-tron with highlights of Yuko’s career, from the Aitakatta MV to her participation in recent events.

The voice of the overture gets started and I’m mixing it in. I’ve finally learned the whole thing. (btw, the third verse is Chape, Ape, Kara, Kira, Rara, tusuke, myahottusuke!) I’m getting so pumped. It’s always a mind-blowing sight at theater shows when the curtains come up. Sixteen seifuku-clad soldiers ready to shock and awe us with killer dance moves and lively, electronic jams. I imagine a stadium show opening is going to be completely over the top. It all goes silent for a second and then....

The Initial Disappointment

It’s just some guy playing the piano! underwhelming

More than that, my seats are NG!!! I’m in the second to last row of the lower bowl. Ajinomoto is a soccer stadium, and my seats would be perfect for watching a corner kick, not so good for watching AKB. I am so far away, the whole things looks so small, and I’m right on the side of the stage, I see everything in profile, not the way the concert was meant to be viewed. Now, I knew better than to expect theater-style closeness, but even with my binoculars it’s still hard to make out faces. That put me in a bad mood, but I gradually get over it as the concert goes on.

As the concert lasted for 4 1/2 hours, I can’t talk in detail about the whole thing, and I’m going to skip some parts, but you can find the full setlist here:

http://48groupfan.tumblr.com/post/88178068337/oshima-yuko-graduation-concert-kage-anna-oshima

A Solid Set of Opening Songs
Anyway, so the first song was Naginagara Hohonde. Yuko is wearing her signature white dress from RH and it’s apparently going on in some cool tunnel thing. I can see none of it, as my view is totally blocked my stage scaffolding. (*#&% you NG seats!!!) So I have to watch on jumbotron (which I can’t see that well because of the angle.). Wota rage!!

That song ends and then...
1! 2! 3! 4!
Smoke bombs go off. The senbatsu appears clad in outfits closely mirroring those in the Hebirote music video. I love those outfits. These are remixed a bit, keeping the black marching band top over multi-colored skirt, but the outfits seems more breathable, are more brightly-colored, and the skirts are a little longer. I approve. I get my binoculars out, let’s see how much of Yuko I can see. I aim in her direction, and where the heck is Yuko? I scan all around, no sign. Binoculars off. Oh, she’s in the sky now. Her and other members are “flying” suspended in the air. Kind of cool. On the left and right of the senbatsu, 100s of other 48 group members appear in white dresses singing and dancing. So cool to hear this song live with Yuko as its center.

Aitakatta (Yes!)
I loove this song. I will give AKB management some credit. Even though my seat was NG, they did try their best to give everyone as good a seat as they could. There is the main stage, a secondary stage at the other end of the theater, and a stage/track thing that circles the ground level connecting both stages. The 48group goes on a “Japanese Fire Drill”; everyone takes off running, surrounding the stadium in idols. The senbatsu are making a lap, while lesser girls are picking a spot around the track and dancing. (Kimi ni..) I found that if a girl stands in just the right spot (which I dub the Kami corner), I can actually see her face with binoculars! Who is standing in my kami corner? [binoculars] I don’t know. (There are a lot of 48groups members.)

Everyday, Kachuusaa
Wow what a clusterf*ck/circus this is turning out to be. Girls are running everywhere, some are aggregating on the two different stages, there’s no semblance of organized choreography (I wanted to see them do the lineup thing where they all bend over than Komanechi, but not today) and I have no idea who’s singing. It’s hard to get used to the chaos, very different from the intense focus that can happen during theater shows. I try to adjust. My momentary frustration notwithstanding, I’m so glad they did this song. Everyday, Kachuusaa has a special personal meaning to me, and I found it’s selection at this concert incredibly appropriate. I’ll explain more about why in Part 2.

Anyway, a senbatsu member has stopped in my Kami corner. Who is it? [binoculars] It’s Rena Matsui! That girl has impressed me lately, she’s very elegant, oh and look at her waving and dancing. Someday, I need to make it to Nagoya and see you.

Flying Get
Another favorite of mine. They actually are doing the MV choreography for this one (with Yuko as center) and then omg, they start “flying”, the harnesses and wires come out and the girls are going through the air. Get it? Flying, Flying Get, Get it? Hilarious!

Some MC’s happen. “Congratulations Mayu on getting center, hey cool flags everyone, put them up. Sugoi, [other stuff in Japanese I don’t understand].” they do Shoujotachi yo, more MCing. Similar to a theater show, it is now time for “Unit Songs”

The “Unit Songs”

First, AKB breaks up into teams and each team will perform their coupling track from Labrador Retriever

Team K: Itoshiki Rival
Wow! Sayanee is hot! She looks so sexy gyrating around in a tight, midriff-baring black outfit. Jurina is also similarly clad, and she has turned into quite the sexy young woman herself. Stop it Team K, too sexy. I’m getting hot under the collar, which is bad, because my shirt doesn’t have a collar. Seriously, this is a great song, and a great performance, but it needs to end soon. I may lose my composure.

Team 4: Heart no Dasshutsu Game
Oh thank goodness, nothing better for a break from that than my favorite group of wholesome, innocent, adorable teenagers: Team 4. Yay! I am continually impressed by their ability to put on a show. So much energy, and they really work well together as a team. This is a great song too. Well done Team 4. Shine on.

Team A: Kimi wa Kimagure
While we’re all busy enjoying Team 4, Team A has assembled on the main stage. They even have started singing and dancing along to Team 4’s song. Team 4 ends. Bam, Team A is singing. This is...a really good song too. Stop coming out with such good songs AKB, I can’t buy four different versions of Labrador Retriever! This is horrible.

Team B: B Garden
Team B’s song is mercifully bad. It sounds like something you would hear at Disneyland. Actually, now that Team B has started moving around, this whole number is starting to feel very Disneylandish, the brightly colored outfits, and as the sun has started going down, the flags have mostly been replaced with glowsticks of all different colors. It’s like I’m watching an electric light parade at AKBland theme park. (Aki-p please don’t build such a park. I will immediately buy season tickets.)

While Team B is performing on the stadium across from me, girls from the other teams are running in the near side and exiting the stage. Something catches my eye. One of the girls, though far away, seems to be standing out from the rest. I’m not sure why. I whip out the binoculars as she runs past the kami corner.

Ohhh.................................................................................................Holy Crap!!
It’s Nana Okada!
Spryly running as fast as her adorably slender little legs can carry her, she heads toward the main stage. I had hoped she would stop, or at least turn and wave or something, but no such luck. That’s ok. I enjoyed seeing her like that, it seemed rather symbolic. Nana may have gotten 56th place at the senbatsu this year, but she’s headed to bigger and better things. May I have the opportunity to follow her run to senbatsu prominence as closely as her literal run to the main stage. Nana is really great, the thing that I don’t think most people understand about her at first is...
Smack!
Oh right, we’re here for Yuko. Where is Yuko anyway?

Anata ga Ite Kureta Kara
Yuko has had a break, and after the teams have finished we hear her voice, she is standing solo, in a gorgeous evening gown, on the “50 yard line” on the side near me. As she sings, the floor raises up under her. The stage people have inserted a collapsible tower on that part of the stage. Up, up, up, she goes. That must have been a real treat for those with the seats in the upper bowl.
She finishes the solo, and the tower descends. Two other members meet her at the bottom, time for a costume change, one of them rips off the lower half of her gown, changing it from elegant evening gown to a practical skirt allowing freedom of movement. Another member puts an American vintage rock ‘n’ roll style jacket on her, and Yuko Oshima dance/walks her way to the main stage. I’ve seen many people attempt the dancewalk, and many times it results in making said person look totally goofy. Yuko, however, performs the feat looking like a total badass.

Scandalous ni Ikou w/ NyanNyan
So at the front stage, she meets Kojiharu and they perform a duet.
The opening of this song makes me laugh, with their stupidly simple English lyrics “Baby! Baby!/ Are you ready? / We are crazy!!!” but I still really enjoyed it. It seemed like Kojiyuu and the rest of the fans did too.

Speaking of Haruna Kojima, seeing that woman perform was a highlight of the show. She was easy to spot, due to her height, her reddish dyed hair, and her huge lips. She’s known as the “mypace” idol, but today her pace was on "fast". Every time I saw her, she was bubbly and smily. I couldn’t help but smile too. In addition to a superb musical performance, sometime during the concert she gave us this gem, quoting from one of my earlier posts:
“Troll Kojihara strikes again After a number where her and Yuko sang a lot together, the other AKB members either go off stage or move to a different part and NyanNyan is all alone. The cameras are on her. She takes the microphone, gets a serious look on her face and says. ‘I would like to announce that I, Kojima Haruna, will...not graduate.’
Lol. Given that she made the same joke literally the day before, I wasn't fooled, but many in the audience were. Yuko then makes fun by getting serious and making another anti-climactic announcement.”
I didn’t understand what she said, but I asked my concert “date” Natsumi, and she said “nothing in particular.”
Yuko sings another song with Tomu Muto and Yuka Tano, and afterwards I wonder if we are finished with such Unit songs. The answer: NOT YET!

Shuumatsu Not Yet
Kitarie, Sashirino, and Yui Yokoyama enter the stage. For this song, all the members got loaded up into these AKB carts that took them through the aisles towards the back stage. They’re really trying to give a close look to as many people as possible. So that was cool.

Team 8: Iiwake Maybe
I love this song. I’m so happy to hear it live. Team 8’s version sounds very different from the album version, but I liked it, very raw and fresh. Feels like I’m at a concert. Though it was a bit high-pitched. Team 8 seems like they’re very young.

Sister Groups
NMB48
It’s time for the sister groups now. I was worried when I won tickets to this show that I would have to sit through a lot of sister group songs before getting to see Yuko and AKB. I’m glad that wasn’t the case. That said, Team 4 has taught me that one should not be dismissive of other 48group iterations just because you are not familiar with them. Ok sister groups, I’m ready for you. Hit me with your best shot.
NMB's first song was Ibiza girl. Why are they singing about Ibiza? that place seems half a world away from Akihabara. Ibiza is quite the...sexy place. But considering this group has Sayanee, Milky, and now Yukirin, I guess it’s quite fitting. This is a good song. You know, I rather like NMB48. Such a sleek image. Though I'm trying not to look at Sayanee too much. Too sexy.
NMB does another song which is not Kamonigix. Move on to the next song, I want to hear Kamonigix. The song finishes and...that’s it. 2 songs only. No Kamonigix.
Here’s a riddle: What do you get when you take AKB48, lower the average age by a few years, increase the adorableness factor by maybe 3%, and get every member hopped-up on speed? The answer:

HKT48
Like a flock of adorable hummingbirds, HKT48 sprints across the stadium. Singing a song called “Love and Peace” (actually no, it’s called Rock da yo Jinsei wa). They storm my side of the oval track, running, dancing, and jumping at 100 miles an hour and singing at 200mph.
“ganganikuzoretachi LOVE AND PEACE! LOVE AND PEACE! dondonsusumemukumachi LOVE and PEACE! LOVE AND PEACE!“
Whatever stimulant they are on has been transmitted by air to the audience, as the crowd is going wild, and is moving and mixing about with equal tempo. I am similarly affected, as I am convulsively shaking my glowsticks around very fast while attempting to sing along to a song I have never heard before in a language I do not know. “blah blah blah blah blah luh duh duh LOVE AND PEACE! LOVE AND PEACE!” Ahhh, this performance is soooo good!, it’s inspiring really. I want to quit my job and run around the world spreading love (and peace) through song. Love and Peace! Love and Peace!
How do you follow such an impressive and charismatic number? How else, with Melon Juice!!! Neither the girls nor the crowd slow down a wink as they hop, move, and jive to their single. Aki-p missed a profitable opportunity, if he were smart, he would have sent vendors up the aisle selling melon juice. I would have bought several bottles right there. I wonder, is there such a thing as HKT brand Melon Juice? HKT has a brand of gum and throat lozenges you can buy here in Japan. I have recently been chewing them very often. I don’t why, it just makes me feel very loving and peaceful for some reason.
HKT only gets two songs too. Kudos to you HKT, I have been thoroughly impressed. I wish you the utmost success in the future.

SKE48
also performed. Both Matsuis were on a tower like the one Yuko was on earlier for one of the songs.

The concert is now half over. It’s about to get even cooler.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

 

Thanks again for the feedback!

But one thing, can you put bold or underline your Title so it's easier to read for other readers? Thanks