AKB48 Question & Answer

Thank you!

I started watching the documentary again but feel like once again I'm missing something. There are girls collapsing all over the place with the shuffle announcements. Are they that upset that they're being put in different groups?

 

They form bonds with their teams over time, and if they’re transferred to a completely different group...

They still get to see their friends(they have their numbers and can hang out outside of work) but they won’t get to perform with them at the theater as often. I think this point is the most important, you should look for some theater performances and see the chemistry with the teams and you’ll see why they get sad about moving to a different team.

Then with the new teams they don’t necessarily have to start from scratch but they do start a new theater stage and integrate the new members in and over time the team bonds again. Then they shuffle the teams again and the cycle continues

 

The 2014 shuffle was the first time members were ripped from their home group, and all the other members of their generation they'd grown up in the group with, and placed in another group halfway across the country. So yeah, some of them were upset, though I think the ones who were actually transferred had known about it before hand so it was more their friends who were devastated. That shuffle was also pretty brutal with friendships and team dynamics that had developed in the tumultuous period since 2012.

Also it gave us Team Kennin, for which it shall never be forgiven. Thankfully some of the more absurd moves were reversed the next year.

 

I've never really understood that status. Seems like the best way to have someone who can't put their 100% into either group they're listed in; also a great way to utterly exhaust someone.

Your explanation about the girls' bonds makes some sense. Though honestly I guess I still don't get why some of them were fainting/collapsing on the floor. Being upset and crying, yes, but total hysterics and fainting spells just seems...really over the top.

 

I'm still bingeing documentaries and a couple of times it's mentioned that a girl decided not to be promoted to an actual team member. Why? Isn't the whole point of becoming a trainee to become an official team member?

 

A suggestion: If you have questions about things concerning the 48 groups you should ask them in the "AKB48 Question & Answer" thread instead of starting new ones. You'll likely get answers to your questions there much faster than you would making a new thread.

To answer the question to the best of my own ability though; I believe there are many reasons not least of which include something going on in their personal life that might prevent them from having the time to meet the demands of their new schedule. It could also be a case of the girl not feeling like she's ready for the promotion (unlikely/rare to happen, but a possibility nonetheless). There are other reasons too, like health concerns. For example Mitsumune Kaoru who was promoted to Team K during the 2012 Team Shuffle, but her poor health led to her graduating before she could officially debut as a part of the team.

AKB48 Question & Answer Thread Link for Your Convenience:

http://stage48.net/forum/index.php?threads/akb48-question-answer.95/

 

I'm still figuring out how this forum works - wasn't sure if the question was too broad for the Q&A thread.

Thanks for the answer, though!

 

Not sure if this is about NMB48's Jo Eriko, but she's the only member I can remember who actively rejected a promotion.

This is based on rumours, so take it with a grain of salt.

Facts are that Jo Eriko joined NMB48 as part of its 2nd Generation in May 2011. She was being pushed quite a lot, got center positions in B-sides (wcenter with Sayanee, NMB48's ace, and also a solo center), and she was a senbatsu member pretty much immediately. She graduated from NMB48 in September 2012, just about a year later, even though she was popular and getting a lot of work.

Now this is where the rumours start. Apparently she was being bullied by other members of NMB48's second generation, with Yagura Fuuko being the ring leader. This would explain why she left so quickly even though she was doing well. She returned to the group in October 2013 and was a kenkyuusei / trainee at the same time as the 4th Generation.

In 2014, the AKB48 Group held the Daisokaku Matsuri, a massive team shuffle. This is when Jo Eriko was offered a promotion to Team M (fact).

Yagura Fuuko was also in Team M at the time (fact). The rumours are saying that Eriko didn't want to be in Team M for two reasons related to Fuuko; first, she probably didn't want to be put into a team with someone who bullied her.

Second, Fuuko was just about to gain monument. The shuffle was in February 2014 and Fuuko got her first single center position in November 2014. It may have been interpreted as a threat, Eriko coming back into Fuuko's space when Fuuko was becoming popular. Apparently Eriko didn't want to antagonise Fuuko and give her a reason to dislike her (again? even more?).

Like I said, take this with a grain of salt because it's based on rumours.

 

The better example of a KKS refusing promotions would have been "Lifetime Honorary Kenkyuusei", Matsumura Kaori.

Joined SKE in 2009 as KKS. Refused promotion a number of times, earning the title 終身名誉研究生 (Shuushin Meiyo Kenkyuusei) in 2013. Finally took a promotion to Team KII in 2015.

Why? It was her self-built niche in the juggernaut that was 48G at it's height, that eventually got recognition by management.

 

I genuinely didn't know she refused promotions, I just thought she wasn't given any for ages and it worked well for her in the end.

 

Iwata Karen is another example of refusing a shuffle. She was moved to SKE48 in the Daisokaku Matsuri shuffle, but decided to stay in AKB48 Team A. I don't remember where I saw it, but I did see an exchange between Karen and Yamauchi Suzuran, who was also moved to Team S. Suuchan tried to encourage Karen that this was a good opportunity, and Karen tried to agree, but in the end, she couldn't find the strength to move to Nagoya.

Miyazawa Sae is the only member (as far as I know) who broke kennin with her original team to stay with her new team. She wanted to focus on SNH48, but then there were a lot of visa problems and she never really got to do anything in China.

 

I remember reading somewhere that since Karen's mom had already moved with her to Tokyo and still had to take care of Karen's granddad (?) in Tohoku, Karen didn't have the heart to ask her mom to move again and even further away from her grandparents. I can't remember the source, though, so take this with a pinch of salt.

 

The interaction was in one of the documentaries. They did a whole section on Suuchan’s transfer and the conflict Karen was feeling. Their talk about it starts at about 3:40 on this video. It’s english subbed.


She does talk about her mom not being able to go if it’s Nagoya and that there is “things with my grandpa and grandma”. She did want to go though. It was truly heartbreaking to watch for me but being a Sumire Kami I think I might be biased.

mod edit: I'm sorry, but "Documentary of AKB The Time has Come" is purchasable content

 

That was one of the reasons.
Back then she announced her decision on Google+ :
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/岩田華怜#cite_note-18

Luckily the Internet Archive at one point grabbed a copy:
https://web.archive.org/web/2019032...e.com/104469157599705660710/posts/DeGeeNgzPqK

and translations can found here:
https://renkamusume.tumblr.com/post/78001550131/iwata-karen-google-february-27th-2014

 

Hello, I'm looking for the name of a song that I believe was sang by Takamina, a part in the lyrics talks about going in a car on a highway. The song is kinda dark, has similar vibes to Mushi no Ballad.

 

Possibly a dumb question, but: If the various groups have their own variety shows (like Keyakitte Kakenai), why then do they also have the Bingo variety shows (like Keyabingo)? Is it just that the Bingos are purchasable and so create profits? Like the feeling of both shows seems pretty similar to me and I don't get why they made the Bingo show.

 

That's not much to go with but if you think it is a stage song, maybe takamina's itoshisa no accel or possibly faint by itano. Both excellent songs as are so many early theater songs. If you like the vibe I also suggest higurashi no koi.

Zukky has been performing accel lately you might be able to find it somewhere. It's now a duet wereas before the 148 cm takamina held the stage all her own.