Don't you miss AKB's old songs and image ?

You can focus on other new gen girls Girls like Tanochan, Mariyagi, Yuihan, Ranran, Ricchan, and Haruu are not as dry as the ones you mentioned before, I think. There are some backstage clips on the ex-Team 4 members and they looked natural and goofy enough. There was even one performance when Yuihan was MC-ing and she said if she covered half of her face she'd look like Tomu, and Tanochan poked her head from backstage (behind the curtain) to simply deny it (shown in spoiler) That sounded impromptu enough.

Spoiler

 

yeah me to,
i miss the old days too,
the thing is when acchan still center, all akb member very united, they ok with acchan as center cuz she part of 1st gen and everybody in 1st gen deserve for center.[not to mention she aki-p fav]
so instead trying to take top spot, they all keep having fun and support akb.

so many fun songs, instead thinking of the selling cds, they give everything they got for people.
the result is amazing :
- first time experimental sudden sokaku and success for every team
- get first million hit
- get the only million hit where election single beat summer single
- win so many award, 1st-7th gen really takes akb to the peak.

now after acchan graduate and next generation announcement,
every youngster seems only thinking about themself, try to take the momentum to the top from the senior rather than unity and support the group their sign-up for. since akb already in the peak, they seems so easily using akb popularity without realize how hard to get there.
and one thing i hate about youngster fans right now, when their oshis cant do something good or better, they will always say "its ok, its her chara afterall", spoiling and no-effort at all, the way i see it now all the youngster's head were so big, cuz they knew their fans will defense them no matter what.

 

I think that lately AKB's music hasn't been as good, but that might just be me. I love most of their songs of course, but I can't help but feel like their music just isn't as...good? That's just my musical taste though, of course. I'm just a little bit afraid that AKB might take the same path as Morning Musume at some point. Their songs got dull and people stopped following them as much. I haven't particularly liked the last 3 singles (Eien Pressure, So Long, Sayonara Crawl), and it took me a while to get warmed up to Koisuru Fortune Cookie.

I think their songs have been somewhat generic lately, and so it makes me miss old songs more...Because, even if you see the older songs you love performed on stages or at concerts, it's still a fact that the new songs are what you're buying and what's being advertized.

 

I don't necessarily miss the songs per se, because as much as I love the old ones (I'm listening to Iiwake Maybe constantly now), I enjoy listening to the songs from this era as well. However, one thing I do miss is the AKB48 I knew before they became mainstream and "popular." Aitakatta was my first AKB song ever, and I still love it as of today...even just the simple lyrics of the song, the simple everyday life setting in the PV, or even just the humbleness and simplicity coming from the girls themselves.

But change isn't necessarily bad either. IMO, AKB is going in an interesting direction right now (especially with the sister groups slowly starting to take over the spotlight), so I'm looking forward to see where they are going to go at this point.

 

Dang I wrote a really long reply but my wifi cut off...
Basically I loved everything they released in 2010 and I would love another year like that! At the moment I've been wota for a year and not loved any of the new singles enough to buy... The most recent akb releases I have are no name's kibou ni tsuite and akb's everyday kachyusha. But then it's important that they try new styles and concepts, so fans don't get bored! I just want a high energy autumn release this year since everything since (and including) eien pressure felt a little lacklustre due to lack of energy... I still liked the songs, but haven't loved any recent stuff.

 

Songs, yes because the current songs are basic as fuq and it keep getting worst

Image, no because I like their current grown up styling, less school uniform-ish image now. When I see 20 something yrs old members wearing school uniforms and act school dramas for their PV it's so weird, original GC >> remake GC. I only start warming up to Mayuyu after her image change in Ikiru Koto anyway. AKB is close to a 8 yrs old group so I don't want them to back to looking lilke when they were starting out.

I do want some cleaning up of their reputation to before the Micchan, Akbabies, kami pantsu, Puccho things.....

 

2009 to 2011. I think was the best years of AKB48. the establishment of Kami-7 is what makes AKB48 popular anyway. with the roles of the members starting to appear on 2009. Acchan as the immovable center, Takamina as the leader, Yuko as like the second center and Acchan's rival etc. but now senbatsu-lineup is being clouded by management decision to suddenly big pushed on sister group members and new gens suddenly rising in the ranks.

 

The way management has dealt with a number of issues, their increasing focus on crass commercialism and the quick buck at the cost of quality and the dignity of AKB as it was. The blatant pushing here and there of people hardly worth it or of any talent.

AKB is as popular as ever, no doubt with new fans replacing those who have given up on AKB.

The best days of AKB were 2009/2010 peak in performance energy and personality and song making as well.

Things have changed so much that I don't bother with AKBINGO anymore unless it is an old episode. It used to be for promoting AKB, but seems now for the purpose of promoting and giving exposure to all and sundry, which lowers the quality and makes it pretty uninteresting.

Even AKB recent songs I barely get half way through before moving onto something else... nothing worth buying really.

There are some girls in AKB whom I think are pretty good personality and or talent-wise but they are spread thin...and you will rarely see much of them or see them with much focus.

AKB will go from strength to strength money making wise...based on crass commercialism....will get lots of new fans...but maybe the older ones will be looking more and more at the earlier stuff.

They really need to think hard about their song creation..style quality costume and genre.

 

I think that's true. I'm not that long an AKB fan and I don't like the new songs already. I always listen to the older songs and watch the older AKBINGO videos. Maybe the reason for that is that I don't know many of the younger members, but only the "more popular" ones like Takamina, Yuko, Sasshi, Mayu etc.

I don't like many of the newer songs e. g. Koi Suru fortune Cookie. I don't really like that song although it has a good tune (that I have to say), but older songs like River or Yuuhi wo miteiru ka had at least a deeper meaning behind them.

So yeah I miss the old AKB songs although I'm a new fan

 

I miss acchan and the kami7 role model in AKB. Because when someone said "AKB" the first thing in my mind are them. They are what makes AKB is. They have the figure of an idol group. Whenever they are graduating one by one it really saddens me. . I hope they are revived in AKB special occurencies somehow, like Acchan in team surprise, or there is special team, unit, or anything else related only for legendary graduated members. Their task is to perform AKB song again in special concert .

 

I miss the 2010-2011 era [angel]
The songs are catchy and powerful,too in my opinion. And the concept+PVs were better. From HebiRote to Beginner, from Furage to Kazefui...woahhh, such great moments

 

Well...yes and no. Whilst it's true that the original AKB with its rock iron unbreakable senbatsu was what brought me here in the first place, it's definitely the current unpredictability that got me commenting.

I never had much of an issue with the school uniform look. Because they were mostly schoolgirls (or around that age) at the time and I just see it as a shorthand for 'we are young, fresh and fun!'. Also, I've been personally immersed enough into Japanese culture that I honestly never thought it a strange outfit preferance at all despite it having a more racy image perhaps in the West. It's a very Japanese thing at the end of the day.

I felt the best period was...well around 2009 and the current period really. The school themed PVs suited AKB a lot because of the sheer size of the group and the fact that they were all so different as people...and I have to admit that I look at PVs over songs and would tolerate a mediocre song if I love its PV. I was really happy when the age of the girls in Ue kara Mariko meant we can legitimately bring the 'happy, silly girls in a school' theme back temporarily without it being strange, if for the nostalgia value if nothing else.

I liked the Acchan era for its stability in that I know the girls that I like will generally do quite well...but I also disliked it sometimes because it was so stable. Watching Acchan imo looking less and less happy and more and more tired started making me think the group was tired as she was the face. In fact things looked far too stagnant with girls looking far too comfortable with their positions in the group. theater girls, undergirls and senbatsu generally appear perfectly content with their 'place' in the group which I feel was wrong as there shouldn't be a permanent position in AKB imo. There should only be temporary positions that you either aim to stay in or move higher from. AKB's image was too stuck and I remember thinking that Yui hit the Jackpot when she replaced Erepyon's position because there's no other way for someone to be in the front anymore at the time with AKB what it was.

Now though...things are EXCITING. We actually can't predict the election results well anymore! With Acchan leaving which marked the start of a mass effect, there are chances out there now. It made the old girls step up or step out, with Yuka dancing out with an 'I'm too fabulous to play second fiddle', Mayuyu updating her image to have more mass appeal and Paruru rocketing up with her 'misunderstood, adorably helpless, yet salty' thing. Combine that with NMB and HKT and things have become much more vibrant, fun and chaotic. Of course that meant more arguments than ever before in these forums but that comes with new energy. AKB's image is now much more dynamic.

As for the songs? Like I said the PVs make the song for me generally and with the instability of the group at the moment it keeps me interested in the PVs just by which girls are in it at the very least. I like catchy or cool songs, so I'm generally always happy with the Summer and Autumn singles. I love a shake up so the Janken single is always appealing even if I feel the songs are generally forgettable. If anything the Sakura single can be the least appealing to me and are generally hit and miss in my books but 3/4 is good enough for me.

At the moment I have no complaints about the songs and the group's image I feel has been revitalized. The only complaint I might have is that I feel they are not giving older girls (age wise) much of a chance and this can make things look too samey with the army of kids they are promoting. At the very least have more girls who are more mature such as Yui around. An appeal of AKB has always been its variety and I think they can benefit from this.

If anyone misses the old AKB, I would recommend you check out Nogizaka46. Once you push past the strange dances ( they got rid of the choreographer) and old fashioned outfits (which I generally adore, pretty and ladylike! squee!), they are the 48 related group most like AKB of old (in fact the weird dances and outfits remind me of 2004/5 AKB when some had dubious haircuts and weird uniform). They spread their popularity pretty equally across older and younger girls, promote their different personalities quite well and their general vibe imo feels most like old AKB. To me HKT is dominated by young and fresh kids with older (around 17 yo) members who aren't ex-AKB not particularly distinguishable from the younger ones. SKE seems to be heading up the AKB path with regards to lots of changes happening whilst NMB generally has their polished image. These are my opinions though and I confess I follow SKE and NMB less than the others

 

@ support:I agree with many of your points (which are great BTW),I too don't have a problem with the school uniform thing-after all,wearing school uniforms is normal not just in Japan but across Asia too;I guess Americans may think of it differently?*cough* Britney Spears *cough*

Also,I agree that some of the older girls and the middle gen-members are getting left out like Myao ( ) which is sad because the new gens are being pushed,but not much can be done.Which is why the Janken single is great because everyone gets a chance to be in an A-side

 

I find the image AKB has now is somewhat different maybe because lately, there're a lot of ex-senbatsu-more popular members-older generation who have graduated. Since they are the ones who made me come to like AKB, of course to me it's such a huge difference. I mean their existence...the ones like Mariko, Acchan,Tomochin, Sayaka, Kasai,etc. When they were still in AKB, they have built such character that left strong impression on me. For example : Acchan's timid and shy personality, Mariko's troll character+fashionable one in AKB, Sayaka's manly moves,etc. The ones with unique character usually stand out more, but now I don't find it lately in AKB. As an international fan, I don't have much time to observe them one by one or watching them in theatre.

Yep, the most popular topic now maybe is the competition of Mayu, Jurina, and Paruru for the next ace/center candidate[think] Nah let's end this game quickly so we can have our new center or make all of them centers for each singles. Because without the proper center/circumstances I can't even decide myself how to look on AKB, I mean...when the center is Mayu, everything looks so cute and girly. When it's Jurina, everything looks so cool and energetic. Arghhh [boom] Oh when I think more...from Gingham Check until now, we have had Yuko, Jurina, Paruru, Mayu, and Sasshi as the center @___@

I prefer to have one proper center for most singles and change to another one sometimes. But I quite understand the management's way of thinking. They are still afraid to put someone as absolute center because public wouldn't accept her easily. I mean whoever they choose to be the center, still there will be people who bash her or dislike her. They have learned a lot from Acchan's case. Beside that, rotation of center position makes AKB more interesting. We can have a lot of discussion about who's the center of next single But...it's just that. Too many centers will make me confused to see AKB's image properly

 

Eh actually I'm not that bothered with this new generation or change of generation at all
It's just I'm not that used to it, only time could answer that.

 

if AKB releases singles like KFC once a year or once every two years, i believe the gap between AKB and public would be really rrduced. AKB might be able to get rid the "hebirote" image, which gives people bad impression abt akb. i am talking about the more conserative group of people in japan. this is very impt. if 1st chapter are about how akb build the wota fanbase, 2nd chapter ideally should be how to gain more,wider public fanbase.


I did miss AKB old songs like Keibetsu and Seifuku but I think its rather impossible to put such songs back as an a side as cobtroversial lyrics might prevent akb from having solid public support.

 

Sorry for intruding
I don't quite understand how releasing a song like KFC once a year will make AKB and public get any closer. Just because the PV is made with crowd concept, girls dancing around with a lot of people, and got promoted like crazy to make it such a hit, doesn't mean the song itself has the power to make public recognize AKB. I mean, the song is good but the song's image is something that we can't decide at all, the management owns that all.

 

^as i have said, many big artists like Fukuyama Masaharu endorse it. And many of Japanese friends of mine, previously refused to talk about akb, shared this song. I ont think you really know the situation there. large number of pepple there had very bad impressions on akb, and their "hardcore" fans. They were selling millions but more conservative group are still looking down on akb. This single however tries to touch the public and it does it quite successfully. I think you are new to 48 group lol. This is NOT the first time or second time or third time 48 group involve large number of people and crowds dancing together in their single. heck even those pvs seems to have more budget than this (but less promotion probably). do research please, but does it have same effects woth KFC? as long you cant your biasness towards ur graduated oshi, you probablg wont be able tp admit it




if you ont even know who Fukuyama Masaharu is, its a sign you need to learn more on Jpop.

 

Nah let it be my friend
Say, I am really new to AKB, so maybe I just know popular members in the group. But coincidentally my oshi was ex-one of most popular members in AKB. Since I'm an international fan and I'm not a hardcore wota, please treat me as a commoner and understand me, think me as one of the public side. I don't know much about AKB, and I don't have much time to watch their every performance on internet, searching them, observing them one by one, listening to all their songs, etc. With all of my knowledge about AKB now, I'm still behind all of you right? Please respect me as a new fan then. Don't just bluntly say "You don't know much about AKB, you don't have the right to say that". I'm sorry if my opinion is mostly negative or make you uncomfortable but imagine if you speak like this to new fans...they don't even know much about AKB, they want to support AKB and participate at least in things related to AKB, they might not want to support AKB anymore because things like this happen.

In my region, as much as I know there is not a single person who like AKB, they even look down at them because they think AKB is just bunch of girls dancing around in bikini, and their wota is just obsessive and crazy people who root for them. I don't even have a friend who can I talk about AKB (most of them are kpopers) with so then I got into this forum and shared my thoughts a bit. Nah to say it bluntly in real life I will be got disliked and bullied for liking AKB.

See? AKB's image is not fully affected by HebiRote, actually their summer PVs with bikinis that made it that way. Even though the song itself is good but the PV is the one that actually holds the image. And wota's attitude may affect it,too.

With all of my respect, please consider it a bit

 

i didnt ssy that you shouldnt say anything but do backup your views with certain facts. you are not wrong bikini single did worsen their image. Started in akihabara has already made their image to be unstable from the start. but the only bikini single before Heavy rotation is Ponishuu. Heavy Rotation becomes famous then they will think AKB = Heavy Rotation (which is full of suggestive scenes). Honestly I did have no problems with that. but i dont think akb will be really affected if akb wont make any bikini single now. I did miss singles during DefStar era. And the PV does not need any bikini to give out the charm. Thats what I miss from AKB.