[GENERAL] The AKB48 Thread

i said something along these lines somewhere not long ago (in the 18th gen thread) and i kind of feel this way but also fear that getting new blood will be management going "well, our work here is done" and they do nothing with the new blood like they've done nothing with the old, but with the pressure basically in the laps of the new gens to save everything.
i know akb isn't stu but if you look at stu it feels like they've had more members graduate than new ones join. they get all those ASH girls and they don't really do anything with them and kind of expect things to work themselves out. (my impression of stu management is them telling everyone who isn't yumiko "why aren't you more like her?")
i feel like team 8 was kind of like this for a while, too. but they seem to have had a small renaissance on the eve of their own... demise?
still, the 17th gen are such a breath of fresh air i am hopeful things are looking up for more than the short term.

 

Yes

Those members are the ones selling out handshake and online talk slots, you can't get rid of them. Most of the new girls can't sell well, even if 17th generation are doing very well in comparison to past generations (specially 16D3), most of them couldn't sell out all of their available slots (actually only Eriko-chan could do it), they only did it in the last round when there was only 2-4 slots available. Sakurazaka's 3rd generation just barely debuted and most girls are already selling out their available slots.

No, at least not in the way you wrote, because that will only make things worse for AKB's businesses. As I wrote in the last paragraph, those older girls are the ones bringing money to DH, that's why they keep the status quo.

What do you want them to do by themselves? Beg in front of every TV station building for work? That's their manager's and agency's work, the members are not to blame for this lol.

 

We all agree that management is lazy assholes. Why go back to the old question?
Now questions to the girls. Why don't they do anything for the group and themselves? They can find another agency and pursue a solo career while staying in the group. And by increasing their individual popularity, they will increase the fame of the group itself.
Why, if everything is so bad, are they still in the group? If they only think about their career, and the management prevent them, why don't they leave?
If earlier it was questions to their parents, now most of them are adults. Now these are questions for the girls themselves.

Tbh I think I have the answers, but I won't post them. Because I'm being bullied here))

 

I don't think it's as easy as walking into an agency and saying "I want to join your agency as a talent". They'd still need to audition and they have to find a use for you among their media contacts. Why hasn't someone like Chiyori found an agency yet? I'd expect her to be able to get something out of her variety skills, but no one really knows.

Maybe they are currently happy just being theater girls. Maybe they want a stable income while thinking about their future career path. Maybe they don't even want to talk about it publicly.

 

What performances come off as "listless and sloppy"? The ones I've watched (mostly K and 4) don't. Chaotic maybe, especially K, but that's pretty much the opposite of listless. The lineups for BnT recently haven't really sparked joy for me either but there've still been good performances of that ancient stage, mostly with the same members performing you'd casually discard.

Firing most of the existing members won't do jack shit, especially since 99% of the fanbase would leave with them, and the people that hate everything to do with AKB still would.

What they really need to do is go back to 16 member stages. And come up with some new setlists. Invest in a revival of the theater. But that is, again, mostly not the members' responsibility. Or it shouldn't be. More and more it's looking like there's no one else to do it, though.

 

I think there is a problem in expecting the girls to come up with new content to talk about or new ways to perform when they've been doing the same thing with no new content for years (in the context of the theatre). With many performers, they eventually "retire" songs or performances, or simply leave to do another production, once they feel it's getting stale or boring. If it's a production company they will just present a new performance/play, if it's an artist they'll release new material to perform. AKB currently don't release enough new songs or produce new theatre stages for them to have more to talk about in MC's and make the performances more exciting.

It's not the members responsibility to create new music or shows, so that things are more exciting for the fans. They do the best they can with what they have, and of course at times they might be bored with the same routine, but ultimately they still try to present a good show, and shouldn't be blamed for management short comings. We can see that through Sayonara Mouri San, the girls are exciting, funny, relatable, or straight up chaotic. We see it more so with senbatsu members because they have more opportunity to showcase these skills, but for the theatre girls they barely get a chance, and when they do it's to acknowledge their lower rank in the group.

And lastly, a lot of these pre Gen 16 members have been waiting for their time to shine for years as sister group aces (and even mid tier members tbh) kept hogging their spotlight. It's ridiculous to want those same girls who are now thriving in senbatsu or finally getting their big breaks to graduate when this is their moment.

Despite the shortcomings, I actually think management are on the right track at least. 17ki have been so successful, and with the tv show and AKB only senbatsu's, the general public are slowly getting to know more members. Even long time AKB fans like me and many others here, have been discovering faces we couldn't see before the last 2 years. 2022 set a precedent for how we expect the group to operate from now on, and even though i don't think a theatre revival is in the cards right now, I wouldn't lose hope just yet.

 

I don't think that's true at all, and it makes it look as though you haven't been paying attention to them at all. The thing is, whatever the girls are doing alone doesn't bring as much attention as a group with money for PR would be able to do. Look at how many of the theatre girls have SHOWROOM streaks that have been going on for 3+ years.

Komiharu self-created a photobook that she released over time via her twitter and instagram.

Ran-chan (with the help of camerawoman Hinana) re-created a solo music video for Hisashiburi no Lip Gloss that she uploaded on her social media accounts.

Zunchan spends multiple hours every single day editing photos for the perfect social media posts.

Hinana goes to theatre shows in her free time and concerts where she isn't performing to take professional photos to be used on social media by members as well as management.

That's the sort of stuff the girls can do on their own, but the truth is, they would be much more successful if AKB48's management put more effort into managing them all properly and individually, which isn't the case. As someone else has mentioned on this page, most members of 3rd Draft haven't been given the opportunity to appear in any music videos so far. That's 4+ years with the group now. Yes, COVID happened, but seriously?

I think SKE is doing the right thing by finally performing new stages. The fans in the AKB theatre must be getting so utterly bored, and it's not because of the members, but because the set lists have been the same for years. I'm certain that a massive contributing factor to AKB's success was how a lot of theatre songs told you about the girls (Wasshoi B!, Team B Oshi, 16nin Shimai no Uta, UHHO UHHOHO, etc etc), with songs personalised to the girls singing them so the fans could learn about them.

The girls have been trying to promote themselves, people just don't notice.

 

I wish we could get new stages, but I don't see why management can't let members pitch new set lists. I'm sure the theater girls especially would have some fun or at least new ideas.

 

The fact that the "Yukirin produced" concert was the only Budoukan concert that sold out shows that fans would be interested too.

 

https://twitter.com/yuasajunji/status/1626820551355539456

Intro with chant of Hisashiburi no Lipgloss from todays Hanashikai

 

To add to the discussion above, it seems as though new stages really do make a massive difference. See @lionel90's post in the SKE48 thread:

Sales are back to pre-COVID levels and the cost involved in producing new stages has been made up for in less than half a year.

This makes me so happy Is anyone able to provide information on how these Real Hanashikai came to be/how fans were able to sign up for these? The chara-ani website only lists the dates of the online hanashikai.

 

This is a video from Manami's twitter in which we can see how is the handshake post, more specifically the Kii-chan's one. There is no contact with the idol because is behind a plastic curtain and they talk with fans by microphone. As seen in the photos posted by members I think there are 4 idols in a row and you can talk with these 4 idols one after the other. About sign up no idea

https://twitter.com/IckwMnm0826/status/1626918093414076430/video/4

 

I've found a fan-compiled setlist of today's event:
http://chikakb.ldblog.jp/archives/60215091.html (post #4)

M01 Hisashiburi no Lipgloss
M02 Everyday, Katyusha (Miion center)
M03 Iwate Maybe (Berin center)
M04 #SukiNanda (Hiichan center)

M05 Ude wo kunde (Maho, Erii, Aichan)
M06 Blue Rose (Yukirin, Odaeri, Momoka, Miu)
M07 Classmate (Naru, Hiichan, YuiYui, Berin)
M08 Gyakuten Oujisama (Miion, Zukki, Yuiri)
M09 Priority (Naachan, Mogi)

M10 Juuryoku Sympathy (Naachan center)
M11 Oogoe Diamond (Miion center)
M12 Ponytail to Shushu (YuiYui/Naachan W-center)
M13 Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara (Erii/Yukirin W-center)

Applications were done online using the serial codes in the paper inserts in the limited edition CDs so it was something like the old National HS events. However for this one it was a lottery (I think there was 1,000 winners) unlike the old NHS events where fans simply turned up at the venue on the day with the paper inserts to gain entry and choose which lane to queue in depending on which members were in them.

And if you won a ticket for Lane 15 today this is who you got to meet (from Komi's Twitter):
https://twitter.com/912_komiharu/status/1626924399185235972

 

These fanchants have made me also so happy! I've watched it again and again and did realise an another important thing by perspective of this video - audience's generation change. There's a huge amount of young people there! On audience there are a lot of female fans, what was not common with old school wotas before 2020!

 

It was announced once on the official blog on Hisashiburi no Lip Gloss's flying get day, and further details were only given to winners.
https://ameblo.jp/akihabara48/entry-12769941030.html

Yesterday was also two separate events, the live and the in person talk, which required separate applications.

 

Thanks everyone for providing info! Now that you mention it, I do remember one of the limited edition prices was real hanashikai (wasn't another one polaroid photos and one to do with SURRY...?). Either way, I'm really excited about this and I'm sure the girls were too. Even if it's no "akushikai" and still only talking, I'm sure the feeling is much more close and personal than the online talks they've been doing for like 3 years now!

 

Someone pls ask with an ouija board bc the lack of new stage is frustrating. I kinda feel finance is not the issue, S 6th making break even in less than half a year is the proof (also side eye to HKT management).

 

For the March 4th is scheduled on theater performance chart an AKB48 SURREAL live. So finally we are going to discover who is Rerry?

 

is it finally time...

 

Just for the easy likes...


if the video does not show watch the video here

And it seems they're going to shoot the Cooking Senbatsu MV tomorrow.