More information has been unveiled about AKB48 KageKidan ‘Infinity.’  I definitely thought I’d have to wake up early Friday morning to check out what all happened in the first show, but it looks like we got a ton of information already.  This is super exciting for me!

One major piece of awesomeness that came out was the correlation diagram:

And another is the list of songs they’re using… and who sings them!

Aitakatta    - all members
Yakusoku yo – all members

Saishuu Bell ga Naru – “staff”
Tomo Yo – “staff”
Mori e Ikou – “staff”

Renai Kinshi Jourei – Tanabe, Nakaya
Hone Hone Waltz – Tanabe, Nakaya
Ame no Doubutsuen – Sato N, Nakatsuka, and “staff”
Fushidara na Natsu – Sato N, Nakatsuka, and “staff”
Virgin Love – Yonezawa, Iwasa, and “staff”

109 – Takahashi and “passerby”
Leo no Kakumei – Takahashi
Naki Nagara Hohende – Takahashi
Kimi wa Pegasus – Akimoto
Blue Rose – Akimoto
MARIA – Akimoto
Hizukehenkousen – Akimoto and Takahashi

Finally, here are some extra pictures that have been found!

This is just going to be amazing.  Sources and more information:

The Offical Site

Stage48.net’s Thread

Today I’ll be looking at the Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon concert.  It’s a favorite of mine, so I don’t have all that many bad things to say about it.

Click the pictures for the review, or you can read it all below!

MC

Today’s concert is actually done outside!  This is AKB’s first major outdoor concert, and the idea of a summer festival is present with the lanterns decorated by AKB48 members.  Also, this is AKB’s first actual concert using all three Teams.  Shibuya AX doesn’t count in my opinion.

To start off the show, Nacchinon comes on stage to talk about… whatever they’re talking about, and then they count down for the (live) overture!

Overture

This is the second time the vocalist of ‘Overture’ comes on stage for us.  The first being in AX08.  That time, I don’t think he had ever listened to the overture since he recorded it.  Luckily this time he was better: probably because he heard the overture only eight months ago.  Very little progress was made, despite his wearing of a rainbow purse and a towel over his head.  He even ended his own lyrics with “Are.”  I mean, at least finish the sentence if you decide to start it.  Oh well… On to the short skirts!

Dear My Teacher

Team A does their instructor-pleasing shuffle on stage non-nonchalantly and the concert begins!

My favorite parts of the song are the opening lines with Mai and Rina and then we they come back closer to the start of the chorus.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

What!?  Why are they moving?  Oh wait, does this mean what I think it means: they’re going to sing the second verse!?  Yes.  Yes, it does!

If you listen super closely, during and after the above three’s trio line, you can hear the Team K fans chant “1 + 2 = N-Nacchi.”  I love it.  Best chant ever.

Since so many girls have graduated and/or been added, the second verse has a few new additions like Mariko, Amina, and Fujie.

I definitely forgot that Acchan had lines in this song.  I need to watch A1 again, I think.

As you can see, it’s already raining!  I wonder if that’s the reason why there hasn’t been another large-scale concert outside…

Saishuu Beru ga Naru

Next up is Team K’s fourth Stage’s title song, which happens to be a new favorite in the time period of the concert.  Team K fist pumps out on stage, but with the now damp floor, it seems to be slippery as evidence of Sayaka tripping during the transition.

Natsuki’s back with an awesome hair-do!  Yay!

Please note the water on the camera lens.

I love when they get to perform all the verses of a song.  It gives the whole Team their original parts, and usually is the half of the song that my favorite member sings in.

I love how they had that whole ‘Amai Kokansetsu’ single and one of the reasons for it was the part of the stage that Ohori would often be in during songs due to her popularity.  They said that she was often in the back corner, all the while showing video of ‘Saishuu Beru ga Naru.’  What the viewer doesn’t see is that she mirrors Natsuki during the majority of the song and Natsuki is in the other corner, and that the duo get to be front and center in the first chorus and part of the bridge.

Shounichi

Team B’s most popular song gets presented for the first time here.  I used to dislike how they didn’t get to do their prayer, but in reality, that’s really not part of the song, but it’s more like it’s the intro to B3 and is just associated with the song because it’s similar in concept and immediately before the song when it was performed in the theater.

Just a little earlier that month Sasshi had been promoted, and only a little over a week before this concert, Ayarin was fired.  This kind of shows how Sasshi was given Team B front girl status immediately after she was given a full position.

Look!  A camera!

Aitakatta

Now the entire AKB gets to be on stage at the same time!  Who would have ever thought?

Natsuki gets the first real close-up.  That makes me happy inside.

Team K took off the removable raggedy parts of their costumes like in K4… if you care.

Moeno also was promoted a little while before the concert.  Since they probably only have sixteen ‘Shounichi’ costumes, she’s stuck with the ‘Boku no Sakura’ uniform that the RS wear here.  Also interesting to note: Inoue Naru has yet to graduate.

The current RS join in during the last chorus.  I find it funny that the first time I saw this concert, I had no clue who any of them were, yet now all I can think is about how I love a ton of them!

Nagisa no CHERRY

One of the perfect summer songs actually got a spot here.  I love when they perform seasonal songs in the right season.  Here, Mayuyu takes Acchan’s spot as she’s performed it the most recently.

Harugon, Haachan, and Rabutan get stuck with the back-dancing.  Nakagawa actually seems to out-dance her fellow Haruka despite her side position.

Namida no Shounen

Another fitting A2 song.  We even get a multi-Team cast!

CinDy takes Orii Ayumi’s lines as she does in B2.  It’s nice to see her with her old Team’s members.  She looks less old compared to them than she does with Team B!

Each time I watch this performance I always wonder about how Mai’s hair stays so styled dispite the humidity and rain that’s currently pouring.  I know that I should wonder this about all of the girls, but it’s only Mai’s hair that makes me wonder this.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

Acchan’s unit for the night is her cowboy-costumed one from A3.  It seems like this is the wota fall-back favorite next to ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ when it comes to Acchan.

Fujie has taken over Masuyama Kayano’s position… this is a very fitting selection.  It just sucks that I like both of them, so I never know which I’d prefer to see in this song at AX.

I love these costumes.  They’re so colorful.  And sparkly.

Gomen ne Jewel

I’ve always felt that these costumes looked a lot like ‘Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose’ and so having them right next to each other in a concert’s set list helps me confirm that they really do look similar and it may very well be on purpose.

The RS’s outfits look even more ‘Nage KISSU’-like…

I’ve heard many people complain about how they don’t like how Asuka and Yuka don’t get solos during the dance break.  While yes, that isn’t very great for them, we must remember that the other half of the unit at the time was the two most popular members of Team K and that Mocchi and Masuda got the same amount of solo lines (albeit in worse positions), so they had to loose something, which ended up being contrasting colors on their costumes and they share a dance part.  Good for them, regardless.

The stage seems to be getting even slicker.  Suzuki definitely took a tumble here.  Speaking of which, Nakanishi Yuka, Hatayama Arisa, Suzuki Nae, Oya Shizuka, Nakatsuka Tomomi, and Arima Yuka (I think) back dance here.  I might be wrong on the last two.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

I like how this song’s opening positions always tend to be sort of interesting.  Going back to the A2 roots, two girls appear on stage and the other two appear on speakers on the outside of the stage.  Very original and cute.

Why does Akimoto do this to me?  Rie, Moeno, and Sasshi are grouped so often.  I seem to always find them together.  It’s almost lucky that they will all be in different Teams soon.  But then I wonder if during a shuffle performance they’ll just take each other’s units.  Oh, and Myao’s here, too.  She gets to lead.

Junai no CRESCENDO

This is especially fitting in this concert.  I’m pretty sure the lyrics might mention rain.  And it’s raining.  Awesome.

I love how the setting matches their costumes so much.  I’m serious, this all works so well that I think it’s perfectly epic.  The blue, the pink, the rhinestones.  Sexy.

No3b looks like an actual music group here.

And again, suburb lighting.  Lovely.

Ame
no Doubutsuen

Ruining the mood like it always does comes the original song about rain.  And a zoo.

I love how dispite how unpopular Kana might be now, she still gets her part whenever Team K performs this song.  Oh, and that’s the lineless camel by Naruse in the background there.

Such coincidence.  Wonderful.

Ah!  The French revolutionaries are coming!  Quick, animals, go back to your cages!

Kagami no Naka no Jean de Arc

The choice to show this unit song so close to the time that its leader left AKB is a curious one.  They most likely had time to choose a different one or just cut it out since Ayarin had stopped regularly performing about three weeks previous to the concert, yet they decided to keep it in the set list.  Was it a diss at the original performer, or was it simply a push of it’s new one?  Maybe one day we’ll get to see Ayarin on stage with her flag.

I love Rumi’s spot in this song.  Everything about it.  She gets the same amount of lines as the center in the first verse (Ayarin/Sasshi get one solo in the second) and has the best outfit.  And she’s a perfect fit here, too.

CinDy gets to rev the audience up.

Despite the flag only really being used at the start and end of the performance, it’s so intense whenever the lead grabs it.

Blue Rose

‘Blue Rose’ half-shuffled version.  Here, Kashiwagi takes Yuka’s spot since she performed in ‘Gomen ne Jewel’ and Mika takes Ohori’s position because she’s about to have a unit song.  I love how they pushed Mikachi all of the time.

I think they chose the ‘Temodemo no Namida’ duo to substitute in just because they wanted to add in their unit, but they already filled the set list.  ‘Temodemo’ would look so amazing here, though.  I’m going to take a moment to imagine it… and yeah, it would be great.

Fog much?  I’m pretty sure that even Memolist mentioned there being a ton.  I guess that they don’t have very much practice with using it outside, let alone with rain there to contain it on stage.

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

One of the more famous versions of this song is here.

It used to be that there were often costume changes for ‘Oshibe to Meshibe,’ but they kind of slowed down after this time.  Off-hand I remember that there were variations like teacher/student, office ladies, gangsters, Middle Eastern-wear, and a lingerie version.  On the second to last night of K4, they performed a version wearing the ‘Kinjirareta Futari’ costumes and an ‘Original Mix’ of the instrumental featuring a melody that sounded similar to a music box and like ‘Kinjirareta.’

I wonder how it feels for them to perform with bare feet.  I’ve heard that since everyone was slippery, Nacchan came up with a great idea to save them: pouring some sort of cola soft drink on the ground, placing a towel over it, and then stepping on it.  This made their shoes a bit stickier so they could hold on to the ground a bit better.  With these two rolling around on the wet, now sticky surface, I wonder if it was a bit uncomfortable.

Romance, Irane!

After an MC (shown on the second disc), comes
AKB’s most recent original single that was distributed traditionally.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this song.  The costumes, the lyrics, the choreography, the epic-ness…

They get to do two verses again, and so we get to see Natsuki singing in the very middle of the stage.  Aren’t we lucky?

So gosh-darned cool.

RUN RUN RUN

Usually, ‘RUN RUN RUN’’s opening consists of the girls taking off their vests and running to put them on the sides of the stage before proceeding to sing.  Here, the girls who just performed get to dance about for a moment before going back.

The Team performing this song and ‘Romance’ are modified Himawari-gumi Teams.  ‘Romance, Irane!’ had H2 Team 1, minus Sae and Yuka and adding Fujie and Chikano, and ‘RUN RUN RUN’ has H1 Team 2, minus Kayano, Yukarin, and Deguchi and adding Rina, Sae, and Yuka.

It’s always interesting how they use new costumes.  Since K4 was the newest Stage at the time.  They were pimping-out the ‘Shamu Neko’ uniforms.  These girls get to wear them here, and in an important performance of Baby! Baby! Baby!, the participating girls (Team A, I think) got to wear them.  It’s a shame that I’m not really all to fond of them.

By the way, for consistency, both verses were sung here.  It seems like every Team (A, K, B, 1, and 2)gets to perform one song by themselves with two verses.

Wasshoi B!

Ah!  ‘Wasshoi B!’ and some of my favorite costumes!  Yay.

This is one of the only nearly-full-member ‘Wasshoi B!’’s I’ve seen.  I think that the 3D show that featured some B3 Team songs may have had the full Team, but I’m not sure.  At least Naru is here, though!

I found Natsuki’s lantern!  I had never seen it before, but I just caught a glimpse of something that looked like an ‘N,’ and sure enough: it was!  I had always figured that that’s what Natsuki would have done with hers, but I never had proof.  Now I do.  Of course, I technically have no clue if it’s actually hers or someone else’s, but ‘N’ is kind of her thing, so it would have to be Natsuki’s or Mikipomu’s, as she’s a Natsuki fan.

I remember the first ‘Wasshoi B!’ I saw in that 3D show.  I couldn’t figure out why a couple of the girls didn’t have microphones for a moment and then were given some a little while later.  I think I kind of studied this for half an hour before seeing that they had given them up to lift another girl.  I was so impressed by myself for noticing it!

I love Team B.  The original, the new recruits, and the New Team B.

Gokimen Naname na Mermaid

I love this song.  Why on earth did it not get into AX09?  What is wrong with the world?  The rest of B3 got in!

In B3, the first verse and chorus is done by only half of Team B, as they left during ‘Hissatsu Teleport.’  Here, they give the other half of the girls choreography and present it as though everyone is usually on stage.  Also, they’ve added a few RS for no apparent reason.

Except, they do have at least three very good performers up there: Chiichan, Sara, and Chunchun!

Korogaru ishi ni Nare

Team K pops out for their anthem wearing the red Kouhaku fringe costumes.

Yay for Natsuki!

As you can see, some how my favorite lost her amazing costume from the last time she performed in it.  She used to have the best out of the three: the shorts.  Now, she’s stuck with the conservative one.  I’m guessing Sae is wearing hers, as Sae’s was white, and they put all of Team K in red for this.

Melos no Michi

Okay, the video of the very start of the song, the battle of Sae versus Nonti, is terrible.  You can’t see a thing.  I don’t know if they thought it’d be cool or what, but it just looks bad.

See, if Natsuki had her costume, she could look as awesome (even better, probably) than Sae.

The only reason I really like this song is because of N’s placement.  Her group has very, very similar voices, and you can hear hers pretty well.   It’s also nice that it’s one of the first two groups, which have the longer lines in the first verse.

At some point, some Kenkyuusei come in the back with the blue Stage-version ‘Skirt, Hirari’ costumes on.  I’ve never understood why there are so many versions of these costumes.  I’ve only seen the blue variations here in one (small) video and one picture.  They’re just not very attractive.

And they definitely don’t match.  They could have put the RS in the white Kouhaku outfits or something instead.  Those would match Team K and the Research Students’ costumes from the Team B Research Students’ costumes.

Only Today

This is another one of my favorite songs.  It’s so catchy and cute with a nice poppy instrumental.  And the girls get to wear the ‘Ato 1cm’ outfits!  I love these so much.  Almost as much as the ‘Romance, Irane!’ costumes.  The large amount of girls in Team A makes me wonder how many costumes they have per set for Himawari-gumi.  Since there are so many girls that have weird sizes, they must have more than sixteen and closer to twenty.

I found the lantern again!  I didn’t even have to try this time!

Normal-sized hair accessories on normal-sized girls…

And Takamina-sized hair accessories on Takamina-sized girls.

Skirt, Hirari

When I first read about this performance, I was super-excited because it was Team A-only, and I heard that it put the “SukaHira Seven” in their rightful places.

Too bad this is actually an encore version of the audio, as it has the single version with added Team A voices so you hear a lot of whoever is singing, but also everyone else simultaneously.

Who is that behind Amina?  Creepy.

Only a portion of the girls are actually wearing skirts.  And those skirts can’t flutter.  The irony.

Team A sang two songs without RS in the back?  It’s almost like they’re favored.  I guess they’re shuffling Teams for a good reason.

Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008

For the last song of the night, they sing their first single.  Team A is in front for the first half.

Then Team K pops up to form a line dancing with a forward-backward motion.

And then they go into ‘Nounai Paradise’-mode and add in some of that choreography.

Team B’s turn means they bring in the thumbs up and jumping motions of ‘B! B! B! Wasshoi!’ from ‘Wasshoi B!’

Team A has no characteristics, so they just act as though they are all good buddies and rock side-to-side and then pose and wave ‘Aitakatta’-like.

Pretty…

And this is the cover of the DVD and the PB to go along with it for this concert.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

Yay!  I love this one.  It’s short, meaningless, but a transition, and I count it as a song.  I want a studio version!

The RS get to wear Team A, K, and B t-shirts.  I wonder how many got onto the Team that their t-shirt said.  And oh look, Chiichan!

Takajo Aki gets to introduce the encore.  One would think that it would be Oya’s job since she was the un-official Kenkyuusei leader, but I guess not.

Virgin Love (Research Students ver.)

I always think that ‘Virgin Love’ is just an okay song, but since I love just about every single performance I see of it, I think I actually really do enjoy it.

Who is this?  I have no clue.  Please fill me in.

Takajo is all over in this performance.  They were pushing her before she even joined Team A.

Yuka gets to perform with SKE48 tonight, too!  She’s busy.

By the end of the song, Team A starts coming out and the ‘Virgin Love’’s start sounding better.

Baby! Baby! Baby! (Team A ver.)

For whatever reason, Team A gets to sing an extra single.  Again, they’re just that special.

All three Teams performed ‘Baby! Baby! Baby!’ as part of their Stages (A4R, K4, and B3) for a little while when it was first released, so I guess they didn’t have to stage a new version or anything.  I just wish they would have just used the selected members or something.  Maybe without Ayarin.I usually really like short over-alls, but the ones that Hiichan and Acchan are wearing aren’t very attractive.  I feel sorry for them.

And I totally love seeing Fujie and Rina on the same stage.  Yes, I’m aware that Fujie is not in this screen capture.

Also, more talk of the costumes: I usually don’t like encore costumes like these from AKB, but I really like them here.  I think that it’s because the tops are light and seem more effortless and since it’s outside, it seems more fun-friendly instead of how I always expect to be awed by concert hall performances.

The lighting during the bridge alternates side-to-side.  I’m not sure if I like it.

Kojiharu definitely just shot someone.

PARTY ga Hajimaru yo (SKE48 ver.)

SKE48 performs ‘PARTY.’  It’s of course super-interesting since I’m not that big of a fan of the song, and I can’t tell the difference between a bunch of them at this point.  They hadn’t gotten their makeovers yet.

But there’s my Rikako!

Boku no Taiyou

For the third all-AKB song of the night, we have a single that hadn’t been performed in a real concert yet, and one of their better selling due to a one-of-a-kind photo included with each CD.  Here, a double-Team Himawari-gumi performance is given with Team B in the back.

Yay!  My girls are together!

Seriously, I’m loving this hair.  If only she dyed it back…

Team A and Team B get to wear denim shorts/skirts/pants/overalls, while Team K gets to wear white bottoms, similar to the RS.

Natsuki!  You are my sun!

Ohori’s recently-published memoir mentions that her grandmother passed away shortly before this performance.  Meetan had never had much support from her parents but her grandmother was a big part of her life.  In the book, Megumi says that this is one of the songs that she really sang her heart out in remembrance of her.

AKB48

AKB48’s fight song!

Team K starts in the front row, so that means it’s an instant N attack!

And it’s still raining…

The RS jump on stage at some point.  Now, where is SKE?

BINGO!

Takamina announces this one as usual.  I don’t know if anyone other than her and Ohe have ever done so.

It’s another modified Himawari-gumi performance with the less popular girls and RS in the back.  Natsuki’s in front and she gets her usual lines.  It’s wonderful.

The audience get their little strands of metallic tape.  Soon they’ll be flashier than the AKB members!

Natsuki!

Guess who’s pretty much dead center for bows?  Yup, that’s right.  No need to ask where she for this one.

And that’s Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon in just under five hours.  I made sure to be really quick with this one for whatever reason.  Next stop: Budokan!

In preparation for the next set of DVDs, I’ve decided to go through a few older concerts, this time it’s JCB Hall from December 21st, 2008.

Full-length text-only review below…

Overture

The concert begins with a completely blank stage that looks to be the same one used in the NHK Hall concert that same fall.  One interesting difference in the set here is that instead of having a screen in the middle of the backdrop, they have decided to leave that area blank and just put monitors on either side of the Stage.  I’m guessing that JCB Hall has slightly different proportions compared to a standard theater that allowed them to do this.

While I do like the idea of keeping monitors off the stage (and since I’m not watching the concert live, I really don’t ever need the monitors thanks to close-up shots on DVDs), I don’t like them here.  I feel like the lack of an on-stage screen gives the stage a really bland, warehouse-like, cheaper-than-Shibuya-AX-concerts look.

The good thing about having no monitors on stage is that it is (for me at the very least) a more visually-appealing and natural set.  Now, I really start to get irked when the girls come out.  I would prefer that they would just stand there…. but no.

The have to walk around casually and kill the possibility of epic-ness that couple possibly start the concert.  And there’s a fish-eye camera.  Who decided on that one?  Bad.

Oogoe Diamond

The first song performed is ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I had previously not liked this placement (and you know, the fact that they still haven’t performed this school-themed single in school uniforms in a concert yet), but upon this viewing of the concert, I concur with it’s concept.

The most recent time AKB48 had all been together was at the NHK Hall 2009 concert in which they performed ‘Oogoe’ and wore these same encore party dresses.  This time, I feel like they’re echoing that last performance, but without the recent Team A graduates, SKE48, and the AKB48 Kenkyuusei.  Maybe it’s kind of a way to show solidarity and how the current AKB can totally stand on it’s own two feet?  I just wish that could be said of the King Records singles’ senbatsu…

Anyway, it’s a pretty similar performance to the NHK Hall one, just subtract the aforementioned parties.  In this one, I think Mika might actually get a solo line, or at least her voice is featured a little bit more since Jurina is gone.  I think it’s kind of nice how there are so many different versions of that can be performed of this song: Team A, Team K, Team B, RS, Team S, senbatsu members, and the AKB48 version.

Essentially, with the AKB48 version they take a bunch of girls that aren’t featured in the single like Saeki, Nonti, and Asuka, and throw them into the mix.  It adds much more of a concert-only feeling.  On the topic of Nonti, please notice how she’s not holding a microphone.  She had hurt her left hand during what I believe to be rehearsals for this concert.  I remember watching LODs near this time period and we were perplexed as to why she was wearing a headset.  I was thinking that maybe they wanted to try to have the girls do a few K4 songs without hand microphones and they were using Kayo to see which song(s) could be done with head sets, but alas, she had just hurt her hand.

Romance, Irane!

Okay, first off, besides one of my high school art teachers, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who liked pictures using a fish-eye lens.  This being said, why would anyone want a video that uses it?  And on idols at that!  It’s just weird.

While I love these costumes being used to perform this song, I really dislike how they added all of the straps for all of the strapless dresses.  They looked better as tube tops.

They look to be using a modified Himawari-gumi set-up with Team B and the non-Team 1 girls in the back.  I’m pleased that while yes, they are not really included in the performance, they’re still at least near the action and not ostracized like they are so often when Himawari-gumi songs are performed..

Tonight’s ‘Romance, Irane!’ seems to be rather bland compared to others.  Nothing really caught my eye at all.  Except for Natsuki and the aforementioned proximity of the girls, of course.

They did a great job capturing this part of the bridge for the DVD.  It’s one of the spots where the view has to be pretty much dead-on.

For a while I was lost because I couldn’t figure out why Naruse was in the front so much.  Then I remembered that even though she shares a birthday with Sae and has a hair style, and body type similar to Sae’s, she’s Sayaka’s sub, not Sae’s.

AKB Sanjou!

Next up is the new AKB48 fight song!  It looks pretty flashy (get it, they’re sporting flashlights?) here in their fluorescent dresses, but it still gets the point across: AKB is powered up to the “max.”

I love how throughout the song they alternate the lighting between the usual stage lights and the girls’ flashlights.  They match with the audience’s glowsticks well.

Kana somehow secured Yuko’s position next to Acchan for the night since she’s gone, but she was fidgeting with her hat most of the time.  Poor Kana…

I love it when Natsuki gets lines (or just gets to be near) Chiichan.  I like when I can hear/see my favorites in the same line.

They end the performance by spelling out their Team names.  In this performance at least, it looks like Team B has the most girls present and Team A has the least.  As usual.

In the following MC which wasn’t included on the DVD, it was announced that Natsuki had gotten into Waseda University!  That is a huge accomplishment and worthy of this kind of recognition, as it is one of Japan’s top six colleges.

Skirt, Hirari

So, this performance is apparently the seven-girl version.  Now, I’ve never seen the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 days, as the DVD shows the five-girl version (A1 was shuffled mid-way through), but I’ve heard the seven-girl Stage version from the A1 CD, which features the shuffled units.  Now, interesting to point out: it’s the same line distribution as the single.  Also interesting to point out: whenever a seven-girl version of Skirt, Hirari appears on stage in concerts these days, they use the five-girl version’s line distribution, leaving two girls without solo lines.  Boo.

Takamina looses her lines and takes Mai’s.  I’m not sure if that’s a promotion here or a demotion, but it’s nice to hear her do something different.  Jurina takes Takamina’s old lines and pretends that she’s in AKB… again.

Oh, you Team K girls… Little do you know you’ll be lineless in this performance…  (For completion, Haruna keeps her lines (and takes Rina’s) in the choruses and Mayu takes Risa’s (and Itano’s).  Acchan keeps her own.  Except, now she sounds and looks much different than a puberty-stricken teenage boy.

Goodness!  How close can a camera get to Acchan’s head before she flinches?  At least she’s having a good hair day.

Nage KISSU de Uchi Otose

With Rie, Moeno, and Miho leading (and Koaru, Gussan, and Harugon) dancing, you can tell this is a unit thrown in to push the first three.

This unit just looks really weird to me since I’ve never been accustomed to seeing Rie as the center.  Here, I almost feel as if there isn’t a single front girl.

Why did they slide the scrunchies up past their elbows?  It looks fine, but is there a specific reason?  Is it the popular thing to do?  Are they trying to make fun of the original performers and non-verbally communicate that those girls’ wrists are too fat and they stretched them out or something.  I don’t know why, but this instance of a small change in the costume confused me greatly.

It’s the RS-to-Team side… who get solo lines…

And it’s the unpopular original member side… who don’t get solo lines.

See, this is what I don’t like about the background.  It’s so drab.  I would almost say that if they got rid of the lighting and metal poles back there, it would make it seem like they wanted a simple backdrop, but then it would look even more plain and cheaper.  At this point it looks like a warehouse…. and no one wants to see that.

Junai no CRESCENDO

The fan-favorite No3b unit has been shuffled for the the first time in this concert.  I used to be really confused as to who lead the unit, as Takamina’s part actually gets less lines than the other two.  But hey, she does get the dress that dips down the back instead of on either side, so Takamina had to be the center.

Kasai’s work here actually fits in well, even though I would have thought they’d have put her in Miichan’s place.  She sounds consistently… Kasai-like… the whole song and it gives a little extra dimension to the piece.  Sae seems like a really random replacement for Haruna, but they both have a similarly nasal voice and her great dancing really complement the unit.

What is up with the boots here?  Does no one have Takamina-sized feet or something?  I don’t like that they decided to still use the original ‘Junai’ shoes, and wish they would just use the ‘Renai Kinshi Jourei’/'Oogoe Diamond’ pairs.  It looks messy like this.

Kashiyuki’s last solo line was the best I’ve heard in that position.  It was truly magnificent.  Her other solo lines here were fine, I mean, it’s her, she’s always been a pretty good vocalist, but this one was spot on.

Fans must have really liked Kasai shuffled into this song because she took the same spot in the NHK09 concert series.  Well, either that or whoever was supposed to take that spot ended up being sick or hurt, as that tends to happen.

Seneka Kara Dakishimete

Seeing this on the set list was just pure joy for me.  It’s one of my favorite AKB songs, and putting some new girls in it is great.  I hope they shuffle this up again.  Maybe a Team K-only version, since that’s never been done before?

I love Mariko as the lead because she has such a deep voice.  It’s not necessarily a really good voice, but it gets the job done and has character.

Asuka fits Maeda’s part well, too.  She adds talent and performance energy, which the original lacks a bit of.

Yuka is pretty much amazing here.  She took what seems to be a cutesy part and suddenly amped up the epic-ness.  In the build-up of vocals repeating the first chorus, she is crazy strong and ten times better than I would imagine.  I’m impressed to say the least.

The second verse would have contained Nozofisu, Yukarin, Haachan, and Kobayashi if it were to be performed.

About the costumes: I’m not sure what I think of them.  They used the Team A ‘Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru’ senbatsu costumes for Team A and B and the Team K non-senbatsu costumes for Team K from the First Concert Aitakatta series and added the B2 accessories and then wings, feathers, bows, and pom-poms.  Maybe with-out the pom-poms?  They’re just odd here.

And it looks like Nozofisu grabbed Itano’s addition in the build-up.  Interesting… I would have thought it’d be Haachan.  Anyway, lovely shuffle.

7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi

And Acchan’s A4 unit is shuffled to the Acchan of Team B, Mayuyu.  One thing I love about this unit is that while it’s not a particularly wonderful nor memorable song, it has the prettiest, most addictive chorus.  Now, ever since I became an AKB fan, I’ve never been a big fan of Mayu, but once I saw B1, I understood her so much better.  She’s not an amazing singer, but she can dance pretty darn well.  The thing that really works for her is how genuine she is: you know this this what she wants to do.  One of my favorite AKB theories is my “Acchan Series,” which goes Acchan, Erena, Mayu, Fujie, Jurina, and I guess that KII girl that I’ve probably never watched perform.  These are the five/six girls that were the first to perform the first near-solo song, ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ and have been pushed by AKS.  I’m not sure about the sixth girl, but I’ve been impressed with the generations starting at the third.

Now, if this were a true shuffle, I think a less popular girl would get Ohe’s spot… but I guess they had to put Sasshi somewhere!  I love her to pieces, and it is kind of fun to see her in a cute song instead of her usual kick-butt unit.  Maybe this side of her will be used on the new Team A?  That way she’d fit my assumed image of the new Team.  (At this point, I want Moeno and Sasshi to switch…)

See, Mayu knows what she’d doing!  I’m glad Nacchan got picked as one of the back-up dancers.  It’s kind of fitting since I bet that’s probably what position she would have gotten if she stayed in Team A past the third Stage.  And you can tell how much she is enjoying this almost-cheesy song about first love on a train.

Aika is in the back, too.  Quite frankly, this weirds me out as she is perfect for the song and in my mind might take Sasshi’s current spot.  Maybe Sasshi was a little more popular than Aika at this point or something?  Maybe they wanted to push Sasshi a bit more since she’d be getting her own unit three-or-so months later and Aika wouldn’t?  Lastly, Oku is an interesting choice in this unit.  She’s rather out of place as the rest of the girls are Team B.  For some reason I was thinking that she was wearing Kayano’s costume, but I think it must be Risa’s considering how it fits!

Nagisa no CHERRY

Oops, I guess I spoke to soon: This is where Jurina is an Acchan.  I guess this is what happens when you decide to review the concert so long after seeing it!  One thing that’s great about ‘Nagisa’ is that one doesn’t need good vocals to sing this one… at all.  Jurina isn’t really impaired there, but her dancing is top-notch, which is one thing that might help in this situation.

In blue are Gussan, Nakayan, and Kaorin.  Nakayan, another great dancer, gets the center for the bridge, naturally.  Please note, Gussan and Kaorin already performed a unit in this concert as back-dancers, but they’re here, too.  I don’t know whether that’s a good thing for them or a bad thing… but at least we get to see more of them.  There are a few girls who didn’t get units at JCB, that probably could have grabbed these spots, though….

It would suck when the pretty bubbles get more screen time than you do, wouldn’t it?

I wonder if she thinks it’s a little weird that she’s singing about being seventeen in past tense, yet at the time of this concert, she was definitely eleven.  I know that Acchan started singing this when she was turning fifteen, so it’s still odd, but it’s definitely not a six-year age gap.

MARIA

I think the majority of AKB’s fans were hoping for this: Takamina in ‘MARIA.’  And we all got it.  With any luck, we’ll see two more girls perform the song if it’s included in the new Musical Infinity script and it’s shown on DVD (let us pray…)

Takamina of course takes over the song.  With ‘Higurashi no Koi’ we learned that Team A’s low register leader’s voice is quite a bit higher than Team K’s, but now we see that they’re just different.  While Yuka has a huge range, as can be heard in any fun or cute song she’s in, Takamina has a pretty set selection of notes she can hit… but she can hit them darn well.

First off, I love the sparkly microphone holders.  They’re so blinged-out.  Now, Miichan also did a superb job here.  I love when she is put in more hardcore units because those work with her personality a bit more.  Here she even gets a better part than Itano which is pretty exciting.  Somehow she’s also able to put on a bit lower and gravely tone in her voice which echos Ohori’s version of her part well.  The one thing I don’t like is that she’s paired with Takamina again.  This is done too much.  I am glad that she’s with Itano, though.  I love that pair together.

Itano sings her usual way, which is so similar to Kasai’s voice but so different at the same time.  It’s lower and looses the innocence of Kasai’s vocals but retains the girlishness.

Fog… I love it.  It covers the stage nicely.  And I just thought of something: it must not be fun for the audience when the girls sing units from the back of the stage because they end up being pretty far back there.  At least on DVD it looks nice.

See!  Look at that ugly set!  It’s so plain!

Okay, so sometimes it can look nice… but most ugly things look better in the dark…

Faint

A performance of the Hana song so quickly after she left?  Wow.  Remembering back to when this concert just happened, I really liked the selection of girls for the song.  An unpopular one (Umeda/Nozofisu), a fairly popular one to lead (Miho/Itano), and one that is getting more popular quickly (Aki/Hana).  Here, Umeda puts out an incredible performance with her usual great dancing and singing and Miho uses her youth to put this unit in a different league than that of Itano’s.  I’m a little unsure of Aki in the song.  Yes, her voice is somewhat similar to the original’s, but it lacks the same drive that Hana’s did here.  I guess I’ll credit it to her new-ness to the AKB world, since she was new to Team A (I think she had just gotten in recently) and she wasn’t a research student all that long.  And you know, they’re pushing her a lot lately.

It looks like Miho must not have fit in Tomo-chin’s shorts, so she got a ruffly skirt made.  And she has that pretty garter.  That might be old, though.

I swear, that fish-eye lense needs to be smashed.

Glass no I LOVE YOU

‘Glass no I LOVE YOU’ seems to be in almost every concert.  I think the only DVD-friendly ones it hasn’t been in are NHK07 and the Budokan series.  Anyway, here it’s presented by my aforementioned Acchan 2, Acchan 3, Acchan 4, and Rabutan.  An excellent line-up, if I do say so myself.  Everyone sounds just like they usually do, so I can’t really say much about their vocal prowess.

Fujie is lovely.  I want you all to know that.

Are the pink frilly trunks new?  I seem to remember them wearing their usual black shorts under these costumes… maybe I’m thinking of the ‘Nageki no Figure’ ones, though.  They’re similarly pretty.

I’m not really sure who likes this more: the wota or the girls.  For the wota, it’s a quartet of cute girls in cute costumes singing a cute song cutely.  For the girls, it’s about pink, shiny, sparkly, ruffle-y, glorious costumes.  The girls win.

This walking section gets me everytime in any song it’s done in (examples include ‘Idol no Yobanaide’ and ‘Nage Kissu de Uchi Otose’.)

I love how Mayu gets to bask in her awesomeness.

Kimi wa Pegasus

Wow, Akimoto.  Do you work at a meat counter?  Because you just butchered this song.  I’m not impressed at all.  I don’t care that it’s a great song: putting front girls in a song that they’re not ready for won’t turn out well.  This Team A version didn’t go over very well with me.

Acchan subs for Sayaka.  Yup.  That happened.  Not saying anything else.

Rie (who for the longest time I thought was Sasshi), doesn’t fit well here.  She has a perfectly okay voice, but it’s just way too high for this kind of song… or something.  It just doesn’t fit.

Haruna was the only one who improved the vocals in this song.  Sae lacks a bit in her voice, but as mentioned earlier, makes up for it in her dancing.  Haruna’s dancing isn’t quite as good, but it does get the job done.  I’d recommend her for Natsuki’s position, as they often shared lines in Himawari-gumi.  It’s kind of cute how Haruna and Sae switched parts in this shuffle concert, though.

Noro Kayo’s spot was taken by Miichan and rightfully so.  Miichan is getting better and better lately and what better way to show it off than in Nonti’s lines in this unit?  This was a successful casting.

And then we hear the choruses again and it goes down hill.  Acchan doesn’t have a very loud or powrful voice from what I’ve heard, yet you can hear it a ton in the group lines, which suggests they turned up her vocals from the recording.  Anyway, as a unit, this doesn’t work.  If Haruna switched to blue and Rie and Acchan left, this might turn out well.  From Team A, I’d suggest… Mai for Sayaka… and… Chiichan for Sae?  I think that might work better.

Junjou Shugi

Awesome shuffle right here.  Just awesome.  Maybe I just love the song, though.  Regardless, I’m happy.

Tomo-chin is Team A’s sexy member.  With ‘FAINT,’ ‘Itoshisa no defense,’ ‘Confession,’ and her everyday assortment of clothing to be scantily-clad, Tomochin ranks up there with Ohori in the sex appeal department.  Haachan is Team B’s closest thing, and she’s also kind of an amazing singer, too.  In this performance, we have the strong vocals replaced by Itano’s sultry ones, and it gives it a nice flavor overall.  Somewhat off-topic, but whoever designed that dress needs a raise… and needs to make more AKB costumes.

Amina and Sae work well here, too.  Amina’s usually bouncy voice sounds so amazing with the vocoder atop it.  I would love a techno-inspired song with that sound from her.  Sae matches a bit too much with Amina, but that’s fine.  I think I’m just too used to the difference between Matsuyuki and Inoue/Nakayan/Moeno.  Oh, and the RS back there are dancing their butts off, so great job to them, too.  Yay.  I love good shuffles… especially if they use the NHK07-like Mr Kissman glitter-y strands in the background.

Namida no Shounen

Finally.  A shuffle song with Natsuki solo lines.  I’ve been waiting and I’m very glad it’s finally happening.  The line-up is pretty good, too.

Yuko, who has recently became my new favorite front girl, takes Ayumi’s lines and of course does a great job with them.  What I love about her is that even though she’s an experienced idol, she’s really trained her voice and she’s ready for anything, be it a youthful song, or a more mature unit like this one.  And I love how short she is in comparision to the other girls, especially being right next to Natsuki.

And then my oshimen executes Mariko’s lines perfectly.  When it was first posted that Natsuki was in this unit, I only knew that Saeki got to lead, and the list of performers, so I went through every show I could find with this song in it (A2, B2, AX08, and Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon) trying to figure out which spot she’d get.  I knew Yuko would get the other lead, so I ranked the order of the other spots, and Mariko’s was the lowest in my rank.  Oh well.  I’m just glad she got something in this concert!

Natsumi’s next and I am impressed by her work here.  I expected a higher voice like we heard in the previous concert’s ‘Kagami no Jean de Arc,’ but she went quite a bit lower and it sounded much, much better.

Mikachi grabs Mai’s part, the unit’s center.  I’ve always wondered if Akimoto wanted Mika to become a popular girl in Team B, as he always seemed to push her.  She has that certain quality about her that is really likable and she’s superb at singing.  There’s reason she was put in a duet with Kashiyuki.  Just watching her here makes me smile.

Another yay, Chiichan is in this unit!  My top two are right here!  I love it.  And she’s perfect.  We all know that, though.  I can’t wait to see the Budokan Team A concert DVD in Nagoya.  She’s leading two units and partially leading a third.  It’s going to be epic.

One great thing about the positions my girls got is that they get duet lines in the chorus against the other three.  They sound impeccable together.  I could gush, but I’m not going to.  In conclusion: I’m happy again.  (Oh, and notice the decorated mic stands?)

Blue Rose

When I began working on this review, I noticed something interesting: the three true unit songs in K2/B1 are included in the same order as they would be in the original Stages.  I’m assuming they did it on purpose, but I think it’s rather interesting.  This means that next up is ‘Blue Rose.’

The two most popular girls outside of the AKB fandom Mariko and Mai lead the song’s vocals.  Mariko is a natural choice here and I think she performed it in the shuffle version of the Aitakatta concert, but that might have been Mai.  One of them at least.

Next to Mariko’s deeper voice, Mai seems even more feminine and, with the help of her charm with a mic stand, sensual.  Any performance that includes Mai and a stick-like object in front of her tend to be great, and this one is no exception.

On the sides we have Kasai and Kohara, both rather unlikely choices for this type of song.  We’re used to seeing them in high-pitched songs thanks to their own characteristics, but I guess they really wanted to mix it up.  Considering they share a duet line, we can’t really hear them all that accurately, so I’m not going to really note their work here.

In the bridge is a very famous kicking-of-the-mic-stand.  This is done by the girl grabbing the cord attached to it and kicking it so it looks like it’ll fall into the audience, but then pulling the cord back so the girl gets it back.  Usually this works out fine, but it looks like Tomomi-chan kicked too low and the bottom nearly fell into the audience, which really wasn’t supposed to happen at all.  With a little bit of pulling and the help of a backstage guy, she ends up getting it’s legs back on stage and she’s back to her usual self.  That was a cute blooper, though.

Kinjirareta Futari

I think it’s safe to assume that Yuko’s spot in this song was supposed to go to Sayaka.  Sayaka’s the only front girl who didn’t get a unit, and Kashiyuki already performed this song for all of B1.  I think I’d prefer it if that would have happened as it’d be a compete Team K shuffle.  And it would possibly have a completely different dynamic.

Erena does a great job in Kasai’s place.  Not much to say there.  She must say something funny during the MC portion, but I’m clueless as to what it was.

I guess that they shortened the skirt for her, and in AX09, they forgot to lengthen it back to Kasai’s size, so she wore a super mini-dress for the Top 100.

Ame no Doubutsuen

The famous animal song pops up next with Jurina and Rena leading and Rumi, Nakayan, Miku, Kumi, Nakatsuka, and Naruse being the rest of the zoo.  It’s weird to have an SKE48-led unit in an AKB48 concert, but I guess we’ll have to get used to it.  I’m glad that in this show they used all eight animals, as I hate it when they use less and some girls don’t get a single part in the concert.  Now, I know there are a few who didn’t get spots in this one, but at least they’re using up all availible costumes for the units they do end up doing.

Tonari no Banana

Great shuffle.  Awesome choice of girls.  Simply wonderful.  In the last concert, this unit was done by Mayu and Aika, so this is a welcome change.  And considering their experience in AKB, this is a great boost in for their popularity.

Ohori gets the first lines and sings just like a little girl, which could be argued is the complete opposite of herself.  I love it.  Now, Megumi’s gotten funnier as time has progressed, especially with Nonti in the area.

I’m not sure what the flower-ing branch is doing, but I saw it poke up for a moment in Blue Rose, so they must be singing about it or something and it’s not a random fan’s.

On the topic of Kayo, she goes another route.  She begins her lines with her apparently booming deep voice and finishes it with the squeaky grace of the original unit.  This versitality is wonderful.  Long live the Nonti!

Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou

The crown jewel of the JCB concert is the front-girl version of ‘Oshibe Meshibe’ with two leads of Team A.  I’m not a fan of this personally, as it’s another unit of them just grabbing popular girls and putting them into positions that don’t fit well.  Neither have the natural sexiness or innocence of the original duo.

One thing about the costumes: they do not fit.  Kojiharu is a bit too large for Ohori’s outfit and Acchan is too small for Kasai’s.  I would usually say to just switch them, but then I think this performance might get worse as that’d be even farther from their personalities.

Okay, that just looks like an awkward hug.

Anata to Christmas Eve
‘
Considering the proximity of this concert’s date to Christmas, this was a very nice, unexpected touch.  I like how they saved two of the front girls who can actually sing this song to perform it.  It makes me feel like AKS does have some standards.

And there’s snow!  I love getting excited about little things like this.

And pretty lights.  Yay.

Overture (SKE48 ver.)

And SKE48 infiltrates the stage!  I just wish they would keep to themselves a bit more.  I mean, they have their own concerts and a single, so what’s the need to take over AKB set lists, too?  At least I love this ‘Overture.’  The music is almost the same as the AKB48 ‘Overture,’ but the “lyrics” are about SKE’s location in Nagoya.  The cool part of this one is that they have an actual dance to go along with it.  I think SKE might focus a bit more on dancing, as they’re audition to become a member vs. an RS concentrates on dancing.  And I like how they make the letters that go into making their name.

Doku Ringo wo Tabesasete

This is an odd song to be performed in concert like this.  It’s not very popular and it’s very old, but I guess this i a way to sort of prove that they are in fact performing A1/K1/S1 in their theater.  It certainly doesn’t stand out here, but the girls do a good job in its performance.  And I like the red and green colors used for lighting, as they match the image of an apple like in the song.

SKE48

I like how Jurina gets to lead the MC immediately before this.  It’s almost as though she’s being thrust at us.

They get to sing both verses of this song, too… why is it that SKE gets to sing the entirety of some of their (old) songs, while the Teams can’t in these sorts of concerts?  We miss out on hearing/seeing so many girls’ lines in this format.  Bleh.

And what’s with these uniforms?  Are they from something?  Are they the S2 ballad costumes?  They just seem out of place.

Tanjoubi no Yoru

I don’t see why this song is so popular… it’s about birthdays and it’s not really all that interesting.  Oh well.

This version is with Team A including it’s new members and a Kenkyuusei or two to fill up the remaining positions.  They get to wear the amazing ‘109′ (‘Marukyu’) costumes.  I love those.  We need more similar to them.

I’ve always thought that the concept within AKB that the RS-to-Team girls get to take graduated members’ spots is weird.  I mean, shouldn’t the remaining Team memembers pick those up if they’re more popular.  It ends up being that whenever a Stage is made, the girls keep their spots for all eternity, regardless of their shift in popularity.  RS-to-Team members featured in these songs always get a boost.  Lucky them.  I understand that it’s easier for the girls to learn if they already know their position in the song from past performances, but it’s all kind of off to me.  At least Chiichan and Fujie are near the front quite a bit.

Mirai no Kajitsu

Team A seems to have gotten possession of all of the Himawari-gumi songs.  Here they get what was an image song for a water campaign or something when it first came out.  (Let me add that Natsuki was one of the selected members for this.)  I honestly think the song is kind of bland, and so I think it’s a poor choice for the show.  I guess it fits with the previous song, so I’ll let it slide a little.  Just this once, though.  Team A has so many great songs in its repertory, so why choose a boring one?  Especially in those costumes, why don’t they ‘Switch’ it up a bit?

Two Years Later

For some reason, I’ve never really cared for ‘Two Years Later.’  It’s kind of monotonous and seems as though its concept was a darker-toned filler song.  I love how there are so many great solo parts in the verses, but the chorus seems to just go on and on.  Maybe it’s too slow for me or something?  Also, the costumes don’t really help the performance here.  I love those A5 opener dresses, but they just don’t belong.

Shounichi

I really dislike how everytime Team B gets to perform a song, it’s always ‘Shounichi.’  I mean, it’s a great song and it matches Team B in general so well, but it’s just over-done now.  Why not just save it for Shibuya AX?

For a moment I was all confused when I saw Chikano as I didn’t know who was missing, then I realized that I hadn’t seen CinDy in a while and (since I’m too lazy to look it up) I’ve decided that she must have not been at this concert.  I love how I’ve started to refuse to research (and spell-check) my concert reviews…

Yay for Tanamin.  She looks particularly gorgeous in green.

Again, bad costume choice.  It works better here, but still.  They should have just gone with the JK school uniforms that go overtop of these.  They’d have matched both songs much better.

I was definitely anticipating ‘Hissatsu Teleport’ to be next.  That’s how used to the B3 order I am!

Shamu Neko

I remember this performance.  I was super excited when I saw the girls pounce on stage in the white fringe outfits from their ‘Nante Tatte Idol’ performance with Nakagawa Shoko and Leah Dizon.  I happen to love them, and the fact that they’re all wearing white instead of the red from Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon is even better.

As this is a bigger concert, they only perform the first verse, which means no Natsuki solo lines.  We do however get Nonti and a special appearance by Umeda!  I seem to always treat Umechan in these concerts as a guest because she’s missed so many over the years for various reasons.

The first time I watched the chorus from this DVD I let out the biggest wide-eyed gasp ever.  Suddenly I saw Natsuki.  And not just any Natsuki: instead of putting her in one of the empire-waisted dresses like she’s been put in ever since Kouhaku ended, she got one of the slinkiest out of the two-piece variations.  And she looks phenomenal.  She just blew my mind.

See, she’s just phenomenal.

Where’s my PB?

I’m running out of things to say…

But I just have to post these caps.

Korogaru Ishi ni Nare

And we’re back to Team anthems.  Similar to ‘Shounichi,’ I’m done with this one.  I’m hoping that since the Teams are being shuffled, I’ll only have to hear this one at Shibuya AX.

Natsuki slid up to the front line during the chorus…. I believe that’s different from usual, but I may be wrong.

See, look at that boring background.  Yes, I’m still angry about it.

Natsuki!  Be a rolling rock!

Nonti totally wins with best ending pose.

Baby! Baby! Baby!

All of a sudden the entirety of AKB comes on stage to perform their digital single.  To me, this looks ridiculous to have all of the girls crammed on such a small area.  They could have used the steps in the back at the very least!

Mayu looks a bit out of place with her colors.  You’d think they could have put Team B in the ‘JESUS’ costumes or something equally gold to match the other two Teams, but of course they needed to be randomly colorful.  Right behind Mayu and Mai is Natsuki!

She even gets to sing her usual set of lines.  I wonder if this is because of the Team K absences?  That’d make the most sense to me.  The set-up of the girls seems to be the most popular girls in the center doing the singing, while the less popular girls surround them on the sides dancing.

Dear My Teacher

Yay!  I’ve been waiting for an all-Team version of this for a while now!  The girls move into their Teams and basically do three performances at the same time.  It’s neat to see the different line-ups of girls.  Here I made the realization that anyone in AKB who has originally gotten Nakanishi Rina’s lines has had a break during their AKB career.  Rina was out for something like six months during H1 and H2, Kikuchi had her boyfriend scandal for B3 and B4, and Umeda was injured for K3, H1, and H2.  I wonder who got those lines in S1.  I have yet to see the DVD.  And does Team KII perform the song in KII1?

Nonti fidgets with her microphone.  Those headsets seem to be a lot of trouble.  Everyone seems to have to mess with them whenever they (rarely) wear them.

Have I ever mentioned that this is Natsuki’s favorite song?

BINGO!

The last song of the non-encore section of the concert is ‘BINGO!’  This one seems to be a heavily-modified Himawari-gumi format with mostly Team 1 and the more popular members of Team B taking part in the actual singing.  The rest are on the sides or risers, with the RS in the back.

Natsuki gets her usual lines with Sae, as I’ll bet that Sayaka’s absence gave her a spot.  Good for her!  She tends to fill in often.

The steps moved during the bridge.  It was quite cool.  I wish that there was a better camera angle for it, though.

(Kenkyuusei Dance)

The new RS make a special appearance in the ‘PARTY ga Hajimaru yo’ uniforms.  Takamina talks over the music and sort of introduces them.  Notably, Kikuchi is in there, but I couldn’t really spot her.

Hikouki Gumo

And a newer concert song (and now part of the ‘RIVER’ single) starts off the encore!  Team B keeps getting shoved to the back…

Midway through this performance I noticed that there was a lot of screen time for Yuko… and then I realized that she wasn’t in the rest of it, and understood what was going on.  Glad to have her back on stage.

The start of the chorus brings in the more experienced Kenkyuusei.  I hate how I actually had to work to figure out if they were either SKE48 members, old RS, or new RS.

Aitakatta

Gasp!  I would have never thought they would perform this song!  Just kidding.  It’s over-done, too, but I’m fine with it.  As long it’s all of AKB performing.  And the stage is moving again.  It’s these little things that make me excited.

This angle makes the stage look like it was made in a video game for some reason…

Natsuki!  Yay.  She got to sing in the second verse… as usual.

I love these three in the same shot.  They’re all very similar in my book.

Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?

Finally, the seemingly long lost single makes its way into a concert!  ‘Yuuhi’ has been released for over a year, but it’s just now getting it’s large-scale debut.  I feel like this performance wasn’t as heart-warming as I would have liked.  I think they needed to make a big line across the front of the stage like they do in the H1 version.

It ends with SKE48 and all of the RS getting on stage in positions for ‘Oogoe Diamond’ with pretty lighting that evokes the image of the title’s setting sun.

Oogoe Diamond

And the gimmick of the night: a 89(-ish)-girl version of ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  I know what you’re thinking: They already performed this in this concert!  You’re wrong.  They just almost doubled the girls.  That means it’s a totally different song.  Duh.

The dynamic triangular formation is lost when so many girls are on stage…

Oh, and look!  Natsuki… stuck on the side again.  Oh well.

Yup, Ayarin’s back in town.

Go get her, Mikachi!  I believe in you!  Don’t let a child steal your spot light!

And more Natsuki!

See, just look at how many girls are on stage.  It’s getting to be a bit much, right?

And it’s over.  Yay.  Okay concert.  I’m still not a huge fan of it, but now after finally reviewing it, I feel like it was at least a little bit better put together than I originally did.

Some more pictures I’ve gathered of Natsuki… just to tide you over for my upcoming JCB review which MUST come out before the Budokan DVDs come out.  I might even try to get the Natsumatsuri Hibiyayaon review done before then since it’s so short.

“AKB Musical [Infinity] cast

Double cast:
1 – Akimoto Sayaka, Takahashi Minami
2 – Miyasaya Sae, Kashiwagi Yuki

10 AKB48 members:
Katayama, Nakaya, Sato N., Yonezawa, Tanabe, Nakatsuka, Iwasa, Nonaka, Nakata, Uchida

出演:
Wキャスト
１、秋元才加(AKB48チームK)・高橋みなみ(AKB48チームA)
２、宮澤佐江(AKB48チームK)・柏木由紀(AKB48チームB)
AKB48 メンバー10名
片山陽加・仲谷明香・佐藤夏希・米沢瑠美・田名部生来・中塚智実・岩佐美咲・野中美郷・
中田ちさと・内田眞由美

Show Date: 2009/10/30 – 2009/11/08
Price: 5500 JPY
Place: Theater G-ROSSO
Ticket:
http://www.cnplayguide.com/evt/evtdtl.aspx?ecd=CNI28461
http://ent.pia.jp/pia/event.do?eventCd=0947147
http://eplus.jp/sys/T1U14P0010163P0108P … 01P0030001“

source: Makistar of Stage48

Yes, that’s right: Natsuki was selected to be in the new AKB48 musical, ‘Infinity.’  I’m SO excited for this now.  Especially since I love six of the other girls that were selected.  I’m sure I’ll warm up to the rest just due to association.  We don’t know anything other than that the plot has to due with vampires and an all girls school, but I’m hoping this’ll be amazing.  LODs would be great, as would a DVD.  Seriously, The end of October can’t come quick enough!

Songs that I’m guessing may be featured.  (Complete Speculation!)

MARIA, Furishite Manishite, Virgin Love, Vampire Keikaku, Innocence, Kinjirareta Futari, Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou, Deja Vu, Dakishimeraretara

I really hadn’t planned to review this, but I felt the urge to write an actual post for the blog again, so: NHK09.

So, my last large-scale AKB48 concert review was their previous show at NHK Hall in 2008.  That was just one performance.  This reviews three (slightly cut-up) concerts put on within two days in April this year.  That said:

RSL GO TIME!

Concert 1 (Day 1)

Honehone Waltz

Akimoto and company decided to start off this first-of-its-kind concert series with a not very popular, anti-climatic unit song.  Mariko, Mai, Acchan, and Kojiharu are used to bring Honegumi’s only A-side a sort of ‘mature’ appeal.  Usually performed by some of the youngest in AKB, four of the most popular members of Team A, and AKB48 for that matter, don the bone-adorned tutus and full-body coverings in an attempt for comedy.  Personally, I think the quartet did a perfectly fine job and I’m sure that their fans enjoyed seeing them in such an unexpected shuffle.  However, I do wonder about who is wearing whose costume.  Did they get new ones?  None of the girls look like they could fill out Maachan’s old costume, and Mariko is notorious for getting new costumes made due to her long torso.  Then again, AKB’s costumes always tend to include an abnormal amount of elasticity so the majority of the group can somehow fit in a single size.  Regardless, according to the backstage footage included on the third disc of the set, it seems like the girls had enormous troubles learning the choreography to ‘Honehone Waltz.’  I’m not sure if it’s because they weren’t taught it by their usual choreographer and they had only Erena, Oku, (and possibly Tomo-chin) to learn it from, or if they weren’t given time to perfect the steps.  Either way, they seemed rather frightened by what looks to be some of the least complex choreography the group has ever used.

Korogaru Ishi ni Nare

Next up is Team K’s trademark song with oodles of ‘We are the Team K’s.  I wish that they would phase this out or something.  I understand that it’s a huge part of Team K’s identity, but I’ve never really liked the song, and it’s been in EVERY concert so far.  Team K has so many great full-Team songs to choose from that I feel could be more exciting to watch.  I am glad that they’re using the K5 encore costumes, though.  They match the anthem well.

Oh, and there was like NO Natsuki in this performance.  Really.  That’s another thing about ‘Korogaru’: the girls don’t switch positions much, so you only get to see the girls in the front row.

Tadaima Renaichuu

With another mainstay of AKB, Team A starts with their A5 opener.  It’s such a great song, and such a great way to keep the energy going but continuing Team A’s ‘image.’  The lack of a full Team doesn’t hurt the performance as the song does a good job of not showcasing any members (aside from Maeda) and allowing all the girls a little chance to shine.  While they might want to change up the costumes at some point (to just about anything, really) the performance seemed pretty fresh with the new stage elements for this concert.  On that note, let me mention that I love the set up: two tiers of performance-able stage space, stairs abound, and entrances/exits in the back.  It’s so ideal for a group like AKB that can efficiently be used for a single girl’s performance or the whole lot of AKB48, SKE48, and their respective RSs.  Also, the pretty lights on the steps do a great job with their effects.

At first I was all “Who is that beautiful girl?” and then I was all “Oops.  It’s Chiichan.  I knew there was a reason why she’s immediately after Natsuki.

Wasshoi B!

Wow, they really went all out and included another Team-specific song.  That’s all right, though, since I, along with everyone else on Earth, love ‘Wasshoi B!’  The sparkly ‘Anataboshi’ costumes do not go with the song whatsoever, but it’s nice to have such pretty costumes on such as pretty stage with such pretty girls.  It all matches.  Except the song.  It’s not pretty: it’s in-your-face.  Also, I feel like it’d be nice if Team B could perform a different song immediately after this so they could carry the energy they just brought out into something other than an MC.

Favorite part of the song.  So cute, yet so innovative for AKB.

Te wo Tsunagi Nagara

Onto SKE48.  First off, pretty lights.  Anyway, SKE continues to perform really well and impress me.  This seems to be their big promotional song before they got their debut single, and it obviously sounds very AKB and flows with the rest of the concert.  The girls all seem really excited to get to perform their own songs in their own uniforms for once, and I’m glad they’re not singing ‘Party ga Hajimaru yo’ again like they always used to do.  (As a side note, has anyone else ever wondered if the girls got to pick their partners for the song?  I’m just imagining two girls who really dislike each other getting paired up.)

Chaimu wa Love Song

I love this song so much.  It’s so cute and, though I’ve yet to read the lyrics, seems so odd.  I mean, I’m guessing that they’re singing about the chimes in a love song… while singing a love song with chimes in it.  If my lyrical guess is correct, it would fit the Akimoto-mentality of songs about things idols don’t usually sing about.  Like how they’re not idols, for example.  So, the song’s great, the line distribution is questionable, and the bubbles are perfect.  Yay.  Oh, and I really wish they would switch to their costumes that I presume are underneath their school uniforms.  I mean, they have the time and the resources.  Why not?

SKE48

And we’re back to ‘SKE48.’  Akimoto just seems to be so proud of himself that he was able to re-write this one song that now he has the girls perform it all the time.  While yes, it is pretty clever that he matched up new lyrics so well, the song does get boring after a while.  At first when Team KII and the RS showed up, I was wowed by their number, but then I realized that it was probably just under 30-ish girls, and I’m used to that many by now.  But they do seem to take up quite a bit of the stage.  Also, I love how the non-Team S girls’ costumes are conservative almost-plausible school uniforms while Team S has those pretty, obviously stylized variations on uniforms.  And when I say ‘love,’ I actually mean that I think it’s silly.

Kuroi Tenshi

Naturally, Acchan’s unit gets to perform both verses of their song.  The second verse is much more climactic than the first, so I guess that makes sense, but why can’t more songs have both verses sung?  (I’m looking at you ‘Shamu Neko’ and ‘Dakishimeraretara.’)  The girls here do an excellent job and the expensive lighting really helps fill up the stage.  Personally, my favorite parts of the lighting are when the step lights are randomly white, blue, and red, almost resembling the ’sea of headlights’ that Akicha’s solo line describes.  Also, I think it’s pretty funny when they grab Acchan by the wrists and pin her to… nothing, since there isn’t a wall in the center.

Oh, and Fujie’s performance of this song is just magical.  You can really tell that they put her in Acchan’s unit because she’s being pushed so much.  In my opinion, she does much better in darker units rather than lighter fluffy ones like ‘Hajimete no Jelly Beans.’

Tenshi no Shippo

A song from black angels to a song with white angels.  Aww.  Okay, this is by far the cutest unit song AKB has put out… ever.  I love how it’s so simple and doesn’t have any underlying thoughts: it’s just plain adorable.  I’m glad that Aika got the chance to perform her unit in a larger concert like this, even though it can’t possibly be all that popular.  And Yukirin is a good substitute for Gussan’s position.  I guess that since she’s one of AKB’s famed selected members now, she gets priority over other girls for filling in sometimes.  I would kind of expect Haachan to get it though, since she’s filled in a few times before.  But oh well.  Anyway, did anyone notice the lack of balloons?  This would be an excellent time to get out huge, monstrous balloons for the girls to carry before setting it afloat.  Better yet, a few stage hands could hide backstage or something and help the girls hoist one of those huge balloons they use at parades.  Maybe of a tail to match the song.  That would be creative, wouldn’t it?

Nakayan really does get a great position in the song as it’s a three-tier unit ala ‘Hatsukoi Dorobou’ with one girl getting half the lines, then the second getting a little bit more than the third girl.  Her beautiful voice really fits with the 80s-like instrumental that pops on during her solo.  Go Nakayan!

Wimbledon ni Tsuretette

First off, the line distribution in this song really perplexes me.  The lead gets next to no lines, while the other two get multiple lines during the verse.  I forget if the second verse is different, but I remember that it was odd the last time I saw an S2 LOD.  And it’s not like Tsukina has a bad voice or something.  I mean, some AKB unit songs are similar (‘Faint.’ to some extent ‘Tsundere!’ as Tomo-chin’s lines are in the often un-preformed second verse… basically Tomo-chin doesn’t get many lines), but this one completely throws me off.  It almost feels like Kumi or Sayuki lead the unit while Takai back-dances.  Weird.  Oh, and did everyone notice how different the costumes were?  Basically, it looks like the girls are all princesses of different places or something.  This is kind of similar to ‘Tenshi no Shippo.,’ as they use the same colors and both have varying costume details.  So there’s another clever transition.

Ame no Doubutsuen

I never noticed that the camel, currently played by Chikano instead of Imai, never got any lines in the verse and was lumped with the two leads, Erena and Kana.  That kind of makes me angry… but again, I can’t change anything, can I?  This is yet another cutesy unit making it a four-song streak that melts all of the wotas’ hearts.  I find it a bit funny that Nonti is so ‘old,’ yet she’s always in the song when Team K performs it.  Notably, during the recent Team-only tour in August, Noro performed ‘Ame’ and gave up her spot, complete with amazing solo lines, in ‘Kimi wa Pegasus’ to either Mocchi or Yuko.  I don’t know if that’s her choice or management’s, but it still happened.  Back to the song, though, I remember showing AKB to a friend of mine this summer, and when we got to this song (from the Natsumatsuri Hibiyaon concert), she had me stop to watch it and she was amazed by just how adorable they can be.  At this point she even went to one of the four Japanese girls that were in the room and told her that she should try out for AKB and wear the penguin costume.  (The Japanese girl quickly said she would never do such a thing and laughed along with her friends at the absurdity of being a member of such a group.)

The Nonti-ness of this performance is wonderful, especially the part when she looses her hood and she’s just as beautiful as usual despite being in an oversized panda-themed dress.  I just wish there were more Chikano here.

Tane

I’ve never been fond of this song, but this performance really saved it for me.  The combination of the club-like spot lights and colorful dresses really made me enjoy it.  As with most idol music, it’s usually better to see performed rather than just listening to it.  Also, the performance gave a really nice sensation of the music mounting and mounting during the chorus when Haruna, Takamina, and Miichan sing their respective lines.  I hadn’t noticed that during my infrequent listens to the song.  They should probably perform a different song, though.  Maybe ‘3 Seconds’?  That would be too good.

Hatsukoi Dash

WOW.  They totally shortened the song!  That was impressive.  I’m pretty darn sure that AKB hasn’t ever had one of their songs shortened to JUST the first verse and chorus.  Usually they’re way too restrictive with that sort of thing, unlike the other leading idol group who will turn singles into solos and has more medleys than you can shake a stick at.  Anyway, their mini performance is just as much fun as you might think it would be, which means that if you like Watarirouka Hashiritai, then you’ll like the song, but if you don’t, you won’t like the performance.

Yaruki Hanabi

Their second half-song is their second single.  It’s just as bouncy as usual and keeps the flow from their last song going.  I’m glad that this one has a bit better line distribution than ‘Hatsukoi Dash,’ but it’s still very Mayu-centric with a hint of Aika, Nacchan, and almost no Harugon.  The one thing that makes me a little bit upset in this performance is that Aika doesn’t get to sing her solo lines in the lead-up to the last chorus.  That was my favorite part, but it wasn’t done in the concert here.  Bummer.

Kaiyuugyo no Capacity

The second set of Team songs starts with the after-unit-section closer song from K4.  I’ve never been a huge fan of it for reasons unknown to me.  It’s very powerful and flashy, while at the same time allowing the girls’ vocals to be heard, all things that I enjoy.  Maybe this is due to the fact that I love the two songs preceeding it, and so this pales in comparison.  The performance here in a large event hall seems to add much more energy and excitement.  I like how there aren’t many opportunities to lead in the song and it tends to be a free-for-all for attention, so the girls go all out.  And the sparkly costumes help gather any attention needed.

Natsuki got a bunch of shots here and it made me proud to be her fan.  In her quartet lines with Sae, Kana, and Ohori, you can really hear her voice, as expected.  I very, very rarely hear her sing with Kana, but with Sae, she usually stands out as they tend to harmonize weirdly, and with Ohori, Meetan’s voice generally adds a more sensual after-taste.

Joshikou-sei wa Yamerarenai

I think that an interesting thing here was how they brought in the ‘Itoshiki Natasha’ unit.  In a usual Stage performance, Miku, Sasshi, and Haachan don’t come onstage till the second verse since they were busy changing costumes after their MC.  Here, they kept them on stage the whole time, but just threw them in the back for most of the first verse and chorus.  I would have thought that they would sing with their groups from the second verse, but I guess not.  Also, please note how they didn’t do their little tournament at the end of the song.  I’m kind of glad this did happen, as it shortens their stage time, making room for more songs, and also means that Mayu doesn’t get yet another chance to shine, as I’m sure they would ‘rig’ who won to showcase the star of Team B.

JK Nemurihime

I actually prefer the performance of ‘JK’ at the theater instead of this.  Here, there seems to be a lack of controlled spotlights and the entire stage is filled with white light.  It kills the coolness that the intro suggests.  I do, however, like how they took the first formation and somehow doubled it to fit onto the two Team-sized stages.  Also, I’m glad that they turned around the girls who usually face the mirrors in the theater.  It might be interesting if they kept the girls facing back, but had the monitor use the cameras from backstage to show their faces while singing.  Either way, they aren’t completely hidden as I was afraid they would be.  Anyway,  I liked this more during the Stage performances, and I think the lighting really affected the mood of the song and turned it into a really boring show.

Sakura no Hanabiratachi

The continuous AKB48 single collection starts with their debut indie single, ‘Sakura no Hanabiratachi.’  This performance is with the AKB48 RS and led by the five SKE48 girls that had performed their unit songs during the third concert.  Of course, they are missing Jurina, but she pops up later.  I loved watching the performance because it was full of girls that I was just a little bit unsure of their identities, and so the whole time I was excited when I figured out who was who and where they were positioned in the song.  A few short-comings that I disliked were how they weren’t wearing the costumes Team S wore during their run of S1, and there weren’t any fake cherry blossoms falling down during the last chorus.  I also just realized how weird the fact that the color purple is used to signify the song, but the costumes are in blue hues, and sakura are pink…  Whoever chose the lighting in A1 was an odd one.

Skirt, Hirari

Next is AKB’s famous song with up-skirts.  Performing that night were the most popular seven of the current time.  I’m guessing that if Yuko were there, she’d replace Takamina like in the JCB Hall concert from December.  My big complaint here is that they switch up this line-up so much and the original girls don’t get their place to shine.  I mean, these Team A girls are the ones that made AKB famous.  They should get their original spots.  Takamina getting no lines makes no sense whatsoever.  Also, they could have given Erena and Takamina Rina and Tomo-chin’s lines if they’re going to do it this way.  I know that in the ‘Skirt, Hirari’ single, all seven girls get solo lines, and I know that in the Stage version (pre-shuffle) all five girls get lines.  Now, when they did shuffle A1, Rina and Itano joined the original five ala the single.  Did they get their solo lines, or was it presented just like this?  There isn’t any video from those performances, so I don’t know if I’ll ever know.  Regardless, it’s stupid to leave two girls with no solo lines when it’s totally precedented that they can if they were to want them to have them.

Aitakatta

As their first single with a major label, ‘Aitakatta’ comes next.  Awesomely enough, they made more of the original A2 costumes, and now all of the Teams have gotten to wear them!  This makes me think that Erena and Aki may have been the only ones who never got to perform in that costume… but whatever.  They all look splendid in it.  It’s interesting to see that the performance was done by mostly less popular members.  From what I can tell, Sae is the lead girl with Sayaka, CinDy, and Kashiwagi as the other ‘leads’ if you could call them that.  Kashiwagi even gets to do the shouting part in the last chorus.

I love how all of the girls seem just completely excited to perform this one.  It’s certainly not my favorite single, but I’ve found that it’s the one original that I love sheerly due to it’s nostalgia.  I always think back to the performance of Kohaku with all kinds of Natsuki  screen time.  Ah, those were the days when Natsuki and partner-in-crime at the time Noro Kayo were very, very close possibilities to become senbatsu.

But yeah, super-duper energetic performance by the girls here.  It’s fun to see them run around and have a good time!

Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru

Finally!  Another performance of ‘Seifuku!’  They hadn’t performed it since Shibuya AX 2008.  Yeah, so almost a year and a half, and such an important single in AKB history.  It was the one that really set AKB48 apart from the other idol groups.  They weren’t afraid to take chances.  A huge reason why I’m glad they did this single collection is that this is a good way to bring new fans up-to-date.  Casual AKB fans who maybe just buy the occasional CD, maybe ‘10nen Zakura’ for instance, given the time this concert was held, might not know about some of these songs that AKB can and will perform.  Especially if a fan doesn’t go to Stage performances at the AKB48 theater, they won’t know what they’re missing.

Oh, and they brought out the flames again.  That’s just one more thing I love about ‘Seifuku.’  Now, let me add a little rant in here.  Why on earth did Takajo Aki get Rina’s spot.  Rina has always been up there in my ranking.  Specifically, she’s so far been Natsuki’s only rival in stealing my number one postion.  This means that I generally don’t like anyone who substitutes in for her for any song whatsoever.  Examples include Yukari in what should have been Rina’s position in ‘Kioku no Dilemma,’ had she not been away from performing at the time, and Asuka in ‘Mail no Namida.’ Takamina in ‘Kikyou,’ and Miho in ‘Shinkirou’ at the Shibuya AX 2009 performance.  Now, I’m just now getting over Yukari taking Rina’s H1 and H2 positions because, after all, she is her under, and literally just within the past few days I’ve realized that Asuka was a perfectly fine substitute because if they had to choose someone, it was going to be a girl that they pushed a lot, and one with a soft, good voice.  Asuka’s one of the only ones who fits that bill (and I’ve decided that she’s destined to become on of the next front girls), so I’ve let that go.  Takamina is a great choice as she has a similarly great, though completely different voice, and Miho’s performance was pretty good, but it was saved by the fact that Chiichan subbed in for Haruna.  Anyway, I think it’d be neat if they would have chosen Mai to take Rina’s spot, as she was graduating in this concert series, and I’ve always loved her and Rina together in whatever song possible ala ‘Dear My Teacher.’  This could all be fueled by my dislike that Aki somehow got on the fast track for senbatsu-ism… Back to the concert!

Keitbetsu Shiteita Aijou

First fire, now smoke?  I love reoccurring extras!  The second of the dark singles, brings Natsuki back to the stage!  I’ve always had some sort of respect for the song, but it’s never been one of my favorites.  Sure, the lyrics are good, the PV is wonderful, the music is interesting, and the cast is superb, but it’s just never clicked with me, similar to how I never paid attention to Yuko till relatively recently.  (On the topic of Yuko, it looks like Asuka got to sub again.)

Natsuki got a fairly okay amount of screen time here compared to previous performances.  In the PV she was never focused on at all, and was only shown in the background in the dance shot, usually behind the less popular senbatsu, and a few times in the story scenes, notably with Rina, Yuka, and a cell phone.

She even got to be the first girl shown on the last ‘dareka.’  That actually means something to me.  How sad.  But, that makes me remember a review of a single song from a Hello! Project Wonderful Hearts concert where they actually counted close-ups of members. That sounds like it might be fun…

BINGO!

Comes out to cheer the gloomy corner of AKB48 single history, this time with pretty much the original cast of the first Kenkyuusei shows.  I think that because I happen to love a ton of the girls that are part of this generation, I enjoyed this performance fully.  I just wish that Asuka could have performed here to make it as perfect as possible.  I’m not sure who else would need to be present to make it a full Team, but I have a feeling that Deguchi Aki would have to be here, and then cut a few of the newer girls, but I don’t know who.  The addition of ex-RS, now Team S member Nakanishi Yuuka was an excellent choice since I never saw her perform with the other girls.  In this performance the girls get to wear the PV dresses and I couldn’t be happier about this.  It would be completely possible to do a complete A4R-Kenkyuusei show and just use the ugly casual outfits that they use in the Stage performance, but here they were able to wear my favorite of the BINGO! costumes (the others being the NHK07 costumes and the H1 costumes) in all their colorful glory.

Fujie looks incredible and shares her lines in the verse with one of the RS graduates of the night, Uriya.

Chiichan takes Mariko’s position.

And Chikano just looks darn adorable.  I really want to go study who took who’s spots during the days this was performed.  I know there is a thread at Stage48 which I think I made that has all of this information in it (I didn’t come up with it all, someone (Jasey?) gave it to me.)

Boku no Taiyou

New party dresses!?  That’s right, a few of the dresses were used in the ‘Boku no Taiyou’ PV, but a bunch are new!  I’ve always wanted to see AKB perform the song in those dresses, so this was a great performance for me.  Even better: there’s Natsuki!  This line-up features only one senbatsu of the single, Sayaka.  The other seventeen girls seem to be the non-ex-RS and non-senbatsu of ‘Yuuhi.’  I’m not a big fan of the H1 line distribution, though, as it seems like twelve-ish of the girls sing, while the others just dance until the chorus.  I’d prefer that all of them get spots in the chorus to sing, or half or less of them.

The three solo lines are sung by Aika, Harugon, and Nacchan.  The thing I love about this is that these three are the non-Mayu parts of Watarirouka Hashiritai.  Mayu might have gotten way more lines in those two singles they performed earlier, but now these girls are leading another single.  It just made me feel happy for them, as despite being selected for a sub-group, they are still always overshadowed.

Natsuki’s performance was great.  I’m not sure, but is her dress Mariko’s PV dress, or is it a new one?  The back looks extra-weird.  Either way, I’m glad that she performed in the song, despite me not thinking that she would get to.

Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?

The third single in a row with the PV’s original costumes is ‘Yuuhi’ with nearly all the senbatsu members.  Yuko was getting over surgery at the time, so she only participated in MCs at the concert series.  Kashiwagi replaced her for this song.  One thing I love about ‘Yuuhi’ is how calm and easy it is, yet it still has a danceable beat and is interesting to listen and watch.  The school-girl-meets-gogo-dancer-meets-plaid costumes are a great little touch with their boots that apparently leave skid marks.  I honestly can’t say much about this performance as it’s rather typical, even though they haven’t performed it in concert like this before.  It’s a nice moment of rest during the medley.

Romance, Irane!

‘Romance, Irane!’ was the first single I was really around for as an AKB fan.  Technically, I think ‘Yuuhi’ was released after I learned of AKB and joined Stage48, but over that entire month I wasn’t really paying attention to the group and I would just listen to their music and some of their PVs, similar to all the other artists I liked at the time.  AKB48 was the first musical interest that actually evolved into a fandom for me.  I remember when information was slowly leaking out about ‘Romance.’  First we found out the title and that it was the first song from H2.  A Stage48 forum member told us that it was “like Seifuku on steroids.” Then we received rips from the theater and the radio.  I listened to the song non-stop for a while, keeping it on loop while I did my nightly crunches.  I wasn’t a big fan of the song to start with, but I slowly ended up liking it more and more.  Its disco-like vibes, powerful choruses, and harmonic verses are one of my favorites, with me eventually learning some of the choreography and most of the lyrics, studying the costume distribution (Acchan’s has a row of flowers across the bust, Itano and Nozofisu’s has a silver belt, and Hana has extra ruffles on her gold costume; there are six different kinds of costume sets; and there are three possibilities of what the girls wear under their boots: white socks, purple stockings, and nothing visible), and learning about the lyrical structure of AKB songs.  I love how dramatic it is and how lavishly ‘Romance, Irane!’ is presented.  This concert’s performance was nothing to laugh at: perhaps my favorite of the shows it’s been in.

From all the concert reports I read, everywhere said it was Maimai with Team 2.  This is definitely not the most complete information, as it’s actually Maimai, Mariko, Yukari, and Sayaka from the senbatsu, Natsuki, Nonti, and Yuka from Team 1, and then whoever is left from Team 2 and the vast majority of Team B.  Although, yes, I do love that Natsuki gets to sing in a trio due to the H2 set-up of lines, I do wish that they would break from this format and add in Team B in the future so they aren’t just stuck dancing in the back.  Maybe since Team B has participated in the G-Rosso shows, they’ll change this in future performances.

I loved the different girls singing taking the senbatsu lines.  Notably Asuka and Meetan taking Acchan and Kojiharu’s lines.

One idea that I personally think would be cool for concerts with ‘Romance’ directly before ‘Baby!’ would be to have the girls wear the costumes for ‘Romance, Irane!’ with their costumes for ‘Let’s get Ato 1cm’ underneath like they do in H2, and do a quick change between songs.  The golden two-pieces would match ‘Baby!’ perfectly!  But, these NHK08 party dresses are also pretty gosh-darn awesome.  Also a great choice for the songs.

Baby! Baby! Baby!

AKB’s second completely summer-inspired single appears next.  Guess what, I have another story.  I gave one of my dance teachers a CD of various songs, and this one happened to be on it.  She ended up liking it, and when one of the jazz classes she taught needed a song for our spring recital, the students voted and ‘Baby! Baby! Baby!’ was declared as the winner.  That’s right, AKB can appeal to tween girls.  Who knew?

As per usual with all-AKB performances of this single, all of the girls stay on one section of the stage and there are tons of traffic jams and just general closeness happening on stage.  Maybe they’ll re-work this?  I happen to love the end of this performance with Jurina completely stealing the camera away from Takamina.  It’s like my favorite front girl is replaced with an eleven-year old girl.  Oh wait, that’s not an over-statement or anything.

Oogoe Diamond

‘Oogoe’ is another cornerstone in the new AKB48 discography.  It’s the first single with their current label, King Records.  When it was first announced, there was much speculation on whether or not this would be a darker or more powerful single.  As it turns out, it ended up being more energetic and stronger than we expected, and it also featured a few things I felt would be essential to a new first single.  A) It would be timeless.  Songs with too much of an emphasis on one topic tend to get old very quickly.  B) It would reflect the current AKB.  ‘Oogoe’ features an all-new front-girl, a much more compex-sounding instrumental, more intricate choreography, and more interesting line distribution.  C) It would be the new ‘Aitakatta.’  While it has yet to replace this fan-favorite, it has all the fundamental workings of the famous single: a repetitive word “Aitakatta/Daisuki.” lyrics about confessions of love, a mode of transportation is referred to, and trademark choreography.  I think it was a rather successful release.  This concert’s performance is great.  Besides the fact that the girls in back get to do next to nothing as usual, the performance is fun to watch.  My only question is, “What on earth are the Kenkyuusei wearing!?”  That’s literally what I was thinking the entire time I first watched the DVD.  During that viewing, I paused it multiple times to try and guess which costume they could possibly have on: “‘Wagamama na Nagareboshi’?  ‘Tanjoubi no Yoru’?  No, they’re only white.  ‘Virgin Love’?  No, they’re tiered.  ‘Daisuki’? No, they’re simpler.”  Seriously, I was completely perplexed as to where these costumes came from.  I gave up and decided that they were new.  (Actually come to think of it, are these from the Natsumatsuri Hibiyaon concert?  I seem to remember the Moeno wearing something similar…)

10nen Zakura

Both verses of ‘10nen Zakura’ are performed, presumably because they had yet to have been done in a big concert before.  For those taking score, ‘Aitakatta,’ ‘BINGO!.’ ‘Romance, Irane!,’ and ‘10nen Zakura’ were the only singles in the continuous single collection to have both verses performed.  Again, the song is done in a three-tier performance with senbatsu and substitutes on the lower layer, other members on the middle layer, and RS at the top.  At least this way they aren’t squished.  One thing I hope for in a future concert is for ‘Oogoe’ and ‘Zakura’ to be done in school uniforms for the first time.  I mean, they are school-themed, not princess party dress-themed.

Natsuki was given a semi-close-up approximately once.  I felt the need to include a capture of her, despite her looking less-than-excited.  Yui behind her looks poised to eat her.  Watch out.

Oh no!  There’s a Nacchan down!  I repeat, a Nacchan down!

Dareka no Tame ni – What Can I Do For Someone? -

For the first time in a multi-Team concert, AKB performs A3’s ballad.  I like the white costumes used during the Stage performances, but this is okay too.  I’m glad they’re finally getting to use these songs, as every AKB Stage has had at least one ballad.  I’m hoping that ‘Dakedo….’ is used at some point.  I have to wonder if they’re saving that for a super special graduation, though.  Not that this series doesn’t have a super special graduation or anything…  Now, I’m one of those people who usually don’t like ballads, so while this one is very nice and the performance is beautiful, I really can’t say it strikes me as that amazing.

Now, I’m trying to figure out if the audience is singing along during the chorus, or if it’s just the recording.  A concert hall-filling choir of wota gives me a rather cute picture in my head.

(Encore)

AKB Sanjou!

After AKB left their original major music label, a bunch of songs were made that in my opinion seem to mirror previous fan favorites.  As previously stated, there are the similarities between ‘Aitakatta’ and ‘Oogoe Diamond.’  More of the songs that I feel could almost seem like re-made versions are ‘Sakura no Hanabiratachi’/'10 nen Zakura,’ ‘Tanjoubi no Yoru’/'Namida Surprise!,’ ‘Aozora ni Soba ni Ite’/'Sakura Iro no Sora no Shitade,’ ‘BINGO!’/'Baby! Baby! Baby!,’ and ‘Wasshoi B!’/'B Stars.’  Two songs that I think will be released later are new versions of ‘Dear My Teacher’ and ‘Virgin Love.’ Here, I feel like ‘AKB Sanjou!’ was created to replace the A1 encore song ‘AKB48.’  Obviously the fact that they both have the group’s name in their names helps, but the over-riding theme of AKB being awesome is present in both, as well as the fact that they don’t perform ‘AKB48′ in their concerts anymore, but they do perform this new version.  Lyrically, the songs help generate an overview of where AKB is in its career.  ‘AKB48′ presents the girls as new and wanting to bring in and keep audiences while ‘AKB Sanjou’ depicts the girls as powerful and able to work through anything.  Both are acceptable summaries of the girls in the respective eras of AKB’s history.

The scrim was a nice touch to begin the song.  Similar to the blinds at the AKB Theater, the diffused light looks much better and adds to the performance.  It’s also much more climactic.  Yay for good decisions by AKS!

Oh no.  The girls are split up incorrectly again.  I don’t like when the majority of the group is in front and then a few are in back.  I’d prefer it to be split in half, or more people in back.  I don’t like it when the chances of being in front are better than being in back because then it would just suck to be one of the few chosen to be in the back.  I think I talk about this philosophy too much…

The kanji says “kamisama” or “god” if you hadn’t heard yet.

Hikouki Gumo

AKB’s new flag song introduced in the last NHK concert fits right in here.  The lines are split up by Team in an even-is manner.  More specifically, A/A/A K/K/K B/B B/B A/K/B/A.  Please note that Team B gets an extra set of lines than what is the case in Team A concerts, and Team A gets an extra line in the break-down.  By the time the chorus hits, the RS and SKE48 members are back on the stage for the encore.

I’m anxious to see Natsuki in the Hikouki Gumo PV coming out with the release of ‘RIVER.’

(Uriya and Saotome Graduation Ceremony)

Originally I wasn’t going to do little summaries of these MC-like sections, but now I broke down and I’ll do really, really short ones.  The first concert of the trio features Research Student Uriya Akane and Team-B-member-turned-Research-Student Saotome Miki’s graduations.  First, Uriya Akane announces her graduation.  I don’t know how many of the other girls knew this happened, but I think most of the RS knew this was coming since there were many pictures of her with another RS or two on the AKB RS FC blog.  There were theories outside of AKB, but they were of course just rumors.

Next, Uriya runs back on stage to say that she’s graduating, too, but everyone knew that already, so it’s more of a surprise appearance similar to what Nozofisu does in the third show.  It’s interesting to note that these are the first two RS to get such nice graduations.  It kind of makes sense though, as Uriya was a first generation RS, and Saotome belonged to Team B in the good old days.

Uriya gets some flowers via Sae.

Saotome (a Sato Natsuki fan, she even yelled “Sato” and “Natsuki” once when it was her turn for the shout in ‘Kiss Shite son Shichatta’ in one performance) gets her flowers from her former unofficial Team captain, CinDy.  Their relationship is so cute here.  It’s so respectable and heart-warming at the same time.

While the two RS graduates talk, Sayaka runs backstage and arranges for the instrumental of ‘Aitakatta’ to be put on so they don’t leave with a sour note.  The graduates get to announce it.

Aitakatta (Encore Ver.)

This uplanned ‘Aitakatta’ is a fun one to watch, as none of the girls are quite sure what to do.  Team B members all rush to Saotome at different times to wish her farewell, while everyone who had worked with Uriya before visited with her, including ex-RS Nakanishi Yuka.  The graduates of course got the speaking part in the chorus.  Not that that was really planned.

This was such a cute impromptu performance of AKB’s famous up-beat debut single.  I’m glad that they had enough time that first night to do something like this… (And that right there is called foreshadowing.)

Concert 2 (Day 2)

Nagisa no CHERRY

For the first time ever, ‘Nagisa no CHERRY,’ the first unit Acchan led, and the unit that is used to promote each Team’s most popular member, is used for comedic purposes.  At the time CinDy was the only original Team A member to not be a selected member in a PV.  While she finally has ala ‘Iiwake Maybe,’ during her stay in AKB48, she was always hoping for a position within the senbatsu.  Here, she actually takes Acchan’s position, and even better: you get to see Acchan and her substitutes getting stuck with some of the worst positions in a unit ever.  I kind of wish that they would have included Mayu, but after the next song, I’m glad they didn’t.  Also, if they were to include Mayu, I’d hope they would include Reina, too, since she has filled in for Mayu when Mayu was busy during B2.  That way they could have all of the Teams represented, A, K, B, S, ex-RS.  Team KII hadn’t started their first Stage yet.

It’s cute how CinDy really goes all out here.  You can tell that she’s just awe-struck to be leading such a famous unit.  The fact that now the front girls are stuck behind her rather than the opposite way arround just adds to it.  If you didn’t notice, Jurina took the back position, which means she gets the center during the bridge.  This position is usually given to the best dancer of the blue girls.  Jurina obviously deserves that position.

After the song ends, CinDy stays on stage and laps up all of the attention.  Suddenly, the rest of Team B comes out with their costumes for ‘Shounichi’ on.  CinDy is wearing the wrong outfit!  Wait… could this be yet another first-ish for AKB:  A girl wearing the wrong costume in a song?

Shounichi

Other than CinDy’s costume, Team B’s most popular song is done just about exactly like it does any other time it is performed.  I’m glad that they’re back to the original costumes rather than the A5 opener costumes they wore at JCB.  These just fit much, much better.  Also, I’m glad to see Uchida take up a spot, as she’s had the RS position in B4 since the Stage began.  All of the pretty, colorful lights help the song almost seem like it’s at the AKB48 Theater as they fill up the stage.  One great thing about ‘Shounichi’ is that it really pumps up the crowd.  There are spots for mixes and chants and everything galore.  Even the simple dance is a great one to get the audience excited and moving.  And I love the lyrics.  They’re so touching and heart-warming and fun and perfect for Team B.  Sadly, the lyrics depicting the girls working hard to be as awesome as their seniors is still true today as Team B is least revered.

RUN RUN RUN

I’ve decided that Team A has ownership of the Himawari Stages.  Here, they perform a song from H1, and in the August Team A concert, they performed a few from H2.  Regardless, here they did what must be a fairly popular, as I think it probably got a good spot at one of the Shibuya AX concerts, and it was performed at the Natsumatsuri Hibiyaon concert last summer with a smattering of random Team A and Team K girls.  Personally, the shiny winter-themed costumes and lack of pretty lights really brings this down a notch.  On the H1 DVD, I always love watching it because while it may not be the most interesting song, it’s a fun one to watch being performed and it has a nice melody.  If I remember correctly, Rui of Stage48 was one of the women picked to be in the audience of the ‘Oogoe Diamond’ PV, and when she described the song, as no one had heard it yet, she said it was something like ‘RUN RUN RUN.’  Most of the time after that when we had gotten a leaked version of ‘Oogoe Diamond,’ I compared it to ‘RUN RUN RUN’ and liked the H1 song more.  But now I like ‘Oogoe’ more… so…

Melos no Michi

Next up is Team K’s powerful K4 song, ‘Melos no Michi.’  I have to confess that I’m not that big of a fan of the song.  The only things I really like about it are that Nonti gets to have a fight with Sae in the very beginning and that Natsuki’s voice is really easy to pick out from her group.  In general, though, I think it’s a bit generic.  I mean, it’s super powerful and high energy and has great vocals, but it doesn’t have a defining factor like other songs have.  It just kind of seems bland to me.

They used the ‘Hitei no Requiem’ costumes!  Although I don’t like how the red fabric doesn’t go onto the back of the costumes, I love these.  They’re so shiny and skimpy. Oddly enough, those are some excellent qualities of a costume in my opinion.

Natsuki is just fierce.  Period.

As usual, Natsuki looks gorgeous here.  You can really tell that she’s lost some weight since the K4 days.  She might even be near Sae-sized, as the measurements currently released say she should actually be skinnier than Miyazawa.

Oh, and Yuko, who’s re-covering from surgery, joins Team K for the MC with Aika’s ‘Tenshi no Shippo’ costume!

Glory Days

Jurina gets to show off her unit along with Kuwabara and Nakanishi.  This one is totally dance-based, and I really think that the composition is very much different from AKB48’s music.  SKE’s too, I guess.  I love the yellow-ness of the costumes and how flamboyant they are.  The lighting throws in even more yellow at the beginning of the chorus with the entire stage being engulfed in yellow spotlights.

My favorite part has to be the bridge with its robot dance-break.  It’s so random and fits the music.  The girls do a good job with it, and give it a slightly better ranking in my mind than Kuwabara’s turns at the end.  But, you know, she has the best of the three’s solo dances.

Pajama Drive

Moving right along from one front girl to another, ‘Pajama Drive’ is one of my favorite units, except for the lines distribution in the second verse, because it blends cute voices with strong music.  Kind of similar to Kasai in ‘Maria.’  Though we got Acchan, Kana, and Ayaka in the last NHK Hall concert, now we get the un-shuffled cast of girls.  Here, the over-the-top music and lighting help set a great tone for the song.

I love Harugon’s costume.  I would totally wear it.  Seriously.  Buy one for me.  Good choice from the wardrobe of pajamas used in B3 for the song.

Kimi wa Pegasus

I kind of forgot how amazing ‘Kimi wa Pegasus’ is before doing screen captures.

It’s intense.

Like woah.

I guess I just don’t have words to describe it.

And Natsuki’s in it… and it’s one of the two amazing units that she’s been selected to participate in.

I wish they would re-record the vocals for this song.

I mean, the girls had amazing voices back when this was done, but I think that by now, their voices should be off the charts.

Natsuki looks spectacular in this performance.

Also, I really wish they would have performed this at Natsumatsuri Hibiyaon just because it was raining.

It would be just so climactic it would be incredible.

Oh, and random: my dream is for these girls perform ‘Kimi wa Pegasus’ in ball gowns or even the ‘Ai no Moufu’ dresses so they can be princesses once and not just princes/pirates/quakers.

I think that would be super neat.

Don’t you?

Yay for Natsuki!  Go!  Go!

Tsundere!

I’m a huge fan of this unit.  Tomo-chin had been getting three sexy/strong units in a row, and finally she got one that fit her personality perfectly.  Not really cute, but not really sexy, not really cool, but not really kiddish.  It’s just so Tomo-chin.  The costumes are crazy puked-up neon collections of accessories and gal clothing.  Tomo-chin’s heels add a touch of her attitude compared to the other girls’ boots.  I’ll also say that no one who subs in for her gets to wear her heels and is stuck with boots.  I think it’s interesting how with the line distribution, Tomo-chin’s longer solo line in the second verse isn’t performed at these large scale concerts, but only Amina’s in the first and Rie’s in the build-up.

Rie and Amina make great supports, too.  Rie has a very consistent and confident voice, and Amina… sings, too.  She sings in her very own special way.  I’m in the camp that likes her voice, as it’s very, very pitchy, but at the same time it seems controlled.  I love how before the first chorus in the section when Rie sings, then Itano adds on, and finally Amina pops in there, Amina’s voice totally throws off the expected sound and you can hear way higher than the other two.  It’s just so cute.  It’s these little things like Amina’s voice (and I’m sure her wota-ness as well as rich fans) that can catapult a girl in the election to a better spot.

Junai no Crescendo

I love the costumes used in this song.  They’re pretty midnight blue bodices with pink skirts and an overlay of blue tulle.  The details like the pink straps I think really make the outfit.  I don’t really know what they were designed to look like, but they look kind of witch-like to me.  Anyway, the performance was pretty good.  I was disappointed that Kasai was in this again, as she’s already been shuffled in here.  Nito sounded good and Sasshi did a great job to boot.  Sadly, that last solo line in the dead space before the second chorus was not nearly as good as Kashiwagi’s from the NHK08 concert.  But that one was pure gold and I don’t really expect anyone to live up to it.  I want to note that I still don’t understand how Moeno and Sasshi are paired up so often.  And usually Rie is in there, too.  That trio is resembles each other so much it astounds me and still gives me trouble figuring out who’s who when watching them.  Thank goodness Moeno dyed her hair!

Ame no Pianist

I really need to watch an S2 LOD again… (I may or may not have a clue what two of their names are… but I know that I used to.) Anyway, great song.  Again, it feels very not-AKB.  Similar to ‘Glory Days.’  Luckily, though, it isn’t AKB, but SKE.  I can’t wait to see shuffles of some of these unit songs.  I’ve found that I love ‘Ame no Pianist’ due to… the girl on the right’s voice… and the fact that they mention “Chopin.”  I have very little understanding of who “Chopin” is, but I know he was a famous pianist or composer or something.  The point is that I actually heard the mangled name of the European musician within the lyrics.  I was proud.

One thing I like is the bridge.  The girls go all mad-scientist-meets-an-organ with their dancing.  It’s very all-out like the robot dance in ‘Glory Days.’  One thing I don’t like are the costumes.  They just look really unbalanced or something.  I’m not sure.  Rena’s is definitely the best, though.  Maybe they all need corsets?  I don’t know.  And the long skirts are really off-putting.  And the awesome boots of the two that aren’t the Matsui don’t match the costume at all.  Oh, and the lighting was all off.  The S2 LOD in the AKB Theater had really nice lighting, but this was completely generic.  Boo.   I like how I didn’t really talk about the performance.  (It was fine.)

Glass no I LOVE YOU

Bah.  Bad casting.  Acchan shouldn’t be in this.  This is the non-Acchan song.  I’ve always thought of this as the every-front-girl-but-Acchan song, as it really used to be that way.  But they ruined it.  Erena’s perfect here, as she fits the bill for a non-Acchan member and she hasn’t performed in it.  I think Miho performed this at Natsumatsuri Hibiyaon… but I’m not sure.  I hate it when bloggers don’t do their research when writing something, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it takes too long to find the DVD and check.  So we’ll assume she was in it.  That means that I don’t like her in it here because I hate repeat shuffles.  Kashiwagi’s new… I think.  So that means she’s fine. So yeah, bad group here.  Only half get the okay from me.  Anyway, it seems like all of the girls from AKB love this song, even though very few foreign fans like it.  Usually their enjoyment of the song is derived from the obnoxiously pink and fur-trimmed costumes.  I guess that’s a valid reason then.  Also, please note that Acchan doesn’t get her usual lead position.  She gets Rina’s, which makes sense since they always tended to share lines.  (And that makes me wonder if Rina had stayed for longer if she would have subbed for Acchan in ‘Kuroi Tenshi’ in a shuffle concert.)  Anyway, the girls do perfectly fine, despite my dislike of the cast choices.  I like how this is definitely more of a “Let’s have RSL talk about AKB songs and who’s in them” instead of a review.  My excuse is that most people know a lot of these songs anyway.

(Insert No Sleeves and Watarirouka Hashiritai)

Squall no Aida ni

Yay!  Another good song!  Even though there aren’t any umbrellas here, the girls put on a great show.  The lyrics about a boat house and a sudden summer rain are oh so cute and really fit with the un-official Team A image of being cute and pretty.  In this performance, I love the entrance of half the Team from the middle opening just casually walking forward.  That way, it seems to be much more exciting when they start dancing.  And when I say dancing, I mean when they start walking around with stylized arms and shoulders and sporadically hopping around.  It’s just cute.

Strut it Chiichan (and Mariko)!  I’m so glad they changed the choreography from the original.  This is so much more exciting.

The sparkle meter is off the charts.  The combination of the sequined dresses and the rain drop-inspired lights blow my mind.

Shamu Neko

My favorite K4 song strikes again!  (And I wish that position above made it to the DVD cover.  It is perfect.)  I love how this song seems to be addressed to and lead by Erena, but the lead vocals are by some of the best singers in Team K: Nonti, Ayaka, Natsuki, and Asuka.  The song started out fine, with the ‘Tenohira’ outfits.  I loved when they used the senbatsu costumes from Kohaku in the JCB Hall concert (mostly because Natsuki’s body was /is ravishing), but these seem like they’re nice and updated school uniforms from the K4 encore ones, so I like these two.

Anyway, after Nonti sang, I was ready for Ayaka to sing, but alas, some weird girl with a nicely proportioned body and a circular head started singing.  At first I was all “Where’s Umechan!?” but then I realized she was absent due to her other job.  Then I was like “Who’s she, then!?”  And then I realized that it was in fact Sumire.  And I calmed down.

I wish they would have done both verses so Natsuki could sing her amazing solo line (and you know, Asuka, too).

Suifu wa Arashi ni Yume wo Miru

“Ah!  Magical fairies of destruction!  Whatever shall we do?”  Seriously, who picked these costumes for this song?  Their hands must be slapped.  I wonder if they feel ridiculous, or they think they’re part of Milky Way.  Probably the latter… because they might as well me.  The costumes may confuse me, but the performance is great, especially the section where they come into the rank pyramid.  I still think that my favorite version of the song would be the one from the last NHK Hall concert with the ‘Two Years Later’ costumes.  It seemed more appropriate.  Now, if only they had sailor costumes to fit the song. (Oh wait!  They could just use the new Team A concert costumes!)

(Insert AKB48 Continuous Single Collection)

Nante Suteki na Sekai ni Umareta no Darou

One of my favorite AKB ballads of all time.  Probably my favorite right behind ‘FAN LETTER.’  It has some of the most calming music and lyrics and it’s such a great song in so many ways.  It’s a shame A4 might never be released.  I’m kind of disappointed by this one, to be honest.  I pictured there to be much more room for the girls to wander around, probably onto the stairs or something.  They’re all so compact here.  Also, I’d prefer they wear a simple outfit like the RS.  These are just too much.  Also, I’d prefer that Team A didn’t lead.  How about giving everyone else a chance?

Bubble power!

(Insert Encore)

(Note lack of encore performance of ‘BINGO!’)

Concert 3 (Day 2)

Amai Kokansetsu

The third concert opens up with Ohori’s solo single song, now a fan favorite.  Just as she turns around, it is revealed that it is Maimai, not Ohori in the cowboy-inspired get-up.  I was thrilled when I heard that she who had previously been the “sexy bunny” of Team A got this solo, as she really hadn’t been in many sexy songs in her career in AKB.  Just Kiss wa Dame yo, and that’s really not too inappropriate.  I think it kind of sucks for Ohori with her solo being used to help celebrate someone else’s graduation, but she seems to be proud of Mai and is happy for her to perform it.  Now this makes me wonder if this opens up other sub-units to shuffling (Chocolove, No Sleeves).

I have to say that I’ve always loved Mai’s voice.  It’s a really nice balance between being mature and light, and she can work with it in so many ways to fit many situations.  Her performance here was outstanding, and I think all of her fans were proud.

Saishuu Bell ga Naru

I guess they tried saving some of the best recent songs for the end.  K4’s title song brings in Team K and a certain amazing Kenkyuusei Suzuki Mariya!  I love how this is not only a very energetic song, but it also has a great melody going for it: something I must hear before liking a song.  Unrelated, but I didn’t notice how much screen time Sae had in this performance till now.  I guess with Yuko gone, she gets her camera time.  Because, you know, it works that way.

I’m kind of sad that they didn’t perform both verses, but it certainly would make this last show go over time (more so than it did.)  This way, Natsuki didn’t get to sing her duet line with Meetan.  Oh well.

Shiroi Shirts

Bleh.  This is not the song to continue with.  Just about anything would fit better.  They should have saved Shounichi for this concert.  Dislike of the song aside, I can’t get over how they wore the least attractive Team B costumes to date.  I mean, I understand that yes, they do have white shirts on, but it does not fit.  It’ be cute if they just wore any random Team B costume with the ‘Shiroi Shirts’ white shirts over them.

I like how the dancing and fierceness of the previous song contrasts so much against this one, as they seem to just clap, wave, and pose the majority of the song.  Seriously, I don’t know what AKS was thinking here.  The bow at the end seriously cemented my thought that this should not be at the start of a concert.

Dear My Teacher

And after that foul selection comes one of AKB’s best songs period!  (Natsuki says this is her favorite song, but that’s probably just because she has a cheer set up in the second verse just for her!)  This really is the quintessential Team A song.  Not ‘Sakura no Hanabiratachi,’ not ‘Skirt, Hirari,’ but instead the one about teachers and students… getting along really, really well.  Also, it fits well with Mai’s graduation as she has so many lines in this shortened version.  Interesting to note: they didn’t use any RS, even though the other performances used them to fill up empty spots in Teams.

I don’t want to rant about how Rie got Rina’s part, so I’ll make it quick.  Rie is great.  I’m glad she’s getting pushed so much, but I’d prefer Chiichan gets Rina’s lines.  Seeing that Chiichan gets Ohe’s lines is great, so instead, how about Reina?  Her voice would fit pretty well.  Or, another idea, just give them to Mariko, since she missed out getting lines when they originally did A1.

Oh, and Nozofisu pops out for the MC.  I’m pretty sure this was a surprise.  She had written a few blog entries or some of the other girls did about her participation in rehearsals, but there was no official announcement that she would be there that I know of.  I was under the impression that she had her graduation at the AKB Theater and that she was done a while ago, but I guess not.

Blue Rose

They continue with more fan favorites, this time with the most popular Team K rock unit.  The quartet seems to be doing their usual thing, which tends to get the fans really excited in their cheering.  The only difference being that that night, all of the girls wore their jackets done up.  I had not thought that was possible with these, as I thought they were made to be always very much open, but I guess not.  So they kept on singing and dancing their little hearts out till the bridge when…. (To kill the suspense, I’ll ask a simple question that I’m unsure of: During Meetan and Sae’s lines, do they chant for Sae for the first line and then for Ohori in the next ones?)

Sayaka’s wearing a tiger-print bikini!  The other girls are wearing the normal tube tops and shorts or a skirt.  In other performances, it would be Ohori taking off her jacket to reveal her famous gold bikini, so I guess that they needed something new this time since Meetan’s done her thing in two different concerts that I know of by that time.  I kind of want Yuka to be next.  She can strip off her jacket to reveal something funny… like a big gown or something, you know folded up into the jacket for the surprise.  That’d be neat.

Temodemo no Namida

In my mind, this unit was built to show off how great Kashiwagi is.  Maybe even to show Hello! Project what they’re missing out on, as this has been an incredibly well received unit by AKB fans.  I believe that Mika was added to show how a talented RS-turned-member can sort of challenge the soon-to-be second most popular Team B girl (after the Ayarin scandal).  Though it’s easy to see how Kashiwagi leads and in some ways, owns, the unit with her extra solo lines, I’ve decided that this won’t be the unit Kashiwagi is known for, but instead it will be un-officially labeled as Mikachii’s song.  Already, it’s been performed with her as the main feature of the song.  She has possibly performed this song the most out of any Team B songs besides maybe ‘Shounichi,’ as she couldn’t dance for many Team B shows or AKB concerts.

Here, Mika performs the almost-legendary unit with the help of a stool.  I’m quite positive that she doesn’t really need this, but instead it represents that she can’t really dance like she used to due to chronic knee problems.  This way, I’m okay with them giving her a sort of handicap and they even changed a little choreography to work with it.

(Insert ‘Glory Days’)

Heart Gata no Virus

I guess they had to give the popular Team A girls a unit in this show since they didn’t get to perform in the first number.  Acchan takes Mai’s position, Mariko takes Haruna’s, and Itano takes Nozofisu’s.  I think there kind of is a weird, but in a good way, line distribution in this song.  In the first verse, all three girls get two lines, except one who gets two and then a couple extra before the other two members sing their duet lines right before the chorus.  Those remaining two’s lines include one slightly longer solo.  In the next verse, the same thing happens, but with the roles rotated.  This way, there is a lead for the first verse and a different lead for the second verse.  The third girl gets a longer line in both verses and doesn’t get any sort of lead.  With this line pattern, Usually the most popular member of the unit gets less lines than the second most popular girl in the group, but gets to be in the center just as much.  I don’t know… I just find that really interesting.

Acchan gets the speaking part in the bridge, and she says something about how she can’t believe Mai is graduating that night.  Apparently backstage, Nozofisu is talking to Yukari and upon hearing this, she asks why she isn’t included there.  (Natsuki note: Our favorite member got to perform this unit as well as ‘Itoshiki Natassha’ in the recent concert tour during the same concert.  Most likely, she performed these units because two Team K members, Mocchi and Yuka, respectively, were unable to perform due to a possible swine flu scare.  I’m not sure which position she got in either song, but I’m assuming that she takes the Nozofisu position in ‘Heart,’ even though she gets to wear Mai’s costume, and she probably takes Tanamin’s part in ‘Itoshiki,’ as she wears that costume.  We’ll see, though.  Those are the worst parts she could have gotten in both songs, but hey, this way she at least gets in a unit (or in this case two)!)

(Insert ‘Ame no Pianist,’ No Sleeves, and Watarirouka Hashiritai)

Sougen no Kiseki

Yay!  A K3 song!  I think AKB gets too hung up on Team K being the “cool” and “powerful” Team, so I love when they go back to being fun like in their K2 and K3 days.  Luckily, I think K5 has a nice balance of the two types, and it’s nice to hear both in the same Stage.  ‘Sougen no Kiseki’ is performed in the ‘FAN LETTER’ costumes, which I absolutely adore.  I love that they’re all different and most say something about the member wearing the costume.  My favorite is Natsuki’s, but I’m not sure if that’s just because I’m biased or not.  Although they’re not used here, often times the Nacchinon duo will wear matching glasses in these costumes.  Back on the subject of who gets lines, this is another song that I don’t like the distribution in.  Sayaka begins by singing the chorus, then half the Team sings the first verse.  Since this is a big concert, we don’t get to see the second verse, and thus miss out on the other half of the Team singing.  There’s a new break-down of members in the bridge.

First is the ‘End Roll’ unit with Natsumi and Nonti.  Yuko is still recovering and Umeda is at her other job, so the ‘Mushi no BALLAD’ unit fills in… with Sayaka being the only one in that unit.

Next up is the ‘Wagamama na Nagareboshi’ unit with Erena and Kana.

Third is Chikano, Meetan, Sae, Naruse, Yuka, and Oku for ‘Ai no Iro.’  This is the first and only time that Naruse is sort-of, kind-of officially acknowledged as being part of ‘Ai no Iro.’

The last of the unit lines is ‘Dakishimeraretara’ with Kasai, Asuka, and Natsuki.  The two on the outside hug their lead.  But wait, isn’t there one last girl on stage?

Oh yeah!  Kaoru, who got a ‘FAN LETTER’ costume just for this performance, doesn’t have a unit for K5 as she is graduating!  She gets to twirl around and bow for the rest of the music leading up to the chorus.  I can not tell you how amazing this section was with Kaoru finally getting all kinds of attention.  She was doing just as she should, shining.  The audience’s call for her were intense and literally brought tears to my eyes.  I never would have thought that this would have made such an amazing performance in this concert.  This was just spectacular.

Minasan mo Go Issho ni

Putting this song directly after such a classy pre-graduation song has it’s share of pros and cons.  On the good side, it continues the idea of being happy and having fun and forgetting about anything negative.  On the flip side, it conveys a completely different message from the previous song.  Instead of singing about a nostalgic spring-ish day, they’re singing about how you should forget about the economy and just enjoy the AKB girls.  In a way though, I guess it fits.  Nevertheless, it was performed and so I’ll write about it.  Ever since I had read the set list for this concert the first time, I knew this would be an epic performance, even before I knew about the surprise in the bridge.  The colorful costumes with the fun and exciting choreography and the sparkle and lighting of NHK Hall really makes his a nice light-hearted performance that is great for the song.  Now you’re wondering, what surprise?

There’s a Saeki in my B4!  That’s right, the only Team B member to not perform in a B4 song!  Yes, she gets wheeled out on a blinged-out chair by CinDy to do the MC section.  And she does an incredible job complete with some sort of echo/fade-out sound-mixing technique at the end.  I had heard about this before seeing the DVD, but regardless, it was such a surprise to watch.  I love it.

Only Today

I’m pretty sure that Mai has stated that this is her favorite song (or at least something about the lyrics), so this is a nice addition for a soon-to-be graduate.  It’s one of the newer Team A-only songs that is used often in concerts, similar to Team K’s ‘Saishuu Bell ga Naru.’  I’m a bit disappointed by the lack of kick-lining used here.  It’s great that they did their own little kicks and hops, but I want full-fledged crazy-swiching like in the NHK07 concert.  I mean, that was epic.  This is kind of very bland… at least comparatively speaking.

I’ve always loved this song.  It reminds me of my first month or two when I was an off-and-on AKB fan.  I remember my first favorite song was ‘Nagisa no Cherry’ and then it changed to be ‘Only Today.’  As you can see, I started out as an Acchan fan.  I just love how bittersweet the lyrics are and how the contrast with the up-beat melody and the overpowering wota chants.

(Insert AKB48 Continuous Single Collection)

Aozora no Soba ni Ite

I wish they would have used a different ballad for the last night.  I was hoping that they sort of would ‘retire’ this one after the last NHK Hall concert with the five Team A graduates.  But, I guess not.  In my head, the song with the elongated instrumental would be to commemorate those five, or maybe even just Team A.  I mean, they’ve never lengthened a song like that before.  (I like how I have to talk about assumed AKB ethics rather than the emotions around them.)  While yes, the song is just as much Mai and Nozomi’s as it was Rina, Hana, Ohe, Hiichan, and Risa’s, (I wouldn’t count Kaoru, just because she performed it after those seven), but it would be nice if they reserved the song a little.  You know?  It certainly doesn’t have to be the new graduation-only song or something.  That all being said, I’m not a huge fan of the song in general.

In the last capture, did you notice how the SKE48 girls stayed on stage?  Did you like how they were separated?  I did.  I’m glad that was done.  Except then they’re integrated during the last chorus.  Boo.

Oh!  Poor Fujie!  She’s losing her mentor!  You have to wonder what’s going on in her head right now.  And to think, she didn’t know that Mai was planning on graduating until it was announced on stage at the AKB Theater, while the original (plus Mariko, probably) members looked as though they had known about it for a little while.

(Insert Encore)

Namida Surprise!

Technically, this performance wasn’t done until after the graduation ceremony, but on the DVD, it’s out of order, so we’ll just stick with that.  This is the first showing of ‘Namida Surprise!’ and also the first time the fans got to hear it.  I can’t imagine how awesome that would be, as the single hadn’t even been announced yet.  Apparently beforehand there was a video played about the girls who don’t get senbatsu often/ever, and how they wanted it.  If my memory serves me correctly, Nonti, CinDy, and Ohori were the three that were interviewed.  I guess CinDy made a big deal about her working so hard and leading Team B and being the only original Team A member to never to get into senbatsu.  Also, there was a video counting down which girls would be in ‘Namida Surprise!’ (and then performing it that night) and it showed Komori Mika, which I guess everyone was surprised about, since she’s so far the only RS to make it into senbatsu.  Having seen the PV and everything by now, it’s kind of fun to watch the closest thing to dance shot we’ll ever see for the single.  It looks like it requires a lot of stamina, but not much in terms of actual dancing abilities.  Singing abilities seem like they might be optional as well.  I’ve come to the conclusion that I only like singles that are from their indie days, or singles that have Sayaka in them.  Seriously.  That’s what it works out to be for me.  The Sayaka-less performance here was cute, but it’s certainly not one of my favorites.  Oh well, there’s always the next single (‘Iiwake Maybe’ is wonderful).

(Oshima M, Kawasaki, and Hayano Graduation Ceremony)

Hayano Karou.  (There’s so much going on in this graduation that I can barely figure out what to say.  So, I’ll divide it up into three sections with one screen capture each.)  They decided to order the girls from least popular to most popular.  You know, do the whole “save the best for last” idea.  This bites them in the end.  Kaoru’s graduation is simple.  Sayaka will read a letter she wrote, put it in a box, and then each member of Team K will give Kaoru a flower.  This plan is perfectly fine and reasonable considering she’s already had a great graduation at the AKB48 Theater.  Somehow, someone important screws up.  Sayaka, who’s letter does not fit in the box that was specially made by Team K for it to go in, calls Hayano “the fourteenth sister” ala ‘16nin Shimai no Uta.’  This is all fine and dandy, but she isn’t the fourteenth oldest member.  She’s like the thirteenth or something, I forget.  Regardless, Sayaka is incorrect.  After Sayaka’s speech, Kaoru corrects her.  As the flowers get passed to her, the other girls reveal that they are either the actual fourteenth sister, the new fourteenth sister, or even say that they are the thirteenth member.  Really, this ceremony is completely chaotic by the end of it.  While yes, there are tons of tears involved, I’m sure that this graduation has earned the position of being the funniest, and most likely trumped the amount of laughter in the just-for-giggles performances of ‘Honehone Waltz’ and ‘Nagisa no CHERRY’ in the other two performances. Personally, my favorite part is probably either when Nonti says that she’s the fourteenth sister, or when Erena randomly has four flowers and doesn’t know how to get them to their rightful owners… or maybe when Naruse admits being the fourteenth sister and Yuko scolds Erena for not being able to count.  Eventually she graduates.  Really, you have to watch this.

Kawasaki Nozomi.  Next is the random graduation.  I guess they decided that since Kaoru would get a big deal graduation, Nozofisu should get one, too.  Instead of the un-official Team leader, Yukari comes out with a letter to read to Nozomi.  She enters on stage right and says something to the effect of “Tonight’s graduation of Kawasaki Nozomi is…” pause “canceled.”  Everyone is confused, and Yukari tells the the auditorium that they have time constrictions and they had to cut someone’s graduation out, so they chose Yukari since they had plans for Maimai.  At some point, Nozofisu mentions that that means that they’ll have to take her to France.  So far, she has yet to go to France and she has yet to have that delayed graduation.  Nozomi comes down, and at some point Fujie goes and tells the friends to hurry up, since next is Maimai’s event of the evening.

Oshima Mai.  Immediately after Takahashi announces that Mai will be graduating, she calls out Hoshino Michiru and Orii Ayumi to sing ‘Yuukan no Bokura’ to Mai.  Mai is a big fan of ballads and she was visibly shaken during the performance just for her.  I’m sure I would enjoy this a lot more, but I’m just not really attached to any of the girls involved in this one.  It’s great that Mai got a graduation gift like this, though.  She certainly deserved it.

Eventually, the graduating girls leave the stage, since a few of the under-aged girls need to get out as soon as possible in accordance with Japanese child labor laws.  That, along with paying for a certain amount of time for the use of NHK Hall and its crew, led AKS to quicken the ceremonies.  I believe that they still ended up having to pay lots of fines.  Later on in the night I guess Team A, Nacchan and CinDy, and Ayumi and Chiru all got together for one last MC to share their feelings and the like.

And that was NHK09.  I hope you enjoyed it!  I’m thinking about possibly “reviewing” the AKB concerts that I’ve missed (there’s like five, since I refuse to do Shibuya AX 2008 or 2009), so if you’d like to read those, please comment and say which one(s).  I know these aren’t really that deep or interesting, and it just turns into me talking about costumes, Natsuki, and lines, along with a bunch of blurry screen shots, but I do enjoy writing these, and it gives me some more text-heavy content to put up on the blog.  It’s kind of odd for me to just want to do concert reviews instead of Stage reviews (unless it’s a brand new Stage) since Stage performances are really what AKB fandom should focus on, but I just like to see how they are presented as an entire group, however rare that may be.  Along with my possible concert reviews planned, I’m determined to do some sort of review for each of the new Stages coming out in December with the new Teams.  I plan on writing these as I watch them for the first time, right after an AKB-black-out, which is when I shut myself away from the idol community and download/watch a LOD of the new Stage without seeing or reading anything about it previously.  I recommend it.  Anyway, I’m planning on doing that and I’d love for any input as to what you’d like to see on my blog here.  I’d like to gain a larger reader base and eventually I’d like to help convert fans of other idols or music groups into AKB fans.  And of course I’m going to continue waving my Natsuki flag.

Le nouveau flagship (le magasin UNIQLO le plus grand d’Europe) de la marque nippone (enseigne du groupe Fast retailing) est situé au 15-17, rue Scribe (Paris IXème), quartier Opéra.

Rappelons que Uniqlo a plus de 850 magasins dans le monde et est le leader asiatique du prêt à porter, concurrent de Gap, Zara ou encore des suédois H&M.
Le design du flagship a été réalisé par le directeur artistique de l’agence SAMURAI; Kashiwa Sato et le designer d’intérieur Masamichi Katayama, de la toute aussi célèbre agence WONDERWALL.

Les dirigeants d’ Uniqlo prévoit d’ouvrir d’autres magasins dans Paris d’ici un an, après avoir atteint une certaine rentabilité, et en centres commerciaux mais de taille plus petite.

www.uniqlo.com

Bape´s London shop by Wonderwall re-opened over the wkend.  Check it our for limited edition Union Jack t-shirts.

4 Upper James St., London, 011-44-020-7-119-4964

Shingo Katayama- hanging loose and hanging around the leaders

Shingo Katayama is yet another golfer who has been quietly working his way up the leaderboard. Also known as the “Kat in the hat,” Shingo Katayama is as colorful as they come. His two trademarks, a white Ferrari, and  his cowboy style hat with  sides lifted and tied.  On practice days, he won’t wear his trademark hat and might be wearing a baseball style hat. But come tournament time, its always the cowboy hat. Shingo says, “Many golfers have peculiar styles of dress which they strongly believe in, and I believe in using the cowboy hat only during tournament days.”  

Born in 1973, Shingo turned pro in 1995 and has spent his time primarily on the Japan pro tour. He’s won numerous times and has since tested the waters outside of Japan and has quickly developed a following. One thing that is driving Shingo this year is the recent victory Japan mastered at the World Baseball Classic. ”The World Baseball Classic, which Japan won, that makes me motivate myself to bring honor to our country,” Katayama said.

“While they were playing in the semi-finals and finals, I was practicing and I had a little monitor and I was following the game.” Yet the real question is how will, or how can Shingo take the green jacket? 

“To win or not win, there are other players too. I cannot control that,” Katayama said. “I can only do my best and that’s what I will do.” At 36 years-old, Shingo has the chance to be the first golfer representing Asia to win a major. ”I don’t think anybody really knows whether I can do that or not,” Katayama said. “But I’m chasing and I can be as aggressive as I want to accomplish that. I have practiced well to this point and I’ve really done my best.” 

Shingo will have to work as hard as he’s ever worked before to win The Masters. Whether he wins or not, Shingo is having the time of his life. And come what may, Shingo will always be one of those golfers who will “hang loose” and enjoy life as it comes.

Kyoichi Katayama
Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo
Traducció de Lourdes Porta
Alfaguara, Madrid, 2008
192 pàgs., 14.50 euros

Al Japó hi ha vida desprès d’en Murakami, però no es la mateixa vida. El senyor Katayama ens escriu una novel·la que ja hem visitat moltes vegades. Si teniu present Love Story de l’Erich Segal ja en teniu tres quarts d’aquest crit d’amor coll avall. La novel·la d’en Katayama no deixa d’ésser la història d’amor d’una parella adolescent malbaratada tràgicament per la malaltia d’un dels nanos. En comptes de veure’l sota el prisma americà, en aquest cas el veiem sota el prisma japonès.

L’Aki i el Sakutaro són dos adolescents japonesos que estudien a la mateixa escola i que es fan molt amics fins que l’amor sorgeix entre ells. Possiblement aquesta sigui la part més reeixida de la novel·la; la forma en que la relació de molta amistat de la parella s’acaba transformant en un gran amor. L’autor ens mostra de forma subtil, poètica, poder una mica massa idíl·licament , el naixement d’aquest amor i d’una forma més còmica els intents del noi de “conquerir “ a la noia.

L’aparició de l’avi del noi, que també va patir de jove un gran desengany amorós, ens dóna una visió més profunda, quasi filosòfica, de les relacions humanes, de l’amor i del pas del temps.

Entonces mi abuelo se volvió hacia mí y me preguntó:
-¿Por qué es tan duro perder a la persona amada?
Ante mi silencio, mi abuelo prosiguió:
-Debe de ser porque ya amabas a esa persona antes. No es que la separación o la ausencia sean, en sí mismas, tristes. El amor hacia esa persona, que ya existía previamente, es el que hace tan dolorosa la separación y el que te hace perseguir el recuerdo con nostalgia. Y ese dolor nunca desaparece.¿No se puede afirmar, por lo tanto, que el dolor y la tristeza no son más que una manifestación parcial de esa gran emoción que es nuestro amor por alguien?

El final de l’obra, on el Sakutaro d’alguna manera oblida la seva pena mercès a les ensenyances del seu avi, és de tota manera força previsible i ens explica, ni més ni menys, que el temps tanca totes les ferides.

Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo és una novel·la curta, entretinguda i que es deixa llegir. Plena de diàlegs, es va escriure per un públic bàsicament jove, ha esdevingut un èxit sense precedents, arribant a ésser la novel·la japonesa més llegida de la història.

La conmovedora historia de amor que ha enamorado a millones de lectores de todo el mundo. Sakutarô y Aki se conocen en la escuela de una ciudad provincial de Japón. Él es un adolescente ingenioso y sarcástico. Ella es inteligente, hermosa y popular. Pronto se convierten en amigos inseparables, hasta que un día Sakutarô ve a Aki con otros ojos, y la amistad cómplice se transforma en una pasión arrebatadora. Ambos viven una historia capaz de trastocar los sentidos y borrar las fronteras entre la vida y la muerte.

Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo es la novela japonesa más leída de todos los tiempos (más de tres millones de ejemplares vendidos). Ha inspirado una versión cinematográfica, una exitosa serie televisiva y ha sido ilustrada como cómic manga.

Por la descripición del libro, muchos pensaréis que “Un grito de amor desde el centro del mundo”, es una novela más de adolescentes, sólo que desarrollada en japón y por una mente japonesa. Pues no. Soy de la opinión de que, en bastantes cuestiones, el público es sabio, por lo que, al comprar este libro, debo admitir, me fié de la gran repercusión que presidía a este desconocido autor. (También fue porque me pirra Japón)

No me decepcionó para nada. Es muy fácil de leer, predecible a posta, con bellas descripciones y escenarios, con cientos de situaciones inolvidables… El libro nos habla de una historia de amor, de una historia de amor puro y muy triste (demasiado). Si tiendes a la melancolía, no lo leas… a mí me dejó varios días trastornada, suspirando por las esquinas.

Supongo que Katayama nos enseña que, a pesar de lo que nos muestra, día a día, el cine o la caja tonta, el amor no siempre es perfecto y definitivo. Muchas veces, duele y no dura eternamente, pero, aún así, nunca deja de ser bello e inolvidable. Su libro comienza con una sentencia de adiós en el horizonte. Sin embargo, aunque queramos, no nos paramos ahí, nos sumergimos de lleno en el libro y, al final, al terminar de leerlo con el corazón en un puño, concluimos que, como para sus protagonistas, todo ha merecido la pena.

Totalmente recomendable.

Downloads: [http://www.alfaguara.santillana.es/upload/primeraspaginas/978-84-204-7265-2.pdf] – Primer capítulo.

Isto mesmo: No dia 28 de março de 1993 aconteceu em Interlagos a minha estréia em um GP de Fórmula 1… como jornalista oficialmente credenciado pela FIA. E que lembrança se tornou aquela corrida, hein? Arrepia até hoje de lembrar o autódromo todo vibrando com a vitória do Ayrton Senna – a ultima dele em casa.

Naquela época vivia na Alemanha e curtia, já que tive que encerrar a carreira de piloto, relatar sobre carros de rua e de competição que testava com freqüência para algumas revistas. Além dos test drives fui chamado também para escrever avaliações de pré-temporada sobre uma variedade de campeonatos. Já que o meu estilo parecia agradar, resolvi aproveitar os meus contatos e inventei entrevistar o Nelson Piquet – na época ainda um amigo – e o Ayrton Senna, ex-adversário na Formula Ford 2000. O Nelson tinha se recuperado mais ou menos da horrível acidente em Indianápolis, mas não falava nem à paulada com a imprensa. E o Ayrton estava em uma fase de descobrir o mundo dos negócios e tinha até lançado a sua empresa, promovendo a marca Senna.

Já que ninguém tinha como oferecer estas matérias foi moleza vendê-las para uma revista especializada alemã. Liguei então para a FIA em Paris e pedi informação sobre o procedimento de credenciamento. Conversei com uma moça bastante atenciosa, acho que o nome dela era Sally, e que me concedeu uma credencial de free lancer para um evento, mesmo com o prazo de pedido já vencido, mas que teria que enviar cópia do trabalho para eles em seguida. Beleza, fiz reserva do vôo pra São Paulo, fiz a mala e me mandei rumo a minha cidade natal. Com a ansiedade de estrear como jornalista de Formula 1 cheguei a Guarulhos cedinho na manhã da sexta-feira do GP. Peguei um táxi para o Hotel Transamérica, onde a FIA entrega as credenciais aos jornalistas até hoje. Só que não havia credencial alguma para mim. Pior: Ninguém se empenhava para descobrir por onde a minha credencial, oficialmente concedida ale do prazo. Não tinha como imaginar que este seria o primeiro golpe de muitos deste tipo que certo personagem da FIA aprontaria comigo dali pra frente. Mas essa eu conte em outra ocasião.

Lá estava eu no saguão do Transamérica, pensando no que fazer agora. Nisto encontro o Willy Weber, empresário do Schumi e que conhecia desde a época em que ele pilotava um Formula 3 com banco de couro (…), e o Harry Hawelka. Sobre este ultimo já relatei por aqui, era o nutricionista/fisioterapeuta da Benetton e se tornaria um grande amigo. Resolveram me dar carona até o circuito e que deveria resolver as coisas por lá. Havia um amigo do Michael acompanhando, então chegamos de carro lotado no portão do autódromo, onde todo mundo tinha que mostrar o passe da FIA. Os outros estava com os passes da Benetton e foram mostrando e eu… acabei mostrando o meu cartão de milhagem da empresa aérea. E quando o cara olhou mandei o Harry descer a bote e… tchum, tava dentro. Jeitinho brasileiro, sabe? Uma vez na área do paddock faltava o portão que dava acesso ao. Ali parava cada personagem conhecido, jornalistas, fotógrafos, membros de equipe e pedia para entregar uma notinha ao Martin Whitaker na sala de imprensa. A época o Martin era o assessor de imprensa da FIA nos GPs e F1 e quando a mesa dele se encheu daquelas notinhas minhas, resolveu descer ao portão para ver que raios estava acontecendo, quem seria este Mario Bauer.

Uma vez relatada a história ao Martin, ele foi pegar uma credencial de imprensa oficial da FIA e me entregou o passe sem rodeio. O Martin me salvaria a pele várias vezes durante a temporada, aplicando sensatez onda a FIA costumava demonstrar falta da mesma. Enfim, meu primeiro compromisso profissional começava ali e a primeira coisa que pesquisei foi a retirada oficial da equipe March de F1 do Mundial. A ex-equipe de Max Mosley tinha ainda embarcado para a etapa de abertura em Kyalami, mas faltaram os trocados para pagar os motores da Ilmor e, em conseqüência do suíço recusar levar calote, a equipe não teve outro jeito senão desistir. Depois da Brabham, da Pacific e da equipe espanhol Bravo, cujo projeto foi realizado pela Simtek de Nick Wirth, mas não foi adiante, a March tornou-se mais uma vítima da recessão da época.

As Williams-Renault de Alain Prost e Damon Hill pareciam – como na etapa anterior na África do Sul – imbatíveis e ocuparam devidamente a primeira fila com o francês marcando a pole. Atrás destes mísseis azul-amarelos e de motores V10 alinhavam as equipes sem-oficiais da Ford e seus V8s. Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford) e Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) na segunda fila, Michael Andretti (McLaren-Ford) e Riccardo Patrese (Benetton-Ford) na terceira. Logo atrás JJ Lehto com a Sauber e Jean Alesi e sua Ferrari. O Outro Sauber de Karl Wendlinger e o Ligier de Mark Blundell na fila seguinte.

Senna largou muito bem e conseguiu passar por Hill na primeira freada, tentando não perder o contato com o Prost. Mais para trás o Andretti e o Berger se estranharam, os dois batem no muro e a McLaren sai voando por cima da Ferrari. Conheço dois fotógrafos alemães que comemoram esta data como segundo aniversário. Por sorte ninguém se feriu. Na ponta o Prost abre vantagem ao Senna que faz de tudo para manter o Hill atrás dele. Mas na 11ª volta não temos como resistir à superioridade da super-máquina, o FW15C. O tricampeão é obrigado a ceder ao piloto novato, agora ocupa a 3ª posição na frente de Schumacher. Pior: recebe uma penalidade de 10-segundos por ultrapassagem sob bandeira amarela e isto parece o fim das esperanças de Senna enquanto subir ao pódio.

Mas feito encomenda, um temporal desce em Interlagos, a começar pelo retão, e surpreende Aguri Suzuki e o compatriota Ukyo Katayama. Ambos perdem controle e batem no muro dos boxes. Senna parou para trocar pneus e só após disto veio receber a “multa”. Enquanto isto os boxe já estavam em caos, e a Benetton de Schumacher cai do macaco atrasando o alemão. Christian Fittipaldi e o líder Alain Prost, prestes a colocar uma volta no brasileiro, ambos não entenderam as chamadas das suas equipes e Christian acabou rodando, parando de contramão após a elevação da freada da primeira curva. O francês é surpreendido tanto pela quantia de água na pista como pela Minardi que de repente surge no trajeto e acaba escorregando ao encontro do carro do brasileiro. Um momento histórico, pois pela primeira vez entre em ação o Safety Car – a versão F1 do carro madrinha – em um GP. Momento de confusão para os pilotos, pelo que parece, já que o Alesi passou vários carros atrás do carro madrinha. O que não pode, Jean!

A equipe Lotus foi a primeira a reagir assim que o sol voltou a brilhar e chamou o Johnny Herbert logo após a re-largada para trocar de volta aos pneus slick, mesma coisa para o Alex Zanardi. Senna no entretempo levantou a galera nas arquibancadas passando por Hill na freada da Ferradura ainda no molhado e o inglês parecia conformado em conquistar pelo menos o seu primeiro pódio. Estava de bom tamanho, afinal era somente a sua quarta corrida de F1. Alesi, advertido pelas maluquices atrás do carro madrinha, e Schumacher ambos passam pelos boxes para pagar as devidas penalidades com um stop-go cada. Mas o alemão ainda consegue arrancar mesmo assim no finalzinho o 3º lugar do Herbert que acabou em 4º à frente de Blundell e Zanardi.

A galera no autódromo nem prestava mais atenção a estes detalhes e fez o maior carnaval pra celebrar a 2ª vitória de Senna em casa com uma invasão de pista que parou a volta de honra do tricampeão. A McLaren também tinha motivos de sobra para celebrar. Foi a 100ª vitória da marca em GPs de Formula 1. Mas já na 2a-feira fui encontrar o Ayrton lá na rua Olávo Egídio, o prédio onde hoje continua o Instituto Ayrton Senna. Mesmo com pouco tempo disponível o Ayrton foi antecioso como sempre, assim como e toda a sua equipe. E como seus familiares vem me recebendo desde então. Do “amigo” Piquet não posso dizer a mesma coisa, mas isto conto numa outra.

Grande Prêmio do Brasil de Formula 1, São Paulo.

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Williams FW15C-Renault, 1m 15.866s, 205.230 km/h de média.

Resultado: Vencedor – Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/8-Ford, 71 voltas x 4,325 km = 307.075 km distância total em 1h51m15.485s.

2) Damon Hill, Williams FW15C-Renault + 16.625s
3) Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford + 45.436s
4) Johnny Herbert, Lotus 107B-Ford + 46.557
5) Mark Blundell, Ligier JS37-Renault + 52.127
6) Alessando Zanardi, Lotus 107B-Ford + 1 lap

Melhor volta: Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford, 1m 20.024s na volta 61 = 194.567 km/h de média.

Destaques entre os pilotos:

- Ayrton Senna liderou um GP pela 80ª vez (novo recorde)

- Ayrton Senna liderou por 2723 voltas em GPs (novo recorde)

- Riccardo Patrese largou pela 243ª vez em um GP (novo recorde)

- Ayrton Senna vence pela 2ª e ultima vez em casa.

- Damon Hill conquista o 1º pódio em um GP.

Destaques entre as equipes, construtores e fornecedores:

- McLaren conquista a 100ª vitória em GPs

- Renault conquista a 75ª pole position como fabricante de motores

That’s right: 28th of March 1993 was the day I had my Formula 1 Grand Prix debut in Interlagos… as a nofficially FIA sanctioned journalist. And what a great memory that race would provide for many years to come. It still gives me goose bumps to remember the roar of the crowd as Ayrton Senna won at his home track – for the last time.

In those days I lived in Germany and having enjoyed writing for a couple of magazines, mainly testing road and race cars as well as season previews for all sorts of championships, I had made up my mind that my old pal Nelson Piquet and former Formula Ford 2000 grid mate Ayrton Senna would probably be happy to concede exclusive interviews. Nelson had smashed his feet in Indianapolis, mind you, and wasn’t talking to the media at all. And Ayrton went about to establish his businesses away from motor racing. Good stuff, I guessed.

Having already “sold” the story to a German sports publication, I checked with the FIA media accreditation bureau in Paris and a lovely lady, I think her name was Sally, would allow me to do my first work on a single race accreditation but commiting mytself to send them a copy afterwards. Deal done, I booked a flight to São Paulo and on my way I was to my debut as a Formula 1 journalist. Arriving in Guarulhos International Airport early Friday morning I took a taxi to the Transamérica Hotel, where the FIA runs the accreditation center for decades now, only to find out that no-one knew anything about my media pass. And no-one seemed interested to check what had gone wrong. Turns out it was only the beginning of my hardships with the FIA media office. But I’ll tell you more about that one some other day.

While I was contemplating what to do now, I bumped into Willy Weber and Harry Hawelka, Schuey’s manager and Benetton’s health guru. They gave me and another friend of Michael’s a lift to the race track and once we arrived at the gate you were supposed to show your FIA pass. The other three guys showed the correct passes, I held up the Air Miles card of the carrier I flew in with… and it worked! Once I was at the outer paddock aerea I stopped each and every single person I knew, journalists, photographers, team members at the gate. Each delivered a little note at Martin Whitaker’s desk in the media center. At the time Martin was FIA’s on-site Media Officer and once he got flooded badly enough with those little stick-on memos, he came down to the gate to find out who the hell Mario Bauer was.

It didn’t take long for Martin to come back with an FIA media pass, apparently forfeited by another journalist, and handed it out without much ceremony. Martin would become my guardian angel throughout the year, applying common sense whenever the FIA seemed to lack any of it. Anyway, my first professional commitment in Formula 1 had begun and the first thing I learnt was that the March F1 team was now definitely out of business. They had made it to the opening round in Kyalami, but were somewhat short of money to pay for the Ilmor engines and as a consequence they withdrew from the World Championship. After Brabham, Pacific and Bravo, March became the latest victim of the recession.

The Williams-Renaults of Alain Prost and Damon Hill seemed – as in the opening round in South Africa – unbeatable and duly filled the front row with the Frenchman on pole. Behind the two V10 powered blue-yellow missiles were the fastest Ford V8s, Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford) and Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford) in row two, Michael Andretti (McLaren-Ford) and Riccardo Patrese (Benetton-Ford). JJ Lehto’s Sauber, Jean Alesi’s Ferrari, Karl Wendlinger’s Sauber and Mark Blundell’s Ligier-Renault lined up behind those.

Senna got away with a perfect start, squeezed past Hill into the first corner and tried to keep up with Prost. Further back Andretti and Berger collided, both crashing into the outer wall with the McLaren flying over the Ferrari. Prost was opening up a gap and Senna was doing his best to keep Hill behind. On lap 11 the Brazilian had to give way and was now third ahead of Schumacher. But a 10-second stop-go penalty for overtaking under yellow flags seemed to be the end of all of Senna’s hopes.

But then a massive downpour flooded the main straight and a surprised Aguri Suzuki and fellow countryman Ukyo Katayama both lost control of their cars crashing into the pit wall. Senna came in to switch to rain tires and only after that he stopped for his penalty. Chaos broke out in the pits, Schumacher’s car fell off its jack. Back marker Christian Fittipaldi and leader Alain Prost, about to lap the young Brazilian, both didn’t hear their crews’ call to come in and so first Christian spun over the brow of the first corner and then a surprised Alain slid helplessly into the stalled Minardi. A historic moment, as the new F1 Safety Car was sent out for the first time ever. A confusing moment, too, as Alesi overtook a number of cars behind the SC. Which is not allowed, Jean!

The Team Lotus was spot on to bring in Johnny Herbert very soon after the re-start in order to switch back to slicks, same for Alex Zanardi. Senna meanwhile had the public roaring as he went into the lead past Hill under braking into Ferradura on the still wet track and the Brit, on his way to his first ever podium, seemed content with what seemed within reach for him in his only fourth Formula 1 Grand Prix. Alesi, penalized for his antics behind the Safety Car, and Schumacher were summoned to the pits for stop-go penalties but the German still grabbed 3rd place away from Herbert who finished 4th ahead of Blundell and Zanardi.

That didn’t matter much to the Brazilian fans as carnival broke out on the grandstands and a massive track invasion meant the post race party began right there on the back stretch as Ayrton scores yet another home win and McLaren’s 100th GP victory.

1993 Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix, São Paulo.

Pole Position: Alain Prost, Williams FW15C-Renault, 1m 15.866s, 205.230 km/h (127.551 mph) average.

Race Result: Winner – Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/8-Ford, 71 laps x 4,325 km (2.688 miles) = 307.075 km (190.848 miles) total race distance in 1h51m15.485s.

2) Damon Hill, Williams FW15C-Renault + 16.625s
3) Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford + 45.436s
4) Johnny Herbert, Lotus 107B-Ford + 46.557
5) Mark Blundell, Ligier JS37-Renault + 52.127
6) Alessando Zanardi, Lotus 107B-Ford + 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher, Benetton B193-Ford, 1m 20.024s in lap 61 = 194.567 km/h (120.924 mph) average.

Milestones among drivers:

- Ayrton Senna led a Grand Prix for the 80th time (new record)

- Ayrton Senna has led 2723 laps in a Grands Prix (new record)

- Riccardo Patrese started into his 243rd Grand Prix (new record)

- Ayrton Senna’s second and last Grand Prix win on home soil.

- Damon Hill’s first podium finish at a Grand Prix.

Milestones among teams constructors and suppliers:

- McLaren’s 100th F1 Grand Prix Win

- Renault’s 75th Pole Position as engine manufacturer

Masamichi Katayama seems to be gaining more attention in Japan, especially with his designs for the retail clothing store A Bathing Ape, better known as BAPE. Originally a founder of H. Design Associates, he recently created a new firm, Wonderwall, in 2000. Wonderwall specializes in commercial and retail interior design and architecture. His website touts that he “elicits an uninhibited sense of energy even within Japan, where in the world of architecture and interior design is known for being one of the most exhilarating.”

Katayama not only chronicles his projects on the Wonderwall website but also his own line of products, as well. You can see his “Greedy” ottoman pictured below.

  Mais uma pérola dos bastidores da Fórmula 1,  por coincidência essa aconteceu na mesma coletiva de imprensa na qual o Brundle passou por um aperto que descrevi na semana passada.

Coletiva de imprensa em Magny Cours, 5a-feira, 1 de julho de 1993:

O interlocutor pergunta aos seis pilotos presentes sobre momentos estranhos na pista. Chega a vez de Ukyo Katayama e o japa estava eu “viajando” ou simplesmente não entendeu a pergunta. A pergunta é repetida, desta vez usando o termo “funny moment”, lembrando que a expressão “funny” em inglês significa tanto “estranho”, como “engraçado”.

“Aaah, sooo”, responde o Katayama, “eu saber. Cobra e elefante encontram na selva…” Todo mundo na sala olhando um pro outro, mas o Ukyo não se deixa intimidar, achando que o lance era contar uma piada.

“Elefante pergunta: você sabe quem eu sou? Cobra responde: humm, você é muito grande, tem uma tromba e orelhas enormes, você deve ser o elefante. Mas, elefante, será que você sabe quem sou eu?” Nisso tá todo mundo escutando atentamente no que vai dar essa história. Aí Ukyo dá o golpe final: “Elefante falar: você não tem mais cabelo, não sobrou orelha, vc deve ser… Niki Lauda…”

Se tivesse espaço, tava todo mundo rolando no chão…