Kayou Kyoku X'Mas Live SP 2012 review

This is the final music program special before the ones for the New Year and it aired on Christmas day.

Kayou Kyoku X'Mas Live SP is a four hour special for the weekly Kayou Kyoku program that airs on TBS. It is basically a special version of the usual program that runs much longer and with a Christmas theme but as the show is usually fun to watch you know there are going to be fun moments mixed in with the usual performances.

You know that this is going to be a fun program to watch as it opens not with the usual list of acts that will be appearing but the host of the weekly version of the program, Nakai Masahiro. He sets up the story that they begin with.

The acting portion of it is done by popular child actors Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku as well as the other regular host of the program Esumi Makiko. They ask their "mama" about Santa Claus coming and she gives the typical answer about being good children so he will come. They pray for him to show up and we get the opening act for the special.

Of course this is probably not the Santa Claus the kids had in mind. I mean they did not even bring presents with them. But at least AKB48 with SKE48 and NMB48 start the holiday themed show off right with a Christmas song, the Japanese version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

My highlight is the fact that NMB48 have their own section that gets some screen time during the song. And how cannot I help but smile to see the girls so happy?

After the song is done Ashida Mana joins AKB48 to sing a X'Mas version of Heavy Rotation. Mana looks so happy performing that even though I am getting tired of hearing the song I cannot help but love the performance anyway.

We get some opening talk as the MCs introduce the program and talk about some of the things that will be coming up in it.

During the program we get a satellite feed to new mother Higashio Riko (a Japanese pro golfer and wife of Japanese actor Ishida Junichi) and her father, Higashio Osamu (an ex-baseball player). I am not familiar with them, had to look them up, but I guess they are people that the average Japanese TV viewer would recognize. The baby does not seem to be so happy about making his TV debut.

When we start the performances it is with Sexy Zone, most likely because with the length of the program they need to make sure the younger artists go first as they will not be able to stay for all of it. They perform a medley of their singles, and I cannot help but notice that it looks like Yo Marius's sleeves look to be coming up short on him. He is going to be a giant compared to the others if he does not slow down with his growth spurt.

We keep on with Johnny's performances as SZ is followed up by Hey! Say! JUMP performing Super Delicate like usual. I have found it interesting how conservative Yamada Ryosuke and Nakajima Yuto are in the fanservice part of the song on these songs, especially compared to how much they play it up on Shounen Club and concerts.

During the show there are special corners that are done. The first of these is lead by the comedian Chris Matsumura and is is Johnny'scise (Johnny's x exercise). We see some VTR to see that Katori Shingo and Yamashita Tomohisa have already done this with Chris.

He invites them to join him to do it on the show as well as all of Sexy Zone. So with them and the little Juniors that were back dancing for SZ they do the Johnny'scise. SZ look to have a blast and Yamapi is a trooper. Shingo makes this segment with going between a beaming face to looking like he has no idea why he is doing this.

Nakai afterwards go on stage to talk to them all. Near the end he goes up to one of the little Juniors to say something and gets him to say "Merry Christmas", though you could tell the Junior was just all kinds of awkwardly nervous at being put on the spot.

Then after some other acts we what is my personal highlight of the program, a Johnny's Hit Medley. We get to see some of the original footage from the older Johnny's groups whose songs will be covered. I love seeing these as I find it interesting to see what idol style was like in decades past.

And here are a bunch of screen caps from the performance because I love it so. And to note the three oldest members of SZ are the only ones in the medley as it was too late for the younger two to work according to Japanese law.

We get a bit of a Ikemen Desu Ne reunion plus Yamapi.

And that is S-My-2 not being stuck in the very back of the formation and getting seen singing with the KiFt.

Miyata Toshiya gets used as an anchor again, this time by Kitayama Hiromitsu to steady himself when they move to a different part of the stage.

The Otokogumi song cover gave Okamoto Keito some time to shine as he got to get a good deal of focus of course because the group was the one his father was in.

The stand out performance of the medley was of course the cover of the song NAI NAI 16. It was hilarious as the guys really played up the awkwardness of it with Nakai not holding back with his singing at all.

Arioka Daiki had to be one of the worst when it came to keeping a straight face during this performance. I swear it looked like he was cracking up all the way through it.

At the end all the Johnny's groups sing together and we get some fun group mixing.

After the medley is done SMAP leads an MC break with everyone. They do most of the talking as it is mainly about how "perfect" Nakai's singing was and I really wish I knew what exactly Inagaki Goro said to them when he was sounding annoyed.

Another break and it is another Johnny's related special segment that interests me next. This time it is a drama based one for the drama series Ataru that Nakai Masahiro starred in and Tamamori Yuta had a supporting role in. Nakai comes out in character and sings a song.

After the song he goes over to where the guests/MCs are sitting and remains in character so he pretends that he has no idea who Nakai is and walks off stage in search for curry soup.

Next up are AKB48's sister groups, SKE48 and NMB48, who have been sent outside the studio building they are filming at. They have an over sized thermostat just to let you know how cold it is outside (6C or about 43F for those curious).

NMB48 perform Kitagawa Kenji and are a wonderful splash of color where they perform. I love this song, it is just a lot of fun and easy to want to sing along to.

Next performance that I was interested in was of course SMAP's. They perform Lion Heart, which I am quite happy to hear as it is a favorite SMAP song of mine and it is nice that they are pulling out a good variety of songs to perform on these year end programs.

I am quite glad that World Order is on this program. I am really impressed with how creative their dance routines are. Screen caps do not justice to it and I would highly recommend searching youtube for them to check them out.

Later we get Kis-My-Ft2 and The Monsters (the temporary unit of Yamapi and Shingo) getting to spend some time talking in the guest section. The main topic is the relations of Yamapi to members of Kisumai, which is mainly Kitayama and Fujigaya Taisuke.

In this Nakai wonders about why only the front three of Kisumai are in white and the back four are not. This is notable more because this will not be the only program he brings this up in.

Kisumai is up first to perform. They do Ai no Beat -Dance ver.- which has grown on me over repeated performances. I still have my usual misgivings with the whole split thing but there is only so many times I can go over it without feeling like a broken record.

They are followed by The Monsters doing the remix version of the title track of their single, MONSTERS. Do not think that I care much for this remix and the performance does not come off as solid as their other ones.

AKB48 perform their usual mix of songs as a 2012 single medley. Real highlight for me is to see Akimoto Sayaka performing with the group. Honestly though I think she is one of the girls that should be seriously thinking of graduating from the group as I do not see her going much further with her career with them as she keeps further and further back in the group for newer girls.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu performs next and does a medley with her two songs Tsukematsukeru and Fashion Monster. She has the choreography down for these songs well enough but I would love to see a bit more emotion from her.

As we move towards the end of the program we get more of the senior acts, including one of the few Johnny's that is the senpai to SMAP, Kondo Masahiko.

For the talk segment with him they have brought all the Johnny's, minus SZ as it was probably deemed too late to keep them around, out into the guest area.

Nakai ends up asking who he knows of the younger Johnny's and Matchy answers with Tanaka. Yabu Kota goes ahead and says he is Tanaka as it is easy to tell that Matchy just through the name out because it is a common last name and there was a chance that it could have been a last name. Unfortunately the one group with a Tanaka was not on the show.

Matchy performs one of his older songs, Sneaker Blues. He still has an old fashioned style to the way he performs with some very overly dramatic moves. Though they do seem a bit toned down when he performs his new song Let's Go!

SMAP then gets to perform again, this time singing one of their new songs, Moment. It sounded like Nakai forgot how to get himself to sound somewhat in tune for this performance. Either that or just decided not to try too hard as he had already proven his extreme lack of singing ability already in the program.

During the song the members of SMAP bring over the Olympians that were in the audience up on the stage and then over to the guest section.

Things then wrap up with final words from various people on the stage. And that brings this music program to an end.


I would probably only recommend this special to fans of Johnny's and/or AKS groups as they are the main artists of this special. While there are some other artists that perform the selection is not as great as other year end music programs and this one seems to have a lighter tone to it as well.

Mid-year predictions and thoughts, 2012 (reviewed)

I figured as the year closes it would be a good time to review the predictions I made mid-year to see what I was right on and what I was not before I make me predictions for the first half of 2013.

TOKIO, will release something? Maybe? Honestly TOKIO has gained a very erratic schedule when it comes to releases it makes it extremely difficult to predict when the next will be. They are long and well overdue for a new album but I am not sure if I should even still expect one from them any time soon and not just another single. But I do hope they release something before the close of the year, and album would be great but I would settle for another single if I must.

Well they finally released the long overdue album and it was great and they even did a concert tour. So it was a good year for TOKIO fans. So I am counting this as a win in my corner for being correct.

NEWS have their best of album already slated to release and still have the single and concerts already announced. I think that will be the summer for them, most likely sometime in July as August looks like it will likely be full of AKS releases and NEWS does have a number 1 streak to protect. I hope they can start releasing singles at a steady pace once this comeback single comes out. I would be happy if they at least release one more single before the end of the year.

It would be nice if one of the members gets some kind of drama role during the second half of the year as well. It would be nice to see that kind of push for the group after the recent member change. Though I guess at least Tegoshi Yuya, Kato Shigeaki and Koyama Keiichiro have regular programs they are a part of to help with TV exposure.

Well I got my wish here that they released one more single before the end of the year so score another one for me. And they even got to keep their number one streak for singles, which is the main one people care about.

Shige and Massu both got drama roles and Koyama is going to be in the Lucky Seven SP so on that front they did well. Even though I doubt they will ever get a big break just continuing as they are should help them in the long run for being able to prove worth keeping as a group.

Kanjani8 will continue to release singles at a steady pace until it is time to release a new album for their annual winter concert tour. Though I expect there being something special being done for their next album as they are making this year their big anniversary year being their 8th year since debut. I know they just announced the special thank you concerts for their 8th anniversary but I still think they will stick to their usual schedule as well, as someone has to be at the Kyocera Dome for Johnny’s Count Down and I really cannot see anyone but K8 doing that.

They seem to be having a packed year with work and I doubt it will change. Already two members have been announced as leads for summer dramas and I am sure the fall season will continue with Kanjani8 members in dramas. Then of course there is their movie, even though they are done filming for it their will still be plenty of promotion they will be doing.

Looks like I ended up being off with K8. Their album was just the usual best album, though the limited editions did have some nice DVD extras. Also performing on Kouhaku means no Kyocera Dome for JCD.

I was right on the drama front as they do continue to have at least one member in a drama every season and I do not see that changing anytime soon.

Hey! Say! JUMP should have at least a couple more singles to be released this year. I think one in the fall and another in winter would be good. It will be interesting to see if the tour in the winter this year or become a group that only tours when they have a new album like the older Johnny’s groups. Summary has already moved on to newer groups (Sexy Zone and A.B.C-Z) so I can see them slowing down with touring as well to complete the transition from being the younger/newer group to one of the more seasoned ones.

I think Johnny’s needs to keep HSJ members in dramas, and now that Yamada Ryosuke is older he can do more roles and I would like to see him starring in something else before the end of the year. It is an interesting move to have Chinen Yuri star in a drama, but I guess this will prove if he can be a lead drama actor like Yamada, something I am sure Johnny's would love.

I think they will try to do something for their fifth anniversary this year. It may not be anything really major but I am sure they would want to do something. It is a landmark that is worth recognizing in some way. But maybe with K8 taking up so much of the year with their anniversary HSJ is waiting for their actual anniversary date to begin doing something for it.

Another group I was off with as we only got one single from the group all year. But we did get a new album and have the single concert to go with it so that is a sorta right guess about that.

While there are not many other members in dramas this year it does look like things are improving on that front a bit with at least other members other than Yamada are getting roles on a more regular basis in the past. Hopefully these roles will eventually lead to something.

Unfortunately HSJ did nothing of note for their anniversary. I find that disappointing as I think there should have been some kind of celebration for them reaching that land mark. Especially when you have newer groups making a big deal of their first anniversary.

Kis-My-Ft2 should release two more singles before the year is up. They are one of Avex’ best selling acts so I am sure they will want them releasing as much as possible. I can actually see them being one of the few groups to release a single in August as they are one of the better selling Johnny’s groups and I think they could easily beat the AKS group releasing a single on August 1st, NO NAME. And since they will most likely be doing the theme song for Fujigaya Taisuke’s summer drama I think that would be a good release date for their next single.

I do not think a drama season will go by without a member having a role in a drama, even if the chances of that member not being Fujigaya Taisuke or Tamamori Yuta is slim. But I think Fujigaya moving into the leading man slot is a big thing, and hopefully his drama, Beginners, does well so he continue as the lead in dramas. I do hope though one of the other members get a chance for at least a supporting role in a drama before the end of the year. It will be nice to see them get these small pushes that will hopefully lead to bigger things with them.

Pretty much spot on for Kisumai. Of course it helps that they fit the usual mold for Avex artists that do well so they are going to have a rather steady release schedule from them. I am quite happy that I was spot on with them releasing in August even though it was a week later then I thought it would be.

Not surprised that I was right about the members of the group being frequently in dramas. They are getting solid pushes that I do not see stopping as long as they continue to do well.

~*

I am going to skip Sexy Zone as I am not following them much anymore. And in any case they did surprise me with releasing a single so late in the year then following up with an album.

For the Juniors I can see them slowly getting back to being a larger focus on Shounen Club. Kis-My-Ft2 has already moved on to being just guests and were not in May or June’s episodes so that should free up some time that can be given to Juniors. I think this would be a perfect time to push the Bakaleya6 as a group.

Also with the recent drama roles those Juniors should be getting some kind of push on the program. I would not be surprised to see more drama roles given to Juniors later in the year either. With the recent debuts now is a good time for Johnny’s to push some of the remaining Juniors to find the next big hits among them. This can be seen with the recent announcements of Juniors getting drama roles in the upcoming drama season.

The rest of the year should be interesting for Junior fans as things continue to shift for them as Johnny's searches for their next big hits and sets them up for possible future debuts.

I think there is a slow change to getting the Juniors just a little more screen time on SC. Unfortunately HSJ, SZ and A-Z make up a large portion of the program still, but with Bakaleya6 being full of rising Juniors they have had more presence on the program and I can see that growing as they continue to grow in popularity.

Overall it still looks like Johnny's is taking their time to figure out who they want to push in the Juniors. I think it is safe to say that they have their eyes on certain members and it will be mainly just time for Johnny's to decide what they want to do with them.

Speculating for the Juniors is always the hardest thing as there are just so many of them and it is not easy to tell what management is thinking in regards to them as you have no idea how they are really managed.

And I expect the Kansai Juniors to continue to keep gong strong. I think it is a good sign that they are being brought to Tokyo more and more for work and I expect it to eventually lead to something for them.

Well the Kanjuu are indeed continuing on and getting more and more breaks. Their Tokyo concerts are something exciting to look forward to as well as the upcoming movie for them. Still hope this all means something is being prepared for them, like a debut, in the near future.

NMB48 are most likely going to release two more singles this year, the next one has even already been confirmed for an August 8th release date. We will probably also get auditions for their fourth gen KKS announced but wait until after New Year’s to have their next team, Team BII, formed.

It will be interesting to see if the AKB48 sister groups also add extra groups to them, like AKB48’s Team 4, but that will be years down the line I would suppose and SKE48 will be the group that does it next.

I do wonder if NMB48 will get an album release. The AKS groups do not release CDs like most artists, with that they mainly just release singles. AKB48's first non-stage album was a single collection after all. But then they did release a studio album so it will be interesting to see if NMB48 will just continue with singles or will have a studio album of their own this year. Of course we could just get a stage album whenever they finally get around to doing their original stage.

I would not be surprised if there is another graduation this year, as sad as it would be. But when you have a group as big as NMB48 I think having a high turnover rate is to be expected, from health issues, like the girls that have graduated after making it into a team or for other reasons like the KKS graduations.

Well at least I can say I am right about the single releases for this group. Also there is a 4th generation of KKS but we got the formation of Team BII earlier than I expected.

With the recent group shuffles it is safe to say that there will be no Team 4 for NMB48. If anything they may just expand their teams eventually, though with the current rate of graduations it may not be much of an issue.

I no longer have to wonder about an album release as the group is expected to have their debut album in February. It will be interesting to see how that shapes up as we get more information about the release the closer we get to the release date.

And it seems like I was aiming low with only predicting one more graduation. Should have realized that with the next team forming it would mean a few KKS would graduate around that time. It is a bit worrying to have so many graduations but then again you look at the fact that they just had a group of girls join that will not be set to have a new team formed for so I doubt things are going to get better because it looks like they have no issues with finding fresh faces to join up in hopes of getting a spot on a team.


So in the end a mix bag of what I managed to guess right and things I was off on. Not a bad run and now I have to see about predicting the next six months for these groups.

Merry Christmas!

I have been trying to figure out if I should do anything for Christmas tomorrow (being on the Pacific Coast of course means I get everything late) for the blog and figured simple is best. Because as much as I love idols I love my family more so I shall be spending most of my time tomorrow with them. But around New Year's you can expect quite a bit of activity seeing as that is the big holiday in Japan and not so much in the U.S.

So I have written this post in advance and scheduled it for Christmas day. I wish a very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and I hope everyone else is enjoying their winter holidays!

Here are NMB48 girls to wish you a Merry Christmas as well.

Oricon Yearly Ranking 2012

Oricon has finally put up the yearly charts for 2012 for the top 100 singles and albums.

Top 100 singles (Johnny's focus +)

1. Manatsu no Sounds Good - AKB48
2. GIVE ME FIVE! - AKB48
3. Gingnam Check - AKB48
4. UZA - AKB48
5. Eien Pressure - AKB48
6. Wild at Heart - Arashi
7. Face Down - Arashi
11. Your Eyes - Arashi
12. Nagiichi - NMB48
13. Virginity - NMB48
14. Junjou U-19 - NMB48
15. ER - Eight Ranger (Kanjani8)
16. WANNA BEEEE!!!/Shake It Up - Kis-My-Ft2
17. Kitagawa Kenji - NMB48
18. We never give up! - Kis-My-Ft2
19. Ai deshita - Kanjani8
20. Chankapaana - NEWS
21. Ai no Beat - Kis-My-Ft2
22. Super Delicate - Hey! Say! JUMP
25. SHE! HER! HER! - Kis-My-Ft2
27. Aoppana - Kanjani8
33. Moment - SMAP
36. MONSTERS - The MONSTERS
37. Sakasama no Sora- SMAP
39. Fumetsu no Scrum - KAT-TUN
44. TO THE LIMIT - KAT-TUN
45. Ai, Texas - Yamashita Tomohisa
46. Boku no Hanbun - SMAP
54. Kawatta katachi no Ishi - Kinki Kids
55. Lady Diamond - Sexy Zone
57. LOVE CHASE - Yamashita Tomohisa
66. Haina! - NYC
67. SEASONS - Akanishi Jin
68. Sexy Summer ni Yuki ga Furu - Sexy Zone
72. Wonderful Cupid/Garasu no Mahou - NYC/Nakayama Yuma
75. Ue kara Mariko - AKB48


Top 100 albums (Johnny's focus +)

3. 1830m - AKB48
4. Popcorn - Arashi
15. 8EST - Kanjani8
16. Kis-My-1st - Kis-My-Ft2
19. GIFT of SMAP - SMAP
36. JUMP WORLD - Hey! Say! JUMP
45. NEWS BEST - NEWS
47. CHAIN - KAT-TUN
55. Gravity - Domoto Koichi
71. one Sexy Zone - Sexy Zone
72. Ero - Yamashita Tomohisa
86. Japonicana - Akanishi Jin
87. shamanippon -lakachinotohi- - Domoto Tsuyoshi


Oricon yearly ranking charts (Japanese)

AKS Master Post 007

I was so close, so close to having an AKS Master Post without an announcement about a girl leaving. I guess that teaches me about being lazy and not making one sooner.

~*

We have another AKB48 member leaving, this time by one of the girls that has been with the group for a long time, Masuda Yuka. She joined AKB48 as a 2nd generation KKS and was a member of the sub-unit DiVA. She was caught by the tabloids spending the night over at the apartment of one of her fellow cast members of the musical she is starring in, The Wiz, and has decided that because of the scandal it has caused, even though she denies doing nothing more than talking with him, she will leave AKB48.

aramatheydidnt article (English)

From the sounds of it she may be better off leaving in the long run. She is keeping her lead role in the musical she is currently in and she has not been active in AKB48 because of it. She is also a really talented singer but is not one of the most popular members of the group so she does not get pushed much from what I have seen. I think she would not have many issues continuing with her career solo, whether it is to become a singer or continue with stage productions. So I wish her the best and wish she could have left the group without a "scandal" attached to it.

I think it is safe now to say that DiVA is not coming back. It never was a big seller compared to all the other sub-units and with Yuka now graduating and Miyazawa Sae in China as an exchange member for at least a year it is highly unlikely that it will be continued. Which is a pity as the unit had some of the strongest vocals of AKB48 and I personally loved everything they had released.

~*

AKS must have realized that with the Janken senbatsu just being AKB48 and SKE48 members fans of the other groups may skip on getting the single as each Japanese sister group will be getting a B-side song and PV on one of the versions of the upcoming AKB48 single, Eien Pressure.

For NMB48 the song is title HA! and there is already a PV preview out.

Have to say that I am loving the song so far. I really do not care to get the single for the one song so I will probably see about getting an iTunes Japan card and buy it with that instead.

~*

Fukumoto Aina participated in her first marathon at the 2nd Osaka Marathon. She was running to support charity for the relief efforts in Tohoku after the earthquake in 2010 and not only met her time goal but ended up running the marathon under it.

aramatheydidnt post (English)

Congrats Ainyan for exceeding your goal and of course just for participating in a good cause. It is always great to see idols take on challenges like this, as it will hopefully inspire others to do the same.

~*

And this is just something I want to do from time to time so I have this information easy to find if I want to do a quick check. It is just an age list of the members of NMB48 as it is sometimes easy to forget how old some of the girls are or what the overall age for the group is. I can assume that this list could also be helpful for fans to check on whether or not they should be mentioning how oppai some members are.

NMB48 Age List (as of 30NOV2012)

20 -
Yamada Nana (Team N)

19 -
Fukumoto Aina (Team N)
Yamaguchi Yuuki (Team N)
Yamamoto Sayaka (Team N)
Watanabe Miyuki (Team N)
Shimada Rena (Team M)
Murakami Ayaka (Team M)
Yokoyama Yui (Team undecided/Team A)

18 -
Ogasawara Mayu (Team N)
Kishino Rika (Team N)
Kotani Riho (Team N)
Yoshida Akari (Team N)
Takano Yui (Team M)
Hikawa Ayame (Team M)
Yamagishi Natsumi (Team M)
Kamieda Emika (Team BII)
Kono Saki (Team BII)
Nakagawa Hiromi (Kenkyusei)

17 -
Jonishi Kei (Team N)
Okita Ayaka (Team M)
Kawakami Rena (Team M)
Koyanagi Arisa (Team M)
Tanigawa Airi (Team M)
Mita Mao (Team M)
Ijiri Anna (Team BII)

16 -
Kadowaki Kanako (Team N)
Azuma Yuki (Team M)
Kusaka Konomi (Team BII)
Kobayashi Rikako (Team BII)
Muro Kanako (Team BII)
Ishida Yuumi (Kenkyusei)
Uno Mizuki (Kenkyusei)
Miura Arisa (Kenkyusei)

15 -
Kondo Rina (Team N)
Shinohara Kanna (Team N)
Shiroma Miru (Team N)
Kinoshita Momoka (Team M)
Murase Sae (Team M)
Yagura Fuuko (Team M)
Akazawa Hono (Team BII)
Ishizuka Akari (Team BII)
Katou Yuuka (Team BII)
Sugimoto Kano (Kenkyusei)
Hisada Riko (Kenkyusei)

14 -
Kinoshita Haruna (Team N)
Yamamoto Hitomi (Team M)
Kurokawa Hazuki (Team BII)
Yabushita Shu (Team BII)
Koga Narumi (Kenkyusei)
Sato Sorai (Kenkyusei)
Hayashi Momoka (Kenkyusei)

13 -
Yogi Keira (Team M)
Ueda Mirei (Team BII)
Umehara Mako (Team BII)
Kushiro Rina (Team BII)
Nishizawa Rurina (Kenkyusei)

12 -
Ota Yuuri (Team BII)
Yamauchi Tsubasa (Team BII)
Takayama Riko (Kenkyusei)


And with that done I am going to feel so very old right now.

But besides that it is interesting to look at the age break down of the different teams. Team N has an age range of 20-14, Team M is 19-13 and Team BII is 18-12. The Kenkyusei range from 18-12 but most of them are in the younger range, which should hopefully mean for them that they have a good chance at promotion at some point as long as they stick with the group.

AKS Master Post 007

One of these days I will have one of these posts without a graduation announcement in it. But sadly this is not one of those days.

Mitsumune Kaoru from AKB48 has announced that she will be graduating from the group. She cites that she has been suffering from health issues since August 2012.

I am willing to believe her as she was only just promoted to a team and seemed like she would have been one of the main up and comers of the group if she could stay. She definitely benefited from being a member as she had acting roles in a couple of dramas like Ataru and Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou.

Very rarely does a member from AKB48 catch my eye or attention but Kaoru did just that with her performance in Bakaleya. She has the talent to be a good actress and I hope that her short time with AKB48  will help her out if continues to pursue that career choice.

~*

In good news NMB48 will finally be added to the Live On Demand (LOD) service by DMM.com. This means that people can pay to see video of a live show for a fee, so those who cannot make it to the theatre or could not get a ticket for a performance can still watch it.

Melos no Michi article (English)

AKS Master Post 006

Well I have to say I am loving Kitagawa Kenji from NMB48. It is such a fun and catchy song to listen to and the PV is a joy to watch. Definitely better than their last single, Virginity. Cannot wait to get this with my November pre-orders.


~*

NMB48 members Yamamoto Sayaka and Watanabe Miyuki will be releasing their first photo albums on November 21st. Since they are being released on the same day they are going to be pitted in a sales battle between the two with the winner getting to star in their own solo commercial.

~*


It looks like the rash of graduations from NMB48 did not end after the creation of Team BII. Since then we have had two graduation announcements. First from 3rd gen KKS Togo Sora, which was only a day or two after the team announcement. Then on October 18th Team N's Matsuda Shiori announced her graduation from the group.

As for reasons why they left most of it is speculation from what can be picked up from their final posts.

Sora's final message does sound like she was getting discouraged with being in the group and it seems like not being picked for Team BII was the final nail in that coffin for her.

While with Shiokichi she talked about wanting to return to being a normal teenage girl again. I think though with her it could be guessed a part of it is that she was one of the least pushed members of Team N and was one of the girls caught up in the group's early scandals. While the other girls in that scandal have had various levels of success with bouncing back from it she was the least successful, with barely appearing in the singles and such. And with a new team created the chances for her to become more prominent again were looking pretty slim.


It will be interesting to see who gets promoted to Team N after Shiokichi leaves. Whoever they will be they will be the first none 1st gen KKS to be included into the group. I cannot help but think that it will probably be a 2nd gen KKS, especially since Team BII was nothing but 3rd gen KKS.

In any case I do hope we get a break from the NMB48 graduations for a while. It is disheartening to see so many girls leave all around the same time even though there is a lot of positive things happening with the group at the same time.

AKS Master Post 005

All the announcements for NMB48's anniversary have been made so I figured it would be a good time to make one of these posts, especially as we do get a new team.

The New Team M

Before we get to the new team a quick look at the changes with Team M. And thankfully the changes are nothing as great as fans were speculating. They just announced the three KKS that will join the team to fill the empty spots left with the three recent graduations from the team. The KKS graduating are the remaining 1st gen KKS, Koyanagi Arisa and two of the 2nd gen KKS, Azuma Yuki and Yamamoto Hitomi. 

I hope that with things settled down for the group now they can figure out how to promote this group so it is not left in the shadow of Team N. I think Yagura Fuuko is getting set up to be the new Ace of the team as she has had pushes in the past and will be the center of the new sub-unit in the upcoming single. So I wish her the best of luck and hope that more Team M members find a way to get noticed.

I am really happy to see that there are no more 1st gen KKS now, especially with the new Team BII it would have seemed too sad if the last girl of that generation was not promoted to be on a team. It is interesting though that this means Team N is 1st gen only, Team M is 1st gen and 2nd gen and Team BII being 3rd gen girls. I wonder if next year they will do a team shuffle, as with AKB48 dropping their Team 4 I doubt the other groups will be creating any of their own.

Team BII

Moving on to more exciting news, the formation of Team BII. I think it surprises no one that Yabushita Shu and Kato Yuuka are on this team. Both girls have been in the senbatsu roster for both the last single and this upcoming one so management clearly want to push them. Especially Shu who gets more pushing than Uuka (can't believe this is her official nickname).

The full list of team members is; Akazawa Hono, Ishizuka Akari, Ijiri Anna, Ueda Mirei, Umehara Mako, Ota Yuri, Kato Yuuka, Kamieda Emika (captain), Kusaka Konomi, Kushiro Rina, Kurokawa Hazuki, Kono Saki, Kobayashi Rikako, Muro Kanako, Yabushita Shu and Yamauchi Tsubasa.

Probably the biggest surprise is that Yokoyama Yui was not placed on a team. I guess it may be because she is coming from the main group, AKB48 and that she may not be with the group for the long term. I guess we shall see about this in time.

There is some new news about the new single Kitagawa Kenji. First we have the short version of the PV, which looks like it will be a fun one. It also looks like they are making this single to be the opposite of AKB48's UZA with using a cuter sounding song and a bright and colorful PV.

Also we have a sub-unit for this single. It is actually a continuation of the last sub-unit, Namba Teppoutai Sono Ichi, as it is called Namba Teppoutai Sono Ni. Kotani Riho is no longer in the group, as she had her big break with becoming a co-AKB48 member, and the center position has been given to  Yagura Fuuko (Team M). The other members of the unit this time are; Kato Yuuka (Team BII), Kushiro Rina (Team BII), Matsuda Shiori (Team N), Yabushita Shu (Team BII), Yamagishi Natsumi (Team M), Yamamoto Hitomi (Team M) and Yogi Keira (Team M).

I rather like the idea of this group, one that has all the girls that the agency wants to give a push to so they can become popular. And having it be mostly Team M and Team BII is nice, especially as it is a much smaller group than the Akagumi and Shirogumi subunits so the girls in this group have a chance to get decent screen time. Also having the girls that do reach a point where they do not need the extra help, like with Ripopo getting the promotion of being a part of AKB48 as well as NMB48.

To speak a bit on the recent graduations with Team M, I think it really should not have been surprising. Shortly before Team M was created we had a few girls decide to leave so I think when something like a team formation looms it probably forces the girls to really look at their idol careers. With a new team it means more competition for the top spots in the group and makes it easier to get lost in the background of a group. 

For Fujita Runa I think she must have felt that with her injury continuing her idol work would have been difficult and it would be a good time for her to bow out with a change to the group coming. 

For Ota Riona I would not be surprised if she figured that she may be better following her dreams through a different course. She had previous experience in the entertainment industry before going NMB48 and I can understand if she felt frustrated that she was getting little promotion and that soon there would another sixteen  girls she would have to compete with, with one of them being an AKB48 members as well.

AKS Master Post 004

I made a post for the Johnny's that will be on the upcoming NTV program that will have various talents that are popular in their shows but there is an AKB48 member on the list as well, Akimoto Sayaka. The special will be airing on October 6th and runs for 3 1/2 hours.

NTV OHP (Japanese)


While I am not really an AKB48 fan I do like some of the girls, and my favorite among them is Akimoto Sayaka. So I am really happy that she will be in this program as it is one more person to look forward to watching.



In sadder news NMB48 will be losing another member and from Team M again. Fujita Runa has decided to graduate from the group because of hip and back pain. She had already reduced her work load to try heal but since it is still uncertain what will come of it she decided to quit.

Official blog announcement (Japanese)


It is always sad to see an idol have to quit because of medical reasons, though it seems to happen much more frequently with the female idols. I cannot help but wonder since much of it is back, hip of knee injury if it is because they have to perform in high heels that is the cause. Because these girls are usually still in their teens so these kinds of pains and injury do not seem normal. And high heels are bad to wear for just everyday use, I cannot imagine how much worse on the body they are when you are doing something like dancing that put more stress on the body naturally.

In any case Ruutan will be missed by me. I rather liked her though she did not get much screen time. But I did like she was one of the girls that had no problem standing up for herself on programs where they would tease her.


I guess this means instead of the seventeen open slots for girls that was before with Jo Eriko's graduation and the creation of Team BII there will now be eighteen. Or perhaps it should still be counted as seventeen as I am sure Yokoyama Yui will have one of those slots.

AKS Master Post 003

Figured it was time for another one of these as there is quite a bit of NMB48 news to talk about.

First off none of the NMB48 members in the janken tournament made it into the senbatsu. Honestly I do not think I can feel too heartbroken about that as it means there will be one less AKB48 single I feel that I need to buy because of any NMB48 members in it.


That said there is more information about NMB48's upcoming single that will be released November 7th. The title of the single is Kitagawa Kenji, which seems to be a nod to one of the main men behind AKS as well to the lyrics of the song. The lyrics this time are from a guy's point of view and how he realizes that the girl he loves is so lovely to him because she is in love with this guy, Kitagawa Kenji.

While there is not a complete track list out there is some track listing information out. Like all their releases the single has three versions sold in stores. All versions will have the same title track and a B-side, then the Type A has the usual Shirogumi song, the Type B has a Akagumi song and the Type C will just have another group B-side not on the other versions. There of course is a theater version but the details for that are not out yet.

Kitagawa Kenji [CD+DVD/Type-A] / NMB48

Kitagawa Kenji [CD+DVD/Type-B] / NMB48

Kitagawa Kenji [CD+DVD/Type-C] / NMB48

Also on the final Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ episode NMB48 performed the new single song. Going from the performers in that the senbatsu looks to be; Ogawasara Mayu (Team N), Katou Yuuka (3rd Gen KKS), Kadowaki Kanako (Team N), Kishino Rika (Team N), Kotani Riho (Team N), Jonishi Kei (Team N), Shiroma Miru (Team N), Tanigawa Airi (Team M), Fukumoto Aina (Team N), Yagura Fuuko (Team M), Yabushita Shu (3rd Gen KKS), Yamada Nana (Team N), Yamamoto Sayaka (Team N), Yokoyama Yui (team unknown), Yoshida Akari (Team N) and Watanabe Miyuki (Team N).

That gives us eleven Team N members, two Team M members, two 3rd Gen KKS and Yokoyama Yui. The last three should have teams by the time the single is released but this is still a very Team N heavy senbatsu as not even half of it are from the other two teams. Not that I do not love Team N but I think it is time that the spotlight is spread out a bit more with the other teams.

I just hope the Shirogumi and Akagumi units are more balanced between all the teams for this single.


NMB48 will be celebrating their second anniversary, the date their first single was released, on October 9th. On the 8th Team N will have a new stage they will start, October 9th will have a new Team M while on October 11th Team BII will debut.

Staff blog (Japanese)

There is speculation that the new Team M means that there will be a mini shuffle between the members in that team and the one being newly created, Team BII. Apparently this is something that happened with SKE48 when they created Team E, shuffled some of the KKS into Team KII while moving some to Team E. Though they also made some back into KKS, which I hope is not going to happen with NMB48.

But with Jo Eriko graduating Team M is losing its Ace, plus they already have an open slot because of that so it would make sense to do a bit of a shake up. Not to mention they need to place AKB48 exchange member, Yokoyama Yui in a team and the up and coming KKS Yabushita Shu seems destined to be an Ace for whatever team she is placed in. And with the debut of a new team it sounds like a good time to do a small shuffle like this, and hopefully this will make Team M stronger and help give Team BII some early support so they are both not stuck to be eternally in Team N's shadow.


In other news Jonishi Kei will be in an upcoming drama. The drama is named Poison and will air on YTV in the midnight slot starting on October 4th. Not much is known about Keicchi's role, other than the character is reoccurring as she is listed with the other actors on the official home page of the drama.

Poison OHP (Japanese)

Congrats to Keicchi for getting a drama role. I have not really seen her act so I cannot say if I have any hopes for her. But if anything it could be helpful if she is going to continue pursuing acting as a career.


And on a final and much less exciting note, the date for Jo Eriko's graduation stage has been announced. She will graduate from the group on September 28th.

Staff blog (Japanese)

I am still bummed out about her leaving but I can understand her reasons. I wish her the best and NMB48 is not going to be the same without her.

AKS Master Post 002

The big news of this post is of course the graduation of NMB48 member Jo Eriko. I think like other NMB48 fans I am understandably shocked by the announcement as it seems to have come from nowhere. That and Jo held the status of Ace for Team M so to have her leave is definitely going to make a difference with the group.

In her graduation statement she cites that she feels as someone entering their third year of junior high that she would not be able to handle both work and school. So she has decided to graduate from NMB48 to concentrate on her studies.

I honestly do not think that there is any hidden scandal with her debut. Usually the rumor of the scandal breaks out before this kind of announcement and Jo has always come off as honest so it does not seem to fit her image. So I do believe that her reason to concentrate on her school work more is sincere unlike with most cases when it is used as a reason for graduation.

It is known that she is a big fan of Maeda Atsuko and many speculate that with her graduating Jo may have lost some interest in continuing being a part of the AKS family.

What is known is that she will leaving a big hole in Team M and the NMB48 senbatsu line-up. She was the one constant member of Team M that got pushed.

Her graduation has hit me harder than I thought it would. Probably because I actually had the chance to know her. But I can sympathize with wanting to put school first and not feeling up to being able to balance the two well. So I wish her the best in whatever her future brings and I want to enjoy the remaining time she has with the group, as I will miss be missing her brilliant smile when she is gone.

AKS Master Post 001

Okay, I figure since I don't follow the non-Johnny's idols as much I would instead of doing the usual update posts I do for Johnny's I would just wait until I have a few different bits of news for the groups and do a master post for them. If anything this will make skipping non-Johnny's posts a bit easier for the Johnny's only fans and it will make things easier for me.

I will start off with rounding up the latest news for the AKS group I do bother to actually follow, NMB48. They have already announced their next single that will be released on November 7th. Like usual for their single announcements there is no other information about the single out.

Ameblo article. (Japanese)

NMB48 will also be releasing a DVD of Team N's second stage, Seishun Girls. The DVD will be released on September 25th and is already up for pre-order.

  NMB48 Team N 2nd Stage "Seishun Girls" / NMB48

They also will have their first photo book released on September 16th, title Kyun to Doki. It will feature NMB48 members; Mayu Ogasawara, Haruna Kinoshita, Riho Kotani, Rina Kondo, Kei Jonishi, Miru Shiroma, Aina Fukumoto, Yuki Yamaguchi, Nana Yamada, Sayaka Yamamoto, Akari Yoshida, Miyuki Watanabe, Eriko Jo, Airi Tanigawa, Ayame Hikawa, Ayaka Murakami, Sae Murase, Fuko Yagura, Keira Yogi, and Shu Yabushita.

NMB48 First Shashinshu (Photo Book) "Kyun to Doki" / NMB48

And now for the massive news that is currently shaking up the AKS fandom is that AKB48 is having a member shuffle. What this means is that the group has been returned to be only three teams, A, K & B, with Team 4 now disbanded but the sixteen member limit of the teams has been changed. No word if there is a new limit of members for a team but two of the current teams are now 23 members big and the other has 22.

Here is the full list of the changes (taken from the aramatheydidnt post):

→AKB General Manager: Takahashi Minami

→Team A:
Captain: Shinoda Mariko
Takahashi Minami (ex Captain of Team A)
Kasai Tomomi (ex Team B)
Sato Sumire (ex Team B)
Sato Natsuki (ex Team B)
Watanabe Mayu (ex Team B)
Kikuchi Ayaka (ex Team K)
Nito Moeno (ex Team K)
Nakatsuka Tomomi (ex Team K)
Matsui Sakiko (ex Team K)
Yokoyama Yui (ex Team K) [Also a member of NMB48]
Iriyama Anna (ex Team 4)
Iwata Karen (ex Team 4)
Kawaei Rina (ex Team 4)
Nakamata Shiori (ex Team 4)
Takahashi Juri (ex Team 4)
Tano Yuka (ex Team 4)
Izuta Rina (Formerly w/o team)
Kobayashi Marina (Formerly w/o team)
Morikawa Ayaka (Formerly w/o team)
Oshima Ryouka (Promoted)
Kotani Riho [Also a member of NMB48]

 →Team K:
Captain: Oshima Yuko
Akimoto Sayaka (ex Captain of Team K)
Itano Tomomi (No change)
Uchida Mayumi (No change)
Matsui Jurina (No change) [Also a member of SKE48]
Kuramochi Asuka (ex Team A)
Maeda Ami (ex Team A)
Matsubara Natsumi (ex Team A)
Nakata Chisato (ex Team A)
Nakaya Sayaka (ex Team A)
Chikano Rina (ex Team B)
Kitahara Rie (ex Team B) [Also a member of SKE48]
Kobayashi Kana (ex Team B)
Masuda Yuka (ex Team B)
Miyazaki Miho (ex Team B)
Sato Amina (ex Team B)
Suzuki Shihori (ex Team B)
Abe Maria (ex Team 4)
Nagao Mariya (ex Team 4)
Shimada Haruka (ex Team 4)
Fujita Nana (Formerly w/o team)
Mitsumune Kaoru (Promoted)
Muto Tomu (Promoted) 

→Team B:
Captain: Umeda Ayaka (ex Team K)
Kashiwagi Yuki (ex Captain of Team B)
Ishida Haruka (No change)
Komori Mika (No change)
Oya Shizuka (No change)
Watanabe Miyuki (No change) [Also a member of NMB48]
Iwasa Misaki (ex Team A)
Katayama Haruka (ex Team A)
Kojima Haruna (ex Team A)
Fujie Reina (ex Team K)
Minegishi Minami (ex Team K)
Nonaka Misato (ex Team K)
Tanabe Miku (ex Team K)
Ichikawa Miori (ex Team 4)
Kato Rena (ex Team 4)
Nakamura Mariko (ex Team 4)
Oba Mina (ex Captain of Team 4)
Shimazaki Haruka (ex Team 4)
Takeuchi Miyu (ex Team 4)
Yamauchi Suzuran (ex Team 4)
Kojima Natsuki (Formerly w/o team)
Natori Wakana (Formerly w/o team)
Ishida Anna [Also a member of SKE48]

 →SKE48: Kitahara Rie [Also a member of AKB48]

 →NMB48: Yokoyama Yui [Also a member of AKB48]

 →HKT48: Ota Aika (ex Team A)

 →SNH48: Miyazawa Sae (ex Team K) & Suzuki Mariya (ex Team B)
 →JKT48: Takajo Aki (ex Team A) & Nakagawa Haruka (ex Team A)


Of course not really being an AKB48 fan I do not feel too affected by the changes outside of the two NMB48 members now in the group and an AKB48 member joining NMB48. As well as the two AKB48 members that I do like, Akimoto Sayaka and Mitsumune Kaoru.

For Sayaka a part of me is not surprised at her losing the position of captain for Team K. Not because of anything she has done as she seems to be very good at the position but I feel like her time with the group should be coming to an end as I feel she could do just as well as a solo talent than being a part of this group. Especially as she seems to be rather neglected with the group and I just think it is time for her to move on. So I would not be surprised if being removed from that position is in preparation for a graduation later on in the near future.

I am really happy that Kaoru has finally been promoted out of KKS status and is a part of one of the teams. Team K is a good fit as it is the group known to have a more mature image which I think she fits well with. Hopefully this will just be the start for her and she continues to get solid drama roles as I think being a part of AKB48 will do her well to get her acting career established. Not to mention she is a part of the younger generations of girls that will have to step up and get noticed to keep the group popular.

And now onto thoughts about the NMB48 changes. Since Watanabe Miyuki actually has not had a change in her membership with either group there is not much to say about it. Kotani Riho being given the same kind of dual membership as her though is a bit surprising. Milky has always been a popular member of NMB48 while Ripopo has been mainly middle-tier. In fact her sub-unit Namaba Teppoutai was all about the fact that the girls in it were not the most well known but were trying to reach the level of the five members that placed in the general elections. But I guess management believes she is worth pushing and so will be bound to get some strong pushes now that she is also a member of Team A.

Since I do not really follow AKB48 I am not too familiar with Yokoyama Yui. I looked up her profile and it says she is from Kyoto so it does make sense for her to be placed with the Kansai group as it is in the same region.

I actually do not mind her being placed with NMB48 as one of the biggest issues I have had with NMB48 recently is the fact that they do stray from promoting the same girls all the time. With having an AKB member in the group than that will at least break that up a bit, in fact I am certain Yui will probably end up near the center position of the line up for the single they recently announced. And if Yui ends up in Team BII then it could help break the near monopoly of Team N when it comes to interest and attention. So I do see this as a positive thing for now at least.

Because I am not an AKB48 fan I do not think I can join in the fanwankage over this and actually look forward to what there changes are going to bring. Of course if this is the news AKS brings out for the first of the three days of the Tokyo Dome concerts I do not even want to guess what the next two days are going to bring.

NMB48's Virginity ... щ(ಥДಥщ)

Finally we have the title of the upcoming NMB48 single as well as full track listings. Though I think I could live without the title of the A-side, which is Virginity.

Virginity Type A
[CD]
1.Virginity
2.Musou Girlfriend
3.Bokura no Regetta (Shirogumi)
4.Virginity (Off Vocal)
5.Musou Girlfriend (Off Vocal)
6.Bokura no Regetta (Shirogumi) (Off Vocal)


 [DVD] 
1.Virginity MV  
2.Virginity MV (Dance Mix Version)
3.Musou Girlfriend MV 
4.Bokura no Regetta (Shirogumi) MV 
5.Special Movie ""Goodnight movie (1st half)" 

Virginity Type B

[CD]
1.Virginity
2.Musou Girlfriend
3.Sonzai Shitenai Mono  (Akagumi)
4.Virginity (Off Vocal)
5.Musou Girlfriend (Off Vocal)
6.Sonzai Shitenai Mono  (Akagumi) (Off Vocal)


 [DVD] 
1.Virginity MV  
2.Virginity MV (Dance Mix Version)
3.Musou Girlfriend MV 
4.Sonzai Shitenai Mono (Akagumi) MV 
5.Special Movie ""Goodnight movie (2nd half)" 

Virginity Type C

[CD]
1.Virginity
2.Musou Girlfriend
3.Sunahama de Pistol   (Namaba Teppoutai)
4.Virginity (Off Vocal)
5.Musou Girlfriend (Off Vocal)
6.Sunahama de Pistol  ( Namaba Teppoutai) (Off Vocal)


 [DVD] 
1.Virginity MV  
2.Virginity MV (Dance Mix Version)
3.Musou Girlfriend MV 
4.Sunahama de Pistol ( Namaba Teppoutai) MV 
5.Special Movie: NMB feat.吉本新喜劇 Vol.4

Virginity Theatre Edition

[CD]
1.Virginity
2.Bokura no Regetta (Shirogumi)
3.Sonzai Shitenai Mono (Akagumi)
4.Chotto Nekoze
5.Virginity (Off Vocal)
6. Bokura no Regetta (Shirogumi)(Off Vocal)
7. Sonzai Shitenai Mono (Akagumi) (Off Vocal)

8. Chotto Nekose (ff Vocal)

I cannot say I am thrilled with the song. I like that it has a 50s/60s retro sound to it but the title and lyrics leave much to be desired. Though it does make me feel glad that Yogi Keila is not in the senbatsu as I do not need to hear a twelve year old sing about virginity. In fact having Jo Erika (14) still in makes me side eye this song pretty hard right now.

At least Musou Girlfriend is a decent song and hopefully the other B-sides will be good. I already like the sound of Namba Teppoutai's Sunahama de Pistol. Hopefully it will be as fun as the name sounds as it looks like that will be the version I will buy of this single.