Category Archives: AKB48 in the Media

International AKB48 Sister Groups to FINALLY Debut

The debut of MNL48 is confirmed.. again… this time they’ll keep their word!

AKB48 will also see 2 more groups rise up, TPE48 in Taipei and BNK48 in Bangkok .

I’ve yet to be disappointed by Thai musicians so this will be amazing!!

I’d like to see a South Korean sister group someday too, I can’t seem to get into Kpop(besides YG) despite all of the amazing groups Kosupure has shown me! So it would definitely tie me into the genre more.

If AKB48 branches out to South Korea we can rest assured they debut under YG’s sector. YG and AKB48 are Asia’s top power houses right now and go way back. They’ve worked together plenty of times before and I’d be extremely excited for that.

As for the confirmed groups:

I’m very particular about music after being raised on Matsuura Aya and many other staple centers of JPOP so I highly anticipate what the future holds.. I hope someone stands out.

 

Thanks!

Sunakku

 

SOLO TOUR for Kashiwagi Yuki & Graduation Announcement

Yukirin’s first ever solo tour will take place during April – May!

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Back in September Yukirin became seriously ill with a high fever and swollen tonsils causing her to go through IV treatments.  During this time she assured her fans she would make up for lost time!

Now she finally plans to perform in many places in Japan

April 14th she’ll perform in her new home’s city Niigata!! With that being said NGT fans are in for a treat!

April  21st  she’ll be in Osaka! If you’re in the kansai region I recommend you order your tickets now because it will sell fast.

April 22 she’ll be in Aichi, the venue is smaller so I highly recommend anyone in this area order tickets soon.

May 11 & 12 TOKYOOOOO! She’s doing two separate events due to the large amount of AKB48 fans. If you’re in Tokyo during this time you’ll also get lucky and see other AKB48 members in the audience! Watanabe Mayu will likely be there

On the 29th of May she’ll be performing in her home town of Kagoshima.

During her Kagoshima event she’ll be giving a statement..

As of right now it could be anything, a photobook, a solo album or her own show?? Well there is a more realistic option

It’s likely this is where she’ll announce her graduation. I’m not a Yukirin staff member so I don’t know for sure!

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However, the entire solo event is great news!

Good Luck Yukirin! WE LOVE YOU

Sunakku

Miyazawa Sae, graduation preparations

Wow..

2008 was the year I discovered Jpop for very first time.. By the time I got into AKB48 I had already known the name ”Miyazawa Sae” . She appeared on variety tv nearly every week sporting her cunning personality and beautiful smile. Her boyish style was one of many reasons she became an oshimen at first sight.

Throughout the years Sae acted as a supportive senpai and obediant kohai. She is the only member every girl in AKB48 can say got a long with everybody she met.

Sae was a victim of bullying during middle school, her story of becoming on top of her emotions inspired me. She eventually rebuilt her confidence and turned her sorrows into absolute love and kindness for others. She’s known to be the member that steps in between fights and rebuild friendships.

 

She never claimed to be perfect, that made her perfect.

She never claimed to be the best, that made her the best.

She never claimed to be the most supportive senpai, but her kohai say otherwise.

With Sae becoming an OG, all of the 48 family has large shoes to fill. I dont  care what anyone says, she will always be the greatest member. I’m looking forward to seeing her grow in the future.

As of right now, lets cheer on the current line up! Lets show Sae all of her hard work wont go to waste.

Both of my oshimen in Jpop will be graduated from their respective groups. All I really have left is Maachan from Momusu!!

So, whats next??  Haha

-sunakku

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SNH48’s Tang Anqi, Still in Critical Condition

I’m sorry for not writing this sooner, the circumstances surrounding this heart breaking near fatal experience is still under investigation. Before I make any statements I want to thank everyone who has helped her so far .

With that being said, the amount of support Tang has received during her critical recovery is heart warming. Her first round of skin graphing was successful. As long as the doctors can prevent her exposed tissue from becoming infected she’ll hopefully recover.

SNH48 staff,  members and fans have donated blood to help keep her going during the most intense portions of her hospitalization.

Thank you to everyone who has helped keep her beautiful heart beating.

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With all my best wishes,

Stay strong 👊

My heart goes out to her during this time!!

Sunakku

NMB48’s 5th Generation Audition Details

THE WAIT IS OVEEEER!

NMB48 finally announced yesterday that they will add new members to the group. This time around the rules are different:

 

・ The age group is 11 – 22

・ Applications will be accepted no later than March 20th

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Now, usually AKB48 lists other requirements as well such as agency details (that we all kinda scroll past because its boring).

So with that being said we really can’t know entirely what this generation will be like. I’m hoping they have a larger generation full of different personalities. I’d be happy with 8 – 12  new faces!  5th generations have always hit me in a good way. I’m extremely excited to see NMB48 finally re-expanding during the wave of graduations

Also, with AKB48 and SKE48’s graduations I’m hoping they try something new, add a gaijin or anything!

 

Good luck to the future members!

Sunakku ( ´ ▽ ` )

Count Down to Keyakizaka46’s Debut

April 6, though two months away seems to be coming fast at us. In all honesty i haven’t felt this excited about a new group for a very long time!

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The newest elites in the JPOP world

 

Hopefully the cheery, youthful and hilarious vibes they display can allow us to feel nostalgic yet open new doors.

So to celebrate, the girl’s will be doing various handshake events for their single. We all love wota translations so i might hit the 2ch threads and do some first impression translations to see which members make a lasting impression (i wont add the scary stuff i find lol )

Their first handshake event isn’t until April 17, 2016 so i’ll be posting other things about the girls before then! No worries!

 

So far my favourite members are Moriya Akane, she’s very well composed and very serious about her job. I’m looking forward to seeing what she can bring into the 48g family. And Imaizumi Yui, after she introduced herself she sang an acappella. She was in an idol group previously under the name Kashiwagi Yui. Girls in her previous group nicknamed her Yuiful and i certainly hope it sticks!

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Yuiful

So, Keyakizaka46, GANBATTE 

When a Fandom becomes a Nightmare

Hey everyone,

Sunakku here, I was going through a rough time lately with personal issues. Just when I was collecting myself, Miyazawa Sae, my top oshimen announced her graduation.

I suddenly came to realize that the Hello!Project and AKB48 Fandom have always been such an amazing support network.

I want to thank all of my AKB48 and Hello!project friends for helping me!!

Despite the support, I recently came across a heated argument on a 2ch thread between AKB48 and Hello!Project. I WANT to share what I learned from this..

All of this unnecessary rivalry is why I left the Jpop fandom back in 2013 for a year. Neither group is worse or better than another. Us AKB48 fans accuse Hello!Project for being fake then turn around and make fun of the entire new AKB48 generations for being fake. AKB48 is accused of sexualizing idols by Hello!Project fans who then turn around and fat shame Maro and Zukki. Regardless of how dramatic us fans build this up to be we’re the real enemies to our own idols.. Whether we’d like to admit it or not the members from respective groups are friends. Lol, in a perfect world this post would inspire people to stop and think about what they say about their own idols.

So this year, I’ve decided to stop letting comments try to make me feel in the wrong for loving both agencies equally.

Second goal, post something more up beat and funny!

 

Thank you!!

Sunakku

 

 

 

Paruru’s Twitter Fun & AKB48 Line Up Changes

Hey wotas!!
So paruru made a twitter as we all know, but she doesn’t reaaally post much on it.
A lot of the times it’s just retweets and old selfies hahaha

Maybe she just made the twitter so we’d all stop pestering her about making one haha
ON A SERIOUS NOTE: 
AKB48 is going through a lot of changes recently.
Kuramochi and Kawaei are both now officially graduated. Along with a huge handful of other graduation announcements this year sees a huge collapse in the member population. In order to regain members it is in AKB48’s best interest to re shift focus and play around with popular members.
AKB48’s best interest is to update the following:
– Madoka and Matsui Jurina receive a concurrent position in AKB48
– HKT48 holds auditions
–  NGT48 and SKE48 hold a mash up concert event to promote the new idols.
AKBINGO NEEDS MORE DANSO!!!

– Sunakku, I’ve had a rough past month so I was unable to update the site!

AKB48 MILESTONE: Kashiwagi Yuki’s Boyfriend “Scandal” is not a Scandal

Photo’s of a vibrant and happy Kashiwagi Yuki in the arms of her then (possibly current) boyfriend have been leaked earlier this month. The two were in a very cozy Ryokan together. Mind you, Ryokan’s are not like Love Hotels, a lot of the time Ryokan’s are family owned and family orientated. These Inns are very welcoming and usually a hot spot for couples or families. That shows significance within the relationship apart from physical connections.

Of course, we all expected the worse to happen to Yuki, surprisingly, this is being ignored. A milestone moment that could potentially change the “no boyfriend rules” for adult members of AKB48 and her sister groups.

Kashiwagi being placed in NGT48 has not been linked to the scandal officially (as of June 24, 2015)

Fans from both Japan and abroad have spoken out against AKB48 for their form of punishment back when Minegishi Minami was begging for forgiveness. As for Yukirin, fans also threatened the management in favor of her well being and happiness. Some fans even exclaimed “if she’s happy, we’re happy, if she leave’s we’ll leave”.
AKB48 can’t afford to lose Yukirin fans.. she does rank high every year in the elections and brings so much attention to AKB as the reaction Queen.  This leaves us with evidence that the majority of Japanese fans are more disgusted with the punishment than the actual scandal. A lot of foreigners and Japanese fans alike once said “This is apart of Japan’s culture”. Okay, that was how long ago? Like Fujimoto Miki in Morning Musume long ago. Over the past decade the dating rule has become more and more under fire. Punishments and forced retirements have thrown the idols into shame and regret for exploring their sexuality and emotional needs. Of course fans still get a bit upset when their oshimen breaks a rule, however, they are not ours to control and Yuki’s fans have made that VERY clear.

The dating rule was most prominently enforced back in 1997 when Morning Musume first debuted, their producer and agency promoted the innocent Idol look. This would influence future girl groups as time went on. Sometimes when you mix strict rules and adolescents you have scandals. The first major Idol scandal was back in 1999 when Country Musume’s Kobayashi Azusa’s nude photos were leaked just after her fellow member has been killed in a tragic car accident. The Hello!Project star became an AV porn star within months of leaving the group.. When AKB’s Nakanishi Rina followed a similar path it was also a high profile scandal. Obviously, as we see by comparing other Idol groups scandals happen.. It’s hard to tell grown women they can’t act on their emotions. Some scandals are a bit more intense than the dating scandals wouldn’t you agree?

We aren’t exactly in 1997 or the early 2000s anymore, we don’t have cute little Abe Natsumi’s face promoting Idols when this rule was a fan favorite! Japan has been recently moving away from the cute image and into the “sexy hafu” look. These days we have people like Rola and Sashihara Rino leading the female Idols to stardom and they promote a less cute, more sexy influence in Japan.

Perhaps the management of AKB48 has been forced to re-consider how they should treat their idols for having a life outside of work. The rules should still be enforced when it comes to the younger members to ensure they have no regrets for doing anything too early in life.

Kashiwagi Yuki is the first out of AKB48 that has not received a large penalty equivalent to Watanabe Miyuki and others. However, until they officially link her movement to NGT48 we can’t officially declare she’s punishment free. AKB48 has not made an official statement on whether the couple is still together or not. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the man in the photos, he is also an Idol. He is a player and has bee spotted with another woman in 2014, about a few months after the photos of him and Yuki were taken. If that is the case and she was cheated on she really deserved our support more than ever. Although, we can not confirm the two were together at this time. 

So, I want to thank all of her Japanese and abroad wotas who have cheered for Kashiwagi Yuki as she felt totally helpless and guilty for being involved in a romantic relationship!
-Sunakku

Sources
Fan opinions are on twitter and 2ch threads.. not that I read 2ch……. 
Morning Musume history – hello!online
AKB history – stage48
Japan’s cute – sexy trend change I’ve found in Jvlogger videos on youtube, just type in “hafu trend” and you’ll see some stuff
Yuki’s “scandal” it’s everywhere
I pretty much googled everything, I just want to back myself up! I’m not sure what the future holds regarding the dating scandal, but the trends in fan reactions support my theories

Fat Matsuko Deluxe Knows What’s “Best” for the Olympics

Before I get accused of anything please note:

I applaud Matsuko wholeheartedly for her bravery to openly present herself as a member of the LGBT community! Her being a crossdresser is NOT what I’m attacking! I’m attacking her “larger than life” opinions and hypocrisy because that is what the internet is for. 

“AKB48 is distasteful” says the person who constantly talks smack about everyone on the face of the earth. Am I offended? Yes! Offended over her AKB48 comment? NO, I’m offended by the fact she puts down other people due to appearance but can’t take it when people criticize her appearance!
Am I entitled to share my opinion like she is? Yes!

Matsuko Deluxe is a columnist I once highly respected up until a few years ago when she bashed one of my top idols claiming she did little to deserve her position all because she wears miniskirts, yet now that she’s gone Matsuko promotes the group she graduated from. I won’t say any names as it would add insult to injury.

Now, is she entitled to call AKB distasteful? Of course! She is distasteful herself, it takes one to know one.. It sickens me that this person is allowed to talk shit about every single human being on this planet but we all walk on eggshells around her. When someone disagrees with her and tells her off, more than likely she pulls the “You’re only arguing because you don’t like cross dressers”. No, we live in the 21st century, this has nothing to do with your clothes and makeup.. but don’t get upset when people do make fun of you, all you do is criticize women for their appearance.

Matsuko Deluxe stated she feels AKB48 doesn’t deserve to be apart of the 2020 Olympics because of their distasteful image. First of all, what heterosexual male or homosexual female athlete would complain if these lovely Idols sang for them? AKB48 has worked very hard for their success, with 200+ members and only around 15 scandals I’d say they are doing better than any Idol group Matsuko has promoted. Slut shaming AKB48 for their appearance is disgusting.. I hate slut shaming and believe anyone who slut shames is either a bigot or a medieval time traveler. If someone dresses sexy that does not make them distasteful, we left the 19th century FAR behind us as Matsuko, an LGBT member, should know.
SO, since we’re using appearance and stereotypes against AKB48 here is mine,

WARNING, IF EASILY OFFENDED PLEASE DON’T READ

Matsuko Deluxe, you’re fat and jealous of sexy women and always have been..
You might wanna leave this blog post, I’m going to be just as unapologetic as her and say the following

“fat girls like us shouldn’t even have an opinion on whats good for sports” ^_^ 

The Olympics are made up of active people who play sports, they aren’t lazy
AKB48 is made up of active people who play sports, they aren’t lazy.
Matsuko Deluxe and myself are NOT active people, we don’t play sports, we’re lazy
Therefore, we don’t deserve to talk about what is best for the Olympics because we haven’t worked.. or worked out for it
Matsuko and myself keep our tabs on Idols, not sports.

She was born with feminine identity yet doesn’t encourage other women to succeed and dress as they want… Women should be sticking together, not putting each other down.

This blog post was not simply fueled by her AKB48 comments, in all honesty I wrote this after years of disgust.. I am an advocate for transgenders AND support feminism. This goes out to every woman (biological or not), YOU don’t deserve to call yourself a woman if all you are going to do put women down.

If you WANT the right to be respected for dressing as the woman you identify as then you better show respect for the way other women present themselves.

I do not apologize for being as distasteful as Matsuko Deluxe in this blog post,
I have no regrets for posting this much like she has no regrets for all the comments she’s said over the years regarding other women.

Again, in case it’s not clear, I support my fellow LGBT members 100%
Matsuko Deluxe’s opinion on how women should look is equally as offensive as all the people saying “He’s a man, he should dress like one”

– Sincerely, a “butthurt” AKB48 & KPOP fan who is sick of listening to women putting other women down.