So you want to learn about AKB48...

[awkwardnormalcy]

Following the tradition I started with themagicalfaggy and meow_bunny in converting people to Jpop acts, I bring you my small introduction to AKB48, largely pre-fanservice era.

Granted, AKB48 has always centered around fanservice, but I loved them before thats what they were largely known for, when they were causing a different sort of controversy. Videos and helpful

Comments

[you_speak_lies]

I don't have time today, but I'm definitely adding this to my memories so I can come back to it. Thank you for doing this!

[awkwardnormalcy]

No prob! Oh, btw, how much do you know about Aika? Because 8th gen is the last of the girls I have to do pimp posts for before I compile it into one and make it all purty but uh, I know NOTHING about Aika because i don't like her :/

I hope this post is useful for you <3

[awkwardnormalcy]

Whoah it won't let me delete my comment, but I'm sorry I asked you about Aika when I already did...Months ago XD;

[kireny]

found the link via Arama and while i already know alot about them and have been following them since the begining, I loved this.
Loved all the songs you picked to showcase, some of their best songs IMO.

also, there was another version of RIVER as well with a group of different girls in school uniforms and runing around to find themselves or something-both this and the USA version were for a TV or something I think.

[awkwardnormalcy]

Yeah I remember when that version came out, but because it showcased the fact that some of them were dancing not insync with the rest and it was strange, I decided not to post it >.>

Thanks! I'm glad you approve~ I love your icon! Okay sorry, and yes, I wish they still put out songs like tehse. The ones they put out now are so generic. Other than River of course.

[kireny]

yeah, it was an odd one. the out of sync dancing was very distracting.

Welcome! ~thank you~. Same here, RIVER was like fresh air and then it was back to pretty generic stuff.

[awkwardnormalcy]

And the guy was somewhere between Johnny Depp and One of those guys in big cities who opens uphis trench coat to sell you knock-off rolexes. So while the girls were dancing I was still going, "WTF THAT GUY."

Yeah I know :/ I remember when it first came out how shocked we all were, I mean, all things considering it contains very little fanservice, and thnk god it wasn't just about ~love~.

Oh and me and my friends were sitting around going "Liver liver liiiver~"

[dreamtiny]

So I linked here through arama to see your post, and... OMG ;_; are you me?

like seriously. Keibetsu, Bingo, Seifuku, Ashita wa Ashita wa Kimi ga Umareru ;_;

I miss Chocolove :( no3b is doing its best to replace them in my heart but :(

all these songs bring back memoriiiieessss :( I miss old AKB sosososo much. and basically all of these songs are what I loved about them back then (with the exception of River, for obvious reasons, being that River was released last year). the only recent singles in the past two-/three years that I've liked I can count on one hand - River, Iiwake Maybe, and Oogoe Diamond. That's it.

[awkwardnormalcy]

XD I'll take you asking that as a good thing~

These are all my favorite, when each of them came out they were on repeat forever, and do you remember your reaction the first time you saw that Chocolove vid? omg, those were good times.

Me too! I loved how their voices mixed and harmonized and contrased and -fangirl sigh-

Ikr, I had stopped listening to AKB for a bit until River came back and was like "NO! YOU WILL LISTEN TO US!!!!" It sucks that new fans only know stuff like Heavy Rotation, you know? I loved them so much when they first started getting big.

[dreamtiny]

ahaha possibly...?

same same same. though I discovered them like late 2007 with Aitakatta, and then Bingo was the song that got me :) though I don't like Ponytail or Babyx3 which is straaange.

And yes, the song was so pretty <3 I was so heartbroken when Rina graduated (and then went on to do AV) WHY COULDN'T SHE DO WHAT MAI DID. SHE SINGS BETTER THAN MAI.

And yes yes yes. I stopped listening to them for a while and came back on Namida Surprise and I was like "wtf is this. Happy birthday?" and then Iiwake Maybe and River <3 but past that it's been no-go for me :( new fans are all like "haha AKB48 is awesome because they have high-budget PVs and pwn H!P in every way possible" which makes me sad :c especially since I'm a fan of both...

[awkwardnormalcy]

Ponytail was okay, and Baby was just...Meh. Generic poppy.

Do you like Mai's solo stuff? I only heard her debut single and I completely forgot about it until you mentioned it tbh, it was fairly forgettable but not awful. I should look up her single that came after.

Okay look, just because H!P green screens a lot doesn't mean they are bad >.< Why don't people get that? Favorite H!P members? I'm a fan of both too, but mostly of H!P because I have such a long history with them, I mean I became a fan shortly after sixth gen joined.

[lane_myer]

Yay, thanks for this! :) I'm still not too familiar with them.

Btw, who are the people in Chocolove besides Sayaka? I really like the song and PV.

[awkwardnormalcy]

I hope this is helpful to you then! Sae Miyazawa and Rina Nakanishi(who graduated). Glad you like them, I was so excited when they first formed a unit, its too bad they didn't release more.

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUU <333

[lesth]

OMG O_O

I wrote a long comment when you posted the article.
I sent it. Firefox failed, but I really thought it was sent O_O well it wasn't ;_;

The lyrics of the first one made me doubt... it was a lot of fanservice I bet XD
But it pictures perfectly the topic.
Still, I couldn't help comparing them to how it would seem weird if Momusu made a video as obvious.. XD

BINGO!
I had it already!
I remember some friend loved Aitakatta better but I had a crush on Bingo in the best of... But I had never seen the PV. It's deeper than I thought. ^^

And RIVER too, I used to listen a lot to it although I never watched the video.
Catchy rythm :3
I recognize the leader I think. ^^

The last ballad is cute, but catchy rhythm catch me more than that one...
Just like I still don't really like Aruiteru.

Tell me, is there a deep meaning in the last mv akb girls made? Oo