Single NGT48 3rd [Haru wa doko kara kuru no ka?] (2018/04/11)

NGT48's 3rd single is selling much better than some others which also released on the same day.


if the video does not show watch the video here

if the video does not show watch the video here

if the video does not show watch the video here
NGT PR (Fan Cam)

 

4th day sales: 3593 (103,998)

 

I’m sure the sales will pick up with the 4th single when they include 2D3 girls in the HS.

When will the HS for this single take place?
With the endless rounds going on, this might get to 150k or so, which isn’t bad considering they have a third of the numbers of a complete SG.

 

Sony made some mistakes on the description for some of the types. They apologized and are also offering to send correct ones if you send in the CD so both of these things could be backing up some of the shipping/manufacturing. Also I heard that online sales were discontinued on Amazon JP until April 23rd and out of stock indefinitely on the official sales website but I never checked to see if that is true it was a few days ago and they may have fixed it by now. Not sure if it is related but it is possible that manufacturing problems are affecting the sales, but yeah not 100% sure

 

CD Japan already dispatched my order on the 10th.

 

Mine came yesterday.

 

5th day sales: 1619 (105,617)

 

A quite interesting analysis of the song (and NGT) that was published on Nikkan Sports a couple of days ago.
I figured it was worth giving it a proper translation to share it here, especially considering how lengthy and articulated it is. So, enjoy.
If I must add a personal observation, I'd say the Scramble Egg's editor is bringing forward some solid arguments in this article, but perhaps he's giving Akimoto way too much credit by assuming that he cares (let alone knows) this much about NGT, enough to choose the tempo of their songs to reflect their momentum at that point in time. Stilll a good read anyway.

Spoiler: Translation

Homma Hinata, Ogino Yuka
Their fast-paced dynamism is
what NGT itself is about

After much waiting, today, April 11, NGT48's 3rd single "Haru wa Kodo kara kuru no ka?" will finally be released. What kind of song is this release going to be, and how has NGT48 changed in the one-year period following the release of the debut single "Seishun Dokei"? To provide a commentary about all of this, as well as the charms of the new center Homma Hinata (18), here we have for us the Editor-in-Chief of Scramble Egg, Okada Takashi, an idol critic who, ever since the birth of AKB48 on 2005/12/08, has been carrying out interviews with the 48 Group for over 12 years.

A consistent idea of "velocity"

Following the 2nd single "Sekai wa Doko made Aozora na no ka?" released last December, today's work happens to be a light-hearted rock song. To say the truth, melodies such as this one are quite few among the single songs from the 48 Groups, a true rarity. Both Ogino Yuka (19), the center of the previous release, and Homma managed to rank within the top 16 positions at last year's AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo. Right now, they are the members who are enjoying the strongest momentum of all. Isn't it appropriate to say that lyrics-writer Akimoto Yasushi is perceiving that this sense of fast-paced dynamism, with which both of them are briskly rushing forward, represents today's NGT48 in itself?

The debut single released one year ago, "Seishun Dokei", with the musical interludes being completely absent and the continuous non-stop singing, was an extremely unusual song. Maybe it was meant to represent a sense of never stopping, maybe it was modeled after the image of the song's center, Nakai Rika (20), talking at length in one of her Showroom broadcasts. At any rate, it was such a bizarre and curious song, that one might wonder if a slow-tempo rap, or rather the whole song as it is, would even be workable. When listening to it alongside with the second and third single, one gets the impression that perhaps, at the time, the intention was to proceed ahead just at a leisurely pace, exactly like the titular "clock" would. However, spearheaded by Ogino and Homma, the last year's Sousenkyo saw a turn of events that surpassed any of the predictions made by people around them, which caused this momentum to pick up speed all at once. Wouldn't this explain the transition that happened from the first single, to the second and third ones? The fact that Akimoto is constantly seeing and identifying NGT48 in terms of "velocity" is very interesting in itself.

Moreover, the most prominent peculiarity of NGT48 singles is that the center keeps changing every time. In AKB48's case, they had Maeda Atsuko, Matsui Jurina in SKE48's case, Yamamoto Sayaka in NMB48's case, and even in HKT48's case the position was fixed on Tashima Meru, if just in the beginning. The center is what is considered the symbol of the group, its face. The strategy that, in order for the image of the group to be deeply impressed in the public's consciousness, the center ought to be fixed represented the mainstream, dominant theory. Therefore, no one could have predicted that it would go on to constantly change over and over, right from the very beginning.

Stimulation and motivation

This is entirely a conjecture of mine, but couldn't all of this be an idea by the NGT48 theater manager, Imamura Etsuro, to grant the spotlight to as many members as possible? I sense there's an intention to want to demonstrate around how "In NGT48 there's this kind of girl, but also that kind of girl". The center at the time of the group's formation was Kato Minami (19). In the first original song "Max Toki 315-go", it was Takakura Moeka (16). Practically speaking, with Homma they have already reached their fifth center. The initial one, Kato, had great all-round capabilities, and they also succeeded in making her an absolute ace. But regardless, Imamura already gave off this same feeling even back in his days as SKE48 theater manager. Such model, where more opportunities are handed around to every member while avoiding getting stuck in a rut, is a model which provides to everyone a stimulus to action, inside of the group as much as outside, and instills a motivation to get going, in my opinion.

With that said, today's center, Homma, is a type of idol that fans of a slightly mature age would like. While being old-styled in her appearance, she also knows how to hold onto her own opinions, and her personality is gentle toward adult people as well. While Ogino, who climbed her way up at the cost of sweat and tears, represents the archetypical 48 Group idol, Homma is an idol who projects an atmosphere just like that of the old days, which has been passed down, unchanged from the Shouwa era. For this reason, it is hoped that she'll be able to break into new ground, expanding into a category of new idol fans who had never been 48 Group fans up until that point.

Lastly, this NGT48 single's song will be utilized as the theme song for as many as three TV programs. It is going to be played as the opening for "Buzz Rythm 2" and the ending for "Uchi no Gaya ga Sumimasen!", both belonging to the Nippon TV network, during the month of April. For NGT48, characterized by a locally-rooted model, the issue to address now is how to increase the level of recognition on a national scale. And so, it is of great importance to give exposure to the single through commercials and programs from such major broadcasting networks. I believe that, along with their record company, they are working out a precise strategy and now are now in the process of implementing it.

 

That's an interesting article. I feel like I understand miss Comma Ciabatta better now. Love what they said about Rikahime too and why she's my oshimen.

 

don't know why, but I laugh instantly after reading this...

 

Thank you, as always, for your hard work translating lengthy articles like that! You're the true MVP

 

6th day sales: 3229 (108,846)

 

Thanks for the info - Amazon has today dispatched my copies of Types A & B but the estimated shipping date of Type C has gone back to May 10th so I've cancelled that and ordered it from CDJapan. I wish now I'd ordered from them in the first place but Amazon very rarely let me down, in fact the only other time I had a delayed dispatch from them was for Keyakizaka46's 1st album.

 

Received my copy of Type B today - it, too, has the typo on the CD for the coupling song:



If anyone would like to trade the Kado photo for any kind of Tsugumin photo, please PM me! The zenkoku HS ticket is also up for grabs if anyone needs it.

 

1st week sales Oricon: 109,012
1st week sales Soundscan: 116,495

 

The previous two singles added 50k after the first week, so here's hoping it reaches 150k.

The SSK though...

 

NGT48's 3rd Single ("Haru wa Doko Kara Kuru no Ka?") 6th Round HS Sales Results
rank. (prev. rank.) sold slots/total slots (+change) member name (sold out status)

01. (01.) 10/24 (+03) Homma Hinata
02. (02.) 03/14 (+01) Nakamura Ayuka
03. (03.) 01/24 (+00) Nishigata Marina
Total: 14/299 (+4 since 5th round)
86/418 (-72) last single (increase/decrease from 2nd single 6th round.)

 

Got my copies of the single today! Can't wait to watch the full MVs of the coupling songs.
2 of the photos I got are up for trade, in case anyone would be interested.

 

NGT48's 3rd Single (Haru wa Doko kara kuru no ka?) (2nd Week Sales)
Week 2: 8,050 (117,062) (11th)

 

Oricon Singles Daily sales for 23rd April 2018 is 3423