Your AKB48 Experiences

whaha that maichan reaction was the best!

 

^
nothing on satone? well she really is a bubble head lol

 

So, after the 5 consecutive handshakes on the golden week (6 if I include SKE's), I went to Hokkaido and Makuhari National handshake. I supposed to go to Hiroshima handshake as well but I missed my flight so I couldn't get there on time. I have only 1 girl to see, Oda Erina. Since I don't have plenty time to spare, I will just write a report for 5/26 Makuhari Messe National Handshake.

I arrived at the nearest station from the venue around 10:30 am. There were several other events sharing the same building so the train was very crowded and even worse, it took me almost 11 min just to exit the station and walk to the venue due to overcrowding from the usual 6 min.

As I arrived at Makuhari Messe, I met my friends and we lined up to buy some extra CDs with a bonus lottery ticket. By the time we buy the CDs, all No Way Man CDs were sold out and only few types of Jiwaru Days left (B and C iirc). Inside the venue you can drop the ticket into each lane's box and 5 lucky fans will get a 2S or group shot with the members on that particular lane. Due to the massive amount of fans that day, the winning chance is usually pretty low, so I didn't really try to win any. With less fans coming to less populated area, for example Hokkaido and Hiroshima, the chance is usually much higher. But unfortunately, even with 80 tickets, I couldn't win any in Hokkaido. So this time I just bought 2.

After waiting for another friend, we entered the venue as a group in order to get the same block ticket. We had to exchange 1 limited ed event ticket from the CD with a block ticket which stated which block we belong to. We get the C2 block which wasn't that great but we managed to get close to the fence, so we can see members running around from a pointblank distance.

During the live, an announcement was made, there will be 3 kinds of game during the handshakes. First, guessing facial features of members' photo which will eventually show her entire face. The faster the fans guest the better. Second is song intro guessing. Again, faster is better. And the last is oshi shouting challenge. The fans should do her oshi call and a sound level meter is used to measure the pressure level of his voice. The louder is better.

Regarding the live set list, you can look for them on twitter easily so I don't have to explain about that anymore.

After a roughly 30 minute break, the handshakes was started. But only girl and family area ticket holder could enter the lane. After all female/family ticket holders used their ticket, then the regular block ticket holder was allowed to enter the lane. It lasted for almost an hour. So, if you don't attend the live, you need to wait even longer to see the girls.

As soon as the block ticket was valid, I went directly to lane 5: Sakaguchi Nagisa, Okabe Rin, Oda Erina.
Nagisa:
Me : Long time no see..
Her: Long time no see..
Me : See you again..
Her: Bye-bye..
Too short.. LOL
Okabe Rin:
Me : Hi.. I went to ISO Fest yesterday in Mito. It was great..
Her: Thank you..
By this time Odaeri already talked to me and pulled my hand because the fans in front of her already left.
Oda Erina:
Her: Boma.. I saw you. With your usual white jacket and digging your nose during my MC.
Me : LOL. Sorry.. Btw see you again in matome..
Her: See ya..

Then I left the venue, strolled around, and eventually went back in for the lottery. I met another friend and he told me he won the group shot lottery with just 3 tickets. I waited for some time and finally around 18:30 the matome session begun. I went for Odaeri's lane. In the matome line, most people had less than a handful of tickets, meanwhile I had few minutes worth of tickets. So I had to wait a bit until other fans lined up in front of me in order not to jam the line. The people behind me are mostly her committee and her TOs so it wasn't really a problem for them. She was on the second batch of the matome session which means her lane will only begin if another member in the first batch is done. Luckily, some of the less popular member had very short lane, thus the waiting time wasn't that long until Odaeri's matomedashi session started.

We talked about several things, about the ISO music festival in Mito the day before. How I and my friend who is a Berin oshi met Berin, Hidaaya, Nanase and Maria on Mito station when they were running to catch the train (which departed just few seconds after they boarded). Then she regretted for not meeting us, she told me that I supposed to wait for the next train so we could join her and Ayane on that train instead of the one that we took, also we talked about her upcoming stage play rehearsal and such, regarding her health problem, also her new hairstyle, her agenda in the upcoming months, her clothes for yukata festival and so on. Lastly, I said that I will miss her due to a long absence of handshakes during June and July, but I really enjoy that in this month alone I could meet her for more than 8 times in different events.

Then I went back to Tokyo with my friends.

Btw, this is a photo I took from the ISO fest that I was talking about in the handshake report above:

 

5/5 + 5/6 No Way Man Individual HS

Usually I'm too lazy to write reports, but this was one of the better ones I've had in a while so I thought I should preserve for posterity

This time I concentrated on Yahagi Moeka before she becomes too popular. This single was also the last one where she still has the bonus items. (1s, 2s, sign, etc) Eventually I ended up with close to 200 for both days, something which I'm pretty sure will never happen again. Otherwise I just stacked my other favorites and threw in some new faces to make it fresh.

I'm going to split this by members instead of slots because otherwise it would be chaotic. Honestly I don't remember most of the convos but I'll try my best
Also remember my Japanese is not the best so there's a lot of stumbling and tumbling along the way

Yahagi Moeka:

Started the day with sign card. Luckily was able to win one towards the end after a lot of misses. Score! Moeka is actually one of those that has a REALLY good memory, but I haven't met her too much, last time being August of last year...so it's natural she forgot how I look like.

Spoiler

Me: Yaho long time no see!
Moe: Yaho, ah you won congrats!
Me: Well you might not really remember me, but I'm XXX!
Moe: Ah XXX! I remember!
Me: Wow as expected...
Moe: (Starts signing the card) So where do you come from again?
Me: Well my hometown is NY
Moe: Ah, I love spiderman!
Me: Yep I know, we actually did the spiderman pose last year at 2s. Also I told you I'm from the same neighborhood as him
Moe: Wow that's so cool, Moe-chan wants to go too
Me: Can I ask you something? Can you draw me on the card?
Moe: Yea sure (starts drawing, raises head to look at me a few times) Hey stop moving!
Me: lol my bad. Anyways are you excited for the next spiderman movie?
Moe: Yea I want to go see it! When is it coming out again?
Me: Don't really know, but I saw Avengers a few days before this
Moe: Ah that's nice
Me: I did see Moeka is interested in horror movies? Can I recommend the movie "Cabin in the Woods"? It's old but I liked it.
Moe: Ah Moe-chan saw it, it's like that one with the blonde? What's their names again?
Me: Well it's that guy from Thor, Chris!
Moe: Hmm Thor?
Me: *Jumble words trying to communicate, Moeka confused* Well I'll be sure to let you know about another one I like
Moe: Ok, here you go (hands me card)
Me: I got more so see ya later
Moe: laters!

Next slot 1S, didn't manage to win a single one

Spoiler

Me: Hiya again
Moeka: Ah XXX!
Me: I didn't win Orz. Anyways I think XXX is getting kinda old now so can you just give me a quick nick name?
Moeka: hmmm... how about MEGANE GONZAREZU
Me: What the heck is GONZAREZU
Moeka: It's a famous...Japanese (something something I didn't understand), big too!
Me: Well ok, I'll go look it up afterwards. By the way, I see you wanted to take Eiken (English ability test)
Moeka: Yep I do, but I haven't been studying it lately
Me: Then why don't we start practicing now lol
Moeka: Sure, let's go
Me: "Hi, n..."
Moeka: Ah you are getting serious already with that pronunciation, stop picking on me
Me: I just said Hi though...
Moeka: The mood is too serious
[talked about bunch other random stuff, forgot]
Me: Well next time I come back it will be all English! PREPARE YOURSELF
Moeka: Oh no

Next slot was the signed carp streamer, but Tanikawa Hijiri's line was massive so I ended up missing this... Then after that was pic sign and again I didn't win

Spoiler

Me: so I looked up GONZAREZU, it's actually a Spanish last name
Moeka: Ah I didn't know that
Me: So where did this come from? Some baseball player or something?
Moeka: Moeka doesn't know!
Me: HM? Why did you give me this name then
Moeka: So it's not good after all huh
Me: Well yea... So how is your sister doing lately?
Moeka: She's doing well, still going to school
Me: Wow still in school huh
Moeka; Do you like her?
Me: Well I went to her, like once or twice
Moeka: Ehh once or twice huh (gives me look)
Me: Yea well I like Moe-chan a lot more
Moeka:
Me: But you know, I have a few dentist friends in the US, and they are all like 70 million yen in debt
Moeka: Whattt?! 70 million yen?! How?
Me: Well dental school is really expensive over there, but they make a lot of money too so for most of them it's not a problem. It's not the same here is it?
Moeka: No my sis is not that much in debt

Last slot was 2s, which I end up having the most tickets for. This time I won 3

Spoiler

Moeka: Ah XXX
Me: Yaho! (So here I started to take shots. The usher today was one of those strict ones that doesn't let anyone have some fun. Anyways he was basically directing the length of camera and everything. Then when I requested a Hyokkori-han pose he said something about not blocking her or something blabla. Meh it was a mess)
Me: So is there anything you want to ask me about?
Moeka: Hmm, so in the USA are there a lot of guns?
Me: Well some places like country side probably more, but not really in big cities.
Moeka: Do you like hear gun shots at night all the time?
Me: lol umm no, it's not that dangerous, you watch too much TV
Moeka: Moeka wants to try shooting a gun too...
Me: Er that's not very idol like
Moeka: Have you tried before?
Me: Yea I have been to the shooting range a few times, shooting at targets
Moeka: That's cool
(Convo continues into some private stuff I rather not talk about here)
Me: Anyways, good work today, get a good rest and see you tomorrow
Moeka: Baicha

And that ends Yahagi Moeka for the day. Next on to Umeyama Cocona since I don't remember much I'll just condense it into a single entry. I have to say though her lines are now much longer than what it was last year, guess all that pushing is working out.

Spoiler

Me: Ah hello, long time no see
Coco: Ah hello
Me: You probably don't remember, but I'm that fan from america and I write on your blog from time to time
Coco: Ah thank you
Me: But wow, your line is so long now, Cocona is getting more popular
Coco: Not that much, but I'm definitely happy a lot more people are coming
Me: I'm also really happy though that Cocona is getting into more TV shows and songs, especially Sakamichi AKB and Pink Iro no Sekai.
Coco: Thank you
Me: But Cocona is trying too, I love all the SNS updates and especially GGS (a monthly magazine she creates herself), that must take a lot of effort!
Coco: Yes but it's fun doing it
Me: Well the next one is supposed to be out in 2 days right? Are you going to make it on time
Coco: I'm still editing that now, but hopefully I can make it on time
Me: Looking forward to it!

[A bunch of other random chit chat that I don't really remember anymore ]

1S Video: https://streamable.com/vccg5
Cocona: I have a feeling something good is going to happen!
Me: Go become the next NMB center!
(Yea I don't know if I got the meaning, but also don't mind my gross voice)

Next is Yokoyama Yui, who is now my T8 oshi after Hijiri shortly announced she's leaving just the day before this. Again going to condense everything here.

Spoiler

Me: Hiya!
Yui: Oh hey
Me: So what did you do this golden week break?
Yui: Doing nothing at home LOL
Me: oi oi, that sounds kinda depressing
Yui: Well it's a rare break
Me: hey hey look at you big Aomori star being so busy!
Yui:
Me: But yea, it's sad that Hiji is graduating, she's my fave T8
Yui: Yea Yui too
Me: Did you know this before hand though?
Yui: Yes I knew quite a time ago
Me: Ah yea isn't it sad to see your best friend go, but earlier I got Hiji's permission to be your #1 Wota
Yui: Oh really, thank you so much
Me: Well since I'm your fan now I would realllly appreciate it if you can remember me
Yui: Oh what's the name again?
Me: XX
Yui: Ok XX got it
Me: But recently I'm really liking your photos on instagram, when did you become so oshare?
Yui: Ehhh it's always like that though
Me: Wow such self-confidence
Yui:
Me: What about my fashion today?
Yui: Well yea hmmm errr let's see... I like the white shirt
Me: That's it?
Yui: Yea it's nice and all...
Me: But that's so generic, anybody could've said that
Yui: Well it's good
Me:

With Yui it's always fun teasing her like crazy



After failed Hyokkori-han poses with Moeka and Cocona, I wasn't going to give up, and finally got a good one

1S: https://streamable.com/w43ds
Yui: I have a feeling something good is going to happen!
Me: Like you becoming my waifu? (I messed up the jpnese here but she seems to have understood)
Yui: NOPE

Next up Tanikawa Hijiri...who announced her graduation just the day before this. Her lane was crazy long due to many days of tickets all compressed into a few slots, which greatly messed up my schedule. This was the last chance to see her though so I did go to all the slots, unfortunately won zilch in bonus items. Most of the convo revolved around talking through some memories, me begging her to keep her SNS going, and me switching to Yokoyama after she leaves. Most of it is pretty personal and embarrassing so no posting.

Takino Yumiko:
Me: Nice to meet you
Yumiko: Ah nice to meet you, you are tall
Me: But so are you , anyways congrats on your ship sailing
Yumiko: Thank you very much, it's so exciting
Me: You said it would be cool to visit a lot of places right? I wonder when it will reach America
Yumiko: Oh that would be cool
Me: Well airplane takes like 12 hours...so how long would a ship take I wonder


Miku:
Me: Ah nice glasses today, looks cute on you!
Miku: Thank you very much
Me: I like those round glasses, they seem fashionable, never had one
Miku: It will definitely go well with you I think
Me: Oh really, thanks
Miku: Yea you are very oshare
Me:


Yamauchi Mizuki:
I had a few tickets but can't remember what I talked about at all
I think I asked her what she did during the break and she said she went to watch a play, and I told her to come to broadway to watch some REAL plays. Other than that I'm drawing a complete blank.


Before I entered Miru lane I got to befriend a Cocona/Miru fan who I've been following on twitter for a while. Somehow we ended up back to back on Miru's lane. The guy in front introduced me and Miru said she knows (I'm not exactly sure about this, but I have been going to her lane a lot every time and she always says she remembers, but in the end I just don't know)

Miru: Ah hello
Me: Yo, so you do really remember me huh...I'm so moved
Miru: Yea well I love you after all
Me: , well at AKB Spring Fes I got to see Miru up close live for the first time!
Miru: Ohhh, how was it?
Me: I can see Miru's appeal even more now, the outfit and songs were cool, it's just so different up close
Miru: ahh thank god
Me: But the girl infront of me caught the monkey plush Miru was throwing out
Miru: Sorry about that
Me: So what are you wearing today eh...
Miru: It's my Pajama! Isn't it cute
Me: Yea well I do like the ribbon
Miru: This is from crayon shin-chan
Me: Hmmm, what's that, never heard
Miru: !!! Really
Me: Yea I guess I'll have to go look it up
Miru: It's really cute and I love it


And last for the day I think was Mion
Mion: Ah long time no see!
Me: What the heck?! You remember me?
Mion: Well yea you come often [[compared to other members, not really imo]]
Me: I'm just curious, how?
Mion: Well you're tall I guess?
Me: Well that makes me happy...but you've become soukantoku so congratulations on that!
Mion: Thanks a lot!
Me: Now that you are soukantoku you can wield your powers huh
Mion: No nothing like that!
Me: But the first generation soukantoku Takamina is getting married, I couldn't believe it
Mion: Ahh yea isn't it nice
Me: Well remember how last year I told you you can gamble when you are 21 in the US, are you still gonna come to Vegas?
Mion: I would love to go if I have the chance
Me: come on baby



5/6
Back to the grind after a long (8am-10pm) day yesterday.

Going to start off with Yahagi Moeka section again:

First slot was 2S, won 1 so I was good

Spoiler

Moeka: Ah X-chan, good morning
Me: Hmmmm? X-CHAN?
Moeka: Yea I think it's cute
[takes photo]
Moeka: Ah the photo is cute
Me: So does Moe-chan ever have any long breaks?
Moeka: No I never get more than 2-3 days off
Me: Wow that must be tough huh, after AKB Spring Fes I really want to see Moeka perform live up close now though. In my lifetime of being a fan I have never won a theater show though
Moeka: How many times have you applied
Me: In the hundreds , actually I've been to all the other theaters except the AKB one...
Moeka: That certainly is tough
Me: But ya know there's a pass for foreigner to ride unlimited shinkansen, so I actually been to every prefecture except 3
Moeka: Wow really, that must be nice Moeka wants to go too! What's your favorite place
Me: I think Kyoto? I like the atmosphere and how serene it is
Moeka: Kyoto huh... (then she proceeds to list a bunch of other places to see if I've been to those, most of which I have)
Moeka: Wow you are more well-traveled than Moeka
Me: Yea well I'm old

Next slot is 1s, managed to win 2. Since taking the shots took up most of the time there wasn't much convo here going on
Moeka: Ah x-chan!
Me: yo can you stop with that, kind of embarrassing
Moeka: haha look at you all shy, and you are smirking
Me: speaking of sucheese though what is Moeka's favorite type of cheese
Moeka: Turkish cheese!
Me: errrr...is that even a thing? You know most normal ppl like the cheddar, american, swiss, provlone, parmesan cheese...
Moeka: YOU don't know Turkish cheese?
Me: like hell i do

1s: https://streamable.com/8za0o
Moeka can't stop her love for X, someone help me!

https://streamable.com/7xk5u
Would you stay by Moeka's side forever?
Sorry I can't I'm going back to my home country tomorrow

Next is sticker, which I managed to win 2. The large (very large btw, almost poster size) stickers ran out, so I had to settle for med size ones

Spoiler

Me: I know most people don't see it, but I know Moeka is working hard behind the scenes
Moeka: Yep Moe-chan is working hard
Me: that's why I want to reward you with something good for your birthday winkwink
Moeka: Ehhh that's so nice of you
Me: What do you want, how about some Gucci LOL
Moeka: But you can't send anything more than 10000 yen
Me: And no make up items too right? That's certainly very hard, but I'll see what I can do
Moeka: eh well I'll be looking forward to it [[eh why did I do this to myself]]
Moeka: alrighty then I'm going to write something (starts writing on poster) is this right so far?
Me: Hmmm yea...keep going... (Moeka finishes writing) wow that's actually right, amazing! (snarky) I bet Moe-chan is smart
Moeka: te-he
(Time is up at this point but she spent most of it on the first poster)
Moeka: Ah you won two, X-X-X-X chan
Me: Ya know...in English my name sounds like a cat
Moeka: ah Neko-chan? That's cute (draws a cat)
Me: Hmm why did you draw it there and it's so dark can't even see it
Moeka:

Another short slot, didn't manage to win
Me: omg I'm so hungry right now, I haven't eaten anything today, I'm almost dead
Moeka: Eh make sure to eat a nice big meal tonight
Me: Well do you have any recommendations then... like in the Roppongi area
Moeka: Roppongi huh... how about some Katsudon
Me: Isn't that just like normal fast food, something more unique!
Moeka: Noodles
Me: errrrrrr
Moeka: some caviar then?
Me: lol wth, caviar? Moe-chan is really rich isn't she
Moeka: no not at all
Me: nah you are definitely lying, I see you post all those Saint Laurents on your IG
Moeka: Moe-chan is not rich
Me: Ok

Last slot managed to win 1 card, really though these lottos have been getting way harder than before. If this was last year I reckon I would have won at least 8 cards.

Spoiler

Moeka: Ah XXX-chan without glasses
Me: Yea, picture please
Moeka: Ok (starts drawing)
Me: Without my glasses I can't see anything
Moeka: Really then how did you get here
Me: with my 6th sense, I can feel your presence
Moeka:
Me: Why do I look like a monkey in the pic?
Moeka: your face is puffy and cute
Me: ohh......
Moeka: and that graphic on your shirt
Me: well whatever, good enough as long as Moe-chan drew it!
(at this point I forgot what happens because I think I was just trying to say whatever to finish up and go home, so I'm having a reallllly hard time recalling, but properly similar flow of back and forth teasing as before)

Next is Umeyama Cocona

Mostly talked about Pump Up Omochichan (her YNN solo program) and how I wanted to do a 1 day tour of all the sweets shops she goes to in those episodes, which she encouraged me to do. We also talked about her other programs like the new osaka-tv dramas (there's the flower girl with Cocona and Aayan and a mystery file with Cocona and Miru) and recent Bingo appearances. Lastly I was running out of things so I asked her for diet tips, which she took seriously and started explaining . Anyways I really enjoyed calling her look of the day similar to "an old lady doing cleaning around the house" and her reaction to that. But I really do have to admit, she is so much better at interacting than last year where she was just sort of replying "yes" to everything, so definitely enjoy her personal and career growth over the last few months.



1S: https://streamable.com/lpgbq

Yokoyama Yui
After professing I would switch to Yoko chan for my T8 oshi, I tried to test her with remembering her new fan. Lo and behold she does remember! But I guess she's just not the type to show it really easily (unlike Moeka's constant pampering). Anyways I thought she will probably forget in a week or two so I called myself hamburger punch (you can see in the sticker she wrote hamburger punch lol). At first she was confused (guess jpnese ppl are bad at thinking outside the box) but she got it after I explained she's got her ringo punch since she's from Aomori. This would later set up her knowing it was me in her Cebu showroom event since I was plastering her with hamburger names nonstop Also talked about a lot of other random stuff, but I guess the ones that stuck with me was I promise her I finish watching hunter x hunter by the next time we meet [[140 eps...what did i get myself into again]] and that I would lose weight during that time too. Kind of funny now that she's preparing to shape up for the Cebu guidebook but is eating hella unhealthy so I'm definitely gonna let her hear it next time.

1S: https://streamable.com/qedo5

Tanikawa Hijiri:
Her last day of individual handshake. Said my goodbyes and wished her happiness after her idol life. I was teasing her telling her maybe I should quit idols too and find a wife, and she was being nice and saying I'll find someone soon (LOL). I said Hiji is fine for me and she was acting surprised asking if she was good enough. Anyways many girls came out of her lane crying, and it was definitely an emotional ending. Personally I did feel her room for growth in 48 was basically done so I'm happy she's going to take on a new path, but sad at the same time that she (and the wider implications of important T8 members graduating) will no longer be around.



Nakamura Mai:
I'm not that into STU but I saw a few of her SRs and thought she was probably my fave STU for now. Went through the same old nice to meet you I'm from America and to my surprise she asked me to speak Engrish (I think first time ever? Most of the members don't believe me and think I'm trolling them ) and was amazed at my "My favorite member in STU is Nakamura Mai" line.


Ikumi:
Last handshake for Ikumi as well. Same with Hijiri as I said my goodbyes and wished her well. I think many people started out liking Ikumi but then kind of faded since she never picked up the momentum necessary to truly become the ace she was supposed to, so it's a pretty sad ending to an otherwise above average career. She's one of those you have to see live to appreciate her coolness


1S: https://streamable.com/sj2mk

Mion:
Managed to win her sign this time, she had her forehead out which is ultra-cute look for her imo.

Me: Yaho
Mion: Ah you came again
Me: Ah that forehead look, cute!
Mion: Really? Thank you
Me: Is there anything you are worried about for the group?
Mion: Hmmm, I really would like to be able to do more lives
Me: Yea, especially overseas! Last time AKB was in America was like 2012(?) in D.C.
Mion; It would be great if we can do some overseas live
Me: Well now that you are the soukantoku and all...
Mion; Haha I really can't do much but I'll try

 

Sorry for double posting, but pic limits...

Continuing with Mukaichi Mion



Yamauchi Mizuki:
This was for Zukky sticker, which sadly I didn't win. Literally EVERYONE around me won except for me, and I had more tickets than them, so that made me a little lonely.

Me: Yaho, so sad I didn't win the poster
Mizuki: Yea sorry about that
Me: But you know, I realized I really like Zukky's nose...
Mizuki: Ehhh! (Covers up her nose embarrassingly which was kind of cute)
Mizuki: Nande?! Why? (Her exact words lol)
Me: Well first of all I like the size...
Mizuki: Un-huh
Me: and then the shape as well, as well as the angle
Mizuki: Well...thank you
Me: But I'm... (note here in Japanese I tried to say hana fechi janai, but she thought I was going to say hana fechi desu, here she cuts me off after I said hana fechi. This whole segment doesn't really translate well)
Mizuki: So you are a nose fetish?
Me: Janai
Mizuki: ah ah so you're not

Horinouchi Momoka:
One of the more popular new NMB girls that I wanted to meet. I did the same hello+america shtick, but once I saw her she kinda reminded me of my mom so I let that slip out and she was laughing to that well.


Ogawa Yuka:
Another new gen NMB who I thought was cute in SR. This time didn't win anything, the lottos are definitely becoming harder sigh. Overall very gentle and slow talking so you can feel the serenity around. The hard thing about these kind of 1-3 ticket interaction is it's kind of hard to judge interactions going forward, and it's definitely hard to make an uber impression in a few seconds.

Tanaka Miku:
It really is sad Miku can't have the other bonuses anymore, as having just the signed card kind of limits her ability to sell out. Anyways we chatted about izone, which I saw a few days ago at their first fan meeting. I told her it wasn't really for me (yes I'm a hater) but if I had to pick a fave it would be Wonyoung.



Shiroma Miru:
Miru: Yay you won (high fives me)
Me: What's your outfit today? Alice in wonderland?
Miru: (Takes a few seconds to process my Engrish) ah yea yea, Arisu.
Me: BTW can you draw me on the back?
Miru: Sorry I can't, they'll get mad at me
Me: alright Orz, so I looked up crayon shin-chan yesterday
Miru: How was it?
Me: Isn't it a bit too childish? But I do like the bee ba la theme song though.
Miru: But it's cute though, lol I like the song too
Me: Well you did say you like My Hero Academia?
Miru: Yea yea (starts to get into it), so who's your fave? Bakugo?
Me: hmmmmmm... ummm I guess Todoroki?
Miru: Yea me too, I like Todoroki!
Me: If I had a quirk, what would you see my power be? (I completely botch this one)
Miru: ?????????
Me: Ahh well, never mind
(At this point she finishes signing the card. I still had a good amount of time left by my estimation, but the usher pushed me out after she gave me the card. I'm pretty pissed about this as I still had a good minute or two left at least, but apparently that's the way it works with other people too so I guess you gotta tell Miru to keep writing or something? lol)


Oguri Yui:
In my pursuit of Moeka in the early rounds I guess I was only able to get 1 Yui ticket this time. When I stepped in she immediately went "Oh I remember you". At this point I was insanely confused, because I go to her about once with few tickets a year, but at the same time she did say this in the last couple of times we met too so this one is a real mystery to me, considering the amount of people she meets nowadays. Told her I loved that all English ep of kanto hakusho and that was about it.

Okada Nana:
Last ticket of the day woho! I was definitely excited just to get this over with ASAP. I haven't met Nana in a while and really liked the hair she was sporting that day. I told her I tried to look for her when she posted about being in NY. She cunningly avoided it (I guess?) by going into this loud monologue like "WOW! NEw YORK. SUBARASHII. BROADWAY SAIKOU" so I ended with "well if you really think so then come again yo!" After the HS I noticed a strong fragrance on my hand, so Naa definitely started using handcreams too. Just don't be surprised if you ever go to her and come out with your hand smelling like heaven.

And that's all. Hope you enjoyed(?) reading my worst attempt at recalling & rambling ever.

 

Oh boi, so many things to write...rather start from the latest one. Yesterday`s Pajama Drive stage 20190701.

Well, second time seeing Pajadora this month after bringing in 2 Swedish wotas 2 weeks earlier. So far, have seen all Team Stage live except team 4 which only managed to got miokuri twice.

How to apply for ticket: Through the ticket center and hope your luck to be on your side. For overseas fans, I suggest to find someone who haven`t apply/win any theater in the last month to register you and max 1 other friend as his/her companion. Another way is to register your address in from outside Kanto (well, you technically live outside Kanto after all. And hotel address works), then apply in the "faraway" application period. You will have higher chance to win.

Back to the stage. Not so lucky this time in the seat bingo, got in like 5-6th from the last group (out of 27). But inside, kind of lucky that I checked the seat on the left side, and a staff showed me there is one empty seat. Not the best place to see the center part of the stage, but at least three of my most favorite KKS frequently stand on this side. And since current KKS is down to 15 members, that means nowadays there will be some full members to fill in the spot. Quite convenient to see whether the KKS actually already have comparable abilities with the full members. Another point, as this is KKS stage I use the KKS standard to give the score.

Yamane Suzuha
Well, she is not KKS anymore since...long time ago. Easily one of the best performer on stage. Hanging around with YuuNaa and in Team A brings many benefit for her. Great performance, so much teasing, feel comfortable in MC.
Performance: 10/10
MC: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

Nagatomo Ayami
Another full member with plenty of experience. Coming from Team K, she is above average in dancing but to be honest, I think she is not more superior than many top KKS. Or maybe she mostly just stand behind the pillar that block my view, lol. One noticeable thing she frequently did, on MC part she usually peeked to the side so she can see the far left part of the seat. I think there was a group of her fans standing behind me who brought uchiwa with her name on it. Good performance, fluent in MC, but...nothing special.
Performance: 8/10
MC:7/10
Overall: 7/10

Kurosu Haruka
Gen 16 obachan as the latest promoted member. She exude confidence in her performance, great at MC, and know when to deliver the right fan-service.
Performance: 9/10
MC: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Sato Shiori
Her relatively large build makes it easy to spot her. She did better on dance heavy song and one that need a little cocky attitude. But sometimes she looked kind of slacking when it was not her part. As she is relatively older, she can navigate the MC part relatively easy.
Performance: 6/10
MC: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Promote: I think she can get some more benefit in KKS stage for a while. Maybe in end of the year.

Sato Minami
A veteran which makes people wonder why she is still a KKS. Well, I will try my best to describe it...it looks like she perform for herself, and not the audience. She is a great dancer and decent singer, skill wise she is superior than most of other KKS. But that...factor...just missing from her, even though she is ace material. As Zunchan was there, it is easier to point at what aspect she is still lacking. Like in MC, she feels like only talking about herself. Well, she is 15 y.o. I guess with her maturing way of thinking will bring out her performer aura.
Performance: 9/10
MC:7/10
Overall:7/10
Promote: Kind of having a bit doubt, but leaning towards...promote her already! she is frequently on Team A stage already.

Honda Sora
A big talent in a small body. As she did seijinshiki already, it shows on stage that she is a mature performer. With her skill, she can easily blend in Team K too. Knows how to manage MC session, and definitely can connect with audience. I would say, she is like a younger version of Okabe Rin.
Performance: 10/10
MC: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Promote: Definitely, she surpassed Chiba Erii already, I`d say she is on par with Nishikawa Rei

Michieda Saki
Another gen 16 still stuck at KKS alongside Satomina and Honma Mai. Kato Rena like performer, though she need to develop her elegance if she want to go down that path. She definitely have some, but still alternating between her child-like side (she is 15, duh). Relatively quiet in MC but sometimes can deliver the right sentence at the right time.
Performance: 7/10
MC: 6/10
Overall: 6/10
Promote: Kind of neutral, torn between yes or maybe another short stint.

Okada Rina
I would say she is a unique character. Like she is unstoppable on stage while dancing and singing, but kind of not really into it in MC or when she just standing still with her empty glare, but can deliver killer sentence whenever needed. Obviously a superior performer fit for Team K. A touch of fan-service in her performance will give huge benefit for her.
Performance: 9/10
MC: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
Promote: I think she will be promoted the next time they have one.

Kobayashi Ran
Considering her age, performance, MC, and SR skill, I say this is a big catch for AKB that they can nurture as future ace alongside Nishikawa Rei. She has what it takes to be like Yuko back then, a mature person despite her age. I definitely recommend to check her out.
Performance: 10/10
MC: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Promote: To Team K? Hell yes! Moeka who...

Suenaga Yuzuki
At a glance, she usually looked like a frightened lost child on stage I was like "find her parents please...". Recently she can deliver a decent performance, but her face just show that MC session is a stressful thing for her, even the jikoshokai part. Definitely a hard-working member who tries to overcome her fear to be on stage. I do respect her for that and will wait for her development.
Performance: 6/10
MC: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
Promote: I think more time as KKS is needed for her.

Nagano Megumi
The fisher on stage. She shines the most on MC segment actually. Performance-wise...sadly kind of unnoticeable. I think she might do well in gravure jobs in the future.
Performance: 6/10
MC: 8/10
Overall: 6/10
Promote: Not yet there I think...

Otake Hitomi
Another great kenkyusei on the roster. Ticked all the boxes for a great performer, I think she is just one level below Sora and Ran. The last time I watch Team B stage she was zenza girl. I think she can fit in Team B just fine already.
Performance: 9/10
MC: 8/10
Overall: 9/10
Promote: Yes please.

Saito Haruna
This one is just like her Tochigian senpai currently in South Korea. Kind of DGAF attitude, but any time...she will deliver once on stage. A quiet person but a razor-mouth at times on MC, sleek and neat dancing skill, decent voice. I just consider her as the Tochigi representative while the other one still MIA for another 1.5 year. She needs more exposure to increase her fanbase. She is nice and cute on HS tho.
Performance: 9/10
MC: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
Promote: She has been on many Team B stage already...what are they waiting for?

Ishiwata Sena
An old enough front-line material dwarf She and Sora are my current KKS favs. Fantastic performer for any type of song (this time she was in Kagami no naka Jean D`Arc, before she was in Tenshi no Shippo as center). Teased a lot because of her height, but it is her advantage to audience sitting in front rows. She has been on some Team 4 stage already these 2 months.
Performance: 9/10
MC: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Promote: Definitely. YuuNaa will be happy to have another loli to play with. Oh, and Sakaguchi will be glad someone shorter than her standing on the same stage.

Kuramoto Miyu
She is kind of...average on stage and MC. I think she got some talent to be an idol, but she need to develop her character first. Average performance and engagement in MC. Need to have something more to attract attention on stage. Unfortunately, age is not on her side at this level.
Performance: 6/10
MC: 6/10
Overall: 6/10
Promote: Rather than promotion, she needs help in finding her own idol chara first.

Yoshihashi Yuzuka
Not far from Kuramoto and Sato Shiori, but she kind of has her own character already. Hence, she is more noticeable on MC segment. Performance wise, need more time to develop to be on par with full members.
Performance: 6/10
MC: 7/10
Overall: 6/10
Promote: We`ll see how she fare at the end of the year.

*learning from my experience to be engaged more with Senatan before, I deliberately bring my Rin light stick. Resulting in Zunchan and Sora waving at me non stop whenever they are nearby also engaged in short convo with Shiori and those two at the high-wave after the show.


The rest of the theater/other events experience hopefully will follow.

 

2019年07月24日(水) 18:30～ 「パジャマドライブ」公演, Sato Shiori’s seitansai.

Had won this stage by enpou, which is a first for me at AKB theater. It was a kenkyuusei stage, like last time I was fortunate enough to get to the original theater. However, it should be noted that the original theater is not the best as it has the legendary twin pillars and the seats aren’t comfortable. Enpou spots aren’t bad at all but I was last of the enpous in so I did have to deal with the pillar blocking a little. However I saw well enough so not really reasons to complain.

Pajama Drive is a very well known stage so I’ll not get into details other than I like the unit songs a lot.

I am not really familiar with current AKB kenkyuuseis, so this was a nice chance to see for myself. The line-up however had Otake Hitomi who I am fond of, and Omori Maho who I was interested to see live. The seitansai was a nice bonus but as I was not invested on Shiori it did not make much difference.


My notes:
- Maho is very nice on stage and cute too. However I did not feel same awesomeness than, for example, Aoumi Hinano, but very nice nonetheless. She is suited for both cute and cool songs IMO so she has a lot going for her.
- Hitomi was Top Gun. I am not sure what it is in her eyes which always captivates me.

After the stage was done, then it was time for some evening snack, and back to hotel. Stay tuned for more adventures!

 

2019/8/3 AKB48 Zenkoku Tour @ Ueno Gakuen Hall, Hiroshima (Noon performance)

Well well, having skipped the Sendai concerts it was time for me to get on the Zenkoku Tour train which meant an early wake-up and once again getting to shinkansen. However, plenty of other people had the same idea and especially from Shin-Osaka onwards the train was full. However having comfortable seat I was able to rest some more before being in Hiroshima with a comfortable 30 minutes until door opening. The hall itself was quite easy to reach from Hiroshima station.

My seat gave me mixed feelings, as it was a front row seat... in 2nd floor. View was excellent as there was nothing blocking my view for the entire stage, and it was close enough for me to be able to recognize members even with my shit vision, but not well enough, so I resorted to using binoculars which I had remembered to bring. In a smaller venue like this, 8x magnification is enough but stabilization would be nice. The railing in front of me was a bit too low for comfort so I resorted to enjoy the concert sitting down, as did the other folks in the first row.

The setlist was very nice and varied, with a lot of songs I like. Encore was let’s say haphazard since it started by clapping before someone started leading the AKB - 48 call.

Afterwards, it was back to Hiroshima station and some okonomiyaki before getting back to train.

Notes:
- Damn Miion looks nice these days, caught most of my attention
- Komi does cool songs oh so well
- Naachan has Super(wo)man reflexes at omiokuri. All members on my lane were on automatic repeating ”Arigato gozaimashita” but Naachan wasn’t, instantly shifting into English and leaning into it with ”Thank you very MUCH!”.
- I had forgotten how much I like Kimi to niji to taiyou to, which is a lot
- Sustainable a nice touch but...

 

Yesterday, August 17th, I attended the KCon convention and concert in Los Angeles to see IZ*ONE. This was an interesting experience for me as I'm very much a Kpop neophyte and became an IZ*ONE fan through their connection to 48G.

The way KCon works is that you can buy access to see the artist at a panel or participate in a High-touch with them. What I did not know until I got there was that which artists you get to see is assigned at random. Thankfully you're able to trade with other attendees to get the events you prefer. So I was able to get tickets for IZ*ONE's panel and the pre-concert red carpert event that they would be appearing at. What I really wanted but could not get was a High-touch ticket. IZ*ONE was one of the most in demand high-touches at the convention.

The artist engagement panel was fun. I didn't have a great position but I could see Sakura the whole time even while she was sitting. It's so crazy seeing her in person for the first time after being a fan for almost seven years. The moderator asked some predetermined fans questions that I found were all kind of simple. The only one that stuck with me was what movie did they want to act in, not because I thought it was a good question but because it sounded like the girls just answered with whatever movie they saw last. Sakura chose Aladdin. Then they played a game where they were split into teams and had to guess the name of a song after listening to only a very brief clip. When they would play the full song Chaeyeon would dance every time. It was awesome. Then they got cookies and a plush regardless if their team won or lost. I assumed they would dismiss the rest of us when it was time for the high-touch event but we got to stay and watch it happen, which is good I guess? I mean it was nice spending more time in the same room as the members but also you had to watch something you couldn't be a part of.

The next event was the red carpet which was in the same room but with all the artists performing at that night's concert taking brief turns on stage. I had a much better view this time around, but this wasn't as fun not just because they were only there for a minute but because they didn't do any of the talking themselves. They just giggled and whispered to themselves while the moderator made some comments about their outfits.

So on to the big concert which I enjoyed a lot but there was some weirdness. There were seven groups performing not counting the preshow. The main show kicked off with back to back songs from Ateez and Loona than each group would sing their sets of about three to five songs more or less, I wasn't keeping close track outside of IZ*ONE. I think the first full set was by AB6IX and when that wrapped up IZ*ONE signage came up on the big screens so naturally I thought IZ*ONE would have the second set. Chaewon and Yuri come out and sang a duet I wasn't familiar with that I later found out is called "Love Will Show You Everything". It was nice and all and possibly the only slow song performed the whole concert. But it wasn't the kick-off to IZ*ONE's setlist because after this the MCs came back on stage to introduce the next group. Chaewon and Yuri's song was just a one-off. Nothing else like it happened again for the duration of the concert. It was odd.

IZ*ONE's full performance would end up being the second to last of the concert. That was good for building up anticipation but I could definitely feel the audience's energy had cooled down. The songs they performed were Violeta, Highlight, La Vie En Rose, Airplane and Nekkoya. Apparently this was the exact setlist they performed at KCon New York except they also performed Rumor over there. So I'm kind of salty about missing out on Rumor. Was "Love Will Show You Everything" the replacement for Rumor? Or were they asked to cut it to keep from running late? IZ*ONE's time on stage felt truncated compared to the other acts who got to interact with the audience more and even play games.

I was seated way far away from the stage but I had a good view of the group themselves. Coupled with the video screens airing close ups of the girls' faces my brain was able to composite a pretty good concert. Even from where I was sitting it was super easy to pick out the Japanese members with their distinct looks, like Sakura's hairstyle, Nako's height and Hiichan's very blonde hair. I don't think the girls had the opportunity to show much of themselves because of the short MCs. Sakura said something about being in LA for the first time but mostly they just thanked the audience and introduced the next song. This would be fine but the other artists got plenty of time to do some fun stuff.

So I had a good time. I hope they come back next year. I'll be better prepared if they do. I also got to meet and talk with a lot of nice IZ*ONE fans. Speaking anecdotally Nako seems crazy popular.

 

^
Nice post -- I'll just add a bit to the things you didn't touch on as much. The three extra songs by Loona, Ateez and Chaewon/Yuri are to make up for one of the groups not being there (Oneus) -- so they don't really count towards their set. And the rookie groups perform first so Izone really would be at the end especially since they are one of the main acts. And I think they talked much less during their set because they performed 4.5 songs vs three for the other groups.

The nice thing with the hi-touch ticket is you were at the forward section during the artist engagement panel so it's pretty close to the members and less crowded. I managed to be at the very front but at very edge which is where they entered. This means no obstruction when you take pictures except for the staff and cameramen that were inside the restricted area.

For the hi-touch itself, I think the staff were less strict with time at the start since the diamond/platinum ticket holders went first. The person in front of me was really excited and kept moving forward which created a nice gap from me and maybe half a second longer interaction with the girls. I figured you can talk to about 3-4 members, hurry past the ones you didn't talk to and still be in line. Yujin, yena and chaewon went by kinda like a blur. Yujin had this big welcoming grin like a puppy as she was the first to meet everyone. Yuri had this big smile which was really nice.

I told nako she was absolutely cute and got a smile from her. I met sakura a few times before and told her it's nice to meet her again which I think confused her a bit. She's very nice and a pro as usual because she leaned closer when she knew that I was going to say something to her. She was also listening when I talked to nako. Talking to nako and sakura led to a somewhat awkward moment with wonyoung who was next, she saw me talk to nako and sakura and I think heard what I had said because it was in japanese so she looked like she was expecting me to say something but I didn't really prepare anything and just said thank you. I felt kinda bad as she was the most welcoming out of the 12 members imo. Eunbi and hitomi went by pretty fast as I was trying to make up time. I think they were expecting me to say something but I only said thank you to both. Next up was minju and I had planned on saying something to her but I was really awed by how pretty she was in person that I couldn't say anything except "wow" to myself. Chaeyeon's was really fast because I wanted to get to kwangbae. I wore a white long-sleeve Nerdy shirt that kwangbae wore on Izone Cbu and practice for their japan concert for suki to iwasetai to hopefully get a reaction. Haha, she had this dazed, deer in headlights look which was really surprising up close. I told her she was my one pick in japanese (of course sakura is my bias but I really like hyewon) and she had the same dazed look the whole time haha. In hindsight I should have worn the sakura shirt that I had but I thought it was a good plan -- I just wasn't prepared enough for kwangbae.

The girls are much much much prettier in person than in pictures and videos. Especially the visual members - they're really stunning. Izone as a whole is really visually stunning compared to the other girl groups that were there. Most (if not all) the sakura fans I talked to while lining up (and you're lining up a lot in kcon) were already fans of sakura from before Izone. The loudest cheers were definitely for sakura followed by chaeyeon and then nako I think. And yes, I hope they come back next year -- that'll be their last kconla too before April 2021.

Edit; Forgot to add that sakura's dancing skills have really improved. It's much more apparent live than on tv or videos. She was fast and fluid and really gets your attention. The flashiest dancer though is Chaewon imo.

 

Hello. I just came back from my first trip in Japan. As an AKB48 & Komiharu fan it was the best trip.
I was lucky to be able to go to Handshake Event in August 11th and Team K concert in August 17th.
Today I’ll write a report about Handshake Event and maybe tomorrow or in two days I’ll write a report about Team K concert.

Handshake Event Report. 2019/08/11 Makuhari Messe
It was my first Handshake Event. I was so nervous. I arrive by 9:30 AM because I didn’t want to get lost lol But it was so easy to find the place.
First of all, I want to say all members I met & could see were really cute with Yukata. I totally recommend going to Handshake event where all members wear yukata!

Slot 1
Mukaichi Mion – 2 tickets. (Sign)
From Mion’s lane I could see Manaka, Yukirin and Naachan. They were so cute ♥
She was the first AKB48 member I met. This day Mion couldn’t speak at all so for me it was difficult to be the only one speaking lol. I told her I was from Spain and my name and she was so surprised (I didn’t need any words to know she was soo surprised lol)
I told her my kami oshimen was Komiharu and I really love Komion. She laughed lol
She was really cute ♥
It was awkward to be the only one speaking but I thank Mion for participating in the handshake though she couldn’t speak at all. I would have been so sad if I couldn’t meet her, since she is my 2nd favourite AKB48 member. I didn’t win anything but it was worth it the experience.

Komiyama Haruka – 4 tickets (Sign)
This slot was the first time I could meet Komiharu. I was so nervous! Finally I could meet Komiharu! First of all, I met Komiharu’s fans in front of her line. I follow a lot of them in Twitter so I already knew them. They are so kind!
Then, I went to the queue and from the lottery button I won one signature!! I was really happy. I wanted this sign so badly. I was my first Komiharu’s sign too!
After a few minutes queuing finally I met Komiharu. After 6 years supporting her I was impressed at how beautiful she was. Of course I knew she was beautiful but I think that was another level.

I told her I was from Spain and the most surprised part is.. SHE KNEW MY NAME. She told me “Are you Judit!? Thank you for supporting me since the debut.” She already knew about me. @takin told Komiharu about me last year and she already knew about me but it’s awesome seeing that I only needed to tell her I was from Spain to know my name.
I was really surprised that I forgot what I had to say but I could somehow say that I was nervous but very happy and that I was glad to meet her and that my dream was fulfilled. She was also very happy. She asked me how it is “Thank you” in Spain and I told her it was “Gracias” so she wrote “Gracias” in katakana *_*
Komiharu writes very slow the sign because with this way she can speak more. Staff can’t tell me to get out if she is signing lol. Male staff was saying “Jikan desu.” (It’s the time) but Komiharu was still signing so I really got more than 40 seconds. That was really nice ♥
From Komiharu’s lane I could see Yuiri, Miichan and Moeka!
Here you have the photo she signed! She is really beautiful there!!


Slot 2
Tomonaga Mio – 1 ticket (2S)
I couldn’t win 2S but I was happy to meet Mio since she was my first HKT oshi since her debut. She was surprised I came from Spain and told me I was cute (*___*). She was so cute too!

Komiyama Haruka – 9 tickets (2S)
This time I was nervous too because I wanted a 2S so badly and I was afraid I wouldn’t win a 2S. But I was very lucky and I won 3 2S! I knew I was lucky because for example a Komiharu fan had 15 tickets and only won 2 2S.
This time I could speak more because I had more tickets. Frankly, I don’t know if you have more time because you win 2S but these 90 seconds were really long and I thought it was more lol
I met Komiharu again. She was so happy I won 2S. I think she was happier than me. I mean, I was soo happy but I think this day Komiharu was soo happy to meet me since she knew about me for a long time ago and she finally could meet me too.
Three poses were Team K, Komiharu Smile and peace.

I told her I could go to Team K concert because a Komiharu fan gave me a ticket and she was so happy I could go! She told me to shout her name and have a Komiharu’s uchiwa so she could recognize me!
I told her I met a lot of Komiharu’s fans and they are so kind. She is so proud of her fans!


Slot 3
Taniguchi Megu – 1 ticket (1S/2S)
From Megu’s lane I could see Honma Mai. Her smile was cute ^_^
I told Megu that I was from Spain and she was surprised too! She told me “That’s really far away. Thank you for coming to see me!” *_*
Of course I couldn’t win the 2S but I was able to speak with Megu so I was happy!.
I don’t know why but she was late so I had to wait a lot and I almost can’t go to see Seichan

Fukuoka Seina – 1 ticket (1S video)
I won 1S video. O_O The video lasts 10 seconds and the handshake lasted 10 seconds so I could see Seichan 20 seconds! Yay!
Like all the members I told her I was from Spain and she was surprised and happy too! I told her I like Komiseion! *_*

Slot 4
Oomori Maho – 1 ticket (1S photo)
In Maho’s lane I met a Komiharu fan. He told me Maho was really worth it. Of course Maho didn’t disappoint at all and the fan was right.

Maho was surprised that I was from Spain and she had a different reaction. She told me I was so cute and that she loved me (It was the first member beside Komiharu that she told me “Daisuki” *_*) I told her I was Komiharu fan and I met Komiharu for the first time too and she told me she can understand this feeling lol (Maho was Komiharu’s fan before being an AKB member).


Komiyama Haruka – 4 tickets (Sign)
Komiharu didn’t have slot 3 so the next slot was in Slot 4! This time was another type of sign, bigger one.
Fortunately, I won another sign! I won all type of sign (Komiharu’s photo and this one) so I’m really happy!
As I said before, wining a sign is the better. I got more than the time I had to talk with Komiharu again. She wrote very slow again! Lol This time I told her about last year’s sousenkyo. I told her about the campaign I did last year and that I could get 60 votes from international Komiharu’s fans. She was so happy to hear about it. I told her it’s a shame she couldn’t get senbatsu but because she did her best for me it’s okay. She said she was happy to see the fans working together for the SSK and she wasn't sad.


Slot 5
Yamauchi Mizuki – 1 ticket (2S)
I didn’t win but I was happy to meet Zukkii! She was so cute! And of course she was surprised when I told her I was from Spain! ^_^

Komiyama Haruka – 4 tickets (1S photo).
This is the only gimmick of Komiharu I didn’t win. If they made me choose one gimmick to lose I would have chosen this one since I prefer the photos and the sign so I wasn’t sad. Of course I wanted to take a picture of Komiharu but it could be worst!
This slot I talked about SHOWROOM Cebu Event. I told her the event was so fun and I was glad to be able to watch Komiharu’s stream each day during 10 days and I thanked her for participating in this event. Komiharu thanked me to support her in this event too and she read a lot of my comments each day lol
Finally I told her to participate if there is another event!

Fuchigami Mai – 1 ticket
This ticket was oshimashi (Initially it was Jo Eriko’s ticket but she graduated…)
I wanted to use it in slot 6 since this ticket was in Slot 6 but I had time in Slot 5 (in the others slots I didn’t have time lol) so I saw which girls had the star (not many, really) and Maichan was an option! ^_^ I liked her since debut with Mio so I wanted to meet her too!
I had to wait 10 minutes until I could use oshimashi ticket. There were a lot of people waiting there so I thought they were waiting for Maichan but then they went to Lane 1 (Takemoto Kurumi, HKT48 Kenkyuusei). Is Kurumi really that famous? I was so surprised to see that many people went to her lane lol

I had a good experience with Maichan. She can speak English so we ended up speaking in English lol And she told me I was cute too *_* Of course I said Maichan was cute too!
She was ill (and then I realized she was absent the previous day) but she did her best to talk with fans and smile! I felt bad because she really didn’t have so many fans in the lane.

Slot 6
Ando Chikana – 1 ticket (Sign)
I’ve been following Chikana since 3rd Draft SHOWROOM days. It’s a shame she entered in NGT48 but I wanted to meet her in person.
She started 5 minutes before Slot 6 started lol Shen didn’t have many fans though she sold out the slot. I wonder if it was because NGT48’s incident or because the fans weren’t there yet.
Surprisingly, I won the sign! I was so happy! Because she didn’t have many fans and I won the sign I had like 30 seconds to talk with her! The male staff said many times “Jikan desu” lol
I told her I’ve been following her since 3rd Draft SHOWROOM days and she told me she remember someone saying in SHOWROOM she was from Spain so I’m sure it was me! Lol She was really beautiful and I loved her smile!
From Chikana’s lane I could see Rika-chan, Ayutarou, Katomina and Moeka.
After Ando Chikana I had plenty of time so I went to eat. I didn’t want to eat in the queue because nobody was eating so I ended up eating in 18:40 lol


Slot 7
This was the last slot of the day. :’( Before going to Zunchan’s lane I went to see Goto Moe because it was her graduation and we took the photo! It was a lot of people so I can’t see my face lol


Yamane Suzuha – 1 ticket (2S)
I was so happy to be able to meet Zunchan the day of her birthday. I love Zunchan since her debut and I think she is really beautiful!
From Zunchan’s lane I could see Manami. Because I had to wait a lot I think I saw more Manami than Zunchan lol I regret that I didn’t go to Manami’s lane but she didn’t have oshimashi this day T_T
Finally, it was my turn and I could meet Zunchan! Aww she was so beautiful! I said to her “I’m from Spain and my name is Judit. Happy birthday!” and that’s all because staff said “Jikan desu”. I have the feeling I had less than 10 seconds with Zunchan.. Maybe it was because of her birthday? I didn't win 2S neither :'(

Komiyama Haruka – 9 tickets (2S)
This was the last slot I would see Komichan. I was so sad :’( But.. I WON 4 2S! That’s really good because a lot of fans had 5 tickets and didn’t win anything. When I won 4 2S Komiharu fans congratulated me but I said sorry because I won too many and Komiharu fans laughed lol
I had prepared some 4 poses in advance and I used 3 in Slot 2 so I had to think about 3 more poses. That was difficult because I didn't have time so I asked Komiharu fans and they told me more poses! Yaay!
I really love the way Komiharu do handshake. I was the next one and Komiharu was talking with a fan and Komi told her that I came from Spain and that she was so happy. While she was saying it she was looking at me and then she asked me “Judit-san, how it is Bye bye in Spanish!?”. I was so surprised because she wasn’t doing handshake with me but she talked with me instead of the female fan I answered them saying it was “Adiós” and then Komiharu said Adios to her fan lol

When It was my turn and she knew I won 4 2S she was really happy again!! She said “I’m so happy to be able to take a lot of 2S with Judit-san!!” Awww she is so kind!
This time the poses were: Rion-kun (dog), fight (Ganbare!), yay and a “heart” lol
We took the photos and the conversation was like it:
Judit: That’s the last slot… I’m really happy that I became a Komiharu fan.
Komiharu: I’m really happy you became my fan too. You’re cute and your Japanese is so good! I want to go to Spain some day!
Judit: Please come to Spain!! Today it was the best day of my life. Thank you so much!! I hope I can meet Komiharu again in the future!
Komiharu: Next time is Team K’s concert, right!? I’m glad I can see Judit-san again! I hope you enjoy a lot the concert!
Judit: Yes!! I’m looking forward to it!
And then male staff said “jikan desu” but Komiharu wouldn’t let my hands go and the male staff was touching me and saying “jikan desu” but I couldn’t leave LOL. I spent like 10-15 seconds like this. I’m pretty sure Komiharu wanted more time to talk with me. What a nice girl. And when she let my hands go she waved at me and saying Adios even after I took my bag *___*


After I ended with Komiharu I could meet the female fan and I apologized because I used her time. I felt bad lol. She said me that it is normal and Komiharu usually do it so no problem! I felt better when I knew she usually does it lol
After the last slot I had the opportunity to talk a lot with Komiharu fans again and they told me that Komiharu was saying to them that she met me and she was so happy.
Fans told me that Komiharu enjoyed a lot the handshake event and they were pretty sure it was partially because of me. These words made me feel really happy. As a Komiharu fan since her debut, this day was the best day I could have with Komiharu and her fans. I don't regret anything. I hope I can go again in a handshake event.

Also, in the end I met a Mion fan who was going to meet Mion. I told him that I went to see Mion in the first slot and that told her that I liked Komion.
Then I met him again and he told me that he had told Mion he knew me and Mion told him that she remembered me and that she told Komiharu that a fan from Spain went to see her and that her kami oshi was Komiharu and she liked Komion lol

After the handshake ended I went to Zunchan's lane to take the photo with the banner and her because it was her birthday. Zunchan's fans were kind and I even can see my face in the photo!

Also, I went to the group photo of Okarina because they celebrated her promotion and her birthday.
I was about leaving but it was Sato Kaho’s birthday too and I saw her fans were waiting so I waited too!
I don’t know if I can see my face in Okarina and Kaho’s photos because I could find these photos T_T

When I thought my life couldn't go better, Komiharu talked about me in a radio program (ON8+1)!!
You can hear it here (from 43:15):

if the video does not show watch the video here
Basically she said a fan from Spain who has been supporting her since her debut went to met her in the handshake event the other day. She said she was impressed because I had 14 hours by plane and I learned Japanese so I could talk to her.
When I listened it I started to cry. I didn't expect at all Komiharu would talk about me in a radio program. I was so happy.

Sorry for the long post. I hope this experience helps you to want to meet Komiharu! It's really worth it! Also, I want to thank everyone who helped me to buy handshake's tickets ♥
Please stay tunned for Team K concert's report!!

 

Happy for you to finally meet her
And...wow, should be tiring to go for all slots in a day like that. Especially on 11th where the queue was much longer than usual. Will wait for the concert report.

 

wow you're so lucky,i really hope to meet komi one day too since i keep pushing my trip to japan every time lol
it's so cool how the fans are really nice too,and also i noticed we share a lot of favorite members

 

I'm so happy for you that you had a wonderful time with Komi! Even just meeting her briefly is a fantastic experience but it's really great that you could spend so much time with her, win photos and signings, and make sure that'll she'll always remember you the next times you meet her!

IMO you made a good choice of Maichan from HKT for your oshimashi! She does indeed speak good English, certainly that's my experience with her and I'd definitely recommend meeting her to international fans going to HS for the first time.

 

@TiduShoko
Thank goodness you were able to get concert tickets. I was worried because I heard it was pretty hard to get tickets this time.

 

Hello! Here you have my report about Team K concert!
2019/8/17 AKB48 Zenkoku Tour @ Westa Kawagoe, Kawagoe (Team K performance)
First of all, I applied for this concert with AKB, SKE, NMB, HKT and STU mobile, Enzou, AKB48 fanclub and general. Although I did my best I didn’t win a ticket.. I was so sad but a female Komiharu fan won 2 tickets and she said she wanted to go with me so I had the opportunity to go to this concert! I owe her a lot!
I arrived early because I wanted to buy the concert goods and because I didn’t have the ticket yet I wanted to buy when you could buy without ticket. And I bought a lot of things!

If you look at the seats. I was on the third floor, on the second row, number 48.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwidzLLq1aXkAhUyyoUKHbqGBS4QjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https://zaseki.music-mdata.com/22583/1&psig=AOvVaw31GZq1LY0q76zKv9vTOJTH&ust=1567085305500377

It might seem like a bad place but no, it was good, like you can see in the photo.

You couldn't stand in the 4 first rows of third floor and the other 4 rows from the opposite site. So I couldn't stand, but it wasn't a problem because I was very tired because every day I walked a lot during my trip in Japan lol

Zenza : Tonari no Banana (Suenaga Yuzuki, Nagano Megumi)
I was so happy when Megumin and Yuzu appeared! I felt bad for them because they couldn’t get the promotion but they tried so hard to be as good as possible on this song!

M01. Area K
I was so surprised to listen Area K again!! It had been a long time since I had listened this song!! I think some years lol I really like this song!
And of course I was surprised because I could see all the members. They had an extreme energy and I could know they were enjoying a lot from the first song!

M02. Zero-sum Taiyou
Another great song for me. And an old song too, which I really appreciate because I remember old Team K but I can watch new Team K performing this song so it’s really exciting ^_^ This song is really good for a concert too! Members enjoyed it a lot!

M03. Kondo Koso Ecstasy
I knew this song but it’s not one of my favourites ones and I think it’s not really the best song to choose for a concert. Although it’s a sexy song so maybe they chose it J

M04. Virgin Love
Komiharu was great as a center in this song! I enjoyed a lot the chants of this song and I tried my best to follow the fans! ^_^

M05. RESET
The classic Team K song but I don't get tired of listening it. One of my favourite songs so I was really happy when they performed it! This time Komiharu was in Mako’s position. The position suited really well for her! I did my best to shout the name of all members! ^_^

M06. Scrap & Build
I like this song too! I really think old Team K songs really suits Komiyama Team K, so I enjoyed a lot this song too!

MC
After 7 songs, members were really tired but they were really happy too! Normally, they do 4 songs in a row but they did their best to sing and dance 7 songs! I’m so proud of Komiyama Team K!
They made the typical MC to introduce themselves, as in AKB48 Theater. I enjoyed a lot doing the catchphrases of the members but of course I shouted the best I could with KOMIHARU SMILE!! The fans gave their best with all members because nobody was sad and thought she had no fans! I really liked it about the fans, because I'm pretty sure they had a kami oshimen liked me.

This was the outfit for the 7 songs♥

After the introduction, it was unit’s time!

M08. Naminori Kakigori (Yahagi Moeka(C), Yasuda Kana, Yumoto Ami, Okada Rina)
I was freaking out when I realized they were singing Naminori Kakigori!! I’ve been following Not Yet since their debut and that was one of my favourite songs of the group!! What a nice time to be alive!! I didn’t expect to watch a Not Yet’s song in live so I was so surprised!!
Overall, all members did a great job in this song! And I was happy to see Okarina with seniors ^_^

M09. Dakishimeraretara (Komiyama Haruka(C), Mogi Shinobu, Nagatomo Ayami)
If I wasn't freaking out enough, KOMIHARU WAS CENTER OF DAKISHIMERARETARA!! In fact, I started to cry when I saw Komiharu was the center of this song. It has been one of my dreams seeing Komichan center of Dakishimeraretera. I always loved this side of Komiharu, especially after I watched this performance some years ago (Dakishimeraretara – Kojiharu, Komiharu, Nakata Chisato):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_NMyIIQzZC9WmFEOUZFS0ZYSnc/view
Before - After

Can’t wait to watch this performance again. I’m pretty sure you will love Komiharu as a center!
Ayamin and Mogi were sexy too but of course I only was watching Komiharu lol

M10. Namida no Hyomen Choryoku (Muto Tomu(C), Ichikawa Manami, Shimoguchi Hinana, Hidaritomo Ayaka)
After Naminori Kakigori and Dakishimeraretara they just needed to put thins song to kill me. I don’t have a ranking of AKB songs but I’m pretty sure this song will be in my top 3 if I did a ranking. So you can imagine how happy and freaked out I was lol I really love Naachan’s singing but Tomu did a great job singing that “Giri giri”♪!!!!
Of course Manami, Hinana and Hidaritomo did a great job too!

M11. Chuu Shiyoze! (Kuranoo Narumi(C), Muto Orin, Kobayashi Ran)
Orin, Ranchan and Naruchan were so cute J A song that fits them perfectly!

M12. Mata Anata no Koto wo Kangaeteta (Minegishi Minami, Oda Erina)
And, to make the perfect combo, one of my favourite songs again. I don't remember how many times I've listened this song. The vocals of this song are awesome and Oda Erina and Miichan were at the top. I was so happy to hear Miichan's voice. I’m a fan of French Kiss and I love Miichan’s voice (especially in Watashi wa watashi).

MC2

M13. Seishun Girls
M14. Erai Hito ni Naritakunai

These were the songs we could record. In fact, I didn't listen to the song so much because I was watching who came to see where I was sitting! Lol
The members who came where I was sitting were: Yuami, Moeka and Kanabun.

Yuami’s smile was in another level. I didn't realize she was so cute until I saw her in the concert. Moeka and Kanabun were cute too!! Unfortunately, Komiharu didn’t come. I was sadder when I saw she came to the opposite side :’( Yuami is a "I must meet" member when I go to Handshake Event some day.


M15. Teacher Teacher (Center: Komiyama Haruka)
I love this song so it was a plus to see Komiharu centering Teacher Teacher!!

M16. NO WAY MAN (Center: Kuranoo Narumi)
The dance of this song was difficult but they did their best! I’m so proud of Team K ♥

M17. Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai (Center: Yumoto Ami)
Same for this song. Another difficult song. Yuami can dance so well ♥

-MC-
That MC was amazing! I enjoyed it a lot! They had to guess words written on a screen watching the gestures that fans made! They got a lot of points! All teams did it in their concerts and the Team that got more points could get an obento as a prize. Team K was the team that won!

M18. Iiwake Maybe (Center: Yahagi Moeka)
A song that is really great to make fans sing and dance at the concert!

M19. Kibouteki Refrain (Center: Muto Tomu, Muto Orin)
Muto sisters did their best!! ♥

M20. Oogoe Diamond (Center: Nagatomo Ayami)
Another great song! The “SUKI!!” part is really amazing during a concert!!

M21. Mae Shika Mukanee (Center: Kuranoo Narumi)
Naruchan did a great job in this song as a center ♥

This was the outfit for the last 4 songs. Sexy outfit! These 4 songs were really a good choice to end the main concert.

End of Main Concert

The encore call was “Team K!!”! ^_^

EN1. Korogaruishi ni Nare
A good song to start the encore!! “We are the Team K!!!♪”

EN2. Boku ni Dekirukoto
Nice song too!!

EN3. To be continued.
This song was so sad T__TI don't like when they put sad songs in the end of the concert :'( We ended up crying. Komiharu too (as always lol) :’(

After to be continued Komiharu did a speech and she cried a lot, like you can see in this photo. I were crying but I really cried in this part T_T I can't see Komiharu crying though it's for happiness...The other members were crying too.
I was fascinated by her speech. Again, I thought I was glad that Komiharu became a captain of Komiyama Team K.


EN4. Kimi to Niji to Taiyou to
When I started to listen this song I was like: Oh!!! It’s the song from Nemousu TV!! LOL
I don’t know how many times I listened this song when I watched the episodes of Nemousu TV and 16th generation. I learned all the lyrics throughout those Nemousu TV’s episodes so I sang like crazy while crying at the concert! LOL

The outfit for the encore was this one:

End

After the concert it was the send-off.
Maybe you already know how this works, but after the concert you can choose a lane (there is 2 lanes) to say goodbye to the members. Obviously, I chose the lane where Komiharu was on it.
(To know which members were on each lane you can see AKB48 Official Twitter)

https://twitter.com/AKB48_staff/status/1162717901897420801

As you can see, the first member of the lane is Komiharu. When she saw me she shouted: “JUDIT-SAN!! YOU CAME!!.” Even Hinana who is next at Komiharu looked at Komiharu with strange face like thinking “Why are you shouting so much?” lol I said to her I was so happy to go to Team K concert and it was so funny. This time I was so surprised I didn't move lol I'm pretty sure staff thought I didn't know how this worked so they pushed me hard lool Of course I knew how this worked but I was so happy to have Komiharu so close after Handshake Event that I couldn’t move lol I had another great opportunity to see Komiharu and even talked with her a bit!. Then I said to other members “bye bye” and “it was fun” J The send-off after the concert it’s really a great experience. Although you have to walk fast all members of the lane looked at me *_*

The best experience I could have in an AKB48 concert. Thanks Team K and Komiharu’s fans to make it possible :’) I will continue to support Komiharu and Komiyama Team K from Spain ♥