Single AKB48 39th (Green Flash) 15/03/04

At least you all know who is in your groups senbatsu. Some of us are still waiting for our 5th single senbatsu AND the coupling senbatsu of THIS single.

 

(Purely my opinion) I like the song but the PV is not my cup of tea/ not making sense. As much as I think that management is making a decent decision on promoting the new gens, the PV plot is not giving me much of an impression. The plot about different members crying over trival things e.g, crying over their taken crush, the running scene, My oshi(s) standing on the roof top, - everything! The plot does not make sense to me what-so-ever. I can forgive the fact that my Kami oshi (Yukirin) was not getting much screentime and me ranting about it will not change that fact- I would rather look forward to Green flash begin performed live with KojiYuki having their fair share of screentime.

Conclusion~ criticise me if you must, the PV "plot" is bull c**p.

I don't know the lyrics so I'm partly hoping that I'm wrong for thinking this way...

 

Nah, I'm blind and oblivious. Thanks for the crucial information!

Maybe it's not just about new but also young? The fact that Mayu is the youngest on the rooftop and Paruru is the oldest who cry might state that Mayu is up there just to even out the number (Both Mayu and Paru are 21 years old this March). Like I said before, maybe if it's 18-nin senbatsu by adding two older members, or, keep it 16-nin by discarding one younger member and adding one older, Mayuyu could switch side.

 

There is a thread here on forum about songs that not match the lyrics. But there are more things that not match. Sometimes I get a feeling that nobody cares. They take a melody, write some lyrics, make a dance, design clothes and mix them together and sometimes also make a MV, but if the pieces match each others is no big deal. Maybe the japanese taste is different from mine and other westerns? I don't know. But what I know is these MV's often are very hard to understand for me, and they are also full of "goofs" as IMDB call it. But as long the audience sees the girls everything is ok. Good night.

 

I think Yui should switch position with Jurina, she's next general manager/Soukantoku.
and Jurina, although she still young but she's oldgen, same as Mayu.

 

That kinda reminds me of ManaGu, the MV was an obvious Mayu Acchan Wcenter but for the performances it was Acchan solo center. And I agree, if you compare what's more important I'm sure it is pretty clear that the performances are much more important.

I still wish they had showed the centers more

 

I don't feel targeted at all by cristafari's comment, I don't even have one oshi.

I wonder what's preventing the staff from releasing the PV previews of Otona Ressha and Punkish, maybe they'd like to tease us and spread the hype till the release date. That CM preview of Otona Ressha is a real tease, I know first thing I'll do tomorrow when I wake up is check if the PV preview has been uploaded.

 

Wow, I can't believe how insensitive some members here are to fans of Yuki, implying as if yuki-oshis are petty and just over-reacting..

Then people all of a sudden using terms like "center of the song", "center of the PV" craps..

As far as I know, a center is a center. At worse, a sole-center may not get that much solo but still prominent or one of the pair of a double center may get lesser time than the other center but that's it.

What they did to Yuki and Kojima here is something new and unfair.

Nothing wrong with it if they did not promote the two as centers for this single.

 

This MV is a joke.

As of now, I' m forgetting about buying this single. And having Yuki centering, I intended to have one of each versions originally.

 

Of course people have the right to make a point about it but the ones who go over the top and act like it's the biggest disaster evar tend to lose the sympathy that they might otherwise have gained had they been a bit more proportionate.

What happened to Sato Amina was unfair but this? Not so much. Amina had so few chances to make an impact that when she was treated badly then it REALLY hurt her and her fans. Yukirin and Kojiharu get so many chances that getting less screentime in one pv is not so much of a deal. It's about perspective and proportionality, do you get what I mean?

 

Spoiler

I was kidding anyways, it's just cuz I was getting kanji reading practice from your sig (lol) and then noticed it suddenly changed (slightly)

I think it might be hard to compare the situation of what "center" used to mean, to the way they've utilised it in this case, since AKB is now always changing. IMO the "center" title really was just to try get some hype from those NyanYuki oshis.
I don't think they care. When you think about it, 48g franchise is fueled by wota rage

 

I'm disappointed with the PV.

You know what, I was very happy when they announced that yukirin and nyan-nyan would be the center, especially yukirin. It's because I can barely see her screen time in other PV of song(s) that was not centered by her, and then we got this.

Now my last hope is for the performances. Hoping that it will be more justice.

 

^ Sup. TV performances will last 2 weeks through a few programs. This ridiculous MV will be used on music channels or for karaoke for years to come ...

Centering performances will compensate next to nothing.

 

i'm really disappointed tbh...........i really love the song ! it's such a beautiful song but when you say that someone will center !!! make that SOMEONE center it for real !!!! -____-

if they announced that my oshi will get a center of course i'll be really happy .....and then fucking disappointed with a MV like this


it's seriously a first !!! since when a center gets this little screen time ??????????

 

Type H pre-ordered (Mayuyu in the cover... hum...).

I really love Green Flash, the song sound really great, it's been a while tbh...

And since I give 0 fucks to who's center and blablabla, I enjoyed the PV.

 

Even ignoring the whole center thing...that PV is just odd. Everything about this single just seems like they took a bunch of leftovers and scraps and made a quick goulash, if you know what I mean. I don't dislike the song, but nothing adds up to a cohesive A-side to me. Maybe I'll feel differently when it starts getting performed regularly.

Still all about those b-sides though!

 

Spoiler

@trxsh ok I get it now. Funny that you practice kanji reading with my signature because I've been using it to get kanji writing practice on my phone. I've literally spent hours writing all these names just to get the grasp of how to type kanjis in.

This song won't be no KFC, so don't worry not that many people will karaoke to it. Even less visibility for Yukirin I guess.

 

My thoughts on the Screen Time issue:

Spoiler

I think the problem lies in the fact that this single is being promoted as a Kojiharu and Yukirin center single. This is also Yukirin's 1st single center after many years in AKB. People have been waiting for a Yukirin center for a long time and to have it finally happen was amazing. Then we get this pv and its so unbalanced so people are reasonably upset. Like others have said, being labeled as center comes with certain assumptions that you will have a decent amount of time shown in the pv, however this time Yukirin and Kojiharu are barely shown. Even though they may be center on the tv performances, its not the same as being center on the pv.

I know some people who have oshis that barely get screen time in coupling songs and don't have as many benefits as Yukirin with her sub-unit, Stage unit centers, etc. may believe that people are overreacting to the screen time issue and should be grateful that she was labeled center at all. However I think the fact that its her first time to center an AKB single was supposed to be a big deal, especially for Yukirin oshis. If this wasn't Yukirin's 1st center, I don't think the screen time issue would be such a huge issue. It would have been better to go with a four center system like Sayonara Crawl had and to have the centers more spread out. To me its hard to tell who the center is in this pv.

Also I know they want to promote the new gen but I feel like all they have been doing lately is promoting new gen. Its not like the younger girls here are lacking in publicity either. I'm not saying that Yukirin and Kojiharu should dominate the pv here but I think they both deserve a little more than what they got.

Setting aside the issue of screen time, the pv is boring anyway. Girls crying and running is nothing new. There is no plot yet so the crying and running for no reason just looks dumb. I'm really hoping for a drama ver. because the pv really needs to be expanded on. Maybe if they have a longer drama ver. the screen time would be a little better distributed.

lastly, now everybody has a right to state their opinion and also to have their opinion be challenged by others but that doesn't mean we should call others out and be rude here.

 

I'm not a particularly big fan of nyannyan nor Yukirin and I think they did get the short end of the stick, especially Yukirin. Oh not a dramatically short end of the stick, but not nothing.

Most people's arguments against this seems to be that:

1. The centres get a lot of promotions anyway so it doesn't matter that they don't get one relatively tiny thing in comparison. Compared to most girls they have nothing to complain about

2. They get to appear in live performances as centres anyway and that's worth so much more to everyone except for hardcore fans who count seconds in screen time

3. It's nice to promote younger girls, especially ones that are less visible

To this I would say (spoilers for length):

Spoiler: 1.

To settle for a level of success or promotions in or outside AKB is to die as an idol and goes against the whole concept of idoldom itself. Stagnation and complacency gets you nowhere but down.

We've seen this time and time again, Kitahara Rie mentioned being happy being in the mid leagues once upon a time and where is she now? Her senbatsu position really seemed fixed too at the time due to the homeostasis of senbatsu, her powerful agency and the fact that so few others were promoted at that level. I'm not saying she didn't work hard, she does and is beautiful, but I do think not being satisfied is the key to sustained success and now her falling from regular senbatsu has resulted in some disgruntled voices on her being in this release's B side.

A key example of success is of course Sasshi. She kept upping her game, kept keeping at things even after it seemed like she dug herself into a never ending hole. And the result? Pretty much universal acceptance, more positive excitement and energy seen in the fanbase than ever before, an upping of the level of the playing field in elections and a good promotion of a sister group. No one can really say that they don't understand why she is in senbatsu with a straight face now can they?

So I don't think fans should be happy with what their Oshi got in comparison to others.

Sure, don't be such a consistent whiny ass about your oshi deserving the world and better, but I think no one should be ashamed of wanting more. Just be classy about it.

If done right then the more popular girls can elevate the whole group to higher levels, leaving more space and not less for others to rise.

So that's why you can't compare girls like Yukirin to Tano (who I love 1000000x more btw, girl can dance).

Spoiler: 2.

2. This is more personal. How do you introduce people to AKB? Do you:

-make them listen to your favourite songs?
-make them watch some shows?
-make them watch performances and music videos?

Personally I pick MVs. Shows are way too long, idols are never really just about their songs and I've always preferred music videos as it shows the song at its best quality with hopefully some good visuals.

Sure performances are nice, especially if you can afford to see them live/buy the concert DVDs etc. but how many times now have you seen a shuffle of a song on stage? It's exciting, but every time a song gets shuffled, the significance of the girls in the original positions drops less and less.

Wasn't it a powerful message that Erepyon is gone for good when Mayuyu sang her song? Because at the time First Love was 'her' song, that's why her fans had an outcry. Now we've seen it sung by others almost just enough other girls to not be bothered by it. Someday it will just be an AKB song and not 'her' song even though it's a solo!

When yukirin and Nyaanyan leave they definitely won't perform the song as often, I bet Jurina and Sakura will end up performing it more often until it's more 'their' song than anyone else's. And all the fans of Yuki and Nyannyan have to commemorate this single being their oshi's? A few videos of live performances of questionable quality and a few concert performances that aren't shuffles.

But a music video? That's official. That's the one I would show friends to say 'this is how this single is originally visioned to be with these members'. You can't shuffle or dilute a MV and it would pretty much last forever. Which is saying a lot for a group that never stays constant.

Basically I love MVs and think they are very important. Plus I dont have to hunt for a live performance or a forum listing to prove these girls were centres. Just type in green flash MV. Simples. If only they made it clear who were the centres hey?

Spoiler: 3.

3. Yes it's nice to see the younger generation promoted. But why now at this time and place? Why not at the usual summer time, or during the several times that other girls were centres? Management knows that the centres this time are unusual choices and is causing quite a bit of stir in the fandom. Surely that's enough of a stir without doing a 'young gen revolution' kind of MV as well?

Getting centre is special, especially for the first time, that's why fans of a first time centre are more hyped up than usual and want the whole shebang. They want a good position, good outfits, a good song and a good MV. So why overly promote the new gens now? Why not until another Mayu single? Would it kill you to wait? I would have appreciated it more in the last single since it had so many faces I might not see in senbatsu again, but here? It's just random when fans obviously expect one thing and you give them something out of the left field.

Why not do this last single where Sakura getting so much screen time makes sense? Are you trying to start arguments for no reason?

In other words, why you do what you do management?

And about the video itself:

Spoiler: Mv review

It's not very good. There I said it.

Oh yes it's very pretty, but it completely fails as a drama MV when with such a stripped back cast the director still manages to NOT EXPAND ON THE PREVIEW in any way.

I got excited at the preview, My thoughts were: wow so pretty! Ooh I wonder who the older girls are? I wonder why they're sad? It's probably related to the glimpses of storylines I see involving boys and restaurant drama etc etc. so yeah....should not get excited really...

What I got from the MV?:

-who are the older girls? Nobody important really and doesn't affect the story line. They are very pretty though.
-what are the storylines? Nothing you don't already know from the previews or not explained. From one viewing I see this as:

1. Paruru has broken up with a guy? I think? Never really clear. Or she's schizophrenic. I can't tell sometimes.
2. Yuria likes a guy with a gf, quite sure this was in the preview. It's the most obvious storyline anyway.
3. Oh no Sakura! Someone chucked a basketball at you! How will you cope? Let's run, weeeeeeeee!!!!
4. Annin likes a guy.havent seen this storyline before, especially not IN THE SAME MV
5. Ikoma has an allergic reaction to music. It's like onions, but worst in that she requires a picturesque beach for recovery. Or is that better?
6. Rina messed up at work with a frankly lovely looking family who don't seem to be giving her a particularly bad time. Grow a backbone girl!
7. Mako exists.

-How the heck do they know each other? Who cares! They are in the same group anyway. Yay for suspension of disbelief!
-is this just prettiness with no substance? Yes!

I will probably watch it again and change my mind

I don't like this director's style, his last MV was also meandering and more about visuals than anything else. It worked better then because the characters were at least connected. I think he would do much better work for a group much smaller than AKB really....

 

I agree with the this (and others who said similar things)!!! Yukirin and Kojiharu are POPULAR - they have advertisements, commercials, magazine placements ALL OVER THE PLACE in Japan. I recently even saw Kojiharu advertising for coldsore cream! They are everywhere. They do not need exposure (and they will SURELY get plenty when promotion for the single rears up), sorry. I sympathize only up to the point that it would be nice to have more footage of both of them in this video, but other than that it is incredibly smart for the group to start putting the younger generation girls out there (I say this as someone who isn't 100% in love with Sakura). These girls most definitely do not get half of the kind of exposure (in the real world) that both Yukirin and Kojiharu get.

What I am more troubled by is claims by Yukirin fans that they refuse to buy this album: who do you think this is going to hurt? Do you think Yukirin is going to get another centered single if the one she centered sold poorly?! I don't understand what your idea of support is... you're not sending a message to anyone by boycotting the bloody single.

Anyway, I am very happy for the double center as I love the song and both of the girls. I'm also a fan of the way the video was shot.