5 best and worst choices made by 48 management

What are 5 choices made by 48 management/AKS that you thought had a negative impact on 48 groups? How about the 5 best choices?

There is a long-running thread on H!O with a similar concept and I thought it could spark some interesting discussion as long as people are civil and remember that it's just someone's opinion.

Here are mine.

Best (in no particular order)
1. Uploading the KFC Staff dance video. This sparked a number of copycat videos that brought AKB positive publicity and kept them in the public eye.
2. Pushing Yuihan and Paruru. Both girls were fairly aggressively pushed, and while it seems to have bothered a good number of people, their popularity is a great thing for AKB in my opinion. This also applies to AnRi and Re to a lesser extent, and the 3 musketeers.
3. Sousenkyou, RH, handshakes. I group them into one because otherwise they would make up the rest of my list. They are all amazing marketing moves and bring the group a ton of money.
4. Including voting codes in theater editions. I know some people here disagree with this, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I like it myself, but it sells CDs, and that is good business.
5. "Punishing" Sasshi by sending her to HKT. I think she is a good asset to HKT's variety shows, and she carried her large fanbase over with her. I just wish she would perform at the theater more.

Worst (again, no particular order)
1. Allowing Miichan's video to be published.
2. Announcing TPE48. What is going on there?
3. OJS48. Well, they're security now, so I guess it was a good thing.
4. Only giving a major push to one or two members of sister groups. This leads to the popularity levels being uneven. This is majorly happening with Sayanee, but it happens to a lesser extent with WMatsui too. SKE's popularity is much more spread out when compared to NMB, but it's still very top-heavy.
5. This one is hypothetical, but I would be upset if they made the draft system permanent and had it replace KKS. The draft was very underwhelming, and while I personally love the girls, people who don't pay as much attention may not even know their names. (If you don't know them, check out their show Group Draft-sei. I think it's entertaining and a good intro to the members.) The KKS system has similar problems, but I think allowing a member to train, performing stages with other girls training, and then being promoted is a much more fulfilling experience than just being dropped in a team with minimal experience.

 

I have to say, agree with a lot of the worsts you've put in there (and surprised at how many still remember the announcement about TPE48, I thought I was just biased because I'm Taiwanese XD). Miichan's video getting published I think was definitely just....stupid, though I think it's their way of giving Miichan the "respect" for her freedom of expression in choosing to apologize that way. Although it spiraled out of hand (although not unexpectedly)...

I'm gonna think about this (cuz I think this is an interesting topic and I definitely have thoughts) and come edit this later

 

Ok, i haven't been a fan so long for saying what choices were good or bad, but i can say one:

Miichan's video was the worse thing that I've seen in this.

Maybe to the Japanese hardcore wotas was justified, but for the rest of the world not. It not only made a bad image for the group, but all Japan.

 

Best:

1. Paruru. Cute, saucy, talented, unique character, etc. She really is a perfect idol.
2. Cleaning out the KKS by promoting them all to Team 4, last year
3. Moving Nana to KII. Now she can have a substantial role without being crushed by Sayanee/Milky domination
4. Janken: keeps it fresh, even though I raise an eyebrow to the last three winners that JUST SO HAPPENED to be very popular
5. Making Mocchi captain of Team B. Thank the good lord she gets an indisputable amount of respect

Worst:

1. Tunnel-visioned NMB48.. Putting all the focus on Sayanee and Milky for so long has caused the majority of the group to rest in the shadows
2. Yokoyama Team K
3. The lack of active solo careers. They all seem to be on hold… I'm gonna need Sayanee to have a solo debut. like now.
4. French Kiss's line division [CoughYukirinsSecondSoloCareerCough]
5. The Draft. Did we really need MORE girls? None of them are exceptional, anyway. I understand that they're going for raw-clay-to-be-molded-by-experience, but.. As of right now, they bring very little to the table.

 

I think TPE evolved into SNH.
Taiwan is still China, so maybe they just decided to work on something on the mainland? Creating TPE now wouldn't have much sense, IMO.

As for Draft VS KKS, the KKS system ain't going anywhere. SKE is having auditions to add its 7th gen, so... yeah.
I admit the draft was crappy. Even if I like the girls, they announced it as an event where they'd find girls ready to perform. None were.
There's this idea of Team 8 turning into the next draftees. I'd love that, tbh.

Erm... when Team 4 was created, the 15th gen was already there.
Maybe you mean during the Grand Shuffle of February 24th? And still, they added two new KKS in less than two months after that, so they didn't clear out much.

I think you mean moving Nana to M (although she has a KII kennin), and I agree that it let her shine a bit brighter, but I think she's now in a similar situation as in N, with Fuuchan and Mirurun battling out the center spot.

 

Thank you! Finally someone who thinks the same. I just feel that team K isn't the same since Sayaka and Yuko graduated, and replacing it with someone who I believe is still a 'newbie' wasn't managements best idea. Team K would've been better with someone like Jurina captaining it, or even upgrading Kitarie from co-captain to captain.

 

Yuko!
I think they let go some great assets like Tomu, but they brough it other great ones like Tano and Moechan.

As for the captaincy... well, Jurina is still too young (17) compared to Yui (22 in December).
As for Yui being a newbie... she's been in the group for 5 years already.
In the first shuffle (2009), when they created the captaincy system, the group wasn't even 4 years old and Takamina, Sayaka and Yukirin did great anyway.

I think passing the baton to the younger gens is important so the group doesn't become stagnant.

 

Haha, I can't spell. Whoops. And I see where you're coming from. I forget that Jurina is still quite young, but I still don't feel Yui is captain quality

 

Taiwan is not China.. But yeah with SNH a Taiwanese group would be irrelevant anyways.



Best:

1. KFC with Sasshi center (maybe not management choice per se, but it finally brought an end to the HEAVY ROTATION AT EVERY TV SHOW APPEARANCE!!! era to an extent.) that craze with the dance as well..

2. Yui push - we wouldn't have the only new gen captain in akb so far without her push and N concurrency breaking her out of her own shell per se.

3. Miichan forgiveness thing - having her as 4 captain really helps imo and probably is why it didn't disband like the old team. Putting her back in senbatsu would've helped not further tarnish their name after that video thing. (though sadly her rank keeps dropping)

4. Janken! At least some girls who otherwise wouldn't have a chance to ever enter senbatsu have it now. (Although you still have some cases like Haachan who's been there from almost the start without a single a-side appearance)

5. Can't think of much else


Worst

1. Certain shuffles. Taking Tani and Chiyori out of HKT and Maachun out of NMB was stupid. They're not going to get any more exposure stuck in the theatre whereas they would've had senbatsu positions in their original groups. Confusing things like Yukirin N concurrency when she has appeared at the theatre like a grand total of one time as well.


2. Miichan video thing. Oh god why did she shave her head.

3. Subunits rotting away. no3b radio every week is like poking fun of this already, playing their 'newest single' which was released in Jan '13.. Haruna is leaving so I hope they go out with a bang.

4. New stage announcements. Yeah. We see many new stages being performed right now.

5. Draft - there are still NMB 2nd gen as KKS whereas draft girls just came in and left them in the dust. Doesn't help that less than 16 KKS in SKE/NMB means getting normal team members performing in the KKS stage (more for the latter group).

 

Lol I'm not stupid. I made no mistakes in what I said. I was talking about when Minegishi Team 4 was announced in August last year. And yes, it cleared out the KKS. Two new ones barely makes a dent. There are currently two, compared to being many.

And no.. I mean what I said. Putting Nana in KII is good for a Nana-oshi, since she has such a dominant role without being overshadowed by Sayanee and Milky, as she does in NMB senbatsu. This has nothing to do with Team M, which is the crap team in NMB these days anyway.

And I agree that Yuihan just isn't Captain-quality in my eyes. I still don't' get the point of Yokoyama Team K.. but we've only seen one awful Stage and one b-side, so not enough to really grasp the big picture quite yet. I'm just still salty about losing Tomu to Team A, which is very stacked with bigger names. Luckily Tomu's stage role has been exceptionally large.

No need to unnecessarily correct every single word of everyone's post Are spelling and esoterics really that important?

Also: I forgot the WORST OF THE WORST, in my opinion.

This stage situation is ridiculous. Constantly reviving old stages… it's literally like pulling teeth for me to get excited for stages anymore, aside from TEam A reviving A5 which is the only stage I can stand to watch from beginning to end.

I really hope there have been new stages in the works.

 

What exactly do you mean by "clearing out"? Cause I understand it as "there were no KKS left" and... well, when Team 4 was formed, they left the entire 15th gen as KKS (8, back then).

And now I understand your take on Nana with KII and I agree.

Although I think Team M is awesome. It doesn't have N's fierceness, but I think it's much funnier with the dorks (Momoka), Mayu-clones (Renapyon), girls who don't give a flying duck (Saeppi) and the hottest girl in the group after Sayanee (Mirurun). And Jo will probably be promoted AGAIN into it at some point, so I expect her to sailormoon her way to the front and make it even more awesome.

LOL I though "I'm gonna come off as annoying for writing so much", but I'm on the bus going to the beach and I'm bored.

 

Sae and Mariya would have been able to work in TPE48 and might have ranked in a TPE48 sousenkyo. I love SNH48, I really do, but if I had to choose, I would have chosen TPE48 over SNH48.

Best:
1) Moving Sasshi to HKT48. Benefited the group and herself greatly. It added a leader dimension to her character that she wouldn't have had, had she stayed in AKB.
2) Choosing Maeda Atsuko as the absolute center for the group. She was the face of the brand, and god what a face! She was the one everybody recognised and I personally think her special idol aura attracted people to the group. Would AKB be what it is now if another girl had been chosen?
3) Creating sister groups. Basically more girls, more songs, more fans, more money.
4) Sousenkyo. 'nuff said.
5) Shuffles. When the girls start feeling comfortable, let's move them! I think it helps with their competitiveness.

Worst:
1) Moving Mayuyu to Team A. Glad this was repaired. (I'm saying this as a Team A oshi, not a Mayuyu oshi)
That's all.

 

Worst Choices:
1. Putting sister groups in AKB senbatsu & handshake events.
2. Kennin System. As much as I like Milky in S & Nana in KII, the kennin system just blurs every group into one big identity. I like the sense of rivalry between SKE & NMB. I like how SKE wants to overtake AKB. But now NMB's #2 & #3 are now in SKE. And SKE's center now is also a strong candidate of AKB's center.
3. NMB Shuffle in the Daisoukaku. They shuffled M right on the day before their solo tour (which is titled "We've Warmed the Bench!"); they shuffled BII after everything BII did to make themselves known. They shuffled N, who just got their own original stage after waiting for almost two years. Oh I also think they did a mistake by shuffling SKE. SKE's previous shuffle (Gaishi Hall shuffle) made a lot more sense.
4. Draft Kaigi. They're not immediate assets. Their skills are even lower than KKS. Most of them are also not good at MCs or in variety shows.
5. I prefer the three teams 16 member per team + regular KKS system. They just need distribute the popular members to each team properly + regulary cut the KKS during the KKS evaluation.

Last but not least, I think Aki-P / management made a really terrible choice by postponing all of those promised new stages.

in b4 people reply to me 'but akbg in the end is about the moneyzzz!'

 

Everything I wanted to mention about the worst choices have been covered by @sakurazaki
Kennins, the draft sistem, big teams and almost no kks, sister group members in akb senbatsu/hs and no new stages are all huge problems for me.

 

Best: SNH48

Worst: No Taiwan48

Imagine the competition between these two...it would be hot. Lots of pride on the line.

 

I don't wanna go into politics, but isn't it governed by the Republic of China?

I think making SNH instead of TPE was a good move, they have access to more people in the mainland than from an island, but I'm just guessing here.
I'm originally from an island and it sucks to travel from here lol

 

Best:
- All the money making gimmicks that other j-pop fans seem to hate 48G for. I'm sorry but lol I should feel bad because 48G knows how to make money when your favourites don't? lol.

Worst:
- Paruru's push. Because ew.

- The decision to never giver JKT and SNH their own original songs. JKT was interesting at first but my interest quickly dropped off when it became apparent they're just an Indonesian song cover machine. Kind of the same with SNH, but I think SNH has covered better songs and perhaps my bias to mandopop is showing-- I think they sound better in Mandarin too.

- Being more of a fan of AKB/Nogizaka than the other groups.... giving SKE and NMB generally mediocre songs (in MY opinion)... My interest in 48G started with the music, and to this day it remains the music. To me SKE have had some hit a-sides and b-sides, but they seem so few and far between that I don't anticipate SKE's next release? Kind of the same thing with NMB, but I had held higher hope for them because I thought they started out pretty well. Like in comparison to SKE/NMB I think Nogizaka have released some pretty dang amazing singles in their entirety. HKT whilst I've kind of enjoyed their 3 singles, they haven't caught my attention like NMB did.

- Recycling stages. I guess in a(/my) perfect world, each Team would've had their own original stages. I guess an upside to recycling stages is that you get to hear different interpretations of songs.. but with say songs like Team B Oshi getting recycled... seriously?

- Abandoning TPE. Why? Because imo it would've been a group more accessible to foreign fans (since like... Taiwan isn't under the same restrictions as China, since it's like.. a different country and all). JKT you have to find willing Indonesian fans to buy from, perhaps getting scalped whilst doing so.. and SNH? There's a good chance you'll have to buy the CDs 2nd hand whilst also prolly getting scalped (yup I'm one of those types of people... I like buying my CDs new)

 

Most big names in Mandopop come from Taiwan. I think on the contrary, the more permissive laws and general atmosphere in Taiwan would allow more liberty to TPE48. For example, it wouldn't be that hard for Sae and Mariya to perform there, the CDs would be sold in proper shops, and if they make it big in their island they might even get popular in mainland China. Look at Jolin Tsai, Jay Chou and countless others.
And I'm just guessing here since I'm not Taiwanese, but I don't really think it being an island is a problem. It must be as much of an issue as Japan being an island (well, islands) to the Japanese.

 

Best Choices

1. Continuing the National Tour for AKB. While we only got 4 prefectures down (20 more to go), it's better than nothing. I hope they continue the tour anytime soon. Sister groups got their own tour too. HKT will be doing one. NMB is currently having one for their album release. JKT recently started one so I hope they put more emphasis on the national tour at least for the next few months.

2. Finding alternative events to handshake if it's not possible. AKB will be having a weekend summer festival and the other groups had their own event to cover up for the loss of national handshake events. HKT did a bowling tournament last year and maybe management just had to set up events for the girls to enjoy outside performing.

3. Sousenkyo, Janken and Request Hour has always been fun events. I hope we see more events of similar state in the future.

4. Events having theater streams. Not all people will be able to watch in the venue so theater streams are handy. Even if there are no theater streams on the stadium concerts, it's the first step to bring people to watch. Management made sure to arrange with the local theaters for that.

5. Pushes that materialize. Some girls don't really benefit from it but most do and I think they have pushed the right buttons for that in the past few years.

Worst Choices

1. Skipping the revival stages. I always thought it was great to do 1 month of revival stages in Tokyo Dome City Hall. They didn't have it this year probably because of schedule and the assigning of stages to the teams made this impossible.

2. I dislike the draft system because it put more pressure to the girls to perform at a high level. They were advertised as polished a few months into their debut which is not the case for everyone. I think the KKS system would still work for most girls as they really get trained and see improvements. SKE will have their 7th gen auditions right? I think AKB, NMB, HKT might have their next gen auditions soon.

3. Agency announcements. There are a handful of girls who would be better off in another agency rather than rot away in AKS. I guess Watanabe, Hori, Ogi and Ota Pro can get more AKB girls unless they don't really want to. Yoshimoto is different as they do provide stuff for NMB members on a constant basis. I think having more work and exposure for the girls would be beneficial if they are to continue their career on entertainment.

4. Subunits being inactive and a lack of new ones. We expect this as members graduate from AKB. I think what we need more is units who would replace them, release singles and voila. Being in the same agency will be always considered for that.

5. Last year's Kouhaku. I think most of AKB girls should be able to perform/be involved at least in team songs since they are all put into either Akagumi or Shirogumi. SKE, NMB, HKT only sends their senbatsu members. It's worrying that we see more sister group performances when they only have 16 girls each invited in the event.

 

Yeah, I was just checking and all the mandopop artists I know are from Taiwan.

Well, I guess they didn't find sponsors for the group. In Japan it must be easier because they know how idols work and there's a market for then, but maybe idols aren't something to go crazy for in Taiwan, hence the possible lack of offers.

To be honest, I think JKT and SNH haven't turned out people imagined. I think we were expecting original songs, just like SKE, NMB and HKT get original songs apart from singing AKB's in the theatres... but no, just covers.

So I don't really pay much attention to the groups. Maybe with TPE, Sae's and Mariya's concurrencies wouldn't have sucked so hard, but that's about it for me.