5 best and worst choices made by 48 management

Best.

• Tomu's transfer to Team A: Yeah, I know that many people may disagree with this. As Tomu oshi, I'm aware of how much she loved(d) Oshima Team K, and how hard she worked in orderto improve herself (being the worst dancer and a weaker singer back in 2012); but let's remember that she was Sasshi's under during thw Tokyo Dome concerts in said year. That was during the time she was still a kks and when I saw her there, thought that she Team A aura really suited her. And still does now, especially after growing up and developing more assertiveness and confidence during her time with Yuko & co. (she acts somewhat like a captain when Takamina isn't around, which shows how comfortable she is right now). Also, if she stayed in K, would be swallowed by the Kennin girls.
• Shuffle units during concerts: It's always great to see classic songs sang by newer generations, or by girls you wouldn't even consider as an option.
• Minegishi Team 4: I love Oba 4, but that moment was really special and a reward for working hard and not giving up.
• Yagi center pv: She was one of the girls selected as center (Beauty Giraffes?), and while she decreased her ranking in Sousenkyo, got another center (one by management, one by fans); as Yagi fan, I'm pleased.

Worst

• Team K(ennin): I don't think I need to extend myself so much here. One kennin? Fine, I guess. Two? Wait---what?! No! Three! I don't think this is rational, and it only helps to dig deeper the hole where Team K is right now. Wasn't the shuffle supposed to make teams more balanced? What was the point in shoving all-star members in a team that needs push for THEIR OWN members. Girls who had given her 200% for AKB48, and become ignored.
• Delaying stages: Fine...I know that stages aren't a priority right now, since most of the regular people doesn't attendto said events, but performing in the theather is part of what made AKB48 what it is right now. Are they waiting to get 16nin members in each team?
• Amina's mistreatment during her time in the group: Why girls who got lower ranking kept the promotion? Amina probably wasn't too appealing for some people, but her situation was awfully handled: she was talented and always willing to work hard; glad she got into senbatsu three times, and her own center before she graduated.
• RESET overdose: I don't know if here we have to blame the management, but personally I'm so fed up of RESET's overuse (and the lack of love for Mokugekisha).

 

@Berii
I agree about Amina's mistreatment. she ranked on the senbatsu line up on the first ever Sousenkyo and yet she was poorly mismanaged. if the fans think she got potential then management should have given her even just one chance.

 

Best:
Holding general elections ranking 'money' popularity of girls
Giving ranked girls positions in the election Single

Worst:
Ignoring the fans money backed votes for girls when apportioning personal focus in the Single's MV


Having general elections generates fan interest and money flow into the AKB enterprise. Good for their business and good for the girls since these things intensifies fandom.

Now since it is an election that costs fans money pain, there is an expectation that some soft of fairness/democracy will prevail.

When a fan votes for their favourite/s they are in the belief that they are in effect buying their girl 'advertising time/exposure'.... I mean this is a very large part of a fans hope, that the higher their girl can rank the better their exposure in the following Single as well. Especially if the girl ranks as center or very high within their group.

The most deliberate shafting of Amina was a classic example of AKB management defrauding fans who outlayed considerable sums to buy her some exposure. And it is fraud. The election comes with an implied promise that the higher (more money/votes) the girl can bring in the better her following exposure. Amina got almost zero screen time. I wonder if fans could have at that time actually initiated a class action against AKB for this. I think the promise in return for money was definitely there, thus the deliberate failure to provide is a fraud.

And we have seen it in every election single since in some way shape or form as Management cannot resist pushing their interests above that of a democratic process.

However Management are smart enough to realise that they can get away with a fair bit and not effect the money flow at each election. They cannot go too far or fans will realise they are certainly wasting their time and money pushing their girl up the ranking, for no return. Thus management will go so far as to make fans angry, but not so angry that they are lost, or if it relates to a lower ranked girl, then they probably wont care.

In business the customer is usually the one with the power(money) but with AKB it is often the opposite, fans wont vote with their money thinking that reducing AKB income might affect their girls. In a normal business environment a loss of income in a year prompts some investigation and customer survey.

The question for some girls who have solo careers is this. If you know they are due to leave soon, would it not be better to support them by spending all that election money on their singles instead, thus helping them establish themselves long term in their careers beyond AKB? For example would it not be better for somebody like Wasamin if fans instead bought another 10,000 singles rather than spend that on votes?

 

Hmm interesting couple of paragraphs there. Peppered with the words "fraud, defrauding and lawsuit implications". The problem there is at the end of the day you are the one who sticks your hand in your purse/wallet and pulls out the money. So how that is managements fault in your mind i have no idea. And as far as I know there has never been a promise or indication that votes get you exposure.

But you are right on one thing a fans hope is all we have for the girl we support and that is why myself and a ton of other people willing spend their money on votes.

 

@Aisansan
I kinda agree with Amina's having short to unnoticeable screentime at Iiwake Maybe. but Amina is not the most noticeable who was cheated based on the rankings supposedly screentime. the more noticeable example would be Shinoda on Iiwake Maybe. if you notice Shinoda rank 3rd which is higher than Takamina but if you watch the PV. it would look like Takamina is the one who rank 3rd because Acchan, Yuko and Takamina appeared to be the three major characters. but the thing about the Sousenkyo is that there is no specific screentime or reward when it comes to the rankings except of course the 1st and 2nd ranker. and the respective center of the other rank category.

the fate of the girls still lies on the AKS cause they are the ones who made the decision. and there are instances on the Sousenkyo that a certain girl rank high but when it comes to HS event they don't have that much following.

 

The main difference between Amina and Mariko is that Maritroll had a much much better agency than Amina so Mariko didn't really need the screentime because she had loads of media/cm jobs to gain a public profile whereas Amina didn't.

 

I don't think it's as simple as deciding how many seconds of screen time each girl will get beforehand and working accordingly. I'm sure a lot of editing goes into it and only the best shots get chosen and it all has to fit a certain pattern. I can imagine them thinking "This face Amina's making here is kind of meh, let's use a different shot" or "These two shots of Takamina are amazing, it would be a shame to leave them out". Sure, some members are obviously prioritised over others, but saying management "hates" a certain member... come on.

 

we're talking about Sousenkyo where agency or if AKS favors a member doesn't matter. since the rules is that a member get's the position in the next AKB Single depending on what rank she earn by the fans vote. that is what should supposedly be followed. it's an annual event where what the fans vote should be the final decision for the next single line-up. anyway, Amina rank 8th on the first Sousenkyo which is incredibly outstanding imo if you look at it in today's Sousenkyo.

 

You've completely misunderstood what I said.

I did NOT say that AKS or agencies affected the Sousenkyo vote. Aisansan said that in comparison to her rank that Mariko got even less screentime but this didn't affect her. And then I said "The main difference between Amina and Mariko is that Maritroll had a much much better agency than Amina so Mariko didn't really need the screentime because she had loads of media/cm jobs to gain a public profile whereas Amina didn't."

If you're going to quote someone then try and read what they actually said rather than just launch off on a rant based on what you think they said.

In any case, no-one said that sounenkyo rank would be a guarantee of X amount of screentime in a PV, people REALLY need to get over the Amina thing already ffs.

 

I think your the one who misunderstood me. look it doesn't matter if Mariko have a better agency the point is she rank 3rd which comes from the fans vote. while Takamina rank 5th only. so, you mean it's alright let's say Sasshi on KFC to be outshadow by someone who rank lower than her cause she has a much better agency is that it? and on quoting. I don't think I made a mistake since your comment is the one I intended to reply anyway. and don't mix up Amina and Mariko cause I only made an example on which member had been obviously cheated out of her rank which she earn anyway and that's Shinoda. seriously Takamina and Shinoda's rank and screentime on Iiwake Maybe is the best example imo.

 

It's not a good example at all. Think of how many girls were there at that time.

Ranking 8th wasn't a feat at all.

And the rankings hardly matter at all, besides the center position. Management still has full control, so just deal with it. If you don't like the screen time, then don't watch the PV or buy the single. No one is forcing you to buy or watch anything.

Whether or not it's "okay," to shaft someone isn't the issue. It's showbiz..being a pansy just means you're gonna get mowed down.

And it's misguided to think that they literally sit down and divi up the screen time… like "Hmm, we like Kojima Haruna, so she gets FIVE seconds.. and… Amina? God, we hate her, she's so basic, we're giving her one second."

Like..if you all really think that's how it is, you need help.

It's all based on the shots they get from the shoot. They have a general idea in mind, and then they work with what they have. It wouldn't make sense to chock the video full of Amina if other girls have more charismatic shots in the PV shoot.

The heat from the butt-hurt fans is hot… I mean, I was an Amina-oshi when she was in the group. But when you choose an unpopular oshimen, bearing the brunt of being invisible is really part of the deal.

 

@MocchiMooch
what are you talking about on how many girls were in there? like I said don't mix up Amina and Mariko. I was saying if ever there was someone who was obviously cheated on the rankings supposedly screentime it would be Mariko at Iiwake Maybe since it's clear as daylight. if you watch Iiwake Maybe and didn't know the actual rankings. you'd think Takamina was the one who ranked 3rd and not Shinoda. it's a very perfect example.

and what the hell is with your "if you don't want the PV, don't buy it" what are you my mother? that you can tell me what I want and not. it's my money and decision. if I rant at it. it's maybe because part of the votes that made a member ranked on the Sousenkyo comes from my hard earned money.

 

Please keep the discussion in this thread civil. We tend to get a little heated at times. Please do not resort to personal attacks during discussion.

 

Worst Decisions:

1. The spelling of "くちづけ"
I was watching a karaoke video of "Utsukushii Inazuma" and I noticed its spelling as "接吻" instead of "口付け".

2. Miichan's scandal
That very thing ruined AKB's image worldwide, making people think that AKB is a terrible group without doing further research.

3. Dark Side of the Dai Sokaku Matsuri: Incorrect Kennins for some members, Really Shocking Transfers, and Team K led by Kennins
Takayanagi Akane is more of a Team A material, and Team BII is not that helping for her. And why is Kashiwagi a Team N Kennin? She's way too popular and I think it's unnecessary. And Team K led by Jurina, Sayanee and Haruppi? Really, Yuihan? You can't count on Mako and Moechan? Also Sato Sumire and Fujie Reina. Both were uber-pushed in 2012 and 2013 respectively and I think they go better with the new gens than with sister group members. So why transfer them? More exposure maybe, but I'm sure Mayuyu and the others miss them. I hope in the next shuffle they're put back at AKB48 Team B and Team 4 respectively. Tomonaga doesn't deserve a kennin either, she can't sing or dance. But the most shocking transfers are Nakanishi Chiyori and Tani Marika. Not only they are separated from HKT48 they are also separated from each other.

4. Loss of top members
Maeda Atsuko, Yagami Kumi, Ogiso Shiori, Kasai Tomomi, Shinoda Mariko, Akimoto Sayaka, Itano Tomomi, Mukaida Manatsu, Oshima Yuko and Kinoshita Yukiko are some of the most tragic graduations in the 48 groups. No one can replace those great members, although Itano already chose Aigasa Moe as her successor.

5. Shinoda/Yokoyama Team A
They stuffed cutesy members (Watanabe Mayu, Kasai Tomomi, Sato Sumire, Kobayashi Marina, Takahashi Juri) into and took the sexy and mature members (Kuramochi Asuka, Kojima Haruna) out of the team. At least Iriyama Anna and Kikuchi Ayaka suit Team A's mature image.

Best Decisions

1. Nippon Budokan 2013 concert
I think solo shuffles and unit suffles are not enough! With the Budokan concert it also has Senbatsu Shuffles and all 4 Japanese groups dancing together! The setup of the concert is awesome, and it gave some of the less popular girls a chance to be chosen as senbatsu members! Don't forget the SKE48 solo concert. 31 SONGS IN A ROW, NO STOPS, AISHITERABURU SUNG LIVE AND IN FULL. This is the concert where they truly care about mid gen members.

2. AKB48 Kouhaku Utagassen
This event brings lots of surprises every year. In 2011, it showed us Sashihara Rino's attempt on Dear J, Akimoto Sayaka's flawed performance of Flower, childish song (Tonari no Banana) performed by two adult members (Shinoda and Kojima), mature song (Temodemo no Namida) performed by two young members (Watanabe and Matsui J), no3b's Kuchibiru Furezu and Not Yet's Perapera Perao got shuffled too, SKE and NMB swap their summer songs, rivals will always be rivals (Acchan at Akagumi and Yuko at Shirogumi). In 2012, new rivalries are made: Paruru and Mayuyu battling each other with Sasshi's and Acchan's solos respectively, Next Gen vs Mid Gen with AnRiRe vs FujiKikuNaga, SKE and NMB Senbatsu split up and sing Documentary Theme Songs, HKT48 singing a classic song, Old Gens singing Oogoe Diamond acapella, Chance No Junban Trilingual version with Team Kaigai center and Captain vs Ex-captain (Mariko vs Takamina) at the end. In 2013, covering of songs reached to other artists as Minegishi Minami covered Gouriki Ayame's "Tomodachi yori Daiji na Hito", as well as an SKE/NMB/HKT senbatsu split-up, and reorganizations of new gens.

3. Drastic Change of Kami 7
For the past 5 elections, the Kami 7 was always the same, with usually minor changes. However, this year, Kami 7 received a drastic change. Only Watanabe Mayu remained a Kami 7, and Takamina and Kojiharu, both eternal Kami 7, never reached the rank again. All 6 others were intrusions (Kashiwagi in 2011, Sashihara in 2012, WMatsui in 2013, and Sayanee and Paruru in 2014)

4. Bright Side of the Dai Sokaku Matsuri: Original Members back to original teams, Reorganization of Images, Deserving Kennins
Kojima Haruna back to Team A, Watanabe Mayu back to Team B and Kato Rena back to Team 4 (although it's not the same Team 4) are just awesome. With the exception of Minegishi and Katayama, now all original founding members of Teams A, K and B are back where they belong. While some Kennins are out of place (as I mentioned above) there are some that truly fit that group. Watanabe Miyuki at Team S? Looks like she is getting a challenge to be part of all Japanese 48 groups. Kimoto Kanon just turned a Loli team (Team KIV) even more loli. And the images of teams featured at the 2009 Team shuffle has returned: Team A is the sexy/mature team again, Team K is the aggressive/cool team again, Team B is the cute/adorable team again. And Team 4 just got better. Maybe it's the best team right now. Yuria said, "I will make a Team 4 that will not lose to SKE48", and well, they did!

5. Manatsu no Dome tour
This concert is just awesome. Original members getting to perform together, Takada Ayana comeback, Maeda Atsuko comeback, Hirajima Natsumi comeback, Pajama Drive original unit, Utilization of the containers used on the stage, Team 4 comeback, Epic Farewells to Shinoda Mariko, Itano Tomomi and Akimoto Sayaka, Tokyo Dome Day 3 has solo units, Fukuoka Dome Day 2 has Senbatsu Shuffle with New Gen centers (Shimazaki, Iriyama, Mutou), various unit shuffles, Sister Group Senbatsu on elevated platforms (HKT on the south, SKE on the east and NMB on the west), and seeing staff dance Koisuru Fortune Cookie on stage.

 

Put kobayashi kana as under member..
The one and only 2nd gen in akb but no one care about her :"(

 

Best

1. Creating the theater schedule / performance frequency. Stupid #1 but to me, AKB's differentiator is not the size or omnipresence of the group but the intimacy with which fans can view the group and view the development and stages over time

2. Sousenkyo as a way to spur on fan involvement, overseas involvement and create an added layer of drama for the group

3. UZA, Beginner & other "cool" type singles like Kamonegix to attract people who may not necessarily like "idoly" music (like myself) and raise the bar / keep you guessing with the associated choreography of these performances

4. Team divisions and team "image" which will be strange considering it also factors into one of my "worsts"

5. Divested agency management. From a business and promotional standpoint having outside agencies manage the girls and utilize the theater as a gathering place to explore new and established talent before signing and managing them. I think this is a genius practice on behalf of AKS and think that AKS should do more to divest some of their workload a la NMB's management


Worst

1. Team shuffling. It dilutes the idea of the teams / team image. I realize that an unexpected transfer can create drama, excitement and angst for the fanbase, but is it really as beneficial as developing each team after a static image? I enjoyed the static images of A, K and B and wish understudies continued to be sorted into the teams that best fit the idol image they wished to present. If people want to play with unexpected pairings / appearances / appeal, they can do unit shuffles. I do not like team shuffles and feel that the teams should be as static as the sorting of the Hogwarts houses

2. Creating Team 4, 8, Draft, Oshiete Mommy, Part time members. I do not like the idea of AKB having to manage an extra set of teams that the regional groups do not have to manage. I believe it's too much now for the theaters, too many promotional/temporary members have taken chances away from understudies and "neither here nor there" members whose popularity and skill could use the building up that the old 3-team system allowed in the theater. I do not think that teams 4 and 8 need to exist - it is slowing down everyone's receiving new stages and is creating a mass confusion that the regional groups don't have to deal with.

3. Concurrencies. I don't think they do much for well known members of non AKB groups and they do little to grow the popularity of mid-tier members. Again, it seems their attraction is to create drama at the original shuffle event. In reality, it creates someone who now has to contend with endless travel and creates a fractured / orphaned fanbase who cannot see their girl either here or there! If someone is changing teams that's fine, but it needs to be a 100% transfer, a la Lemon or Love-tan.

4. Should have slowed down and perhaps dropped overseas groups. I think that the 48Group would be better managed dropping the overseas groups and getting rid of one regional group. There seem to be too many groups w/ an unclear image, slow to receive original stages, and from the standpoint of an international fan what attracts me to 48G is not having it in my own backyard, but having something different from existing acts in my home country to sink my teeth into. I think that the most beneficial groups have all been the Japanese-based ones, and I'd go even farther to say that SKE & NMB would serve as better, more sensible rivals to AKB than Nogi46 has, because their image is clear, stages and performances are well developed and their fans have a 1:1 analog of things to compare to AKB directly.

5. Frequency of auditions. Again, I think that the AKB main group has seen too much growth too fast and every audition cycle makes me nervous knowing this is a new batch that won't get the attention they need to flourish.

 

They were going to be in order but they aren't really :')
Best

1. Sousenkyo. It really makes them stand out from other idol groups and is one of the best money making ideas I’ve ever seen. Also it gives the girls something to aim for e.g ranking 19th would make someone work harder and aim for UG center.
2. Janken Taikai. Once again its unique but it also gives everyone a chance a chance at being in center/senbatsu positions, this can help give lesser known girls more exposure
3. ‘Cool’ songs and PVs. Stuff like beginner, UZA and SKEs escape are great at showing that 48G are capable of producing a variety of songs and concepts and not just the traditional idol stuff. This also extends to PVs i.e the original versions of beginner and manatsu no sounds good and more recently, bokutachi wa tatakawanai and sekai ga naiteru nara.
4. Akimoto Team K. It was one of the strongest teams in my opinion, everyone was unified and their shared passion shone through in every performance.
5. Sasshi going to HKT. It gave her a chance to rebuild her reputation and shine as a manager and leader.

Worst

1. Miichan’s scandal and everything that came with it.
2. Labrador Retriever. I know its just my opinion and some people may like it, but I seriously can’t find a single thing to like about the song itself or the PV (It felt kind of thrown together because they gave it to Mayu despite her not liking dogs and its overall concept was slightly odd imo)
3. Shuffles putting members in places where they don’t really fit. I’m talking Tomu in A, Hillary in B, Mayu in A (most of these have been fixed now which makes the moves even stranger in the first place.
4. Too many Kennin members in K. Like I love Sayanee and I like Jurina and Haruppi but now Team K doesn’t really have as much of an identity as it once did. It also stopped talented Team K members from having a chance at becoming more prominent members in the team.
5. HKT being left out. They’re 4 years old now and they only have 5 singles. At this rate NGT will have more singles than them.

 

best decision

1) adding handshake ticket/voting ticket to CDs to boost sales. Best marketing trick ever.
2) Sousenkyo and Janken. Sousenkyo keep the fans/members in suspense for 2 weeks + before the final results are reveal. lots of suprises in Sousenkyo and all the memorable speeches are epic. Janken tournament is really fun to watch when every members got a chance to get the center spot. I just loved all the cosplay/outfits.
3) Anta Dare is a really underrated show and TopLead probably the best MC right now. highly recommended for fans to watch this show every week.
4) Minegishi Team 4 - I really enjoy the genki peformance by Team 4 every week and they bonded well as a team

worst decision

1) too many team shuffle....do they really have to do a shuffle every year ? i totally understand the very first shuffle to balance out the teams. I feel like its impossible to build any team chemistry now coz when the teams finally bond together....the next shuffle just around the corner...
2) questionable kennin - Ikoma-chan kennin in Team B and Yukirin kennin in Team N....i think these kennins are unnecessary. Yukirin didnt make any impact in NMB. She rarely showed up in Osaka for the theater performances. But Ikoma did make a splash in 2014 Sousenkyo ranking 14th place but that's about it.
3) selection review for 13th gen. Its pretty cruel to expel 5 members of 13th gen. why why why????

 

Bringing this Thread back up (Also updating my own one from 5 years ago since I've been a fan for even longer now) + It would be interesting to see other folks updated or their own lists (for newbies)

Best
1) Creations of Request Hour, Janken, General Election, Draft + Solo and Sub Unit Debuts
2) 2009 Team Shuffle
3) Aimi Eguchi and Mariko Tsukamoto (We need another one of these)
4) Team 8
5) Creation of Shinoda/Yokoyama Team A (Imo, This team is legendary. I mean you had legends in Mariko, Takamina, Yuihan, and Mayuyu, Upcoming Stars like Annin, Ricchan, Juri, Well loved members like Ryoka, Suuchan, and Tanochan, this team was stacked!)

Worst
1) AKS Handling of Yamaguchi Maho's Assault (Easily the worst now)
2) The Handling of Minegishi Minami's Scandal
3) The Lack of Girls in Agency (Going to be upset about this until it actually freaking happens and more girls get into agencies)
4) Yokoyama Team K (2014): The time when Team K was pretty much Team K(ennin) when you had Jurina and Sayanee as your centers and making the dumb move of moving Kojimako to Team K and having her being behind them (When that Shuffle should have had Kojimako staying with Team 4).
5) The Constant KFC Clones (ENOUGH!)

 

Best:
Finally debuting AKB48 team TP (Former TPE48)
Allowing AKB48 team SH to release Love Trip as a pre debut Single
"Forcing" Jurina out of Produce 48 due to her health.
Letting GNZ48 former member to join AKB48 team SH
Teasing AKB48China in Produce 101 China
Worst:
Eguchi Ami(That's all I'm gonna say)
Making Sashihara Rino sing a high note in her solo song
Focusing SDN48 on "Korea"
NGT48 Mahohon isssue
Letting HKT48 without ACE(No Sashi/Sakura/Nako)