Single AKB48 43rd [Kimi wa Melody] (2016/03/09)

Aki-P 755 : Next year will be the year for AKB48 Group Theater. ..... I begin select songs for next team stage #KM

 

Yeah remember when they officially announced stages for all teams back in 2013?

Maybe he could just stop talking so much nonsense and do some more producing to be honest .

 

I think it would cool if every single had a featured guest star now it doesn't have to be 4 or 5 guest stars just one guest star.it happens in the music industry all time where people have guest stars featured on their hit songs and albums.I really think it's a great idea.

 

What do you mean by that though?
A known actor/actress, famous person or athlete?

Kinda like Kishidan to HKT48?

 

I was thinking more along the lines of a former popular grad but sure other famous acts would be great too.

 

Yeah I guess it's OK for grads to pop out once in a while

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In my opinion Yuiri's probability of success is above Ryoka's, and Moe's probability is just right after Ryoka. And Sakichan can actually succeed if she's given a bit push, so does Ayaka. It's Umetan who seems helpless and one of the soft targets of the new gen graduation plague

 

I don't mind grads guest starring too.

I just don't want them taking up 1/4 of the senbatsu.

 

Considering the decisions that managament makes this days you guys may get your wish...

 

I dont think many fans realistically still consider 9th gen to be new and iirc they've even said as such (that they are not new gen) themselves. For mgmt purposes they are always grouped in the new category though, I guess based on having less senbatsu experience.
and yh I woukd also consider NG at this point to be 13th gen and above based on their low average age and being mostly theater girls, though some of the 12th gen are still young.

Aside from that...
It's still a surprise to me that there are grads in senbatsu and that they're using the 42nd single 16nin again. Well, plus Mion (which I'm super happy about ofc! It's a good thing because I see it as an example of mgm actually having confidence in a fan push. I see Sakuratan like this as well, but I digress~)

The spring single doesn't sell the best and they've made it clear they're not ok with the 42nd single first week sales so I guess they feel the need do something insane.
I suppose as well that, unfortunately, those grads still make up the image that GP associate with "AKB".
However, I do think they HAVE made an effort to get some of the 9th gen and up names out there. Paruru and kawaei were the aces, but it cant be helped when things dont really work out, like prr's health failing and stuff like her movie bombing (not her fault ofc). And obviously with Kawaei...
Well if you want my $0.02 about that...

Spoiler

It's actually quite clear to me that these two are really the big "casuaulties" of this year, in terms of resources allocated, that are resulting in the continued reliance on OG. Mgmt could care less about seniority, this is shown in their choosing Mion over others.

As for people not happy about all the OG, and Sae and Mii specifically... I'm sorry :/ The way I see it, Sae and Mii have both overcome some.... unique obstacles lol. Also done an amazing job in leadership roles in their groups. I personally interpret it as recognition for those things because, err, that's the kind of thing that makes me feel happy. I'm not saying they are the only ones who work for it, but I regard them as being among that crowd. But there's always other people that can justify a spot as well so.... unfair and stuff :/ I just take it and be grateful they're allowed to have the chances and media opportunities.

I personally don't buy into the idea that all of the girls who are not chosen are not good enough though. That's mean and just not true...

And since people are still bringing up the kennin stuff, well I've already said in the kennin thread why I think the Japan48 senbatsu can't be helped; on top of that, SKE and HKT especially are AKS' damn responsibility too lol. I get the idea behind wanting AKB to work like a strictly wota thing, like classic AKB, but when they are going as far as reviving dead idols to try and be relevant it's clear to me that this is not mgmt's inclination.

Finally,
it's a bad sign that they feel the need to bring back grads... but after I get over how crazy it seems as someone who follows the members regularly; at the end of the day it could be cool to see the grad members in senbatsu again :/

 

Huh, that's interesting. I never saw Mariko's SSK speech as her saying "whoops, I spoke too soon" and leaving because of that. She was already out of her peak time as an idol to begin with and was already interested in doing other work outside of AKB. Personally I thought it was just the case of her finding the right time to graduate when it came up.

I guess that's possible, as long as it doesn't take too much time out of their schedules. Those grads DO have lives, after all. (Unless their showbiz careers are so dismal that they don't mind doing AKB stuff again...)

 

That's somewhat besides the point. But anyway I'll try to elaborate a little bit further.

We all know that the use of sister group members in AKB48 senbatsu started with Oogoe Diamond, AKB48's 10th single that used a single sister group member, Matsui Jurina (SKE48), then after that AKB48's 11th single 10nen Zakura included 2 sister group members, Matsui Jurina (SKE48) and Matsui Rena (SKE48) and so on and so forth until today, when AKB48's 41st single (SSK single) had 10 sister group members in senbatsu (if you count Kitahara Rie, Miyazawa Sae and Sashihara Rino as sister group members that is, which they officially are) and AKB48's 42th single Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby, the single that broke the first week million seller, that has 6 sister group members, same as the 43rd single senbatsu.

And that's only the senbatsu for the A-sides. Nowadays, sister groups get their own coupling songs (Eien Pressure), they center B-sides (for example Kimi wo Kimi wo Kimi wo, 365), they get solo songs on AKB48 albums (Sakura's Kanojo) and so on and so forth. So we have a rising tendency of more and more sister group participation in AKB48's singles, while at the same time we have a falling tendency of AKB48 participation in their own singles and albums.

But that's just one aspect of the success and at the same time failure of the sister group model. A much more deciding factor is the participation of all sister groups in the handshake events and photoshooting events that are attached to the singles and albums of AKB48. When you consider that all sister groups contribute to the success of AKB48 singles and albums, the participation and the share of AKB48 in their own work becomes more and more unclear to the point that it becomes irrelevant. That's how you get some fans saying, it doesn't really matter who is in senbatsu or from which sister group they come, in the end, everybody contributes to the sales and that's why sister group members supposedly even have a right to be 'represented' in senbatsu. According to this thinking, it doesn't matter whether there are sister group members in AKB4 senbatsu nor does it matter if they center AKB48 A or B sides.

Wait a minute. Let's take a step back and take a look where AKB48 has started and what AKB48 actually is. AKB48 has started in the theater in Akihabara, Tokyo. The girls who applied to AKB48 in Tokyo and struggled through the times when AKB48 was unknown (1st - 3rd generation), the girls who applied to AKB48 and struggled through their KKS times to be finally accepted into a team (4th - 15th generation), the AKB48 draftees, the Team 8, that is AKB48 and they want to be in their own group's senbatsu and they want their own songs. To quote Takahashi Minami, they want their efforts to be rewarded. If you ask the AKB48 new generation today (11th - 15th generation, draftees, Team 8), senbatsu is their first and foremost goal and they do their utmost to reach that goal, but the reality is that the sister groups have a lock on senbatsu, the coupling songs and crucially, the AKB48 handshake events, the AKB48 concerts and the AKB48 TV shows.

So while AKB48 enjoyed success with the sister group model for a long period of time, while the million streak went on and on, does it make sense to stick to this model when sales are falling until they finally fail to pass the million mark in the first week? Is it not a time to reconsider they way the group is organized and to look for a new recipe for success if the old one failed? The million streak was the main reason offered for the involvement of sister groups in AKB48's singles and events. But now that million streak is gone, it doesn't seem all that important anymore. Looking at AKB today, what remains is a shell, only the name AKB48 survives while in practice it is the sister group members who literally take over everything from senbatsu over handshake ticket sales all the way down to theater show appearances.

So yes having graduates for one single is a huge thing (that I am personally happy about), but the graduates don't make even an iota of a dent in the career prospects of the AKB48 new generation, while the sister group involvement has a huge effect on them. They literally get squeezed out of their own group and all its activities. The most effective and promising way out of this development that AKB48 is in would be AKB-only singles with AKB-only handshake events. And that was the point I was trying to make.

Spoiler

I guess in the future I'll just link to this post if it is good enough.

 

I really hope for AKB-only singles too. But we all know management doesn't actually have the guts to actually do that. And unfortunately, from a ￥￥￥ standpoint, its just going to make them lose money. There will never be a time where AKB-only senbatsu will gain more money than an all-star senbatsu, and that is why (unfortunately) it won't happen.

 

@trxsh Honestly I view Ricchan, Paruru, Yuihan, Annin and Katorena's massive pushes as being the final spurts of this last push for (I guess?) what people are now calling mid gen. It's a nice wrap up to their latest set of pushes. It also assures the girls that when their pushes end they won't just be thrown to the wolves.

Spoiler: Rando thoughts

holy shit these girls are being called mid gen now, time flies

People tend to overreact to the grads coming back. Anniversaries are always cash cows - this is nothing new. Seeing management milk this one for all its worth is something people should get used to

 

Well. They have succeeded in creating buzz, I'll give them that. Lol.

I'm interested to see what they do for this one....after seeing Fujita Nana's solo song, it has been confirmed that the vault of songs DOES have some gems, so since Takamina got her wish of a generic Idol song with Kuchibiru, I want this one to actually make a statement.

 

Aside from the Okada Nana post, have there been other girls posting about the senbatsu of this single?? I'm just slightly curious.
Also any "new" news about this single? I mean, the announcement alone could have generated some buzz right?

 

If im nt mistaken, Juri posted something too

 

But I can't see it being more than a "Sakura" song tho?~~ And it is being released in March. Like I'm all for Ballads - I love Sakura ki ni narou - but some are just bad ("So long", as an example lol)

 

Milky

 

Link?