This week’s episode was a bit of a disappointment: there was too much laziness with the hints as Abe even didn’t give one (is that the first time this has happened?). The hyped mic performance was one of the weakest so far, with both sides being only so-so and the whole thing had to be wrapped up by Sata and not the members themselves. Ranran still sticks with her awkward style: overreacting while coming across as lighthearted and fishy doesn’t quite work. It becomes even more obvious when she is in other kind of situations, like Kyowakoku’s radio episodes. Continue reading →
In these weekly summaries, I go through the latest episodes of AKB48′s various shows. Shimada appeared in the popular talk show Downtown DX this week and apparently succeeded to some degree (her name reached the top of search rankings after the show).
With the Nana prank project coming to its end after 3 weeks, I’m not too satisfied with its outcome. If it turns out to be a bigger success later on, then I’m fine with it. However, I think the staff screwed up it to some degree. The peak came with the centaur climax last week and the other prank this week wasn’t a satisfying follow-up to it. Most likely they did it that way to get Nana’s own reaction, but she didn’t show much of a reaction, as it could be expected. Oya and Sahhoo did well as prank helpers and Tano’s fineplay was a life-saver this week as well. Her and the director’s reactions were needed to save the last prank. I can understand Kojimako being picky with the food since I am myself quite like that, but for a Japanese TV talent that is unacceptable as pretty much everyone have to be able to do gourmet reports. Continue reading →
Sorry for the delay this week. I thought I had published this last weekend, but WordPress screwed it up and I didn’t notice until now. In these weekly summaries, I go through the latest episodes of AKB48′s various shows. This week there was an hour-long special of Karen no fukkou calendar and Sakiko participated for the second time in Teppen‘s piano competition.
This prank project doesn’t give me much of a chance to write about the members themselves. I’m personally not that fond of the way the prank is presented: there’s too much explanation and repetition of ‘majime’ for the prank itself to have an impact. The editing raises expectations way too high and the constant explanation is a bit overbearing. I think it would work better if the prank was presented in a less dramatic and predictable way. At least the ending of this week’s episode was memorable so I’m hoping next week leaves the impact this prank should leave in the first place. As a side note, I love how the staff used Tano in this week’s episode – pure delight for the fans who like her cheeky personality. Continue reading →
In these weekly summaries, I go through the latest episodes of AKB48′s various shows.
AKBingo (5.11)
Members: Karen Iwata, Saho Iwatate, Nana Okada, Ryoka Oshima, Yuko Oshima, Asuka Kuramochi, Mako Kojima, Ayana Shinozaki, Yurina Takashima, Juri Takahashi, Miki Nishino, Ami Maeda, Minami Minegishi, Yui Yokoyama
As expected, this week’s AKBingo continued the show’s theme of pitting veteran members against younger members in a battle for laughs which is judged by old people who don’t know anything about the group. This time the girls were challenged with monoboke and janken battle, both familiar for longtime viewers of the show. Continue reading →
In these weekly summaries, I go through the latest episodes of AKB48′s various shows. Sasshi appeared on Konya ha kurabetemimashita, a popular talk show in which Miichan appeared earlier this year.
AKBingo (29.10)
Members: Karen Iwata, Saho Iwatate, Nana Okada, Ryoka Oshima, Yuko Oshima, Asuka Kuramochi, Mako Kojima, Ayana Shinozaki, Yurina Takashima, Juri Takahashi, Mariya Nagao, Miki Nishino, Ami Maeda, Minami Minegishi, Suzuran Yamauchi, Yui Yokoyama
This week’s AKBingo continued last week’s theme of competition between senbatsu members and young newcomers. This time it was a what’s-in-the-box reaction game and the staff had a group of old people who don’t know anything about AKB judge whose reaction is best. The ones who took part in the game were Kojimako, Yuko, Ayanan, Miki and Miichan. Ranran and Mariyagi appeared only in the short talk part before the episode.
Variety 48 