The poll is over!! And with only two votes (LOL, me and Rae), it was a tie between Enkyori Poster and Choose Me! I really like all of the songs on AKB's latest single; sometimes I think one is my favorite and the next minute I'm not sure.

Next, shall we vote on captains? It just gives me another AKB-related thing to look into. I know who Takamina is, I first heard Sayaka in subgrop Chocolove from AKB48 last entry, and I covered Yukirin back when I went through Rae's favorites. Right now, I'm not sure who is my favorite. I know I like Takamina, but I need to try and find more solos lines of Sayaka and Yukirin's to listen to.

I feel the need to write about Miichan. As I was typing the previous paragraph, I was going through some videos that I'd already watched, so that I could refresh myself on how the Captains sound. One of the vids was Tane by No Sleeves, and I just can't get over how kawaii Miichan is! I really like her voice too~

So some fun facts about Mii-chan; her favorite flower is Lavender, and she has the habit of clicking her fingers. She's allgeric to cats, collects hats, and had the nickname Gojira (Godzilla) in primary school. LOL. And Aitakatta! says that Miichan is "Known for being the best dancer of AKB, and also, the most mischievous loli in Team A."



Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru. I really like the opening music to this song! The first singer is Takamina, that I got easily. And the second is. . .Acchan (Maeda Atsuko) ? I really really like the girl at 1:32, but I can't figure out who it is. The chorus is kind of catchy, and overall I like the song. Not a super favorite though.

Wow, the lyrics are kind of naughty sometimes. That is one difference between H!P and AKB that I've noticed. H!P lyrics are more teen-love related, and AKB's lyrics are sort of about teen-love, but more flirty, naughty, and on a higher maturity level. I mean, the girls are singing about wanting their uniforms off, how it's just an annoyance that's in the way.

Fourteen members from Teams A and K were selected to participate in this A-side. Team A: Itano Tomomi, Kojima Haruna, Maeda Atsuko, Minegishi Minami, Nakanishi Rina, Oshima Mai, Shinoda Mariko, Takahashi Minami. Team K: Akimoto Sayaka, Kasai Tomomi, Masuda Yuka, Miyazawa Sae, Ono Erena, Oshima Yuko.



Just the title of this song; Virgin Love. No wonder these girls have such fun performing, they get to sing about things like virginity and wanting their uniforms off. They don't cross any lines, and I don't think they are slutty, but it's interesting to see such a big female idol group singing about this kind of stuff.

This song is, dare I say. . .fun. Lol, I just mean it's so upbeat to dance to and the melody is very catchy. All the girls sound awesome, especially on the chorus. "Hayaku dare ka ubatte, Hayaku dare ka ubatte, Hayaku dare ka, Kite kite kite, Virgin love" I really like how that part sounds. This whole single, A & B sides, don't exactly wow me, but they aren't awful either. And you never know, a song can always grow on you~

Annnd for the subgroup this time around;

Honegumi from AKB48; Ono Erena (Team K), Itano Tomomi (Team A), Masuyama Kayano (Team A - Graduated), Oku Manami (Team K). "They were formed for a kids' TV show called Karada de Asobo. Their first and only single, Hone Hone Waltz, achieved an Oricon rating of #104."



The first time I saw the outfits, even before I heard one line of the song, I was thinking a huge WTF? I only listened to like 30 seconds of it that day and was like; meh. But I am trying to cover the no longer active subgroups of AKB48 before I get too much into the current ones (even though I already did a song by No Sleeves) And since this group only had this one single, I figured I'd get it out of the way.

BUT, it kind of grows on you a little. I went to listen to it for this entry, and I was like; awww. The girls sound cute, and I actually really like the chorus. Those 'Hone hone's are freaking adorable. It is a very short song, but I like the cuteness of it. And also, while looking up the members, I came across Oku Manami.

ohemgee, she is so kawaii~ She is the youngest member of AKB and has only been in one single; BINGO! Aitakatta! tells us that "She’s not very well liked by some fans because she doesn’t smile much" but I agree with the rest of Cat (the girl behind the blog) says, "screw them, I think she’s adorable anyway."

I'll have to keep an eye out for her in BINGO! But just for kicks, here is a video that's she in, along with Ohori Megumi (who is the oldest member in AKB). I was getting annoyed with Dailymotion, so I just print-screened the video and linked it. So click away!!

Oshibe to meshibe to yoru no chouchou ~ Oh, how I wish I could find the lyrics and translation to this song. Cause something is going on!! This song gives off sexy vibes big time. And the whole innocent loli Maachan seems like she is getting talked into bad things by the oh-so-darkly-but-sexily-dressed Meetan-hime.

Meetan has a really good voice, I like the lovely mature sound of it a lot. Maachan is just super cute, voice and all. The two of them work perfectly for this duet!! I also love the echo parts of the chorus; where on will sing a word/line and the other will repeat it. And the way they sound together is epic! Pretty blending.

That's it for today on A K B [E] ~

Aitakatta / Team A & K (10/2006)
ICE Aisareru to iu koto / ICE from AKB48
Oshibe to meshibe to yoru no chouchou / Ohori Megumi & Oku Manami
Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru / Teams A & K (01/2007)
Aozora no soba' Ni ite / AKB48
Choose Me! / Team Youth Jump (YJ)
Sakura no Hanabiratachi / Original Team A (02/2006)
Sakura no Shiori / AKB48
Majisuka Rock'n Roll / AKB48
Dear My Teacher / AKB48
Enkyorii Poster / Team Playboy (PB)
Tane / No Sleeves
Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru / Chocolove from AKB48
Tenshi no Shippo / Aichan, Yukirin & Nakayan
Virgin Love / AKB48
Skirt Hirari / Sukahira Seven (Team A back-up vocals)
Dakedo / AKB48
Hone Hone Waltz / Honegumi from AKB48

Minegishi Minami (Miichan), Takahashi Minami (Takamina), Oshima Yuko (Korisu or Korin), Oota Aika (Lovetan or Aichan) & Kashiwagi Yuki (Yukirin).

Okay, so I did get back on last night, but I ended up blogging on H!PE instead, hehe. So I decided first thing today I needed to work on this. And to start things off, I'm going to take a look at some of Rae's faves (cause she has good taste, lol). It'll help me to learn some more girls a little better, but also; I get to do some covering of subgroups! I'll be doing a video that has each of the above five girls in it.



Here's Miichan & Takamina! (& Haruna!) I am not new to No Sleeves at all~ I first stumbled across this video some odd months ago and totally loved them. I then followed with listening to their other two singles, which I'll get to in a later entry. As for this song; it's just freaking epic. I think the girls sound awesome! Plus the colors, outfits and dancing just rock.

Haruna I am a little familiar with, but not from AKB, just from this group. She is pretty, and seems to take a leader-like role in the group. Miichan (o wo) is sooooo adorable!! I love her. Takamina is good too, more in the mature/lovely voice than the utter cuteness of Miichan. So they are both cool in their own way.

Miichan and Takamina are also both on Team A in AKB48~



EDIT; The video was deleted, so now it's this boring one.

Here's Oshima Yuko (Korisu), along with Ono Erena, Kasai Tomomi, Sato Natsuki, & Imai Yu, to make up ICE for AKB48. This subgroup was created for the purpose of voice-acting for the anime ICE. These girls also sang the opening theme for the anime; ICE Aisareru to iu koto.

I think this song is very very pretty. But here is where I fail at telling them apart, lol. I like how they are wearing their anime character costumes! I couldn't pick out Korisu, cause I'm lame. So if you know which girl she is, let me know :'D

Korisu is also a member of AKB48's Team K~



Annnd, last but not least; Oota Aika & Kashiwagi Yuki! (And Nakaya Sayaka) More fail at faces. I think the girl in the middle with the hat is Aichan (the dimple helped me out). The girl on the starting left with the lacey handband and her hair down is Yukirin (this time it was the bangs that helped). And the last girl, with her hair up is Nakayan (process of elimination? lol).

I am having no luck at all figuring out if this performance is based off an anime (with those adorable costumes), or if it's just some song that was written solely as a trio concert song. If you have any information, please let me know!

Aren't those outfits just so cute?! I love how they have different bow colors, though you don't notice right away. (Aichan = pink, Nakayan = yellow & Yukirin = purple). They make me think loli a little bit. I adore the boots, and I love the little dance moves. Plus all three girls sound awesome!

AHA! I have discovered what the whole YJ and PB team thing means. Rae gave me an idea of what she thought it was; and she was close! When I was just browsing through AKB pages on j-ongaku.org, I happened across this little tidbit of information! ;

"It was announced that some members of AKB48 would split into two groups for the Japanese magazines Weekly Playboy and Young Jump and will compete against each other. . . .The teams will be featured in their respective magazines for the duration of the competition and fans are asked to vote for their favorite member.

Each team was also given a song used to promote their team, which were released on the single Sakura no Shiori as b-sides. (Type A = PB's Enkyorii Poster, Type B = Team YJ's Choose Me!). They will perform these songs in their own concerts at the AKB Theater and end with a joint concert between the two teams, where the winner will be announced."

Interesting, eh? OH AND BTW. I totally bought AKB48's Sakura no Shiori Theater ver CD. I couldn't resist. I got some other things, but they are all H!P (and I'll share my lovely buys with you on H!PE once I recieve them)~

Well that's it for this entry, and I must say, I'm proud of myself! It took me a bit to actually get into AKB, since it was something so new to me, and I felt a little lost. But I made progress today! I typed out all the AKB48 subgroups and their songs in wordpad for easy use, I learned a good handful of nicknames and can match some of them pretty well to faces. I built up my A K B [E] playlist on Youtube some more too!

Starting tomorrow it's 5 days of work until my next day of freedom (x wx) So there'll be updates when I have the time~ But on the bright side, I get paid tomorrow. So I can buy me some more wonderful asian music goodies!

OH, here is my playlist! Songs are listed as to what Subgroup or Team sang them. If it's by the whole 48, or if I'm unsure; I'll just list it as by AKB48.

Choose Me! / Team Youth Jump (YJ)
Sakura no Shiori / AKB48
Enkyorii Poster / Team Playboy (PB)
ICE Aisareru to iu koto / ICE from AKB48
Sakura no Hanabiratachi / Original Team A
Dear My Teacher / AKB48 (Ori Team A ?)
Majisuka Rock'n Roll / AKB48
Tane / No Sleeves
Tenshi no Shippo / Aichan, Yukirin & Nakayan
Aozora no soba' Ni ite / AKB48 (Ori Team A ?)
Skirt Hirari / Sukahira Seven (Team A back-up vocals)