JKT48, I had no idea what to make of you. When the 48 family first told me about you, I was rather anxious. Were you a sister? A step-sister? Friendly visitor? I was worried about what my first impressions would be of you. I guess it was selfish; I was only preoccupied with how your new-found existence would affect me. Would we find common ground? Would I be as comfortable around you like the others? Would I even like you? You seemed so distant and foreign from the 48 family I was familiar with. I’ll even admit to feigning disinterest when I first saw you. But that was the past; it’s all good now. I think we’ll get along just fine.

So what exactly did JKT48 do to inspire confidence in me? Knowing me and my undying affinity for this medium, you could probably guess what it is: a PV. A Heavy Rotation PV to be more specific. And it’s looking pretty good. Actually… really good.

I don’t know if it was because I was expecting something less, but I’m really liking this. This is right in my comfort-zone. Yeah, it’s a scenario we’ve all seen before but for a debut PV, this went way beyond my expectations. I can say without a doubt that this PV created a bridge for me that I was doubtful would even materialize. I have no idea what Indonesia will think about it but it’s fun and familiar ground to me, and I think most idols fans could say the same.

Dae

Oshimen Quest: Chapter 2

Welcome to the second chapter of Oshimen Quest. You may have heard me mention that I have narrowed down my oshimen candidates to three girls on EP78 of the podcast. I also mentioned that it was one member from AKB48, SKE48, NMB48. After thinking about it for a couple days, I felt the need to go back to my roots of my fandom. I went back to the girls that first stood out in photos, shows, and PVs. They happen to be two members of AKB48 and one members of SKE48. The current final candidates in no particular order are, Sashihara Rino, Nakagawa Haruka and Takayanagi Akane.

Read more>

Recorded January 12th, 2012.

 A full house this week as we start the year off with a MEGA show. Four people, four hours, and tons to talk about.

OPENING:
Don’t Miss It! – Itano Tomomi

ENDING:
Majijo Teppen Blues – AKB48

[download]

Twitter Links:
David’s Twitter – RockLiao
Dae’s Twitter – newschooldae
Anthony’s Twitter – yoshizumitime
Dave’s Twitter – t3hdave

Read more for Show Notes & Images

Read more>

Those who follow AKB know about their humble contributions to aid the disaster areas of the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Members, staff and AKS pooled their donations and visited affected areas, performing and helping in what ways they could. One particular Gundam model enthusiast was particularly moved by the efforts of the girls and decided to pay homage to AKB in the only way that probably made sense to him: AKB Gundams.

To be more specific, Iiwake Maybe Gundams. These were created from the Nobel Gundam model, which was a feminine Gundam fitted with the styling of a sailor outfit, making it a perfect base. But it would be selling the craftsman short if it was just a new paint job. Each and every figure used represented a senbatsu cover member of Iiwake Maybe, with meticulous, subtle details making each one unique. From the hand-crafted hairstyles to individual bobbles, even the specific height and subtle skin color differences of each model were custom modified to make a faithful recreation.

If done well, fusions of giant pop icons are always surreal and provide me with endless fascination, and these are one of the most impressive I’ve come across. One needs a fiery passion and unflinching dedication to pull off a 12-figure display piece.

You can see close-ups of individual members and more here.

Dae

Remember there was a time when we all wondered, how could Nogizaka 46 be rivals to AKB48?

This wasn’t just because currently AKB is in a completely different stratosphere. Also there was also the factor of Nogizaka 46 being produced by the exact same guy as AKB48. So how could two groups that are initially on the same team, be considered competing with each other? It just seemed like a conflict of interest.

Well here’s how…

Nogizaka Becomes Official Rivals

I’d like to go on record and say that I believed in the project from the very beginning. I always looked at the concept as a very fresh idea and just another one of the ways that Producer Akimoto has been able to surprise fans.

They’ve now taken a song that is synonymous with AKB48 and made it uniquely something else. Aitakatta is still performed at almost every AKB48 event, even now at New Years and Christmas. They’ll play the song and people will go

“Wait is that AKB? I know that song but it sounds different.”

Nogizaka 46 will instantly have huge access like no other Idol Group. And this could only have happened because?

Akimoto is Producing both groups. Fucking Genius.

David
P.S. – He probably planned this all along. And that’s why all these years we’ve been all been wondering, why does AKB keep going back to perform Aittakata? Again, Genius.

Hopefully by the time you’re all reading this you’ll have had a chance to check out most if not all of the fantastic awards show podcasts that have been released over the past few days. If not, queue them up in your media player and go down my list as you listen to them. If you read my picks in your best imitation of a Scottish accent it’s like I’m really on the shows.

Joking aside, this post is going to be pretty long. I believe it was somewhere around 4200 words at the last count I did. I’ll try to make the formatting as easy on you all as possible but don’t feel you have to read it all in one sitting. Also, as a result of this post being so long I didn’t include any honorable mentions. They’re just the best losers anyway, right?

Read on after the break for my 2011 Awards write-up.

Read more>

Recorded January 5th, 2012.

In the finale of the Second Annual NSK Idol Awards Yoshizumi joins Dae, Tron, and David for the
Top 10 Singles of the Year.

OPENING:
Wani to Shampoo – Momoiro Clover

ENDING:
Flower – Maeda Atsuko
[download]

Twitter Links:
http://twitter.com/rockliao
http://twitter.com/newschooldae
http://twitter.com/atr0n
http://twitter.com/yoshizumitime

If you wanted more insight into this news story than just a list of the girls’ names and when the single is coming out then you’ve come to the right place.

This was originally going to be an Idol Digest for this week’s “Nogizakatte, Doko?” but since it was going to be all about announcing the senbatsu for their debut single I  figured I’d spare you all from twenty or more screenshots of girls crying and just get right into my impressions. First of all though, some introductions are in order so here’s the full list of girls that you’ll be seeing a lot more of in the coming weeks:

First Row (Kami 7): Shiraishi Mai, Matsumura Sayuri, Hashimoto Nanami, Ikoma Rina, Takayama Kazumi, Ikuta Erika, Hoshino Minami
Second Row: Saito Yuri, Nishino Nanse, Kawamura Mahiro, Saito Asuka
Third Row: Nojo Ami, Inoue Sayuri, Nakada Kana, Ichiki Rena, Sakurai Reika

Introductions over with, I’ll be moving into my impressions. I won’t be doing a write-up on all of the girls so please don’t be disappointed if I don’t mention your oshimen. Instead leave a comment and let everyone know how awesome she is and why she deserves to be chosen for senbatsu.

Read on after the break to hear my thoughts.

Read more>

Recorded January 4th, 2012.

Part Four of the NSK Idols Awards continues with Tron, Dae, and David a
discuss their personal Top 10 PVs of the Year.

OPENING:
Sekaiichi Happy na Onna no ko – C-ute

ENDING:
Pareo wa Emerald – SKE48

[download]

Twitter Links:
http://twitter.com/rockliao
http://twitter.com/newschooldae
http://twitter.com/atr0n

Recorded January 4th, 2012.

Tron, Dae, and David continue with part three of the NSK Idol Awards.
In Part 3 we go over the Best of Idol related Categories including…

-Best Improvement
-Biggest Disappointment
-Best Newcomer
-Most Potential
-Best Move (Choreography)
-Best Trend
-Worst Trend
-Favorite Moment
-Idol Group of the Year

OPENING:
Suki da na Kimi ga – Morning Musume

[download]

Twitter Links:
http://twitter.com/rockliao
http://twitter.com/newschooldae
http://twitter.com/atr0n