Top 48G Members Mid Year 2017

I haven't really been following 48G this year. Me following 48G was always contingent on me buying their singles and albums for my collection, but because I just haven't had the money recently to do so, I've been paying less and less attention to the groups. It also doesn't help that releases have been few and far between for all of the groups.

AKB48

Neither of their singles this year have done anything for me. The B-sides have been meh (minus that SakamichiAKB song). The group has been kind of meh in graduation announcements. I'm semi-excited for Sousenkyou, but if Sasshi wins again I'm going to be disappointed. From my list in December, I lost Kira Takahashi. She should've been promoted and maybe she would've stuck around. AKB has a lot of KKS that really need to be promoted already. Surprised that Miichan hasn't announced yet. She really should (as should Mayuyu and Yukirin). It's time for the original members to leave.

#1: Minami Minegishi (-)

#2: Mayu Watanabe (+1)

#3: Mion Mukaichi (+1)

#4: Nana Okada (-2)

#5: Hijiri Tanikawa (-)

#6: Yuki Kashiwagi (-)

#7: Riona Hamamatsu (NEW)

#8: Nao Nomura (NEW)

#9: Saho Iwatate (NEW)

#10: Hinana Shimoguchi (NEW)

SKE48

SKE has been a non event this year. Sure they released an album, but that was way back in February and still no single yet this year. They were also a non event last year (though I loved Chicken Line). I actually completely forgot that SKE recruited an 8th generation. That's how little I've been paying attention recently. I'm actually surprised I haven't lost anyone from my list last year. I thought for certain I'd lose at least one or two. I guess the graduation torrent from SKE has slowed this year and they're starting to stabilize with the younger gens.

#1: Rara Goto (-)

#2: Oka Suenaga (+3)

#3: Jurina Matsui (-1)

#4: Ryoha Kitagawa (NEW)

#5: Akari Suda (+1)

#6: Marika Tani (+3)

#7: Haruka Futamura (NEW)

#8: Ayaka Ota (NEW)

#9: Natsuki Takatsuka (-2)

#10: Sarina Souda (NEW)

NMB48

Still thinking Sayaka will graduate this year or at least announce. Especially because she didn't participate in Sousenkyou. Has NMB released any singles this year? I can't remember if Boku ga Igai was this year or last year. Shows how much I've been paying attention haha.

#1: Sayaka Yamamoto (-)

#2: Rina Yamao (+2)

#3: Ririka Suto (-1)

#4: Narumi Koga (+6)

#5: Kanae Iso (+4)

#6: Fuuko Yagura (-3)

#7: Rurina Nishizawa (+1)

#8: Mizuki Uno (NEW)

#9: Azusa Uemura (NEW)

#10: Ayaka Yamamoto (NEW)

HKT48

Sasshi can leave now. I'd be good with that. Especially because they're making her be part of HKT, STU, AND AKB songs. Just leave already and leave spaces for girls who need it gosh. HKT released a single this year right? It was that bug song I believe. I don't think I've listened to it yet. Oh well. I'm slightly surprised I lost Haruka from December. Wasn't expecting that. I think Meru's going to be gone by year end. Don't know why, just a feeling. Anna will certainly be gone too. I can't imagine she'll hold out much longer with all the drama surrounding her.

#1: Meru Tashima (-)

#2: Nako Yabuki (-)

#3: Nao Ueki (+4)

#4: Mio Tomonaga (NEW)

#5: Miku Tanaka (NEW)

#6: Haruka Kodama (-1)

#7: Emiri Yamashita (-1)

#8: Maria Imamura (NEW)

#9: Anna Murashige (NEW)

#10: Sakura Miyawaki (-7)

NGT48

I still haven't listened to their debut song. From what I've heard about it, it seems like it will just be meh anyway. We'll probably see one more grad this year, after Sousenkyou. Still surprised that Mizusawa left so soon.

#1: Yuka Ogino (-)

#2: Tsugumi Oguma (NEW)

#3: Rena Hasegawa (NEW)

#4: Reina Seiji (-1)

#5: Mau Takahashi (NEW)

#6: Minami Kato (-)

#7: Miharu Nara (+2)

#8: Ayaka Tano (NEW)

#9: Riko Sugahara (NEW)

#10: Anju Sato (-5)

STU48

Cuca joined a group! I'm so happy for her! Too bad she wasn't included in their debut song, although the song was incredibly boring so meh. Hopefully they do a dance number soon and she gets to shine! I'm predicting one grad this year before a team is formed. They're all new so no positions.

#1: Miyu Sakaki

#2: Akari Fukuda

#3: Miyuna Kadowaki

#4: Yuri Torobu

#5: Aoi Hyodo

#6: Saki Sugahara

#7: Yumiko Takino

#8: Chiho Ishida

#9: Ayumi Ichioka

#10: Nonoka Shintani

Nogizaka46

If not the end of this year, next year there's going to be a mass grad of a lot of first gen. They've been in the group for, what, six years now? A lot are probably thinking about the future at this point. Influencer was ok as a single, haven't heard the B-sides. Then they released an album, which I also haven't heard anything from. Hopefully once things settle down for me I'll be able to catch back up.

#1: Rina Ikoma (-)

#2: Minami Hoshino (-)

#3: Maaya Wada (-)

#4: Miria Watanabe (NEW)

#5: Manatsu Akimoto (+1)

#6: Erika Ikuta (+2)

#7: Sayuri Matsumura (NEW)

#8: Asuka Saito (-1)

#9: Sayuri Inoue (NEW)

#10: Reina Sakurai (-1)

Keyakizaka46

It's the only group that I semi-payed attention to the music of this year! Fukyouwaon was AMAZING. More like that for 48G please. I do predict more Keyaki grads by the end of the year. Maybe from the weird Hiragana system. I wasn't a huge fan of Techi when the group first started but gosh she's a perfect center.

#1: Yurina Hirate (+1)

#2: Yui Imaizumi (-1)

#3: Mizuho Habu (NEW)

#4: Mana Takase (NEW)

#5: Memi Kakizaki (NEW)

#6: Kyoko Saito (NEW)

#7: Nanako Nagasawa (-4)

#8: Rina Uemura (+1)

#9: Yuuka Kageyama (NEW)

#10: Nijika Ishimori (-4)

SNH48

I'm still not sure what to think on all the China48 groups. I haven't heard any of their new music this year. I'll get around to it eventually. I'm actually surprised that more of my positions didn't change from December.

#1: Mengying Lv (NEW)

#2: Beiting Qian (+6)

#3: Yi Zhang (NEW)

#4: Xinwen Sun (NEW)

#5: Jiaying Chen (+1)

#6: Jiongran Liu (NEW)

#7: Rui Sun (-3)

#8: Xiaoyin Kong (-1)

#9: Zhilin Shen (NEW)

#10: Wanqing Hao (NEW)

BEJ48

#1: Xinyi Ren (+5)

#2: Xian Liu (NEW)

#3: Xiang Li (NEW)

#4: Congcong Niu (NEW)

#5: Shuli Tian (NEW)

#6: Shan Sun (-2)

#7: Xiaohui Hu (NEW)

#8: Shuxian Liu (NEW)

#9: Hongyao Li (NEW)

#10: Yixuan Duan (NEW)

GNZ48

#1: Lirong Huang (NEW)

#2: Yirui Long (NEW)

#3: Siyue Wang (NEW)

#4: Cuifei Wang (NEW)

#5: Yuanjing Gao (NEW)

#6: Yuqi Chen (-1)

#7: Lifei Liu (-3)

#8: Qiulin Du (NEW)

#9: Qianqian Liu (-6)

#10: Yihong Li (NEW)

SHY48

#1: Xiao Yang

#2: Feiyan Wang

#3: Siyu Guan

#4: Jiarui Zhao

#5: Yunhan Yang

#6: Shihan Feng

#7: Jiale Han

#8: Zixi Lai

#9: Zhixian Gao

#10: Mengting Gong

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #21: Top 48G 2016

I've already talked about both the music & the members from this year, so let's just jump right into the countdown!

#10

Keyakizaka46 - Futari Saison

#9

HKT48 - Make Noise

#8

AKB48 - High Tension

#7

NGT48 - Kimi wa Doko ni Iru?

#6

NogizakaAKB - Mazariau Mono

#5

Keyakizaka46 - Silent Majority

#4

Tentoumu Chu! - Seijun Tired

#3

AKB48 - Love Trip

#2

SKE48 - Chicken Line

#1

Nogizaka46 - Harukanaru Bhutan

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #8: Top AKB48

It's kind of fitting that AKB's day lands on the same day that they debuted their 16th gen! Congrats to all the new girls! I'm excited to see new faces in AKB & I can't wait to see who gets pushed. AKB itself has been somewhat interesting this year. Takamina FINALLY left after her way too long drug out graduation, Kojiharu is also finally leaving soon, and Paruru announced her graduation. I never really minded that Shimazaki didn't seem to be overly enthusiastic about AKB. Unlike Kojiharu who I feel should've left a long time ago, I like Paruru. I think it's for the best that she announced though. Not just for her health, but I think it's always better to leave at your peak than overstaying your welcome. Nana Owada's recent graduation announcement shocked me. I can't believe she's leaving already. I figured Nishino would be gone before any of the other newer pushed girls. As for next year, I'm hoping that more old gen girls start to leave. It's time for AKB to completely transition to Gen 9 and newer. As much as I love Miichan, I hope she also announces next year. It's time for first gen to go. I also have a feeling that Mayuyu will announce next year.

As for the music this year, it's been very up and down. Kimi wa Melody was pretty good to me, even though I saw a lot of people not really feeling the song. That single also featured two super awesome B-sides: Make Noise & Mazariau Mono. Tsubasa wa Iranai, both the song itself and the B-sides, were so bland. NGT's song on the theater edition is cool, but everything else was SO disappointing, especially for the summer single. Love Trip as a song is awesome, but I didn't think the other A-side or the B-sides were anything special at all. I never really care for the B-sides of the Sousenkyo single though. High Tension I think is on par with Kimi wa Melody as far as the total package. The A-side is great & there's two super great B-sides: Seijun Tired (best B-side this year from them) & Shunsuki (? I think I spelled that wrong...) Adrenaline. Overall though, I didn't feel like there was that great of music from AKB this year. Hoping for something different next year. Maybe another UZA-type A-side? That'd be nice instead of more slow songs or funky songs. Change it up please!

My ranking has drastically changed from last year. I finally got (almost, missing Pajama Drive, the Himawarigumi stages, Renai Kinshi & Saishuu Bell) all of the stage albums and I LOVE so many of the songs from them. Much better than their singles and normal albums tbh.

#10

Kibouteki Refrain (2014) (NEW)

#9

Nageki no Figure (2006; Team A 2nd Stage) (NEW)

#8

Dokugumo (2010; Team K 6th Stage) (NEW)

#7

How Come? (2013; Sayonara Crawl Type K) (-2)

#6

Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (2007) (-2)

#5

Ikiru Koto (2013; Sayonara Crawl Type A) (NEW)

#4

Beginner (2010) (-2)

#3

Hana to Chire! (2006; Team K 3rd Stage) (NEW)

#2

UZA (2012) (+1)

#1

Mokugekisha (2009; Team A 6th Stage) (-)

Top 48G Members [First Half 2016 Edition]

December's Ranking: Click Here

It really pains me to say this, but in contrast to H!P this year, 48G's music has been utterly fantastic. Not so much AKB, but the sister/"rival" groups. They've had a lot of impressive songs come out this year so far. They've also seemed actually interesting this year. I find myself checking up on news about them more often than usual. I think it's because the big older members are finally starting to leave (like how Takamina FINALLY got the heck out of the group. That was the single most pointless graduation drag out I've ever seen) and new members are beginning to fill the ranks. It's a fun transition time.

AKB48

-It's actually kind of sad how AKB manages to be so mediocre compared to their sister groups. Kimi wa Melody was an ok song, and had some fantastic B-sides, but the B-sides weren't even by AKB except for La La La (which was boring as crap). And Tsubasa wa Iranai & it's B-sides is AKB's management really phoning it in. I applaud them for resisting going back to bikini singles, but gosh can we at least have something with some energy? And if that preview for that new song is actually the Sousenkyou single then I'm giving up on any A-side being good this year from AKB.

#1: Minami Minegishi

#2: Mayu Watanabe

#3: Nana Okada

#4: Hijiri Tanikawa

#5: Mion Mukaichi

#6: Nana Owada

#7: Kira Takahashi

#8: Yuki Kashiwagi

#9: Moe Aigasa

#10: Kiara Sato

SKE48

-I honestly expected SKE to not catch my attention as much after Rena graduated, but really they've been more interesting than most groups. Rara is totally adorable and I'm glad that she's getting the push she's getting. Musically, SKE has released one of their best songs ever this year with Chicken Line. While most of the B-sides to the single were pretty standard pop fare, Is That Your Secret was really great too. I hope they get an album/original stage this year. It's been too long since both.

#1: Rara Goto

#2: Aya Shibata

#3: Nao Furuhata

#4: Jurina Matsui

#5: Kaori Matsumura

#6: Ruka Kitano

#7: Akari Suda

#8: Natsuki Takatsuka

#9: Oka Suenaga

#10: Marika Tani

NMB48

-NMB had some great title tracks last year, but this year's Amagami Hime wasn't really up to par with songs like Must Be Now & Don't Look Back. It's good, but not that good. The B-sides were also rather disappointing. I'm hoping that their next singles this year are better. With NMB, I feel like they're really beginning that major transition phase that SKE seems to be starting to come out of. The phase where older members & popular members are wanting to move on & pass the baton to younger girls. With Miyuki leaving (and in my opinion I believe Sayaka will be gone by the end of next year too), they will have to make the transition to new gen sooner rather than later. They are doing better on that front than SKE did when they began the transition though.

#1: Sayaka Yamamoto

#2: Rina Yamao

#3: Ririka Suto

#4: Shu Yabushita

#5: Fuuko Yagura

#6: Miru Shiroma

#7: Konomi Kusaka

#8: Kanae Iso

#9: Rurina Nishizawa

#10: Ayaka Morita

HKT48

-I've all but given up hope that HKT will ever release good A-sides ever again. Or B-sides for that matter really. However, their B-side on Kimi wa Melody was incredible. Make Noise is the best thing they've ever done. They should totally do that style on an A-side just to shake stuff up because of how boring they usually are.

#1: Meru Tashima

#2: Nako Yabuki

#3: Chihiro Anai

#4: Sakura Miyawaki

#5: Emiri Yamashita

#6: Haruka Ueno

#7: Yui Kojina

#8: Nao Ueki

#9: Haruka Kodama

#10: Aoi Motomura

NGT48

-Well, they haven't really done anything yet so I don't have a whole lot of thoughts on them. Their B-side releases for AKB are pretty boring though. And I really really don't like Moeka. She feels like such a poor choice for center over the amount of girls they have who could pull it off much better. I still can't really rank them with any certainty because they haven't released a single yet.

#1: Yuka Ogino

#2: Minami Kato

#3: Rika Nakai

#4: Reina Seiji

#5: Nanako Nishimura

#6: Yuria Otaki

#7: Mau Takahashi

#8: Marina Nishigata

#9: Rie Kitahara

#10: Hinata Honma

Nogizaka46

-Honestly, Nogi releases music more boring than HKT. They really do. However, as a group they seem to have much more personality. Although Nogi's music borders from bland to blander, they have managed to release one of the best Japanese songs of all time this year. No I'm not kidding when I say that. Harukanaru Bhutan is probably my favorite song to ever come out of the 48Gs, and at this point it's very very close to becoming my favorite Japanese song of all time. The composition and production of that song is just absolutely gorgeous. The alternating between the guitar & the traditional instruments before that last chorus is just a beautiful piece of music. So powerful. When they have songs as good as that in their arsenal, why the heck are they constantly releasing snoozefests? I can't remember how any of their A-sides go as far back as Natsu no Free & Easy because they're all the same flavor of boring.

#1: Rina Ikoma

#2: Minami Hoshino

#3: Maaya Wada

#4: Mai Shiraishi

#5: Manatsu Akimoto

#6: Karin Ito

#7: Marika Ito

#8: Nanase Nishino

#9: Erika Ikuta

#10: Himeka Nakamoto

Keyakizaka46

-I was so incredibly surprised by their debut single. It was so different for the usual 48G stuff! This is what they need desperately. Curveballs. It seems like the Japanese public loved the Silent Majority concept too so that should provide incentive for them to comeback with another great song. I'm still not 100% on my ranking, but my top girls are more or less decided.

#1: Yui Imaizumi

#2: Miyu Suzumoto

#3: Manaka Shida

#4: Aoi Harada

#5: Yurina Hirate

#6: Yui Kobayashi

#7: Nijika Ishimori

#8: Mizuho Haba

#9: Neru Nagahama

#10: Nanami Yonetani

So here's my thoughts, agree, disagree?

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #21: Top 48G Songs 2015

48G has been very hit or miss this year in my opinion. AKB themselves have actually been pretty great, both with A-sides & B-sides. Much better than last year anyway. SKE wasn't too bad, but not many of there songs really popped to me. NMB's A-sides were pretty fantastic (minus Durian Shounen), but their B-sides were bland. HKT & Nogi were pretty much non-events this year. I hoping that for the sister groups next year's music is better overall and AKB keeps up what they have going this year.

#10: AKB48 - Halloween Night

#9: NMB48 - Renai Petenshi

#8: SKE48 - Coquettish Juutaichuu

#7: AKB48 - Amanojaku Batta

#6: AKB48 - Haru no Hikari Chikazuita Natsu

#5: NMB48 - Don't Look Back

#4: AKB48 - Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai

#3: NMB48 - Must Be Now

#2: Jurina Matsui - Akai Pin Heel no Professor

#1: AKB48 - Mizu no Naka no Dendouritsu

Enjoy! What are your favorite 48G songs of the year?

25 Days Of Christmas Countdown Day #7: Top AKB48 Songs

Like SKE, this actually wasn't as hard as I thought lol. I haven't listened to all of the stage albums yet (I actually just bought all of them for myself for Christmas lol) so I'm sure this would've been much more difficult if I knew all of the stages as the only one I've heard is A6 and it is their best release ever lol. There's no video for #7 as I can't find it. Sorry. :(

#10: Romance Irane (2008)

#9: Korogaru Ishi ni Nare (2006)

#8: Everyday, Katyusha (2011)

#7: Utsukushiki Mono (2009)

#6: Hate (2012)

#5: How Come? (2013)

#4: Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (2007)

#3: UZA (2012)

#2: Beginner (2010)

#1: Mokugekisha (2009)

Enjoy! What's your favorite AKB song?

Music Discovery Mondays (October 5, 2015)

Track #1: Hello Pro Kenshuusei - Koi Shitai Shinto

Unfortunately I can't find the studio version on YT, but this is enough to give an idea of the track. The verses remind me of early 2010s K-pop while the chorus goes into a catchy yet sweet J-pop track.

Track #2: Jurina Matsui - Akai Pin Heel to Professor

Performance Link

It's funny to me that this is my favorite song on AKB's Koko ga Rhodes album. Jurina's voice is....not so great. Even in the song it's a little grating; however, the song's composition makes it one of the best 48G tracks of the year. It's a funky disco-esque pop track and I think it fits Jurina perfectly. Sorry it's not embedded. I'm unfamiliar with the site and I'm not even sure it can be embedded.

Track #3: Eden XO - Too Cool To Dance

I think this is a fun track to end with. I'm disappointed that this didn't receive as much attention as I was hoping. I've been listening to her since she was known as Jessie Malakouti. It's unfortunate that nothing she seems to do has gotten any attention because her music is quite fantastic. This song is just a fun dance party track and a nice way to lift of a Monday.

Enjoy!

AKB48 - Chance no Junban

It's kind of fitting that this single comes up next on my list of things to review so close to the 2015 Janken tournament. Personally I lean on the side that the winner of the tournament is chosen before hand, but that's just my thoughts. Unless they come out and tell us we'll never know exactly. Because of my opinions on the tournament, I think either Yuria Kizaki or Haruka Kodama is going to win this year. I do miss the idea that the top 16 got to be Senbatsu for a single, but I like the idea of a solo single too. It's something that could be really tailored to a specific girl's personality.

This single was the first of the Janken releases, with Mayumi Uchida centering.

Track #1: Chance no Junban, found on all versions of the single. This is my least favorite Janken single. I'm not a big fan of Ue Kara Mariko either, but this one is just so bland. It's your quintessential idol pop track. I also count it among my least favorite AKB singles overall. And yes, I do enjoy Kokoro no Placard over this (although I'm one of the oddballs that actually enjoys that track xD). At least Kokoro is catchy. The video I do enjoy though. It's nothing special, but I just love seeing how happy Mayumi looks to have a chance at not only being in Senbatsu, but being center. It's too bad nothing really came out of it for her though. 3/5.

Track #2: Yoyaku Shita Christmas, found on all versions of the single. I really don't like Christmas music. It doesn't help that I don't like Christmas music & this particular Christmas song is generic idol pop with generic Christmassy sounds. Not for me at all. Even the music video is generic Christmas. I swear I've seen those outfits before & I've never watched this video before today. I probably shouldn't be too harsh on the video. It's not like there's a whole lot you can do with the Christmas theme that hasn't been done to death. 2.5/5.

Yoyaku Shita Christmas MV

Track #3: Kurumi to Dialogue, found on the Type A version of the single and sung by Team A. I frequently see this song in lists of "cool" songs by 48G. Personally, I don't find it much of a "cool" song at all. I guess if your definition of a cool song by the 48Gs is a non traditional idol pop song, then sure it is; but when compared to songs like Uza or Beginner, it just sounds like a badly disjointed idol pop track. I really can't see what's good about this song. The way it is sung is so incredibly annoying. Does it have potential? Yes. Is it horribly executed like SKE's Galaxy of Dreams? Yes. The video is a poor man's Beginner. 2.5/5.

Kurumi to Dialogue MV

Track #4: Alive, found on the Type K version of the single and sung by Team K. Another song that I see on lists about "cool" songs. At least this one actually fits the category better. Even with this being a better representation of a "cool" track, it still feels really bland. It's just a recurring theme on this single: blandness. I think it's the "rock song" feel of the song. I just am not that into rock music (or even pop rock) much anymore. The video is a good highlight of this release though. The Team K girls could really pull off fierce. It also reminds me how much I miss Tomomi being in AKB. Besides Miichan, Tomomi was the only other girl to really catch my eye when I first was getting curious about AKB. 3.5/5.

Alive MV

Track #5: Love Jump, found on the Type B version of the single and sung by Team B. You can always count on Team B to bring the generic idol cutesy track! The sad thing about this song though is it's actually my favorite B-side. I know. I'm even shocking myself. It might be a generic idol pop track, but at least it's got some life to it & it's catchy. It will probably be stuck in my head all during classes tomorrow. The video is nothing special, although it's so weird seeing Yuki & Mayu looking so young lol. 4/5.

Love Jump MV

Track #6: Fruits Snow, found on the Theater Edition of the single and sung by the Kenkyuusei. This is the final song on the single. It's funny to me that Shimazaki is on it. I wasn't into Jpop when this single came out so it's weird to me that she was ever a Kenkyuusei. I'd say for this single, this song is my least favorite B-side besides the Christmas song I try to forget exists. It's like the opposite of Team B's generic idol track as in it's not catchy at all. I like my generic idol pop to at least make me want to tap my feet, not put me to sleep. 3/5.

The title track of the single really sets the tone for the release as a whole. It's just not very good. There's not one track that really pops. Usually there's one B-side that is pretty great, but in this single, the best is Team B's & I only rated it a 4 because it was the closest to a good song. What I do appreciate about this single is that there are some diverse styles on it. Even if they don't work for me, the release allows for other fans to find something that more fits their taste. 3/5.

New Music Thursdays (August 27, 2015)

Slightly early for Thursday, but I won't be home most of the day tomorrow so I figured nothing wrong with getting a head start :)

Track #1: JoJo - Save My Soul

I very vaguely remember when her first big hit Leave (Get Out) came out. It's been what? 10 years? That seems insane to me. It's even more insane that she was hardly able to release music for almost the same amount of years. The "tringle" this song comes from is really her first official release in a long time. There are two more songs on the "tringle", but this one really caught my attention. Not only are her vocals stellar, but the lyrics are great too. Her "tringle" III. was released August 21st.

Track #2: AKB48 - Halloween Night

I actually feel embarrassed putting this song up. One, there hasn't been that many good new releases this past week to put here so I'm grasping at straws, and two.....this song is such the ultimate guilty pleasure. When I first heard it I couldn't stop laughing because of the God awful spelling & "Are you ready" lines. Today, I still REALLY cringe during half the song, but it's pretty catchy and a stupid song to sing along to for fun. AKB48's new single released August 26th.

Full MV

Track #3: There is no track 3. I could've put another of the songs from JoJo's tringle, but decided not to. Really this week was pretty boring for new music. So. Instead of a track 3, enjoy this lovely video someone put together featuring Dragon Age Inquisition's Cullen to the song "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" from Mulan. It's the best thing I've seen all month.

Click Me for Dragon Age goodness!

AKB48 - Kaze wa Fuiteiru

Ever since Juice=Juice released Kaze ni Fukarete, I keep getting the two titles messed up. When I was searching for this single on Generasia, I typed in "Kaze wa Fukarete" and was so confused that it was bringing anything up xD. It's mindboggling to me that 2011 was 4 years ago already. I barely knew what AKB48 was back then.

The title track is Kaze wa Fuiteiru. I had never cared for this song when I first got into AKB48. It actually annoyed me that it was referred to as one of the "cool" singles because it didn't fit my definition of what that should be. As a result, it was one of the last AKB singles I bought from the years before I started following them. Of course, after I received the single, my perception on the song changed. It's so different than what they've done for any other single. It's a really powerful song. It might not be a "cool" song like UZA or Beginner, but it certainly ranks up there with them as one of their best singles. I really love the colors of the outfits/set in the video. It really fits the song. I don't know if that makes sense to associate a song with colors, but they just fit so perfectly. I don't quite get what the tree...beaver...rabbit....looking thing is in the video though. It was kind of freaky when I first saw it. 5/5.

Kaze wa Fuiteiru MV

The first B-side is Kimi no Senaka which is found on all versions. I love how this is such a contrast to the title track. Kaze is all dark and flowing and this is bubbly idol pop. It's not among my favorite of their generic idol pop songs, but it's listenable. The slow down & vocal effects on the bridge are pretty cool. The video is way too long again. I'd like to see them go one single without releasing videos that are longer than the song. It's funny seeing Aika center an AKB song though. I'm so used to her in HKT it feels weird. 3.5/5.

Kimi no Senaka MV

The next B-side is Vamos found on the Type A version of the single. The very beginning of this song is so misleading lol. When it starts I always picture the beginning of a rap song. The song is nothing like that of course (although I'd love to see them attempt it...Green Flash is NOT rapping xD). It's bubbly & catchy but I wouldn't call it a generic idol pop track. It's got too much of bass line for that. The Vamo-Vamo-Vamos! part of the chorus is so dang catchy too. The video isn't anything special, but the "guy" (it IS one of the girls dressed as the guy right? xD) is so bouncy and happy it's funny. 4/5.

Vamos MV

The next B-side is Gondola Lift found on the Type B version of the single. Every time I have typed the title of this song today I keep putting "life" instead of "lift". This might be a ballad, but I actually don't mind this one. The girls really sound good together & they don't sound as bored as rocks. The music video is so sweet. A fantastic example of a video that can have a moving plot to it and still stay in the song's time limit. 3.5/5.

Gondola Lift MV

The final B-side is Tsubomitachi found on the Theater edition of the single. It's actually strange ending a 48G single this early lol. I'm used to the singles now that have like 8 songs on each. Having only four B-sides is kind of refreshing. It's a very idol pop track. I kind of like it though. Maybe it's just the fact that this single is actually fairly good quality that I'm saying it, but it's definitely catchy. 4/5.

Tsubomitachi (Audio)

For a 48G single, this is pretty strong. The title track is one of their best and even the generic idol & ballads tracks are solid. 4/5.

48G Ranking May 2015

Since I just did one on Hello! Project I think it's only fair to do one on the 48s as well. I won't do this as detailed as the H!P one. To be honest I couldn't even tell you why I like certain girls from 48G except for my top ones. I'm only going to list my top ten of each group...if I ranked everyone this post would be 3 pages long xD. I'm not counting kennins during the group rankings. If a kennin ranks it would would be with her main group. The list also will not include any girls who have announced their graduations.

AKB48

#1. Minami Minegishi [Team K]

#2. Nana Okada [Team 4]

#3. Misaki Iwasa [Team B]

#4. Hijiri Tanikawa [Team 8]

#5. Yuki Kashiwagi [Team B]

#6. Mitsuki Maeda [Team 4]

#7. Anna Iriyama [Team A]

#8. Mariya Nagao [Team K]

#9. Nana Fujita [Team K]

#10. Moe Aigasa [Team K]

SKE48

#1. Rena Matsui [Team E]

#2. Aya Shibata [Team E]

#3. Jurina Matsui [Team S]

#4. Ruka Kitano [Team KII]

#5. Nao Furuhata [Team KII]

#6. Madoka Umemoto [Team E]

#7. Akari Suda [Team E]

#8. Marika Tani [Team E]

#9. Rika Tsuzuki [Team S]

#10. Ami Miyamae [Team S]

NMB48

#1. Sayaka Yamamoto [Team N]

#2. Rina Yamao [Team N]

#3. Shu Yabushita [Team BII]

#4. Fuuko Yagura [Team M]

#5. Konomi Kusaka [Team BII]

#6. Yuuka Kato [Team N]

#7. Narumi Koga [Team N]

#8. Kanako Kadowaki [Team BII]

#9. Miyuki Watanabe [Team BII]

#10. Rurina Nishizawa [Team N]

HKT48

#1. Nako Yabuki [Team H]

#2. Chihiro Anai [Team H]

#3. Haruka Ueno [Team H]

#4. Haruka Wakatabe [Team H]

#5. Anna Murashige [Team KIV]

#6. Meru Tashima [Team H]

#7. Miku Tanaka [Team H]

#8. Mao Yamamoto [Team H]

#9. Emili Yamashita [Kenkyuusei]

#10. Aoi Motomura [Team KIV]

Nogizaka46

#1. Minami Hoshino

#2. Rina Ikoma

#3. Maaya Wada

#4. Iori Sagara

#5. Marika Ito

#6. Kazumi Takayama

#7. Nanase Nishino

#8. Misa Eto

#9. Mai Shiraishi

#10. Sayuri Inoue

And that's it! I don't follow JKT or SNH at all so I didn't include them. Post your own rankings if you'd like!

AKB48 - Green Flash

I'm very surprised that I'm able to do a review on this already. Usually my newest CDs get buried under the older ones and that's why I review older singles and albums more often. This is AKB's first single of 2015. The "Sakura single" as it has been called. Usually these are my least favorites of the AKB singles. They tend to be slower and uninteresting to me.

The title track of the single is Green Flash. I love the title of this single. It's so unique. From what I know of it, it's some type of weather phenomenon that is fairly rare. My first thoughts on this single was that it was nothing special at all. From the low quality concert rip all I could think of was how slow it was and how the "rap" sounded hilarious. After listening to it again when the video came out, I really began to like it. Even though it's slow, it's not your typical ballad. I won't call the fast talking parts "rapping" because it's really not, but I like how it adds some variety to the song. The violins also really add a nice feeling to the song. For the video, I'll echo the sentiments of everyone else in wondering where the screen time is for Yuki & Haruna. I don't care what the concept is, your centers should be given a nice spotlight in the video. Oh, and running girls for the 10949834857389475x time in a 48G video? I'll pass. 4.5/5.

Green Flash MV

The first B-side from the Type A version is Majisuka Fight. I'm pretty sure there's more B-sides on this single than Kibouteki...it's really starting to get ridiculous. I'm not sure how much longer Oricon's going to let them get away with releasing practically an album full of songs for each single. They've been tightening up restrictions for their charts this year and I'm wondering which will die next: the bazillion versions or the handshake tickets. As for this song, it certainly has nothing on Majisuka Rock N Roll. In fact, I don't think this song sounds like it fits the Majisuka theme at all. It sounds like your typical J-pop song. I assume that the lyrics are more what you'd expect it should be, but I don't know. The music video has the same issue that the video for Majisuka Rock N Roll has. The girls do not suit the concept AT ALL. Almost all of them besides maybe Minami Takahashi & Sayaka Yamamoto look ridiculous and Sakura absolutely does not fit the concept. 3/5.

Majisuka Fight MV

The second B-side of Type A is Haru no Hikari Chikazuita Natsu sung by AKB48. I bought the Type A version specifically for this song. It's really catchy. It kind of reminds me of idol pop mixed with 90s dance music. It's so bright and happy. The video really suits the song. It's so happy and the random people that dance behind them in some scenes are so funny. One thing I've noticed with the past couple of releases is how much screen time Haruka Shimazaki is getting now. Especially with her being summer center single, they must be really pushing for the newer gen girls to lead the group. 5/5.

Haru no Hikari Chikazuita Natsu MV

The third B-side is Yankee Rock found on Type S. Now this song fits the Majisuka theme much better than Majisuka Fight. It's a lot like Majisuka Rock N Roll which is great because I love that song. I still think the girls look absolutely ridiculous in the video though. And I'm pretty sure that there's no school in the world that would be allowed to look like that unless it was in a warzone or something. There's one girl in the video that looks like Meimi Tamura and she's not in enough clips for me to get a good look at her to see who she is. 4/5.

Yankee Rock MV

The fourth B-side is Sekai ga Naiteru Nara by SKE48 and is found on Type B of the single. This song could be so much more than it is. The intro is stunning. On par with the instrumental of Kataomoi Finally....but then going into the sung part of the verse, it just falls flat. The chorus is more like what I was expecting from the song but it's still falls flat. Then again, I couldn't see what all the fuss was about for Kataomoi Finally (the song, not the video...I get why it made an impact with that xD) until I listened to it more, then I fell in love with the song. This has the potential to do that. The video I don't fully understand. Did she murder someone and was placed in a mental institution? Is this like Sucker Punch where she's in the institution the whole time & is imagining everything else? Not sure. Very cool concept though. 4/5.

Sekai ga Naiteru Nara MV

The fifth B-side is Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari and is on the Type N & Theater editions of the single. The song is incredibly boring to me. I may have mentioned before that I rarely like ballads from idol groups and the reason is that I never feel any type of emotion with them. It's like the song is just there. Even with a language barrier you should expect to feel some emotion from the singer. The video on the other hand is just beautiful. I admit I cried. Whoever thought of the concept needs a pay raise. Absolutely beautiful. I don't ever give ratings to videos but this is a special case. 3/5 (for the song) 5/5 (for the video).

Hakimono to Kasa no Monogatari MV

The sixth B-side is Punkish by NMB48 and is on the Type N version of the single. Does the song sounds like a punk song? Sure. Is it possible to take it seriously? No. No it's not. I guess that's a little unfair....Sayaka can pull off practically anything. She is one of the most talented of the current 48G girls and sounds/looks incredible in this song. I would love it if it was a Sayaka solo song. The 16 girls singing in unison doesn't work for the song because their vocals mixed together sound too idol for this kind of song. The video has the same problem as the Majisuka videos. Very few of the girls can pull off the concept well enough to make them not look silly. Props to them trying something like this though I guess. 4/5.

Punkish MV

The seventh (!) B-side is Aisatsu Kara Hajimeyou sung by Team 8 and found on the Type H edition of the single. I still find it interesting that they've Kennin'd girls from Team 8 into the main teams. I can't imagine that they're going to keep Team 8 together as a sort of pseudo-sister group. I believe this is more the start of their integration into the normal teams for after they lose the Toyota contract and are forced to back Team 8 smaller. So far Team 8 hasn't interested me with any of their songs. They're the extremely generic idol pop team. This song is no different. It's happy & sugary sweet. Not really my type of song. I really enjoy the video though. I like the concept of using YouTube videos and showcasing little pieces of each prefecture the girls are from. 3.5/5.

Aisatsu Kara Hajimeyou MV

The eighth B-side is Otona Ressha by HKT48 found on the Type H version of the single. The song is a pretty typical HKT48 song. Nothing special, just another generic idol pop track. I admit that I didn't make it through all of the music video. Ten minutes for a music video is just too much. It's supposed to a promotion for your song, not a glorified mini-drama. Honestly, they should just do mini dramas for their DVDs instead of having the music videos so freaking long. It'd probably sell more with both a mini drama and a music video anyway. 3/5.

Otona Ressha MV

The ninth and final B-side of this single is Hatsukoi no Oshibe which is on the theater edition. This single seriously has almost enough songs to make a full album. Ten songs is pretty average for a full length album. The amount of B-sides they have is ridiculous. I love that we get so much music, but it really is cheating the system and I can't afford all of the CD editions so it just has gotten to be a real pain within the past two years. Much like with most of the theater edition tracks, I don't much care for this one. In my experience, theater edition songs tend to be either generic idol pop or ballads. At least it's not completely boring. 3/5.

Hatsukoi no Oshibe (Audio)

All together I'd say this single is a mixed bag of pretty good songs and generic idol pop. Like I've said before, generic idol pop can be great, but most of these sound like the 100th iteration of everything you've heard before. 3.5/5.

AKB48 - Labrador Retriever

Since we're now in Sousenkyou season for AKB it's probably a good idea to review last year's summer single lol. It's actually kind of funny that that played out this way. This single comes up for the next review right as applications for this year's Sousenkyou begin.

The title track, Labrador Retriever, seemed to really divide opinions when it was released last year. At least that's what I saw. Personally, I hated it when it first came out. It felt so blah and boring. However, when I bought the CD, I was immediately hooked on the song. It's one of those songs you need to hear in CDQ honestly. It's probably my favorite summer single after Everyday Katyusha. The music video I could do without. It's so long...and I really don't care for the bikini MVs for various reasons. And there are WAY too many girls in the summer singles. I don't see the point of having 32 girls when most won't get any recognition. I realize that it's a big deal to the girls, but it's just too many. 5/5.

Labrador Retriever MV:

The main B-side across all versions is Kyou Made no Melody, Yuko Oshima's graduation song. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the song. It's just not my type of song. It's nice for what it is, but for me it's boring. What I do really love about it though is they brought back a lot of the graduated original Team K members to see Yuko off in the song. I thought that was a neat touch. The music video also features the returning members which is also pretty cool. It's way too long though. 3/5.

Kyou Made no Melody MV

The Type A B-side is Kimi wa Kimagure. Like Labrador, I wasn't too sure about this song when I saw the video. It just seemed average. When I received the CD, it's catchiness caught me. It's not the best B-side on the single, but it's pretty good. It's very much your standard AKB song, but it's certainly high quality for that type of song. The music video is pretty enjoyable for an AKB video. The concept is really cool and I like how all the performers got a chance to be in the spotlight. 4/5.

Kimi wa Kimagure MV

The Type K B-side is Itoshiki Rival. While this is the best coupling song on the single, it pales in comparison to Team K's summer song last year. Sayonara Crawl's B-sides were just on another level. The trend for this single has really been not liking a song at first and then coming to like it. This song is the same case. When I saw what the concept was going to be for the video, I was expecting a dark electro track a la Uza or an Ikiru Koto type song, so of course I was disappointed when I heard the song. It's still "darker" than the rest of the single, but it's not that type of song. The melody? (I guess...the musical terminology section of my brain doesn't really exist so I'm half guessing...) sounds too bright to be that type of single and that turned me off of the song at first. Couple that with the concept of the video being what it is, I was disappointed. Again, the CDQ of the song changed my mind. It's a pretty good song for an AKB song. Like I said before, the video really doesn't seem to go with the song at all. I guess it kind of can work with the lyrics, but they attempted to make it much more dark/gritty/"cool" than the song is which doesn't help the song's case at all. 4.5/5.

Itoshiki Rival MV

The Type-B coupling track is B Garden. Not a huge fan of this song. It's the exact same concept as all of the 'Team Oshi' songs and some other stage songs. Songs like that are best left to the stage. It doesn't help that this is a very run of the mill AKB song....and Team B Oshi is so much better. The music video on the other hand is great. It's colorful and has a funny story to it. The guy standing in for Rina Ikoma is so funny. Forever going to be sad that they just cancelled her concurrency....I really liked Rina in AKB. 3/5.

B Garden MV

The Type 4 coupling track is Heart no Dasshutsu Game. I want to like Team 4's songs. I really do. I adore Minami Minegishi and this is (well...was...now she's back to K YESSSSSS) her team so I wanted to like them, but they're too childish for me. This song is just another of the average AKB tracks. Pretty sure I heard it from them at least 20 times. The video is at least semi-interesting. I generally dislike videos that are longer than the song, but this one doesn't feel like it drags on. 3/5.

Heart no Dasshutsu Game MV

The final B-side of the single is found on the theater edition, Futari wa Dekiteru. What's interesting about this song is that it's sung by Haruna Kojima and one of the staff members, Kenji Kitagawa (yes, the same one NMB's song is named after). The song's nice, but not something I'd listen to on a regular basis. It really sounds like something SDN48 would have put out, in fact it reminds me A LOT of Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban. Haruna's voice is pretty nice, and for a staff member, Kitagawa's voice is nice too. 3.5/5.

Video clip of Futari wa Dekiteru (Low Quality)

One great thing about AKB's summer singles is that they tend to have a lot of variety. This release is nowhere near the quality of Sayonara Crawl (and I'm uncertain they can ever release something as cohesive as that single ever again), but it's still a nice release. It has a little something for everyone. 3.5/5.

AKB48 Team Surprise - Sono Mama de

The third single from Team Surprise's first stage, Juuryoku Sympathy. It features members Tomomi Itano, Aki Takajo, and Yui Yokoyama.

I really don't care much for this song. Their vocals are incredibly grating and the music doesn't fit the vocals at all. The most annoying thing about this song though is that even though it's not good, it's a bit of an earworm. Whenever I read anything about it, the "sono mama de kawaranaide" part from the chorus runs through my head. It's annoying. The video doesn't really help the song either. It's got the whole "street" theme to it & it does not fit the song AT ALL. The song has Tomomi in it....it should have been closer to a club song than this. 2.5/5.

Sono Mama de MV

AKB48 - River

Just looking at the cover of this single, you can see how much things have changed since 2009. Out of the 16 in the Senbatsu, half of them have either graduated or announced their graduation, and I'm positive that the majority of the other 8 (besides maybe Jurina and Mayu) will be gone within the next two years. I might sound mean, but I can't wait until the older gen girls all graduate. I'm really excited to see what future Senbatsus are going to look like without members that have been there for years.

This song is probably the song that really snared me into the 48G fandom. Before listening to it in full, I did keep up with the 48s, just not like I do now. I mainly only checked title tracks and since the majority of 48G title tracks are boring, I didn't find anything really special with them. When I first attempted to listen to some of AKB's older songs and came across this, I hated it. I couldn't get past the spoken/shouted/drill sargent-y introduction. It just annoyed me SO MUCH. Then one day I was on YouTube bored and just clicked on the video for no reason. I obviously wasn't expecting anything, but listening through the whole song it just clicked. It was another Beginner/UZA type song! It's the song that caused me to go on a buying spree of AKB singles on ebay.....and when I got smarter (as in not wasting money on a billion singles when all of the songs on a single are on some albums....), I started buying the albums they had released. So I kind of credit River with really helping me to dig into their back catalog. There's still A LOT I haven't heard, but I'm working through it. The video is fantastic. I like the military theme of it. Fits the song perfectly. 5/5.

River MV

The first B-side is Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara. I do not know why, but every time I read that song title I sort of do a little sing-song in my head to it....even though the tune of it has nothing to do with the actual song. This is sung by the Under Girls for the single and is very typical idol pop. I don't dislike the song, it's just nothing special. Especially when compared to River. The video isn't anything special either....although it's REALLY weird seeing Rena & Rino in an Under Girls video instead of in Senbatsu. 3.5/5.

Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara MV

The final song on the single is Hikoukigumo, sung by the Theater Girls. The chorus is very catchy, but like with Kimi no Koto, there is nothing special about the song in their discography. The video is just a video of a theater performance of the song. 3.5/5.

Hikoukigumo MV

I do really wish that a single like River had more dynamic B-sides, but I guess if you're going to go different on the A-side (at least at this point in their career) you should have B-sides that are more like the music that you regularly put out. 4/5.

AKB48 - Sakura no Shiori

Hey all, sorry I haven't posted in for a few days...been too busy to even sit down and edit posts that I've already had written up.

We're going kind of far into the past with this release! Can you believe that 2010 was FIVE years ago already?! I still think that the 1990s were ten years ago lol. This year was right around the time when AKB was really starting to become noticed by the public.

The title track is one of the better "Sakura" singles since they began doing the whole single cycle thing. 10nen Zakura is my favorite, with this or Mae Shika Mukanee in second. The others are just so bland. This song is also incredibly unique in AKB's catalog because it's sung with all of the members at that time, like a choir. It certainly wasn't what I expected from them when I first played the song. It's truly a gorgeous song. The music video bores me, but it does fit the song. 5/5.

Sakura no Shiori MV

The next track on the single is Majisuka Rock N Roll. This is really a 180 from the title track. This was a song to promote? their Majisuka Gakuen drama. Extremely catchy song, even though it's not really "bad girl" like the drama seems to attempt to portray (from what I know of it and from the MV...never watched it so I don't know exactly what it's about). The music video is based around the drama I guess. I don't know if I'd want to watch it. I couldn't pick out any of the girls that are actually good at portraying the concept....most look very silly. Maybe the drama is better than the little clips in the video, but I don't know. 4/5.

Majisuka Rock N Roll MV

The third song from the single is Enkyori Poster, sung by Team PB. Team PB & the next song's group, Team YJ were created to promote some magazines. And I think that they had a contest between the two groups with these two songs? I think? This release was two years before I cared at all about AKB so I wasn't around when this was going on. Team PB consists of Aki Takajo, Aika Ota, Ami Maeda, Sae Miyazawa, Moeno Nito, Yuki Kashiwagi, and Miho Miyazaki. I'm actually really surprised how many members of this group are still in 48G....all but one. Not the biggest fan of the song as it's just a typical AKB song, but I do really like when they sing "Enkyori Poster". It's the catchiest part of the song and sometimes I find myself singing just that line in my head for no reason. Music video's pretty normal, Yuki looks so young in the dance shot. 3.5/5

Enyori Poster MV

The final song on the single is Team YJ's Choose Me. Team YJ is comprised of Haruka Nakagawa, Riho Sashihara, Asuka Kuramochi, Minami Minegishi, Ayaka Kikuchi, Rie Kitahara, and Tomomi Kasai. This song is better than Team PBs. I have no idea if there was actually a winner for this battle, but I hope this one won if there was. I like song that have just the right balance of idol pop and guitars, this one fits that category. The video is less interesting than Team PB's. Nothing special. 4/5.

Choose Me MV

One thing that I find enjoyable about AKB's older singles is that there was at least an attempt at doing something different for each song. With the exception of the Kibouteki Refrain single this year, most of AKB's B-sides sounded incredibly similar. It's too bad because they don't sell for the quality of the actual music so they could afford to experiment more with the music they put out. Who knows, perhaps that could lead to the general public becoming more interested in them again. 4/5.

AKB48 Team Surprise - Bara no Gishiki

This is the 12th and final single from the Bara no Gishiki stage (unless they decide to release a couple more for this stage like they did with Juuryoku Sympathy). It features all 16 of the Team Surprise members.

Even though the stage didn't begin well, it did kind of end on a high note. Bara no Gishiki is a much more interesting song than the majority of the other songs from the stage. The music video is just gorgeous. The set, the outfits, they work so well with the song. I do hope that there will be a couple more singles in the new year for this stage. It's been so lackluster that I hope there's some other songs in there that will boost the stage some more. 4.5/5.

Bara no Gishiki MV

AKB48 Team Surprise - Shitsuren Doumei

This is the 11th single from the Bara no Gishiki stage and features members Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Minegishi, Yuko Oshima, Rie Kitahara, and Rena Matsui.

I was looking forward to this one, especially because Minami and Rena were featured members. This is one of the better Bara no Gishiki songs. That's really not saying much considering the mediocrity of the stage as a whole. Although I can't really pick something out that's actually special about it. Maybe I just think it's better because Minami's in it. The video is pretty much just the Mirai video with pieces of fabric that look like tissue paper tied to the set. The outfits aren't nice either. Much better than whatever the heck Tokimeki thought it was doing, but again, they look like they were fashioned from tissue paper. 3.5/5.

Shitsuren Doumei MV

AKB48 - Kibouteki Refrain

I've really been putting off writing for the past couple of weeks. Christmas is a really busy time for me and I just have had no motivation either.

This is AKB's final single for 2014. It's kind of like the "cool" single and the Janken single all mashed into one since they didn't do the Janken tournament the same as usual. On one hand, I think it's a good idea to mix up the release schedule after having the same pattern for years. It also allows the girls to have more of a break in between promotional periods and with all the other groups that have to have songs released it also takes some of the burden off of Aki-P for writing all of the songs. Well, at least in theory that would be the case...except there's enough songs on this freaking single to seem like a full length album...but whatever. On the other hand, I look forward to the "cool" single. The best AKB singles have been those and we really need some "cool" dance or dark singles since the last truly good single like that was UZA back in 2012. Also, the reason of the Janken tournament is to give girls that are never in Senbatsu a chance to be in Senbatsu. Now I personally believe that the center girl is rigged (Mariko, Haruka, AND Jurina all making it? The chances of that happening are pretty darn low), but I'm also positive that the rest of the girls are completely random and I would guess that it was pretty disappointing to the less popular girls when the Janken was changed this year. Oh and Miyuki winning a solo single? If that's not proof of the winner being rigged I don't know what is. But anyway, off topic. On to the single!

The A-side for this single is Kibouteki Refrain. Honestly, this is the best A-side that AKB has put out since UZA. It's just SO CATCHY. As much as I miss my cool single, I'm really not all that angry because we FINALLY got a quality A-side this year. It's no wonder this sold slightly better than their others from this year (excluding the summer single), it's just a much better song. Even though quality music doesn't really matter for AKB sales, I think that it does make a slight difference. The MV is really awesome too. Extremely creative with the idea of the centers going on there. I do have to say that there's way too many girls in the Senbatsu for this though. I hope it doesn't become a trend. I know it means a lot to the less popular girls that wouldn't have a shot with the regular 16 member Senbatsu, but seeing 32 girls on the stage in the video is way too much. (If only the older gen popular members would graduate we wouldn't have this problem....) That's a whole different tangent though and what I have to say on that subject would probably anger too many people so I'll leave it at that. 5/5.

Kibouteki Refrain MV

The next song is by Baragumi, which I'm assuming is the Under Girls unit for this single because Ima, Happy appears on the theater version of the single. I'm not sure what to think of this. It's not bad really, it's just way too sugary sweet. I wouldn't even really say it's all that generic of an idol pop song. I think it's one of those songs that you'd call a guilty pleasure and you hide from friends. The video makes the sugary sweet-ness even worse. It's nice to see the Team 8 girls being included though. Ikumi in the A-side and Nagisa as the center of this song....although still disappointed it's not Hijiri but whatever xD 4/5.

Ima, Happy MV

The next track is Juujun na Slave by Team A. Can I say I'm so happy we finally got a dancey electro song from AKB this year? It's not as great as some of their others, but I'm still so happy anyway. It sounds like a K-pop song a little bit. A good K-pop song, like one from 2010/2011. The video for this song will be released on their new album in January so I'll update this then. 5/5.

The next track is Ambulance by Yurigumi. This song makes me sad. It starts out so perfect....and then falls into the trappings of a fairly typical 48G song that thinks it's trying to be sexy. It's a great song, just not as adventurous as it could/should be. The video....hm. I....honestly don't want to say anything about it beyond I really don't enjoy sexy concepts that just look like they're pandering to a mainly male audience. I just personally don't like that. It's one of the reasons I've all but left the K-pop fandom. (Listen: My personal opinion and belief. You can do whatever you want I don't care, but don't try and convince me I'm wrong for my own opinion like I've seen others do to people with the same opinion. If it makes you feel any better, I dislike it when male K-pop/J-pop groups do the sexy image pandering just as much as when the females do it.) But if you like that sort of thing, you'll probably love the video. 4/5.

Ambulance MV

The next song is Hajimete no Drive by Team K. This single is odd. It starts out incredibly strong with the title track and first three B-sides, and then the next three are pretty much snore fests, and then the last ones are a mix of boring, generic, and different. It's like the producers couldn't make up their minds with what they wanted to happen with this single. Don't get me wrong, variety is GOOD. Very good, and AKB needs it, but sometimes it feels disjointed like the company's throwing stuff and a wall and trying to figure out what sticks. As for this song, it's pretty boring. It's the least boring of the three boring B-sides, but still hard to sit through. 3/5.

The next song is Utaitai by Katareagumi. The song's not really my cup of tea, but I really love Aya's voice in the beginning. She sounds like she has a very nice voice. It'd be cool to hear more of it. I do applaud them for attempting a ballad that's at least slightly interesting. I can sit through it without wanting to fall asleep. I don't care about the video though. Mainly because the first half of it is them talking about something and I can't understand it and the second half is standing and singing. 3/5.

Utaitai MV

The next track is Loneliness Club by Team B. And it is the most boring of the boring group of songs. I think I only made it through about half of it. It's one of those songs you swear you've heard before because it sounds like every other ballad ever. 3/5.

The next track is Seifuku no Hane by Team 8. Now I really like Team 8. I like that management brought in completely fresh girls for a new team even if it is only for a car promotion. I just really hope they stick around as a permanent team (with some of the members leaving/being shuffled to other groups due to locational issues and just the sheer amount of girls in Team 8.) The song is a fairly typical idol pop track, but it's so much better than their first song that was on the Kokoro no Placard single. I just love the video too. I really like the fact that it shows shots of the girls in their home prefectures. I'm really not all that certain about Japanese culture, but I guess you could sort of equate prefectures to states right? I just think that's neat because here in the US, each state has it's like different cultural thing to it and it seems like the prefectures of Japan do as well. Also, some of the shots of Japan look eerily similar to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania (where I'm from xD). Like all of the farmers' fields and semi-wooded areas and such. It looks like such a beautifully diverse country. 3.5/5.

Seifuku no Hane MV

Wow there's a lot of songs on this single...I thought I was almost done but nope. There's like 3 songs left to drone on about. Well, the next song is Me wo Akete Mama no First Kiss by Team 4. This song feels like an updated version of Morning Musume's Iroppoi Jirettai (Certainly not as good though. My loyalty obviously lies with H!P xD) I'm surprised with this song choice for Team 4. I really love it. 4.5/5.

The next track is Kaze no Rasen by Kojizaka46, which is just Haruna Kojima and some Nogizaka girls. I honestly don't get why people are upset about all the intermixing of AKB and Nogi. It sounds harsh, but you have to be naive to believe that they were only ever going to be a "rival" group of AKB. Aki-P is involved just like with the 48s and it was obviously only just marketing. If it didn't seem obvious that Nogizaka was essentially another sister group then it certainly does now. I'm actually hoping we'll see Nogizaka in the election, Janken, 48 singles, and other things. I guess it's different for many other fans, but to me the 48/46 system is really just all one large group with subgroups in my head so all the kennins and shuffles and transfers don't bother me in the slightest. They actually make things interesting. Now this song is definitely in the boring generic category. It's so meh. The video's about 9 minutes too long too. And gosh I hate when videos TALK OVER THE SONG. It's like, I'm watching this video to hear the dang song, not to watch a TV show. 3/5.

The final song is Reborn, the result of the fan voting for the Team Surprise thing. I really love that the girls chosen to sing this song were the girls that haven't really had any Senbatsu experience. The song itself is nothing special, but I'm happy that these girls got something special for themselves in a release. 3/5.

Gosh this was long....but this is probably the most solid AKB single of the year and features the best tracks since Sayonara Crawl. Even though there's a few boring spots, it still is a strong release with a little something for everyone. 4/5.

AKB48 Team Surprise - Hungry Lion

This is the second single from the Bara no Gishiki stage and features members Aki Takajo, Haruna Kojima, Mariko Shinoda, and Yuko Oshima.

Didn't really have any expectations for this unit as I really don't care about any of the members. I also wasn't expecting much because the first single, Mirai ga Me ni Shimiru was boring and I was sure that this one would be anything special either. I was pretty much right with my assumptions of the song. I can't decide if it's better than Mirai or just the same though. I guess the production is more interesting. And the video makes a lot more sense with the song. 3.5/5.

Hungry Lion MV