Kawamori's pet AKB project-first footage!

[soul.assassin]

Ok, so the first ep is out and therefore I think this threat needs to be bumped...

....*BUMP!*

Having watched it I have to say that the first 10 mins are uterly hilariously awesome. After that the show becomes more predictable. Animation-quality-wise its pretty good although I feel it shows, once again, the studio style that Satellite has developed (began with Frontier and was further consolidated with Aquarion Evol - much like its easy to pick Madhouse and IG shows by their style, I feel that its fairly easy to pick Satellite ones now too).

From the opening shot of space to the spherical, Yamato-influenced radar on the AKB0048 phoenix ship bridge, theres a LOT of Frontier influence here. Heck, the planet that the main 3 characters are on is even called 'Rankastar', lol!

Oh and to anyone watching the fansubbed version (lets be honest here, this thing has about as much chance as Frontier of coming out in English speaing territories), be warned that the subs are pretty attrocious. Apart from the typical translation errors theres also lines added or changed to try to make it sound more adult. Its almost like they were trying to do some 'fifteening' on it for some reason.

I think you picked up the trollsub version; try Evetaku instead... then everything makes sense.

If you guys wonder WTH actually came up with this idea, about a year and a half ago it began with Starchild Records' Toshimichi Otsuki, who then came to Kawamori and then told him of this great idea about a crew of futuristic idols as freedom fighters. Next thing they got Okada aboard and took the whole thing seriously, creating a draft script, and after two weeks they walked up to AKB's creator Yasushi Akimoto (FYI, he wrote One Missed Call the novel before it became a movie) and handed him over the script. They weren't sure if the old geezer would take the whole scheme seriously...

Akimoto was hooked, liked the script (by his own standards as a writer, songwriter and screenwriter himself), and he liked the notion of "succession" and so he gave them the green light to begin crafting out a real show, using the names and likenesses of real-life AKB members as legacy (supporting) characters, and the newbie (main) characters to be voiced by selected AKB/NMB/SKE members. The rest was history.

Edited May 9, 2012 by soul.assassin

[miles316]

Watched the 3rd episode interesting was confused towards the end.

[TehPW]

"Won't you make a baby with me? On the net!"

EDIT: Or as Renato said a few months ago, "Thank you for ruining my life with that AKB ad."

i think a truely scary clip would involve that woman, smiling that creepy smile, during a german shizer session... *mind explodes in terror* Would like a Dirty Sachez, yes? OMG, no...

[soul.assassin]

If there's anything this show can't do, for some cynical viewers they wouldn't want to buy into the idol franchise altogether because they feel it's a nice marketing ploy to sell more records (but again it's not new but it's always been the case even before 0048 -- we have seen Eva's rather ridiculously huge merchandising catalog), and then there's a gap between hardcore anime fandom and hardcore idol fandom, and culture-wise they clash with each other like football fans of opposing teams.

@miles: that episode was the "almost-wham" episode. Shellshocked?

[xrentonx]

I just read through this whole thread and watched these trailers...I still don't understand what the hell I just watched and it's like you guys are all speaking some kind of foreign language I don't understand

Kawamori's involved in this somehow?

Edited May 16, 2012 by xrentonx

[Beltane70]

Yes, Kawamori is involved and more than just "somehow" He's just the show's chief director and writer.

[soul.assassin]

Yes, Kawamori is involved and more than just "somehow" He's just the show's chief director and writer.

Um, to be more precise...

Chief Director: Shoji Kawamori

Director

:

Yoshimasa Hiraike

Series Composition

:

Mari Okada

Script

:

Mari Okada

(eps 1-3)

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13805

[Graham]

Kawamori should stick purely to mecha design and leave the directing to others. This applies to Macross too.

Graham

[Renato]

Kawamori should stick purely to mecha design and leave the directing to others. This applies to Macross too.

Graham

Yeah, that is the opinion of many. But think about it -- that is totally unrealistic, it's like asking Hideaki Anno to go back to working as a keyframe artist (because in my opinion, he's the best at that, bar none) instead of directing, or even telling Picasso to go back to still life and portraits instead of this "Cubism" weirdo thing he randomly made up while high.

At the end of the day, he's also not going to go back to a smaller paycheque.

His shows are what they are. I don't really like them, for the most part, but they do give a window into his artistic and philosophical sensibilities. That said, I'm not going to watch this particular one.

[Beltane70]

Surprisingly, I'm finding that I actually like the show. I have no interest in the actual group, but the anime is more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be.

[miles316]

The RL AKB 0048 is being used to sell Government Bonds in Japan.

[miles316]

Are the DES forces robots and unmanned weapons/mecha?

[EXO]

Cool. Looks like it made it to mainstream entertainment news...

http://news.yahoo.com/japans-music-sensation-band-chosen-fans-071526524.html

[miles316]

I wonder if "graduate" is code for KIA.

Under its thick mantle of Kawaii its very dark, or maybe its just me.

[Greyryder]

I wonder if "graduate" is code for KIA.

Under its thick mantle of Kawaii its very dark, or maybe its just me.

In the grim future of AKB there is only war.

[miles316]

The missile popping out of the teenagers arm like a doombot has got to be one of the darkest things I have seen in any anime say for the first five minutes of "elfen lied".

[soul.assassin]

Are the DES forces robots and unmanned weapons/mecha?

As the trainees were told during the selection episode, the DGTO machines are unmanned and programmed combat drones.

[paramat]

I had low expectations, but AKB0048 is quality and i'm addicted.

[Tochiro]

Well, it looks like Kawamori gets to indulge in his pet project for another season.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-07-22/akb0048-anime-to-return-next-year

[soul.assassin]

Even if it looked damn cheesy, in and out, it worked as advertised, and the show sprouted wings in the end. Clearly 0048 may not be a show that everyone could like, nor it'll easily win awards, but here's my final take:

Like some people, I first approached the show with both excitement and trepidation; excited because of the emotional buzz generated by Macross Frontier, and fears because I wondered if this project could fly as a commercial success. To be sure I had to immerse myself into learning much about AKB48 and its sister groups, which took months but somehow I was won over, not just because of the songs nor the girls’ looks, but because of their quirky personalities and imperfections (that is, the kind of homely, down-to-earth beauty you can find and easily talk to in the classroom, rather than, say, at Cannes or Mann’s Chinese Theater on premiere night).

Anyway, after 13 weeks I suffice to say that it was an entertaining journey, an emotional roller-coaster ride that took me away from watching anything else and wait for late Saturday nights, wondering and fearing what would happen next.

An imperfect cocktail of science-fiction fantasy that runs along the lines of a “real-person” fanfiction (RPF) crossed with a tried-and-true musical drama plot out of, say, Western works like Glee, Rock Star or Drumline, yes and while 0048 may not win awards in anything — character design department, voice-acting, plot or screenplay, achieve fantastic sales figures, or convert any viewer into an instant wota — on an emotional level the show hits the right buttons, there was little or even no sugarcoating about the harsh, frank discussions about the realities of idol life (further complicated by the constant threat of the faceless DGTO and its dictatorial leadership, which should’ve given more focus and a face, and why they crack down on pop music), and indirectly a tongue-in-cheek look into producer/songwriter Yasushi Akimoto’s mammoth creation, his pride and joy.

But the season finale was total shock and awe of devastating, dazzling fusion of light and sound that makes viewers get up on their feet and cheer the heroines, just emotionally powerful enough for most to forgive those aforementioned mistakes.

Bottom line, this show is truly for keeps. On my collection shelf, front and center.

Now I'll try to get back to SDFM on my drive, just in time for the anniversary.

Edited July 27, 2012 by soul.assassin

[Moeflyer]

As the trainees were told during the selection episode, the DGTO machines are unmanned and programmed combat drones.

Nope, some of them are manned. The cockpit cover is painted in orange color.