AKB48 18th Single – Beginner

The title and details of AKB48’s 18th Single have been revealed. The single is called “Beginner”.

AKB48 18th Single – Beginner (2010/10/27)

Senbatsu
A: Kojima, Sashihara, Shinoda, Takahashi, Takajo, Maeda At
K: Itano, Oshima, Minegishi, Miyazawa
B: Kasai, Kashiwagi, Kitahara, Watanabe
S: Matsui J, Matsui R

Type A – CD + DVD – 1600yen

[CD]
1. Beginner
2. Boku dake no Value (Undergirls)
3. Kimi ni tsuite (MINT)
4~6. Instrumentals
[DVD]
1. Beginner – Video Clip
2. Boku dake no Value – Video Clip
3. Kimi ni tsuite – Video Clip
4. Beginner Danceshot (Oshima Yuko center ver.)
5. Beginner Danceshot (Shinoda Mariko center ver.)
6. Beginner Danceshot (Matsui J & Watanabe center ver.)

Type B – CD + DVD – 1600yen

[CD]
1. Beginner
2. Boku dake no Value (Undergirls)
3. Nakeru basho (DIVA)
4~6. Instrumentals
[DVD]
1. Beginner – Video Clip
2. Boku dake no Value – Video Clip
3. DIVA – Video Clip
4. Beginner Danceshot (Maeda Atsuko center ver.)
5. Beginner Danceshot (Itano Tomomi center ver.)
6. Beginner Danceshot (Takahashi Minami center ver.)

I haven’t gave the song a listen yet (there’s a low quality rip out there right now), but considering I’ve been hearing its freaking awesome, I’ll wait till the single itself comes out, just because I’d rather have a high quality version to listen too.

From other reports, the PV is quite interesting. Apparently it involves the girls in some virtual reality bloodsport game, with some of the girls actually getting killed in game. Sounds pretty awesome and fresh if you ask me 🙂

And doesn’t that pic of all the girls just look bad-ass? They all look great in it. I think its safe to say this is my favorite senbatsu pic to date. The covers are just as equally awesome as well 🙂

This single is looking like its going to be all sorts of awesome. The 19th single is going to have a tough act to follow if you ask me, especially with its senbatsu make-up.

AKB48 19th Single Janken Tournament – Results and some thoughts

So the other day was the day all of us AKB48 fans had been waiting for, the Janken tourney to decide the senbatsu for AKB48’s 19th single. Well, the tournament has come and gone, and what are the results?:

(Image from Stage48, Image credit: Malachite)

So there we go, Uchida Mayumi is the center for this single, I don’t think anyone saw this coming. The rest of the Senbatsu is quite suprising, especially Acchan being 15th.

Now, here’s where I talk about why I don’t like this. Practically none of my favorites made it in, and my all time favorite is in the Theater Girls…that sucks. Now, don’t get me wrong, Uchida is a damn talented girl, I’ve always thought that, but I just don’t see her as a center for a single. I also just don’t like seeing all of my favorites get such low positions.

So running down a list of my top 5 favorites, lets see how they did:
1) Kashiwagi Yuki (Position: Theater Girls) – This is the one that pisses me off the most. Yukirin does not belong in Theater girls. Though, It does suck she was up against Chikarina in the first round, so either way, one of my favorites was getting knocked out in the first round. But still, I hate the fact Yukirin lost.

2) Iwasa Misaki (Position: Theater Girls) Yet another of my favs only makes it into theatre girls. I really think she deserves to be in senbatsu.

3) Katayama Haruka (Position: Undergirls) I’m starting to think Haachan will never make into Senbatsu. Once again, she’s relegated to undergirls, and she deserves far better.

4) Fujie Reina (Position: Theater Girls) Uggh, another favorite in TG’s. This tourney was not kind to my favorites.

5) Chikano Rina (Position: Senbatsu #16) This is the only bright spot of this whole single for me. I’m glad Chikarina finally got into senbatsu, if only just.

Now, the fandom itself seems pretty happy that someone other than a frontgirl got into senbatsu, and I suppose I should be too. It at least proves that this tournament wasn’t rigged, and if anything, some of the more under-appreciated girls will get a chance to shine in this crazy senbatsu.

But still, practically none of my favorites got good positions, so of course I’m going to be disapointed. Why whould I be happy about this? I may like alot of the girls who made it into the high ranks, but I have my clear favorites, and I’m disapointed that none of them got great spots.

This should at least be an interesting single at the very least, but I do have one thing to say; I’m going to be far more interested in what songs the Undergirls/Theatre Girls get.

One more thing: This was an interesting experiment…let it never happen again.

My AKB48/SKE48 Collection

I don’t think I’ve ever gone into great lengths about the AKB/SKE merchandise I personally own myself, so I thought it would be cool if I shared my current collection with you:

Singles/Albums:

DVD’s:

Photobooks:

Photo’s/Other extras:

So there it is. Its a pretty modest collection by most standards. I still wish though that I had bought the Team B and Research Student visual books (of the first set of Visual books released) so I could have a more complete collection when it comes to the books. Ah well…

AKB48 has a video game coming out, oh and Halo Reach too…

Today’s post is all about video games!

First up, is AKB48’s upcoming video game…

Seriously, they have a video game coming out, and wouldn’t you know it, its some sort of dating sim style game! I always assumed it was a matter of time before we got something like this, so I’m not completely surprised, and considering its an AKB release, it comes with all sorts of sweet goodies.

The game is called AKB1/48 Idol to Koishitara… and will be released for the PSP this winter. There are 4 versions that will be made available:

(From Stage48):
First Press Edition : 10,479yen (First Press Only)

– Game
– Bonus UMD Disc with videos not included in the game (approx. 120min)
– 10 BLTs
– Making-Of DVDs (2 discs, approx. 240min)
– Lifesize Kiss Mark (48 included)
– Changeable Jacket (24 covers, 48 sides)
– Special Box

Limited Edition: 7329yen (printed until the end of March 2011)
– Game
– Bonus UMD Disc with videos not included in the game (approx. 120min)
– 3 BLTs (first press only)

Normal Edition: 5229yen
– Game
– 1 BLT (first press only)

Premier Special Pack: 36,729yen

– AKB Playstation Portable
– Changeable Kiss Mark Battery Covers (48 included)
– Game
– Bonus UMD Disc with videos not included in the game (approx. 120min)
– 10 BLTs
– Making-Of DVDs (2 discs, approx. 240min)
– Lifesize Kiss Mark (48 included)
– Changeable Jack

Like I said, the game is akin to other Japanese dating sims, only this one involved all the AKB girls and the goal is to reject the love confessions of all but one of the girls. Heck, that just sounds funny to me, so I think I’ll be buying this just for the hell of it…call me curious.

Now, this is the point in the post where I would complain about the price of the limited editions. I would never consider buying the premier edition considering I already have 2 PSP’s and don’t really need a third, but I normally would think the First press edition was a bit overpriced considering what you get…but no, I can’t say that this time around. Why is that, you ask?

That’s why. A $150CDN video game special edition. I have NO right to complain about the cost of the AKB game limited editions.

But damn, the Halo Reach Legendary edition is just frakking mind-blowing. There is so much cool stuff in this, though I suppose only a Halo fan such as myself can truly appreciate all the stuff you get with this edition. Of course, the center piece of all the extra goodies is the Noble Team statue:

Its pretty sweet, and highly detailed, as you can see. But like I said, there’s so much more stuff:

Inside the special edition case is not only the game, but a package containing a diary belonging to Halo character Dr. Halsey, who fans will know is the creator of the series Spartan Program. The thing that amazes me though is the attention to detail, and the lengths the creators of these extras went to make them look real. The package the diary comes is an actual bubble envelope, complete with shipping label, and the removable notes and photo’s stored in the back of the book look like real items and whatnot. For a hardcore Halo fan such as myself, these things contain so much awesome Halo lore and back-story its staggering.

I haven’t even gotten around to playing the game yet, but already this limited edition has amazed me more than any other video game special edition. Other goodies also include some in game stuff such as the Recon Helmet (Yes, we can has Recon 🙂 ) ,a flaming head option and Elite officer armor.

Needless to say, that’s a ton of stuff.

So conflicted right now…

Money is a bit tight for me right now, so I have to make my online purchases sparingly. Now though, I’m conflicted on what I should order next.

Right now, its a choice between either SDN48’s debut single along with Momoiro Clover’s upcoming single…or Gundam Unicorn Episode 2.

Oh, why do I have to choose? I think its a no brainer though, as sad as it may be. As much as I would love to start supporting SDN and continue supporting Momoclo, I think Gundam will win out again. The Unicorn series is just to good for me to pass it up. Anyone who’s seen the first episode will agree with me.