(L) Akb0048

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Eh~, it's not too bad yet.

The perspective is screwy with Chieri's arms at the very end, but aside from that nothing jumped out at me.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

[sa547]

From s48.

It's a wrap after 13 episodes, but here's hoping for the second installment.

[Random Wanderer]

They can't finish everything they've set up in just four more episodes.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

They can't finished everything they've set up in just four more episodes.

I remember Romain (refer to here) saying that Kawamori was working on the final episode.

Given that, by nature of their idol duties, the girls have a hectic schedule (there are live performances, photoshoots, television appearances, etc. to deal with), but I think it was great that they were able to have enough time for voice acting (and a career to look forward to in the near future should they graduate).

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

The perspective is screwy with Chieri's arms at the very end

It looks horrible. I hope they fix it on the BD release.


Anyway, 5 episodes left. I think they can make it work if they start to focus on the plot asap: what does SSSS want from the 77th gen, and what will happen with Chieri and Nagisa? As long as they answer that, I'd be satisfied.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

They can't finished everything they've set up in just four more episodes.

This could be pretty bad. A lot of threads they've got to try and pull together. Could try to set it up for a second season, but not sure how much beyond that.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

It looks horrible. I hope they fix it on the BD release.

That'll be expected, too, so I wonder if we should find within those episodes the equivalent of Meguca (i.e. misdrawn characters)?

(Offtopic) Find me any recent anime production that doesn't rely on third-party subcontractors.

[Kazu-kun]

Oh, I almost forgot that before the series end I demand a performance of River, with Chieri as center!! Here's hoping all the recent shitty artwork means they're saving up their budget for the freaking concert...

[sa547]

(almost OT) About some interesting stuff I came across while reading a few facts about the girls: in an online article published last year, Sawako Hata (Suzuko) is said to be studying as a system (software) engineering student (but never stated from which university, as it's probably a rule that the institution name be not disclosed for privacy concerns), owns six PSPs, and that in some episode of Music Japan she told the host that she was studying German (WHOA!).

Which explains why Suzuko Kanzaki is depicted as a soft-spoken geek.

[Random Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Anyway, 5 episodes left.

Huh, 13 eps total. I though he said 12, for some reason. Still, I question their ability to end this in a satisfying way that quickly. There's still a lot they could do in this universe. A lot they should do in it. They could try to cram it all in to the last quarter of the season, but I don't remember that generally working out too well.

I'll keep hoping for a split cour series.

It looks horrible. I hope they fix it on the BD release.

[OT]Something about that gesture and the way the arms look insanely long when she reaches out... it reminds me of something I've watched before, but I don't remember where it was from. I keep getting this mental image of a masked clown, reaching out his hands towards the camera in a similar fashion, with his arms also being unnaturally long. In that case the arms were supposed to be that way: the disproportionate limbs were part of the creepy clown look. I wonder where that was from...[/OT] Regardless, having Chieri remind me of a monster clown from another show altogether is just wrong. Wrong wrong wrong! My Chieri is too lovely for any such mental association. All the worse because that looks like that's supposed to be a fairly powerful scene, with her glowing and everything.

[Tempester]

I can see this season ending on a semi-conclusive note, where it's barely serviceable as a complete anime but leaving lots of subplots and potential conflicts open for another season in case one ever comes around.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

At any rate, if somehow the understudies get to form a new team and keep their names, I'm all for it!!! Not so much because I don't want the current members to leave, but more so because this whole thing about taking someone's name and identity is starting to give me the creeps.

I'll be honest. I just would like Chieri to be just Chieri.

Isn't the whole name and identity schlock just an elaborate excuse to have characters named and themed after today's AKB48 members in this anime?

Don't worry, it upsets me (and creeps me out) too.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Tempester

Isn't the whole name and identity schlock just an elaborate excuse to have characters named and themed after today's AKB48 members in this anime?

Not to mention how no one has managed to compose a new song for these girls to perform in hundreds of years! It's rather biblical in its depiction of a set of ancient texts on which contemporary rituals rely. The whole "shrine maiden" bit with Tsubasa and SenseiSensei has a religious connotation as well.

Does anyone really believe people will be listening to "Beginner" in a hundred years' time? We still hear songs from the 1950's, but I can't recall hearing anything from the 1912 top-50 list any time recently. (I'll admit to having heard "Moonlight Bay" a few times in my life, and maybe even "Waiting for the Robert E Lee" [a riverboat, not the general] once or twice as well, but I've been on the planet for over half that century. I don't see performers drawing enormous crowds while singing about "love's old sweet song" and strumming ukeleles.)

[totoum]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Not to mention how no one has managed to compose a new song for these girls to perform in hundreds of years! It's rather biblical in its depiction of a set of ancient texts on which contemporary rituals rely.

The whole name thing reminds me of how the pope takes on a new name once he's named and how it seems there's a history that goes with each name,so for exemple Joseph Ratzinger chose to be Benedict XVI because he admired Benedict XV

[Dop]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Not to mention how no one has managed to compose a new song for these girls to perform in hundreds of years! It's rather biblical in its depiction of a set of ancient texts on which contemporary rituals rely. The whole "shrine maiden" bit with Tsubasa and SenseiSensei has a religious connotation as well.

AKB0048 are basically the ultimate tribute band!

It puts them in the same territory as the Bootleg Beatles, the Australian Pink Floyd, Bjorn Again and all the other countless tribute bands out there who make a living from performing the songs of their 'originals'.

The whole singing the same songs and taking the names of their predecessors is the tribute band idea taken to a ridiculous extreme, and if you think of it like that, having no new songs makes perfect sense!

[DragoonKain3]

Originally Posted by sa547

From s48.

Not gonna lie, I have big fail in facial recognition, which is somehow worse when trying to recognize one asian idol from another (for example, I cannot even distinguish who the leader in say, Girls Generation ). So any help in putting a name to a face?

[deflate]

^
from left-right, bottom only:
Nakaya Sayaka (Orine), Hata Sawako (Suzune), Watanabe Mayu (Chieri), Mita Mao (Makoto), Yagami Kumi (Sonata), Ishida Haruka (Kanata).

Now, I wonder why Nagisa, Mimori, and Yuuka's seiyuus aren't there for the final recording? Or maybe they are simply not in the picture?

[mochichan]

^
Conflict with schedules?
Most of these girls are pretty busy since they're doing promotion for their new song and handshake events as well.

are these the trading cards in the BD or just random magazine scans?

Spoiler for pic:

...wow....I didn't realize that Google song center girl is Kanata.

dear lord...she look so bad in that pic....

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

I don't know about that. Chieri's arms near the end of that preview were damn hilarious in how bad they looked.

Ah~ That part. I thought it was weird too, but since there weren't any other points that stood out badly, I just figured it had to do with the perspective or something (as already said above though).

[chaosprophet]

Something else on episode 8 that came to mind. Around 17:25 new enemy craft appears. The there is one that shows apart from the others that has an orange cockpit and the DES symbol. At the moment it appears Tsubasa even says "That type...". The one that takes Takamina down is that same machine. And then later Tsubasa tells Kanata one of the enemy craft is manned (which I would guess is that same one).

I was thinking about how there was a quick focus on it that makes me think we will see more of it in the future. But when I was thinking how would they make it dramatic, and came with an idea. What are the chances of that kind of manned machine being piloted by brainwashed past AKB0048 center novaes? XD

[asaqe]

Originally Posted by chaosprophet

Something else on episode 8 that came to mind. Around 17:25 new enemy craft appears. The there is one that shows apart from the others that has an orange cockpit and the DES symbol. At the moment it appears Tsubasa even says "That type...". The one that takes Takamina down is that same machine. And then later Tsubasa tells Kanata one of the enemy craft is manned (which I would guess is that same one).

I was thinking about how there was a quick focus on it that makes me think we will see more of it in the future. But when I was thinking how would they make it dramatic, and came with an idea. What are the chances of that kind of manned machine being piloted by brainwashed past AKB0048 center novaes? XD

Basically these are DES elite suits. They rely on elite pilots who rather go in and take on the Wota and Idols personally then rely on AI suits to do their dirty work. That is why Tsubasa was so concerned, a DES ace can take on an idol a lot better than the unmanned units can.