(L) Akb0048

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by Sylphic

The show is meant to talk about things that are currently popular. Not things that may or may or may not be popular. That's why people are harping on it. No one can say if the show will succeed or fail.

Actually vocaloid is several orders of magnitude more popular than AKB. It sells more discs, games, media than AKB easily. Just it doesn't get as much coverage in mainstream media because Crypton and Sega are not traditional entertainment companies.

Vocaloid make 100 million USD in 5 yrs. I remember an article on anime news network about it.
AKB48 made 233 million USD, just last year. And even their handshake event (just to shake hand with AKB) need to be held in dome stadiums because the biggest event had over 80k people in one day, and this is not even a concert.
Not to mention they sold 1 million copies in 2 days or less for all 5 of their singles released in 2011 (combine of over 8 million copies), and their songs rank first on Recochoku, which is the most popular digital chart of Japan, digital full song, ring tone, and video chart when release

I'm pretty sure.........AKB is more popular...........
I got nothing against Vocaloid since I have fanart of them on my DA, but I honestly think that most of the following they have come from the anime fandom, not the mainstream people. People know them but doesn't mean they're fans.

[Malkuth]

Okada is not that bad when she has a lot of material from someone who knows how to write, as long as she keeps things short. Toradora had many identity crises during its run. True Tears was shorter and better.

Originally Posted by mochichan

... AKB48 made 233 million USD, just last year...

Divide that by ten or show groups and it not that impressive... that is if sales are of any significance to the anime

Dunno, before the anime announcement, the only time I remember hearing about them was about a certain type of liquid on the hands of some fans during a handshaking event

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by Malkuth

Okada is not that bad when she has a lot of material from someone who knows how to write, as long as she keeps things short. Toradora had many identity crises during its run. True Tears was shorter and better.



Divide that by ten or show groups and it not that impressive... that is if sales are of any significance to the anime

Dunno, before the anime announcement, the only time I remember hearing about them was about a certain type of liquid on the hands of some fans during a handshaking event

why would they divide it? As in payment? IDK how the fee system work but the girls don't split whatever they make from solo activities. And that much money is impressive especially since they made so much for King Record, the company went from 5th to 3rd place in the over all ranking of music companies in just 1 yr. And Oricon reported everything they sold boosted Japan's economy by 30 billion yen too.

Sales aren't related to the anime but since me and that other poster were talking about popularity, being the only artist in Japan who can sell over 1 million copies in physical and sell well digital is pretty solid prove of popularity.

That was S/mileage, another idol group from Hello!Project that's not related to the 48 at all. It's not AKB, Sankaku...is....just........ My friend went to 5 events, she said nothing happen, the staff personally check each person hand before they can even touch the girls.

[Sylphic]

Originally Posted by mochichan

Vocaloid make 100 million USD in 5 yrs. I remember an article on anime news network about it.
AKB48 made 233 million USD, just last year. And even their handshake event (just to shake hand with AKB) need to be held in dome stadiums because the biggest event had over 80k people in one day, and this is not even a concert.
Not to mention they sold 1 million copies in 2 days or less for all 5 of their singles released in 2011 (combine of over 8 million copies), and their songs rank first on Recochoku, which is the most popular digital chart of Japan, digital full song, ring tone, and video chart when release

I'm pretty sure.........AKB is more popular...........
I got nothing against Vocaloid since I have fanart of them on my DA, but I honestly think that most of the following they have come from the anime fandom, not the mainstream people. People know them but doesn't mean they're fans.

Vocaloid is not a traditional entertainment property. Comparing Vocaloid vs AKB in terms of money earned is not like comparing apples and oranges. It's the same as comparing apples and cabbage. It's like saying fruits are more popular than vegetables.

Money earned is not a valid comparison of popularity either. Given how AKB fleeces their fans and how they are nutty enough to buy multiple copies of the same disk for a handshake.

Vocaloid sells more disks when you count total sales by a significant amount. Though if you compare either of these groups to a real property from Johnny's neither one is worth anything in particular. But vocaloid was never about making money considering how many tracks are given away for free and how cheap most of the paraphernalia is sold for.

However, if you compare the degree of recognition of the vocaloid characters vs AKB in Japan vocaloid has them beaten. Actually ask 10 people in Japan on the street, I can guarantee no one can name even one AKB member besides Takamina. I don't even need to mention the songs. None of the songs prior to Heavy Rotation are known at all. And only a handful after that are well known.


As for filling stadiums Vocaloids do that too. Just as often as AKB does.

The only difference is that people don't openly support Vocaloids because of their Otaku associations, so most of that support comes from the dark.

Anyway, that's enough of that. TLDR The real gist of it is, AKB as a group are about as popular as a typical B list group. 255 million is actually a ridiculously small amount for 48 artists to bringing in in 1 year. Individually, outside of Takamina they have no star power at all. Yes, AKB is popular, but you are mistaken if you think they are THAT popular.

[Malkuth]

To my understanding AKB are not one band, but several, changing line-ups continually and use a pool of about 100 singers to produce five songs per year... all these are targeted at selling a product rather than making art... not that there is anything wrong with that

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by Sylphic

Vocaloid is not a traditional entertainment property. Comparing Vocaloid vs AKB in terms of money earned is not like comparing apples and oranges. It's the same as comparing apples and cabbage. It's like saying fruits are more popular than vegetables.

Money earned is not a valid comparison of popularity either. Given how AKB fleeces their fans and how they are nutty enough to buy multiple copies of the same disk for a handshake.

You're not considering digital sales, AKB still do well on Recochoku. Digital chart is general public that don't have money for CD or don't follow the group closely but still like their songs.
http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/3116629.html

Vocaloid sells more disks when you count total sales by a significant amount. Though if you compare either of these groups to a real property from Johnny's neither one is worth anything in particular. But vocaloid was never about making money considering how many tracks are given away for free and how cheap most of the paraphernalia is sold for.

Unless you got solid proves.....

However, if you compare the degree of recognition of the vocaloid characters vs AKB in Japan vocaloid has them beaten. Actually ask 10 people in Japan on the street, I can guarantee no one can name even one AKB member besides Takamina. I don't even need to mention the songs. None of the songs prior to Heavy Rotation are known at all. And only a handful after that are well
known.

And...no..what?..Takamina wouldn't be the first one people recognize, it would be Yuko, Acchan, Tomochin, Mariko, or Kojiharu because those are the ones that have the most solo CMs meaning popularity outside of their fandom. I don't expect people to remember 1408109 something girls, but I'm pretty sure people can recognize Acchan....
Of course most of the songs before HR aren't know..AKB were nobodies before River but even after that, HR, and Beginner launched them. Even so, are you telling me the songs that topped 1st on RIAJ, Billboard, and Oricon aren't well known? come on..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AKB48_discography

Anyway, that's enough of that. TLDR The real gist of it is, AKB as a group are about as popular as a typical B list group. 255 million is actually a ridiculously small amount for 48 artists to bringing in in 1 year. Individually, outside of Takamina they have no star power at all. Yes, AKB is popular, but you are mistaken if you think they are THAT popular.

Technically not all 48 girls are promoted only the top 21. And even then top 15 are the ones that do the most works so...yeah....And AKB48 is actually the 1st top earner of Japan in 2011, so they still beat out everyone.
Yes I do believe they are that popular..considering you can't walk in Tokyo without running into them every 5 minute... Or that Hebirote was top Karaoke song in Japan for 45 weeks in a row...or that AKB members are one of the top CM appearances. You can't honestly say they're B class? Come on.... Seriously how many people in Japan can bring that much people to just a handshake event?

Either way I honestly don't care much about arguing so w/e

OMFG YUKA SO CUTE~~ >3<

[relentlessflame]

By the way, we're sorry about the delay in fixing the thread title. As silly as this seems, an anti-shouting feature was preventing us from making the "AKB" all-caps. Thanks to everyone who notified us about it.

[desrtsku]

Originally Posted by mochichan

OMFG YUKA SO CUTE~~ >3<

hum, Do you mind if I borrow that pic?

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by desrtsku

hum, Do you mind if I borrow that pic?

It's not mine but I don't think the creator care as long as you don't claim credit or something. ^ ^

[desrtsku]

Originally Posted by mochichan

It's not mine but I don't think the creator care as long as you don't claim credit or something. ^ ^

Thanks anyway ~huhuhu~

[Faerie]

The fact that AKB isn't shy of having their members die, get beaten up, beat up other people, spit blood or lose body parts actually makes you hopeful that this show won't be full of fluff and cute girls singing cute songs. I feel about this show like I felt about Madoka : Something I wouldn't have watched if it didn't give you this ominous feeling that shit is gonna go down
(which I guess is why people were mentioning it in relation to this show- nothing to do with profit or fanbase it attracts)

Hmm, I was wondering how AKB does in terms of money as well- is 233 Million their actual income (and thus just dividable by the number of members) or do we still have to deduct everyone's fees and costs and expenses (such as trainers, agents etc)? Because I sure hope these girls are at least making decent cash for what they do.
I feel like none of them has any future prospects, and neither do they as mochichan mentioned in a quote a few pages back so hopefully they're at least making good cash out of their idol careers

Btw, that story about liquid on hands is just gross :S Who does that?

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

The fact that AKB isn't shy of having their members die, get beaten up, beat up other people, spit blood or lose body parts actually makes you hopeful that this show won't be full of fluff and cute girls singing cute songs. I feel about this show like I felt about Madoka : Something I wouldn't have watched if it didn't give you this ominous feeling that shit is gonna go down
(which I guess is why people were mentioning it in relation to this show- nothing to do with profit or fanbase it attracts)

Hmm, I was wondering how AKB does in terms of money as well- is 233 Million their actual income (and thus just dividable by the number of members) or do we still have to deduct everyone's fees and costs and expenses (such as trainers, agents etc)? Because I sure hope these girls are at least making decent cash for what they do.
I feel like none of them has any future prospects, and neither do they as mochichan mentioned in a quote a few pages back so hopefully they're at least making good cash out of their idol careers

Btw, that story about liquid on hands is just gross :S Who does that?

The agencies get 15%, the rest go to the girl. IDK how it work if they're doing activities under "AKB" name but the solo activities don't have to split among the other members. So basically top members get the most money, the unpopular ones don't get as much but that's life. AKB members aren't actually run by one company but different agencies like HoriPro, Watanabe etc when they're not doing activities as AKB so if they don't get promote, it's because the agency is too small to pull strings most likely.

I've already PMed you answer the last part.
Many of the girls have established jobs in things like fashion, or acting. Oshima Yuko was actually the 3rd most anticipated actress of 2012 so no worry. IDK how popular these girls will be but most of them have a stable job in the industry after graduation, Oshima Mai is now a host on variety talk show as well as singing, Erena Ono just released her first single. IDK about the less popular ones but the management is doing their best to give the girls that want to act acting jobs, and the ones that want to be seiyuus this anime, since beside Mayuyu and Kuumin, none of the casts are popular so this was based on skill.

[sa547]

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

The fact that AKB isn't shy of having their members die, get beaten up, beat up other people, spit blood or lose body parts actually makes you hopeful that this show won't be full of fluff and cute girls singing cute songs. I feel about this show like I felt about Madoka : Something I wouldn't have watched if it didn't give you this ominous feeling that shit is gonna go down
(which I guess is why people were mentioning it in relation to this show- nothing to do with profit or fanbase it attracts)

Their PVs sets them apart from their predecessors; although some of them are ludicrously sugary, some others are pretty dead serious about tackling complicated social issues (i.e. teen suicide). For example (and the most recent), Manatsu no Feel Good (directed by Shinji Higuchi, one of the founding members of Gainax, was thus involved in the original Eva project, and later directed the disaster movie Japan Sinks) depicted some of the members symbolically dropping dead (you can find this PV/music video to see how it plays out... but I'd say it's like Eva: it'll make you scratch your head).

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

Hmm, I was wondering how AKB does in terms of money as well- is 233 Million their actual income (and thus just dividable by the number of members) or do we still have to deduct everyone's fees and costs and expenses (such as trainers, agents etc)? Because I sure hope these girls are at least making decent cash for what they do.

The girls are still paid well in six figures, although much different from their predecessors who drew bigger salaries decades ago (due to inflation).

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

I feel like none of them has any future prospects, and neither do they as mochichan mentioned in a quote a few pages back so hopefully they're at least making good cash out of their idol careers

I remember that one former member has since set up a business, some others have branched out to other segments of the entertainment industry, while some have returned to their former lives, picking up where they left off (including pursuing advanced studies).

Originally Posted by SkullFaerie

Btw, that story about liquid on hands is just gross :S Who does that?

That incident happened to a different, competing girl group, whose handshake event was poorly secured.

To make things clear, those attending AKB handshake events have, apart from carrying tickets, their hands closely checked by overseers before being let into the queue to make contact with the girls, and fans are strictly allowed only 10 seconds of handshaking and greeting before moving on... and BTW, at their stations the girls periodically apply some hand sanitizer to keep safe.

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by mochichan

The agencies get 15%, the rest go to the girl. IDK how it work if they're doing activities under "AKB" name but the solo activities don't have to split among the other members. So basically top members get the most money, the unpopular ones don't get as much but that's life.

That's good to know. Since there are so many members, it seems like they have to make massive sales to generate a good income (which applies to all big groups, but AKB is by far the biggest I can think of), so it's no wonder they would need to attract fans that are willing to buy several versions of the same single etc. The popularity concept also only works because of this.
This concept wouldn't work, if their fans weren't like that, so they have to specifically appeal to people likely to "obsess" in this way- being willing to spend money on anything they offer.
(As someone said they "fleece" their fans. I don't think that's true: If the fans are willing to pay for whatever, then that's their problem, not AKB's.)
They just have a clever marketing strategy.

Originally Posted by mochichan

Many of the girls have established jobs in things like fashion, or acting. Oshima Yuko was actually the 3rd most anticipated actress of 2012 so no worry..

Originally Posted by sa547

I remember that one former member has since set up a business, some others have branched out to other segments of the entertainment industry, while some have returned to their former lives, picking up where they left off (including pursuing advanced studies).

Same with this, glad to hear this. It's logical that less popular girls have less of a prospect, that would happen to them anywhere.

Especially, I just mentioned to mochichan in a pm that I wish idols were better educated, so it's good to know that apparently some actually are! yay!

Originally Posted by sa547

Their PVs sets them apart from their predecessors; although some of them are ludicrously sugary, some others are pretty dead serious about tackling complicated social issues (i.e. teen suicide).

Yep, that's why I doubt this show will be just idol fluff, despite the plot and what it looks like.
The main concern with these kinds of shows is that the writers are stuck presenting characters in a good light and unable to create any real depth, can't kill anyone off, etc.
The fact that AKB isn't afraid to maim their members on screen plus the anime staff being who they are means this will probably surprise everyone who said "bah, idol promotion anime"

Originally Posted by sa547

To make things clear, those attending AKB handshake events have, apart from carrying tickets, their hands closely checked by overseers before being let into the queue to make contact with the girls, and fans are strictly allowed only 10 seconds of handshaking and greeting before moving on... and BTW, at their stations the girls periodically apply some hand sanitizer to keep safe.

Oh yea, I understood that, it's just grossing me out and making me a bit angry (and feel sorry for these girls it happened to). What idiots... Some people are so disgusting; I hope they got prosecuted (not sure what the law in Japan is for that, but here you would be charged for sexual assault -__-)
I'm glad the AKB staff is being so strict. Didn't expect this would be necessary, but people never stop to destroy my faith in humanity, sigh..

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by sa547

Manatsu no Feel Good (directed by Shinji Higuchi, one of the founding members of Gainax, was thus involved in the original Eva project, and later directed the disaster movie Japan Sinks) depicted some of the members symbolically dropping dead (you can find this PV/music video to see how it plays out... but I'd say it's like Eva: it'll make you scratch your head).

That's the only video of theirs I've seen. I forwarded it on to my daughter with the caption "babes, blood, bikinis, and ballistic missiles." I doubt even if I spoke Japanese I'd have any better understanding of that video. What I read about it talked about the "graduation" of the older members and the arrival of their successors, but that didn't really provide much of an explanation of what was taking place.

[mochichan]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

That's the only video of theirs I've seen. I forwarded it on to my daughter with the caption "babes, blood, bikinis, and ballistic missiles." I doubt even if I spoke Japanese I'd have any better understanding of that video. What I read about it talked about the "graduation" of the older members and the arrival of their successors, but that didn't really provide much of an explanation of what was taking place.

yeah most of us fans have a hard time interpreting it but the director said it wasn't a full ver. Only a short ver. They did this type of multiple videos for their other kungfu single Flying Get before.

The older girls represent the “old AKB,” that’s why they’re wearing burned EbiK clothes from last year. The younger girls represent the future of AKB. They’re working hard to save the older ones meaning in the future, AKB will be depending on them, but the younger one still need the older ones to guide them so they tried to save them, perform CPR etc.

The media called this the “Heaven and Hell” concept so I’m guessing whatever place they’re in, it’s like “hell.” By carrying the older ones and going up the mountain/hole, they’re rising out of hell. What wait for them is heaven (popularity, dream fulfilled, happiness) but it won’t happen without suffering. That’s why everyone was coughing up smoke blood. Through their sufferings, they arrived at heaven (and I guess Japanese’s heaven look like a beach with kawaii bikini girls ;P)
The bikini scene is just random and it probably threw in because the song is a summer song. Summer -> beach -> bikini. But in the full drama ver, the bikinis won't be there. That part is the dance shot, the other part is the drama, so they're 2 separate ver that was put together.

[sa547]

Now there are pre-orders at Amazon, but what left me blinking is the initial price per BR volume.

1890 yen, 10% off from the retail price of 2000 yen, and that's for the BR.

[ars89]

Originally Posted by sa547

Now there are pre-orders at Amazon, but what left me blinking is the initial price per BR volume.

1890 yen, 10% off from the retail price of 2000 yen, and that's for the BR.

Wow, that's ridiculous in a good way, wonder why its priced so low?

[mochichan]

That's pretty low :O
That's price is only a little more expensive than an AKB singles

Well at least I can afford this one....considering AKB DVD box for Request Hour is like $250....
I guess they figured if they set it low, people would be more likely to buy it.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by ars89

Wow, that's ridiculous in a good way, wonder why its priced so low?

Run Time: 27 minutes

Looks like there's only one episode instead of the standard two.