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REVIEW: AKB0048: Season 1 Blu-Ray


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HeeroTX



Joined: 15 Jul 2002
Posts: 2046
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:03 pm Reply with quote
AKB48 is pretty huge in Japan, as example, the Japanese title for "Wreck It Ralph" is "Sugar Rush". Also, regarding the Mayu Watanabe character (the cyborg aspect), here's comments from her fans in 2009
Quote:
The truth is she really IS a cyborg. her movements are completely automatic...she speaks like a cyborg..she smiles like one..she dances like one. she doesn't sing like one though Very Happy WARNING: don't look at her eyes...she'll suck your soul with those cyborg eyes and will make you her follower FOREVER

It's been a running gag for her and she even has a "Robot" MV. (I have no idea on the Itano food thing though)

I agree with the review, that the show is fun and interesting, but not ground-breaking or amazing. It IS better than you might expect at first glance though. Also, I just personally find it amusing that Mayu Watanabe is one of the AKB members doing voices AND is a character in the show, but does NOT voice herself. (As noted, all the AKB people are providing voices for "no name" trainees, they've also done promotions where they dress as their characters, with specific accessories from the show)
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:56 pm Reply with quote
I initially watched the first season with no knowledge of the group; I missed some of the finer points but the overall message was clear.

Actually, without knowledge of the group, other things came out such as : Willing loss of identity, of a personal life and of cutting off family ties just for the basic fact of entertaining -

Wait, remind me, was the four main girls the only females in the audience throughout the entire series? Probably just my imagination but I don't remember seeing any women.

If you view with knowledge of the group/industry, I suppose it's a tribute if not a commercial for the group itself but I saw it more of a social horror story where a nebulous Lovecraftian entity sacrificed the lives of young girls in order to satisfy certain male hungers in the name of "wholesome entertainment".

Quote:
Sometimes too silly and cutesy, misses golden opportunities to provide more depth


Or that, I suppose. I still think it's pretty disturbing. From Same Girl to Robot Girl to "Hey meet the new face with the old name" and the idea of interchangeability, easy disposal and the fact the greatest hope is to become a specific number attached to an Historied name {"You are number 6" ring any bells?}, I just don't see easygoing entertainment or even an endorsement of the Idol Industry, let alone the group.
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Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:25 pm Reply with quote
While your interpretation is a cynical one, Animeegomaniac, I do not at all think it's unreasonable. There's not a shred of doubt in my mind that the series is whitewashing over some of the less pleasant elements of the idol process while glorifying others. I'm also pretty sure that the series wasn't intended to convey that kind of impression; unlike Key the Metal Idol, it's not specifically trying to lambaste the way the industry uses up and spits out idols.

And yeah, the more I read up about AKB48 to research for this review, the more I became convinced that there are some distinctly distasteful elements to the whole set-up just beneath the surface.

HeeroTX: Thanks for the elaboration about Mayu. I figured that there had to be an in-joke there.
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wandering-dreamer



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 1733
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:57 pm Reply with quote
You mentioned that it would be nice to have had subtitles for the songs, do you mean that there weren't any subtitles for the songs when listening to the English dub or that there just aren't any subtitles for the songs at all, no matter which language track you're on?
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 5:22 pm Reply with quote
Actually I've put some extensive thought into how AKB0048 relates to the real AKB48 and related groups.

I think that if you look at Kawamori's body of work, which includes a lot of Idols, in various forms and permutations, something become obvious.

Kawamori loves Idols. He most certainly does not love the Idol Industry.

This becomes more obvious in season 2, with a certain character who's real-life namesake had a major scandal in her past. But if you look at the Macross series you can see this as well.

Also the themes Animegomaniac mentioned are definitely there, and aren't brushed over, especially (again) in season 2.

And yes, 00 has female fans, even the real AKB48 has a non-negligible female fanbase.

(not that I'm particularly defending AKB48 or the larger Japanese idol industry )
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SpiritualRemains



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 81
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:14 pm Reply with quote
wandering-dreamer wrote:
You mentioned that it would be nice to have had subtitles for the songs, do you mean that there weren't any subtitles for the songs when listening to the English dub or that there just aren't any subtitles for the songs at all, no matter which language track you're on?


Outside of opening and closing, no song subs at all. Which is the opposite of the streaming situation when it was being streamed on Crunchy.
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yuna49



Joined: 27 Aug 2008
Posts: 3804
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 7:11 pm Reply with quote
Just to be clear, both seasons are still streaming at Crunchyroll.

I knew essentially nothing about AKB48 when I watched this show and still found it quite enjoyable. It certainly exceeded my expectations, which consisted of knowing only that it was an idol show based on the group, written by Okada, and directed by Kawamori.

The first episode remains one of my favorites. The choreography during the battle sequence and its timing to the music is exquisitely directed by Takashima Daisuke. The background illustrations that Theron found so striking are by the team of Frech illustrators at Satelight led by Thomas Romain. Their depictions of 19th century Paris in Ikoku Meiro no Croisee are equally stunning. Their work is always highly detailed with strong perspectives that perhaps reflect their European training.

While the review mentions groups like the Taliban as examples of the political and cultural repression the show portrays, they have roots in Japanese history as well. Watchers of Oh! Edo Rocket will remember its depiction of the mid-19th century Tenpou reforms which included a ban on entertainment. Censorship as a theme has appeared in a few other recent shows like Toshokan Sensou and Shin Sekai Yori and certainly has been a hot topic in the manga and anime industries, especially under pressure from politicians like Ishikawa.

It's true that the show dodges some of the darker aspects of life as an AKB48 idol, particularly the restrictions on the members' social lives. Having the main characters all be 13 or so makes this less of an issue in the anime. One of the girls has a boyfriend on her home planet, which poses a difficult choice for the girl, but once she leaves to become an idol their relationship moves to the background for most of the show.

All told, I'd probably give this show a slightly better grade than Theron's B-. I think it's worth at least a B, and maybe given how grounded it needed to be in the AKB48 world, a B+ for having a better story that I expected and some terrific animation and illustration.
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Pfhor



Joined: 12 Apr 2011
Posts: 10
PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 9:32 pm Reply with quote
Animegomaniac wrote:
I initially watched the first season with no knowledge of the group; I missed some of the finer points but the overall message was clear.

Actually, without knowledge of the group, other things came out such as : Willing loss of identity, of a personal life and of cutting off family ties just for the basic fact of entertaining -

Wait, remind me, was the four main girls the only females in the audience throughout the entire series? Probably just my imagination but I don't remember seeing any women.

If you view with knowledge of the group/industry, I suppose it's a tribute if not a commercial for the group itself but I saw it more of a social horror story where a nebulous Lovecraftian entity sacrificed the lives of young girls in order to satisfy certain male hungers in the name of "wholesome entertainment".

Quote:
Sometimes too silly and cutesy, misses golden opportunities to provide more depth


Or that, I suppose. I still think it's pretty disturbing. From Same Girl to Robot Girl to "Hey meet the new face with the old name" and the idea of interchangeability, easy disposal and the fact the greatest hope is to become a specific number attached to an Historied name {"You are number 6" ring any bells?}, I just don't see easygoing entertainment or even an endorsement of the Idol Industry, let alone the group.


Right on bro, this is basically how I feel about that show. It "idolizes" the very disturbing aspects of idol culture without being satire.
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iamthevastuniverse





PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 10:45 pm Reply with quote
Sentai is becoming more incompetent with each of their rushed releases. Another & Dusk maiden of Amnesia had strange audio problems as well now AKBOO48 joins that unfortunate group not only that but they failed to properly credit a majority of their english cast for the Medaka Box dub. I like Sentai Filmworks but they've been screwing up way to much recently hopefully they get their act together in the near future.
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zrdb





PostPosted: Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Shit people-if all you want to do is criticize Sentai's releases-simple solution-don't buy them. I for one don't really care if there are minor gaffes-all the complaints about a line of the dub missing 2 or 3 times in 12 or 13 episodes or the video or audio being subpar, etc. gets to be a pain. I don't look for or give a damn about this shit unless somebody point it out to me and most of the time I'll just shrug and say "So who cares-not me". Again if you don't like the releases-don't buy em'.
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halochief_90



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:16 am Reply with quote
Where this show really shined for me was the Kowamori style of blending pop music with epic sci-fi battles. This was the same kind of thing that made the final battle in Macross: Do You Remember Love? so memorable. AKB0048 never reaches those heights, but to even have something a fraction as good every few episodes was still very rewarding.
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Asrialys



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 1159
PostPosted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:00 am Reply with quote
zrdb wrote:
Shit people-if all you want to do is criticize Sentai's releases-simple solution-don't buy them. I for one don't really care if there are minor gaffes-all the complaints about a line of the dub missing 2 or 3 times in 12 or 13 episodes or the video or audio being subpar, etc. gets to be a pain. I don't look for or give a damn about this shit unless somebody point it out to me and most of the time I'll just shrug and say "So who cares-not me". Again if you don't like the releases-don't buy em'.

What? If the consumers don't care, then Sentai doesn't have to care. And then the issues will just get worse. Section 23 has so many great titles of which many, including myself, would love to own quality products (at least in video and audio, since releases are inexpensive and mostly bare-bones). However, they continue to fail at quality control and it just continues to frustrate fans. There's just almost no sign that they care enough to fix things.

Don't purchase them? Yes, that's an option, but that doesn't mean Sentai gets a pass and that their quality issues aren't there.


Last edited by Asrialys on Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:18 am; edited 1 time in total
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CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5500
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 1:18 am Reply with quote
zrdb wrote:
Shit people-if all you want to do is criticize Sentai's releases-simple solution-don't buy them. I for one don't really care if there are minor gaffes-all the complaints about a line of the dub missing 2 or 3 times in 12 or 13 episodes or the video or audio being subpar, etc. gets to be a pain. I don't look for or give a damn about this shit unless somebody point it out to me and most of the time I'll just shrug and say "So who cares-not me". Again if you don't like the releases-don't buy em'.


I don't particularly know about Sentai or any American licensing company, but from my point of view, if I were to pay 60-70 bucks for a 12 episode series I expect the release to be flawless. If I'll have to stand mistranslations, bad audio, missing subs, etc, I'd rather buy the pirated version which, where I live, goes for less than the equivalent of 3 dollars.
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DangerMouse



Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 3980
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 2:56 pm Reply with quote
halochief_90 wrote:
Where this show really shined for me was the Kowamori style of blending pop music with epic sci-fi battles. This was the same kind of thing that made the final battle in Macross: Do You Remember Love? so memorable. AKB0048 never reaches those heights, but to even have something a fraction as good every few episodes was still very rewarding.


Definitely agree, that was good stuff. And especially the way it was done in episode 1 was perfect as Yuna49 cited as well.
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toyNN



Joined: 18 Jun 2010
Posts: 252
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 9:37 pm Reply with quote
I definitely have a love for Japanese pop-music and anime - and find myself re-watching AKB0048 every couple of months. I'm not a big fan of the overall theme it presents but I'm a sucker for a sappy story and the integration of the AKB songs and real-life AKB makes it for me.

I'm a curious how well received it was in Japan? Given the staff working on the series, quality of the voice cast, and animation it must have been expensive to produce the episodes. NO NAME's single releases did fine but I never saw how anime's the DVD/BD sold in Japan.

My take on the "Sensei Sensei" is that it represents group founder Yasushi Akimoto-sensei who gets credited with providing the lyrics for all AKB songs (approx. 115 new songs last year).
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