AKB0048

[SQA]

3: Mic-Saber... that alone is worth a "Kawamori, you magnificent bastard" comment.

I was pretty suspicious of the battle fairly quickly.  Mostly as I'd just watched Jormungand and I couldn't believe the Idol-Group-Ad show was some how more deadly than a bunch of gun-crazy weapons dealers.  But I was getting concerned there for a bit.  Or I wanted to know what armor they were using.  Haha.

[Marcomax]

3:

Chief Mechanic :  Well there they go. Hopefully we'll get a good batch this time.

Mechanic A: Are you sure it's safe to send these girls out into the field so soon.

Mechanic B: Yea. We're even sending out the Aggressors.

Chief Mechanic : *Takes out cigarette* Idols are soldiers singing on the battlefield known as the centre stage. Fighting for the audience's love is no different from fighting a war.

Mechanic A: Wow! What you'd expect from the Chief.

Chief Mechanic : Besides, this is all a staged trial. It's not like we'd actually harm them. That's why I had you load the paint rounds into the Aggressors.

Mechanic A: Yes Sir!

Mechanic B: Umm ... Yea. Quick questions. Are explosive rounds lethal.

[Sorrows Neptune]

1-3:

Suprisingly, this show is actually kind of good in a non-ironic way. So far the only Narm scenes are the fight scenes; everything else can more or less be taken seriously.

[Fumoffu!!]

4:

I'm sorry, but what? They graduate? So they don't die or anything? Oh god, please let graduate be a kind euphemism for death, I couldn't stand it otherwise, I know wanting a bunch of young girls to die is horrible, but if they don't it'll all feel kinda cheap. They battle with anti-entertainment forces, but if there are no casualties how is it supposed to feel real and threatening? There's crying in the OP, so I assume there must be some tragedy at some point.

Honestly I didn't know that Sonata was so young compared to everyone else, I quite like her, for some reason I'm reminded of Yamada from Working!! when I look at her and see her actions, don't quite know why. Anyway I liked the episode because it portrayed the harsh reality of competition, I doubt it's the first show to do this (I imagine the recent IDOLM@STER did this, but I haven't watched it yet, though I plan to) but I appreciate it all the same.

You get the feeling that Kanata would progress quickly if she just learnt to love singing and dancing don't you? When the choreographer (I saw the ridiculous hat and started laughing at how stereotypical she looked, and then he started talking, I must have looked surprised, I remember the guy from Tiger and Bunny, why is it black people are the go to people for outlandishly camp people nowadays?) talk with the manager about Kanata after she left crying saying they found a catalyst, it did become obvious that they do want her to succeed. I kinda feel sorry for the other one (Mimori) because she doesn't have the excuse of not liking singing, she's just lacking. Pretty sad for her right?

I'm liking this series.

[AC]

4:

The reference of Maeda Atsuko's recent graduation... I see what you did there.

But you know when I got freaked out? The moment I hear the dance instructor's voice for the first time.

[Ascaloth]

5:

Oh gosh, Okada's writing is really at some of its most cringe-inducingly preachy and dorama-tic in this series. It's like the whole thing as a premise can only really thrive in the kind of outlandish setting Kawamori gave her to work with. The voice acting is still noticably raw as well, and in general it's just not a 'good' series in any sense.

This really is just the kind of thing you watch just because it's Kawamori and/or Okada, and/or because it's about AKB48.

[SQA]

4:

If you can accept the premise of the universe, the series isn't actually that bad.  It's way over the top, in most ways, but for one of the rare times it actually feels like you're watching a bunch of middle school girls interact.  They're not terribly bright about most things, but there's an honesty in their ignorance.  The plot of the series ends up being to learn with them.  Much like "Fame" if you've seen those movies.

Oh, the choreographer was going to be a guy.  I'm pretty sure "The Choreographer is always gay" is a trope somewhere.

[Marcomax]

4:

*In an abandon Quarry during a pro-entertainment coalition rally*

Leader: For too long the government had trampled on our right to enjoy entertainment. They hunt down our idols, our heroes and treat them as criminals. But I for one have had enough.

Crowd: Yea!

Leader: If we don't make a stand, our children and their children will never know the joys of AKB0048.

Crowd: Yea!

Rebel 1: Or Spice Girls!

Crowd: Yea!

Rebel 2: Or ClariS!

Crowd: Yea!

Rebel 3: Or The Beetles!

Crowd: ...

Rebel 3: ARB?

Crowd: ...

Rebel 3: Bill Evans?

Crowd: ...

Leader: ... Shut up Ted.

[Fumoffu!!]

Rebel 3: Or The Beetles!

Who the **** are they?

[AC]

5:

Two things.



One, I refuse to believe this farce. Same looks, same character, same etiquette, same crooked smile, same-looking male husbands... in the show's time and age, there's only one logical explanation for this: it's genetic engineering.

Two, and much more importantly, Ac-chan's kidnapped/mysteriously disappeared? So... graduation = abduction/disappearance? And the AKB band doesn't see this as a problem? No girl thinks that there's something really wrong with this? Nobody?

[Fumoffu!!]

5:

First things first, the design of the house they all stay in is very odd. It looks like they've stuck different styles of architecture together in a weird fashion, there's Victorian and Georgian, some modern stuff that they presumably came up with, and other stuff that I can't identify. It's very strange.

But not as strange as an entire family dedicating their existence to produce people who look exactly the same. That's just stupid on so many levels, and as AC said, there's no way they woud do that by simply selecting suitable husbands ect. I can only believe that they use clone technology.

I am confused over this graduation stuff, so some of them simply grow too old, some mysteriously disappear, and others die. Is that how it is? It's awfully strange.

Anyway, this show is incredibly stupid, and whilst I don't like stupidity in shows, I find myself ignoring it here.

[Ascaloth]

5:

Like the above two said, there's quite a bit that doesn't make sense in the AKB0048 universe, but somehow it's so easy to overlook. I think it's because the doesn't-make-sense portions aren't stupid for stupidity's sake, but all of them seem to hint at something not quite kosher about the whole thing. Like the glitter of Akibastar holds some kind of dark secret, perhaps.

I wonder if Kawamori and Okada have the guts to pull a grimdark twist in this series, though. It's still an AKB48 promo vehicle after all, and anything that doesn't portray the idols at their best may well be canned...

...wait, what am I saying, we're talking about Kawamori-Okada here. Of course they'll ****ing pull anything they jolly well feel like, lol.

On another note, is it just me, or does it seems like the No Name girls are beginning to settle in their roles? Their voices seemed to sound somewhat more natural this episode.

[Major Tom]

I'm confused about the whole graduation thing as well.  It seems to be a catch all phrase to indicate a change of state, but to be so vague as to not really know what they are talking about.  Clearly no one can perform in the group forever, but why calling it all graduating if a member retires, is KIA or MIA, or moves up in the organisation?  They are all different things, and bringing it all under one catch phrase sounds counterproductive to me.

But on the other hand, I am also finding some of the more silly stuff quite ignorable in favour of the rest of the show.

[Ascaloth]

6:

Oh, the stupid. The damnably delicious stupid. It's so stupid, it hurts... so good.

Damn you, Kawamori. Only you can make stupid so palatable. 

[SQA]

6:

This is Kawamori being Kawamori: take one of the stupidest premises possible, then make it awesome.  The world is still batshit crazy on setup, but how everyone works in it makes sense.   I LOVED the decaled personal mechs as well.  That was just plain inspired.

Also, this is what would have happened if Kawamori had done Symphogear.