AKB48 No. 1
Picture of the Day ( 64 )
AKB48 singer Yuko Oshima, center, who was elected by fans as the most popular idol among the group, poses with second placed Mayu Watanabe, right, and third placed Yuki Kashiwagi following the AKB48 annual popularity “election” at a packed Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on Wednesday night. Oshima earned the privilege to be the center performer in performances. Fans voted with ballots included in the group’s latest single, “Manatsu no Sounds Good!” Oshima had the No. 1 spot in 2010 but relinquished the crown to Atsuko Maeda in 2011. Maeda has announced her graduation from the group. See story here.
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64 Comments
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7
Yubaru
So?
It's a crying shame to me that something like 1.5 million people actually took the time and "energy" to vote for this when probably the very same folks, (read that as oyaji otaku's) more than likely never stepped into a REAL election booth to vote for something that could make a difference for the country as a whole.
My opinion, this was a pure waste of time and money which could be used elsewhere in Japan to help those in need. I am glad I did not watch the program on TV last night, I slept much better for it too I do believe.
-8
KariHaruka
Well done Yuko!!
19
forzaducati
They had a couple of these sheep in yesterday's Tokudane "news" show and Dave Spector asked them what they were going to do about the consumption tax when elected. Nobody seemed to get the joke, but I thought it was too funny.
-5
Matthew Simon
I can rest easier knowing this news. Did anyone else notice the creepy smile the girl on the left has?
5
combinibento
Dave Spector has proven to be the most humorous comedian here on TV. As if by some miracle, he manages to say funny things without screaming, props, and gimmicks.
0
Debucho
Yum Yum Yum!
-9
bass4funk
Well, just my oatmeal and I am sooo relieved to know Yuko is Numero Uno! Now I can go to work knowing that the people who chose her did a great remarkable and memorable thing.
-1
my2sense
Now all you need to hold on stage is a high school diploma...or even a degree. Yippee!
-2
Ben Jack
So, what did they say they were going to do. Don't keep us in suspense.
-2
Ben Jack
Should be a question mark up there.
-7
cyberpogo
As a gaijin living in Japan, I love what these girls are doing! Living their dreams and being great at what they do! Go AKB48!
4
marcelito
Couldn,t give a toss about AKB and their " singing "abilities but the people marketing them certainly know how to do their jobs....
5
mokgohan
"Manatsu no Sounds Good!"
Hulk think it no sound good too. Crying girls' songs hurt Hulk's ears. Hulk Smash television!
6
Vesperto
@valued_customer did you just compare AKB48 to Elvis?!
1
Robert Dykes
Who?
7
GW
The plague continues..............
3
gogogo
Depressing.
0
TrevorPeace1
Third-placed Yuki Kashiwagi has the nicest knees. And legs. And...
2
Debucho
Yuko get vote from me this erection
2
NeoJamal
We might get results if he install that little girl as the Governor of the BOJ.
0
JapanGal
Maybe it is the lighting, but on TV last night and in this picture, these girls appear to be gaining weight.
3
Debucho
google search "Mayu Watanabe butt" and thank me later
3
JapanGal
Did any of you watch some of this last night live? When they had the camera in the back aimed over the audience, I think about 1/4 of the guys had bald heads or bar code look.
-2
Liberty Joe Lowe
I am one of the voters and my vote was the winner...Yipeeee
I am an AKB48 fan. Someone asked about the fan base.... okay I am a 24 year old martial artist/ dancer. I would marry any of these 3 girls tomorrow if I could. If I was a muslim I would just marry the three of them.
3
TSRnow
Yubaru, 1.5 million people didn't vote. It's like 0.75 million people voted 20 times each. Not exactly, but you know what I mean. It doesn't have to be one vote per person. Some of these otakus are desparate to get their favorite elected.
0
Liberty Joe Lowe
@yubaru
Its a crying shame I was one of the 1.5 m people that voted, can't deal l with serious issues that would make a difference to the country all the time. It is nice to vote for something that is not of serious nature..makes people happy Maybe you need to have a night out, get drunk, get silly and enjoy yourself
-3
NYC_Samurai
Seeing photos of these girls in those types of outfits always makes me feel a little sad.
-3
Franchesca Miyara Yang
girl on left looks like she's pregnant. slow news day when all you can upload is a boring picture of akb48. YAWN.
-3
Franchesca Miyara Yang
I gotta be honest, these girls are quite boring, same old same old...over and over. They have very pretty faces but those dresses are an atrocity. They are dressed like children. Little 5 year old girls. Who in their right mind would fantasize over a girl dressed like this? Be more feminine and classy, not childish! Ugh..
1
realmind
What is next? She is going to marry some one (Big News) and after a year she is going to divorce ( another big news) and later her nude photo album, one page news. and re-marriage and one more divorce...... NEWS...
-3
Fadamor
LOL I think JT puts these AKB48 stories out just so all you classical music afficianados can act superior and mock their success. But keep this in mind... it could be worse. They could be promoting dubstep! If you thought your ears were hurting NOW...
-2
bass4funk
Does anyone really care about this? This is not news, can't believe that this is something that would make headlines, we have more depressing and serious problems going on and the topic of the day is AKB48???!
0
nisegaijin
Yes, there is! A society where crap like this can gain any popularity has a sersious problem.
If you can call it that. Yep they are pretty and sexy, but taking the main stage, selling out arenas? see my comment above.
0
Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land
She looks a lot the last #1. Are we sure she isn't computer generated?
0
Olrik
Nice girls!
1
calm down
good onya ted !!
-4
Thunderbird2
With so much depression and anger in the world (and in these threads, lol) it's nice to see people smiling.
I don't understand the hatred... they are no worse than any other group or singer in the last 40 years of bubblegum pop. If people hate AKB48 so much, why read the story? Maybe it's just so they can have a moan and a gripe, make themselves feel superior. They may not be in my top 10, but I don't insult or belittle them. They are immensely popular - and not just with 'creepy old men'.
So to the girls I would say ignore the boring old farts who put you down... keep making people smile, and congrats to Yuko Oshima (although I prefer the taller one).
Oh and as far as fashion goes... check out Japanese pop idols since the 90s... they've always worn frills and short skirts.
-2
SVTony
Is this supposed to make big news? and what's with that obsession to include English in their lyrics when they cannot even pronounce or understand what it says? I think it's ridiculous!
2
cyberpogo
What Ted and Thunderbird said!
-1
Ah_so
There is nothing wrong with a bit of Engrish in the lyrics - it is just one of the amusing things about this country. Puffy were doing it in the 1990s and helped them become an international success, of sorts.
-2
Yubaru
I do that plenty thank you, to each his or own, I prefer to be in the company of women that some substance between their ears first.
-2
Yubaru
It's got nothing to do with being superior, it's about people idolizing women in a quite degrading manner. Putting them into this little box of cute and innocent, to be raped by the eyes of middle aged men that have nothing better to do with their lives.
That and it's a waste of money in a time when there are people suffering. Things like this take the focus off of the reality of what is going on in this country and makes people forget that there are more serious and pressing problems that should be taking precedence.
-1
Stephen Jez
Honestly, who cares? I think I've expressed my distaste for AKB48 on this site enough and it seems like quite a few agree with me. So why does JT still run these stories?
I read an article on another site (would post a link but it's NSFW so I won't) that said there was one otaku who bought $30,000 USD worth of their albums just to vote for the same member over and over. I guess you could vote once per album you bought, go figure. I will say this though, they sure do know how to market their product to the lonely demographic that is obsessed with them.
2
Thunderbird2
Who says it's just middle-aged men? Why do people always assume their fans are sad old men hugging full-size pillows and perving on them? What about the teenage girls who like them?
Do you like any female performers? How do you feel about them? Do you like to watch their videos/films, or do you feel guilt for enjoying them?
What's wrong with forgetting reality for a wee while? Maybe you'd prefer everyone to walk around with their eyes cast downwards, fretting 24/7 and more stress-fuelled suicides?
People need a release from the doom and gloom.
Lighten up, mate.
-1
almostshat
The AKBs could be the next prime minister: 1 week each with 4 weeks off for photo opps. Then they could retire and get a job at Hooters, after some serious surgery...
-1
cwhite
if only this many people would do out and demo against Tepco and have a say in more pressing things going on in the country. I would love to see AKB take a stance against Nukes and the way things have been run, but I guess that is a big taboo by Japanese media standards
4
Serrano
Three very lovely women here.
2
Fadamor
She looks EXACTLY like the one two years ago. ;-)
As for the people grumbling about why AKB48 gets news coverage, this isn't unique to Japan. Whenever there's a new "American Idol" crowned, we get to read about it in the newspaper. I usually skip over those articles. For those that hate that AKB48 is popular, you should skip over those articles, too. It doesn't do you any good to raise your blood pressure over something that, ultimately, has no bearing on you or the world in general.
0
bass4funk
I agree, but it seems to me when you say AKB48 suck ( and they really, really do) you get the thumbs down as if these girls are THE most important thing to happen to Japan (which they are most definitely NOT) seriously, these telento (I don't even want to call them that) what have they contributed to the music society (besides looks)? I know people want to escape from this rat race of problems this country is facing, but really...Enjoy it while you can ladies, in a few years, they'll be working in some office, glaring back on their real soon to be forgotten glorious days.
0
WilliB
Very cute, all of them, but what I really do not understand was all the crying on TV, where this was shown all day long. Wth? They got voted best cutist or whatever,, what is there to cry about?
1
GaroJ
Thumbs down from who? JT readers? Just look at thumbs up/down on this page. It's the supporters who are getting the thumbs from the apparent legion of rabid haters. Your previous comment probably only got voted down because people didn't notice the sarcasm.
Presuming that they have indeed contributed nothing, so what? They are entertainers, are they entertaining people? If so, then they're doing a good job.
1
Fadamor
The Nippon Budokan was "packed" for the announcement. That's impressive-sounding but Wiki lists the capacity at only 14,201 people. So it's obvious that over 14,000 are entertained by this group whether the group can actually sing or not. As long as they're not advocating something illegal, I say more power to them. Seems to me that when things like this are going on, that's the time to visit Akiba for your electronics purchases (reduced crowds because the otakus are at Budokan).
-1
Kenitay Cordromp
Let's see... Perhaps 1700 votes from each crazed "creepy" otaku, then.
And I totally agree with Yubaru.
-2
Yubaru
Look it's obvious that there a plenty of other people that enjoy AKB, fine, but who do you think pays the money to buy their cd's, buy the tickets to their concerts, fuel the drive to keep them in the public eye nauseatingly too much?
Sure some of it is kids, BUT at every event, from what I have been led to believe, it's the seriously looking nerdy, OTAKU's, that permeate the audience. It's down-creepy.
My daughter is now 25, if she was 14, 18, or 20, and literally THOUSANDS of guys like that, with social skills of a cockroach were eye-raping her, I would have to seriously consider the fact that I am going to hang by the neck until death, because I am quite sure I would do something.
2
Wolfpack
Yubaru:
Wow! "raped by the eyes of middle aged men"? That's pretty heavy stuff over a picture of a few young women from a popular music group. Do these horrible middle age men (not too young or too old mind you) also murder and dismember these poor cute and innocent girls "with their eyes" as well? These are such unspeakable crimes! I never could have imagined what terrible things can be done with eyes. Oh the humanity!
You are absolutely right! It's time to stop all frivolous forms of entertainment until all Japanese people are no longer suffering. Should we first start by having Japan Today remove the Picture of the Day feature from their website? Based on all of these comments, people have obviously lost focus on all of the serious and pressing problems that consume serious Japanese people every waking minute of the day.
0
Kiskipuich Vilaboa
Is this still news??
0
Yubaru
Really? Is it that hard for people to respect women for their talent (akb has none), their brains and intelligence,(again akb none), and not need to put a group of 260 something teenaged GIRLS and young women on a pedestal and drool over like a bunch of adolescent boys?
Eye-raping? What the bloody hell? Do you think when most of us men looked at the picture above, that we were eye-raping them?
-1
Yubaru
Google akb48 and check out their ages, before you continue bleating on or insinuating about something you dont know about.
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