0048 First Stage Review

"An intergalactic entertainment adventure featuring AKB48!" - a quote from the official anime trailer in the official
AKB48 channel on YouTube.

This series was aired over a year ago and season 2 is coming up around this month or next month but it's never too late to write a review for it. Oh to read or not to read? You decide o wise readers.

First of all, I have to admit that this is perhaps the most overlooked anime series of 2012. If not the most overlooked anime ever! What do you expect from an anime made up based on AKB48? Not much. Probably just going to be like Idolm@ster the Animation. Well I'd say you're wrong. I thought of it like that at first but boy did I get a sucker punch. There is actually an interesting plot. The Earth as we know it is inhabitable and we are already scattered throughout the universe settling nicely and peacefully. Planets like Lancastar however, where some of the main characters are from are under the Universal Entertainment Ban. The whole planet is being made as a huge industrial site. The skies were pitch black by the smokes from factories. The land is dried up and plants withers. Armies and guards alike are everywhere. Clearly the writers are portraying what life would be if there was no entertainment. And among all types of entertainments, Idols were total taboo. That's where AKB0048 came in and became a savior to planets under the Entertainment Ban. Don't ask me where are the other Idol groups such as Morning Musume. Maybe they were wiped out during the third world war? I don't know. What about Justin Bieber? Fuck off.

I find the succession system in AKB0048 quite interesting. You work hard to succeed someone from AKB0048. In order to do that, first you need to audition and become a kenkyuusei, research students. From that point on, what you do will reflect whether you are able to succeed someone from AKB0048 or not. Magical creatures known as Kirara are able to detect one's Idol presence in them. There is another type of Kirara known as Kirara of Succession where they project images of the original AKB0048 members and their current successors. These Kiraras will play a huge part on deciding the next successor for a member. Nagisa, Yuuka, Orine, Chieri, Sonata, Suzuko and Makoto are the main characters along with Kanata and Mimori, they are the 77th and 75th generations of AKB0048 research students. As of right now, the real AKB48 are having their own 12th generation of research students. Still a long way to go LOL! But apparently, there are only eight senbatsu members for the current AKB0048 roster (Takahashi Minami the 5th, Oshima Yuko the 9th, Itano Tomomi the 11th, Kojima Haruna the 8th, Miyazawa Sae the 13th, Akimoto Sayaka the 5th, Kashiwagi Yuki the 6th and Watanabe Mayu MK3) as mentioned in my last post. So the numbers of research students that can succeed them are limited. Though there were other members
such as Minegishi Minami, Yokoyama Yui and Sashihara Rino being mentioned but apparently they still don't have a successor for any of them. There used to be this so called Center Nova position where anyone who holds the position has the right to be top dawg but it was abolished as soon as the last center nova, Maeda Atsuko the 13th disappeared right after a concert. This has direct connection to the real AKB48 though as just before the series was made, Maeda Atsuko announced her graduation from AKB48. Not only that, Maeda was also known as "the face of AKB48" and their center for most of their A-Side singles in the past. Credit to the writers for making that connection. It's not an AKB48 show if the *former* face of AKB48 herself is not being featured in it.

For the casts, the main characters are voiced by AKB48 members along with a couple from SKE48 and one from NMB48. There was an audition among them to make up the casts of AKB0048. The casts of AKB0048 are singing the OP and ED themselves, thus forming a whole new AKB48 sub-unit called NO NAME.

0048 cast lineup also new sub-unit called NO NAME <--- Creative? No.

The most notable name among the casts is Watanabe Mayu (in case you can't read their names, she's at bottom left). She's the only current AKB48 senbatsu member to be in the AKB0048 cast. She voiced Chieri. Her partner in the spotlight is Iwata Karen (bottom center) who voiced Nagisa. I just found out she's actually an AKB48 research student and was just recently promoted to AKB48 Team A! The story focuses a lot on these two and their character developments. So even for a constant senbatsu member like Mayuyu, that is a tough job but it's not her first time on the spotlight though. Last year, she was the center for the AKB48 starring drama, Majisuka Gakuen 2. Of course being an actor and a voice actor are two different things but TBH she did really well. She's great in both actually. Funny thing is she's not voicing her own character but Mayuyu MK3 and Chieri does have some similarities. There was one awkward scene involving Mayuyu MK3 and Chieri in episode 3:

Awkward moment~ Mayuyu MK3 (left) meets her predecessor. 
Her voice at least.

It makes me wonder what did the real Mayuyu think when they were recording that particular scene. I think she should've voiced both of them but enough on that. As for Karen, it's a start. She's only 14! Her voice can be irritating at times but it suits Nagisa's character very well. I like Yagami Kumi (middle right). She's voicing the ever so childish Sonata. She's really natural. I like her character in Majisuka Gakuen as well. The others are all okay though. The ones voicing the AKB0048 shuumei members are some of the top dawgs in voice acting such as Akemi Kanda and Yui Horie. So, no problems with them.

Being an AKB48-based anime, this review is incomplete if I don't comment on the musical score for the series. The scores were amazing. Most of them are from AKB48 singles such as Aitakatta, Oogoe Diamond and Heavy Rotation.

Song: Aitakatta Episode: 1 - Eternal Dreams
The quatro meets their Idols live for the first time.
That jet is called the Flying Get. No kidding.

You know what song that is.  Probably the shortest version of
the song I've ever heard.
I WANT MORE!
I NEED MORE!
I LOVE MORE?

I liked the score from episode 11 personally. Oogoe Diamond was the track but somehow they make it sound really epic for a jail raid. In each episode, there's at least one AKB48 single being played or sung. The RIVER live performance in episode 9 was one of the best for me. Not only for the story that is building towards the performance, but the choreography was exactly tip-top just like the real AKB48.

No, they're not performing UZA. Not without Jurina or Paruru or Sakura at least.

One of the natural phenomenons of this planet are it's rivers that can spit out fireworks. Cool.

Another was Beginner in episode 3. Suits the mood and situation perfectly. These are by far their biggest selling point for me. The OP and ED performed by the casts are well-written. I never skipped them even once especially the OP. It stucked in my head for a long time now but I got over it. In some songs, the shuumei members voice actors actually sang the AKB48 songs on their own. Most of them are really good especially the one voicing Takamina the 5th.

The plot was all in all interesting and enjoyable. I love stories that has connection to the real world. So it's really easy for me to dive into the series and become a part of it entirely. Moreover, what is there not to like about AKB48? They're a social phenomenon in Japan. This show can be enjoyed by everyone. From kids to adults. Even Wotas and Otakus alike. I give it a 9 out of 10. The artwork was a bit sketchy but passable enough to watch and it surprisingly fits. The 3D animation was wowwing. I don't know if that's even a word. Don't see any point for their eyes as all of either have a heart-shaped or a diamond-shape pupil reflections but doesn't really matter. The last episode was more of a teaser instead of a great conclusion to a great first season but nonetheless it's a great preview on what to expect for the second season. Looking forward to see which of them will become Acchan the 14th.

So up to that point, there had been 13 different Acchans.
Right now, I'm waiting for Acchan the 2nd. 14th can wait.

My money's on Nagisa! Chieri to become Mayuyu the 4th LOL! Yuuka to become Mariko-sama! Orine to become Yukirin the 7th! I still think Kanata will become Takamina :P

Here's Nagisa taken from episode 5 - Their Day Off.
TBH, her character is really boring.
Suits to become Acchan the 14th?

Here's Acchan the 13th. Any similarities between the two?
I'd say it's the ribbon at least.

Here's the real Acchan. With the ribbon.

-------->TO BE NEXT STAGE!