It is well known fact that most idols have short lived careers. The media is always on the lookout for fresh new faces and there is no shortage of aspiring candidates. By adulthood, most female idols are considered aged and have to find new things to move on to. Akimoto Yasushi seems to have found a solution around this problem, with the creation of his third “48″ group, SDN48 (Saturday Night 48).

Both Kodansha and Sony have been pretty stubborn about AKB48 videos on YouTube. Thankfully, after years of wait, AKB48 launched their own official YouTube channel last Wednesday.

Heavy Rotation is AKB48′s 18th single. Days before its release last week, it was reported that over 650,000 copies had been shipped to stores. However many remained skeptical, believing surely that their last single’s sales were inflated by the voting campaign. The numbers are in now and AKB48 breaks the record again with 527,336 copies sold in its first week.

This year’s photobook charts are being topped by AKB48. The top selling book is non-other than the AKB48 Fashion Book, which has sold more than 70,000 copies to date. Also appearing among the top 10 are two gravure books from Maeda Atsuko and the AKB48 Overseas Travel Diary.

Grabbed this AKB48 General Election Guide Book 2010 on a whim from the local Kinokuniya, which has recently started stocking up on AKB48 books of all sorts. A little late, since it was meant to be a pre-election mook and was released prior to the results of the Top AKB48 Members 2010. Inside you’ll find interviews with last year’s Top 10 AKB48 Members, the staff, as well as various lists and rankings.

The insane success of pop idol group AKB48 has sparked the interest and envy of many. For the past few years, founder Yasushi Akimoto has been receiving offers from other countries vying for a piece of the action. It was reported this January that the list of countries hoping to license the rights to the concept included Italy, China, Thailand and (gasp) Singapore. It will probably take years before we see the emergence of SGP48 or PRC48 but the title of first AKB48 spin-off has already gone to the Nagoya based SKE48.

Two weeks since AKB48 released Ponytail to Shushu. The final votes for the 2010 AKB48 Senbatsu election are in and the numbers tallied. Presented are the member rankings for this year that were announced only hours ago. The results will surprise!

Ponytail to Shushu is AKB48′s newest single after their recent chart topping album Kamikyokutachi. First press versions of the single contain the ballot cards for this year’s member election. As a result, Ponytail to Shushu has sold more than 500,000 copies since its release last week, making it the best selling CD this year (after Arashi’s Monster). It also takes the cake for the highest first week sales for any female artist ever.

Majisuka Gakuen (マジスカ学園) is a midnight drama staring AKB48 that was recently aired in Japan back in March. Majisuka Rock & Roll, the B-Side from AKB48′s last single, served as the show’s theme song while the single itself, Sakura no Shiori was the drama’s ending theme. Majisuka Gakuen roughly translates to English as “Are you serious? Academy”. Not unlike other late night dramas, its a nonsensical show with little literary value, tolerable only by hardcore fans of the cast.

With a group of 48 members, it is really difficult for non-fans to tell apart one AKB48 girl from the next. Based off a public poll conducted late last year, this is a listing of the most popular members. A summary of each idol will hopefully help new viewers identify some of the members in the future.

On April 2010 AKB48 released Kamikyokutachi (神曲たち) to major success. Kamikyokutachi (which literally translates to God Tunes) is their second major album after 2008′s “Best Of” set list. It sold a godly 300,000 copies within its first week and charted number one on global charts.

AKB48′s latest single River was released on October 21st. I had pre-ordered my copy but it took me a while to get it since Yan helped to collect it. He needed to get a couple of singles from Ikimonogakari. River is probably AKB48′s most popular single right now, having sold more than 200,000 copies so far. It’s currently Japan’s second most sold single this year by any female artist.

Iiwake Maybe is AKB48′s 13th major release. It is especially notable for a variety of reasons, the first being that is featured a fan elected lineup of the top 21 girls for 2009. It was also voted AKB48′s most popular song last year. Due to continual use of Iiwake Maybe’s uniforms in performances and press, the outfit also remains AKB48′s most iconic getup.

10nen Sakura/10年桜 (pronounced Junen Sakura) is AKB48′s 10th major single and the 13th overall. The normal single was released in March 2009 by King Record’s You, Be Cool! (an office dedicated entirely to AKB48), while the theater edition was released by the New King Records label.

Two months after signing onto King Records, AKB48 released their 11th physical single, Oogoe Diamond (大声ダイヤモンド). The single was special in that it was the first to feature Matsui Jurina, the front girl of AKB48′s new Nagoya based spin-off, SKE48.  The 11 year old Jurina, even took the center position for the single, displacing AKB48′s own cover girl Maeda Atsuko for the first time in history, to the displeasure of many AKB fans.

In July 2009, while in the midst of changing record labels, AKS (AKB48′s management) released Baby! Baby! Baby! as a digital download for NTT Docomo phones only. Making it AKB48′s 3rd indies and their only digital single.

Romance, Irane (Romance, I Don’t Need It) from the second set of Himawari group songs, was released as AKB48′s 9th single in January 2008. The single sold a total of 23,209 copies during its 5 weeks on the Oricon charts. Despite the title, the songs lyrics voice the conflicting thoughts of a girl uncertain about love, rather than a declaration of independence.

Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka? (夕陽を見ているか？/ Are You Watching the Sunset?) is AKB48′s 8th single and their second as part of the combined Himawari group. It’s a bittersweet but comforting melody appropriate for its fall release, the lyrics reflect upon daily troubles and shortcomings, while motivating the listener to press on.

To counter busying schedules, it was decided in June 2007, that all three AKB48 teams were to be dissolved into a single group. And on the 1st of July, the newly formed Himawari (Sunflower) group began performing their new stage, which took the name of it’s main song, Boku no Taiyou.

Boku no Taiyou (僕の太陽) was released as AKB48′s 7th single and the theme song for the anime adaption of the Australian novel Deltora Quest. Boku no Taiyou translates literally to “My Sun”, though it is suggested in the video that it was meant to transliterate as “My Sunshine”.The song itself is pretty standard pop fare, with cheery motivational lyrics. Not that it’s a bad thing

On July 18th 2007, AKB48 released their next single BINGO!. It would be the first release to include the recently formed Team B into the mix. 18 members across the 3 teams were selected to participate in the single and all 46 girls (at the time) joined in the filming of BINGO!’s music video.

Most of BINGO!’s Senbatsu were familiar faces by now. Newcomer Watanabe Mayu joined the other girls in white at the forefront. Kashiwagi Yuki and founding Team A’s Hirajima Natsumi were the other two representatives for Team B. BINGO! would also be the only time where Oku Manami, AKB48′s youngest member was featured as a Senbatsu member.

AKB48′s next single, Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou (軽蔑していた愛情) continued with their new gritty image but one upped the last by touching upon not just one but multiple taboo topics. The song (which translates to “Scorned Love”) voiced a school girl’s experience with the problematic Japanese education system, school bullying, teen suicide and even lesbianism.

Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou’s PV would be the first of many AKB48 videos to be directed by the experienced, Takahashi Eiki. At the start of the video, we see Oshima Yuko on the edge of a rooftop. Scenes from what seems like the aftermath of a tragedy, are juxtaposed against flashbacks and insidious messages, to visualize the song’s lyrics.

Now part of DefStar Records, AKB48 began producing singles on a 3 month basis. Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (制服が邪魔をする), was the surprising followup release to AKB48′s major debut. Translated as “The uniform is getting in the way”, Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru drew public attention with it’s controversial music video.

This time only a select group of 14 members appear and sing in the single’s release. The Senbatsu were made up of familiar faces from past singles, with the exception of Team K’s Masuda Yuka. By this time, Narita Risa had been completely phased out in favor of Shinoda Mariko.

Following Skirt, Hirari AKB48 got their break when they signed up with Sony Music Entertainment’s DefStar Records. And in October 2006, the group released their first major single, Aitakatta (会いたかった/I wanted to meet you).

A total of 21 girls were chosen for the single, consisting of both founding members, as well as new faces from the newly formed Team K. Most of the original Sukahira Seven stand at the forefront of Aitakatta but despite the previous concept of keeping a core team of leads, Narita Risa and Nakanishi Rina were pushed back in favor of Shinoda Mariko and Oshima Yuko.

Four months after Sakura no Hanabiratchi, AKB48 released their second indies single, a cheeky song from their stage performances called Skirt, Hirari (スカート、ひらり, Skirt Flutter).

Skirt, Hirari is significant in that it was the first AKB48 single where only a core group of girls would perform. This first Senbatsu (select) team consisted of 7 members: Kojima Haruna, Narita Risa, Maeda Atsuko, Takahashi Minami, Itano Tomomi, Nakanishi Rina and Oshima Mai. The girls were referred to as the Sukahira Seven (abridged from Skirt Hirari) and were meant to be the designated leads of AKB48. Here they are identifiable by the red uniforms.

Sakura no Hanabiratchi (桜の花びらたち) is AKB48′s first indies release. The title of the song translates as “Cherry Blossom Petals”, a ballad set to the bittersweet theme of graduation, despite being the group’s debut song.

Step back to Feburary 2006, where Japan’s “Otaku Boom” was in full swing. Producer Akimoto Yasushi had already begun riding the trend with Akihabara48, the world’s first pop idol group targeted towards otaku.

For the past two months the group had been performing daily at their theater in Akihabara. The shows attracted a small number of obsessive fans, who were won over by the idols who you could meet. Still in its infancy, the group carried out this concept to the fullest. Patrons could greet the girls at the cafe outside their theater, have meals together or even exchange video calls.

In Akimoto’s own words, AKB48′s concept was to create a classroom feel to the group, so that otaku could relive the feeling of their youth. Which is also why (again in AkiP’s words), not all the girls were chosen for their looks.

With this release, AKB48 aimed to spread word of their existence to the more normal public. Both Sakura no Hanabiratachi and it’s B-side Dear My Teacher appeared as theme songs for television programs, no doubt due to Akimoto’s connections.

Maeda has not said much about her singing career after graduation. She has stated multiple times that she wants to make her mark as an actress, and few have really balanced the role of actor and singer well. This single seems to be a mutually beneficial parting gift for both parties: she will be associated one last time with the AKB family, and at the same time gets to satisfy the fans.

Kimi wa Boku da as a track will probably not wow anyone. The song veers away from the usual AKB song formula of hooks strung together, instead focusing on the entirety of the song. This takes away any sort of punch from the song, and as a result, no lines in the song really stand out. While this may seem counterintuitive, it does make for a pleasant song, and is mellow enough to not get on anyone’s nerves.

AKB48 releases their long awaited fourth album on the 15 August. Its title 1830m, alludes to the distance from the AKB48 theater to the girls’ destination, Tokyo Dome. AKB48 albums tend to be full of already released content, and as such rarely worth it for non-diehard fans. We take a look at 1830m and see if it’s the case here as well.

The album is notable for a variety of reasons, the most obvious of which is the title. The group’s official blog title is loosely translated as ‘The Path to Tokyo Dome’, and 1830m’s release only weeks before the momentous concerts at Tokyo Dome; according to leader Takahashi Minami, AKB48 is at a turning point now, with the album being the last one that also has ace Maeda Atsuko in it. Symbolically, 1830m is AKB48′s most important album yet.

The front and back covers for the 2CD/DVD version

AKB48 Satsujin Jiken Manga aka AKB48 Murder Case is a detective manga series adapted from the all-female Japanese idol group’s “Murder Mystery” commercials for Glico’s “Ice no Mi” candy campaign. In the story, AKB48 members discover the body of fellow idol Kato Rena. Maeda Atsuko arrives at the murder scene and begins to handle the case. All 89 current members of the idol group become suspects. The manga series will be 9 chapters long.

You can read this manga here.

AKB48′s new Team B debuts at the theater today on the 21st of May. Team B was most affected by the recent reshuffle, with only 3 original members remaining after the change (Watanabe Mayu, Kashiwagi Yuki and Hirajima Natsumi). Here’s an introduction to the members of the brand new Team B.

The old Team B was the last of AKB48′s three teams formed and has been known previously for being the overall youngest and most energetic team. With many of the team’s focal members leaving for the other groups, it is still unknown if the new Team B will preserve this image.

33. Watanabe Mayu (Mayuyu)

Coming in at #4 on last year’s popularity election, Watanabe Mayu is Team B’s most popular member. A title she has held on to firmly for the past 3 years.

Watanabe Mayu was first introduced as one of the lead girls in AKB48′s 6th single Bingo!, three months after the formation of Team B. Since then, she has been featured prominently in all singles.

At only 16, Mayuyu (as fans call her) is actually one of AKB48′s youngest members. Fortunately for Watanabe, she isn’t depicted in a childish manner like the other junior members. Instead, she is known for her ever cheery personality.

Historically, Watanabe was famous for her knack for getting injured. She broke her leg only one month after joining AKB48. Watanabe returned after 2 months, only to injure her right arm this time. Instead of questioning her motor skills, fans found Mayu’s frailty endearing. Watanabe’s photographs skyrocketed in price, out valuing even Maeda Atsuko’s.

Watanabe is part of the Production Ogi company. She is known for being friends with the other Production Ogi girls in AKB48 like Hirajima Natsumi and Minegishi Minami. Mayu is particularly close to former teammate Oota Aika and even cried during Oota’s transfer to Team A. She shares a blog with Oota here.

34. Kashiwagi Yuki (Yukirin)

 Kashiwagi Yuki first applied for the auditions to find AKB48′s Team A and was shortlisted for an interview. However, she did not make the long trip from Kagoshima to Tokyo for the interview (Kagoshima is at the southern end of Japan’s southernmost island).

During the formation of Team K, Yuki applied again but failed the auditions. She then participated in Morning Musume’s 8th generation auditions and was one of the final 25 girls chosen. Mitsui Aika was chosen to join Morning Musume instead though. Determined not to give up, Kashiwagi Yuki joined the auditions for AKB48′s final team and passed. She debut in April 2007 as Team B’s captain.

As captain, Yuki often shares center stage with Watanabe Mayu. She is one of Team B’s strongest singers but is incredibly stiff when it comes to dancing.

During last year’s elections, Kashiwagi ranked #9 on the popularity charts. During last April though, Yuki finally found herself a spot at Watanabe Entertainment, the same agency that handles otaku queen Nakagawa Shoko. With the additional coverage she received in the past year, we can foresee Kashiwagi placing at a much better position in this year’s elections.

Ever since joining Watanabe Entertainment, Yuki has been appearing rather frequently in gravure shots for magazines. Last September, she released her first photobook to resounding success, coming in at #1 on the annual TBS Rankings.

You can follow Yuki’s daily adventures at here blog here.

35. Kasai Tomomi (Tomo)

Former Team K’s Kasai Tomomi is staple member featured in AKB48′s singles. As the group’s 10th most popular member, Kasai is surely one of the most valuable additions to Team B this year.

Kasai stands out among other members for her sultry eyes. A mention of her droopy eyes as her charm point is actually part of her introduction at the start of each concert. As one of the lead singers in Team K, Kasai played and continues to play an active role in concerts. She sings with one of the highest pitched squeaks. Like many of the girls in AKB48, Kasai is able to play a musical instruments. She plays the Taiko. Kasai is also known for being a self confessed train otaku.

Kasai Tomomi is AKB’s other famous Tomomi. Both Kasai and Itano Tomomis signed to the impressive Hori Pro agency back in 2007. They are also part of the company’s futsal team, Xanadu loves NHC. Xanadu is known for being one of the top celebrity futsal teams. Xanadu players wear a modified jersey of Japan’s leading baseball team, Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants as the team is lead by former star pitcher Miyamoto Kazutomo.

Kasai wears the number 48 jersey in Xanadu. Here’s a link to her Xanadu blog.

36. Oku Manami (Maachan)

 The creepy moving doll is known as Oku Manami. At only 15 years of age, the half Japanese, half Italian Oku is AKB48′s youngest member. More surprisingly is that Oku actually joined AKB48 during the formation of Team K back in 2006 when she was only 11.

Despite a 10 year age gap, Oku is known for being closest with AKB48′s oldest members Shinoda Mariko and Noro Kayo (who is now SDN48′s captain). She seems to get along well with former teammate Ono Erena as well, who was the member closest to her age after Masuyama Kayano left. Though she is friendly in person, Oku has been known to be rather reserved on stage. This results in her staring rather creepily at the audience. Only recently is she slowly getting more comfortable with performances.

Oku shares a blog with some of the other office48 girls here.

37. Ishida Haruka (Harukyan)

Ono Erena lookalike Ishida Haruka, is one of the training members promoted into AKB48 this year. Ishida joined the 5th generation research team in 2008 and has been training for over two years. As such she is one of the the slowest girls ever to be promoted into AKB48. Ishida is known for being an idol and anime otaku. She also practiced judo in elementary and middle school. Ishida shares the same birthday as ex-teammate Tanabe Miku.

38. Kitahara Rie (Rie)

 

AKB48′s Team K was introduced during the group’s 3rd single back in 2006. Historically, Team K was blessed with a more mature lineup when compared to Team A. As a result, AKB’s new gang was sexier, spunkier and just more cool. All of this praise, coming from a Team A fan. This post will provide an introduction to the members in the new Team K.

Team K has benefited the most from the recent change in members. The team retains most of its core girls, while welcoming many popular new faces. Many of Team K’s current members rank favorably in last year’s elections. In fact, after the shuffle the majority of girls performing in singles now belong to Team K. Here’s a run through of the AKB48 members in the newly formed Team K.

17. Oshima Yuko (Yuuko)

As the only other contender for the #1 spot, Oshima Yuko is Team K’s equivalent to Maeda Atsuko. At 22 years old, Oshima is one of AKB48′s older members. She is best known for her cheery personality, dimply smile and prominent squirrel teeth.

Yuko began her career as an gravure idol at the age of 13. She was part of the failed idol group Doll’s Vox back in 2005 before becoming one of the founding members of AKB48′s Team K in 2006. Since the formation of Team K, Yuko has been placed at the forefront of singles together with Maeda and Takahashi. She is currently the second most popular member after Maeda.

No stranger to show business, Oshima Yuko is one of the most natural girls on stage. She seems to truly enjoy her job, pulling off her performances with a certain playfulness. Off stage, Yuko comes across as a genuinely fun person to be around. It is her unique personality that makes her a favorite among fans.

Oshima Yuko’s blog can be found here on Ameba.

18. Akimoto Sayaka (Sayaka)

The half Filipino, half Japanese Akimoto Sayaka is Team K’s captain. As one of the tallest girls, the boyish Akimoto is known for her intimidating built. This is further emphasized by her black belt in Aikido, which she has been practicing since grade school.

Akimoto Sayaka’s popularity has fluctuated over the years. Together with Miyazawa Sae and Nakanishi Rina, Sayaka was as part of Chocolove, a temporary subgroup created in 2007. The group didn’t kick off and was quickly scrapped after two failed singles. As captain, Akimoto Sayaka is a staple during Team K’s stage performances. Akimoto appears for AKB’s more energetic singles but is given little screen time in promo videos. She is also is left out from the group’s ballad singles.

Despite her scary appearance and fact that she is one of the group’s older members, Akimoto Sayaka rarely acts her age. She often performs silly slapstick gags on stage that put her #12 on the popularity charts.

Akimoto Sayaka is part of the office48 agency. A talent group that was created to hold some of the staple Team K members. Outside of AKB48, Sayaka has found some success in modeling for magazines and acting in theater productions.

Her blog can be found here.

19. Itano Tomomi (Tomochin)

 Up until she was fired from AKB48, Kikuchi Ayaka was a participating member of Team B. As one of the original members of Team B, Kikuchi even saw popularity on par with Team B’s cover girl, Watanabe Mayu. Back in 2008 however, Kikuchi found herself amidst a scandal after she was found to be dating one of the fans. She was immediately released from AKB.

After dumping her boyfriend (who was silly enough to release a photo of them together on his blog, causing the scandal), Kikuchi took part in the next auditions and restarted as a training student. After more than a year as an assistant, Kikuchi was promoted back into AKB48 during the recent restructure. Whether Kikuchi Ayaka regains her former glory as one of the A-Side girls is a fate left up to this year’s upcoming elections.

In February, Kikuchi returned to join her Team B friends as part of Production Ogi’s Watarirouka Hashiritai. Their combined blog can be found here.