Category: AKB0048

So, the finale for AKB0048. I’m going to combine these final four episodes in one entry.

Episode 23… did not start out well. I have no idea what happened here, but this episode felt really weird in which the characters suddenly detoured in this weird mushroom world for no reason other than to stall time. And I can understand building up for the finale, but when the characters randomly started singing with these weird creatures I can only imagine Shoji Kawamori poking his nose into the script here demanding some Macross references or something.

Things got much better in episode 24 which surprisingly focused on the fathers of Nagisa and Chieri. That had a surprising amount of depth to it, especially from Nagisa’s father, and I really liked that. The creators also with this dropped the whole Chieri’s father being evil-subplot, so I’m glad that the creators did not intend that as the eventual climax.

What they did intend as the climax became clear with episode 25, as people started diving into the other world: the AKB48 Theater. It really does symbolize well how this series has changed. The first season of AKB was all about criticizing the idol business. The second season however, is about celebrating it and all of its weirdness. The way in which it showed where AKB started was a really big hint to that for me. Personally I like the first season over the second because of that. But this was not bad either. There is plenty to like in the second season, just not as much. I mean I quite liked how the people from Akibastar changed as well with Des getting more on the foreground again.

Episode 26 had something to live up to, because my favorite episode so far was the final episode of the first season. So did the second season live up to that? Well, it spelled out its message a bit too literally. “Please don’t hate entertainment.” That message alone would have been incredibly cheesy out of context, unfortunately. Within context, I can see what they’re getting from, but I do feel that it lacks substance compared to the first season.

I also feel that Nagisa becoming a successor…. came a bit from out of nowhere. Suddenly they’re like “oh, here she is now!” It’s too sudden and forced for someone who used to be unable to do anything for a very long time. The ending was cheesy, though I did enjoy the part where Chieri just dived into that spaceship as if it was nothing, to tell everyone to stop fighting.

I think that this was a case of Mari Okada taking up too many series this season. AKB, Sakurasou and Zetsuen no Tempest all had endings that could have been more and lacked a bit of creativity. If she had more time then she could have done something interesting with them. With this though, she was oveworked. Ideally, she needs to work on two series at the same time, and no more. She has shown that she’s able to handle those and deliver some really great things. Three is too much though…
Rating: 4/8 (Enjoyable)

I’ve often noticed that series can get a bit boring when they tend to get more epic. I think that that’s what happened to me for AKB0048. The biggest reason is that it started off so original and different, but there are only so many ways in which you can deliver an epic action scene. Also, these two episodes did not have what originally made me like AKB0048 so much: the way in which it had such a critical eye for the idol business. I originally thought that this would not matter, but its absence does show in these two episodes..

I did like how the focus on this episode went to the center novas, and what happened to them, especially the photographer who went over to the dark side in order to attempt to get the best friend back, not to mention the way in which the Yuuko just blew up with her performance. That’s the kind of change that I did appreciate. The character development for the good guys in this episode was good.

DES though… are pretty lame villains. They are the kind of villains who are willing to destroy entire cities for the sake of progression. On its own not really bad, but we’ve seen these villains so many times before. They’re not fleshed out in the slightest. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, there’s no depth to them. That’s not really the best group of antagonists to feel sorry for.
Rating: 4,5/8 (Good)

In an attempt to catch up I’m going to combine two episodes in one for this one. But really: the only reason why I’m slow with this is my schedule. This really was a major episode for the characters. And not just one of them, but a whole bunch.

For a long while I kept wondering why Nagisa was the main character. This episode she got her chance, and she showed that it would be for her stupidity. She’s the only one stupid enough to suddenly make such a giant declaration when everyone is trying to be perfect. An incident that is bound to be able to get some publicity since the rules of AKB can be so strict sometimes. And yet she tries so hard. Cutting off one’s hair is a gret symbol for character-development.

And then there is Mimori, and I now see what the creators were trying to do with her. She grew from a walking boob joke to someone really interesting to follow in the way that she continues to grow, but in the end sacrificed too much, taking her body into neglect.

Kanata and Shiori meanwhile finally had a little moment together again in order to develop their relationship, and in particular the problem that Kanata still has not become a successor. Then there is the talk of the new Center Nova, who Hikari and Shiori are working towards becoming. It’s still build-up at this point, but the characters do a great job of showing why it’s so important for them.

And I think that is the strength of this second season. Like I expected, the focus is less on criticizing the idol business (it’s still there, though), but more on the characters. And so far, it has really succeeded in bringing out the emotions of all of the new characters. The huge case makes sure that it can keep switching between all of them and their stories. And it’s doing a pretty good job of developing them all. It’s the thing with series with a huge cast: you can’t have characters that are as well developed as with series with a small cast. The trick is the big picture: give everyone attention, and make the cast come alive. Highlight a few characters as the main characters, but don’t excessively focus on them at the expense of others. AKB does that pretty well.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Once while zapping, in a lazy mood, I saw one of those model talent hunt shows which required its models to bungee jump. I can only imagine that this episode meant to poke fun at that completely silly and pointless practice with the end of this episode, otherwise I cannot fathom the bizarre set-up of having a gigantic hole with at the bottom a giant power-off switch. Nor why DES mechanics have a wide availability of bungee jump cords available… or perhaps…

What’s interesting is that this episode revealed this series to be one giant joke. Des has been profiting from AKB0048 just as well, and it’s using its entertainment ban and offensive actions to make huge amounts of cash, not to mention that apparently they’re very interested in Kiraras. Because of that, this it explains why they never really were able to take out AKB0048: because they never tried. The question now remains how much of this show ended up scripted. Knowing Mari Okada… yeah.

In the meantime, more character-development, this time for the useless one. It showed that yeah, being useless also has its charm, especially when something pays off. The character-development for the rest of the cast also showed because of this: they were able to goow up and become more dependable. I mean just look at them: they just ran in and grabbed a bunch of machine guns and started shooting stuff… yeah. It’s not like my suspense of disbelief was still in one piece for this series. I do appreciate however that they completely failed at driving a mecha. In the context of that scene it worked well. They didn’t need to drive it accurately, it just needed to make a big mess. Which it did. DES probably left the keys in on purpose or something…
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Now this was a tear-fest! An entire episode dedicated to the general elections. There were just so many heightened emotions as everyone got announced and had to make an acceptance speech. The creators stuffed in as much emotion as possible here. That’s the advantage of having a big cast: you really can pull off episodes like this and make it very interesting to watch. With a main cast of five people this would never have been possible.

Chieri was probably the only one who went a little over the top. It’s okay with being over the top, and I know that she was very emotionally distressed there, but to have her make the speech as if she were having an orgasm… that’s not really the right way to do it. The point that the creators wanted to make with her: that she accepted her own position for the sake of standing in the spotlights despite feeling bad about it. It would have worked so much better with a bit more subtlety on it.

Beyond that though, this really had the amount of happiness and emotion. The main characters who really were glad to have made it rocked (number one and number two, after all of the build up together worked really well). But also the small scenes with some of the minor characters worked. Characters who may in the past have had only a few moments were developed here. Everyone acted so differently here, a great way to flesh them out.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

I hate, hate, hate CG dance sequences. Every single time they’re done, they look incredibly fake and out of place. But even that I can’t fault AKB0048, becaus its CG dance sequences are the best I’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong, they still stand out. But they’re kept short and concise, and the dance choreography is actually worth something.

Setting that aside, I still have no clue why this show manages to move me so. I mean, I am a fan of this series and all, but still I loved the end of the episode even thoughit was just the general election for the characters, preceeded by another performance for the idols.

Also, as for the walking boob joke. I have no idea whehter the creators heard me or something, but she showed a totally different and actually quite inspiring side of her in this episode. Heck, I really loved the climax when it was her who got to stand in the spotlights, instead of Chieri or Nagisa. In fact, both of them really had interesting roles in this episode: Nagisa still is in her underdog position, with no signs yet of moving out of it. Chieri meanwhile got to find out first-hand what it feels like to become popular, just because you’ve got influential connections. They’re still there: the subtle bites at the fans of the idols.

By the way, this series also sees its EDs as an extension of the series. The ending of this episode was wonderful because of how the ED extended the big surprise that preceeded it, instead of continuing with the usual ED. This is something that is easy to do, yet most series are too rigid for it. It’s a sign of good production and people using their heads there.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Now that we’ve got the obligatory string of first episodes out of the way, it’s time to focus on what really matters this season. I still say that the Winter of 2013 sucks, because in terms of original content there is very little that stands out, not to mention the lack of variety. In the end, for anime to move forward, this is the most important for a season overall, otherwise we’ll just get stuck in a string of endless sequels.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of great stuff in store the upcoming three months: the amount of sequels and continuing series that will all stand out on their own way is amazing here. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many of them at the same time that managed to impress me like this. And this is series that all deserve their length they need to become even better, rather than being just some corporate sell-out. That’s the theme between the 10 series I’m blogging this season anyway: no pointless padding!

Anyway, AKB. This time we’re introduced to the the absolute horror. The thing that’s even worse than watching a bunch of idols: VARIETY TV! I really hate those kinds of shows. In the Netherlands they are already utter crap, but I can only imagine how boring they must be with Japan’s standards. So yeah, when this show started to poke fun at them inbetween the lines, it did make my day. First the characters being utter crap at it, and afterwards them succeeding by doing what? Having fun at dodgeball and losing their clothes? Speaking of which, Mimori has turned even more into a walking boob joke. Go fix that in the upcoming episodes.

Inbetween the promotional activities, there also was this plot going on. Most important twists here revolved around Chieri, and how she suddenly became incredibly popular after last week. And yeah, the reason behind this was pretty much her backstory: she made the news, on top of being a famous daugher. Because of that she caught the attention of a lot of people. Her speech did the rest. The question now is what her father is planning: he’s obviously trying to use her popularity now, but what for?
Rating: 5/8 (Great)