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AKB 48 stuff - events, erections, etc


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It's nearly time for the all important 'erections'.

 

But before that, this 'handshaking event' incident is jolly shocking isn't it?

 

Serious hat on though, wonder how much $$$ this lot bring in.

 

Apparently, people need to buy CDs and stuff to get to one of these events and/or vote in the erections. So you've got loads of (must surely be mentally disturbed) people buying huge amounts of the same CD. One very dodgy looking dude on the tv now (I'll call him Cherry Boy) with 25 copies of the same CD that he had just bought.

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Yosh...   I will jolly well try.  

No, Cherry Boy was in Akihabara just skulking around looking Like A Virgin.

The lady came out with on of those 'kimochi warui' kind of comments on seeing him.

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From the guardian

 

Two members of the Japanese girl group AKB48 were taken to hospital after being attacked by a man wielding a saw at one of the band's meet-the-fans events, police said on Monday.

Rina Kawaei, 19, and Anna Iriyama, 18, both broke bones in their right hands and received cuts on their arms and heads caused by the 50cm (20in) saw at the event in Iwate in northern Japan.

Reports said the attack came after a mini concert early on Sunday afternoon as fans were lining up to shake hands with performers inside booths.

Kawaei and Iriyama were inside the same booth when a man in the queue suddenly produced a saw, the Yomiuri daily said.

Fans told Japanese media they heard a shriek, apparently from one of the young women, saying "stop it!".

Some of the 100 or so staff and security guards at the event pounced on the attacker and held him until police arrived, reports said.

One fan said Kawaei was covered in blood when she was taken away by medics to a waiting ambulance.

A 24-year-old man, identified as unemployed Satoru Umeta, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.

"We have started questioning the suspect this morning to know details, including his motive," a detective with Iwate prefectural police told AFP.

AKB48 is part talent show, part pop act, a venture in which a pool of more than 100 girls and young women compete for a spot in the limelight when each new hit is released.

The group – one of the most successful acts of all time in monetary terms – is built on being accessible to its legion of fans, appearing at regular events all over the country to shake hands and pose for pictures, as well as on social networking sites.

Members must strive constantly for popularity if they wish to retain their spot, and girls who contravene strict rules – such as having boyfriends – are dropped back into the general talent pool.

Where line-up changes often sound the death-knell for musical acts, the frequent rotation of AKB's members is key to keeping them at the top of Japan's pop scene.

Fans are currently voting for the girl they want to lead the collective for the next year, using ballot slips only available with the purchase of their newest single. The results will be announced in a nationally televised extravaganza on 7 June.

Violent crime is rare in Japan. Carrying a blade without reason is banned, while possession of guns is strictly limited.

 

....and one of the comments:

 

This is all over the news here in Japan. Forget Ukraine and Syria...

Much as I feel terribly sorry for the two injured members, AKB48 is specifically aimed at young Japanese men who suffer from varying degrees of social isolation, from harmless geeks who are too shy to get a girlfriend, right through to the true sociopaths who become completely obsessed with these young girls.

Japan has a real problem in this area. It is all too acceptable in society for girls to cultivate an aura of Lolita-like girlish sexuality, and for young men to remain equally childlike and immature well into their twenties.

I can see the benefits that come with the absence of the pressure that exists in the West for kids to grow up and prove how adult they are as quickly as possible, but Japan seems to have taken this to the opposite extreme, which is how AKB48 become bestsellers and 24 year old men feel no shame in collecting toys and stickers of their favourite members and doing imbecilic coordinated dance routines at their concerts.

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Haha even in the spirit of japanese cheesiness surely trying to convince people that 48 girls can sing in unison and not sound like a choir is impossible.

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Making money specifically from the weak seems to be a new business strategy. Its the same with apps and mobile games.

 

Games like Candy Crush and Puzzles and Dragons are given away free but are specifically designed to screw as much money as possible out of gullible types through in-app purchases.Power ups and personalization of characters, stuff like that. The games have levels where it is almost impossible to win without massive luck or buying power ups. You end up with gullible users paying hundreds of dollars to play the "free" game, Candy Crush. Ten years ago, the model was to try and make a great game so you could sell PSP cartridges for twenty dollars a time. Now, its get folks hooked on a simple giveaway that frustrates them into paying time and time again to progress within the game.

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There is some great stuff about monetization of apps and games on a games industry website called Gama Sutra. Some of the things they do are really devious.

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I like candy crush, up to level 168, and I probably spend 10 -15 minutes a day playing it. BUT, have not, nor do I intend to ever buy something in the game. It's fun, but not pay money fun.

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Well, the erections are on Saturday and Fuji TV has it all on LIVE.

 

It's all jolly exciting.

 

Prepare a box of tissues for.... the highly emotional speeches.

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Pie eater, I'll be out at Tokyo Dome watching baseball on Saturday night. Are you able to live blog the results so I don't miss anything?

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