Trip to AKB48 Singapore Official Cafe #2

Actually should be more of 'Trip to outside AKB48 Singapore Official Cafe' but well never mind about that. Went down today not for the special visit (No money to buy tickets for the event =[) but to actually get two sets of Rena photos I reserved with a friend who is going for the cafe special visit. =p

Rena <3 - She's my oshi (favourite) in SKE48 >w<

Oh yeah, not to forget, something appeared in my mail box today...

Aahhhh... My kamioshi <3<3<3 Akicha~! >w< Won it in eBay. Rather disappointed to see a dent near the bottom right corner >=(

Trip to AKB48 Singapore Official Cafe

Initially I only planned to meet up with a friend to get the Singapore April Theater Akicha photo which i don't have, and another friend from the Girlsof48 forum to get the Team Z photos of Akicha, Rena and Yuko.

Got the bottom right one today. One more to go to complete my April set!

Akicha Team Z photo

Rena Team Z photo

and two Yuko Team Z photos!

I noticed that an AKB ga Ippai banner was set up in front of the AKB48 Singapore Official Cafe, which was slightly larger than life-size, while I was waiting outside the cafe for the friend from the forum.

Heard it was just put up, a couple of minutes before I arrived! =D
Bump into two more friends outside the cafe and we had some fun posing with the banner and taking photos XD
We had a short chat, with my forum friend too, outside the cafe before we decided to just take a seat inside the cafe while ordering some floats

 They changed the photos at the entrance to Mocchi, Suuchan and Ranran, who would be the three guests for the special visit tomorrow!

Ordered the SKE48 float. Tastes real good ^w^ Though I don't know what the actual flavour is! xp

We stayed in the cafe for rather long, chatting and looking at photos, till even the menu changed from 'Afternoon Tea Specials' to 'Dinner' =p Whe did not order dinner though. Don't have that much spare cash for my case.

With the receipt from the cafe we were able to try out the current promotion by Zone-X, where any purchase in *Scape would entitle the receipt holder a certain number of chances on the UFO machine on the 2nd floor, if I remember correctly. Not really sure of the exact details. My friend managed to get a plush from the machine and won an opportunity to have a photo taken with the plush by Zone-X, which would then appear in the poster outside their store entrance at the 3rd floor. Hahax! Not exactly free eh? XD

He also placed a Mayuyu photo on the plush when the photo was taken XD

Shall go there again one day to spot my friend's photo on the poster!

Went down to collect my Akicha file

Won this file through an event on a AKB48 forum that I frequent visit, Girls of 48. In the competition, one is required to eat as much don as he/she can through out the whole of July and post a picture of the each don on that event's thread. One valid picture earns the person one point. The accumulated points is then used at the start of August to bid for the files one wants, from a list of files featuring different AKB48 members. My oshi is Akicha so I poured all my points there, and well, seems that there was not competition for the Akicha file, I won it straightaway.

Collected the file from two of the global moderators of the forum at *Scape this afternoon. Thanks to the administrator for the event and thanks to the two moderators for passing it to me! ^^

Went into the AKB48 official shop to just look around, while still pondering whether to get the Oya Masana and Ogiso Shiori photo sets and in the end, I went ahead to get the Oya Masana set first. =X oops!

This month's SKE48 costume is very pretty ^^ 'Pareo wa Emerald' (literally emerald-colored pareo)!

June Photo Set Sales (Part 3)

Last week Saturday was good, Sunday was bad, and today for the last final wave of the June photos, I decided to hang my Team A charm on my bag, in hope of better luck XD Amazingly, it worked! Today was so much better than even last week Saturday!!

Bought the AKB48 Theater Vol. 4 - AKB48 3rd Stage 3pm time-slot photo. Sadly the 7pm one was sold out. I am more prominent on the 7pm one as I sat more front...

... plus I was blocked by a certain bigger sized guy who jumped with two hands in the air =_= Blocked my Paruru board.

Anyways, today luck was really on my side! Maybe thanks to the Team A charm that I hung up? ^w^ The first photo of the pack (which can be seen directly without opening - the thing is at the counter one can only say the Team the person want and the counter take for him/her, so it still need depend on luck for what the first piece is) was...

... Akicha!!!

OMG! I was totally jumping with joy! XD It was then followed by Shinoda Mariko, Nakaya Sayaka, Oya Shizuka and Nakagawa Haruka.
Did a lot of trading here and there and I guess I made quite some loses, some small gains too, but I got what I want in the end so it's okay. Mainly traded to help people complete their sets or at least near complete.

What I end up with for today,

Traded two Akicha June photos over thus now only left one to complete this June set!

Didn't really intended to collect Haachan but since I have two already from last week and through helping others complete their set (or near complete) I got one more, I decided to find the remaining piece to complete this set ^^

Got one of the Nakayan photos from my own pack, another from a friend for free, and another from the random trades I had. Now only left one more to complete this set!

Thanks for the photo! ^^

Got both of these Wasamin photos (SG Theater June photo and Chance no Junban photo respectively) through trading. Don't have much of her photo as I have been struggling just to complete my Akicha, but once I get any Wasamin photos, it most would be stuck with me XD

 Sasshi photo <3 Very fond of this one. She's getting more and more pretty by month and in this piece in particular, she looks very kawaii~~ >//<

Got this Shiichan (Oya Shizuka) photo from my pack and through trading, I got another exact same one. That exact same one was then traded away for... I forgot =X for one of the photos mentioned above but forgot which one.

This Harugon photo is also from my pack and quite a lot people wanted to trade with me for this photo, but sadly they don't have what I want or interests me =X

Still have been very desperate, finding where the last piece of my Akicha photo June set is but to no avail. Most people who bought Team A went off early and those still lingering around are mostly holding to Team B and Team 4 photos. =[ According to a friend, there would only be 5 sets of each AKB48 member and since 4 people have completed their sets, and I already have three, there should be just left a single remaining Akicha June photo out there, don't know with who. I just have to see if I am lucky enough to find that person so I can make a deal with him/her to get my remaining missing Akicha June photo.

I wish myself all the best! >.<

Did not buy any SKE48 photo sets today as those that I mainly want, Rena, Jurina and Kuumin were all fully sold out last week. Still pondering on Oya Masana and Ogiso Shiori though. =X

The second wave and third wave of June photo sales respectively:
June Photo Set Sales (Part 1)
June Photo Set Sales (Part 2)

AKB48 x PEACH JOHN

It was reported on tokyohive that the fashion brand, 'PEACH JOHN', would be collaborating with three members from AKB48 - 大島優子 (Oshima Yuko), 小嶋陽菜 (Kojima Haruna) and 河西智美 (Kasai Tomomi) - for their new autumn collection, 'Heart Bra'.

'Oshima, Kojima and Kasai will appear in CMs that will air from August 8th til the day “Heart Bras” hits stores. They’ll also be on the cover for the brand’s autumn catalogue, “PJ”, which will be available on August 29th. But before the catalogue becomes available, PEACH JOHN will begin pre-sales for three colors of the “Heart Bra”. The pre-sales have already kicked off, and all purchasers will receive a special poster of limited quantities.

AKB48 was chosen by PEACH JOHN because they felt the girls best embodied the message of the collection, which is “To give Japanese girls full energy!” and “Wishing for every girl’s happiness with the bra.”'

(from tokyohive)

Hmm... so male fans who want to collect the special posters will have to buy a bra... =X

The commercial video:

Ah! 'Flying Get' is used in this CM too! (The previous CM I posted that used 'Flying Get' was for Apaman Shop)

Some photos:

UPDATE (9th August):
First 100 thousand customers would receive a B3 size poster and 15 lucky ones would be getting autographed ones.

SKE48 6th Single at #1 in Oricon Weekly Ranking

SKE48 released their 6th single 'パレオはエメラルド' (Pareo wa Emerald) on 27th July, which is their first single released under avex.

Within the first week, 379,000 copies of the singles were sold, thus entered the Oricon Weekly Ranking at #1. This is not only their second consecutive first place win, it also made them the highest selling AKB48-related group (not counting AKB48), where NMB48’s debut single, '絶滅黒髪少女' (Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo) sold 218,000 copies, and Maeda Atsuko’s solo single 'Flower' at 177,000 copies.

SKE48's 6th Single is also the group's best selling single in within just a week, where their 5th single 'バンザイVenus' (Banzai Venus) sold a total of 273,000 copies.

I started following SKE48 when I stumbled upon their PVs for '青空片想い' (Aozora Kataomoi) and 'ごめんね、SUMMER' (Gomen ne, SUMMER) last year and found them really energetic. Since then, I started listening to all the SKE48 songs from their singles and stage albums.
This single totally blew me off. Not only the cover track is that awesome (ranked 'Pareo wa Emerald' as my most favourite song by SKE48), the B-sides are very good too! Love the PVs for their 6th single a lot too!

Check out my post about the 6th single 'パレオはエメラルド' (Pareo wa Emerald) here.

AKB48 Special Visit on 14th August

'News Flash!
AKB48 Official Cafe Singapore Event.
14.08.11(SUN) - AKB48 Special Visit!

Featuring
倉持明日香 (ASUKA KURAMOCHI) - Team A
佐藤すみれ (SUMIRE SATO) - Team B
山内鈴蘭 (SUZURAN YAMAUCHI) - Team 4

More details will be announced shortly. Mark your calendars! ^^'

It seems that special visits is going to be a regular event at the AKB48 Official Cafe Singapore. Good news is this way fans in Singapore would get more chances to interact with the AKB48 members and well, the bad news is that our wallets might not be able to keep up - at least for me, who don't have a regular job yet and collects the AKB48 and SKE48 photos. >_<

Would be updating here once more details are released.

UPDATE (7th August):

'There will be 4 sessions planned for the day. Timings are as follows:

Session 1 11:30 ~
Session 2 14:00 ~
Session 3 16:25 ~
Session 4 18:50 ~

Each session is approximately 1hr 30mins each. Each session includes a set menu meal item, together with a meet and greet session with our special guests!

Limited session tickets are available at S$35 each.

Session tickets go on sale from 6pm (SUN) 07.08.11 at the AKB48 Official Café!'

'For overseas fans who are unable to purchase the tickets physically, we are setting aside a number of Special Visit tickets for balloting. Please drop us an e-mail at contact@akb48.com.sg to apply for the balloting, along with the following details:

Name
Nationality
Passport number (for verification)
Contact number
Preferred session (1/2/3/4)

See you ^^'

UPDATE (8th August):

Session 4 tickets are sold out

(All information from AKB48 Singapore Facebook Page)

DiVA opening auditions for a new member

DiVA was formed with the concept of 'Dance & Vocal Unit from AKB48' and currently consists of AKB48 members, 秋元才加 (Sayaka Akimoto), 増田有華 (Yuka Masuda), 宮澤佐江 (Sae Miyazawa) and 梅田彩佳 (Ayaka Umeda).

Applicants, females of course, of age 18 to 23 and with dance experience are welcomed for the auditions - which would consist of three rounds: applications, interviews, followed by dancing and singing in front of DiVA. The successful candidate would then be able to sign with Office48 and join DiVA. Applications ends at 20th August.

This would be the first time an AKB48 sub-group would consist of a non-AKB48 member and I am really interested in how it would turn out. Hope the candidate chosen is real good as DiVA is a really awesome sub-group in terms of their dance and vocals, considering that the current members have great vocals.

News from:

Natalie

Tokyohive

UPDATE (20th December 2011):

6 new members were introduced at the AKB48's 'Kohaku Uta Gassen', Kasuya Satoko, Futami Yuuki, Furukawa Atsuko, Fukuno Ramu, Inoue Yuina, and Yamagami Ayaka.

AKB48's new campaign CM for ‘Apaman Shop’ (アパマンショップ×AKB48)

Finding for a nice home? The AKB48 girls are here to help!
The new campaign is launched with a CM featuring AKB48 members in sparkly blue uniforms and perform their newest single, “Flying Get“ with a rather amusing acrobatic stunt at the start. The sudden appearance of Acchan, Yuko and Yukirin, followed by their stunt, really made me laugh for awhile! It's so sudden and amusing, especially the couple of flips they made which I have been wondering if they really did that. Looks very neat and in sync. =o

Participating members from AKB48: 前田敦子 (Maeda Atsuko), 大島優子 (Oshima Yuko), 柏木由紀 (Kashiwagi Yuki), 篠田麻里子 (Shinoda Mariko), 渡辺麻友 (Watanabe Mayu), ​高橋みなみ (Takahashi Minami), 板野友美 (Itano Tomomi), 指原莉乃 (Sashihara Rino), 宮澤佐江 (Miyazawa Sae), 高城亜樹 (Takajo Aki), 北原里英​ (Kitahara Rie), 峯岸みなみ (Minegishi Minami).

CM on Youtube:

Making of the CM:

Official Site: http://www.apamanshop.com/AKB48/

UPDATE (10th August):

'Starting in September, some fans will have a chance to experience life alongside some of the central members of AKB48… sort of.

This is all possible thanks to the power of ‘AKB48 Voice Rooms‘ which are special rental apartments that will feature the voices of members such as Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko. They will be available across Japan and will give fans a chance to feel as if they’re living with their favorite members.

The top twelve members from the recent “3rd Senbatsu Election” are the main image characters for the campaign, and this interesting campaign is a part of AKB48’s endorsement with ‘Apaman Shop‘. According to ‘Apaman Shop’ these special ‘AKB48 Voice Rooms’ will have sound sensors installed in various parts of the room. Just imagine passing through one of the sensors and hearing Maeda Atsuko say, “Good morning!” or Oshima Yuko greet you by saying, “Welcome home!“. Other members such as, Shinoda Mariko, Watanabe Mayu, Itano Tomomi, Takahashi Minami, and Kashiwagi Yuki have also recorded various voice overs for this special room’. ‘Apaman Shop’ also revealed that these rooms will be available in limited quantities.

On top of all this, fans can enjoy various interior designs that feature AKB48. For example, you can find shower curtains with life size photos of the members printed on, or you can find towels and hangers with the profile photos of the members printed on them as well. With various interior designs that feature AKB48 and the voice overs that surround your daily life, fans can enjoy an experience in the AKB48 world.'

(From tokyohive, Source&Photo: SANSPO)

Interview with SKE48 by Oricon

For the full interview, visit tokyohive here. Posting this because I found this particular section rather interesting to me:

'Interviewer: By any chance, is there a powerful ‘ame-onna’ (a woman whose presence seems to cause rain) among the members?

Matsui: In the past, I was called ‘ame-onna’. Everyone mistakes me as ‘ame-onna’, but now, I think it’s Rena-chan. Even during the shoot for jacket covers, it was clear the entire time until Rena-chan appeared, it started raining instantly.

Suda: The word ame-onna doesn’t sound too good, it should be ‘mizu no megami-sama’ (the goddess of water)!

Matsui: Alright, from now on, I will be ‘mizu no megami-sama’!

Suda: Once, during an outside event, I made a ‘teru teru bozu’ (paper doll as a charm for good weather) so it wouldn’t rain, and walked around with it in my purse. And yet, it rained… I thought ‘why?’, and realized the ‘teru teru bozu’ was crumpled.

Matsui: Then again, don’t you hang ‘teru teru bozu’?

Suda: Eh? Really?

Kizaki: You didn’t know?

Suda: All this time, I was using it the wrong way. I always carried it around.'

Rena is now known as '水の女神様' (mizu no megami-sama, Goddess of Water)! Shall call her by this if she comes Singapore one day and see what's her reaction! XD

Akarin is so funny here, putting the てるてる坊主 (teruteru bouzu, a paper doll charm for good weather) in a purse and it ended up being crumpled, then thinking that it did not work due to it being crumpled. Only when Rena told her that it's meant to be hung up then she realized she used it the wrong way. XD