AKB48 WTF?

According to AKB48's official blog any person who collects 44 special edition posters that come with their new cd will be selected to attend a 'special gig'.
If it didnt sound bad already the posters that come with the cd are totally random, so even if you bought 44 of the singles which would cost about £380 ($752) ... you still dont have much chance of 'winning'.
With the nature of Wotas I'm sure they will buy this cd in the masses, personally I see this as a rather bizzare and cruel market research experiment on the obsessiveness of idol merchandise.
I do spend alot of money on hello! project, but I would never consider buying 44 copies of the same single ... unless the prize was a cruise holiday around the world with berryz Kobo ... but thats different story.
I have not been a fan of AKB48 for long, but I think I have a good grasp of what they are about, and what strikes me is that they seem to be promoted as a fairly sexualized idol unit ... I'm not saying its a bad thing but there seems to be a mixed age range within the units which would suggest its aiming to reach a wider demographic ... I guess my main concern is about the younger girls singing about underage prostitution.
But enough rant already, recently I got my hands on an AKB48 photobook which is called 'Jump & Cry' ... and supprisingly enough its filled with pictures of the girls 'jumping' and 'crying'.
Heres some examples to show you how odd it is ...






*UPDATE*

DefSTAR Records recently announced a promotional campaign for "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008," the new single from idol unit AKB48. Those buying the single received a poster, randomly selected from 44 different ones, each featuring a member of the group. Any fan who collected all 44 posters would be able to attend a special AKB48 concert.

The campaign attracted a lot of criticism from fans, with some likening the campaign to a scam. On Thursday, DefSTAR updated its website to announce that the special concert has been canceled, due to concerns that the campaign may actually be in violation of laws regarding fair business practices.

The label apologized to fans and stated that they will be accepting returns, starting on Monday.

Link

Japanese school girl?

''A Japanese man was arrested for trespassing this week after turning up at a high school dressed in a girl's uniform and a long wig, local police said.
Thirty-nine-year-old Tetsunori Nanpei told police he had bought the uniform over the Internet and put it on to take a stroll near the school in Saitama, north of Tokyo, on Wednesday, the daily Asahi Shimbun said.
When students standing outside the gates started to scream at the sight of him, he dashed inside the school grounds, hoping to blend in with the crowds of teenagers, the paper said.
They also screamed, forcing the man to flee, losing his wig in the process. A school clerk pursued him and stopped him at a nearby riverbank, the paper said.
Police confirmed the arrest of the man in school uniform and wig but declined to give further details.''


I find this story quite hilarious, I dread to think of what the man actually looked like ... and I dont really care to ponder on the thought.
Admittidly I do posses a seifuku, but I have so far resisted the urge to wear it and infiltrate the local school.
Now lets all focus on actual girls in seifukus ... courtesy of AKB48

Captin! Saki

For those of you that are fluent in the world of Hello! project you will be aware of the leader captin of 'Berryz Kobo' Saki Shimizu.
The ultra short and super sweet girl tends to be overlooked due to her fellow group members Risako Sugaya and Miyabi Natsuyaki .
I have recently been noticing her alot more recently, my eyes always tend to be fixed on my favorite members (see post below) ... but now I find myself watching Berryz concerts again and again to catch glimpses of her brilliant dance skills and great vocal ability.
Its a shame that she isnt given many vocal leads in singles, and its doubtful if she will be getting her own photobook this year (due to Risako probably getting another).
If you needed any convincing of Saki's WIN then I suggest you check the video below of her performing a solo dance during the performance of 'Anata Nashi Dewa Ikite Yukenai'

Idol rankings

It would seem alot of people are doing this right now, so why should I be any different?
Paul at hello blog has created a pretty neat program that lets you rank your favorite hello! project idols.
Below are my selections, and it was very hard to do this, choosing a girl to come last is very unfair indeed.
here goes ...

A new day kicking

Welcome to 'Wotaku Now!' my first ever serious atempt at blogging.
Considering I spend an unholy amount of hours on the net ... I thought it would be a wise choice to vent and express my various opinions and passions through the medium of furious typing.
As the name of my blog suggests it will be a mix of devout idol fanboyism and random remarks about Japanese culture.
Please bear with me as the page design and layout will probably change a few times before I am happy with it, questions and suggestions will be appreciated (maybe).
Below is a pie chart of what to expect in the future ...



And thats the Shirow guarantee©