Over on Nayu's Crochet Dreams #36 Update time!

Love Acchan from AKB008 (especially when Nagisa becomes the next incarnation!)

For today's post head on over to Nayu's Crochet Dreams for what I'm up to and when the next blog post is coming (very soon, I promise!). 

Over On Nayu's Crochet Dreams #18

Unfortunately none of my doctors/nurses were Yukirin from AKB0048 anime!

...find out why this week has been full of medical appointments!

I love Yukirin! Here she is singing (with Mayuyu's hair beside her - Yukirin is often with Mayuyu)

AKB0048 Spotlight on... Music, Songs & Yukirin! (all 26 episodes, 10/10E)

AKB0048 trainees, who are the main focus of the anime. From left to right Suzuko (aka Linda), Makoto (aka Grumbly), Sonata (Kanata's sister) aka Sonati, Mimori, Chieri (aka Cherry), Kanata, Orine, Nagisa, Yuka. All pics are from internet searches

Seeing as I've recently finished this show (& started it again in the same night...) & seen it over 5 times I figured a review was in order!

Front to back row: trainees, current succesors, previous successors

It's a little review, as I tend to comment on it in my weekly What Are Your Reading? memes (the link takes you to the latest one), since I add what I watch to what I read. But being a short(ish) review is by no means is an indication of how great this show is. Because I want to talk about all aspects of it, there will be SPOILERS. You have been warned! Edited to add: instead of a small review, trying to cram everything in, I'm just going to write about 1 character and 1 other aspect of the show each time I review it, which will be whenever I finish watching the entire series.

Regular blog readers will know that I think this show is 

TOTALLY AMAZING! 

Yay!

It rivals Winx, which is saying something. Funnily enough Winx is mentioned in a previous review of AKB0048!

Winx season 5, top row Bloom, Musa, Tecna, bottom row Leila (French version, other versions she is Aisha), Flora, Stella

I can't remember how I first came across AKB0048. I do know that thanks to the bizarrre set up on the Crunchyroll app on my tablet, I saw a few episodes of the second season (which is really just eps 14-26...),  AKB0048 Next Stage first. I couldn't understand why not more of an explanation was given for who the girls were, what they were doing. I had the sense to Google the show, and then discovered the correct order to watch. Funny how I understood it perfectly after that! 

Trainees - see if you can name them from previous pictures!

As far as genres go, it's not a magical girl anime, which I'm rather fond of. It can be filed under drama & sciencefiction, as it is on Anime News Network, who summarise the show as follows: 

At the start of the 21st century, an interplanetary war broke out. Earth's ecosystem was damaged, and humanity was forced to flee the planet. In this new society, things that "disturb the heart" like music and art are forbidden. 48 years later, a legendary idol group is resurrected as AKB0048. Labeled as terrorists, they must take up arms to defend their careers and their fans.

I class this as being a 'music' anime, because there are lots of songs (since the girls are training to be singers) - some of which I'm listening to now.

Winners of the election singing (Yukirin top right)

  I love how the songs played always match the scene perfectly. For example, when Orine is dealing with her first hater (the opposite of a fan) the song is all about why haters are so necessary. 

Orine with hater

The songs are highly addictive. It doesn't matter that if I ignore the subs I don't always understand the meaning, I can still sing along. 

Heehee!

 They are extremely uplifting, which because of their frequency makes this anime a regular on my screen. If you watch the girls train, the dance moves to each song are pretty hard, especially as they often aren't on a stable stage. 

trainees in concert

When preforming 'guerilla' concerts, the girls are often using their flying stage thingies (it's near lunch, my brain isn't up for thinking of a more accurate word) which can transform into mini planes! 

Takamina getting in LAS plane thingy

 That's part of the science fiction part, I guess. How they manage not to fall off must be an anime mystery ^o^ If you like the songs as much as I do, you can find them on Youtube. I've created a playlist with 1 song on repeat, and another with a variety of songs on (not repeated). I'm not linking to my playlists as I'm not sure how to do it and my tummy is rumbling. 

So, it's time for a character viewpoint! As I am hurrying for lunch I will pick one of the successors, Yuki Kashiwagi the 6th - Yukirin! (the 6th refers to the number of times someone has 'become' that person, as it were. You can search for info on successions online, as it's a bit complex) 

Yukirin in concert uniform (there are lots of uniforms...)

I love her hair style and colour, as well as her non-uniform clothes.

Yukirin in normal/practice clothes

She's very sweet and dainty in her moves - but she can still fight when she needs to! 

Yukirin laughing

Yukirin fighting, singing & relaxing

Some of her qualities, like the way she cares so much about how the other successors and trainees feel, and wants to disperse arguments reminds me of Mimori (who I'll definitely write about n the next review!) 

Mimori with kirara (spirit thingy)

Yukirin has lots of fun. She gets in virtually all the concerts as she's a successors and got elected in the election...

Yukirin gets a place in the election!

 She gets to be in charge of the spaceship & operations when the AKB0048 manager Tsubasa isn't around....

She's got her eye on the space around her...

She seems medically trained...

Yukirin checking over Nagisa

She gives good advice to the trainees with Nyan-Nyan...

I couldn't find the shot I wanted, so left to right is Nyan-Nyan, Mayuyu, Yukirin in concert costume

She gets caught up with DES when they capture Sonata & Chieri...

Sonata, Chieri & Yukirin standing on trial

Yukirin, Sonata & Chieri at the trial when the calvery arrives to save them

She hangs around with Mayuyu a lot...

Good friends singing together

 All in all, what's not to love about Yukirin! 

Go Yukirin!

I hope you've enjoyed this first of many AKB0048 reviews. If you've seen it, do you like the songs, music & Yukirin? If you haven't seen it, do you want to? Thank you for letting me chat about one of my favourite animes!

Bye!

Nayu's News #57 Anime Awesomeness! Slash review of AKB0048 anime

I think this is from the anime Sacred Blacksmith which I haven't seen.

Today it feels right that instead of a review I post about anime. Unless you are a new follower (in which case hi!), it's a given that I love my anime. Take a peek at other Nayu's News posts to see how many anime pics I love using (none are drawn by me). I've conveniently added a Nayu's News tab to the menu at the top of the blog, so you can see them all together! A random cool fact is that one of my Nayu's News posts involving anime has 10999 views! ^o^

Some anime I watch I know I won't watch again. They are good, but not ones I absolutely love. Examples include Shakugan No Shana

Lots of evil demons to fight!

Note: all links take you to a site with a synopsis of the anime

Read Or Die The TV Series

These girls have paper magic!

and Paniponi Dash. 

This is an extremely random & bizarre anime (fun too)

I have watched these a few times over the years I had them, but where I am right now in my life they aren't for me, so I no longer watch them. I have passed them on to people who will enjoy them. 

There are the anime which I know I'll watch a lot, like Negima! 

This is the entire cast - after watching the series a few times you get to know & recognise all of them!

Strawberry Marshmallow 

These friends have lots of fun - and lots of different costumes too!

and, getting a French one in, Loulou de Montmartre.

Loulou has a tough life as she learns to dance and find out who her real family is

 I won't necessarily watch these every day, but they do get cycled in my 'watch' list over time, depending on  how the mood takes me. 

Do I want something that's really funny? Or really upbeat? Decisions....

Then there are the Mega Awesome Animes. These are the ones that rank as high as my all time favourites which are...

Winx Club 

The girls in their season 5 Harmonix transformation outfits

 This cool fairy anime honestly kept me sane in the years while I was trying to get pain relief that worked. It's funny, clever, has lots of magic, is about friendship and fun. The transformation are amazing! I remember when I first got it, and I watched the 1st season over and over until I got the other 3 seasons. It's all I watched, and is my favourite anime. I'm delighted I can see season 5 as it is airing, and the dvd isn't too far behind (the English version. No idea when I'll see the French one, which is the one I have on dvd)

Then along came Shugo Chara! (all 3 seasons) which soon came on a par with Winx.

The main character, Amu, in her Amulet Spade transformation (with her artistic chara Miki)

The transformations are spectular and frequent, there are many plots to ponder on, the costumes are cute and the charas are funny. At the moment I'm hugely into Hoshina Utau's charas, Iru and Eru (yes they are meant to be angelic & demonic). 

Iru loves winding Eru up, Eru loves anything romantic and can be rather forceful in her demands.

There are some sad moments, just like Winx Club, but it's an anime I try to watch every day (I watch either Winx or Shugo Chara, although sometimes I'll watch both in the same day). 

After Shugo Chara along came a magical girl anime about girls who became magical singers to help save fairyland - the girls are based on fairy tale princesses. Which anime is this? I mention it quite a bit on my blog, it's.....

Lilpri!

Lilpri is more light hearted than Shugo Chara, super cute and every episode ends well. I watched that every day until I finished it, and even  now it's added into the Winx Club/Shugo Chara mix. 

Just as I think I've seen all the mega awesome animes which would probably rate a triple E rating on my blog, (instead of 10/10 E -> 10/10 EEE), I find another. 

Awesome anime!

AKB0048 is actually based loosely on a real group in Japan (several groups) who are very much focused on their fans. Confession, because of the way the anime is listed on Crunchyroll I ended up seeing the second season (which is really just the 2nd half of a 24-26 season) first. That would be why I was so confused about what was going on, why some things weren't explained that well because the viewer usually will have watched the first season. I watched 9 episodes, then started season 1. Season 1 had all the explanations I wanted, so I'm happy. I'm now rewatching Season 2 because there are a few new episodes coming (it's a simulcast anime). 

All members of AKB0048

You can find more info on AKB0048 here. I love it because it's a little like Lilpri. The girls want to sing to bring fun and happiness to people. They only fight because they have to. They try not to hurt people. They work so hard at being as good as they can be. They help each other through the tough times (even when certain people are stubborn, like Chieri). They struggle on rest days because they are so used to working that's what they want to do - they get told off about this. That's kind of like me - having a day free of reading/blogging/writing can be a tricky thing for me to do. 

The AKB0048 trainees relaxing

The songs are catchy, and quite a few are inspirational. It's possible they may be intended for romance (I'm not sure) but to me they come across as uplifting. There is some mature content in the series to make it a teen + rating, but nothing completely indecent and it can easily be skipped. 

The kiraras are pretty special, this picture sums it up 

They detect when the girls are shining within themselves, brimming with confidence and love of making people happy, sort of like Nagisa in this picture, 

Note the kirara!

or a group of the trainees in concert here

The girls are singing their hearts out

although definitely in this one taken during a concert. 

Concerts aren't just about singing on stage - the girls get to fly around as they sing on funky moving squares. 

A floating square

The girls are prepared to defend themselves - thus making being a member a tough but rewarding career, bringing smiles to their fans despite many governments opposing entertainment. 

*happy sigh* 

So I now have 4 anime series which I can watch again & again as they are upbeat. I'm not including the anime Aria, which is inspirational, because it is a much quieter anime. 

Life as a traineer gondolier (known as Undine in Aria)

It's funny and relaxing, as the girls continue to train to be gondoliers on a manmade planet in the future. Becoming an undine is constant hard work, just like the girls in AKB0048 (although no fighting on the planet Aqua). There's a lot of self-exploration, heaps of humour and tears from all 3 trainees. 

When I need a mental boost, be it after a long day or just when I'm feeling a bit blue 

I head to one of my Mega Awesome Animes which make me feel top of the world!

So, what show do you watch when you need a boost? Which shows can you just watch again & again? It doesn't have to be anime!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!