I'm not really sure you can call me a 'fan' of the ridiculously popular Japanese idol group AKB48, in the sense of "someone who buys their singles and votes in their elections" kinda fan. I just find the whole idea of an idol group conglomerate composed of (now) scores of members fascinating.
I got hooked into these girls watching the late night j-drama series Majisuka Gakuen, which portrays most of the popular members of the group as tough yankee juvenile delinquents. While your mileage may vary as on how effective that was, it was an entertaining watch and I wanted to find out more about these girls.
In 2010, Shunji Iwai, one of my favorite contemporary Japanese directors, started up a project that would offer a glimpse on the lives of these girls for the duration of one year. And thus, Documentary of AKB48 to be continued was started. Iwai is known for his films on contemporary youth topics and this fits the bill.
This, alas, is not really about that film. Haha.
This review is about a shorter cut documentary made for NHK entitled Documentary of AKB48 the future 1mm ahead. It's basically a 44 minute cut of the aforementioned two hour film, narrated by AKB48 member Minami Takahashi (nickname: Takamina). It documents the trials of the idol group during the year 2010. 2010 was a particularly crazy year for the group, as it was part of the apex of the group's massive rise in popularity. Coincidentally, it was also the year when Majisuka Gakuen aired.
Mostly it features interviews with the girls interspersed with footage of them practicing, going to places like the LA Anime Expo, and so on. While the theatrical cut of the movie eschews the narration, the TV version's narration makes it more accessible to people who haven't the slightest idea on who these girls are. The narration explains the ranking system and the yearly General Elections (Senbatsu,) a popularity contest that decides which girl gets in the spotlight, and which ones support her from the sidelines.
There are some events that aren't explained fully, including that incident where member Sayaka Akimoto resigns as captain, or how important getting on Kouhaku Uta Gassen is.
The girls who are covered in the docu are appropriate, but there are a few omissions (that may show up in the theatrical release anyway.) Atsuko Maeda, the long reigning queen and 'face' of the group, is not covered in much detail here, other than her involvement in the 2010 Senbatsu.
Indeed, it's not the most popular members or the ones that win the Senbatsu that are the backbone of the team. We see that Takamina does a lot to hold everyone together and give their support through hard times, and to say that these girls work hard is an understatement. She may not rank as high as the others (she ranked sixth in this year's elections, and seventh in the year before that) but she is the foundation of the team, working herself to exhaustion just to get these people to work.
Anyway, the shorter cut of the film may be a better choice to watch if you're curious about the group and want to get to know more about them. For the hardcore fans, there's always the DVD release with english subs or the 4 disc collectors set available in Japan.
2 comments:
AKB48 has always been one of those things I'd always hear about but never really feel the need to look into other than it being some major J-Pop band. Though, as you mentioned, the idea of a 48 member group has piqued my interests, even if their music isn't my thing. With the number of documentaries out on the group (gonna be three by Feb '13 apparently) I was rather lost as to where to begin, but this entry helped somewhat. Thanks!
There's also the three hour KinSma special floating around the internet, which goes into more depth regarding the group's history, and how some members got their breaks, if you're interested. Enjoy :)
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