[48Group] Archives

[cakama]

To help everyone understand AKB48 Group better, here is the archives of all AKB48G informations.


The GROUPS

AKB48:
The first group out of the 48 franchise. Formed in 2005, AKB stands for AKihaBara, as their theater is located in the Don Quixote in Akihabara district of Tokyo. They currently have Shinoda Team A, Oshima Team K, and Umeda Team B. Teams A, K, B, and 4 got lost during the 2013 Tokyo Dome Team Shuffle.
Akihabara48:
For a few months after AKB48 started out, they were known as Akihabara48. The entrance to the AKB48 Theater still bears the old name.

SKE48:
AKB48's first sister group, based in SaKaE, Nagoya. They were created in 2008 and their theater is located in the Sunshine Sakae building. They have teams S, KII, and E. The teams got shuffled in April 2013.

NMB48:
The second 48 sister group, based in NaMBa, Osaka. They debuted in 2010 and have Teams N, M, and BII.

HKT48:
The third and newest addition to the 48 family, debuting only in 2011. HKT is short for HaKaTa, in the Fukuoka prefecture. At the moment, only Team H has been formed.

Overseas groups

JKT48:
The first legitimate 48 group outside of Japan. JKT48 is based in JaKarTa, Indonesia. JKT48 currently has Team J and KKS performing regular stages.

SNH48:
The second up and running group, based in ShaNgHai, China. They do not yet perform regular theatre performances (as of May 2013), but the initial 16 full member formed Team Unknown which will be Team SII in due time.

TPE48:
An overseas group in the works based in TaiPEi, Taiwan. Last heard problems with the financial backers is causing the project to be stall.

Past Groups

SDN48:
A more adult version of AKB48, SDN48 stands for SaturDayNight48. All SDN48 members are above 20 years old, and do not have to follow the normal idol rules (no drinking, smoking, etc). SDN48 disbanded on March 2012

OJS48:
Stands for OJiiSan48, they are a group of 16 retired police officers. They released a single [Shinkokyuu] which didn't really sell much, and now work as security guards in AKB48 events.

Step-sister group

Nogizaka46:
AKB48's official "rival group", also produced by Akimoto Yasushi. They differ from the 48-groups in that they are not region-based, do not have a theatre, and so do not hold regular performances.

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All AKB48 groups are currently based on Regions and Prefectures of Japan. Only those in the surrounding prefectures in the regions can applied for audition to the respective groups (not sure how much its being enforced by so far it is). 

AKB48 (root at Tokyo) is under Kantō region 関東地方
Included Prefectures:- (in bracket is the capital, population, density) (population as 2011 in thousands, density based on per km²)
• Ibaraki (Mito, 2,958, 487.2)
• Tochigi (Utsunomiya, 2,000, 313.3)
• Gunma (Maebashi, 2,001, 315.6)
• Saitama (Saitama, 7,207, 1,894.2)
• Chiba (Chiba, 6,214, 1,205.5)
• Tokyo (Shinjuku, 13,196, 6,015.7)
• Kanagawa (Yokohama, 9,058, 3,745.4)

SKE48 (root at Aichi) is under Chūbu region 中部地方
Included Prefectures:-
• Niigata (Niigata, 2,362, 188.7)
• Toyama (Toyama, 1,088, 257.4)
• Ishikawa (Kanazawa, 1,166, 279.5)
• Fukui (Fukui, 803, 192.4)
• Yamanashi (Kofu, 857, 193.3)
• Nagano (Nagano, 2,142, 158.7)
• Gifu (Gifu, 2,071, 195.9)
• Shizuoka (Shizuoka, 3,749, 483.9)
• Aichi (Nagoya, 7,416, 1,434.8)

NMB48 (root at Osaka) is under Kansai region 関西地方
Included Prefectures:-
• Mie (Tsu, 1,847, 321)
• Shiga (Otsu, 1,414, 351.2)
• Kyoto (Kyoto, 2,632, 571.4)
• Osaka (Osaka, 8,861, 4,669.7)
• Hyogo (Kobe, 5,582, 665.6)
• Nara (Nara, 1,396, 379.5)
• Wakayama (Wakayama, 995, 212)

HKT48 (root at Fukuoka) is under Kyushu region 九州地方
Included Prefectures:-
• Fukuoka (Fukuoka, 5,079, 1,019)
• Saga (Saga, 847, 348.3)
• Nagasaki (Nagasaki, 1,417, 347.5)
• Kumamoto (Kumamoto, 1,813, 245.4)
• Ōita (Oita, 1,191, 188.7)
• Miyazaki (Miyazaki, 1,131, 146.7)
• Kagoshima (Kagoshima, 1,699, 185.7)

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The COMPANIES

AKS:
The company that operates AKB48, SKE48, SDN48, and HKT48. AKS is also the talent agency for AKB48 members until an external agency recruits them.
It is rumoured that the name 'AKS' is actually the initials of the 3 most important men IN THE WORLD: 'Akimoto Yasushi', 'Kubota Yasushi', 'Shiba Kotaro'.

Pythagoras Promotion:
Used to be SKE48's operating company until November 2011, when they merged with AKS and the staff moved over. Pythagoras Promotion is also the talent agency for all the SKE48 girls until the merger. 'Pythagoras Promotion' is shortened to 'PYP'

Kyoraku Yoshimoto:
NMB48's operating company. Kyoraku Yoshimoto Holdings Co., Ltd., a joint corporation of Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Kyoraku Sangyo Co., Ltd. Yoshimoto is the biggest comedy company in Japan.

Dentsu:
The company that deals with AKB48's advertising. Dentsu is one of the biggest advertising agency in the world.

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The PEOPLE

[The Three Sage]

Akimoto Yasushi (秋元康):
Creator and Total Producer (and overall Boss) of the 48 groups. Nicknamed Aki-P (The 'P' stands for 'Producer').

Kubota Yasushi (窪田康志):
The boss of AKS. He is not related to Akimoto Yasushi btw.

Shiba Kotaro (芝幸太郎):
The boss of office48. The '48' in 'AKB48' also came from him (Shiba = 48).

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[Backend Staffs]

Nishiyama Kyoko (西山恭子):
More commonly known as Saruobasan (サルオバサン), she is in charge of Public Relations in the AKB Theater, and also the AKB48 members well-being. Official Spokesperson of 48G.

Shinobu Kayano (茅野しのぶ):    AKB48's Costume Manager

Ishitani Yasuhiko (石谷靖彦):    Head of AKB48 Ticket Center

Arai Hiroki (荒井広希):    PR and media. Nicknamed "Pancho".

Jiyunji Yuasa (湯浅順司):    King Records' Chief Producer

Kitagawa Kenji (北川謙二):     AKB48 video producer

Kazami Tomoki (風見知希):    AKB48 Dedicated Trainer

Sasaki Makoto (佐々木慎):    AKB48 Chief Manager

Watanabe Joko (渡辺丈紘):    AKB48 Event Production In-charge

牧野影宏　AKB48運営統括本部プロデューサー
河田進　AKB48グループ楽曲管理担当
紺田大輔　キングレコードプロジェクトスーパーバイザー
鈴木秀尚　AKB48運営スタッフ
三池智之　AKB48映像プロデューサー
松本沙也加　衣装担当
村山誓一　衣装担当
伊達明子　AKB48グループ研究生育成統括担当

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[Theater Staffs]

Togasaki Tomonobu (戸賀崎智信):
48G General Manager of Staffs and AKB48 Theater Manager concurrent. Also known as TGSK. He writes the AKB48 Official Blog, and makes announcements at the end of concerts.

Gunji Yoshitaka (郡司善孝):    Head of theater staff.

Yuasa Hiroshi (湯浅洋):    AKB48 Theater Manager for Kenkyuusei, assistant to TGSK. Ex-SKE48 Theater Manager

Shiba Tomoya (芝智也):     SKE48 Theater Manager.

Kaneko Takeshi (金子剛):    NMB48 Theater Manager.

Sato Kazuya (佐藤和也):    Ex-HKT48 Theater Manager.

Ozaki Mitsuru (尾崎充):    HKT48 Theater Manager.

Sashihara Rino (指原莉乃):    HKT48 Theater Manager concurrent.


Wota:
Equivalent of the word otaku, wota are the fans of Japanese idol groups.

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The LOCATIONS

Don Quixote (Akihabara):
Where the AKB48 Theater is located in Akihabara, Tokyo. Don Quixote is actually a chain of discount stores in Japan. The name is often shortened to Donki. AKB48's Theater is on the 8th floor.

G-Rosso:
A theater in Tokyo that AKB48 used for some time back in 2008-2009 for their Himawari-gumi stages, and also for the Infinity theater play.
There have been plans to use the G-Rosso stage once again, but so far as of 2012　nothing has been announced.

Sunshine Sakae:
Where the SKE48 Theater is located in Sakae, Nagoya. The building has a giant ferris wheel on the exterior. The SKE48 Theater is undergoing renovations starting August.

Yes Namba:
Where the NMB48 Theater is located. The NMB48 Theater is actually underground.

Hawks Town Mall:
Where the HKT48 Theater is located. HKT stands for the HaKaTa district in the Fukuoka prefecture, but the HKT Theater is in the Chuo District. The theater is located on the 2nd floor.

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The GROUPINGS

Senbatsu:
Meaning 'selection', the Senbatsu members of a single are the members selected by Akimoto Yasushi to promote the single. They are the ones singing the title song. Senbatsu is usually 16 members.

Media Senbatsu:
The top 12 ranked members in the Senbatsu election, who get additional privileges such like performing on music shows, appearing on magazines, and other various media. Format ended at 4th Sousenkyo when the new Senbatsu number is cut down to 16. 

Undergirls:
The members that did not make the cut for Senbatsu. They get their own B-Side and even a PV, but their song is rarely played in the media. This grouping is not limited to the Senbatsu Election.

Theater Girls:
An additional grouping named the Theater Girls in previous AKB48 and SKE48 singles, which were populated by the remaining AKB48/SKE48 members who did not make the cut for Undergirls. The grouping has since been discontinued.

Frontgirls:
A loose term used by the fans for the 16 or so girls usually chosen as Senbatsu. They are called frontigrls because they are always at the front.

Kami7:
The top 7 members of AKB48. Kind of like "The Untouchables" you could say. And those members are, in ranking order:
Maeda Atsuko, Oshima Yuko, Shinoda Mariko, Watanabe Mayu, Kojima Haruna, Takahashi Minami and Itano Tomomi.

Kami8 / (new) Kami7:
In the 3rd Senbatsu Election (2011), Itano Tomomi (ranked #8) got beaten by Kashiwagi Yuki (ranked #3). Some fans came up with the term Kami8, which was just the original Kami7 + Kashiwagi.
Others just removed Itano completely from the Kami7 naming.
Others still just called blasphemy and kept the Kami7 unchanged.
Just your preference which one you want to use.

Junior Kami7:
The terms to represent the new generation. Its on a 48Group level. Last known Jnr-Kami7 is Watanabe Mayu, Matsui Jurina, Shimazaki Haruka, Iriyama Anna, Kawaei Rina, Kato Rena and Miyawaki Sakura.

But only Watanabe Mayu, Matsui Jurina and Shimazaki Haruka are fixed senbatsu members, giving no credits to the term of Junior Kami7. 

Team PB, Team YJ / YJ7, YM7:
A collaborative unit, between AKB48 and gravure magazine PlayBoy (PB) / Young Jump (YJ) / Young Magazine (YM), made up of 7 girls each.
In 2010 it was a battle between team PB and Team YJ, and in 2011 it was Team YJ again, now called YJ7, vs YM7.

Selection 8:
SKE48's version of AKB48's Kami7.

NMB Seven:
Just like Kami 7 and Selection 8.

Akagumi / Shirogumi:
Meaning 'Red Team' and 'White Team', it is used by SKE48 and NMB48 in place of Undergirls. The names probably originated from the Kouhaku Uta Gassen

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The THEATER

Teams:
The members of AKB48, and each of their sister groups, are split into 3 teams. The letters assigned to the Teams are from the 3 letters that make up the group name (AKB48: Team A, Team K, Team B).

Team 4:
Because no AKB48 members were graduating for quite a long time, the number of Kenkyuuseis kept rising and rising after every audition. So on July 2011, a new team was formed, called 'Team 4', for the kenkyuuseis . Team 4 was disbanded in October 2012, following the Tokyo Dome Team Shuffle when its decided that the group will revert back to a 3 teams format.

Kenkyuusei:
Officially translated to Research Students (formerly known as AKB48 SEED), the Kenkyuuseis are a support team whose main role is to substitute for a member of the main group if she is unable to perform on that day. Additionally, when a member of the main group graduates, a Kenkyuusei is promoted to replace her. Kenkyuuseis have their own shows in the Theater too, performing revivals of previous AKB48 stages.

Under:
Substitutes for a member if she is unable to perform during a stage. Usually by Kenkyuuseis but sometimes a main member is a full AKB member.
Usage: Izuta Rina is Maeda Atsuko's under

Bara-gumi / Yuri-gumi:
Back in 2006, Akimoto Yasushi had the idea of shuffling around the members of Team A and Team K, and naming the new teams 'Bara-gumi' (Rose Class) and 'Yuri-gumi' (Lily Class). That plan was dropped because of heavy opposition from the fans.
Bara-gumi and Yuri-gumi were revived as 'Undergirls Bara-gumi' and 'Undergirls Yuri-gumi' for AKB48's [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] single in 2011.

Himawari-gumi:
Meaning 'Sunflower Class', A side team formed in 2008 comprising members from Team A and Team K. They performed 2 stages [Boku no Taiyou] and [Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikenai], but then stopped.

Stages / Stage shows:
A group on songs, usually 16, which teams perform in their theater. Each team has their own unique stage. Usually after about a year, a team is given a new stage to perform.

Units / Unit songs:
For a couple of songs during a stage, the team is split up further into 5 units. Units usually consist of 3 to 4 members.

Unit Shuffle:
Sometimes during concerts, the members performing a unit song are changed.

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Team Shuffle:
Major swapping of members between the Teams including promotions and kennin.

AKB48 1st Team Shuffle - 2009
At the end of the [AKB48 104 Senbatsu Member Sokkaku Matsuri] concert in Nippon Budokan, it was announced that all AKB48 teams will be shuffled.

AKB48 2nd Team Shuffle - 2012
At the end of the first night of [AKB48 in TOKYO DOME ~1830m no Yume~] concert in Tokyo Dome, due to the graduation of Maeda Atsuko and the announcement of AKB48 Chapter 2.

SKE48 1st Team Shuffle - 2013
At the end of [SKE48 Kawaranai Koto. Zutto Nakama na Koto] concert in Nippon Gaishi Hall, Nagoya. Due to the mass graduation of members, a team shuffle was made along with the naming of the SKE48 Group/Team S Captain for the first time since the group is formed, and transferring of Matsui Rena to Team E as Captain.

Kage ana:
Meaning 'shadow announcer', it is the member making the announcements to the audience before the stage or concert starts.

MC:
A break between songs during which the members talk about a given topic. This is done so that the other members backstage have enough time to change costumes for the next song.

High-touch:
Wasei-eigo for 'high five'. At the end of stage shows, you get to 'high-touch' with the members that performed.

Shonichi:
The very first performance of a stage.

Senshuraku:
The very last performance of a stage.

Revival:
When the management decided that they shouldn't have ended the stage so early. So they revive the previous stage.

Seitansai:
Meaning 'Birthday Festival', Seitansai is a special stage performance where a member's birthday is celebrated. A seitansai can take place up to 1 month after the actual member's birthday.

LOD:
Short for 'Live on Demand'. It's a service where you can purchase a video of a past performance in the AKB48 Theater. SKE48 also has a LOD service.
DMM.com:
Where you can buy 48 LODs.

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The EVENTS

Akushukai:
Handshake events. The tickets to these events usually come in Singles. There are two types of handshake event: the tickets that come with Limited Editions are for national events have a short handshake session and include a mini-live. The participating members are only announced a few days beforehand. In contrast are the Theatre Edition handshake events, where you book a timeslot for a particular member. Each of these slots lasts 10 seconds.

Shamekai:
2shot events. A 2shot is a photo with 2 people inside. So a 2shot would be you + 1 akb member.
3shot would be you + 2 akb members, and so on.

Senbatsu Election (Sousenkyo):
Started in 2009, for 1 single each year the fans get a chance to vote for which members they want in a single. The Senbatsu Election is not limited to AKB48 members, so the sister groups get to take part in it too.
Only the top 40 members are shown during the election. The top 21 members get to be in Senbatsu, and the remaining are in the Undergirls.
Changes from 2012's Sousenkyo onwards.
Senbatsu is reduced to 16 members, with another 3x16 team under them. A total of 64 members will be elected.

1-16 => Senbatsu
17-32 => Undergirls
33-48 => Nextgirls
49-64 => Futuregirls

Position 1, 17, 33 and 49 are the respective center for each groups' song and PV.


Janken Tournament:
Janken is the Japanese name for 'Rock, Paper and Scissors'. The Janken Tournament is another of Akimoto's ideas to decide the Senbatsu members of a single, purely based on luck.

Kenkyuusei and sister group's members have to go through a preliminary round first. 

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The OSHI

Oshimen:
From 'oshiteru member' which literally translates to 'the member you want to push', generally it means your most favorite member whom you will always be supporting. You should never have more than one Oshimen in the same group.

Oshihen:
When you change your Oshimen from one member to another. Generally not accepted and heavily discouraged.

Kami-oshi:
Literally 'God Oshi'. Kami-Oshi is your most important oshi out of all your oshimens (from different groups of course).

DD:
Short for 'Daredemo Daisuki', which means 'I love anyone'. Applies to anyone with multiple oshimens in the same group.

MD:
Short for 'Minna Daisuki', which means 'I love everybody'. Similar to DD, but with an oshimen.

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AKB48 Group number of members

AKB48 93 members (6 concurrent)
SKE48 70 members (1 concurrent)
NMB48 67 members (1 concurrent)
HKT48 39 members 
Total: 262 members

※ JKT48 Nozawa Rena's concurrency counted as from Jun 20

All figures corrected as of Jun 20

[cakama]

48G Team Formation Day

2005, Dec 8 ー＞ AKB48 Team A

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2006, Apr 1 ー＞ AKB48 Team K

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2007, Apr 8 ー＞ AKB48 Team B

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2008, Oct 5 ー＞ SKE48 Team S

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2009, May 25 ー＞ SKE48 Team KII

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2010, Dec 6 ー＞ SKE48 Team E

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2011, Mar 10 ー＞ NMB48 Team N
2011, Jun 6 ー＞ AKB48 Team 4

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2012, Jan 26 ー＞ NMB48 Team M
2012, Mar 4 ー＞ HKT48 Team H
2012, Oct 10 ー＞ NMB48 Team BII
2012, Dec 23 ー＞ JKT48 Team J

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2013, Jun 26 ー＞ JKT48 Team KIII

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The different kind of handshake events

Zenkoku

• Tickets come with limited first press.
• Held all over the country (Nagoya, Kobe, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Saitama, Hokkaido, etc...).
• Participating members get announced only a few days prior to the event. Mostly about 20-25 members are there.
• Handshakes are very quick. The girls are lined up at a table and all you do is pass them. There's more than one girl in a line.
  
• A mini live is usually part of the program.
  

Kobetsu (or "Dai-akushukai")

• Tickets come with the theater editions.
• Held at Makuhari Messe or Tokyo Big Sight; all members of AKB and sister groups are there.
• There is a number of time slots for each girl and you have apply for those over at Chara Ani. If you win, you know exactly that you will (for example:) handshake Yukirin between one and two thirty on October 21st.
• Applications for the theater edition start about a month before release date. The actual events are later. For Gingham Check, applications started on July 17th, the single was released on August 29th, and the handshake events are on 10/21, 11/10 and 12/01.
  
• Handshakes are slightly longer. You enter a booth and shake hands with the girl that you got a ticket for.
  
• No mini live.
  
• There are no theater editions without tickets, so if you apply for 20 handshakes and only win 15, you receive 15 CDs on release day.
  

[cakama]

High Touch standard practice

⇒ high touch right hand of AKB48.
⇒ high touch left hand of SKE48.
⇒ high five right hand tap on the shoulder of NMB48.
HKT48 ⇒ no idea...