My Report on AKB48 Live in Manila and an Objective Look at Its Possible Implications

Twelve members of AKB48's Team 8 performed four times in two days in Manila, and I was there for the whole shebang!

The twelve members that performed live were Rin Okabe, Maria Shimizu, Momoka Onishi, Nanase Yoshikawa, Shiori Sato, Erina Oda, Yurina Gyoten, Nao Ota, Yuri Tani, Rena Fukuchi, Riona Hamamatsu, and acting as center, concurrent member of Team A, Nanami Yamada. They performed six songs, twice a day, for two days. They performed the same first two and last songs (not counting the encore), but changed the third, fourth and fifth song for the first and second performances. Here's an exhaustive list of the setlists:

Day 1, First show of the day, Nov. 7, Saturday
1. Aitakatta
2. Kibouteki Refrain
3. Iiwake Maybe
4. Ponytail to Shushu
5. Seifuku no Hane
6. Koisuru Fortune Cookie

Day 1, Second show of the day, Nov. 7, Saturday
1. Aitakatta
2. Kibouteki Refrain
3. Oogoe Diamond
4. Everyday Kachuusha
5. 47 no Suteki na Machi e
6. Koisuru Fortune Cookie

Day 2, First show of the day, Nov. 8, Sunday
1. Aitakatta
2. Kibouteki Refrain
3. Oogoe Diamond
4. Everyday Kachuusha
5. 47 no Suteki na Machi e
6. Koisuru Fortune Cookie

Day 2, Second show of the day, Nov. 8, Sunday
1. Aitakatta
2. Kibouteki Refrain
3. Iiwake Maybe
4. Ponytail to Shushu
5. Seifuku no Hane
6. Koisuru Fortune Cookie
7. (Encore) Oogoe Diamond

I'm really glad they performed their original Team 8 songs, 47 no Suteki na Machi e and Seifuku no Hane, and also some of my personal favorites, Iiwake Maybe and Oogoe Diamond. And all that time rehearsing the dance of Aitakatta and Koisuru Fortune Cookie has paid off!

Every after two songs, the MC of the event would come out with an interpreter to ask a question and let a few of the girls talk. They should have let Riona Hamamatsu talk more as she spoke excellent English, and it would have been better if they had rehearsed the questions beforehand. For example, on two different days they were asked what Filipino foods had they tried that they liked, and on the second day Riona talked about a Filipino cupcake, which the Filipino host asked if that could be "Bibinka", and I don't think Riona knew if it was "Bibinka", since I doubt that it was, since "Bibinka" doesn't look like cupcakes. I suspect it was "puto", or maybe "kutsinta", which looks more like cupcakes. If the Q&A was rehearsed, it would have been so much cuter to see Riona say "puto" or "kutsinta". Riona was also talking about a Filipino milkshake on the first day, maybe it was "Mais con yelo" or something similar, as the other members were talking about "Halo-halo". Again, they should have let Riona talk more! Heck, she could have hosted the thing, and maybe acted as translator for the group, if she was as fluent as she seemed. Yeah, basically I just wanted to hear Riona talk more so they should have let her.

The AKB show lasted 30-60 minutes per show, each one starting with their overture, and it was an awesome dream come true to hear AKB's overture being played in the Philippines, with AKB actually coming on stage!!! Literally, a dream come true. It was exciting and the crowd was electric. Much of the crowd that watched the "Cool Japan Festival" show was there for AKB.

For the first three shows, each member introduced themselves in Filipino, and they memorized their simple introductions well, with, I think, no one reading from their hands. They said "Ako po si [their name] representative ng [their prefecture]." and a few more Filipino words such as "Mahal ko ang Philippines". For the fourth show, Riona said they would introduce themselves in Japanese using their regular catch phrases, and the crowd went wild!!! The host would later comment that we were more responsive with their actual Japanese catchphrases, but them doing both introductions during the two days was very excellent. Every after the MC portion, they would start performing the next song by saying "Ang awit na ito ay para sa inyo" [This song is for all of you], with Nanami Yamada saying it before the third song and Nao Ota saying it before the fifth. Nanami Yamada's cute "surprised" introduction during their first performance when a boom (probably mic feedback or speaker problem) interrupted her was adorable.

The performances were excellent, as I can see why, as a theater enthusiast, I love watching AKB performances. Their dancing is a joy to watch, their performance level was brilliant, up to their facial expressions, but what was most amazing about AKB is their ability to connect with fans. Even fans who were standing on the balcony-like second floor was able to play around with some of the members on stage. Personally, and I don't know if they were actually addressing me or someone behind me, but apart from the various smiles and waves from the various members, Rin Okabe and Nanami Yamada was able to connect with me the most. For example, during the MC portion where somebody else was speaking, on their last setlist, I was looking at Nanami and it seemed that she was looking at me. I had been at all their performances, I was at the VIP section, and wearing a Team 8 shirt, and draped myself with a Team 8 towel, plus I did much of the chants and some of the dancing (Aitakatta and Koisuru Fortune Cookie), while mouthing some of the lyrics, so I presume I was already recognizable at that time, as I usually sat at the middle (well, standing when AKB was on). I was not unhappy at that time, far from it, this was one of the best experiences I've ever had, with this memory of Nanami being one of its highlights, but I was probably showing my typical straight-face and maybe not smiling (as it was the MC portion), when it seemed like Nanami was looking at my direction and gave me a cute sad-face, making me smile at her, and giving me a smile back. I'm sure Nanami made the sad-face and that she smiled after I did, what I don't know is if she was actually communicating with me or someone behind me, but since this isn't a life or death situation or matter of great consequence, I will choose to believe that that's what happened and it makes me very happy!!! Oh, if only I was living in Japan, I would go to see these girls as often as I can (which is what I am already doing). I understand why so many Japanese fans support these girls so much, and I can easily see myself doing the same. Nanami is one of my personal favorites, which is why I kept looking at her, and this just made me love her more. It's surprising how such simple acts could bring so much happiness to people (reminds me of the AKB song Dareka no Tame ni). I should try doing the same, although I'm not sure anyone would be happy if I suddenly smiled at them. Regardless, AKB's ability to connect with fans is amazing.

When Team 8 started, fans such as myself thought it was just a gimmick that would last only as long as its advertiser, Toyota, would support it (similar to what happened with Baito AKB), but around two years within the existence of Team 8, it seems that the group is still growing strong, with many fans still supporting its individual members, and the group as a whole, and with three members getting concurrent memberships with Teams A, K and B, Oda Erina winning the recent AKBingo Karaoke / Diva Championships and surprising us with her pro-level voice, and Team 8 still getting featured heavily in AKB TV shows such as the recent episodes of Nemousu TV, plus success in the recent AKB Grand Sports Meet, I am one of many fans that say that Team 8 is surprisingly a huge success story, and I am very glad that AKB has continued to maintain the existence of the Team, and I hope that Team 8 remains a permanent fixture in AKB. I love Team 8, its members, and the group as a whole, and I love watching specials featuring them. I was thrilled to find out they were coming to the Philippines and hope they really do come back.

During the live, many of us fans were also noticing AKB management, prominently Aoki-san, with fans acknowledging that we know him. It seemed like Aoki-san was scouting how hardcore fans in the Philippines were, how receptive we would be, taking pictures or videos of the fans, and I am very proud of how us fans in the Philippines conducted ourselves in the mini-concert. We were ecstatic, we were participative, and I think the members (and management) were able to see and feel that. I am thrilled that we were able to successfully convey that not only were they welcome, but we absolutely love them! For example, one of the things that irked me in the Singapore AKB live I went to was that I was the only who was chanting "encore!" after the concert (granted, house management was quick to point out the transition of the event and was quick to setup for it), but here in the Philippines, we were very quick to chant it, and awesomeness of awesomeness, Team 8 had a prepared encore for us, an unexpected, but absolutely delightful treat! Also, on the first day of the event, fans were trying to sing "Happy birthday" to Rin Okabe, who was celebrating her birthday on that very day, unfortunately we were quickly hushed by people in the event, who couldn't understand what we were chanting and did not know it was Rinrin's birthday, but I thought it was so nice of the fans to do that for Rinrin, so, sorry Rinrin, we couldn't pull it off successfully, but we tried.

Because of this, I believe the fans were able to express to AKB and its management how much we love them and support them, with so many fans carrying both fan-made and purchased licensed products, apart from all the wild cheering and audience participation going on. The area reserved for the event could only hold two hundred people, but fans made good use of the second and third floor balcony-like areas of the venue outside the walls of the event to watch and show their love to AKB as well. I believe AKB management was able to see that the fanbase of AKB in the Philippines is a healthy one, and because of which, I hope this bodes well for us AKB fans! At the minimum, I hope we get a deal similar to what Singapore had a while back, where, not only did they get an official AKB shop, but various members of AKB would be sent to Singapore around every month to perform miniconcerts. Please give us that!!! I would definitely watch, and expect a lot of us will too. Even if you sent us the same girls over and over again, I would still go! Although we would like to see other members as well, I feel like I will miss Team 8 if they don't come back. Heck, I miss them already. I hope the experience was pleasant and fun enough for the members to really want to come back, but based on what we saw, it seemed like they genuinely enjoyed performing for us, as they, along with their fans, definitely brought the house down!

Of course, it's possible that there were less enjoyable experiences that they had outside of that concert. For example, when I found out they performed for around two minutes in a noon-time Filipino TV show (a show that is battling an extremely popular segment from its rival), I could only imagine how less than awesome the audience were to them since they didn't know them. Of course, us fans weren't aware that they were appearing on that show, as we were all on the venue of their mini-live, but had we known their exact schedule, many of us would have headed down there to support them. In short, if we had clear, exact knowledge of their schedule, us fans would have been better able to show our support, and thus Filipinos who don't know them can see how much loved they are by their Filipino fans. Of course, it's possible AKB Management doesn't want us to know their schedules so we can't follow them around everywhere, but I believe all media appearances should have been communicated to us fans ahead of time so our beloved members get the support they need. AKB Management, please use this blog to communicate with fans!

While I'm on the same subject, I believe AKB fans in the Philippines would be thrilled at what I mentioned earlier, the thought that AKB would send us a few members every month to do a mini-live, and that could be one reason why AKB Management could be scouting us or testing the waters, but the idea of creating MNL48 has popped up several times, from the mouth of head AKB producer Akimoto Yasushi himself. There are some fans who are not in favor of the creation of MNL48, as they want to see AKB, not a local version composed of Filipinos. Some say that Filipino fans reactions to AKB cannot be compared to how we would respond to an MNL48, but rather we should look at how Filipino fans react to local acts, such as Japanese-inspired local group (who performed in the event as well), Kawaii5. I think Filipino AKB fans don't realize how many fans Kawaii5 actually has. They have a lot. I'm not saying they are a ton, but I would wager they are as many as us. I've seen them. They are as crazy about Kawaii5 as we are with AKB. I think Filipino AKB fans don't realize how popular they are because we look for Kawaii5 fans among AKB fans. No, AKB fans aren't the same fans who would like Kawaii5, but they have their own fanbase. Remember Sexbomb in their heyday? I do. I was a Sexbomb fan (you can check out my post here if you want to read more about it: http://filipinoakbfan.blogspot.com/2010/03/akb48-and-philippines-sexbomb-dancers.html , there's a question there that gets answered in this post). I know how Filipino fans can get crazy over local acts, I've experienced the queues, I've experienced crazy live events, I've experienced a ton of fans shoulder-deep in humanity not willing to leave the venue just so we can catch a glimpse of the Sexbomb girls leaving the venue (and hanging around for a long time in such a crowd just to discover they were escorted through a secret exit). So yes, if MNL48 would be created, they can get a fanbase. Will it be the same people as the fans of AKB? Not necessarily. It could be a totally different set of people. So, why are some AKB fans negative about the idea of an MNL48? Because they want their wants to be catered to, and they don't really care about the wants of others. What we want is AKB, and a local version of AKB is still not AKB themselves. But this doesn't mean other people won't like it. And what concerns us as well is that if MNL48 is created to suit the taste of Filipinos (not the taste of current Filipino AKB fans), it might not be similar at all to AKB, and these MNL48 fans might get the wrong impression of what AKB is and this might dilute the image Filipinos have of AKB, gathering a different set of people, a fandom of people that Filipino AKB fans don't necessarily approve of. I understand the resistance to MNL48, for example, although I am ok with Kawaii5 as their performance was certainly at an energy level and a performance level that I would like, I dread the idea that whoever writes the lyrics of their songs would be the translator of AKB songs to MNL. Please don't do that! I would be enraged if the lyrics to Kioku no Dilemma or Yuuhi wo Miteiruka? would be watered down to lyrics that contain the word "jeje". However, our fears are all based on speculation. If MNL48 would materialize, we don't know if they will contain 20+ year old members to appeal to a mature crowd or they will all be 12 and 13 year old members emphasizing the cute image of AKB. Personally, I am reserving my judgement on MNL48 until I see it. I may follow them, I may not, it depends on how they turn out. But I won't judge them until I see them.

You might be saying the whole Sexbomb thing is incomparable to MNL. How about I compare Sexbomb with Akishibu instead? As a former fan of Sexbomb, I can say the performance level of Sexbomb is at par with Akishubu, and I can imagine a lot of people disagreeing with me, but being familiar with a majority of Sexbomb songs, sure they have their own shallow, novelty songs, but the lyrics were original and as such, when coupled with catchy tunes, is quite alternative, you know, kinda like some AKB songs. Although a lot of fans go to Sexbomb events just to watch them, others like me go grab copies of their cd's which suddenly sell like hot potatoes because it's an autograph signing as well. Akishibu Project is a new Japanese girl group (that Alodia Gosiengfiao also performed with) that performed each time before the AKB mini-lives, where, at the first day, they were kind of unknown to the fans, but at the second day, fans were cheering wildly for. Akishibu won the hearts of many fans there, and Akishibu felt our love and I could see how much they appreciated us, up to the fans' "encore!" chants which they totally weren't expecting and they weren't able to do because they didn't prepare for it. But guess what, despite all this, how many of us actually bought their CD's? There were still a lot of CD's on sale, despite how much we loved Akishibu. But, after the AKB performance, when it was announced Akishibu (perhaps to comfort our request for an encore) would be signing autographs to those who would buy CD's, guess what happened? Sold out! The CD's suddenly sold like hot potatoes. Sound familiar, maybe like a story I told on this very same paragraph? We may love them for different reasons, but there are some things in our fandoms that are similar, at least enough reason for investors to go through with the project. I don't know if handshake events and 2-shots will work in the Philippines, but apparently autograph signings do. And maybe other things as well.

I will tell you a sure-fire way that will get me to follow MNL48, and perhaps this applies to other AKB fans as well. Not just preserving the AKB quality, but also concurrent memberships! Make some members of AKB concurrent members of MNL48 and I will certainly follow them. The concurrent members don't even have to be here all the time, they can just be here once a month or so, and I will still go to see them. Granted, it is possible I will only see them when a concurrent member is here, but I don't know since they don't exist yet. I have this illusion (maybe delusion) that one of the reasons HKT48's half-Filipina Emily Yamashita is being pushed so much recently (apart from being so cute, adorable and talented) is that it's in preparation of making her a concurrent member of MNL. I would certainly go see Emily (yeah, I know, she prefers Emiri, but I like Emily). I would like any HKT member to be a concurrent member of MNL, or any member from the AKBGroup (family) for that matter. I would certainly accept full transfers as well, if any are inclined to do so. So yes, if executed correctly, I would follow MNL, and even if I don't, I'm guessing a lot of other fans will.

I would like to thank AKB Management for sending Team 8 here, and the twelve members of Team 8 for going here. I would also like to thank Hallohallo Alliance for creating the Cool Japan Festival, and bringing AKB48 Team 8 to the Philippines and giving us such an excellent opportunity to watch them perform four times, and with no less than six songs each time, with a minimum of 30 minutes each. This was so much awesomeness. Yes, the other stuff there was awesome as well (Taiko Tokoro seemed like the manliest of manly music) but what we got from Team 8 far exceeded my expectations. Please bring us another Cool Japan Festival next year, and make sure to invite AKB48 again. Sure there, were some downsides, such as the unexpectedly long queue, and having to wait for people to leave before others are let in (and by the time performances were on, it seemed like people weren't willing to leave) was quite a problem. I don't think the process was excellent, but I can't think of a better way of doing it either. I know the host caught a lot of flack from us fans, but having had to sit there for all four shows even when AKB wasn't on, she was actually a very good host, as she knew how to talk to the audience and was not prissy getting in there with people, although it was obvious that she was not knowledgeable with AKB, botched a few things, and was not very good with the Japanese language at all. A host that was knowledgeable in AKB would have been great at least even just for their segment... you know, someone like me... although I think I would be the only one who would be happy about that. Actually, I'm thinking Riona Hamamatsu should have just hosted their segment, and should have just been an all AKB thing, that is, if Riona would be up to the challenge of hosting, translating for the rest of the members, and probably not getting any chance to catch her breath in between performances. I love her and would love to talk her as she seems so fluent in English.

I love Team 8 so much! I love the members of Team 8 so much! Please do come back to the Philippines! I want to see you again! I miss you already! And the rest of the AKBGroup, come here as well!

Bottom screencap (added Nov. 18, 2015): Team 8's visit to the Philippines was featured on the Nov. 17, 2015 episode of AKBingo! (for about 10 seconds), unfortunately no fan is recognizable, but it shows their visit was significant