The AKB48 Concert Thread (news, reviews, setlists, etc.)

[Masa]

The AKB48 Concert Thread

The concert thread is here! Post concert news, setlists, reviews & pix!

So what do you guys think about Maimai's graduation concert?

[SomethingWild]

This EXCELLENT bit of info was posted by Hana @ Nihongogo:

「AKB48 ファーストコンサート　会いたかった 〜柱はないぜ!〜」
AKB48 First Concert "I Wanted To Meet You ~There Aren't Any Pillars!~
When: November 3rd & 4th, 2006
Where: Nihon Seinenkan (Tokyo)
Released: January 31st, 2007 (DVD), July 18, 2007 (Blu-ray)
Notes/Trivia: The title comes from the there being[tiny] obnoxious, view-blocking [/tiny]pillars inside the AKB48 Theater, but this was their first major performance outside of it, hence "there aren't any pillars". This only features teams A and K, as B hadn't been formed yet. This is also the only concert (so far?) to have been released in both DVD and Blu-ray formats.

「AKB48 春のちょっとだけ全国ツアー 〜まだまだだぜAKB48!〜」
AKB48 Spring Tour of a Little Bit of the Nation ~AKB48 is Still Going!~
When: March 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, 31st, and April 1st
Where: Tokyo Welfare Hall (Tokyo), Aichi Welfare Hall (Aichi), Fukuoka International Place of Assembly Main Hall (Fukuoka), NHK Osaka Hall (Osaka)
Released: July 18th, 2007
Notes/Trivia: First full group concert to feature Team B. Team B's Inoue Naru and Kashiwagi Yuki subbed for Team K's Akimoto Sayaka and Oshima Yuko in some performances.

「AKB48 リクエストアワーセットリストベスト100」
AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100
When: January 21st-24th, 2008
Where: Shibuya AX (Tokyo)
Released: July 25th, 2008
Notes/Trivia: Fans voted on their favorite songs, and they were performed over 4 concerts, each covering 25 songs. "Overture" beat out several actual songs, and was still performed at the beginning of each concert anyway. The #1 song was Sakura no Hanabira-tachi, AKB's debut single.

「ライブDVDは出るだろうけど、やっぱり生に限るぜ! AKB48夏祭り」
Sure, a live DVD will come out, but you should really come see it in person! AKB48 Summer Festival
When: August 23rd, 2008
Where: Hibiya Open Air Big Concert Hall (Tokyo)
Released: Novemeber 20th, 2008
Notes/Trivia: Ironically, it rained. Also, first concert to feature SKE48 Team S.

「AKB48 まさか、このコンサートの音源は流出しないよね?」
AKB48 "There's no way you'd leak the audio to this concert, right?
When: November 23rd, 2008
Where: NHK Hall (Tokyo)
Released: December 27th, 2008
Notes/Trivia: Graduation concert for Komatani Hitomi, Nakanishi Rina, Narita Risa, Ohe Tomomi and Tojima Hana, all founding members of Team A.

「年忘れ感謝祭 シャッフルするぜ、AKB! SKEもよろしくね」
End of the Year Thanksgiving: We're going to shuffle AKB! Give your regards to SKE as well
When: December 20th, 2008
Where: JCB Hall (Tokyo)
Released: February 28th, 2009
Notes/Trivia: Nothing much.

「AKB48 リクエストアワーセットリストベスト100 2009」
AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 2009
When: January 18th-21st, 2009
Where: Shibuya AX (Tokyo)
Released: April 23rd, 2009
Notes/Trivia: Fans voted on their favorite songs, and they were performed over 4 concerts, each covering 25 songs. SKE48 songs were featured this year, as well as Chocolove. The song that took #1 was "Shonichi", the opening song from Team B's 3rd stage.

「神公演予定」 *諸般の事情により、神公演にならない場合もありますので、ご了承ください。
"Planned Divine Performance" * Due To Various Circumstances, It May Not Be a Divine Performance, So We Thank You For Your Understanding.
When: April 25th and 26th, 2009
Where: NHK Hall (Tokyo)
Released: August 8th, 2009
Notes/Trivia: Graduation concert for Team A's Oshima Mai and Kawasaki Nozomi, as well as Team K's Hayano Kaoru. Uriya Akane and Saotome Miki also graduated from Team Kenkyuusei on the first day of this concert. SKE48's Team KII debuted in this concert.

「読売新聞創刊135周年記念コンサートAKB48　～AKB104 選抜メンバー組閣祭り～」
Yomiuri Newspaper 135th Anniversary Memorial Concert AKB48 ~AKB104 Senbatsu Member-Formed Festival~
When: August 22nd and 23rd
Where: Nippon Budoukan (Tokyo)
Released: Not yet.
Notes/Trivia: Title relates to the election held for the 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe". "Senbatsu" refers to the girls that are picked to be in a single. Team B's Saeki Mika and Team K's Naruse Risa graduated in this concert, although both had been essentially inactive for quite a while.

Look at their insane concert titles 

[SomethingWild]

One of the Budokan night setlists. The DVD setlist will probably be similar.

1. Sakura no Hanabiratachi
2. 10nen Zakura
3. Namida Surprise!
MC
4. overture (SKE48)
5. Tsuyokimonoyo (SKE48)
6. Chime wa Love Song (SKE48)
7. Shonichi (Team B)
8. Wasshoi B (Team B)
9. Hana to Chire! (Team K)
10. Korogaru Ishi ni Nare (Team K)
11. LOVE CHASE (Team A)
12. Dear My Teacher (Team A)
MC (Shinoda, Minegishi, Itano, Maeda, Kojima, Takahashi)
13. Glory Days (Kuwabara, Yagami, Nakanishi)?
14. Gomen ne Jewel (Umeda, Oshima, Miyazawa, Akimoto)
15. Junai no Crescendo (Minegishi, Kojima, Takahashi)
16. Kuroi Tenshi (Fujie, Maeda, Takajo)
17. Kagami no Naka no Jeanne D'Arc (Nakaya, Yonezawa, Sashihara, Tanabe, Urano)
18. Confession (Shinoda, Sato A, Akimoto, Itano)
19. Wagamama na Nagareboshi (Kobayashi, Ono)
20. Tobenai Agehachou (Undergirls, Masuda -> Kashiwagi)
MC (Undergirls)
21. Skirt, Hirari (Takahashi, Oshima, Watanabe, Itano, Maeda, Kojima, Shinoda)
22. Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (Kashiwagi, Takajo, Minegishi, Takahashi, Kojima, Itano, Shinoda, Maeda)
23. Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou (^ + Matsubara, Sato N, Oshima, Akimoto, Miyazawa, Kobayashi, Ono, Kasai)
24. BINGO! (Kitahara, Sashihara, Nito, Miyazaki, Fujie, Chikano, Nakata, Nakatsuka, Nakanishi, Oya, Uchida, Nonaka, Deguchi)?
25. Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka? (Oshima, Watanabe, Kojima, Takahashi, Ono, Maeda, Itano, Minegishi, Kasai, Miyazawa)
26. Romance, Irane
27. Boku no Taiyou
28. Baby!Baby!Baby!
MC
29. Oogoe Diamond
ENCORE
30. Iiwake Maybe
31. Aitakatta
MC - 9/26~27 New York, 10/5 Cannes, 10/30 AKB Theatre Troupe, 2/21~2/24 BEST 100 2010
32. Hikoukigumo

-------

And another setlist:

1 - Nagisa no Cherry (Yellow: Shinoda, Blue: Ohori, Akimoto, Noro)
2 - Blue Rose (Matsui J, Takahashi, Watanabe, Ono)
3 - Ame no Doubutsuen (Maeda, Minegishi, Kashiwagi, Sato Y, Kasai, Itano, Miyazaki, Kojima)
MC - Ame Members
4 - Mushi no Ballad (Takahashi)
5 - Heart Gata Virus (Miyazawa, Oshima, Sato N)
6 - Kimi wa Pegasus (Matsui R, Yagami, Takai, Mori)
7 - Wimbledon he Tsureteitte (Ono, Miyazaki, Fujie)
8 - Tonari no Banana (Sashihara, Nito)
9 - Itoshiki Natasha (Chikano, Akimoto, Sato N)
10 - Endroll (Minegishi, Itano, Matsui J, ?)
11 - Tsundere (Urano, Watanabe, Nakatsuka)
12 - Zannen Shoujo (Kitahara, Maeda, Takajo)
14 - Kuroi Tenshi (Katayama, Kashiwagi, Nakaya)
15 - Kuchi Utsushi no Chocolate (Noro, Kasai, Ohori)
16 - Wagamama na Nagareboshi (Kojima, Shinoda)
17 - Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou (Oshima Mai, Fujie)
18 - Tobenai Agehachou (Under Girls, Masuda -> Kashiwagi)
MC - Nachu, Oshima Mai, Takajo
19 - Black Boy (SDN48)
MC - SKE48
20 - Tsuyokimonoyo (SKE48 Team S)
21 - Chime wa Love Song (SKE48 Team S)
22 - Shonichi (Team B)
23 - Two years later (Team B)
24 - Ki ni Naru Tenkousei (Team K)
25 - Saishuu Bell ga Naru (Team K)
26 - JK Nemurihime (Team A)
27 - Seishun no Inazuma (Team A)
MC - Takahashi, Maeda, Itano, Minegishi, Kojima
28 - Romance, Irane
29 - BINGO!
30 - Oogoe Diamond
31 - 10nen Zakura
32 - Namida Surprise!
ENCORE
33 - Iiwake Maybe (Senbatsu + Nito, Katayama)
34 - Aitakatta (Members from 33 join at end)
35 - Hikoukigumo

--------

Looking forward to:
- Confession (Shinoda, Sato A, Akimoto, Itano)
- Kimi wa Pegasus (Matsui R, Yagami, Takai, Mori) --> Matsui in white! 
- Tobenai Agehachou (Undergirls, Masuda -> Kashiwagi)
- Tonari no Banana (Sashihara, Nito)  
- Zannen Shoujo (Kitahara, Maeda, Takajo)  
- Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou (Oshima Mai, Fujie):

[SomethingWild]

DVD Release of SKE48's First Stand-alone Concert "Hajimete no Kagai Jugyou
ＳＫＥ４８「初めての課外授業」＆ Ｔｅａｍ Ｓ ２ｎｄ「手をつなぎながら」公演ＤＶＤ販売決定のお知らせ

The DVD release for SKE's first concert, hold on 5/24, has been decided. Release date for the theatre version will be announced on the official website soon. A regular version with a different bonus video is planned for release in the second half of December.

Setlist
1. overture
2. 10nen Zakura
3. Party ga Hajimaru yo
4. Chime wa Love Song
5. Romance Rocket
6. Wimbledon he Tsureteitte
7. Kiss wa Dame yo
8. Classmate
9. Kono Mune no Barcode
10. Choco no Yukue
11. Skirt, Hirari
12. Ame no Pianist
13. Glory days
14. Aitakatta
15. Sakura no Hanabiratachi
16. Rope no Yuujou
17. Innocence
18. Koi no Keikou to Taisaku
19. SKE48
20. Dear my teacher
21. Kayoubi no Yoru, Suiyoubi no Asa
22. Te wo Tsunaginagara
23. Bokura no Kaze
24. Oogoe Diamond
25. Tooku ni ite mo

Bonus Video
Compilation of Team S Physical Strength Measuring, videos that were shown at the SKE48 theatre during S2.

The release dates and details for S2's DVD will also be announced soon.

http://www.ske48.co.jp/news/?id=1255529588
http://www.ske48.co.jp/news/dvd.pdf

Info by Jasey!

[Masa]

DOWNLOAD @ AKB Multimedia

[maliciel]

So I watched my first AKB concert ever in full today, and decided to do a little writeup. I picked Himawarigumi's 2nd Stage, since it has all the girls I like, and Romance Irane is in the tracklist. I just love that song, what can I say.

01. ロマンス、イラネ (Romance, Irane)

Favourite song of the moment right here. Actually one of the only reasons I even downloaded this in the first place, lol. I was like "well, that takes away the motivation to watch the rest.." Awesome costumes, catchy hook and awesome dance. I really really really like the sleeveless costumes. Erepyon gets special mention for being cute as a button here.

02. 夢を死なせるわけにいかない (Yume wo shinaseru wake ni ikanai)

When I first heard this song on 0ji I hated it. Of course, as is par for the course for most idol fans this was remedied by repeated listens. And I must say I quite love this song now. The chorus

gives me such a fuzzy feeling. And omg guitar lead wooooooo.

03. Let's get "あと1センチ" (Let's get "Ato 1 cm")

Fun song, but otherwise quite bland. Props on the outfits though, that'd keep even the Pope's attention, for sure. Well, at least I thought it was bland, till they brought out the chairs. Rotating chairs. How fucking awesome is that! And they literally brought them out from nowhere.

04. 愛とプライド (Ai to Pride)

Oh, a nice feel-good crowd participation song. I thought Takamina looked good here.

05. Bye Bye Bye

At first I thought I was watching a 2nd Gen Tanpopo video. I really like this song! It's made of cute, awesome and cheerfulness. I was smiling like an idiot the whole way through.

06. 初めてのジェリービーンズ (Hajimete no Jelly Beans)

Funnily enough, I paid more attention to Sae than I did to Atsuko, even if Acchan is cute as hell here. The song ain't exactly the most memorable thing ever, except for the guitars. It's a pet peeve of mine, but using instruments as props is just wrong. That's not to say I won't like watching these girls do it, but damn, they need to use better props. Like chairs.

07. となりのバナナ (Tonari no Banana)

This song is just wrong. You shouldn't be able to conciously put two of the cutest girls into one subgroup; it's just too awesome for me to comprehend. The dialogue in the middle is cute! If I had an emoticon for the whole perf it'd be: ^___________________________^

08. 記憶のジレンマ (Kioku no Dilemma)

What with Nontii's dress? They made her look 30. It's Yukarin! She's made of attractive, cute and win. Was this one live? I'm usually bad at that, and I haven't heard enough of their singing to tell. If it was, I thought they did quite a decent job! Definitely surprised,at least.

09. Confession

Good picks on the four girls, I think. The outfits were great, and they actually used those micstands to great effect. Was nice to see Mariko doing her thing. I was looking forward to seeing her in action.

10. 森へ行こう (Mori e ikou)

Nothing to say here really. This song totally didn't do it for me

11. 青春の稲妻 (Seishun no inatzuma)

Oh yeah, more my style, this one. I really like the dance! The chorus is pretty catchy too. Maimai's little jig in the middle was great too. Thought was gonna see more of them do it, was sorely disappointed.

12. 生きるって素晴らしい (Ikirutte subarashii)

Highlight of the show for me! Well, besides Romance, Iranee. I don't really get what the point of the ties was, but I guess they look cool, and that's a good enough reason for me. The opening was great, and

I'm pretty sure it just put 'LALALALALALA' in my head for a few days.

13. 愛の毛布 (Ai no moufu)

Wedding dresses. Will they stop at nothing! I spent most of this song being all DAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW; They're so pretty. And who doesn't want to see their favourite girl in a dress like that, right.

I want Mariko to marry me ;_;.

14. ロックだよ、人生は... (Rock da yo, jinsei wa...)

Fun dialogue at the start! This is what I expected the whole stage to be like, to be honest. It's quite funny seeing the crowd rooted to their seats after hearing a song like that, but I'm pretty sure they're supposed to keep seated.

15. 50%

This song is similar to Yume wo etc for me. It definitely grew on me as I listened to it a few times. Elevated platform ! I must admit, the outfits are really hit and miss on this one. That said, Mariko is quite sweaty here.

16. ハートが風邪をひいた夜 (Heart ga kaze wo hiita yoru)

A bit of a downer to end on, in my opinion. But it's one of the better songs in the stage, so I don't mind it one bit. But I guess it didn't really end there, because I rewound to watch Romance, Iranee again.

Overall, for someone who had no interest in AKB's music at all, I quite enjoyed this stage. Of course, the presence of all the girls I would've wanted to see on stage in one group made it easier to motivate me to watch it. I was pretty awestruck by how small the stage is (for some reason, I didn't connect the stage I saw in Nemousu TV to be the one and the same), and how close the audience is. I think it's really cool how the fans do hand gestures instead of OAD or some shit like that. And the elevating platform! How awesome is that. I love it. But I think what I really appreciate about AKB's stage format is the original songs, which means everyone gets a chance to sing and get some camera time in. And surprisingly, I actually noticed some girls more than the 'main' girls (ie, Acchan, Kojiharu), although that might just be some sort of underdog-love kicking in, heh.

This took way too long to write. Does anyone have any suggestions of other stages I should check out? Preferably something that's seeded

[Melchizadek]

If you enjoyed H2, you'd probably also like H1.   If there's any stage or concert you'd like that isn't seeded on Hello!Online, just let me know.  I've got the MKV versions of pretty much everything on my hard drive.  (and will most likely keep them even after buying the DVDs since I wouldn't want them getting scratched).

[Maimi_Yajima]

I'm happy that you create this topic.
I have very little knowledge of songs and concerts of this group.
I only see their PV. but ... lately after seeing the great song "River"  has given me much curious.  

um ... I hope to read  and see more concerts of akb48 in the topic.
for me, it´s a pleasure.


純愛のクレッシェンド　リクエストアワー2009
with your permission ... but... I failed in trying to stop my temptation ... I really like this song ...  

There are voices with  splendor in akb48      
I'm excited.  

AH! I forget to thank you.
Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu.

[Blu-Cherri]

If you're feeling the underdog love take a look at group 2's version of H2 as for me there are songs I prefer the different versions of and sometimes it's just cool to see a different take on it

[ohno]

15. 50%

This song is similar to Yume wo etc for me. It definitely grew on me as I listened to it a few times. Elevated platform ! I must admit, the outfits are really hit and miss on this one. That said, Mariko is quite sweaty here.

Since you were paying attention to Mariko, did you notice her hairstyle changes between some shots?
AKB48 Himawarigumi1 2nd Stage 50% 50 percent HD

[maliciel]

Apparently I wasn't paying enough attention.

That said. I'm just wondering, but are there any Stages where they sing live, mostly? I watched some of the Budokan concert and it's mostly recorded as well (the 20 minutes I watched at least..)? I do wanna hear how they sound without all the autotune..

[SomethingWild]

^Not sure where they sing live.. I have some live WR performances, but you don't want to hear them  


Might as well add my H2 thoughts! H2 is the first and only stage DVD I actually own  

When I watched it I was pretty disappointed. It took me a LONG time to get into the songs, but I quite like some of them now.

Favorites include:
- Bye Bye Bye: great unit and the song is pretty catchy.
- Hajimete no Jelly beans: I like that it's high pace, but the colors of the costumes and guitars hurt my eyes.
- tonari no banana: it's cute and it has Kasai!
- Confession: Finally a rock song!
- mori e ikou: Brilliant song! It might take a while to get used to, but it's a really interesting song. It doesn't sound like your average AKB song.

Blu pointed out that both teams take a different take on the songs, which is cool. However! I prefer the 'first group' version in almost every song. The only exception is 'confession' which needs Amina in it!  

...if anyone wants to buy my H2...  

[kahmshi]

I just finished to watch the budokan lives and I have to say the first one ,with the suffles ,is actually really AWESOME.

My favourites:

1 - Nagisa no Cherry (Yellow: Shinoda, Blue: Ohori, Akimoto, Noro)
I love mariko's voice and the whole combi is awesome

2 - Blue Rose (Matsui J, Takahashi, Watanabe, Ono)
Mayuyu is the best part of this,I really like her in this kind of songs!

4 - Mushi no Ballad (Takahashi)
  takahashi is so fierce and a very good singer!

5 - Heart Gata Virus (Miyazawa, Oshima, Sato N)
one of my favourites song with my favourite member? sure win!

8 - Tonari no Banana (Sashihara, Nito)
just love this song and moeno is really cute on it!

11 - Tsundere (Urano, Watanabe, Nakatsuka)
Mayuyu again and Cindy! love this combi as the tsundere girls

14 - Kuroi Tenshi (Katayama, Kashiwagi, Nakaya)
Yukirin voice is stunning I was 

17 - Oshibe to Meshibe to Yoru no Chouchou (Oshima Mai, Fujie)
Maimai apparence+ this song=pure win


yay for the shuffles!  I want more of them now =P

[Datalanche]

When I watched it I was pretty disappointed. It took me a LONG time to get into the songs, but I quite like some of them now.

H2 is actually one of my favorite stages. Though I was not too hot on the Himawari concept, H2 had tons of great songs and the groups were really good. mori e ikou, for example. Though a slight lift of the sound of Queen, it's great song for that.

If I can ever get to it, I'd like to watch the Budokan and team concerts over the holiday break. I have a tendency to burn them and forget about them. I even still need to watch most of the 2009 concerts period.

[Datalanche]

So I finally watched the JCB Hall concert. It was pretty awesome. Particular highlights for me included an AWESOME rendition of Faint featuring Akicha, who was still nine days away from being promoted to Team A! Also, the Junjou Shugi unit with Sae, Tomochin, and Amina was pretty great. Amina wore that outfit well.  Also can't go without mentioning MaiMai in Blue Rose. Yukirin was in several awesome units! Last but not least, Nontii and Meetan doing Tonari no Banana is great.

Great show. Glad I finally watched it.

[jafeijai]

^ Speaking of which, I guess I should give my thoughts on JCB as well.

THE.BEST.SHUFFLES.SO.FAR.PERIOD. At least among the ones I've seen.

Personal highlights:
- The JCB shuffle of Faint and Kinjirareta Futari should be written down in some AKB48 Hall of Fame; stuff of legends, those were.
- Yukirin/Tomo~mi/Sae did a great job with Junai no Crescendo. Unexpected shuffle, but still a great performance.
- Takamina + MARIA = awesomeness; Miichan and Tomochin also rocked.
- Dear my teacher shall be forever known to me as the song where the underdogs/best singers of each team shine. A - Maimai/Kitarie lead (later to become Akicha/Kitarie in Budoukan); K - Yuka/Umeda lead; B - Yukirin/Moeno lead; followed by some of the underdogs of each team? It's like the song was made to bring out the underdogs (in the sense that they're members who aren't normally put in the frontlines for senbatsu and such). And the song itself is just catchy.
- Blue rose was always an awesome song; Tomo~mi almost not being able to pick up the microphone stand definitely left a huge impression. Plus, for those who have seen the making of for this concert...them pink shorts...o__o Definitely leave a mark on a guy's mind..

The making of was also good fun. (Erena's small part during MARIA was so cute.. )

Overall, the best concert I've seen (though I don't have much to compare to  )

[SomethingWild]

Nagoya Ikki Setlist (by Jasey!)

M01 Pinocchio Gun
M02 Rope no Yuujou
M03 Tsuyokimonoyo
M04 Antenna (Team S)
M05 Seifuku no Me (Team S)
M06 Kayoubi no Yoru, Suiyobi no Asa (Team KII)
M07 Koi no Keikou to Taisaku (Team KII)
M08 Romance Rocket (Team KII)
M09 Jealousy no Alibi (Team S)
M10 Doubt! (Team S)
M11 Aitakatta (Team KII, 3rd Generation)

M12 Omoide Ijou (Matsui J, Hiramatsu, Yamashita)
M13 Wimbledon he Tsureteitte (Takayanagi, Yamada, Wakabayashi)
M14 Okami to Pride (Mori, Yagami)
M15 Kono Mune no Barcode (Matsumoto, Kito, Takada)
M16 Mangekyo (Matsushita, Ono, Nakanishi, Hirata, Deguchi)
M17 Endroll (Matsui J, Kuwabara, Yamashita, Yagami)

M18 Skirt, Hirari (A mix from S & KII)
M19 Choco no Yukue (Akaeda, Iguchi, Kato, Ogiso)
M20 Kareha no Station (Matsui R)
M21 Ame no Pianist (Uchiyama, Sato S, Furukawa)
M22 Glory days (Mukaida, Ishida, Saito)
M23 Onna no Ko no Dairokukan (Kuwabara, Oya, Takada, Shinkai, Wakabayashi)
M24 Silent Night

M25 Anata to Christmas Eve
M26 Koi wo Kataru Shinjin ni Narenakute (Team S)
M27 Bokura no Kaze (Team KII)
M28 RIVER
M29 Iiwake Maybe
M30 Oogoe Diamond
M31 SKE48

EN1 Rakuen no Kaidan (Team S)
EN2 Te wo Tsunaginagara (Team KII, S)
EN3 Tooku ni ite mo
EN4 Nakama no Uta

[SomethingWild]

SKE48 - Hajimete / Bottom Line 09.05.24 short review:

Finally! SKE's first concert! Let the good times roll!

The good:
- Kumi impressed me most of all. What amazing stage presence, makes me even more sad she didn't get to perform in Paris.
- Rena's smile   she's gorgeous, amazing energy in her dancing as well.
- Shiori in Skirt, Hrari. She's been working on her moves and facial expression  
- Original girls for the units
- When Shinkai's in the background she makes the cutest faces  
- Ame no pianist was the best ever. I don't think I'd ever seen the full length version. That part where Yuimin dances and then goes to double pace if just  
- Team KII seems cool

The not so good:
- The stage is way too small and empty/boring.. on the plus side, it makes you focus more on the girls.
- The crowd seemed too close   I could smell the wota sweat
- I think they recycled some of the vocal recordings from S1 here and there... or some of the girls didn't improve one bit.

Overall:
- It's more like a glorified stage than a concert imo, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
- Most of the girls look spectacular
- The bonus video is super funny.. spoiler: Rena does a wotagei but gets too embarrassed half way in

edit:

Forgot the most important thing! The montage is great!!! You know how Goto Maki's PV give you epilepsy by switching camera views every split second. In the SKE dvd the camera actually stays on a girls for completely lines and stuff. It's really relaxed for your eyes and you can actually see the girls doing their thing   

[SomethingWild]

SKE48 - Team S 2nd Stage short review

...OMFG this is one EPIC DVD!

I never really got into S2, but damn! AWESOME. I really like the setting, and the sounds and video are just flawless.

Also, Yui = HOT! I already knew that, but it's confirmed once again! And Rena! omg Rena!! 

There's a guy in the left corner of the crowd who's really into it 

The Team KII footage is pretty cool, but I think it'll get more interesting once we get to know them. It's 30 minutes of footage!

I think I actually prefer the S2 DVD over the First Concert DVD  which is pretty surprising to me.

GET THIS AWESOME DVD!!!

[Datalanche]

I apologize if this review is ramble-ridden or fragmented. I'm trying my best but I'm still having a total fanboy moment.

SKE48 - Team S 2nd Stage DVD

My expectations on this one were very high. I’ve heard nothing but good about the DVD in both terms of production quality and awesomeness of the stage. I had seen the stage previously through a LoD show, so I went in with some assurance of a good quality release and a stage I liked well enough.

Blown. Away. Blown. The fuck. AWAY. On all fronts.

I don’t even know what to elaborate on, where to begin, what to say. Holy shit. I guess first I’ll start with the technical stuff of the DVD. Whatever team produced, edited, and authored this disc needs to be given a raise and be put in charge of creating all future *48 DVD’s. This is a perfect disc. The quality is pristine, the colors are amazing, the encoding top notch, and the selection of shots is the best I’ve ever seen in a *48 stage DVD, and among the best produced in jpop concerts. So often, Japanese concerts suffer from seizure camera where shots are all over the place and swapping way too often. The camera angles used are superb. They’re level, they’re zoomed in just right, they follow the action, they are often timed with lines of the song so switches feel natural, and they are filming the parts that need to be filmed. A lot of it has to do with the stage which, in my opinion, is a far superior stage than AKB48’s for the purpose of filming. The lighting is also tons better which allows for these great shots to be just that greater. The audio is also a good mix. The audience is there for the “live” value, but they never overpower the music or the action. Overall, I have no complaints about the production of this DVD. It is SUPERB.

The content. Oy vei, where to begin. I’ve seen this stage before and I liked it a lot, but seeing it in this recording, after much practice and performances with everything fine tuned… WOW. The energy and excitement of it was seriously radiant. I usually don’t get “into” the concerts when I watch them, but this one totally drew me in. It was enthralling, fun, and exciting to watch! I got so into it I actually started applauding after the songs were done and waving my DVD player remote(PS3 controller) like a glowstick. later on. The girls’ amazing performances made every song feel alive. The group songs were fun and full of energy, the sexy songs were super sexy, the cute songs were numbingly cute, and the more emotional ballad-like songs had that subtle, gentle feel to them. The dancing was also fantastic. These girls are in sync and play off of each other very well. There was a lot of close quarters on their group songs, but it never looked like anyone was off pace. Their execution of the stage was, as far as I’m concerned, perfect. It was skilled, yet did not feel robotic. Terrific balance.

I guess I’ll just break it down to the songs now, in order to prevent rambling.

Bokura no Kaze – I love this song. It’s a terrific opening and the outfits rock!
Mango No.2 – Crazy song. I don’t love it to death, but it’s enjoyable.
Te wo Tsunaginagara – More AWESOME outfits, though it seems the younger they get, the more skin is shown. I also love this song.
Chime wa LOVE SONG – Probably my favorite group song. Totally awesome! Does a great job of featuring the members.
Glory days – My second favorite unit song. I dig the outfits and the performance here was awesome. Yuka’s arch at the end was also super hardcore!
Kono Mune no Barcode – An awesome as hell song with three awesome as hell girls! Loves it.
Wimbledon he Tsuretette – A dreadfully cute song that I love. Totally awesome.
Ame no Pianist – Best unit ever or best unit ever? Rena’s expressions in this one were just… amazing. Also, Yui, when did you get so HOT?  
Choco no Yukue – I’d think the song was kinda meh if the girls in it didn’t pull it off so brilliantly.
Innocence – Yeah uh… somewhere between amazing and awe inspiring, especially this performance of it.
Romance Rocket – If you guessed that I love this song too, you’d be absolutely … well, right. The wacky vocals and awesome instrumentals are totally catchy.
Koi no Keikou to Taisaku – For some reason, the beginning of this song makes me think of the Super Mario Bros. instrumental when you’re using the star power up. I like it.
Daisuki – The dresses are totally amazing. It’s a great ending-but-not-really song.
Rope no Yuujou – powerful comeback song. The outfits are awesome, as is the song. Lots of power and chants!
Kayoubi no Yoru Suiyobi no Asa – If one song on here is kinda forgettable, it might be this one. I like it, but I also don’t have a whole lot to rave about it. The performance is still top notch here, though.
Tsuyoki mono yo – It’s their first single. I really like it, but a lot of the previous songs blow it out of the water.
Tooku ni ite mo – Probably my favorite slower song in AKB or SKE’s lineup. It’s really nice. Great way to end a great stage.

For my almost final paragraph, I have some comments on certain girls. First of all, I am SO IMPRESSED with the group as a whole. Their talent has skyrocketed so much since the last time I saw them performing a stage. Their hard work shows big time here. I’m also so impressed at how on fire every single girl is. Team S doesn’t have any members that are lacking in skill. They were all dancing like the stage was on fire and performing their heart out. It was awesome! Oh, the ball just dropped in Times Square. Happy new year and stuff. Anyway, Team S just blew me away. They are all so awesome, so pretty, and just … GREAT! Also, I have a few particulars. First of all, Matsui Rena. As Barrie alluded to in his short review, holy crap dude. She is beautiful, stunning, awesome, amazing, and now a more solid favorite of mine than ever. Her stage presence is amazing, her expressions priceless, and her effort very noticeable. I’ve always thought she was pretty, but I was just so amazed every time I saw her. I also noticed Shinkai a lot. She looked like she was having a lot of fun performing, and she got a few good spots. Not enough, though. And of course Shiori, Aki, Yui, Yuka, and the rest of my well-liked members did a terrific job. Yui especially surprised me with her sexy moves in Ame no Pianist. That girl is a little firecracker!

Finally, I have one last girl in particular to write about. I’ve never paid a lot of attention to Ono Haruka, to be honest. She just seemed like “one of the other girls” and didn’t really stand out in the media I often see as an international fan. This DVD has made me a fan. Pictures do not do this stunning, beautiful girl justice. Reviews do not give you an example of her crazy awesome talent. Every moment she was on screen was a great moment. Her performances were terrific and she totally rocked Kono Mune no Barcode. After this disc, she’s shot way up in my lists. She’s terrific, and I can’t wait to see more of her in the concerts and S3.

So overall, if you can’t tell, this DVD is like the best thing I ever saw. Stuff like this is why I love Japanese pop music. I loved it from start to finish and it was actually exciting to watch. I don’t rewatch things often, but this..  This disc is staying within arm’s reach for a while. It is superb, and if you have the means please BUY IT sometime. It’s SO worth having.

Oh, and on a funny but somewhat unrelated note: When Daisuki ended, after the moment of silence where the girls say thanks, it scared the shit out of two sleeping cats on my bed.

Edit: Oh yeah, and the KII documentary that was on the disc was a nice bonus. It really does a good job of showing how much blood, sweat, and tears go into making these performances what they are. Based on this, I am digging Takayanagi Akane. She's adorable and seems fun. Surprisingly, she's legal too!