[TV] Produce 48

[SomethingWild]

My Top 12 picks after Ep01:

01. Kim Chaewon
02. Park Jinny
03. Jang Won Young
04. Miyawaki Sakura
05. Choi Soeun
: 06. Yoon Eunbin
07. Choi Yena
08. Chiba Erii
09. Kang Damin
10. Iwatate Saho
11. Li Gaeun
12. Kim Sohee

My Top 12 picks after Ep02 + additional Mnet Youtube footage:

01. Kim Chaewon
02. Jang Won Young
03. Choi Soeun
04. Park Jinny
05. Miyawaki Sakura
06. Iwatate Saho
07. Lee Kaeun
08. Kwon Eunbi
09. Kim Suyun
10. Choi Yena
11. Yoon Eunbin
12. Kim Sohee

Thoughts:
- Woolim Entertainment is where it's at. All four of these girls are very likable and their performance was great to watch.
- Jang Won Young is mad cute. If she doesn't say or do anything stupid, I think she'll go far.
- Lee Kaeun is a tricky one, because I'm not sure I want someone that experienced in a group like this. That said, she's good and seems like a nice person.
- As much as I enjoy Chiba Erii and Asai Yuka, man, they have a looong way to go. They're not ready for this.
- Regarding Lee Chaeyeon, while I acknowledge her amazing dancing skills, she doesn't really grab me otherwise.

One other thing, I find it tricky to be neutral when it comes to evaluating the Japanese trainees.
They say they start from zero, but I've known most of these girls for many years.
Should I cast aside past experiences and start from zero as well?

Like, Matsui Jurina's performance of Dear J was lolworthy. It wasn't worthy of her status at all.
And Takahashi Juri actually comes across as a nice person, even tho I've seen her be the exact opposite on several occasions.
So yeah, in that sense I'm having trouble making my mind up about the Japanse girls.

[manatzukkyun]

So happy Mnet uploaded the full versions of the trainee performances, I really wanted to see Hitomi, Miu and Serika perform Mister!



They all got pretty low grades but it's understandable since Bae Yoon Jung created that choreography.
I know Hitomi is going to rise soon though. 

[muppet]

^ credit to all three girls, especially shout out to Miu with some good long leg moves

Mnet knows how to pull the viewers strings....
the comments from the girls watching the performance
during the performance make the performance that much
more interesting

Key to this is they performed a uniquely NMB48 style song, bringing
something new to the trainees, judges, and the producers, rather than a
cover of someone else’s song

Go Namba!



[ENG] PRODUCE48 [2회] 내 눈을 바라봐 넌 행복해지고♬ㅣNMB48나이키 코코로, 무라세 사에, 시로마 미루, 카토 유우카, 우에무라 아즈사 180622 EP.2

[muppet]

Liked Kim Cho Yeon’s performance, great dance skills....

And her answer to the judge
was classic idol charm




ENG sub] PRODUCE48 [2회] '퐈이어~!' 열정 소녀ㅣA Team김초원 180622 EP.2

[Stryfe]

Next week, performances begin! The songs featured and team members have been spoiled ages ago by people who attended these shows, check out the lists here if you can't wait.

Anyway, two Avengers teams next week, going head to head! (Koreans call teams with top trainees like that lmao, ever since season 1)





Roster updates after ep 2

	Choi Yena (Yehua, 1999) Not much happening this week, but she's still cute and squishy.		Ahn Yujin (Starship, 2003) I read that her original dream was to become an english teacher, which could explain her fluency (like in this prologue audition)
	Heo Yunjin (Pledis, 2001) Shafted this week, but I still believe... watching the uncut performance vid I'm quite certain she's more like a B.		Lee Chaeyeon (WM, 2000) Her dancing is just so much fun to watch.
	Yoon Eunbin (CNC, 2004) Her dancing is really sharp, powerful and on point (like in her prologue audition), and she's really cute, it's a nice contrast haha.		Park Haeyoon (FNC, 1996) Feels like she's doing great and she's a fine performer (even if she did kinda botch her Nekkoya audition), although we'll see if she shows more personality.
	Miru Shiroma (NMB48, 1997) She got a pretty great edit, superb smile, really a lot of fun... she made B rank but seems like she's going to fall a bit.		Nako Yabuki (HKT48, 2001) Finally got her screentime, a great angel edit where she's deemed the pearl of F class - still no idea how she got there though, since all traces of her audition have vanished.
	Sakura Miyawaki (HKT48, 1998) While I don't think she deserved an A for her audition (B would have been generous) it looks like she's going to redeem herself... Interesting to see where her narrative goes, and she still looks amazing in a tiny bikini.		Aoi Motomura (HKT48, 1997) Not much Aoi in this ep, more tears though which is nice and nourishing.
	Miyu Takeuchi (AKB48, 1996) Very little Miyu in this ep, although her showing Sakura how to sing was a pretty great moment haha.		Lee Haeun (MNH, 2004) Her audition was pretty perfect, super cute, great dancing, decent singing.

So that means Yoon Haesol is out for now, a lot of it is to do with getting no screentime, and she was always on the top of the dangerlist anyway. We'll see how it goes.

On the watchlist, last week's picks of course, new ones... Erii is fucking adorable (and adorably bad), Hitomi Honda is great, plenty more really... Juri+Mako+Tomu doing Blackpink, bonus points for all y'all.


--

They all got pretty low grades but it's understandable since Bae Yoon Jung created that choreography.
I know Hitomi is going to rise soon though. 

In fact, actually:



Although it was edited in a way that you can't be sure if she was talking to Son Eunchae or Hitomi, anyway maybe she liked it

[muppet]

^Excellent evaluations!

This was fun to watch



[ENG sub] PRODUCE48 [단독/2회] 오늘 밤 주인공은 나야나 나야나 + 헤비로테이션 뜻밖의 군무 180622 EP.2

[SomethingWild]

I'll save y'all the trouble of having to look up this video:

[muppet]

^ Yuka charm campaign 


Yuka and Erii




The drawing is Yuka

[manatzukkyun]

It's a winku party and you're invited!



I'm so sorry for sleeping on your talent for so long Hiichan!
One of the best aspects of Produce48 for me is that it's making me learn a lot about 48G girls I didn't pay attention to before like Nako and Hiichan.

[muppet]

Myao in da house!




PRODUCE48 [단독/직캠] 일대일아이컨택ㅣ미야자키 미호 - ♬내꺼야 180629 EP.3

[muppet]

^ speaking of Miho san, her Korean speaking ability comes in
handy at the dorm room....gooooo job!

Meanwhile, A-Team getting good pink vibrations



[ENGSUB] PRODUCE48 Episode 2 - Welcome to The Dorm

[Stryfe]

Tonight's the night! According to people attending these performances they will have everything from legendary to tragic... can't wait.

[Stryfe]

Nako-train a-rolling towards top 12. The Cute Avengers were amazing, behind the scenes too. All the girlbonding ahh.

"I just picked cute members!" Nako you so smart.


--

01. Lee Kaeun
02. Ahn Yujin
03. Sakura Miyawaki +2
04. Jang Wonyoung
05. Kwon Eunbi -2
06. Moe Goto +2
07. Choi Yena -1
08. Miyu Takeuchi +3
09. Wang Yiren -2
10. Lee Chaeyeon
11. Noe Yamada -2
12. Jurina Matsui

Top 12 posted after the ep actually had all the same people as last week, just some in different positions. Miru (14) and Nako (16) are both rising too, gj gurls.





--



Next week we're not gonna get rankings because elimination episode is in two weeks and voting will be suspended at some point way before that.
 
Keep your fingers crossed that your girl(s) make top 58... everyone below that will be eliminated.

--

More stuff and thoughts later, after I've seen the subs at the latest.

[SomethingWild]

Ep03 was a rollercoaster!

First, some thoughts about the updated ranks:

- Kang Damin went from B to A, yet they still barely mentioned her. Luckily she got plenty of time to shine being chosen for Nako's group.
- Nako from F to A! What a legend. She pwnd this episode. Top 12 material for sure.
- Motomura Aoi going from D to B. Steadily climbing the ranks. Good job.
- The two ex-YG girls are dropping like bricks. Jenny was barely in this episode, but she went from C to F. Her blonde friend went from C to D and made a pretty poor impression during the team challenge. I think they might have an attitude problem or something.
- Props to Asai Yuka climbing from F to D. Sadly, she ended up in the 'loser team' and I fear the worst for position. If anything, she definitely earned a place in my heart thanks to P48.
- Jang Gyu Ri from B to F seems like a method to generate some hype. She'll bounce back.

The team challenge en the backstage footage was interesting too. It showed a nice mix between companionship and rivaly. This is were the girls' true personality comes out.

- Yoon Eunbin really is cute. I didn't realize she was kinda tiny.
- Nako is some of genius for selecting the team she did.
- Saho going for the spotlight is good. She never got any of that in AKB48. However, what the other girls said is also correct; an AKB girl centering an AKB song is boring.
- Matsuoka Natsumi once again confirmed my image of her. You want to center, but refuse to try and sing the song? I have no kind words for this. Imada Mina didn't score any points either.
- This was the best reaction of the ep imo, haha:

My Top 12 picks after Ep02 + additional Mnet Youtube footage:

01. Kim Chaewon
02. Jang Won Young
03. Choi Soeun
04. Park Jinny
05. Miyawaki Sakura
06. Iwatate Saho
07. Lee Kaeun
08. Kwon Eunbi
09. Kim Suyun
10. Choi Yena
11. Yoon Eunbin
12. Kim Sohee

Top 12 after Ep03:

01. Jang Won Young
02. Kim Chaewon
03. Yoon Eunbin
04. Yabuki Nako
05. Lee Sian
06. Lee Kaeun
07. Park Jinny
08. Miyawaki Sakura
09. Iwatate Saho
10. Kwon Eunbi
11. Choi Soeun
12. Asai Yuka

I realize I'm making a lot of big chances every week, but that's just because there are 96 girls I'm trying to get to know. 

[muppet]

This was Nako’s Day of Destiny

Nako and Kim Nayoung
A Legendary Collab


And Nayoung was able to make
the world’s shyest idol
(Misaki Aramaki) smile!




[Eng Sub] Produce 48 Ep 3 - Yabuki Nako cuts/kawaii moments

[muppet]

Props to the girls who moved up!

One of them
Hitomi Honda!



[ENG SUB] PRODUCE48 Ep.3 Trainees who received an A grade

[Stryfe]

Rest of the performances tonight! I don't know about you but I can't wait for this particular mess...

Chaejeong, the leader of Boombayah group 1, has been labeled a Snake for targeting the group with the worst skills and her cam has an insane amount of downvotes (14k atm vs 1.7k upvotes). I don't think it matters since she was super low to begin with, though. She's toast.

Boombayah group 2 gives me life (especially Erii's cam), though. They're predictably awful and completely out of their comfort zone... I actually think they're so bad they're good. Everything looks and sounds hilariously half-assed (despite sticking to it 'til the end). Erii rapping is a meme already. Interesting to see how this will affect their future, they're gonna get a lot of sympathy for now at least. Likewise, will everyone hate everyone in BB group 1? Stay tuned...



Roster updates after ep 3

	Choi Yena (Yehua, 1999) Went down to B much to everyone's shock (well I knew she'd be A/B based on Nekkoya). Top tier in her VVV cam as a cute main vocal (her tone is interesting). She chomp <3 (literally).		Ahn Yujin (Starship, 2003) Continues to be charming and versatile, uses her (plentiful) screentime well. Very driven (for her age too) to prove she's not just a pretty face.
	Heo Yunjin (Pledis, 2001) Kirin-chan finally gets center spot. And she looks fantastic in her cam, like (to quote shirenu) a "motivated Jiyeon".		Lee Chaeyeon (WM, 2000) Continues to be a dance dynamo. Not much else outside that, decent vocals, some nice quirks here and there.
	Yoon Eunbin (CNC, 2004) She was super cute and expressive in Love Whisper, but got shafted in screentime. She might be gone next week, sadly.		Park Haeyoon (FNC, 1996) Showing some real leadership in ep 3. Wonderful as a main vocal in the Like Ooh-Ahh perf.
	Miru Shiroma (NMB48, 1997) Fell to D which was to be expected after her troubles. She continues to be radiant, in her cam too.		Nako Yabuki (HKT48, 2001) Nako basically owned episode 3. Now I'm quite sure she has joined the "lock for final group" posse.
	Sakura Miyawaki (HKT48, 1998) Her performance isn't really that great, but I guess it never was about that. I do hope to see something worthwhile eventually from the lead character of Sakura48.		Aoi Motomura (HKT48, 1997) Hrm, did she do anything in ep 3, I forgot already. Really cute in VVV, but then again, she always is.
	Miyu Takeuchi (AKB48, 1996) It's becoming a meme (like her expressions) how she gets no screentime but just keeps rising. Solid cam performing an AKB48 song, which is to be expected.		Lee Haeun (MNH, 2004) Not really the leader of her team, but acting like one... sure to create drama in ep 4. Hope it's beneficial. Stay tuned.

No changes to the roster this week, I'll consider it after all the performances are over. And eliminations are lurking around the corner anyway, might even wait for that.

On the watchlist, Miu Shitao is creeping up to the first runner-up position, her transformation in Peek-A-Boo is incredible and I've been lowkey watching her ever since I saw her dance in episode 0.

[Stryfe]

Next week, all kinds of hilarity and... eliminations. Get ready to see some bawling.



--

Just a few quick comments on this week's episode, I'd wait for subs normally but I had to comment on some stuff:

- That audience was fucking strange. I feel like they were on top of things at some times, but completely fucking weird at others, I could not understand some decisions... All over the place there were weird high votes for some people that did ok, weird low votes for some people that did fantastic, I couldn't understand what the audience was looking for, at all. Of course we need to remember they got the raw, unedited audio and performance, we got the mnet deluxe audio/video extravaganza (and there was a LOT of autotuning going on)
- BB1 team may be snakes or whatever, but their performance was a hundred times better than BB2's. Maybe a thousand times. Yet they still lost. Of course, people can vote for whatever they find interesting, weird or funny but, that was fucking weird lmao. Did they just vote coz the Japanese girls were cutely fumbling through dance moves and they found it endearing (I know I did, but still...)? They don't know the backstory, at least not that well...
- Heo Yunjin finally shining and getting rewarded. I found Miyu votes weirdly low, tho maybe it was because she was wearing a yellow... curtain.. or something.
- VVV battle was predictably a bloodbath, I didn't mind any of the weird vote distribution either, since I had 3 girls in each team on MY team lol
- Park Haeyoon was a shining light in the Like Ooh-Ahh perf, and Moe somehow stole her thunder for some aforementioned audience-related reason, I guess

I think even my biases start to show when I'm watching my faves perform, so I could be talking out of my ass, but anyway, I found a lot of tonight's episode pretty wack! xDDDD



Edit: Oh and Miu Shitao? Wow. Wow wow wow. Glad she got recognition.

[SomethingWild]

^Agreed on the weird voting results. I was like 'wtf how' multiple times, haha.

Thanks to episode four I learned that several girls I thought were Korean are actually 48G members, lmao.
Asai Nanami for one. And plenty of others I've never even heard of. Good for them to get themselves out there.

----------------

Let me use a different top 12 picks arrangement this time.

There are two girls who are locked in for me:

01. Jang Won Young
02. Kim Chaewon

They both are exactly what I'm looking for in an idol. I think Jang Won Young speaks for herself.
Everybody who say her perform must've seen she's a natural. Kim Chaewon seems to be doing good enough to make next week's cut, so that's great.
She hasn't gotten that much attention yet, but at least her Twice performance was excellent. Her voice suited the song perfectly, as did her appearance.

This week I also picked up a new favorite:

03. Jo Yuri

For some reason, she stands out. Star aura or whatever you want to call it. Her main attraction are her husky vocals.
Holy crap, this girl can sing. I went back to check the previous eps and yeah, this girl needs to be in the group. She seems like a lot of fun in general as well.

Then there are a couple of girls with their own unique charms:

04. Yabuki Nako
05. Lee Sian
06. Yoon Eunbin

Nako received the most votes for a reason. Her performance was excellent. She's made cute. A great idol.
Lee Sian actually reminds me of IU when it comes to her expressions. Remember when Park Ji-sung double crossed IU on Running Man? Sian pulled exactly that expression, haha.
Yoon Eunbin's gap moe is simply adorable. Cute little girl, who can dance like crazy.

Finally, I have a numbers of girls that can go either way. In no particular order:

- Park Jinny: I dropped her a bit last week, but seeing her again I can't deny that I like her a lot.
- Choi Soeun: She failed to make a name for herself this episode, but she still looked good. Her biggest enemy at the moment is time. I know she has the potential.
- Choi Yena: She can be quirky and fun, but I'm not convinced I'd want her in the group.
- Kang Hye Won: She's a bit strange. She can't really sing or dance that well, but she's fun to watch and super pretty.

That leaves the two aces.

- Lee Kaeun
- Miyawaki Sakura

But man, I honestly don't know where to place these two anymore. Lee Kaeun speaks both languages, she has tons of experience and is obviously very skilled.
She would be an asset to the group. However, remember when AKB48 had that 37 year old member? That's who Lee Kaeun looked like this episode.
And Sakura... Can this group have their own identity and style is Sakura is included? Isn't she too famous?

So for me it's the six girls I mentioned, plus Jinny. Let's see who'll make the cut next week!

---------

edit:

Some more random thoughts:
- Kim Hyunah is pretty damn hot
- I dropped Saho from my list. I've always liked her a lot, but she's not radiant enough for a global super group.
- I still barely have any Japanese girls in my list, but I just don't know how to evaluate them...

[muppet]

You can’t control luck,
So it’s all about the pluck......


Produce 48 | ep 4 | english sub | part 3