I was introduced to AKB48 through Jdramas (namely Majisuka) and my "relationship" to the group is a strange one. I can't stand their idolish music too much. The one song I like is River, mostly after someone pointed out the lyrics and what they mean to first and foremost the first generation members.
As much as I don't like the music, I can't get enough of the members. They are cute, funny and have so much charisma. They work hard under insane pressure and push themselves to the edge all the while living their dream. It just makes me happy watching backstage footage of them doing nothing.
styrofoam wrote: I was wondering, why do people like AKB so much? They look plain, their music is forgettable, and they have really obviously fake personalities (so I don't get why people have an "oshimen" or whatever), so what is it?
Not to be rude, but I just really don't get where the love comes from?
I guess everyone has different taste, and beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder as I find the girls to be very beautiful. Like I said though, I kind of agree about the music but I doubt there is anyone who is a fan of AKB for the music alone.
I can explain why I like them though, apart from what I said above. After watching various interviews and longer documentaries of the band is when I started really liking them. Part of why is their history, which you might not know about. I won't go into all the details, if you are interested in learning the appeal of them I suggest starting with the Kin Sma Special about them. But when they were formed, they had a really tough time. They had to practice dance routines and songs everyday after school and perform to a nothing audience (often for about 3-10 people) for more than a year. All the while trying to be normal girls dreaming of fame only to see their hard work rewarded with nothing at all. You see like these girls going on stage after practicing for months to perform to an audience of three people and then just break down in despair afterwards. People called them Panty Girls or something.
I'll stop their, their story is a much longer one. And yeah, I'm sure there are alot of artists that struggled in the beginning, but these girls were so young and too see such a sad story as theirs originally was turn out so succesful as the band actually has is something remarkable.
As for their personas, I don't think they are fake at all. Obviously they have things about them they don't share, but I think as they have been brought up in the media world all they have is being who they are and hope people like them. It is one of the reasons I am not a huge fan of Mayu Watanabe. When she get's placed fifth in the senbatsu, and is unhappy with even such a great position, she says it out loud. I can still respect her for something like that though.
I better stop this rambling as I talking on unrelated things perhaps. I could write a book about what I think about these members, their story and fame.
I'll just end by saying, they have a sad story turned into success. They are cute, charming, sexy and have fun personalities. These are all reasons why people like them so much.
If you are interested for real, like I said, watch some documentaries (starting with the Kin Sma Special as it's tells their story from the beginning). If not, well then at least this might have explained it a little bit. Hopefully.
