AKB48 has just released their 2017 General Election PV, and though I am not into AKB or follow their new release as much as I used to, I have been lowkey waiting for it, hoping that it would be a bikini PV.
Bikini PV is always a lot of fun, and with the general public’s waning interest towards AKB, I think bikini PV might be just what it needs to spark some excitement.
I had been quite optimistic as SKE and NMB have released their own bikini PV for summer this year, and the last bikini PV from AKB was “Labrador Retriever” from 2014.
But, alas, my waiting was once again in vain.
With Sasshi as center, this year Sousenkyo Song is “#Sukinanda”.
Yes, you read that as “Hashtag, Sukinanda” means more or less “Hashtag, I love You”.
At the first listen, I didn’t like #Sukinanda and I also thought the PV is as generic as beachy summer MV could have been, but only half the fun because of the lack of girls in bikinis.
Come on, AKB! Where’s the fun in a summer PV without bikini?? =P
But after a couple of times, the lyrics caught on, and now I like it a lot better.
I’m going to tell you why I grew to like it in a sec, but first, let me tell you what made me think it is so mediocre at the beginning.
1. The make-ups
I think the make-ups are too pale and make the members look washed out.
I especially didn’t like the pale lilac lipstick on Mayuyu’s storyline shots.
This color and the make up as a whole makes her looks dull and unattractive, when we all know she is a very lovely girl.
I don’t understand what went wrong, AKB always favor natural make up and they has done natural make up beautifully countless times before, such as in “Kokoro no Placard”:
or “Sayonara Crawl”:
But this time, they just failed to bring out the girls’ youthful freshness.
Sasshi fared a bit better with pinker lip shade, but not by much.
2. Costumes
Eh, it looks too similar to “Iiwake Maybe”?
Especially when the camera zooms out to picture the whole group.
I like Mayu and Sasshi’s simple blouse and skirt on the storyline shot, but the dance shot group costume is just meh.
I can think of a hundred ways to make the costumes look more interesting, such as incorporating Okinawan traditional pattern into them, since they shot the PV in Okinawa.
This shot where new rising star Ogiyuka and someone wearing Okinawan yukata looks gorgeous, I wish they would utilize it more.
3. PV Storyline
As usual, AKB PV storyline is not necessarily related to the meaning of the song it self.
The PV is filmed in Okinawa, probably as a tribute since the General Election was going to be held live outdoor there, but was canceled because of bad weather.
Sasshi played a tour guide, and Mayu her lone tourist. Together they went around Okinawa town, probably for the sake of showing Okinawan townscape. While they looked cute together, I think Sasshi and Mayu’s scenes are actually less Okinawa-unique compared to the other girls’ group shots.
All the while, in seemingly unrelated narrations, other girls are shown to be enjoying vacation in various Okinawa locations.
Going in transparent floor boat,
playing Okinawan sanshin,
or just playing around and posing like “Shisa”.
All in all, I think NMB “Masaka Singapore” did a better job in highligting Singaporean townscape and atmosphere while still maintaining an integrated storyline as a whole, however ridiculous the story might be.
I also didn’t get the ending where Sasshi and Mayu sat down at the beach and talked about turtles. Sasshi told Mayu how turtles struggle to reach the sea upon hatching, and mimicked how they crawl.
This makes Mayu smiled in such a sentimental way, like she was about to cry but then her expression immediately turned grim again.
What is it all about??
Is it related to her graduation? That Mayuyu feels sad about her graduation, but think staying in AKB is more unbearable?
I don’t know.
To me, it all just seems so random.
The PV ends with both girls ran to the see, and that’s that.
and still no bikini.
Now, the thing that makes me like this song a lot better after several listens was actually the lyrics.
You know I’m a sucker for songs with little a touch of wistfulness or melancholy. If a song is more of a sad song, I usually will not like it. But if a song is generally hopeful and motivational, but with a dreamy quality to it, I usually will fall hard.
All AKB songs I especially favor have been this kind of song, e.g. “Gingham Check”, “Kibouteki Refrain”, and “Koisuru Fortune Cookie”.
In that same wistfulness line, “#Sukinanda” tells about a boy who went to a trip with a girl he likes, but he just couldn’t tell that he likes her. So, instead, he upload a picture of her on SNS (=Social Media Service) with a hashtag #Iloveyou in order to let out some of his bursting passion.
#(Hasshutagu)SukiNanda
Boku wa tsubuyaku
Kono mune no atsui kimochi
SNS agete mita
Ryouri no shashin
Bonyari to dareka no kage
Sarigenaku kataomoi
#Ilikeyou
So I tweet
This passion in my chest
I post on SNS
A photo of our cooking
Blurred by someone’s shadow
Nonchalantly crushing onesidedly
Awww—–just how sweet is that???
I love that it is romantic, kind of not very straightforward and full of nervousness, but still, the boy took courage expressing his feelings.
And—not all love are unrequited in Akimoto’s world.
Often it is, and the one-sidedness does add a bittersweet addictive taste to some songs.
But in “#Sukinanda”, the girl actually responds by uploading a picture of him, saying she was “withmyfavoritepersonnau”, presumably also with a hashtag.
#(Hasshutagu)SukiNanda
Boku wa tsubuyaku
Kono mune no atsui kimochi
Ripurai kimi kara da
Suika no shashin
Karaburi no boku ga utsuru
Daisuki na hito to nau
#Ilikeyou
So I tweet
This passion in my chest
There’s a reply from you
A watermelon photo
With me striking in vain on it
With my favorite person right now
And in case you are unfamiliar with Japanese SNS, “nau” is how they fashion the word “now”, meaning the activity with word “nau” attached is whatever they are doing at the moment an SNS picture is taken.
I love how Akimoto is able to incorporate undeniably pervasive SNS existence in the song, going so far as accommodating the very “in” hashtag or word unique to SNS like “nau” into his lyrics, and still make it a dreamy and sweet song of fondness.
While Mayuyu is just about to go through some of big changes in her life with her upcoming graduation, I actually have been through some changes as well in my life.
Maybe some of you have caught on from several of previous posts, but actually I have changed my job. And as in other kind of changes, it feels very hard.
I really do love my previous work place, my job, and my colleagues.
I miss them a lot.
A girl from my new office asked me, “Which one do you like better, this office or your old one?”
I said, it cannot be compared, because I have worked for almost 5 years in my old office, and only several months in the new one.
But I hope, I will be able to create a memory, an experience just as wonderful as the previous one.
I have met walls, I have faced challenges, I have my ups and downs before, but I can always look back in fondness. Hopefully, I will be able to do the same onwards.
And wherever I am, I’m always so thankful that God always bless me with beautiful people I can look up to.
People who inspire me to improve my self and step forward.
Especially my little sister, who has been my rock lately.
She has been so reliable, push me when I need it and support me in little things that I truly appreciate.
Also, of course all of my siblings.
I am so glad I have them.
I wish, as self-absorbed as I am, I have shown them enough that I always be there for them as they are for me.
Changes will always be there, but I hope I will always have the courage to get through.
#Sukinanda #Jibunwomousukoshi #sukininarou #toiushiseide #iyoune
peachflowerblooming 