“Don’t touch me! You won’t fool me. Act as nice as you want, I’ll never accept you as Sashiko!”
[adsenseyu2]
Summary
The kenkyuusei have released a promo video announcing the upcoming debut of the 77th generation, and a handshake event has been scheduled for all of the idols. One day, Orine receives fan mail that made it through to her due to the lax screening process, and gets a nasty shock when she finds out that it’s a hate video, threatening her to not show up at the event. Though she turns up anyway, her self-confidence is shattered until she meets a little girl who’s a big fan of hers, and she encounters her hater just as the DES forces attack the stadium.
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Impression
Well, we were treated to another combination of idols fighting and an AKB48 track playing in the background, this time with the addition of the “ota”, who are apparently hardcore fans with glowsticks as weapons and customized mecha decorated with various AKB memorabilia. The experience was…um, quite cheesy, but you’ve gotta admit that there was a definite hint of coolness in there. I actually didn’t expect any DES to turn up seeing as that planet wasn’t under the ban for entertainment, but from what Chieri’s hinting at, they were probably sent by her father if she recognizes them. Speaking of Chieri, HNNNG~
So, yeah. This episode was all about hating. Serious hate, with hate fan mail sent from haters across the galaxy~ Out of all the AKB kenkyuusei, why did it have to be Orine? I mean, she didn’t even do anything, apart from want to be like Sashiko. At this stage, none of the kenkyuusei deserve any hate from both fictional fans and those IRL, (though I know people aren’t taking Chieri’s tendency to make people cry during rehearsals too well xD) In terms of the screening process, I don’t know whether that’s a good idea – obviously, mass hate mail will definitely knock down your confidence, but it all seems a bit too controlled if only the fanmail full of glowing praise ever gets through to the idols, because there will be people that aren’t always pleasant. I remember Acchan saying at the latest Senbatsu election “I know some people don’t like me, but please don’t hate AKB48!” Haters are a part of being an idol I guess, and one could say that the more you get, the more you’re growing in popularity.
The handshake events are a real part of AKB’s “idols you can meet premise”, but I doubt the turnout will ever be that empty for the kenkyuusei when it first started for them xD I’m glad that the little girl managed to brighten Orine’s spirits, and by taking the initiative she’s probably gotten more than one fan that day, though he won’t be admitting it any time soon. He must really love Sashiko to use bomb threats and all that, though hiding his face and the lighting made him look like a creepy child otaku. In any case, much like how Nagisa looks like Acchan, Orine would make a good Kojiharu imo. She’d have to cut off all that hair as Sashiko xD
- The AKB48 4th Senbatsu election results on June 6th are being streamed live on Youtube and Google+ at 5.20pm JST, from what I hear. Might as well tune in ^^