The past few days I’ve been kind of in a video-addicted mode. I’ve successfully worked by way through the AKB48 stages A3, K1, and K3 in addition to their 2007 Haru concert. As I type this entry, I’m just finishing up the Berryz Kamen vs. C-ute Ranger 2008 concert, and I have the 2008 H!P winter tour currently torrenting away. After watching so many cute girls dance around to amazingly catchy pop tunes, I felt it was about the right time to address the H!P vs. AKB48 question that has plagued my mind (and those of others) for quite some time.
When AKB48 first starting making waves on the Internet, many H!P fans were split into one of three groups: they were either 1) completely ecstatic that there was another female-infested idol group to fanwhore, 2) competely apathetic to the situation, or 3) filled with hate for this “copycat” group. I started out in group #3 - I didn’t understand what was so special about a group that sang and danced. All they seemed to be doing differently was putting on concerts every single day instead of spaced throughout the year. The songs they sang were mediocre and they weren’t particularly attractive or had any cute theme. Why were there suddenly an upsurge of fans to support this new player in the idol scene?
I, like many other fans back in the day, were simply spiteful that there was another idol group that seemed to be drawing in the general J-pop fanbase - here was the long-awaited contender to Hello! Project’s supergroup status. After several months of feigning ignorance, I decided to dive right in and find out what this AKB48 group was all about. I started downloading all their singles, watching their PVs, and searching for their various performances on YouTube.
Now that I’ve watched a few of their concerts/stages in full, I feel like I can finally properly express my opinions by comparing these two J-pop supergroups in terms of five main factors: image (as in physical appearance), character (as in personality), singing talent, dancing talent, and charisma/idol factor (hard to explain; it’ll make sense when you get there).
Item #1: Image ~ winner: tie
The least important factor of all would be physical appearance. I really don’t mind what any of the girls look like - granted, the cuter ones like Minegishi Minami and Sugaya Risuko will get the first glance from my eyes, but ultimately I look at all of the girls because I become interested in all of them. After all, it’s not called an idol -group- for no reason. Contrary to Resonant Blue, Ai/Reina/Koharu are not the only worthy females in MoMusu, and my dislike for Takahashi Minami’s stoic expression doesn’t really affect my assessment of her singing/dancing talent.
Item #2: Character ~ winner: depends on group/team
I’m actually tempted to say H!P simply because I have had more exposure to the personalities of the girls, especially Morning Musume, where each girl seems to have her own self-made stereotype. I will forgo leaning towards my H!P bias, though, because I haven’t seen that many variety shows or specials with the AKB48 girls yet (just a few private videos) so I’m really unfamiliar with the personalities of many of the AKB48 members. Likewise, however, there are some H!P groups which are really lacking in personality. For example, Country Musume and Melon Kinenbi? I daresay even Petitmoni and Tanpopo were severely lacking in any kind of real personality. I’ve noticed a lot of personality in about half of AKB48, *cough*usually with girls who starred in epic small-group songs*cough*, but the rest of them are a huge blank to me. I guess this item is still kind of up in the air.
Item #3: Singing talent ~ winner: AKB48
Have you heard H!P sing live? No really. With Koharu and Sayumi in Morning Musume, I’m not confident that any live they do will end up beautifully brilliant (and for the record, Koha/Sayu are my favourite MoMusu girls, so no, I’m not being unreasonably spiteful). On the other hand, have you ever heard AKB48 sing live? Well, they practically do it most days at their theater anyways. Listen, if you will, to concerts, singles, or albums of H!P and then turn around and do the same of AKB48. The type of blending prevalent in the two groups is radically different. In H!P, the focus seems to be on showcasing the various voice types that you can find. Therefore, you can still very easily pick out individuals’ voices in group/paired lines. In AKB48, however, the focus seems to be on a beautiful blend. For many of the songs in which there are large segments of group singing (most of them, but I’ll pick on Aitakatta), all of the voices blend together so beautifully, it sounds like one entire unit instead of an eclectic collection of different voices. In fact, in songs like Romance Irane, where the groups change between lines, it’s almost unnoticeable (other than some voices collectively sounding slightly higher/lower pitched) and unbroken. The transitions between groups are smooth and gorgeous. However, in many of the smaller group songs there is just enough personality in the voices that you can pick out individuals while still revelling in the amazing unity and spot-on blending. So yes, AKB48 gets my pick this go-around.
Item #4: Dancing talent ~ winner: H!P
I’m actually really sorry to say this because there are some AKB48 dance sequences that are just blow-you-away awesome (Kimi wa Pegasus comes to mind). However, ultimately I think the dance aspect is AKB48’s biggest vice. In all three of the stages I’ve watched in addition to the concert and many of their PVs, the snappiness of AKB48’s dances are severely lacking. The moves that they execute are often poorly timed, and aren’t uniform enough. I understand that it’s oftentimes a very good and interesting thing to put a bit of your own personality into the dance (which could explain the timing issues), but when that happens at the expense of a certain tightness and uniformity, it causes issues and creates the impression that the dances are sloppily put together (for example, Dear my teacher during the Medley of the 2007 Haru tour). A lot of the time I notice many of the members putting a lot of feeling and emotion into the movements, but that doesn’t work for every single song. It worked BEAUTIFUL for Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou 10 minutes earlier, but the velocity of the movements in a serious song are different from those required for an upbeat Medley. It’s also prevalent in Romance Irane, where many of the girls raise/lower their arms at different times - not just slightly off, but very noticeably so.
Looking instead at H!P, I always find every single one of their live performances full of snappiness and energy. I’m not sure if I should chalk this up to strict dance teachers, really kickass choreographers who know how to really bring out the best in the H!P girls, or if the H!P girls are just kickass dancers themselves. But watch the dance shot of Tokkaiko Junjou, of Namida no Iro, of Special Generation, of Onna ni Sachi Are, of Resonant Blue, of any Koharu work (maybe she doesn’t count since she’s on speed or something). You’ll notice a certain kind of snappiness that makes everything feel really slick and together. Even though it’s not timed EXACTLY perfectly, when the girls move in Tokkaiko, it seems like they’re part of one unit (just like AKB48 seems like part of one unit when they sing). Especially for a dance aficionado like myself, one of the most desired aspects in any performance is a certain level of togetherness and energy (be it rock-out energy like Saki during the 2007 Berryz vs. C-ute performance of Massara, or controlled energy like the fierce close-ups in Iroppoi). There is just -something- about the way H!P does their dances that is really slick and together. Without the sloppiness that crops up in AKB48 from time to time (perhaps it is also attributable to a smaller number of dancers in their group), H!P takes this one hands down.
Item #4: Charisma/Idol factor ~ winner: H!P
There’s a reason why I was drawn to Minegishi Minami when I first watched AKB48 performances - she was the one who seemed to have the right stroke of charisma and stage presence to catch my eye. Her coy glances during Seifuku, her wide smiles during upbeat songs, her exaggerated flinging of garments during Skirt Hirari, everything just screamed, “Look at me!! I’m an idol on stage performing my heart out for the sake of my dreams, and I love every moment of it!” Although I can’t say that -all- of H!P possesses this same charisma, I will say that I believe they do a lot better job of it than AKB48. Sure, there are quite a few girls in AKB48 who have charisma down pat - Sayaka, Sae, Risa, to name a few - but there are definitely more who still haven’t seemed to learn to real definition of a smile. For example, I love Takehashi Minami’s vocals and all but… can’t the girl smile properly?! And Oku Manami, will you stop looking so dead during your songs? Those are the top two that come to mind, but many of AKB48 is guilty of not having the right charisma or “idol factor” in my opinion. I would much rather prefer the energetic dances of C-ute or the come-hither appeal of v-u-den.
This -could- just be personal preference, but for some reason my mind can’t seem to associate AKB48 with anything really high-energy. Sure, their crowds get pumped at all of their performances, and I must admit some of the songs are REALLY. DAMN. EPIC. But that doesn’t change the fact that many of the girls just don’t seem to click with me. That could possibly be a reason why I have a hard time learning many of the AKB48 girls - the front girls and those with radically different hairstyles/faces are easy, but all the others are hard to recognize, whereas I had learned all of the C-ute girls within minutes the first time I saw a PV of theirs (don’t recall the first one, I think it was Soku Dakishimete?) There was just something about each of their faces that really -shines-; it’s probably what Tsunku specifically looks for in his auditionees (it’s probably what prompted him to call Koharu an “ace”). It’s hard to explain, so I’ll end my rant here, hehe.
The verdict?
Sadly, for the moment my previous opinion of H!P > AKB48 still stands. The level of energy that H!P puts forth is enough to outshine AKB48’s amazing live-singing skills, but only barely. If AKB48 fixes up the snappiness of their dance and the level of unity and energy they put until their motions, they could very well overtake H!P in my book. We’ll see as time goes on ;)
