In part one I introduced the Japanese Idol group AKB48 through a few photos and many CD’s; I’ll continue now with another aspect of the group.

Akihabara48 began branching out into different cities in Japan, but also with a very different show. SDN48 was a group of the…shall I say, older girls who put on a show on Saturday nights at the theater in Akihabara. The show was 18+ because of Megumi Ohori who was a living sexual desire! Of course I’m joking just a little. Megumi was one of the most interesting members of the group, she was part of Team K and she appeared on a certain piece of media that I’ll show later. Seeing her perform was very enjoyable, she really could keep up with the young-un’s…

Ohori was 25, which is considered old and on the variety show “AKBingo” she was referred to as “Stinky Old Lady,” yet she was probably past being simply beautiful. Her face was smooth and she had a very sexy personality. It was a shame when she disappeared from the limelight and joined a group that put out only a few single albums and then vanished in what they refer to as “Graduation” or the leaving of the group.

Although Megumi was one of my favorites, she is currently doing well from what I read—that can change—but she is an actress and is apparently married too; and if I read it right, she is certified to teach home economics—so if an entertainment career doesn’t work out, she’s safe. Megumi is 30 at the time of this article, but still looks great; eternal youth!

Along with Megumi Ohori was Kayo Noro. Noro was the captain of SDN48 and she was also a member of Team K (with Ohori) {both second generation}. Noro was made fun of on AKBingo for being a bit on the heavy side; I think that was bull, but “we” all know it was for the purpose of comedy, just like “Stinky Old Woman.” Noro was also 25—30 now, and looks like a woman—if you know what I mean, she looks great, but mature.

Kayo Noro was on a reality-style series called AKB48 Nemousu Terebi where the AKB girls were sent on “horrible” and “nightmarish” ‘missions’ by the host of the show. Some of Noro’s episodes featured her with a few of the younger girls doing PR for AKB, and most importantly, there was a 2 hour special where she and others were sent to the Korean military boot camp for torture. She really had a presence, but when you get to a certain age and weight, I guess its; screw you?

A running joke in a lot of the Nemousu episodes was Noro cleaning the toilets of the places they went, it was funny, yet sad.  However, Noro is still going along well!  She hosts a radio show, put out a few DVD’s of her looking hot and keeping her clothes on (mostly) and she still stays in contact with the AKB girls.

Here is her Blog:  http://ameblo.jp/norokayoblog/

Just a note, the blog is in Japanese, so if you have Google Chrome, you can get a translation.  There are a lot of great photos in which she had taken of her nowadays with her AKB friends.

Featured here is the first album called “Gagaga” which came in two versions with an ALL region DVD and a Theater version with just a CD. Thankfully, both Megumi and Kayo are featured performers, so I’m able to hear them on the CD and see them on the DVD—of course, all three are sealed, so I haven’t decided which to open, they are all different.

There is another I have, but that is for a different part.

Finally, there is Kazumi Urano, also known as “CinDy” OR Cinderella.  She was a very sweet woman who took being a princess a bit far by wearing a little tiara in her hair.  A very enjoyable “character,” CinDy was one Idol who I looked forward to seeing her antics.  She was a founding member of AKB48–first generation and was older than most and transferred to SDN48 with Noro and Ohori; you’ll see her on the front cover of all three–in the center; the Theater version she is front row, first.  A very fun personality and a great woman too.  She has done modeling, DVD’s like Noro’s selection and even has a radio show at the same station as Noro.  So, all in all, she is doing fine–new tiara too!

Next up, the 2007 DVD concert and second DVD, Haru no Chotto Dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada da ze AKB48!~” in Nihon Kouseinenkin. We’ll refer to it as “Haru no Chotto.”

This amazing disk features an hour and a half show that is simply mind blowing and very enjoyable. So many of the original members are featured—including Ohori and Noro– there are multiple stage shows that make it just awesome! Included is a solo by my old favorite Yuko Oshima.  Another note on Yuko in this DVD is that by the end she was so soaked in sweat, I’m surprised she didn’t pass out–talk about giving your all!

The recommended viewing method is on a large LED TV with surround sound on an All Region Blu-ray player that up-scales the DVD to Blu-ray quality. What you get is an experience as though you are actually there.

An interesting thing about the DVD is that it came with a trading card—the picture is hard to see, but it is of the stage performance. The booklet is very hardy and has liner notes—very few that I can read, but it’s nice to have. On the DVD is a making of feature and I have the Obi, a piece of card that encases the spine of DVD’s and CD’s—and other forms of media. The Obi is inside the outer plastic of the DVD case and I consider it collectible in itself. It features the price and some other info. The disk is region 2, so you need a player that can handle it; it was a great watch though; probably the closest I’ll ever get to seeing them live and this one had the members that I prefer—the newer group appears to all be the same; it’s the first 3 generations and a few after that, who I enjoy the most.

In Part 3 of AKB, I’ll talk about individual members, the ones I like personally and also I want to talk more about “Graduation,” termination and scandal. Some of the so-called scandals are so ridiculous that it should be called something else—what the term is, I’m just not sure.

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