AKB48 rankings: Blessing and curse

Manami Oku, Team K, 2008.

Yes, here’s to J-Pop Obsession for ranking all 48 members of AKB48, which finally got to 48 after all this time – what with graduations, shifts, teams moving around and combining, and on and on. But there are surprises, some of them quite unsettling.

Sato Amina, a sprouting SEED.

In any event, it’s finally done, with former SEED, Sato Amina, added to the ever-growing number of superlative performers in this increasingly fantastic talent pool. SEED is comparable to the Eggs of Hello Project as a training vehicle for up-and-coming idol singers within the ever-more-promising AKB48 system.

Yet, I have misgivings because some of my favorites have dropped way, way, down on JPO’s list and I’m left scratching my head as to: Why?

Takahashi, right, is sveryone's top front girl for AKB48, but Maeda, left, gets demoted by JPO.

One thing JPO does have right is that Minami Takahashi remains the No. 1 singer in AKB48 and that is a deserved position, as I had her No.1 last December and am glad she has stayed on top. After seeing her perform "live" in Tokyo last January with Teams A and K, I am even more convinced of that.

Erena Ono was riding a crest of popularity in January but has slipped as Team B surges.

A mild shock is the demotion of Maeda Atsuki into the second 10, by JPO’s account, No. 16. Now, JPO seems to be in a much better position to make this determination so the rankings must be given some merit. A lot of changes have gone on at AKB48, most of them coming from the resurgent Team B which has made so many inroads that JPO is giving Team B the top rankings as can be seen in the whole chart at: http://iza04.livejournal.com/5013.html

Kayano Masuyama: The one that got away.

That brings us to the most stunning reversals involving some of my favorite members: Oku Minami and Erena Ono. They are among the youngest, Oku only 13, but were far and away the best in January when I saw them stay right with Takahashi and Atsuko every step of the way. Oku is just as good as Hagiwara of °C-ute, and Ono is a very bright talent along the lines of Chinami of Berryz Kobo. Great voices, too. I had them in my top 10 – but JPO has shoved Oku all the way back to No. 44 and Ono to No. 41! Wow.

Be reminded, too, that Oku was very close friends with sparkling "antenna girl" Kayano Masuyama, a superb AKB48 member sharing the stage right there with Takahashi and the rest, an up-and-coming potential front girl who abruptly graduated last November. The company can ill afford a repeat with Oku.

JPO has no business knocking Rina Nikanishia, above, down into the lower half of AKB48 rankings.

Finally, Rina Nakanishi is certainly better than No. 31 as JPO states. Again, I had her in my top 10. Such is the often short life of an idol singer in Japan. But Nakanishi is the kind of soloist who comes along once in eons. She should not be wasted.

JPO probably has it right, but the truth hurts sometimes. The bottom line is that Team B has surged, which is strange in that Team B, as early as January, was relegated to a clearly subservient role to Teams A and K. I never did see Team B, except to watch them on a TV monitor in the AKB48 Theater in Akihabara the day after I was able to squeeze in and see Takahashi and Teams A and K combined sizzle on that compact and scorching stage.

This is Radicalpatriot signing off – for now.