AKB48 35th Single - Mae Shika Mukanee ~Unboxing~

Mae Shika Mukanee is AKB's 35th and also Oshima Yuko's last single. It was released on 26th February, 2014 and came in 3 types which of course have an other B-side.

Well, I got Type B although I originally wanted Type C but hey, it was only 500 yen, so it's okay...

This single presents us new sub-units -which unfortunately were just a one-time thing. And well, the names are really funny. We have:

• Smiling Lions
• Beauty Giraffes
• Baby Elephants
• Talking Shimpanzees

I actually really like the singles jacket design. The gold colour really stands out and kind of shows that this single is kind of important.

But now on to the unboxing...
And as always sorry for my shitty photographs.....

I actually like the Type C cover more

But hey, here we have Sayanee, Rena and Yukirin

The Obi. Simple but cool with this golden splash.
BTW it means "Cast out your memeoies!"

  

Sayanee looks so awesome *.*
I really love the outfits

The inside. Everything is in gold!

  although it looks silver, thanks to my shitty photographig

I really like the guitar design of the CD. It fits this singles A-sidereally well.

And the list of producers.

The DVD. Also in gold and this time with a tambourine on it.

And there is the drumset.

The Booklet:

The Cover again. Sayanee's smile is so blinding ... :D

I really like this design. It's something new.

Yuko! I really miss her presence in AKB.

And the promo picture. I really like how they "interact" with the title.
Like Mayu sitting on it ..

The other half. Nyan is really awesome here (on the far right)

Rena looks also really cute in here

The lyrics of the other two songs

And the list of the participating member

And again the list of producers......

Like for real. How Lucky am I to get Yukirin!
And these are one of my favourite costumes of AKB48

Well, I really love this single's design. I really love that the only "colour" is gold which kind of shows how special this single is. I mean it's Yuko's graduation single so of course it's something special.

CD

1. Mae Shika Mukanee (前しか向かねえ) /Senbatsu
2. Kinou Yori Motto Suki (昨日よりもっと好き) / Smiling Lions
3. (Type-B Exclusive track) Himitsu no Diary(秘密のダイアリー) / Baby Elephants
4. Mae Shika Mukanee (off-vocal)
5. Kinou Yori Motto Suki (off-vocal)
6. (Type-B Exclusive track) Himitsu no Diary (off-vocal)

DVD

1. Mae Shika Mukanee Music Video (前しか向かねえ Music Video)
2. Mae Shika Mukanee Dance Version (前しか向かねえ Dance Version)
3. Kinou Yori Motto Suki PV
4. (Type-B Exclusive track) Himitsu no Diary PV
5. (Type-B Exclusive track) Hirata Rina's London Report - Bonus Video

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Kimi wa Kimagure - AKB48 Team A

Well, I have nothing to do at work today and therefore I will use my time and make another review for you.

Kimi wa Kimagure is Team A's coupling song for the 36th Single "Labrador Retriever". And it is probably one of the fairest MV's -in terms of screen time- I've ever seen.

The regular Cover looks waaaaaay better.

I'm not that sure how I should feel about this song since I have the image of Takahsashi/Shinoda Team A songs still in my head (those can just be described as awesome). I mean I really kind of like Kimi wa Kimagure -and it's defenitely better than Kiss Made Countdown (which isn't that hard to surpass)- but it also doesn't reach the old level.

The song itself actually has a really catchy refrain and generally is a bright song despite its "darker" lyrics. I don't know how I can describe them the best since on the one hand the boy is complaining about the girls habits and whims but on the other hand he is totally okay with that. In my opinion this is kind of the best love situation you coud have with your partner since you are accepting everything of this person.

That's why my favourite quote actually is:

"But I can't help loving you"

What kind of surprised me was that this song's centers are Sakura and Ricchan. I mean it's really great that those two get a chance to be centers (although I don't like Sakura that much) but I would have guessed seeing the TakaNyan center. But hey, my beloved 1st Gens are still in the second row, so there is no problem with giving the new gens a bit more of screentime. ;D

But on to the MV which really is probably the best made -in terms of screen time- Team Song.

Every member is clearly shown in there and also everyone is doing/wearing something that describes her character which gives the song a kind of free and distinct feeling.

But let's take a look at the MV to show you this.

Traditionally we get the song's title

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Kataomoi Finally - SKE48

So it is finally here. My all-time-favourite Song of SGayE... ehm I mean SKE, of course.
And of course I'm talking about Kataomoi Finally which actually led to quite a turmoil.

Well, this cover alone is almost worth to be called a scandal/turmoil.
For those who doesn't recognise them (like I did when I first saw this) they are our beloved wCenter and everyone's OTP. Of course I am talking about our beloved wMatsui, Jurina and Rena.

Kataomoi Finally is SKE's 8th single and is the first darker song of this particular group. Before SKE's image could be described as happy and cheery.

Well, for me KataFinally was one of the first songs I heard from SKE and back then I really didn't know anyone of them since I was just starting to become a fan. If I remember correctly i was watching an AKBingo episode where this masterpiece was aired for the firstime -well of course I wasn't up to date at that point. However this song had such a great impact on me that it's still one of my all-time favourite -I could listen to it for days.
Furthermore for me this single has the best senbatsu line-up of all time. This single had the -then- to three: wMatsui and Churi which were and still are SKE's frontline.
Back then we also had (Kuwabara) Mizuki and (Ogiso) Shiori in senbatsu which I actually liked a lot. And the awesome new OTP KumiNon (thanks Akimoto-Sensei for introducing them to us).

So, this song is really fast paced and also kind of aggressive since I always get the image that they shout out their love/feelings.
And while the refrain is really aggressive -with this whole "Suki nanda Kimi ga Suki nanda" wich are the feelings that are shout out loud- the verses are "calmer" since they are describing the situation. All in all the song is really dramatic -in a good way.
Like the title already hints -Kataomaoi Finally = Unrequited Love Finally- the song has to be dramatic. Like, come on the protagonist has to kind of release the pent u feelings through screaming and dancing on a rooftop -oh and don't forget the slapping.

BTW I really love the quote they put in at the beginning.

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