When most people think of AKB48, I’m sure it’s the front girls that come to mind. If you’re unfamiliar with the group and have only hear one or two of their songs, seen a few promotional things of them out there (a PV, a commercial, whatever it may be), there are probably a few girls that you might be able to picture. The first one that comes to mind is probably Maeda Atsuko, AKB48’s prized daughter. You’d probably also know Takahashi Minami, another front girl in the group. All the rest is up for grabs. A particular girl might’ve caught your eye in a PV and you may have looked up her name– say, Kojima Haruna, Oshima Yuko, Oshima Mai, or Shinoda Mariko. All get pretty consistent screen time in the PVs. All depends on your preferences, anyway. Maybe you’ve checked out Aitakatta! An AKB48 Blog to learn more about some of the girls. You could’ve gone a few paths from there– became an AKB48 of varying degrees, or, you know, were just content with the knowledge you’d gained about the group as it was and became a casual listener, or even forgot about AKB48 for the most part.
I could spend about a week straight just blogging about all the girls and I’d still probably have more to say, so I’m going to really focus in on one aspect of AKB48 that most people overlook right now. Even among fans– lots of people know Teams A and K, but Team B remains a bit of a mystery. You see their pictures, you hear the occasional fan talk about their favorite Team B members, you may have spotted a Team B member in a PV! But for the most part, Team B remains very misunderstood. A good portion of AKB48 fans know and have come to love Team B, but it’s just not enough in my eyes. So I’m going to try my hand at correcting that. Why? Because they deserve it, simply enough! Too many assumptions are made about this Team because people are too focused on the other two teams. Now, I’m not saying that you all should just give up your favorites and love Team B forever and ever, but just give them a chance! I definitely have favorites on Teams A and K myself and think they’re both wonderful parts of AKB48– the group, quite literally, wouldn’t be the same without them. Each team has their merits, each team has their own style. Even Team B. It’s called AKB48, not AKandthoseotherpeople48.
Disclaimer: I just want to note that this entry is lengthy. This was on purpose. Don’t feel bad about skimming the entry or just reading one or two profiles. If you want to read the whole thing, you’ve definitely got my admiration! But my whole purpose here was just getting out as much information as possible about these underloved girls in hopes of them getting a bit more attention in the fan world. But seriously, even if you just learn about one or two members, I’d be thrilled!
