AKB48 in NYC: Idolmaster Cosplay

Steam rose off the city streets as we partook of a Takoyaki stand a few blocks away from Webster Hall.

“It was a lot like Idolmaster,” fellow anime journalist Omo noted, drawing a parallel to the infamous Japanese game.

“Idolmaster cosplay,” I shot back.

[flashvideo file=”http://media.animediet.net/video/flv/akb48-concert.flv” /]

AKB48, an Akihabara-based idol group, had their US debut at Webster Hall following the New York Anime Festival. While initial enthusiasm for their preview performance was great, the Sunday evening show time coupled with the location – across the city from the convention – thinned the crowd of con attendees considerably. Not to be deterred, AKB48 had cleverly rallied a separate fan base of non-conventiongoers, and a large throng of overwhelmingly middle-aged men clutched email printouts rather than tickets in line.

With an opening act performed in thigh-high stockings and school uniforms, and a subsequent song involving various animal costumes, AKB48 left no doubt as to their target audience. While they did perform briefly in black leather outfits (stripping away the jackets to reveal bra-like tops underneath), for the most part their dress consisted of variations of girlhood staples. These were not limited to Japanese stereotypes – at one point the band donned the plaid skirts commonly associated with Catholic schoolgirls. Frank Zappa, no doubt, would have approved.

What is it that Americans find compelling about barely pubescent Japanese school girls? The most rabid fans were not the lovers of anime that had gone to the convention and wanted to see a live Japanese pop act; they were the aforementioned middle-aged men. In contrast to the mixture of ages and races at the convention, the fan group was almost uniformly white and appeared to be in their forties.  When it came to screaming the loudest, applauding the most wildly, waving their handkerchiefs and glow-sticks, or even shouting for an encore, these balding men were at the forefront of the action.

A great deal of analysis has been written on the concept of moe. It was at the AKB48 concert, however, that I discovered moe was hardly limited to 2D girls.  With their impassioned lip-synching, well-rehearsed dancing, and clumsy English introductions, AKB48 used moe to generate a ferocious audience response.

Moritheil’s liveblog of the New York Anime Festival, Day 3:

  • 02:06 Do A Cencoroll! digg.com/u1DBZy #nyaf #
  • 09:15 Today’s look: grey Eureka Seven shirt + ahoge. #nyaf #
  • 09:16 @Mikecrichlow Thanks! Look forward to Tomino’s speech, which we’ll probably have to edit a bit 😀 #
  • 09:17 Tomino’s speech WILL be posted, but @gendomike and I are discussing which parts to edit. A lot of translator pauses. #nyaf #
  • 13:20 Well, I’ve lost my ahoge in the rain. Apparently @TheLostHorizon is wearing the same shirt, but you can say hi to either of us 😀 #nyaf #
  • 13:47 AKB48 booth guy just laughed at me. But I got my ticket. In cab. #nyaf #
  • 13:51 He had a big stack of tickets left. Not a sold out concert. #nyaf #
  • 14:00 Was told to wait in press line, then kicked to back of normal line for being #nyaf press. wtf? #
  • 14:07 I’m in. cleared up. veery packed but not full. ppl crammed in front. #nyaf #
  • 14:09 @kabitzin495 where are you? #
  • 14:15 #nyaf They just said “mamotte” and everyone cheered until the translator explained it. #
  • 14:41 The introductions from all 48 border on incoherent, but I guess it’s MOEEEEEE. #nyaf #
  • 14:54 Ah, here comes armageddon by nekomimi. #nyaf #
  • 15:51 Show ended. Encore of 3 songs. Rabid fans want 2nd encore. #
  • 15:59 Well, well. They did a 2nd encore at a debut performance. A little contrived. #nyaf #
  • 16:16 Takoyaki shop guys were joking about me. I know enough to understand but not to reply archly. #nyaf #
  • 16:54 Food w/ @omonomono @starcreator @moyasim – concensus is AKB48 was idolmaster live action. #
  • 18:23 @kabitzin495 Hey. It was pretty fun, very catchy. The fans were wild. Are you going to other cons? #
  • 18:24 @PatzPrime Thanks. Yeah, it got sorted in the end. I still couldn’t take flash/tripod/extended video though. #
  • 18:25 @debaoki Truly, words cannot express how surprised I was 😛 But I did think it was a bit much. #
  • 18:28 Ahh, pinkberry. Truly one of the joys of NYC. #
  • 18:30 Thank you everyone for saying hi to me at #nyaf! It was very cool to put faces to names. 😀 #

Author: moritheil

One might be forgiven for thinking that Moritheil is a postmodern literary critic who started reviewing video games in 2001, and spent the early 2000s learning at the right hand of con staff and fansubbers. However, those rumors are spurious: Moritheil is actually a distant relative of Genghis Khan who stands poised to conquer the world via the Internet. Follow along at http://twitter.com/moritheil.

2 thoughts on “AKB48 in NYC: Idolmaster Cosplay

  1. Woah..! Thanks a lot for the coverage!!! Ahhh makes me wish more that I was able to have made it.. >_< But like TMR I only had to say luck on my part.. But glad you enjoyed it.. and yes they are quite cute.. ^_^ Who cares if they are lip syncing. As Omo had said before – that it is so worth the cost of attending cons, to see these events.. ^_^ Oh and IMO, very press worthy of this.. you gave a very full picture of what you experienced! I read about the fanboys, but to see visuals.. great!

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