2017 Janken Reaction

hi, welcome to another post, this time i'm going to give my reaction/impression about the 2017 AKB48 Group Unit Janken Taikai that has just happened. first of all i want to give a shout out to Derek from 48Talk and also for everyone who join in the janken skype chat, it was really fun thank you and i hope for more in the future. Ok, now let's get on with the event itself.

right, i actually missed the first 15 minutes of the event, i started tuning in just as they were playing MAX toki 315-go. after the performance we have the usual entrance of the MC and so on and so on. then finally we got to the janken itself, and the result are as following

A1. nyamm vs Rupurenon
(nyamm) vs (otsuyoi)
nyamm win

A2. Genghis Cats vs HIMEPARTY
(HIMEPARTY) vs (Mariannin)
HIMEPARTY win

A3. Arinon vs 16EnpiChu!
(16EnpiChu!) vs (Shirai Kotono)
Shirai Kotono win

A4. Okapa-zu VS Kokeshi Sisters
(Kokeshi Sisters) vs (Dancing Cats)
Kokeshi Sisters win

nyamm vs HIMEPARTY = nyamm win
Shirai Kotono vs Kokeshi Sisters = Shirai Kotono win

nyamm vs Shirai Kotono = Shirai Kotono win.

Shirai Kotono winner from block A

B1. Hannari Shimai vs Renattsun
(Hannari Shimai) vs (Nikoichi)
Hannari Shimai win

B2. FLEURI vs ✌️ (Peace)
(FLEURI) vs (fairy w!nk)
fairy w!nk win

B3. Unit na wa Nashi, Hakushi no Mama vs Issouda
(Issouda) vs (Chou)
Issouda win

B4. WMion vs Houou Masako
(Houou Masako) vs ☺☺☺☺ (Nico Nico)
Nico Nico wins

Hannari Shimai vs fairy w!nk = fairy w!nk win
Issouda vs Nico Nico = Issouda win

fairy w!nk vs Issouda = fairy w!nk win

fairy w!nk winner from block B.

C1. Ueno to Shimono vs Namba Setouchi Kaizoku-dan
(Namba Setouchi Kaizoku-dan) vs (Aki no Houkago, Shin Kousha no Taiikukan de Hitori Baton no Renshuu ni Ase wo Nagasu Kato Minami wo Okujou kara Hakuai no Manazashi de Mimamorinagara Futo Hikoukigumo wo Mitsuketa Yabuki Nako wo Mite Bijutsu-shitsu ni Komori "Geijutsu to wa Nani ka?" to Nankai na Mondai ni Atama wo Nayamasete ita Jibun ni Egao ga Modoru Shiroma Miru.)
Namba Setouchi Kaizoku-dan win

C2. Santarou vs Ayukanichan
(Ayukanichan) vs (Fuusae)
Fuusae win

C3. Suncon vs Amarimono Senbatsu
(Suncon) vs (Kadoishiishi)
Suncon win

C4. melody twins vs Yokonegapyon
(melody twins) vs (song's)
song's win

Namba Setouchi Kaizoku-dan vs Fuusae = Fuusae win
Suncon vs song's= Suncon win

Fuusae vs Suncon = Fuusae win

Fuusae winner from block C.

D1. Nagiffu vs Himacho Panda
(Himacho Panda) vs (Fluffy)
Himacho Panda wins

D2. Sakae 6-kisei vs Fall in LOVE
(Sakae 6-kisei) vs (Shika vs Kuma)
Sakae 6-kisei win

D3. Hantannee vs LIL
(LIL) vs (Seiuchi)
LIL win

D4. Nerumae ni Hitsuji Kazoetai vs Sakuranbo no Yosei (Sugahara Riko)
(Sakuranbo no Yosei) vs (kiss no Tempura)

Himacho Panda vs Sakae 6-kisei = Sakae 6-kisei win
LIL vs kiss no Tempura = kiss no Tempura win

Sakae 6-kisei vs kiss no Tempura = kiss no Tempura win

kiss no Tempura winner from block D.

SEMIFINAL

Shirai Kotono vs fairy w!nk = fairy w!nk win
Fuusae vs kiss no Tempura = Fuusae win

FINAL
fairy w!nk vs Fuusae = fairy w!nk win

as you can see, the winner of this year Janken is the unit Fairy W!nk (Aramaki Misaki, Unjo Hirona), which mean that this year HKT48 has won both the Sousenkyo and the Janken, which means that they are still pretty much relevant in the 48 Group. also Fairy W!nk will get a solo debut, which i might take a look, but we'll see. anyway, after the janken there is an announcement that there will be a 3rd Draft meeting that will be held on january 2018, and this time it will be the fans that chooses the draftee and not the members, honestly i don't know how that even work but i guess we'll just have to see. then everyone sing Saikou ka Yo and its done, no more announcement, no preview for the 50th single, no nothing, the event just finished.

so now, i'm going to give my opinion about this event, let's start with the plus side.

i like the concept, i like how they changed the format to a unit battle instead of individuals, because it could actually give us another great sub unit like French Kiss or No3b (probably not). and even though the event feels very rushed, each unit got a decent amount of screen time, especially when there is a draw, which happened quite a lot in this event (scissors for life). i also like the winner, i think its finally time for Aramaki Misaki to shine, because she is one of the member with the most potential in HKT, and i hope this win could give her a boost. 

and that's it, other than that i don't see anymore plus from this year janken, honestly i was quite disappointed with the janken.

first of all, they remove the cosplay element from the show, which is one of the highlight of every janken event over the year, and they just take it away. the unit just go with probably their official unit costume, and apart from a few interesting one, its actually pretty bland. next, as i mention before, the whole event just feel very rushed, each match ends very quickly, there are only a few interview, the entrance of the members were also rushed, i don't know, it just feels very rushed. and finally, there are no major announcement, apart from the 3rd draft meeting, there are no more announcement regarding the current state of AKB48, which let's be honest here, not very good at the moment.

finally before i end this, i guess i'm going to give my opinion on the 3rd draft meeting, because i have quite a bit to say.

honestly i don't know why they do this, i mean they still have the 2nd gen draft and also the 16th gen who really needs a push. because if the purpose of the draft is to fill the gap within the teams, why not fill those gap with the current kenkyuusei (2nd draft, 16th gen), i mean, the 2nd gen draft have been around for 2 years now, and most of them are still a KKS, also the 16th gen has a lot of potential in them, so why not promote them into the teams. because seriously, don't try to chase 2 rabbits at the same time, because in the end you won't be able to catch either of them. work with what you have now, and after you finished with your current project, then you can start with your next project. i mean it worked with Nogizaka46, every member from every generation (including the 3rd gen) have a decent amount of exposure and promotion, and if it worked for Nogizaka, i can't why it wouldn't worked for AKB. but hey, that's just my opinion.........