AKB48 Team 8 @ Cool Japan Festival: A Fun Eye-Opening Experience

Trinoma is the last place I wanted to go on a Saturday morning with just 2 hours of sleep. The mall itself isn’t bad: I’d actually rank it over Megamall. But it is unfortunately situated on the far side of the MRT line, being next to the North EDSA station. Given that Makati itself is riddled with malls and there’s a whole bunch of other malls nearer, I’ve never really thought about dropping by. In all the years of its existence, I’ve only been into it once, shortly after it opened.

But there’s always a first time, right? And the Cool Japan Festival is as good a time as any to haul my tired, sleepy ass to the other side of the Metro. Not only that, the event has a special guest I really, really want to see: AKB48 Team 8. Now, as I mentioned in my previous article, I’m a fairly new follower of AKB48, being a fan of rival Hello! Project. In fact, I probably know only two or three girls in Team 8, itself a newcomer in the 48 Group, being only over a year old. So, you see, this event is pretty big for me.

Because I woke up late (my alarm for 9AM didn’t go off for some reason), I had to take the cab all the way to Trinoma. Which isn’t bad, but EDSA Northbound had a pretty unusual traffic at about the same time. But still, we (I had a companion) made it, and I took one good look at the venue.

Oh, crap. It was already full, and the lines to the entrance wasn’t moving. I was there on the second floor, trying to think of something when my companion pointed out that we had an excellent view of the stage from where we are. Oh great! My day isn’t ruined after all. After sending her off to buy drinks and some food, we camped were we were and waited.

The program itself is quite short, and there were a host of other performers besides Team 8 (although you already have the feeling that most people were there for Team 8). I won’t comment much on the other performers except that one – Kawaii5 – surprised me. I just wrote a piece about giving the MNL48 concept a chance and perhaps, through ignorance (I’m not exactly a TV5 person) I didn’t realize that there was already a local group made in the J-Idol mold. But the real surprise was that I wasn’t annoyed with them. I can’t say for the other viewers, but I sort of enjoyed their bit. Then, there was AkiShibu Project with Alodia. The former is either relatively new or at least a lesser known idol group that nonetheless preformed pretty well. And they had a small handshake corner after the program! You just can’t top that.

But everybody knew who everybody else was waiting: AKB48 – represented by Tean 8 – in their first stage performance in the country (they did perform in Showtime first, but since it’s a TV show, it’s a different story). When we first got to our spot, there were just a few people there, mostly shoppers resting and trying to see what’s up on the activity area. Then as the program started, more and more people talking excitedly about AKB48 started coming. The number fluctuates, but there’s a lot, especially when the most-awaited guests finally came out to cheers from the crowd.

Now, I don’t know much about AKB48 songs, but I am familiar with those used in the set-list. Aitakatta, Kibouteki Refrain, Seifuku no Hane and Koisuru Fortune Cookie were included which was smart because those are trademark AKB songs (with Seifuku no Hane being a Team 8 song, if I’m not mistaken). I sort of expected Halloween Night to be included, but there’s only so much you can choose with just 6 songs. You know, I’ve seen their performances on streams in the internet, but there’s something special about seeing it live. Their professionalism shows in how sharp and precise their movements are, and how they move in unison. I’ve read about the numerous discussions about AKB48 not singing live, and I can honestly say that when I was there, I didn’t even care. I enjoyed the performances, the chants, the whole atmosphere. It’s something that is pretty hard to describe in words. I guess the cherry on the icing is their cute attempts at introducing themselves in Filipino. For long-time fans it wasn’t really needed, but the effort to charm us is very much appreciated.

But a big part of that atmosphere is the fans. Their enthusiasm is really high, and with reason: the Philippines, while not crazy for J-pop, has a latent J-pop fanbase that’s just waiting to latch on to something to break out. Long-time J-pop fans have suffered years of waiting and disappointment for at least one of the big groups to come here. So, you see, all that pent-up frustration just broke through the gates during that 6-song set that it made it worth it.

Or at least, that’s how I felt. After a busy week at work that sort of ended in disaster, I was just DYING to get cheered up by anything. Thanks Team 8, I needed that release.

One thing that deserves a mention is the enthusiasm of the fans. I did not expect the turn-out to be like that. True, the crowd won’t make K-pop fans feel threatened, but there were a whole lot more than I expected. More importantly, they helped make the atmosphere fun and energetic. The glows-ticks looked pretty from where we were.

If there is one low point in the experience, it would probably be the MC. No, she did pretty well, considering, but some miscues detracted from an otherwise solid performance by her. There was also a slight delay before the start of Team 8’s performance. I think it’s probably because the girls were held up after performing in Showtime (either due to traffic – which was bad – or the staff made them rest a bit). I also felt the organizers underestimated the turn-out. Even if you exclude those who went solely for Team 8 (or of any of the other acts, because there’s that chance), the lines are still considerable. I really wanted to try the okonomiyaki and Takoyaki and any other available food inside, but the lines discouraged us and standing for almost three hours made our limbs hurt. Deep inside me, I would have waited another few hours to witness the second performance, but I was with someone, and I had another appointment in the evening so we called it a day.

I guess you’re all asking: what now? For one, I’d say this visit energized their passionate fans, which is the most important thing. Another is the realization that the local fandom is strong, and while this doesn’t automatically translate to interest in plans for MNL48, it at least generates some interest on the main group, which, at this point, is much more important. In fact, there was no announcement of any kind at all, which is fine with me. It makes this event seem more about the fans and the festival than any attempt to “test the waters” and that, to me, makes it even more special.

I came to Trinoma expecting to be entertained, I left it very much so, plus happy and content. If I started Saturday as a somewhat reluctant fan, I ended the day very much so.

I would like to thank FilWota48 for letting me use their cover photo. They are (so far) the only local AKB48 fan community I know. Feel free to drop by their Facebook page if you want to hop in on the 48-Group fandom.

I also apologize for the crappy pics. I don’t have HD cameras and I was just using an old Ipod Touch.