Manila Idol Matsuri 2018, dubbed as the biggest idol event in Manila, gathered some of best Japanese idol-inspired Filipino groups and their fans for a day of live performances and fun activities. It is also the first of its kind, making the event a historical one.
The event was organized by The Daily Manila Shimbun, a Japanese broadsheet based in the Philippines and hosted by Japh Dolls, a half Filipina-Japanese girl group. Over 400 fans came to witness the performances of 15 indie idol groups from all over the country, all of whom put up exceptional performances that were well recieved by the crowd.
And then there is MNL48, featuring the Aitakatta-Gustong Makita senbatsu Sheki, Abby, Sela, Tin, Alice, Ella, Ash, Gabb, Jem, Sayaka, Faith, Lara, Grace, Quincy, Alyssa, Erica.
An idol festival is not complete without idol merchandise, and there were different booths around the venue for fans to purchase them. MNL48 itself had two booths, one near the entrance, and the other in the matsuri area. The fans excitedly visited the said booths to purchase goods and participate in the “Photocard Gacha”, where fans will have to pick from a set of random photocards, hoping to get their preferred set.
MNL48’s appearance in the event was only announced last August 25 on Manila Idol Matsuri’s and MNL48’s official Facebook pages. It was a surprise to many people because of how late the announcement was. No one really knows (or should know) what goes on during board-room meetings, but we can all freely assume that MNL48’s appearance was both to promote their album, and perform in an idol event as idols.
For their first song, the girls performed their debut single “Aitakatta – Gustong Makita” followed by “Skirt, Hirari – Umiindak na Saya” and “Sakura no Hanabiratachi – Talulot ng Sakura”. The performance drew cheers from the audience, even though many wotas had since left the MNL48 fandom.
It would be remembered that a lot of HHE’s decisions regarding the audition turned off a lot of the hardcore wotas, who made up a huge chunk of the audience last Sunday. I honestly expected a lot worse, and thankfully there were no boos (I didn’t hear any, at least), although several wota did not join in the chanting.
A lot of fans still cheered for the girls whose ever improving performances are starting to get noticed outside of the fandom. Their flawless transitions, their vocal abilities (which were undermined by the issues with the microphones) all show their development. They are now more “idol” than ever, and performing as idols in an event for idols in front of idol fans – some of whom may have given up on them – seemed like a ‘homecoming’ of sorts.
MNL48 has had to target a wider market than the local wotas can offer. Many fans understandably didn’t like it, but here we are. For me, by confirming attendance in the Manila Idol Matsuri, HHE tried to show everyone that they have not forgotten the people who fell in line in front of Movie Stars Cafe in 2016 for the Fan Meeting and if the opportunity arises, MNL48 can still be what the wotas thought they were supposed to be, even if a lot of those same fans have already left the MNL48 fandom.
For the event’s finale, all the participating groups joined MNL48 on stage to sing “Aitakatta – Gustong Makita”. A show of unity that went well with the fans. It really felt good. The MNL48 staff directed the girls to exit the stage as Sheki, Abby, Sela, Alice, Ash, and Faith were to visit the MNL48 booths to personally extend their gratitude to the fans who came to watch and support, and even sold some of the merchandise themselves.
https://youtu.be/CuAmyrUtI3M
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Manila Idol Matsuri achieved what they set out to do, which is bring together both idols and fans in an event that celebrates the culture. The result is an “all-star weekend” of sorts of groups and individuals calling themselves idols. The process of gathering together various groups had been quite an ordeal for the organizers, and there were a lot of bumps along the way.
It is easy to judge an event by the sum of its parts. But I personally see value in reviewing each of those parts to learn something new and gain a new perspective. I oftentimes see people downplay the effort and financial muscle required to set an event like this up, often because people do not know everything goes on behind the scenes.
https://youtu.be/XXrhUDL-6yY
The hope is that through this event, we will have enough data to present to agencies in Japan that the Philippines has enough market for their idols. With a successful idol event on the books, it would be easier to entice Japanese idols into coming to perform. Idol groups do not perform outside of Japan out of the goodness of their hearts, there is always a business reason behind it.
AKB48 Team 8 did not come to perform in Cool Japan Festival for the sake of performing. More than the festival, it was a test to see if AKB48 had a following in the Philippines. The same is true of their visit in 2016, where the Japanese Embassy who invited them, and the event itself was produced by Hallohallo. Likewise, their visit in 2017 was to promote the MNL48 audition, and not exchange hugs with fans (which, I am told, AKS did NOT appreciate).
https://youtu.be/RFIRu4tyyn0
Team 8 visited the country because they were tapped to promote something by AKS’ local partner. Without Hallohallo, they probably wouldn’t have come at all. Before them, many groups have been trying to bring AKB48 to the Philippines for YEARS without success. Chief reasons stated were that the asking price was simply too high, and that AKS wasn’t impressed with the reason that AKB48 can promote Japanese idol culture in the Philippines. In my view, one of the reasons why these groups kept being rejected was because whenever you balk at the asking price and request a discount for the sake of promotion, it gives the impression that your group may not have the ability to properly meet its obligations.
And they have a point. One of the reasons why no major promotion group has tried to bring Japanese idols is because they weren’t sure of any return. Sure, we have Starmarie, but they are the exception rather than the norm as they already have established a strong foundation in the Philippines and are more than happy to return. But in general, J-idols are still considered a bit of a risk. Even J-rock groups like One-OK-Rock were not able to sell out their tickets.
https://youtu.be/ro9xgG4m7BU
But whether Manila Shimbun will be able to convince Japanese groups remains to be seen. To bring a 48 Group to the next event for example, they would have to ask for the assistance of HHE who will prioritize their own girls, of course. There will also be the problem of money: bringing Japanese groups here requires money, and Shimbun is a newspaper whose circulation is not as large as other local broadsheets. The data will only be one half of the equation and the organizer’s wallet-size is the other, unless they decide to get a major sponsor who will then have a say in the event.
https://youtu.be/G_cgxxP3Gu0
Then, there’s still the problem of the “incident” that happened during the event itself. Missing items were reported by the performers of the First Stage. The incident marred the event and undermined all the effort spent in putting it together.
Criticism arose when the organizers did not immediately release a statement. But as the incident has already been reported to the proper authorities, any further actions can only be made when the findings have been released. This includes authoritative statements, and settlement for the victims.
https://youtu.be/f0shHAkzY6Y
Whatever happens, I would imagine that Shimbun’s stint as idol event organizer will be put on hold indefinitely. That includes plans for the next event – which I was told would have taken place before the year ends.
https://youtu.be/XtzjMP2jMJw
But even if there would no longer be further events, Manila Idol Matsuri is special because it was a day when dreams were realized. So whether this is the first of many or the first and only, the emotions that we felt during the event is real and nothing should take that from us.
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There’s a concern raised by some fans regarding MNL48. They feel that the group is not being promoted properly because their public appearances are few and far between, MNLife has ended its run, and the girls are back to training again. Beneath the frustrations, I can see their concern, because AKB48 heavily promotes the group, its activities and its singles, and we haven’t really seen that with MNL48.
People expected that HHE partnered with ABS-CBN for this reason, and some people feel that the partnership had produced little or unsatisfactory reults. Most of the TV appearances happened during the audition period (which they turned into a competition, in case people forgot) and despite MNL48 performing several times in ‘It’s Showtime’, it isn’t enough to really hype people for the album release.
It’s really hard to form a balanced opinion because it is impossible to really know the true nature of the HHE partnership with ABS-CBN. It does feel that MNL48 does not seem to be a priority for the network at the moment. HHE has developed these girls into fine performers to the point that casual viewers are starting to be impressed and it is a shame that we can’t see the girls do their stuff as much as we’d like.
To ensure the album will be a success, people should see them do their thing. As it is, the only thing I feel that HHE can do for the moment is to bring the girls into conventions and events they are invited to, as well as make the girls promote themselves to fill the void. The other thing I can think of is make a provisional Stage and make the girls perform in Movie Stars Cafe. But I don’t know if that would even be possible, although I will most definitely travel all the way to Centris for that.
Now, just to be clear, we can’t really know what exactly it is HHE and ABS-CBN are planning for MNL48 and maybe it’s on the time-table already. But all I am saying is that maybe we can make it happen a bit sooner. I can wait, but that’s just me. Other fans are starting to lose patience, and we know fans can be a bit fickle when it comes to things that affects their idols. HHE developed very fine idols, it’s about time we see the girls work their magic.
