Last week was a quiet one for MNL48, with only the return of Alice, Sheki, and Rans from Japan being “news-worthy”. The girls did not perform in “It’s Showtime” as some of us expected and the girls’ SNS accounts all hinted at a weekend off for most of them. Still, there are some noteworthy stuff in the 48-verse that we can talk about that may affect the future of MNL48.
Alice, Sheki, and Rans finally returned from their short stay in Japan to watch the World Senbatsu Sousenkyo. The trio was overwhelmed by the popularity of AKB48 and its sister groups, and were pleasantly surprised when some fans recognized them.
According to Alice, the trio met with Moe-sensei, one of AKB48’s choreographers who will also work with MNL48. They also met with BNK48’s producer with some hints of a future collaboration. Like MNL48, BNK48 also had an inconsistent start, but quickly rose to become really big in the Thai music industry. As fellow sister groups in South East Asia, a collaboration between the two might be big, most especially if they include JKT48 (all active international sister groups are in South East Asia).
Speaking of international sister groups, Vietnam has suddenly joined the fray with SGO48 (or Saigon48, Saigon being the old name of Ho Chih Minh City). Unlike what happened with both BNK48 and MNL48, however, it seems that SGO48 is taking their time, even going so far as to ask fans to answer a survey regarding the viability of starting a 48 sister group. MNL48 had something like this once, with the first Fan meeting back in 2016, but this one seems to be more low-key and unassuming.
I’m completely ignorant of the music scene in Vietnam, and I have no idea how a 48 group will be received there. But MNL48 had to go through (and still is going through) a lot of detractors, nay-sayers, and people who just generally don’t like the group (Filipinos tend to dislike stuff they don’t understand), and are doing well so if they can, SGO48 definitely can.
Just….don’t do some over-the-top but ultimately pointless reality show gimmicks. Avoid that at all costs. A huge chunk of the fanbase distrusts HHE precisely for that reason. It led to us getting these wonderful girls, but the Vietnamese fans really should be spared of the drama we had to go through.
Some fans have taken it upon themselves to form an English fan-subbing group dedicated to MNL48. Making subtitles is painstaking work that requires mental strength, stamina, dedication and a lot of free time. Many international fans wanted to check MNL48 out and are hindered by the language barrier. Quite ironic since among the 48 international groups, ours should have been more accessible because English is our second language.
They could also use more people to help with the subbing. So if you’re knowledgeable in making subtitles, or are skilled in translating from Filipino to English, then you might want give back to the community and help out. Visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MNL48Fansubs/
MNL48 invited their fans to come to the Moshi Moshi Japan Entertainment Studio to either give a message to their idols or to give them challenges. This is after two runs of Boom Balloon and Pik Pak Poink. It’s good to see something new for a change, and I hope MNL48 really drives this initiative to stay in touch with the fans.
MNLife has already started featuring these questions and dares to the girls and their responses are great trivia that also gives the fans a small glimpse of who they are beneath the idol exterior.
You can still go to Moshi Moshi Japan Entertainment Studio if you want to ask them questions. Expect that the staff would screen those questions, of course (not 100% sure, but it’s reasonable to assume they would) so probably none of the more risqué or provocative ones.
That said, the girls seem to be back training based on some pictures in their official FB pages, so I’m really hoping we’d see more of them in the coming weeks. Heavy Rotation still hasn’t been performed in It’s Showtime, and there might be other new songs coming our way.
The birth of MNL48 also coincided with the rise of the “indie” idol groups, some composed of former contestants. While they’re not true “rivals” in the sense that MNL48 is a professional group with the machinery and connections, they still serve to “broaden the spectrum of the local idol scene. I think that it would be really great to have everyone in one event to celebrate the culture and hopefully jump-start something big. Maybe that’s about to happen. But that’s a story for another day.
*All images were taken from the MNL48 official Facebook page and the official pages of Alice, Sheki, Ash, Sela, and Dian.
