AKB0048 Next Stage episodes 4 and 5 are about the results of the election and the aftermath.
AKB0048 episode 4 did not have a lot going on so I decided not to cover it separately. Mostly I found the episode pretty repellent because it contained so many girls complaining and crying over not getting more votes for the election. Also even after all the drama and soul searching Chieri did not quit when she won. It fits with her personality so far, so it was not too unexpected. Mimori actually getting recognized was a surprise though and was nice. Overall I think there did not need to be a whole episode of girls’ reactions to the election. Especially since episode 5 is even more about reactions to that election.
Why is she crying? She won a spot. I sure hope she feels bad for her friends and that is why. I think it is not though.
The gap between AKB0048 members that won in the general election and those that lost is being keenly felt in episode 5. The only understudies that have anything to do are Mimori and Chieri. This has a very negative effect on the rest of the group. It would be a better policy to give the girls that did not win something to do. An atmosphere of feeling inferior is sure to lead to bad feelings perhaps the worse forms that rivalry can take.
Makoto as usual feels the sting more than the rest of the group, since she normally is pessimistic and has low self esteem. She puts herself down even more than usual, but then she gets to meet one of her fans that believed in her and wanted her to win. This helps Makoto to get out of her funk and do things for her fans that want her to succeed. Having a fan show up out of nowhere to help out or give someone encouragement is starting to get formulaic at this point. When the group was trapped between the DES members with guns, I was just waiting for a fan to get them out.
The whole plan to have the girls go into an enemy base to spy was full of holes. Why would they send them into the base without a good plan to get out? They did not even have someone waiting to help them out because the concert was going on. Also what happened to the boys that were on the transport? Who really thought they would look like boys? My belief was not the slightest bit suspended in this episode.
Look at those boys. Only they do not look much like boys at all. Especially Suzuko who would never ever look like a boy.
Well they finally explained why the trained team of DES can not defeat a bunch of girls with non lethal weapons. Having them working with a casino to make money off the operation makes some sense. More sense than grown men not being able to handle little girls. When AKBoo48 makes the whole thing public will it be the end of the entertainment ban? DES obviously does not care that much about the people if they take their duty so lightly.
Okay there are tons of guys with guns as shown in this picture. So why were the girls acting brave until the man with the mustache pulls out the one little gun?
