When I first wrote about this unit the group had a different name AKG48 .Well it seems that the 48 has been dropped and the unit is now known as AKG .AKG by the way means Akagi .Akagi is a well-known mountain in Gunma.
AKG is very new having made their debut this past march and they are slowly making a home region name. Their live show is made up of almost all AKB48 songs , giving Aki-P a nice royalty check every live ,however they do have a debut single called “Knee High☆Lover” that is pretty catchy and shows that over time ,they will have a nice original set list.
Call them AKG or AKG48 ,it make little difference as no one cares if a number is after their name ,wotas just love idols ,regardless of the name, this unit has a lot of potential as this single shows.
Instead of showing you a mini live filled with AKB48 cover songs, I am going to show you a TV show that they were on recently.
When this show was recorded, the graphics still showed the name as AKG48.
One of the great things about Japan, if you are a fan of Idols pop groups is that we have idols in every prefecture of the country. The amount of female idols is so great that you simply cannot count them or cover them all.
With the success of AKB48 there has been a boom in idol groups , much like when Morning Musume got hot ,however as they slipped so did media interest in the genre . Now the genre is undergoing a new fresh unit media revival and if you are an owner of a new company or a bunch of girls doing your own lives, there is no better time then now thanks to AKB48, to start a fresh idol unit.
With each new rise in the genre comes groups that you can call "inspired by" .This current inspiration is from AKB48 ,which has a very profitable working model .
One of these "inspired by" groups is Gunma`s AKG48 . Now before AKB48 Western fans march to Gunma with axe in hand ,AKG48 full name is `Akagi48` ,Akagi is a well known mountain in Gunma .The 48 as you can guess is the number of members [if you count trainees the number is 100] .
AKG48 aims to not only be the top unit in Gunma , but also someday face AKB48 as equals .
To start this mission the group is leaving the comforts of Gunma and have started their advance on Tokyo with “Akagi no Megumi AKG48 Matsuri” at “Gunmachanchi“. Gunmachanchi is a store in Ginza ,Tokyo that sells goods from Gunma .
Team G the main unit of AKG48 are leading this charge by holding live events outside the store.
AKG48 is very much a new and fresh unit ,having only started in March ,when a local audition allowed their parent company Oriental Japan to select 100 girls on first audition. After training for two months that included and still includes going through vocal and dance lessons three to five times a week ,they made their official debut .
AKG48 along with their regular lives also perform lives at welfare centers and other events such as television work and promoting local tourism spots .
If you are an AKB48 fan and are already rejecting this unit ,for whatever reason ,that would be a mistake to do so.
Today there are 100`s of AKB48 inspired units currently in operation and each one of these units brings a specialness to the genre and to their base of operations that deserves to be seen as their own style .
AKG48 currently has one single “Knee High☆Lover” and as you can expect from new units have a number of AKB48 covers in their live set. There is nothing wrong with that as it takes time to build a live set of originals.
[Note-Wotas do not care if groups sing covers ]
Other local activities
The masked group with AKG is a Gunma TV show ,like Sentai Rangers ,not very big budget stuff .
