AKB48′s latest “general election” sees sex scandal idol Rino Sashihara leading the pack even as the group’s creepy otaku fans have succeeded in driving their sales to record levels.

HKT48′s 20-year-old Rino Sashihara, best known for being caught having sex with one of her fans in a scandal which if anything seems to have only increased her popularity, seizing the top spot in the 5th AKB48 “general election”

According to Oricon sales figures, their new “Sayonara Crawl” single has just shipped a record 2.3 million copies, beating out their previous high of 2 million.

Not surprisingly their outstanding musical excellence has provoked much admiration online:

“2 million new CDs for the trash.”

“2.3 million frisbees.”

“They are not selling CDs, they are selling hand-shaking event tickets!”

“AKB shinrikyo.”

“This lot frankly seem to be going out of fashion.”

“Doesn’t stop them selling though.”

“For all the CDs they sell as many people lose all interest in music.”

“They really ought to switch to charting the number of buyers rather than the number of CDs sold.”

“A lot of garbage to be getting rid of.”

“How much energy will it take to dispose of this lot?”

“It’s a mystery who buys this stuff…”

“Japanese music charts are now almost completely dominated by idol groups rather than actual music, it’s pretty amazing really.”

“This single is awful. Who’d buy this? How many real buyers do they have?”

“I reckon it’s a ratio of 5 discs to 1 buyer.”

“I think even without the tickets they have plenty of good songs and would sell nicely. Although the haters are going to get me for saying that.”

“Rino is doing rather well thanks to the scandal it seems.”

“If you guys hate AKB48 that much, just vote for her and you’ll soon finish them off.”

“Remember, it’s only the otaku voting on the first day with all their mass-purchased tickets. The light-weights will vote later and that may change the result.”

“As if there are any light-weight fans who would actually vote in something like this.”

“Wait, didn’t Rino quit AKB48 and join some other group, so how can you vote for her?”

“You can vote for any of their sister groups.”

“I can’t believe she is in first…”

“All the people who pre-ordered just put in their votes so it’s possible.”

“She has 28k votes to the number 2′s 15k after the first day. There is no way that lead is going to be reversed guys.”

“There are over 2 million in total, it may still change!”

“There has been huge inflation in the number of votes in these elections, the winner in the first had 4k votes, the fourth had 110k.”

A glimpse into just how these sales figures are being sustained (as it likely not through the quality of their music, or through 2% of Japan’s population buying a copy each) – one fan has been bragging about spending 1.9 million yen on discs for the event, paying cash on delivery just to rub it in on the poor courier:

With this AKB48 fans are cementing their reputation as the creepiest around:

“What are you doing, Japan?”

“The poor courier must have been trembling on his way out after accepting that…”

“I once spent 300,000 on them at a convenience store but he has me beat.”

“You are just a trainee fan!”

“What are these guys doing? What you do with the money you earn is your business, but this is completely wasteful.”

“Why cash on delivery?”

“You could buy a car for that. Still, it is his choice.”

“So these boxes all contain the same CD? I’m speechless…”

“This must have emptied out the delivery truck.”

“I suppose it is better than spending it on Puzzle & Dragons…”

“At least that produces no mountain of garbage.”

“Dumping all those CDs looks like a hassle.”

“The last election:

“Abnormal.”

“This is basically a religion.”

“It is not possible to understand these people.”

“I wonder how badly they will regret doing this in 5 or 10 years.”

“He could open a music store. It would only stock one CD, though…”

Louis Vuitton has followed up on its notorious Hatsune Miku outfit with a “life-size” (158cm) figure of her wearing the same ensemble.

Aside from those who dismiss her as “just an LV mannequin,” the figure has met with a less frosty reception than Louis Vuitton’s last tangle with Miku fans – with many at least happy their virtual angel is getting the recognition she deserves.

Elaborate nail art may be a staple of girly Japanese fashion, but that has not stopped the vast majority of men quizzed about it reporting that they actually hate it – much to the consternation of nail salons throughout the land.

Held up as one of the “three sacred treasures of femininity” (alongside eyelash makeup and elaborately curled hair), nail art is regarded by many young Japanese women as an essential fashion accessory, and certainly ranks as one of their favoured blogging subjects.

However, only 35% of 149,312 Japanese questioned reported liking nail art, compared to 60.8% who said they did not like it, whilst an understone contingent of 3.7% had never even heard of it.

Broken down by gender, only 24.9% of men liked it, compared to fully 70% who disliked it.

Meanwhile, 47.8% of women liked it, with 50% disliking it.

In spite of all this, it seems unlikely jewel encrusted talons will be going out of fashion any time soon – they are just “too cute”:

The Aya Hirano collection:

Amongst men there is the usual incomprehension at female fashion foibles:

“Men aren’t interested in this stuff…”

“I hate it. I guess everyone else does too.”

“Nail art looks pretty inconvenient!”

“It’s inconvenient alright. Your fingertips get heavy and you have to put gloves on when you go to bed…”

“Why do this? And at least take it off when you go to bed.”

“It is unsanitary if you ask me.”

“It’s a good marker for women who have no intention of ever doing any housework.”

“At least take them off if you are preparing food!”

“Not applying nail polish is rude in some cases, but nail art takes it too far. Transparent or light pink looks good though.”

“Rude? What are you talking about? Where did these manners come from?”

“The ones with the overly elaborate nail art just look like hostesses at a cabaret club.”

“The ones with talons which look venomous just make me wither…”

“Lumping fake nails and gel nails in with manicured nails is just wrong.”

“It’s not like men can tell the difference.”

“Men just hate overly elaborate decoration like that, it’s not limited to nails.”

“Women really think it will make them popular with men, so if you see one who tries hard at least praise her efforts a bit.”

“Don’t worry, they don’t really think it will be popular with guys. But do praise them, although the ones who want that kind of praise are probably better avoided.”

“It’s just one of those things women insist on doing which men will never understand.”

“Nail and eyelash art are essential for women to look good. It’s just embarassing not to!”

“They just get the wrong idea when you call her cute when she’s showing off her nails, which the guy is probably not interested in.”

“Women are just narcissists.”

“Honestly I doubt any fashion girls are actually interested in appeals to men.”

“They aren’t doing it to appeal to men, it’s to appeal to their own sense of being kawaii.”

“Women’s magazines just incite competitive consumption amongst women. When they talk about ‘increasing you femininity’ and competitiveness amongst other women, it isn’t in terms of what appeals to men.”

“Get out of it girls, you’re dreaming!:”

[A manga advert for "Nail Salon Venusrico":]

["Hey, nice nails. Marry me."]

["Thanks to the tips of her nails, she was able to marry a hot guy! Next, it's your turn!"]

“Ha, she’s in heaven.”

“Excuse me whil I go compliment a girl on her nail art and then marry her.”

“This explains why they do it perfectly though. It’s not because they are trying to appeal to guys, but because they are competing amongst other girls to get a good guy. They’ll stop if their boyfriend says he doesn’t like it, like they’ll stop one of those pointless diets.”

“My girl manages to look cute and natural without all this maintenance. Natural is number 1!”

The steady succession of hit anime the 2000-2013 period has yielded has again been subject to rankification – demonstrating once more that the tastes of fans still maintain some balance between A & B even over a 13 year period…

The ranking:

1. Neon Genesis Evangelion (Movie)

2. Shingeki no Kyojin

3. K-ON!

4. Gintama

5. A Certain Magical Index

6. Haruhi

7. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha

8. Shinsekai Yori

9. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

10. Strike Witches

11. Tatami Galaxy

12. Tiger & Bunny

13. Gurren Lagann

14. Haganai

15. Hyouka

16. Ore no Imouto

17. Natsume’s Book of Friends

18. Macross F

19. Space Battleship Yamato 2199

20. Fate/Zero

MoeNovel is preparing If My Heart Had Wings – the English edition of a visual novel about the not wholly unfamiliar theme of a male student and his wheelchair bound female companion who form a sky gliding club – as an all-ages version with high definition visuals, which is dated for arrival this June in both package and download form.

The trailer:

The official site carries more details, as do the CG below:

If My Heart had Wings is available for pre-order now – and conveniently enough, JAST USA has also lowered prices on a number of visual novel titles.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 is already being heralded as the victor of the 8th generation console war, as news of just how poor Microsoft’s Xbox One offering is have begun to sink in, with poor specs, a pathetically weak games line-up, excessive emphasis on TV rather than games, no backwards compatibility and no support for used games all combining to offer a massive boost to Sony’s share price.

The latest hardware comparison information, still not officially confirmed but widely believed to be correct based on earlier leaks:

PS4
・CPU: Jaguar 8 Core CPU @ 2.0GHz
・GPU: Radeon GPU @ 1.84TFLOPS
・Memory: 8GB GDDR5 @ 176GB/s
■Features:
・Backwards compatible with previous PS* games
・Can remote play on PSV
・PlayStation Eye
・Supposedly plays used games
・Est. price: $300-$500
・Has a Share button!

Xbox One
・CPU: Jaguar 8 Core CPU @ 1.6GHz
・GPU: D3D 11.1 GPU @ 1.2TFLOPS
・Memory: 8GB DDR3 @ 68GB/s
■Features:
・No backwards compatibility
・Now has Blu-ray & TV support, in the US at least
・Kinect
・Plays used games if you pay again
・Est. price: $300-$500
・Has Windows 8!

Presumably these specs are regarded as sufficient for watching TV, playing EA Sports titles and waiting to connect to the latest cloud gaming extravaganza, but there are major doubts as to them putting up serious competition to the PS4 as time progresses – although the possibility of MS simply bribing developers to restrict the graphics of multi-platform titles to Xbox One levels has also been raised.

As if all this were not bad enough, Microsoft has also confirmed what had been amongst the worst fears for the PlayStation 4 – it will not play used games, unless the user pays a ransom to let them register the game on their Xbox Live account:

Individual games will be tied to Xbox Live accounts, Microsoft said, meaning that the software giant can detect whether a game has been sold to a retailer and repurchased, or handed from one friend to another. In such instances, the second user must pay a fee.

“On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play,” a Microsoft representative told Wired.

The company added that, once discs are installed on the hard drive, games can be played without a disc being in the tray.

The Wired article then elaborates:

“What follows naturally from this is that each disc would have to be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, else you could take a single disc and pass it between everyone you know and copy the game over and over. Since this is clearly not going to happen, each disc must then only install for a single owner.”

The news that Sony has likely already won the console war for the entire next generation sent their stock surging even as Microsoft’s announcement continued:

Microsoft has finally unveiled the new Xbox, dubbed the Xbox One and due “later this year,” although with the better part of their presentation being given over to TV and EA Sports precious little of the actual game line-up was on show.

As Sony is obsessed with social, so Microsoft is with TV (and “the Cloud”) – although the console does still retain the capability to play actual games:

A much enhanced version of Kinect is also included, as is the possibility of struggling to control the device with voice controls.

Microsoft first proudly presented a special partnership with the USA’s worst company – Electronic Arts was on hand to reveal its “intelligent and dynamic” EA Sports titles, showing off some surprisingly poor graphics and various promises of super-AI and continuous as opposed to merely annual updates.

Forza Motorsports 5 also featured, and for the tiny minority of Xbox gamers not interested in sports games,
several seconds of Remedy’s Quantum Break were visible in between what appeared to be shots of a TV drama.

Microsoft did promise 15 “exclusive” games and 8 “new franchises” – after which it was back to the exciting world of TV on Xbox Live, in the form of a Spielberg produced Halo live action series and more ways of fantasising about muscular men running up and down a stadium in the form of NFL and “fantasy football.”

Activision was also on hand to present Call of Duty Ghosts, which now includes a dog.

No other games featured, with further details apparently due at the impending E3.

China watchers have been marvelling at a Guangzhou traffic crossing which gives pedestrians 5 seconds to dash across a 100m stretch of busy road…

The report:

Some wags have suggested the 5 second limit may not be such a problem as no Chinese take any notice of the signals anyway – although more fair-minded Japanese have also pointed out their own country has employed signals giving pedestrians as little as 3 seconds to dash across before the ascendancy of their automotive overlords is reaffirmed:

One Piece mangaka Eiichiro Oda hospitalisation with a tonsil infection has caused the cancellation of at least two One Piece instalments, alarming many fans yet again.

According to Shonen Jump’s editorial announcement, volume 26 and 27 of Weekly Jump will be missing One Piece due to his hospitalisation.

Jump also clarified that he is suffering from a peritonsillar abscess, not simple tonsillitis as their print announcement stated.

Amongst Shonen Jump readers, in addition to worry for “workaholic” Oda himself, there has been the usual concern at both the fate of One Piece and the reliance of the magazine on its colossal success – and the effect any extended One Piece hiatus could have on the magazine.

Sony has finally revealed a fleeting and rather indistinct glimpse of their social wonder-console the PlayStation 4, though the suspense over the console’s design which they have so assiduously cultivated looks set to continue until its formal unveiling on the 10th of June – so far all that has been gleaned from their new video is that it “square.”

The video:

With anime for fujoshi on the rise, fans found it necessary to create this ranking of the anime most loved by the fairer sex, but fore whatever reasons widely loathed or at least studiously ignored by most males.

The ranking:

1. Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 2000%

2. Project K

3. Kuroko’s Basketball

4. The Prince of Tennis

5. Black Butler

6. Hakuoki

7. Hetalia Axis Powers

8. Gintama

9. Starry Sky

10. Sengoku Basara

11. Durarara!

12. Miracle Train

13. Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

14. Daily Lives of High School Boys

15. Inazuma Eleven

16. Magi

17. AMNESIA

18. TIGER＆BUNNY

19. Blue Exorcist

20. Togainu no Chi

21. Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion

22. Saiyuki RELOAD

23. Detective Conan

24. Karneval

25. Natsume’s Book of Friends

The samurai girls of Hyakka Ryoran are subjected to yet more undignified and uncensored antics in their latest outing, as directed by their yuri master – with things also getting a bit serious at times.

Omake:

Even as GG introduces UE, BB is heading in the opposite direction with TV in the form of a full TV anime adaptation, to the general relief of fans – most of whom seem prepared to overlook the generally abysmal fate of fighting game to anime adaptations.

Boasting staff involved in the production of such classics as To Aru Majutsu no Index and FMA, and the studio behind such classics as Seiken no Qwaser, Manyuu and Nazo no Kanojo X, the series certainly looks to enjoy a mixed pedigree and is scheduled for an autumn 2013 broadcast.

The latest entry into the Guilty Gear series has been revealed in the form of Guilty Gear Xrd, although the decision to introduce 3D to the traditionally hardcore 2D franchise by way of the Unreal Engine has caused something of an stir amongst the more purist fans…

The trailer:

Level 5 electromaster Mikoto Misaka is once again getting a figure, this time as a large 1/7 scale with shocking effects, by Griffon Enterprises and due this June.

Biribiri is available for pre-order now.

The latest video exposé of the power of makeup in the hands of Japanese women has been circulating online to the usual howls of terror…

This time the comparison comes courtesy of “S Cawaii,” which proclaims that “girls change themselves as much as they want with the weapon called makeup!” and kindly warns men to “exercise discretion in viewing”:

Ultra-moe sankaku love anime Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko viewers have been caught offguard by an unexpected erotic twist as the cast break out the handcuffs…

Omake:

Family love anime Ore no Imouto brings out a new episode centered around the awkward relationship between Kyosuke and Ruri Gokou – a change in direction that may hopefully change opinion amongst the show’s notoriously polarised fans…

Omake:

The first leaked glimpse of the movie adaptation of Tomodachi ga Sukunai – which even the author seems keen to disown – appears to have revealed its casting choices were even more misguided than had been feared.

Even a blurry long-distance shot of the production has set fans off, so it is anyone’s guess how they will react when full details of the cast emerge, already having made some abortive efforts to get it cancelled by way of a petition:

“Niku has black hair!?”

“She’s not even got the butterfly!”

“Yukimura is gigantic…”

“Please just stop this!”

“You wouldn’t know who is who, apart from Yukimura and Kobato.”

“Yukimura is big, don’t tell me they actually got a man for the role…”

“Who wants 3D maids, only 2D ones are of any interest.”

“Niku looks nothing like Niku and doesn’t even have blonde hair. They aren’t even trying!”

“Please let this not be real!”

“Honestly, a live action adaptation of Haganai is impossible for a yellow race like the Japanese.”

“Even if they brought in a foreigner for it they’d still get bashed.”

“So I guess you’ll all be going to see it then?”

Long-time Macross Frontier favourite Sheryl Nome arrives in Nendoroid form, prepared for a performance this September, from none other than Good Smile Company.

Sheryl is available for pre-order now.

Those of the spring 2013 season which survived the ruthless culling of inferior shows and have been accorded the honour of being added to fan watch lists are hereby ranked – with the foremost title being a gigantic hit indeed.

The ranking:

1. Shingeki no Kyojin

2. Hataraku Maou-sama!

3. A Certain Scientific Railgun S

4. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru

5. Suisei no Gargantia

6. DEVIL SURVIVOR 2 the ANIMATION

7. Yuyushiki

8. Date A Live

9. Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko

10. RDG Red Data Girl

11. Mushibugyo

12. Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 1000%

13. Valvrave the Liberator

14. Aku no Hana

15. Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince

16. Photo Kano

17. Hayate the Combat Butler! Cuties

18. Ore no Imouto 2

19. Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san

20. Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge

21. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W

22. Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san Z

23. Karneval

24. Space Battleship Yamato 2199

25. Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Bride

From the anime Ore no Imouto comes this figure of tsundere otaku queen Kirino Kousaka wearing a fashionable one-piece dress – in likely preparation for a date with her fans this December, thanks to the efforts of Alphamax.

Kirino is available for pre-order now.

Square Enix’s latest exciting new title has been announced as “Grand Union” – a social card battle game for mobile phones, prompting the usual howls from the few remaining gamers who expect anything more from the company.

Aside from the usual moaning about Square Enix focusing on facile card games instead of endless JRPG sequels, the declining quality of the art employed in their card game has also aroused comment.

The game is due for release on smartphone platforms, although Square Enix has already demonstrated it has more than enough gall to consider porting such titles to handhelds as well.

This week’s Photo Kano focuses on unsmiling heroine Hikari Sanehara, as well as providing plenty of the other main subject of Japanese photography…

The manga adaptation has been attracting attention as well, being somewhat more advanced than both the anime and game in the service stakes:

Omake: