NMB48 Geinin!

In the world of J-pop, there are singers and "talento" of all stripe. The foot soldiers of the industry, however, are the entry level "idols" who occupy the imagination of the nation and are the veritable cash cows for the industry. Having said that, Osaka's NMB48 -- the third chapter of Yasushi Akimoto's highly successful 48Family franchise fits this bill. Holding the current record as the largest pop-group in the world and heralded as the "Idols you can meet" includes over 12 affiliated girl groups based mostly in Japan and throughout Asia. In Japan alone, the five groups alone have a membership of 300+ girls involved in daily performances in their home theater locations, in addition to 300+ retired or "graduated" members now in solo careers of their own). The active members, all ranging in age from 11-28 are holding up the standard of the idol who can sing, dance and now act in the capricious and unpredictable world of Japanese pop entertainment. Now out with a variety show of their own, which is the trend of these groups, NMB48 takes center stage on Japanese terrestrial television with a comedy variety show of their own called "NMB48 Geinin", which translates to NMB48 Performers or Standup-Comedians. Conceptually, as long as NMB48 gets to play themselves, or characters very much like themselves, they'll dominate this niche market. For NMB48, whose ages ranged between 14-20 in this 2012 comedy variety show, playing themselves involves little or no imagination, Not surprisingly, this show was the basis for the movie in 2013 and its sequel in 2014: "NMB48 Entertainers. The Movie: high school comedy girls!"

Mayu Ogasawara

Self