1. AKB48, "Manatsu No Sounds good!"

AKB48 is a girl group with 64 members and is the brainchild of producer Yasushi Akimoto, who also created 52-member girl group Onyanko Kurabu (Kitten Club) in the '80s. The huge size of the band is meant to mirror that of a high school class. There's a Taiwanese version of AKB48 in the works called TPE48 and an Indonesian one called JKT48. AKB48 is made up of subgroups Team A, Team K, Team B, and Team 4. Sometimes all four teams perform in separate locations simultaneously, kinda like the Man or Astro-man? Genome Project. Members of AKB48 are not allowed to have boyfriends and must participate in mandatory rock-paper-scissors tournaments. Some girls are "trainees" while others eventually "graduate" out of the group. Sounds like a Dario Argento movie, right? This year, two members were forced to resigned after being photographed out with dudes. AKB48 songs sound like bubblegum propaganda and their videos usually feature cheesecake lolicon setups like slumber parties, group bubble baths, and AKB48 dancing in bikinis on the beach. This is their 26th new single, "Midsummer Sounds good!" with seasonal lyrics like "The sound of the waves sounds good. Heart makes clamors. Even more than last year, I'll become more serious." The whole thing is both crazily wholesome and dark as hell. If only the music were less grating.
Grade: C
Best YouTube Comment: "I don't know what the hell are they talking about, but I gonna say this, I LOVE THIS SONG AND THE GROUP" — Egen4nia