mAyKB48 – (20/48) Subunit – Not Yet

Not Yet is a newer subunit, debuting in early 2011.  The members are Oshima Yuko, Yokoyama Yui, Sashihara Rino, and Kitahara Rie.  The name of the group apparently comes from the idea that the members are not yet good at singing and dancing (which goes along with the whole concept of idols, following them as they improve) although I feel that this is somewhat debatable.  Their fourth single comes out at the end of this month. 

 

Of note on their latest single is that Kitahara Rie wrote the lyrics for one of the coupling tracks, guilty love.  As far as I know this makes her only the second AKB member to attempt this sort of challenge.  I’ve yet to hear the song, but I think it gives songs an added touch of personality when one of the members is more involved in the creation.  I also think giving the girls these kinds of opportunities is a great thing for the group, as it will help them grow as artists and possibly help them develop talents that they can use once they graduate from AKB.

Not Yet has the interesting honor of being the first subunit to get its own television variety show.  Yonpara Future Game Battle was a weekly show that featured the girls live chatting over Skype and completing various challenges.  They made 23 episodes before it was canceled last month.

 

 

While I had a hard time describing French Kiss’s style, describing Not Yet is relatively easy.  Not Yet is all about really catchy pop songs.  I have not been able to get their newest single, Suika Baby, out of my head since I first heard it.  It’s the kind of music you find yourself humming even when you don’t know all the words.  Appropriately, their dancing is incredibly bouncy and makes you want to nod your head along with the music.  Their music videos are a lot of fun and full of energy.

Although Yuko is by far the most popular of the members here, all of the girls are represented fairly evenly.  I feel like Yuko gets slightly more lines/screen time than the others, but it is pretty slight.  Although all the girls do get solo lines in most songs, it seems that the focus is more on the blending of the different girls voices, having them sing in different pairs.  This helps to keep things pretty evenly distributed and adds a bit of vocal variety to the songs.  The first solo song on a Not Yet single will go to Yokoyama Yui on their upcoming release. 

 

 

I really enjoy Not Yet, although I suppose I was bound to like them since my favorite member is a part of the unit.  But I think even if it were four different girls I would still enjoy their music.  I like happy bouncy pop songs, and, while they may not be the pinnacle of musical achievement, they are highly enjoyable.