You won't believe the story of the AKB48 anime

1:00 PM on 12.19.2011   |   Josh Tolentino

Actually, maybe you will, because any anime based on AKB48 was likely to be at least a little bit crazy. And this is pretty crazy. But who knows? It could be amazing! I barely know anything about AKB48 itself, but hey, I’ve been enjoying Idolm@ster every week and I’ve never even played the damn game.

Also, I do know that the staff behind the show couldn’t be more appropriate to make this sort of thing. Shoji Kawamori, the man behind Macross, is planning the project, Studio Satelight (of Macross Frontier fame) will be animating it, and Working!! director Yoshimasa Hiraike will be directing it, according to scripts written and supervised by Mari Okada, who also wrote AnoHana, ToraDora!, and HanaIro. You can tell those shows are good because their names truncate to elegant four-syllable constructs. That’s a fact.

Where was I? Oh, right, the story of this new AKB48 anime, AKB0048. Check it out some text from its website below*. It’s best to imagine it being read in a cheesy, Don LaFontaine action movie trailer style.

_{*I took some creative liberties with the editing, for dramatic effect.}

In A Time...when entertainment is outlawed...one group holds guerrilla concerts, despite the danger.

That group...is AKB0048.

Up until the annihilation of Earth, AKB48 shined as legendary idols.

This is the story...of the hypergalactic idol team to inherit their name.

At the beginning of the 21st century, world war over interplanetary travel technology has devastated the planet, forcing mankind into a mass exodus. Thus began an era of exile in space...the Star Calendar year 00.

Now, the Hypergalactic Alliance has banned all the entertainment and music it deems "corrupting to people's minds", through the "Entertainment Prohibition Law". All forms of entertainment are brutally suppressed, except outside the Absolute Entertainment Defense Zones. As idols disappear, one by one, the people's minds are enveloped in darkness.

Those once known as "idols"...were almost extinct.

But...one group has arisen, to inherit the light and spirit of the legendary AKB48.

They are the "outlaw idols" of AKB0048.

Branded as "terrorists" by the Alliance government, they stand against sinister forces that wield overwhelming power.

But to protect their stage, to protect their fans, to protect the citizens...they take up arms....and fight.

"Even if we suffer and fall, as long as there are fans who are waiting for us, we'll fight! And then, we'll keep singing!"

And in Star Calendar 0048, this fateful year...

The story begins...for the 77th class of trainees to be chosen...as new stars.

Who, among these girls, will be adored on stage, the new Star of Hope?

As Friends, As Rivals, As Professionals...

The Idols Shine With A New Light!

Hyper action!!!

Cute concerts!!!

Live Space Entertainment to engulf the universe!