One of the most cherished traditions in the 48 Groups is the “seitansai” or “birthday festival”, which is a special stage performance to celebrate a members’ birthday. MNL48 follows in this tradition by holding a seitansai event for the October birthday celebrants Jaydee (October 2), Ruth (October 10), Mari (October 14), Rans (October 18), Erica (October 19), and Ella (October 30).

The event was held in Movie Stars Café last October 14, 2018 at 12 noon. Although the registration time was announced as 9AM, the Centris Mall begins operations at 10AM which caused us to crowd outside the door. Upon entering, we all trooped to the registration table, only to be told that those who already paid their tickets will go first, followed by those who will pay at the venue, and finally, the walk-ins. This resulted in me being separated from my companions, and although it didn’t really affect my experience of the event as a whole, it was a minor inconvenience as my knee was hurting that day.

After several bad experiences with HHE’s registration practices, I would say that this time, it was slightly better but it definitely still needs improvement. After the registration, everything was smooth-sailing for me, as we went directly to entrance and had the cameras on our phones blocked with stickers. This because the event is exclusive, as with other pay-per-view idol events, and since this is also the rule in 48 Group Theaters.

The tables in MSC were rearranged for the event. Although we were assigned seats, the staff decided to allow groups that were separated a chance to sit together. Because my companions Admins Youko and Soul Assassin from FilWota were already sitting and their table is already full, I was placed on the same table as Jaydee’s family along with two other fans.

We were served food which consisted of a kiddie-sized hamburger, fries, spaghetti, two chicken lollipops, iced tea and a dessert. I used to regularly eat in the old Movie Stars Café in SM Mall of Asia, and when I get the chance, I eat in their new Centris location, and I must say that in both locations, I am not crazy about their kiddie meals, or any meals with kiddie-sized burgers. I did like the spaghetti and the chicken lollipops though.

Now, in idol events, I wouldn’t usually want to eat and drink a lot because going to the restroom can prove to be a hassle, especially if nature comes calling in the middle of the event. But Movie Stars Café not only had restrooms, but clean ones, so I wasn’t too worried.

Before the event started, a voice went on and on reminding us abut the do’s and don’ts. Without confirming with fellow fans who know more than me, I would venture to say that this is called “kage ana” in the AKB context. The word, meaning “shadow announcer” (if my source is accurate), is used to refer to the member making the announcements before an event starts. I have no idea who was the kage ana last Sunday, if it was even a member, or if there were more than one speaker. But hearing it was cool, if a bit repetitive.

While waiting for the show to start, a lot of fans made their way to the merchandise table to snag some event-exclusive goods, and also purchase a copy of the first single. I really wanted to let myself go, but I have a budget to keep and so, with a heavy heart, I went my way back to my seat.

The biggest surprise of the night was right when the event itself started. Oh, we were pretty much expecting the senbatsu to come and perform “Aitakatta“. But we – well I, at least – did not expect the Overture to be played.

One of the things the fans had been requesting ever since the group started official duties is the Overture, that 60-second recording that serves both as an intro and to hype up fans. All groups in the 48/46 families have it, and even some non-AKB groups have their own Overture. But it is something that MNL48 has yet to have. Until last Sunday, that is.

For sure, the intro was a bit flat, as instead of being on full volume from the start, the guy handling the sound mixer chose to start on low volume and then ratchet it up. But we were so surprised we didn’t start to nit-pick it until after. No one could react at first simply because we weren’t expecting it. It was heavenly music to my ears.

The senbatsu performed the first number of the night (there would only be three, naturally), “Aitakatta-Gustong Makita“. Afterwards, they talked a bit about the birthday celebrants. An introduction video was shown and the celebrants performed “Umiindak na Saya” – marking this as the first time non-senbatsu members officially performed a song outside of ensemble performances of ‘Aitakatta-Gustong Makita’ and ‘Talulot ng Sakura’.

I’ve always wanted to see the Under and Next Girls perform because they all received the same training, and they are all working hard for that day they’d be given a chance. At least some of them did last Sunday. I’ve always maintained that even the girls I did not root for during the audition have something good to offer fans. Mari and Rans were products of the “secret auditions” that gave birth to the Challengers I so hated many months ago. And Jaydee….uhm, well, the fans knew about “it”.

But that all felt a life-time ago, and things (and more importantly, my outlook) has changed since then. Mari was one of the two who replaced the aspirants who backed out at the last minute, while Rans joined Sheki and Alice on the Japan trip which featured their “Talulot ng Sakura” a-capella (in the restroom), and Jaydee made great strides at improving and taking her work as an idol very seriously.

After three games facilitated by the girls, the celebrants performed “Talulot ng Sakura” and were joined by the senbatsu mid-song. Then, they were each given a cake as well as a message from one of their close friends in the group.

It is these moments where I truly felt the girls have transformed into idols. One of the best things about live events are the MCs which is a small-talk portion designed to give ample time for the next performers to change outfits. One of my favorites was Ruth gloating when her fan won one of the contests. The other was when Faith was supposed to deliver Ruth her cake (and was totally emoting while doing so), only to totally miss her, prompting Ruth to do a faux-walk out.

After the performance, the girls went to the merchandise booth to try and use their charm to sell more goods. Whoever suggested it is a genius: it worked like a charm! Many fans have already bought more than their fair share of goods before the show started, but they’re still emptying their wallets to buy more. After all is said and done, the merchandise tables had significantly fewer goods on them.

In the mad scramble to the merchandise booth, people kind of forgot that there was a cheki (photograph) session with the celebrants. I really want to have my picture taken with any member, but I really had to tighten up the purse strings. There is an area for the cheki complete with background and a table.

Originally, the girls were supposed to stand near the entrance and see us out of the venue. But due to some changes (the girls had to hurry to some place after that), it did not push through and we opted to leave the venue at around 2PM.

Some Thoughts:

The October Seitansai marked the first ever “theater event” of MNL48, which made it doubly important to some fans like us. Despite the actual MNL48 Theater still under construction, the group has the extraordinary fortune of being handled by the same company that owns another restaurant that they can temporarily use.

Additionally, there is a huge incentive for MNL48 to pull this event off without a hitch, and not just because they have just released their first single. The group has had to go by for months without a proper event, and I figured that at some point, they would have to figure out how to make the cash go in.

And so it didn’t come as a surprise that the event suddenly appeared in the calendar section of the MNL48 app, as well as the announcement during the show that there would be a seitansai for every month that a member celebrates a birthday. That means that next month would be the turn of the November celebrants, and so on and so forth.

The event didn’t really give much by way of surprises except for some announcements like the charity event they will host on October 27, and the Halloween Party on October 31. We were told that the entrance to the charity event will be free, while no further details were shared for the Halloween Party. While both events made me happy, I also realized that I may not be able to go on the October 27 event (likely due to lack of funds), while the Halloween Party will be held on a week day that also happens to be pay-day. And uh…I think we will be expected to come in costumes, something I’m not inclined to do.

The last announcement that did surprise me was when Sheki thanked the fans for coming, she also asked us to continue supporting them until they eventually perform in the Philippine Arena. I was taken aback because it was a bold statement: the Philippine Arena is the largest in the Philippines, and no local celebrity has ever really managed to fill it. It is also in Bulacan, which means it might be too far for a huge chunk of their fans.

But more than the actual venue, I think the statement is a declaration of their goal. Just as AKB48 had once aimed to perform in Tokyo Dome, so also will MNL48 endeavor to perform in the Philippine Arena. Although if you ask me, I think performing at the Mall of Asia Arena or the Araneta Coliseum will be pretty impressive feats as well.

Some observations:

Before we end this article, let’s also talk about the parts that needs to improve on the next event. The registration has always been HHE‘s Achilles heel in these events. I really think that they should either coordinate with the mall regarding what time the registration will start, or simply adjust to the mall’s operating hours. Despite not being made to stand in the sun as in previous events (especially first one which is the MNL48 Fan Meeting in Movie Stars Cafe MOA), many fans arrived before 9AM because that was the advertised time of the registration. And even when the registration finally started, there was a bit of confusion as no one was directing or maintaining the line.

Originally, everyone trooped to the line, and then there was an announcement that those who already paid for the tickets will go first, followed by those who chose “pay at venue” for their payment method, and finally, the walk-ins. There is only one problem: there was a seat number assigned according to registration order, which means that some groups were separated. It would have been better if they just divided the line between VIP and Regular and processed the payments/registration as necessary.

In order to facilitate this, there should have been more people in the registration area than was present last Sunday. There should also be a review of the procedures to make it more efficient. All vouchers had bar-codes, and as far as I know, bar-codes can be scanned. Better yet, the payment could reflect on your personal records on the app so that each scan of the QR code will also confirm if payment was made and the method chosen. If HHE manages to figure out how to implement this, each registration will only require a QR code scan and a valid ID verification with the vouchers serving only as back-up documents.

Second, I personally like the food in Movie Stars Café. With that said, the kidde-meal that was served us wasn’t my idea of “appetizing food” and was a disappointment to some fans. I ate it all because I was HUNGRY, but I was close to asking one of the servers if I can order something different. I would think that at PhP1,000.00 for the VIP ticket, that we deserve a little bit more, and MSC has good stuff on the menu. It is something to think about for the next event.

Third, some fans commented that the cheki was less than satisfactory. I really can’t confirm this since I didn’t avail of it, but they said the shots were dim, there was a long table separating the fans from their idols (instead of the round table in AKB48’s events), and the background was reportedly useless. I think, assuming these observations are valid, that this is easy to remedy as the staff taking the pictures can make use of proper lighting. And even if it isn’t, such an event can benefit from a few adjustments and constructive feedback.

Conclusion:

Was it worth the money? I would say, yes. It is not a perfect event by any means, but it is quite literally their first “theater” event and they pulled it off reasonably well. I am sure the staff will be dissecting every comment, opinion, and suggestion in order to improve these events in the future.

It was also a delight to be able to see the senbatsu perform once more, but the highlight for me were the celebrants. For the first time, the fans were able to see lower-ranked members perform and show us their stuff. That was my goal for this event: to see the non-senbatsu members perform, and I really hope we see more of them in the future. MNL48 is worth more than just the senbatsu and I really, really believe that.

October seitansai is done, and it is good, fun event. Hopefully, November seitansai will be even better.