Naughtier than You Perceived? - Afilia Saga East

All opinions written here are my own, and my thoughts are my own. Anything within this post was written purely because I wanted to put a certain thought across that has been playing around in my mind for a while, so if you do not like my opinion, then quite obviously we do not agree :D

If you are a person who is currently unaware of who exactly Afilia Saga East is, then have no fear - they've only just started to make their move on the International Wotasphere.

I myself only found them just last August, and I fell in love with their concept then and there. To simply put it, Afilia Saga East are a group made up of the most popular maids within the Maid Café chain Afilia Saga (only those within the 3 locations in Japan, however). There are currently about 8 different locations for this Café chain, and each Café is based on an anime or magical concept. One of these chains is based on a magic school for witches, to give you an example. The group, Afilia Saga East, was respectively made to cater to the Idol side of the fanbase that they already have.

Whilst I may not be an expert on Afilia Saga East as a whole, I can safely say that I have become a fan of the group itself because of, pretty much, the concept. I love Japanese maids because of how cute and girly they all seem to be, as well as the fact that there are different types of these outfits, from pink to white, to navy to black. There's a wide variety, but they are always so cute!!!!

However, after recently taking a look at all of the PVs the group currently has, I have found that, though the whole concept of the group is extremely cute and seemingly innocent, the videos have a clear fetish image going on. In some videos this is more prominent than others, however I have found myself watching these videos and realising that what Afilia Saga East are doing is catering to certain types of fetishes with their videos.

Not that this is a bad thing, of course.

Starting off with the video that made me question Afilia Saga East's presentation, Knee High Egoist is the first, and probably not last, song produced by Tsunku for this group. As the title says, the song is about knee high socks, which is a rather popular fetish in Japan as far as I remember - actually, it's not so much the socks that are the sexual appeal but rather the skin between the thigh-high garment and the skirt.

I never really payed much attention to the video beforehand, other than thinking that it was pretty and that I wanted one of those skirts for myself, however after watching it over and over again I came to realise how the video itself was being sold, and how erotic it is when you took a closer look at it. Don't believe me?

Seriously, if you can't see the eroticness in the video, then you're... living under a rock :/

The title of the song speaks for itself, however the video really does sell it - I don't think that I've seen so many butt-to-thigh shots in a PV! Luckily, all of the girls' legs are really nice, and they suit the thigh highs.

Just by watching this PV, it makes AKB48's Everyday Kachuusha and Heavy Rotation seem innocent. Seriously, I used to think that AKB48 were terrible for promoting themselves in such a sexual way.

If you still don't believe me, then feel free to read on.

Just by looking at the screen grab for the video itself you can see what it's all about. La*La*La Revolution is the latest PV from Afilia Saga East and was released this August. The song itself is rather annoying, depending on whether you listen to it on a loop or not, and really catchy, but the video itself is something that will definitely tickle the fancy of those who really do like girls in bikinis.

This is one of the few opening shots

The video itself is quite gravure, if I had to relate it to anything. I was pretty shocked when I first watched it, because the sheer amount of fan-service that is in this video is a lot. Okay, a majority of that fan-service is thanks to the bikini's, but there are also other shots in the video which you could say are sexual, but it's just downplayed so that it looks innocent. One of those things is eating - I realised this in Everyday Kachuusha, when a lot of eating went on. I have no idea why, but it seems that eating can be erotic - depending on the food.

There's an example of eating in the video. Anyway, getting back on track - I find that the video does many shots throughout the video that can be perceived as quite innocent, when really, they're rather sexual, which in turn can make this video quite appealing for the type of audience they are aiming for, which will be dominantly male.

But I guess it's overly sexualised because, when I watch the video, I feel like I am on a date with each of these girls, and I'm pretty sure you will get that kind of aura too.

Nice shot, right?

Now detaching myself from the fact that this group has steered towards fetishes (including maid outfits - if that isn't already noticeable, then they cater to the Maid fetish), I also find that, though their other PVs aren't necessarily fetish-based, they can be classed as a bit, well, naughty.

I have no idea why I typed that in italics, but I just did.

Using their song from the album Whitism, I find that the PV to the song Hiko Jisshu ~Learn To Fly~, though quite innocent with a cute storyline to tie in the title of the song to the video, can be a bit sexual as well. Wanna know how?

Maybe I just have a dirty mind, or this is sexual - not only do we have the knee high thing back on, but also something between the legs.

Don't you DARE call me a perv, because you are all pervs too ;D Admit it XD

But regarding the other PVs, namely Houkago Romance and Watashi LOVE na Otome, there isn't much going on in there sexually, however Houkago Romance does have some alluring scenes that can make you fall in love with certain girls, depending on who appeals to you the most.

However, I find that right now, this group has become quite risky and daring, taking that step further and kind of making AKB48's bikini based PVs look like something less than perverted. Watching La*La*La Revolution can be quite uncomfortable for some, however if you really do like the group, you can get through it.

Afilia Saga East are much naughtier than I ever perceived, and they do it well.

Have these girls catered to your fetish?

Personally, I would like to see them in sailor fuku next time, but that's just me!

Chiima~

Links:

Let's talk about... (I seem to have used a screen grab from this blog, so here's the link! >3< Sorry!)

PING!!!! International Wota Recommended Reading October 17th 2011

I have to lol at Ray's comment on the article -this is the article guide for all you pervs out there ;D