Tsugi no Ashiato (次の足跡, "The Next Footsteps") is the third studio album by Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It is the second AKB48 double-album, and was released in Japan on January 22, 2014 by King Records. It debuted at number one in the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, selling over 960,000 copies.[1] On February 6, the album became AKB48's second successive album to sell over one million copies.[2]

Tsugi no Ashiato
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 22, 2014 (2014-01-22)
GenreJ-pop
LabelYou, Be Cool! / King
ProducerYasushi Akimoto
AKB48 chronology
1830m
(2012)
Tsugi no Ashiato
(2014)
Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe!
(2015)
Singles from Tsugi no Ashiato
  1. "Manatsu no Sounds Good!"
    Released: May 23, 2012
  2. "Gingham Check"
    Released: August 29, 2012
  3. "UZA"
    Released: October 31, 2012
  4. "Eien Pressure"
    Released: December 5, 2012
  5. "So Long!"
    Released: February 20, 2013
  6. "Sayonara Crawl"
    Released: May 22, 2013
  7. "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie"
    Released: August 21, 2013

Promotion and release edit

On 24 November 2013, it was announced that AKB48 would release their 5th studio album, their first in over a year.[3] It was revealed that the album would have 25 songs, including songs such as Manatsu no Sounds Good! and Koisuru Fortune Cookie from their previous singles.[3] The album title, cover and tracks were subsequently reviewed on 21 December 2013. It was also announced that 15 of the tracks were written for this album, and that many of the songs were sung by different units within AKB48. This album is marketed under the catchphrase Our footprints are ahead of us.[4]

The album was released in Japan on January 22, 2014 under King Records in Japan, in several editions: Type A limited, Type A regular, Type B, and Theater. The albums consist of 2 CDs. The Type A limited contains a bonus DVD. The Theater edition is only sold at the AKB48 theater and only contains the first CD.

The first CD (CD1) includes seven of AKB48's singles that were released in 2012–2013, from "Manatsu no Sounds Good!" to "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie". It includes original songs performed by Team Kenkyusei, as well as songs that were B-sides of singles. The second CD (CD2) has different track lists for Type A and Type B. It contains more B-side singles as well as original songs by AKB48 members. The limited edition has a DVD which shows a short documentary of the group members at a concert.

The seven singles and their B-sides were also sung by and with famous members, currently graduated from AKB48 Tomomi Itano, Mariko Shinoda, Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Kasai or Atsuko Maeda. Therefore, these members are not credited in the album.[improper synthesis?]

Track listing edit

All songs performed by the AKB48 title track singers except as listed below.

No.TitlePerformanceLength
1."Koi Suru Fortune Cookie" (恋するフォーチュンクッキー) 4:46
2."Love Shugyō" (Love修行)Kenkyuusei4:41
3."Sayonara Crawl" (さよならクロール) 4:56
4."Tsuyoi Hana" (強い花)Kenkyuusei 
5."Ano Hi no Fūrin" (あの日の風鈴)Waiting Girls 
6."Eien Pressure" (永遠プレッシャー) 4:57
7."Aozora Café" (青空カフェ)  
8."Uza" (UZA)  
9."Kimi no Tame ni Boku wa…" (君のために僕は・・・)Stage Fighter [clarification needed] 
10."Watashitachi no Reason" (私たちのReason)  
11."So Long!"  
12."Gingham Check" (ギンガムチェック)  
13."Manatsu no Sounds Good!" (真夏のSounds Good !) 4:35
14."Otona e no Michi" (大人への道 "The Road to Adulthood")Kenkyuusei 
Theater Edition
No.TitleLength
15."Chireba ii no ni..." (散ればいいのに・・・) 
Type A – Disc 2
No.TitlePerformanceLength
1."After Rain"  
2."Gugutasu no Sora" (ぐぐたすの空)  
3."Boy Hunt no Hōhō Oshiemasu" (ボーイハントの方法 教えます)Yuria Kizaki, Rino Sashihara, Haruka Shimazaki, Fuuko Yagura 
4."JJ ni Karitamono" (JJに借りたもの)Ayaka Umeda, Rie Kitahara, Asuka Kuramochi, Minami Takahashi, Akane Takayanagi, Nana Yamada 
5."Shower no Ato Dakara" (シャワーの後だから)Yuki Kashiwagi, Haruna Kojima, Rena Matsui 
6."10 Krone to Pan" (10クローネとパン)Haruka Kodama, Reina Fujie, Nao Furuhata, Sayaka Yamamoto , Yui Yokoyama 
7."Kakushin ga Moterumono" (確信がもてるもの)Team A 
8."Team Zaka" (チーム坂)Team 4 
9."Tsuyosa to Yowasa no Aida de" (強さと弱さの間で)  
10."Boku wa Ganbaru" (僕は頑張る)Anna Iriyama, Rina Kawaei, Minami Takahashi, Yui Yokoyama, Mayu Watanabe, Yuko Oshima, Yuki Kashiwagi, Haruna Kojima, Haruka Shimazaki 
11."Eien yori Tsuzuku Yō ni" (永遠より続くように)OKL48 
Type A limited edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."AKB48 Group Members Air Handshake Event" (AKB48グループメンバー エア握手会) 
Type B – Disc 2
No.TitlePerformanceLength
1."Smile Kamikakushi" (スマイル神隠し)Tentoumu Chu! 
2."Taningyōgi na Sunset Beach" (他人行儀なSunset Beach)Aika Ota, Akari Suda, Suzuran Yamauchi, Miyuki Watanabe 
3."Haste to Waste" (ハステとワステ)BKA48 
4."Watashi Leaf" (わたしリーフ)Anna Iriyama, Rena Kato, Rina Kawaei, Jurina Matsui 
5."Stoic na Bigaku" (Stoicな美学)Miori Ichikawa, Mina Oba, Kanon Kimoto, Fuuko Yagura, Nako Yabuki, Shu Yabushita, Mayu Watanabe 
6."Ponkotsu Blues" (ぽんこつブルース)  
7."Ichi Ni no San" (イチニノサン)Yuko Oshima, Aki Takajo, Mariya Nagao, Airi Furukawa, Minami Minegishi 
8."Kyōhansha" (共犯者)Team K 
9."Dōki" (動機)Haruka Shimazaki 
10."Kanashiki Kinkyori Ren'ai" (悲しき近距離恋愛)Team B 
11."Yume no Kawa" (夢の河)  

Personnel edit

After rain

Boy Hunt no Houhou Oshiemasu (Centers: Haruka Shimazaki and Rino Sashihara)

JJ ni Kitaramono (Centers: Minami Takahashi and Asuka Kuramochi)

Shower no Ato Dakara (Center: Haruna Kojima

10 Krone to Pan (Center: Sayaka Yamamoto)

Kakushin ga Moterumono (Center: Mayu Watanabe)

Tsuyosa to Yowasa no Aida de (Center: Sayaka Akimoto)

Note = This song commemorated Sayaka Akimoto's graduation from AKB48 in August 2013

Smile Kamikakushi

Ponkotsu Blues

Ichi Ni No San

Kyōhansha

Dōki'

Kanashiki Kinkyori Renai

Chireba Ii no ni...

Release history edit

Date Version Catalog Format Label
January 22, 2014 Type-A First Press Limited Edition (KIZC-90240~2)[n 1] 2CD+DVD King Records
Regular Edition (KICS-3014~5)[n 2] 2CD
Type-B (KICS-3016~7)[n 3] 2CD
Theater (NKCD-6655)[n 4] CD

Charts edit

Chart Peak position Sales (copies)
Oricon Weekly Chart 1[1] 961,531[1]
Oricon Year-end Chart 1[5] 1,041,355[5]
Taiwan(G-Music) 13[6]

Certifications edit

Certification Sales (copies)
RIAJ physical shipping certification Million [7]

Release history edit

Region Date Format Label
Japan January 22, 2014 King Records (YOU BE COOL division)
Hong Kong, Taiwan King Records
Philippines November 6, 2015[8]
South Korea July 27, 2018

References edit

Album references
  1. ^ "次の足跡 Type A<初回限定盤>(2CD+DVD複合)" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "次の足跡 Type A 通常盤" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  3. ^ "次の足跡 Type B" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  4. ^ 次の足跡 劇場盤 (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
Other references
  1. ^ a b c "2014年01月20日~2014年01月26日のCDアルバム週間ランキング(2014年02月03日付)". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  2. ^ "AKB48's album sells over a million copies for 2nd consecutive time". Tokyohive. 6Theory Media. February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "AKB48ヒットシングル満載25曲入りオリジナルアルバム発売". music natalie (in Japanese). music natalie. November 24, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  4. ^ "AKB新アルバム『次の足跡』ジャケット公開 こじまこ大抜てき". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "2014年 年間音楽&映像ランキング発表". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "G-Music 風雲榜 (綜合榜)". February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on February 6, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "RIAJ Million Certified Albums". RIAJ (in Japanese). Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  8. ^ "Galaxy Records to sell AKB48's 2014 album during Cool Japan Festival weekend". November 5, 2015.

External links edit

King Records