On the first day of "AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 2013" held at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL on January 24th, the MV for AKB48's upcoming 30th single "So long!" (to be released on February 20th) was revealed. It was announced that the MV was directed by a film director Obayashi Nobuhiko.

"So long!" is AKB48's 6th "Sakura" song, and Watanabe Mayu will be the center for the first time.

The MV that was revealed at the event was the short version that was 6 minutes long, however, there will also be a 64-minute long version which is the longest MV ever for the group.

-

The MV takes place at Chuetsu high school in Niigata.

"Yume" (Watanabe Mayu), who has a dream to be an actress, encounters "Mirai" (Matsui Jurina) who transfers�to the school from Minamisoma, Fukushima, after she suffered�from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. "Mirai", "Yume", and other classmates, such as, "Ayu" (Shimazaki Haruka), the daughter of a carp shop, "Shiori" (Oshima Yuko), the daughter of a dumpling store, "Sora" (Takahashi Minami), the daughter of a pyrotechnist, "Akari" (Itano Tomomi), the daughter of a sake brewer, and "Kii" (Kashiwagi Yuki) who is good at using computer, �strengthen their friendship; and after "Mirai" spends time with them, who have all been through the Chuetsu earthquake, it leads her to make a certain�decision...

[gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="title"]

-

Before the encore, the director, Obayashi, appeared via a video message, and he revealed his thought, "I could be a great grandfather for the girls, so I was wondering why I was working with AKB at first." He continued, "It was so much fun to work with the AKB folks, and it brought me so many ideas, thus, I ended up making a 64-minute long film drama! I'm sure if I, the great grandfather, could tell everything that I have experienced and learned from those young people, it would be of the power for the girls to create their new future from here. In that sense, this could be a letter from the past to the future."

Along with the members, singer Mickey Curtis and actor Takashima Masahiro also make�appearances in the MV.

The 64-minute version MV will be included in a DVD that will come with the single. (You can check the jacket covers for the single here.)



Source & Image: Sanspo + Oricon + Sports Hochi

Thanks to mochi for the tip!