The first episode of Produce 48 showcased the differences between J-Pop and K-Pop idols and hinted at how the rest of the season will pan out. In the initial episode, which aired last week on MNet, the biggest story above all was how different the Japanese trainees were compared to the Korean ones. Early on in the episode, the viewers are told that Korean idols are taught by their trainee company, while Japanese idols learn everything on their own. This talent difference was shown immensely when contestants performed and got graded on their performances by the judges. Out of the 12 performers that were graded with an F, 11 of them were trainees from the AKB48 side of the show. On the flipside, the viewer rankings for this episode put AKB48 trainee Sakura Miyawaki in the number one spot, with seven of the top 10 spots going to Korean trainees.
Assessments Bode Well for Koreans on First Episode of PRODUCE 48
The Introduction
The first episode started with contestants entering the studio group by group, based on what company they are from. They selected which number seat they wanted to sit in, of course ranging from 1 to 96. Park Seo-young, who was one of the two only free agents in the competition, took the first seat. She was previously a trainee for YG. She is also the only contestant with blonde hair.
After the seat selection, we were introduced to the many celebrities who will appear on the show. The host/emcee for the show will be Lee Seung-gi, who is coming off his military service which ended in October. The selected judges/trainers were split into three divisions. Lee Hong-gi and Soyou were the vocal trainers for the show. Soyou is a soloist who recently put out the project RE:BORN and single My Blossom. The rap trainer is Cheetah, and the three dance trainers are Bae Yoon-jeong, Choi Young-joon and May J Lee. Throughout the episode, there was a trope expressed that Bae Yoon-jeong was a strict, cutthroat judge, while Soyou was kinder to the contestants, giving them second chances when they slipped up.
The Grading Process
The rest of the first episode consisted of performers being graded by the judges based off of performances. For this assessment, contestants performed with their fellow agency members. Individually, they were given a letter grading.
One of the performers that stuck out during the first episode was Yamada Noe. She had a very energetic and crazy personality, one that the judges and peers seemed to take a liking to. She had a very distinct “husky” voice. People online and a judge on the show drew comparisons to Momoland’s JooE, an idol who became famous for her distinct look and explosive personality in a Tropicana advertisement.
Distinctive Performances
The trainees from HOW Entertainment made waves online with their cover of “Celeb Five.” It was very unique with the three performers having very stone cold expressions throughout the song. A friendly rivalry was also set up in the first episode between WM and Woolim Entertainment. In the K-Pop scene, WM competes with Woolim for the best group with a cute concept, with the two groups being Oh My Girl and Lovelyz. Since Lovelyz are a part of the Woolim label, they did a cover of the Lovelyz song “Ah-Choo.” Their performance caught many’s attention when halfway through it switched to a more badass tone with a serious song. This showed the group’s ability to do many different types of group concepts.
Looking Ahead To Episode 2
The previously mentioned Sakura Miyawaki has not performed yet but is set to in the next episode. What is interesting is how the first week of voting is really a popularity contest based off of nothing. Six of the top 10 haven’t even performed yet. 46 of the 96 trainees performed, with the rest of them most likely going on the second episode. By the time the second episode is done, we will have a better sense of how the field of contestants stands. Also, we will be able to see if the voters have changed their opinions about the contestants. The intensity on the show heightens seemingly every time it is talked about.
Full Rankings After Episode 1:
| Rank | Contestant | Agency | Evaluation |
| 1 | Sakura Miyawaki | HKT48 (J) | |
| 2 | Ahn Yoo-jin | Starship Entertainment (K) | B |
| 3 | Jang Won-young | Starship Entertainment (K) | B |
| 4 | Jurina Matsui | SKE48 (J) | |
| 5 | Lee Ga-eun | Pledis Entertainment (K) | A |
| 6 | Jang Gyu-ri | Stone Music (K) | |
| 7 | Choi Ye-na | Yuehua Entertainment (K) | A |
| 8 | Lee Si-an | Stone Music (K) | |
| 9 | Miru Shiroma | NMB48 (J) | |
| 10 | Jo Yu-ri | Stone Music (K) | |
| 11 | Wang Yi-ren | Yuehan Entertainment (K) | B |
| 12 | Mako Kojima | AKB48 (J) | |
| 13 | Kim Min-ju | Urban Works (K) | D |
| 14 | Nako Yabuki | HKT48 (J) | |
| 15 | Kim Si-hyeon | Yuehua Entertainment (K) | B |
| 16 | Moe Goto | AKB48 (J) | F |
| 17 | Miho Miyazaki | AKB48 (J) | D |
| 18 | Bae Eun-yeong | Stone Music (K) | |
| 19 | Heo Yoon-jin | Pledis Entertainment (K) | C |
| 20 | Juri Takahashi | AKB48 (J) | |
| 21 | Kim Chae-won | Woolim Entertainment (K) | B |
| 22 | Chiyori Nakanishi | AKB48 (J) | D |
| 23 | Tomu Muto | AKB48 (J) | |
| 24 | Ko Yoo-jin | Blockberry Creative (K) | |
| 25 | Kwon Eun-bi | Woolim Entertainment (K) | A |
| 26 | Nanami Asai | AKB48 (J) | |
| 27 | Erii Chiba | AKB48 (J) | |
| 28 | Vivian Murakawa | HKT48 (J) | F |
| 29 | Lee Chae-yeon | WM Entertainment (K) | A |
| 30 | Hitomi Honda | AKB48 (J) | |
| 31 | Kim Do-ah | FENT (K) | A |
| 32 | Sae Murase | NMB48 (J) | |
| 33 | Lee Yu-jeong | CNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 34 | Park Seo-young | Free Agent (K) | |
| 35 | Natsumi Matsuoka | HKT48 (J) | F |
| 36 | Na Go-eun | RBW Entertainment (K) | A |
| 37 | Aoi Motomura | HKT48 (J) | D |
| 38 | Kang Hye-won | 8D Creative Entertainment (K) | F |
| 39 | Miyu Takeuchi | AKB48 (J) | A |
| 40 | Yoon Hae-sol | Music Works Entertainment (K) | |
| 41 | Miu Shitao | AKB48 (J) | |
| 42 | Shin Su-hyun | Fave Entertainment (K) | D |
| 43 | Ikumi Nakano | AKB48 (J) | |
| 44 | Shinobu Mogi | AKB48 (J) | F |
| 45 | Noe Yamada | NGT48 (J) | C |
| 46 | Saho Iwatate | AKB48 (J) | B |
| 47 | Choi Yeon-soo | YG K-Plus (K) | |
| 48 | Kim So-hee | Woolim Entertainment (K) | C |
| 49 | Park Min-ji | MND17 Entertainment (K) | |
| 50 | Misaki Aramaki | HKT48 (J) | F |
| 51 | Lee Ha-eun | MNH Entertainment (K) | |
| 52 | Park Jinny | Free Agent (K) | |
| 53 | Mina Imada | HKT48 (J) | D |
| 54 | Yoon Eun-bin | CNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 55 | Kim Na-young | Banana Culture (K) | |
| 56 | Erina Oda | AKB48 (J) | |
| 57 | Minami Sato | AKB48 (J) | |
| 58 | Kim Su-yun | Woolim Entertainment (K) | C |
| 59 | Park Hae-yoon | FNC Entertainment (K) | A |
| 60 | Kim Da-yeon | CNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 61 | Rena Hasegawa | NGT48 (J) | D |
| 62 | Kim Min-seo | HOW Entertainment (K) | C |
| 63 | Miku Tanaka | HKT48 (J) | |
| 64 | Han Cho-won | Cube Entertainment (K) | D |
| 65 | Jo Ga-hyeon | Starship Entertainment (K) | B |
| 66 | Lee Seong-hyeon | WM Entertainment (K) | B |
| 67 | Kim Hyun-ah | Collazoo Company (K) | |
| 68 | Kim Cho-yeon | A Team Entertainment (K) | |
| 69 | Yuka Asai | SKE48 (J) | F |
| 70 | Kang Da-min | Wellmade Yedang (K) | B |
| 71 | Yuuka Kato | NMB48 (J) | |
| 72 | Serika Nagano | NMB48 (J) | |
| 73 | Sae Kurihara | HKT48 (J) | F |
| 74 | Jo Yeong-in | WM Entertainment (J) | B |
| 75 | Kokora Naiki | NMB48 (J) | |
| 76 | Hong Ye-ji | CNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 77 | Park Ji-eun | RBW Entertainment (K) | |
| 78 | Amane Tsukiashi | HKT48 (J) | F |
| 79 | Manami Ichikawa | AKB48 (J) | F |
| 80 | Kim Da-hye | Banana Culture (K) | |
| 81 | Won Seo-yeon | MMO Entertainment (K) | |
| 82 | Ahn Ye-won | YG K-Plus (K) | |
| 83 | Jo Ah-yeong | FNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 84 | Ayana Shinozaki | AKB48 (J) | F |
| 85 | Park Chan-ju | MND17 Entertainment (K) | |
| 86 | Yoo Min-young | HOW Entertainment (K) | A |
| 87 | Choi So-eun | Music Works Entertainment (K) | |
| 88 | Alex Christine | ZB Label (K) | |
| 89 | Jo Sa-rang | Million Market Entertainment (K) | |
| 90 | Kim Yu-bin | CNC Entertainment (K) | |
| 91 | Hwang So-yeon | Wellmade Yedang (K) | A |
| 92 | Wang Ke | HOW Entertainment (K) | B |
| 93 | Azusa Uemura | NMB48 (J) | |
| 94 | Cocona Umeyama | NMB48 (J) | F |
| 95 | Son Eun-chae | Million Market Entertainment (K) | |
| 96 | Lee Chae-jeong | MND17 Entertainment (K) |
All Contestants That Got Marked A:
| Contestant | Company | Rank |
| Lee Ga-eun | Pledis Entertainment (K) | 5 |
| Choi Ye-na | Yuehua Entertainment (K) | 7 |
| Kwon Eun-bi | Woolim Entertainment (K) | 25 |
| Lee Chae-yeon | WM Entertainment (K) | 29 |
| Kim Do-ah | FENT (K) | 31 |
| Na Go-eun | RBW Entertainment (K) | 36 |
| Miyu Takeuchi | ABK48 (J) | 39 |
| Park Hae-yoon | FNC Entertainment (K) | 59 |
| Yoo Min-young | HOW Entertainment (K) | 86 |
| Hwang So-yeon | Wellmade Yedang | 91 |
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