Futari Saison sells 350K on first day, stores sell out

So Futari Saison seems to be Keyakizaka46's biggest hit yet. Tuesday and Wednesday have been a Saison festival in Japan.

The 3rd single sold 353,000 copies by the end of Tuesday, up over 100 thousand from first-day sales of 2nd single Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai. First-day sales of that were up 50 thousand from the group's 1st single and breakout hit, Silent Majority. Then it sold 30,000 copies on Wednesday, raising the total to 386,000. Sales of 400,000 in the first week seem to be a sure thing.

The big Tsutaya and Tower records stores in Shibuya (Tokyo) have extensive displays publicizing the record. Here are a couple of pics from Tsutaya:

Entering the store

Large floor display

Reports from all over Japan show stores selling out of all editions of the single. Even Amazon had sold out Wednesday and was restocking.

Here is a display at a store in the Tokyo suburb of Kichiouji. The sign apologizes for selling out and says stock should be in by Saturday evening:

A later photo shows even those last two disks gone.

The release hasn't sold out everywhere, but even in places like Saga and Fukuoka on Kyushu and Tokushima on Shikoku, all outside the broadcast area of the group's weekly TV show, some stores were sold out.

Personally, I think there's good reason for the roaring sales. This is a great album: all six songs on it are excellent, each in its different style. Keyakizaka46 has so far not given us anything but good songs, in three albums.

And this release may be the best of all, despite changes in the front line and the absence of a pure Yui-chans song. Instead we get Yuuhi 1/3, a catchy country song, from "TechiNeruYuichans," which adds Hirate and Neru to the Yui-chans, relaxing their sound and adding more vocal skill to Hirate's expressive force and Neru's sweetness.

There are three songs by the senbatsu (Futari Saison, Otona wa Shinjite Kurenai, and Seifuku to Taiyou). There is Yuuhi 1/3 by TechiNeruYuichans. There is a song by "Five Cards" (Watanabe Risa, Watanabe Rika, Habu Mizuho, Uemura Rina and Nagasawa Nanako) called Bokutachi no Sensou. And there is Dare Yori mo Takaku Tobe from Hiragana Keyaki, who continue their speedy growth into a quality idol unit.

As usual, I think management has figured out the best song to feature. I've been listening to all six songs on repeat today, and the tune that keeps playing in my mind is Futari Saison. There were songs I liked better at first on the 2nd single, but Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai had the most staying power, for me.