Yesterday we talked to you about the idols who went from virtual to the world, and today we are going to talk to you about the two-dimensional idols of the ancestors.
Since the 1970s, "idol culture" has begun to appear in Japan, and one of the representatives of the ancestor idols that everyone is familiar with today, Momoe Yamaguchi, debuted from the idol talent show "Star Birth" at that time. Also since the 1970s, the word idol has had a positive image. Later, in the 1980s, more teenage idols were born, and teenage idols such as Matsuda Seiko, Nakamori Akiko, and Koizumi today dominated the entertainment industry at that time, which also made many ordinary girls have a vision of the identity of idols. The dress and every move of the girl idol became the object of imitation of the girls at that time. In 1985, the Kitten Club, which was born from the Fuji TV variety show "Twilight Meow", was a huge hit. At the beginning, the show recruited female high school students as assistant hosts, and due to the low selection threshold, a large number of amateur female high school students were given the opportunity to enter the show business circle. At this time, idol groups began to appear more.
Whether it is an individual or a group, throughout the popular culture of the 80s, "idol" has become an iconic symbol, and naturally this cultural symbol also appears in the second dimension. At that time, there were also many works in the anime with "idols" as the background. Two of them, "Time Fortress" and "I Am Sweetie", can be said to be the ancestor masterpieces of idol animation.
Celluloid films from I Am Sweetie
Magic Angel Klimmy Mami (I'm Kokou)
The anime "I Am Sweetie" (魔の天使クリィミーマミ), which was essentially a "Monkey Shochu" (Magical Girl) love Otome anime, added elements of idol singers and showbiz, attracting countless male and female audiences at the time. Television and radio talked a lot about Xiao Tiantian's work, which became a popular culture with social influence at that time. The protagonist of the anime is Yu Morizawa, a rather lively 10-year-old girl, who receives a magic wand from an alien by chance and obtains the ability to use magic transformation for a period of one year, and Yu transforms into a 16-year-old beautiful girl through magic. The transformed Yoo was discovered by an agent in the show business circle that he had the potential to become an idol singer, so Yo became an idol singer and began idol activities under the stage name of his own crepe shop name "Creamy Mami" (Chinese translated as "Little Sweetie"). The ability to possess magic cannot be known to others, otherwise the mana will be invalidated, so You are very careful every time you transform. Paying attention to the shape of "Creamy Mami" at that time, you can find that it is completely an essential element of the Japanese teenage idols of the 80s: short fluffy curly hair, a small round face full of collagen, a light and flowing skirt, and a pink color, which also made the girls at that time pursue the same thing as Xiao Tiantian. The voice actor voiced by Sweetie is also an idol singer who has just debuted in the show business circle - Takako Ota. The popularity of the anime also made the idol Takako Ota popular. "I Am Sweetie" had a great influence on the generation of girls in Japan after the 80s at that time, and many post-80s idols and voice actors mentioned the influence of Sweetie on their current careers in interviews. For example, Yugari Tamura, Yuka Fukui, Nana Mizuki, Shoko Nakagawa, etc.
Macross, a super-space-time fortress
If Xiao Tiantian is an idol setting that favors girls, then Lin Mingmei of "Time Fortress" can be described as the first idol goddess of otaku in the 80s. The "Chrono Fortress Macross" game also created a new setting of "Cosmic Robot Battle + Idol Katsuhime". Japanese animation in the 1980s was the world of robots and cosmic themes, but at the same time, due to the relationship between the bubble economy at that time, people's demand for entertainment and spiritual culture rose sharply, and singing and dancing, idol culture also developed at this time. In "Macross", Lin Mingmei is the only daughter of her parents who run Ming Xie Lou in Yokohama Chinatown, influenced by her aunt who was a former star, and has longed to enter the art world since she was a child, passing the selection of a record company at the age of 15. However, while watching the battleship Macross, she is involved in a battle with the Aliens, and from then on, she lives in the universe and lives in Macross, and wins the Miss Macross Contest held by the MBS of the Ship's Broadcasting Bureau, becoming a popular idol, and thus embarks on her path to Singhime (while developing a triangular emotional line with the male protagonist Ichigo). But in fact, at the beginning of the production, the general supervisor Ishiguro Sheng did not intend to integrate idol culture into the cosmic mechanical battle, and Lin Mingmei was initially only used as a supporting role in the story, not to mention being arranged to be written into the love triangle entanglement. But under the advice of Haruhiko Yukimoto, Hayashi was reborn from a restaurant waiter to a newborn idol chasing her dreams, and then became the first galactic singer to sing in the universe.
Ichijo Hui and Lin Mingmei
Lin Mingmei's idol singers were set up by two teenage idol singers who were quite popular in Japan at that time: Nakamori Akira and Matsuda Seiko. Under such a song set, in "Timeless Fortress Macross", there are many songs that set off the atmosphere, and under the ruthless cosmic war, it is the gentle singing voice of the girl, singing the girl's feelings. The TV version achieved great popularity, and "Macross" followed by the theatrical version of "Macross: Can You Remember Love". The song "Can Remember Love" sung by Lin Mingmei in the theatrical version touched the hearts of many post-otaku in Japan and even overseas. Voice actress Makoto Iijima, who voiced Akimi Hayashi at the time, also debuted as a singer in September 1983. The dimensional wall between the "singer" Hayashi Myōmi, who belongs to the second dimension, and the real "singer" Iijima, has since broken through. Iijima has also become a realistic singer born from a fictional character, and Hayashi is no longer a character in an anime, she is a "real" idol in real life and the first virtual idol in the industry. From "Macross", the setting of cosmic battle + Katsuhime has also become the main element of "Chrono Fortress" (oh, the singing role in "Macross 7" is male, with this exception), for example, the later work "Macross Plus" is more composed by Yoko Kanno, who is now familiar with Yoko Sugano, using CG technology for the first time in the concert stage effects section, and even creating a virtual idol (which we often talk about today) in the story - Sharon Ep. In his 1995 work, elements of artificial intelligence and holographic projection have been used to create an ultra-avant-garde Singer who appeared earlier than Hatsune's future.
Hayase Mosa and Akimi Hayashi
Lin Mingmei in "Macross: Can You Remember Love"
Sharon Eppe in different versions
The new era of idol animation
THE iDOLM@STER (Idol Master)
In the days that followed, due to the popularity of idol culture and girl groups, such as the Good Morning Girls Group and Morning Girl, who debuted in 1997, several works with idols as the theme in anime works also appeared regularly. Seeing the popularity of girl idol group culture in the market, Namco decided to make an idol-themed game. So "Master Of Money" is not right, "The IDOLM@STER" came out, the game was released in 2005, the game is to cultivate idols, form a group to become a first-class top "idol master" as the main line. In 2006, the Japanese otaku established the bullet screen video website Niconico (the B station and A station that everyone is familiar with today are modeled after Niconico), and the "Idol Master" that appeared in 2005 was just in the early days of niconico's establishment, so that many technical houses used these beautiful girl idols as materials to create a large number of fan-made MAD. The Idol Master's contributions to Niconico are so numerous that they are called "Nico Mizoya" along with the Oriental Project series and the Vocaloid software. (The Japanese word "Mizoya" refers to the three most influential people or forces in a certain field, equivalent to the "big three" of the Chinese.) ）
The three protagonists of "The Idol Master Cinderella Girl": Kawashima Tsuki, Shibuya Rin, honda Yoshinori Image source: THE iDOLM@STER OFFICIAL WEB
After the release of the first game in 2005, the idol master began to enrich the worldview of the idol master in different fields, so that people in different fields can learn about the teen idols in the idol masters (so that they began to be cheated of money and jokes), arcade games, handheld games, family game consoles, animation, live-action planning, comics, CDs, radio and so on. By the way, the number of original songs in the Idol Master series has exceeded 1,000 according to the statistics of Japanese fans. (No wonder when I was on the Cinderella Girl Starlight Stage Music Tour, I felt that there were too many songs to play...) Of course, the idol master has also experienced a period of plummeting popularity, but after the launch of the anime and the mobile game "The Idol Master Cinderella Girl Starlight Stage", the popularity began to rise, and it is still a series with high popularity in Japan's two-dimensional idol culture. "Idol Master" has launched more than 200 idol characters so far, and the voice actors behind these idols have also been closely linked by players. Voice actors perform idol group performances in the name of characters, allowing players to get entertainment (opportunities to spend money) from online to offline. The success and popularity of "The Idol Master" also influenced the emergence of many ACG idol works later, such as "Love Live!". The model of "Idol Master" allows players to have a high sense of participation, and for Japanese idol culture, "cultivation" is the most critical factor, the role of the player as a "manager", to arrange itineraries for different idols, support their activities, watch their fans rise, the concert held is getting larger and larger, this growth is the key to the relationship between the "idol" and the player.
"Idol Master Million Concert" game screen
In "Idol Master Cinderella Girl", three teams consisting of the cute Kawashima Tsuki, the cold shibutani Rin, and the Genki honda Weiyang as the Center: Pink Check School, Triad Primus and Positive Passion.
Two-Dimensional Orchestra Girl Trend K-ON!
After the appearance of "The Idol Master", the anime of the girl idol also evolved from a one-person protagonist in the early years to a story with the group as the protagonist. In the later animation, the producers also saw that the theme of "girl + group + dream + music" can attract the attention of the audience. In 2009, the popularity of "K-ON!"also proved that this rule worked. "Light Girl" tells the story of a school girl who forms a girl band in an activity to save the light music department that is in danger of being abandoned. Although it is not an idol-themed story, it is still essentially a routine of idol animation: cute beautiful girls, happy and relaxed daily life, inspirational and touching dream-chasing process, well-made performance scenes... Of course, if you put "Light Voice Girl" into the idol category to compare, the author estimates that it will be crushed by tens of millions of light tones. The setting of the natural combination law is one of the success factors, and what makes the work get phenomenal attention in 2009 is because of the essence of "Light Voice Girl" - the story. Kyoto Animation, the animator of "Light Voice Girl", has always been very good at making small stories simple and delicate every day.
The five protagonists of "Light Voice Girl"
Screenshot of the light girl animation
BanG Dream!
Although "Light Girl" led to the animation boom of the theme of girl bands, the animation that also used this theme later did not achieve the same amount of popularity as "Light Girl". For example, the girl band "BanG Dream!" debuted in 2015 is one of them. BanG Dream! is a Japanese cross-media production project based on the manga of the same name serialized in Monthly Bushido, and the manga story depicts the band activities of female high school students. The voice actors of each character actually form the names "Poppin'Party", "Roselia", "Afterglow", "Pastel*Palettes", "Hello, Happy World!". and other bands and continue to hold LIVE and other activities. The project is based on the theme of "Characters are closely linked to real Live!" The next-generation Girl's Band Project was the initial slogan, and BanG Dream's project featured voice actors who could actually pick up an instrument and play in a band. Poppin'Party was the first band in the BanG Dream project and was the "protagonist group" in the project. The band was originally formed by lead singer and guitarist Aimi, keyboardist Saisa Ito, and bassist Rimi Nishimoto, before guitarist Saeaki Otsuka and drummer Saika Ohashi joined and officially formed in 2015. For a long time, poppin'party was the only band in the project that could be on the real stage, and most of the novels, comics, and animation works also revolved around poppin'party activities.
《BanG Dream!》
"If miracles have color, it must be orange!"
LoveLive!
Speaking of two-dimensional girl idols, the series mentioned next is definitely a "monster" level existence among two-dimensional girl idols in recent years.
LoveLive!（ラブライブ！ ), full name LoveLive! The School Idol Project is a 2010 school idol project for MediaMix, a collaboration between Japanese animation company Sunrise, record label Lantis, and ACG monthly magazine Stacca G's magazine, which includes music productions, television and radio programs, text books, manga illustrations, animation, games, and peripherals. The slogan of the work is the story of everyone realizing their dreams together (みんなで叶える物事). The story of the work tells the story of nine young girls who become idols in order to promote the reputation of the academy by adding admission volunteers and saving the academy Otokisaka Academy, which is facing the crisis of school abolition. The most interesting thing about the whole LoveLive! project is that readers can learn about the daily state and story of the protagonist through the serial of the physical magazine "Electric Shock G's Magazine", and the readers communicate and interact with each other, implementing the "idol itself rather than the specific work as the selling point". At the same time, he distributed cd produced by Lantis and Sunrise was responsible for producing DVD/BD of animation/music MV, and carried out all-media activities in radio dramas, live broadcasts, books, music, animation, manga, games, merchandise, and television. Most of the voice actors who voiced the characters in the project were newcomers, and at the time of the announcement of the plan, their names had not even been announced, and the operation even released the first single "Our Live and Your LIFE" without announcing the voice actors. It was not until November 2010 that the voice actors' names and group names "μ's" (known as "Muses" in China) were officially announced. As mentioned earlier, readers can participate in this 2.5-dimensional idol group activity in various ways, for example, readers can participate in voting, so that some members of μ's can form different Unit teams to carry out activities. After accumulating popularity through a period of activities, in 2013, LoveLive! launched the anime of the same name, and the popularity continued to rise with the mobile game "LoveLive! Academy Idol Festival". After the second single, the Center decision for each single also refers to the AKB48 Business Law method, which is decided by the voting of loveLiver (loveLive! fans), similar to the way the general election is held. In 2015, the LoveLive! project reached the peak of popularity, loveLive! related works won a special prize in the 30th Japan Gold Disc Awards, and in the same year μ's participated in the 66th NHK Red and White Song Festival (equivalent to the domestic Spring Festival Gala level year-end party). It can be seen that the popularity of LoveLive! has moved from the second dimension to real life and has become a social phenomenon. To this day, you can still see a lot of cultural memes generated by Love Live!, such as a saying that everyone often sees: If miracles have color, it must be orange.
μ's voice actor idols performed at this year's LoveLive! 9th Anniversary Concert
"The project features a combination of 2D (virtual world) and 3D (real world). In the early stage of the project, imitating the real campus idol group construction process, completely synchronized with the real world timeline, every month in the magazine serialized the situation and news of the idol group, the whole process opened a large number of readers to interact, through the combination name recruitment, mini group voting, general election, etc., the readers influenced the development of the group. In the early part of the project, there is no official story line except for the background setting. Later, the characters were gradually portrayed in the form of magazine "interviews" with members of the group and radio drama CDs. The later animation and manga start at the beginning of the story after the team formation, not only does not have a positive description of the early timeline, but even the setting of the team formation is completely different. After the release of the CD, it was followed by performances by voice actor groups (3D) corresponding to avatars. The voice actor performance also looks forward to completely restoring the movements and costumes of the virtual idols in the PV animation, bringing fans who love virtual idols a double surprise. ”
——NHK，Music Japan
From the group that was unsought-after at the time and sold only 300 copies of the first order, to now becoming a phenomenon level, causing the existence of cultural changes in the two-dimensional idol, the 9 members of μ's and the voice actors behind them have been working hard and not admitting defeat, just attracted countless otaku, after all, the sweat and tears and growth of the cute girl are the prescription of all kinds of tried and tested. In addition, of course, it is inseparable from the production team behind it. As an idol group, it is catchy and essential for fans to call songs with enthusiasm. Songs are also an important tool for idols and fans to communicate, and in the planning, we have recruited hata Takashi, a well-known composer and lyricist in the ACG field, to cooperate to create many songs of high quality. In early 2017, in NHK's selection of "100 Years' Most Influential Animation" and "100 Years of Animation Songs", the LoveLive! anime and a number of μ's songs were included in the list and even topped the list. In addition, 9 members, each with a different personality, there is always a personality that can be appetized, which is also one of the essential elements of the girl idol group. Of course, in the end, the most important point is LoveLive! This setting of wandering in the real world of the second and third dimensions makes the virtual characters complement the popularity of the real voice actors, breaks the dimensional wall, extends from the activities of the second dimension to the three dimensions, and satisfies the fans in all aspects of different fields (kidney squeezing). The activities carried out in reality also allow many otaku who are only in front of the computer and on the Internet to step out of their homes, watch Live, watch movies, and even go to the real landmarks that have appeared in the combination PV to carry out "holy land tours". Until now μ's campaign continues, and the single continues to be released.
After the success of μ's, in 2015 the operation launched LoveLive!'s second project, LoveLive! Sunshine!! 》。 Set at uranoshoku Girls' College, a girls' high school in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, the series tells the story of nine girls with distinct personalities who formed the campus idol group Aqours (also known as "Water Troupe" in Japan) to stop the abolition of the school and achieve their own brilliance, with LoveLive! as the first national conference to go forward with the goal of daring to move forward. The group name Aqours consists of two parts, "aqua" and "ours", meaning "water" and "we" respectively. In LoveLive! Sunshine!! The opening scene in the anime is when one of the protagonists, Chika, sees μ's performance and wants to become as bright as they are, and then foundSours, so Aqours can be said to be another group that grew up following the figure of μ's, but also has an independent personality belonging to Aqours. Born under the success of μ's, Aqours naturally received a lot of attention at the beginning of his debut, which was much more comfortable than the early years of μ's, but it was inevitable that he was often compared with μ's, born in a better environment, whether he could achieve μ's or surpass μ's has also become a topic for Aqours to grow. Of course, like μ's, Aqours also has a number of three-dimensional performances, and last year, they launched the first Asian tour of the LoveLive! series, and also held a two-day performance in Shanghai.
LoveLive! μ the image of 9 characters in 's
Nine characters in LoveLive!'s second-generation group Aqours
Wake Up,Girls!
After the great success of the LoveLive! series, the anime of teen idols began to develop in different genres. For example, the theatrical version of Wake Up, Girls!, which was released in 2014, is a work designed to help the Tohoku region affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It is also a cross-dimensional and cross-platform idol project, and the most different thing about "Wake Up, Girls!" from other idol animations is that the animation shows a lot of the bitter little things of underground idols in front of the audience, making people feel that "being an idol is really not as simple as imagined". For example, because there is no money, there are no good clothes, there are few songs, the publicity must also be through their own to the street to distribute leaflets, with the street as the stage direct performance and singing to attract the audience, the record must also be sold by themselves... In the second dimension, the audience is presented with a fairly real hardship. Unfortunately, the voice actor idol group formed in Wake Up, Girls!, officially announced its dissolution in March 2019.
Wake Up, Girls! is a voice actor idol group, Wake Up, Girls!
The 7 main characters in the Wake Up, Girls! anime
Back Street Girls
On the other side, various strange idol-themed settings have also begun to appear in the anime, enriching the idol series that everyone has already played with with various funny gimmicks. Among them, it is absolutely necessary to talk about the animation work "Backstreet Girl" that was popular on major platforms the previous year, which was transformed into an underground girl idol debut of three underworld macho men in order to apply for registration, with both beautiful girl elements and various contrasting laughter points caused by transgenderism, which has received some attention after the launch of the manga in 15 years. The introduction of the animation has made this work more known to more people, and even filmed a live-action version, in which one of Aqours' voice actors, Yuki Komiya, participated in cameos. Although the whole work seems to be random and funny, it reflects a lot of current social problems in Japan, especially the underworld, idol culture, and even the "big sister male" culture often seen in Japan. Under the creative, idols can also play this way.
Cover of the Backstreet Girls comic
Screenshot from the backstreet girl anime
Saga idols are legendary
In addition to transgender idols, zombie idols can also be another interesting direction. For example, the anime "Saga Idol is Legend" broadcast in 2018 is exactly this theme. As a work promoting Saga Prefecture, the story takes place in Saga Prefecture, telling the story of a female high school student who aspires to become an idol, Genzaku, who was killed by a truck one day in 2008, and she wakes up ten years later and finds herself a zombie, and the mysterious agent who takes in Sakura, Sundaro, asks Sakura to form an idol group with six female zombies from different periods to revitalize Saga Prefecture. After the first performance, Sakura, who was unaware of her memories, remembered fragmentary memories. The idol group "Fran Chou Chou" that appears in the play is all zombies who have died and resurrected, and the funny elements are naturally indispensable, and there is also the theme of the classic idol Fan's must-have positivity and never give up. Coupled with high-quality production, this lost idol fan and killed the painstaking efforts of idol animation.
Screenshot from the anime Saga Idol is Legend
When I ascended to the budokan, I died without regret
Back this year, the anime "Shinto Idols Boarding the Budokan and I Will Die Without Regrets" broadcast in January has also caused a lot of discussion. The manga, which has been serialized since 2015, tells the story of a roadside performance by the underground idol group Cham Jam, which is active in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, when Eriri is touched by the group's last-ranked maicho and willingly gives all her savings to support the maicho and becomes her avid fan. She also contributed all her income to Tui, thinking about pushing things 24 hours a day, shouting Tui's name with all her might, a gesture that was called a legend among idol houses, and everyone admired it. Before the dance is officially staged at budokan, the life of Eiri's die-hard idol house will continue (simply put, the story of how the idol house is enthusiastic). This work focuses more on the "idol house" than the idol. It is also quite realistic to show how the idols usually respond to their own push and participate in various idol activities, and how the idols have become their spiritual pillars, I believe that everyone who has eaten idols can find their own shadow in this animation. If you want to get to know the japanese idol culture briefly, you can also learn about it from this work.
The cover of the first volume of the manga "Shinto Idols On The Budokan I Will Die Without Regrets" features the idol group Cham Jam in the story.
The protagonist of the story is painted in the air, holding a towel with the name of push printed on it. (One of the classic moves of wota)
Animated screenshot, one of the wota friends of The Drifting. The image is very similar to some of the idol house images seen in life.
Three-dimensional and two-dimensional
AKB48
Idol culture has once again exploded, and it has to be said that this group has to be seen.
"Even if you hate me, don't hate AKB48." This is the speech of former AKB48 "Immovable Center" Atsuko Maeda at a general election. Even if you don't eat idols, don't look at Japanese stars, and don't pay attention to otaku culture, you'll definitely hear the name AKB48. The girl idol group AKB48, created by Yasushi Akimoto, created a new idol model and even brought about a social trend, and this great change in idol culture from the three-dimensional dimension also affected the trend of idol animation in the second dimension at that time. Many of the things in AKB48 are referenced in different animations or used as story memes.
AKB48, formed in 2005, is produced by Yasushi Akimoto, a well-known Japanese producer (the aforementioned Kitten Club is produced by Yasushi Akimoto). AKB48's road to growing into a national-level girl group is also introduced in detail in the early documentaries, this large-scale live-action idol-bred project has always been the main positive, struggling, upward characteristics before reaching the national level, of course, it is indispensable to attract different fans with different attributes of many members. And in business success, "AKB Business Law" is indispensable. The so-called "AKB Business Law" is that fans buy CDs in exchange for different rights, such as participating in handshake meetings, participating in general election voting, and obtaining limited life photos. Ostensibly selling CDs, it is actually selling the right to change the relationship with idols. Acquire rights by buying CDs, and even the right to change the fate of the idols you push. Many people in order to shake hands coupons and draw raw writing, and a large number of repeated CDs, so that CDs become secondary, which is one of the reasons why AKB is called "Japanese sound tumor". However, AKB is a way to greatly distance fans and idols, which is the reason why many people can meet with idols, even shake hands and talk, go to the theater to watch performances, not just people who see on TV, but a presence that can communicate with you and connect with you. You can even vote for the idol through the general election, so that she stands at the center of the team and climbs to the top of the idol (the gameplay of the total election is also referenced by LoveLive! planning, and the position of each order is determined through the fan vote).
AKB48, which had a huge impact and success in the three dimensions, launched the animation "AKB0048" in 2012. AKB48's then-members Mayu Watanabe, Ami Sato, and Akeka Nakaya, as well as members of the sister groups SKE48 and NMB48, also participated in the voice acting of the anime. However, although the operation hopes to break into the second dimension through 0048, most of the followers of 0048 are only fans of the original AKB48, and 0048 has not achieved much success.
In AKB48, there are also many members who like the two-dimensional culture. For example, Mayo Watanabe, who has graduated, is one of the otaku members familiar to fans. And her own appearance is also called CG because of her two-dimensional characteristics (unchanging smile). She also featured the image of a virtual AI idol from the future in her later solo single Light Source (ヒカルものたち).
Former AKB48 member Mayuyu Watanabe released solo single "Light Body" in 2012 solo, with the concept that Mayuyu Watanabe is a virtual idol. At the same time, the illustrator was also invited to paint the corresponding two-dimensional image of Mayuyu. Mayuyu also appeared on the cover of Girl Pop magazine at the time as a virtual idol.
The AKB48 period headed by Atsuko Tatsuko. The costume is a song costume for the AKB48 classic song "Maybe is an Excuse". The elements of this costume also laid the classic impression that AKB48 later gave everyone: uniforms, plaid skirts.
AKB0048
At the beginning of the 21st century, the world war unfolded, causing huge damage. Humanity decided to leave the earth and live in the universe, beginning a new history in the 00 years of the new ephemeris. The new generation of rulers, the Ultra Galactic Coalition Government, is a totalitarian government. They believe that "performing arts" and "songs" are things that disturb people's hearts, so they forcefully implement the "Acting Prohibition Law" and severely punish relevant people. Akihabara, the holy land of only entertainer lovers, can launch a "circle of absolute defense of acting" and make a protracted confrontation with the rulers. Most people's minds are thus surrounded by darkness. And just when the existence of "idols" was almost extinct, an idol group called "AKB0048" was resurrected/born. He is the successor to the idol group "AKB48", which lit up people's hearts and sang and danced to the last minute when the earth faced the battle of survival.
As a non-legal idol group AKB0048 (commonly known as 00), it is a legendary "idol group that can meet" that once existed on earth, and the girls' arduous practice and combat training eventually inherit the names of the first generation of members, and give the hope, brilliance and soul of the legendary "Miracle Live" to the people who lost their dreams. Dubbed a terrorist for his terrible influence, he encounters all kinds of interference during the performance. In order to defend the freedom of their own performances, as well as the enjoyment of enthusiasts and citizens, the 77th graduate students of AKB0048 finally took up arms and protected their stage.
The graduate students who are the protagonists in AKB0048.
Members of the AKB48Group who voiced nine graduate students in AKB0048 formed a limited squad of "NO NAME".
A personality idol who rebels against and distrusts adults
Keyakizaka 46
Starting from AKB48 (Akihabara, Tokyo), a series of sister groups based on different cities have emerged, including SKE48 in Nagoya, NM48 in Osaka, HKT48 in Hakata, NGT48 in Niigata, and STU48 in Setouchi, each of which operates with different characteristics and is known as the 48 series. Six years after the launch of AKB48, Yasushi Akimoto partnered with Sony Music to launch idol group Nogizaka 46 as an opponent of the AKB48 formula in 2011.
Unlike AKB48, which has theater performances, Nogizaka 46 does not have theater performances, and fans and idols can only meet through handshakes and concerts. So Nogizaka has a certain distance from his fans compared to AKB. The route taken by Nogizaka is also different from AKB's fluffy short skirt Genki house, and Nogisaka is more dignified and tall. In the process of AKB's decline in popularity this year, Nogizaka's popularity has continued to rise, and the fans attracted by the two sides are also different. In the early days of its establishment, Nogizaka aimed to surpass AKB and carried out activities, which still give people a very positive feeling. Most of the members are beautiful, so they are also known as the "Beauty Group".
Three-dimensional idols are also trying to find breakthroughs and find different role positioning to attract fans, and among them, a group that has filled the gap in the positioning of Japanese three-dimensional idols in recent years must be said to be Uizaka 46. As a sister group of Nogisaka 46, Yukisaka 46 was formed in 2015. In an environment full of idols at that time, what kind of group Ubizaka 46 would be was always curious. And Ichisan 'The Silent Majority' wrote keywords for Uzaka 46's style: personality, the younger generation that does not obey the arrangements of adults. In many of Misaka's songs, "resistance", "loneliness", "world-weariness", "self-doubt", and "confusion" are common themes. The team's dance performances and costumes also changed everyone's impression of the girl idol group wearing cute and beautiful dresses, suits, pants, and military uniforms, showing a completely different style of group feeling. Among them, the changes in the former Uchisaka member Hirata Tomoru, who existed as the Uchisaka Center, are also closely related to Uchisaka. I believe that friends who know Misaka will more or less hear many people use "secondary two" to describe Misaka or Tienshou Yuina. Indeed, in the works of the second dimension, many of the protagonists of the story have some of the above characteristics, just to say that the familiar "Evangelion" in the "New Century Evangelion" is a teenager who is often self-doubting and confused. Therefore, compared with the yuanqi selling cuteness, the emergence of Uzaka filled the gap in the idol market, coupled with sony music, has a fairly high-quality production, attracting a considerable number of young fans, and this (everyone says) "secondary two" setting, but also attracted many famous people in the ACG circle to become fans of Uzaka, such as "Hunter x Hunter" author Yoshihiro Tsukihime, the well-known Japanese painter Rita Kazema. The different positioning of idols and general idols also makes Misaka 46 attract a lot of female fans, especially the younger generation of girls. The quality of Uizaka 46's songs (songs often have lyrics like monologues), the specialness of the dance (like a stage play), and the uniqueness of the lyrics (sharply and directly venting the negative energy that is difficult for everyone to talk about on a daily basis), also make Uizaka 46 a completely different worldview from other idol groups, and the person who has been very important to this worldview is definitely a tien who has always been a centermate. If you pull out and objectively look at the development of the entire Uchisaka, or even the existence of the tie-handed TomoRina, it can be said that it is a large-scale "god-making" plan of Yasushi Akimoto. The plan was quite successful, and Hirasaka Tomoru became a "god" like a being in Tsushimasaka's worldview, which also gave Izaka and even Heizu himself a unique charm, of course, this is also inseparable from the talent and efforts of Hirasaki himself. However, it is regrettable that The Draw Yuri Na announced her withdrawal from the group at the beginning of this year. As for how misaki will develop after losing the "god", it is also quite expected and curious.
Former member of Misaka, Tomoru Irana, image source: Misaka 46 concert "Republic of The Republic of 2019"
In 2019, Uzaka 46 was at the Tokyo Dome concert
Screenshot of the MV of Missaka 46 "Dissonant Harmony"
22/7
After AKB0048's results were not as expected, Yasushi Akimoto definitely did not give up the two-dimensional idol market (probably because an LL was too popular, joking, or through the positioning of Ubizaka 46 to find that the idol market positioning was vacant), so he shot again. This time, he teamed up with Sony Music and its animation company Aniplex to launch the new 2.5-dimensional virtual voice actor idol group "22/7" (22/7). There are a total of 8 members of the group, all of whom are newly selected from among the ordinary people, and the meaning of the group name "22/7" is an approximation of pi π. The 8 characters in the group are all played by different original artists and illustrators. Members of 22/7 also carry out various activities in the three-dimensional dimension, such as radio, reading plays, and live performances. On September 20, 2017, the first debut single CD "I Don't Exist" was released (僕は存在していなかった). After accumulating popularity and releasing singles at various events, the original TV anime "22/7" finally began broadcasting in January this year.
So, how is the 2.5-dimensional virtual idol group launched by Yasushi Akimoto this time different from other voice actor groups that have already existed? Let's take a look at the setting of the 22/7 Center Takikawa Miyu (voice actor: Kazu saijo): introverted, slightly autistic, and not good at communicating with people. Negative and clumsy, dislikes lies, and is not good at smiling. Short hair and a bit long bangs. Isn't this setting a bit familiar? Especially for friends who pay attention to Uzaka 46 or even the drawer Irena, it is no wonder that many fans of Uzaka say that they have a very familiar sense of sight after watching 22/7 (but please do not brush other combinations in 22/7 and respect the independence of each work). If the selling points of other idol groups are smiles, sunshine, and upwards, then the 22/7 with Takikawa Miyu as the Center has different doubts about society's life and even self, and like many young girls, the members of 22/7 have their own stories and troubles and unconfidence, and even doubt life. Such a setting, such a world view, is probably an experiment in Akimoto Yasushi's journey from the three-dimensional Misaka 46 to the second-dimensional 22/7.
22/7 Fifth single "Too Hard" (ムズイ) TYPE-B cover, all 8 members.
Screenshot of the 22/7 anime
"Tairyo" (Musui), 22/7
"Adults always say it easily...
And where is my hope?"
The flow of vehicles on the national highway is endless
I stopped by the side of the road and couldn't get through it
Gossip from others Look at it coldly
As if to crush my heart...
No matter how much you believe in your dreams
The ruthlessness of the pain is still unforgettable
"I don't know where I'm in a dark world, I'm in a hurry
Where is the right way forward? I have no intention of moving forward."
Who can tell me why people have to live? Please let me know
What is the meaning of life?
How will I live in the future when I have low self-esteem? Good solitude
After all, this life is too long
"It's too hard"
This article is reprinted from the April issue of YOHO! 2020
Edit_Elyse Text_Elyse, AT