Having had the pleasure of travelling to see various idols perform, I had never gone to the popular ‘Naruchika’ events that Hello! Project started back in 2013. I finally had the opportunity to go during my most recent trip to Japan (specifically to a Morning Musume。‘16 Naruchika concert in Shunan), and I can speak from personal experience on why they are as amazing as fans make them out to be. First thing’s first though: what does ‘Naruchika’ even mean? Naruchika is a shortening of the phrase ‘Narudake Chikakude’, which essentially means ‘being as close as possible’, which is what the concert revolves around. While it is completely normal and expected to be able to go to small venues in small towns and see indie idols perform, it’s not exactly the case when it comes to major idols such as AKB48 or Morning Musume。‘16. More than anything it ends up being a logistical issue. There’s much more money to be had in big venues, which is important considering the heightened costs that come with more popular idol groups. It’s an unfortunate but understandable situation. The general idea behind Naruchika is to kind of re-capture that feeling that we get when we go to small indie lives. The closeness you feel by being in a live house or small venue, where it’s easier to interact, be noticed and overall experience everything that is happening. Not only that, but this movement was designed to cater to some of the smaller towns where fans may not necessarily be close enough to larger areas like Tokyo or Kyoto where they may not be able to afford the trip to the bigger cities or may merely not have the time to make that kind of a trek. As a result, these places which have fans who would like to support their groups in the same way as fans in the big cities end up being left out. Thus they get to deliver to the small-town where people don’t have as easy access to the idols they love. This all turns into a multi-faceted situation where more people get to experience the idols they love and everybody is happy. The concept kicked off with a °C-ute and S/mileage crossover concert tour in 2013 that hit smaller locations within areas like Hokkaido, Gifu and Kochi. Unsurprisingly, these were very successful and as a result have continued every year with various groups, the most recent of which being Morning Musume。‘16. So now that I got to experience one, was it all it was cracked up to be? You bet! Having only been to Tokyo in my trips to Japan, I decided to give this a go. I made the long trek south to Yamaguchi Prefecture via the Shinkansen. It was about 6 hours when I finally arrived in the town of Shunan, which is almost at the southern tip of the main island of Japan. With my minimal communication skills, I was able to manage my way around. I got up early the next day and went to the venue to discover a lot of local fans who I tried to chat with, along with fans from all over the country who made the long trip for the idols they love. Interestingly enough, I was the only foreigner that I was able to spot. The concert itself was really cramped, but really charged. The most exciting part of the whole experience was that everyone could clearly see the group and everyone could get noticed by the group. When it comes to idols, oftentimes those are the most important things. It was a very personal experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly (even if I didn’t win any of the raffle). Incidentally, if you’ve gone to any of the overseas Hello! Project performances then you have an idea of how a Naruchika is, since these concerts tend to be modeled in that way.
So if you’re a fan of Hello! Project groups, I can’t recommend enough that you do your best to make it out to a Naruchika concert at some point. With the rare exception like Berryz Kobo going to Bangkok in 2015, Naruchika concerts are held exclusively in Japan. It’s a very endearing experience from a fan’s perspective and also opens opportunities to see areas of Japan you may not go to normally! - Teepu Happy Aloha Friday folks! If anyone has ever been to Hawai’i, then you are sure to know that Fridays are known as Aloha Friday (the best day of the week)! Not only is today Aloha Friday, but it also happens to be Feature Idol Friday again as well! With this installment of our Feature Idol Friday we will be talking about Kobushi Factory (こぶしファクトリー). [Editor's Note: For a bit of information on the reference "Aloha Friday" check here!] On January 2nd of 2015, in the midst of the annual Hello! Project WINTER concert, the announcement of a new group was made. This group would be made up of 8 members, Rio Fujii, Ayaka Hirose, Minami Nomura, Reina Ogawa, Ayano Hamaura, Natsumi Taguchi, Sakurako Wada, and Rei Inoue. The name for this group would remain unknown until February 25th, when they were given the name of Kobushi Factory. When it comes to meaning, the word Kobushi can have a few. In the case of this group, Kobushi is said to contain the meaning of both the coming of spring and the refinement of the kobushi magnolia (辛夷) as well as the strength of a fist (拳). As far as the factory goes, it is a tribute to the ever so fantastic group Berryz Koubou (工房) where the “Koubou” means “Workshop.” Kobushi released their first Indie DVD single on March 26th of 2015 titled “Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor” (念には念 “Be Double Sure” / サバイバー). Survivor is the theme song of the musical Week End Survivor which starred the 8 members of Kobushi Factory as well as Sudo Maasa (Berryz工房). I really enjoyed the stern, serious feel of Survivor as it seemed to make the song very powerful. I would recommend using this song as a warmup song for working out! Survivor Rec/Off-shoot Video Nen ni wa Nen is definitely one of those songs that you can just blast at full volume and dance and sing along as loud as you can while having a crazy amount of fun! Nen ni wa Nen PV On June 14th, it was announced that Kobushi Factory were going to have their major debut on September 2nd with a single titled "Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan / Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta / Nen ni wa Nen (Nen'iri Ver.)." (ドスコイ!ケンキョにダイタン / ラーメン大好き小泉さんの唄 / 念には念(念入りVer.)) Since Kobushi Factory haven’t even been around for an entire year yet, this was a very big announcement, because only a few groups have made their major debuts in such short amount of time. Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta (A cover of "Ramen Daisuki Koike-san no Uta" by Sharam Q) is another one of those songs that you dance yourself silly to. Its fun and simple dance will undoubtedly keep you scooping noodles, draining the water, and eating ramen for days to come! Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta PV If you thought the Ramen song was fun, just wait until you hear Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan. Not only is this song one of my favorite hype songs of all of 2015, it was also a huge factor in the winning of an award later in the year. Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan PVKobushi Factory - Best Newcomer Award + Dosukoi! Performance More good news for Kobushi fans is that there has just been an announcement made that they will be having their 2nd single released on February 17th and it will be titled Sakura Night Fever / Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin / Osu! Kobushi Tamashii (桜ナイトフィーバー/チョット愚直に!猪突猛進/押忍!こぶし魂)! So far the released from Kobushi Factory has been awesome and I cannot wait to see how great this upcoming single will be! -Eric (BerryzGenius) For More Information: Second Single Information Official Hello! Project Profile Kobushi Factory (Magnolia Factory) Introduction In English by Mitsui Aika Hello! Station EP. 148 Kobushi History Pt.1 (34:32 – 45:00)Hello! Station EP. 149 Kobushi History Pt.2 (35:00 – 44:55)Hello! Station EP. 125 Major Debut Announcement (11:42 – 16:35) |
Search
Contributors◆ Angie
◆ Hinacchi ◆ Manuel ◆ Megan ◆ Molly ◆ Rose ◆ Rubi ◆ Sylvia ◆ Teepu ◆ Tiffany ◆ Winfield Support Us On Patreon!Archives
February 2024
|