Can a Tiger Change Their Stripes? Babyraids JAPAN Unveils New Look and New Song!

| Idol | Posted by Kai Okudara on Feb.16.2015

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Babyraids JAPAN, the idol group notorious for their aggressive promotional tactics and rocking music, had a big surprise for the 700 “Tora-Gaa” (Babyraids name for fans, comes from “Toranomon” where they perform at Pony Canyon headquarters and “Guardian”) at their Shinjuku ReNY concert “Koshitantan vol. 15” on February 13th. Stepping onto the stage in white outfits accented with red tartan, it was a sharp contrast to their previous look but, the most shocking change was Manatsu Hayashi’s bright blonde hair!

When asked about their new looks, leader Erika Denya explained that she wanted something more feminine which was why she chose to have some transparent accents on her skirt and top.

ベイビーレイズJAPANの新ビジュアルです！そして、これが活動指針。「EMOTIONAL IDOROCK」私達にしかできないロック、私達だからできるロックをしたいという想いで作りました。どうぞ宜しくお願いします！ pic.twitter.com/yCk08mMybv

— 傳谷英里香（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_denchan) February 13, 2015

Nao Takami, who goes by the nickname “Naosuke” (a boyish version of her name), decided to turn up her boyish looks by having her hair cut even shorter than before and wearing a hat.

たかみです。定期ライブ終わりました！自分達で作ったセトリ、新しいベイビーレイズJAPAN 緊張したけどこれがベイビーレイズJAPANですって伝えたかった。ベリーショートになりました！！よろしくです！！ pic.twitter.com/OL4ZnbyNRH

— 高見奈央（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_naosuke) February 13, 2015

ちなみに帽子とるとこんな感じー。刈り上げちゃいました！ #定期ライブ来てくれてありがとう #ベイビーレイズJAPAN pic.twitter.com/NZM9x2x3Vi

— 高見奈央（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_naosuke) February 13, 2015

Rikako Oya made herself even more doll-like by making her outfit extra puffy and airy to go with her bouncy twin tails. Even though she noted that the other members of the group said that she looked like a jellyfish, Oya stressed that it was the main point of her outfit. She’s so fluffy!

わたしは髪の毛をカットしましたずっとツインテールでいきます衣装も好みな感じ大好きなクラゲみたいだもん #ベイビーレイズJAPAN pic.twitter.com/NcQ6PnznqG

— 大矢梨華子（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_ricopin) February 13, 2015

Rio Watanabe went with the distressed look, her pants and top shredded and full of holes. Unfortunately, she did not post any pictures to her Twitter account. As late as the evening of February 12th, Manatsu Hayashi had black hair so she must have been in the salon all day on the 13th to undergo her transformation?

今夜20:00〜 #LoGiRL の放送です♪ 目に焼き付けて下さい！ → http://t.co/vheXWjpDKE #ベイビーレイズJAPAN #愛夏 pic.twitter.com/Y3tlTLKjOw

— 林愛夏（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_manatsu) February 12, 2015

Hayashi explained that the sudden change was the embodiment of her determination to make Babyraids JAPAN a more well known group and hoped that it would help make people remember them and want to find out more. For anyone with really black hair that has ever tried to bleach it before, you should know how long it takes just to turn it a little bit lighter so it’s pretty amazing that Manatsu got it that bright blonde! In a tweet after the concert, she reassured fans that she was the same person but, comparing the two pictures, it’s like night and day!

定期ライブVol.15ありがとうございました！ブログ更新しましたm(_ _)m 黒髪の私もこの私も皆様の心にいます。どうぞよろしくお願いしますm(_ _)m #愛夏 #ベイビーレイズJAPAN pic.twitter.com/egCCbNBqQB

— 林愛夏（ベイビーレイズJAPAN） (@lespros_manatsu) February 13, 2015

In addition to showing off their new looks, Babyraids JAPAN performed their upcoming 9th single “Eikou Sunrise” (release date: April 1) for the first time. Going by Denya’s tweet where she explains that their new musical direction would be something she calls “EMOTIONAL IDOROCK” (idol + rock), can we expect that they will be going emo now? Even though the change in their appearance was surprising at first, it kind of makes sense that they went with red and white since those are the colors of the flag of Japan? Are they going to go with the image of white tigers from now on? For comparison, here is a picture of the group in their previous outfits and their current outfits.

Babyraids JAPAN

In addition to their 9th single “Eikou Sunrise” coming out on April 1st, Babyraids JAPAN will be releasing the DVD of their 1st Nippon Budokan concert on March 18th and starting their spring tour “Babyraids JAPAN SPRING TOUR 2015 -IDOROCK SENSATION-” on March 20th. Babyraids JAPAN has continually surprised fans since their debut so keep an eye on them to see what they will do next!

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