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The Highlights Report for Tokyo Idol Festival 2014!
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“So many idols, so little time” might be one of the easiest ways to describe an event like the Tokyo Idol Festival. With 138 groups in the lineup and 8 stages (if you count the talk stage) spread out over Odaiba, 2014’s TIF was the biggest ever! Nikkan SPA referred to it as “an event harsh to those who are fans of many different groups” (DD na aidoru fan ni totte wa, kakoku na ibento na no da), which is particularly true with performances beginning every 5 minutes. Here are some highlights for some of the performances that happened over the weekend in Odaiba. Please stay tuned as we plan to have more to come soon!
Afilia Saga
Afilia Saga made their 5th appearance in a row at the Tokyo Idol Festival and put the crowd under a spell for 30 minutes. Celebrating their highest Oricon weekly ranking so far (#3) with their latest single “Magical Express Journey”, they also introduced their four new members: Alice Rozen, Love Berry Janne, Nana Drop Bijou, and Myuna Shulita.
Sakura Gakuin
Moa Kikuchi (Moametal) and Yui Mizuno (Yuimetal) opened Sakura Gakuin’s Hot Stage set with a video message apologizing for not being able to be there due to Babymetal’s US tour. However, disappointment quickly changed to jubilation as it was announced that graduated members Marina Horiuchi and Raura Iida would be replacing them for the performance. During the last song “Yume ni Mukatte”, the screen onstage showed a video of Yui and Moa dancing along with the 8 current members and the two graduates, creating an incredible scene that the fukei (term for Sakura Gakuin fans, literally means “guardian or parents and older brothers”) would not soon forget.
Dempagumi.inc
Returning to Tokyo after taking the stage at the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival on Friday and the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya on Saturday, Dempagumi.inc rocked Umi-Pop Sunday morning before crossing the street to light up the Festival and Hot Stages at TIF. Opening their Hot Stage performance with “Denden Passion” (although with penlights instead of ribbons), Dempagumi brought a piece of Dear Stage to the “New World” and ended their 30 minute set with their latest single “Chururi Chururira” before hopefully getting themselves a well deserved rest.
UPUPGIRLS (Kari)
UPUPGIRLS (Kari) were on fire this weekend! From the moment they appeared on the Smile Garden stage on Saturday Morning until their final appearance with Team Makenki (Kari) at the Grand Finale, the seven former Hello Pro Kenshuusei delivered their explosive dance moves and energetic singing with all the force of a world champion’s “Uppercut”.
Additional/Final Thoughts
With so many idols concentrated in such a small (even though it sometimes felt too big) area, things you would not normally see happened. Rena Matsui (SKE48/Nogizaka 46) attempted to sneak into the Hot Stage unnoticed to watch HKT48 and Babyraids. Otome Shinto showed up to watch Dempagumi.inc’s performance and Sailor Fuku Ojisan was spotted at the Smile Garden as early as S/mileage’s opening performance on Saturday morning. When asked if he had some to see any group in particular, he simply answered that he liked “everyone”.
For most idol fans, this might have been their last chance to see AeLL before they go into “indefinite hiatus” next month. THE POSSIBOOOOO celebrated their 8th anniversary on Saturday. Bakusute Soto-Kanda Icchome gave a strong performance, but imagine how amazing it would have been if they could have performed “Produce” will all the members. It will probably never happen because then Akihabara Backstage Pass would have to be closed during that time. Babyraids were still collecting signatures for their petition to perform at the Budokan so it looks like they haven’t gotten 10,000 quite yet. Dorothy Little Happy’s rendition of “nerve” may never equal BiS’s performance from 2013’s TIF, but it was still great to hear it again.
In addition to that were all the collaborations! Even though almost all of the collaborations were with Idoling!!!, there were a lot of memorable moments and performances throughout the weekend. Ruruka Yokoyama (Idoling!!!) and Ai Shinozaki (AeLL) talked about their hanging out together, a small class reunion between Mio Masui (PASSPO☆) and Nao Asahi (Idoling!!!), and a glimpse into what Idoling!!! might have looked like if Nao Takami and Rikako Ohya (Babyraids) had been selected, to name a few. Team Makenki (Kari) member You Kikkawa vowed to challenge Ai Shinozaki in the world of gravure during the Grand Finale, shortly before members of over 60 different groups launched into a spirited rendition of “Shokugyou: Idol” (Idoling!!!) to close out festivities.
written by Okkun
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Afilia Saga Sakura Gakuin
Kai Okudara
Writer, researcher, photographer, foodie, KSDD
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