Twin Tail Festival vol.1: Two Tons of Twin Tails for Justice!

| Idol | Posted by Kai Okudara on Dec.01.2014

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On November 22 (known in Japan as “Nice Twin Tail Day”, the 11 for November can be read as “ii” English: nice or good) at Shinagawa Stellar Ball, Nihon Twin Tail Festival vol. 1 was held. As this event was hosted by Twin Tail Association Japan, the icon of their organization, drop was the headlining act. Featuring 14 groups gathered from all over Japan, and with almost all of the members made up in twin tails, it was an event which had the performers admiring a lot of the cute audience members as much, if not more than they were being admired.

3min. (read as “san minutes”) opened the show at 2:02pm, welcoming the audience into a “Panorama World” of 3-minute dance songs, their feet highlighted by their LED shoes. Their movements were sharp and their voices were strong as they headed towards their 1st solo concert (also their 1st anniversary) the following night (November 23rd) at Shinjuku ReNY.

Nagoya’s dela (delightful enchanting lovely angels) made yet another step towards global domination with a sharp performance expected from a group that includes a black belt in karate and a dance champion among its members. It shouldn’t be surprising that a group that derives it’s name from Nagoya slang for “very” (dera) was very cute and fun as well.

Niji no Conquistador, the group born from the pixiv online illustrator community and produced by several heavy-hitters of the Japanese entertainment world, lit up the room during songs like the frenetic box-stepping of “Onna no ko Muteki Sengen” and the traditional Japanese-inspired “Pixiv Ondo”.

Hokago Princess heated up things even further by pairing knee-high socks with their twin tails, which were adorned with tiaras. They had fans clamoring to the front of the stage and waving their King Blazes wildly during their short set of uptempo rock songs which included “Manatsu no Yoru no Yume” and their theme song “Juliet ~ Kimi wo Suki na 100 Riyuu”.

Yanchan Gakuen Ongakubu, comprised of Young Champion (a semimonthly manga magazine) gravure models, is another school themed group with a more typical idol sound. It was a dramatic change of pace as they were sandwiched in between the rock oriented Hokago Princess and READY TO KISS.

Twin tails began whipping through the air once again as READY TO KISS hit the stage. With their sparkly white dresses and boots, they were visual polar opposites of what you would expect from a group with such heavy songs but as Japan has showed time and time again, it’s possible to rock out regardless of what one is wearing.

drop hit the stage for their first set in school uniforms that had stuffed animals sewn into them, looking like something that designer Jeremy Scott (designer of the adidas shoes with panda and bear heads on them) would have come up with. Hikari Takiguchi was particularly motivated since her family was in the audience. Along with their early fan favorites “Nanimo Iranai” and “Toumei na Juu”, their newer songs “Koi Shite, Kecha Shite” and “Daimondai Chikutaku” look to be just the beginning of a bright and prosperous history for the young group.

palet took things in a harder direction, performing “Shake My Soul!” and incited a small mosh pit in front of the stage. During the MC, twin tailed female fans were lifted so they could more visibly show their support for Mizuki Kimoto and Saki Takeda. The mood intensified during “Believe in Yourself” which had fans raising their fists and other audience members as they lost themselves in the music.

Luce Twinkle Wink☆ sparkled on stage, illuminating the dark ballroom. There was even perhaps a bit of twin tail alchemy going on when the fans formed a giant circle while enthusiastically cheering during “Hatsukoi Pentagram”. Hopefully they succeeded, since homunculi are quite persistent.

Akishibu project, the group that mixes Akihabara and Shibuya culture together, whirled all over the stage in pastel blue blurs. Even with songs like “Midare kami fighting girl” (Fighting girl with disheveled hair), not a hair was out of place they seemed to float across the stage.

Chu-Z were another dramatic change of pace as they were the only R&B/hip-hop sounding group on the schedule. Starting with the intense “Iroha Muzik” as they always do, they blew kisses to the crowd during “Chu Me Now” and ended on a “Bombastic” note with their Bomber sticks waving.

Shiina Pikarin takes the prize for the most dramatic performance of the day, coming out on stage wielding a giant scythe and accompanied by two masked flag bearers/dancers. She went for the cuteness trifecta, adding cat ears to her twin tails and knee high socks. During her third song, she used a death metal growl, climbed on a ladder and played a recorder solo and had a female fan sitting on someone’s shoulders headbanging along with her for half the song. After getting everyone in the floor seating to bow down on the ground (dogeza) and taking a picture of them, the door between the human and demon worlds came to a close with “Toroama Chu”, complete with a fleet of crowd surfing fans throwing out reverse kechas. ArigatakyY Pikarin!

Bandjanaimon!, despite their name (translation: we are not a band!) was the closest thing to a band on the schedule due to leader Misako Suzuhime’s electronic drum kit. As expected from a group signed to unBORDE (same label as Team Syachihoko), it was a bizarre yet fascinating high-energy performance. Even though Miyu Mochizuki and Yuzu Amanatsu were obviously not playing the bass or keytar, they had fans lifting each other in a wild show of support for all members during their introductions.

Dorothy Little Happy, perhaps at this point, the most well known of the groups of the day, were a refreshing polar opposite of the wild and crazy performance of Bandjanaimon!. Opening with their wildly popular “Demo Sayonara”, the quintet from Sendai channeled Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz from whence they took their name as their twin tails trailed behind them every time they spun. Dorothy Little Happy definitely struck a “nerve” with the fans and for those fortunate to have seen them more than once this weekend, it was the first of several “Happy Days” indeed.

drop returned to the stage to close out the event, this time dressed in pretty random-looking outfits. The ballroom floor was a sea of red, blue, green, and yellow cyalumes as they once again sang “Toumei na Juu” before continuing on to their newer songs “Koi Shite Kecha Shite” and “Iroha ni Hoheto de Vampire”, which has an original chant which goes with drop’s elemental concept. After another performance of “Nanimo Iranai” and “Daimondai Chikutaku”, Hikari Takigawa wasn’t ready to end the night, prompting a third and final performance of “Toumei na Juu”.

This year’s “Nice Twin Tail Day” might be over but the next “Twin Tail Day” on the calendar will be here soon (February 2 or maybe even February 22) so it is likely that we can expect there to be a second volume of Twin Tail Festival to be announced. Regardless of the different musical genres and fandoms represented that day, all who attended were united by their love of twin tails so in stead of dwelling on our differences, let’s work towards peace and harmony through our similarities!

Related Links
drop official site: http://www.drop-collet.com/
3min. official site: http://3min-platinum.com/
dela official site: http://www.nbgf.jp/dela/
Niji no Conquistador official site: http://pixiv-pro.com/2zicon/
Houkago Princess official site: http://houpri.jp/
Yanchan Gakuen official site: http://www.miss-yc.net/
READY TO KISS official site: http://www.ready-to-kiss.jp/
palet official site: http://palet7.jp/
Luce Twinkle Wink☆ official site: https://luce-twinkle-wink.com/
Aki Shibu project official site: http://akishibup.net/index.html
Chu-Z official site: http://www.chu-z.com/
Shiina Pikarin official site: http://avex.jp/pikarin/index.php
Bandjanaimon! official site: http://bandjanaimon.com/
Dorothy Little Happy official site: http://dorothylittlehappy.com/
Twin Tail Association Japan official site: http://www.twintail-japan.com/