Any JPOP fan deep enough into Japanese pop culture will agree that it is indeed the age of the idols. There are thousands of female idol groups all over Japan, ranging in popularity from the internationally known AKB48 to local indie groups like Yurumerumo. Following AKB's explosive impact it seems like new groups pop up everyday, each fighting to gain footage in a rapidly expanding industry by dawning strange and unique gimmicks. Such examples would be the recent sensation Ladybaby, the kawaii-metal trio Babymetal, and the indie group Pottya, a group consisting of 'chubby/thick' girls. But that's not what this article is about. Well, at least not entirely. This article is going to be about the recent explosion in virtual idol groups. I assume (if you're an anime fan), that you're familiar with The Idolm@ster? The sensational idol raising simulation game series first released in 2005, The Idolm@ster franchise only grows bigger and more popular, boasting several anime, apps, and spin-off groups under the company's belt. Not to mention a hefty discography of CD's featuring game, character, and original songs. The next generation of the Idolm@ster is Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls, which also has a game, anime, and set of music releases. Cinderella came about in 2011, and continues to expand as well as more and more seiyuu and singers are added to the character rooster each season.

Virtual idols (at least how I define them) are idols who are represented by a fictional character and voiced behind the scenes by a female or male seiyuu. Following Idolm@ster, Japan has seen a spike in the amount of virtual idol groups in the past few years. These virtual idols also include the growing 'seiyuu-unit' fad, which is when a group of seiyuu (who originally voiced characters from an anime or game) are formed into a singing unit for extra exposure and profit. Usually such units end when the game or anime they originated from ends, so they don't tend to last long. However, units featuring very popular seiyuu such as Petit Milady or YuiKaori have persisted since the last 2000's. My personal opinion on this boom is that it's very welcomed. Music is my life, my savior in times of depression, so more and more idol units give me an excuse to buy more music and jam out. Not to mention they expose lesser known seiyuu to the public and contribute to Japan's struggling anime industry. Idol/song themed anime have also started popping up around every corner. The most memorable probably being the Symphogear series, whose main female cast is made up almost completely of popular seiyuu who all have their own solo singing careers. The cast of this series even got a huge concert in 2013, where each seiyuu preformed their character's theme song.

The Japanese anime demographic is more common than not young men, so it's no surprise that female idol/seiyuu groups are the more desired type. Though there are not near as many virtual idol groups as there are 3D idol groups, their numbers increase every anime season, so I think it's safe to say that since the Idolm@ster series really took off companies have come to the staggering realization of what a cash cow such units can become.

All this not even taking into consideration the Vocaloid family.

Labels: anime, discussion, japanese culture

Any JPOP fan deep enough into Japanese pop culture will agree that it is indeed the age of the idols. There are thousands of female idol groups all over Japan, ranging in popularity from the internationally known AKB48 to local indie groups like Yurumerumo. Following AKB's explosive impact it seems like new groups pop up everyday, each fighting to gain footage in a rapidly expanding industry by dawning strange and unique gimmicks. Such examples would be the recent sensation Ladybaby, the kawaii-metal trio Babymetal, and the indie group Pottya, a group consisting of 'chubby/thick' girls. But that's not what this article is about. Well, at least not entirely. This article is going to be about the recent explosion in virtual idol groups. I assume (if you're an anime fan), that you're familiar with The Idolm@ster? The sensational idol raising simulation game series first released in 2005, The Idolm@ster franchise only grows bigger and more popular, boasting several anime, apps, and spin-off groups under the company's belt. Not to mention a hefty discography of CD's featuring game, character, and original songs. The next generation of the Idolm@ster is Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls, which also has a game, anime, and set of music releases. Cinderella came about in 2011, and continues to expand as well as more and more seiyuu and singers are added to the character rooster each season.

Virtual idols (at least how I define them) are idols who are represented by a fictional character and voiced behind the scenes by a female or male seiyuu. Following Idolm@ster, Japan has seen a spike in the amount of virtual idol groups in the past few years. These virtual idols also include the growing 'seiyuu-unit' fad, which is when a group of seiyuu (who originally voiced characters from an anime or game) are formed into a singing unit for extra exposure and profit. Usually such units end when the game or anime they originated from ends, so they don't tend to last long. However, units featuring very popular seiyuu such as Petit Milady or YuiKaori have persisted since the last 2000's. My personal opinion on this boom is that it's very welcomed. Music is my life, my savior in times of depression, so more and more idol units give me an excuse to buy more music and jam out. Not to mention they expose lesser known seiyuu to the public and contribute to Japan's struggling anime industry. Idol/song themed anime have also started popping up around every corner. The most memorable probably being the Symphogear series, whose main female cast is made up almost completely of popular seiyuu who all have their own solo singing careers. The cast of this series even got a huge concert in 2013, where each seiyuu preformed their character's theme song.

The Japanese anime demographic is more common than not young men, so it's no surprise that female idol/seiyuu groups are the more desired type. Though there are not near as many virtual idol groups as there are 3D idol groups, their numbers increase every anime season, so I think it's safe to say that since the Idolm@ster series really took off companies have come to the staggering realization of what a cash cow such units can become.

All this not even taking into consideration the Vocaloid family.

Labels: anime, discussion, japanese culture

Real Name: Riska Destheana Pertiwi.
Age: 15th years old.
Born: December 16th, 1995 at Bogor.
Hometown: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.
Things I Likes: All about bunny & Korean Style.
Things I hates: Cockroach, lizard, a Liar, Backstabber and Plagiarism.




Make a skin by my self
Blackberry Curve
Visit Tokyo, Japan
Meet F.T.Island
Shopping to Singapore
Own Sony Vaio W series Laptop
Reach 50 followers

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Name: Ringo
Age: 1200+
Born: July
Hometown: An Apple Tree
Things I Likes: Music / Cats / Fantasy / Pizza
Things I hates: Bugs / Bigots / Veggies




write and publish an original novel
hold a lion cub
visit Tokyo, Japan
attend a LiSA concert
produce an original song
become fluent in Japanese
spread the J-Indie love

Copyrighted ©RISKADPERTIWI | cargocollective.com/rdp | 2011 All Rights Reserved