Over at the new Akihabara Theater for the Idol groups that
belong to Alice Project ,you can vote for your favorite member . The groups add
up the votes in a rivalry game called The battle of the idols! "Otaku who
vote" election.
Below is the Idols counting their first show votes
I have titled this post “understanding chaos” because when you look at the idol company Alice Project from the outside it looks like a chaotic mess ,when actually it`s not. OK well maybe it really is and some understanding chaos is needed.
So let`s jump right in.
Alice Project is much like Hello!Project and the 48s all rolled into one .It has trainees ,multiple units .What sets this Indie Idol company apart from the mainstream is that all of its members are in multiple units within the company ,some are in as many as 3 units.
Because of this a random fan, can often become confused as to what group they are watching ,I will try to clear it up some in this series and introduce you to some units ,you maybe seeing for the first time.
The most talked about group from Alice Project on Pure Idol Heart is Alice 10Ban [Alice Juban]. Alice 10Ban is like the Morning Musume or AKB48 of this company, the flagship unit. They are also one of two company groups that stage dive .The other is Pureful ,which happens to have the Alice 10Ban members that stage dive in it. More on Pureful later.
Asami Fujisaki [Asami is the one you see riding on the boat in the crowd in past video posts and she has some not for weak heart photo book/DVD]
Asa Tomomi [cuteness supreme and likes to pop things with her mouth, yes I went there]
Kanon Mori
Mao Kiritani
Amu Hayase
Maari Watanabe
Anna Tachibana
Sakura Nodoka
Sayaka Shiotani
Reika Tsukimura
[As of 10/21/12 there have been some Additions , instead of spoiling the point of Alice 10Ban in this series ,I have placed the new members in the groups they were in before the announcements ,so please follow closely]
Everything revolves down from Alice 10Ban and creates the company chaos.
Mao Kiritani [from Alice 10Ban] Sayaka Shiotani [from Alice 10Ban]
Nanaka Kawamura [Nanaka was also Dorothy in the group OZ and is in Soupgirls and Steamgirls]
The connection to Alice 10Ban continues with this unit
Every member of Pureful is a member of Alice 10Ban Asami Fujisaki, Kanon Mori, Sakura Nodoka, Reika Tsukimura
Take every member of Alice 10Ban and put them in this unit, along with every unit they have been mentioned with to date. Add to them a taste of double cuteness
Muno Nomura [as of 10/22/12 she took on the sacred right to wear an Alice 10Ban costume]
Sara Kurose [She is also in White Milk and Steamgirls]
In part two we will take a look at the junior units and yes the connection to Alice 10Ban will be found in these units as well.
Pure
Idol Heart`s special reporter Paul is back. This time he takes a look
at an Indie Idol “Super Group” ALLOVER. ALLOVER is a five group
multi-agency unit that we have previewed in the past [see post at the
bottom]. This time Paul looks at the struggles this group and all Indie
Idol groups face with having hardcore fan bases .The advantages “Super
Groups” can offer to break that Indie idol glass roof keeping Indie Idol
Groups from reaching bigger heights.
ALLOVER :Uniting Idol Fans
By Paul Purvis [Special Guest Reporter]
At
first glance ALLOVER may look like just another super idol group with
over ten members. However fans of the indie scene would see several
familiar faces upon a second glance, and that is what makes this group
something special.
This unit is an all-star dream team
made up of hot indie groups. The girls featured in ALLOVER are not all
from the same company. This is a true collaboration that is the result
of independent labels working together to create something that is truly
special and just not really being done right now. It is the desire here
for record companies to work together that is getting me really
excited.
Every venue on every night of the week or
weekends is usually packed full of diehard fans. However those dedicated
fans are usually just there to see their group of choice.
All
groups can lay claim to a modest but amazingly dedicated fan base.
While the girls truly do love these followers, after the show the
merchandise lines usually only include the most faithful. For some of
these fans meeting a new group at the signing tables would be worse than
cheating on a spouse.
So this is what is so cool
about ALLOVER. By bringing together girls from several much loved acts
they can, hopefully, combine their fans. ALLOVER features all three
members of Starmarie and three members of Asfi. Two members from Candy Go! Go! and ANNA ☆ S are here as well as a lone member from Pastel Joker.
Until recently even Alice project contributed with a member from Alice
10 ban. That is five acts with fans that will come out for sure.
This
industry has its fans but the loyal fans being so loyal to just one
group may be preventing any one group from moving on and playing at
Budokan or a bigger venue. The fans are here they are just sticking to
their groups. Which is understandable from a fan perspective as there
are just only so many live tickets and merchandise one can afford. So
maybe the fans that are here are doing what they can and the other big
problem is getting new fans to come to shows.
It does
appear that ALLOVER is also taking a step in the direction of bringing
more people in. Recently they played at Mount Rainier Hall in Shibuya.
This
show was a huge breath of fresh air as it is an actually theater, not a
club. It sounded better, is bigger and there was assigned seats. That
is the kind of place that a casual or new fan would want to check out a
show not a packed in club.
Many things about ALLOVER
feel special and new. When their first single Yume no Tobira reached
number 13 on the Oricon daily chart, each group put their own spin on it
and made their own version and released it as a CD. Each song really
does sound unique to each group and shows the depths that idol groups
have that many people don’t realize. Also the similar cute CD covers
would look really cool as a set.
It
does appear that this idol experiment is working, and that is great
news for all that are involved. Later this month they will do another Mt
Rainier show and release another single. Here is hoping that they will
do both of those things many more times in the coming months.
Alice 10Ban [Alice Juban], found themselves in an interesting situation recently. They held an auction in which the winner would get a one fan live concert from the group.
Included in this was a full concert, handshake event, merchandise table and being on stage with the group. In an interesting twist it also included a gift of women`s underwear pants which he wore on his head and the group signed them in the handshake event.
For their part Alice10Ban were grateful that one man loved them so much to bid over 220,000 yen and found the experience heartwarming and special. Some readers may find this a little odd, however if you hang around the Indie Idol genre long enough, you`ll discover it`s a branch of the genre that lives by its own rules and odd is often the normal.
