After their first and last oneman live, their last ever performance with every song and a small cafe talk event, Hamidasystem finally closed in on itself for the second and final time.
The reason for the group disbanding might seem unclear because the official statement consisted of mostly “Hamidasystem will cease activities at the end of March and the manager will leave the company office”, but to those who’ve followed the group since 2016 the reason is crystal clear.
When an idol group dissolves and reforms with an entirely new set of members most of the fans don’t stay. Sure, you might get a few people who stick around because they like the music but when the girls leave so do the fans. Fans of OG Hamidasystem are now fans of Crossnoesis, the group comprised of the old members.
So, what do you do when you can’t fill those gigantic shoes? For an indie group, the shadow is cast not only on their popularity but their pockets too. If you can’t break even then what’s the point? Even with the old songs, the new songs, the promotion, and the ex-MIGMA SHELTER member, the numbers just weren’t adding up.
But honestly? Who cares.
The final Hamidasystem were a good Hamidasystem because the fans they did have were happy. Domestic fans got to meet them after lives a lot (with the astoundingly cheap cheki cost of 500 yen or $4.50USD) and everyone, in Japan and abroad, could see almost every performance because there’s no recording ban. Super fan Akira M on YouTube basically served as their unofficial videographer during the 10 months of activity! So if you ever miss them, they’ll always be right there.
In their own words, they were a “Melodic Electronica Unit, we’ll keep on fighting with you” who “Make one face their feelings with emotional performances and music.”
Their debut performance is especially evocative of this; the monochromatic grey walls, the howling wind blowing, the dusk encroaching little by little while the sun sets… if there was ever a way to showcase a concept, they passed with flying colours.
Hamidasystem’s lyrics hit you with a resounding gut punch of emotion too. “Kogarete Planet” (Yearning Planet) is a lovesong from the perspective of a meteoroid crashing into the Earth, “Down” is about using love to escape from hating yourself, “Koi no Sakippo” (Romance’s Endpoint) is about an ugly breakup – all sides of romance are present. From the impossible to the impractical to the imperceptible, all threaded together by Sayshine’s melancholic production.
It might seem a little ironic, the group that carried all of this negative emotion and turned it into performance art met a negative end, but ashes can serve as fertiliser – the future is already growing from the hard work carried with all of their music and choreography. She (now renamed to Shiika) has been temporarily added as a support member for sister group “Popolo Connect” and Me (now renamed to Mikoto) is holding a solo event on the 26th!
The group that will come afterwards still needs to incubate for the next few months but until then, even if their journey as “Hamidasystem” has come to an end, Shiika and Mikoto won’t ever stop – together they’re the one system that can’t self destruct.
