These girls rock.

I can remember all too well the first time that I heard Osaka Shunkashuto (also spelled “Syunkasyuto,” confusingly), and it’s because I was trying out a new standing desk at work and was incredibly uncomfortable, so I let YouTube choose me a playlist from some of my idolcore favorites, and that song right there rolled in around the middle of the second hour.

One, how had I managed to have not even heard of this group before, what with their well-produced sound and super distinct style and goddamn amazing videos and sweet baby Moses these are serious-ass rock songs why? Two, why is it suddenly quittin’ time and I haven’t gotten anything done since lunch?

Yes, Osaka Shunkashuto is, to put it lightly, a ton of fun. Their music is highly energetic, they dance their asses off and Maina, the lead/pretty much only singer, has a voice made for performing in front a full arena. Just to give you an idea of what they’re bringing, here’s their official video from TIF 2015:

Jesus.

As Tokyo Girls Update put it, they went into TIF as virtual unknowns and walked out as legends.

Pretty much ever since, Osaka Shunkashuto has enjoyed burgeoning popularity, with two mini-albums being released between November and December 2015. It’s probably only a matter of time before they start to invade the Oricon weekly charts, and then hold on to your butts, because these are literally high school girls now, and their future is blazing bright.

And here’s the kicker: They’re only about two years into this after starting as a dance unit that this sort of multimedia mad genius who goes by Soezimax discovered and started to produce. His eye for film and ability to make a tiny budget go a long way is why Osaka Shunkashuto has long-form videos like these: that were really awesome and featured the members fighting zombies and mobsters and even had (gasp!) English-language versions but have since been taken down from YouTube because that’s the kind of fun thing that dies first when you sign your way out of the indies.

You should really like Osaka Shunkashuto if you like things that are good.

What they sound like

These are straightforward rock songs; unlike a number of other rock idol units, there are few J-pop-typical melodic patterns, and they really are rocking out pretty hard. Or, come to think of it, they’re not that dissimilar to a lot of the K-pop stuff that caught on over the last few years — funky, groovy, swinging.

You’ll like them if

I had a really convoluted answer to this question before I decided to simplify it. I mean, do you like real-deal pre-grunge rock bands? Especially if you remember when people used to actually dance to rock music? You’ll like Osaka Shunkashuto.

Entries on the Ultimate Homicidol Playlist:

“C’mon!” is very good, but most of Osaka Shunkashuto’s older Soezimax-era videos have been scrubbed from YouTube, so we’re left with “only” these:

Members

Maina (leader/center) Twitter
Anna Twitter	Mana Twitter	Eon Twitter
Rina Twitter	Yuna Twitter	Runa Twitter

Discography

“Dawn of My Lifetime” (single)
Ms. Chameleon Girl (EP)
“C’mon!” (single)
“Babycrazy” (single)
“Shine” (single)
“Let You Fly!” (single)
“Hachihachi” Live! (EP)
Early Season (album)