We live in an age of uncertainty and fear – an age where we’re all indoors. So, what better way to spice things up than that good old WACK brand of uncertainty? That’s right, once again we regret to inform you that one company are at it again!
【新オーデ開催!!】WACK史上最大規模の公開型全世界リアルタイムオーディション「Project WACKちん」開始します！13歳以上であれば性別国籍不問。まずはtwitterアカウントを作って文章を投稿するだけ。コロナ後にしか合格しないグループです。よろ。#ProjectWACKちん
— 渡辺”ジュンジュン”淳之介 (@JxSxK) June 1, 2020
詳細→ https://t.co/j963P8gg0X pic.twitter.com/3cJeTyJs0M
So in the Great Idol Purge of 2019, one of the key casualties for lovers of the dreamy pop sound and highly ambitious multimedia art projects was HAMIDASYSTEM, my personal Idol of the Year for 2018 and a growing presence among the I-like-good-things set. The announcement was a really sad one — how could this just up and go away? we cried through gnashed teeth.
Well, as it turns out, we might need to re-tool those expectations just a little bit, because it seems like the result is more of a “oh okay, neat” than a “/throws self into traffic”.
First up! HAMIDASYSTEM, or something called that, is, uh, kind of sticking around: Continue reading
Though Fall is my favorite season, there’s always a hint of trepidation it’s arrival. The sky gets a little gray, the days get colder and shorter, and naturally, we all know the Winter is approaching by the year’s end. And additionally for us idol fans, we find ourselves anticipating the upcoming new year, because we know good-and-well that some of our oshimen and favorite groups won’t be around by this time in the future, cause that’s what we’ve signed up for the when we got into this subculture.
突然のお知らせでびっくりさせてしまってすみません。
前向きな気持ちの卒業です！
コメント読んでください❣️ https://t.co/fjp1MHNbPH— 小鳥こたお@あヴぁんだんど (@avandoned_kotao) November 16, 2018
Last Friday, a little precursor to the change of the seasons and the new year in waiting arrived: Kotori Kotao, the other half of the duo-era of Avandoned, announced that she will be graduating in April of 2019. In a statement, she explained that quite simply it’s too difficult to balance the intensity of idol work with her personal focus on art. This is something I find terribly relatable, so I can’t possibly take issue with it. Kotao joined the group in 2016, at which point Avandoned was closing its previous era with the departures of Nayuta and Konomi and rebranding the group as a trio. At that point I knew very little about her, but she certainly won me over very quickly, to the point where it became difficult to imagine Avandoned without her. As I got to know more about her, I found her endlessly fascinating and talented.
Ah, the heady days of mid-late 2016, when every new idol whatever was ripe for exaggerated excitement, a world of possibilities. Look, somewhat loud stuff! Also idols! Nothing could be better!
We have learned better since then. Though there are always exceptions, and we are incredibly easy marks for whatever poorly shined bauble is dangled in front of our ever-shortening attention spans, it takes more than just showing up to take the majority of fans from acknowledgement to acceptance to love.
But back in 2016, like a shout in the dark did Living Dead I Dolls enter the world. They were a short step up the quality ladder from most of the metal-oriented idol acts, and the members did solid work, and things went pretty well for about a year. Then poof! Like so many fleeting things in idol, fleeted and frittered away.
And then late last night: Continue reading
Wew lad.
— Homicidol Maniac (@homicidols) March 18, 2018
I didn’t watch the WACK Expo. After the thing had been announced, and the overall shape of the auditions made, it was pretty obvious how the whole shebang would be conducted and concluded, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I allowed myself to selectively enjoy the auditions from extra-afar, taking it all in via Twitter and the occasional side conversation; once my girl Trivago was finally, mercifully euthanized, I didn’t care enough to even do that.
When I woke up today, the event was all in the past. Things had been done, reactions had, tears shed, etc. Was Twitter buzzing? It sure was! Were the takes flying? They sure were!
And all according to plan. Like any good wota, this is our moment to MIX, to respond to the ainote, to play our part in the interactive ritual that is being an idol fan. We happily separate ourselves from our money to experience closely controlled environments of put-on cruelty and manicured triumphs. We call out the things that are bad or stupid, and hand over cash, attention and appearances of generalized support in exchange. We are all incredibly easy marks.
Anyway, what happened: Continue reading
I was hoping that BiS’s announced announcement this morning was going to be an MV or update on the new single or whatever, but it’s not one of those at all:
【新メンバーオーディション開催決定!!】
BiSの新メンバーオーディションを開催します!!
応募資格等の詳細はHPをご確認ください!!締切：2017年9月30日https://t.co/bvkyBknOua pic.twitter.com/jwtuKEKSux
— BiS−新生アイドル研究会-オフィシャル (@BiSidol) September 19, 2017
Auditions. Continue reading
I’m an idiot and accordingly stayed up to watch the WACK Exhibition on Niconico Douga like a crazy person, and I did it because I wanted there to be some kind of fireworks coming out of the nearly-a-week-long WACK auditions.
For once, I was not disappointed!
Here’s your very brief recap: BiSH is WACK’s crown jewel; and also completely heartless, because while everybody else was literally sobbing, they were horsing around; Kamiya Saki only exists for Watanabe to treat her like shit; if you ever wondered if massive nuclear reptilian kaiju had feelings, wonder no more. Oh and a whole bunch of other stuff related to the auditions and exhibition and aftermath after the jump. Continue reading
Folks, we had some legitimately magical irresponsible rumor manufacturing in the Official BiS Rumor Mill Thread, and today was the day that our collective mind reached a perfect distillation of speculation and insight to find the crystal-ball-itude necessary to determine just who exactly is going to be in the new BiS, as will be revealed through an audition training camp broadcast live in two weeks.
But we have the answer already, as determined by computer-generated mortal combat! Continue reading
On A-to-J Talks last night, we speculated that Pour Lui’s various motivations to re-boot BiS might have had as much to do with a bit of attention-neediness as anything, given that she trumped her own successor’s video release by making all the news just a few hours later.
That’s not completely indicative of anything, but consider: Day 1 of TIF is wrapping up, and what’s BiS announcing?
【BiS合宿オーディション完全生中継決定!!】AS◯YAN形式wオーディションの模様をニコ生にて、9月1日12時〜４日間完全生中継します！9月4日には合格者で中野heavysickにて無料抽選制ワンマンライブも決定!!詳細はHP→ https://t.co/dI8hw6WnkI
— BiS−新生アイドル研究会-オフィシャル (@BiSidol) August 5, 2016
