We Interview Idols: Isiliel – Himari Tsukishiro

Back on July 4th, we had the opportunity to sit down with Himari Tsukishiro shortly after she had finished the last of her eight performances at Anime Expo 2023.  The stop at AX marked about the halfway point of Himari’s debut world tour as Isiliel, her solo idol project. Still outfitted in cosplay as Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy, Himari spoke to us very candidly about the challenges of the world tour, the origins of her solo project, and her thoughts on the future of NECRONOMIDOL, the legendary idol unit of which she is currently the sole remaining member.  

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Contribute to the Future of Minna no Kodomochan

Since their very first release more than six years ago, Minna no Kodomochan have been a perennial favorite of the Homicidols community.  Despite the many challenges they have faced over the years, Kodomochan have consistently released some of the most innovative music, and most talked about MVs, of almost any other unit that we cover. 

Case in point is their latest digital single, “Shikimi” that they dropped just last week:

 

Now, Minna no Kodomochan are facing a crossroads.

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BABYMETAL’s Back. Tell a Friend.

Twelve months-and-a-day after sealing themselves away from the world, BABYMETAL have completed their restoration and announced their imminent return from hiatus.

Unfortunately, it looks like restoration didn’t include refurbishment of the Yuibot.

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The Unstoppable Force That Is Himari Tsukishiro And Isiliel

In her eight years of activity, Himari Tsukishiro has proven herself one of the most determined chika idols in the business; having recently claimed the title of longest-reigning NECRONOMIDOL member, overseeing more member switches than your average football coach, her admitted refusal to take a day off, and in just the last few years, branching into stage acting and a solo career, the latter of which recently commemorated its first anniversary. There are many reasons why Himari has become one of the most recognizable and prominent figures in the alt-idol fandom, and her sheer willpower and dedication in a notoriously-volatile industry is one of the most overlooked.

And yet, I know I wasn’t the only one who worried about her future upon the announcement of NECRONOMIDOL’s hiatus two months ago. While she reassured us that she wouldn’t be gone for too long, the fandom rippled with uneasy deliberations of “But what if this is it?” Lucky for us, though, Himari kept to her word, with the announcement of a US tour beginning later this month. But that wouldn’t be the last we’d hear from her.

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NECRONOMIDOL Announces Hiatus

NECRONOMIDOL have announced the immediate departure of Hisui Kurogane and the imminent end to their current system. The group will then enter a period of hiatus.

The reasons behind the suspension of activities are detailed very transparently in the following statements from producer Ricky and member Hisui.

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We Review Things: KOSAME’s Debut EP, “THE 8th FAREWELL”

Indie and underground idol has gone through quite an evolution from the early days when the scene was predominated by screaming metal and loud, raucous punk. The genre has expanded to include just about every conceivable alt-rock and alt-pop sub genre including shoegaze, rockabilly, trap, house, grunge, dreampop and many, many more. The depth and breadth of the genre has become immense and we can now even track musical sub-influences as they wash through the scene, like a couple of years ago when a retro city pop vibe was flavoring everything, or the current trend of electro swing popping up all over the place.

Against this backdrop, it was refreshing to spin up THE 8th FAREWELLKOSAME’s first EP, and get a stunning reminder of what drew many of us to the genre in the first place: idols being straight-up, brutally hardcore.

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NECRONOMIDOL news!! New Member Debut, European Tour Dates and a New Single for Isiliel

Monday was NECRONOMIDOL-day as our favorite ultradark unit filled the morning with one significant news drop after another. Perhaps the biggest piece of information was the unveiling of NECROMA’s newest member at their “never to die” two-man live with XTEEN.

The new Darkness Girl to be joining Himari, Malin and Meica is Hisui Kurogane.

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THE DEVIL’S KILLING MERRY-GO-ROUND Drop Their First MV and Trigger a Flashback

It was just over a week ago when we learned of the existence of THE DEVIL’S KILLING MERRY-GO-ROUND (officially abbreviated as “DEVIKIR”), the new unit featuring Michelle Noir (ex. Michelle of NECRONOMIDOL) and Ragna Roku (ex. Roku Rokuroku of LAST IN MY CULT). While their official debut live is not until June 17th, they have wasted no time in dropping their first MV, “DIABOROS.”

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Of Foxes and Fools: BABYMETAL News + An April Fools Day Round-Up

Another Fox Day aka April Fools Day has come and gone and we are none the wiser for the experience. As followers of idol units who regularly pull inexplicably unbelievable things on any given day of the week, April Fools Day is always a bit confounding. I mean:

  • Are RAY really releasing a chiptune single? (no)
  • Is Especia really reuniting after 4 years for an anniversary show? (yes, they are
  • Is this group for real?

(I honestly don’t know)

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We Interview Idols: Minna no Kodomochan

Cinnamon of Minna no Kodomochan has been incredibly busy of late. Not only has she been conducting the in-store events and other duties associated with promoting her latest single, “The Final Blinkings”, but she has been personally illustrating each and every CD being sold in record stores around Tokyo. In between all of these activities, performing her birthday live, and preparing for the next round of the Artists’ League competition where Kodomochan are appearing as a referee’s choice, Cinnamon very graciously agreed to carve out some time to do an interview with us.

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