Tsurezure Coming West Is Kind of a Big Deal

/ Homicidol Maniac

Yukueshirezutsurezure ended a year of speculation the other day and set themselves up in a rather unique position, and I’m trying to sum that up here, but I’m also impressed by some things that seem apparent for the Idols Now Known as Not Secured, Loose Ends in English (that’s gonna take some getting used to), and I want to talk about them.

But first.

They have a Facebook page, and it’s going to be one that you’re going to want to like and follow (more on that in a second):

They also have this intro video (via Terry)


Kinda spells it out

They have an international fan club:

This is a big deal, another thing that I’ll get to in a minute.

And, of course, their Canadian tour dates.

Now, put all of those things together, and you have a pretty unique situation. You folks who are into big, mainstream tradols can sound off on the prevalence of this general confluence of international fan service; I literally have no idea and don’t mind saying so. What I do know is that this looks like a very serious nod toward non-traditional idol audiences — if you remember PassCode’s English-language video that we all got excited about, this is actually way bigger than that.

Like, though neither the fan club nor the Facebook is particularly revolutionary on its own, the fact is that they both show a distinct willingness to push and manage content in a non-Japanese language to an audience that is mostly at best lukewarm on the whole screaming idols thing. The whole why-won’t-they-do-X thing, as it pertains to non-Japanese fans, is usually answered with “because it doesn’t look like a good return on investment”; Codomomental may be taking a wild roll of the dice here, but it’s more likely that they surveyed the data available to them and saw a lower-risk opportunity. Taking advantage of that still requires investments of resources and time, so — commitment.

And if they’re willing to commit to taking that kind of a step, it must be because of a bigger plan. I don’t want to totally fantasy book idols outside of Friday Fun, but imagine for a minute that Tsurezure in Canada is just the beginning of a bolder company-wide move; next they’re in the United States, or Argentina, or France; and then big sisters Zenbu Kimi no Sei Da are following right on their heels. Joint shows. Band tours.

So let’s all of us who can find a way to attend one of these Canadian shows, buy merch and, maybe most importantly, make a big goddamn deal about it. If you’re Canadian, drag friends with you. Get people interested in what Tsurezure’s selling. Help show the idol business that the West can be lucrative. Get a cheki of Shidare screaming you to pieces to prove it.

5 thoughts on “Tsurezure Coming West Is Kind of a Big Deal”

  2. They shoulda gone with Yucky Shoe Zoo Razor Ray like I said.

    This fanclub thing looks like it’s mainly going to be exclusive live videos, not the sort of thing that, personally, I’m usually interested in, but they can have my subs anyway just for making the effort.

    Though if anyone in charge is reading this, a personal happy birthday video from the member of your choice for the first, say 50 gaijin to sign up would be just lovely, thankyou please.

  4. NSLE, eh? Easier to remember than YKSZTZ, I guess! I only just committed their full Japanese name to memory, too… I’ll devote that mental bandwidth to memorizing who’s who in time for the tour ;P
    Next Music from Tokyo is so crucial! I can’t stress it enough! Consider that a lot of the indie bands that come over as part of the tour have even less potential for global fame than a screaming idol group, and yet here they are! That one week is pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of the fans AND the bands, but hopefully they forge a few diehard fan-for-life relationships along the way. I wanna see comments sections full of Canadian English, people! Favourite with a “u”!

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