The ballots have been counted, the results certified, and your winners are announced below BUT before we get to that: I want to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Best of the Year activities. We had a 30% increase in voter participation over last year which I really appreciate. Ten years into this venture that is Homicidols, it only means anything because of you all, so “Thank you!” for supporting our collective mission of promoting underground and independent idols to the wider world.

We do have one more item to execute before we can put a wrap on 2025 and that is the Team Homicidols Best of the Year selections which we will be posting next week. As always, if you disagree with any of the winners below feel free to drop by the Homicidols Discord server to let everyone know just how wrong the results are and share your objectively correct opinions. 

Without further ado, here are:

Your Homicidols Best of 2025

Best Debut (Group)

2025 saw no shortage of talented and intriguing new units, but Made in Maiden clinched this competitive category decisively.  Combining symphonic metal and J-pop with a gothic, Jirai Kei aesthetic, The Doll Girls Who Sing of Pain demonstrated the most dark promise among a crowded field of brilliant rookies.

Best Debut (Member)

NEO JAPONISM, one of the strongest units in indie idol, caused quite a bit of confusion and concern back in January when they announced a brief hiatus to audition new members. When the new lineup was unveiled in April including Chiyori Owada (ex. PIGGS) and Nao Izumi (ex. Yukueshirezutsurezure), the move made perfect sense. The “Fight”-themed group had just added two massive weapons to their already considerable arsenal making them virtually unstoppable.

Best Costumes

In 2025, YURAPICO performed in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, and America (twice) and debuted an original outfit for each expedition. Designed by YUKA HATAKEYAMA, YURAPICO’s costumes have become a signature and creative aspect of the most passionate idol in the world’s global campaign for international expansion of the Pico Pico Tribe. 1 – 2 Smile!! 

Best Reboot

Every iteration of KAQRIYOTERROR has been deeply loved by this community so it’s no surprise that the unit’s resurrection dominated this category.  The new system of Yuchiomi, Ichiren, and St. Lightning Beast in a classic, three-member formation have breathed welcome new life into the venerable unit, and anticipation for their recently announced US tour (even though we have another whole year to wait).

Saddest Disbandment

The second generation of BiS took home this very same title in 2019 so the third generation is just following in their footsteps. If Homicidols had existed back in 2014 when the OG unit disbanded, I’m sure that the foundational chika idol unit would have just completed the trifecta.

Saddest Departure

On February 24th, the chika idol world was sincerely shaken by the sudden and tragic passing of Urin Kokoro of the recently debuted unit, Mazari. Just days after announcing a hiatus to undergo surgery for a spinal fracture, the news of her death was met with near universal shock. The loss expressed by her fellow members was heartbreaking and deeply personal. Management’s decision to temporarily suspend all agency activities reflected a group struggling to reconcile the escapist world of idol with the very real tragedy of losing an “irreplaceable friend.” Fans transformed social media and live houses into spaces of mourning, cheering for her pink highlighted costume which occupied a memorial space on stage during subsequent lives. The resolve of Mazari to continue as “seven members forever” ensures that her spirit will remain present and woven into the group’s identity.

Best Performance

After taking a few months off to bolster their line-up with Best Debut of 2025 winners Chiyori and Nao, Shinjuku’s Kabukicho Tower served as the backdrop where we first witnessed the power of this new, fully armed and operational NEO JAPONISM.

Best Single

Single of the Year is typically one of our most contested categories, and this year was no different. In the end, YURAPICO’s, “Pretend” and RAY’s “Tentai” tied for second place while veterans Zenbu Kimi no sei Da. took the win by a margin of five votes with “Sleeping Dirty.”

Best B-Side

In PIGGS final year with Pour Lui, they achieve a 100% win rate for 2025 with a single nomination and victory with B-Side, “BAKA.”

Best EP

SITUASION, who have been slowly and methodically building their ambitious catalog of artistic and experimental electronica for a few years now, finally achieve their first Best of the Year award in a major category. Their fantastic EP, MO8E, decisively defeated exceptional entries by several more veteran units (eg. BELLRING Girls Heart, XOXO EXTREME, RAY) making the accomplishment all the more significant.

Best Music Video

Broken By the Scream had another banner year following their Best Idol of 2024 win. They dropped the new album, Solar Strain, and  continued to become a fixture on European metal festival stages. They also dropped a rare MV that took down this competitive category.

Best Promotional or Cover Art

In the most decisive win of 2025, NEMLESS destroyed this category with their illustration for MELON BATAKE A GO GO’s  “〜Murasakishinku Gourd〜” live, receiving twice as many votes as the next nominated entry.

Best Collaboration

We have been wishing for a Poppy x BABYMETAL collaboration for years and, in 2025, the Fox God finally answered those prayers. It was everything we could have hoped for.

Biggest Letdown

Back on April 1st, we introduced the world to alt-idol unit, DENGOKU BREAKOUT, an AI generated April Fools Day prank expertly executed by Ramen, scene veteran and denizen of the Homicidols Discord server. A couple months later, we saw the joke repeated with the emergence of NEON ONI but with one significant difference.  While the pretense behind DENGOKU BREAKOUT was only maintained for a 24-hour period, the person(s) behind NEON ONI went to great lengths to bolster the lie that the group was a flesh-and-blood alt-idol unit from Akihabara. These efforts included communicating in broken English and deleting YouTube comments pointing out the obvious A.I. generated elements. The producer (based in the UK) has since come clean and found artists in Japan to perform live, but NEON ONI’s disingenuous origins and subsequent monetization based on a false narrative still cast the project in a very tainted light.

Funniest Moment

Back in March, Ado was livestreaming MVs by her idol unit Phantom Siita on her YouTube channel when the stream was suddenly nuked by an automated copyright strike, from herself. It’s both funny and sad that we have built a technologically sophisticated world this stupid.

Best Overseas Idol

I love this category and especially how it gets more and more competitive each year. Every single 2025 nominee helped definitely prove that the work of kaigai idols can be just as exceptional as the Japanese talents that inspire them. Fans of pop punk anti-idols nextanative turned out in force to push the unit to the top this year marking our first Best Overseas Idol winner from Indonesia.

Best Friend Of Homicidols

Former BURST GIRL opening act HANABIE. easily took down the category honoring our favorite non-idol talent and ally.

Most Likely To Breakthrough in 2026

Most Likely to Breakthrough in 2025 winners FOKALITE not only overcame the curse of past recipients and avoided disbandment, but also became the first act to repeat for the award. If they don’t manage to breakthrough this year, we may need to have a little chat with their management.

Best Song

“Never fade away,” NEO JAPONISM’s pensive ballad of nostalgia and hope, easily took down the the prize for top song despite stiff competition from MAD JAMIE and RAY. Member/songwriter Hinano Takizawa contributed lyrics and also scored a composition credit, helping power the unit to yet another major category win for 2025.

Best Album

RAY’s latest album, White, is also their best album. That is saying a lot since their previous albums, Camellia and Green, are exceptional and their debut, Pink, is a masterpiece. So it goes without saying that White is also the best album of the year. The clearest evidence is that fact that Album is the only Best of 2025 category that NEO JAPONISM competed in and did not manage to win.

Idol Of The Year

If you’ve been paying attention so far, the recipient of our top annual award is pretty  apparent:

Already an established and formidably talented group, NEO JAPONISM seriously levelled up in 2025. By adding both a harsh vocalist and an established punk idol to their stacked line-up, their considerable arsenal gained additional depth, weight, volume, and edge. Heading into 2026, NEO JAPONISM has positioned themselves not only as a serious contender, but an inevitability.