[Photo Report] Tokyo Idol Festival 2016

EVENT
Sep. 04, 2016 22:46 PDT

The Tokyo Idol Festival (TIF) swept through Odaiba this year from August 5~7, filling the area with vivid colors, cheerful music, and endless smiles. Over the three-day span, a total of 301 units - featuring 1,492 idols - performed for a record-breaking crowd of approximately 76,000.

Throughout the years, the idol genre has become a mighty element in Japanese entertainment and pop culture. Idols have come a long way in the business, and are now taking on a wider variety of roles. Television shows, advertisements, radio programs, openings and endings for anime series - their presence is felt just about everywhere!

Since 2010, the Tokyo Idol Festival has been bringing idols together with one another as well as with their fans to celebrate the idol phenomenon! As the festival’s catchphrase suggests, this year marks the beginning of a “New Chapter” for TIF. In addition to setting up a total of eight stages throughout Odaiba and the Aomi Area, organizers have also added an extra day to the schedule. Even the performance line-ups received a few retouches to provide even more variety and flavor at each stage. The success of TIF 2016 definitely has us looking forward to the next festival already.

Along with tens of thousands of enthusiasts from around the world, we also had the chance to attend and cheer for our favorite idols this year. Of course, we want to share some of the excitement and energy with you!

Sasaki Ayaka (Momoiro Clover Z)

Sasaki Ayaka of Momoiro Clover Z (Momokuro) made her solo appearance this year. Momokuro is an international-known unit that wows its audience through legendary performances like their KISS collaboration. They are the ones behind the theme song for Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', too! The girls have a massive US tour planned from this November, and are certainly worth following if you aren’t doing so already!

AOP

AOP stands for Anime O-en Project, with “O-en” meaning support in Japanese. All the members share a fantastic passion for anime, and recently took on Zenryoku Batankyu for the Osomatsu-San anime series. At the festival this year, AOP performed MISSION→ that always gets the audience going, along with a selection of other dynamic tracks.

Moso Calibration

Moso Calibration is well-known for the creativity that goes into their image. With music videos featuring light-up skirts and robotic arms, the unit really stays in your memory for a long, long time. This year, they performed a set-list that included Chichin Puipui♪, their newest track that was released this June.

Idol Renaissance

As part of their ongoing challenge to create a “renaissance” of famous Japanese tracks, Idol Renaissance continues to provide new takes on existing hits. With fresh choreography and unique methods of expression, the unit performed their version of Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari among other hits as well.

Afilia Saga

Afilia Saga brings together the most popular members of the Afilia Group, which is a chain of maid cafes in Japan. Together, the members delivered a full course, including the emotional new track titled Lost In the Sky.

Sakura Gakuin

As the starting point of Baby Metal and solo idol Muto Ayami, Sakura Gakuin has been a strong unit for girls in elementary and junior high school. Following their own tradition, the current members performed the group’s major debut single, Yume ni Mukatte together with catchy tracks like Hello! IVY.

Denpagumi.inc

Just like us, the members of Denpagumi.inc are also super passionate about anime, manga, and games! In addition to their activity as idols, the members are also incredibly popular as models and also talents on television. This year, the unit was chosen to be the closing act, delivering the final main stage performance of TIF 2016. With tracks such as Otsukare Summer, the unit drove the audience wild and served as the perfect end to the festival.

For more pictures and information, please also visit the official TOKYO IDOL FESTIVAL 2016 website!

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article by Risa with photography by Komuro Y.