Shopping Guide
Yasushi Akimoto has announced he will be producing a new idol group. Known for also being the producer behind AKB48 and their official rival groups Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46, Akimoto will now be moving on from real idols to digital ones.
These new 2D idols will bring together the hit anime producer Aniplex and Sony Music Records, the music branch of Sony in charge of Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46.
There will be eight members. Each of the eight character designs will be done by one of the industry’s leading creators including Masayoshi Tanaka, the character designer of the hit film Your Name.
Each character appeared as a silhouette on the audition site on Oct. 17, and you can see them in the currently streaming live space “Showroom" during the audition period. Girls between the ages of 15 and 25 living in Japan can apply to participate in the audition process, and if they make it through all five stages, they will breath life into these idols as a member of the unit.
Comment from Yasushi Akimoto:
“‘Idols that don’t exist.’
“While idols of the ‘80s existed mostly in images, the idols being spread across the internet are closer to everyday life. We choose the words we send in SNS, but the real message in those is fleeting. Adults want to protect them, but the messages girls send are done so in real-time. There’s no time for managers to choose or correct the images that get exposed. These ‘as-is’ images posted on programs like Instagram are spreading, so there’s no system in place to protect them. It made me think about making fictional idols, and that is this project. I call them ‘digital idols.’
“Many things are made using the latest technology like CG, but this project began with its characters, story, and songs. It’s based on the idea of, ‘What if this kind of girl wanted to be an idol…?’ Because they don’t actually exist, things can be extraordinary. What about a girl that looks like that? Or an idol who says these kinds of things? Or an idol as scandalous as this? These will be very modern idols achievable through fiction and designed by a number of wonderful character designers.”
Comment from Aniplex Representative Director Atsuhiro Iwakami:
“Yasushi Akimoto will be the producer, and who knows what kind of stories these characters will be pulled into. It’s an unknown world and I’m looking forward to it.”
Comment from Sony Music Records Representative Manabu Tsujino:
“I feel like we’ve finally found the innovation the music industry has been searching for since we entered the 21st century.”
◆ Characters and Character Designers
*From the left silhouette to the right*
■ Miyako Kouno
Character Design: Mieko Hosoi / Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, Nerawareta Gakuen, Aiura
■ Nicole Saitou
Character Design: Kurehito Misaki / How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
■ Reika Satou
Character Design: Hirokazu Koyama (TYPE-MOON) / Fate/Grand Order, Mahoutsukai no Yoru
■ Miu Takigawa
Character Design: Yukiko Horiguchi / K-On!, Tamako Market
■ Ayaka Tachikawa
Character Design: Sakura Koharu (QP: flapper) / Girl Friend (Kari)
■ Jun Toda
Character Design: Masayoshi Tanaka / Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, The Anthem of the Heart, Your Name
■ Sakura Fujima
Character Design: Kantoku / The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat., Garakowa: Restore the World, Magical Suite Prism Nana
■ Akane Maruyama
Character Design: Tometa Ohara (QP:flapper) / Girl Friend (Kari)
◆ Showroom Special Program
First Broadcast: Oct. 22 at 8:00 pm (planned)
Second Broadcast: Oct. 29 at 8:00 pm (planned)
URL:
https://www.showroom-live.com/digitalidolad
◆ Audition Page
URL:
http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/sd/digital-idol-audition/
◆ Audition Schedule
■ First Exam - Document Inspection
Application Deadline: Nov. 11 at 5:00 pm
■ Second Exam - Practical Skills Screening
Dec. 3, 2016 in Hokkaido, Dec. 4, 2016 in Fukuoka and Tokyo, Dec. 10, 2016 in Osaka, and Dec. 11, 2016 in Nagoya
■ Third Exam - Practical Skills Screening
Dec. 17, 2016 in Tokyo
■ Fourth Exam - Showroom Screening
Dec. 18 to 22, 2016
■ Final Exam - Practical Skills Screening
Dec. 24, 2016
Source: PR TIMES
