Let’s talk “schtick.”
We all know that every idol group is given some manufactured gimmick to play to on stage. We’re used to seeing a prepackaged concept delivered by fresh faces in the western music industry. This is true in Japan, as well. In the attempt to create edginess where there is none, it’s not surprising that sometimes same-sex attraction is the schtick. Even less surprising when the group is a female duo, because zOMG lesbians, amirite? /eyeroll/
So there I am in the second annual Yurimate event in the Animate store in Ikebukuro and there’s a table with a little portable video player, showing two women performing for what is visibly a smallish crowd in some club. And next to them is this booklet, Double Room, of photos and illustrations by Furai (Fry) for this “performance” duet, Aka nu Ryusei (赤の流星). In English, their name means “red meteor,” but their gimmick is not, as you might expect, space…their gimmick is proximity. Proximity = Yuri in this case. Which is to say there’s nothing about these two that is half as fake lesbian as t.A.t.U was. They just sort of lean on each other in some of the pictures. ^_^
No, I’m being unfair, they touch and their eyes meet, they are even shown embracing. And yet, I remain uncovinced that they are anything other than two singers trying to make a buck, being told to act like a Yuri couple for the camera. And so they do.
Ultimately, I bought the book for the illustrations. Like this one, which is quite nice:
The group’s videos are visible for Japan only, but if you’d like to see them, you can catch clips on their Twitter or website.
I’ve definitely decided that I do not have the energy to ever be an idol fan and I’m not sure I envy those who do, but this was a fun glimpse into that fictional world, that wasn’t itself a manga. ^_^
So they are a kind of Japanese “version” of t.A.t.U? Well, I learned about them thanks to you, but I’m not surprised, as half of the visual kei scene is based on the image of fake bisexual or gay males, although in some cases it really was a loophole for coming out of a number of musicians.
However, although I do not know whether groups like Fudanjuku really intersects with the theme of yuri in one way or another, but I liked that their stage image gave similar vibes to tomboy-ish girls in the yuri works.
While we would surely make a connection between them ans t.A.t.U., I wonder if anyone involved with them is old enough to remember them (or knows about it at all.)