Motifive

By now you must be accustomed to seeing the phrase 'alternative idols' or 'niche idols' used by English speaking Japanese music and idol fans. The term started cropping up in the early 2010s with groups and it's been applied to groups who have a 'strange' concept that doesn't fit the norm. Most of these groups seem experimental and the fact that they do n...

Idol fans may be familiar with the term 'Idol Sengoku period.' The success of AKB48 started the idol boom of the 2010s and led to the debuts of many more idol groups aiming for the top of the idol world, a trend that hadn't been seen since the 1980s. With all of these idol groups co-existing at the same time, rivalries were formed and enforced by fans.

B...

We all know that almost every idol group has, or should have, the short haired idol. The energetic, sporty, tomboy short haired idol. Hello!Project alone has had a number of them. It's become a recognizable staple of the idol industry. A type, even.

A type that became popular due to the rise of the 'boyish' idol in the 1990s.

Before we jump into the 199...

As idol fans, we're hardly surprised now when we see 12 to 13 year old idols debut. Some Japanese idol fans even think 12 to 13 is the prime age for idol debuts even though girls that age are either in their last year of elementary school or first year of middle school. It wasn't always that way. In the late 80s, during the idol boom, idols that debuted a...

It's the beginning of 1994.

The idol boom of the 80s is long gone. The top of the charts are occupied by singers and bands who sing ballads for popular dramas. Actress idols such as Miyazawa Rie, Mizuki Alisa, Makise Riho, Sakurai Sachiko and Takahashi Yumiko, who were the faces of the 'Beautiful Girl Boom' of the late 80s and early 90s, either failed co...