Basement Boys Blog

Since I thought that doing all 100 days in one post was getting way too long I decided to split it up into 2 entries that covered 50 days each. So here's part 2 with days 51 through 100.

In the ongoing series of 'Kira blabbers on about BANQUET'... I will be talking about the music videos available on YouTube today. As a small heads up, some of the BANQUET music videos are available with English subs :)

I focused on in-person tokutenkai in my previous post HERE and only mentioned online ones in passing at the end but since we still live in a global pandemic and online events and tokutenkai have more or less become the norm, I'll talk about that a bit more today.

Remember how I said that I got into the fandom because of TeniMyu? Well guess what, I'm coming full circle because now Gaku is going to be in Shin TeniMyu. So let me talk about that today, well, TeniMyu that is and Gaku and about my thoughts and feelings regarding this matter.

I am doing this on Twitter but I thought I'd re-post it here to keep and since there is no character limit on a blog, I will also be able to add more details as well. Only Yuma's will be featured here on the blog, though. I don't think I really have much to add to the others and well, this challenge was made for just ONE oshi after all, so I guess I'll stick to that, despite doing all the boys before but I really noticed as I went along that some of the questions, I could only answer for Yuma and none of the others.

I wrote myself that being a fan of these "underground groups" is not something that is common among foreign fans, so how did I get into this? Not surprisingly, I get this question quite a bit, both from international and domestic friends and fans I talk to and I can't blame you all. So let me try and answer the question.

As requested, I will be writing more about the boys here and introduce them on a more 'personal level' (i.e. my own thoughts and opinions and flail and not just objective information). For more objective information about the group, you can go my website HERE (connected to this blog, written in English) or visit the group's official website HERE (Japanese). Alright, so, WELCOME TO THE BANQUET WORLD. Note: This will be long.

Alright, I decided to take part in Blogtober, so I'll try to update this blog more frequently this month (and hopefully beyond that). First things first, please check out BANQUET's crowdfunding project . Why are they doing this? Well, the reason is probably obvious but the pandemic hasn't been kind on anyone in the entertainment industry and indies group such as BANQUET especially are struggling to stay afloat. The reason why they are insisting on making the concert happen is a little bit more, well, emotional. The concert in November will be their last time as 5 members. One of the members, GAKU, will be leaving the group in order to focus on his dream - becoming an actor. So the group and the fans want to send him off with a bang. If you'd like to help but want to donate a lower amount than the minimum 3000 yen rewards tier, I am collecting donations to make a grouped one. I will give people who donate my own rewards for participating, so if you're interested, fee...

All idol groups vie for the support of their fans. In return, fans try to support their favourite idols and favourite members. How do you support your favourites? You buy their goods and merchandise. In the underground idol world, the "Goods/Merchandise Sales" (物販 Buppan) is not always about buying actual goods (e.g. penlights, t-shirts, etc.) but can be about buying 'time' in way. AKB48 created what is called the trend of "idols you can meet" and the Underground idol industry is very much about that. It all happens in "reward sessions" for fans called "tokutenkai" (特典会), which are similar to what is called a "Meet & Greet" in the West.

Please help to support clubasia! Crowdfunding project on Campfire HERE . I was hoping to write a happy entry for the end of the month but alas. It was announced today that a number of well-known and well-loved live house venues would close their doors forever at the end of May 2020.

Warning: LONG POST Defining or thematic colours are everywhere in Japanese pop-culture. Characters have 'image colours' and some groups have a 'group colour' and then even within groups the members have their own 'member colours'. The main reason for having these colours is for "identification purposes" e.g. how to identify with your group or your favourite member of the group. Groups featured in this post in length are: ☆ WhiteA ☆ 9bic

Since I just updated the main website with the "What are Basement Boys?" section, I'd like to elaborate a little bit about the topic here on the blog.

If you checked the site today you might have noticed a few changes on the homepage. After thinking about things and after factoring in recent developments, I have decided to make the site a bit more general and include information on other groups as well as more info about the genre itself. Here are a few artists that will most likely be featured on the site in the future. Artits with an * are ones I have seen live at events. Jump Up Joy * BANQUET * MIXMADE Scramble Gum *  X-BORDER * JACK☆POT * Saito Shuusuke * Other groups I have been kind of interested in because of their members' stage activities include: IVVY, TWIN PARADOX, (Night Ravens),  Zero Planet, TFG. Groups I have seen (some live on stage and some at other events) and I could write about if there is interest (or if/when I have time): CIYST N0NAME PRIZE-OUT Thumbnail N.E.O FEARLESS (old) BUZ-ZER =conect Mush Up 徒花TOXiC LIBRE FUNTOS Contact+ MADKID GMOST Mr. University  Divers...

With the ongoing COVID-10 (New Coronavirus) situation as it is, it honestly did not come as a big surprise that the live had to be cancelled. What did surprise me though was how long it took for the decision to be made. The cancellation was announced at 2AM today (the day of the concert). The group immediately went on a live stream to announce the development to as many people as possible and spread the news on social media. In the course of the morning and early afternoon, the group put together an impromptu small-scale event to still interact with the fans who had already taken time off and/or traveled all the way to Tokyo to see the show. While the official announcement says cancellation, the group vowed that it would only be a postponement and that they would make up for it for sure. They made the decision to have a replacement event instead of streaming their show and thus performing in an empty venue because 'lives are to be enjoyed, well, live'. Further annou...

The beginning of the end starts tomorrow. In today's countdown post I will introduce some of my favourite YouTube videos posted by the group over the course of the past 1 year and 2 months. Let's End Johnson! レッツエンドジョンソン！

Day 2 of the countdown. Today I'll talk about the few MVs WhiteA have up on their YouTube Channel.

Unfortunately the first real post on this blog is the 'beginning of the end' of my favourite group WhiteA. As you might have read on the main website, the group announced that they are going to go on hiatus starting March 25. Before they part with their fans, they are going on their "Final Live Tour", which consists of 2 concerts, "White -memory-" (March 20) and "As -message-" (March 25). While these are separate events, there will be a distinct red thread connecting the two, although you will still be able to enjoy them individually of course. But according to the guys themselves, 'some things will make more sense if you've seen both'. What they mean remains to be seen. Since the title of the first concert is memory, I will share my memories of WhiteA in this blog post.

Welcome to the Basement Boys Blog. If you're here you've either found your way over from The Basement Boys Base Website or you stumbled over this by chance. So, let me elaborate a little bit on the website title. Why "Basement Boys"? (click to read more)