codomomental bulletin #19

On December 30th, Nobuhide Imamura held a long instalive where he talked in great detail about what’s going on in the company right now and answered some burning questions.

It all started with the announcement of the Zenbu Kimi no Sei da Budokan show. Obviously, this event was to be a turning point for the group, and a turning point for the director himself. He began to rethink his approach to leading the company’s groups and decided, among other things, that he would step down from a number of his responsibilities in the spring of 2023. Previously, Imamura-san had been personally in charge of managing about 15 projects for the company (although he has other things to do), and while this approach had its advantages, it also had disadvantages, which in a way narrowed the boundaries of the company. In addition, age is taking its toll and the director is simply tired. And before handing over some of his responsibilities to the “youngsters,” he also felt it necessary to put an end to some of the company’s endeavors before it entered its new period.

First of all, the decision to put Zenbu Kimi no Sei da on indefinite hiatus was not made by the members, but by the director. Apparently, there are a number of reasons for this, but from Imamura-san’s words we can assume that he just wanted to give the members a well-deserved rest after all these difficult years (especially Megumi, who according to him has not missed a single concert in 8 years of activity, except when she got covid). The director also emphasized that an indefinite hiatus is not a dissolution.

Second, according to Imamura-san, akugi was not originally conceived as a long-term project. First and foremost, it was a realization of Imamura-san’s desire to do something fun at a time when the music industry was depressing. According to him, he was able to do what he wanted and had no regrets. At the same time, Akugi’s dissolution was also influenced by recent events in the company. The director does not want to burden Komari, when KAQRIYOTERROR is going through such a difficult time again, and Mauru, who will soon be very busy with the new group.

akugi really gave me a lot. Thanks to akugi, I have been able to remember the joy of being on stage. I will dance until the end and then explode with the sound of akugi.
Thank you so much, I hope for your support until the very end

From Ama Mauru’s Twitter.

Thanks to meeting nainotokanon, for me, as Tokanai Nonno of TOKYO TEFUTEFU, these two years have become even more exciting
We’ve had a lot of mischief (akugi translates to “mischief”), but the 31st will be the last time. At a time when the coronavirus plunged everyone into darkness, akugi brought us back to life and brought color back to the world.
I love akugi~~ ⑉の ̫の⑉

From Tokanai Nonno’s Twitter.

This is something we started ourselves, and we’re going to finish it ourselves.
Mischief managed.

From Nobuhide Imamura’s Twitter.

Third, the sudden news that Noa Rondo, RЯ and Nonamera will be leaving KAQRIYOTERROR in April and that Sumomo is no longer a member of the group has nothing to do with the changes taking place in the company. Or rather, it seems that the members saw that changes were coming soon and decided that this would be a good time to step down, but each of them definitely had their own reasons and it’s nothing more than a coincidence. Imamura-san emphasizes that the members are also human beings, and it’s natural for them to think seriously about their future, and they’re free to do whatever they want with it (especially in such a terrible time for artists), and that doesn’t mean that their motives weren’t serious before. At first, the girls approached Imamura-san and told him that they were thinking of disbanding the group. But Komari eventually said that she hadn’t achieved what she wanted yet, and expressed her desire to continue even if she remained alone (even though Komari saw how hard it was for Komochi when she was in a similar situation).

Honestly, I had my own doubts, and of course I had other options.
But that’s what I decided, and that’s what I ended up coming to.
I hope that you will support each of the girls in the path that they have chosen, I would love it.
No matter what happens in the future, the music will stay with us forever.
I hope that you will continue to love KAQRIYOTERROR now and after April 23rd.
So I want to see you with a smile on your face. It might be hard, but I’d like to see you smile at least a little bit. I love you guys.

I want to protect [the group]. Will I be able to do it?

From Komari Yuu’s Twitter.

Sorry for the sudden announcement.
On April 23rd at THE LOST ONEMAN LIVE, I’ll be leaving KAQRIYOTERROR.
I would like to make many memories with the members and all of YOMIBITO during these four months.
It will also be my last birthday show, so please come to our tour.

Even after I leave, I’ll still come to shows like the rest of YOMIBITO, and after all, it shouldn’t be that I’m distant from the group.
Hey, Komari~

After all, I love codomomental and I love KAQRIYOTERROR. After all, I’m Yomibito (ヨミビト – the name of the Kaqriyo Terror Architect’s fans that was spelled in katakana) and YOMIBITO myself.

From Noa Rondo’s Twitter.

As announced, I will be leaving the group on April 23 at THE LOST ONEMAN LIVE. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be with you any longer. Thank you for all the beautiful words you have given me all this time. There’s not much time left, but I want to make more memories with you. Until then, I’m going to sing and shout a little more, okay? Let’s make many vivid memories!

From RЯ’s Twitter.

Sorry to confuse you with this sudden announcement.
On April 23rd at THE LOST ONEMAN LIVE, I will be leaving KAQRIYOTERROR.
I am so happy to see you all having fun! Thank you so much.
I want to have the best time with you all until the very end, and I look forward to seeing you at the remaining shows!

From Nonamera’s Twitter.

Forth, the company will no longer do the big events of the “Happyou no…” series. The director explains that this series originally started because he was always too busy managing the artists and had no time to watch their concerts. Although there are many important moments in the series (the debut of Kaqriyo Terror Architect, one of the first Seireki13ya concerts, the debut of TOKYO TEFUTEFU and the first akugi performance), Imamura-san feels it necessary to end it. However, he does not rule out the possibility of reviving it in the future.

Despite all this, the director says that even though something is coming to an end, there are probably even more new things planned.

There was also quite a bit of in-depth conversation during the stream. Below is an almost complete translation of part of the stream:

Chat: “I love both codomomental bands and groups too much, so when so many members leave, it’s very hard to bear.”

Takaki Kenta’s response: “I don’t know how it is in other agencies and I can’t say how normal it is, but even if it’s not normal, I think it’s just a consequence of the fact that we’re doing it seriously.
So it always seemed to me that there was nothing to be done about it.
When you’re serious about something, just because you’re serious about it, you think about a lot of things and it often gets hard for you.
And I’m sure that could break some people.
But still, the director and I believe that music can only be fun if you take it seriously, so I don’t say “I’m trying to make them take it seriously,” but I tell them to do their best, and I don’t judge whether it’s right to make music “in a relaxed but long way,” but I think that’s wrong, so I tell them: “If you come to us and want to be successful, do your best.” Of course a lot of people leave. That’s probably the reason for a lot of departures, but I don’t think it’s a lot myself. The number of people who try to be successful in music and fail is probably crazy. And compared to that I don’t think we have that many departures.
So maybe if we could do all this in a “relaxed way”, as a kind of circle, maybe a lot of people could do it longer, but it would be more of a simple and fleeting entertainment, frankly. But that’s probably not what the people who join us want. And we don’t run an agency to force anyone to do that. That’s not who we are. So we want to take this case seriously. And, to me, it’s natural that as a result of these attempts, there will be girls who will have a hard time continuing to make music. Change our approach? We can’t and we don’t want to. I don’t judge whether it’s right to make music “in a relaxed but long way”, but if someone wants to do it, then let them do it somewhere else and find their happiness. I think so”.

Chat: “There are many groups in codomomental, and they are all involuntarily perceived as one, which is why there seem to be so many departures.”

Nobuhide Imamura’s response: “Yes, I think that too.

Nobuhide Imamura’s reply: “Yes, I think so too.
The first thing that definitely matters is something specific to girls. Girls are, how should I say it… There’s a big difference between those who want to perform on stage and make music and those who just want to perform on stage. And maybe the latter can be said about most of those who left. If you look at those who have left, the majority are those who have stopped making music. How can I put it… I guess we had a lot of people who joined us not out of a desire to make music. Simply put.
I mean, we had a lot of people who joined us who just wanted to do the usual idol activities instead of wanting to dedicate their lives to music – and that’s a very different thing. That’s the first thing. But they obviously don’t understand exactly what they want at first. And of course, if they don’t understand, we don’t understand either, but those who really want to dedicate their lives to the stage… How should I put it…
In general, about “shining on stage” and so on – that’s what people say at auditions really often, by the way. Of course they shine on stage, that’s what we show them. They see it and apparently they’re drawn to it, but it’s not like that at all. Sure, from the outside it looks like they’re all shining, but that’s not what the world of music is about. Everyone faces their weaknesses and rehearses and works hard on both singing and dancing.
This is how I see our work: we work hard on the music, time is always short, after that we discuss cover design and music video production, after the release we visit stores, do release events, send out CD after CD, and once we send it out the tour starts. It’s a very unattractive job.

Chat: “So you don’t have a good eye for picking people.”

I guess you could say that.

*Pins the comment*
*Laughs*

Maybe we don’t have a good eye for picking people.

Anyway, that’s the first thing.
Then it goes for both bands and idols, but still, when you try your best to move forward, you get tired involuntarily. You get tired involuntarily, but that’s true for all artists, of course, but what’s important here is: does a person have the desire to perform although they’re so tired? At the same time, not everyone quits because of that. For example, age. We don’t publish the age of the members, but some people decide for themselves until what age they want to do it. That also happens. And also somebody starts to think about her life, especially in times like now, when a new period begins, when the pandemic may end. And unemployment, for example, may increase.

I’d like to say that as well. Maybe it was especially relevant this year.
Like I said, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things myself. And I’ve been doing some internal things. And in fact, I’ve only recently informed the rest of the staff about it. Honestly, it’s not that I don’t like or trust these people, but I’m also tired. Of the departures… And of the fact that “even within the company there are people who do bad things”. It makes you tired. And when you get tired, there are a lot of different concerns, aren’t there? So it’s not that I don’t trust them, but I decided not to tell them anything. Here, I love Kenta, but I really didn’t want to suspect him if something happened, and that goes for all the other people on the staff and the artists themselves. Even though I adore our artists, I really didn’t want them to suddenly disappear. Anyway, that’s about it. And in fact, until recently, I had been doing some things on my own, quietly. I didn’t tell the staff about it, and, by the way, I didn’t tell the artists about it, and I did all of that until about December.
Like I said, I adore our artists more than anyone else, but, how can I put it, I didn’t want “some strange things coming out of some strange places,” I just didn’t want to hear about it anymore. Of course, I trust them completely, which is why I am always stunned along with all of you. And I don’t want that to happen. And since March of this year, during the time that I’ve been thinking about what to do, I’ve been sneaking around and doing various things to keep the information about this from getting out, and of course, as I’ve been doing various things, I’ve uncovered some of these not good things. And that’s a big problem. But still, I’m not trying to say anything bad about them or complain about them in any way. I don’t want to do that. It’s a very sensitive subject, but things happen and people are different. And another very important thing: I don’t want to say this about all people who make music, but there are a lot of them who didn’t adapt to society. And we have an especially large number of them.
You can count our people who have really adapted to society on the fingers of one hand. Yes, and that’s why everyone is doing this activity, learning it as they go along, but it’s also very hard, so I myself have thought about changing my approach, and I’m still in the process, but in terms of the fact that as long as there are people who want to do their best, I will support them, nothing changes”.

The director emphasizes that he gives the members complete freedom to decide their own lives. The artists are not bound by strict contractual obligations, and there has never been any pressure on them to pay fines or anything like that. After all, according to Imamura-san, is there any point in forcing them to continue? After all, the fans themselves probably don’t want the members to perform with such ambiguous feelings. After all, then they would have nothing to convey to the fans.

In the chat there was a complaint that it happens that members do not write an appeal about their departure, and it happens that someone continues to follow them and then learns an unpleasant truth for themselves. And the person expressed a desire to find out something like that right away. To which the director replied that if there is no appeal (or if there are no specific official statements), there is always a reason. They realize that they are confusing the fans who have supported these members all along, but there are other sides to the problem that need to be considered. In particular, the director has said that he would never release information that could somehow discredit any of the members. And even though some of the reasons include “breach of contract”, this does not mean that Imamura-san holds a grudge against them, and he has never asked anyone for damages or anything like that, despite the fact that member departures are always very difficult for the company (and very difficult for the staff to deal with mentally). At the same time, the director emphasizes that there can be far more than one reason for leaving, that it’s usually a very difficult decision, and that the fans, more than anyone else, should see that they all honestly tried their best.

Compared to when I was working with about 400 people, my personality has changed quite a bit. Even though I work with less people now, I think (in my head) that I am closer to everyone now. So it’s often hard for me, but at the same time, I feel closer to people. But my Horcruxes have increased. If I couldn’t do that, I would have tried to end my life more than once.

Even if I want to convey something, really, an agency, a label and a director have the least amount of possibilities to do it.

From Nobuhide Imamura’s Twitter.

Other interesting statements and announcements from the stream:

– In January/February there should be a lot of interesting stuff (at least it’s about music videos), also the director mentioned that 2-3 things are being prepared for release (it’s unclear if it’s about different things or about the same), and there’s also a lot of stuff being prepared as part of the “BORDER VISION” project.

– At the moment, Imamura-san is “redoing” louplull. There’s something that doesn’t suit him (and maybe that’s why the group hasn’t debuted yet).

– The full announcement of the new Seireki13ya lineup will have to wait some time. But it will definitely happen in January. As the director already announced, it seems that there are two releases from “Seireki” in the works.

– A new release from Zenbu Kimi no Sei da is also probably in the works.

– At akugi’s first solo concert, they performed the song “Over Drive Days feat. Yuzuriha Ouhi & nonamera.” This song was not included in the project’s first and last album and, according to Imamura-san, will never be released because… he ended up not liking it.

– The director had a rather strange reaction when asked if there were any other new groups planned by the company.

– Imamura-san ignored a question about Takari Takara in the chat. At this point, it is very likely that the project has dissolved.

It’s been two years since we started living together with Kote-chan(｀・ω・´)！！！！ During that time, we haven’t quarreled once and we have fun every day, all thanks to Kote-chan! Thank you for everything… (｀・ω・´) I love Kote-chan’s selfishness…( ・ ・ ̫・・)

From Mei Yui Mei’s Twitter.

It became known that Komari Yuu and Nonamera wrote the lyrics for their parts in the song “meMania” from the new akugi album. And Nonamera clarified that she also came up with the flow for her part.

Even if I could go back in time a few times, I’m sure I’d make the same choices over and over again, get the same wounds, make the same mistakes and come back here to meet you, to sing here.

From Mary Lust’s Twitter.