About

Purpose of the Site

I just want to share with people what I love about codomomental idol groups. The thing is, that without knowing the language it’s very hard to understand and get into these groups for real. Every codomomental release is conceptual and multi-layered. The lyrics can simultaneously contain a stand-alone artistic story, a reference to what is going on in the group, a message to the members and a message to the fans. And this is very important, because codomomental manage to turn the development of their groups into a kind of narrative. According to the head of codomomental, Nobuhide Imamura, he divides the development of the company’s groups into two phases: The first is when he approaches the creative direction of the group with some ideas and concepts of his own, and from release to release creates a certain narrative that resonates with the development of the group, creating a kind of foundation upon which everything is built. The second is when he relies less on what he wants to express and more on the story that the members create together with the fans that support them. In other words, you could say that this narrative works on the border between fiction and non-fiction, and eventually the artistic narrative begins to build directly on what is happening in reality. For example, events that happen to a group are always directly reflected in their music and lyrics, and radical changes such as lineup changes also drastically change their lyrics and music, and often even old songs change quite dramatically. Their songs express what the members feel and think at a particular point in the group’s development, what they aspire to, what they dream of, and what they regret. This makes the story of the groups themselves similar to the plot of some sports anime, where you watch the characters develop, fate challenges them in new ways, and you never know where it will take them.
In addition, each group has its own idea and “mythology,” its own unique philosophy. And all of this is expressed by the members in their own unique ways. All of these levels synergize with each other and bring their own color and depth to the big picture. And as you can see, it’s quite difficult for a Western fan who doesn’t know Japanese to become aware of it all. And I want to change that a little bit.

Site Structure

The site currently has two main categories: Bulletin and Interviews.

Bulletin

These are weekly summaries of news, small translations, and other information about the codomomental idol groups that I found important, interesting, or just funny. The section contains many translations of statements by members/staff from Twitter, exclusive summaries of important talk streams (which codomomental doesn’t usually archive), explanations of author concepts for new releases, behind-the-scenes details, etc. At its core, this series is a narrative highlighting important events and groups’ development paths. For that reason, it is recommended to read it in chronological order.

Interviews

These are individual translations of interviews & articles and blog posts written by members or staff of codomomental.

Social Media

https://twitter.com/codomofan – here you can keep up to date with all the important news about codomomental.

Using Site Content

You are free to use my translations for any derivative content, you do not even have to link to this site. However, if you want to change anything, please contact me first.

The site may contain errors or inaccurate information

Although I am very careful about translation and accuracy of the information I post, I am not immune to mistakes – keep that in mind. My native language is neither Japanese, nor English (both are self-taught), so if you see an error here and there, I will be happy if you let me know. It’s also worth stressing that I’m using information solely from public sources on the Internet – I don’t live in Japan and have no opportunity to attend live events and shows, so if you have something to add, you can also contact me or post it in the comments.

About the romanization of names

Some names may have official romanization variants that differ from those used on the site. It is worth noting that I always try to use the official romanization variants unless the community has already established a different variant and using the official variant may cause confusion and inconsistency. Usually, the decisive argument for using an unofficial variant is that it gives more search results.