Hello fellow idol geeks! We’re really happy that Ayuna C, better known as Kaede Kamijima, could join our favourite company. We know there’s probably a lot of miasma and views about WACK in comparison to the less… abrasive idol companies, so we wanted to ease you into our piss tainted swimming pool instead of pushing you into it.
So basically, WACK is a really normal entertainment company but sometimes there’s swearing and weird stunts. Honestly!
The company started at the disbandment of the first generation of BiS, who were known for patenting the idea of idols doing weird stunts. They first came to attention with their music video for Paprika, where they donned pantyhose on their head and headbanged and made out, in a tribute to t.A.T.u!
At the time it was really shocking but the intent was clear: they’re being edgy to sell. You might Google a lot of stuff and see some things (like that one Vice article lol) but the original intent of BiS was always “anything to sell.” If it’s a “protest” then it’s a protest about not being able to do whatever they want as idols and not to protest the state of the industry, which is a misconception that gets thrown around a lot. Basically this is idol punk but the punk is the Sex Pistols and not Kathleen Hanna.
In short they gained a lot of buzz in the height of the idol warring states era of jpop, did things like run around Aokigahara naked, collab with avant garde harsh noise band Hijokaidan, ran a lot of long distance marathons and were known for having very rowdy fans who’d mosh at their shows and the girls would even crowdsurf on them.
Then they broke up! Because they wanted to go out with a bang and from that last live announced a new idol company: WACK.
The first group was Pla2me, featuring ex BiS member Kamiya Saki. They rebranded to P.O.P. and then to GANG PARADE and they also got up to a lot of antics. Their motto is “everybody’s playground” and really, everybody is having a lot of fun here.
They got kicked out of TIF for having rowdy fans, filmed a music video suspended from a crane and also ran a lot of long distance marathons. While GANG PARADE also do a lot of weird stuff (like splitting into two smaller groups then eventually reforming. We thought it was odd too.), they’re mostly characterised by their long history, devoted fans and their unique songs. The English language GANG PARADE community pretty pretty GANG is also the longest standing English WACK fan community, we’d die for these girls.
The second group who you might have heard of before are BiSH. They were concieved as a successor to BiS because y’know if something is popular and sells well, why stop? They debuted with Hoshi Ga, the music video where they get covered in fake shit and cum.
Then they kept growing in popularity, and growing and growing and growing and got signed to Avex, and kept growing and growing and growing some more. So much so that they’re one of the most popular groups in Japan. But that came with a price and they don’t really do anything too abrasive anymore. Sure, recent songs like DON’T MISTAKE and STORY OF DUTY have a certain sonic edge to them you won’t find in other mainstream idol groups, but as far as things go they’re mostly no frills and release a lot of ballad rock songs. Also they’re breaking up at the end of next year. Sad!
Aina the End is also a popular soloist and Ayuni D’s band PEDRO were the first WACK act to play at Budokan.
Next came BiS… again. Second Generation BiS was reformed by Pour Lui (OGBiS founder) and again, did a lot of weird stunts like living in cars for a week, more marathons, a 12 minute long multi genre song that was a tribute to Freddie Mercury and also splitting into two smaller groups to compete against each other in a kind of quasi senbatsu. Nobody really liked this but Second Generation BiS remain one of the most beloved WACK groups because like GANG PARADE, their emotional connection and earnesty made them very close with their fans.
Next we have EMPiRE! A team of exceptionally gorgeous women in a group with a sci fi motif performing to some electronic pop-rock. Again, kind of a no frills group! As far as stunts go, the most extreme it gets is when they held a 24 hour long festival (performance for 15 minutes, photo time with fans then the rest of the hour was resting/preparing) and the video to S.O.S. was a tribute to Mad Max.
Very sleek, very polished. We love them.
And again we have… Third Generation BiS! After Second Gen BiS, they were formed with the clause that you must, must understand the true purpose of OGBiS: anything to sell. And out of that we have a lot of very dedicated and in sync members performing to some very fun music!
In terms of stunts, they did a lot of marathons too but they don’t do those anymore, their debut video was filmed on a literal landfill and they’ve had a lot of guerilla releases where singles will just show up at a Tower Records out of nowhere, but Corona has kind of put a clamp on things. But even so, they still have that hyperactive, rock n roll spirit and even put out a cover album of Japanese punk songs!
Also once they performed one of their songs for 5 hours without stopping.
One group is no longer with us and the first WACK group to kind of vanish. Well there was SiS too but they lasted for about 3 days and were aggregated into GANG PARADE (we told you they have a long history). CARRY LOOSE! They were self described as cool and emo and released a lot of shoegaze.
None of the music video songs are really all that shoegazey honestly but just listen to the album. It’s good. Half of the members are still here too!
There’s the trainee group too, WAgg!
We’ve seen a lot of comments in the vein of “i’m worried about minors being in a company that does a lot of extreme stunts” so, no need to worry! They’ve never done any. They get regular time off if they get sports injuries while performing, can take time off for school and unlike other companies, they’ve never released any photobooks that would get you detained at the Australian border. Also one of the members is 25.
Next up we have MAMESHiBA NO TAiGUN who are kind of the odd one out in this odd company. They formed on the very popular prime time TV show Wednesday’s Downtown and a large part of their appeal is all of their comedy! If you speak Japanese, you might enjoy checking out their YouTube. As for weird stunts, the most WACK-like thing they’ve done is change their names to WACK stage names after debuting (like Aika became Aika the Spy and Nao became Nao of Nao), which annoyed a lot of people and made them research the company more and then they found BiS running around in the suicide forest and BiSH getting shit on. Concerned parents all over the internet were asking “is this the future of those sweet bean dog girls?” and two years down the line they’re just doing more comedy and releasing more WACK-like pop songs. Also they performed with some 48g groups on their MAMESHiBA48 tour!
And finally… the group we know you’re the most antsy about. Kaede Kamijima, formerly of HKT48 is indeed joining ASP.
First of all THE NAME DOESN’T STAND FOR ANAL SEX PENiS, it’s ANTi SOCiETY PUNKS. Their debut album is called ANAL SEX PENiS and their first single is the MAN CALLiNG, which is a pun on the phrase manko ring (manko means pussy. When the man calls, you have to answer. Just like when the pussy rings. Thank you.). The method behind their madness is that basically, now that his company is rich as fuck, Watanabe wanted to do whatever he wanted again in terms of music and visuals without having to compromise with a label. “But isn’t he in charge of everything?” we hear you ask and then we would like to remind you that half of these groups are signed to Avex. Their music is a mix of punk rock and that good ol WACK sound, which we love.
They haven’t done anything garish in terms of stunts, but at their debut oneman live Watanabe did say he wants to bring back diving and moshing at their shows when corona restrictions are gone.
If you’re still surprised, Kaede herself said in her first interview at the audition camp that ASP are the group she’d like to join most because she loves performing! WACK perform A LOT compared to other idol groups and because ASP are the newest group, they have the most room to grow into something than to be compared to others. If you don’t like it feel free to take it up with her once she gets a Twitter.
So… that’s the quick guide to WACK groups. There’s also when GANG PARADE split into GO TO THE BEDS and PARADISES but this is quick guide and we’re out of space. We loved those guys too though.
Of course there is also the question of people’s reaction to Watanabe himself which we know, he can seem like a fiend but he’s really nice. He’s just kind of crass. It even came up at this audition camp, one of the girls asked the members “what kind of sexual harassment have you gotten from Watanabe” and they all got really serious and said “none whatsoever” and she apologized for being rude. He even explained that the members who seem more touchy feely with him literally instigate these things so if you see jokes about him sleeping with Coco Partin Coco from GANG PARADE it’s because she started it. He also gets very upset when people say bad things about the members on social media too.
Really, Watanabe is just our punk rock semen demon with a heart of gold.
We know, sometimes the stunts can be kind of unpopular, but “actively choosing to join a company with a long history of doing weird stunts and having to do weird stunts” isn’t all that much of a shocker. You don’t have to like everything and if it’s not your cup of tea, that’s fine. Just be nice. The girls don’t mind and those that do can leave at anytime. In fact, our most recent graduation was Utauuta, who left PARADISES because they were too normal and it wasn’t what she saw herself doing when she joined WACK.
So, WACK is a whole is just an idol company with some groups that do some garish stunts sometimes and largely perform to alternative music genres. We started with the goal “doing anything to sell” and now that we’re selling, we do anything. Including making mainstream pop groups for variety shows and employing ex HKT48 girls.
Kaede has a good home here! It’s just that the pipes are leaking and we have roaches.
going going WACK 