Graduations and Revelations

A lot of things have been happening lately with some of the idols I follow, so I thought I’d share everything with you good people!  Graduations happen around this time of year in Japan, from school graduations to idols leaving their groups.  While some of this news is sad for the fans, it’s also expected. 

Tanahara Yuume with the new members of Rabi Rabu IDOL School

Rabi Rabu IDOL School had four new members (trainees) added on February 15, 2025.  Their names are Tanahara Yuua, Uchihara Mahina, Sasaki Mano and Kaho.  (I can’t find any info on Kaho beyond her given name.)  Yuua is Yuume’s younger sister.  Unfortunately, according to an Instagram post, Miyagi Rea graduated from the group on March 30.  I am looking forward to seeing videos with this new eight-member lineup. 

Watanabe Arisa (left) and Hananashi Rin (right)

Watanabe Arisa and Hananashi Rin of the group ULTRA-C both graduated from the group and SPIRAL MUSIC on March 30.  They were my favorite members so I’m very sad about this.  But I want to wish both girls the best with their school and home lives because they deserve it!  Good luck, girls!   

Fluffy Star

Fluffy Star also had some graduations, three in fact.  Yes, it’s true, long time members Sara, Tsumu and Riko (“Ri” to her fans) have all left the group.  This will have a major effect on Fluffy Star as their songs were often written by Sara and Tsumu and the remaining members Aya and Sena aren’t known for their songwriting.  I guess we will all see how the group moves forward from here.  Sara and Riko will continue to use their X (Twitter) accounts to update their daily lives, while Tsumu has deleted hers.  You can still follow the X accounts for the group, Aya and Sena, for updates on their activities.   

I have now found out that the group She’s a Rainbow are in fact a singing group, not a band.  The members posed for promo photos with instruments, leading me to suspect they were a band.  Well, there is a video on YouTube of their live debut, albeit only two songs of the group singing for fans at a Tower Records location.  The songs are written in a 1960s style, and I like it!  I hope you will too. 

Finally, I wanted to let you know that I saw a fan video of the group Babooom, with Amakawa Mio, Aoyama Nanako and Marika from SPIRAL MUSIC groups Harajuku Gakuen and ULTRA-C.  It turns out that they do sing and not just dance to K-Pop.  The video I saw is on X from user kuni_syavin, and I’ll link that here. 

It looks like I had more to talk about than usual today!  That’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned.  I don’t write in my blog as much as I used to in years past.  I want to keep the fans who are reading this constantly updated when it’s possible.  Thank you to everyone who reads my articles on Japanese idols.  I’m still a big fan of this music after 16 years (and counting!) of discovering idols and 26 years and counting of discovering J-Pop music.  This is the best music I’ve ever heard, and I mean it!  Stay awesome, people!      

What Are Those SPIRAL MUSIC Girls Doing Now?

Some of the members of SPIRAL MUSIC idol groups are involved in new projects.  Two new groups are set to debut soon, and both have a pair of Harajuku Gakuen members in them!  Here’s the lowdown. 

She’s a Rainbow are a four-member group featuring Amakawa Mio and Aoyama Nanako of Harajuku Gakuen and Lin Oberndorff and Kokoa of ww.  The girls are posing on the cover with instruments, but I’m still unsure if they are playing them or not.  I think it’s pretty obvious that the name of the group is taken from a Rolling Stones song.  It’s interesting that the song titles on the CD cover are all in English.  It’d be even more interesting if they are sung in English too.  The cover claims that this is produced by Sally Kubota for Impact Sound, so even though all four girls are from SPIRAL MUSIC groups I don’t think this has anything to do with SPIRAL.  The CD will be released on March 28, and I’m looking forward to hearing it if I can find a copy to purchase somewhere online.     

The second group is Babooom, a “Japanese dance & vocal group” that once again features Mio (as “Chucky”) and Nanako (as “Micky”) as well as Marika of ULTRA-C (as “Poppy”).  The videos that I’ve seen on social media make them appear to be a K-Pop dance cover group, but if they are singing as well then maybe that means they’ll sing covers of popular songs.  Will they perform original material too?  Only time will tell, and that time will be on April 3. 

I’m excited about She’s a Rainbow the most, since I like all four of the girls and because it might be a band.  Even if they are a singing group and not a band, I think I’ll still love them.  Babooom may have three talented dancers but I’m not really a fan of K-Pop dance covers.  Then again, it’s too early to tell what to expect from them.  I’ll keep an open mind. 

Thanks again for reading my blog.