Why EARPHONES' "Request" is a Wonderful (and Sentimental) Song
Similar to why I’ve never really been one to review singular episodes of an anime, dedicating an entire post to discussing one song is usually something I try to avoid doing; mainly because I prefer writing longer posts and I just wouldn’t have enough things to say about most songs (that’s why I bunch up a ton of them into a song roundup). There are certain exceptions though, such as a few months ago when I gave my ‘complicated thoughts’ on a track from the idol group =LOVE, and I feel like what we’ll be talking about today is very much in the same vein of that.
But before we get into the song itself, I do want to go over some info about this artist and their overall background, as it really does give a better perspective on this track as a whole.
EARPHONES (イヤホンズ) is a voice actress-based music/idol unit, formed back in 2015. It was originally created as a fictitious group within the Sore ga Seiyuu series: a manga, which later had an anime adaptation, written by an actual voice actress (Asano Masumi) that depicted the everyday life, work activities and struggles of an aspiring seiyuu. EARPHONES consists of three characters who are all rookie voice actresses in Ichinose Futaba, Kohana Rin and Moesaki Ichigo; and the group’s real life counterparts (Takahashi Rie, Kouno Marika and Nagaku Yuki) later became an actual music trio under the Evil Line Records label. The group debuted in June of 2015 with the release of their first single, Mimi no naka e, and ever since their inception, they’ve put out numerous albums/singles, performed the opening + ending themes for various anime, and each member has carved out an extensive and solid voice acting career of their own.
If I’m being honest, and I know I didn’t actually mention this in my previous introduction post, I think Sore ga Seiyuu has to be one of my favorite anime I’ve seen thus far. Sure, the story is pretty average and the art/animation itself is not the best, but from the perspective of someone who is a huge seiyuu fan and enjoys taking in this particular culture every single day, it’s a show that definitely made me appreciate the voice actor culture a lot more. Given how competitive this industry can be, seeing Futaba, Rin and Ichigo do their absolute best with auditioning for voiceover roles, as well as doing other types of work that can help advance their careers such as hosting radio programs or performing as an idol group... not only is this a fun anime that may get you to root for these rookie voice actresses (or newer seiyuu in general), but I genuinely do believe it’s a sufficient portrayal of the voice acting industry (side note: another decent anime that does the same thing is CUE!, which I would definitely suggest checking out as well)
And yes, I understand that Sore ga Seiyuu isn’t gonna represent or show off every single thing about the seiyuu culture and work environment, but as a way of presenting it to the normal anime viewer, I think it’s a pretty solid look at what it’s like being a voice actor in Japan. Especially after years of me following certain seiyuu and seeing the different types of jobs they tend to do, such as the aforementioned radio programs, doing narration work, participating in promotional events or even doing stage readings of various stories/plays… Sore ga Seiyuu has definitely been a good reference point and learning experience as a seiyuu enthusiast, since many of the concepts I saw in that show have been things I’ve seen my favorite VAs take part in (which is certainly neat when you actually get to see it in real life). And it’s even more of a fulfilling series when you currently look at the voice actresses of EARPHONES, as Rieri, Marinka and Gakkyu have all come so far in their careers, ever since they first got their start within the Sore ga Seiyuu world seven or so years ago.
That said, the main thing I wanted to talk about today is actually a particular song from the EARPHONES unit. The trio recently released a new track late last month, titled “Request”. And while I’ve enjoyed a lot of EARPHONES’ songs and the type of music they’ve put out, compared to their other tracks, “Request” is one that I immediately fell in love with and one that legitimately toyed with my emotions.
The song is shown from the point-of-view of a radio host, who receives a letter from an avid listener of their show. The sender, under the pen name of ‘Nanashi’ (essentially the Japanese equivalent of ‘anonymous’), shows their appreciation for the host and goes into detail on how much this radio program really means to them. They listen to the program every time it comes on and even consider it as a way of escaping reality, as Nanashi mentions that they’ve been dealing with a lot of hardships in their personal life. They also seem to have trouble when it comes to communicating their thoughts, but treats this radio program as a ‘safe space’ that allows for them to comfortably convey their true feelings and get things off their chest. Lastly, Nanashi requests for the host to play an EARPHONES song that holds near and dear to their heart, and also mentions how they hope to someday overcome their personal obstacles. And despite not exactly knowing how to respond, the radio host provides some encouraging words by telling Nanashi that they understand the type of struggles they’re going through, assures that things will get better as time goes on and that the program will always be available whenever they need a pick-me-up.
There are many reasons why I love this song.
For one, I think it’s yet another great release from EARPHONES. More specifically, the low-key and more emotional atmosphere of this song seems to be reflective of the type of direction EARPHONES has been going towards with their music. While the group has been rooted in fun, exciting and explosive-sounding tracks like “Sore ga Seiyuu” (the opening theme for the anime), “Sanki Tousen!” and “Arakajime Ushinawareta Bokura No Ballad”, it feels like they’ve started to significantly tone it down these past few years. 2019 saw the release of “Churata churaha”, a light jazzy tune intended to have an ASMR-type of feel to it. “Kanashi” in 2021 was a really beautiful song that featured a gorgeous violin/piano performance. And last year’s “Time Capsule” had a pleasant vibe to it, while also feeling a bit melancholic.
I’m honestly a big fan of this stylistic change from EARPHONES. As much as I’ve enjoyed the trio’s earlier works, having these more somber and loose tracks have felt beneficial for the group, since I believe it allows for them to really show off their vocals. In the case of “Request”, the relaxed tones of Rieri, Marinka and Gakkyu make them sound incredibly clear here, and their vocal performances fit really well with the song’s simple and light-hearted composition. And of course, their harmonization in the chorus was done splendidly and they sound great when they sing together, as always.
On the topic of vocals, one thing about this song that impressed the heck outta me was how it was performed. The ladies sang as if they were actually hosting a radio program and reading/responding to a fan letter on air, which was done extremely well and is also very fitting to this specific group.
The closest thing I can relate this to is “spoken-word songs” where, similar to stuff like jazz poetry, the vocalist’s way of telling a story alongside the music is more aligned with normal speech rather than singing. It’s not the greatest comparison, as they technically are singing in this song, but hearing EARPHONES pull off a performance like this was actually really enjoyable. The smooth flow of their vocals and how they were able to convert what was essentially a snippet from a hypothetical radio show episode, all into an entire song was impressive.
And like I mentioned, the lyrics and overall concept of this song is very much in-line with who EARPHONES is and, even to an extent, parts of the seiyuu culture. The idea of radio programs was emphasized a lot in the Sore ga Seiyuu anime, whether it was showing off the elaborate behind-the-scenes process of running one, the EARPHONES trio appearing on another seiyuu personality’s radio show or them even being given the opportunity to host a program of their own. But more specifically, the way they showed fans sending in messages for the EARPHONES ladies to talk about and respond to has very much become a big part of the group’s image and what avid followers associate them with. And to see a song like “Request”, sort of, emphasize that perception of the unit was both fantastic and heart-warming to see (the ending theme song to Sore ga Seiyuu is actually very similar, as both tracks feature the trio responding to a fan letter and fulfilling a specific song request).
But most importantly, I feel like this song has the potential to, and probably does, ‘hit different’ for a lot of people. Nanashi’s personal struggles and the sheer joy they experience whenever they tune into their favorite radio program can certainly be relatable to other seiyuu fans or idol fans or someone who is a big follower of any similar type of medium. Indulging in the content that features an entertainment personality you genuinely admire is something that many, many people do for various reasons, whether that be supporting and/or learning more about said personality or even it being something that, similar to Nanashi’s situation, can help you get through the tough realities of life.
And one good example of that last idea I mentioned would actually be… myself. Not to go into too much detail but it really does feel like these past few years have been the most rigorous and stressful times of my life. Alongside a taxing pandemic, me just being unsure of where/how things are going to end up in the future has constantly made me deal with an unhealthy amount of negative thoughts. And on top of that, my long-time struggles with social anxiety is still something I have trouble overcoming.
But despite all that, I always seem to resort to taking in content from my favorite voice actresses whenever I’m feeling down. Whether it’s looking at their social media posts, watching funny/amusing videos of them or even gushing about them on my Instagram pages, these people have meant a lot to me these past few years so it feels right, and even natural in a way, to get a bit of a ‘pick-me-up’ from them. Even writing on my blog, just like what I’m doing right at this moment, gives me the opportunity to express what’s on my mind and show my genuine appreciation to whatever and whoever I’m talking about.
And while there are valid criticisms regarding certain areas of Japanese/East Asian fan culture, whether it’s about parasocial relationships or the fact that I’m being reminded of how fans were depicted within the Tokyo Idols documentary I watched a few years ago… I think what I’m personally taking from all this is that the seiyuu/idol/etc fandom can be seen as beautiful in some ways. It’s a known concept that idols, as well as seiyuu and musical artists to that extent, have the ability to make other people happy. Regardless of how genuine the sentiment is (as that’s a whole other can of worms), I think it’s good that what these popular figures do and mean to certain people can help fans experience things like joy, restfulness and maybe even self-reflection/improvement. Obviously there needs to be certain boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed when it comes to admiring these people, but if simple-yet-meaningful interactions such as tuning into your oshi’s livestream/radio program and hearing some affirmative words, reading their social media posts, or listening to their music can all help brighten up your day… then I think this culture is a wonderful thing to be a part of. And I’m grateful I’ve been able to experience some of those things for the past few years, as they truly did help me out in some tough times.
Whenever I say that a song made me tear up or include emojis like “😢” or “😭” in my messages/social media posts, usually I’m not being serious or literal (lol). But do believe me when I say that listening to and reading the lyrics of “Request” genuinely made me cry numerous times, even as I was writing this post. It’s a song that I certainly didn’t expect would make me that emotional, but I’m really glad a group like EARPHONES put out something like this. They seem like a great unit to do so, and they truly did pull it off well.
Thanks for reading and I’ll leave you with this fun shot from the “Request” music video, where it references EARPHONES’ previous music releases. It’s a neat nod to the group’s past musical works and I really enjoyed its inclusion.
-al