Giving music videos their flowers 🎥
Hello and welcome back to yet another J-Music Exchange/Rate review! In case you’re new around here and/or don’t know what this is all about, allow me to explain: this is a fun little segment that I do with my good friend/fellow Japanese music fan Leap250 where both of us take an album from our respective libraries, exchange them with each other, listen to ‘em for a month and later review on our blogs. We initially debuted this idea back in 2018, and a two-or-so year gap later, we restarted it and have been going on for a strong four years. Not only does it allow both of us to share some fantastic J-music with each other and expand our personal music tastes, but we also hope that all of you reading have a similar experience as ours!
And as always, each month Leap and I decide on a specific theme to base our album choices on. It was my turn for August and admittedly, this was a pretty random one I thought of, yet I figured it’d be interesting to talk about: albums that features our favorite and/or most memorable PVs. While I wouldn’t exactly say that music videos are ‘essential’ to get the full experience/appreciation for an album, I’d say it can help emphasize or highlight your enjoyment for a song, especially if it does a good job visually representing a particular narrative or storyline that’s shown within the music. And for me in some cases, it’s just cool to see the artist/singer themselves be involved in a music video in any way, shape or form.
That said, here are our choices for this month: Leap went ahead and tossed over Unmei by the star-studded virtual singer group V.W.P, while I gave him a really nice album from the Kawatani Enon-led band Gesu no Kiwami Otome in Suki nara Towanai.
Let’s jump right in!
Virtual Witch Phenomenon, or what they’re more commonly known as, V.W.P, is a virtual singer unit, affiliated with the KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO creative label. Consisting of five female talents in KAF, RIM, Harusaruhi, Isekaijoucho and KOKO, the creation of the group was announced back in 2021, during a one-man live performance from KAF. Later that year, V.W.P would officially release their first single, titled Dennou, and premiere an accompanying music video on their YouTube channel.
While the group has primarily had its focus on music, as they released their first album, Unmei, in August of 2023 and held multiple live concerts, their involvement in a much larger multimedia project would be accelerated in 2024 and beyond, with the upcoming release of a visual novel, rhythm game, and most recently, an anime TV series that is set to air in 2025.
As of this post’s publish date, V.W.P has released two full-length albums and sixteen singles.
Tracklist
Kaimaku / 開幕 — ‘Opening’
Majo / 魔女 — ‘The Witches’
Kyoumei / 共鳴 — ‘Resonance’
Dennou / 電脳 — ‘Cyber Brains’
Saidan / 祭壇 — ‘Altar’
Himitsu / 秘密 — ‘Secret’
Kotodama / 言霊 — ‘Spirit of Words’
Gangu / 玩具 — ‘Toy’
Sensen / 宣戦 — ‘a declaration of war’
Sadame / 定命 — ‘Destiny’
Henshin / 変身 — ‘The Metamorphosis’
Rinne / 輪廻 — ‘Reincarnation’
Saikai / 再会 — ‘Reunion’
Majo (Shin) / 魔女(真) — ‘The Witches -true-’
Kasou / 仮想 — ‘Virtuality’
Released: 2023.08.21
One of my long-standing beliefs is that the music video (MV) has, over time, become a somewhat lost art when it comes to storytelling. While it hasn’t disappeared entirely, MVs with strong narrative elements—especially in the West—have become increasingly rare. In contrast, Japanese music has remained a stronghold for such videos, where they are still considered a vital part of the listening experience for songs that feature them. This is particularly true with the rise of virtual singers, or "v-singers," who have gained prominence in recent years. For these artists, visuals are even more crucial due to the nature of their craft. V-singers exist at the intersection of virtual YouTubers (vTubers) and "faceless" Japanese music acts like ZUTOMAYO and Yorushika. They use 3D models, similar to vTubers, but focus primarily on music rather than streaming. Some v-singers operate independently, but many belong to labels or collectives. One such label, steadily gaining traction since its inception, is KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO, which houses a growing roster of talent. At the forefront of this collective is the "core group" of v-singers—KAF, RIM, Isekaijoucho, Harusaruhi, and koko—who together form Virtual Witch Phenomenon, or V.W.P.
I’ve come to think of V.W.P as a kind of cinematic universe, where individual artists with their own distinct styles come together while "residing" in the same world. The CGI and models they use aren’t necessarily groundbreaking, but there’s something undeniably cool about seeing them all appear together in MVs like "Joumyou," fully geared up, giving off an epic, Avengers-like vibe. It’s exciting in a way that transcends the visuals themselves. Then, you have MVs like "Kyoumei," where they’re just performing as artists, having fun on stage. What makes it even more intriguing is the duality they embody—real artists in the real world who simultaneously exist as fictional characters in a story, fighting enemies in their fictional universe. It adds to the 2.5D feel of it all. One week, KAF is promoting her new single, and the next, she’s battling to save Kamitsubaki City. While it’s all part of the spectacle, it’s an enjoyable and unique experience.
1 ▸ reigniting an interest
KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO and my knowledge/familiarity with them is a bit of an interesting one, as I do feel like I have a sliiight ‘on-and-off’ relationship with them. I always see Leap talking about the vocal talents that have been grown through that label on his monthly roundups, and have certainly enjoyed a couple of the singers he’s brought up such as the former Albemuth duo of ARU & ASU. And a couple years ago, he even gave me an album from one of the members of V.W.P to review for the Exchange/Rate; it being RIM’s 2021 release, titled NEW ROMANCER.
Now looking back at that NEW ROMANCER review, it definitely… wasn’t my best work, despite me giving an 8/10 score. What I wrote was pretty lackluster and if I’m being completely honest, it was a bit of a rushed review, which is completely my fault. So taking that into account, as well as now being a bit more familiar with some of the people under this label and further understanding the vibe of KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO’s music, I did come into this post with the goal of doing this album better justice than what I presented back in March of 2022. Plus, similarly with a lot of the artists that Leap brings to my attention, listening to Unmei (or, Fate in English) certainly gave me the opportunity to properly listen to more of the artists/singers I’ve heard about in the past.
And I feel like the main thing I got out of, and thoroughly enjoyed from Unmei, music-wise, is how varied it was. Maybe I’m being a bit naive or ignorant when I say this but before I actually took a listen to this album, and judging from the visual imagery of this witch-focused group, I thought their music would be on the- i guess, darker side of things. Not only was my ‘hypothesis’ based on what I saw on the cover, but I kinda do draw these expectations from past experiences with similar faceless, Vocaloid-esque artists (which I actually don’t think I was too off base with, since the majority of the tracks on this album were composed by well-known Vocaloid producer Kanzaki Iori).
And that is still the case with many of their songs, as most of them take on a heavy rock vibe, such as in “Himitsu”, “reincarnation”, and their debut single of “Dennou”; especially with the strong presence of fast-paced, loud and rougher-sounding guitar riffs. These kinds of songs truly did express that ‘edgy’ type of energy that I initially thought of, and I do feel like it worked even better when certain instruments were thrown in the mix, such as the lighter tones from a keyboard or a violin.
However, a few of the songs on Unmei genuinely took me by surprise, as some of them took on significantly brighter and/or lighter tones. Tracks like “Saidan” being much slower and having a more melancholic/sad mood to it, or “Saikai” being a straight-up emotional ballad that leads to a grandiose chorus and beautifully showcases every member’s vocals. And heck, even “Kyoumei” felt quite upbeat to me personally and almost had a ‘pop idol’ quality to it, thanks to the fun vocal performances, slight addition of sparkly sound effects, as well as the amusing choreography in its music video.
In no way am I implying that a group like this needs to stick to a specific image when it comes to performing music. I actually enjoyed both ‘sides’ of this album since they honestly did a good job establishing that constant rock sound as the album’s ‘central theme’, while also making sure to take breaks here and there by turning it down a peg or two with those deeper and more sentimental compositions. I often have this same thought with many of the previous albums I’ve reviewed for the Exchange/Rate, and I’d say Unmei has those same traits, and I applaud them for not going too hard towards a specific style or sound.
And to go back to a previous point I mentioned, the pianos and violins felt like major players in why I really enjoyed these tracks. No matter what tone or atmosphere each song called for, those two instruments worked extremely well and added to so much of this album’s overall sound.
2 ▸ virtual talents and the third dimension
I’ll be honest and say that I’m probably one of the few people that hasn’t gotten bit by the ‘VTubermania’ bug. Other than, maybe, the Love Live series’ latest Hasunosora unit, the closest thing I’ll probably ever get to being a fan of this particular culture is through enjoying the various viral songs that have come from ultra popular talents (e.g., a couple great tracks from Hololive’s Hoshimachi Suisei/Midnight Grand Orchestra, as well as the BOP that Houshou Marine and Kobo Kanaeru released earlier this year); but apart from that, I don’t exactly have the interest in actually following these VTubers. I have absolutely nothing against them, especially since I can easily tell why so many people like them as entertainers and singers, as well as the appeal of actually becoming one when it comes to pursuing online content creation. But I feel like me being more into IRL idols and a handful of 2D/anime-related groups, I just haven’t gotten a proper opportunity to dive deep into this phenomenon.
And while it’s a bit inaccurate to describe V.W.P as ‘VTubers’, since they (mostly) focus on performing music rather than doing the usual activities like playing games and streaming, I still think with Leap suggesting this album to me, I was able to learn a bit more about this particular phenomenon that has been booming around the world. Especially through their music videos.
One reason why is because of the way that V.W.P presents itself. As seen with many other virtual talents around the Internet, the group also represents themselves in a 3D fashion, whether it’s within their accompanying music videos or even during their live concerts/events. Not to say that this is anything new to me, as I’ve experienced my fair share of primarily 3D-animated anime, especially with the recent and critically acclaimed ‘1-2 punch’ of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! and Girls Band Cry. But just from watching the MVs for many of the songs on this album, I can definitely tell that V.W.P treats their visual image with as much care and effort as their music/vocal performances.
There’s a type of MV that I’ve seen from many artists, where it’s essentially a video that mainly focuses on presenting the lyrics while adding some sort of animation or graphic in the background. “Lyric videos” as they’re called, and while they don’t qualify as full-on ‘music videos’, it does the job well enough to be visually entertaining. In V.W.P’s case, many of their MVs essentially ‘combine’ the two ideas; flashing lyrics on screen while also showing off a narrative-filled animation featuring the five talents.
By doing this, I think it certainly follows the frequent trend that we’ve seen from many Japanese producers where they take the route of creating those ‘lyric-based videos’, while also giving a ton of life to these five avatars through interesting and detailed 3D animations. Whether it’s a video showing V.W.P sing and dance on an intricate stage in “Kyoumei”, or transporting the crew to a cybernetic world that pairs well with an EDM-based song like “Henshin”... while I will admit that certain MVs looked pretty rough in terms of animation, most of them do a pretty dang good job – in general – putting the V.W.P ladies in various cool settings that help convey the tone or emotions that are shown within each respective song.
3 ▸ pure vocal talent
Another point I wanted to make here is actually in regards to their vocals. As I went through this album, I couldn’t help but to notice how awesome everyone in V.W.P sounds. They all have really nice vocals and it honestly did remind me of what I (as well as Leap) have said about certain Japanese idol groups where it is pretty clear that every individual member has an incredibly distinct voice. And because of that, you’re able to easily differentiate between members and really appreciate each person’s vocal talent, all while also not making the whole vocal ensemble sound ‘stale’ or ‘same-ish’. To expand on that, I absolutely love the much deeper registers of KOKO, Harusaruhi, and RIM; while Isekaijoucho and KAF took on the other side of the vocal spectrum really well with their higher-pitched voices.
I absolutely love it when this type of vocal expression is shown, as I’ve complimented many idol groups who do so, like with TEAM SHACHI, and more recently when I reviewed an album from the up-and-coming FRUITS ZIPPER unit. And while they’re not categorized as ‘idols’ like those two, V.W.P is another great example of a vocal group having an interesting variety of pitches and cadences that, in addition, doesn’t sacrifice the quality that’s shown when they sing as one.
To that point, and to circle back to my spiel about their music videos: maybe this is something I’ve adopted as an avid fan of idols, but I do like to connect the voices to a face whenever I listen to something from an artist with multiple performers. And as I went through their MVs, I could tell that each of their voices fit extremely well with their own respective virtual avatars, whether it’s KOKO and Harusaruhi’s more mature/taller appearance, or Isekaijoucho having that usual small and cutesy type of character design you see in many otaku-related stories.
And again, while music videos aren’t necessary in order to actually appreciate an album, I do think the combination of further putting a personality to these characters’ voices, as well as creating a narrative + an entire world for them to live in, gives a ton of life to the music they’ve shown off here. Plus, correct me if I’m wrong but I feel like one major appeal for these virtual talents IS the avatar themselves, as I’m sure many people have gravitated towards certain VTubers due to their super creative and unique designs. And I think that same appeal can apply to V.W.P, as many of their physical features and outfits look pretty darn cool to me.
I know I mentioned and referenced pop idols a few times throughout this review, and yes, I do understand that in no timeline or universe should I categorize V.W.P as an ‘idol group’… buuuuut I actually do feel like I was reminded of many of the ideas and aspects that are frequently shown within the J-idol culture. Whether it’s their unique formation, their music being produced by a well-respected composer, or their emphasis on appearance and visuals; it really is difficult to separate the two, as I’m now looking back on it (lol).
But I have to reiterate my thoughts and say that one of the biggest highlights of this album were the vocal performances from these five talents. As I said earlier, as well as the many instances whenever I review music from these types of artists: having a clear variety of voices within a vocal unit will always be a plus for me, since it’s a lot easier to take in and makes their music MUCH more engaging to listen to. And I believe I had that exact thought when listening to KAF, RIM, Harusaruhi, Isekaijoucho and KOKO all sing throughout Unmei’s tracklist. And despite hearing that many of these singers take on very different styles of music when performing as individual solo artists (such as RIM taking on a more R&B/pop route while Harusaruhi excels at rapping), the way they were able to effortlessly combine forces and sound incredible as an entire group… that is not something I want to gloss over, as I think this might be one of the coolest and well-organized vocal collectives I’ve seen as a Japanese music fan.
Rating: 8.5/10
Aaaaaand that’s all I got for you today!
If you got this far into the review, I gotta give you my thanks. Again, I am barely familiar with the virtual talent craze that’s been happening these past couple years but I’m glad I got a bit more exposure to some of it, thanks to this super talented group. While I probably still won’t follow any VTubers as a result of this, I’d be down to listen to whatever V.W.P comes out with next, both as a unit and individually. Also am kinda interested in watching the anime they’ll be starring in next year!
Now that you’re finished here, definitely go head on over to Leap’s blog, where he reviewed my choice for this month: Sukinaratowanai by Gesu no Kiwami Otome. Gesu’s been a band that I’ve known since the very beginning of my time as a Japanese music fan, and this particular album of theirs features some super memorable tracks + MVs in it (IMO), so feel free to check out his thoughts.
Thanks for reading!! :D
-al