Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Dempagumi.inc -- Future Diver



NOTE: After a long absence... I'm back, folks! \o/

I remember the first time I watched/listened to Dempagumi.inc’s (でんぱ組.inc) “Future Diver” and how bad I felt after. The worst part was that I liked and watched/listened to it more times. In the end, I forced myself to erase it from my PC, because I thought it was too wrong for me to like something like that. It was in December 2011, almost four years ago.

My initial experience with Dempagumi.inc was strange. Obviously, they were very different from AKB48, Perfume, or whatever aidoru group anyone wants to choose. In fact, the only group that could be mildly compared to Dempagumi.inc was Momoiro Clover Z (ももいろクローバーZ), but even Momoclo was not that crazy.

Dempagumi.inc’s “Future Diver” was chaotic and the video kind of sexualized the girls in a strange way (not so strange for a moe fan, let’s say), but both the song and video were also very mesmerizing and catchy. I just couldn’t get enough of that, and the only thing I was capable of thinking was how Dempagumi.inc seemed like a group in the darkest edge of the aidoru world. Like I said, it was wrong in so many ways... and no, I could never guess they would turn into a true strong force in the aidoru world a couple of years later.

“Future Diver” was not Dempagumi.inc’s debut song, but it was the first one to really radicalize their Akihabara/otaku gimmick. And you know what? The song did its job very well, thanks to the arcade-like arrangement, exciting feeling and also the girls’ vocals, which were full of dramaticity and interesting melodic shifts. Let’s say it established Dempagumi.inc’s style in a great way.

“Future Diver” is now one of Dempagumi.inc’s true classics, and they show their affection to the song performing it at almost every concert. Also, based on the amount of energy the public disposes everytime the girls are performing it, we can really tell “Future Diver” is very loved by the fans. Here’s a live performance of it.


“Future Diver” was released as a single in November 2011. It was later included in their debut album “Nee Kiite? Uchuu wo Sukuu no wa, Kitto Osushi... de wa Naku, Dempagumi.inc!” (ねぇきいて?宇宙を救うのは、きっとお寿司…ではなく、でんぱ組.inc!), from December 2011, and also in their second album “WORLD WIDE DEMPA”, from December 2013, but as a re-recorded version (there were some members changes between the original release and this one). The single reached #46 on the Oricon charts. Lyrics were written by Aki Hata (畑亜貴), while music was composed by Masaya Koike (小池雅也). As for the arrangement, Kenichi Maeyamada (前山田健一) was the responsible.

Source: generasia.com

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Marcos. Good to see you back up here.

    After seeing the music video for "Future Diver", I got the impression that it was the first live-action anime opening credits I've ever seen. :) I can imagine it made quite the splash with the moe crowd. And I actually enjoy it as well for the hyper happy-go-luckiness of it all. Nothing wrong with having a few guilty pleasures now and then.

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    1. Hi, J-Canuck.

      I'm happy to be back. And, as always, thanks for your comment.

      Yeah, the "live-action anime opening credits" analogy is pretty on point, especially when they use their desks as flying vehicles while using micro-shorts. It really seems like a scene from a moe anime.

      As a starting point, "Future Diver" is a pretty strong offer from Dempagumi.inc. Thankfully, they evolved even more after it.

      Also, one of the many things I like about you is how you always stay positive when it comes to guilty pleasures. It makes me feel better, as I listen to a lot of "guilty pleasures", hahaha.

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    2. Oh, I've got plenty of guilty pleasures on this blog. This is probably the only venue where I can talk about them comfortably without feeling persecuted. :)

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    3. Well, let's just say this is also the only "place", besides my living room, I'm confortable playing some guilty pleasures.

      As a side note, but also in the guilty pleasure category, one of the songs I listened to the most this year was by One Direction. In my defense, though, it's a song very similar to Tears For Fears's "Everybody Wants To Rule The World". And this is coming from someone who likes some cheesy ARASHI's songs. Don't judge me, J-Canuck, hahaha.

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