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.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Tochiotome25 -- Wagyuu Fire! (和牛ファイヤー!)


I’ve seen a lot of weird aidoru videos in my life, but Tochiotome25’s (とちおとめ25) “Wagyuu Fire!” probably wins as the craziest aidoru video I’ve seen.

As I could see watching their past videos, Tochitome25 is an aidoru group with a food gimmick, and that’s not quite surprising, to be honest. After Tsuri Bit’s (つりビット) fishing gimmick, Especia’s retro gimmick or BABYMETAL’s Heavy Metal gimmick, I was quite waiting until I would come across a group with a food thematic.

The group is from the Tochigi prefecture (栃木県), which, as I could see, is known for its agriculture and cattle-raising. Based on that, Tochiotome25’s food motif becomes more specific, as the group likes to highlight the great things produced in Tochigi (strawberries, for example, are their main thematic). So, apparently, the Tochigi Wagyu is a famous brand of beef, so that’s why the girls are singing about cows in the first place.

Coincidentally, beef is my favourite food, so the song was quite appealing to me. Well, that wasn’t enough for me to like the song, of course, but, although quite bad at first listen, “Wagyuu Fire!” grew on me in a spectacular manner, and its high energy just pumps me every time I listen to it.

Musically, it’s quite an unique song will all the bullfighting music elements. However, I can’t classify it as a Latin song, basically because it don’t sound like one. All I know is that “Wagyuu Fire!” is an exciting song, and I assume it can be listed as one of my guilty pleasures.

As for the video, it’s amazingly horrible, if that makes any sense. I almost jumped out of joy in my chair after seeing cows spitting fire like monsters near the end, but with special effects that aparently came directly from the 80s. Also, at some points, we can see a cute little piece of beef dancing along with the girls and the manic headbanging cows. In the end, although strange and disturbing, I just love this video.

“Wagyuu Fire!” was released in October 2014. Lyrics were done by Naoya Kurosawa (黒澤直也).

Source: amazon.co.jp

5 comments:

  1. Hi Marcos,

    Your description of this song was spot on, as well as absolutely hilarious, especially the part where you were describing the video! The CGI is quite terrible for this day and age, and the head banging cows... and the fire breathing... It is a really weird song and I never knew Aidoru groups would venture into the world of gastronomy.

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    1. You know what, Noelle? As J-Canuck probably knows better, I have a thing for trashy effects, so I was truly amazed at how they used them in such unashamedly way. And that's what I like about aidoru music... sometimes it's just straighforward generic pop music (AKB48 and similars), but, once in a while, you can find a good amount of versatility coming from the girls and, mostly, from the team behind them.

      Like I said in the post, "Wagyuu Fire!" became a true guilty pleasure. I remember listening to it for the first time and saying to myself that I couldn't actually like it. In fact, it was as if I was forbidding myself to like the song. In the end, though, I couldn't resist "Wagyuu Fire!" and its wacky charm.

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  2. Well, that rather made my day! I think the only thing that was missing was tap-dancing farmers. Yeah, I'd say that was pretty craptacular, and at one moment, I thought one of those girls shouted a major swear word but I checked the lyrics out and she said "Packing"...whew.

    Having said that, I do love my beef (although my doctor has informed me I have to lower my consumption considerably at risk of having my cholesterol go into the red zone).

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    1. Hi, J-Canuck.

      Thanks for this new adjective/slang called "craptacular". I had to look up to see what it means, and I liked the meaning a lot.

      About "Wagyuu Fire!", I remember it also made my day when I first heard it around two months ago. It really pumps me up with all the epic chants and the "wagyuu, wagyuu fire!" line.

      Beef is surely amazing, and I like to prepare it with different things like leek, some types of pepper and sauces. However, the best is, of course, the one prepared with nothing but butter and salt.

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    2. Strangely enough, in about a few minutes, I'm about to cook my family dinner...and guess what I'm gonna be frying up: STEAK! But I'm cutting my portion in half and using olive oil. The salt, pepper and soy sauce are a must, though!

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