Shonan no Kaze feat. Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Seishun Towa（青春永遠）

Wikimedia Commons
via Alpsdake

My anime buddy and I had been noticing that there were going to be a few more anime sequels than usual for Summer 2025, and one that has been grandly anticipated for years is finally here. After seven years of waiting and probably repeated viewings of the first season in 2018 by ravenous fans, "Grand Blue"（ぐらんぶる）with its second season is back!

I've seen the first episode, and it seems as if the animators in their desire to remind us of what we'd seen and enjoyed in Season 1 have given us plenty of quick flashbacks and a heightened sense of the main characters' neuroses. In other words, we're getting loads of laughs.

Of course, the show has to have its summery oceanic opening credits sequence. And once again, the band Shonan no Kaze（湘南乃風）is here to provide the dynamic party-hearty opening theme "Seishun Towa" (Youth Eternal) with help from song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）. This time, there seems to be a back-and-forth between the burly Shonan no Kaze and the chipper Atarashii Gakko no Leaders which I can't help but feel represents the relationship between the men and women of the Peek a Boo diving club. 

Both groups had their hand in the creation of "Seishun Towa". This early in the season, we're still waiting for the full version of the song, but it'll arrive in the weeks to come. But now with Season 2 in the pipeline and this song along with the ending theme that I'll cover shortly, I gather that I can finally put up a Grand Blue category in Labels.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- One Heart

From Good Free Photos

 

It is a Sunday after all and some of my family attend church, so I thought it would be fitting to show one of the latest by song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）. After all, as one commenter for the music video of "One Heart" put it, there is something very upbeat gospel about the song to get the parishioners out of their pews to dance.

"One Heart" was only released on March 13th this year as a digital single and as yonkey's words and music express, AGL just wants to take everyone higher. It feels inspirational and as the Billboard Japan website puts it, the good ladies within the group desire to bring hope and support to everyone of all ages and backgrounds and ambitions. That sounds mighty powerful for a commercial selling fettucine-shaped gummies.

One piece of trivia from the J-Wiki article for the song is that during the big scene at the end of the music video, three hundred members of the official AGL fan club were selected by lottery to participate. Now, that's ambitious, boys and girls!

Ringo Shiina & Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Dora Ichi Dokusou（ドラ1独走）

 

I was away from the computer for all of yesterday since I met up with friends which culminated in the annual dinner at Shinta, the Japanese BBQ place up north. The photo above is actually from my very first visit to the restaurant back in 2023 but yep, that's what I've been engorging myself on every visit for the past few years.

Getting the whole day off on Sunday has become quite rare in the past several years so it was nice to step away from things, including "Kayo Kyoku Plus", to refresh myself. But getting back behind the keyboard once more, I can tackle like this follow-up of sorts to Ringo Shiina's（椎名林檎）"Hobo Mizu no Awa"（ほぼ水の泡）, just one of the many tracks on her most recent album "Hojoya"（放生会...Carnival） from May 2024.

"Hojoya" is smack dab filled with collaborations between Shiina and other artists, and with "Hobo Mizu no Awa", I was surprised and delighted that Momo of accordion-accompanied sister act Charan-Po-Rantan（チャラン・ポ・ランタン）was one of the collaborators. However, discovering that the song-and-dance act Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）was also in on the fun didn't surprise me at all. I had figured that one day AGL would be working with Shiina since the two of them both possessed that anarchically appealing side, and even seeing Wild Child Suzuka behind the guitar in the music video above convinced me that if she ever went solo, she would be an heir apparent of sorts to Shiina.

Their song together is "Dora Ichi Dokusou" and I have to admit that I don't really know what to make of that title or the official English one which is simply "FRDP". Noticing the baseball theme in the video, I was wondering whether an acceptable direct translation would be "One Solo Run for the (Chunichi) Dragons", although Shiina's lyrics don't make any mention at all of the Japanese major league baseball team. Incidentally, the lyrics refer to someone going through internal hell as they think about their next tactic or grand strategy ought to be. It could refer to sports, baseball or politics but they seem to be heading into a nervous breakdown as the music goes rock and funky at the same time.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Omakase

 

Well, I just checked on J-Wiki, and it's confirmed (to no one's surprise) that NHK's Kohaku Utagassen will be coming onto screens on December 31st this year for its 75th edition. Last year, the top batter was one of the 2023 darlings of the Japanese pop culture world domestically and overseas, Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）with their "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）. We're still weeks away from finding out who will be on No. 75 (probably won't be announced until mid-November) but Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon are to show up in Toronto next Sunday to do a one-night performance at the History venue.

I'm pretty sure that the gang will be performing "Otonablue" along with this track from their June 2024 digital album "AG! Calling", "Omakase" (Leave It To Us). With words and music by the group, yonkey and Yoshio Tamamura, the song might be called a reassurance, temptation or an invitation down a slippery slope. So, when the chips are down, AGL is exhorting folks to give into their vices whether it be shredding voices at karaoke or diving into comfort food with abandon...and worrying about the guilt later. Just as an aside, I've abandoned Pringles chips for a few months now, but it hasn't changed my shape any.😡

The arrangement is interesting as it sounds like a mix of matsuri music and an old-fashioned Keiko Fuji（藤圭子）Mood Kayo given some extra oomph through a techno beat. As for "AG! Calling", it hit No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Download Albums chart. Anyways, I hope those in the neighbourhood who have tickets to the October 6th show, please enjoy yourselves! And as for the group itself, please get to History early since traffic is so horrible in our city.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Toryanse

 

The Japanese expression "toryanse"（通りゃんせ）was something that I hadn't been too clued in about for the longest time, and yet I heard it all the time without being aware of it. It's often been the cute chime that plays during the WALK signal for intersections including the closest one to my old apartment in Ichikawa City. 

So, the rhetorical question of the day is "Why play this here?". Well, "Toryanse" happens to be an ancient Edo era children's nursery rhyme turned into song. And the poem-turned-song comes across as this (the translation is from Jon Wilks Online):

Let me pass, let me pass

What is this narrow pathway here?

This is the narrow pathway of the Tenjin Shrine

Please allow me to pass through

Those without good reason shall not pass

To celebrate this child’s seventh birthday,

We’ve come to dedicate our offering

Going there is fine, but to return is frightening

I am scared, but let me pass.

Let me pass . . .

Yes, indeed there is the aspect of being permitted to cross which is why "Toryanse" was adopted as the chime music for pedestrian crossings. According to Wikipedia, the song also included the element of celebrating a child's 7th birthday since during the time of the song's creation, child mortality was high so even making it to seven was an occasion for great celebration. Being allowed to pass the entrance into the temple facilities within a famous castle (supposedly Kawagoe Castle) was only done during special occasions such as these. As one person online mentioned, "Toryanse" is a rather haunting tune.

I have heard the term being used in other kayo kyoku including a Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）song whose title escapes me for the moment, and I think it's been added as a way of putting a bit more wistful pathos into the song. However, that's certainly not the case for the topic tune here.

By the way, the reason that I've brought in Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）today is that I found out last weekend from my brother (which is pretty ironic because he's not really a fan of Japanese music at all aside from a few tunes by Hiromi Iwasaki and Anzen Chitai) that the wild n' crazy quartet will be returning to Toronto. Suzuka and the gang are holding a performance later this fall on October 6th at the HISTORY venue close by where Greenwood Racetrack used to be just a stone's throw away from Lake Ontario.

Earlier this year, I'd posted their February 2024 single "Hello (from The Tiger’s Apprentice)". Well, just a couple of weeks earlier than that, Atarashii Gakko no Leaders had put up another single titled "Toryanse" which uses the original poem/song as a motif. Nothing wistful or pathos-laden here, though. It's more like hit the dance floor and bounce, and according to the J-Wiki writeup, AGL has incorporated some Brazilian funk into the electronica dance beats flying all about. I definitely get the setting in the music video, and it looks like Rin, Mizyu and Kanon also get their chance to sing out their parts a bit more. Plus, we get their usual nifty dancing. 

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Hello (from The Tiger’s Apprentice)

From YouTube

2023 was quite the year for Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）. The group became the toast of the J-Pop town last year thanks to their "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）and they even became hits outside of their nation, too. Hopefully, it will continue to be upwards and onwards.

This new single of theirs from a month ago "Hello (from The Tiger’s Apprentice)" might be another big one for them...but I'm wondering if there will be choreography with one as well to match the famous neck shifting accompanying "Otonablue". Considering its short length though, it may be more of a taste of things to come perhaps. Unfortunately, I couldn't find out who was responsible for words and music, but I do get some of that Beasties Boys vibe with one. In fact, I was about to include the Label of New Wave for "Hello", but I opted for J-Rock and Pop instead. Regardless, I consider it to be AGL's raucous calling card for any of their concerts overseas.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Seishun wo Kirisaku Hado（青春を切り裂く波動）

 

Well, I had predicted that Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）would make it onto the Kohaku Utagassen and that's what they did a week ago. It was nice to see them as the top batter, to boot. And it was indeed quite the year to see and hear the ladies bring forth "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）and its neck jive; to think this was a single that was released all the way back in 2020.

The Leaders have of course released multiple songs and albums since "Otonablue" and I imagine that they will continue to thrill audiences the world over (I've still yet to see their appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live") this year. I can even believe that Suzuka and the gang will make a second showing on the 75th edition of the Kohaku at the end of 2024 to sing "Otonablue" again although if they did show up, I would prefer a new song or even one of their earlier tunes such as "NAINAINAI", the first song that I posted up about them.

For today though, let me go with "Seishun wo Kirisaku Hado" (The Tide Ripping Through Our Youth) which is a track alongside "Otonablue" on their April 2023 album "Ichiji Kikoku"（一時帰国...Temporary Homecoming）. In comparison with the funky "Otonablue" and the technopop "NAINAINAI", "Seishun wo Kirisaku Hado" is totally growly rock written and composed by producer and guitarist Kenta Matsukuma（松隈ケンタ）of the band Buzz72+. As the title might indicate, the song is a primal scream about teens and their tribulations getting through stormy seas as intact as possible.

There have been two official videos for "Seishun wo Kirisaku Hado". The above is known as the choreography video with the the Leaders whooping it up inside a mall in Tottori Prefecture. Meanwhile, the one below is the official official video along the beach. Although I don't know where that video was filmed, I could totally see it being done along the Tottori coastline in terms of keeping production costs down.

The song was also used as the theme for the Lemino streaming service live-action drama adaptation of the manga "Tai Ari deshita. Ojousama wa Kakutou Game Nante Shinai"（対ありでした。 〜お嬢さまは格闘ゲームなんてしない〜...Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games） which has been running since May last year. I would think that the song would also be perfect for any anime adaptation.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Janaindayo（じゃないんだよ）

 

With the song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）burning up one corner of the Internet and YouTube for a few years now, I did wonder when Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon would have their profile raised high enough that an appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen would be in store. Of course, we're still months away from the annual announcement on NHK, but a big hint was just thrown out at the end of tonight's episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）. Just before the signoff, the hosts managed to mention that the Leaders would be appearing for the first time on "Uta Con" next week. If they can come onto the weekly kayo kyoku show, then perhaps the Kohaku may come knocking.

Perhaps we AGL fans can celebrate with some KKP bubbly then. Their March 2023 digital single "Janaindayo" (That Ain't It) is a rapid-fire rock tune that sounds tailor-made for some action anime. However, it's actually the theme for a sequel to the original "Baby Walkure"（ベイビーわるきゅーれ...Baby Assassins） from 2021 which involves a couple of high school girl assassins. "Baby Walkure: 2 Babies" came out in theatres a couple of days following the release of "Janaindayo". 

"Janaindayo" is also the lead track on their digital mini-album "Ichiji Kikoku"（一時帰国...Temporary Return） which was released in April 2023. The song was written, composed and arranged by jon-YAKITORY. The album also has the supremely catchy "Otonablue"（オトナブルー）.

To wrap up, it wouldn't be an AGL KKP article without a video of the ladies practicing in the studio. I wonder if they'll perform both "Janaindayo" and "Otonablue" next week.

Klang Ruler & Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Dounimo Tomaranai（どうにもとまらない）/ Klang Ruler -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）

 

Commenter Bon tipped me off on another Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）collaboration with another artist some days ago in the article for L'Arc-en-Ciel's "Driver's High". Since I'm not only a fan of the cool-and-crazy school uniform-wearing song-and-dance group but enjoyed their work with former SMAP member, Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）, in last year's "Tokyo Tower", I figured that I was going to have to give another one of their joint projects a try.

The thing is though that Bon's recommendation goes quite a ways back to 2019, at least according to when this YouTube video was first uploaded. Atarashii Gakko no Leaders cooperated with the 5-piece band Klang Ruler. To be honest, when I first heard that name, I kinda wondered whether there was something Klingon about these guys, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is a group that has been around since 2014 and has dabbled in pop and alternative music.

Another impression that I have about Klang Ruler is that they also like to do their dance beat covers of the old Showa and Heisei Era music, and that includes Linda Yamamoto's（山本リンダ）"Dounimo Tomaranai" from 1972. Working together under the banner of "Midnight Session Chapter 3", I can't seem to find any sign of this cover coming out in the discographies of either the Leaders or Klang so maybe the midnight sessions were just one-offs on YouTube (correct me if I'm wrong). But getting back to the song, Wild Child Suzuka does sound like a fresh-faced Linda before any cigarettes and alcohol. And she passes the mike off to Klang Ruler while her group does a bit of their choreography. Some nice bass action, too.

The current lineup for Klang Ruler is yonkey and Chihiro Yasuda（やすだ ちひろ）as the co-vocalists with SimiSho on drums, Takumi Kato（かと たくみ）on bass, and Gyoshi on guitar. I was looking through their discography thus far and I was intrigued when I saw that the band had covered the 90s City Pop duet "Shibuya de Go-ji" by Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）and Momoko Kikuchi（菊池桃子）. It was released as an October 2022 digital single and it has the sophisticated pop tune transform into a Trance ParaPara number. 

Shingo Katori feat. Atarashii Gakko no Leaders/Hibari Misora -- Tokyo Tower（東京タワー）🗼

 

I had an old friend of mine who lives in Japan ask me whether I would be returning for a visit anytime this year. Unfortunately, my answer wasn't too positive due to current financial and logistical issues. Of course, I would love to go back and see my old friends and former students/colleagues, and if I could, I would also enjoy returning to the ol' Tokyo Prince Hotel. Among other things, it is across the street from Tokyo Tower, still a major symbol of the capital of Japan. Wouldn't it be nice to get a room with a view of the old tower, although most likely it would cost a ton of yen for the night.

Last Tuesday, I wrote up an article on Toshihiko Tahara's（田原俊彦）old-style jazzy "Romanticist de Ii janai"（ロマンティストでいいじゃない）and right at the start, I referenced an even older article regarding former SMAP member Shingo Katori（香取慎吾）in jazz mode himself via his 2022 album "Tokyo SNG". Well, a commenter below then pointed out another song from that album which happened to have the dapper Katori teaming up with none other than the amazingly zany song and dance team, Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）.

Well, I replied that I would have to check this one out. The video itself appeared on Katori's own YouTube channel only a week ago, and the song is simply "Tokyo Tower". Katori and Atarashii Gakko no Leaders make like the most congenial tokusatsu monster figures this side of baby Mothra as they all do a lovely singing soft-shoe reminiscent of the good ol' days of live TV music-variety shows. I know that crazy Suzuka has often performed the lead vocals for the group, but she really does stand out here in her duet with Katori.

Now, as usually would be the case for any song getting onto KKP, I did search for the songwriters behind "Tokyo Tower". My first assumption had been that it was a couple of folks in this century who just knew how to create the old stuff. However, my look at the JASRAC database revealed the composer to be the late Toru Funamura（船村徹）, one of the foremost songwriters of the kayo era. As it turns out, "Tokyo Tower" is an old chestnut of the kayo era! In fact, none other than Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, the Queen of Kayo Kyoku herself, recorded "Tokyo Tower" as her 151st single and released it in March 1959. With Toshio Nomura（野村俊夫）behind the lyrics, Misora sings in a higher pitch than I'm accustomed to. Other than that, it's a jazzy kayo about the wonders of the then newly-built Tokyo Tower that had been completed in December 1958.

Wonderful, wonderful!🗼

Atarashii Gakko! -- WOO! GO!

 

I may have put it out there before in a past Atarashii Gakko! (or Atarashii Gakko no Leaders, as they used to call themselves) article, but I think that Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon should get their invitation to perform at the Kohaku Utagassen someday. They are talented, fun and they know a good hook when they hear one.

The above video is just the four merely practicing their dance moves for their April 2022 single "WOO! GO!". Just practicing, and they've already got the attention of the room. Written and composed by yonkey with Atarashii Gakko! also helping out on the lyrics, the song is a further push into hip-hop or hip-pop for the group. One commenter for the video, Normal Strange Tommy, put it succinctly: "RIN’s precision and hip-hop background, KANON’s elegance and smoothness, MIZYU’s happy energy and SUZUKA’s wildness all shine through." Unfortunately, my eyes for choreography aren't nearly as sharp as Tommy's but I can't deny that the four know how to cut a rug in the early 21st century and in choreographical harmony.

As for what "WOO! GO!" is all about, the English translation of the lyrics at Genius shows a nonchalant indictment of formal education or as perhaps the music video illustrates, some frustration at that typical juku class in Japan, just to get that extra edge when it comes to university entrance exams. But that's OK...Atarashii Gakko! will lead the revolution, and as it says at the end: you should move that body about whenever a study break comes along. Otherwise, you may need years of chiropractic assistance.

Atarashii Gakko! -- Pineapple Kryptonite

 

Good heavens! I see that Captain Kirk and the Gorn never quite resolved their differences on Cestus III so they're at it again on Earth via a video game. Ah, parodies of "Star Trek"...the gift that keeps on giving. I have been watching the latest entry in the franchise "Strange New Worlds" over the past several weeks, and it looks like the Gorn there have been upgraded into homicidal xenomorphs, so apparently the laughter is now gone.

Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon of Atarashii Gakko!, and yep, it looks like the school uniform-garbed song-and-dance quartet has ditched its last two words of "...no Leaders" for a straight exclamation mark, have also their own beef with sentient reptilian races. I was rather wondering whether the music video for their September 2021 single "Pineapple Kryptonite" was going for a Tarentino-esque theme but then I soon caught the Area 51 signs and eventually the ladies were going hardcore on a hapless space invader.

To be honest, I'd also wondered whether the title was just another riff on nonsensical English word salad a la Pikotaro's "PPAP: Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen", but actually "Pineapple Kryptonite" does have a method to its madness if you watch the official music video to its end. If only Captain Pike and crew had some of that Ananas comosus to combat the torture Gorn porn. Incidentally, only several weeks ago in May, a rave-friendly Yohji Igarashi remix version of "Pineapple Kryptonite" was released as you can see and hear above.

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Free Your Mind

 

I'm doing my first entry tonight really late since I was out for the entire afternoon and a good chunk of the evening, some of which was occupied by watching "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". To let you know, it was the first movie that I've seen in over two years so I'm glad that it was well worth my time, energy and money. I caught the movie in a VIP theatre so what I lost in the surrounding fans' happily crazed reactions at some of the money shots, I gained in extreme comfort and good food.

There were a lot of minds being freed, ripped apart and so forth in this second "Doctor Strange" flick. Ah, if only the characters had discovered a universe where all sorts of superhero battles can be waged by dance and music instead. Then, I gather that the wild-and-crazy song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ） (or Atarashii Gakko! as they are known outside of Japan) could be the local version of the Avengers. I'd love to witness a dance-off between them and Starlord, although I've got a feeling that Suzuka and company will most likely kick his butt.

Anyways, I did find this song "Free Your Mind" which is fresh from their November 2021 EP, "Snacktime". Written and composed by the ladies along with Mark Ramos Nishita, it's good ol' rock-n-roll as Atarashii Gakko! go nuts with their singing and dancing somewhere in a Japanese neighbourhood while gaining some new fans of all ages. Just let go and have fun! Indeed, free your mind but don't drink and drive...and absolutely don't get a hold of the Darkhold!

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Shiken Zenya（試験前夜）

 

Looking back at my academic career all throughout my childhood and adolescence, I can't say that I was particularly a proficient student. Of course, as was the case with many others, cramming for exams was never in my Top 10 List of things that I wanted to do, and at one point, while with my classmates at junior high getting prepped for mid-terms, my mind finally blanked out and I couldn't hack it with the studying anymore. Still, when the time came, I was able to pass those tests. However, even decades later and less than a decade away from official retirement, I don't look upon those times with any particular fondness.

I think it's for that very reason that I "get" Atarashii Gakko no Leaders'（新しい学校のリーダーズ）video for the rock fest "Shiken Zenya" (Night Before the Exam) which was on their March 2019 album "Wakage ga Itaru"（若気ガイタル...Youthful Indiscretions(?)）. That incredible one-take video of Suzuka, Mizyu, Kanon and Rin going nuts on the choreography sums up how I used to feel inside my head while the days of exams drew nearer while force-feeding my brain with phrases and other minutiae of information that I would never need again. However, Atarashii Gakko no Leaders are far more elegant in their expressions. Methinks that there are plenty of students in Japan who would love to thrash out like the ladies do in that classroom.

It's been quite the year regarding Atarashii Gakko no Leaders and KKP since I put up their first article all the way back in January and now we're on the cusp of December. Always an entertaining quartet. AGL took care of the lyrics while H ZETT M provided the music. The composer is part of H ZETTRIO, the piano trio who came up with one of the more soothing jingles ever heard for an insurance company.

Hey! Say! JUMP -- Negative Fighter（ネガティブファイター）

 

(incomplete version)

I actually saw the video before hearing the song and when I witnessed these fellows dancing and prancing about on a pastel-coloured football gridiron, I had initially assumed that this was a K-Pop group doing their latest. Such was not the case, of course.

Actually, it's Johnny's group Hey! Say! JUMP with their latest, "Negative Fighter", which was released only a few weeks ago on May 12th. Written and composed by a Japanese Tik Tok user and influencer named Mai Ujita（うじたまい）, "Negative Fighter" is all about kicking the blues away and, gosh darn, getting up and at 'em. It's actually quite nice and catchy and disco-esque, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hey! Say! JUMP ended up doing another round with this song at this year's Kohaku Utagassen on NHK.

The group's 29th single once again hit No. 1 on Oricon, and it's quite incredible to see that every single by Hey! Say! JUMP has reached the top spot ever since their debut back in 2007. So far, it's already sold over 200,000 copies. And hey, the song has even reached the ears, eyes and limbs of song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）!

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- Otonablue（オトナブルー）

 

A couple of months ago, I wrote about Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）, the quartet of young women with the skill of fleet-footed song-and-dance folks and the heart of old-fashioned Japanese comedy troupes.

Well, along with "NAINAINAI", their 11th single from this January, I've also been drawn to their 8th single from almost a year ago in April 2020, "Otonablue" (Adult Blue). It has that funk but there's also a bit more of the technopop in there, and it's downright catchy, another repeated advantage for AGL.

The above is just a practice video but, dang, the group still brings it, and part of the charm of Atarashii Gakko no Leaders are their moves. Music for "Otonablue" is provided by yonkey and apparently Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon came up with the lyrics about being on the precipice between adolescence and adulthood and worrying about the temptations and implications. My precipice was reached when I had my first of a series of Screwdriver cocktails in one night. Didn't end well.😖

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders -- NAINAINAI

 

It looks like we have our 2nd 2021 single for this year following Kaori Mizumori's（水森かおり）"Naruko-kyo"（鳴子峡）.

However, it's not an enka tune but something more along the lines of hip-pop thanks to this song-and-dance group called Atarashii Gakko no Leaders (新しい学校のリーダーズ...New School Leaders). I'd seen this group on YouTube here and there over the past few weeks suddenly, and then I finally opted to give this particular song a try, "NAINAINAI" (No, No, No) which was released about a week ago on January 20th.

Written and composed by yonkey, "NAINAINAI" is very Yes, Yes, Yes about someone or a group of students in high school throwing out their frustrations about their current state of life in the world of social media, adolescent insecurities and raging hormones. The song and performance are funny and cool at the same time, and as someone commented, the whole Atarashii Gakko no Leaders thing seems like the anime "Asobi Asobase"（あそびあそばせ）brought to real life.

AGL has actually been around since 2015 and consists of Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka and Kanon. According to their J-Wiki bio, the whole concept of the group is standing out with their individuality and freedom over a crappy intolerant society which is in more in praise of just the so-called cream of the crop. I'm going to have to check out more of their past music videos, but I think, yeah, the ladies are fulfilling their mantra. Looking at their Wikipedia page, AGL has released eleven singles and two albums.