TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Doukasen, Flashback（導火線、フラッシュバック）

 

It's been a while since I posted anything by the dynamic contemporary aidoru (or should I say song and dance?) group TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE（東京女子流）, and I was surprised to realize that it's been a dozen years since I put up their first KKP article for their "Partition Love". They have had the lasting power of any of the alphabet aidoru groups and Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）, but I've just read on their J-Wiki article that their show's going to be ending this year.

Their 35th and most recent single as of this writing was released in June 2025. "Doukasen, Flashback" (Fuse, Flashback) is a fairly smoking and funky tune which sounds like something that was arranged in a K-Pop vein. Written and composed by Umi Kinami（きなみうみ）, there is a certain nocturnal panther-like quality to this one. Strangely enough, I had been under the impression that there were a lot of members in TGS so to see just the four on the cover of the single was a bit jarring, but actually it's only been one member that had dropped out from the original five.

TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Kodou no Himitsu（鼓動の秘密）

Well, it's been quite a few years since Tokyo Joshi Ryuu（東京女子流）, aka TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE, was up here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". I think the last article up was Marcos V.'s own special selection back in the spring of 2018. And I have to thank Marcos for introducing me to TGS in the first place through his article for "Partition Love" which came out in 2014, and since that was the year that I did my first visit back to Tokyo since coming home for good, I was more than happy to get my own copy of the single.

Now, I come across this even earlier single by TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE that was released in May 2011. It was not only the group's 6th single, it was also a double A-side single titled "Kodou no Himitsu/Sayonara, Arigato"（鼓動の秘密/サヨナラ、ありがとう。...Secret of the Beat/Farewell, Thank You.）. I'd like to talk about that first song "Kodou no Himitsu" which was written by c. close, otherwise known as Chihiro Kurosu（黒須チヒロ）, and composed by Sho Watanabe（渡辺翔）.

It's very appealingly quirky and blippity-bloppity but at the same time, I also treated it as something very old-fashioned, and I'd been knocking it around in my head wondering why I would think that latter opinion. Finally, I figured it out. There's something very Taeko Ohnuki and Ryuichi Sakamoto（大貫妙子・坂本龍一）circa early 1980s about the arrangement which was handled by Hiroshi Matsui（松井寛）in terms of the synthesizers.

Some of that quirkiness apparently filtered into the official music video, I see. I especially like some of that jittery choreography for "Kodou no Himitsu" which relates the story of someone falling head-over-heels but not knowing how to approach the target of their dreams. Oh, that kataomoi again. In any case, the single peaked at No. 24 on Oricon, and the song became part of TGS' first album "Kodou no Himitsu" which hit the shelves in May 2011 a couple of weeks before the single. The album reached No. 25 on the charts.

Marcos V.'s special selection: TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE

Source: https://www.generasia.com/w/images/6/66/TGS_-_Never_ever_promo.jpg

If there’s one very consistent aidoru group nowadays, it’s TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE (東京女子流), or TGS – to make things a little more simple. Even though they’ve never been my top aidoru group, they were one of the few from this more recent aidoru boom that kept my attention through the years. Here I present a selection of five songs I enjoy a lot from them, but I’m also excluding songs I’ve already talked about in the past, such as “Killing Me Softly” and “Partition Love”. J-Canuck have also covered a couple of their songs as well, such as “Tsuki no Kimagure” (月の気まぐれ) and their cover of trf’s “Overnight Sensation”.

Starting off with 2013 single “Unmei” (運命), I’ve always felt a little bit strange listening to it, since the girls were still young at the time, and the video can be a little bit sexy. However, the song is great per se and it’s an example of their early strong and luxurious funk sound. The instrumental can drag a little at some points, but I like it so much that I don’t even mind how long the song is. Also, there’s a dirty little keyboard solo before the song’s final pre-chorus and chorus that really elevates the whole thing, making it even sexier. In my opinion, this part could have been longer, but things are what they are.

After spending years with their traditional funky sound, TGS started changing things around in 2015, trying more contemporary and mainstream Western genres, such as EDM and Tropical House. Surprisingly, their offerings are great additions to the genres, even if they’re a tad bit saturated in the Western world. 2017’s “Predawn”, for example, is heavy in all the electronic distortions and the infamous Tropical House synth hook in the chorus, but, at the same time, it’s so emotive that I can’t help falling in love with it. Also, title is very suitable, since I can easily imagine myself listening it in predawn.

Well, this one is a solo song from member and leader of the group Mei Shoji (庄司芽生), but I still count as TGS, since it was included in their 2015 album “REFLECTION”. Just like “Predawn”, “Illusion” is also far from TGS’s early sound (this one is the remix included in the “REFLECTION” album, but an original disco/funk version of it exists as well), and here Mei is exploring House music. I like how it truly sounds as something that could be played at a British club, or something like that.

One of the catchiest songs on Earth, “Onnaji Kimochi” (おんなじキモチ) is TGS’s second single, and the one that got them their first bit of attention. Released back in 2010, it’s been a long way for the group, even losing one of its main members in late 2015, but the funky sound could still be heard, even in this childish song. After that, they would only improve their formula. Still, this is one of the most genuine J-Pop songs of the new aidoru era that was starting to develop in 2009~2010. And as a side note, one of my best friends loves to listen to this song in the car, which, apparently, drives his girfriend nuts.

Finishing this list, here's TGS kind of returning to their funky roots with their first single of 2018, while also leaving the Tropical House sound behind for a bit. In my opinion, "Last Romance" (ラストロマンス) is one of their best outputs in recent years, with a strong melody and killer 80s-styled electro-funk arrangement, resulting in a mature and very secure sound for them. I couldn’t be happier with this release, and it’s good to know we can always count with TGS for good pop music. They truly deserves to be more famous!

trf/TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Overnight Sensation ～Toki wa Anata ni Yudaneteru （時代はあなたに委ねてる）

By the time I got into Japan in late 1994, TK Rave Factory, aka trf, had already become a known commodity within J-Pop and had been in business since 1992. Still considering that I entered the country during their heyday and seemingly got barraged every few months with another chart-topper by the dance-&-music unit, I couldn't help but feel that the title of their 10th single, "Overnight Sensation - Toki wa Anata ni Yudaneru" (The Times Are Devoted to You) was somewhat reflective of their success. It just felt like in my eyes and ears that these guys popped up within a short period of time to take over the industry and spearhead the Komuro Boom (Namie, Tomomi and globe were also on their way).

"Overnight Sensation", yet another Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）creation, came out in March 1995 (just a month after their last hit single "Masquerade"), and unlike the first trf hit I'd heard, "Boy Meets Girl". this one was channeling good ol' disco. And the lyrics described the decadence and trials of painting the town red in one's 20s....as one of my friends terrifyingly put it, the teenage years with a fully-fledged credit card, apartment and job.Yup, I can completely relate to those days when I hear the lyrics "Any way you want, any time you need. Everybody shakes, everybody dance"...and for a good part of my 20s, I only had one of those three things.

trf had their dance moves for their hits but for some reason, I always remembered the choreography behind "Overnight Sensation" best, perhaps because it just seemed so reminiscent of the old disco dance floor that I saw on TV. Mind you, I wouldn't have dared try them out at home. Still, the group still made it all too inviting to grab a handful of friends and head over downtown.....better yet, grab trf and head over downtown.

However, in that official music video, I just found it a bit odd to see them dance in what looked like Clark Kent's farm in Smallville. I half-expected the transplanted Kryptonian to sweep YU-KI, KOO and the rest back off to Japan with a friendly warning about trespassing.

"Overnight Sensation" added to trf's legacy with another million-seller. It was also their 4th of 5 No. 1 hits that got them to the Kohaku Utagassen, along with it becoming the 27th-ranked single of the year. The unit's 5th studio album, "dAnce to positive" also included the song as one of its tracks. The album came out in the same month as the single and also hit No. 1, becoming the 2nd-most successful release of the year, hitting the 2 million mark in sales. It even won Best Album honours at the Japan Record Awards. Yup, I ended up getting my own copy as well.

17 years later, aidoru groups banded together to form a tribute album to trf titled "TRF Respect Aidoru Tribute!!" "Overnight Sensation" got its due via Tokyo Girls' Style as shown above. Below is also the recorded version. The album peaked at No. 119.

Getting back to the original group, the song was also the campaign tune for a Honda product. I'm not sure about the overnight part, but trf was definitely a sensation.

TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Tsuki no Kimagure （月の気まぐれ）

Over half a year ago, Marcos V. featured "Partition Love" by Tokyo Girls' Style which was their 15th single from February 2014. I rather enjoyed the disco-funk of it all, and when I was browsing around in Shibuya's Tower Records earlier this month, I was lucky enough to come across that very single on the shelf, and quickly took it to the cashier along with my other purchases.

The coupling song is "Tsuki no Kimagure" (Moon Whimsy) which was written and composed by Kikuo（きくお）, a freelance composer who has created background music for various games as well as albums involving Miku Hatsune（初音ミク）and VOCALOID.

I spoke with Marcos about how it seemed like the current crop of aidoru over the past couple of years has been trying its hand in different musical genres such as techno, heavy metal and even City Pop (especia is my other favourite). Well, I was glad to hear that "Tsuki no Kimagure" has taken Tokyo Girls' Style into yet another direction. At first, while I was listening to it, I thought the French jazzy music was channeling a bit of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）circa early 1980s, but after thinking about it, I felt it was just a bit too peppy for an Ohnuki song. Then I realized it may have been taking a stab into breezy 90s Shibuya-kei...perhaps on the same lines as Flipper's Guitar. The lyrics and the music sound very whimsical as the girls sing about drinking 5-colour mixed juice and dancing in one of the craters of good ol' Luna. There's even a reference to "mixed humans". Considering that I also often take a look at the website "Orion's Arm Universe Project" which deals with how humanity evolves and spreads throughout the stars over millennia, I was intrigued by that line.

It's been an interesting year for 21st-century aidoru. Keep on diversifying. Maybe we're entering the age of mixed aidoru. :)

TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Killing Me Softly

Sometimes I blame myself for covering so many 2014 songs on Kayo Kyoku Plus recently, but it’s been a nice year for some aidoru outputs out there. The classy TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE (東京女子流), for example, just dropped their fourth full lenght album in June with a killer promotional song, the soulful “Killing Me Softly” (I admit that, at first, I thought it could be a Roberta Flack cover. I’m glad it isn’t, and that’s not because I don’t like Roberta’s song, as I actually do, but just because I wanted TGS to do something new, and not cover an old classic).

“Killing Me Softly” is a very interesting song in TGS’s history, basically because it’s been unveiled that the song is what everyone know as “TGS00”. What that means? It was the first song composed for the girls, back in 2010, before their official debut. Nevertheless, feeling that the girls were not ready to record “Killing Me Softly” at the beginning of their careers, the staff decided to keep the song until they felt TGS was ready to record it. The time has finally come, and the song is great! In fact, it’s one of my favorite songs from these girls.

Although not revolutionary by any means, “Killing Me Softly” is a song inspired by 70s R&B, funk and disco. The strings are great and, combined with the vocals, evokes a bit of tenderness. In the end, it’s the typical TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE formula, but I’m not complaining at all.

As a side note, the video for “Killing Me Softly” is gorgeous (mainly because of the color patterns chosen), but it wasn’t uploaded on Avex's official YouTube channel, unlike TGS’s past singles/promotional songs, which is a pity. Also, we all know how Avex is strict about letting people upload their content...

“Killing Me Softly” was included in TOKYO GIRLS STYLE’s “Killing Me Softly” album. The album reached #23 on the Oricon charts, selling 5,872 copies. As for the song, it was written by Chihiro Kurosu (黒須チヒロ), composed by Satomi Kawasaki (川崎里実) and arranged by Hiroshi Matsui (松井寛).

TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE -- Partition Love

Probably the most talented, but also underrated, aidoru group of nowadays, TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE (東京女子流) is always releasing well crafted pop songs with inspiration borrowed, the majority of times, from disco and funk.

This is not different with “Partition Love”, a groovy and catchy song about a girl who is in love with her teacher and also have to face competition from other girls at school (this teacher is on fire, you know). It’s by no means an innovative topic, but TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE covered it with a very mature feel, in spite of the thematic. And with mature I’m talking about the singing, which gets better with each release. I just hope that these girls succeed in a near future, as they’re at a very young age yet (their age ranges from 15 to 17 years old). Keep pushing them, Avex, please.

I chose to include the live performance over the original PV to show how talented the girls are while singing with a live band at the Nippon Budoukan (live bands are a rare feature in today’s aidoru concerts, and so is becoming live singing). Also, if the new aidoru boom is considered overwhelming by some J-Pop listeners, TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE, although part of this scene, is a very nice alternative to the over-the-top groups/artists like AKB48 and its sister groups, Momoiro Clover Z (ももいろクローバーZ) or Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), even though this last one isn’t considered an aidoru per se.

“Partition Love”, which was released in February 2014, reached #9 on the Oricon charts, selling 16,805 copies. Lyrics and music were done by Yuusuke Koide (小出祐介), while Hiroshi Matsui (松井寛) and Hijikata Takayuki (土方隆行) were responsible for the arrangement.