I think “TOKYO CALLING” left a strong impression on many people because of its powerful and funny choreography and distinctive song.

The lyrics express a powerful anthem about moving forward through a rapidly changing society, the frustration and heaviness of everyday life, and the confusion around us, while sending energy from Tokyo out into the world.

Actually, even native Japanese speakers have trouble understanding most of the lyrics because they are delivered so quickly. Most ordinary listeners would need to look at the written lyrics to understand them properly. The only phrases you can just about catch are “Tokyo Calling!” and “We are Marching!”, so in that sense Japanese listeners are not that different from foreign listeners.

Many AG! fans probably already know this, but the costumes in this music video can be seen as a parody of the Ultra Guard uniforms from ULTRA SEVEN part of the ULTRAMAN series, which began airing in 1967.

During the period known in Japan as the Showa era, especially from the 1970s through the 1980s, a huge number of live action special effects television dramas for children were produced. ULTRAMAN followed a familiar formula in which a human transformed into ULTRAMAN and defeated a monster in each episode, but it was extremely popular with children.

New ULTRAMAN series were produced regularly, and among them, ULTRASEVEN had a particularly distinctive design. Even the vehicles used by the team members were considered futuristic at the time. Later, soft vinyl character figures also became popular as toys.

I looked into children’s live action special effects productions from around the world during that period, and for some reason Japan seems to have produced an unusually large number of them. Just as Japan had an enormous variety of manga, it also had a remarkably rich culture of special effects television dramas made for children.

That is why AG!’s “TOKYO CALLING” music video can feel nostalgic to Japanese viewers. With a melody that also evokes something like Godzilla, the video successfully recreates the atmosphere of old Japanese monster movies and television shows while turning it into something uniquely AG!. For Japanese people, it is the kind of music video that can bring back memories of that older era.

ATARASHI GAKKO!

ULTRA Security Force

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Shingo Katori with Tokyo Tower

ATARASHI GAKKO! are well known for their sailor-style school uniforms, but in Japanese high schools today, sailor uniforms are actually quite uncommon. They are now mostly found at a limited number of traditional private schools, and their use has declined to roughly one-tenth of what it was in the 1980s. As a result, the sailor uniform has increasingly become more of a symbolic image associated with Japanese manga, TV dramas, and other forms of pop culture.

One reason for the decline is practicality. Sailor uniforms are generally worn directly over an undershirt or against the body rather than over a separate shirt, making them less versatile and less economical. Nowadays, most Japanese high schools use blazer-style uniforms instead. For example, in this commercial by the Japanese mobile carrier NTT DOCOMO, the high school uniforms worn by Kanna Hashimoto and Minami Hamabe are much closer to what is commonly seen at Japanese high schools today. Sailor uniforms are now more commonly associated with junior high schools.

Since each school has its own distinctive uniform design, Japanese people can often tell which school a student attends simply by looking at the uniform. These uniforms are also made specifically for each school, so you generally cannot just buy the uniform of a high school you like. In many cases, the retailer requires proof that you are actually enrolled at the school before selling it to you.

The band activities shown in this commercial are not really an exaggeration either. School bands are quite common in Japan, and students have access to small live music venues as well as stores where musical instruments are readily available.

AG! once did a parody of this commercial. Interestingly, Kanna Hashimoto starred in the fourth film adaptation of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun in 2016, while Minami Hamabe has also played a leading role in a Godzilla film. Both are very popular actresses in Japan.

Both Kanna Hashimoto and Minami Hamabe have appeared in many Japanese high school coming-of-age movies. And the bridge pose from the original 1981 version of Sailor Suit and Machine Gun should look pretty familiar to AG! fans  it’s the same kind of pose AG! are known for doing in Saishuu Jinrui. SU-METAL (Suzuka Nakamoto) of BABYMETAL also wears a sailor-style school uniform in the music video for “Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!” The uniform is used to evoke an image of her younger, schoolgirl days, tying into the song’s idea of the “legendary black-haired girl” and giving the scene a nostalgic sense of her past. THen Also, since Japanese students normally wear their high school uniforms for only three years, once an adult wears one, most Japanese people tend to see it as cosplay rather than an actual school uniform. I think Mizyu’s karaoke version of “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” is probably the original 1981 version.

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"NTT DOCMO" Mobile phone TV commercial

ATARASHI GAKKO! TV Commercial Parody

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981 Original Film)

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A Japanese terrestrial TV program aired footage of AG! filming on location in Los Angeles. As always, their comedy was in full force throughout the shoot. The moment they spotted some electrical cables at a roadside construction site, they started pretending to get electrocuted. Then Suzuka noticed a picture of a guitar painted on a street utility box and immediately started pretending to play it.

They reunited with Money Mark at his studio, where AG! talked about their future. I think the episode will be available to stream on TVer.

studio interview

Street electrocution show in L.A.

Suzuka’s guitar performance

Reuniting with Money Mark

RIN talks about how her experiences in L.A. changed her.

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Suzuka said that her time in L.A. gave her “evolution,” “change,” and “an explosion.”

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Today, when I searched for AG! on Google Japan, there were tons of news stories about Suzuka shaving her head. Even in the age of AI, Japan really is such a peaceful country.

She often responds to funny posts from fans, doesn’t she?

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In today’s Japan, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the weaker yen, rising prices, safety concerns, and other social conditions have combined to make it harder for young people to take their first step overseas.

The GO GLOBAL PROJECT is a co-creation project that aims to encourage society as a whole to create opportunities for young people to take their first step into the world.

Whether through overseas travel, studying abroad, internships, entrepreneurship, volunteering, culture, the arts, sports, or any other path, the project supports young people in gaining experiences that challenge them to go overseas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfz7oer1a0o

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In Japan, festival season has come around again.

Many Japanese festivals are gatherings of local residents that express gratitude to the ancestors who preserved local culture. They often name gods connected to nature, such as mountain gods and river gods.

Rather than being based on ideas like “Do you believe in the one absolute God?” or “a covenant with God,” Japanese festivals are strongly rooted in the idea of living in harmony with nature and maintaining the local community.

The fox god that appears in BABYMETAL is connected to the Inari deity of Inari shrines, known as a god of agriculture and food.

In old farming villages, foxes were valued because they ate mice. Since mice damaged rice crops, foxes helped protect the rice and contributed to good harvests. For that reason, foxes came to be treated as messengers of the gods.

In a cultural mindset where many gods exist, the basic attitude is something like, “It is fine if different gods coexist,” “as long as they do not bring a curse, it is okay,” and “as long as the local community remains peaceful, that is what matters.”

That is why, even today, it is completely normal in Japan for people to visit a shrine at New Year, hold funerals in the Buddhist style, have weddings in Christian style chapels, and also celebrate Christmas.

So the act of putting your hands together is often simply a gesture of thanks. It does not always carry a very deep religious meaning.

The chants in songs like METARI and MEGITSUNE, such as “Sore Sore” and “Washoi Washoi,” basically carry the feeling of people forming a circle, giving thanks for everyday life, dancing, and enjoying themselves together.

That is also why many regions across Japan have their own festival dances.

A mikoshi, or portable shrine, is brought out once a year and carried through the town. The idea is that the mikoshi is a vehicle for inviting the deity to come into the town.

Usually, only local volunteers are allowed to carry it. The woman in the video was able to carry it with the cooperation of the local community. Mikoshi are extremely heavy, so people can get injured while carrying them.

In my own case, I have absolutely no interest in religion. When my parent passed away, I had to ask my relatives what Buddhist sect my family belonged to. That is how little awareness I had about religion.

In other words, most Japanese people are not very concerned with religion itself. They mostly follow only the formal customs as part of a cultural style.

I personally do not participate in festivals like this, so of course there are also people who do not take part.

This is a festival in Asakusa Tokyo Japan.

On the day of the BABYMETAL Concert at Saitama Super Arena VLOG

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In Japan, festival season has come around again.

Many Japanese festivals are gatherings of local residents that express gratitude to the ancestors who preserved local culture. They often name gods connected to nature, such as mountain gods and river gods.

Rather than being based on ideas like “Do you believe in the one absolute God?” or “a covenant with God,” Japanese festivals are strongly rooted in the idea of living in harmony with nature and maintaining the local community.

The fox god that appears in BABYMETAL is connected to the Inari deity of Inari shrines, known as a god of agriculture and food.

In old farming villages, foxes were valued because they ate mice. Since mice damaged rice crops, foxes helped protect the rice and contributed to good harvests. For that reason, foxes came to be treated as messengers of the gods.

In a cultural mindset where many gods exist, the basic attitude is something like, “It is fine if different gods coexist,” “as long as they do not bring a curse, it is okay,” and “as long as the local community remains peaceful, that is what matters.”

That is why, even today, it is completely normal in Japan for people to visit a shrine at New Year, hold funerals in the Buddhist style, have weddings in Christian style chapels, and also celebrate Christmas.

So the act of putting your hands together is often simply a gesture of thanks. It does not always carry a very deep religious meaning.

The chants in songs like METARI and MEGITSUNE, such as “So-re Sore” and “Washoi Washoi,” basically carry the feeling of people forming a circle, giving thanks for everyday life, dancing, and enjoying themselves together.

That is also why many regions across Japan have their own festival dances.

A mikoshi, or portable shrine, is brought out once a year and carried through the town. The idea is that the mikoshi is a vehicle for inviting the deity to come into the town.

Usually, only local volunteers are allowed to carry it. The woman in the video was able to carry it with the cooperation of the local community. Mikoshi are extremely heavy, so people can get injured while carrying them.

In my own case, I have absolutely no interest in religion. When my parent passed away, I had to ask my relatives what Buddhist sect my family belonged to. That is how little awareness I had about religion.

In other words, most Japanese people are not very concerned with religion itself. They mostly follow only the formal customs as part of a cultural style.

I personally do not participate in festivals like this, so of course there are also people who do not take part.

This is a festival in Asakusa Tokyo Japan

This image provides a look inside the offices of AMUSE Inc., the organization that serves as the foundation for BABYMETAL. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, Amuse is one of Japan's most prominent entertainment conglomerates, famous for managing legendary acts like Southern All Stars and Perfume, and for building the global launchpad for ONE OK ROCK.

What sets Amuse apart is its "Vertical Integration" model. Unlike typical US talent agencies that act primarily as intermediaries, Amuse functions as a hybrid of an agency, a production studio, and a music label. They excel at a long-term management style—controlling everything from fan clubs and merchandise to global touring logistics in-house.

This rigid, "studio-like" corporate structure is exactly why BABYMETAL’s branding and information control are so absolute. The reason we see zero leaks regarding member privacy or internal transitions is due to the immense capital and iron-clad governance of this organization. While Japan has other major players like Stardust or Horipro, it is Amuse’s specific style of corporate management that maintains the unique mystique and strict secrecy of BABYMETAL.

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Released as a single in 2012, BABYMETAL’s “Headbanger!!” has become one of their signature songs and an essential part of their live shows.

As suggested by the lyric “I will never forget my fifteenth night,” the song tells a story centered on a 15 year old girl. One notable feature of the music video is that SU-METAL is not wearing a Sakura Gakuin uniform, but a sailor uniform instead. So why was a sailor uniform used?

I think it is probably because the golden age of heavy metal in Japan coincided with the era when sailor uniforms were common. In Japan, junior high school and high school students traditionally wear school uniforms, and during the era known as “Showa,” Japan was in its period of rapid economic growth. At that time, many junior high and high school girls wore sailor uniforms.

In the 1990s, the era changed to “Heisei,” and sailor uniforms gradually became less common. Uniform designs vary depending on the school, and blazer style uniforms like the ones worn by Moa and Yui became more mainstream. It was even said that popular high schools could be chosen based on their uniforms.

In Japan, education tends to place more emphasis on harmony within group life than on the individual. Because students can only wear these uniforms for three short years, they still have a strong symbolic role as part of a special period of youth. Schools also actively create systems and events that help students make memories.

Sakura Gakuin’s “My Graduation Toss” music video features the actual members of Sakura Gakuin, who were very young idols at the time. In real Japanese school life, children that young usually would not be wearing high school style uniforms or taking part in that kind of band club activity. A real light music club is usually something high school students join after finishing their entrance exams, when they finally have a little more freedom to enjoy school life.

So, the music video is clearly an idol style entertainment version of youth and club activities, with young girls in uniforms. However, the kind of light music club atmosphere shown in the video does exist in actual Japanese high schools.

Within this context, even in today’s Japanese music scene, Atarashii Gakko! also use sailor uniforms as their signature outfits. Their theme is the 1980s “Showa” era.

Many people in Japan say the Showa era, a time before the internet and smartphones, was somehow better. That Showa atmosphere is repeatedly being brought back into the music scene. I think BABYMETAL also feels nostalgic in some ways because they skillfully include the essence of that era in their work.

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