From 29th to 30th September, Japanese idol group Wa-Suta (The World Standard) performed in Spain, Madrid-Barajas at the “JAPAN WEEKEND MADRID 2018 event held at the Feria de Madrid. JAPAN WEEKEND MADRID is a Japanese pop culture trade fair that celebrates anime, manga and other areas of Japanese culture. This year, the event was so large that 97,000 Japanese culture fanatics visited over the course of the two-day festival. Wa-Suta performed on both days. The stage was surrounded by a large crowd of approximately 2,000 people and fans screamed and cheered with joy. During the one hour they were on stage, they performed "Taishi wo Dake! Girls, Be Ambitious", which they had released on 16th September, and “Yo Quiero Vivir” which they collaborated on with Spanish duo Adexe & Nau and was viewed more than 2 million times. Just singing “Yo quiero vivir, yo quiero tu amor” had Spanish fans chorusing along.  

Watch Wasuta x Adexe & Nau - Yo Quiero Vivir (I want to live in Japanese) (Official video clip)

The girls snatched the attention of the local press, attended talk shows, took part in autograph sessions and photo shoots, and were presented a cosplay contest! As well as taking part in a range of activities, they even met Picotaro, who was also at the same event!Wa-Suta’s second day on stage was technically 1st October in Japan, which is the Birthday of Wa-Suta member Ririka Kodama! The crowd surprised her by singing Happy Birthday in Spanish!   Keep your eyes on Wa-Suta and their next step in their global adventure!

Five-member idol group and promoters of Japanese kawaii culture Wa-suta have finally solidified their places as a world standard. The group teamed up with Spanish brother duo Adexe & Nau, who boast well over 2 billion views on YouTube, to release a collaborative track with music video titled Yo Quiero Vivir en Japones.  

"Wa-suta" is an abbreviation of "The World Standard," a name by which the group have pushed to stand on the world stage since their debut. It's been four years since they formed, during which they have performed as idols not only in Japan but twelves times overseas at numerous Japanese cultural events where their cute cat ears and unique outfits they wear on stage have received much praise.   They have been particularly well-received in Asia including Thailand and Indonesia where they have given rise to many copy groups. Their international recognition is clearly spreading. This collaboration came to be after it was decided that Wa-suta will be performing at Japan Weekend Madrid 2018 from September 29 to 30. Adexe & Nau became interested in the group after seeing the line-up and learning that they work to promote Japanese culture to the world, so they sent them an offer to join hands. It is very rare for a Japanese artist to collaborate with a Spanish artist. Fans are anticipating whether or not the two artists will perform together on stage at Japan Weekend Madrid next month. Group leader Nanase Hirokawa commented, "This is a first for Wa-suta. We've made a music video on an enormous scale with the help of all the extras! The symbolic locations of Japan and the high school girls dressed in their uniforms dancing together is a sight to see!"   Member Ruka Mishina also commented, "I was shocked when I heard we'd be getting to collaborate with the Spanish artists Adexe & Nau. I'm honestly so happy ^^ Real world music! I'll be glad if lots of people enjoy listening to it!" Wa-suta have dubbed 2018 their "Wonderful Year." They will no doubt be spreading their wings across the globe and dropping more news for us in the near future.    

Wa-suta have unveiled the music video for their new song "Saijokyu Paradox," which will feature on their upcoming second album "Paradox World" to be released on October 18th, and be used as the opening song for the TV Tokyo anime "Idol Time PriPara."

 

"Saijokyu Paradox" Music Video

 

The creative director behind the music video for Wa-suta's new song is none other than Maiko Fukushima, aka "Mofuku-chan," who has served as creative director to many other groups including Dempagumi.inc. The music video captures the same dreamy-kawwaii world of Idol Time PriPara and features eye-popping visuals and typography. The video is irresistibly addictive, so much so that you'll want to listen to the song over and over together with the video.

Arafune Yasuhiro, who worked as director on the music video, tweeted: "I got to direct for Wa-suta again, this time for 'Saijokyu Paradox'! Once again, everyone was super cute! I feel that each of them gets cuter the more we do this... Please be sure to watch it." (translated from Japanese).

 

Kimura U was in charge of the outfits for the video. She posted about the experience on her blog from the perspective of working as a designer. "The video is too good...! Are they angels?! Are they goddesses?! In any case, they're not from this world!!! I'm all over the place. Although there's a number of other idol anime out there, I worked really hard to bring out the puripara-ness." (translated from Japanese).

Even fans couldn't contain themselves and took to Twitter the moment the video was released, commenting on the major level of kawaii. There are lots of unique ways people are expressing their love for the video.

 

"Saijokyu Paradox" is available for early digital download in Japan starting today. You can download it at the available music sites.

 

But the fun doesn't stop there for the new release, as a very special collaborative café is opening in Harajuku from October 6th which will capture the colourful world of "Saijokyu Paradox." The "Saijokyu Paradox Café" is the third Wa-suta café. You'll have to head on over to Harajuku and see it for yourself!

 

Finally, Wa-suta's Japan tour is about to begin. The girls will be travelling to 9 cities around the country, starting in Sendai on October 22nd. Don't miss out!

 

Between 6th-9th July 2017, idol group WASUTA will be performing at JAPAN EXPO in France. Today, we will be taking a closer look at this girl group, who have attracted lots of attention from all around the world.

 

-I know this is a bit straight to the point, but what kind of idol group is WASUTA?

Hirokawa: “WASUTA” is an abbreviation for “The World Standard”. We Japanese write the Japanese word “kawaii” (cute) in simple hiragana characters all the time because it looks cuter that way In a similar way, we write “WASUTA” in hiragana for the same effect. To answer your question, we aim to spread “Kawaii” Japanese culture around the world – “cute Japanese culture” is our main concept. We wear pastel-themed costumes that represent a “dreamy cute” feeling, and for this upcoming gig, we will be wearing Harajuku cotton candy-themed hats. All our costumes feature an element of “moe”. “Moe” refers to cute anime crush love! An example of our moe-themed costumes are our cat ears – we are definitely going to wear them!

Nanase Hirokawa

- Now, if you could describe the character of each band member in one sentence, what would it be? Starting with the pastel green leader Nanase Hirokawa!

Kodama: 50% levelheaded person, 50% clumsy, I would say haha.

 

-How about the pastel pink idol Naruka Mishina?

Matsuda: You can’t judge her based on how she looks – she’ll surprise you!

 

-How would you describe the pastel yellow Hazuki Sakamoto?

Kodama: Stupid, unskillful but has a good sense of humour lol

 

-And what about the pastel blue Ririka Kodama?

Hirokawa: A person who hides their potentials. She hasn’t really given it her all yet lol

 

-And finally, what would you say about the pastel purple Miri Matsuda?

Mishina: I’d say she’s the stupid one, haha

Everyone:burst into laughter.

 

Ruka Mishina

― As a band full of tension, as expected you’re all pretty good friends right? Do you go to Harajuku in your own spare time for fun?

 

Everyone: All the time!

Matsuda: I go round the cute cafes and delicious curry restaurants. There was a time I couldn’t stop going to one curry restaurant lol. There are loads of 100-yen shops along Takeshita Street and as a person who loves handicrafts, this is definitely a selling point!

Hirokawa: Harajuku is a great spot for picking up cheap goods. There are loads of visitors who express their individuality and there are so many foreigners too. Watching people take pictures at the entrance to Takeshita Street is also fun!

Mishina: The streets are overflowing with cute people too!

Ririka Kodama

-How would you describe the district of Harajuku?

 

Hirokawa: To us, Harajuku is a really cosy place to be.

Sakamoto: Yeah. People tend to think that Harajuku, is the place of dreams and aspirations but if you go there yourself, it’s more fun and comfortable I would say.

Mishina: It’s also the source of youth culture.
Matsuda: This is the source of Harajuku-style girls – this is where they gather and share their fashion.

 

Miri Matsuda

 

-I heard that your costumes were designed by fashion model and voice actress Yu Kimura!

 

Hirokawa: That’s right. This is the 4^th time we’ve worn costumes designed by her.

Kodama: She uses lots of colours which gives the costumes a “dreamy cute” theme. They are unique – nobody else can make costumes like them!

Hirokawa: Our third single “Just be yourself”, is the theme song for the anime “Idol Time Pripra”. Our skirts were designed with the letters “PRPR” – that’s the main attraction you should be looking out for!

Matsuda: Our socks also feature a cute design – a design that would even suit a small child. Anyway, each of our costumes are slightly different and our outfits don’t really focus on headwear!

Hazuki Sakamoto

-And your production team, I’ve heard, consists of young female creators, right?

 

Hirokawa: Yep, that’s right. The producing was directed by Mofuku-chan (Maiko Fukushima), who also produced for Dempagumi.inc.

Kodama: Our choreography and music is directed by female creators. Each song is completely unique and the choreography fits perfectly to boot – so cool, cute and trendy! Every single time I am overwhelmed by how awesome it all is!

Mishina: We are WASUTA – produced by girls to enhance the concept of cute!

 

 

-Let’s talk a bit about JAPAN EXPO now. How did you feel when you found out that for the first time, you’ll be performing live in France?

 

Hirokawa: We couldn’t believe it! Up until now all our live performances have been focused around Asia….but now we’re finally hitting Europe! JAPAN EXPO itself is a huge event that spreads Japanese culture, secretly I was just thinking to myself that I really wanna perform in Paris – I’m soooo happy!
 

-I’m so happy for you all! Now that your plans for you to perform live in France had been finalized, surely you’ve all been more hyped than ever?

 

Hirokawa: Of course! Recently, we’ve all been strengthening our language skills. Originally, Ririka and I were in charge of English, Naruka was in charge of Korean, Miri was in charge of Chinese and Hazuki was studying French. We eventually started to skip many of our language classes, but after hearing the news we’ve all been trying to make time to study harder!

Mishina: We’ll be heading to many places where people don’t know WASUTA, so we’re serious about upping our language game in order to connect with new people.

Kodama: When foreigners come to Japan, I’ve seen people try their best to speak Japanese – even if it’s just a little. This makes me so happy. I feel like I have a connection to these people and that’s why I want to do the same.

-What precisely is the secret to WASUTA attracting so much attention from overseas fans?

 

Hirokawa: As we are going to Europe, we will infiltrate the barrier between the people with Japan’s “Kawaii” (cute) charm. When fans see our costumes and our appearance, they recognize us as cute. We also perform gothic rock and different genres of music. Soon, people naturally come to like us.

-I’ve seen your music videos on YouTube – there are English subtitles on your videos, aren’t there?

 

Matsuda: That’s right! We want to attract not just Japanese fans, but fans from all over the world! Speaking of YouTube, please use your smartphones only for filming our live performances, okay? Fans take pictures and videos of our performance and upload them onto SNS websites and YouTube. If you search the web, you’ll be able to find our gigs easily anywhere in the world thanks to these fans.

Mishina: Just like sharing our pictures, we have outfits with our Twitter account name written on it! I hope we can spread the news of WASUTA more at JAPAN EXPO!

-What do you want spectators at JAPAN EXPO to particularly notice about you?

 

Kodama: The words to our songs and our choreography show an insight to our world – I want people to enjoy it!

Matsuda: I think they should watch our music videos lots and lots – that way they’ll enhance their experience.

Mishina: My recommended music video is “Ultra Miracle Ultimate Chocolate Beam” – the Japanese lyrics use such unique words – it’s such an interesting song!

Matsuda: I recommend “Dogs & Cats, In the Bloom of Youth” – the fans can learn so many cute Japanese phrases and then we can dance together!

-And last of all, do you have a message for your fans?

 

Sakamoto: For our overseas fans – in order for you to feel the cuteness of Japan, we’re dressing up in pastel colours and cat ears. This is our ultimate charm point! I hope you enjoy our outfits!

Hirokawa: And for the fans who are coming from Japan to support us – we will definitely give you the best night of your life! By the way, we are collaborating with H.I.S, so we recommend you check it out! This includes a party where we will eat together, and a mini live! This is your chance to get to know us. It includes sightseeing and much more over a four-day period. This is something you cannot get in Japan! As we’re coming from a far away country, we are going to deliver something really special to you all!

 

Translator：Samantha Fernandes

 

Related article：WASUTA clear their latest level “WASUTA LAND W1″ – a new regular concert in Taiwan built around the concept of a video game!

 

Related article： Japanese idol group WASUTA to perform in Paris at JAPAN EXPO in July!

Japanese idol group WASUTA, or "The World Standard," performed their first overseas fixed, regular live show "WASUTA LAND W1" on June 11th in the heart of Taipei at Jack's Studio."

 

The group already perform regular live shows in Japan, but "W1" marks the first in the series of "WASUTA LAND" concerts for overseas. The "WASUTA LAND" series of solo live shows is based around the concept of a video game - they must 'clear' the 'area' i.e. the location of where they are performing, to move onto the next.

 

Not only can the fans and group enjoy the performance, but they can feel more as part of a team together who must work to 'clear' the stage. Beginning in Japan, fans overseas in Taiwan can now look forward to joining in the fun.

The group stepped onto the stage and greeted everyone in Chinese Mandarin, saying "Hello everyone, we are The World Standard WASUTA!" which received yells of delight from the fans.

 

The Worships* in Taiwan and those who had come all the way from Japan chanted for Wa-suta as the introduction song "Overture" played. The group stepped onstage and went from 0 to 100 in a second as they performed the first song of the night, "Just be yourself."

 

Fans were allowed to film the performance of the first track. which is not only their latest but is also called their representative song. Recording with their smartphones and posting the footage to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook was encouraged, which meant that the footage could reach fans around the world instantly for them all to enjoy

 

WASUTA went on to sing some covers of anime songs with each of their performances brimming with individuality. They performed "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" from Neon Genesis Evangelion and "Mezase Pokémon Master," the first Japanese opening theme song of the Pokémon anime series, for the first time ever in Taiwan. The moment the intro rolled for each song the crowd cheered in surprise.

 

WASUTA are a group performing internationally. As an artist from Japan, they realise that well-known anime songs are a medium that bring people together, no matter what country they perform them in. They gave an exhilarating performance of the songs. And despite it being their first time to play them, Ruka said during the interlude, "These songs really are the best! They're amazing!"

 

During the performance for "Mezase Pokémon Master," each member showcased their favourite Pokémon through different poses. Miri posed as Eevee while Nanase posed as Mudkip, Hazuki as Pichu, Ruka as Chikorita, and Ririka as Piplup.

Towards the end of the night, Wa-suta performed a number of classics such as "Inu Neko. Seishun Massakari," "Ultra Miracle Final Ultimate Chocolate Beam," and "Wonderful World," for a total of 19 songs in the set including the encore. Their first ever overseas regular live show "W1" was a huge success and they were ecstatic to the end for the 100 or so fans that were present.

 

2017 marks the 2nd year since their debut. This year they have already performed outside Japan three times - they were in Thailand in February, Taiwan in April, and they returned to Taiwan for a second show this month. They are also set to embark to Europe for the first time where they received a guest invitation to perform at Japan Expo in Paris next month. The week following their July performance in Paris they will be heading to Shanghai to perform twice, making it already a total of 5 overseas concerts by the middle of year.

 

We cannot take our eyes away from the global standards of "The World Standard"!

 

 

Related article: Japanese idol group Wa-suta to perform in Paris at JAPAN EXPO in July!

Related article: Wa-suta perform new song & announce Taiwan solo show at their 2nd anniversary concert!

Idol group Wa-suta have been actively targeting every corner of the earth, and are now commemorating the sale of their first ever single on Wednesday 28^th September. From this date, their collaboration café “Wa-suta presents The Perfect Idol Café” (わーすたpresents完全なるアイドルCafe ) will be open for a limited period only in Harajuku!

 

■Related article：Disseminate the idol culture to the world! Looking at the real face of Wa-suta

 

The interior of the collaboration café will be decorated to match the theme of the music video for Wa-suta’s first single “The Perfect Idol”. The doll boxes in the music video have also been reproduced! Have your fill of gothic rock with Wa-suta’s collaboration menu which includes original drinks to represent the members, a Wa-suta-themed food menu and much more! There will be a big screen streaming videos of Wa-suta’s live performances and their music videos！ Fans can enjoy playing on the café limited original crane game, or try their luck with the original limited capsule toy machine! This café is equipped with everything it needs to become the perfect Wa-suta café!!

 

The venue for this café “AREA-Q” can be accessed from Harajuku or Shibuya. After hosting many collaboration cafes with other famous groups including VAMPS, UVERworld and Nogizaka46, this venue has gained lots of love and attention, and will now be transformed into a Wa-suta-themed café! This summer, Wa-suta performed at SUMMER SONIC, played the role of an official supporter at the Tokyo Game Show 2016, and for a fixed period, performed a one band live at O-EAST to a full venue of people! Wa-suta are advancing forwards, and the new collaboration café is your chance to enjoy the fun that they bring!

 

 

■Information

(Wa-suta presents The Perfect Idol Café) わーすた presents 完全なるアイドルCafé

Limited 13 day period：Thursday 28^th September 2016 ～ Monday 10^th October (national holiday)

※ On Wednesday 28^th September, Wa-suta will be holding a release event for their single “The Perfect Idol”. This is a pre-open event limited to this day only. From Thursday 29^th September until Monday 10^th October, the limited café will continue a regular service.

 

Business hours：12:00～21:00　(Entry every 70 minutes)

Venue：AREA-Q(Tokyo・Harajuku)

※ Approx 6 min walk from Harajuku station (JR Yamanote line)/ Approx 1 min walk from Meiji jingu-mae (Tokyo metro Chiyoda line・Fukutoshin line )

 

Entry fee：￥1,700(including tax)

※ Entry fee includes: Admission fee、１drink、original coaster（random）

※ It is possible for those under the age of 3 to enter the venue for free if they sit on your knees. A ticket is required for those aged 3 or over.

 

Official website：http://www.areaq.jp/wa-suta/

Café official Twitter account　@wa_sutacafe

If you have any queries, please contact：AREA-QTEL　info@areaq.jp

 

「AREA-Q」

Location：Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 6-28-6 「Q Plaza Harajuku」7^th floor.

東京都渋谷区神宮前6-28-6「キュープラザ原宿」7F

Approx 6 min walk from Harajuku station (JR Yamanote line)

Approx 1 min walk from Meiji jingumae (Tokyo metro Chiyoda line・Fukutoshin line )

 

 

■Related article：Lucky 7s all round — Cheeky Parade’s new formation of 7 celebrates Oricon Daily Ranking of 7th place achieved by their new single released on 7th September!