13 Songs to Define Houkago Princess

With a thirteen year tenure and 61 songs to date — not including variants of the same song released in different years — there is no denying that Houkago Princess have a pretty decent discography under their belt. Over the years, Houkago Princesses sound has continued to evolve and new tracks have undoubtedly shined over older ones, so it begs the question: which of these tracks truly defines Houkago Princess, and which ones have stood the test of time?

It’s time to take a look at some of the songs in Houkago Princesses repertoire and see which ones currently define the group as a whole.

Back in July of 2011, I was reading my daily dose of Tokyohive when a little article popped up about a new group that would make their debut. With a debut date set for August 7th 2011, Houkago Princess was soon born. Now, 13 years on, the group is still thriving and their music has truly evolved since their humble beginnings in Ikebukuro.

With this milestone in mind, I wanted to create a list of thirteen songs that I feel truly define Houkago Princess, be it in image or sound. With so many songs, it makes sense that some will be performed more than others, so I wanted to challenge myself as a fan of the group and their music to whittle down exactly which ones currently define the group as a means of celebrating their 13th year as a group.

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Esprit D’Air announce ‘Seasons & Aeons’ Tour

With 2024 still in motion, Esprit D’Air looks towards an exciting future in 2025.

With 2024 already over the halfway point, Esprit D’Air is already looking towards the year 2025. With their 15th anniversary on the horizon, it’s no surprise that the group is gearing up to create a memorable year for not only themselves, but their fans as well.

Just announced on July 31st, Esprit D’Air will hold their highly anticipated Seasons & Aeons Tour for 2025, with dates spanning across Europe. From England to Spain, Esprit D’Air have so far packed their up-coming tour with an impressive 9 countries in 15 different cities. Beginning on 22 March in Bristol, UK, the tour will conclude in Barcelona, Spain, on 28 April, with additional dates to be announced.

Due to the incredible success of their last European tour, which saw 17 of their 22 tour dates sold out, Esprit D’Air will now be playing at bigger venues with a capacity of 500 – 1,500 attendees,

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Kickstarting Your Heart For The Cro-Magnons

Article by: Beth / @magnonrockcave
Edited by: Kelly-Mae Matt

The last time I wrote anything about The Cro-Magnons – or ダ・クロマニヨンズ  as the t shirts are branded – they had 13 albums and counting. Now they have 17 albums, with at least 20 or so amazing hits among them. That’s not even counting the tracks by the same songwriters previous bands The Hi Lows, and perhaps the more globally famous The Blue Hearts. Basically, they’ve been writing great rock songs since 1985 and have barely ever stopped.

From L–R: Masaru Kobayashi (Ba.), Hiroto Kohmoto (Vo.), Masatoshi Mashima (Gr.), Katsuji Kirita (Dr.) (Photo courtesy of Sony Music Japan)

At this point, The Cro-Magnons are the longest running line-up of all three groups. Balancing the new energy of their current drummer Katsuji Kirita and bassist Masaru Kobayashi, alongside common denominators Mashima Masatoshi on guitar and Hiroto Kohmoto singing/playing the harmonica, the latter of which continues to steal the stage; this is not a bad thing and, as I have said before, Hiroto Kohmoto is a ball of energy and I just don’t know how he does it.

So, whether you have never heard of them and I convinced you in the past, or somewhere down the line you have heard a few songs and want to hear more, it begs the question: With this much of a discography, where do you start? Well, that’s ultimately subjective, and I’ll just cover The Cro-Magnons discography here, but I do have a source besides myself this time. 

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Re:O RONIN

Re:O are back with their brand new single Ronin. With their dark and infectious blend of metal and dark pop, this track is ready to set the world ablaze.

Ronin is the 5th single to be released by Re:O. A high energy, blood pumping and aggressive anthem that combines metal with a fresh blend of J-Pop and dark pop tones. Symphonic ambience and dissonance creates a surreal and ambitious soundscape that will captivate any fan of metal, metalcore, and nu metal to post hardcore and rock, leaving them wanting more!

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Idols You Should Know (From The Depths of the Underground)

Article By: Benny / @Codomomentality
Edited by: Kelly-Mae Matt

Hello there! This is Benny / Codomomentality!

Over on twitter, I recently made a post expressing my desire to see the Western fans of Japanese music get into more idol groups. Right now, it seems like a lot of people stick to the same stuff but, once you really dig into the depths of Idol, you will see that there’s so many diverse and amazing groups hidden within it, and that’s what I would like to show the Japanese music fans today.

With that being said, here are 5 groups that I think we should all be talking about more and showing our support for!

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Senpai’s Soundtrack: Songs For The Summer

Now that the weather has finally started to brighten up in dreary ol’ England, I thought it was high-time to update my playlist with a few summer songs; and what better than to fill it than with some incredible Japanese tunes that were released this year?

Though I am more inclined to listen to the cuter side of J-pop – and there’s nothing wrong with that! – I have found a nice variety of tracks to keep me going this early Summer. From upbeat, adorable tracks to more heated tunes, this playlist is filled with the tunes that define ‘Summer’ for me.

Whether you find a song to uplift your spirits or drag you into the heat of an on-coming summer, I hope that you can also find something to enjoy here in my Senpai Soundtrack. Are you ready to tune in and give these songs a go?

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GARUDA is Ready To Fly High In Her UK and EU Resurrection: Exclusive Interview with Yuffie Sakimura, aka GARUDA

Edited by Panda and Kelly-Mae Matt

It’s time to bring on the Darkness and bow down to GARUDA’s brilliance once more!

Hot off the new release of her mini-album, Phoenix of Resurrection, Industrial Idol Yuffie Sakimura has been touring relentlessly alongside her group not only as a member of Melon Batake a GoGo, but also as her solo counterpart, GARUDA.

The joining of GARUDA with Gollipop Records has given us not one, but two incredible MVs and, much to the delight of fans, ‘REINCARNATION and ‘FLY HIGH AGAIN’ feature members of both the Melons and label mates, The Grateful A Mogaaz!

With a hectic timetable, Yuffie-san is also set to embark on her up-coming international tour with popular idol Yurapico, as part of the Zuukyun June tour! To say fans are sure to be delighted to enjoy the new music of GARUDA in a live setting once again would be an understatement!

With her sights set on bringing darkness to the UK and Europe, Yuffie-san joins Beyond Senpai once again to tell us all about her new EP and the up-coming tour.

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Get ready for ZUUKYUN June!

“Zuukyun June” Brings Tokyo Underground Idols YURAPICO and GARUDA to Europe!


This June, Tokyo’s underground idols YURAPICO and GARUDA are touring Europe. Tebasaki Group K.K., together with Kushikatsu Records, German Idol Society (GiS), and Dutch Idol Community (DiC), are excited to announce three shows across three countries.

Zuukyun, meaning a sudden, strong heart-pounding sensation, sets the theme for these idols to stir up some serious excitement!

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Satanic Punish Mana Manomu Interview Exclusive: ‘It is a record of my life… the final destination where I can be me.’

Edited by Kelly-Mae Matt

With the dawn of a new member on the horizon, it only feels right that Mana Manomu has taken a step forward as the newly appointed leader of Satanic Punish.

With the new era of Satanic Punish set to begin on May 25th this month, Mana Manomu, who has been the sole driving force behind Satanic Punish for a year now, will finally be joined by newest member Shikiin ‘RinRin’ / ‘Cathy’ Catherine. Now, it’s Manomu’s time to shine as the groups official leader.

With a year’s worth of experience working alone, as well as the milestones she has hit along the way, Beyond Senpai wanted to catch up with Manomu and talk about not only her time in Satanic Punish, but the groups latest song, ‘metaverse’, as well as her thoughts on the groups newest member.

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Satanic Punish New Member Interview Exclusive: ‘I want to touch your heart with my singing’

Edited by Panda and Kelly-Mae Matt

A new dawn begins for Satanic Punish as, at last, a new member was revealed on May 5th, 2024.

Cathy – new member official photo

Shikiin Catherine – though she prefers the nicknames Cathy or Rinrin, she has stated on social media – has been welcomed as the newest member of the extreme idol unit.

Joining leader Mana Manomu, Cathy has expressed her feelings since the reveal about becoming the newest member ahead of her debut on May 25th. Prior to Cathy’s reveal, the dates for Satanic Punishes up-coming Autumn EU tour were announced, and will take place on September 20th in Arnhem, The Netherlands, and September 21st in Cologne, Germany.

In an exclusive interview, taken before the announcement and name reveal was made, Cathy tells Beyond Senpai how she feels about becoming the newest member of Satanic Punish and gives the fans an insight into who she is.

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