Voice Actors, Wota Life, and Crossdressing | 5 Types of Male Idol Groups I'd Like To See

Hey there, idol fans! As you probably already know, there is an idol group for pretty much everything (does the Happy Science cult idol group still exist?). Any specific, bizarre interest you have, there is probably an idol group that caters to it. However, there doesn't seem to be as many male idol groups with quirky concepts out there as there are female groups. Here's a list of a few concepts I'd like to see in the world of male idols in the future. Here's hoping a male idol agency will hire me someday so I can make some of these happen, haha.

1. A group with rotating members

When you think of female idol groups, outfits such as AKB48 and Morning Musume. tend to spring to mind. These groups have been around for a long time but have managed to stay somewhat relevant partially due to their 'rotating member system'. Basically a member will graduate (be it to move onto the next stage of their life, they're 'let go' because of a scandal, or they just simply reach a certain age) and every so often an audition will be held to replace the member(s) that have left. This concept doesn't seem to exist in the world of male idols. With male idol groups, the line-up seems to be more-or-less set in stone once they have their debut. If a member does leave they most likely won't be replaced. I'd love to see a male idol group with a concept more reminiscent of these kinds of female groups, where members graduate and auditions are held regularly. Fans can get to know the new auditionees through social media or TV shows and maybe even get to vote for their favourites. (Pictured: JUNON SUPERBOY ANOTHERS)

2. An 'idol otaku' group

I think pretty much every idol has at least some amount of appreciation for fellow idols, and there are some idols (e.g. Nishioka Kengo) who are not ashamed to admit that their love of idols was a big part of what influenced them to become idols themselves. However, I'd love to see an entire group with this concept! Imagine an idol who has a genuine love and support for other idols. Imagine being able to gush about your favourite idols to one of your favourite idols who also loves idols. Lots of idols. Idolception. (Pictured: Nishioka Kengo from MAG!C☆PRINCE)

3. A group that's part anime and part real life

There are a couple of groups that already kind of meet this concept but what I'm talking about is something like a male equivalent to "Wake Up, Girls!". In this franchise, the girls in the anime all share names and other characteristics with the voice actresses who play them and the voice actresses are active in a kind of 'real life version' of the anime's idol group. We do already have virtual male idol groups such as Hi!Superb, but I'd love to see an actual male idol group with a whole anime franchise formed around it as well. (Pictured: Hi!Superb)

Tokyo Candoll -BOYS- 2018 Entrants | Who Will We Be Seeing At This Year's Japan Expo?!

Japan Expo just recently made the announcement that the group BANZAI JAPAN were the winners of this year's Tokyo Candoll -- an annual competition for upcoming female idol groups -- and thus they would be taking the stage at this year's event, just as groups such as notall and Yuigadokuson have done in previous years. But if you're anything like me, that would've led you to wonder "What about the boys?!" I'm a little impatient when it comes to idol boys, okay?

Just last year the first ever edition of Tokyo Candoll -BOYS- was held which from the name you've probably already guessed is pretty much the same thing but for male idols. Last year's winners were the group EPIC STAR and Japan Expo was lucky enough to see a very succesful performance from them.

But you don't want to hear about last year, right? You want to know about which cute idol boys will be gracing the stage at this year's Japan Expo. The winner of Tokyo Candoll -BOYS- has not been properly announced yet but from some snooping around online I do have reason to believe that the winner is the last group on this list so if you just want to know about the winner then you can skip straight to the end. However, there were a lot of interesting groups competing this year so if you'd like to learn about some new groups along the way then let's get started! Please note though that most of these groups are indie groups who have only recently made their debut -- some don't even have a website yet -- so there likely won't be a huge heap of information about them online but I'll share what I can find.

 

TOONBOYS

TOONBOYS is a 4-piece male idol group, with the members having an average height of 180cm. They released their first single "Toon leads love" in February of this year.

Links:
Twitter
YouTube

ENVii GABRIELLA

ENVii GABRIELLA is a 3-member self-produced boy group. All of the members are gay men who previously worked as soloists in different fields. They debuted in 2017 with the single "High Heels".

Links:
Website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
 

FEARLESS

FEARLESS is a 4-member male idol unit under the agency MovingFactory (also responsible for competitor group MAUVE) that debuted in 2017 with the mini album "Buzzin' People". All of their releases thus far are available on iTunes and Spotify and let me just warn you, they're catchy as heck.

Links:
Twitter
Agency Website
Agency YouTube