In 2008, Asami Sakurada (above, red beret) was unknown. She spent that September dressed as an Xbox Event companion at the Tokyo Game Show. Even in early 2010, she was doing booth companion work, appearing at AOU arcade show in the Konami booth. But by late 2010, she had a huge fan base, TV appearances, a record deal, and a hit song about, well, fucking.
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Ayaman Japanâs popularity exploded in late 2010. The group describes themselves as idols. But theyâre not idols in the traditional sense. Idols are supposed to be pure, beyond reproach. These girls are anything but.
ăThe leader of Ayaman Japan is a twenty-something year-old named Ayaman, who is the groupâs Crotch Boss (the group also has an Ass Boss). There are apparently over a hundred Ayaman Japan members, and what they do is show up at parties and bars and play games, sing songs, flirt, and generally act silly. Their performances are called âenkai geiâ and are designed to get people in the mood to unwind, toss down booze, and have fun.
In the last several years, some Japanese fashion models have moved away from being overtly cute to being either gross or simply silly. Take Jun Komori, who started out as your typical Popteen fashion model, but was able to separate herself by her funny faces and land a role in Yakuza: Of the End. Itâs similar to what Jenny McCarthy did so she wouldnât be viewed as just another Playboy bunny.
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The infamous âroller coasterâ gag. (NTV)
âIf AKB48 are idols you can meet,â leader Ayaman recently said on variety show Shabekuri 007, âweâre idols you canâŚâ That last bit was bleeped out on television.
Ayaman Japan says itâs an amateur group, and thus, doesnât accept money when its members appear at parties or events. Apparently, theyâll show up anywhere, anytime. The catch is that you have to know one of its hundred members to get them to appear.
The notion that there are a hundred Ayaman Japan party girls, just waiting to make lewd jokes and sing silly songs seems far fetchedâeven for Japan. There are accounts online of people who claimed to have partied with Ayaman members, compromising pics of supposed members, either drunk, topless, or both. All this fuels the Ayaman Japan mythos.
In Japan, there are âGal Circlesâ, which are basically clubs with rules. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were girl gangs in Japan, getting in fights, riding motorbikes, and stealing things. Gal circles are different. They not only dress similarly (in flashy âgalâ fashion) and engage in line-style âpara paraâ dancing, but gal circles, like Angeleek, have rules.
Sakurada at the Microsoftâs TGS booth (ăăĄăŠăăŽé¨ĺą)
Members of Angeleek, perhaps the biggest and most famous gal circle, have to agree to stipulations like, âYou must be politeâ, âYou must create a fun atmosphereâ, and even, âYou canât have a smelly pussyâ. The Eurobeat-infused para para dancing, with its origins in the traditional dances of Japanese summer festivals, is synonymous with gal circles. Gal circles also hold dance events at clubs, which means they can be a money-making enterprise.
Ayaman Japan takes gal circles, para para dancing, and hyper sexuality and repackages that in a silly, catchy song âPoi Poi Poi Po Poi Poi Po Piâ thatâs all about boobs, muscles, dicks, and getting off. Besides being the Boob Boss, Sakurada is in charge of coming up with new Ayaman Japan drinking games. Sure beats passing out fliers at the Tokyo Game Show, I guess!
Culture Smash is a daily dose of things topical, interesting and sometimes even awesomeâgame related and beyond.
(Top photo: Yoshimoto R and C)
