Candy Soup
Just when you thought Japan couldn’t get any weirder, brace yourself for Candy Soup. Candy Soup is a new project from an international group of Tokyoites which follows the exploits of an ‘idol group’ through a series of 5 minute internet video episodes, and aims to bring a new dimension to the screens of Japan. “It is a surreal comedy parody of Japanese television genres” explains one of the creators, Justin Miller, “it will be Japanese language and every 4 episodes or so we switch genres (soap opera, detective, food show, Ultra-man, etc.) but the main characters will stay the same”.
And what main characters they are. The female idol group are played by a group of foreign and Japanese guys who don wigs and super skimpy skirts to fulfill their role. “There will be a shy one, cute one, wild one, one who loves to eat – all the cliché characters…The original story involves us meeting and vowing to make the big audition/battle of the bands” says Justin.
Citing shows such as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Mighty Boosh and Tim and Eric as influences, expect the result to be a bizarre journey indeed. “It has been a year in the planning stages and once we finally got together I was not disappointed” Justin told us, “Everyone really chips in to make this a really collective project. The main goal was to do something creative that we could be proud of and all have fun doing and in that we totally succeeded”.
Coming at a time when idol groups are so prevalent in Japan, Candy Soup aims to tap into those seeking an alternative take on popular culture, as Justin sums up; “Some may say they have had too much of the idol groups. Now is a perfect time to poke a little fun at that institution”. The first episode will air at a special Candy Soup fundraiser party on December 1st at M Bar in Daikanyama. For more information on this event please visit the event page.
Words: Mark Birtles
Translation: Maika Tomori
November 24, 2012
