ATARASHII GAKKO! WORLD TOUR PT.1 at indigo, London

ATARASHII GAKKO! might be blowing up right now, but their worldwide explosion has had a near decade-long fuse. The school-themed dance and vocal group formed back in 2015, while Suzuka, Kanon, Mizyu and Rin were still genuine schoolgirls, although it hasn’t always been straight A’s for them. Initial success, based on an idiosyncratic jazz-influenced sound, stalled and they were dropped by their record label in 2019. They were so short of funds that the original video for their signature song, OTONABLUE, was recorded on mobile phones at a karaoke bar and edited by the members themselves.

Just as they were trying to out figure out how they were going to make it in Japan, the opportunity arose to go international. They were picked up by US-based label 88Rising who specialise in bringing Asian artists to western audiences. Calamity can often also turn out to be an opportunity, and as COVID shut down live music venues in Japan, ATARASHII GAKKO! upped their online presence with a barrage of TikTok dance and comedy skits. 88Rising’s marketing efforts may have been concentrated on the USA but the internet gets everywhere, virally spreading the ATARASHII GAKKO! message far and wide.

This elevated international profile generated a feedback loop of success in Japan. Well-received appearances in the USA were matched by an impressive step up back home. They sold out the Nippon Budokan, a huge achievement in any Japanese act’s career. Whatever you might think of NHK TV’s venerable New Year’s music show Kohaku Uta Gassen, their appearance as the opening act of the 2023 show put them right in the spotlight of Japan’s media mainstream. Now they’re riding the growing wave of momentum, embarking on their first world tour, taking in Europe and East Asia before heading out on a coast-to-coast spin across North America after a summer break.

Their overseas following has grown at such a rate that they skipped several tiers of venue to make their UK debut. There are plenty of Japanese arena-filling acts that have been obliged to make their first appearance in much humbler surroundings. First time out, ATARASHII GAKKO! landed at the iconic O2. Originally called the Millennium Dome, a government project to regenerate one of the grottiest corners of London, a derelict gas works polluted with toxic sludge has been transformed into one of Europe’s premier entertainment centres. ATARASHII GAKKO! may not quite be ready to play the capacious main arena, but they comfortably filled its companion venue, the 2,750 capacity indigo.


A long wait in the British summer rain did nothing to dampen the crowd's enthusiasm. ATARASHII GAKKO!’s international fandom has an impressive spread, from excited little kids to grey-haired oldsters, and there were even a few AG! cosplayers (male and female!) The venue was plunged into darkness as synthesised Westminster chimes rang out, a sound that symbolises the start of the school day in Japan.

Animation on the big screen splashed an AG! logo all over, building the atmosphere. The stage was bathed in red light as ATARASHII GAKKO! briskly walked on and assembled themselves into a human pyramid, with  Suzuka at its peak. They looked sharp in their colourful patchwork ‘dotera’ jackets, worn over their usual ‘sailor-fuku’ school uniform outfits, complete with ‘uwabaki’ school slippers and socks emblazoned with kanji mottos, encouraging individuality.

Suzuka announced “London! We are ATARASHII GAKKO!” before demolishing the pyramid and launching into the bouncy opening number Toryanse. The crowd was instantly swept up in their energy, jumping and chanting along, and they didn’t let up all night. Omakase was a similar combination of traditional instruments and dance beats with Suzuka’s bold, dramatic vocals countered by Rin’s quickfire rapping.

They ditched the ‘dotera’ jackets for Giri Giri, and the song’s insistent beat reflected the “just in the nick of time” meaning of the song’s title. Suzuka led chants to keep the atmosphere going as, having just changed out of one outfit, they changed into another, donning their ‘gakuran’-style long black school coats for a remixed version of Pineapple Krypronite. ATARASHII GAKKO!'s self-choreographed routines always come up with something weird and interesting, and the song saw the four of them combine to create a motorbike. Mizyu’s twin-tails were made into handlebars as Suzuka drove it like she stole it. Whether they crashed or parked, they flew apart and formed a line, arms outstretched, jumping to the screeching techno beat as the whole venue bounced along with them.


Suzuka is blessed with an abundance of personality and knows exactly how to work a crowd. She led chants of “ATARASHII GAKKO!” to build the energy for the much-anticipated OTONABLUE. It’s become their signature song and signifies their remarkable journey. Created when they were at a low ebb, its huge viral success has sent them riding the crest of a wave around the world. The London audience sang it back at them in Japanese and, though this must have been the umpteenth time ATARASHII GAKKO! had performed the song, they still looked as if they were having as much fun with it as they ever did.

They made another quick dash to the back of the stage to retrieve their glittery whisk brooms, which are the props for Arigato. The glammed-up cleaning equipment served as Freddie Mercury-style mic stands, air guitars to the song’s funky riff and boom mics that were pointed into the crowd to pick up their shouts of “Arigato”. They even swept the floor a bit.

Suzuka thanked everyone, shouting out increasing silly variations of “Arigato!” that the crowd mimicked back in equally silly voices, then Rin and Kanon joined in, "Konnichiwa"-ing back and forth with everybody. Suzuka complimented their new language students with “Nice Japanese!” before introducing next song Hello with “We want to say ‘Hello’ to the world!”

ATARASHII GAKKO!'s choreography is intricate and precise, but there are also plenty of moves built in for crowd participation. Even jam-packed in at the front, there’s room for arms to wave in the air. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah” and “H-E-L-L-O Hello!” might be the simplest songwriting possible, but it’s perfect singalong material for crowds anywhere in the world and all adds to the party atmosphere. They relaxed the mood a little with the 80s disco vibe of Forever Sisters and Suzuka finished with “We are ATARASHII GAKKO!: Mizyu, Rin, Suzuka, Kanon. Forever sisters, around the world.” You couldn’t help but feel that this was the one moment in the show when ATARASHII GAKKO!’s joker was absolutely serious.

The 88Rising connection has afforded ATARASHII GAKKO! with opportunities for new musical collaborations, and they served up a double bill of songs by Beastie Boys long-time keyboardist Money Mark. The bubbly energy of CANDY, with its quacky hand actions, got the whole place chanting and jumping again and the chill synth pop of Fantastico had a little comedy limbo dancing skit.


In amongst the tightly choreographed dance routines, there’s always room for ATARASHII GAKKO!'s individual personalities to shine through and we saw a bit of that during the mid-set dance break. Rin has been immersed in rap and hip hop music from an early age thanks to her parents' record collection, and she put her prize-winning hip hop dance skills to use with a bout of body popping. The ever-graceful Kanon turned raging headbanger, swirling her long locks everywhere, before elegantly swishing her hair back in order and tiptoeing sweetly aside for Suzuka. Always ready to act the fool, she goofed around with her skirt flipped up over her shoulders while the others checked out her behind. Mizyu always seems so sweet, unless you cross her, then she’ll blitz you with her twin-tail helicopter attack. She broke out her trademark move as Kanon improvised her own version and Rin twizzled her ponytail.

Having given their vocal cords a rest, they got back to it with the oddly split personality of WOO! GO!’s sugary chorus and guttural chanting followed by the angsty pop-trap of Suki Lie. Suzuka took the chance to plug their new album, “AG Calling! June 7 release! Did you listen?” The cheers that erupted suggested a big chunk of the crowd had picked it up on release, and they weren’t the only ones – it debuted at number one on Japan’s Billboard album download chart. Suzuka asked “What’s your favourite song?” She cocked an exaggerated hand to her ear as the crowd shouted out their faves, then jumped down in to the photo-pit, asking along the front row, until she got the right answer, “Fly High!”, the theme to anime "Baki Hanma vs Kengan Ashura". The track matched the movie’s pugilistic theme as Rin led with some punchy rapping and they threw down stylised boxing moves to the heavy EDM beat. They finished the one-two combo with another bombastic stomper, Tokyo Calling, which combined intricate dance moves synchronised right down to their fingertips with big crowd-pleasing waving arms and rousing chants of “We are marching!”

Suzuka jumped down and climbed up on the crowd barrier to announce, “Last Song!” She grasped a lucky fan’s hand, while a crew member grasped her waistband, lest she disappear overboard into the heaving sea of bodies. NAINAINAI set everybody off waving their arms and singing along. Suzuka climbed back on stage, then carried on climbing, scaling Kanon’s shoulders.

As the song drew to a close, they gave their own hilarious interpretation of James Brown’s famous ‘cape routine’. Suzuka sang “I don’t wanna go!” in response to her groupmates' “We gotta go!” and refused to be parted from her adoring fans. Mizyu wrapped Suzuka in a ‘dotera’ coat, doubling for The Godfather of Soul’s cape, as Kanon and Rin ganged up and helped to drag her away. Suzuka broke free again before jumping down to perch herself on the barriers again to finish the song. They lined up to say goodbye but Suzuka couldn’t resist leading the crowd in a chant of “London calling!” She was having an absolute blast with the crowd under her spell and let out a huge excited scream. They eventually got around to making their bow then scampered off stage, but with further mischief in mind.


Chants and cheers filled the venue and it wasn't not long before ATARASHII GAKKO!reappeared wearing tour t-shirts. The encore was a slightly more mellow affair compared to the high energy of the main set, led off with the happy-clappy pop of Free Your Mind. There was time for a quick souvenir photo before the final song and they let the hyped-up crowd down lightly with the sweet and gentle Que Sera, Sera as everybody waved goodbye.

The songs may have finished but the crowd weren’t done just yet, shouting “AG! AG! AG!” Kanon wiggled her backside in time to the chant while Suzuka and Mizyu took turns smacking it. Once they’d done with this cheeky business, Suzuka had a burning question for the London audience.

“Why?! Why AG fans in Europe?” Suzuka shouted, asking the assembled crowd how come they’ve shown up to see them when they’ve never been here before. “So many many! We don’t know! My heart is explosion!” Then she went through the rest of the group, “Mizyu, brain explosion! Kanon, legs explosion! Rin-chan, mouth explosion!” as each mimed the respective parts of their anatomy going bang from the excitement of it all.

“London is done. We’ll miss you guys!” Suzuka admitted as she put on a big sad-face. All was not lost though, as she shouted “We want to come again!” which sent a huge cheer ringing round the venue. Suzuka led the crowd in one final burst of “London calling!” which sent Mizyu scurrying all over the stage, even after the chanting had finished. At last, they lined up to take their final bow and with a cry of “Iko!” Suzuka led ATARASHII GAKKO! offstage.

And just in case that didn't paint a vivid enough picture of the night's proceedings for you, go ahead and check out the photo gallery below.

Set list

01. Toryanse
02. Omakase
03. Giri Giri
04. Pineapple Kryptonite
05. OTONABLUE
06. Arigatou
07. Hello
08. Forever Sisters
09. CANDY
10. Fantastico
11. Dance Dance Dance (Dance solos)
12. WOO! GO!
13. Suki Lie
14. Fly High
15. Tokyo Calling
16. NAINAINAI

Encore

17. Free Your Mind
18. Que Sera, Sera