Music / NiziU

NiziU (JP: ニジュー, KR: 니쥬, both pronounced nee-juu) is a Japanese Girl Group created and managed by Korean agency JYP Entertainment, distributed domestically by Sony Music Japan. Formed through the elimination show Nizi Project, the group had a "soft debut" in June 2020 with their first song "Make You Happy" before a full debut six months later with their first single "Step and a Step". They are an unusual melding of Japanese artists with Korean-style training.

Despite having the bad fortune of debuting in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group nonetheless managed to notch some impressive feats quickly. They appeared on the prestigious New Year's Eve broadcast Kohaku Uta Gassen less than a month after their official debut (they would also perform in 2021 and 2022). Their inaugural songs, particularly "Make You Happy", won awards from MTV and the RIAJ. Their song "Paradise" was used as the theme for the 2023 Doraemon movie, "Nobita's Sky Utopia".

In October 2023, the group would make their official debut in Korea with their single Press Play with its title song "HEARTRIS". On November 8th, 2023, they made history as the first non-Korean group to win one of Korea's music programs by beating out several heavy-hitters to earn an award on Show Champion.

The members, in order of descending age:

• MAKO (マコ) {full name Mako Yamaguchi (山口 真子)} [Date Of Birth: 2001-04-04] – The Leader
• RIO (リオ) {full name Rio Hanabashi (花橋 梨緒)} [D.O.B: 2002-02-04]
• MAYA (マヤ) {full name Maya Katsumura (勝村 摩耶)} [D.O.B: 2002-04-08]
• RIKU (リク) {full name Riku Oe (大江 梨久)} [D.O.B: 2002-10-26]
• AYAKA (アヤカ) {full name Ayaka Arai (新井 彩花)} [D.O.B: 2003-06-20]
• MAYUKA (マユカ) {full name Mayuka Ogou (小合 麻由佳)} [D.O.B: 2003-11-13]
• RIMA (リマ) {full name Rima Nakabayashi (中林 里茉)^*  Surname originally "Yokoi" (横井)} [D.O.B: 2004-03-26]
• MIIHI (ミイヒ) {full name Miihi Suzuno (鈴野 未光)} [D.O.B: 2004-08-12]
• NINA (ニナ) {full name Nina Makino-Hillman (牧野 仁菜・ヒルマン)} [D.O.B: 2005-02-27]

Discography

Albums

• U (November 2021)
• Coconut (July 2023)

Singles – Physical Only

• Step and a Step (December 2020)
• Take A Picture / Poppin’ Shakin’ (April 2021)
• Clap Clap (July 2022)
• Blue Moon (December 2022)
• Paradise (March 2023)
• Press Play (October 2023) [Korean Debut]

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Their official website is here. Their Youtube channel is here. Their twitter is here. Here is their Instagram.

As a nine-member girl-group from JYPE with a cute vibe and strong stage presence that came into being through an elimination show, it is easy to compare them to their "big sister" group TWICE, except Japanese. This is not at all unwarranted especially since two of Twice's three Japanese members participated in Nizi Project – Momo was a dancing judge and Sana popped in from time to time along with serving as MC during the final episode.

We Need Tropes!

• Arc Number: On September 14th 2023, the members revealed their personal numbers which would be included in an upcoming merchandise drop, along with explaining their reasoning.
  • Mako = 23^*  (her JYPE audition number was 23, and her final audition was on a 23rd)
  • Rio = 24^*  (her birthday is February 4th, plus she feels connections to 2 and 4 individually)
  • Maya = 48^*  (her birthday is April 8th, plus she likes "8" due to its resemblance to infinity [∞])
  • Riku = 26^*  (her birthday is October 26th, plus NiziU officially formed on June 26th)
  • Ayaka = 20^*  (her birthday is June 20th, plus "20" is pronounced identically to NiziU in Japanese)
  • Mayuka = 13^*  (it was her student number, her sports jersey number, and her birthday is November 13th)
  • Rima = 3^*  (it was her volleyball jersey number and also her final placement in Nizi Project)
  • Miihi = 5^*  (she considers it her lucky number, no more or less)
  • Nina = 27^*  (her birthday is February 27th, also the numbers can be pronounced "ni-na")
• But Not Too Foreign:
  • Rima is full-Japanese, although she doesn't look it, but told JYP during her audition that she had been at an international school since she was a toddler and was more comfortable with English. During one video she joked with Nina (in English) about having "Fake International" appeal.
  • Nina is a haafu – in her case, White father + Japanese mother – from Seattle. At the time she auditioned for Nizi Project, she had only been in Japan for two years and spoke little Japanese before then. JYP, himself fluent in English due to spending part of his childhood in America but known to struggle with Japanese, told her he was impressed with how quickly she had picked up the language.
• Catchphrase: "We NiziU!" This is a pun because it sounds identical in Japanese to the English phrase "We Need You!", thus not only identifying themselves but also stressing the importance of their fanbase.
• Color Motifs: As standard for groups like this, every girl is associated with a color. The group itself uses the seven-shade rainbow (with both blue and indigo) as one of its logos.
  • Mako is Orange
  • Rio is Baby Blue
  • Maya is Purple
  • Riku is Yellow
  • Ayaka is White
  • Mayuka is Mint Green
  • Rima is Red
  • Miihi is Pink
  • Nina is Blue
• Creator Cameo: JYP shows up in the music video for "Make You Happy" roller-skating alongside Nina and then, as he does, falls over while Nina skates away with barely a reaction.
• Gratuitous English: As one expects from an Asian pop group. At least in NiziU's case they have fluent speakers Nina and Rima to help it be less awkward.
• The Idiot from Osaka: Discussed early in the To.NiziU series. Riku is from Osaka and speaks with a thick Kansai accent. In her first episode she was paired with Mayuka, the only other Kansai girl in the group, and part of their conversation revolved around how the other girls saw them as natural goofs due to their dialect.
• Shout-Out: "Make You Happy", references several JYPE girl-group songs during its rap bridge.
  Tell Me Like OOH-AHH, FANCY me do not, Be Icy I'm So Hot, No Good-bye Baby goodbye…
• Sleepy Head: Discussed several times with Miihi, who claimed early on to have the ability to fall asleep anywhere within five seconds. Other members quickly backed this up by showing photos of her sleeping in unusual locations.
• Statuesque Stunner: Ayaka and Nina are the twin pillars of the group, standing about 5’7”, visibly taller than the other girls (Nina was a bit shorter at the start but she was also only 15). It's particularly noticeable when either of them meet their JYPE seniors – for example when Nina and TWICE's Mina (~5’4½”) met in Summer 2023 during promotions for their respective albums, Nina's height advantage was obvious.
• Teen Idol: Not a single member had reached her 20's at debut time. Mako was the oldest at 19, with Nina the youngest at barely 15. Because of their youth, being shorter on average than Korean Idols (with a couple of obvious exceptions, see above), and Japan being Japan, it made sense for the group's concept to be by far the cutest JYPE ever cooked up.
• Translated Cover Version: Being a Korean-run Japanese group with two fluent English speakers, this was inevitable. Like TWICE before them, they've released foreign language cuts of some of their title tracks…
  • "Make You Happy" has a Korean version
  • "Step and a Step" has a Korean version (no music video or official upload for this one)
  • "Take A Picture" has an English version
  • "Poppin' Shakin'" has an English version
  • "ASOBO" has an English version
  • "Paradise" has a Korean version (no music video for this one either)
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: Rima and Mayuka are in charge of this, the former tending to handle any Gratuitous English while the latter mostly raps in Japanese.