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Tokyo Girls' Style (Tokyo Joshi Ru) is a Japanese pop Girl Group of Child Popstars that debuted in 2010 under the avex label, put together due to demand for more Girl Groups. They're known for their rather mature songs and lyrics, which feels dissonant according to their appearances. Of note is the fact that their ages are kept a secret for a wider age appeal (though their ages have been leaked onto the Internet) until their concert at Budoukan in 2012.

To some fans with Nostalgia Filter for avex's former Girl Groups, they bear a striking resemblance to SweetS and are seen as their Spiritual Successors. It may have been intentional on avex's part, and Tokyo Girls' Style did do some Cover Versions of two of their biggest hit singles, as well as practice to their songs prior to their major label debut. Beginning in mid-2015, Tokyo Girls' Style have moved out of the Idol Singer genre and now consider themselves a standard Girl Group.

Members of Tokyo Girls' Style consist of:

  • Ayano Konishi, born December 15, 1997 (left in 2015)
  • Miyu Yamabe, born June 24, 1996
  • Hitomi Arai, born April 10, 1998
  • Yuri Nakae, born June 28, 1997
  • Mei Shyoji, born July 2, 1997

Discography

  • Kodou no Himitsu (2010)
  • Limited Addiction (2011)
  • Yakusoku (2013)
  • Killing Me Softly (2014)

Tropes that apply to Tokyo Girls' Style

  • Action Girl: The music video for "Rock You!" has the girls in camouflage gear as they navigate through a post-apocalyptic world.
  • All Guys Want Cheerleaders: "Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru" and "We Will Win ~Kokoro no Baton de Po Pon no Po~n~" depict them in cheerleading outfits.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: "Regret", highlighted in the line, "The one who is the most precious to you isn't me."
  • All Your Powers Combined: All the girls manage to blow up a huge boulder with The Power of Friendship in the music video for "Rock You!"
  • Animated Music Video: "LolitA Strawberry in Summer", which makes all avatars indistinguishable besides Hitomi, who's always in the center.
  • Anime Theme Song: "We Will Win ~Kokoro no Baton de Po Pon no Po~n~" is the theme song for Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream.
  • Break Up Song: "Liar" is about a break-up, with every refrain beginning with "Goodbye, goodbye."
  • Cannot Spit It Out: A couple of their songs but most notable in "Kodou no Himitsu", where the speaker can't seem to tell her crush that she likes him no matter what she does.
  • Cover Version: Tokyo Girls' Style covered "LolitA Strawberry in Summer" and "Love Like Candy Floss", both songs originally by SweetS and rearranged. They also covered ZONE's "Boku no Tegami" for their second album.
  • Crucified Hero Shot: In the music for "Jujika", there are several shots of the girls tied up to a crucifix.
  • Cute Sports Club Manager: Ayano and Yuri are portrayed as managers of the baseball team in the music video for "Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru", as Ayano is assigned with washing uniforms and Yuri has to clean baseballs. Of course, it goes without saying that the objects of their affection are on the baseball team.
  • Darker and Edgier: While Tokyo Girls' Style have strayed away from cute concepts early on in their career and have opted for more mature concepts, "Bad Flower" was a big turning point for them, as it depicted all girls in black with a dark, gritty beat.
  • Expy: Tokyo Girls' Style draws resemblances to Avex's former Girl Group SweetS, since they have the same number of members and were around the same age range. Tokyo Girls' Style have also covered two of their biggest hits, "LolitA Strawberry in Summer" and "Love Like Candy Floss", and released them as singles.
  • Gratuitous English: Tokyo Girls' Style doesn't use English as much as other conventional Japanese Pop Music groups do, but some of their songs, like "Onnaji Kimochi", have random English thrown in the chorus.
  • Lady in Red: Hitomi wears a red dress and poses sensually on top of a table while playing with an iguana in the music video for "Limited Addiction." Awkward when you realize that she was only 13 when the video was produced. Comes back again in a red dress in the music video for "Unmei."
  • Love Confession: Each of the girls give one in the music video for "Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru", except for Ayano, who's just content with finding the uniform her crush wore.
  • Love Nostalgia Song: "Sayonara, Arigatou" is basically about a person who parts ways with someone she loves without confessing and thanks the person for all the times they've spent together.
  • Lucky Charms Title: "Kirari" and "LolitA Strawberry in Summer" have a star stylized in their original titles.
  • Mind Screw: The music video for "Kodou no Himitsu."
  • Proper Tights With Skirt: The Elegant Gothic Lolita costumes in the music videos for "Kodou no Himitsu", "Rock You!", "LolitA Strawberry in Summer", and "Tsuioku."
  • The Rival: Ayano becomes Hitomi's rival in the music video and teasers for Partition Love.
  • Self-Backing Vocalist: The harmonies in the solo lines are usually done by the girls themselves.
  • Sleep Cute: Hitomi and Miyu in the music video for "Tsuioku", complete with Intertwined Fingers.
  • Teacher/Student Romance: The music video for Partition Love features all of the girls as fictionalized versions of themselves (complete with The Danza naming) and focuses on Hitomi's crush on a new teacher.
  • Translated Cover Version: "Onnaji Kimochi" was translated into Mandarin Chinese in order to help them break out into the widespread Asian entertainment market.
  • Unresolved Sexual Tension: A lot of their serious songs, like "Limited Addiction", for example.
  • Vocal Tag Team: Hitomi and Ayano are usually the ones who tag team. In groups, it's often Ayano and Yuri with Hitomi, Miyu, and Mei.
  • You Are Not Alone: "Himawari to Hoshikuzu" is all about this. Tokyo Girls' Style's songs that are about encouragement, like "Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru" and "We Will Win ~Kokoro no Baton de Po Pon no Po~n~" has themes of this too.


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