Ali Project is a Japanese band with a strong Japanese Aristocrat-style image, consisting of Arika Takarano and Mikiya Katakura.
In the band's earlier days, their musical style tended towards light, cheerful and/or refreshing songs. However, the sound has changed in recent times to take on a darker and more mysterious tone. Takarano Arika, lead singer/lyricist, has termed this change as a transition from White Alice (白アリ, Shiro Ari) to Black Alice (黒アリ, Kuro Ari). Though there has been a general shift towards performing songs in the "Black Alice" phase, Ali Project has occasionally sung in the White Alice style as well.
Their songs featured in several anime sequences, most notably in the series Noir, Rozen Maiden, .hack//Roots, Linebarrels of Iron, Code Geass and Fate/EXTRA. Additionally, Mikiya Katakura has also provided the soundtrack to several anime series, such as Princess Resurrection and Avenger.
Discography:
- Gensou Teien (1988/1996)
- Gekka no Ichigun (1992)
- DALI (1994)
- Hoshi to Tsuki No Sonata (1995)
- Noblerot (1998)
- Alipro Mania (1999)
- jamais vu (2000)
- Aristocracy (2001)
- Lento (2001)
- CLASSICS (2001)
- EROTIC&HERETIC (2002)
- Gekkou Shikoushou (2003)
- Alipro Mania II: Gekkou Shikoushou GIG (2004)
- Etoiles (2004)
- Dilettante (2005)
- Kamigami No Tasogare (2005)
- Deja Vu ~THE ORIGINAL BEST 1992-1995~ (2006)
- COLLECTION SIMPLE PLUS (2006)
- Romance (2006)
- Soubikakei (2007)
- Psychedelic Insanity (2007)
- Grand Finale (2007)
- Kinsho (2008)
- Keikan Shijin SINGLE COLLECTION PLUS (2008)
- Poison (2009)
- La Vita Romantica (2010)
- Gothic Opera (2010)
- Han Shinnihon Shugi (2010)
- QUEENDOM (2011)
- Les Papillons (2011)
- Gansakushi (2012)
- KAIKAI KIKI Ventennale Music, Art Exhibition (2013)
- Watashi no Bara wo Haminasai (2013)
- Reijou Bara Zukan (2013)
- Zettai Ongaku (2014)
- Ryuukou Sekai (2014)
- Violetta Operetta (2015)
- Keraku no Susume (2015)
- Haramitsu Renge (2015)
- A-kyuu Kaigenrei (2016)
- Himiko Gaiden (2017)
- Chi to Mitsu ~Anthology of Gothic Lolita and Horror (2017)
- Ai to Makoto ~YAMATO & LOV Exxx (2017)
- Geijutsu Hentairon (2018)
- Fantasia (2019)
- Jinsei Bimi Raisan (2020)
- Belle Époque (2021)
Associated Tropes:
- Abduction Is Love: "Seishoujo Ryouiki" and "Beijing Lovers".
- Alice Allusion: "MEGALOPOLIS ALICE", "Atashi ga Alice datta Koro" (When I was Alice), "ALICE Douzai Innocent" (ALICE Innocent of The Same Crime).
- Amazon Brigade: "Teito Otome Kesshitai".
- Anime Theme Song: They have many singles that have been used for anime as either Openings or Endings. Avenger have all its music made by them, while the Clamp manga Wish only had a musical video with the band's song Wish'', which was made for it.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: "Shoujo Kizoku" (Aristrocrat Girl).
- Author Tract: Mentions of blue eyes are present in many of Arika's lyrics. She seems to have a thing for them.
- Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Mentioned in a few songs, along with poisonous moth scales. Special mention goes to "Papillon Rinne" which is about someone going through many reincarnations and compares it to a butterfly's metamorphosis and birth.
- Catgirl: The cover of La Vita Romantica and in music video of "Hizamazuite Ashi o Oname".
- Cherry Blossoms: The aptly titled "Sakura No Hana Wa Kuruizaki" (The Cherry Blossoms Are Blooming Madly).
- Costume Porn: Watch any
Ali Project music video or live. Arika's outfits are incredible. - Cover Version: Strings album of the band mostly features cover of both their and other artists' songs. Recent albums also include these.
- Creepy Child: "Senritsu no Kodomo-tachi," whose title appropriately means "Children Of Fear."
- Creepy Doll: Several in the "Kyoumu Densen" music video. It comes with the territory of being the opening for Another.
- Darker and Edgier: The "Black Alice" songs.
- Driven to Suicide: The lovers in "Narcisse Noir." Also a case of Together in Death.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Arika, at times.
- Empty Eyes: Applied in the song "Yomi no Tasogare no, Utsuronaru Aoki Hitomi no" (literally: Nightscape Twilight, Blank Blue Eyes.)It's okay if this place is the Land of Dead
Mutually into our blank blue eyes
(several lines later)...
This place is below the ground of The Land of Dead
Because our four blank blue eyes - Femme Fatale: A lot of Black Alice songs are sung from the point of view of one. The album "Ryuukou Sekai" includes a song named after this.
- Femme Fatalons: Arika in the music video for "Kitei No Tsurugi" and in the red costume for "Troubadour."
- The Four Gods: In "Shijinjuu Kaigoroshi."
- Gratuitous English
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: "Hibotan" or its original title "Fei Hong De Mu Dan" is half-Japanese, half-Mandarin Chinese. Also in the song "Arabiya Layla Gendan" (Arabian Night Song) Arika says two lines in Arabic. "Keijijouteki na, Chou ni Naru"(Metaphysically, becoming a butterfly) uses two sentences in Greek. Though it may not sound quite right to a native speaker, it's pretty good for a Japanese.
- Gratuitous French: "Nous Deux C'est Pour La Vie," a version of "La Vie en Rose", Etoiles "Après Un Rêve" (After a Dream) and Kamigami no Tasogare's "Je te Veux" are entirely in French. "Après le Noir" (After the Black) and "Lolita in the Garret" have a few sentences in French too.
- Homage: Arika pays homage to several novels as follows:
- To Wuthering Heights with "Arashigaoka"
- To Paradise Lost with "Rakuen Soushitsu"
- To 1001 Arabian Nights with "Arabiya Layla Gendan"
- To The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with "Yasei Souseiji"
- Kamigami no Tasogare's "Je te Veux* is a lyrical version of Erik Satie's song of the same name.
- Hot Librarian: The cover of Kinsho.
- I Kiss Your Foot: "Hizamatsuite Ashi o Oname," which translates to "Kneel down and lick my feet."
- Intercourse with You: "Hoshi Furu Yoru no Tenmongaku -BEDSIDE ASTRONOMY-."
- Lady of War: A lot of recent songs have military overtones, but all are elegant and told from the perspective of a female warrior.
- Lighter and Softer: The "White Alice" songs.
- Love Hurts: Many of their songs are about tragic love, Star-Crossed Lovers or lovers that felt in despair for or because of their affair.
- Love Triangle: "Narcisse Noir"'s narrator likes her brother's best friend, but he and her brother like each other and she wants her brother to be happy.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Jinsei Bimi Raisan" sounds very beautiful, but when you read the lyrics, it's about eating until you're sick with hints of cannibalism. Also "Strawberry Pie no Otabe" has surprisingly sweet music, but its lyrics has hints of Love Martyr and Yandere.
- May–December Romance: "Lolita In The Garret" is about a painter and his child model's affair.
- Ms. Fanservice: Arika, particularly in the bands videos and on their album covers.
- Nostalgic Music Box: In the beginning of "Outeki Ketsuzoku." While it sounds like it doesn't fit with the rest of the song, the lyrics are about genealogy, so it works.
- The Ophelia: The narrator of the very accurent "Ophelia Ibun".
- Our Elves Are Different: In "Elf no Musume wa Chijou ni Ori," elves live in the sky. The titular elf Princess Protagonist is cast out for falling in love with a human, who the rest of her people look down on.
- Pimped-Out Dress: See Costume Porn above.
- Pirate Girl: At least one video has Arika as one. Songs "Takarajima" and "Kaizoku Oujo" are also about a pirate.
- Precision F-Strike: "Gokushoku Ichidai Onna" has two.
- Reincarnation Romance: The narrator of "Papillon Rinne" muses that despite the many past lives, they would be able to find again that special person and feel they have met before. "Rokudou Rinne Survival" is also same.
- Silly Love Songs: Many of the "White Alice" songs are about love...when it's not hurting.
- Seen It All: The narrator of "Gokushoku Ichidai Onna" is a type 3. There's also implications of a Seen-It-All Suicide too.
- Snow Means Death: "Kami No Yuki", possibly "Yuki No Hitohira", "La calèche ~Haru no Yuki" and "Yuugetsu Renka".
- Snow Means Love: "Yuki No Hitohira."
- Social Darwinist: "Shoujo Kizoku".
- Solo Side Project: Mikiya Katakura released two albums as a solo, "Lento" and "Tsuki no Hikari" and composed soundtracks of few animes. Arika released few books and magazines as herself, and used to manage a costume design brand named "Shoujo Kizoku".
- Something about a Rose: Roses and rose metaphors are spread in many songs, moreso in those made for Rozen Maiden.
- Split Personality: Most of the black Alice and White Alice songs have opposite perspectives (almost like they are sung by two different people.) Not to mention the song "Yasei Souseiji" in which the narrator has two personalities "Jekyll and Hyde" who want to cancel each other out.
- In Hyde's (the other personality) case:
Cannot go back to being a whole one- In Jekyll's (the real personality) case:
I can't go back to being two of me- Then later on the narrator praises the two personalities:
His name is Hyde
More beautiful than anyone else
Then the name is Jekyll
More precious than anything else -
Suspiciously Similar Song: There are few soundtracks of some Anime that have very similar structure and tune of the band's songs.- A track from Future Diary named "To Surpass The Fear of Murder" is basically an instrumental version of the band's song "Junkyousha no Yubi"
- A piano version of the track "I AM" from Parasyte sounds very similar to the band's 2014 tour "Ryuukou Sekai Kansen" opening instrumental song.
- Symphonic Metal: Katakura (composer) made the song "Kaizoku Oujo" in this style as a request from Arika.
- The Tragic Rose: "Yameru Soubi" and "Soubi Kakei".
- Tsundere: The narrator of "Kinjirareta Asobi".
- Valkyries - The narrator of the Gothic Opera version of "Kishi Otome" is one
- Warrior Poet: "Troubadour".
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: The narrator of "Mirai No Eve" is an android that falls in love.
- White Shirt of Death: Mentioned in "Sengoku Girl."
- Word Salad Title: Some of the longer titles come off as this.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: The narrator of "Ai To Makoto" says she is one, but the rest of the lyrics paint her more as a Lady of War. The narrator of "Ai To Makoto" may be the "Silk Hiding Steel female who worries about and protects the family honor" type of Yamato Nadeshiko.
- Yandere: The song "Salomatic Lunatic" looks like what might be going through Yuno's brain. Brr...
- For minor examples, "Beijing Lovers", "schism" and (surprisingly) "Rose Moon".
- Yuki-onna: Album "QUEENDOM" includes a song named after this.
