Ginger Root is the name of a (usually) one-man band of Cameron Lew, and a throwback to Japanese City Pop and retro soul filtered through a nostalgic The '80s/The '90s East Asia aesthetic. Picture yourself on a warm summer evening in Hong Kong or Tokyo, watching old VHSes of classic 90s anime and J-Drama, and you've got the idea.
Hitting mainstream and Memetic Mutation success with his melancholic Loretta
, he's gone on to make a full EP, Nisemono, reflecting his mixed feelings of discomfort and pressure vs. joy and gratitude in his newfound fame.
It's so good to trope down at the Juban District:
- Alternate Universe: In-Universe, this is how the "original" recording of Loneliness exists when Kimiko adamantly refused to perform it - in another timeline, she's convinced (or forced) to perform it, and is visibly unhappy to do so.
- Anti-Love Song:
- "Loretta" is either about the aftermath of a breakup and the narrator's inability to move past it, or the narrator's lament that he can't bring himself to break up with Loretta, despite her "lying".
- "Loneliness" frames the narrator knowing his lover is lying about loving him, but he doesn't care — he's not alone anymore. On a platonic level, it's a metaphor for being suspicious towards his fame, especially when much of it was due to being a meme.
- Berserk Button: In-universe, Kimiko hates "Loneliness" so much that she angrily storms out of the studio right before her US debut. It's not stated why she hates it so much, but it's heavily implied the lyrics of imposter syndrome, fake love, and Alone At The Top hit too close to home for her.
- Call-and-Response Song: In streams and concerts, the "I (I!)" part of "Weather"'s chorus is echoed by the audience, or on streams, represented with the eye emoji.
- Creator Breakdown: In-Universe, and an overall arching theme of Nisemono:
- One case kicks off the storyline: when famous j-pop star Kimiko Takeguchi has a breakdown and quits right before her American debut, her songwriter and stagehand, Cameron, is badgered into being her last-minute replacement and subsequently becomes more popular than Kimiko was in both Japan and America.
- As time progresses and Cameron only becomes more famous and in-demand, Cameron's increasing discomfort at his commercialization results in him apparently disappearing like Kimiko, but thankfully, he only took a break to play Mahjong.
- On a meta level, Cameron has spoken candidly about how the memetic success of Loretta put him under a lot of pressure to write a good followup, with him admitting in a Halloween stream that he developed writer's block in the interim. This all lead to the creation of Nisemono, which grapples with these for its themes.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Twofold: in-universe, Kimiko's return to the music industry and joint project with Cameron is the ED for an anime, Meet Me in the Galaxy, is about an Ordinary High-School Student who finds a spaceship that straps her in and takes her to a completely different galaxy. It's a metaphor for the unexpected fame Ginger Root got.
- Foreshadowing: Kimiko's nervous breakdown and subsequent Rage Quit from being forced to sing a song she hates echo the motifs of Nisemono:
- Genre Throwback: To East Asian (especially Japanese) City Pop and electronica (like Yellow Magic Orchestra, Cassiopea) and media of The '80s and The '90s, complete with fake advertisements in the vein of quirky Japanese commercials and VHS tapes for everything.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Befitting its City Pop and vaporwave inspirations, Japanese is interspersed through many Ginger Root songs, though Cameron and his live band aren't Japanese. Nisemono and its titular track
- Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight: Downplayed, as Kimiko's resignation was more due to her bottled-up feelings about the music industry coming out in force, but once Kimiko sees Cameron get mega-popular in her stead, she starts calling around to try and get back into the music industry and happily accepts a collaboration with Cameron.
- High-Powered Career Woman: "Manager-san", Kimiko (and then Cameron)'s besuited, chain-smoking manager, who, despite appearances, is just as stressed-out as the two singers are.
- Japan Takes Over the World: Downplayed, but as part of its Genre Throwback to The '80s where fears of Japan outright replacing Western culture competed with Western and Japanese artists collaborating (notably The Human Condition and Yellow Magic Orchestra teaming up for a remix of Kimi Ni Mune Kyun), the universe of Nisemono shows Japanese songs are big hits in its alternate America. Contrast IRL history, where Pink Lady had one American hit and their American variety show was slaughtered in ratings.
- Meaningful Title: Nisemono means "counterfeit" or "fake" in Japanese, which perfectly encapsulates the EP's theme of being a fake who somehow made it.
- Once More, with Clarity: Played With: Kimiko's breakdown and resignation aren't given clear reasons, but the Nisemono EP makes it clear why as the same issues of feeling like a fraud and fleeting fame pound Cameron.
- Shout-Out:
- The in-universe anime show that Kimiko and Cameron write an ED for is based off of classic The '70s and The '80s sci-fi anime, primarily Galaxy Express 999, and its focus on an ordinary schoolgirl activating a spaceship recalls GAINAX's famous Daicon IV trailer.
- "Juban District", both a song and an oft-referred-to locale in the Nisemono storyline, is taken from Sailor Moon.
- J-Pop Idol Singers featuring on American talk shows throws back to Pink Lady, who had a variety show in America in 1980.
- Rage Quit: Kimiko angrily quits right before her US debut of "Loneliness", and it's heavily implied that the song topics of loneliness, feeling like a fraud, and false love hit too close to home for an Idol Singer.
- Retraux: As with many Future Funk and vaporwave projects, Ginger Root is based on 80s and 90s Japanese city pop and Asian aesthetics. All their music videos are shot with fuzzy VHS-style effects and patterned after old Japanese and Hong Kong movies, old Japanese anime serves as soundbytes, and the world we see in Nisemono seems to be in the late 80s or early 90s, with an American night show host recalling more Johnny Carson than, say, Jimmy Kimmel.
