"Wake Up, Girls!" is an idol anime set in Sendai

©Green Leaves / Wake Up, Girls! 3Production Committee

Wake Up, Girls! is an idol anime set in Sendai

When you think of idol anime, you usually think of the glorious image of idols, but Wake Up, Girls! is a little different.
It's a work that depicts both the glittering side of idols and the difficulties they face behind the scenes.

The sight of these new idols moving forward towards their dreams, facing various difficulties but always standing up positively, has given a lot of courage and dreams to the people of Tohoku who have been hit by the great challenge of the earthquake disaster.
Today we will introduce Wake Up, Girls!

Overview of Wake Up, Girls!

Wake Up, Girls! (hereafter WUG!) is a story about seven girls who strive to become idols

The lead voice actors are seven girls who were selected from an audition of 2,000 people.
After the first movie, "Seven Idols," and the TV series, the series continued to be a hit with two sequels and a movie, and a long-awaited new chapter is scheduled to be released in 2017.

The charm of WUG! is undoubtedly its charming characters.
In the next section, we will introduce the members of WUG! without giving away any spoilers!

Introducing the members of Wake Up, Girls!

Mayu Shimada

Voiced by Mayu Yoshioka
. Born in Suginami, Tokyo. Her hobby is singing, she likes chicks, and hates lies.
Her nickname is Mayushii.

The protagonist of this work, she is the first center of the national idol unit I-1club and the center of WUG!.
As a former top idol, she has outstanding singing and dancing skills.

Mayu's brilliant career with I-1 club came to an end, however, when she suddenly left the group.
What on earth happened in Mayu's past that she stubbornly refuses to talk about?
Her image color red , and her image animal is a lion.

Airi Hayashida

Voiced by Airi Nagano.
Born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Her hobby is cooking, she likes pastries and cakes, and hates cockroaches.
Her nickname is Ai-chan.

She is a kind and considerate person, and is Mayu's best friend.
She was Mayu's classmate at school, and had been encouraging her to audition even before she was scouted by WUG!.
Although she has no talent for singing or dancing, she is the hardest worker in WUG!.
However, Airi is in danger of leaving the group after producer Hayasaka points out that she has no awareness of herself as a professional and has not completely let go of her fan perspective...
Her image color indigo , and her image animal is a shark.

Minami Katayama

Voiced by Minami Tanaka
. Born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Her hobby is folk music. She likes roasted sweet potatoes, delicious food, and pancakes. She dislikes exercise.
Her nickname is Minami.

She is like a mascot for WUG!.
Her singing skills, honed through folk songs, are genuine, and she even won the Tohoku Nodojiman competition.
She was scouted for her singing ability and joined WUG!.
She became a hit with her famous line "Umm meow" as a gourmet reporter in her first TV project.
She played an active role in getting WUG!'s activities on track.
Her image color yellow , and her image animal is a tiger.

Yoshino Nanase

Voiced by Aoyama Yoshino
. Born in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture. Hobbies include skiing, favorite things are stuffed toys, and dislikes cheating people.
Nickname is Yoppy.

She is the leader of WUG! and a local talent with experience as a model and in commercials. She
has a strong sense of responsibility, is serious, and stoic.
However, her flaws are also one of her charms.
Although she was appointed leader by the company president due to her long career in the entertainment industry, she accumulates stress due to worries about her leadership qualities and her dissatisfaction and jealousy towards Mayu.
Initially, she had long black hair, but in the sequel to the movie "Shadow of Youth," she changed her image to short hair!
It will be interesting to see how Yoppy does in this new era!
Her image color blue , and her image animal is a polar bear.

Nanami Hisami

Voiced by Nanami Yamashita
Born in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Her hobby is piano, her favorite thing is the Mitsuzuka Revue, and her least favorite thing is natto.
Her nickname is Nanamin.

She is the youngest member and an elite musician.
As she aspires to join the Mitsuzuka Revue, she is perfect at piano, dancing, and singing.
However, her basic physical strength is appropriate for her age, so she often struggles to keep up with physical training. She
has a strong sense of elitism and is strict with herself and others, but can also show a gentle side once she opens up to them.
Initially, she thought of WUG! as a stepping stone to joining Mitsuzuka, but...
her image color is purple and her image animal is a wolf.

Kaya Kikuma

Voiced by Kaya Okuno
. Born in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. Her hobby is jogging, she likes comedy, and she hates the sea.
Her nickname is Kayatan.

She is the oldest member and sub-leader of WUG!.
She is like an older sister to everyone.
She is in charge of sex appeal and fashion, and
has the biggest breasts! Although she can be a bit jaded, her calmness as the oldest member and support from a step back perspective have saved WUG! many times.
When she sensed discord among the members and suggested a training camp, the bonds within WUG! became even stronger.
Her image color green , and her image animal is the crocodile.

Miyu Okamoto

Voiced by Miyu
Born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Her hobbies are karaoke, she likes idols and fried chicken, and dislikes books with printed text.
Her nickname is Miyu-chan.

She is the teasing character and mood maker of WUG!.
At first she was a wimp and a crybaby, but by overcoming many difficulties she has grown mentally stronger.
Before joining WUG!, she worked at a maid cafe and was a popular staff member with many fans.
Due to her past and admiration for idols, she also has a straightforward and devoted side, never failing to study poses and talk that will entertain the audience.
Whether it's her character or her naturalness, she speaks to everyone in the polite form.
Her image color orange , and her image animal is the eagle.

These seven people are the members of WUG!.
Each member is attractive, but they are ultimately just anime characters.
Unfortunately, you can't meet them in real life.

However, while you won't be able to meet the anime characters, you can meet WUG!

Wake Up, Girls! is here!

©Green Leaves / Wake Up, Girls! 3Production Committee

The voice actors who voiced the characters actually formed a voice acting unit called Wake Up, Girls!, and are currently working alongside the anime!

At the 9th Seiyuu Awards in 2015, they received a special award in recognition of their support activities for the reconstruction efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Their annual summer live tour has grown in size every year, and in 2016 they toured seven locations across the country, attracting an audience of over 15,000 people.

In addition to their songs being used in anime, WUG! has also gone beyond the world of anime, singing new songs for TV commercials, and their popularity overseas knows no bounds.
At the "Wake Up, Miyagi! Touching Love Project in Taiwan" held in Taiwan, Nagano, Aoyama, and Takagi appeared at a talk event.
The event ended with a packed house and a huge success.

Well, there are other voice acting units linked to anime, but the biggest feature of WUG! is the names of the members. Amazingly, their first names are the same as the characters'. If you cheer them on
by shouting the characters' names out loud, you'll join the ranks of the fans who support WUG! as they appear in the anime!

WUG! is not the only thing that exists in reality!
The environment surrounding WUG! can also be seen in the real world, just like the characters themselves!

The scenery in the anime is faithfully recreated from Sendai, so it's sure to be a great way to make a pilgrimage!
Real-life tourist characters active in Sendai, such as Musubimaru and the Date Bushotai, also appear, so if you're visiting Sendai, you'll want to check out the battle events!

INFORMATION

Chimon

A writer with thinning hair who loves traveling and laughter.
A nice guy who hides his thinning hair by shaving!
He travels from north to south to bring smiles to Tohoku with his writing!

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