Most anisong bands consist of Japanese members, which makes sense, considering anime openings and endings are almost always in Japanese—and well, anime is from Japan. There are exceptions to this, but they’re few and far between. Recently, though, more and more non-Japanese, or Japanese-mixed groups have been making waves in the anisong world. This season, the band behind the opening song “Pleasure” for Fruits Basket: The Final is a mixed group as well!
That band is WARPs UP, a relatively new boy band with both Japanese and Chinese members. This four-member pop band has been around for less than two years, but they are already creating quite a name for themselves. Plus doing the opening song for one of the most anticipated anime of the season says a lot about their fame and talent, too. So without further ado, let’s have a closer look at WARPs UP and see where they came from and, hopefully, where they are going.
A Touch of Background Info
If you know anything about Japanese and Chinese relations, you will know they are typically tense at best. Historically, and into modern times, there has been a lot of strife between Japan and China that affects the two countries' politics, economics, and even causes social disruption at times. That’s a huge reason that it's a big deal that WARPs UP not only was able to form, but also has been doing well. It's a big step forward, and hopefully, their work together can help to inspire the next generation of Japanese and Chinese people to work together, too.
WARPs UP originally formed in 2019. The name is actually an acronym (that’s why it's written in all caps) for Wave Assemble Radical People-syndicate. The current members are RIKIMARU, LANGYI, SANTA, and MINGJUN. On their official website, WARPs UP states they do not consider themselves to be just a band, but rather, a “collective” of talented people—hence the word “syndicate” in their name. Their members come from diverse backgrounds in choreography, dance, and even the idol scene both in China and Japan. They want to bring something new to the music world, and we are cheering them on all the way.
Until now, WARPs UP has gained most of their traction in China, where they have had several successful TV appearances as well as music releases. But with their debut in the anime world happening right now, international fame may be just a few steps away for this new group with big dreams.
WARP-Syndicate Concept Movie
Fruits Basket Fame!
WARPs UP “Pleasure” from Fruits Basket:
“Pleasure” is easily WARPs UP’s most famous song release so far, helped along by the popularity of Fruits Basket globally. “Pleasure” is actually WARPs UP’s first ballad song, but its music video featuring the band members has a dance all the same, which is more characteristic of their usual style. RIKIMARU and SANTA have backgrounds in dance and choreography, especially. In fact, SANTA even holds the title of World Champion after competing in a big dance battle. It's no surprise that even a slower song has a dance!
Just on April 23rd, the official single download and music video for “Pleasure” was released outside of China for the first time! Along with the release of “Pleasure,” a mini-album called ‘Prep.20/21SS -Chapter RLSM-’ also came out. If you like the story behind WARPs UP and what they hope to do, and are already enjoying “Pleasure” in Fruits Basket, be sure to check out the rest of their new album as well.
Final Thoughts
WARPs UP has some really great ideas and motivations for the future, hoping to create something entirely new out of their multicultural alliance. With such talented members, we think they can certainly do it! “Pleasure” was an unexpected style for an anime opening, but it suits Fruits Basket: The Final so far, and it's great to see another new band come into the anisong world. We hope that WARPs UP will continue to be a part of the anisong scene in the future, and wish them lots of luck in their careers!
hat do you think about WARPs UP’s music so far? Did you like “Pleasure” when you first heard it? Are you going to check out the rest of WARPs UP’s newest album release now? Let us know in the comments!
Author: Jet Nebula
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