i made a japanese school idol group because i can (rip elouai)

l-r: Tomoko, Motoko, Kazumi, Aika (in seat), Hanako, Kyoko, Chiyoko, Hotaru, Gina, and Mizuki

Let's talk about some of my new characters for the World of Majestica!

In case this is the first time I have established this, I've revamped my original universe a bit so that it's a blend of life in the modern world and another fantasy world. The main characters (mostly girls) live in a privileged American community and each has ties to various regions of the fantastical universe of Majestica. 

Tomoko Itō is one of these main characters. She spent the first couple of years of her life in Japan before moving to the United States. In Japan, she had several friends who would form an "idol group" in school where they would perform for their classmates. I imagine they'd be pretty popular, but not as much as to the point where they'd be doing gigs all over the world or any of that.

Oh, and that idol group's name?

Well, specifically, it's formatted "♡COLORBLAST!♡". Y'know, because Japanese idol groups are kawaii like that.

Tomoko actually started this group with her cousin (and best friend), Motoko Koizumi! Like her cousin, Motoko is outwardly prim and proper, presenting herself as the model child of a well-to-do family. Unlike her cousin, however, Motoko is secretly into a more grunge and edgy subculture (hence why she decided to form a band in the first place) and is actually slightly power-hungry. She isn't "jealous" of her cousin's influence in their group, per se, but once Tomoko moved to America, she couldn't help but jump into a more domineering leadership role and is determined to maintain the perfection of their performances.

I chose their names unintentionally, but the first three letters of their names are basically switched around!
"Tomoko" means "friendly/knowing/wise child" while "Motoko" means "resourceful child". They have different last names ("Itō" meaning "wisteria" and "Koizumi" meaning "spring, fountain") as I'd imagine Tomoko's father has a brother (her uncle) who married a woman (her aunt) and had Motoko before they divorced and Motoko took the last name of her mother as she was placed under her custody. 

Both girls have dark brown hair (Motoko's hair is slightly darker) and medium brown eyes.

Shortly after Tomoko left Japan, she met the following six girls who just so happened to have their little own friend group. Now, I know in the image above, they have natural hair colors for the most part, but because I've been binging Lucky Star (one of my childhood animes lmao) recently, I think they're going to have unnatural hair/eye colors. I mean, it's probably a good way to explain how they came up with the group name "COLORBLAST!" anyway.

Kazumi Mochizuki is the most musically-inclined in the group, spending much of her free time listening to music on her phone and info-dropping the latest songs and gossip about her favorite band members to her friends. She just so happens to LOVE 80's music for some reason. She also can't live without this one pair of groovy glasses she received from a family members of hers.

"Kazumi" means "harmonious beauty" while "Mochizuki" means "full moon".

She has indigo-colored hair and blue eyes.

Aika Hidaka comes from a particularly well-off family and is practically spoiled by her parents. She dislikes her school's uniform and has always wanted to wear one of her more glamorous outfits she likes to put together when she doesn't have to go to classes. Strangely enough, she doesn't really act like a stereotypical "spoiled brat". She does like to show off her wealth to others (and constantly tries to invite her friends to hang out at her home where she can just show off everything she has), but she doesn't actively put down others for having less money/possessions than her. That's probably why she actually has good friends in school and not cronies to just tag along with her because they want some of her riches...

"Aika" means "love song" and "Hidaka" means "sun, day/tall, high".
As her last name implies, she's one of the taller members of the group.

She has pale purple hair and red eyes.

Hanako Hamasaki is the resident "gyaru girl" of the group. She is obsessed with makeup and jewelry and always has her eyes on the latest trends so she can jump right on them in the hopes that she'll end up on a magazine one day. That's kind of also why she decided to be a part of the band, knowing that their fans will have their eyes on her as she performs. She's also constantly on the lookout for gigs and is often the one to take initiative and get in contact with managers who will hopefully let her group perform with them. She's bubbly and optimistic and just wants to do what's best for everybody, really.

"Hanako" means "flower child" and "Hamasaki" means beach, seashore/cape, peninsula".
As her first name implies, she helps run a flower store with her parents in her spare time.

She has blonde hair (dyed as part of the "gyaru" look - no one really knows what her actual hair color is) and aqua eyes (contacts - again, no one knows what her actual eye color is).

Kyoko and Chiyoko Shimamura are twin sisters who are accustomed to the city life. They love touring and traveling and dream of exploring the world. They are also avid souvenir collectors! This is where their similarities end, however, as Kyoko has a sweet tooth and wants to just sit and eat all the candy she can get her hands on while Chiyoko is an athlete by nature and always wants to be on the go.

"Kyoko" means "child of the city" (I happened to use this name for an old OC of mine but now I've decided to recycle that name for this character since I couldn't figure out how to really revamp her initial design), "Chiyoko" means "child of a thousand generations", and "Shimamura" means "island/town, village".

The Shimamura sisters have light green hair and green eyes.

Lastly, Hotaru Maki is the resident artist of the group. She's a quiet person who knows how to see the beauty in things that no one else could possibly notice. In fact, she is responsible for creating many of COLORBLAST!'s costumes and stage sets. She has a budding talent for graphic design and can often be found creating various things on her computer programs.

"Hotaru" means "firefly, lightning bug" and "Maki" means "shepherd, tend cattle"/"real, genuine"/"tree".

She has salmon/light red hair and purplish-magenta eyes.

A while after Tomoko moved to America, someone from that country would make a return to Japan... in the form of Gina Nishikawa, a highly-trained ballet dancer. Her parents were originally from Japan themselves but eventually decided to move back there once their daughter was ready to enroll in high school. She's responsible for teaching the COLORBLAST! members new dance moves.

"Gina" means "silvery" (in English, the name also means "earth worker, farmer") and "Nishikawa" means "west"/"river, stream".

She has light brown hair and olive eyes.

Lastly, there's Mizuki Furukawa, the standard "girl next door". I actually conceptualized Mizuki (and her family) after watching the Ju-on films (the original Japanese Grudge movies, mind you), believe it or not. She lives with her loving but overworked single father and much younger brother in a modest house and doesn't really get out a lot. She's often picked on at school for being kind of a doormat, and Motoko Koizumi kind of looks down on her too, if she's being honest. But for the most part, COLORBLAST! has welcomed Mizuki into their group with open arms. Now, only time will tell if Mizuki will open up more when she expresses herself through dance...

"Mizuki" means "beautiful moon" (similar to Kyoko, her name was recycled from an old, now-defunct OC) and "Furukawa" means "old"/"river, stream".

She has black hair and dark brown eyes.