Members from two hit J-pop boy bands have formed a new group whose aesthetic is built around 1980s bosozoku culture. Maekawa Ippa has only one single so far, and the music video is stylized like a nostalgic Showa or Heisei era delinquent youth drama. It showcases classic yankii tropes, utilizing kaido racers while filming in stereotypical locations like retro classrooms, local Chinese restaurants, and gas stations, and eating Garigari-kun ice pops or cruising though the streets with an X40 Toyota Mark II.
Maekawa Ippa consists of Ryuki from Mazzel and Goichi of Starglow, stars hailing from two separate boy bands. Ippa means “faction” or “clan” and also happens to be the name of their new single. Its lyrics emphasize themes of brotherhood and loyalty, with clever wordplay incorporating humorous inside jokes.
The video features a whole host of kaido racers, mostly from various generations of the Toyota Mark II family, as well as bosozoku-style mopeds. There’s been a resurgence of interest in delinquent youth culture in Japan recently, and the duo have sported signature yankii aesthetics ranging from modified tantan school uniforms, loose and baggy bontan trousers, overrsized sportswear to slicked-back hair.
The video was supervised by Kenichiro Iwahashi, a Japanese writer and expert on delinquent subculture, who makes a brief cameo in the video. The director, Hideyuki Tanaka, who created the Super Milk-chan show and the legendary PlayStation game Bust a Groove. In the credits of the video, the staff even credits the Dai Yankii Ten exhibit held in Tokyo. “Ippa” is the only single to emerge from Maekawa Ippa so far, so it’ll be interesting to see if the bosozoku theme is maintained with their next releases.
