(Photography by James Chen)
Togenashi Togeari (adoringly abbreviated to “Toge Toge”) made their U.S. debut on July 3 in Los Angeles at Peacock Theater as part of the J-POP SOUND CAPSULE event hosted by Anime Expo 2025.
Togenashi Togeari is the core of an ambitious multimedia project called “Girls Band Cry” which intersects the music and activities of this real-life band, an original anime series, as well as a videogame in development. The members of the real-life band provide voice-acting for their counterpart characters in the anime series.
- Vocalist Rina plays Nina Iseri
- Guitarist Yuri plays Momoka Kawaragi
- Bassist Shuri plays Rupa
- Drummer Mirei plays Subaru Awa
- Keyboardist Natsu plays Tomo Ebizuka
“Girls Band Cry” stands out in the anime world by embracing a music-first approach, centered around the real-life band Togenashi Togeari. Unlike typical music anime where a fictional band’s music is created for the show, Toei Animation, Agehasprings, and Universal Music Japan started with a large-scale audition to find actual musicians. These musicians, once selected for Togenashi Togeari, began releasing music and performing live before the anime’s debut in April 2024, establishing their identity as a genuine band.
The members of Togenashi Togeari also voice their respective characters in the anime, creating an authentic link where the animated performances directly reflect the real band’s talent. The music itself is deeply integrated into the narrative, with songs and lyrics mirroring the characters’ emotional journeys and struggles.
This unique production model, where the real band and its music are the foundation, elevates “Girls Band Cry” beyond a simple animated series. It has allowed Togenashi Togeari to thrive as a legitimate live act, culminating in significant achievements like their announced Budokan concert. This music-first concept offers a compelling and authentic experience for fans, blurring the lines between the animated world and real-life musical performance.
Toge Toge kick off the set with “Zattou, Bokura no Machi”, their high-tempo, math-rock-infused debut single that serves as the opening theme for the “Girls Band Cry”. Thematically, the song confronts urban isolation, teenage angst, and a fierce refusal to conform to a broken society, establishing the song as the definitive anthem encapsulating the core identity of the band and the media franchise.
Next, the band proceeds with a song by the in-universe fictional group Shin Kawasaki (Temporary) - this is the group that would eventually evovle into Togenashi Togeari, and the song is “Koenaki Sakana”. “Koenaki Sakana” is featured as a prominent insert song in the third episode of “Girls Band Cry”, and is a raw, emotionally urgent anthem that blends a driving J-Rock melody with piercing instrumentation and a frantic rhythm section.
A Toge Toge setlist would be remiss without including “Kara no Hako”, the iconic track that serves as a central narrative linchpin throughout “Girls Band Cry”. In the story, the song was originally written and performed by guitarist Momoka Kawaragi during her time with the band Diamond Dust, and eventually becomes the musical catalyst that inspires the protagonist, Nina Iseri, to seek a path in music.
Musically, the track features a driving, rhythmic guitar progression and a soaring, melodic chorus that balances alternative rock intensity with clean melodic hooks. “Kara no Hako” evolves through several versions in “Girls Band Cry”, from Momoka’s acoustic street performances to a dual-vocal rendition by Nina and Momoka, and a pop-rock idol reconfiguration titled “ETERNAL FLAME Kara no Hako” by the modernized Diamond Dust.
“Kuuhaku to Catharsis” marks the midpoint of the performance, and is a high-speed, complex assault that relies on aggressive drum tracking and heavy basslines to build up to an explosive emotional release during its soaring chorus.
The penultimate song of Toge Toge’s set was “Shikaino Sumi Kuchiru Oto”, one of the band’s most rhythmically complex pieces. The song functioned as a showcase for the band’s technical musicianship, requiring strict technical synchronization from the entire unit to navigate the track’s intricate, math-rock-inspired time signature shifts and rapid-fire instrumental trade-offs.
Toge Toge close out their set with “Hazete Saku”, a song that employs the metaphor of a burst flower (“hazete saku”) amidst a sunset backdrop to explore the inner conflict of hiding one’s vulnerability while navigating the isolating weight of unspoken regrets.
This was Togenashi Togeari’s first performance outside of Asia, and it was clearly a resounding success. For the crowds of fans sporing Girls Band Cry merch and apparel who waved their light sticks nonstop through the set, Toge Toge was the actual headlining act for them.