Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem

"Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem"
Thumbnail for "Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem" depicting the character 9-year-old Ui looking at the viewer and holding her personal alarm, while "danmaku" comments scroll in the background
Thumbnail for "Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem", featuring Niconico-style “barrage” comments and Ui holding her personal alarm
Song by Ui Shigure
from the album The Rain Doesn't Stop Yet [ja]
LanguageJapanese
ReleasedMay 25, 2022 (2022-05-25)
GenreJ-pop, EDM
Length4:34
Composer(s)D.watt (IOSYS)
Lyricist(s)Maron (IOSYS)
Music video
"Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem" on YouTube

"Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem"[a] is a song by Japanese artist Ui Shigure from her debut album The Rain Doesn't Stop Yet [ja].[b] Featuring vocals by Shigure in her nine-year-old schoolgirl persona and narration by Tamaki Inuyama, it was composed by D.watt and written by Maron, both members of IOSYS. It is musically a denpa song, having lyrics that attack fictional pedophiles which borrow tropes from the lolicon genre.

Though it was released in 2022, the song suddenly went viral in September 2023 after the release of its music video. Users on TikTok and other social media platforms posted their own dance videos and remixes. The song peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and otherwise charted in Japan on Billboard Japan, Oricon, and Count Down TV. Authors note its catchy tune combined with the video as significant contributors to its popularity. Because of the severity of its lyrics, it also amassed controversy online.[1][2]

Composition

The lyrics to "Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem" are written from the perspective of Ui Shigure's fictional schoolgirl persona, nine-year-old Ui. She assails and taunts imprisoned pedophiles while simultaneously acting as a goddess who leads them to salvation.[3] The music video visualizes these two factions: Ui sings and dances at the viewer in disgust, while danmaku 'barrage' comments inspired by video-sharing platform Nico Nico Douga scroll across the screen, representing the sexual predators.[4][5] Ui's sadistic way of taunting[6] has been described as a mesugaki trope; that is, provocative behavior by young girls to sexually entice adults.[7]

The song is considered a denpa 'nonsense' song[8][9][10] with an electronic dance music tune to its track.[11] Kitagawa of Kai-you divides the song into two main halves both separated by a middle section. The upbeat first half is described with pop music aspects that includes Ui's girlish singing and interjecting shouts, which then leads into a dubstep-like track to reveal Ui's hostile side towards pedophiles. Right in the middle part of the song, in an act of divine purging, the music cuts to her firing her Ui Beam to electrocute sludge creatures while the narrator explains the situation and the attack. Ultimately, the music descends into a dark second half that alternates between her hostile and girlish side.[12]

Production and release

The song features vocals from Japanese illustrator and virtual YouTuber (VTuber) Ui Shigure in her nine-year-old persona, dubbed "Loli Ui", who is featured occasionally in her livestreams.[13] The song's lyrics and composition were written by Maron and D.watt, respectively, both of whom are members of dōjin 'indie' music group IOSYS.[14] The song features a narration by fellow VTuber Tamaki Inuyama.[15] In a 2022 interview with Febri, Shigure said that, as an otaku herself, she quickly decided on a denpa song when collaborating with IOSYS.[8] Additionally, she said that the lyrics she had received were far more brutal compared to the final revision, calling it seemingly "as painful as hitting someone with concrete".[16] According to Maron, the working title was "Shukusei: Butabakomyunikēshon!!".[c][17]

The song was previewed on May 21, 2022, in one of Shigure's livestreams on YouTube.[d] It was included in her debut album The Rain Doesn't Stop Yet [ja],[b] which was released on May 25.[19] She performed it at her first live event in Tokyo on May 28.[20] The music video for the song was released on September 10, 2023, on her YouTube channel, after she had performed it virtually in a livestream[‡ 2] that revealed nine-year-old Ui's three-dimensional model.[20][21] Illustrations thereof are credited to Shigure herself and animator Gagame, while the movie production is credited to Warabe Hōzuki.[22]

Reception

Upon its release, the song did not receive immediate notability and was supposedly overshadowed by the album's opening track, "Shinkakei Sketch". "Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem" came to be known by Shigure's fans as one of the "cute" songs on the album.[23] However, after the release of its music video a year later, the song went viral worldwide on social media and became an Internet meme. This was unexpected for Shigure herself, who expressed that she hoped not to be perceived as a mesugaki to newcomers.[24][25] The video reached 10 million views within three weeks, making it the fastest song by a VTuber to reach it.[26] It had over sixty million views as of December.[27]

The dance featured during the song's chorus, which has been described as "of overwhelming quality",[28] "brisk" and "hard to reproduce",[29] helped amplify the sudden growth in popularity.[30] Users on TikTok began posting videos of themselves or characters of their own or from video games, such as Genshin Impact, imitating the dance as an Internet challenge.[7][31] Originality of such dance videos increases watch time and, thus, takes advantage of the recommendation algorithm.[32] Gagame released template material of the video[‡ 3] which also made apparent contributions to its popularity.[33] Cover versions and remixes have also been posted online.[34][35] By the end of September, it is estimated that over six thousand videos about the song had been posted on TikTok.[36] Its popularity then spread to other platforms like YouTube Shorts and Twitter.[37] It hit number one on the domestic Viral charts of Spotify on September 18.[38] In what was originally a fan edit, the dance appeared in the Spotify background video of "9mm" by rap group Memphis Cult.[39] BMW and Lotus Cars used the dance filter in their Instagram and TikTok advertisements respectively.[27][40] The song has also appeared at a nightclub and department store.[41] NHK declined to play the song on Buiāru!: VTuber no Ongaku Radio when a guest had requested it be played.[42]

The Taiwanese Yahoo! News' MrSun called its lyrics and melody "really earwormy" such that "after letting someone hear it once, they will hum along subconsciously."[43] Kitagawa praised the detailed structure and noted its unique rise in popularity as an intersection between music video and song.[44][45] Writing for The Magazine of TuneCore Japan, Masahiro Saitou notes that, while popular among the youth, the music is also reminiscent of Japanese Internet culture during when Nico Nico Douga was the primary video-sharing platform in Japan.[5] In a Real Sound analysis on 2000s Japanese Internet culture, Natsume Sogami echoes this assessment, who attributes it to the song's "easy-to-understand Nico Nico Douga-style comments" and being a work by IOSYS, who exerted influence on otaku culture at the time, in addition to having an idol-like call-and-response element.[46]

The song has amassed controversy due to its alleged subject of pedophilia.[1][2][47] The child safety alarm maker Artec came under fire on social media after it pointed out the alarm featured in the music video was based on one of their products and uploaded a video on YouTube and TikTok featuring one of their employees dancing to the song and prostrating in gratitude for featuring their product on September 29. The company posted an apology on their website on October 2 for their "extremely inappropriate behaviour that lacks consideration and self-awareness", then deleted their TikTok account.[48][49] On October 3, Daisuke Yokoyama, the former actor for the children's television program Okaasan to Issho, deleted a video on TikTok of him performing the dance, after it had faced criticism on social media.[1] Yokoyama apologized for it, saying he was unaware of the context behind the song in addition to it being trendy, and also deleted his account.[50][51] Amongst the controversies, some VTuber fans claimed the song was "not a lolicon song".[52]

Charts

Chart performance for "Shukusei!! Loli Kami Requiem"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Download Songs (Billboard Japan)[53] 18
Global Japan Songs excl. Japan (Billboard Japan)[54] 19
Hot 100 (Billboard Japan)[55] 25
Heatseekers Songs (Billboard Japan)[56] 1
Japan Songs (South Korea; Billboard Japan)[57] 9
TikTok Weekly Top 20 (Billboard Japan)[58] 16
Top User Generated Songs (Billboard Japan)[59] 1
Japan Digital Singles (Oricon)[60] 35
Japan Streaming (Oricon)[61] 38
Japan YouTube (Oricon)[62] 3
Weekly Count Down TV (Tokyo Broadcasting System)[63] 27

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: 粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆; Hepburn: Shukusei!! Rori Kami Rekuiemu; lit. 'Divine Purge! Requiem of the Loli God'; Shukusei means 'to purge' and is spelled ordinarily as 粛清; however, its use in the title is a Japanese wordplay, replacing the second kanji with 聖 sei ('holy' or 'divine').
  2. ^ a b Japanese: まだ雨はやまない; Hepburn: Mada Ame wa Yamanai
  3. ^ Japanese: 粛聖☆ブタバコミュニケーション!!; possibly a blend between butabako 'police cell' and komyunikēshon 'communication'
  4. ^ Although Know Your Meme[7] writes that the song was released as a single on May 21, 2022, Shigure's livestream on said date,[‡ 1] which was the first time it was made public,[18] merely previewed snippets of it.

References

  1. ^ a b c Josei Jishin 2023-10-04, "子供向け番組や、ファミリー向けミュージカルに出演する立場でありながら、“小児性愛”をテーマにした楽曲の動画を投稿した横山に対し、SNS上で批判が殺到することに。"
  2. ^ a b Oricon News 2023, "このダンスに使用された楽曲の歌詞が小児性愛などに触れる内容だったことから、動画投稿後から批判の声が寄せられていた。"
  3. ^ Dengeki Online 2023, "しぐれういさん（9さい）が、獄中に捕らわれたロリコンどもを汚物扱いしたり煽ったりしながらも救済へと導く…"
  4. ^ Tsu-ni 2023-10-05, "......在影片中化身 9 歲的小蘿莉，揹著紅色小學生背包勁歌搖擺，流暢的舞蹈動畫與主角盯著觀眾嫌棄的眼神......"
  5. ^ a b Saitou 2023, p. 2, § "“インターネット老人会”にもリーチする電波サウンド".
  6. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 2, "その理由は主に、ロリコンに好かれる「9歳のしぐれうい」が、徹底的にロリコンを蔑んでもてあそぶ超ドSのキャラクターであるためだろう。"
  7. ^ a b c Kachalin, Philipp (2023-10-02). "What Is 'Loli God Requiem'? Lyrics Of Shigure Ui's Viral Anime Music Video And Memes About It". Editorial. Know Your Meme. Archived from the original on 2023-10-07. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  8. ^ a b Marumoto 2022, "私は古（いにしえ）のインターネットオタクなので、IOSYSさんにお願いするなら絶対に電波曲がいいと思っていました。"
  9. ^ Dengeki Online 2023, "一言で言えば電波寄りの楽曲です。"
  10. ^ Asada 2023, "しぐれういの「9歳のすがた」である、「しぐれうい（９さい）」名義の楽曲『粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆』は、まごうことなき電波ソングである。"
  11. ^ Yugaming 2023, "本曲は、EDM調のトラックと「9歳となったしぐれういさんがファンに対して罵声を浴びせる」尖った歌詞が特徴。"
  12. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 2.
  13. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "この楽曲でしぐれういさんは、少女のような声で喋りながらロリコンをこき下ろす、通称・ロリうい（本人曰く「9歳のしぐれうい」）という、ごく稀に配信で登場するキャラクターに憑依。"
  14. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "作詞はまろんさん、作編曲はD.wattさん（共にIOSYS）。"
  15. ^ Dengeki Online 2023, "また、のりプロとの交流が深いこともあってか、ナレーションはのりプロ所属のVTuber犬山たまきさん、映像制作はのりプロでVTuberをしていた鬼灯わらべさんが行っています。"
  16. ^ Marumoto 2022, "コンクリートで殴るくらい痛そうな歌詞を「すごく面白いんですけど……」って相談して、豆腐ぐらい柔らかい表現にしていただいたのが今の歌詞です（笑）。"
  17. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 2, "本人いわく、この楽曲の仮タイトルは「粛聖☆ブタバコミュニケーション!!」であったそうだが、ご存知の通り未成年への過度なアクションは一歩間違えれば犯罪である。"
  18. ^ MrSun 2023-09-27, "「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆ 」從羽衣媽媽在直播中首次公開後…"
  19. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "2022年5月25日にリリースされた初のソロアルバム『まだ雨はやまない』に、我々の知るそれは収録された。"
  20. ^ a b Marumoto 2023, § "コレクション性の高い完全生産限定版も発売"
  21. ^ Ta-khaunnh 2023-09-11.
  22. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "イラスト＆アニメーションには、キュートな手描きアニメで知られるががめさん、ムービーにはかつて同じ土俵で活動していた鬼灯わらべさんを迎え、新たな形で再構築されたこのMV（イラストにはしぐれういさん自身もクレジット）。"
  23. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "事実、アルバム『まだ雨はやまない』のリード曲が別の楽曲であったことからも、この楽曲はあくまで「アルバム中のキュート曲のひとつ」として、ファンの間で広がるのみに留まっていた印象だ。"
  24. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "おそらくしぐれういさん自身も、まさか1年以上の時を経てこの楽曲がバズるとは思ってもみなかったことだろう。"
  25. ^ MrSun 2023-09-27, "後來還發文說希望第一次認識她的人，不要誤解她是一個喜歡罵人的壞女孩…"
  26. ^ Shirokuro 2023, "イラストレーター／VTuberのしぐれういさんのオリジナル曲「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆」のMVが、VTuber史上最速でYouTubeの再生回数1000万回を突破した。"
  27. ^ a b Tsu-ni 2023-11-23.
  28. ^ Saitou 2023, p. 1, "自身でキャラクターデザインを手がけるしぐれういに加え、イラスト・アニメーションにががめ、動画編集に鬼灯わらべが参加したMVは、その圧倒的なクオリティが大きく話題に。"
  29. ^ Asada 2023, "MV動画のキレのよい（そして再現の困難な）ダンス映像が、「TikTok」で「ダンスチャレンジ」ブームへと発展し、結果様々な挑戦者が続いた形だ。"
  30. ^ MrSun 2023-09-27, "加上 MV 中那流暢的又魔性的舞蹈動作，經常會讓人看了一遍又一遍的不斷重複，自願成為 FBI 接下來收割的對象之一。"
  31. ^ Shirokuro 2023, "今回の記録達成を後押ししたと思われるのが、MV内のしぐれういさんの激しいダンスを真似る、TikTokやYouTubeショートでのダンスチャレンジ。"
  32. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "......（レコメンドのアルゴリズム上重要とされている要素のひとつである）視聴完了率的にもうってつけ。"
  33. ^ Old Moon 2023, p. 1, "また、MVでアニメーションを担当したががめさんが公式的に素材提供を行っており、TikTokでの投稿動画の増加に寄与しているようだ。"
  34. ^ MrSun 2023-09-27, "當然「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆ 」除了播放破 1000 萬以外，網路上也出現了一些翻唱版本，甚至是各種同人創作，以及通過真人的方式將 MV 中的魔性舞蹈還原出來。"
  35. ^ Tsu-ni 2023-10-05, "......衍生其他翻唱、混音、MMD 等二創迷因風潮。"
  36. ^ Shirokuro 2023, "すでにTikTokでは6000人以上が「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆」を使用した楽曲を投稿しており、本楽曲を広めた要因のひとつになっている。"
  37. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "以降、YouTubeショートやX（旧Twitter）でも次々と投稿＆拡散されはじめ、いつしか「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆」はバズ曲としての最高の道程を辿ることとなったのだ。"
  38. ^ Saitou 2023, p. 1.
  39. ^ Tok-ke 2023, "時間來到今（12）日，網友發現 Ryamal Almighty Gorilla 的後製影片被 Memphis Cult 放到 Spotify 上，作為〈9Mm〉這首歌的背景 loop 影音。"
  40. ^ "しぐれうい本人も「なぜ？」と困惑…BMWなど高級車メーカーが「ロリ神レクイエム」ミームに乗っかる". インサイド (in Japanese). November 1, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  41. ^ Ta-khaunnh 2023-11-03.
  42. ^ MrSun 2023-10-01.
  43. ^ MrSun 2023-09-27, "…以及那超洗腦的歌詞與旋律下，讓人聽到一次後就會不自覺的跟著哼起來。"
  44. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 2, "総じて本当に隅まで作り込まれた楽曲だと感心してしまう手法が、いくつも散りばめられているのだ。"
  45. ^ Kitagawa 2023, p. 1, "昨今ダンスを中心にバズる楽曲は数あれど、ここまでMVと歌が対になってバズる流れは、これまでにはあまりなかったようにも思う。"
  46. ^ Sogami 2023.
  47. ^ Old Moon 2023, p. 2, § "曲のヒットにより小児性愛を扱う歌詞に批判も".
  48. ^ Josei Jishin 2023-10-12.
  49. ^ Yutura 2023.
  50. ^ Oricon News 2023, "今回、曲の歌詞、及び背景を把握せず、流行りという理由だけでダンスを真似て投稿してしまいました。応援して下さってる方を深く傷つけてしまったこと、また、多くの方を不快な気持ちにさせてしまったこと、大変申し訳ございませんでした".
  51. ^ Higashinakano 2023.
  52. ^ Old Moon 2023, p. 2, "こうした動向の中でも、VTuberファン側からは「粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆」は“ロリコンソングではない”との反論も聞こえてくる..."
  53. ^ Download Songs. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-11. Archived from the original on 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  54. ^ Global Japan Songs excl. Japan. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-12. Archived from the original on 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  55. ^ Hot 100. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-14. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  56. ^ Heatseekers Songs. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-11. Archived from the original on 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  57. ^ Japan Songs (South Korea). Billboard Japan. 2023-10-12. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  58. ^ TikTok Weekly Top 20. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-25. Archived from the original on 2023-10-28. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  59. ^ Top User Generated Songs. Billboard Japan. 2023-10-04. Archive from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  60. ^ 週間　デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング [Weekly: Digital singles rankings] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2023-10-09. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  61. ^ 週間　ストリーミングランキング [Weekly: Streaming rankings] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2023-10-16. p. 4. Archived from the original on 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
  62. ^ 週間　YouTubeチャート [Weekly: YouTube charts] (in Japanese). Oricon. 2023-10-12. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-11-10.
  63. ^ This Week Top 100. Count Down TV. Tokyo Broadcasting System Television. 2023-10-14. Archived from the original on 2023-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-21.

Foreign-language sources

No author

By publication and date:

Primary sources ‡

  1. ^ Shigure, Ui (2022-05-21). みんなをしゅくせいするはいしん Archived October 5, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-08 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ Shigure, Ui (2023-10-09). またあえたね！ Archived October 9, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-09 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ Gagame (2023-09-29). ロリ神_後記…_20230916rr_29 [Loli Kami afterword]. Archived from the original on 2023-10-28. Retrieved 2023-11-10 – via Pixiv Fanbox.