Since her debut last year, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu has become a sensation spreading throughout popular culture at breakneck speed. In order to learn more about Kyary’s charm and the secret to her popularity, we carried out an interview with Nakagawa Yusuke, the representative director of ASOBISYSTEM, her management agency. As the individual who both watches over and mobilizes Kyary in equal measures, he told us all about their first meeting, what she’s really like behind the fame and how she came to be produced by Nakata Yasutaka (capsule).
To start, please tell us about when you met Kyary-san for the first time. We met at a fashion event called Harajuku Style Collection in September of the year before she debuted [2010]. Kyary appeared there, and Nakata [Yasutaka]-kun had come as well, so I introduced them to each other. When Kyary appeared at TAKENOKO!!! — the event Nakata-kun organizes — after that, I took the opportunity to sign her to my agency.
What impression did you have of her back then? As a reader model, she wasn’t popular enough to appear in the opening pages of magazines, so I saw her as a girl who was simply taking part in the fashion world for one reason or another and whose blog was somewhat interesting. Just one of very many reader models out there, so to speak. However, when I tried talking to her a little, I discovered that she was a big fan of acts like Perfume and capsule. I thought it was unusual for a girl her age to take notice of artists like those as opposed to AKB48. Her natural looks are cute, she likes fashion and I had a feeling she might get popular, so I gave it a shot and asked her, “Do you want to try DJing?”
Was she eager to try it herself? She reacted like “What? Can I do that?” but we gave her a push saying “Of course, of course.” (laughs)
I see. Incidentally, what was the reason behind the name Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? She added that onto her name in her reader model days. When she started her official blog, it seems she was unsatisfied with “Kyary” by itself and wanted more of an impact. [Comedy duo] Savanna’s Yagi [Masumi]-san has a gag that involves the phrase “pamyu,” but it appears she thought that was cute and decided to use it for herself.
How did you go about deciding to debut her as a singer? Just casually, I think: “Why not debut?” For my part, I’d thought before that the district of Harajuku didn’t have an icon, and I’d talked to Nakata-kun about wanting to make one ever since way back when, so maybe the idea to debut her came about from that. Whether it was by chance or inevitable, I suppose it was that kind of timing. It wasn’t that anyone suggested it around us, nor that Kyary said “I want to debut,” but that the whole team got into the mood of thinking we could do something interesting [if Kyary were to debut as a singer].
What did Kyary herself think about singing and dancing? I think she always liked to sing. She goes to karaoke often and all. But it seems she thought she was being tricked by a bunch of mean grown-ups at first (laughs). Telling her she could debut like that.
Starting from the point of Nakata-san’s sound production, in what manner did you approach her image as an artist? I’d already decided that Nakata-kun would produce her songs from the beginning. The artist figure we discussed together was ultimately not an idol, but an icon. Rather than allowing the public to support her as she grew and showing the process of her creation to the world at large, it’d be more about the artist herself manifesting something new and enjoying that alongside her audience. You can’t find something like that anywhere today, and I thought she possessed that expressive ability.
What do you think is the charm of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu? Her team — that is to say, everyone including Nakata-kun, her stylists, PV directors, hair and makeup artists and art directors — believes in and trusts each other fully, so no one ever nitpicks or points out flaws in anyone else’s work. The word “veto” doesn’t exist among her team members. They wholeheartedly consider every contribution to be wonderful. I think her charm was likely a significant factor in forming a team like that.
There’s most definitely a unifying identity to her work, fashion and mannerisms that can’t be described any other way but “Kyary-ness.” In a way, she regulates her own image. We have a lot of freedom, but it’s because everyone is moving in the same direction, I suppose. The raw material called “Kyary Pamyu Pamyu” which provides the base for our work never loses its essence even despite the many people handling it, so we stay on the same course naturally, not forcibly. For instance, although it uses Nakata’s sound, it becomes “Kyary’s sound” with its own differences from Perfume or capsule. I think this is most likely because Nakata-kun has a firm understanding of what makes something Kyary-like.
She certainly has an excellent sense of style which differentiates her from other people. Instead of measuring herself by whether or not she resembles other people, I think she has a strong sense of self which makes any comparison to others around her unnecessary. Maybe we can consistently produce original work because there is no such target for those comparisons.
Ever since her debut, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s name has been spreading throughout the country with serious force. I believe the number of staff associated with her has increased as well. Normally, the greater number of people working with an artist, the higher the chances are that their image will become diluted. However, I have confidence that the more people we involve in our Kyary project, the smoother it’ll progress. Much like I mentioned before, this is because the team as a whole is facing the same direction, and everyone on it understands exactly what makes something suited to Kyary. The bigger her team gets, the more supporters she’ll have.
You don’t think Kyary-san herself will change at the center of this project the bigger it becomes? I don’t think so. It’s the most difficult on her, and I believe she’s working the hardest, but her feet are firmly planted on the ground like always. For our part, we want to create an environment where she can do ordinary things as a 19-year-old girl and continue to grow up normally. I hope to give her the support to remain “Kyary Pamyu Pamyu” even after she marries or grows old.
I see. Hearing you speak about her now, I’m struck once again by what a good work ethic and strong will Kyary-san has. You’re right. She’s a girl who can call good things “good,” say “I don’t like this” to what she doesn’t like, tell others “I’m sorry” when she’s late, and plainly say “thank you” when something is done for her. Well, that’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it’s important to be able to speak properly. She lives a down-to-earth life — or really, she follows her own path without reservations.
Maybe that’s why, no matter how far her circle widens, you can keep working from the same stance like this. I think everything has its season, but in her case, I feel differently. I believe she isn’t taking an elevator up, but properly climbing a staircase one step at a time. That’s why she does events at Laforet Harajuku so as not to forget her roots, and we chose to hold her first one-man concert at Shibuya CLUB QUATTRO even though some told us we likely could’ve booked someplace larger. Her fans appreciate this approach, so instead of becoming a trend, I believe “Kyary Pamyu Pamyu” will have the chance to grow into one sort of culture within itself.