Bath Cancellation and Ad on the Butt: The Reckless Idol Mystery Deepens

The game “Street Fighter 6” has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. Takayuki Nakayama, the director in charge of development, has been addicted to a certain idol for several years.

His name is Suzuki Mob.

He is in charge of the blue color of the idol “Nippon Wachachacha,” and he asked me, “Why don’t you put your company’s advertisement on the buttocks of Suzuki Mob.　She is a maverick idol who has recently appeared in the media as a representative of the “bath cancellation community.

She appeared in the October 31 issue of Friday!　It is an unconventional page, consisting of gravure and Street Fighter cosplay. What is the appeal of Ms. Suzuki Mob. from Ms. Nakayama’s point of view (Special Talk No. 3).

Click here for the first installment of the special interview.

Commonalities” between Street Fighter and idols

Nakayama：It would be a long story if I told you about the wonderful video of him kneading white balls while crying, which is also the reason why I got to know him. …… The smartness of presenting this as a content is amazing. Most people wouldn’t do that.

Mob.: Making shiratama while crying and saying “I want to go home. It is usually embarrassing.

Nakayama: He is also very thoughtful about social networking and has a high level of self-production. You are so sharp in what you are aiming for that it seems like you are in the second round of your life.

Mob.: Originally, I like to present interesting things. Recently, when taking artist photos, I made a collage image myself, posing as a street fighter. I don’t think any other idol does that kind of thing.

-Recently, you appeared on an Internet program as part of the bath cancellation community.

Mob.: If you do live shows and play games, you don’t have time to take a bath, do you?

-How do you see it as a fan?

Nakayama: That’s just the way it is. （Whether you take a bath or not, you do what you want to do. What made me happy was that when Mob. was on ABEMA, he was doing “facial expressions” on the wipe.

Mob.: Before a Street Fighter match, the characters stare at each other. At that time, when you move (the controller), your face moves. That’s what I was doing. I was showing my ability as a Street Fighter 6 geek, even in the bath cancellation community.

Nakayama: Isn’t it amazing?　Creative.

Mob.: When we became idols, it was decided that if we didn’t make Budokan in three years, we would disband, so we thought of things that the public would find interesting, like putting sponsor ads on our butts.

-Mob.: You two are both creative in your own ways, but do you see any overlap between idols and Street Fighter?

Mob.: Street Fighter is like an idol. There are characters in a group called Street Fighter 6, and fans create their guesses. Idol geeks support their idols by cheering them on, but Street Fighter is a …… idol where you can support the character by playing.

Nakayama: When you put it that way, I guess so (laughs). Both idols and games may have something in common in that they both have a worldview and atmosphere that is unique to them. It is the same on the production side. Our team’s ironclad rule is to “do anything as long as it’s fun.

It’s just too much fun to geek out.”

-I guess that’s why you were able to say yes to this project!　Are the colors of the production teams completely different depending on the game?

Nakayama：The other day, there was an event where various teams gathered, and the Street Fighter team had a “roughneck” atmosphere. There is an atmosphere where anyone can say what they think is interesting, with the mindset that there is nothing wrong with having fun. For me, a game is not a work of art, but a product. A game is meaningful only when people play it, so in order to get people to pick it up first, I think it’s good to do interesting things.

Mob.: Street Fighter has done a lot of collaborations, and as an otaku, I really enjoy them. Even when I’m not playing the game, I can think about Street Fighter 6. There are also a lot of goods, for example, plush toys of the characters.

Nakayama: At first we only had acrylic stands, but a female user told us that plush toys would be easier to carry in her luggage, so we quickly made them.

-Are there many female users of the game?

Nakayama: Of all the games in the series, we have by far the most female users.

Mob.: There are good looking guys, and there are BL elements, so …….

Nakayama: Actually, we are aiming for a little bit. We announced that Street Fighter 6 was coming out a year before the release of the game, and just six months after that, a BL book came out. Isn’t …… amazing when the game hasn’t come out yet?　The imagination of the people who become fans is hundreds of times greater than that of the people who make the game. Even if there are only two pictures of the characters, they can draw a book with them.

Mob.: Don’t underestimate fujoshi. I am a fujoshi myself, and I can usually tell when a character is there.

Nakayama: It is up to the recipient to decide what they think.

Mob.: It is the tolerance of the management that allows us to do so. It’s too much fun to be an otaku.

Nakayama: I was in a situation exactly like that when I was in elementary school when I was hooked on Str. Everywhere I looked to the right and left, there were Street Fighter goods. There was stationery and even pants for kids with a picture of Chun-Li on them. I wanted something similar to happen with “6,” so we were discussing and preparing for merchandise even before the release of the game.

You should do everything you find interesting.”

-Nakayama：You have created such a masterpiece, what kind of game will you make next?

Nakayama：When I made “6”, my concept was to make it impossible to make “7”. I made it with the thought, “Anyone who makes 7 should be in trouble. But I also want them to go beyond that.

I am someone who played Sto II and was accidentally allowed to make the sixth one. I don’t necessarily know that I will be making the next one, but I hope I can back it up by giving a chance to someone who wants to make it in the future.

-What is your goal, Mob.

Mob.: As an idol, my goal is to make Budokan on March 31 a success. The goal is to fill it with 8,000 people who like Nippon Wachachacha and have fun together. We have other members with various hobbies, such as playing Pokemon cards, so I hope to have a live concert with all kinds of otaku.

-Finally, what is your goal as an otaku, Mr. Nakayama?

Nakayama: My goal as an otaku!　I want all mankind to go to the Budokan on March 31. I think there are many barriers to going to a live concert. It is a high hurdle to go to an idol’s live concert for the first time.

The same is true for fighting games, where there is a barrier of “it looks too difficult” or “it looks scary. In order to break down these barriers, we created a world tour mode, held events, and created goods. Although the genres of games and idols are different, what Mob. is doing is the same.

You only live once, so you should do everything you find interesting. That is why all mankind should go to Nippon Wachacha Cha’s live performance!