Dempagumi.inc

Dempagumi.inc (でんぱ組.inc) is a Japanese female idol group from Akihabara, Tokyo. Their music generally follows the style of denpa song. All of its members are said to be former otaku.

The group was formed in 2008 by producer Maiko Fukushima, and released one indie single before undergoing some member changes and being signed to Lantis and Toy's Factory. Since then, they have released several charting singles and albums, performed many concerts around the world, and appeared in several television shows and a 2013 film.

2007–2012: Formation, member flexibility era
In December 2007, producer Maiko Fukushima opened the live house/bar "DearStage" in the basement of a building near the Suehirocho Station, and moved it to the DEMPA Building (DEMPAビル) in September 2008. In December 2008, DearStage salespeople Mirin Furukawa and Akari Owada formed the original Denpagumi (でんぱ組) and released the single "Mirror Magic?" through an indie label. Fukushima said of the unit's name: "I wanted to give it a retrotic name like Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi." Also, Kenzō Saeki and Masaya Koike, who participated in the naming conference at the time, said that the part of "Dempa" was taken from the Dempa Building.

In June 2009, Meme Nishimura (now Risa Aizawa) and Nemu Yumemi joined.

Taking this opportunity, Fukushima considered changing Dempagumi's name to "renew it to a new feeling", and I will consult with Saeki. Saeki proposed "Chapé's Fountain" but Fukushima wanted to keep the Dempagumi name and said "If it has an extension (a la MOSAIC.WAV, LOVE.EXE, etc.), it may be good for Akiba[hara]." So was proposed that ".inc" would be added, renaming it "Dempagumi.inc".

Various accounts vary about the reason "inc" was selected. The meaning of "Dempagumi's evolutionary system" was once considered. According to Saeki, it is absolutely necessary to avoid unit names ending in "gumi" because they will be a follow-up to the aforementioned Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi. Another reason is that "it would be interesting "inc" was added to the end of a company [name]".

In addition, according to Yumemi, "The interpretation that Aizawa and Yumemi joined 'Dempagumi' and renamed it Dempagumi.inc is a little different." It is also said that it was four people of Furukawa, Owada, Aizawa, and Yumemu who happened to have passed, and it is said that it was something which was collected regardless of the original "Dempagumi". Although the original name is "でんぱ組.inc", the debut single released by Lantis mistakenly named them as "でんぱ組inc."

On February 24, 2010, their debut single "Kiss + Kiss de Owaranai" with ULTRA-PRISM, which featured the music of the PC game "Tropical KISS", was released from Lantis. Eitaso and Miu Atobe joined on June 3, and Owada graduated on July 8. On August 15, Meme Nishimura was renamed Risa Aizawa, and on January 28, 2011, Eitaso was renamed Eimi Naruse. On July 6, the second single "Piko Piku Pikatte Koishite yo", Denpagumi.inc's first single release, was released from Lantis, and Aizawa became the group leader at the same time.

On September 9, they were transferred to MEME TOKYO, a label newly co-founded by Fukushima and Toy's Factory. Their third single Future Diver was released on November 16, and their first album, Nē Kīte? Uchuu wo Sukū no wa, Kitto Osushi... de wa Naku, Dempagumi.inc!, was released on December 14 by MEME TOKYO. After their first one-man performance at Harajuku Astro Hall, Atobe graduated, and Moga Mogami and Ayane Fujisaki joined.

2012–2015: One Man Tour, Nippon Budokan, Oricon #1
On February 26, 2012, they were champions in the 1st Idol Yokocho Cup!!. Their fourth and fifth singles were released on May 23 and July 18. On June 15, Tele-Asa Dōga debuted Dempagumi.inc's variety show Denpa no Kamigami. On September 16, the first one-man live was held with six members, and in the show, Furukawa stated "The members discussed and set goals, and they wanted six people to [perform] at [Nippon] Budokan!".

Dempagumi.inc's first tour was held from January 5 to 20, 2013. On January 16, their sixth single, WWD (song), was released, and become their first Oricon Singles Chart Top 10 single, and their seventh single was released on May 29, charting at #6. They later performed at Osaka Castle Outdoor Music Hall on August 31 and Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall on September 16. Their eighth single was released on October 2, and their second album "WORLD WIDE DEMPA" was released on December 11. The band's official fan club, Dempadō (でんぱとう), started on May 28, 2013.

The second national tour started on January 4, 2014. During Day 2, "Budokan Performance Decision!" (武道館公演決定!) was projected on the screen, and it was a surprise announcement that the Nippon Budokan performance would be held. The members who had not been informed in advance cried, and Furukawa said, "I am really happy because I wanted to go to the Budokan during this year," and "a dream really comes true." The performance was held on May 6, and drew a crowd of 10,000 people.

On March 12, the ninth single Sakura Appareshon was released, and two more on May 14 and July 30. A national live house tour was held from July 23 to September 2. On September 20, their next single, Stand〜Koko ni iru yo〜, was released for their collaboration unit with Moso Calibration, "The universe is made of 11 dimensions" (宇宙は11次元で出来ている).

On October 19, their first show on terrestrial television, Denpa Jack -World Wide Akihabara- debuted on Fuji TV. On October 25, they performed at "Anime Idol Asia" in Bangkok, Thailand, alongside Yumemiru Adolescence and the Kamen Rider Girls. On November 12 their next single "Ai ga aru kara!!" was released under the "Dempagumi.inc×gdgdYōseis" moniker. On November 26 their next single Demparty Night was released.

2015–2017: Yoyogi Gymnasium performance, Battle of the Bands tour


On February 10 and 11, 2015, a concert was held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium for two days, with an audience of 20,000. A national tour was held from February 27 to May 6. From July 16 to August 6, they hosted the Battle of the Bands tour "Kagayaki Tour". On September 26 and 27, they held a live performance at the Lake Kawaguchi Stellar Theater, claiming that it will be the final round of the World Tour (consecutive appearances to overseas Japanese cultural events) in June and July. On June 19 they made their first appearance on Music Station.

Their third album "WWDD" was released on February 18. On April 29, for their collaboration unit "Shokotan♥Dempagumi" with Shoko Nakagawa, their single "PUNCH LINE!" was released. On June 13, their 13th single was released. On September 16, their 14th single "Ashita Chikyu ga Konagona ni Nattemo" was released, becoming the first one to top the Billboard Japan single charts. In addition, on October 9 and December 18, distribution limited singles were released, and Aizawa worked on the jacket illustrations of both singles.

The "Best Japanese Act" voting at the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards was held on Twitter on September 15. On October 15 the result of the web voting was to be the Japan representative.

In 2016, three singles were released once a month from January to March. A tour of 30 performances from 21 prefectures was held from January 9 to April 2. Their fourth album "GOGO DEMPA" was released on April 27. A second Battle of the Bands tour was held from July to September. As a tie in with the anime The Disastrous Life of Saiki K., the ending theme was released on August 8, and their 15th single, Sai PSI Sai Kouchou!, was released on November 2. On December 21, their first best album was released.

2017–2019: Member count changes in six years
They performed for the "Makukō Arena Tour 2017 Denpa Ryōkō Wi-Fi Kanbi!" in January 2017 in three arenas: the World Memorial Hall; the Makuhari Messe; and for an extra performance on the 20th, the Nippon Budōkai.

On August 6, Mogami announced on her blog that she left the group on the same date:

"My mind and body became out of balance, and it became very difficult to work in Dempagumi.inc. Although I was unwell and absent from the site which had been decided several times before, I decided not to say that the possibility is zero from now on, I decided to withdraw from the feeling that I would not like to cause any more inconvenience."

She later began to work as a solo artist. On September 1, the official site was redesigned to five.

They appeared as a special guest at the reception party of Takashi Murakami's solo exhibition at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia on September 28 and presented her first live performance with a new five-member system.

At the Osaka Castle Hall on December 30, it was announced that Rin Kaname and Nagi Nemoto would join Dempagumi.inc.

They turned to the space motif orientation from the early days, and in 2018, experienced astronaut training at the Tsukuba Space Center. They also carried out the world's first "stratosphere balloon project in Mongolia" in MV photography. On April 4, their sixteenth single was released.

Dempagumi.inc served as headliner several large festivals, including Idol Yokochō Natsumatsuri 2018. On May 23, they performed at "GIRLS POWER LIVE" at Yokohama Arena. From April to July, they held their first one-man national hall tour with seven people, Cosmo Tour 2018-Planetary Exploration-". On July 7th, they made their second appearance at the Kawaguchiko Stella Theater, "July 7 is the Tanabata Festival Arc". They have also appeared in events across the country and abroad, and also visited three live houses in the "Tohoku Danpa Daisakusen" in early August. Furthermore, from July to September, they also sponsored "Cosmo Tour 2018 – Encounter with the Unknown ~" and "Reunion with the Known –".  On September 26, their 17th single "プレシャスサマー!" was released. In "Okinawa Special Edition" held on October 13 and 14, Nemu Yumemi stated that he would graduate on the second day of Budokan performance on January 7 of the following year and retire in March.

On the first day of 2019, they released their fifth album Wareware wa Dempagumi.inc da. Their third Japanese Budokan performance "Cosmo Tour 2019" was on January 6 and 7, with an audience of 20,000. On Day 2, Nemu Yumemi graduated with the last live of the seven-man system, Yumemi Nemu graduation performance-new journey- (夢眠ねむ卒業公演〜新たなる旅立ち〜).

The group set out on a new road as they returned to Earth, and held live house tours at three locations in Tomeisaka from the end of March to the end of April. In addition, Fukushima, who had been in charge for a while, returned to production recently this time.

2020–2021: The first sub-units, Eimi Naruse's graduation and addition of new members
On April 9, 2020, the first sub-unit, NemoPero from Dempagumi.inc (ねもぺろ from でんぱ組.inc) was formed by the newest members Nemoto Nagi and Rin Kaname with the release of their first single Shukishukishukipi♡gatomaranai ...! (しゅきしゅきしゅきぴ♡がとまらないっ…！)

In the Live broadcast on November 16, 2020, named "THE FAMILY TOUR 2020 ONLINE FINAL!! I'm sure it will save the universe ... " Naruse announced her graduation at the encore of the show. The graduation performance, named "Ultra ☆ Maximum ☆ Positive ☆ Story !!" was held at Toyosu PIT on February 15–16, 2021. At the end of the second day, five new members, Kozue Aikawa, Rito Amasawa, Ria Kobato, Aozora Sorano, and Hina Takasaki, joined Dempagumi.inc, with the announcement of a new song.

A new sub-unit, Chape No Izumi, was formed on May 5, 2021, with members Ayane Fujisaki, Kozue Aikawa, and Ria Kobato.

On May 20, 2021, Mirin Furukawa entered maternity leave and announced the birth of her son on July 16.

2022-2024: Nagi Nemoto's graduation, and Kozue Aikawa's graduation, lineup changes and announcement of disbandment
In a blog post released on January 11, 2022, it was announced that Nagi Nemoto would graduate from Dempagumi.inc at April 30, 2022, and Niji no Conquistador on April 11, 2022, citing health problems. A solo performance was held on April 30 serving as Nemoto's graduation as an idol.

In a blog post released on October 28, 2022, it was announced that Kozue Aikawa would graduate from Dempagumi.inc at December 31, 2022, citing health problems. In a blog post released on October 11, 2022, it was also announced that Aikawa also will be absent from future events due to health problems.

In a blog post released on September 11, 2023, it was announced that Aozora Sorano would graduate from Dempagumi.inc at January 13, 2024, to focus on her activities in Arcana Project, which she had concurrently done along with Dempagumi.inc.

In a blog post released on April 20, 2024, it was announced that after discussions with the band members and the crew about the group's future activities, it was decided to end the activities of the group in early 2025, after 16 years of activities.

Reception
Nikkei Entertainment described Dempagumi.inc and Babymetal as the two breakout idol groups of 2014, and perceived the fandoms' connection thorough music and concept as a common point between the two groups. Originally, the musicality of idols is no holds barred (nandemo ari), and it is said that both idolism and artistism are achieved by narrowing down the genre.

Members
Source: