HANABIE. (Photo Credit: Mei Okabe)
Formed in 2015 after the HANABIE. members met at school, this all-girl Tokyo band devised a style of metalcore tinged with EDM that their fans dubbed "Harajuku core." Vocalist Yukina switches between rap, upbeat anime-style vocals and deep, guttural screams, while guitarist-vocalist Matsuri brings a more melodic emo-tinged singing style and heavy otaku vibes.
Armed with a collection of thunderous songs and a reputation for brutal live performances, HANABIE. later signed to Sony Music. Their 2023 breakthrough killer tune "Osaki ni Shitsureishimasu" ('Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now') was a biting satire on Japanese overwork culture, filled with rage and humor in equal measure. They kicked off 2025 with the January release of the new EP, "HOT TOPIC," and lead song "ICONIC."
Now with multiple tours of North America and Europe under their sparkly studded belts, with deafening sets at some of the West's biggest rock festivals, HANABIE. are moments away from starting a month-long US tour. They begin in Boston on March 13, followed by additional shows in Brazil and Mexico in July. We spoke with Yukina, Matsuri, bassist Hettsu and drummer Chika (who joined in 2023) about finding their own style, making people laugh, and the importance of ice cream.
Meet HANABIE.
How did HANABIE. first form and find your unusual music style?
Yukina: "We started out at school by covering songs by bands like Maximum the Hormone. But once we got to high school, Matsuri started to write original songs and lyrics for us. We've always had a heavy sound."
Matsuri: "We have a song called 'L.C.G.', and when we made a music video for that, we decided to wear the colorful Harajuku-style fashion that we enjoy, which made an interesting juxtaposition with our loud rock sound. That set the template for the style we still have today."
Yukina: "The genre name 'Harajuku core' came from seeing the comments left by our fans in the YouTube comments for that video. Matsuri also loves videogames and uses game sounds in our music, and other members love anime, so we also have a taste of Akihabara culture in the mix as well."
HANABIE.'s music is based on metal, which is originally a Western music genre. But you also draw influence from Japanese music and instruments like shamisen, and then take that unique sound back to your fans in the West.
Yukina: "We all like Western music, and we also listen to other genres of music from Japan, including anime songs. We're influenced by games and anime as well. We want to mix that with a pop style that is our own, and a sense of chaos. I get the impression that listeners overseas enjoy the surprise of finding all those elements within our metal-based sound."
How did you find your vocal style?
Yukina: "Actually, originally I would only scream the lyrics, but after a while I got into rap and hip-hop, and I wanted to try that but with a cute anime voice. The mix of those elements sounded fun and was also fun to perform, so we added that to our sound."
Humor is also a big part of your sound and your music videos. Metal tends to be heavy, serious music, so how did you find that balance?
Matsuri: "First of all, we don't want to be like anyone else. So we wanted to find a style of metal that was all our own. We decide on a theme and then each member adds their own part, and Yukina writes the lyrics for the parts she sings, so if someone wants to add some humor, then they can. With music videos, metal videos tend to be very dark and oppressive looking, but we ignore that completely and wear the clothes we like; Hettsu is in charge of our outfits. So humor naturally became a part of our music and our videos."
Some music genres come and go in terms of popularity, but metal has an enduring and loyal fan base. Bands like Babymetal have added a pop twist, while in the US, artists like Poppy have moved from pop into metal. It's becoming quite a broad genre.
Matsuri: "Metal is a genre with a strong history, and it never fundamentally changes. That said, I do feel like recently many metal bands have been mixing things up, including bands like Babymetal. Metal is still metal, but it's become very free. For us as a band that likes to mix things up, the trend is very noticeable. When we play at big metal festivals overseas, we really feel it."
What does each member of the band bring to the songwriting process?
Matsuri: "I'm the main songwriter, so I take the songs from zero to one, and then the four of us take them from one to 100. We add parts and arrange the songs together, and then at the end, I put all the parts in place."
Yukina: "Matsuri writes the lyrics for the parts she sings, and I write lyrics for myself. When Matsuri comes up with a cool demo, I try to find something interesting or goofy I can do in the lyrics to enhance it. I like to surprise the others and make them laugh."
Chika: "As the drummer, I arrange the drum parts. I didn't start out playing metal, but I think a lot about the dynamics, which is something drums can contribute to."
You have a lot of complex drum patterns and use double-kick pedals, so I'm surprised to hear your background wasn't in metal.
Chika: "I listen to a lot of metal, but I also love pop music and want to include a lot of pop elements. I want people to be able to hear the vocals clearly, so I try to play drum patterns that spotlight the vocals and have a pop vibe, so that listeners can have fun."
Hettsu: "A lot of my basslines follow the guitar quite closely, so I don't mess around with that. But I play bass with my fingers, so I try to arrange the basslines to suit that style. I'd like to try playing with a plectrum sometime in the future, too – it'd sound heavier."
Chika, the profile on HANABIE.'s website says you have a "matchless love for ice cream" – which I do as well.
Chika: "I eat ice cream in summer and winter (laughs). I especially like vanilla ice cream coated in chocolate."
And how is that reflected in your music?
Chika: "(Laughs) Sweet food gives you lots of energy. I wake up and eat ice cream in the morning, and I eat ice cream after expending all my energy on stage. It gives me strength."
You recently released your new EP 'HOT TOPIC', which includes the lead song 'ICONIC.' What were you aiming for with each of these?
Yukina: "'ICONIC' is about being ourselves, which can be quite difficult to do in Japan. I hope the lyrics can make people feel better about the times they had to compromise in their lives. The melody also has a sense of momentum, and Matsuri's part is also a real earworm."
Matsuri: "On 'HOT TOPIC' we wanted to do something that is stylish and cool but also simple, with memorable songs. The songs are a little different than what we've done before, and not as packed with different sounds as our previous material. The songs 'Tokimeki About You' and 'ICONIC' were made with a focus on rhythm. Altogether, I think the EP shows a new side of HANABIE."
Hettsu: "As Matsuri said, 'Tokimeki About You' is more focused on the rhythm of drums and bass than our previous songs, which was a new challenge. Playing overseas tours alongside lots of other bands, and seeing so many cool performances, was an inspirational experience and it made us want to respond. I hope we can keep trying new things as HANABIE."
Yukina: "The performance Hettsu is referring to was when we played with Limp Bizkit, and there was a huge difference between seeing them in videos and seeing them in the flesh. It gave us the motivation to grow as a band and reach that level, and 'Tokimeki About You' was inspired by that."
Chika: "I joined the band in 2023, so I've grown into my role of arranging the drum parts and gotten a better feel for what works. I always was able to contribute as I like, but on 'HOT TOPIC,' I was really able to add lots of drum phrases of my own."
How do audiences overseas react to your performances?
Yukina: "I was surprised when the audiences overseas sang along to Japanese phrases like 'O Saki ni Shitsureisimasu' – I never expected that when we wrote that song. I think they are attracted to the chaos of our colourful looks and sound."
People are exposed to so many genres on TikTok and YouTube these days that a chaotic mix has become the norm, I guess. What has your approach been to social media?
Matsuri: "TikTok is the main place I find new music nowadays. Well, maybe also Instagram. The age of people finding a band they like and buying their CD is over. I used to find new music at the music shop, but now it's all in a single app. The advantage is that we can reach people of all ages, and because TikTok offers such a variety of content, it encourages us to make video clips and music that will appeal to those fans."
HANABIE. plays at major festivals around the world for huge crowds. How does it feel to play on such enormous stages?
Yukina: "When I see such a huge crowd, I want to make them all fans of our band (laughs). Sometimes the audience stretches so far back that we can't see their faces, and it moves me to think so many people have turned up to see us play. I don't take it for granted."
Do you miss playing in small venues?
Yukina: "I'd love to do that again. It's so easy to feel the crowd's passion in smaller venues, and you can see all their faces, so it's a very different experience. It gets hot, though. We even broke the air conditioning at a venue in Osaka ー through the passion of the crowd! It was so sweaty (laughs)."
Do you have any other moshpit stories?
Yukina: "Because I'm quite small and light, if I stagedive, I kind of bounce across the crowd's heads. Once when I stagedived, the crowd bounced me back up onto the stage almost right away. I wanted to spend more time crowdsurfing!"
What should fans expect from your upcoming shows in North America, Mexico and Brazil?
Matsuri: "We want to play explosive shows in North and South America, and then come back to Japan and show our local audience how we've powered up. I'm super confident that we can put on a show that is fun to watch, so I hope people will enjoy it."
Hettsu: "The last time we played in Mexico (in 2025), we were so busy at the festival that I didn't get a chance to explore the city, so I want to look around this time, and then have some drinks with local Mexican people and put on a killer show. I'm so excited!"
Yukina: "I want to eat hamburgers and tacos. I had crab tacos for the first time when I was in Mexico, and it was so delicious it nearly knocked me over."
Chika: "We have a lot of concerts scheduled in Japan after the US tour, and then I'm sure we'll go back to America and Europe again sometime after that. I want to keep showing audiences in each place an even better version of us than the previous time, so we'll keep setting the bar higher each time and work hard to level up."
HANABIE. tour North America from March 13, with additional shows in Brazil and Mexico in July. Their latest EP "HOT TOPIC" and single "ICONIC" are out now. For further information, visit https://hanabie.jp.
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Author: Daniel Robson
Daniel Robson is the Executive Producer of IGN Japan. Follow his artist interviews and series Gamer's World on JAPAN Forward.
