2020 Kadokawa Mikikometal (BABYMETAL's choreographer) Interview

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MIKIKOMETAL talks about the growth of BABYMETAL

MIKIKOMETAL is responsible for BABYMETAL’s choreography. How did she create unique and catchy choreography that contrasts with metal's stylistic beauty while at the same time adhering to it? We catch a glimpse of SU-METAL and MOAMETAL through the eyes of someone who has worked with BABYMETAL since their formation, as she shares the growth she has seen through the years.

Interviewer:大窪由香

Choreographer and director Mikiko leads the dance company "ELEVENPLAY". She has choreographed and directed most of BABYMETAL and Perfume's songs and live performances, as well as numerous music videos, commercials, and stage performances. She is also highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad in the media art scene, and is actively involved in collaborations with various creators, going beyond genres as a director with the technology to bring new technologies into entertainment.

Choreography born from an ignorance of heavy metal

MIKIKOMETAL has been teaching BABYMETAL choreography and dance since they were in elementary school. As one of the founding members of the unit, how did you perceive BABYMETAL at that time?

When I heard from their producer KOBAMETAL that the unit would be a fusion of idol and heavy metal, I thought, “well, that’s interesting!” although I wasn't familiar with heavy metal myself. It seems that the heavy metal genre has its own rules and norms when it comes to live shows, and KOBAMETAL has emphasized this from the beginning. When I received the first song, I was told "Here, I want some headbanging. Here, the audience might be running in a circle, so I want a movement that appears to control it.”. His vision was very clear, and I learned about things like “Bowing Down Hedoban” alongside the girls bit by bit.

In some ways, lack of knowledge and preconceived notions about heavy metal helped

For example, we decided to see how side to side headbanging together with the rhythm might work, as well as MOAMETAL and YUIMETAL twirling their twin tails, which created a very cute image. This was possible due to ignorance, and I think if I knew more about heavy metal, we wouldn't have been able to break free from the existing framework. So that's what it was like when I was planning the choreography for our first song "Doki Doki☆Morning" (laughs). The Fox Sign, which is now a trademark of BABYMETAL, was created when the girls made a mistake when attempting to imitate the hand gestures used in heavy metal. That was fun, so we just went with it - these are the kind of aspects we picked up on as we went along.

The following song "Ijime, Dame, Zettai" opens with MOAMETAL and YUIMETAL running from both sides of the stage and crossing positions, and jumping with their arms crossed, and is a song that draws the attention of heavy metal enthusiasts.

We did the intro because we wanted to see how fast they could run (laughs). The choreography was possible because we just thought it was interesting to see the two of them, who were still small in stature, running across the stage as fast as they could. The part where they cross their arms and jump in the chorus was done in consultation with KOBAMETAL, and the part where they put their thumbs together in the middle of the narrative was done by experimenting with the members to see how we could make it more interesting. Of course, they are passionate about dancing, but I had the impression that they were also excellent actors, and just by explaining the image of this song and the lighting verbally in the studio, they were able to figure it out. That ability was outstanding, so in parts where normally we’d have to fill in every second with choreography, I was able to try things like having them walking and running. I think that's their greatest strength.

They trained like athletes

Although the girls are now active participants in creating the world of BABYMETAL, what did the original 3-person team feel like when first formed?

SU-METAL has an excellent leadership style. She derives authority not just because she’s the oldest, but because SU-METAL enjoys herself the most, and SU-METAL puts in the most blood and sweat. That is how she displays leadership, and can be seen through body language, but when off-stage, SU-METAL is… sort of lacking (laughs), and I think that's why they have such a good balance.

With BABYMETAL’S major label debut in 2013, their mindset changed as they expanded activities and their stage grew in size.

The amount of pressure increased as the size of the audience grew, and their voices became louder and stronger in response. There’s a kind of honesty that only a “growing up period” can provide, and maybe their bodies just reacted instinctively to what they were seeing, so the three of them became able to take on larger venues without even realizing it. I didn't have to tell them that they had to dance harder because it was going to be a big venue; they were able to do what I wanted to see naturally. As the stages grew larger, the distance traveled during the show increased, so they needed to build up their stamina. BABYMETAL coincided with their physical growth. They grew from girls into women, with changes in height and muscle tone. 

There were a lot of movements that needed to be reworked to avoid injury, and they had to constantly relearn how to use their bodies, facing the challenge of training seriously in order to perform as professionals. For example, they now spend a lot of time stretching before and after a show, and doing core training. In the past, they would have been able to dance without stretching, but I think they would have felt pretty tired after dancing, so the training began to resemble that of athletes, to shed fatigue as quickly as possible.

“We can do more”, was what we felt after the first UK performance

BABYMETAL expanded their activities overseas. MIKIKOMETAL, who accompanied the band to their first UK concert, said that watching them on stage gave her goosebumps.

I had heard that Babymetal was popular overseas, but seeing it in real life gave me goosebumps. There was no difference between the reactions in Japan and abroad, and the excitement was the same. During “The One”, there was a miraculous scene where everyone did their best to copy the Japanese language and sing along, and everyone raised their national flags. It was very moving to see the audience respond in a way we never expected.

(T/N: The raising of the national flags during "The One" occurred in the 2016 Live at Wembley show, and not during Babymetal’s 'first UK shows' in 2014. Live at Wembley could be considered their 'first UK arena show'. It is likely that Mikiko-san combined the aspects of foreign shows that moved her into one response)

There was a lot to learn from that UK tour.

We all felt like we had suddenly arrived in a place we’d never imagined before. There was an unspoken mutual feeling that we were all willing to put our lives on the line to put on the best show ever, as if it were our last. At the same time, after the show was over, there was a sense that we could have done better. The Japanese staff had to work with staff from different cultures and languages. Because of the difficulties encountered, we were able to give ourselves a goal for the next time. I think that experience was very important, and tours abroad have been a big part of their growth. First of all, I think it's great that they became able to control the crowd in English. Also, even though it's becoming more common for us to perform at big venues in Japan to draw large crowds, overseas we go back to the comfort of the small live house shows. They’ve been able to adapt to stages where the audiences feel far away, and stages where you can see the expressions of the people at the very back. After returning from abroad, I felt like their performances blossomed, and they became more and more like artists..

The two of them expressed clearly what they wanted to protect

They’ve grown both physically and mentally. As the field of activity expands, mental support becomes more important.

It's not an exaggeration to say that after you’ve accumulated a certain amount of experience and developed your body as a professional, the remaining challenge is all in the mind. The feeling of invincibility and giving it 120% when they were still children is not something that can be taught, but it's something you can only do because you’re inexperienced, and it's a kind of magic that is fleeting, so I always cherished it while it lasted.

There's a certain fear that comes with experience. Back then, they could just go for it without overthinking anything, or they didn't even know what it meant to be nervous, but as you get more and more experienced, you suddenly have ominous thoughts, like you might fail if you don’t do this part correctly today. As BABYMETAL grew older, they probably felt that fear as well, and I think they had their struggles with it. But they proceeded in spite of the circumstances where they were forced to "go forward in any case", as if there was the sense that hesitating or wandering from fear of failure wasn’t an option. That must've been an experience they couldn’t have had without BABYMETAL, I suppose. I’ve worked on choreography for many people in the past, but I think among them, Babymetal is exceptional, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they will feel after another five years have passed.

2018 marked a turning point in their performance, as they transitioned away from the 3-person formation

The most difficult thing was deciding what format to use. Although it wasn’t impossible to have the two of them stand side by side, the triangle formation was very strong, and the girls shined in their different roles. That’s why I had to put a lot of thought into reworking the formation, and explored many different possibilities, trying to find a system that best fit our needs. 

The Avengers support dancer system was born from this experimentation, but if you have three Avengers, you're going to have to teach and practice the same thing three times. It must have been not only physically demanding, but difficult to verbalize and communicate to others the rules and bonds that they had felt on stage, which hadn’t been organized into words before. I could feel from the two of them a resolve to never be negative, and a burning desire to protect their achievement. The mood of the rehearsals was good, and I got the feeling that we were giving it our all more than ever.

No matter what happens, the two of them can get through it together

The girls have grown and evolved through a variety of experiences, and MIKIKOMETAL has been watching these girls grow up since they were in elementary school. This is what she has to say about their development.

Looking back, the traits that impressed me when we first met are the same traits that are still with then today. MOAMETAL was cute and a “mood-maker”, but even back then, she observed the people around her carefully, and was quick to sense the feelings of adults, so she knew very clearly when to joke around, and when to be sweet. This is a great trait of hers that she still possesses.

SU-METAL is… interesting, isn’t she? (laughs) She’s very bright and cheerful, but also very self-assured, so she can do everything by herself. She’s been able to analyze herself since she was young, and is thus able to deal with the people around her. I think that's a natural talent.

What would you like to tell BABYMETAL on their 10th anniversary?

I think there might have been a time when there was conflict between what you wanted to do and what was being asked of you. After all, Babymetal started out as a unit that was a bit different from what you had originally chosen. I don't think the two of you have any regrets, because you've always given it your all, but I think there were many times when you wondered "What might have happened if we hadn't been in BABYMETAL?" or "I wonder if I would have enjoyed being the smiling idol I always admired more?"

Watching you, I think there must have been times when you thought about these "what-if scenarios", but BABYMETAL is not something anyone could have done, and you've created an extraordinary experience for yourselves, so I hope you've had a life that makes you happy to have been a part of BABYMETAL. I am very interested in what kind of women you will become when you gain more experience and reach your thirties and forties, so I am looking forward to seeing how this will connect/affect the rest of your lives. I'm sure that there will be many more problems that will come up in the future, but I think you have the strength to overcome whatever comes your way, so I hope that you will cherish each and every one of them, take care of yourself, and live your life while enjoying it.

(read other BABYMETAL long-form interviews here!)