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BATTLE OF TOKYO (shortly known as BOT) is a comprehensive entertainment project created in 2019 and led by the Jr.EXILE groups. EXILE HIRO is the chief creative officer and in charge of planning and production of the complete franchise. It follows the same structure as the multimedia project HiGH&LOW.[1]
As a project focused on Jr.EXILE including GENERATIONS, THE RAMPAGE, FANTASTICS, BALLISTIK BOYZ and PSYCHIC FEVER, it depicts a new story unfolding in TOKYO in two parallel worlds: the real world, Shin TOKYO (新TOKYO; New TOKYO), and a fantasy world in another universe, Cho TOKYO (超TOKYO; Super TOKYO).
In the other universe, the groups and its members have alter egos: "MAD JESTERS" (≠GENERATIONS), "ROWDY SHOGUN" (≠THE RAMPAGE), "ASTRO9" (≠FANTASTICS), "JIGGY BOYS" (≠BALLISTIK BOYZ) and "DUNG BEAT POSSE" (≠PSYCHIC FEVER). Additionally, each group is based at a specific location.[2]
History[]
2019[]
BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~ logo
The project was announced on April 20, on the same day as the formation of Jr.EXILE. The project would initially focus on the 4 groups of the Jr.EXILE unit, with them releasing an album titled BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~ on July 3 and holding a 4-day live concert with the same title from July 4 to July 7 at Makuhari Messe.[3][4][2]
In June, the groups of Jr.EXILE released two music videos for their collaboration songs every week, sorted by "Rounds": ROUND1: GENERATIONS vs THE RAMPAGE ("SHOOT IT OUT"), ROUND2: THE RAMPAGE vs BALLISTIK BOYZ ("Dead Or Alive"), ROUND3: GENERATIONS vs FANTASTICS ("Supersonic"), ROUND4: FANTASTICS vs BALLISTIK BOYZ ("SHOCK THE WORLD"), ROUND5: THE RAMPAGE vs FANTASTICS ("MIX IT UP") and ROUND6: GENERATIONS vs BALLISTIK BOYZ ("BREAK DOWN YA WALLS").[5] The concept of those music videos revolves around a battle of the groups in both the real world Shin TOKYO (新TOKYO; New TOKYO) and the space of a parallel universe Cho TOKYO (超TOKYO; Super TOKYO), and ultimately peaks at BABYLONIUM, an entity that connects multiple dimensions that normally do not intersect: Super Tokyo, New Tokyo of the future, and the present Tokyo of our reality.[6][7][2]
To promote the album release on July 3, different members of each group were mixed together for interviews and TV appearances.[8] Prior to the live concert, Nikkan Sports released the original newspaper BATTLE OF TOKYO Shinbun (BATTLE OF TOKYO新聞), which includes interviews and more content from the members of Jr.EXILE, on July 2.[9]
After the 4-day live concert BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~ from July 4 to July 7 attracted about 120,000 attendants, it was announced on July 9 that the project would continue as 2020 BATTLE OF TOKYO LIVE in the next year.[10][11]
2021[]
BATTLE OF TOKYO TIME 4 Jr.EXILE logo
On February 25, the first original novel of the project, titled Shosetsu BATTLE OF TOKYO vol.1 and introducing the story of BATTLE OF TOKYO, was published. The novel is set in Cho TOKYO, a metropolis that has rapidly recovered from the devastation caused by the Great Storm. "Rumors of the MAD JESTERS, a group of thieves, begin to circulate in the peaceful Tokyo, where many people live in affluence, controlled by a highly evolved network. And so begins the battle between ROWDY SHOGUN, Astro9, and JIGGY BOYS, all young men with special abilities."[12][13][14][15]
In the same month, it was revealed that each individual team had a new song and music video that would be released in March. MAD JESTER's song would be titled "LIBERATION", ROWDY SHOGUN's "CALL OF JUSTICE" and Astro9's "PERFECT MAGIC", while JIGGY BOYS song title was not yet revealed. The music videos were announced to be a mixture of live-action performance and 3DCG animation.[2]
On April 18, LDH held a press conference announcing the future plans of the project. There, it was revealed that Jr.EXILE would be turned into avatars, and various digital and virtual contents such as animation, games, live performances and music videos would be developed. All in all, BATTLE OF TOKYO would be a "Mixed Reality Entertainment" project. CRAFTAR STUDIOS Inc. would be in charge of the animation production, and the production staff would include Azuma Hiroaki as the video director, Kozaki Yusuke as the character designer and Izubuchi Yutaka as the mechanical designer.[16][17] Additionally, the first voice actors for the animation were announced: Kaji Yuki for ZERO (Shirahama Alan), Kimura Subaru for PARTE (Sekiguchi Mandy), Ishikawa Kaito for LUPUS (Kawamura Kazuma), Horie Shun for LUCAS (Yoshino Hokuto) and Takeuchi Shunsuke for TEKU (Sekai).[18] Lastly, it was revealed that Jr.EXILE would release their second album titled BATTLE OF TOKYO TIME 4 Jr.EXILE on June 23.[19]
On July 16, the second novel of the project was published.[20]
2022[]
On February 18, the official starting guide of the project was published and on February 22, the third novel was published as well.[21][22][23][24]
On May 31, it was announced that PSYCHIC FEVER would join the project with the alter ego "DUNG BEAT POSSE" after their official debut.
From July 21 to July 24, a 4-day live concert titled BATTLE OF TOKYO TIME 4 Jr.EXILE (based on the album of the same title) took place at Saitama Super Arena with special battles based on others projects such as HiGH&LOW and iCON Z: "DAY1 BATTLE OF HiGH&LOW", "DAY2 BATTLE OF KINGDOM", "DAY3 BATTLE OF iCON Z" and "DAY4 BATTLE OF SUMMER".[25][26][27] Additionally, the fourth novel of the project was published on July 21, the first day of the live performance.[28][29][30][31]
From July 21 to 31, collaborative items with fashion brand Ground Y by Yamamoto Yohji were sold.[32][33][34][35]
2023[]
BATTLE OF TOKYO ~CODE OF Jr.EXILE~ logo
On January 10, PSYCHIC FEVER released the song "RICH & BAD" digitally. The song was used as the theme song for DUNG BEAT POSSE, the group's alter ego in the project.[36]
On January 18, the first DVD/Blu-ray of the project was released, which is the footage of the BATTLE OF TOKYO TIME 4 Jr.EXILE live concert.[37]
On June 13, the fifth novel of the project was published.[38][39]
A "collaborative illustration exhibition" between "BATTLE OF TOKYO" and popular creators active in genres such as manga, anime, and games, titled BATTLE OF TOKYO Cho TOKYO Expansion Exhibition, will be held at SHIBUYA TSUTAYA in Tokyo from May 15 to May 26, and at TSUTAYA EBISUBASHI in Osaka from June 8 to June 23. In this exhibition, 45 characters based on the 45 members of GENERATIONS, THE RAMPAGE, FANTASTICS, BALLISTIK BOYZ, and PSYCHIC FEVER were illustrated from the viewpoints of 45 creators. In addition to selling limited goods at the venue, a collaboration cafe offering original menus was also opened. Furthermore, costumes and related goods were on display, live videos were be streamed, and photo panels were set up.[43][44][45]
On April 26, it was announced that a special broadcast that would be simultaneously broadcasted on the platforms CL and YouTube to report the future activities of the project would be held on May 7, as well as the addition of the NEO EXILE groups, namely LIL LEAGUE, KID PHENOMENON, THE JET BOY BANGERZ and WOLF HOWL HARMONY.[46]
On May 7, the special broadcast revealed that a 5-day live concert titled BATTLE OF TOKYO ~Jr.EXILE vs NEO EXILE~ would be held from August 10 to September 1 at Saitama Super Arena and Kyocera Dome Osaka with special battles and collaborations between members of the project, as well as an album BATTLE OF TOKYO Jr.EXILE vs NEO EXILE releasing on August 7.[47][48][49]
[2023.04.29-2023.05.14] BATTLE OF TOKYO×animate in Cho Tokyo[50]
[2024.05.15-2024.06.23] BATTLE OF TOKYO Cho TOKYO Expansion Exhibition (BATTLE OF TOKYO 超東京拡張展)
Trivia[]
The members of Jr.EXILE chose the names and traits of their BATTLE OF TOKYO characters themselves.
In an interview in 2021, HIRO mentioned that he wants to expand BOT as a platform for all of LDH and make it another business pillar of the company, with artists who have access turning into avatars so that it will serve as a second career for members who have retired from live performances and help introduce newcomers of the company.[1]
The avatars of the members were created with motion capture system.[17]
The logo of DUNG BEAT POSSE leaked in April 2019 prior to the announcement of the BATTLE OF TOKYO project, but was not revealed with the official announcement.[52] With the BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~ live concerts in July of the same year, PSYCHIC FEVER was introduced to the public as a new group and the logo appeared in the screen a few moments before the end of their performance, which led to the assumption that DUNG BEAT POSSE would be the alter ego of the group.[53]
