HoneyWork,s also known as Haniwa, is an independent music circle, and the creator of Confession Executive Committee. The franchise is one of the group's major projects. Although existing as a Vocaloid circle since 2010, it was not until 2014 that they made their professional debut with Zutto Mae Kara Suki Deshita. Many of their most popular songs were done with Vocaloid, but over time, their discography included human singers more often, with a Vocaloid version of the song as an alternate cover. Their repertoire also includes demos for certain vocal synthesizers (ex. Flower, Xin Hua), as well as collaborations with major musical artists such as Sphere and Nogizaka46. LIP×LIP is a virtual idol duo consisting of teen idols Yujiro and Aizo (voiced by Kouki Uchiyama and Nobunaga Shimazaki respectively). Beginning in 2016 with their debut song “Romeo”, the duo have since gone on to provide music featured in the Confession Executive Committee franchise. In-universe, they first appeared as a unit in the background of the PV for “Nichiyoubi no Himitsu”, and became prominent figures in the Idol Series.
“HoneyWorks 10th Anniversary “LIP x LIP FILM x LIVE” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
“HoneyWorks 10th Anniversary “LIP×LIP FILM×LIVE,” was released in Japan on December 25, 2020, the Christmas day. The film consists of two parts, an anime part to tell the story of how LIP x LIP was formed, and a “Virtual Live” part featuring their current live performances.
The anime part introduces us to Yujiro and Aizo, both of which are tormented by family issues before they meet for an idol audition. Yujiro has been training since he was a kid to succeed his father, a kabuki actor, who was always rather strict with his son. The shattering event however, was when he did not choose Yujiro to succeed him after all. Aizo loves to sing, but he also suffers from domestic issues, since his single mother is always out dating and getting drunk, and even when she is at home, all she does is fight with his brother. The two youths meet during the audition, but their antitheses are quite obvious from the beginning, with the fighting starting almost from the first time they lay eyes on each other. However, they still both manage to pass the audition, although President Tamura informs them that in order to debut, they will have to form a duo. Intense training soon begins, but their differences do not seem to succumb, until they finally open up to each other.
Although essentially dedicated almost exclusively to fans of the group, “Lip x Lip Film Live” still has some elements that make it interesting to the non-fan, with the whole concept of the virtual music idols probably being the foremost one. The retro style of drawing is also appealing, as much as the presentation of how the music industry works in regards to idols and the family drama that surrounds the back-stories of the two protagonists. The way they become friends is also intriguing, although all of the aforementioned are mostly presented in epidermic fashion, as the promotional purpose of the movie becomes apparent after a point. The second part is a CGI concert of the duo, which is directly addressed to fans, with the quality not being exactly top-notch.
There is not exactly much to review here, the first part can hold some appeal to anime fans, but is not anything special, while the second is only addressed to the “Juliettas” as the members of their fanbase are known. Furthermore, without at least some knack for J-pop, the movie is virtually unwatchable.
