Hypnosis Mic is an interesting project. It’s a complete multimedia project headed by the Evil Line Records division within King Records. Think of it as like AKB48 meets anime meets games meets rap. There are a total of eighteen voice actors who are then split up into 6 different divisions and fans vote on who their favorite teams are.
The story takes place after war rages through Japan, women are placed into the political roles in the Chuo ward. They have since banned weapons and destroyed what weapons were still available. Due to this, the men have turned to fight a different way, through rap using something called Hypnosis Microphones. These special microphones can affect people’s sympathetic nerves and influence how they think and perceive things.
The top rap group at the time “The Dirty Dawg” split up into 4 separate groups, each covering a division in and around Tokyo looking to be better than the next territory using rap and hypnosis microphones. The 4 divisions are the Ikebukuro Division, Yokohama Division, Shibuya Division, Shinjuku Division. Two divisions were later added representing Osaka and Nagoya.
The Hypnosis Mic Product as a Whole
As I mentioned previously, with it being a rap-based project, there is sure to be music to go along with it. The albums and songs, which have been released round the Hypnotic Mic universe, have consistently placed in the top three on Oricon charts with recent albums placing in the number one spot.
This is kind of amazing considering that the artists who are being marketed are not even real people. It just goes to show you how progressive music can be if people allow it to be. I have taken a listen to quite a bit of the tracks which are available on Apple Music and I must say, the music is really quite good.
Think of it as a nice blend of 90’s rap with current generation rap. Or maybe I should say hip-hop. There are a total of 6 main divisions within the story with a number of characters for each division.
Let’s take a look at each of the characters and the crews they belong to.
Ikebukuro Division – Buster Bros!!!
The Buster Bros!!! hail from the Ikebukuro Division. They consist of 3 brothers, Ichiro Yamada, Jiro Yamada, and Saburo Yamada.
Ichiro Yamada – Ichiro is the oldest of the Yamada brothers at 19 years old. He is also the leader of the group. He is a former member of The Dirty Dawgs. He raps using the alias MC.B.B. (MC Big Brother).
Jiro Yamada – Jiro is the middle brother at 17 years old. He raps under the alias MC M.B. (MC Middle Brother)
Saburo Yamada – Saburo is the genius little brother of the group. He is 14 years old and raps under the alias of MC L.B. (MC Little Brother).
Yokohama Division – Mad Trigger Crew
The Mad Trigger Crew calls Yokohama their home base and consists of both criminals and military members.
Samatoki Aohitsugi – A 25-year-old yakuza member. He is the Mad Trigger leader and former member of The Dirty Dawg. He raps using the name Mr. Hardcore.
Jyuto Iruma – Jyuto is a 29-year-old dirty police officer. He raps using the name 45 Rabbit.
Rio Mason Busujima – A half Japanese half American former military personnel. He is 28 years old and raps using the name Crazy M.
Shibuya Division – Fling Posse
The Fling Posse comes to you by the way of Shibuya and they consist of rappers from the art and entertainment industry.
Ramuda Amemura – Ramuda is the leader of Fling Posse and used to be a member of The Dirty Dawg as well. He is 24 years old and raps using the name Easy R.
Gentaro Yumeno – Gentaro is a 24-year-old author and raps using the name Phantom.
Dice Arisugawa – Dice is a 20-year-old gambler. He raps using the name Dead or Alive.
Shinjuku Division – Matenro
Matenro hails from the mean streets of Shinjuku and consists of office workers and medical workers. Matenro was the winner of the 2018 rap battle voting period.
Jakurai Jinguji – The 35-year-old former member of The Dirty Dawg raps using the name ill-DOC and is the leader of Matenro
Hifumi Izanami – A 29-year-old host from a host bar, Hifumi raps under the alias of Gigolo.
Doppo Kannonzaka – A pessimist, Doppo is a 29-year-old office worker who raps under the name of Doppo.
After the series had progressed a bit, there were two new teams added. However, this time rather than being from the Tokyo area, they are from the Kansai area of Japan. More specifically, they are from Nagoya and the Osaka areas in Japan. The teams hailing from this area are:
Osaka Division – Dotsuitare Hompo
Dotsuitare Hompo hails from Osaka in the Kansai area in Japan consisting of a mixed bag of rappers.
Sasara Nurude – Sasara is a 26-year-old stand-up comedian. He raps using the name Tragic Comedy and used to be in a group with Samatoki from the Mad Trigger Crew called Mad Comic Dialogue.
Rosho Tsutsuji Mori – Rosho is a 26-year-old teacher and raps using the moniker WISDOM.
Rei Amayado – Rei is a 46-year-old conman rapping under the name of MC MasterMind.
Nagoya Division – Bad Ass Temple
Bad Ass Temple is from Nagoya in the Kansai area of Japan. They debuted at the same time as Dotsuitare Hompo. They also consist of a mixed bag of individuals.
Kuko Harai – Kuko is a 19-year-old monk who used to be in a group with Ichiro from Buster Bros!!! He raps under the alias of Evil Monk
Jyushi Aimono – Jyushi is an 18-year-old vocalist for a visual kei band. He raps under the name 14th Moon.
Hitoya Amaguni – A 35-year-old lawyer, Hitoya raps under the name Heaven and Hell.
The Future of the Hypnosis Mic Franchise
Hypnosis Mic certainly has an intriguing story as well as a sure-fire concept to stay fresh in the minds of fans. Their consistent ranking at the top of Oricon charts shows that there is a buzz regarding what they’re doing with the brand and character base.
There was a mobile game announced for the series which was initially set to release at the end of 2019, but that was delayed until the spring of 2020. There is also a full-scale anime in the works which will certainly flesh the story of each character out more than it already has been.
Needless to say, this is a franchise that I will certainly be keeping my eye on and it’s something that Evil Line Records and King Records will be pushing forward for quite some time going forward.