ClariS
Encyclopedia
ClariS is a Japanese pop music
duo consisting of junior high school girls Clara and Alice. Originally known as "Alice Clara", ClariS began singing covers
of mainly songs featured in anime and songs originally sung by Vocaloid
s, and submitting them to the Nico Nico Douga
video sharing
website between October 2009 and June 2010. In September 2010, ClariS was signed to SME Records
and released their debut single "Irony" in October 2010, which was used as the opening theme to the anime Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
. ClariS released their second single "Connect" in February 2011, which was used as the opening theme to the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica
.
s, done so to preserve their anonymity). ClariS is a portmanteau of the singers' names and was picked as an homage to the character Clarisse from the anime
film The Castle of Cagliostro
. As listed on their website, "ClariS" can also carry the meaning of "clear" and "bright" in Latin
(though it is actually spelled "clarus"). Both Clara and Alice have been singing since they were in kindergarten, when they started having lessons at the same music school where they met as classmates. Clara can play the piano.
In order to put a priority on their schoolwork, ClariS have not released photos of themselves to the public and employ illustrators to draw their likenesses. When drawn, Clara is depicted wearing pink items, and Alice is shown wearing blue items. Images of the crescent
moon are used as a motif to represent Clara, and the sun is used to represent Alice, which comes from their personal preferences. Clara is shown with slightly wavy hair and no bangs
, while Alice is drawn with straight hair with bangs. To further preserve their anonymity, Clara and Alice have not told anyone they know (aside from their families) that they debuted as music artists. Both admit that they are otaku
, and have taken an interest in anime and anime music. Clara says that she keeps her otaku interests a secret from others at school, and Alice has called herself a Disney
otaku.
of the Vocaloid
song "Step to You" onto the Nico Nico Douga
video sharing
website on October 10, 2009. ClariS released seven more covers in 2009. On April 24, 2010, the publisher Sony Magazines under Sony Music Entertainment Japan
launched the anime music magazine Lis Ani! with an attached CD containing the original song "Drop" composed by Kz of Livetune
and sung by ClariS. ClariS released five more covers in 2010, ending with the song "Listen!!" from the anime K-On!!
as their 13th cover submitted on June 5, 2010. On July 24, 2010, the second issue of Lis Ani! was released with another attached CD containing the original song , again composed by Kz and sung by ClariS. A single containing both songs was released exclusively at Comiket 78
on August 13, 2010.
In September 2010, ClariS was signed to SME Records
and released their major debut single "Irony" on October 20, 2010. "Irony" debuted at No. 7 on Oricon
's weekly singles chart. "Irony" was composed by Kz, and was used as the opening theme of the 2010 anime TV series Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
. ClariS released their second single on February 2, 2011. "Connect" debuted at No. 5 on Oricon's weekly singles chart, and was used as the opening theme of the 2011 anime TV series Puella Magi Madoka Magica
. ClariS contributed the song "True Blue" on the Zone
tribute album
released on August 10, 2011; "True Blue" is a cover of Zone's 2003 single. ClariS released their third single "Nexus" on September 14, 2011, and it debuted at No. 5 on Oricon's weekly singles chart. "Nexus" was composed by Kz, and is used as the theme song for the ninth volume of the Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai light novels; ClariS make a cameo appearance
in the same volume. The song "Don't Cry" on the "Nexus" single is used as the theme song for volume 0.5 of Shueisha
's Aoharu magazine. ClariS will released their fourth single on February 1, 2012. "Naisho no Hanashi" was composed by Ryo of Supercell
, and will be used as the ending theme of the 2012 anime TV series Nisemonogatari.
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
duo consisting of junior high school girls Clara and Alice. Originally known as "Alice Clara", ClariS began singing covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of mainly songs featured in anime and songs originally sung by Vocaloid
Vocaloid
is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
s, and submitting them to the Nico Nico Douga
Nico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
video sharing
Video sharing
Video hosting services refers to websites or software where users can distribute their video clips. Other sites such as file hosting services image hosting services and social network services might support video sharing as an enhancement to their primary mission, but in general, they are not...
website between October 2009 and June 2010. In September 2010, ClariS was signed to SME Records
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
and released their debut single "Irony" in October 2010, which was used as the opening theme to the anime Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Ore no Imoto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
, also known as or for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. Nine volumes have been published since August 2008. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakura Ikeda was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine. A...
. ClariS released their second single "Connect" in February 2011, which was used as the opening theme to the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
is a Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft and Aniplex. The series is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and written by Gen Urobuchi with original character designs by Ume Aoki, character design adaptation by Takahiro Kishida and music by Yuki Kajiura...
.
Members
ClariS consists of two junior high school girls known as Clara and Alice (both pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s, done so to preserve their anonymity). ClariS is a portmanteau of the singers' names and was picked as an homage to the character Clarisse from the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film The Castle of Cagliostro
The Castle of Cagliostro
is a 1979 Japanese animated film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is one of the films featuring master thief Arsène Lupin III.The second animated Lupin III movie and arguably the best known, Castle of Cagliostro was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who also co-directed the first...
. As listed on their website, "ClariS" can also carry the meaning of "clear" and "bright" in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(though it is actually spelled "clarus"). Both Clara and Alice have been singing since they were in kindergarten, when they started having lessons at the same music school where they met as classmates. Clara can play the piano.
In order to put a priority on their schoolwork, ClariS have not released photos of themselves to the public and employ illustrators to draw their likenesses. When drawn, Clara is depicted wearing pink items, and Alice is shown wearing blue items. Images of the crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
moon are used as a motif to represent Clara, and the sun is used to represent Alice, which comes from their personal preferences. Clara is shown with slightly wavy hair and no bangs
Fringe (hair)
Fringe are a shaped cutting of the front part of the hair so that it is combed forward and hangs or curls over the forehead. A classic fringe is cut fairly straight at or above the eyebrows, but fringes can also be ragged or ruffled, spiked up with hair gel, swept to one side or the other, and...
, while Alice is drawn with straight hair with bangs. To further preserve their anonymity, Clara and Alice have not told anyone they know (aside from their families) that they debuted as music artists. Both admit that they are otaku
Otaku
is a Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly anime, manga or video games.- Etymology :Otaku is derived from a Japanese term for another's house or family , which is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun...
, and have taken an interest in anime and anime music. Clara says that she keeps her otaku interests a secret from others at school, and Alice has called herself a Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
otaku.
History
ClariS formed in late 2009 as "Alice Clara" when, as first-year junior high school students, Clara and Alice submitted a coverCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Vocaloid
Vocaloid
is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...
song "Step to You" onto the Nico Nico Douga
Nico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
video sharing
Video sharing
Video hosting services refers to websites or software where users can distribute their video clips. Other sites such as file hosting services image hosting services and social network services might support video sharing as an enhancement to their primary mission, but in general, they are not...
website on October 10, 2009. ClariS released seven more covers in 2009. On April 24, 2010, the publisher Sony Magazines under Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
launched the anime music magazine Lis Ani! with an attached CD containing the original song "Drop" composed by Kz of Livetune
Livetune
Livetune is a Japanese music group which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the group in March 2009. Livetune started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted...
and sung by ClariS. ClariS released five more covers in 2010, ending with the song "Listen!!" from the anime K-On!!
K-On!
is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues. It was also serialized in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat...
as their 13th cover submitted on June 5, 2010. On July 24, 2010, the second issue of Lis Ani! was released with another attached CD containing the original song , again composed by Kz and sung by ClariS. A single containing both songs was released exclusively at Comiket 78
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
on August 13, 2010.
In September 2010, ClariS was signed to SME Records
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
is Sony's music arm in Japan. SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Corporation and independent from the United States-based Sony Music Entertainment due to its strength in the Japanese music industry....
and released their major debut single "Irony" on October 20, 2010. "Irony" debuted at No. 7 on Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
's weekly singles chart. "Irony" was composed by Kz, and was used as the opening theme of the 2010 anime TV series Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
Ore no Imoto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai
, also known as or for short, is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsukasa Fushimi, with illustrations provided by Hiro Kanzaki. Nine volumes have been published since August 2008. A manga adaptation drawn by Sakura Ikeda was serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine. A...
. ClariS released their second single on February 2, 2011. "Connect" debuted at No. 5 on Oricon's weekly singles chart, and was used as the opening theme of the 2011 anime TV series Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
is a Japanese anime television series produced by Shaft and Aniplex. The series is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and written by Gen Urobuchi with original character designs by Ume Aoki, character design adaptation by Takahiro Kishida and music by Yuki Kajiura...
. ClariS contributed the song "True Blue" on the Zone
Zone (band)
Zone was an all-female pop rock band started in Sapporo, Japan in 1999. Although it initially started as a dance group, they turned to an all-female band. Zone has been categorized in a new genre called "bandol"...
tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
released on August 10, 2011; "True Blue" is a cover of Zone's 2003 single. ClariS released their third single "Nexus" on September 14, 2011, and it debuted at No. 5 on Oricon's weekly singles chart. "Nexus" was composed by Kz, and is used as the theme song for the ninth volume of the Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai light novels; ClariS make a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the same volume. The song "Don't Cry" on the "Nexus" single is used as the theme song for volume 0.5 of Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
's Aoharu magazine. ClariS will released their fourth single on February 1, 2012. "Naisho no Hanashi" was composed by Ryo of Supercell
Supercell (band)
Supercell is a Japanese 11-member music group led by composer and lyricist Ryo which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website...
, and will be used as the ending theme of the 2012 anime TV series Nisemonogatari.
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak Oricon chart positions |
Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Drop / Kimi no Yume o Miyō" | — | ||||||||||
| "Irony" | 7 | |||||||||||
| 2011 | "Connect" | 5 | ||||||||||
| "Nexus" | 5 | |||||||||||
| 2012 | "Naisho no Hanashi" | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Irony" | |
| 2011 | "Connect" | |
| "Nexus" | ||
| 2012 | "Naisho no Hanashi" |
Other album appearances
| Year | Song | Album | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Irony" | Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Original Soundtrack | TV-size version theme song to Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai TV anime. | |
| "True Blue" | Zone Tribute: Kima ga Kureta Mono | Tribute album Tribute album A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There... for the band Zone Zone (band) Zone was an all-female pop rock band started in Sapporo, Japan in 1999. Although it initially started as a dance group, they turned to an all-female band. Zone has been categorized in a new genre called "bandol"... . "True Blue" is a cover of Zone's 2003 single. |
||
| "Irony" | Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Complete Collection+ | TV-size version theme song to Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai TV anime. |
Nico Nico Douga cover songs
| # | Upload date | Song | Original artist(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | October 10, 2009 | "Step to You" | 40meter-P | Vocaloid songs originally sung by Hatsune Miku Hatsune Miku is a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, developed by Crypton Future Media. It uses Yamaha Corporation's Vocaloid 2 synthesizing technology. The name of the character comes from a fusion of the Japanese for , and future , referring to her position as the first of Crypton's... . |
| 02 | October 17, 2009 | Supercell Supercell (band) Supercell is a Japanese 11-member music group led by composer and lyricist Ryo which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website... |
||
| 03 | November 3, 2009 | "Scrap & Build" | 40meter-P | |
| 04 | November 14, 2009 | |||
| 05 | November 29, 2009 | "Only My Railgun" | fripSide FripSide FripSide a Japanese trance and pop duo, originally formed by composer Sat and singer Nao in February 2002.In a 2008 interview, Sat said that he was a fan of TM Network and its member Tetsuya Komuro in his elementary and junior high school days and began to produce his music at the age of 14.When... |
TV anime Toaru Kagaku no Railgun first opening theme. |
| 06 | December 12, 2009 | Supercell | TV anime Bakemonogatari Bakemonogatari is a Japanese popular light novel series written by Japanese novelist Nisio Isin and illustrated by Taiwanese illustrator Vofan; the series is published by Kodansha under the Kodansha Box imprint... ending theme. |
|
| 07 | December 26, 2009 | Koko | Composed by Kz of Livetune Livetune Livetune is a Japanese music group which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music group. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the group in March 2009. Livetune started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted... . |
|
| 08 | December 31, 2009 | May'n May Nakabayashi , born , is a Japanese J-Pop artist managed by the Horipro talent agency and under the Victor Entertainment label. She was formerly under the Universal Music label.-Career:... , Megumi Nakajima Megumi Nakajima is a seiyū and singer under the Stardust Promotion talent agency. Born of a Japanese father and a Filipina mother, she was brought up in a "house filled with music" and grew up with the desire to sing. In 2003, she participated in the "Self Stardust Promotion" contest and passed, thereby... |
TV anime Macross Frontier Macross Frontier is a Japanese animated science fiction space drama that aired in Japan on MBS from April 3, 2008 to September 25, 2008. It is the most recent Japanese anime television series set in the Macross universe. Animated by Satelight, premiered Japan on MBS on April 3, 2008... second opening theme. A full cover version was uploaded on January 16, 2010. |
|
| 09 | February 6, 2010 | Kz of Livetune | Vocaloid song originally sung by Hatsune Miku. | |
| 10 | March 5, 2010 | "Level 5 (Judgelight)" | fripSide | TV anime Toaru Kagaku no Railgun second opening theme. |
| 11 | April 3, 2010 | Perfume Perfume (group) Perfume is a Japanese all-girl trio from Hiroshima, Japan, consisting of Ayano Ōmoto, Yuka Kashino, and Ayaka Nishiwaki. They debuted locally in 2001 and made their transition to a major label in 2005, focusing more on electropop... |
Composed by Yasutaka Nakata Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese songwriter, music producer and DJ. He formed the group Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer/producer when both were 17. They formally debuted as capsule in 2001.... . |
|
| 12 | May 8, 2010 | "Don't Say 'Lazy'" | Yōko Hikasa Yōko Hikasa is a Japanese voice actress from Kanagawa who is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. Hikasa aspired to become a voice actress after watching Sailor Moon, and later attended Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyūjo, a voice actor training school. She is a member of the five-girl pop music group Ro-Kyu-Bu!, along... , Aki Toyosaki Aki Toyosaki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. She had her first major voice acting roles in 2007, voicing Amuro Ninagawa in Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō and Su in Shugo Chara!... , Satomi Satō Satomi Sato is a voice actress from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan affiliated with Aoni Production's Junior Talent. She is a graduate of Tokyo Announce Gakuin Performing Arts College. She is also known as , as means "sugar" in Japanese... and Minako Kotobuki Minako Kotobuki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She is best known for her role in K-On!. Her career as a musician began with her performance of the opening and ending themes of the anime series K-On! in April 2009... |
TV anime K-On! K-On! is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues. It was also serialized in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat... ending theme. |
| 13 | June 5, 2010 | "Listen!!" | Yōko Hikasa, Aki Toyosaki, Satomi Satō, Minako Kotobuki and Ayana Taketatsu Ayana Taketatsu is a Japanese voice actress from Saitama Prefecture. She is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. Like Yōko Hikasa, she had also attended Nihon Narration Engi Kenkyūjo, a voice actor training school before becoming affiliated with the current management company... |
TV anime K-On!! K-On! is a Japanese four-panel comic strip manga written and illustrated by Kakifly. The manga was serialized in Houbunsha's seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara between the May 2007 and October 2010 issues. It was also serialized in Houbunsha's magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat... first ending theme. |