Lollapalooza’s Cuteness Aggression: Japanese Metalcore Band HANABIE.

The interview for this article was conducted with the help of Candice Abe, who translated between English and Japanese. 

Dressed in pink bows, tulle and a glittery silver belt, lead vocalist Yukina opened Lollapalooza’s T-Mobile stage with guttural screams on Sunday, Aug. 4. 

Flanking her, band members Matsuri, Hettsu and Chika embodied the same contrariety — shredding the guitar, bass and drums with unbridled vigor while adorable stuffed animals swayed on their arms.

The crowd eagerly raised their hands in the sign of the horns and screamed in time with the music, their faces stretched into wild smiles. 

Cute clothes and rough vocals are what form the wonderful dichotomy of Japanese metalcore band HANABIE.

Yukina, Matsuri and Hettsu first came together in high school as an after-school curricular activity band in 2015. They started as a cover band of the Japanese heavy metal group Maximum the Hormone. By their junior year, they had begun writing original songs. Chika, HANABIE.’s drummer, joined the band in May 2023.

The band’s stylized name, HANABIE., 花冷え。in Japanese kanji, loosely translates to “chilly spring weather.” It describes the time of the year between the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

The name is a reference to the band members’ birthdays. Matsuri, Hettsu and their drummer in high school, Kaede, were born in the winter, while Yukina was born in the springtime.

花冷え。was also chosen to help the girls differentiate themselves, since kanji would stand out amongst the throngs of English bands they’d play with. 

Eager to perform during high school, the band would call house venues in the Tokyo prefecture to find performance openings. Due to their school’s strict nature, the girls would need to obtain permission stamps from parents and teachers in order to perform.

Having spent more than half of their lives together, HANABIE. is extremely close, even enjoying their days off together.

“It’s very difficult to vocalize their relationship,” translator Candice Abe said. “It’s sort of close to family but not family. They spend a lot of time together — more than with their families.”

The heavy rock came first and the cuteness followed. As their band continued to grow, the girls began to incorporate their interests stylistically, including the kawaii aesthetics they have today. 

Known as “Harajuku-core,” a term assigned to them by their fanbase, HANABIE.’s style represents the freedom to be unique, according to Matsuri.

“Harajuku-core” derives its namesake from the Japanese district of Harajuku in Shibuya, Tokyo. The district is known for being the epicenter of kawaii culture and thrives as “an evolving ecosystem of global fashion looks,” according to The Official Tokyo Travel Guide. 

“Harajuku has long been a place where people gather to express their unique fashion sensibilities in a safe and accepting environment,” The Official Tokyo Travel Guide wrote.

The band felt this term synced with them as they manifest their own unique interests into their artist personas, according to Matsuri. 

Matsuri, who plays the guitar, is interested in being “the cool member of the band.” While the other members donned pink, blue and red outfits on stage, Matsuri took up reflective silver pants and a black top, colored with pops of neon green.

Lead vocalist Yukina performed a kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dichotomy on stage. She screamed in low, throaty tones while dressed in pink leopard print leg warmers, a pink sweatshirt and pink tulle. 

Alternating between metalcore’s harsh screams and sweet melodies, Yukina kept the audience on their toes. When rapping or screaming, Yukina glared down at the audience. But when singing, she became “the cute, fun girl on stage” and urged the audience to dance with her.

Bassist Hettsu personified a similar division in her stage persona. When playing the heavier parts of songs, she epitomized a heavy metal bass player by headbanging — her yellow and blue split-dyed hair, decorated with silver star clips, flying behind her. On the sweeter side, Hettsu played with stuffed animals tied to her red plaid pants leg, smiling at fans below. 

Chika, the drummer, became a “wild self” on stage — an unassuming persona considering her pleated jean skirt, puffy white sleeves and white knitted handwarmers. 

“Usually she’s very shy and quiet,” Abe said. “But when she goes behind that drum set on stage, she turns into a monster.”

In January, HANABIE. released their single “O・TA・KUラブリー伝説.” The Japanese word “Otaku” refers to someone who obsesses over Japanese media, and is stereotyped as being antisocial, unkempt and unpopular, according to Siddharth Garg’s journal article “From Pronoun to Identity: Tracing the History of the Word Otaku.”

HANABIE.’s song praises Otaku culture rather than degrades it.

“今や世界において仮想空間 アニメ ゲームといったカルチャーは日常生活に必要不可欠なのである,” Yukina says in the song’s introduction. The lyrics translate to “In the world today, cyberspace, anime and games are absolutely vital cultures in everyday life.”

The girls label themselves as Otakus in their own fandoms. Matsuri enjoys anime and considers herself “a music freak,” as she adores picking apart the technical layers of songs. Yukina is fond of cute characters, and compiles comprehensive research across her interests. 

Hettsu styles herself as “a fashion Otaku” as she keeps a lookout for items to incorporate into her and the band’s outfits. Chika loves sweets and the character Shin-chan, a mischievous five-year-old boy.

Having toured internationally and shared their love of Japanese culture abroad, the girls are eager to return to Japan and build up their hometown fanbase.

HANABIE.’s music is available to stream on all major platforms.