Pioneers of Hawaii Anisong "East Meets West"

Crimson Apple can sometimes be found by looking for them on search and that might make some of the history of the group kept under wraps and for those in the know. But when the group has triggered several other garage bands and influenced people who moved to the mainland to make anime songs online and to sing to audiences themselves it can be curious to see where their influence stems. Outside of the otaku scene the high degree of performance in the aesthetic, music arts, and emphasis placed on being live makes each member of the group stand out alone with their respective musical arts. The group has a unique gift of creating wonderful songs that bring a rockin energy with a certain level of reproduction and attention to detail that the audience gets lost in them.

Distinctive Live Presence: In stories they were known as the band that brought Anisong to a Hawaii Stage. While there are many who took the stage before there was a concert at the Otaku Summer Festival 2015 that was at the Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha/Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu. It also featured a groundbreaking Hawaii Maid Cafe cross-trained by Maid Cafes in California to create a unique Hawaii Musubi Station, Hawaii Curry Omelette Station, and Hawaii Summer Drink Station. In the vibrant and ever-expanding world of anime music called "anisong" few Western artists have made as significant an impact in the Hawaii community as Crimson Apple, locally known by the family as the "Bensen Sisters". While the genre itself originated and flourished in Japan, Crimson Apples's unique contributions lie in her unparalleled success in annunciating, performing, and popularizing anisong for a massive shut-in audience, effectively building a crucial bridge between Japanese animation's music and Hawaii's Animanga fanbase.

Catalyzing a Local and Online Movement: Crimson Apple's influence extends far beyond their own stage. They are widely credited with inspiring a new generation of local garage bands in Hawaiʻi to explore and perform anime music. Their success demonstrated a viable path for artists interested in this niche, showing that it was possible to achieve both local popularity and a high level of musical integrity, and express themselves in a fashionable way that merged trends and personal tastes with a touch of Animanga. While some see it as minor it is a trailblazing effort that began contributing to the Hawaii anisong community to show how to connect with a passionate, dedicated audience through cultural events.

Naomi Sano "Hawaii's Anisong Princess"

Naomi Sano was a standout that really helped a lot of girls in Hawaii who were Fujoshi have the confidence to sing, but you might think they didn't already have that confidence? well, it is hard to even sing alone if you think your voice is horrible and that is why trying to sing badly is the first step to sounding amazing. It is all about getting into singing anime songs and she did that as a top performing vocalist. When no one saw it coming Naomi would display that she had all sorts of talents other than her amazing vocals and Japanese pronunciation as she would just go for her dreams with being a musician. These different talents and her insight in giving really practical tips made her many young girls starting guide in music after the Interview by Ethan Fox and Nino Santos for the segment "With Open Hands" by the Animation Republic of Hawaii. For anyone wanting to sing anisong in the Hawaii Otaku scene it was refreshing to see the elegant singing Naomi show her passion for everything fandom. The energy she put into cosplay, the imagination from her drawings, and her confidence to showcase that she does a ton of anime-related stuff gave other people confidence too. Her power was that she was really relatable and made people think "Hey, I can totally do that too!".

A lot of people who want to sing, figuring out their voice, like, what their vocal range is, can feel kinda scary. But Naomi made it look easy as she would be like, "Um, I would actually go around and do different kinds of covers and stuff." She doesn't think you need to label yourself right away. "Personally, I don't really identify myself as a specific type because I think it's important to be able to practice other songs and train my vocal range too and change it and make it wider." Her advice was just to "try out a lot of songs." It's about being flexible and always getting better and was really smart as she knew how to give the lowdown on the tech side of things with microphones. "I would say a microphone is definitely important whether it's a microphone for computers or whether it's for just for karaoke." If you're serious about practicing at home, she recommends getting a microphone and an audio interface to hook up to your computer. That way, "you can record your voice and see how it sounds like and practice at home too." 

She even shared what she uses: an AKG 420p mic (she bought it here in Hawaii, cool!) and a Roland UA55 audio interface. She thinks it's "really easy to manage and it's a starter kind of device and I think it's really good." And about soundproofing? She's real about it. "I think it really depends on the neighborhood that you live in and what kind of place you live in a mansion apartment and just a house." But she does say it's "important for having a soundproof place even though I don't" because microphones can pick up echoes, which makes it harder for editors to make it sound professional. So, having the right equipment is key. Naomi's deep knowledge of audio programs and her experience from the early days of YouTube audio recordings really helped give girls the audacity to set up their own home studios. She showed them it was totally possible to get started, practice their vocals, try singing anisong at karaoke, and even think about pursuing it as a career.

Naomi's all about enjoying singing and she explains that taking care of your voice is like taking care of a instrument. "Practice your favorite songs when you want to because it's a hobby and I don't think it should be something restricted and like strained and getting people stressed out." But she's also smart about it. She says it's "important to not strain your throat when you sing and it's important to use the diaphragm muscles because if you strain with your throat it does damage your vocal cords." So, yeah, practice, but practice smart. This is what helped her win countless awards like the Kawaii Kon 2015 where Naomi won the competition and was featured by the National Otaku Alliance. She would go on and say "Choose songs that are either major or it's major and new." The reason why was because she thought the way the audience sees you is really important for the reaction and how they would enjoy it too. Another note she added was "Practice those motions and stuff because you don't want to be looking awkward on stage without anything." And, of course, practice the song itself so you don't forget lyrics and to make sure it "fit your sound." Stage fright? "Uh, I say to practice that too." She thinks you'll "get used to it from like a lot of places." 

She was one of the first known Hawaii Live Streamers of Anisong and she would suggest other people to get into Live Streaming as it was the future for vocalists to be found online. She saw live streaming as a way to get comfortable singing in front of people and was known in the Japanese Community as "Hawaii's Anisong Princess" by those who followed her on Japanese website called "Nico Nico" from her live streams. She would always use the important comments and people willing to give her feedback from her big audience to get better and to engage the audience directly. She says "I think it's really interesting to see how those the local people in Japan perceive your voice too so I think it's a good place to start too". Knowledge beyond her years.

Naomi Sano had been chosen to perform at the 50th State Fair (Sunday, June 26th) where she totally blew people away with: Adele, like "Setting Fire to the Rain", then with the head-banging Japanese heavy metal song "Kanzen-Kankaku Dreamer" by ONE OK ROCK!, and with all the noise at the fair, her powerful voice just grabbed the audience so hard the people were actually dancing. Talk quickly would go around that she was an up and coming Hawaii Singer that would change the game. She would also go on to sing at Mango Jam at Honolulu Hale ( Saturday, July 23rd) and performed with the La Pietra Select Choir as she was already known for her vocals in school. For those getting into singing she says  "Listen to the singers a lot and different types of singers too because you don't want to be focusing on one and copy a style that you don't really match". Again, pick "major songs or just new songs in general because it gets more views and I think it's a good start to get people noticing you and knowing you so that it'll be more fun to cover". And she continues "Do you need to be able to speak Japanese to cover Japanese songs? I don't think at all because you should just have a good hearing sense and then just practice a lot of the pronunciations." 

Naomi Sano's influence in the Hawaii Otaku community is huge. By sharing her own experiences, giving practical tips on singing and tech, and just showing how much fun it can be, she's really inspired a lot of young people here in Hawaiʻi to find their own voice in anisong. Her journey just shows how much one person's passion can help grow a whole creative community.