Sundance review: 'Tokyo Idols' paints a creepy picture of J-pop super fans The middle-aged men obsessed with teen pop idols.

With this fascinating and troubling documentary, Kyoko Miyake investigates the Japanese phenomenon of very young female pop singers, known as idols, who cater to a passionate fan base of grown men.

The most frustrating moment of Tokyo Idols is discovering that Japan’s lawmakers appear to be turning a blind eye to the commodification of underage girls.

The film begins with glow sticks waving in the air as we’re told, “This isn’t a fad. It’s a religion.” A parade of young female pop singers prance about on stage, like anime characters come to life.

Kyoko Miyake’s often-unnerving documentary Tokyo Idols looks at one of the more prominent aspects of this phenomenon: the 10,000 teenage girls called “idols,” and the $1 billion industry surrounding ...

Kyoko Miyake’s pop culture profile spotlighting Japanese singers premiered in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. By Justin Lowe The Japanese pop music trend featuring young, ...

DLsite has released a new Japanese idol group-themed concert rhythm game on the PC gaming platform Steam. The game is titled Under Ichigo: Love me baby!!! in Tokyo Super Arena 2025. All users on the ...