From impressive performances to unique music and concepts, 2D music projects were releasing quality music left and right in 2022.
From January 15 until January 22, 2023, readers and viewers of THTFHQ voted for these awards that value, first and foremost, talent and quality over popularity.
Nominees were shortlisted by The Hand That Feeds HQ and a winner emerged in each category.
To avoid petty fights between fans and disrespect towards seiyuu and their fans, no votes are disclosed in any of the written features covering THTFHQ AWARDS 2022.
If you want to check the abridged version of the complete results of this year’s edition, those were unveiled on episode 130 of SEIYUU LOUNGE, THTFHQ’s weekly podcast all about male seiyuu music and 2D groups.
#1 IDOLiSH7
And of course, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
2022 was IDOLiSH7’s year. The franchise celebrated its 7th anniversary in style starting with IDOLiSH’s “Opus”, easily one of the best albums released last year by a 2D group, and then came the releases of:
- “Mallow Blue”,
- “HELLO CALLiNG”,
- MEZZO’s “Colorful”,
- TRIGGER’s “Suisai” and “HIDDEN REGION”,
- ZOOL’s “IMPERIAL CHAIN”, “NEVER LOSE, MY RULE” and “Zenit”, and
- Re:vale’s full-length album “Re:flect in”.
IDOLiSH7 and Re:vale held 2-day live shows that were top quality from the music, to the performances, even to the set design and clothing.
And then there was IDOLiSH7’s Third Beat 2nd cour premiering and everyone was sucked into this intricate, dramatic telling of how the music industry is for idol groups.
One thing that continues to impress is how most of the anime is a frame-by-frame adaptation of the in-game story however, there is a vast bump up in the quality of the performances by all seiyuu – who were already amazing in the game as it was.
At the same time, the storytelling with foreshadowing and a lot of reality behind how the music industry works gives a shower of reality to the 2D project’s scene. The problems and issues are realistic, the mind games, the favors, and the power that some hold that can crush groups or companies is well depicted in the series, making it quite realistic and easy to relate to.
From the original songs to the soundtrack and all the little details in the anime adaptation, IDOLiSH7’s Third Beat is one of the best, if not the best, seasons of the franchise.
All of this taken into consideration and IDOLiSH7 is, indeed, your 2D music project of the year.
From this point on, the 2D music projects mentioned are not ranked (the order in which they appear below doesn’t correspond to the place they ranked in the final voting):
aoppella!?
In 2022, the aoppella!? franchise released 3 CDs – “aoppella 3”, “A“, and “aoppella!? 4” and welcomed a new group that has been making waves due to its stellar vocal lineup, VadLip.
It was a big year for Lil Happy and FYA’M’, groups that released brilliant songs with some of the most technical performances you could hear within the 2D music industry.
The only acapella music project in the 2D music industry continues to leave a unique and relevant mark, continuously attracting new fans while showing that seiyuu’s voices are amazing and their skills don’t need any glitter or edition behind them to sound… beautiful.
Hypnosis Mic
The Hypnosis Mic franchised kicked off the year with the release of Fling Posse‘s “Kizuato ga Kizuna to naru“, special single to celebrate their victory in the 2nd division rap battle series.
After that, the franchise was extremely active with various TV specials and variety shows in which the franchise introduced itself to new fans at the same time that it delighted long-time fans.
In the summer, the franchise released “CROSS A LINE”, album that features songs by all crews, some of those being absolutely amazing.
In the last quarter of 2022, the franchise kicked off the Division Rap Battle 8th LIVE ≪CONNECT THE LINE≫ live shows for each crew, reaching thousands of fans in Japan as well as overseas.
Hana-Doll*
Hana-Doll* continues to be a sleeper among Japanese fans but still with a deep, niche love from international fans.
Within the list of 2022’s nominees, this was the most underrated 2D music project. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking that this franchise isn’t filled with quality music or outstanding releases, because it is.
In 2022, the franchise wrapped up its “THINK OF ME” CD series in which Anthos* (TELL) and Loulou*di (Pensée and MONO) participated.
Then came the best of album “The Way I Am-THE BEST”, a new live show – Hana Doll* INCOMPLICA Anthos* Stage Event 2022 – and the kick-off of a solo CD series “Behind the Frame”.
Everywhere you looked, this franchise was there, releasing high-quality music and making sure the worlds it creates, the stories it tells, and the performances it delivers are meaningful and memorable.
Despite not being a buzzworthy franchise, Hana-Doll* consistently deserves a shout out for the sheer quality and love for its music and story.
TSUKIPRO
2022 was a rather quiet year for the TSUKIPRO franchise, still, this continues to be one of the most consistent 2D music projects out there.
7 years since its launch, the franchise still brings refreshing music by all its groups in the SQ series – SolidS and QUELL – and the ALIVE series – SOARA and GROWTH.
Akira Takizawa and Takeshi Hama continue to breathe new air into this franchise, making sure that both long-time fans and new ones can fully enjoy their favorite groups maturing alongside them.
The SQ groups wrapped up the CARDS CD series whereas the ALIVE groups wrapped up the Neo X Lied CD series – that had a couple of CDs delayed – and the whole franchise then kicked off the new CD series (that is carrying over to 2023) titled “Ano koro no bokura wa my dear days“.
By the end of the year the franchise, even if less active than in previous years, still managed to deliver quality music for each group, continuing to stand out among all other 2D franchises.
VAZZROCK
VAZZROCK had to be in its element in 2022 and for sure it was!
Fans were quite excited about the anime adaptation – VAZZROCK THE ANIMATION – which was set to premiere in the Autumn season. And building up to that, the franchise continued with the releases of the new bi-color series.
Complementing that was the release of tie-up songs from the anime series. On top of it all, the franchise held another live show late in the year, impressing yet again with rocking performances by all bands.
To wrap up the year, the franchise held VAZZROCK LIVE 2022, cranking up the excitement for VAZZY and ROCK DOWN‘s music.
Dear Vocalist
Dear Vocalist kicked off its 7th CD series in 2022, bringing new music by all bands to the spotlight.
And this was, by far, the best CD series in this franchise – to date -, including several extremely cinematic songs that perfectly captured the personalities of the vocalists at the same time highlighted the status of their relationships with their significant others.
The “UNLIMITED” CD series was a massive success, with RE-O-DO (CV: Toshiki Masuda), Joshua (CV: Nobunaga Shimazaki), Judah (CV: Soma Saito), (2)you (CV: Natsuki Hanae), momochi (Cv: Toshiyuki Toyonaga) and A’ (CV: Ryohei Kimura) absolutely throwing it out of the park with emotional, intense and dark performances aplenty.
FROM ARGONAVIS
The FROM ARGONAVIS franchise was a bit quieter in 2022 than it was in previous years however the quality of the music released last year was incredibly high.
The year kicked off with the release of GYROAXIA’s “Freestyle“, one of the best albums of the year. Then there were digital singles by Argonavis, Fantôme Iris, Fujin RIZING! and εpsilonΦ.
Later on, ARGONAVIS released “CYAN“, Fantôme Iris released “Miroir” and in between all these released there were plenty of live shows from solo ones for each band to concept ones, there was no shortage of content to please fans of the FROM ARGONAVIS’ franchise.
Paradox Live
The Paradox Live franchise was consistent in 2022 both in its presence and the quality of the music it delivered.
The franchise kicked off the “Road to Legend” CD series, bringing new battles to the spotlight as all teams aimed at becoming the next legend.
Still, in the same year, the franchise held its 2nd live show Paradox Live 2nd LIVE DOPE SHOW, and announced that a smartphone game and an anime series are in development.
Exploring more subgenres of hip-hop than ever before and keeping up with a consistency in sound and image for all teams, the Paradox Live franchise was certainly one that stood out last year.
TOKYO COLOR SONIC!!
The TOKYO COLOR SONIC!! welcomed two new faces – Tomoe (CV: Yuya Hirose) and Oshiro (CV: Yuichiro Umehara) – and kicked off its 2nd CD series “Growing“.
With Yuya Hirose joining the vocal lineup for this franchise, the 2nd CD series kicked off with the release of the new song “Grow up!!“.
The song is performed by the franchise’s vocals: Shoya Chiba, Soma Saito, Gakuto Kajiwara, Shunsuke Takeuchi and Yuya Hirose.
Afte that, the franchise released a total of 5 buddy CDs, further improving the quality of the music and performances in comparison with the first CD series.
For those that appreciate quality music, stellar performances, and an engaging story, TOKYO COLOR SONIC!! delivered that and more in 2022.
Thank you to everyone that voted at the THTFHQ AWARDS 2022! A new edition will be held in January 2024 so make sure to follow THTFHQ on social media for notifications when the voting starts.
