Monogatari is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Vofan. The plot centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who survives a vampire attack and finds himself helping girls involved with a variety of apparitions, deities, ghosts, beasts, spirits, and other supernatural phenomena, which often serve as proxies for their emotional and mental issues. Between November 2006 and August 2021, Kodansha published 28 volumes in the series under its Kodansha Box imprint. All of the series' story arcs share the common title suffix -monogatari (物語).
Aki Toyosaki is a Japanese actress and singer from Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. She had her first major voice acting roles in 2007, voicing Amuro Ninagawa in Kenkō Zenrakei Suieibu Umishō and Su in Shugo Chara!. She was named "Best New Actress" at the 4th Seiyu Awards in 2010 for her role as Yui Hirasawa in K-On! and Kana Nakamachi in Kanamemo, and received the "Best Lead Actress" and "Best Personality" awards at the 5th Seiyu Awards in 2011.
Supercell is an 11-member Japanese pop band led by musician and songwriter Ryo, which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music band. The other 10 members are artists and designers who provide illustrations in album booklets and music videos. Supercell started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website. The popularity of the songs led the band to release their independent self-titled album Supercell (2008). Supercell later signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan and had a professional release of their Supercell album in March 2009, which was updated with more songs.
Livetune is a Japanese electro band which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music circle signed to Toy's Factory. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the band in March 2009. Livetune 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. The popularity of the songs led the band to release the independent album Re:package at Comiket 73 in December 2007. Livetune made its major debut with Victor Entertainment with the professional release of their Re:package album in August 2008, which was updated with more songs. Livetune began collaborating with other artists in 2009, and has since composed music for such artists as Kotoko, ClariS, Maon Kurosaki, and fellow dōjin musician Ryo of Supercell.
ClariS is a Japanese pop music duo which formed in 2009 with singers Clara and Alice from Hokkaido, who were in junior high school at the time. The pair began singing covers and submitting them to Japanese video sharing website Niconico between 2009 and 2010. ClariS later signed to SME Records and released their debut single "Irony" in October 2010. Three more singles were released between 2011 and 2012, followed by their debut album Birthday (2012). Birthday was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year. Six more singles were released between 2012 and 2014, which were featured on their second album Second Story (2013) and third album Party Time (2014). Alice left the unit following Party Time's release, and Karen joined ClariS in late 2014. ClariS moved to the Sacra Music record label under Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2017.
White is the fifth studio album released by Angela Aki, released on September 28, 2011 in two editions, standard and limited. The limited one includes a bonus DVD with a music video of "Hajimari no Ballad" and performance footage held at a museum in June 2011.
Blue is the seventh studio album by Angela Aki and was released on Sony Music Japan. Available in two editions, regular and limited, both versions include a signed postcard.
Second Story is the second studio album of the Japanese pop music duo ClariS, released on June 26, 2013 by SME Records. The album contains 12 music tracks, three of which were previously released on three of ClariS' singles. Three different editions of the album were released: a regular CD version and two CD+DVD limited editions. Second Story peaked at No. 6 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.
Party Time is the third studio album by the Japanese pop music duo ClariS, released on June 4, 2014, by SME Records. The album contains 12 music tracks, three of which were previously released on three of ClariS' singles. Three different editions of the album were released: a regular CD version and two limited editions. Party Time was the last time Clara and Alice performed as ClariS, with Alice leaving the duo. Party Time peaked at No. 2 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.
"Irony" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's debut single on October 20, 2010 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the 2010 anime series Oreimo. A music video was produced for "Irony". The single peaked at No. 7 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Connect" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Shō Watanabe. It was released as the unit's second single on February 2, 2011 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the 2011 anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. A music video was produced for "Connect", directed by Takumi Shiga. The single peaked at No. 5 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart, and was later awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year.
"Nexus" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's third single on September 14, 2011, by SME Records. The song was used as the theme song for the ninth volume of the Oreimo light novels and the opening theme of the Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Portable ga Tsuzuku Wake ga Nai video game. A music video was produced for "Nexus", directed by Kazuaki Nakamura. The single peaked at No. 5 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Naisho no Hanashi" (ナイショの話) is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Ryo. It was released as the unit's fourth single on February 1, 2012, by SME Records. The song was used as the ending theme to the 2012 anime series Nisemonogatari. A music video was produced for "Naisho no Hanashi", directed by Kazuaki Nakamura. The single peaked at No. 2 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Wake Up" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Mayuko Maruyama. It was released as the unit's fifth single on August 15, 2012 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the 2012 anime series Moyashimon Returns. A music video was produced for "Wake Up", directed by Junya Morita. The single peaked at No. 12 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Luminous" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Shō Watanabe. It was released as the unit's sixth single on October 10, 2012 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the first two Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime films. A music video was produced for "Luminous". The single peaked at No. 4 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart, and was later awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year.
"Reunion" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's seventh single on April 17, 2013 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the 2013 anime series Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai.. A music video was produced for "Reunion", directed by Jungo. The single peaked at No. 2 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Colorful" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Shō Watanabe. It was released as the unit's eighth single on October 30, 2013 by SME Records. The song was used as the opening theme to the film Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion. A music video was produced for "Colorful", directed by Jungo. The single peaked at No. 3 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Click" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's ninth single on January 29, 2014 by SME Records. The song was used as the first opening theme to the 2014 anime series Nisekoi. A music video was produced for "Click", directed by Jungo. The single peaked at No. 7 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
"Step" is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Kz. It was released as the unit's tenth single on April 16, 2014 by SME Records. The song was used as the second opening theme to the 2014 anime series Nisekoi. A music video was produced for "Step", directed by Jungo. The single peaked at No. 3 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.
2PM of 2PM is the fourth Japanese studio album (eighth-overall) by South Korean boy band 2PM. It was released on April 15, 2015, as their second album release under Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan in three editions:
