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Japanese boy band members surprise fans by dressing up as high school girls

Oona McGee Aug 2, 2017
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It’s hard to believe that these cute young schoolgirls are actually men.

With so many idol units in Japan following the tried and true formula of dancing while pulling cute poses and singing into microphones, it can sometimes be hard to get your group to stand out from the rest.

Japanese boy band 8P (8-Piece) has no problems attracting attention, though, with its eight good-looking members plucked from voice acting careers to form what’s being called a “voice acting unit”.

Now the group is making news after they decided to surprise fans by dressing up as girls at an event to mark the sale of their new CD. And the idol unit skirted into new territory in memorable fashion, by choosing to step into the role of high school girls, complete with uniforms.

というわけで八代さんサプライズ企画の女装写真の集合写真です。２枚目はプロデューサーを囲んで。女子校のようです。八代さんの言っていたゲーム……気になります！ #8P pic.twitter.com/pXpvYLTtf1

— 8P（エイトピース） (@8p_8piece) July 23, 2017

Looking at the cute schoolgirl photos posted on the group’s official Twitter feed, it’s hard to believe that this is what they normally look like:

昨日の「8P」１周年イベント、誠にありがとうございました。皆様のお陰で「8P」は１年を迎えられました。2017年10月14日（土）のリーディングイベント、動画番組「8P channel」配信・ＤＶＤ、ユニットソングＣＤなど、これからも「8P」を何卒宜しくお願い致します。 #8P pic.twitter.com/oPtaJmYx58

— 8P（エイトピース） (@8p_8piece) July 24, 2017

Appearing on the scene late last year, the group’s members include Yu Hatanaka, pictured below in the short bob hairstyle…

8p3期決定！！
これからもこういうことやっていきます！！！

こちらの女装は8月11日の回で放送！！！
一番タイプの髙坂さんと！
いやぁ、、、アーサーと髙坂さんとのツーショットがやばかったノォ。誰か上げてくんないかな

そして、口隠すともれることが判明！！
声優力って何？！ pic.twitter.com/vuS9q2Tl2F

— 畠中祐 (@tasukubar0817) July 23, 2017

Atsushi Kosaka, who gave voice to the character Mitsuya Akuto from The New Prince of Tennis…

八代くんへのサプライズ企画として行った女装、上手くいって良かった！！本気の女装、楽しかった！後日、「8P Channel2」で放送されます。お楽しみに！！　#8P pic.twitter.com/sn9f7Ua9Zb

— 髙坂篤志 (高坂篤志) (@achusi49kg) July 23, 2017

Masuyama Takeaki, who like many members of the group, has experience in voice acting for The Idolmaster: SideM video game…

8P OP&ED発売記念イベントお越しいただきありがとうございました！
拓ちゃんへの女装サプライズも大成功！
僕はすぐにバレてしまいましたが、この写真(with祐)ならいける気がする…snow恐るべし！
このあとの一周年イベントもよろしくお願いします！(*^O^*)#8P pic.twitter.com/HDFbthRpT9

— 益山武明 (@mascandal_0414) July 23, 2017

And Arthur Lounsbery, who was actually born in the States but moved to Japan when he was just 18 months oldanime. His voice acting credits include the role of Shinji Watari from the anime Haikyū!!

8Pな一日、皆様本当にありがとうございました！！
3期も決まり、まだまだこれからも８人で力をあわせて頑張っていきます！
お昼のイベントでも公開された女装写真を少し。
この日、みんなで一斉にSNOWをダウンロードしてめちゃくちゃ盛り上がった(笑)
アプリって色々すごすぎ！！ #8P pic.twitter.com/m6go29bRnd

— ランズベリー・アーサー (@Art_C_Lounsbery) July 23, 2017

According to representatives for the group, the decision to crossdress was simply a fun thing to do to surprise their fans who attended the event, with photos from the day asking fans to get involved by picking their favourite “type” from the eight members.

【フォロワー8,888人超えありがとうございます！】先日のイベント用に用意していたものの、披露できなかった写真をまとめました。これからも「8P」を宜しくお願い致します。（※画像の無断転載・加工はご遠慮ください） #8P pic.twitter.com/GbAyQHLWWP

— 8P（エイトピース） (@8p_8piece) July 28, 2017

While it looks like the group intend to appear as males for future appearances, the schoolgirls will be coming out to play again at least one more time, for a special broadcast set to be screened on their affiliate Animate Channel on 11 August.

If the idol unit really wants to send their viewer numbers into the stratosphere they might want to think about following in the steps of boy band MeseMoa., who made news earlier this year for kissing each other over and over in their music video. We can’t wait for more groups to break norms in the music idol industry!

Source: Nijimen
Featured image: Twitter/@8p_8piece