Music and anime are like peanut butter and jelly, and Paradox Live will blow us away in 2023! Paradox Live is a Japanese mixed-media project started by Avex Pictures and GCREST.
The project consists of 14 voice actors who will participate in rap battles. According to Paradox Live’s official wiki, a new Hip-Hop culture called “Phantom Live” will occur in the near future.
Rappers create illusions using their emotions and accessories made with a strange metal called phantometal and their DNA. But the users also suffer from traumatic illusions as a side effect.
Paradox Live’s story follows four groups as they participate in Rap battles to prove their music is the best in CLUB PARADOX.
Bands
Though Paradox Live has many characters to choose from, it looks like the anime will focus on four. But the project was started in 2019, so there’s hope we’ll get more from this series.
BAE
Akena Aki of Hatsune Miku’s Rolling Girl PV designed this trio of friends. They attend the same international private university, and their songs are upbeat with Japanese, English, and Korean lyrics.
Allen Sugasano is voiced by Gakuto Kajiwara and is in the middle of the picture. Allen is 21 years old and uses the rapper name SUZAKU.
Yeon Hajun is voiced by Ayumu Murase and is on the left. Yeon is 21 and goes by the rapper name 48, pronounced yon-pachi.
Anne Faulkner is voiced by 96neko. Anne is 20, goes by the rapper name AnZ, and uses they/them.
The Cat’s Whiskers
Kuniharu Komiya designs the four-person team, and the band combines Hip-Hop with jazz. Naoakira Saimon is the leader and is 34.
Naoakira is a university linguistics professor and owns the bar 4/7, where the other Cat Whisker members work. Ryota Takeuchi voices Naoakira.
Yohei Kanbayashi is 28 and calls himself God Summer. He works as a bartender, and Yu Hayashi voices him.
Ryu Natsume claims to be 800 and calls himself Conpla Daimao. He’s a bartender-in-training though his drinks are unpalatable, and Natsuki Hanae voices him.
Shiki Ando is 17 and uses MC Nanashi for his rapper name; he’s a high schooler and works as a hall staff. Junta Terashima voices him.
cozmez
cozmez is made up of twin brothers Kanata and Nayuta Yatonokami. Their songs often revolve around their rough childhood in the slums, and they won the first Paradox Live competition in 2021. Kinako is their proud creator.
Kanata is the older twin and uses his name on stage. Yusuke Kobayashi voices him, and Kanato is very protective of his little brother.
Nayuta also uses his regular name on stage, and the boys are 19. Toshiyuki Toyonaga voices him.
Akanyatsura
Harada created this five-person group, and they’re associated with the Suiseki clan in a yakuza group. The members consider each other family.
Iori Suiseki is 28 and runs a hostess club called CLUB CANDY. He keeps a cheerful persona to hide his more calculating side that Takayuki Kondo voices perfectly.
Zen Gaho is 27, passionate about exercises, and is easily moved to tears. He was a former police guard and calls himself Gazen on stage. Shima of voices him.
Hokusai Masaki is 24 and goes by Furai Boy. He appears tall, stoic, and mysterious, but he loves animals and attends high school as a part-time student in the evening. Shunichi Toki voices him.
Satsuki Ito is 19 and goes by Gaia. He’s hot-headed and gullible, loyal to those he cares about, and attends high school in the evening as a part-timer. Tasuku Hatanaka voices him.
Reo Maruyama is 17 and enjoys being spoiled as the youngest in the group. His rapper name is Reo-Kun, and he attends high school in the evening as a part-timer. Shogo Yano voices him.
You can find many songs from the bands and others from Paradox Live on YouTube, and the project’s first cd came out on February 12, 2020. The premiere album contains the first “battle” track and an audio drama for each band.