Nakama

Nakama (仲間; Friends) is Joujou Gundan's major debut single. It was released on July 25, 2018.^[1]

The B-side "Kansha Kangeki Maji Manji" is sung by a fictional^[2] group named Otome Manji Gakuen led by Sawayaka Goro with Tsubaki Factory members Kishimoto Yumeno and Onoda Saori,^[3] and "Sunao ni Narenai Sakuranbo" is sung by another fictional group named Yamato Nadeshiko led by Suzuki Keita with Tsubaki Factory members Niinuma Kisora and Akiyama Mao.^[4]

Tracklist

Nakama
20sai (20歳; 20 Years Old)^[N1]
Kansha Kangeki Maji Manji (感謝感激マジマンジ; I'm Terribly Grateful, Seriously) - Otome Manji Gakuen
Sunao ni Narenai Sakuranbo (素直になれないサクランボ; The Cherries Won't Become Obedient) - Yamato Nadeshiko
Nakama (Instrumental)
20sai (Instrumental)

Joujou Gundan
- Sawayaka Goro
- Suzuki Keita
Otome Manji Gakuen
- Sawa Goromi (Sawayaka Goro)
- Kishimon (Kishimoto Yumeno)
- Saorin (Onoda Saori)
Yamato Nadeshiko
- Keikoron (Suzuki Keita)
- Kisokoron (Niinuma Kisora)
- Maokoron (Akiyama Mao)

The single was first announced in Upcoming on March 30, 2018 with Suzuki Keita's 36th birthday event on May 23, 2018 as the initial release date,^[5] but it was postponed for bigger plans.^[6] It was finally announced at Suzuki's birthday event that the single would be released on July 25, 2018 and it would be the duo's major CD debut.^[1]
"Nakama" was first sung at Sawayaka Goro's 35th birthday event on September 11, 2017.^[7]
- Kishimoto Yumeno and Onoda Saori were both guests at this event and it was where the fictional group Otome Manji Gakuen was formed. They took part in an audition skit in which they passed and joined the group,^[8] but they disbanded after the event.^[9]
Yamato Nadeshiko was introduced at Suzuki's 36th birthday in the same manner as Otome Manji Gakuen, with Niinuma Kisora and Akiyama Mao participating in an audition skit that resulted in them joining the group.^[10]
"20sai" celebrates Hello! Project's 20th anniversary with references to Hello! Project song titles and group names.^[10]
"Maji manji" (マジ卍) is a buzz word that began being popularly used by high school girls on SNS in 2017.^[11] Maji, which originates from majime (真面目), means "seriously" or "really", and manji (卍) is the name of the Buddhist symbol for universal harmony. It is often used to express feelings such as seeing something cute, eating something delicious, or being in a good mood. However, due its varied usage, the exact meaning of the phrase is unknown.^[12]

^ 20歳 (or 二十歳) is commonly read as hatachi (はたち), but in this case, Sawayaka Goro has confirmed that the song title is read as nijussai (にじゅっさい).^[13]