Kafu, who made her debut in 2018 and became the first virtual singer to hold a solo live concert at the iconic Nippon Budokan, has now begun a new chapter as a singer-songwriter. After turning 20 this year, Kafu transitioned into her new persona, Kaika, performing only original songs she created. Her new identity was first revealed during her 4th ONE-MAN LIVE “Kaika” on January 14. The performance was met with a warm reception from the audience, though some expressed surprise at the stark contrast between Kafu’s avatar-based performances and Kaika’s raw, self-written music. Despite this, the two personas are deeply intertwined, each reflecting a natural evolution of the other.
The music videos for Kaika’s songs, “Tenkōsei,” “Higurashi no Uta,” and “Stand By Me,” were directed by acclaimed filmmaker Yūki Yamato. Known for her collaboration with Kafu on the 2019 film Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy, Yamato skillfully captured the emotional essence of Kaika’s high school years, portraying her inner struggles with loneliness and uncertainty in a visually captivating way.
After Kaika’s second live performance at Kaika 4th ONE-MAN LIVE “Kaika (Reprise)” in November, a poignant conversation between Kaika and Yamato was held. As Kaika expressed her thoughts with quiet sincerity, Yamato delicately articulated the essence of Kaika’s persona. Their dialogue was a powerful reflection of a time when everyone can transcend the boundaries between the real and the virtual, find their true identity, and bloom freely—like a prayer for the future.
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Kafu and Kaika: Two Sides of the Same Coin, Not Opposites
Today is the first time for you guys to mee in person.
Yamato: I’m honestly feeling so full right now. Ever since Kafu created the theme song for Hot Gimmick, she’s shared so many emotionally charged songs with us. Through her music, I feel like we’ve communicated a lot. It’s a truly surreal feeling.
Kaika: As Kafu, I didn’t often get to meet the people who made the videos or the ones composing the music. It’s such a joy to finally meet you in person.
Regarding Hot Gimmick, the moment Yūki Yamato discovered Kafu’s cover of “Lemon” before her debut, it seems that the raw emotion in her voice became the spark for her involvement.
Yamato: I received an early track from PIEDPIPER, someone I deeply admire, which included Kafu’s simple yet profound cover of “Lemon.” That song has remained etched in my heart ever since. The meaning in the lyrics and the emotions woven into the performance seemed to radiate out, like harmonics filling the air. It was as if the song was born right before me—fresh and brimming with life. There’s a rare power in singing someone else’s words so completely, with such raw intensity, as if you’re laying bare a part of yourself. It made me believe that I wanted to entrust our story to her, to put my trust in her. I think what moved me the most was the beauty of how Kafu’s solitude resonated with PIEDPIPER’s, creating a perfect harmony. I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with her during that youthful, formative time, as it truly brought out the magic of a coming-of-age story.
Kaika: At the time, I wasn’t able to attend any previews, so I watched Hot Gimmick at a local theater. It was unbelievable to hear my song playing at the end of such a wonderful film. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity.
Fast forward about five years from that meeting. You’ve sung songs provided by others as Kafu, but this year, as Kaika, you’ve begun singing lyrics and music that you wrote yourself. Yūki Yamato, what’s your impression of Kaika as an artist?
Yamato: First of all, I thought the name was incredibly beautiful. It likely evokes the image of reincarnation. And there’s something in the name that suggests Kaika isn’t simply the opposite of Kafu, that it’s not just a dichotomy of “Kafu is virtual, and Kaika is the real self.” We all have multiple personas. As we enter different communities and mature, we encounter various versions of ourselves and the crossroads that allow us to meet these diverse identities. I feel that this possibility is captured in the name Kaika. It expresses the infinite versions of oneself that can emerge. The image we see before us is just one of countless cycles in a greater cycle of reincarnation. It’s such a universal and beautiful idea.
In 2012, while studying philosophy at Sophia University, Yūki Yamato self-directed the film ‘That Girl Is Dancing by the Seaside.’ In 2016, ‘Drowning Love,’ starring Nanao Komatsu and Masaki Suda, attracted over 600,000 viewers, setting an unprecedented box office record for a film directed by a woman in her twenties, and was sold to more than 10 countries. In 2021, she worked as both the series composer and director for the drama Ikiru to ka Shine to ka Chichioya to ka (Living, Dying, and Fatherhood), starring Yoshida Yō and Kunimura Jun. She is currently working on a new feature film.
Yamato: Understanding and grasping one’s own multiplicity, not by forcing it into simple binary oppositions like “true self vs. facade” or “outer self vs. inner self,” but as one of the many gradations of possibility within oneself. If we can think this way, I believe there’s a clue for everyone to breathe more freely. This is something unique to Kafu and Kaika, a discovery and proposal that comes from Kafu’s own journey, walking a path where there were no predecessors for years.
After the initial reveal in January at Yoyogi, how did you feel?
Kaika: I was a little scared when I was going to reveal it, but I was really surprised and happy because many of the people who had supported Kafu embraced it more positively than I expected. It’s an extension of changing avatars, but Kaika is a completely different form from Kafu. I think the people who accepted me were the ones who connected Kafu and Kaika through the music. For me, the essence of my work is singing, so knowing there are so many people who value that—it made me feel, I don’t know, almost saved.
After that, I saw some comments, which might have been because I didn’t communicate well enough, asking, “If Kaika expresses herself with her own words, what was Kafu up until now?” or “Isn’t Kafu the light and Kaika the darkness?”
It was perceived as a binary opposition.
Kaika: But that’s definitely not the case. The emotions I sing about as Kaika are full of feelings that could only have emerged through my journey as Kafu, so I really don’t want them to be separated. In the virtual world, people sometimes refer to the person speaking through the avatar as a “soul,” and even if it’s the same soul, when it ends its virtual life and appears in a new form, there’s a tendency to see it as something entirely different. But even though the visible form may have changed, the fact that the same person is there with the same feelings hasn’t changed. When I transform into a new form, I didn’t want to start over as if I knew nothing and erased everything that came before. That felt off to me.
That’s why Kaika is “another side of Kafu,” isn’t it?
A new generation virtual singer-songwriter. She made her debut on January 14, 2024, at Kafu’s 4th ONE-MAN LIVE “Kaika” held at the National Yoyogi Gymnasium. As a new branching point for “Kafu,” she releases the impulsive feelings that rise from within herself, singing them into her music. With a unique sensitivity, she translates her daily thoughts, emotions, and memories into sound and words. A powerful, beautiful energy blooms, one that cannot be broken by anyone.
Yamato: I believe that the voices of Kaika and Kafu are fundamentally connected. When I first heard Kafu’s voice, I immediately sensed that it carried an undeniable authenticity, a truthfulness and purity that have remained present in Kaika’s singing as well. If that resonance had ever been lost, perhaps there could have been suspicion that they were entirely different entities, but for me, there is no doubt. The connection between Kafu’s voice and Kaika’s voice is grounded in conviction and is an absolute truth. It’s a voice that remains unshakable.
