by Born from the TV anime “Jellyfish Can’t Swim at Night,” the anonymous artist “JELEE” (lyricist/vocalist), Kurage Yoru (illustrator), Kimura-chan (composer), and Ryugasaki Nox (video editor/arranger) released their second mini-album, “JELEE BAG,” on December 3rd. With their songs streaming over 15 million times, the group has been gaining attention, and, in addition to gameplay and live streaming on their official YouTube channel, they also performed at the Shibuya Music Festival, following last year.
Furthermore, they are focusing on live performances, with their first scheduled for March 2026. From this highly anticipated group, JELEE, the lyricist and vocalist, is here!
The public rehearsal made everyone believe it was the real thing!
“We were delighted to be invited back! And we were even the final act on the outdoor stage. Unfortunately, it was raining, but everyone came to watch us with umbrellas…and there were a lot of blue umbrellas among them. Seeing blue umbrellas in Shibuya was a very memorable experience for us, so we were delighted that everyone remembered it. It seems that quite a few people became new fans this year, and in the comments and replies on social media when we did the live stream right after our performance, many people wrote, ‘It’s the first time I’ve seen you!'” Apparently, you had two public rehearsals on that day. “We were supposed to have one rehearsal, but something went wrong with the first one, so we had to do a second one at short notice (laughs).
The reason we decided to have an open rehearsal was that (member Ryugasaki) Nox said, ‘If we’re outdoors, why not have an open rehearsal?’ So we went with that format. Since it was going to be a public event, we thought we might as well sing a song we don’t sing in the main show, so we sang “Shibuya Aquarium.” We usually sing with JELEE projected on a screen, but having rehearsed twice allowed people to believe that it was the real thing and not just a video!” Your second mini-album, “JELEE BAG,” will be released, which includes “Okuman☆Choooomon!”, which was performed at the Shibuya Music Festival.
“The total number of streams of the songs we have released digitally so far has exceeded 15 million, so we were surprised to see how many times it had reached such an incredible number! “I’m filled with gratitude, and I really feel like I was able to get everyone.
This was possible thanks to all of you who came to our live YouTube broadcasts, remembered JELEE in your daily lives, and enjoyed every day with us. It’s thanks to all of you who supported us that we were able to release “JELEE BAG.”
The title is themed around the encounters you make on a journey and the sadness of the end, and is inspired by a travel bag.” The first song, “Egao no Okawari,” was the theme song for the manga “Kagura ga Yuku!” which is serialized in “Magazine Pocket,” and was also the ending theme for ABEMA’s “SHIBUYA ANIME BASE.” “It’s amazing that we’re working on a collaboration song! ‘Kagura ga Yuku!’ is a light-hearted comedy that also incorporates romance. It was created with the image of sparkling youth in mind. Please listen to it over and over again! Our new song, ‘Tte Yuuka,’ was written in response to a student’s experience, as shared on Instagram. I struggled with the lyrics, writing them as if I were screaming along with the person next to me.
‘Okuman☆Choooomon!’ is the theme song for the manga series ‘ Dream☆Jumbo☆Girl,’ which is serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine. The manga depicts the main character winning a 700-million-yen lottery. I actually won 10,000 yen, so I wrote the lyrics with that same excitement! Continuing on this trajectory, since our anniversary is on Halloween, I wanted to buy a Halloween jumbo lottery ticket, but the band members scolded me, saying, ‘Don’t get too cocky!’ (laughs).
The key point of the song is that it takes on an Okinawan folk song-like quality towards the end. There will be call-and-response parts, and we’ll also be giving lectures on the video stream, so I’d love it if you could practice and come to the live show.” Please also tell us about the lead song, “JOURNEE.” “A journey always comes to an end. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there’s a sense of loneliness, and a warmth to it somehow…We graduated from high school, and our environments changed, but while traveling, I was reminded of the fun times I had as a student.
