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Idol Neko Izuko Going on Hiatus With Music Video, Manga

Japanese idol Neko Izuko will get the manga treatment with her first and last music video "SEKAI NO OWARI no Izuko Neko" (Neko Izuko's End of the World) before going on hiatus. Daisuke Nishijima (Dien Bien Phu) is drawing the manga and filmmaker Ngu Takeuchi is directing the music video and writing the script at SPOTTED PRODUCTIONS.

The story is set in a world where there are no idols who sing about dreams and hopes. An infectious disease of unknown origin has spread throughout near-future Tokyo, making it unfit to live and forcing most of its inhabitants to migrate to western Japan. All of this as a meteor is approaching the Earth!

It seems as though the future is doomed. No one's wishes will be fulfilled. And yet, in these days of resignation, one young girl who continues to broadcast herself to the galaxy through the internet with her songs and performances - a young girl named Itsuko. One day, a messenger from Jupiter appears before her...

Who is this Neko Izuko whom Itsuko meets while the meteor hurtles toward Earth? What shocking truth does she discover, and what fate awaits the world?!

The video and manga characters include:

• Itsuko: The main character. A daydreaming 17-year-old high school student. Every day she broadcasts herself to the galaxy. She doesn't know the concept of an "idol" but is starting to become one. She likes canned cat food. She is gloomy. She has a habit of saying "at any rate..." and is a realist.
• Neko Izuko: The mysterious girl who will change Itsuko's destiny. (both above roles are played by Neko Izuko herself)
• Suuko: The one friend in whom Itsuko can truly confinde. An honor student. Mature for her age. Carries the weight of having lost her mother to the mysterious disease. Believes it is the fault of the country, and stages solitary protests/activism.
• Papa: Itsuko's father. Infected by the disease and only has a short time to live. The music he once made has all been seized. Believes that words are futile. Composer. Has a shy personality and hardly speaks. Speaks vicariously through his daughter Itsuko's songs.
• Mama: Itsuko's mother. Interprets for Papa.
• Miike-sensei: Itsuko's homeroom teacher. Thinks one should be satisfied with having a small club. Somewhat of a fantasist, but actually is incredibly cowardly. Goes through life hiding his sensitive side.
• Yamato-sensei: The teacher in the infirmary. Can recall the moment when she might have once become an "idol." Needlessly risque, at home she is a woman who abandoned love at a young age. She is a secret fan of Itsuko's broadcasts.
• Rainy: A singer in the "Rainy x Irony" idol unit from Jupiter. She brings up the idea of migrating to Jupiter to Itsuko. Interprets for Irony.
• Irony: A singer in the "Rainy x Irony" idol unit from Jupiter. A mysterious being who communicates with nothing but variations of "hm hm hm hmmmm" and "hmmmm."
• Meteor: Hurtling toward Earth. Impatient.

The music video and tie-in projects were crowdfunded through Camp Fire and raised 2,563,444 yen (~US$25,634) and is still accepting backers. Prizes include Izuko stage costumes, video collections, credits in the video, t-shirts, and more.

The video will mark the end of Izuko's idol career for the time being. She will hold her last live show on August 31, after attending the Senegajima Girls PoP Festival in July.

Source: Comic Natalie