Japanese Idol TV Competition Ends With No Results

Seven Colors
Fans of idol competition Seven Colors tuned in this week to find out if their oshi made the cut. Here's why everyone ended up disappointed.

Want more UJ? Get our FREE newsletter 

Need a preview? See our archives

File under “I don’t think that’s how it works.” A girls’ idol group audition show on TBS was supposed to end in the formation of a new idol unit. However, in the final episode, the program said they couldn’t debut a seven-member group yet because they didn’t find some of the finalists charming enough.

The TBS Kanto show SEVEN COLORS~girls life memory~ ran at 12:26am every Wednesday on TBS. The contestants lived together Terrace House-style and were judged by seven “charm” factors, such as “cute” and “sexy.” The end result would be the formation of a new seven-member song and dance unit, moxymill.

【Team COLORS】NO CUT ver「Living Free」

セブカラ TBS 毎週水曜24時26分放送 放送終了後TVer・TBSFREE・Leminoにて配信 Leminoでは放送におさまりきらなかった特別映像も配信限定でお届け! #sevencolors

A clip of Seven Colors members performing.

December 18th was the last episode, in which the show came to its epic conclusion with an announcement on who did and didn’t make the cut. At least, that’s how it was supposed to go. Instead, as Chief Producer Yamada Tomohiro said he was going to read off the names of those who made it in front of the 12 contestants, the program cut back to the studio commentators.

After feigning shock themselves, the hosts explained that the members wouldn’t be announced until January 25th, 2025, at a free live show at Musashino Mori Sports Plaza in Tokyo’s Chufu.

As a follow-up, the production posted a lengthy message on its X account, explaining that they intended to debut a seven-member unit. However, they didn’t feel enough of the contestants met their strict qualifications for “charm.” As a result, the program says it’ll debut only the members on the 25th who qualified – i.e., moxymill will start life as a less-than-seven member unit.

“The live performance on the 25th will not include members of the show who are not part of the debut group,” the announcement continued. “We’re continuing to search for suitable members [of moxymill] in 2025.”

Fans on X were outraged, with many expressing confusion over what the production was saying. “I don’t get this, even though it’s written in Japanese.” “Some translate this for me!”

Others questioned why the producers decided to run an audition show in the first place if this would be the result. Fans noted that they’d have to try and get into the January 25th show even though their oshi might not be performing.

Support independent media

UJ depends on the support of our readers to keep our content 100% free for everyone. Help us in our mission to create content about the Japan you don’t learn about in anime with a recurring or one-time donation to the UJ Journalism Fund.

What to read next

Want more UJ? Get our FREE newsletter 

Need a preview? See our archives

Japan in Translation

Subscribe to our free newsletter for a weekly digest of our best work across platforms (Web, Twitter, YouTube). Your support helps us spread the word about the Japan you don’t learn about in anime.

Want a preview? Read our archives

You’ll get one to two emails from us weekly. For more details, see our privacy policy