PiKi

Karen Matsumoto [ja] and Haruka Sakuraba [ja] are both members of Asobisystem's Kawaii Lab. idol project, with Matsumoto part of Fruits Zipper and Sakuraba part of Cutie Street.^[4] The duo later became known among fans under the nickname "Parurentan", a portmanteau of their fandom nicknames,^[5] and they appeared together on the cover of Larme [ja]'s 62nd issue, released in September 2024; Model Press remarked that their "two-shot photo [was] overflowing with a charming, girlish mood".^[6] The two subsequently formed their own musical duo, PiKi.^[7]

PiKi was introduced at Okinawa Collection 2025 at Okinawa Arena on June 21, 2025, where they performed their song "Kawaii Kaiwai" for the first time.^[7] PiKi was named after the duo themselves: the P and K stand for Sakuraba and Matsumoto's fandom nicknames, and it is the Hawaiian language word for peach.^[8] "Kawaii Kaiwai" was also the ending theme for the second season of the anime adaptation of My Dress-Up Darling.^[9] The song went viral on Spotify,^[1] and it reached the top ten at the Oricon Singles Chart and Oricon Combined Singles Chart and the top 20 at the Billboard Japan Hot 100.^[10][11][12]

PiKi appeared on the cover of the July 14, 2025, issue of Aera, making their debut on the magazine,^[13] and they released "Tell Me Tell Me", the theme song of the fortune-telling Oha Suta segment "Hoshiten: Furui Corner", on July 21.^[14] On August 29, their song "88888888", a collaboration with the 2025 film Exit 8 was released digitally. PiKi also performed that song at Music Station that same day, the first time the duo had appeared on the show.^[15]

Z11 of Real Sound said that "within Kawaii Lab., PiKi has quickly made a leap forward as a unit embodying Japan's original "kawaii" culture. Their catchy, mainstream idol songs, using "kawaii" as their weapon, are breathing new life into the Japanese music scene."^[1]

• Karen Matsumoto [ja]
• Haruka Sakuraba [ja]