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ビバリウム Adoと私
小さな画面の向こうに、生きる理由があった。歌い手・Ado、半生の物語。
クローゼットから 世界へ。歌い手・Adoの軌跡と、 心の奥にいる“私”の真実を描く、初めてのノンフィクション小説。
クローゼットから 世界へ。歌い手・Adoの軌跡と、 心の奥にいる“私”の真実を描く、初めてのノンフィクション小説。
336 pages, Paperback
Published February 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 24, 2026
Maybe it’s just me, but childhood part of this book is most mundane thing I’ve ever read. Living a perfect life with parents who do everything to please you, weekly visits to Disney, homeschooling because friends went to neighboring class, actors school, tons of pricey equipment including a whole setup for recording covers. Then stroke of luck and whole music industry of Japan is fulfilling every request, all while reader is left to wonder what exactly is hard about her childhood
Left wanting more, but it all boils down to book being biography of a star in her 20s for gods sake. What was everyday life in tours? How collaborations with all those big vocaloid/utaite world starts went along? There’s a bit about shoka — and it’s painfully small piece of what would be a lot more interesting than tldr of super comfy school life. Hard to believe that mafumafu or guys from b’z just dropped readily made songs and disappeared into sunset. Did Shiina Ringo that is mentioned few times in the book just give her 行方知れず and go away? Weird that it wasn’t told in detail
While quite decent read, it screams of “writing a book for sake of writing a book”
Left wanting more, but it all boils down to book being biography of a star in her 20s for gods sake. What was everyday life in tours? How collaborations with all those big vocaloid/utaite world starts went along? There’s a bit about shoka — and it’s painfully small piece of what would be a lot more interesting than tldr of super comfy school life. Hard to believe that mafumafu or guys from b’z just dropped readily made songs and disappeared into sunset. Did Shiina Ringo that is mentioned few times in the book just give her 行方知れず and go away? Weird that it wasn’t told in detail
While quite decent read, it screams of “writing a book for sake of writing a book”
May 19, 2026
Not every story is a story worth telling. This book has the emotional depth of a puddle. It felt as it were written by a twelve year old that was trying to genetically engineer something that would blow up on TikTok (i.e. an entire paragraph that is "huh" followed by no less than seven exclamation marks).
As an artist, Ado is one of the most unique talents of the modern era. Unfortunately, that talent does not translate to being a good author. Although she did not technically write this book, I assume she at least had a part in its telling.
The biggest sin of this book is that the emotions felt by Ado are simply undeserved. We are given no reason to cheer for her or feel for her hardships other than we like her music. From the earliest of ages, it seemed that she led a very privliged life and even well into her music career, everyone around her seemed to bend to her will. She didn't need to beg music agencies to let her in, she didn't need to fuss over a hit debut, all of the pieces fell into place exactly the way she wanted them (to the point the music industry literally bends around her even giving her a private room to record because she doesn't want to be watched). It is good that she hasn't had to deal with much conflict in her life, but unfortunately this does not translate into an interesting story. The author (I assume), creates conflict for the sake of conflcit by adding uncessary emotional drama that may or may not have been there. I really doubt that Ado so vividly remembers her days in preschool.
Being so young, Ado has had little to no life experiences. Most musicians or artists tend to write biographies when they are older and have had more of a career. This really shows is that about 3/4 of the book is about school life and how she refused to go to school because she wasn't in the same class as her friends.
It should also be noted that ocassionally Ado (or the author), feels the urge to write out the entire lyrics for her song. This does absolutely nothing to do the book. She never stops to explain her thoughts behind the lyrics or what they mean to her. They simply float there as if the audience is supposed to do something with it. It would have been far more effective to just leave it at the title and let the readers search up the song on YouTube and listen to it for themselves.
Really, I can't think of a single reason to recommend this book other than you are a fan of Ado and are desperate to learn more about her (mostly) uninteresting life.
As an artist, Ado is one of the most unique talents of the modern era. Unfortunately, that talent does not translate to being a good author. Although she did not technically write this book, I assume she at least had a part in its telling.
The biggest sin of this book is that the emotions felt by Ado are simply undeserved. We are given no reason to cheer for her or feel for her hardships other than we like her music. From the earliest of ages, it seemed that she led a very privliged life and even well into her music career, everyone around her seemed to bend to her will. She didn't need to beg music agencies to let her in, she didn't need to fuss over a hit debut, all of the pieces fell into place exactly the way she wanted them (to the point the music industry literally bends around her even giving her a private room to record because she doesn't want to be watched). It is good that she hasn't had to deal with much conflict in her life, but unfortunately this does not translate into an interesting story. The author (I assume), creates conflict for the sake of conflcit by adding uncessary emotional drama that may or may not have been there. I really doubt that Ado so vividly remembers her days in preschool.
Being so young, Ado has had little to no life experiences. Most musicians or artists tend to write biographies when they are older and have had more of a career. This really shows is that about 3/4 of the book is about school life and how she refused to go to school because she wasn't in the same class as her friends.
It should also be noted that ocassionally Ado (or the author), feels the urge to write out the entire lyrics for her song. This does absolutely nothing to do the book. She never stops to explain her thoughts behind the lyrics or what they mean to her. They simply float there as if the audience is supposed to do something with it. It would have been far more effective to just leave it at the title and let the readers search up the song on YouTube and listen to it for themselves.
Really, I can't think of a single reason to recommend this book other than you are a fan of Ado and are desperate to learn more about her (mostly) uninteresting life.
July 24, 2026
Must-read for Ado fans who understand Japanese (edited this review for further clarification)
As an Ado fan for several years now who has gone to multiple of her shows in Japan while living there, Ado is an unprecedented type of Japanese entertainer. As an utaite herself, she sheds light on the existence of a still niche musical subgroup of anonymous singers who cover and post their renditions of popular Vocaloid and other Japanese songs on video sites like Niconico and YouTube. For an anonymous performer to gain both national and international success as she has, Ado is the trailblazer for J-pop's much-needed comeback and reinvention as it has entered a new golden era this decade.
What I Enjoyed:
- Easy to understand for Japanese readers, especially those who choose this as their first book to read in Japanese. The prose is clean, succinct, and doesn't contain a lot of flowery language.
- A glimpse into Ado's upbringing and the specific childhood events that inspired her persona, her singing style, and her ambitions despite facing doubt from close acquaintances early on.
- Her reflection on past performances, including everything before Yodaka. This surprised me, given how soon after the end of Hibana the book was announced and released.
- How Shinzou (her live show at the National Stadium) was the game-changer for Ado as she makes her international success more known to those at home and overseas.
However, this book wasn't without flaws, some of which include points many Ado fans probably will dislike me for saying:
- Stronger editing for less repetition and a solid chronological account of her development could have made this first Adobiography more impactful. The back and forth between childhood and major debut early on and in the middle of the book wasn't necessary.
- More insight into Ado's acquired knowledge and growth as an artist seemed crucial for Vivarium. A lot of what is shared in this book is new, but a lot of it also isn't, especially if fans have followed her ANN radio talk shows and magazine interviews until now.
Which leads to my last, and perhaps most controversial, point.
Why the lack of focus on the fanbase?
Yes, I'm aware she has only had one formal meet-and-greet event with her fans through the handshake event to promote her second album release, Zanmu. (Which we also don't get much insight on the development of either, oddly enough.) I'm also aware many Japanese entertainers, likely including herself, cannot display traits of favoritism as this is part of maintaining a neutral image in the public's eye to appeal to a broader audience.
However, what connections and observations have left impressions for Ado with her fans? What did she think about her first handshake event? Or the various comments and stories she has read from fans for her ANN radio show? Even if she doesn't want to mention specific individuals, a general account of multiple experiences seemed like a missed opportunity for this first book. Perhaps she is saving it for a future book, given her first fan club-exclusive live performance is on her 24th birthday.
Overall, it's an easy-to-understand book without too much information. Highly recommend for Ado and Japanese music fans who know the language.
As an Ado fan for several years now who has gone to multiple of her shows in Japan while living there, Ado is an unprecedented type of Japanese entertainer. As an utaite herself, she sheds light on the existence of a still niche musical subgroup of anonymous singers who cover and post their renditions of popular Vocaloid and other Japanese songs on video sites like Niconico and YouTube. For an anonymous performer to gain both national and international success as she has, Ado is the trailblazer for J-pop's much-needed comeback and reinvention as it has entered a new golden era this decade.
What I Enjoyed:
- Easy to understand for Japanese readers, especially those who choose this as their first book to read in Japanese. The prose is clean, succinct, and doesn't contain a lot of flowery language.
- A glimpse into Ado's upbringing and the specific childhood events that inspired her persona, her singing style, and her ambitions despite facing doubt from close acquaintances early on.
- Her reflection on past performances, including everything before Yodaka. This surprised me, given how soon after the end of Hibana the book was announced and released.
- How Shinzou (her live show at the National Stadium) was the game-changer for Ado as she makes her international success more known to those at home and overseas.
However, this book wasn't without flaws, some of which include points many Ado fans probably will dislike me for saying:
- Stronger editing for less repetition and a solid chronological account of her development could have made this first Adobiography more impactful. The back and forth between childhood and major debut early on and in the middle of the book wasn't necessary.
- More insight into Ado's acquired knowledge and growth as an artist seemed crucial for Vivarium. A lot of what is shared in this book is new, but a lot of it also isn't, especially if fans have followed her ANN radio talk shows and magazine interviews until now.
Which leads to my last, and perhaps most controversial, point.
Why the lack of focus on the fanbase?
Yes, I'm aware she has only had one formal meet-and-greet event with her fans through the handshake event to promote her second album release, Zanmu. (Which we also don't get much insight on the development of either, oddly enough.) I'm also aware many Japanese entertainers, likely including herself, cannot display traits of favoritism as this is part of maintaining a neutral image in the public's eye to appeal to a broader audience.
However, what connections and observations have left impressions for Ado with her fans? What did she think about her first handshake event? Or the various comments and stories she has read from fans for her ANN radio show? Even if she doesn't want to mention specific individuals, a general account of multiple experiences seemed like a missed opportunity for this first book. Perhaps she is saving it for a future book, given her first fan club-exclusive live performance is on her 24th birthday.
Overall, it's an easy-to-understand book without too much information. Highly recommend for Ado and Japanese music fans who know the language.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews