# グループ = ユニット

**グループ** | **ユニット** – *gurūpu* | *yunitto*. **group** | **unit**. Often used interchangeably with “unit” having a more musical connotation. Like idol, it is a complex rabbit hole so all I can say is that they come in all flavors in all spectrums of the entertainment industry doing all sorts of **activities** (活動; *katsudō* | 活躍; *katsuyaku*).

Some groups are formed specifically to accompany an anime or game (**Wake Up, Girls!**, **Rhodanthe**, **Earphones**, **Walkure**, **STYLE FIVE, Milky Holmes, Doubutsu Biscuits**); these groups may stay within that framework or branch out as their own artist unit. Some groups are formed because record companies want to make their own unit (**Sphere**, **i☆Ris**, **Trysail**, **Luce Twinkle Wink☆**). Some form because of a mix of good chemistry between members coupled with funding from a record company (**Kato*Fuku**, **MaxBoys**, **UMake**).

There could be more reasons and they are not mutually exclusive as, in the case of Sphere, groups can be formed as a result of all three. Auditions are usually held, which may be upfront that it would result in a group appearing in an anime or game. It can also be somewhat misleading that those who pass are suddenly thrust into becoming a proper performing unit, as is the case of Wake Up, Girls! and THE iDOLM@STER: SIDEM.