The band draws influences from a diverse range of artists. Sasazaki says 'I was inspired by Judy and Mary,' referring to a popular 1990s Japanese rock group. 'The band's guitarist has awesome guitar skills. When he performs it looks like he's playing with a toy,' she says.

Ogawa admires bass player Michael Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and says her goal is to be as good a musician as he. Ono is influenced by Avril Lavigne: 'her style, music and look all have power, so I really admire and like her.' Finally, Suzuki admires fellow female drummer Nao Kawakita from the Japanese nu-metal band Maximum the Hormone, saying 'she's just as strong a musician as the rest of her band mates and stands out as a singer as well as a drummer.'

Despite their mixed musical inspiration, the four are huge fans of Japanese pop culture. Last year, Scandal told SYP that their favourite manga was Detroit Metal City. When asked if they were still reading it, Sasazaki replies: 'Oh yes! We still like reading DMC - it's amazing. This year we also got into K-On! because its about a high school girl band like us and its really good. We strongly recommend it to everyone.'

And Scandal has found a way to mix their work and play. The band's recent single Shojo S is the newest opening theme song for popular anime Bleach.

'I read the manga when it first came out and really liked it,' says Sasazaki. 'I told the others to read it and now we're all fans.'

It seems that these youngsters are living the dream and hope to be around for a while. Ono, the eldest, graduated from high school this year, an event usually seen as something of a rite of passage. But the guitarist hasn't thought much about it, saying: 'my plans right now are to concentrate on the band and our music. I really haven't thought about anything else.'