Ho-kago Tea Time Stage (Johnsonverse)

The Ho-kago Tea Time Stage is a variant of Center Stage (and Stage Right from November 2016 onwards) used in ShowBiz Pizza Place locations in the Japanese states, introduced in March 2016. It uses the Ho-kago Tea Time characters from the anime K-On! instead of the Rock-afire Explosion characters used in other countries.

Overview
It was decided that, since the Rock-afire Explosion was too "American" for Japanese audiences (even though 85% of the country spoke English following the annexation of Japan in 1952), they would be replaced by characters who were more regionally relevant. According to insiders, it took Johnson seconds to think of a replacement: Ho-kago Tea Time from the anime and manga franchise K-On!, which was massively popular, and the series was already on its way to the Johnson Aligned Universe; as a result, they could use their voice-changing abilities added in the Johnson version to enable the use of Rock-afire material and any other songs from other bands such as Styx, Guns n' Roses, any Beatles songs that didn't have Rock-afire covers (such as "Yellow Submarine", "Octopus' Garden", and "Here Comes The Sun"), among many other bands, as most of the voice actresses were found to be unfit for regular singing, though they do sing on occasion (Shelby Lindley more often than the others; starting in 2019, Mio sang with Cristina Valenzuela's voice more often, mainly for solos, in order to allow for more ample material of Mitzi Mozzarella Jr.'s voice actress Sarah Locke to be made for the mainland showtapes). Making the replacement even more seamless was the fact that the characters could easily replace the Rock-afire characters, as they all played virtually the same instruments as their Rock-afire counterparts.

For the transition to the Japanese isles, Center Stage was completely remodeled. Instead of a forest setting, it is now set in the Light Music Club room at Sakuragaoka High School. Each of the Center Stage characters were replaced according to their role: Dook was replaced by Ritsu Tainaka, Fatz by Mugi Kotobuki, Beach Bear by Yui Hirasawa, and Mitzi by Mio Akiyama, though she plays bass, while Mitzi is simply the female vocalist. The decision was later made to have Mio remain as bassist, and also serve as a prominent vocalist in the band (even though all characters would be vocalists, as with the Rock-afire Explosion). Choo-Choo and Antioch were completely omitted from the new set-up. The changes for the Japanese locations only affected Center Stage, and Stages Left and Right were completely unchanged, retaining Billy Bob, Looney Bird, Rolfe (prior to the Magic Night showtape from September-October 2016), Earl, and the Sun and Moon. Beginning in November 2016, Azusa Nakano was added to Center Stage.

The K-On! animatronics are second-generation AnimeTronics. All AnimeTronics have a massive range of movement, and have onboard computers and rechargeable lithium batteries (the Billy Bob, Looney Bird, and Rolfe animatronics still use hydraulics, external computers and power supplies, and still need to be aired-up before opening). The animatronics have other advanced features: Ritsu and Mugi can actually play their instruments, as Ritsu is reverse-engineered from Dook's second-generation animatronic (though Mugi's Korg Triton keyboard is plugged into a dummy socket, as all music comes from the soundtrack), Yui can actually jump a few inches off the ground, ShowBiz cast members can use the animatronics to "speak" to audience members using VoxMutatio, Johnson's voice-changer technology that makes the characters sound exactly like their voice actresses, and all four have clothes that are easily removed. The clothes are washed weekly in specifically-labeled washing machines, and during the summer months, the overcoats and long-sleeved shirts are swapped with vests and short-sleeved shirts for their summer uniforms. They are also anatomically-correct, leading to several reports of guests groping the animatronics or attempting to engage in intercourse with them. They also have real hair that is washed nightly using rinse-free shampoo. The animatronics are so advanced, that consideration was given to having them do OK Go's famed treadmill dance routine for "Here It Goes Again", before tests with generic AnimeTronics showed the technology wasn't at that point yet, with at least one AnimeTronic being totaled during these tests.

All HTT animatronics have numerous failure modes in the event of various issues, ranging from cosmetic issues to major mechanical malfunctions. In the event of a Mode 5x failure, a backup showtape containing only Billy Bob and Looney Bird material is activated, as both have less moving parts; some locations have a turntable with a full Rock-afire Explosion setup on the reverse side to serve as a backup in the event a Mode 5x failure necessitates taking the HTT show offline for a prolonged period, reusing old RAE material.

In addition to HTT, the band is occasionally joined by Yui's childhood friend, Nodoka Manabe, who replaces Billy Bob on Stage Left, and also has a projected screen to present lessons. Her animatronic has the ability to pick up and manipulate objects, such as a stick she uses during her lessons, a cup of coffee that she "drinks" from, a dummy iPhone, and a remote to start and stop the videos on her screen. For Nodoka, Looney Bird and the Smitty's Super Service Station backdrop are unchanged, with characters pointing this fact out and calling out ShowBiz's laziness. Nodoka's animatronic has the N failure mode identifier. Jun Suzuki also occasionally joins the band as a guest star, also replacing Billy Bob on Stage Left, though she has her own set to replace Looney Bird and the Smitty's Super Service Station backdrop. Jun's animatronic uses the J failure mode identifier. She had previously been part of a stage concept called the Jun 1-Stage that was trialed at five smaller ShowBiz locations using the CU-1 Stage alongside Chuck E. Cheese's characters Jasper T. Jowls, Helen Henny, Mr. Munch, and Pasqually P. Pieplate (all utilizing latex masks, which used replica molds due to the originals having long been destroyed); these tests were unsuccessful, and were replaced by a standard 3-Stage setup (as Jun was actually an Azusa animatronic with different cosmetics, her mech was retained for the transition, while the Jasper, Helen, Munch, and Pasqually animatronics, which were surplus Beach Bear, Mitzi, Fatz, and Dook animatronics that Department 18 still held, were all sent back to CEI to be converted back in anticipation of ShowBiz's expansion to Canada; the new Jun animatronics use unique mechanics). A second 1-Stage concept, again for smaller ShowBiz locations, was set to be trialed in the summer of 2020 with Jun, Ui, and Azusa (the New Leaf Girls) in a stage concept called the "New Leaf Girls Stage", with the possibility of adding Sumire Saito (with an S failure mode identifier) later on, but this was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning in 2019, the band's music teacher Sawako Yamanaka was added as another guest star, also replacing Billy Bob and Looney Bird on Stage Left, using the Y failure mode identifier.