"Wake Up" is a synthpop song with instrumentation from a synthesizer. It is set in common time and moves at a tempo of 132 beats per minute in the G majorkey throughout the song. The introduction starts with the synthesized music and moves into the first verse with ClariS' vocals followed by the chorus. After a bridge, this pattern is repeated for the second verse and chorus featuring the same music with different lyrics. A break is used to transition into the third verse, immediately followed by the chorus as the outro. A coda is used to close the song. According to Clara and Alice, the songwriter Mayuko Maruyama has a strong understanding of ClariS' image and writes music for them that matches their feelings. Lyrically, Alice describes it as a "girly" song about the excitement that accompanies becoming interested in someone but not yet knowing what to do. Clara and Alice related the lyrics referring to a transition to a new lifestyle to their enrollment into high school earlier in 2012. The cover artwork features a pinkmacaron with blue filling and "ClariS" printed on top of it. The art direction and design was handled by Tatsuo Murai.
Release and reception
"Wake Up" was released in limited and regular editions on August 15, 2012 as a CD by SME Records in Japan. The limited edition was packaged with Moyashimon artwork and came bundled with a DVD containing the music video for "Wake Up" and a non-credit opening video from Moyashimon Returns. The song peaked at No. 12 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart and charted for 9 weeks. "Wake Up" debuted and peaked on the BillboardJapan Hot 100 at No. 45.
Music video
The music video is entirely animated and is directed by Junya Morita, with character design by Satomi Higuchi. It begins with anime depictions of Clara and Alice and shows the microbes from Moyashimon throughout the video. The microbes are initially shown dancing around an alarm clock, and chibi versions of Clara and Alice are also introduced. It moves on to the microbes and the girls on a swing, followed by them all floating in the air. It then moves on to the original depictions of Clara and Alice performing on a stage with a crowd of microbes in the background. The chibi versions of the girls also join the crowd and dance down towards the stage. It concludes with a shot of the girls with the microbes around them.
