Happy Live Day 2
Yes, I paid. Will fill out this post when I can watch it without the stream skipping.
Okay, rewatch was better.
So first of all, 2500円 not worth it. 25 min per group? Seriously? Especially with no backstage/making of/download to go with it. I mean, as I've said before, they won, they got my money. And this one is for charity, I can't make that much of a fuss, I would mind less if the money bought access to say three groups of your choice, but I guess that would be a lot more tech/infrastructure and I get the impression this was done as simply/cheaply as possible.
KAT-TUN
It was a decent performance, good, but not great by their standards. The setlist seemed a little safe? (except for Dead or Alive, I'll get to that) designed to appeal to a broad(er) base rather than their core fans, which I do get but eh, they have more interesting ballads than Yuki no Hana (which I do like, don't get me wrong, I get why it was chosen) and fun, energetic songs that aren't In Fact and Keep the Faith (and are also not The D-Motion for the record). I could have also done without We Are KAT-TUN as it was in the March concert but then again, they made a special version, so whatever.
Dead or Alive was a misstep though. I mean seriously, with all the death right now, that one? They performed the B-Side on Music Station when the song was released due to a hostage situation, but didn't have that sensitivity now? They could have replaced it with Phoenix (#Justice for Kusabi) or Unstoppable or Fire and Ice (#Justice for Kusabi, again) or any number of other songs.
Also, I think this marks the first time in forever they've not done Real Face at a performance, so congrats on managing that for the first time since coming back from hiatus.
(I swear, I like this group.)
Anyways, Ueda looked good, as he always does, the fake tattoo he had for SHOCK is gone and I think I saw some black roots, he had his usual Goro's necklace on and that spotlight he kicked attacked him first. He sounded a bit more breathy than usual but his movement looked good, and the first part with the white coats, his arm looked hilarious as the cape was stuffed in there. No wonder the poor guy was melting. When he started twirling the cape he looked great, I wish there had been better camera angles on that action. He showed a lot of range today from soft and sweet to hard and tough which was great. He mentioned cooking oden during the mini MC. Talking about that helped him get in the top twenty Japan trends last night, so good on him. (Nice gun show at the end, too)
Kamenashi, my feelings are well documented here, the camera could have been on him a bit less and he could have reigned it in a little bit more, some of his notes were a mess, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Nakamaru, Nakamaru, honey, you shoulders are not supposed to be level with your ears. Is he okay? He's always been a bit rigid, but watching him, I wondered if he hadn't had a good bowel movement in week.
Sexy Zone.
They were okay, though is Nakajima always that animated? Seems like that would get annoying fast. Also, I'm not quite sure what Kikuchi was going for, but I think he missed. And singing about Christmas in June? Just what? They were very energetic though, so good on them.
Kanjani 8.
Gamashara is always fun, the Re:Live acoustic version was very nice, Yasuda's playing was good and I haven't heard Osaka Romanesque for years, it sounded lovely. Yoko and Hina are never going to be great singers, but they sounded pretty nice in the show. Maru and Okura seemed to be having a good time and generally do well, so nice all round.
Would I pay for this again? Probably. Online concerts are probably the best we're going to get at least until the end of the year but I don't think this is particularly good value for money though as long as I can afford to, I will shell out for KAT-TUN. Honestly, if you're on the fence about paying for this I'm sure you could track down full concerts for free if you look hard enough and would probably get more entertainment from those.
Setlist Source: https://johnnys.jocee.jp/user/dolce_box/9c2009f588ac823bddef
Okay, rewatch was better.
So first of all, 2500円 not worth it. 25 min per group? Seriously? Especially with no backstage/making of/download to go with it. I mean, as I've said before, they won, they got my money. And this one is for charity, I can't make that much of a fuss, I would mind less if the money bought access to say three groups of your choice, but I guess that would be a lot more tech/infrastructure and I get the impression this was done as simply/cheaply as possible.
KAT-TUN
It was a decent performance, good, but not great by their standards. The setlist seemed a little safe? (except for Dead or Alive, I'll get to that) designed to appeal to a broad(er) base rather than their core fans, which I do get but eh, they have more interesting ballads than Yuki no Hana (which I do like, don't get me wrong, I get why it was chosen) and fun, energetic songs that aren't In Fact and Keep the Faith (and are also not The D-Motion for the record). I could have also done without We Are KAT-TUN as it was in the March concert but then again, they made a special version, so whatever.
Dead or Alive was a misstep though. I mean seriously, with all the death right now, that one? They performed the B-Side on Music Station when the song was released due to a hostage situation, but didn't have that sensitivity now? They could have replaced it with Phoenix (#Justice for Kusabi) or Unstoppable or Fire and Ice (#Justice for Kusabi, again) or any number of other songs.
Also, I think this marks the first time in forever they've not done Real Face at a performance, so congrats on managing that for the first time since coming back from hiatus.
(I swear, I like this group.)
Anyways, Ueda looked good, as he always does, the fake tattoo he had for SHOCK is gone and I think I saw some black roots, he had his usual Goro's necklace on and that spotlight he kicked attacked him first. He sounded a bit more breathy than usual but his movement looked good, and the first part with the white coats, his arm looked hilarious as the cape was stuffed in there. No wonder the poor guy was melting. When he started twirling the cape he looked great, I wish there had been better camera angles on that action. He showed a lot of range today from soft and sweet to hard and tough which was great. He mentioned cooking oden during the mini MC. Talking about that helped him get in the top twenty Japan trends last night, so good on him. (Nice gun show at the end, too)
Kamenashi, my feelings are well documented here, the camera could have been on him a bit less and he could have reigned it in a little bit more, some of his notes were a mess, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Nakamaru, Nakamaru, honey, you shoulders are not supposed to be level with your ears. Is he okay? He's always been a bit rigid, but watching him, I wondered if he hadn't had a good bowel movement in week.
Sexy Zone.
They were okay, though is Nakajima always that animated? Seems like that would get annoying fast. Also, I'm not quite sure what Kikuchi was going for, but I think he missed. And singing about Christmas in June? Just what? They were very energetic though, so good on them.
Kanjani 8.
Gamashara is always fun, the Re:Live acoustic version was very nice, Yasuda's playing was good and I haven't heard Osaka Romanesque for years, it sounded lovely. Yoko and Hina are never going to be great singers, but they sounded pretty nice in the show. Maru and Okura seemed to be having a good time and generally do well, so nice all round.
Would I pay for this again? Probably. Online concerts are probably the best we're going to get at least until the end of the year but I don't think this is particularly good value for money though as long as I can afford to, I will shell out for KAT-TUN. Honestly, if you're on the fence about paying for this I'm sure you could track down full concerts for free if you look hard enough and would probably get more entertainment from those.
Setlist Source: https://johnnys.jocee.jp/user/dolce_box/9c2009f588ac823bddef