Saiyuki BLAST Reload event & Ensemble Stars Morning Star Concert
December 17th was my event day and I managed to get tics to the Saiyuki afternoon talk show and the EnSta concert at night thanks to willeke4439!
The Saiyuki talk started at 2:30 and there were already a bunch of girls lined up to get into Belle Salle Shinjuku by the time I got there. Managed to get some merch before the show (uchiwa for Goku and Tenpou) but some of the Konzen stuff was already sold out by then XD
My seat was mid-back on the side close to the doors. Not great, but not bad since I had a pretty clear view and Ishida was on this side most of the time.They played the OP by Granrodeo and then the cast came out and introduced themselves. Really nice to see all four of them together. I've seen Seki twice at anime cons before, but this is my first time seeing Hirata Hiroaki and Hoshi Souichirou live. Got to do a Pappi call for him which was nice after seeing it in events so many times ^^ And Ishida Akira introduced himself as voicing Katsura Kotarou at first so I guess he likes Gintama a lot too~
In the first segment, they polled each cast member for their favorite lines from Goku and Konzen. Shame on me, but I hadn't actually watched the anime before this, but I did read the gaiden manga way back when so I wasn't totally lost XD For Konzen, Hirata picked a line where he was telling Goku to go to bed kindly because he wanted him to say it to him. As per his request, he got Seki to say that line to Gojyo live (but since it was Sanzo saying it, he ended with a 'bang bang bang'). Hirata complained that it wasn't kind at all ^^ Ishida picked my favorite part where they promise to meet again in their next life under the sakura~ For Hoshi, they actually showed a scene different from the one he picked and they all said it was probably because he picked a bad scene and this one was better XD The part he actually picked was the scene before the one Seki picked with Konzen and Goku's first meeting. Seki picked Konzen's 'just like the sun' line. For Goku, Hirata and Ishida both joked and picked Goku singing. Hirata picked the tanabata urasai nyaa nyaa nyaa and made Pappi sing nyaa nyaa to jingle bells live. Ishida picked the one of Goku singing in the car and remarked that in the on-air version, Hoshi actually mumbled at the end instead of singing real words and the director OKed it probably because it was him XD (they fixed it for the release) Then Seki picked a serious line (Goku after Konzen's death) and was like, they played the wrong scene because he should've joked too XD Pappi picked Goku's 'just like the sun' line on their first meeting so it was some pretty cute continuity with Seki. For Hirata and Ishida, they changed it up and went with "what you want to say to him." The most memorable one to Hirata was probably about smoking and how it's depicted nowadays in anime. They focus more on the puffing out while the inhaling is mostly cut so Hirata's like I have to keep smoking to remind people how it's done since rates are declning lately. Ishida also asked if it was tiring adding improv all the time and he was like no because I don't think about it at all! Ishida is basically a mystery to everyone (still), so they asked him about his hobbies and what makes him excited (after like 20years of knowing each other XD). Surprisingly, he's into G1 racing and a good match can get him riled up. Oh, and I never noticed before this, but Hirata calls him Akira >///<
Afterwards, there was a help corner where fans would send in their concerns and the cast/character would have to give advice. For Sanzo, the person wanted him to scold her for betraying her friend in a race. Gojou's was more like dating advice and he ended up telling her to hook up with him instead. Goku's was asking for encouragement and the funniest was Hakkai's. The scenario was that her boss' wig was always a little off and she wanted to ask for a tactful way to let him know. Ishida was like, just repeat 'Zura ja nai, katsura da' multiple times a day behind him XD I don't remember what he eneded up saying as Hakkai but it was definitely something tactful and kind.
Then they played charades as a team and Hirata was all serious about deciding roles since Pappi's an idiot. They ended up putting Hoshi at the end since they knew he would distort the message and then Seki first since it was an important role. Then they debated where Hirata and Ishida should go but decided that Ishida should be third because he could communicate with Hoshi better XD The word they were acting was 'erogappa' so Seki did this sexy dance and motioned a circle on his head and pointed to Hirata. It was pretty good and Hirata looked like he got the idea so he passed it on (without the sexy dance) and then Ishida passed it on (without the sexy dance) and Hoshi guessed kappa which is pretty close. Ishida thought it was kappa too and Hirata guessed it was erogappa so they still got a few points. Hoshi complained that there was no ero when Ishida acted it out for him XD Then they played something like 20 questions where the person up guesses the word behind him based on answers from the others. They were given 2 passes so Hirata was like, we'll just say pass as soon as it's Hoshi's turn. I feel like the order they went up was pre-determined because the words they were given fit perfectly! I think Seki got Sanzou and then Hoshi got saru (but he couldn't get it forever and in the end they had to pass XD), Ishida got Hakuryuu which was pretty neat (he asked if it was an animal - no, a color- no but it has a color in it, a thing - yes... 'umm, Hakuryuu?!') and Hirata got Hirata. Miraculously the last 5 seconds, on Hoshi's next turn up, he didn't even ask a question and blurted kappa and it was kappa!!!
Last was the live dubbing where they did some popular scenes. Most of the ones they chose for their favorite lines were here (except the urasai singing from Goku). The death scenes actually made me tear up a bit and I noticed quite a few other people were crying >_<
After all that intensity, they took out the prize wheel for the cast to try and hit with their weapon of choice. The prizes were curry, buns and (if memory serves, beef)... and of course tawashi which occupies the largest area on the wheel. Seki hit tawashi twice, Hoshi hit curry twice, Hirata hit the buns and Ishida hit tawashi too. The crossbow looked pretty fun to use and the 'gun' was kind of pathetic XD
At the end, they gave their final greetings and a plug for the next event in February. I laughed so much here I really hope they release it as a special on some DVD because these guys are so funny and have such great chemistry!
The Enxemble Stars concert was all the way out at Toyosu Pit and boy are these boys popular. I didn't realize they called you in by section when I bought tickets but luckily I was a little early and I arrived just as the section before mine was being let in. They make you pay a mandatory 500yen for the drink bar (which I didn't end up using), and then there are lockers available to put your stuff in. At first, I had no idea why so many people were using them, but it was actually got really hot as the hall started filling up with eager fans.
I was maybe 2/3 of the way back, but luckily I'm taller than the average Japanese girl so I could still see all right while dodging around. I'm only a mild fan of EnSta because their gacha rates suck and I have no 5 stars, but the music isn't bad. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but the animation was really well done. TrickStar, Knights and Undead sang around 6 songs each (+encore) and there was a bit of a "talk corner" every 2 songs.
What's really amazing is that TrickStar is the youngest and "newest" group in their world and the animation even shows that they're out of sync at times compared to Knights and Undead. Choreography-wise, Undead's dance was pretty great since they did mic twirls and all kinds of mic tricks. They also had steam and cool effects on some of their songs. In terms of sound, Trickstar's my fav because Kakki and Morikubo are in it, but animation for Undead was amazing and really showed their personality.
Of course, fans were all waving their penlights and singing along and screaming as if the animations could hear. I think it's pretty amazing this kind of animated concert is so sucessful. It'd probably only work in Japan though. I sang along to the songs I knew (only Trickstars... should've done my homework), but really regretted not bringing a penlight >_< Overall, it was a fun and eye-opening experience but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to attend another one.
Grabbed a late dinner after that in Yurakucho where close to nothing was open at 9pm XD Finally found a nice Italian dinner & bar which was luckily open. Something I found weird was that they serve bread without any condiments... like is that normal here?! No butter, no olive oil or balsamic... Anyway, I asked for olive oil and theirs was actually pretty good. Then I had horse carpaccio for the first time and that was pretty tasty. What really blew me away though, was the Kirishima kurobuta chop. So juicy and tender and flavorful! Definitely gonna look for that again.
The Saiyuki talk started at 2:30 and there were already a bunch of girls lined up to get into Belle Salle Shinjuku by the time I got there. Managed to get some merch before the show (uchiwa for Goku and Tenpou) but some of the Konzen stuff was already sold out by then XD
My seat was mid-back on the side close to the doors. Not great, but not bad since I had a pretty clear view and Ishida was on this side most of the time.They played the OP by Granrodeo and then the cast came out and introduced themselves. Really nice to see all four of them together. I've seen Seki twice at anime cons before, but this is my first time seeing Hirata Hiroaki and Hoshi Souichirou live. Got to do a Pappi call for him which was nice after seeing it in events so many times ^^ And Ishida Akira introduced himself as voicing Katsura Kotarou at first so I guess he likes Gintama a lot too~
In the first segment, they polled each cast member for their favorite lines from Goku and Konzen. Shame on me, but I hadn't actually watched the anime before this, but I did read the gaiden manga way back when so I wasn't totally lost XD For Konzen, Hirata picked a line where he was telling Goku to go to bed kindly because he wanted him to say it to him. As per his request, he got Seki to say that line to Gojyo live (but since it was Sanzo saying it, he ended with a 'bang bang bang'). Hirata complained that it wasn't kind at all ^^ Ishida picked my favorite part where they promise to meet again in their next life under the sakura~ For Hoshi, they actually showed a scene different from the one he picked and they all said it was probably because he picked a bad scene and this one was better XD The part he actually picked was the scene before the one Seki picked with Konzen and Goku's first meeting. Seki picked Konzen's 'just like the sun' line. For Goku, Hirata and Ishida both joked and picked Goku singing. Hirata picked the tanabata urasai nyaa nyaa nyaa and made Pappi sing nyaa nyaa to jingle bells live. Ishida picked the one of Goku singing in the car and remarked that in the on-air version, Hoshi actually mumbled at the end instead of singing real words and the director OKed it probably because it was him XD (they fixed it for the release) Then Seki picked a serious line (Goku after Konzen's death) and was like, they played the wrong scene because he should've joked too XD Pappi picked Goku's 'just like the sun' line on their first meeting so it was some pretty cute continuity with Seki. For Hirata and Ishida, they changed it up and went with "what you want to say to him." The most memorable one to Hirata was probably about smoking and how it's depicted nowadays in anime. They focus more on the puffing out while the inhaling is mostly cut so Hirata's like I have to keep smoking to remind people how it's done since rates are declning lately. Ishida also asked if it was tiring adding improv all the time and he was like no because I don't think about it at all! Ishida is basically a mystery to everyone (still), so they asked him about his hobbies and what makes him excited (after like 20years of knowing each other XD). Surprisingly, he's into G1 racing and a good match can get him riled up. Oh, and I never noticed before this, but Hirata calls him Akira >///<
Afterwards, there was a help corner where fans would send in their concerns and the cast/character would have to give advice. For Sanzo, the person wanted him to scold her for betraying her friend in a race. Gojou's was more like dating advice and he ended up telling her to hook up with him instead. Goku's was asking for encouragement and the funniest was Hakkai's. The scenario was that her boss' wig was always a little off and she wanted to ask for a tactful way to let him know. Ishida was like, just repeat 'Zura ja nai, katsura da' multiple times a day behind him XD I don't remember what he eneded up saying as Hakkai but it was definitely something tactful and kind.
Then they played charades as a team and Hirata was all serious about deciding roles since Pappi's an idiot. They ended up putting Hoshi at the end since they knew he would distort the message and then Seki first since it was an important role. Then they debated where Hirata and Ishida should go but decided that Ishida should be third because he could communicate with Hoshi better XD The word they were acting was 'erogappa' so Seki did this sexy dance and motioned a circle on his head and pointed to Hirata. It was pretty good and Hirata looked like he got the idea so he passed it on (without the sexy dance) and then Ishida passed it on (without the sexy dance) and Hoshi guessed kappa which is pretty close. Ishida thought it was kappa too and Hirata guessed it was erogappa so they still got a few points. Hoshi complained that there was no ero when Ishida acted it out for him XD Then they played something like 20 questions where the person up guesses the word behind him based on answers from the others. They were given 2 passes so Hirata was like, we'll just say pass as soon as it's Hoshi's turn. I feel like the order they went up was pre-determined because the words they were given fit perfectly! I think Seki got Sanzou and then Hoshi got saru (but he couldn't get it forever and in the end they had to pass XD), Ishida got Hakuryuu which was pretty neat (he asked if it was an animal - no, a color- no but it has a color in it, a thing - yes... 'umm, Hakuryuu?!') and Hirata got Hirata. Miraculously the last 5 seconds, on Hoshi's next turn up, he didn't even ask a question and blurted kappa and it was kappa!!!
Last was the live dubbing where they did some popular scenes. Most of the ones they chose for their favorite lines were here (except the urasai singing from Goku). The death scenes actually made me tear up a bit and I noticed quite a few other people were crying >_<
After all that intensity, they took out the prize wheel for the cast to try and hit with their weapon of choice. The prizes were curry, buns and (if memory serves, beef)... and of course tawashi which occupies the largest area on the wheel. Seki hit tawashi twice, Hoshi hit curry twice, Hirata hit the buns and Ishida hit tawashi too. The crossbow looked pretty fun to use and the 'gun' was kind of pathetic XD
At the end, they gave their final greetings and a plug for the next event in February. I laughed so much here I really hope they release it as a special on some DVD because these guys are so funny and have such great chemistry!
The Enxemble Stars concert was all the way out at Toyosu Pit and boy are these boys popular. I didn't realize they called you in by section when I bought tickets but luckily I was a little early and I arrived just as the section before mine was being let in. They make you pay a mandatory 500yen for the drink bar (which I didn't end up using), and then there are lockers available to put your stuff in. At first, I had no idea why so many people were using them, but it was actually got really hot as the hall started filling up with eager fans.
I was maybe 2/3 of the way back, but luckily I'm taller than the average Japanese girl so I could still see all right while dodging around. I'm only a mild fan of EnSta because their gacha rates suck and I have no 5 stars, but the music isn't bad. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but the animation was really well done. TrickStar, Knights and Undead sang around 6 songs each (+encore) and there was a bit of a "talk corner" every 2 songs.
What's really amazing is that TrickStar is the youngest and "newest" group in their world and the animation even shows that they're out of sync at times compared to Knights and Undead. Choreography-wise, Undead's dance was pretty great since they did mic twirls and all kinds of mic tricks. They also had steam and cool effects on some of their songs. In terms of sound, Trickstar's my fav because Kakki and Morikubo are in it, but animation for Undead was amazing and really showed their personality.
Of course, fans were all waving their penlights and singing along and screaming as if the animations could hear. I think it's pretty amazing this kind of animated concert is so sucessful. It'd probably only work in Japan though. I sang along to the songs I knew (only Trickstars... should've done my homework), but really regretted not bringing a penlight >_< Overall, it was a fun and eye-opening experience but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to attend another one.
Grabbed a late dinner after that in Yurakucho where close to nothing was open at 9pm XD Finally found a nice Italian dinner & bar which was luckily open. Something I found weird was that they serve bread without any condiments... like is that normal here?! No butter, no olive oil or balsamic... Anyway, I asked for olive oil and theirs was actually pretty good. Then I had horse carpaccio for the first time and that was pretty tasty. What really blew me away though, was the Kirishima kurobuta chop. So juicy and tender and flavorful! Definitely gonna look for that again.