Kokuritsu
General Overview
Looks like they had very little time for the preparation (again) this year. MJ were only able to join the rehearsals with the other members 3 or 4 times. He said he was extremely nervous at “kagero” on the first day. Sitting your seat before the show, I got really tanned ^^;
The stage set theme was like “Sanrio.” Maybe because a portion of kids fans increased, they had to lower the target age-group. Having real “Kaibutsu-kun” on stage was obviously for kids.
They only had one pair of moving stage to circle around the stand seats, which made people in stand kind of left behind. But reading concert reports of fans in the arena, they had problem watching the stage(s) at their opposite side, so you may say arena vs stand is even^^
Some of the costumes were really not attractive. The denim jacket + pants “Let Me Down” might be good on TV shows, but in dark outdoor venue with other Jrs dressed in similar colors will just make them blur. Looks like MJ didn’t like the long scarf for his red shining suits. He took it off while walking on the horizontal hanamichi and passed it to Aiba.
They added a dumb white poncho with colored Kleenex around them before “Circus.” In September shows.
Nino’s closing addresses were all touching. I think he tried to say, “No matter how popular we get, Arashi wants to be with its fans.”
There were much more fans outside the venue hearing the concert than the previous years that might had triggered the claims from the neighborhood. Their commitment was to end the show by 21:00. The 1st day started 10 minutes late because of the accident, so ended around 21:10. Besides that day, they were very strict to end the show by 21:00.
Day 1 August 21 (Sat)
Before the show, the accidental discharge of the special effects freaked out the audience. Seems like they had to cancel some of those special effects during the show. A guy in the black staff T shirt was running around with his note PC. Whole flow of the show was gawky, which is normal for the first day of the show. Day 1 is always “public rehearsal.”
After “Kaibutsu-kun” performance, only MJ came out.
Day 2 August 22 (Sun)
The boys looked much more relaxed than the previous day.
After “Kaibutsu-kun” performance, all 4 other dudes came out, calling Ohno “Daibusu-kun”
Day 3 September 3 (Fri)
Many JE boys in the back stage tents. When Arashi dudes passed before them, they always smiled and waved at them .
Aiba was MAX from the beginning, but gradually lost his voice. With a hoarse throat, he was really quite in the end.
At the “Intro Quiz” Ohno couldn’t answer the quiz and started to hum the song. Other boys said, “You sound like a grandpa.”
Aiba said he found a stethoscope in the car and easily assumed it was Sho’s. Sho looked embarrassed saying “You don’t have to mention it here.” Aiba offered to be a guinea pig for his training as a doctor.
In the closing address, Ohno mentioned that they can see the audience better than we think. He can recognize familiar faces, and concluded “Please put on your makeup.” Ohno tends to do fan service to particular fans, but in this round, he used his whole body waving toward the stand seats. First time to see such an attempt.
Day 4 September (Sat)
Final day tends to be the best performance among all, because they are warmed up.
MC was a blast. Sho did use the stethoscope on Aiba. Aiba said, “Sho-chan always end hearing my nipples. What can you hear?” Sho-said, “They say - I’m MAX - “
After “Kaibutsu-kun” MJ and Aiba came out in “Refrain” white costumes. Then, Nino & Sho in Omiya SK appeared, creating a roaring laughter. While the 3 were teasing Sho, Nino disappeared from the stage, leaving Sho alone in that costume. Sho realizes Nino’s double-cross. The other boys tried to make Sho do the “steel abs” but insisted it had to be Yuji + Taka. So they came up with an alternative of supporting him do the backflip. Sho definitely rejected that request.
When Ohno was back on stage for the “Intro Quiz” the boys gave him the opportunity to answer the next quiz. He didn’t know what it was and just commented “Sounds like a fart.” Others start to panic, “Hey! What if it’s our Sempai’s song?!” and it was KK’s. In the end Ohno stood in the center of the stage apologizing “KK-san, I am truly sorry to say that your song sounded like a fart.”
During “Love Rainbow” Aiba + Sho + Nino were standing on the right side of the main stage. They were always goofing around together during that song.
Probably they will make minor changes in the coming Dome tour.
Looks like they had very little time for the preparation (again) this year. MJ were only able to join the rehearsals with the other members 3 or 4 times. He said he was extremely nervous at “kagero” on the first day. Sitting your seat before the show, I got really tanned ^^;
The stage set theme was like “Sanrio.” Maybe because a portion of kids fans increased, they had to lower the target age-group. Having real “Kaibutsu-kun” on stage was obviously for kids.
They only had one pair of moving stage to circle around the stand seats, which made people in stand kind of left behind. But reading concert reports of fans in the arena, they had problem watching the stage(s) at their opposite side, so you may say arena vs stand is even^^
Some of the costumes were really not attractive. The denim jacket + pants “Let Me Down” might be good on TV shows, but in dark outdoor venue with other Jrs dressed in similar colors will just make them blur. Looks like MJ didn’t like the long scarf for his red shining suits. He took it off while walking on the horizontal hanamichi and passed it to Aiba.
They added a dumb white poncho with colored Kleenex around them before “Circus.” In September shows.
Nino’s closing addresses were all touching. I think he tried to say, “No matter how popular we get, Arashi wants to be with its fans.”
There were much more fans outside the venue hearing the concert than the previous years that might had triggered the claims from the neighborhood. Their commitment was to end the show by 21:00. The 1st day started 10 minutes late because of the accident, so ended around 21:10. Besides that day, they were very strict to end the show by 21:00.
Day 1 August 21 (Sat)
Before the show, the accidental discharge of the special effects freaked out the audience. Seems like they had to cancel some of those special effects during the show. A guy in the black staff T shirt was running around with his note PC. Whole flow of the show was gawky, which is normal for the first day of the show. Day 1 is always “public rehearsal.”
After “Kaibutsu-kun” performance, only MJ came out.
Day 2 August 22 (Sun)
The boys looked much more relaxed than the previous day.
After “Kaibutsu-kun” performance, all 4 other dudes came out, calling Ohno “Daibusu-kun”
Day 3 September 3 (Fri)
Many JE boys in the back stage tents. When Arashi dudes passed before them, they always smiled and waved at them .
Aiba was MAX from the beginning, but gradually lost his voice. With a hoarse throat, he was really quite in the end.
At the “Intro Quiz” Ohno couldn’t answer the quiz and started to hum the song. Other boys said, “You sound like a grandpa.”
Aiba said he found a stethoscope in the car and easily assumed it was Sho’s. Sho looked embarrassed saying “You don’t have to mention it here.” Aiba offered to be a guinea pig for his training as a doctor.
In the closing address, Ohno mentioned that they can see the audience better than we think. He can recognize familiar faces, and concluded “Please put on your makeup.” Ohno tends to do fan service to particular fans, but in this round, he used his whole body waving toward the stand seats. First time to see such an attempt.
Day 4 September (Sat)
Final day tends to be the best performance among all, because they are warmed up.
MC was a blast. Sho did use the stethoscope on Aiba. Aiba said, “Sho-chan always end hearing my nipples. What can you hear?” Sho-said, “They say - I’m MAX - “
After “Kaibutsu-kun” MJ and Aiba came out in “Refrain” white costumes. Then, Nino & Sho in Omiya SK appeared, creating a roaring laughter. While the 3 were teasing Sho, Nino disappeared from the stage, leaving Sho alone in that costume. Sho realizes Nino’s double-cross. The other boys tried to make Sho do the “steel abs” but insisted it had to be Yuji + Taka. So they came up with an alternative of supporting him do the backflip. Sho definitely rejected that request.
When Ohno was back on stage for the “Intro Quiz” the boys gave him the opportunity to answer the next quiz. He didn’t know what it was and just commented “Sounds like a fart.” Others start to panic, “Hey! What if it’s our Sempai’s song?!” and it was KK’s. In the end Ohno stood in the center of the stage apologizing “KK-san, I am truly sorry to say that your song sounded like a fart.”
During “Love Rainbow” Aiba + Sho + Nino were standing on the right side of the main stage. They were always goofing around together during that song.
Probably they will make minor changes in the coming Dome tour.