INKT in Best of Anime 2016 (September 18, 2016)
I've been meaning to write this for weeks and we only found the will to do it now 3 weeks subsequent to the event *sweats*
This is Aj and Clar's collaborative fanrepo
━━ヽ( ^ω^)人(^Д^ )ﾉ━━!!
Fan Meet
It was supposed to start at 1pm and we entered the meeting room maybe a few minutes prior. There was a line and I chanced upon being assigned to a seat at the very end of the row. I was sitting on the opposite column in the third row from the front. There were three doors and to my surprise, the staff members and INKT themselves entered through the one nearest to me, around 5 feet away or so? ;^; I was too consumed by stress that I couldn't properly react by everything that's going on but I literally lost my shit for about 3 seconds and went into full berserk mode the moment I saw Koki *cue counter* I let out a manly scream I didn’t knew I was capable to do hahaha I was wiping my glasses because they were fogged up when they came in so they were all blurry but I saw Clar just kind of frozen for a half-beat before said losing of shit. hahaha To be fair I lost it too and did a pathetic half-scream and just stared at them hahaha.
I wasn't properly paying attention to everyone else, so sorry（ﾉ´д｀）
Koki greeted us by saying "Magandang hapon, ako si Koki" (Good Afternoon, I'm Koki). I commend him for really trying to speak in tagalog, it was really adorable ( / / v / / )
They all greeted us in Filipino and I remember people clapping because they really did a good job of speaking it. People we’re all :o when Koki started the greetings and kind of on the edge of their seats because THEY’RE HERE FINALLY.
There was a segment where the fans get to ask the members questions and it was REALLY STRESSFUL because we weren't oriented beforehand so coming up with interesting questions is hard, man. I feel disappointed that by the time I was able to come up with something, the staff are cutting the queue of fans who want to ask questions.
True, they just told us the rules before INKT came in and were left to fend for ourselves loljk. It was just really surprising to be thrown into Q&A mode suddenly. INKT had just introduced themselves, sat down and then people were told to come to the mic if they had questions.
For the first question, they were asked about the inspiration behind INKT/INKT's music (?) I don't know, I really couldn't remember this one well. INKT basically had an existential crisis right in front of us and couldn’t answer XD The fan was so apologetic and just embarrassingly told them “thank you” so they wouldn’t have to answer it anymore.
I remember getting the feeling that they felt they wouldn’t be able to convey it well because of the language barrier so they had difficulty trying to say it.
What Filipino foods do you like?
Koki: "Jollibee!"
Kei: "Sinigang"
Mackaz: "Mango"
Sassy: "Banana"
This was a cute moment. The look in Koki’s face when the question was asked and his enthusiastic ‘Jollibee!’ will forever be in my heart. If I remember correctly, they teased Sassy because of his answer and they said that bananas aren’t just found in the Philippines but Sassy couldn’t care less hahahaha.
What Filipino words have you learned?
Koki: "Maganda ka!" (You're Beautiful)
I have absolutely no idea why the staff tends to just let Koki answer but we're so disappointed that they quickly moved on to the next question :( Kei was obviously enthusiastic to answer this question as he took his phone out and immediately scrolled through his notes to look up phrases, same as Sassy (sadly, they didn't get to answer)
Such a shame, ugh Kei’s face when they moved on to the next question. Koki tried to direct the questions to the other members too and sometimes they’d talk amongst themselves for a question.
I can’t remember to whom Koki said it to but before one fan can ask her question, Koki interrupted her and said “Maganda ka” :’) (this man is so cute)
What are your favorite places in the Philippines?
(they didn't get to go around that much though so ?? wth ? hahaha) Yes hahaha, Koki specifically said that he wouldn’t really have much of an opinion since they just roamed around Manila and just in the vicinity of the event. What a nerd hahaha.
Koki said Seaside Bay (which is basically just less than a few minutes walk from the hotel they stayed in), he also mentioned he had fun with the Bungee Jump. With a sidewards look at Kei hahahaha. Kei said he enjoyed it but with a face like he didn’t entirely lol. Koki mentioned that they would surely come back to the Philippines in the future and they would like to visit Cebu.
How many tattoos do you have? Are you planning to add another one soon?
Koki said he's the only one in INKT who's got a tattoo anyway, and he has no idea how many he's got lmao
If you're going to be an animal, what would you be?
Koki: "Penguin!" (I had to add an exclamation point to all of Koki's answers to give justification to his excitement haha also the way he said Penguin is just extra adorable)
Kei: "..neko... neko.. ah, Cat" (of course)
Mackaz: "Hawk"
Sassy: "Horse"
Mackaz and Sassy saying the animals in english earned teasing looks from Koki especially Sassy since he had to repeat it because Koki wasn’t listening hahahaha
Among all INKT songs, which one do you dedicate to your Filipino fans?
*a few moments of silence as Koki thinks*
Koki: "...secret~" (the way he said it was so adorable and sweet, someone hold me)
Have you learned any Filipino song?
Koki: "No, we haven't. But I tried dancing tinikling. I wouldn't exactly say it was hard, but I had a lot of fun."
What's the most memorable INKT song that you made?
I couldn't really keep track of the answers here because I'm really not familiar with their songs at the time *kicks self*
Someone said "Shangri-La" It was Kei. I remember it because it was the one of the only songs I knew hahaha. Mackaz answered "The Gift". I think either Sassy or Koki answered Physalis and the other answered Trigger. I can’t remember much other than they both said songs with PVs.
I don't know what made them mention it but at one point they said they were really nervous that there wouldn't be any fan that would attend their fan meet. Everyone must've "awww"ed at that (including me aww) *hugs INKT members* Yeah, they said they were talking before they entered the hall about what they would do if there weren’t any people in the fanmeet and that they were glad that everyone came. Very adorable moment, I almost teared up and just thought, they should believe in us hahahaha. The members, especially Kei were looking around a lot when they weren’t talking and I thought, can’t they really believe people turned up. *infinite awwww*
Koki's love for Jollibee is too evident, he kept talking about it haha. He mentioned that Jollibee was really delicious, especially the Spaghetti. He also talked about how they ate balut. Kei said that it was "masarap!" (delicious) He was too kind hahaha he said ‘masarap’ with a little wince, and Mackaz said everyone in INKT ate balut but it's really something that should only be eaten JUST ONCE hahaha. Koki really piled it on Sassy and Sassy was just laughing and smiling when Koki said it was his fault.
I can't remember if they were asked if they knew any Filipino artists so I'm not quite sure about this one, but Koki answered Tanya Markova (which is a Filipino rock band) They were asked if they knew any Filipino artists and if they wanted to collaborate, who would they pick. They said Tanya Markova because of their look and because they watched them during the first day of the convention.
They were asked too about who they would like to do a collaboration with and they totally played it safe by saying Haruna Luna hahaha They did hahahaha after much deliberation.
If you could switch bodies with any member, who will it be?
Koki/Kei/Mackaz: *looks over at Sassy* "Sassy~" (they said it's because he has a really healthy body)
Sassy: "Mackaz" (because he's funny)
Mackaz even pretended to be offended but Sassy explained that he was interesting as a person and that’s why he picked him. Such bros.
What's your favorite anime?
Koki thought about it (his thinking-really-hard face is so amusing haha) for a few seconds and answered "Dragonball"
The fan was rather apologetic because it felt like a tough question and she said that just one anime is fine and Koki said "Still, Dragonball *smiles*"
Kei: "Gundam"
Mackaz: "Evangelion"
Sassy: "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure"
Who's your favorite artist?
Koki: Linkin Park (in which so many of us went "aaah" out loud that Koki was surprised his answer was popular haha)
Kei: Green Day
Mackaz: Bruno Mars
Sassy: Metallica
Everyone found it impressive that Mackaz liked Bruno Mars and his face was so amusing. I guess no one expected him to say it because the rest of the members all picked rock/punk/metal bands.
My question was about how they picked songs for setlists when they go abroad. Is it the same as when they’re playing lives in Japan or did they pick according to what they think would represent them best to foreign audiences. It’s very long I know. I even stuttered, having them look at you is intense. We're both surprised Sassy was able to understand at once. He even took on the responsibility of explaining it to his other band members by himself haha (there have been quite a few misunderstandings because of the translator) He just nodded (like i got u fam), he understood immediately and started talking to the other members who turned to him like it was no big deal. I was so happy because it was a technical question and they were going to be able to answer it properly (also because Sassy understood immediately I cannot stress this enough he didn’t need me to repeat it. He was so attentive.), compared to the other more complicated ones which were lost in translation. Basically, Koki said that they create their setlists with the people in the country in mind. He also said that everywhere they go, they take the nature of their audience into account. Which will be evident in the live, since, now that we know more about their songs, they seem to have played their more ‘rock’ songs and no slow songs. Most of the songs are also their more popular ones.
Lastly, a fan requested them to say the infamous Filipino phrase "Pak! Ganern" hahaha Koki had a slightly confused face at first but they were all very game and even stood up from their seats. The fan said there was a dance that goes with it and she taught them how to do it. It was really hilarious and I'm just gaping as the whole thing unfolds in front of me. They all danced to it and it was incredibly adorable (´∀｀) I still want videos, BOA! I think that they wanted to know what ‘Pak! Ganern’ meant but there really isn’t anything to it. It just means “Pak! There it is.” Feels weird translating a meme hahaha. Kei was so enthusiastic hahahaha.
After the Q&A segment, we lined up by row to get our goods signed and let me tell you-- MY MIND STOPPED WORKING *curls in embarrassment and rolls away* Aj and I made really reaaaally memeful keychains and we were supposed to just drop it by the box that the staff was holding. Luckily, we figured we can hand it to them personally! *pom pom dance* We made 4 and so we split them up and I'm supposed to give Koki's and Mackaz' while Aj hands Kei and Sassy theirs. I was planning to say some things to the other members and ask them questions as I get my poster signed but I just ended up smiling at them and-- I don't really remember much except being blinded by Sassy's dimples :/ Sassy was smiling the whole time, it was so melting *^* And then it was my turn to get Mackaz' autograph and his smile is so nice and-- idk, at this point the whole thing is a blur that all I can say was how nice and unreal it felt to be face to face with them and have them look at you and smile at you and-
And then I handed Mackaz the gift we made for him and he laughed so hard *pats Aj and myself* it was a moment of pure "We made it!" haha Kei must've been intrigued at why Mackaz was laughing so he looked over and he laughed as well when he saw what I gave Mackaz (I must've teared up a little bit then). And then it was my turn to Kei and I have to admit that I have very little memory of coming face to face with him ff I can only remember a blur of blonde hair and smooth skin hahaha and then ~Koki~. My interaction with Mackaz must've took quite a few seconds longer because before I'm even finished getting Kei's autograph, Koki was already looking at us waiting. Surprisingly, the memory of his smiling face is so sharp compared to the sea of blurry ones. I handed Koki the keychain and he giggled when he saw it. I handed him my second gift (which was a drawing -which I'm never going to post a picture of because similar to me, my drawings are always so unphotogenic lmao) while he was signing my poster. He was surprised to say the least and went "すごいぃぃぃ～!". Their manager was standing behind him so he got to see it as well, and he was smiling and said it looked "〇〇" and Koki agreed (I didn't quite catch it though). And then as mentioned earlier, my mind went completely blank XD I was supposed to mention how it's my birthday soon but I only managed to ask him "Can I hug you?". He looked over the event's staff and I can only guess they said it's NG because *no touching rule*, so Koki bargained with them and asked "handshake?". He then looked at me and said "just handshake" and he took my hand with both his hands and shook it. He was rather apologetic and told me "ごめんね。。" in a soft voice sob this man is far too good compared to how everyone else taints him, it doesn't do any justice to how nice he is. Also, he smells like vanilla and I must've been able to smell because he extended his arms towards me (◎≧v≦) His hands are sweaty hahaha
With me, I was trying to extricate the insert in the album so I could have it signed without tearing it and I was already in front of Sassy so I apologized and handed the Sass Ketchum keychain to him. He looked at it and said “Ah! Pokemon!” and I also gave him the case for the keychains containing our notes. I moved over to Mackaz and explained that his keychain was with a friend since he saw me give one to Sassy and I would hate it if he thought we didn’t make one for him. As he was signing my pamphlet I said “I’m a big fan of your bass playing.” but I mumbled D: He moved closer because he didn’t hear so I had to repeat it and he said ‘Thank you’ (in english). I move to Kei and he’s smiling and his skin is so smooth! I hand him the Keibucks Cafe keychain and he looked at it he was surprised and said “ありがとう！” I wasn’t able to shake hands with Koki but I was content seeing his face, he really is very charming. His smile is very welcoming and I also told him I was a big fan and they have great music, he also said ‘Thank you’.
And then once the autograph signing was done, we had to stand up once again for photo sessions by row wherein we stood behind them. I was the first one in line for our row so I took the liberty of specifically standing in between Mackaz and Sassy ♡
Afterwards as we were thanking them for the photo, I took the chance to really look into Mackaz' eyes and thank him once again *creepy laughter*
I stood between Koki and Kei, and afterwards, Kei looked at us and I was again struck by how smooth his skin is hahaha.
And then we did the group photo with everyone! The first two rows lined up standing and as my row is getting ready to find their places, I asked the staff if we could kneel/sit at the front. They said we can and I did and my row followed suit XD It was a lucky move because turns out, INKT members are going to pose in front of us. They ended up half lying in front of us and Kei was practically in front of me. It was really entertaining how the photo looked nice even when my position in rl was very awkward. We did a wacky shot and the photographer urged us to get closer and (as expected) there were fans who pushed from the back so it was a problematic and stressful moment being stuck in between pushy fans and trying not to accidentally punch Kei hahaha
I was at the very back with some of the Japanese fans, they were nice and courteous.
After INKT left the room, we wrote short messages on the banner-- if you squint hard enough, you'll see mine written in cockie green because I was shameless enough to say "Can I write in green, please?" XD My writing was awkward because I didn’t know what to write, but I wrote it big enough that you can see it on the photo they posted. It’s between Koki and Kei in their group photo with the banner.
本日INKT初フィリピン公演『Best of Anime 2016』でした！フィリピンで応援してくれてるTeam INKTに会えて最高でした！日本からも応援に来てくれたみんなもありがとでした！
Maraming salamat‼︎ pic.twitter.com/F6kDk6i5xa
- SASSY (@SASSYdrums) September 18, 2016
This was during the time in between the fanmeet and the live, but we met Sassy!
I had a sudden ice cream craving after eating lunch so we were on our way to get me one when we passed by Sassy and their Manager + another staff (who is actually really nice and accommodating and I feel bad that I don't know his name ;o;) As it happens, I actually spotted their manager first (and nobody else noticed them but me *kicks everyone*) and then Sassy later. Aj, the shameless tol bean that she is (which I'm actually very thankful for), decided we should follow them. I was salty because I didn’t get to shake hands with any of them and I thought I wouldn’t have any other chance so I thought, why the heck not? hahaha.
It was a scary experience though! It felt like we're about to do something illegal XD
I initially thought they were going to stop over the pet shop, but they went to the department store and went up a floor through the escalator. I kept asking "are we serious about this? omg" but I followed suit anyway hahaha As we were on the escalator, I tried not to look like we were following them and just kept drinking my iced tea hahaha. They were pretty relaxed. They stopped by the children's section and suddenly Manager is lost somewhere in the clothes racks and there's just Sassy and their staff member walking.
We approached their staff member and asked him if it's okay to talk to Sassy-- well actually it was Aj who asked. This woman fears nothing. There was no reason to fear, he was really nice hahaha. I told him we were fans and we’re sorry for disturbing them and could we ask Sassy for a handshake, if it is okay with them if we did. We had a slight existential crisis when Staff-san told us he doesn't know, we should ask Sassy XD He said he ‘doesn’t know’ because he didn’t know where Sassy had gone so I pointed the way and he said “ask Sassy” with a smile and I said, “would it be okay?” and he said “Maybe”, which did nothing for my nerves but by that point we were in too deep to back out hahaha. At the very least, I felt reassured that we're not going to get kicked out by the BoA staff hahaha (the no-touching rule is quite unnerving)
So I walk to where we last saw Sassy hoping Clar and everyone else were still following me and we see him looking at some clothes. I walk up to him and say that we were fans and that we were sorry if we were disturbing him. At first, he didn’t see me because I was really trying hard not to just walk up and surprise him and be rude and when he did he looked confused. After I explained that we were fans this SHINING LIGHT DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENS jk, he smiled at us and I think Clar and I were just trying not to hyperventilate. I asked him politely if we could shake hands with him and he agreed (!!!!!). His hands were soft but his handshake was firm. I must’ve been in a daze the whole time we were shaking hands with him, it’s unreal. To top it all off, the way he’s smiling at us is simply melting *^* He’s a very cool guy. Afterwards, we all thanked him profusely and said that we were looking forward to the live before thanking him again and saying goodbye, leaving him to his shopping.
I’d just like to add a note because after we came back, people asked us why we didn’t take a picture with him with our phones. We just thought that we were already being intrusive disturbing him while he was shopping and we didn’t want to be rude. Also, we didn’t want them to get in trouble with the event organizer because of the rules. Right, I initially thought we were going to take pictures with him. But we got too caught up in the moment while we were talking to him that we completely forgot about it. In the end, I didn’t get my ice cream as well hahaha. And we only realized after we were already walking back to the venue. Such is the power of the dimples.
We became total trash after the encounter and would just randomly stare at our hands while saying “sasssyyy~” for the rest of the day hahahaha Every time water threatened to touch our hands, we stopped each other hahahaha
Live
The live started with Haruna Luna-- skipping this part but we really enjoyed her live!!! We were dancing the whole time even though we didn’t knew her nor her songs. Not to mention, the over-enthusiastic fan who stole the spotlight :”) He was adorable.
And then afterwards, INKT members came out one by one (except Koki) to set up their instruments. We must’ve lost ⅓, if not half of our voice power by yelling out their names before their live even started haha.
During the live, we were also standing at the right most corner stuck in between the rest of the audience and the steel bar thing where they attach the lights i forgot what it’s called XD There was a gap between the steel bars and the vertical bar where people can pass through. There was also a small gap in between the steel bar and the wall, wide enough for one person to pass through (if you try hard enough). A lot of staff kept going back and forth the whole time and it was THE MOST AWKWARD THING hahahaha We would be rocking hard and then suddenly we’d have to make way for the people to pass through and we felt the need to say “sorry” every time haha. Their Manager had to keep going back and forth to fix the slight technical problem (I think they tweeted about that) and it was really funny how we would instantly tame down every time we see him approaching because we have to make way. After maybe 4-5 times, he’s stopped waiting for us and would just pass through the small gap between the steel bar and the wall, it was really distressing hahahaha
One thing we couldn’t get over with (even until now) was the sight of Kei in super casual clothes with striped socks sticking out hahaha Mackaz too with his cockie green shirt. hahaha Even just warming up, Mackaz’s runs on the bass were amazing!
Set List
Trigger
45’
A Whole New World
Short Talk
Wanderlust (it’s so amusing how Koki almost forgot the title of the song and had a 2-second mind block while introducing it hahaha)
Past & Future
Shangri-La
Sassy’s Drum Solo
FTW
The Gift
Physalis
Koki kept speaking in tagalog and english throughout the live and it was so precious, I’m so glad he’s trying really hard for us :’D
Also, Koki is so adorable throughout the whole live, it’s overwhelming ;v;
[During the short talk]
Koki: “Nag-enjoy ba kayo?” (Did you enjoyed it?)
Fans: “Yeaaaah--!!”
Koki: “Nag-enjoy ba kayo?”
Fans: “Yeaaaah--!!”
Koki: “Okay~” *giggles*
They all had towels and towards the end of this one song, Kei and Mackaz threw theirs in the air. Mackaz looked so cool when he caught it but Kei failed and totally missed his hahaha it was so cute and he laughed at himself for it.
SASSY IS SO COOL WITH THE DRUMS!!! *cue counter* I really lost it during the drum solo omg *2nd time i literally lost my shit* I remember how I looked over to AJ a couple of times and told her “I can’t anymore” hahahaha IT WAS TOO MUCH. I was just trying to keep breathing because we were CHEERING HIM ON SO HARD OUR VOICES WERE JUST ‘NOPE’. There were a few times where I was just watching them play and was a bit dazed hahaha. I was also amazed because Cohji, our friend who was with us the whole time, was a Sassy fan and she kept most of her calm. HOW????
Kei didn’t get to do a guitar solo but he was so energetic! He rocked out so hard I flipped. We were so amused how his outfit was so casual but IT WAS BECAUSE HE ROCKS OUT SO HARD HE HAD TO OPTIMIZE HIS OUTFIT.
Mackaz was just chilling on his side of the stage and he played so smooth! The bass line melted perfectly with the drums without disappearing which is something notable for a bass player! Very solid.
Koki was amazing, I was already in awe of his vocal prowess from his other material in KAT-TUN but him singing rock was a whole new experience. He could be effortlessly reaching high notes one moment and could be growling the next. Such power. His showmanship was also something to be reckoned.
Koki made us yell out “Pak Ganern” with him hahahaha it was so surprising XD If you’ve heard the recording, we were absolute mess trying to match up with Koki hahahaha IT WAS SUPER HARD! THEY EVEN SPED IT UP!! TOWARDS THE END, I DIDN’T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT WE’RE DOING ANYMORE, I JUST KEPT YELLING “GANERN” IN HOPES THAT I’LL BE ABLE TO CATCH UP TO ALL THE “PAK”s KOKI HAD SAID hahahaha
The way Koki says “by the way” is SO CUTE sob
Now that I’ve read a handful of INKT live repos, I’ve learned that their live in BoA was VERY wholesome. It’s mostly because the audience paid varying amounts of money for the ticket so we were sorted accordingly and we were divided in 3. The VIPs were standing right in front of them, which was really awkward because there’s really just about 20+ of them, while the rest of us were standing behind steel bars about 15 feet away from them. It really would’ve been more fun in my opinion if we were all just jam-packed in front of the stage.
Live Audio : MEGA
Later that evening, I tweeted the photos of the graphics we put in our keychains haha
also, in case you're curious what memeful keychains we gave @koki1105t, @makkana_mACKAz, @kei_gt, and @SASSYdrums 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/WkDYi07sYY
- clar (@juannosuke) September 18, 2016
Sassy saw it and liked the tweet (´∀｀) The next day, Mackaz tweeted a photo of the keychain we made for him!! We're so overwhelmed to know that he really liked it ♡
チョッカツ。
日本へ帰ります。 pic.twitter.com/bHz3Owgx9F
- まっかつ (@makkana_mACKAz) September 19, 2016
The INKT live was so FUN and it doesn't even begin how much we mean it tbh we were dancing and jumping and head banging the whole time, it was unbelievable!! I ended up being too busy rocking out to their music to pay attention to INKT themselves hahaha Yes, that was our first experience with the gap they had on- and offstage.
The only time I listened to INKT prior to this live was 2 days before, and that is to at the very least familiarize myself to their songs. One thing I have to admit, and is really proud to admit is that I am SO GLAD that we gave INKT a chance. We were rather skeptical at first about spending money on a live in which we're only really interested in Koki alone. Of course most of the fans who came would’ve had to be fans of him already and he knew that but he gave it to the other band members. They all shone as an entity and not only Koki. INKT has a solid structure with Koki, Kei, Mackaz, and Sassy and it showed. We really fell in love with INKT, not just more with Koki, but all the other members as well. We're diving head first to INKT's world and it's such a great place to be and there's so many things to discover. I hope we can continue being here, enjoying their music, and loving everyone more and more! We went into the event as Koki fans and emerged as INKT trash. Now, I just ruined Clar’s heartfelt statement and I’m sorry. But I’m really glad we went to this, INKT was worth it. Yes! I'm so glad we went :D
I hope we can do this fan repo thing again! I hope you felt the excitement (and stress) that we had for the whole day haha
でわ ＼(´▽｀*)(*´▽｀)/