Concert Report: ラブセンpresents V6 LIVE TOUR 2015 -SINCE1995~FOREVER- (Nagoya, 22 October 2015)
I'm a day late but...
HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY, V6!!
Words cannot express how much I love these 6 ojisans.
But still, this is going to be crazy long because (as you know if you’ve read any of my previous posts) I am terribly verbose XD This is really more for me to relive and remember one of the most surreal 3 hours of my life, but if you have fun reading it that's great too ^^
I arrived in Nagoya a day earlier on an overnight bus from Tokyo, initially intending to attend the first day’s concert, but only managed to get tickets to the second day. So I did a day trip up to the Kiso Valley to hike the Nakasendou between Magome and Tsumago, which was an amazing experience in itself, but I suppose you're not here to read about that...
So anyway. In the evening after a great Hitsumabushi dinner, I went to the Nippon Gaishi Hall to recce the venue and buy my goods. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the number of fans milling about outside while the concert was ongoing inside the hall... There was a small crowd buying goods, so I joined them, and then later the crowd to take a picture of/with the con truck. I was amused to see a man who looked to be in his late 20s, holding more goods than I was, and snapping many photos of the truck. Either a big fanboy, or a very dedicated boyfriend...
Crowd to buy goods. Before the concert on concert day, actually, but this chunk of text is getting too boring.
You could actually kinda hear V6 from outside the hall, so I joined the many ladies and girls sitting around outside the hall and listened for a while. I didn't want to get caught in the flood of people leaving the venue, so I left before the encores started. But before I left, I noticed a few people leaving the hall early, maybe because they had a train to catch or something? One pair was an old lady who looked to be about 60-70, pulling along a young boy about 8-10 who was dressed in the con shirt, which was totally oversized on him! I wasn't sure which of them was the fan XD
On con day itself, I did a bit of exploring around Nagoya itself, namely to Inuyama Castle (one of 5 castles designated as national treasures, about 30-40 minutes outside Nagoya by express train), Tokugawa-en, Nagoya Castle, and Atsuta Shrine. Apart from Inuyama Castle, at every of those Nagoya attractions, I saw V6 fans, easily recognisable by their con shirts and bags! It made me smile but I was too shy to go up and say hi... Some weren't speaking Japanese, so clearly I wasn't the only one who had flown all the way to see V6. I wondered how many others, not carrying con bags, were also there exploring Nagoya either after the concert the day before, or before the one that night. If a "less popular" group like V6 can cause that, I can really see what a big boost an act like Arashi would be able to give to an area's tourism industry, which was what they tried to do in Miyagi.
When I returned to the Nagoya station area to put my camera and other items into a coin locker (I was returning to Tokyo by overnight bus after the concert), the station toilet and coin locker rooms were flooded with V6 fangirls too. But that was nothing compared to the crazy queue for the toilet at Gaishi Hall itself! Anyway, more than half the train emptied at Kasadera (the station connected to the Gaishi Hall), and all along the overhead bridge and outside the hall, there were girls forlornly holding signs begging for tickets, as well as scalpers ("don't have a ticket? We've got a solution for you!"). This was my first ever Johnny's concert so even though I'd heard about such things, it was different seeing it for myself.
The overhead bridge from Kasadera station to Gaishi Hall. Notice the girls on the right begging for tickets.
Also, on the train, I was eavesdropping on a bunch of girls standing near me, and it was amusing because they were observing the people in the train and passing judgmental comments about everyone. Like, “that lady over there is trying too hard to hide her uchiwa!” as they eyed an OL nearby with the tips of the handles of her uchiwa barely visible sticking out of her bag because she’d wrapped them in plastic bags before putting them in. Maybe the OL just didn’t want her colleagues to know she was a closet fangirl…?
I think I was most impressed with how the Japanese fans did their best to stand out or be noticed by the members. There was a pair of Inocchi and Okada fans who wore Santa hats in their respective member colours, a pair of Okada and Go fans in Sekubani con shirts dyed yellow and red, a Ken fan with the kanji for his name tattooed on her face, and numerous people who had customised their LoveCen con shirts and bags - one had all the hearts on the bag coloured in with orange (obviously a Ken fan), many coloured the bottom of the bag or the straps in their ichiban's colours, and a number added sparkly jewels to their con shirts.
A stalker photo of the Ken fangirl who had coloured the hearts on the con bag in with orange!
I was seated pretty far back, in row 30 of block A in the stands. It was near the middle lengthwise so I was almost directly in front of centrestage, slightly toward the main stage. Since I was so high up in the stands, I had a bird's eye view of everything. Thankfully Gaishi Hall isn't that large, so I didn't feel like I was all that far away, though if I wanted to see the boys' expressions I definitely had to either use my binoculars or look at the monitors. I love that the boys choose to do concerts only in smaller venues so that they can be nearer to the fans <3 Ken has talked about it before in some interview, and I really can’t imagine if I was at the back of a dome and they were the size of ants. I wouldn’t be able to admire their amazing dancing like that D:
My memory of the actual concert itself is kinda hazy, like everything just melds together and I don't really know what happened when...I was just so happy to be there breathing the same air and watching 6 very talented men dancing and singing. I must say their dancing was as sharp as advertised, and by and large their voices were great that night, especially Maa-kun (I think I became an even bigger fan of his after hearing him live *_*). Inocchi's voice was a little bit raspy at times, but I'll forgive him, since he can't have had much sleep the night before, what with returning to Tokyo by Shinkansen immediately after the concert the night before and having to wake up at 5am for Asaichi the next day! Concerts must be really tough on him whenever he has Asaichi the next day...
Before the concert itself started, they were screening the CMs for both Toshokan Sensou 2 and Everest, as well as a CM for the LoveCen game, and a message that was supposed to be kept a secret from V6 - basically there was a box outside near the goods tent and we were supposed to go and write congratulatory messages to the boys for the 20th anniversary. I just read the tweet collections for the 1st November concert, and apparently during the triple encore, they surprise the boys by showering them with the ribbons, then the boys lie down on the ribbons and take a commemorative selfie on Ken’s phone <3 And speaking of Ken’s phone, I seriously teared up reading Niko Niko Ken yesterday, when he posted a screenshot of his phone wallpaper T___T I hope he uploads this ribbon photo later! (he tends to edit his posts and add photos later on)
Anyway, the V-Mikuji were given out at the door, and basically, like normal mikuji, there would be your “fortune” with a picture of one of the members and other stuff like your lucky number/colour/song etc. I was hoping for my ichiban, Inocchi, of course, but I got something even better! ^^ I got a V-kichi! Which is basically all 6 of them at once, and also the “luckiest” fortune you can hit (along with each member's dai-kichi [big luck]) in the actual LoveCen game. Yay! \o/ Speaking of V-Mikuji and LoveCen… KEN PLAYS LOVECEN. KEN PLAYS LOVECEN. Hahahaha. Is that the most amazing shit or what. I wonder who he’s having a secret love affair with. Probably Go XD
My V-Mikuji!
For the stage set up, basically there is a main stage, with the monitors behind them - one solo screen on each side, then three connected panels forming the backdrop of the stage. There are these beautiful diamond-shaped LED thingys hanging behind them, too. There was this portion of the main stage that was made up of 9 blocks, and the blocks could move independently and change colours as well, so during some of the songs, single blocks with the members standing on them would rise and fall depending on whose solo it was. The centre stage was a ring with a circle inside, and the ring and the circle could rise and fall independently as well. So at times the centre stage would be a full circle, at others, just a ring. Then there’s a rear stage opposite the main stage, with monitors there as well, and the hanamichi connecting everything together.
So nearing 6pm, even before they dimmed the lights, some fans started calling for V6 to appear. It was kinda funny because the clapping and calling throughout the hall was super unsynchronised hahaha. I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to follow - the super loud girls wearing the santa hats (the Inocchi and Okada fans I mentioned earlier) down in the arena, or the people around me in the stands (who were all not exactly synchronised with each other either). But anyway, they dimmed the lights, everyone cheered, and soon spotlights fell on the main stage and the special piano version of “Wait For You” begins. They sing just a little of it before moving on the next song. But oh my goodness, does the first verse of this piano version send chills down my spine. The feels <3
I actually don't really remember anything about "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE”, other than Tonisen's legs being very long when they do that leg-raise-over-Kamisen thing.
They changed the choreography to “Supernova!" Which wasn’t exactly a bad thing, since they did this cool thing with the lights, like their movements would match the lasers and they’d “draw” circles and stuff on the ground. It was really quite beautifully done, even if it wasn’t as sexy as the pole dancing in the OMG con.
During “Air,” they finally move from the main stage to the centre stage, then onto the hanamichi, then back to the centre stage. I forget which song it is, but I think it’s during “Air” that each member throws a bouquet of flowers to the fans. They’re red roses I believe, with dark blue bouquet wrap and a red ribbon. Next is "Taiyou no Ataru Basho,” but I don’t remember anything particularly special happening during this song, though according to Ken, Nagano and Okada were doing something... I forget, or maybe I had my binoculars facing somewhere else.
For the first mini MC, they do a survey of the fan’s ages. It’s pretty much the same every concert. It’s pretty amazing how wide a range of fans they have. There were so many schoolgirls (saw many of them in uniform even the first night when I went to buy my goods), and so many OLs, and even the obaasans. And then there’re the guys! Near me there was this adorable 5 or 6 year old boy accompanied by his dad, and the little boy was holding a customised Ken uchiwa <3
Inocchi: Those in their 20s!
20s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: Wow, they said "hai" instead of “yay” in a slightly nasal way... It was really refreshing!
Inocchi: Those in their 30s!
30s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: After the surprise just now, they were just like “haai"
Inocchi: Those in their 40s!
40s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: You can tell that they’ve been through the ups and downs of life!
Inocchi: Those in their 50s!
50s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: That was an exemplary “hai."
And so he continued upwards in age... All the fans clapped for the fans aged 60 and above I believe.
Inocchi: There probably aren't any, but... Those in their 80s!!
80s: Haaaaai!!!!
V6: Whoaaaa. There were quite a few voices!
Inocchi: (spotted a lady in her 80s at the very front, sort of at the corner between main stage and the hanamichi joining the centrestage and main stage) Ah, there's one over there! But she doesn't look 80 at all! (The fan was jumping up and down in excitement lol)
Ken: Ah, she's a Gunshi fan! Gunshi!
V5: *push Okada forward*
Okada: (makes a Kanbee face and keeps pointing at his eyes then at the fan, as if telling her that he's seen her... Then proceeds to hold his right hand up as if holding an onigiri) I'll eat your soul!!!!
V5: ????
Okada: Sorry, I remembered the pose but I forgot the line so I just said whatever came to mind...
Inocchi: Yeah, cuz there's no way Kanbee said something like that. By the way, guys, this is the man who won an Academy Award, k?
Okada: You’re telling them that, now?
Inocchi: Now, how about those in their 90s!?
*silence*
Inocchi: It’s okay. I heard them say they’d text us later.
Inocchi: How about those with single digits for ages? They’re basically kids. So… Those who consider themselves kids!
Kids: (super adorably) haaaaaaai!!
Mothers with babies in arms: *raise their babies like Simba*
Inocchi: Wow! So cute!
Ken: These kids are overflowing with energy, so let’s make them ring! (TN: Ken used a strange word here, “narasu” which would be used more for like “ring/sound a bell")
V5: Ring? What do you mean?
Ken: I mean, get them to shout… You know, use their voices!
Inocchi then suddenly started making weird puns and they just don’t translate well into English… Like "Naite-miruku!" (naite-miru = to try making a sound; miruku = milk… i.e. wet behind the ears??) and "Ii kamo shinmai!" (ii kamo shirenai = that might be good!; shinmai = novice)
Oh and the guys in the audience were surprisingly loud!! Maybe because there was this super loud guy right behind me. And it didn’t seem like all of them were just there accompanying their girlfriend/wives, because they had uchiwa and were wearing the con shirts and stuff. I mean, if I was just accompanying my significant other, I don’t think I’d bother spending 2800 yen on the shirt, you know. And who can forget how Maa-kun made that fanboy cry tears of joy during the OMG con during the Supernova “lucky girl” (lucky boy for him) segment?
I forgot if it was here that they pimped their SVb album… But basically Inocchi asked us if we’d bought the album, or if we didn’t. And when people admitted to not having bought the album, he’d say, “it’s okay, at least you’re being honest!”(which he says at like every concert lol). And that’s the cue for Okada to come in! Okada would do this weird pose with one leg raised and point at the general area above that thigh, and on the monitors, they’d add the telop and a picture of the album.
Okada: Please don’t worry, we’re selling it outside!
Inocchi: He’s doing all this of his own accord!!” (though reading other con reports, he strikes this pose every time too…)
They do "Can do! Can go!” next but I don’t remember anything special happening here. “SPOTLIGHT” is next, and Okada and Nagano gang up on Inocchi and catapult him into the air after his “4! Fuan na toki wa itsudemo~” line and Inocchi lands badly and just like rolls over on the ground with a "what the hell just happened" face.
The Inocchi torture continues in "Good Day!!" Okada pinches Inocchi’s butt during his solo and Inocchi was like “OW OW OW OW” instead of singing his line XD "HONEY BEAT” is next, and it’s just fun to do the choreo with everyone, though my hands were kinda full with uchiwa, penlight, and binoculars...
Kamisen then handled the mini MC while Tonisen went to change.
Ken: You didn’t pick me up today! What were you doing today? During “Taiyou no Ataru Basho?”
Okada: You want me to pick you up?
Ken: I thought you were going to, so I was on standby, waiting. But this guy was horsing around with Nagano-kun instead!
Okada: Do you want me to pick you up that badly!? You want me to? Shall I?
So Okada picks Ken up and sits him on one shoulder XD
Ken: *super happily* I always wanted to be taller, but all I ever had to do was sit on Okada’s shoulder!
Go: You sound like a middle schooler...!!
Ken: Okada, you should be an attraction at an amusement park! The “Okada Attraction!" Is there a height limit to this attraction?
Okada: More like a weight limit? Maybe… 60? Or maybe 70kg?
Go: Can two people ride you at once?
Okada: Two people? Probably… As long as I can get them both on my shoulders, it should be fine. It’s the initial lifting part that’s tricky.
Go: ... No thanks.
Ken: Let’s not try it. It’d be bad if we got injured.
Okada: I’ve come a long way since we were boys! Now I can sit two people on my shoulders!
Go: Yeah, once upon a time we used to sleep on the same bed! And you’d have your butt bitten by us!
Ken: We were butt-biting animals back then...
Go: Ahh, those boardinghouse days were the best!
And then Kamisen proceed to introduce Tonisen,
Okada: The happy ojisans are coming out soon!
Ken: You might get to see our very own butt-shaking ojisan for the first time in a while!
Go: Our own Miyamoto Amon!
Ken: Hey hey hey...
I don’t really get the Miyamoto Amon reference here, but I do know that Miyamoto Amon was the director of Go’s play, “Kinkakuji…” But I don’t get the link to butt-shaking or to Maa-kun lol. I guess that’s why at the end of “HONEY,” when Kamisen reappeared, Go was like, “damn, what was up with that? After all I said about Miyamoto Amon…"
Anyway, Tonisen did “HONEY” while Kamisen went off to change. Ken stayed a little longer on stage as usual, but you have to forgive him, given what Maa-kun was doing. So basically the Tonisen guys came out and each did something. Nagano is first, then Maa-kun, then Inocchi. I don’t really remember what Nagano did because Maa-kun was next and he did this really hilarious thing where he stuck his bum out and shakes it as he struts from one side of the stage to the other… I don’t even know how to describe it. Kind of like a duck? Inocchi couldn’t stop laughing and as he sang his solo, he just like, squatted there (to get a better view) and stared at Maa-kun’s very lively butt.
It was really cute that they did this split screen thing whenever the Tonisen guys had solo parts, where half the screen would feature that member, then the other half would zoom in on a fan who was holding their uchiwa. Most of the featured fans tended to hide behind their uchiwa though, haha.
Speaking of Tonisen uchiwa, I think I noticed more Inocchi uchiwa this concert than I've ever seen in previous concert DVDs... Asaichi effect? Of course, the number of Kamisen uchiwa was as overwhelming as always though, lol. But I felt like where previously Maa-kun had the most uchiwa out of Tonisen, at least at this concert in Nagoya, there seemed to be more Inocchi.
They do "Namida no Ato ga Kieru Koro” next on the centre stage, with a chair in the central circle and the 6 of them are on the outer ring. If I remember right, the outer ring spun around the empty chair as they sang. Their voices were beautiful <3
Keeping in line with the chairs theme, they did the choreo for “GUILTY” with chairs, too. So there was a row of chairs on the breadthwise hanamichi (parallel to the main stage), and they sat on them and just moved their arms and legs. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out pretty awesome. I think I had my binoculars trained on Inocchi most of the time, since he was the closest to where I was. And “GUILTY” is one of my most favourite V6 songs, so yeah.
Tonisen then disappear and Kamisen take the main stage for "Kimi no Kakera,” which is one of my most favourite Kamisen songs (I can never decide if I like this better or “12-ka getsu”). It’s even more beautiful hearing it live *__* The blocks would rise and fall as they sang their solo lines, and on the monitors behind them, they’d emphasise specific words in the lyrics for effect.
I think I was kinda exploding internally by this point because it was like all my favourite songs were coming at me non-stop, but next up was “will,” which is a great crowd pleaser and one of my favourite album songs. So I exploded even more. The dancing was impeccable, but then again, when isn’t it?
“BREAK THE WALL” was up next, which I think they did from the main stage and then moved to the centre stage. There was a lot of lighting/laser effects throughout the song, same as the previous times that they've done this song.
The MC was next, so they got everyone to sit down. I forget if Inocchi got us to fan them with our uchiwa here or during the fans’ age survey, but anyway. The order of this whole thing is probably wrong, but whatever. They talked a lot. And you know, I think if ever I was glad I understood Japanese, it was during this concert. I think I’d have been mentally tortured to no end if I couldn’t understand what they were saying and why everyone else was laughing. Not that my Japanese is all that great, and you know how they don’t exactly enunciate that well, use a lot of slang, and speak really fast? That doesn’t help. But I was happy enough to understand like 90% of what was going on so yeah, I AM SO HAPPY I LEARNT JAPANESE. Anyway. I still might have gotten some of this wrong, but… I really hope they put ALL THE MCs into a collection on the DVD!!!
1) Photos
Inocchi: Did you go anywhere for dinner yesterday, Nagano-kun?
Nagano: I went to an izakaya with Ken-kun and one of the staff yesterday.
V4/Inocchi: With Ken-kun? Not Sakamoto-kun? What about everyone else?
Nagano: All of you had customers! (TN: he used the word "o-kyaku-san" which can mean either "guest" or "customer" depending on the context)
Inocchi: Customers!? What kind of business were we doing?
Maa-kun: Like friends and staff from other projects who came to watch the concert, right?
Inocchi: So did you take any pictures?
Nagano: We did! Here they are!
(Picture of both Ken and Nagano holding beers)
Maa-kun: You two look so weird with beers! The way you're holding the beer shows how inexperienced you are!
(Picture of Nagano pretending to down a whole bottle of wine)
Maa-kun: That's not even beer!! That's wine!!
Inocchi: Meanwhile... Here's what I was doing...
(Picture of Inocchi on the Shinkansen, drinking a beer and eating some finger food... I think it was either karaage or Nagoya's tebasaki?)
V5: Oh yeah, you had to go back for Asaichi the next day!
Fans: We watched you on Asaichi this morning! \o/
Inocchi: Ah, thank you!
Okada: I watched Asaichi too. You've been an awesome person ever since the morning, huh!
(Photo of Ken talking intently)
Nagano: Ken was talking like this the whole time. And then he noticed the camera.
(Photo of Ken with his face resting in his hands and looking cute, as always)
Fans: Kyaaa~
(Picture of Inocchi with his mouth and eyes half closed and the whites of his eyes visible, a few cans of finished beer also visible)
Inocchi: Meanwhile, this was me, later! Yeah, my eyes are half open.
Go: Inohara-kun, were these two photos selfies?
Inocchi: Don't ask that in front of everyone!
Go: Did you like, take a few selfies and then see which one looked best?
Inocchi: Stop saying that in front of everyone!
Go: So did you?
Inocchi: Actually, I sent them to Ken to choose.
Ken: Yeah, he did, that's when I decided to take a photo of my dinner with Nagano-kun.
Inocchi: And you know what he replied me? "Lol, I can see the whites of your eyes!!"
(Photo of Nagano and Ken sitting at the counter seats, and a woman is visible next to Nagano)
Nagano: And this was lunch.
Inocchi: You had lunch together too? I see a woman in the photo! You two were just running around picking up girls, weren't you!
Nagano: No! We were just sitting at the counter eating lunch!
Inocchi: What did you eat?
Ken: We grilled chicken and...
Inocchi: You grilled chicken? Yourself? You didn't just eat grilled chicken (yakitori)?
Ken: Yeah, we were given small pieces of meat and a iron plate to grill it on ourselves. Nagano-kun was the first in line at the restaurant when it opened.
Nagano: And when I called Ken to ask where he was, he was like, "mmmff." My call woke him up. So he said he'd come by taxi. The shopkeeper kept asking me, "is your companion arriving soon?" and I kept having to say, "he'll be here in about 5 minutes!"
Inocchi: The power of Miyake Ken.
(Photo of steak)
(Photo of hamburger)
(Photo of Nagano downing a bowl of soup)
(Photo of Ken eating)
(Photo of kakigoori)
(Selfie of Ken and Nagano with their kakigoori, Nagano is looking a bit serious and is wearing his hair back and a dark hat that blends into the background)
Ken: I set a timer and put the camera on the table, and Nagano-kun didn't know when the timer was going off, so he looks like that.
Inocchi: Nagano-kun, did you take your wig off?
Nagano: What wig? I'm wearing a hat!!
Inocchi: You didn't join them, Okada?
Okada: Yeah... I got a script yesterday, so I was like, "Script? Hiroshi?" And in the end I chose to read my script. Maybe I should have chosen Hiroshi instead...
Inocchi: You could have made it for lunch right? Oh, but they decided on lunch after the dinner last night, right?
Ken: Yeah, Nagano-kun told me he was going to that restaurant for lunch, and I said I'd meet him there.
Okada: Ah... Lunch with Ken-chan on my left and Hiroshi on my right... How extravagant a meal that would be… Fufufu… (you know, that slightly hentai giggle of his)
Inocchi: Who said you'd get to sit in the middle??
(Photo of a table overflowing with Nagoya snacks and a banner congratulating V6 on their 20th anniversary)
Inocchi: When we reached our green room yesterday, there was hitsumabushi (Nagoya unagi dish which is amazing) and then today we had Kishimen (a type of flat noodle). And the staff prepared all this for us, too! The staff are amazing!
2) Inocchi in the shower
Inocchi: I was taking a shower in the green room, and you know how it takes a while for hot water to come out? So I stood there like this (Inocchi poses, resting one arm with a palm against the wall, and one leg crossed over the other). Suddenly Ken came in and pulled the curtain open and started laughing and just left like that. Next thing I knew, the curtain opened again and he'd brought Go back in with him! The two of them laughed among themselves and left again! I thought they might come back again with someone else, so I struck a new pose and waited, but they didn't, and the hot water had started coming out so I just started bathing.
Nagano: When Ken came out, he was all, "Go! Go! This is sure to perk you up!"
Inocchi: Perk you up!? What an idiot!
Ken: You know those Ino-chan-man drawings he likes to draw? He looked like a real life version of it.
3) Seating arrangements
Inocchi: We have a pretty fixed seating arrangement in our green rooms, don't we? If there's a long sofa, Go will sit at one end, and Okada will sit at the other end. Then Ken will sit next to Go and I'll just squeeze myself in between them. And those two over there, they just sit on stools in a corner.
Ken: Do you ever feel lonely?
Maa-kun: Nope. It's not like the couch is supposed to be ours or anything.
Inocchi: Yeah, cuz it's ours!
Ken: You're saying that even though you just squeeze yourself into whatever space is left...
Oh those 4 kids <3 Whatever happened to filial piety for poor Papa-moto and Mama-no... Just kidding. But I really do love the interactions between the Inohara-gumi and how SakaNaga just watch them and smile.
4) Weather
Inocchi: We're really sweaty huh! And cuz we're indoors, it feels warm, but when we go outside we might catch a cold. Everyone, be careful of that!
Maa-kun: Yeah, it's been spreading, huh? (TN: the word for "spreading (of a flu)" sounds exactly like "becoming popular")
Inocchi: Yeah, it's been getting popular... Wait, what?
Maa-kun: Influenza, of course! You were just going along with the flow of the conversation, weren't you? Haven't you covered it on Asaichi yet?
Inocchi: Nope!
5) Okada's catapult/butt pinching
Inocchi: You guys were using way too much strength! I was all, “We’re back, Nagaoya!!!” and “Today’s the last day!!” and all of a sudden, I became a rocket!!
Nagano: Okada made eye contact with me and was like, “grab him.”
Inocchi: And at the start of “Good Day!!” too, he pinched my but and it was really panful, okay!? I thought a piece of my butt’d get ripped off...
Nagano: It was that painful even though all he intended to do was lightly pinch it, huh?
Okada: Nah, I was really wondering if I’d be able to tear off a piece of his butt...
6) Go's stretching
Maa-kun started talking about how Go stretches before their concerts, and imitated him. Basically, Go doesn’t extend/flex all the way so he barely stretches at all. And yet, at the end of his “stretching,” he’d be like “alright! Let’s go!"
Inocchi: That ain’t “Alright! Let’s go!” at all!
Go: You shouldn’t stretch too much!! It’s not good for your muscles!!
Then we did this mass stretching thing, like rolling our shoulders and stuff. It was pretty funny because the camera zoomed in on Go for the longest time and he didn’t realise, so he was just doing his own thing and everyone was giggling at him. He looked like he was talking to his biceps, which Inocchi pointed out, and asked him if he was asking them if they were okay XD
After the MC, there was a VTR that introduced the upcoming songs as the “39 Symphony” (39 in Japanese is "san-kyuu," which sounds like “thank you”). The VTR starts out with years I believe? How many years since the earth was formed. How many people there are on earth, how many people in Japan. How many people an average person meets in their lives, and what percentage chance there is that any 2 people would meet. Then there’s a cute map of Japan with 6 location markers in the member colours. Of course, since the majority of them are from Tokyo and the immediately adjacent prefectures (Saitama for Go and Kanagawa for Ken and Nagano), 5 of them were clustered in that region, and there was just one lone yellow marker over at Osaka. Then they’d calculated the percentage chance that the 6 members of V6 would meet, and also the likelihood that V6 would meet their fans. At the end of the video, in English, it said, “Thank you, for all you do for me. The Thank You Symphony." Then later it became Japanese.
~First Movement~
They sang “Orange,” "COSMIC RESCUE,” "IN THE WIND,” and part of "Ai Nanda.” I don’t really remember anything particularly special happening here… I just remember thinking during “Ai Nanda” that the concert would be ending relatively soon because this was the song I first heard from the outside when I came by the day before to buy my goods :( And that there was a clock behind them during “Orange” I think. I really like how they remixed the songs in general, and some of the songs that they didn’t sing were also featured (like a few seconds of the intro or chorus).
~Second Movement~
For "Sexy! Honey! Bunny!” they kinda split it into three parts. I think the first and second times were somewhere in the “~First Movement~” but I forgot where. So when Maa-kun was about to say "Sexy!" for the first time, Nagano "stole" it from him and Maa-kun was like “ugh.” Later when Okada stole the second "Sexy!" Maa-kun made the most adorable irritated face like, "not again!?" and rolled his eyes XD When he eventually got to say the third "Sexy!" he was also super adorable because he made a big show of looking around to his left and right many times and taking a few deep breaths in preparation in case someone else stole his "Sexy!" again. While he was looking around, you could see Inocchi laughing behind him and mouthing “ganbare!” (you can do it!). He then finally said "Sexy!" in a slightly gay and high pitched voice and the fans cheered. Nagano's was also high pitched and more like "sekuseee," while Okada's was deep and strong.
They sing a bit more of "Ai Nanda,” followed by "kEEP oN.” and then "WA ni natte Odorou.” As much as I love “Ai Nanda” and “WA ni natte Odorou” I really hope they don’t get made to sing it again at all the year-end music shows... But anyway.
"Bari! Bari! BUDDY!” is always immensely fun for everyone! But it’s definitely one of their most crazy tiring songs to sing and dance to, haha. Okada messed up a little at the end where they run backwards and then forwards again - he ran forward first instead of backwards so he kinda dragged Ken and Go, who were on his right and left respectively, along with him and made their straight line into a V. Ken and Go just laughed at him and it was really cute.
At the end of these two movements, there’s another VTR. This one had more figures, like how many concerts V6 has done, how many hours they’ve spent doing concerts, the number of staff - and each concert throughout the tour apparently the number actually changes. Then there’s this bit about the members, like “the likelihood of Nagano going out into the town to eat” (100%), “the likelihood of Okada touching a member's butt” (120%), “the likelihood that Ken isn’t listening” (100%), “likelihood that Inocchi gets overly excited” (100%)... I don’t think there was anything for Go or Maa-kun, though.
At the end of the second VTR, they state the distance between the stage and the last row in the stands (or was it the tachimi area? I can’t remember), which I remember was 80m for Gaishi Hall (since I was near to the last row, that was some nice info to know...). Then, the last figure is supposed to be, “the distance between V6 and the fans.” And the answer fades onto the screen... “Always right by your side.” Everything is dark but I guessed that this would probably be the moment when the members appear amongst the audience, so I was frantically looking around to see where they’d pop up. And I was right!
~Third Movement~
The lights are out. The intro of "Mejirushi no Kioku” begins, and then the first screams are heard. A spotlight appears somewhere towards my right, between the second and third levels of the stands, towards the main stage side. IT’S INOCCHI *hyperventilates* So basically one by one (screams would be heard and) spotlights would fall on a certain area and illuminate one of the members standing on those little human-powered platforms, and the staff would push them on those platforms along the walkway and the members would wave to the fans and do whatever fan service they wanted to as they sang.
I talked about how Gaishi Hall was pretty small previously, BUT NOT SMALL ENOUGH. UGH. They came relatively near to me (about 12 to 15 rows in front of me?) but but but T___T I was in the fourth level of the stands so yeah. Still really far away. I wasn’t really paying attention to Mejirushi at all the entire time because I just kept trying to wave at the members and call out to them and hope they'd see me although I knew there was pretty little chance of that, lol. I think I violated concert etiquette when I got overly excited when Inocchi came near and I kinda raised my uchiwa higher in hopes that he’d see... I was so jealous of all the people who got handshakes and stuff :( Halfway through the song they switched sides, so basically all the members would come by at least once on the little platforms. So, I guess, I've seen all 6 members of V6 from a distance of approximately 30-40m. Great.
After that is “Jasmin,” "Yasei no Hana,” “Chou,” "GENERATION GAP,” "Honki ga Ippai,” and "Believe Your Smile.” And yes, I don’t particularly remember anything from this section. Think my mind was still recovering from Mejirushi.
~Fourth Movement~
“over” was the first song of this movement. Then "Ai no Melody,” which was fun to do the choreo to, though I’m terrible at choreography in general so I kept getting it wrong >< *embarrassed* “Darling” and “Spirit” were next, which were fun too! It's amazing how everyone in the audience knows the choreo, so the penlights look really beautiful dancing in unison. And of course, "Spirit" is where Okada ALWAYS slaps Nagano's butt to the rhythm of the song XD
~Fifth Movement~
They then gathered in a circle on the main stage and at Inocchi’s count off, began to sing “Kimi ga Omoidasu Boku wa Kimi wo Aishiteiru darou ka,” a cappella and it was the most beautiful thing ever. This is one of my favouritest V6 ballads, and hearing it live, and a cappella to boot *___* I got goosebumps and just stared at them in a semi-trance. Like seriously. It was beautiful and I can’t wait for the DVD so I can rip the song and play it again and again. How can anyone say that V6 can’t sing??? Their harmony was so beautiful *gushes*
Next up were “Timeless,” "Sky’s the Limit,” "ROCK YOUR SOUL,” and "TAKE ME HIGHER.” Basically this fifth movement was their 5 most recent singles, except that “TAKE ME HIGHER” took the place of “Namida no Ato ga Kieru Koro."
The final VTR plays here, and it’s about the distance between the members. So, the distance between them during rehearsals, during meetings... With pictures and arrows to show the amount of distance. And then “in Miyake’s case...” and they showed a bunch of pictures of Ken being himself - sitting on the members’ laps, invading their private space and so forth. Therefore, distance between Ken and the other members is “too close,” or something to that effect XD Then there was some really old footage of them, apparently it was the letters they wrote to each other a year after their debut? I don’t really remember the contents, except Go talking about having become a “P” person. I have NO IDEA what the hell he means, and I tried to google to figure it out and all I got was Yamapi -.-
~Final Movement~
"Dasenai Tegami” was the BGM of the previous VTR, so of course they sang it as well.
"UTAO-UTAO” is the standard “sing along with us!” song, so we did as we were told, and it’s really beautiful to hear everyone singing together, and all the penlights waving in unison. After that was "Arigatou no Uta."
"Wait for You” was amazing. I looove everything about that song - the singing, the dancing... I watched their TV performances of it a million times and it was just awesome seeing it live as well.
There was the farewell MC after this, and they stood in a row on main stage and greeted the audience, starting from the rightmost person (Nagano) to the leftmost person (Inocchi).
Nagano: Thank you for today, everyone. V6 welcomes our 20th anniversary this year. The fact that we could do this all this while, and hear the voices of and see the smiles of the people who come for each of our concerts throughout the tour, and the people who have been supporting us all this while… It’s really thanks to each and every one of you that we could keep this up for 20 years. Thank you. From here on our, we’ll keep going forward, step by step, in the hopes that we can keep making you smile. Please continue to support us.
Go: Thank you very much for today. Did you all have fun? You did, right? So did I. I think we're really blessed to be able to do all this even after 20 years, to still be able to have concerts, and have people come for them. Well, many groups have fans, but I always think that V6's fans are the best. And I'm glad that so many such people are gathered here in Nagoya. I'm just filled with feelings of happiness today.
Ken: Thank you very much for today. It’s been 2 years since our last concert tour, so just as you have had 2 years’ worth of fun today, so too have we had a whole load of fun with you. I’m really happy to be able to meet everyone, and we’re really blessed to be able to hear your voices of support and to see your smiles. There will be times when things get tough, depressing, even painful... But I hope you’ll keep on doing your best without forgetting those smiles. Please continue to support us from here on out. Thank you very much.
Okada: Thank you very much for today. I’ve come to the realisation that we’ve only got a little while left to celebrate our 20th anniversary. But having debuted when I was 14, and getting to meet these 6 amazing comrades of mine... (Looks left and right at the members, as if expecting a response) You guys are amazing, kay? (laughs at himself)
Ken: Who is amazing?
Okada: You want me to specify who? All of you are amazing! (turns back to the audience) Among the members, we’ve been thinking about our 20th anniversary for the past 2 years or so... And we’ve been thinking about each other as well, too. I’m grateful, from the bottom of my heart. The fact that I can think these things at all, is thanks to all of you who gave us these past 20 years. The fact that we have come this far without losing any members along the way, and the fact that everyone is congratulating us on our 20th anniversary, it really moves me. I will carry these feelings with me as I continue living each day from here on out. I hope we can be of strength to you as well. Thank you very much.
Maa-kun: Thank you very much for today. This tour was really a big surprise for me. To see the range of fans that we have, from little children to the elderly, to have been supported by such a wide range of fans... There’s no other place we’d be able to see something like that, right? Go said so already, but I really think our fans are the best. Thanks to all of you, we’re able to stand here, even 20 years later. Our next milestone will be our 30th anniversary, then... Four...tieth... Anniversary? (with a very worried and unsure face)
Fans: (cheered)
Maa-kun: Well, saying it is easy, but it's us who will have to work for it, and you who will have to support us. So please continue to support us from here on out.
(it doesn't sound so nice translated, but I love how he said it in Japanese... 「言うのはタダです。やるのは僕らです。そして、支えるのは君たちです。」)
Inocchi: Did you all of have fun?
Fans: (cheered)
Inocchi: Did all the staff have fun, too?
Staff: (cheered)
Inocchi: I had a lot of fun too. I really felt so happy to be gathered with all of you here today. All of you have made various uchiwa, you know? Congratulating us on our 20th anniversary and such. And it makes us really happy to see that some of you collaborated like, “oh, I’ve got ‘a’ and you’ve got ‘ri’” and so forth, but those people over there have spelled out “agaritou!” (instead of “arigatou/thank you”) But it’s okay, your feelings have been conveyed!! All of you have on the most amazing smiles. Take a look at yourself in the mirror when you get home, okay? All your tiredness will fly out of your body in an instant. All of your smiles are like my supplements! (as in vitamins)
Fans: (cheered)
Inocchi: *looking real pleased with himself* I gained an unbelievable amount of power, just from looking at your smiles. Until we meet again, please keep on smiling. Thank you very much.
Then Inocchi introduces "~Koko Kara~,” which they’d written together to express their thankfulness to their fans, but ended up sounding more like it was for each other. They sing it as it is, without any choreography or anything, but that’s okay, because this is another beautiful song that I think really captures the essence of the relationship between V6 <3
So of course, no concert really is over without the encores... We chanted for the encore, until we heard Maa-kun do his signauture "MADE IN JAPAN” announcement before they come out and sing MIJ. MIJ is also where Go will choose one member to be the base for his propeller. The night before, he’d chosen Maa-kun and spun beautifully (which Maa-kun was super happy about). Tonight, Go chose Nagano which was a huge mistake, lol. He just ended up like a へ on Nagano’s head. They tried twice and failed both times. On one of those attempts, when Nagano was trying to let Go down, Go kinda fell and ended up with his legs hooked around Nagano’s waist... And the fans went crazy of course XD
Go: Nagano-kun only has one point for me to fulcrum on, so I just end up looking like a へ!
Maa-kun: When you (Nagano) do it, Go just ends up looking indecent!
Go: We'll try again tomorrow, k?
Maa-kun: There’s no “tomorrow!” (it was the last day of the Nagoya cons)
Inocchi: Please practice on your own in your private time, k?
This is then followed by "CHANGE THE WORLD,” where they also throw out their signboards. It was mostly to the people in the arena and the lower stands, though I recall Go (I think) managed to throw one pretty far up into the third level stands.
They did “Beat Your Heart” for the second encore. Remember that 80+ year old fan near the front who was an Okada fan? Okada was incredibly sweet. He went specially up to her and threw her his towel real gently and bowed deeply to her! Lucky lady! At the end of the second encore, Okada was being an idiot and as all the members were saying goodbye, he was all, “This is Hiroshi!!” and Nagano was like “I’m Hiroshi!"
I think it was also around here (somehow I feel like it wasn’t during the greetings they did one by one earlier on before “~Koko Kara~," but I might be wrong about that) that Inocchi was hilariously distracted by how his hair looked on the monitors, and kept saying “it looks like a wig!” and “but I actually have hair growing!” and kept adjusting his fringe to make it look less wig-like. And when he wanted to start speaking, he’d get distracted again and adjust his hair again and this went on for a while hahaha. Maa-kun was like “hurry up already!"
We knew it wasn’t over yet since Ken hadn’t given us his goodbye kiss, so we launched into the “mou ikkai” call and eventually V6 resurfaced again.
Fans: Mou ikkaiiiiii (one more time)
Inocchi: Hmm? Can you hear what they're saying, Ken?
Ken: Nope!
Inocchi: Say it again! One, two, three!
Fans: MOU IKKAI!
Inocchi: Did you hear it this time?
Ken: Mm... It sounded like... "Mou i-tsu-kai…?” (Japanese joke (?) here… Basically the word “ikkai いっかい” has a small “tsu つ” hiragana in the middle, which doubles the consonant after it, which in this case it is the k, thus “ikkai.” So you’re not supposed to read it as “tsu” when you say the word. For a moment, I thought Ken was gonna bring his alter ego Chinese exchange student Chin-san out… Which would have been fun since we haven’t seen Chin-san in a long time! But he didn’t :/)
Inocchi: I think the tsu was a small one... Say it again for him, will you? One, two, three!
Fans: MOU IKKAI!!!
Ken: K. Let's do it.
The third encore was "Music Life.” The boys were playing around with each other during Music Life, and in particular Ken had his hands on Nagano’s shoulders and was pushing him around like a human train. In the end, Ken was having so much fun that he forgot to sing his solo line. It was super cute when he went, “Ah! That was my line!” when he realised XD
So, as with any V6 concert, it’s only over when Ken gives his goodbye kiss... This time, he made sure to make the kiss sound right into the mike as well ^^
I was really disappointed that I didn't get any of the silver/gold tape :( I walked around looking for one miserly strip, but couldn't find any. For some reason the staff didn't give out the extras from the stage or whatsoever as I'd read in previous reports. Ah wells.
お疲れ様でした。♡
I really can’t wait for the con DVD *__* Meanwhile, imma go watch all their concert DVDs again... Ugh. Why do I love 6 ojisans with an average age of 39 this much T__T
HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY, V6!!
Words cannot express how much I love these 6 ojisans.
But still, this is going to be crazy long because (as you know if you’ve read any of my previous posts) I am terribly verbose XD This is really more for me to relive and remember one of the most surreal 3 hours of my life, but if you have fun reading it that's great too ^^
I arrived in Nagoya a day earlier on an overnight bus from Tokyo, initially intending to attend the first day’s concert, but only managed to get tickets to the second day. So I did a day trip up to the Kiso Valley to hike the Nakasendou between Magome and Tsumago, which was an amazing experience in itself, but I suppose you're not here to read about that...
So anyway. In the evening after a great Hitsumabushi dinner, I went to the Nippon Gaishi Hall to recce the venue and buy my goods. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by the number of fans milling about outside while the concert was ongoing inside the hall... There was a small crowd buying goods, so I joined them, and then later the crowd to take a picture of/with the con truck. I was amused to see a man who looked to be in his late 20s, holding more goods than I was, and snapping many photos of the truck. Either a big fanboy, or a very dedicated boyfriend...
Crowd to buy goods. Before the concert on concert day, actually, but this chunk of text is getting too boring.
You could actually kinda hear V6 from outside the hall, so I joined the many ladies and girls sitting around outside the hall and listened for a while. I didn't want to get caught in the flood of people leaving the venue, so I left before the encores started. But before I left, I noticed a few people leaving the hall early, maybe because they had a train to catch or something? One pair was an old lady who looked to be about 60-70, pulling along a young boy about 8-10 who was dressed in the con shirt, which was totally oversized on him! I wasn't sure which of them was the fan XD
On con day itself, I did a bit of exploring around Nagoya itself, namely to Inuyama Castle (one of 5 castles designated as national treasures, about 30-40 minutes outside Nagoya by express train), Tokugawa-en, Nagoya Castle, and Atsuta Shrine. Apart from Inuyama Castle, at every of those Nagoya attractions, I saw V6 fans, easily recognisable by their con shirts and bags! It made me smile but I was too shy to go up and say hi... Some weren't speaking Japanese, so clearly I wasn't the only one who had flown all the way to see V6. I wondered how many others, not carrying con bags, were also there exploring Nagoya either after the concert the day before, or before the one that night. If a "less popular" group like V6 can cause that, I can really see what a big boost an act like Arashi would be able to give to an area's tourism industry, which was what they tried to do in Miyagi.
When I returned to the Nagoya station area to put my camera and other items into a coin locker (I was returning to Tokyo by overnight bus after the concert), the station toilet and coin locker rooms were flooded with V6 fangirls too. But that was nothing compared to the crazy queue for the toilet at Gaishi Hall itself! Anyway, more than half the train emptied at Kasadera (the station connected to the Gaishi Hall), and all along the overhead bridge and outside the hall, there were girls forlornly holding signs begging for tickets, as well as scalpers ("don't have a ticket? We've got a solution for you!"). This was my first ever Johnny's concert so even though I'd heard about such things, it was different seeing it for myself.
The overhead bridge from Kasadera station to Gaishi Hall. Notice the girls on the right begging for tickets.
Also, on the train, I was eavesdropping on a bunch of girls standing near me, and it was amusing because they were observing the people in the train and passing judgmental comments about everyone. Like, “that lady over there is trying too hard to hide her uchiwa!” as they eyed an OL nearby with the tips of the handles of her uchiwa barely visible sticking out of her bag because she’d wrapped them in plastic bags before putting them in. Maybe the OL just didn’t want her colleagues to know she was a closet fangirl…?
I think I was most impressed with how the Japanese fans did their best to stand out or be noticed by the members. There was a pair of Inocchi and Okada fans who wore Santa hats in their respective member colours, a pair of Okada and Go fans in Sekubani con shirts dyed yellow and red, a Ken fan with the kanji for his name tattooed on her face, and numerous people who had customised their LoveCen con shirts and bags - one had all the hearts on the bag coloured in with orange (obviously a Ken fan), many coloured the bottom of the bag or the straps in their ichiban's colours, and a number added sparkly jewels to their con shirts.
A stalker photo of the Ken fangirl who had coloured the hearts on the con bag in with orange!
I was seated pretty far back, in row 30 of block A in the stands. It was near the middle lengthwise so I was almost directly in front of centrestage, slightly toward the main stage. Since I was so high up in the stands, I had a bird's eye view of everything. Thankfully Gaishi Hall isn't that large, so I didn't feel like I was all that far away, though if I wanted to see the boys' expressions I definitely had to either use my binoculars or look at the monitors. I love that the boys choose to do concerts only in smaller venues so that they can be nearer to the fans <3 Ken has talked about it before in some interview, and I really can’t imagine if I was at the back of a dome and they were the size of ants. I wouldn’t be able to admire their amazing dancing like that D:
My memory of the actual concert itself is kinda hazy, like everything just melds together and I don't really know what happened when...I was just so happy to be there breathing the same air and watching 6 very talented men dancing and singing. I must say their dancing was as sharp as advertised, and by and large their voices were great that night, especially Maa-kun (I think I became an even bigger fan of his after hearing him live *_*). Inocchi's voice was a little bit raspy at times, but I'll forgive him, since he can't have had much sleep the night before, what with returning to Tokyo by Shinkansen immediately after the concert the night before and having to wake up at 5am for Asaichi the next day! Concerts must be really tough on him whenever he has Asaichi the next day...
Before the concert itself started, they were screening the CMs for both Toshokan Sensou 2 and Everest, as well as a CM for the LoveCen game, and a message that was supposed to be kept a secret from V6 - basically there was a box outside near the goods tent and we were supposed to go and write congratulatory messages to the boys for the 20th anniversary. I just read the tweet collections for the 1st November concert, and apparently during the triple encore, they surprise the boys by showering them with the ribbons, then the boys lie down on the ribbons and take a commemorative selfie on Ken’s phone <3 And speaking of Ken’s phone, I seriously teared up reading Niko Niko Ken yesterday, when he posted a screenshot of his phone wallpaper T___T I hope he uploads this ribbon photo later! (he tends to edit his posts and add photos later on)
Anyway, the V-Mikuji were given out at the door, and basically, like normal mikuji, there would be your “fortune” with a picture of one of the members and other stuff like your lucky number/colour/song etc. I was hoping for my ichiban, Inocchi, of course, but I got something even better! ^^ I got a V-kichi! Which is basically all 6 of them at once, and also the “luckiest” fortune you can hit (along with each member's dai-kichi [big luck]) in the actual LoveCen game. Yay! \o/ Speaking of V-Mikuji and LoveCen… KEN PLAYS LOVECEN. KEN PLAYS LOVECEN. Hahahaha. Is that the most amazing shit or what. I wonder who he’s having a secret love affair with. Probably Go XD
My V-Mikuji!
For the stage set up, basically there is a main stage, with the monitors behind them - one solo screen on each side, then three connected panels forming the backdrop of the stage. There are these beautiful diamond-shaped LED thingys hanging behind them, too. There was this portion of the main stage that was made up of 9 blocks, and the blocks could move independently and change colours as well, so during some of the songs, single blocks with the members standing on them would rise and fall depending on whose solo it was. The centre stage was a ring with a circle inside, and the ring and the circle could rise and fall independently as well. So at times the centre stage would be a full circle, at others, just a ring. Then there’s a rear stage opposite the main stage, with monitors there as well, and the hanamichi connecting everything together.
So nearing 6pm, even before they dimmed the lights, some fans started calling for V6 to appear. It was kinda funny because the clapping and calling throughout the hall was super unsynchronised hahaha. I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to follow - the super loud girls wearing the santa hats (the Inocchi and Okada fans I mentioned earlier) down in the arena, or the people around me in the stands (who were all not exactly synchronised with each other either). But anyway, they dimmed the lights, everyone cheered, and soon spotlights fell on the main stage and the special piano version of “Wait For You” begins. They sing just a little of it before moving on the next song. But oh my goodness, does the first verse of this piano version send chills down my spine. The feels <3
I actually don't really remember anything about "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE”, other than Tonisen's legs being very long when they do that leg-raise-over-Kamisen thing.
They changed the choreography to “Supernova!" Which wasn’t exactly a bad thing, since they did this cool thing with the lights, like their movements would match the lasers and they’d “draw” circles and stuff on the ground. It was really quite beautifully done, even if it wasn’t as sexy as the pole dancing in the OMG con.
During “Air,” they finally move from the main stage to the centre stage, then onto the hanamichi, then back to the centre stage. I forget which song it is, but I think it’s during “Air” that each member throws a bouquet of flowers to the fans. They’re red roses I believe, with dark blue bouquet wrap and a red ribbon. Next is "Taiyou no Ataru Basho,” but I don’t remember anything particularly special happening during this song, though according to Ken, Nagano and Okada were doing something... I forget, or maybe I had my binoculars facing somewhere else.
For the first mini MC, they do a survey of the fan’s ages. It’s pretty much the same every concert. It’s pretty amazing how wide a range of fans they have. There were so many schoolgirls (saw many of them in uniform even the first night when I went to buy my goods), and so many OLs, and even the obaasans. And then there’re the guys! Near me there was this adorable 5 or 6 year old boy accompanied by his dad, and the little boy was holding a customised Ken uchiwa <3
Inocchi: Those in their 20s!
20s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: Wow, they said "hai" instead of “yay” in a slightly nasal way... It was really refreshing!
Inocchi: Those in their 30s!
30s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: After the surprise just now, they were just like “haai"
Inocchi: Those in their 40s!
40s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: You can tell that they’ve been through the ups and downs of life!
Inocchi: Those in their 50s!
50s: Haaaai!
Inocchi: That was an exemplary “hai."
And so he continued upwards in age... All the fans clapped for the fans aged 60 and above I believe.
Inocchi: There probably aren't any, but... Those in their 80s!!
80s: Haaaaai!!!!
V6: Whoaaaa. There were quite a few voices!
Inocchi: (spotted a lady in her 80s at the very front, sort of at the corner between main stage and the hanamichi joining the centrestage and main stage) Ah, there's one over there! But she doesn't look 80 at all! (The fan was jumping up and down in excitement lol)
Ken: Ah, she's a Gunshi fan! Gunshi!
V5: *push Okada forward*
Okada: (makes a Kanbee face and keeps pointing at his eyes then at the fan, as if telling her that he's seen her... Then proceeds to hold his right hand up as if holding an onigiri) I'll eat your soul!!!!
V5: ????
Okada: Sorry, I remembered the pose but I forgot the line so I just said whatever came to mind...
Inocchi: Yeah, cuz there's no way Kanbee said something like that. By the way, guys, this is the man who won an Academy Award, k?
Okada: You’re telling them that, now?
Inocchi: Now, how about those in their 90s!?
*silence*
Inocchi: It’s okay. I heard them say they’d text us later.
Inocchi: How about those with single digits for ages? They’re basically kids. So… Those who consider themselves kids!
Kids: (super adorably) haaaaaaai!!
Mothers with babies in arms: *raise their babies like Simba*
Inocchi: Wow! So cute!
Ken: These kids are overflowing with energy, so let’s make them ring! (TN: Ken used a strange word here, “narasu” which would be used more for like “ring/sound a bell")
V5: Ring? What do you mean?
Ken: I mean, get them to shout… You know, use their voices!
Inocchi then suddenly started making weird puns and they just don’t translate well into English… Like "Naite-miruku!" (naite-miru = to try making a sound; miruku = milk… i.e. wet behind the ears??) and "Ii kamo shinmai!" (ii kamo shirenai = that might be good!; shinmai = novice)
Oh and the guys in the audience were surprisingly loud!! Maybe because there was this super loud guy right behind me. And it didn’t seem like all of them were just there accompanying their girlfriend/wives, because they had uchiwa and were wearing the con shirts and stuff. I mean, if I was just accompanying my significant other, I don’t think I’d bother spending 2800 yen on the shirt, you know. And who can forget how Maa-kun made that fanboy cry tears of joy during the OMG con during the Supernova “lucky girl” (lucky boy for him) segment?
I forgot if it was here that they pimped their SVb album… But basically Inocchi asked us if we’d bought the album, or if we didn’t. And when people admitted to not having bought the album, he’d say, “it’s okay, at least you’re being honest!”(which he says at like every concert lol). And that’s the cue for Okada to come in! Okada would do this weird pose with one leg raised and point at the general area above that thigh, and on the monitors, they’d add the telop and a picture of the album.
Okada: Please don’t worry, we’re selling it outside!
Inocchi: He’s doing all this of his own accord!!” (though reading other con reports, he strikes this pose every time too…)
They do "Can do! Can go!” next but I don’t remember anything special happening here. “SPOTLIGHT” is next, and Okada and Nagano gang up on Inocchi and catapult him into the air after his “4! Fuan na toki wa itsudemo~” line and Inocchi lands badly and just like rolls over on the ground with a "what the hell just happened" face.
The Inocchi torture continues in "Good Day!!" Okada pinches Inocchi’s butt during his solo and Inocchi was like “OW OW OW OW” instead of singing his line XD "HONEY BEAT” is next, and it’s just fun to do the choreo with everyone, though my hands were kinda full with uchiwa, penlight, and binoculars...
Kamisen then handled the mini MC while Tonisen went to change.
Ken: You didn’t pick me up today! What were you doing today? During “Taiyou no Ataru Basho?”
Okada: You want me to pick you up?
Ken: I thought you were going to, so I was on standby, waiting. But this guy was horsing around with Nagano-kun instead!
Okada: Do you want me to pick you up that badly!? You want me to? Shall I?
So Okada picks Ken up and sits him on one shoulder XD
Ken: *super happily* I always wanted to be taller, but all I ever had to do was sit on Okada’s shoulder!
Go: You sound like a middle schooler...!!
Ken: Okada, you should be an attraction at an amusement park! The “Okada Attraction!" Is there a height limit to this attraction?
Okada: More like a weight limit? Maybe… 60? Or maybe 70kg?
Go: Can two people ride you at once?
Okada: Two people? Probably… As long as I can get them both on my shoulders, it should be fine. It’s the initial lifting part that’s tricky.
Go: ... No thanks.
Ken: Let’s not try it. It’d be bad if we got injured.
Okada: I’ve come a long way since we were boys! Now I can sit two people on my shoulders!
Go: Yeah, once upon a time we used to sleep on the same bed! And you’d have your butt bitten by us!
Ken: We were butt-biting animals back then...
Go: Ahh, those boardinghouse days were the best!
And then Kamisen proceed to introduce Tonisen,
Okada: The happy ojisans are coming out soon!
Ken: You might get to see our very own butt-shaking ojisan for the first time in a while!
Go: Our own Miyamoto Amon!
Ken: Hey hey hey...
I don’t really get the Miyamoto Amon reference here, but I do know that Miyamoto Amon was the director of Go’s play, “Kinkakuji…” But I don’t get the link to butt-shaking or to Maa-kun lol. I guess that’s why at the end of “HONEY,” when Kamisen reappeared, Go was like, “damn, what was up with that? After all I said about Miyamoto Amon…"
Anyway, Tonisen did “HONEY” while Kamisen went off to change. Ken stayed a little longer on stage as usual, but you have to forgive him, given what Maa-kun was doing. So basically the Tonisen guys came out and each did something. Nagano is first, then Maa-kun, then Inocchi. I don’t really remember what Nagano did because Maa-kun was next and he did this really hilarious thing where he stuck his bum out and shakes it as he struts from one side of the stage to the other… I don’t even know how to describe it. Kind of like a duck? Inocchi couldn’t stop laughing and as he sang his solo, he just like, squatted there (to get a better view) and stared at Maa-kun’s very lively butt.
It was really cute that they did this split screen thing whenever the Tonisen guys had solo parts, where half the screen would feature that member, then the other half would zoom in on a fan who was holding their uchiwa. Most of the featured fans tended to hide behind their uchiwa though, haha.
Speaking of Tonisen uchiwa, I think I noticed more Inocchi uchiwa this concert than I've ever seen in previous concert DVDs... Asaichi effect? Of course, the number of Kamisen uchiwa was as overwhelming as always though, lol. But I felt like where previously Maa-kun had the most uchiwa out of Tonisen, at least at this concert in Nagoya, there seemed to be more Inocchi.
They do "Namida no Ato ga Kieru Koro” next on the centre stage, with a chair in the central circle and the 6 of them are on the outer ring. If I remember right, the outer ring spun around the empty chair as they sang. Their voices were beautiful <3
Keeping in line with the chairs theme, they did the choreo for “GUILTY” with chairs, too. So there was a row of chairs on the breadthwise hanamichi (parallel to the main stage), and they sat on them and just moved their arms and legs. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out pretty awesome. I think I had my binoculars trained on Inocchi most of the time, since he was the closest to where I was. And “GUILTY” is one of my most favourite V6 songs, so yeah.
Tonisen then disappear and Kamisen take the main stage for "Kimi no Kakera,” which is one of my most favourite Kamisen songs (I can never decide if I like this better or “12-ka getsu”). It’s even more beautiful hearing it live *__* The blocks would rise and fall as they sang their solo lines, and on the monitors behind them, they’d emphasise specific words in the lyrics for effect.
I think I was kinda exploding internally by this point because it was like all my favourite songs were coming at me non-stop, but next up was “will,” which is a great crowd pleaser and one of my favourite album songs. So I exploded even more. The dancing was impeccable, but then again, when isn’t it?
“BREAK THE WALL” was up next, which I think they did from the main stage and then moved to the centre stage. There was a lot of lighting/laser effects throughout the song, same as the previous times that they've done this song.
The MC was next, so they got everyone to sit down. I forget if Inocchi got us to fan them with our uchiwa here or during the fans’ age survey, but anyway. The order of this whole thing is probably wrong, but whatever. They talked a lot. And you know, I think if ever I was glad I understood Japanese, it was during this concert. I think I’d have been mentally tortured to no end if I couldn’t understand what they were saying and why everyone else was laughing. Not that my Japanese is all that great, and you know how they don’t exactly enunciate that well, use a lot of slang, and speak really fast? That doesn’t help. But I was happy enough to understand like 90% of what was going on so yeah, I AM SO HAPPY I LEARNT JAPANESE. Anyway. I still might have gotten some of this wrong, but… I really hope they put ALL THE MCs into a collection on the DVD!!!
1) Photos
Inocchi: Did you go anywhere for dinner yesterday, Nagano-kun?
Nagano: I went to an izakaya with Ken-kun and one of the staff yesterday.
V4/Inocchi: With Ken-kun? Not Sakamoto-kun? What about everyone else?
Nagano: All of you had customers! (TN: he used the word "o-kyaku-san" which can mean either "guest" or "customer" depending on the context)
Inocchi: Customers!? What kind of business were we doing?
Maa-kun: Like friends and staff from other projects who came to watch the concert, right?
Inocchi: So did you take any pictures?
Nagano: We did! Here they are!
(Picture of both Ken and Nagano holding beers)
Maa-kun: You two look so weird with beers! The way you're holding the beer shows how inexperienced you are!
(Picture of Nagano pretending to down a whole bottle of wine)
Maa-kun: That's not even beer!! That's wine!!
Inocchi: Meanwhile... Here's what I was doing...
(Picture of Inocchi on the Shinkansen, drinking a beer and eating some finger food... I think it was either karaage or Nagoya's tebasaki?)
V5: Oh yeah, you had to go back for Asaichi the next day!
Fans: We watched you on Asaichi this morning! \o/
Inocchi: Ah, thank you!
Okada: I watched Asaichi too. You've been an awesome person ever since the morning, huh!
(Photo of Ken talking intently)
Nagano: Ken was talking like this the whole time. And then he noticed the camera.
(Photo of Ken with his face resting in his hands and looking cute, as always)
Fans: Kyaaa~
(Picture of Inocchi with his mouth and eyes half closed and the whites of his eyes visible, a few cans of finished beer also visible)
Inocchi: Meanwhile, this was me, later! Yeah, my eyes are half open.
Go: Inohara-kun, were these two photos selfies?
Inocchi: Don't ask that in front of everyone!
Go: Did you like, take a few selfies and then see which one looked best?
Inocchi: Stop saying that in front of everyone!
Go: So did you?
Inocchi: Actually, I sent them to Ken to choose.
Ken: Yeah, he did, that's when I decided to take a photo of my dinner with Nagano-kun.
Inocchi: And you know what he replied me? "Lol, I can see the whites of your eyes!!"
(Photo of Nagano and Ken sitting at the counter seats, and a woman is visible next to Nagano)
Nagano: And this was lunch.
Inocchi: You had lunch together too? I see a woman in the photo! You two were just running around picking up girls, weren't you!
Nagano: No! We were just sitting at the counter eating lunch!
Inocchi: What did you eat?
Ken: We grilled chicken and...
Inocchi: You grilled chicken? Yourself? You didn't just eat grilled chicken (yakitori)?
Ken: Yeah, we were given small pieces of meat and a iron plate to grill it on ourselves. Nagano-kun was the first in line at the restaurant when it opened.
Nagano: And when I called Ken to ask where he was, he was like, "mmmff." My call woke him up. So he said he'd come by taxi. The shopkeeper kept asking me, "is your companion arriving soon?" and I kept having to say, "he'll be here in about 5 minutes!"
Inocchi: The power of Miyake Ken.
(Photo of steak)
(Photo of hamburger)
(Photo of Nagano downing a bowl of soup)
(Photo of Ken eating)
(Photo of kakigoori)
(Selfie of Ken and Nagano with their kakigoori, Nagano is looking a bit serious and is wearing his hair back and a dark hat that blends into the background)
Ken: I set a timer and put the camera on the table, and Nagano-kun didn't know when the timer was going off, so he looks like that.
Inocchi: Nagano-kun, did you take your wig off?
Nagano: What wig? I'm wearing a hat!!
Inocchi: You didn't join them, Okada?
Okada: Yeah... I got a script yesterday, so I was like, "Script? Hiroshi?" And in the end I chose to read my script. Maybe I should have chosen Hiroshi instead...
Inocchi: You could have made it for lunch right? Oh, but they decided on lunch after the dinner last night, right?
Ken: Yeah, Nagano-kun told me he was going to that restaurant for lunch, and I said I'd meet him there.
Okada: Ah... Lunch with Ken-chan on my left and Hiroshi on my right... How extravagant a meal that would be… Fufufu… (you know, that slightly hentai giggle of his)
Inocchi: Who said you'd get to sit in the middle??
(Photo of a table overflowing with Nagoya snacks and a banner congratulating V6 on their 20th anniversary)
Inocchi: When we reached our green room yesterday, there was hitsumabushi (Nagoya unagi dish which is amazing) and then today we had Kishimen (a type of flat noodle). And the staff prepared all this for us, too! The staff are amazing!
2) Inocchi in the shower
Inocchi: I was taking a shower in the green room, and you know how it takes a while for hot water to come out? So I stood there like this (Inocchi poses, resting one arm with a palm against the wall, and one leg crossed over the other). Suddenly Ken came in and pulled the curtain open and started laughing and just left like that. Next thing I knew, the curtain opened again and he'd brought Go back in with him! The two of them laughed among themselves and left again! I thought they might come back again with someone else, so I struck a new pose and waited, but they didn't, and the hot water had started coming out so I just started bathing.
Nagano: When Ken came out, he was all, "Go! Go! This is sure to perk you up!"
Inocchi: Perk you up!? What an idiot!
Ken: You know those Ino-chan-man drawings he likes to draw? He looked like a real life version of it.
3) Seating arrangements
Inocchi: We have a pretty fixed seating arrangement in our green rooms, don't we? If there's a long sofa, Go will sit at one end, and Okada will sit at the other end. Then Ken will sit next to Go and I'll just squeeze myself in between them. And those two over there, they just sit on stools in a corner.
Ken: Do you ever feel lonely?
Maa-kun: Nope. It's not like the couch is supposed to be ours or anything.
Inocchi: Yeah, cuz it's ours!
Ken: You're saying that even though you just squeeze yourself into whatever space is left...
Oh those 4 kids <3 Whatever happened to filial piety for poor Papa-moto and Mama-no... Just kidding. But I really do love the interactions between the Inohara-gumi and how SakaNaga just watch them and smile.
4) Weather
Inocchi: We're really sweaty huh! And cuz we're indoors, it feels warm, but when we go outside we might catch a cold. Everyone, be careful of that!
Maa-kun: Yeah, it's been spreading, huh? (TN: the word for "spreading (of a flu)" sounds exactly like "becoming popular")
Inocchi: Yeah, it's been getting popular... Wait, what?
Maa-kun: Influenza, of course! You were just going along with the flow of the conversation, weren't you? Haven't you covered it on Asaichi yet?
Inocchi: Nope!
5) Okada's catapult/butt pinching
Inocchi: You guys were using way too much strength! I was all, “We’re back, Nagaoya!!!” and “Today’s the last day!!” and all of a sudden, I became a rocket!!
Nagano: Okada made eye contact with me and was like, “grab him.”
Inocchi: And at the start of “Good Day!!” too, he pinched my but and it was really panful, okay!? I thought a piece of my butt’d get ripped off...
Nagano: It was that painful even though all he intended to do was lightly pinch it, huh?
Okada: Nah, I was really wondering if I’d be able to tear off a piece of his butt...
6) Go's stretching
Maa-kun started talking about how Go stretches before their concerts, and imitated him. Basically, Go doesn’t extend/flex all the way so he barely stretches at all. And yet, at the end of his “stretching,” he’d be like “alright! Let’s go!"
Inocchi: That ain’t “Alright! Let’s go!” at all!
Go: You shouldn’t stretch too much!! It’s not good for your muscles!!
Then we did this mass stretching thing, like rolling our shoulders and stuff. It was pretty funny because the camera zoomed in on Go for the longest time and he didn’t realise, so he was just doing his own thing and everyone was giggling at him. He looked like he was talking to his biceps, which Inocchi pointed out, and asked him if he was asking them if they were okay XD
After the MC, there was a VTR that introduced the upcoming songs as the “39 Symphony” (39 in Japanese is "san-kyuu," which sounds like “thank you”). The VTR starts out with years I believe? How many years since the earth was formed. How many people there are on earth, how many people in Japan. How many people an average person meets in their lives, and what percentage chance there is that any 2 people would meet. Then there’s a cute map of Japan with 6 location markers in the member colours. Of course, since the majority of them are from Tokyo and the immediately adjacent prefectures (Saitama for Go and Kanagawa for Ken and Nagano), 5 of them were clustered in that region, and there was just one lone yellow marker over at Osaka. Then they’d calculated the percentage chance that the 6 members of V6 would meet, and also the likelihood that V6 would meet their fans. At the end of the video, in English, it said, “Thank you, for all you do for me. The Thank You Symphony." Then later it became Japanese.
~First Movement~
They sang “Orange,” "COSMIC RESCUE,” "IN THE WIND,” and part of "Ai Nanda.” I don’t really remember anything particularly special happening here… I just remember thinking during “Ai Nanda” that the concert would be ending relatively soon because this was the song I first heard from the outside when I came by the day before to buy my goods :( And that there was a clock behind them during “Orange” I think. I really like how they remixed the songs in general, and some of the songs that they didn’t sing were also featured (like a few seconds of the intro or chorus).
~Second Movement~
For "Sexy! Honey! Bunny!” they kinda split it into three parts. I think the first and second times were somewhere in the “~First Movement~” but I forgot where. So when Maa-kun was about to say "Sexy!" for the first time, Nagano "stole" it from him and Maa-kun was like “ugh.” Later when Okada stole the second "Sexy!" Maa-kun made the most adorable irritated face like, "not again!?" and rolled his eyes XD When he eventually got to say the third "Sexy!" he was also super adorable because he made a big show of looking around to his left and right many times and taking a few deep breaths in preparation in case someone else stole his "Sexy!" again. While he was looking around, you could see Inocchi laughing behind him and mouthing “ganbare!” (you can do it!). He then finally said "Sexy!" in a slightly gay and high pitched voice and the fans cheered. Nagano's was also high pitched and more like "sekuseee," while Okada's was deep and strong.
They sing a bit more of "Ai Nanda,” followed by "kEEP oN.” and then "WA ni natte Odorou.” As much as I love “Ai Nanda” and “WA ni natte Odorou” I really hope they don’t get made to sing it again at all the year-end music shows... But anyway.
"Bari! Bari! BUDDY!” is always immensely fun for everyone! But it’s definitely one of their most crazy tiring songs to sing and dance to, haha. Okada messed up a little at the end where they run backwards and then forwards again - he ran forward first instead of backwards so he kinda dragged Ken and Go, who were on his right and left respectively, along with him and made their straight line into a V. Ken and Go just laughed at him and it was really cute.
At the end of these two movements, there’s another VTR. This one had more figures, like how many concerts V6 has done, how many hours they’ve spent doing concerts, the number of staff - and each concert throughout the tour apparently the number actually changes. Then there’s this bit about the members, like “the likelihood of Nagano going out into the town to eat” (100%), “the likelihood of Okada touching a member's butt” (120%), “the likelihood that Ken isn’t listening” (100%), “likelihood that Inocchi gets overly excited” (100%)... I don’t think there was anything for Go or Maa-kun, though.
At the end of the second VTR, they state the distance between the stage and the last row in the stands (or was it the tachimi area? I can’t remember), which I remember was 80m for Gaishi Hall (since I was near to the last row, that was some nice info to know...). Then, the last figure is supposed to be, “the distance between V6 and the fans.” And the answer fades onto the screen... “Always right by your side.” Everything is dark but I guessed that this would probably be the moment when the members appear amongst the audience, so I was frantically looking around to see where they’d pop up. And I was right!
~Third Movement~
The lights are out. The intro of "Mejirushi no Kioku” begins, and then the first screams are heard. A spotlight appears somewhere towards my right, between the second and third levels of the stands, towards the main stage side. IT’S INOCCHI *hyperventilates* So basically one by one (screams would be heard and) spotlights would fall on a certain area and illuminate one of the members standing on those little human-powered platforms, and the staff would push them on those platforms along the walkway and the members would wave to the fans and do whatever fan service they wanted to as they sang.
I talked about how Gaishi Hall was pretty small previously, BUT NOT SMALL ENOUGH. UGH. They came relatively near to me (about 12 to 15 rows in front of me?) but but but T___T I was in the fourth level of the stands so yeah. Still really far away. I wasn’t really paying attention to Mejirushi at all the entire time because I just kept trying to wave at the members and call out to them and hope they'd see me although I knew there was pretty little chance of that, lol. I think I violated concert etiquette when I got overly excited when Inocchi came near and I kinda raised my uchiwa higher in hopes that he’d see... I was so jealous of all the people who got handshakes and stuff :( Halfway through the song they switched sides, so basically all the members would come by at least once on the little platforms. So, I guess, I've seen all 6 members of V6 from a distance of approximately 30-40m. Great.
After that is “Jasmin,” "Yasei no Hana,” “Chou,” "GENERATION GAP,” "Honki ga Ippai,” and "Believe Your Smile.” And yes, I don’t particularly remember anything from this section. Think my mind was still recovering from Mejirushi.
~Fourth Movement~
“over” was the first song of this movement. Then "Ai no Melody,” which was fun to do the choreo to, though I’m terrible at choreography in general so I kept getting it wrong >< *embarrassed* “Darling” and “Spirit” were next, which were fun too! It's amazing how everyone in the audience knows the choreo, so the penlights look really beautiful dancing in unison. And of course, "Spirit" is where Okada ALWAYS slaps Nagano's butt to the rhythm of the song XD
~Fifth Movement~
They then gathered in a circle on the main stage and at Inocchi’s count off, began to sing “Kimi ga Omoidasu Boku wa Kimi wo Aishiteiru darou ka,” a cappella and it was the most beautiful thing ever. This is one of my favouritest V6 ballads, and hearing it live, and a cappella to boot *___* I got goosebumps and just stared at them in a semi-trance. Like seriously. It was beautiful and I can’t wait for the DVD so I can rip the song and play it again and again. How can anyone say that V6 can’t sing??? Their harmony was so beautiful *gushes*
Next up were “Timeless,” "Sky’s the Limit,” "ROCK YOUR SOUL,” and "TAKE ME HIGHER.” Basically this fifth movement was their 5 most recent singles, except that “TAKE ME HIGHER” took the place of “Namida no Ato ga Kieru Koro."
The final VTR plays here, and it’s about the distance between the members. So, the distance between them during rehearsals, during meetings... With pictures and arrows to show the amount of distance. And then “in Miyake’s case...” and they showed a bunch of pictures of Ken being himself - sitting on the members’ laps, invading their private space and so forth. Therefore, distance between Ken and the other members is “too close,” or something to that effect XD Then there was some really old footage of them, apparently it was the letters they wrote to each other a year after their debut? I don’t really remember the contents, except Go talking about having become a “P” person. I have NO IDEA what the hell he means, and I tried to google to figure it out and all I got was Yamapi -.-
~Final Movement~
"Dasenai Tegami” was the BGM of the previous VTR, so of course they sang it as well.
"UTAO-UTAO” is the standard “sing along with us!” song, so we did as we were told, and it’s really beautiful to hear everyone singing together, and all the penlights waving in unison. After that was "Arigatou no Uta."
"Wait for You” was amazing. I looove everything about that song - the singing, the dancing... I watched their TV performances of it a million times and it was just awesome seeing it live as well.
There was the farewell MC after this, and they stood in a row on main stage and greeted the audience, starting from the rightmost person (Nagano) to the leftmost person (Inocchi).
Nagano: Thank you for today, everyone. V6 welcomes our 20th anniversary this year. The fact that we could do this all this while, and hear the voices of and see the smiles of the people who come for each of our concerts throughout the tour, and the people who have been supporting us all this while… It’s really thanks to each and every one of you that we could keep this up for 20 years. Thank you. From here on our, we’ll keep going forward, step by step, in the hopes that we can keep making you smile. Please continue to support us.
Go: Thank you very much for today. Did you all have fun? You did, right? So did I. I think we're really blessed to be able to do all this even after 20 years, to still be able to have concerts, and have people come for them. Well, many groups have fans, but I always think that V6's fans are the best. And I'm glad that so many such people are gathered here in Nagoya. I'm just filled with feelings of happiness today.
Ken: Thank you very much for today. It’s been 2 years since our last concert tour, so just as you have had 2 years’ worth of fun today, so too have we had a whole load of fun with you. I’m really happy to be able to meet everyone, and we’re really blessed to be able to hear your voices of support and to see your smiles. There will be times when things get tough, depressing, even painful... But I hope you’ll keep on doing your best without forgetting those smiles. Please continue to support us from here on out. Thank you very much.
Okada: Thank you very much for today. I’ve come to the realisation that we’ve only got a little while left to celebrate our 20th anniversary. But having debuted when I was 14, and getting to meet these 6 amazing comrades of mine... (Looks left and right at the members, as if expecting a response) You guys are amazing, kay? (laughs at himself)
Ken: Who is amazing?
Okada: You want me to specify who? All of you are amazing! (turns back to the audience) Among the members, we’ve been thinking about our 20th anniversary for the past 2 years or so... And we’ve been thinking about each other as well, too. I’m grateful, from the bottom of my heart. The fact that I can think these things at all, is thanks to all of you who gave us these past 20 years. The fact that we have come this far without losing any members along the way, and the fact that everyone is congratulating us on our 20th anniversary, it really moves me. I will carry these feelings with me as I continue living each day from here on out. I hope we can be of strength to you as well. Thank you very much.
Maa-kun: Thank you very much for today. This tour was really a big surprise for me. To see the range of fans that we have, from little children to the elderly, to have been supported by such a wide range of fans... There’s no other place we’d be able to see something like that, right? Go said so already, but I really think our fans are the best. Thanks to all of you, we’re able to stand here, even 20 years later. Our next milestone will be our 30th anniversary, then... Four...tieth... Anniversary? (with a very worried and unsure face)
Fans: (cheered)
Maa-kun: Well, saying it is easy, but it's us who will have to work for it, and you who will have to support us. So please continue to support us from here on out.
(it doesn't sound so nice translated, but I love how he said it in Japanese... 「言うのはタダです。やるのは僕らです。そして、支えるのは君たちです。」)
Inocchi: Did you all of have fun?
Fans: (cheered)
Inocchi: Did all the staff have fun, too?
Staff: (cheered)
Inocchi: I had a lot of fun too. I really felt so happy to be gathered with all of you here today. All of you have made various uchiwa, you know? Congratulating us on our 20th anniversary and such. And it makes us really happy to see that some of you collaborated like, “oh, I’ve got ‘a’ and you’ve got ‘ri’” and so forth, but those people over there have spelled out “agaritou!” (instead of “arigatou/thank you”) But it’s okay, your feelings have been conveyed!! All of you have on the most amazing smiles. Take a look at yourself in the mirror when you get home, okay? All your tiredness will fly out of your body in an instant. All of your smiles are like my supplements! (as in vitamins)
Fans: (cheered)
Inocchi: *looking real pleased with himself* I gained an unbelievable amount of power, just from looking at your smiles. Until we meet again, please keep on smiling. Thank you very much.
Then Inocchi introduces "~Koko Kara~,” which they’d written together to express their thankfulness to their fans, but ended up sounding more like it was for each other. They sing it as it is, without any choreography or anything, but that’s okay, because this is another beautiful song that I think really captures the essence of the relationship between V6 <3
So of course, no concert really is over without the encores... We chanted for the encore, until we heard Maa-kun do his signauture "MADE IN JAPAN” announcement before they come out and sing MIJ. MIJ is also where Go will choose one member to be the base for his propeller. The night before, he’d chosen Maa-kun and spun beautifully (which Maa-kun was super happy about). Tonight, Go chose Nagano which was a huge mistake, lol. He just ended up like a へ on Nagano’s head. They tried twice and failed both times. On one of those attempts, when Nagano was trying to let Go down, Go kinda fell and ended up with his legs hooked around Nagano’s waist... And the fans went crazy of course XD
Go: Nagano-kun only has one point for me to fulcrum on, so I just end up looking like a へ!
Maa-kun: When you (Nagano) do it, Go just ends up looking indecent!
Go: We'll try again tomorrow, k?
Maa-kun: There’s no “tomorrow!” (it was the last day of the Nagoya cons)
Inocchi: Please practice on your own in your private time, k?
This is then followed by "CHANGE THE WORLD,” where they also throw out their signboards. It was mostly to the people in the arena and the lower stands, though I recall Go (I think) managed to throw one pretty far up into the third level stands.
They did “Beat Your Heart” for the second encore. Remember that 80+ year old fan near the front who was an Okada fan? Okada was incredibly sweet. He went specially up to her and threw her his towel real gently and bowed deeply to her! Lucky lady! At the end of the second encore, Okada was being an idiot and as all the members were saying goodbye, he was all, “This is Hiroshi!!” and Nagano was like “I’m Hiroshi!"
I think it was also around here (somehow I feel like it wasn’t during the greetings they did one by one earlier on before “~Koko Kara~," but I might be wrong about that) that Inocchi was hilariously distracted by how his hair looked on the monitors, and kept saying “it looks like a wig!” and “but I actually have hair growing!” and kept adjusting his fringe to make it look less wig-like. And when he wanted to start speaking, he’d get distracted again and adjust his hair again and this went on for a while hahaha. Maa-kun was like “hurry up already!"
We knew it wasn’t over yet since Ken hadn’t given us his goodbye kiss, so we launched into the “mou ikkai” call and eventually V6 resurfaced again.
Fans: Mou ikkaiiiiii (one more time)
Inocchi: Hmm? Can you hear what they're saying, Ken?
Ken: Nope!
Inocchi: Say it again! One, two, three!
Fans: MOU IKKAI!
Inocchi: Did you hear it this time?
Ken: Mm... It sounded like... "Mou i-tsu-kai…?” (Japanese joke (?) here… Basically the word “ikkai いっかい” has a small “tsu つ” hiragana in the middle, which doubles the consonant after it, which in this case it is the k, thus “ikkai.” So you’re not supposed to read it as “tsu” when you say the word. For a moment, I thought Ken was gonna bring his alter ego Chinese exchange student Chin-san out… Which would have been fun since we haven’t seen Chin-san in a long time! But he didn’t :/)
Inocchi: I think the tsu was a small one... Say it again for him, will you? One, two, three!
Fans: MOU IKKAI!!!
Ken: K. Let's do it.
The third encore was "Music Life.” The boys were playing around with each other during Music Life, and in particular Ken had his hands on Nagano’s shoulders and was pushing him around like a human train. In the end, Ken was having so much fun that he forgot to sing his solo line. It was super cute when he went, “Ah! That was my line!” when he realised XD
So, as with any V6 concert, it’s only over when Ken gives his goodbye kiss... This time, he made sure to make the kiss sound right into the mike as well ^^
I was really disappointed that I didn't get any of the silver/gold tape :( I walked around looking for one miserly strip, but couldn't find any. For some reason the staff didn't give out the extras from the stage or whatsoever as I'd read in previous reports. Ah wells.
お疲れ様でした。♡
I really can’t wait for the con DVD *__* Meanwhile, imma go watch all their concert DVDs again... Ugh. Why do I love 6 ojisans with an average age of 39 this much T__T