Event Report: Isogai Ryuuko Birthday Event (from 3/7/10)
Okay, so I wrote, like, 2/3 of this a day or two after this event actually happened... back in March. So some of the references have since expired, and some things I am like "wait, that really happened?"
But when I looked at my drafts of the event reports I've started, this one was the closest to being done, so I finally forced myself to sit down and finish the damn thing. And it's pretty time-appropriate, as Monday is the Banchou birthday event that he obsessed over at Ryuuko's party in March. <3 <3 <3
So, for starters, I wasn't in top-Japanese shape today, unfortunately, and the usual high tension from these events (I BLAME BANCHOU) made things especially difficult to understand. Yappa atashi, mada mada yo ne~
So let's just go over my notes. I wasn't the most reliable note-taker this time, and there were long gaps where I was too busy trying to make sense of things to properly write it down, and I'm pretty sure there are things that I flat-out misunderstood and may be contradicted by J-fan reports. In that case, please trust the J-fans. Sigh. Why is language learning something that has good days and bad?
Well, at any rate, my first note is that on the whole, the Ryuuko-only event fans are cuter than the MENbose ones. I wonder why? :PP Or maybe it's just that they're dressed up more. I saw a number of girls done up like they belonged on a Shinjuku wedding cake. Only one kimono this time. Oh wait, I just realized that I haven't finished (... uh, or really begun...) my MENbose event report, so I'm making references to something that hasn't been published. m(__)m Apologies!
Anyway, the theater was just a bit ghetto, but it only took me 20 minutes and no transfers to get there on the subway, and even from my seat in the third-to-last row, I could still see, so it's all good. Also, I liked having an aisle seat... I'd like it even more later!
(In my notes: "I hope there are guests. Shooooot, I should have brought a gift for [Pattsu]. LOL, maybe I'll claim it's a gaijin tradition not to give gifts before someone's actual birthday when the party's being held early due to a [failedlol] Hawaii trip.") (... actually, I wrote "pugly" in my notes. <3 <3 <3 for pattsu.)
On the stage were four chairs -- two to the side, and two pushed together. Once the blaring music was turned down (West Power, please make a new playlist for the "waiting" music, okay?), out came the two MCs: Mika-san, whom I am now quite familiar with, and Banchou, who was in a snappy black ensemble with sportcoat, and ... um, a giant red manzai bow tie. Banchou welcomed us all to the event for "Isogai Pattsu and Isogai Ryuuko," and lithsps his way adorably through the opening spiel about no photographs, recording, etc. ... he kept nervously referring to his notes, and was so obviously unsure in his first MC job. Meccha kawaikatta de, Banchou~
Then, with no further ado, Banchou called out the man and dog of the hour (he said something about the important "hitori to ippiki" -- one person, one animal), and oh my goodness, Pattsu is so teensy in pers... um, in pug! His first outfit was a cute little bee-striped number with an antennae'd hood, but fortunately, he wasn't wearing the hood part. Ryuuko was wearing stylishly ripped jeans, a white shirt, and black vest, with a piece of gaudy bling around his neck... the lame heart accessory that he's supposedly designed. More on that later.
He sits on one of the two chairs set side-by-side, and Pattsu hops up on the other one, sitting cutely for a moment. Banchou greeted them, offering Pattsu the microphone, and as the tiny black pug licks it, Ryuuko voiced Pattsu's feelings in a ridiculously low voice. Banchou was like, "WTF is with the low voice, Pattsu?"
Around this time, about five or six late arrivals came in, and as Banchou is gently teasing them, Ryuuko hopped mock-angrily in his seat and chastised them. "BEING LATE IS NO GOOD!" A moment after this, though, Pattsu apparently decided that Daddy needed to be calmed, and crawled onto his lap. It was just about the cutest thing I'd ever seen; the whole audience cooed. Lucky for the latecomers! :P
(They joked that Pattsu just didn't like the attention being off him.)
They briefly discussed Banchou's ridiculous bow tie. It seems it cost him 1,260 yen at Don Quixote's (a chain of shops), but Banchou deemed it a necessary expense for his first MC job. He said there was a smaller one for 500 yen, but this event needed the biggest, flashiest available! Then he apologized for not buying one for Mika-san, his co-MC. :P
With the three humans and one dog sitting in their seats, Banchou announced that it was suddenly time for the Q&A session. Ryuuko was like, "WTF so early?" (and it's true that at the other two events I saw, the question corner came after a variety of other event...things, so I kinda had the same feeling.) Regardless, though, Banchou consulted the pile of paper strips on his lap, and read the first question:
"What was your most memorable birthday?"
And... well, okay, I got kinda lost on this one. Something about his 17th birthday, and hunched over old ladies watching him dance or something? My notes are confused, and so is my memory. The most enlightening thing I got out of that story was that Banchou has amazing pronunciation for the word "birthday." For once, his tendency to lithp his s-sounds helped him! No baasudei for Banchou!!
Banchou then asked Ryuuko about his birthday last year, and Ryuuko gave off a definite sense that his memories of last year were... fuzzy at best. "Uh, oh yeah, you were there, huh, Banchou!!1 >___>;;" Banchou launched into some kind of weird recap filled with flailing, somehow involving forking grapefruits (literally or figuratively? Regardless, according to Banchou's pantomime, clearly an appropriate adverb would be "spastically." :PP). Then he got a vaguely sneaky look on his face.
"What about this year?"
Now, part of me thought they would mention the Hawaii trip, but NOPE. At the time, it made me rightly suspect that thing fell through mightily... in fact, I don't remember any of the actors saying one word about it. Good job, Hakkenden producers. Sigh.
Instead, Ryuuko said, "Banchou, wanna come over?"
Apparently, it has become a running gag that Banchou has never been to Ryuuko's house. Banchou got all sulky and consulted us. "Don’t you think he's awful? He's always like [ low dorky voice ] 'Hey, Banchou, come over to my house!' [ /voice ] and yet when I'm planning to go, he ends up going 'Oh, turns out today's not gonna work, we'll have to reschedule.' I even know where his place is, but I've never gotten to go!"
Ryuuko immediately shot back: "I don't want you getting my place dirty!"
Also, I think it was Mika-san who forced Banchou to qualify that he doesn't know exactly where Ryuuko's home is. He knows the nearest train station/neighborhood, but not the exact location. Poor, poor Banchou.
Ryuuko continues defending his failure to invite his BFF over by changing the subject. "Anyway, my place is too small. Hey, Banchou, is your bed a single?" This led to his reminiscing on the infamous 川の字, which describes how Ryuuko and Masashi spent the night at Banchou's, sleeping three to a bed, parallel like the three lines of the kanji for "river." I've seen various fansites debating whether that actually happened, and at the very least, Banchou said that he woke up to find Maa-kun sprawled on the floor, but... anyway, it was a successful job at diverting Banchou from his quest to hang out at Ryuuko's. :PP
They moved onto the next question, which was on a similar theme: "What item in Banchou's house interests you the most?"
Ryuuko immediately declared that it's Banchou's DVD from his "Omusubi" college days, which was his sexy performance group. Good call, Ryuuko. He also said he liked... shoot. Some kind of PV? And karaoke? This was one point where I was like ";___; what are they taaaaaalking about??" I wonder if the J-fangirls understood. I'm sure they did. Like I said, I was having a pretty low-comprehension day, dammitall.
The next question was for Pattsu. "What does Ryuuko do that you like? What does Ryuuko do that you wish he'd stop?"
Banchou knelt down and put the microphone in the sleepy pug's face, and Ryuuko provided the low, dorky voice. "I love when he feeds me. I wish he didn't spend so much time in the potty."
Which led to us hearing that Ryuuko sometimes spends some 3 hours in the toilet, apparently reading Crayon Shin-chan. And he spends an extra hour if the new Jump Square is out. He says the potty is a good place to meditate in a small, private area :P I'd criticize him, except that, ummm, I know just what he means. I solved more difficult Professor Layton puzzles -- wait, wait, let's not go there. MOVING ON!
Banchou attempted to ask another question, but first has trouble reading through one , and then they realize it's the same question as before. There was much mockery of his MC-ing here. It didn't help that he spilled the sheets of paper with the questions off his lap. Poor, poor gorilla~ <3 <3 <3
The last question was, "What's the one thing about Pattsu that's so adorable that it makes your nose bleed like Splash Mountain?" (SERIOUSLY, QUESTION SUBMITTER, WTFF.) Ryuuko, after considering this a moment, grabs for poor sleepy-looking Pattsu's face and sticks his hand under his jowls. "See, when you put your hand here, his lips go up in a smile, and it's soooooo cute!"
We couldn't see, actually, but... if you say so, Daddy. <3 I think they realized that at this point the baby was getting a bit tired, and probably needed taken to go potty, so a helper came out to walk him offstage.
Banchou then looked a bit perplexed. "What do I do next? ... Oh, I know! Ryuuko! I got you a present!!"
"?" said Ryuuko, and Banchou signaled to another helper offstage, who wheeled in a trolley-thing with two cardboard boxes apparently stacked atop one another, with a combined size of maybe half the size of a refrigerator box? On this box was written, in huge, elaborate characters, 高士 愛 龍虎, which Banchou read as "To Ryuuko, from Takashi, with love."
So Ryuuko approached the thing to open it, peeks in the top, and cracked up adorably. (I have to say... I knew exactly what the present was, and oh gosh was I happy. I'm sure Ryuuko knew, too... which is why he was also happy!) He took a moment to guffaw, then pulled off the top half of the box, revealing...
A crouching...
Q-tip!
I mean, kodama!
I mean, Takeyan!!!1
TA-KEYAAAAAN~!!!
Takeyan sprung up out of the bottom half of the box, and the audience, including yours truly, burst into wild applause. TAKEYAN IN A BOX, MAN. GOD I LOVE TAKEYAN. I was completely and totally expecting him to be a guest, which is part of the reason I was so glad to get to go to this event (Ryuuko, you're a good kid, but it was the definite Banchou and presumed Takeyan that won me over :PP). Good present, MC-san!!1
Banchou and Takeyan, looking pleased with themselves, proceeded to describe what a pain it had been yesterday searching for Takeyan-sized cardboard boxes. Takeyan teased that Banchou had even decided to go ask a policeman for suggestions, and the policeman got all suspicious, like, "...... and what would you use them for?" LOL.
Mika-san announced here that West Power had prepared a present, too, and motioned for a helper to bring out a small cake with a burning "2" and "3" candle. They proposed that the whole audience sing the birthday song to Ryuuko. (Incidentally, they brought Pattsu back out here, and he immediately stood up and sniffed the air, then tried to climb up the cake-holder's legs. Awww~) The birthday boy tried to suggest another song instead, but it turned out not enough people in the audience knew it. (I raised my hand with the "WTF are you talking about" group.)
So the birthday song it had to be. Banchou attempted to kick off the birthday song, but two or three times, he turned the signal cue, which began with "issei~", into famous names of people named Issei. Each time, the audience and others onstage chastised Banchou's dorkitude, and finally, Takeyan got fed up. "Let me do it this time!"
But instead, he contributed a famous Issei of his own (Issey Miyake... the only one I knew), and Ryuuko immediately aimed a kick at Takeyan's general, uh, crotchal area, and shouted, "Go home!!" ("Kaere!!1") Ryuuko, you are a mean tsukkomi. <3
So anyhow, finally they kick off the song properly, and everyone sang happii baasudei to Ryuuko ando Pattsu, which was so cutedorky. Hee.
Takeyan teased Ryuuko a little more -- my notes are really difficult to read here, but I seem to remember Takeyan's birthday wish for Ryuuko included looking forward to his turning 24. I'm not sure whether he was deliberately forgetting Ryuuko's age and tacking an extra year on, or saying that this year would definitely be a waste so let's move ahead, but either way, Ryuuko grinned and told him to shut up. (MENbose = OT3)
So Takeyan was then asked, as the senpai of the group, what it was like when he was 23 (as he is an ancient 24). And the thing is... he took that question pretty seriously, and said that he was 23 when he came to Tokyo (from Shizuoka), so it was a tough year for him. The city was so big, and at first, he felt it was kind of cold. He alluded to that neither Ryuuko nor Banchou are Tokyo kids themselves, so they might understand, but Banchou was like, "I dunno, I love Tokyo!", and Ryuuko agreed.
Someone then asked Takeyan what his favorite part of Tokyo is, but this question was interrupted by Pattsu jumping cutely on Banchou. Banchou knelt down, and Pattsu immediately crawled up on his leg and appeared to give him face-kissies, although Banchou spluttered, "He's not licking me, he's licking the microphone!!" <3 <3 <3
The final question for Takeyan is to offer Ryuuko some senpai-ly advice for the coming year. (Takeyan noted that since Ryuuko came to Tokyo when he was around 20, and is turning 23 now, Ryuuko is actually Takeyan's senpai in Tokyo experience. Gosh, that means Takeyan must've been pretty recently transplanted around the time tenimyu rehearsals started? Kawaii na, Takeyan~). Takeyan said that the expression 一期一会 (which, as I understand it, roughly means that every meeting is a once-in-a-lifetime event) also applies to the things you do in life, so cherish everything. Deep!
Of course, my notes then seem to skip a bit in time, because the next thing I wrote was that Takeyan did a Banchou impression that didn’t make Banchou happy. (Which, yeah. Takeyan had mimicked Banchou before at the MENbose event, too, and it's not very good, but it's incredibly funny. "HEY LOOK AT ME I AM A BURLY RETARD KANSAI GORILLA"-type feeling... coming from Takeyan, who, though manlier than his adorable teensy B-counterpart, played Koharu.)
Ummm, then I think there was something else here, but my notes just lament my lapse of Japanese comprehension, so we'll skip it. Regardless, someone points out that Ryuuko is doing a better job of moving the conversation along than MC-Banchou, but MC-Banchou was distracted by Pattsu flopping down and resting adorably. Sigh.
Takeyan also got to announce that he is going to be in a new musical soon. Omedetou, Takeyan!!
So then, Banchou declared that he had received a message for Ryuuko on his cell phone, so he pulled it out and read a birthday message from the missing Green Force member, Ooyama Masashi. It was very... very... Pei-go. Like, "Happy bu~asudei" and whatnot. Reading it, Banchou kept going ">_said that, but that Banchou made a "o___O" face re: that line. Even as he continued, "I don't just mean your body, but your heart, too," Banchou was still kind of "WTF MAA-KUN YOU SIZE QUEEN."
(Meanwhile, poor Takeyan was sulking because he wants to be part of the Green-gun, too. He complained about this during the MENbose event as well.)
Anyway, Ryuuko was pleased about Masashi's message... it was very cute.
Then somehow the conversation turned to Takeyan having to lug the huge cardboard boxes on the train. Hee. Then they talked about how, while they are considering opening auditions for MENbose, the Green Force will not have auditions, because it is a company corps. Poor, poor Takeyan. I think this was about where he took his leave, although my notes and memory are lacking. He left saying "See you later!", but he didn't come back this event, to my disappointment. I <3 you, Takeya~n. You and your perfect English and your cotton swab head. <3 <3 <3 [EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: SEE MY LOVE FOR HIM SIX MONTHS AGO WAS CUTE AND NORMAL. NOW I AM A STEP AWAY FROM KIDNAPPING STALKER. ;____; FUNNY HOW LIFE WORKS.]
The next segment was about fashion, and ... okay. I'm not entirely sure I got this right; it was pretty Japanese-vague. It started with Banchou complimenting Ryuuko on his jeans. Ryuuko, gesturing to the places that were artfully ripped, said, "It looks like a gorilla's been wearing them!" Banchou registered brief grumpiness, which only intensified as Ryuuko elaborated, "and they're stinky, too!"
I ... don't know exactly what the implication was here, but somehow, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Ryuuko was just saying that his jeans really weren't stylish and that Banchou just had bad taste, or, more likely given the evidence, but still scary, he was actually wearing Banchou's pants. He also commented, "Well, I'm a number of centimeters taller than you, too..."
WAIT WHAT, said I, but the show moved on. :P
So yeah, then they spent some time hawking the gaudy charm-thing that Ryuuko supposedly designed. Up until then, Ryuuko and Mika-san had been conspicuously wearing them, and once they were finally mentioned, Banchou just -- oh my! -- happened to find one of his own in his pocket. Eventually, they spilled the price -- some 8000+ yen -- and Ryuuko was visibly embarrassed. ">_< I know... it's so expensive!" But they -- especially Mika-san and Banchou -- talked it up well, talking about how it was so versatile -- use it for jewelry, décor on your purse, on your GPS, on your train pass..." Preeetty sure that last bit was a joke. At the very least, I felt validated that Ryuuko was a bit ashamed at his company's grab for money there -- of course, a job's a job, and he's done worse things for a paycheck, but still. I saw a couple girls at the event with one on their purse or whatever, so... whatever. I own a Green Force shirt. I can't say much. :P
That formality over with, the topic of Dream Live 7th came up, and Banchou kind of slunk in his chair. Ryuuko said he was depressed for the Wings of Kyuushuu, too, and promised to write ad-lib lines in Banchou's honor. They reminisced over singing back to back during Dream Live 6, and threatened to reenact it later... but they never did. I was disappointed. Oh well.
Then, Hakkenden, which they're super-stoked about, and which actually recently began rehearsal (finally!). Apparently, they had recently gotten more info on their scripts, and were delighted to find out that they get to do adlibbed sections, and also, the word "banchou" appears in Ryuuko's dialogue. Banchou was like "o_O WTF srsly?"
Umm, then I guess since they mentioned adlibbing, Ryuuko reminisced about DL6th some more, talking about how they made up their "Kejime" adlibs some five minutes before the show. Banchou was like, "Shoot, man, you should've been your own MC; you're way better at this than I am."
Anyhow, the other event they had coming up was a sign/shake event in Shinjuku for the release of the Boys' Heaven photobook. (I wasn't feeling well and was unable to make that event; however, apparently Ryuuko screwed up mightily and showed up late for his own show. Bad form, kid. <3) They compared it to the Green Force photobook, which they then compared to a sad yearbook of memories. Awww~ And finally, Banchou sneakily leaned in to whisper to Mika-san so she didn't forget that they also had the Local Boys movie and event coming out in a week.
Then, suddenly, another special guest came out, wearing a feathered mardi gras mask and carrying a golf bag. Out of that golf bag, he pulled a freaking katana. WTF. This newcomer and Ryuuko engaged in a swordfight over Banchou -- my notes don't have it, but my fuzzy memory suggests that there was a second sword in the bag for Ryuuko -- although the fair maiden became collateral damage early on, as Banchou fell dramatically, over-acting his death. Then Ryuuko feigned being injured as well, and Banchou came running in again ("hey, you're dead!!1"), only to be cut down once more.
Finally, this surreal scene ended when the masked man revealed himself to be the lead in "30 Delux," a play that I guess Ryuuko was also doing. (There was a time a couple months ago when he was in like a million things; I kind of lost track :P) Apparently, this guy was the star, or something, and talked about meeting Ryuuko in a bar after he was cast, and how getting to know his new costar there felt like he was hitting on him. The guy -- Shimizu -- had seen Shitenmyu, and was impressed with the Shitenhoujies, mentioning Takkun in particular. Banchou was like, "Uh, did you notice anyone else? <^_^", but they kinda talked right past him, moving onto DL7, which made Banchou pout even more. He was just too hot for them.
Finally, though, the Shimizu guy mentioned that as a kid he didn't care for acting, and was baseball-obsessed instead.
"!!" said Banchou. "\^O^/" And as he and Shimizu bonded over their baseball mania, Ryuuko notes that he wanted to be an actor due to the manga(?) Vagabond, and now aspires to be a samurai. He also referred to himself as "atakushi" at one point, which was surreal enough that I jotted it down in my notebook.
Eventually, the guy must've left, after promoting his show one more time, and then it was more presents time for the birthday boy! This time, Banchou announced that on his phone, he had received birthday messages from the other Shiten-As. In short:
Hirano Ryou: :Congratulations on your wedding (LOL), oh, and also, would you mind pitching the new show I'm gonna be in? Thanks man!"
Hirose Yuusuke: "Happy birthday!" (Then, apparently, he had a bunch of emoticons, up arrows, question marks, and finally a heart. <3)
Uehara Takuya: "まじ好きっしょ" ("I <3 U," basically, with the silly "-ssho" inflection that apparently he used so much that all the Shitens started doing it)
Kido Yuuya: (... I couldn't really understand this one because Banchou put on a silly voice to read it. ;_; gomen.)
Nishiyama Takeyan: "Hapiba ... which I'm going to shorten to just 'ba!'" (Banchou cracked up at this) See, the two of us, we don't need real words~ [EDIT: okay, I guess I was crazy back then, too :P]
Sato Hisanori: (BTW, Ryuuko was like, "Oh, b-boy!" which made me go "wtf") "Don't change your lines anymore! Um, and have fun till your 24th birthday!"
Harukawa Kyousuke: (Ryuuko said "ohh, leader~) .... okay, sorry, I guess I understood this at the time, but my notes are completely illegible. "Ran treo Halu @ super - B[anchou] while carrying negi?" ......... um, sorry about my fail there. orz
And finally, the last present was from Banchou... who started riffling through his pockets.
"Ohhh, are you up to something naughty?" grinned Ryuuko.
Eventually, though, Banchou found an envelope with sheets of looseleaf paper inside. Yes, apparently he wrote an essay -- a handwritten love letter, really :P -- for his big ol' pal there. It contained lines like...
"I'll never forget the day we met. There was this tall guy with a really cool name. "He did breakdance, and I worried about his head... for various reasons. Thanks for helping me stretch that day at auditions."
It only got gayer, talking about rehearsal, room-sharing when they traveled with Shitenmyu, etc etc, and ended with something along the lines of "Even though it feels like we've known each other forever, it's only been a year and a half. Let's keep going to make memories together all our lives."
SERIOUSLY. It was so, so gay that it moved a girl near me to tears. And the thing is, it sounds corny, but even though I'm sure the 'ship factor was played up a bit for the fangirls, Banchou was so totally earnest in his wonderful Banchou way. Ryuuko was visibly stunned. "I... what do I..." and Banchou grinned at the audience and "subtly" slipped some cash in the envelope before handing it over. D'awwwwwww!!
[EDIT: In a video on Banchou's fanclub website, which I only watched recently, he admits that like half the letter was adlibbed. Oh well. The feelings were still there~~ ano mofo.]
Of course, there was no better way to end the main show, so they went into prep for photos. Since my seat was near the back, I knew I had some time to shop and check out the photosets, including a whole set of Pattsu. Um, .... yeah, I'm gonna say no on that one, even though I love Pattsu. He just wouldn't look right on my ikemen wall(s).
Anyhow, once the photos started, the background entertainment was a video of Ryuuko training Pattsu, which really was quite cute. "Walk?" said Daddy. "< headtilt? >" said Baby. Among other things. Still, I was a little tetchy that there wasn’t enough Banchou entertainment.
It was during this point that some girl came in and brought out a horrendous horse mask to wear for her 2-shot photo. I just ... just ... and she was a cute girl! WTF FANGIRLS. [EDIT: This girl has showed up at other Ryuuko events in the future, which I think I've alluded to before. ... What.]
Anyhow, finally Banchou came out. His schtick through most of it was to challenge the whole audience to janken. He declared that you can only stay in if you beat him -- ties don't count. (e.g. if he puts out scissors, everyone with paper or scissors loses.) Unfortunately, this led to some problems, as he kept eliminating everyone before there could be one winner! He put his manzai MC bow up for grabs, and man, that took forever for someone to win! He decided to bestow the title of "Janken no Kitadai" upon himself, since he was so infallible. On the other hand, he kept putting out "rock" first, then "scissors," so the number of girls winning in the first few hands kept increasing as we became aware of his pattern. He wasn't aware of it, though... hee hee <3
Another form of amusement as we waited for the photo opportunity included Banchou walking Pattsu through the aisles in the audience, where I got to pet and be licked by an adorable, friendly black pug, and Banchou ended up having to exclaim, "DON'T PET ME I AM NOT IN A ZOO!"
... it was not me who groped him, honestly. And I'm not sure if I applaud the guilty parties' bravery, or if I feel ashamed for all fangirls. Both, maybe. [EDIT: Kind of mostly the latter, but hey, maybe the guilty party did it on accident, like what happened with me at DL7. :P]
Anyway, I was mostly impressed by how mellow Pattsu was! His personality really seems suited to his Daddy's. Just a laid back, disproportioned beastie~ <3
And finally, Banchou decided to emulate Ryoutarou at the Green Force event and try some impressions. He asked the audience for impressions, which of course was quite dangerous. These impressions, which he cycled through quickly, gesturing for faster and faster suggestions, included:
- Pattsu (sit on the floor and mope, "Ryuukoooo, leave me aloooone~")
- a gorilla (as expected)
- a banana (he threw his arms over his head and curved his body slightly)
- Ryuuko (which actually ended up being a Chitose impression, as he pulled the "kago n' naka no tori bai" line)
- Shiraishi (ekuthtathii~)
- a leek (Ryuuko's favorite food... Banchou flopped on the floor... um... 'kay.)
- Kin-chan (he ran into the audience a bit then came hopping onto the stage to do the "Kita de, Tokyo!!1" line)
- Takeyan (I forget what he said, but it was a horrid, screechy voice)
- A cotton swab (Ryuuko's nickname for Takeyan... Banchou just put his arms over his head to make a giant "O" shape)
- Koharu ("Isshindoutai shoujotai shugyou ya!!1")
- Tachibana ("Kejime tai!!1")
And probably some others, but man, it was silly and fast.
Finally, when all the girls had gotten their photos taken, Ryuuko ended the event by commanding, "Banchou!! House!!" (which is a common dog command, kind of like saying "Heel!") Then they said their goodbyes, and all in all, it was a very cute time!
Oh yes, and the photo opportunity... many girls brought gifts to hand over, but I was dumb and didn't think about that. Oh well. When it was my turn, I requested the "heart" pose, because, well, it was my first 2-shot, so why not. :P And as for conversation, well, before I could say anything, he grinned big and was like, tentatively but without missing a beat, "Meri-ssa?"
(Referencing This moment from a month and a half ago. I should note as an EDIT that there is no tentativeness at all anymore. It's since become "MELISSA! \^O^/ NOW LET US DO OUR SECRET HANDSHAKE THAT YOU DID NOT KNOW EXISTED." Ryuuko has the best memory for his fans in the world.)
Anyway, I dissolved into giggles. IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK EVERY TIME, BOYO! JUST YOU WAIT!
I thanked him and giggled more, and as I was walking away, I realized that I had forgotten to wish him a happy birthday. Oops!! Well, it wasn't my fault; he'd thrown me off-guard again! Right? Right??
I vowed to get my revenge at the Local Boys event in two weeks.
And maybe someday I'll write that report. And hopefully it will exist of something beyond "OH GOD BABARYO'S TIGHT RED PANTS."
The end.
Happy half-birthday, guys.
Heyyy, maybe Pattsu will be a special guest for Banchou's event!!
But when I looked at my drafts of the event reports I've started, this one was the closest to being done, so I finally forced myself to sit down and finish the damn thing. And it's pretty time-appropriate, as Monday is the Banchou birthday event that he obsessed over at Ryuuko's party in March. <3 <3 <3
So, for starters, I wasn't in top-Japanese shape today, unfortunately, and the usual high tension from these events (I BLAME BANCHOU) made things especially difficult to understand. Yappa atashi, mada mada yo ne~
So let's just go over my notes. I wasn't the most reliable note-taker this time, and there were long gaps where I was too busy trying to make sense of things to properly write it down, and I'm pretty sure there are things that I flat-out misunderstood and may be contradicted by J-fan reports. In that case, please trust the J-fans. Sigh. Why is language learning something that has good days and bad?
Well, at any rate, my first note is that on the whole, the Ryuuko-only event fans are cuter than the MENbose ones. I wonder why? :PP Or maybe it's just that they're dressed up more. I saw a number of girls done up like they belonged on a Shinjuku wedding cake. Only one kimono this time. Oh wait, I just realized that I haven't finished (... uh, or really begun...) my MENbose event report, so I'm making references to something that hasn't been published. m(__)m Apologies!
Anyway, the theater was just a bit ghetto, but it only took me 20 minutes and no transfers to get there on the subway, and even from my seat in the third-to-last row, I could still see, so it's all good. Also, I liked having an aisle seat... I'd like it even more later!
(In my notes: "I hope there are guests. Shooooot, I should have brought a gift for [Pattsu]. LOL, maybe I'll claim it's a gaijin tradition not to give gifts before someone's actual birthday when the party's being held early due to a [failedlol] Hawaii trip.") (... actually, I wrote "pugly" in my notes. <3 <3 <3 for pattsu.)
On the stage were four chairs -- two to the side, and two pushed together. Once the blaring music was turned down (West Power, please make a new playlist for the "waiting" music, okay?), out came the two MCs: Mika-san, whom I am now quite familiar with, and Banchou, who was in a snappy black ensemble with sportcoat, and ... um, a giant red manzai bow tie. Banchou welcomed us all to the event for "Isogai Pattsu and Isogai Ryuuko," and lithsps his way adorably through the opening spiel about no photographs, recording, etc. ... he kept nervously referring to his notes, and was so obviously unsure in his first MC job. Meccha kawaikatta de, Banchou~
Then, with no further ado, Banchou called out the man and dog of the hour (he said something about the important "hitori to ippiki" -- one person, one animal), and oh my goodness, Pattsu is so teensy in pers... um, in pug! His first outfit was a cute little bee-striped number with an antennae'd hood, but fortunately, he wasn't wearing the hood part. Ryuuko was wearing stylishly ripped jeans, a white shirt, and black vest, with a piece of gaudy bling around his neck... the lame heart accessory that he's supposedly designed. More on that later.
He sits on one of the two chairs set side-by-side, and Pattsu hops up on the other one, sitting cutely for a moment. Banchou greeted them, offering Pattsu the microphone, and as the tiny black pug licks it, Ryuuko voiced Pattsu's feelings in a ridiculously low voice. Banchou was like, "WTF is with the low voice, Pattsu?"
Around this time, about five or six late arrivals came in, and as Banchou is gently teasing them, Ryuuko hopped mock-angrily in his seat and chastised them. "BEING LATE IS NO GOOD!" A moment after this, though, Pattsu apparently decided that Daddy needed to be calmed, and crawled onto his lap. It was just about the cutest thing I'd ever seen; the whole audience cooed. Lucky for the latecomers! :P
(They joked that Pattsu just didn't like the attention being off him.)
They briefly discussed Banchou's ridiculous bow tie. It seems it cost him 1,260 yen at Don Quixote's (a chain of shops), but Banchou deemed it a necessary expense for his first MC job. He said there was a smaller one for 500 yen, but this event needed the biggest, flashiest available! Then he apologized for not buying one for Mika-san, his co-MC. :P
With the three humans and one dog sitting in their seats, Banchou announced that it was suddenly time for the Q&A session. Ryuuko was like, "WTF so early?" (and it's true that at the other two events I saw, the question corner came after a variety of other event...things, so I kinda had the same feeling.) Regardless, though, Banchou consulted the pile of paper strips on his lap, and read the first question:
"What was your most memorable birthday?"
And... well, okay, I got kinda lost on this one. Something about his 17th birthday, and hunched over old ladies watching him dance or something? My notes are confused, and so is my memory. The most enlightening thing I got out of that story was that Banchou has amazing pronunciation for the word "birthday." For once, his tendency to lithp his s-sounds helped him! No baasudei for Banchou!!
Banchou then asked Ryuuko about his birthday last year, and Ryuuko gave off a definite sense that his memories of last year were... fuzzy at best. "Uh, oh yeah, you were there, huh, Banchou!!1 >___>;;" Banchou launched into some kind of weird recap filled with flailing, somehow involving forking grapefruits (literally or figuratively? Regardless, according to Banchou's pantomime, clearly an appropriate adverb would be "spastically." :PP). Then he got a vaguely sneaky look on his face.
"What about this year?"
Now, part of me thought they would mention the Hawaii trip, but NOPE. At the time, it made me rightly suspect that thing fell through mightily... in fact, I don't remember any of the actors saying one word about it. Good job, Hakkenden producers. Sigh.
Instead, Ryuuko said, "Banchou, wanna come over?"
Apparently, it has become a running gag that Banchou has never been to Ryuuko's house. Banchou got all sulky and consulted us. "Don’t you think he's awful? He's always like [ low dorky voice ] 'Hey, Banchou, come over to my house!' [ /voice ] and yet when I'm planning to go, he ends up going 'Oh, turns out today's not gonna work, we'll have to reschedule.' I even know where his place is, but I've never gotten to go!"
Ryuuko immediately shot back: "I don't want you getting my place dirty!"
Also, I think it was Mika-san who forced Banchou to qualify that he doesn't know exactly where Ryuuko's home is. He knows the nearest train station/neighborhood, but not the exact location. Poor, poor Banchou.
Ryuuko continues defending his failure to invite his BFF over by changing the subject. "Anyway, my place is too small. Hey, Banchou, is your bed a single?" This led to his reminiscing on the infamous 川の字, which describes how Ryuuko and Masashi spent the night at Banchou's, sleeping three to a bed, parallel like the three lines of the kanji for "river." I've seen various fansites debating whether that actually happened, and at the very least, Banchou said that he woke up to find Maa-kun sprawled on the floor, but... anyway, it was a successful job at diverting Banchou from his quest to hang out at Ryuuko's. :PP
They moved onto the next question, which was on a similar theme: "What item in Banchou's house interests you the most?"
Ryuuko immediately declared that it's Banchou's DVD from his "Omusubi" college days, which was his sexy performance group. Good call, Ryuuko. He also said he liked... shoot. Some kind of PV? And karaoke? This was one point where I was like ";___; what are they taaaaaalking about??" I wonder if the J-fangirls understood. I'm sure they did. Like I said, I was having a pretty low-comprehension day, dammitall.
The next question was for Pattsu. "What does Ryuuko do that you like? What does Ryuuko do that you wish he'd stop?"
Banchou knelt down and put the microphone in the sleepy pug's face, and Ryuuko provided the low, dorky voice. "I love when he feeds me. I wish he didn't spend so much time in the potty."
Which led to us hearing that Ryuuko sometimes spends some 3 hours in the toilet, apparently reading Crayon Shin-chan. And he spends an extra hour if the new Jump Square is out. He says the potty is a good place to meditate in a small, private area :P I'd criticize him, except that, ummm, I know just what he means. I solved more difficult Professor Layton puzzles -- wait, wait, let's not go there. MOVING ON!
Banchou attempted to ask another question, but first has trouble reading through one , and then they realize it's the same question as before. There was much mockery of his MC-ing here. It didn't help that he spilled the sheets of paper with the questions off his lap. Poor, poor gorilla~ <3 <3 <3
The last question was, "What's the one thing about Pattsu that's so adorable that it makes your nose bleed like Splash Mountain?" (SERIOUSLY, QUESTION SUBMITTER, WTFF.) Ryuuko, after considering this a moment, grabs for poor sleepy-looking Pattsu's face and sticks his hand under his jowls. "See, when you put your hand here, his lips go up in a smile, and it's soooooo cute!"
We couldn't see, actually, but... if you say so, Daddy. <3 I think they realized that at this point the baby was getting a bit tired, and probably needed taken to go potty, so a helper came out to walk him offstage.
Banchou then looked a bit perplexed. "What do I do next? ... Oh, I know! Ryuuko! I got you a present!!"
"?" said Ryuuko, and Banchou signaled to another helper offstage, who wheeled in a trolley-thing with two cardboard boxes apparently stacked atop one another, with a combined size of maybe half the size of a refrigerator box? On this box was written, in huge, elaborate characters, 高士 愛 龍虎, which Banchou read as "To Ryuuko, from Takashi, with love."
So Ryuuko approached the thing to open it, peeks in the top, and cracked up adorably. (I have to say... I knew exactly what the present was, and oh gosh was I happy. I'm sure Ryuuko knew, too... which is why he was also happy!) He took a moment to guffaw, then pulled off the top half of the box, revealing...
A crouching...
Q-tip!
I mean, kodama!
I mean, Takeyan!!!1
TA-KEYAAAAAN~!!!
Takeyan sprung up out of the bottom half of the box, and the audience, including yours truly, burst into wild applause. TAKEYAN IN A BOX, MAN. GOD I LOVE TAKEYAN. I was completely and totally expecting him to be a guest, which is part of the reason I was so glad to get to go to this event (Ryuuko, you're a good kid, but it was the definite Banchou and presumed Takeyan that won me over :PP). Good present, MC-san!!1
Banchou and Takeyan, looking pleased with themselves, proceeded to describe what a pain it had been yesterday searching for Takeyan-sized cardboard boxes. Takeyan teased that Banchou had even decided to go ask a policeman for suggestions, and the policeman got all suspicious, like, "...... and what would you use them for?" LOL.
Mika-san announced here that West Power had prepared a present, too, and motioned for a helper to bring out a small cake with a burning "2" and "3" candle. They proposed that the whole audience sing the birthday song to Ryuuko. (Incidentally, they brought Pattsu back out here, and he immediately stood up and sniffed the air, then tried to climb up the cake-holder's legs. Awww~) The birthday boy tried to suggest another song instead, but it turned out not enough people in the audience knew it. (I raised my hand with the "WTF are you talking about" group.)
So the birthday song it had to be. Banchou attempted to kick off the birthday song, but two or three times, he turned the signal cue, which began with "issei~", into famous names of people named Issei. Each time, the audience and others onstage chastised Banchou's dorkitude, and finally, Takeyan got fed up. "Let me do it this time!"
But instead, he contributed a famous Issei of his own (Issey Miyake... the only one I knew), and Ryuuko immediately aimed a kick at Takeyan's general, uh, crotchal area, and shouted, "Go home!!" ("Kaere!!1") Ryuuko, you are a mean tsukkomi. <3
So anyhow, finally they kick off the song properly, and everyone sang happii baasudei to Ryuuko ando Pattsu, which was so cutedorky. Hee.
Takeyan teased Ryuuko a little more -- my notes are really difficult to read here, but I seem to remember Takeyan's birthday wish for Ryuuko included looking forward to his turning 24. I'm not sure whether he was deliberately forgetting Ryuuko's age and tacking an extra year on, or saying that this year would definitely be a waste so let's move ahead, but either way, Ryuuko grinned and told him to shut up. (MENbose = OT3)
So Takeyan was then asked, as the senpai of the group, what it was like when he was 23 (as he is an ancient 24). And the thing is... he took that question pretty seriously, and said that he was 23 when he came to Tokyo (from Shizuoka), so it was a tough year for him. The city was so big, and at first, he felt it was kind of cold. He alluded to that neither Ryuuko nor Banchou are Tokyo kids themselves, so they might understand, but Banchou was like, "I dunno, I love Tokyo!", and Ryuuko agreed.
Someone then asked Takeyan what his favorite part of Tokyo is, but this question was interrupted by Pattsu jumping cutely on Banchou. Banchou knelt down, and Pattsu immediately crawled up on his leg and appeared to give him face-kissies, although Banchou spluttered, "He's not licking me, he's licking the microphone!!" <3 <3 <3
The final question for Takeyan is to offer Ryuuko some senpai-ly advice for the coming year. (Takeyan noted that since Ryuuko came to Tokyo when he was around 20, and is turning 23 now, Ryuuko is actually Takeyan's senpai in Tokyo experience. Gosh, that means Takeyan must've been pretty recently transplanted around the time tenimyu rehearsals started? Kawaii na, Takeyan~). Takeyan said that the expression 一期一会 (which, as I understand it, roughly means that every meeting is a once-in-a-lifetime event) also applies to the things you do in life, so cherish everything. Deep!
Of course, my notes then seem to skip a bit in time, because the next thing I wrote was that Takeyan did a Banchou impression that didn’t make Banchou happy. (Which, yeah. Takeyan had mimicked Banchou before at the MENbose event, too, and it's not very good, but it's incredibly funny. "HEY LOOK AT ME I AM A BURLY RETARD KANSAI GORILLA"-type feeling... coming from Takeyan, who, though manlier than his adorable teensy B-counterpart, played Koharu.)
Ummm, then I think there was something else here, but my notes just lament my lapse of Japanese comprehension, so we'll skip it. Regardless, someone points out that Ryuuko is doing a better job of moving the conversation along than MC-Banchou, but MC-Banchou was distracted by Pattsu flopping down and resting adorably. Sigh.
Takeyan also got to announce that he is going to be in a new musical soon. Omedetou, Takeyan!!
So then, Banchou declared that he had received a message for Ryuuko on his cell phone, so he pulled it out and read a birthday message from the missing Green Force member, Ooyama Masashi. It was very... very... Pei-go. Like, "Happy bu~asudei" and whatnot. Reading it, Banchou kept going ">_said that, but that Banchou made a "o___O" face re: that line. Even as he continued, "I don't just mean your body, but your heart, too," Banchou was still kind of "WTF MAA-KUN YOU SIZE QUEEN."
(Meanwhile, poor Takeyan was sulking because he wants to be part of the Green-gun, too. He complained about this during the MENbose event as well.)
Anyway, Ryuuko was pleased about Masashi's message... it was very cute.
Then somehow the conversation turned to Takeyan having to lug the huge cardboard boxes on the train. Hee. Then they talked about how, while they are considering opening auditions for MENbose, the Green Force will not have auditions, because it is a company corps. Poor, poor Takeyan. I think this was about where he took his leave, although my notes and memory are lacking. He left saying "See you later!", but he didn't come back this event, to my disappointment. I <3 you, Takeya~n. You and your perfect English and your cotton swab head. <3 <3 <3 [EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: SEE MY LOVE FOR HIM SIX MONTHS AGO WAS CUTE AND NORMAL. NOW I AM A STEP AWAY FROM KIDNAPPING STALKER. ;____; FUNNY HOW LIFE WORKS.]
The next segment was about fashion, and ... okay. I'm not entirely sure I got this right; it was pretty Japanese-vague. It started with Banchou complimenting Ryuuko on his jeans. Ryuuko, gesturing to the places that were artfully ripped, said, "It looks like a gorilla's been wearing them!" Banchou registered brief grumpiness, which only intensified as Ryuuko elaborated, "and they're stinky, too!"
I ... don't know exactly what the implication was here, but somehow, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Ryuuko was just saying that his jeans really weren't stylish and that Banchou just had bad taste, or, more likely given the evidence, but still scary, he was actually wearing Banchou's pants. He also commented, "Well, I'm a number of centimeters taller than you, too..."
WAIT WHAT, said I, but the show moved on. :P
So yeah, then they spent some time hawking the gaudy charm-thing that Ryuuko supposedly designed. Up until then, Ryuuko and Mika-san had been conspicuously wearing them, and once they were finally mentioned, Banchou just -- oh my! -- happened to find one of his own in his pocket. Eventually, they spilled the price -- some 8000+ yen -- and Ryuuko was visibly embarrassed. ">_< I know... it's so expensive!" But they -- especially Mika-san and Banchou -- talked it up well, talking about how it was so versatile -- use it for jewelry, décor on your purse, on your GPS, on your train pass..." Preeetty sure that last bit was a joke. At the very least, I felt validated that Ryuuko was a bit ashamed at his company's grab for money there -- of course, a job's a job, and he's done worse things for a paycheck, but still. I saw a couple girls at the event with one on their purse or whatever, so... whatever. I own a Green Force shirt. I can't say much. :P
That formality over with, the topic of Dream Live 7th came up, and Banchou kind of slunk in his chair. Ryuuko said he was depressed for the Wings of Kyuushuu, too, and promised to write ad-lib lines in Banchou's honor. They reminisced over singing back to back during Dream Live 6, and threatened to reenact it later... but they never did. I was disappointed. Oh well.
Then, Hakkenden, which they're super-stoked about, and which actually recently began rehearsal (finally!). Apparently, they had recently gotten more info on their scripts, and were delighted to find out that they get to do adlibbed sections, and also, the word "banchou" appears in Ryuuko's dialogue. Banchou was like "o_O WTF srsly?"
Umm, then I guess since they mentioned adlibbing, Ryuuko reminisced about DL6th some more, talking about how they made up their "Kejime" adlibs some five minutes before the show. Banchou was like, "Shoot, man, you should've been your own MC; you're way better at this than I am."
Anyhow, the other event they had coming up was a sign/shake event in Shinjuku for the release of the Boys' Heaven photobook. (I wasn't feeling well and was unable to make that event; however, apparently Ryuuko screwed up mightily and showed up late for his own show. Bad form, kid. <3) They compared it to the Green Force photobook, which they then compared to a sad yearbook of memories. Awww~ And finally, Banchou sneakily leaned in to whisper to Mika-san so she didn't forget that they also had the Local Boys movie and event coming out in a week.
Then, suddenly, another special guest came out, wearing a feathered mardi gras mask and carrying a golf bag. Out of that golf bag, he pulled a freaking katana. WTF. This newcomer and Ryuuko engaged in a swordfight over Banchou -- my notes don't have it, but my fuzzy memory suggests that there was a second sword in the bag for Ryuuko -- although the fair maiden became collateral damage early on, as Banchou fell dramatically, over-acting his death. Then Ryuuko feigned being injured as well, and Banchou came running in again ("hey, you're dead!!1"), only to be cut down once more.
Finally, this surreal scene ended when the masked man revealed himself to be the lead in "30 Delux," a play that I guess Ryuuko was also doing. (There was a time a couple months ago when he was in like a million things; I kind of lost track :P) Apparently, this guy was the star, or something, and talked about meeting Ryuuko in a bar after he was cast, and how getting to know his new costar there felt like he was hitting on him. The guy -- Shimizu -- had seen Shitenmyu, and was impressed with the Shitenhoujies, mentioning Takkun in particular. Banchou was like, "Uh, did you notice anyone else? <^_^", but they kinda talked right past him, moving onto DL7, which made Banchou pout even more. He was just too hot for them.
Finally, though, the Shimizu guy mentioned that as a kid he didn't care for acting, and was baseball-obsessed instead.
"!!" said Banchou. "\^O^/" And as he and Shimizu bonded over their baseball mania, Ryuuko notes that he wanted to be an actor due to the manga(?) Vagabond, and now aspires to be a samurai. He also referred to himself as "atakushi" at one point, which was surreal enough that I jotted it down in my notebook.
Eventually, the guy must've left, after promoting his show one more time, and then it was more presents time for the birthday boy! This time, Banchou announced that on his phone, he had received birthday messages from the other Shiten-As. In short:
Hirano Ryou: :Congratulations on your wedding (LOL), oh, and also, would you mind pitching the new show I'm gonna be in? Thanks man!"
Hirose Yuusuke: "Happy birthday!" (Then, apparently, he had a bunch of emoticons, up arrows, question marks, and finally a heart. <3)
Uehara Takuya: "まじ好きっしょ" ("I <3 U," basically, with the silly "-ssho" inflection that apparently he used so much that all the Shitens started doing it)
Kido Yuuya: (... I couldn't really understand this one because Banchou put on a silly voice to read it. ;_; gomen.)
Nishiyama Takeyan: "Hapiba ... which I'm going to shorten to just 'ba!'" (Banchou cracked up at this) See, the two of us, we don't need real words~ [EDIT: okay, I guess I was crazy back then, too :P]
Sato Hisanori: (BTW, Ryuuko was like, "Oh, b-boy!" which made me go "wtf") "Don't change your lines anymore! Um, and have fun till your 24th birthday!"
Harukawa Kyousuke: (Ryuuko said "ohh, leader~) .... okay, sorry, I guess I understood this at the time, but my notes are completely illegible. "Ran treo Halu @ super - B[anchou] while carrying negi?" ......... um, sorry about my fail there. orz
And finally, the last present was from Banchou... who started riffling through his pockets.
"Ohhh, are you up to something naughty?" grinned Ryuuko.
Eventually, though, Banchou found an envelope with sheets of looseleaf paper inside. Yes, apparently he wrote an essay -- a handwritten love letter, really :P -- for his big ol' pal there. It contained lines like...
"I'll never forget the day we met. There was this tall guy with a really cool name. "He did breakdance, and I worried about his head... for various reasons. Thanks for helping me stretch that day at auditions."
It only got gayer, talking about rehearsal, room-sharing when they traveled with Shitenmyu, etc etc, and ended with something along the lines of "Even though it feels like we've known each other forever, it's only been a year and a half. Let's keep going to make memories together all our lives."
SERIOUSLY. It was so, so gay that it moved a girl near me to tears. And the thing is, it sounds corny, but even though I'm sure the 'ship factor was played up a bit for the fangirls, Banchou was so totally earnest in his wonderful Banchou way. Ryuuko was visibly stunned. "I... what do I..." and Banchou grinned at the audience and "subtly" slipped some cash in the envelope before handing it over. D'awwwwwww!!
[EDIT: In a video on Banchou's fanclub website, which I only watched recently, he admits that like half the letter was adlibbed. Oh well. The feelings were still there~~ ano mofo.]
Of course, there was no better way to end the main show, so they went into prep for photos. Since my seat was near the back, I knew I had some time to shop and check out the photosets, including a whole set of Pattsu. Um, .... yeah, I'm gonna say no on that one, even though I love Pattsu. He just wouldn't look right on my ikemen wall(s).
Anyhow, once the photos started, the background entertainment was a video of Ryuuko training Pattsu, which really was quite cute. "Walk?" said Daddy. "< headtilt? >" said Baby. Among other things. Still, I was a little tetchy that there wasn’t enough Banchou entertainment.
It was during this point that some girl came in and brought out a horrendous horse mask to wear for her 2-shot photo. I just ... just ... and she was a cute girl! WTF FANGIRLS. [EDIT: This girl has showed up at other Ryuuko events in the future, which I think I've alluded to before. ... What.]
Anyhow, finally Banchou came out. His schtick through most of it was to challenge the whole audience to janken. He declared that you can only stay in if you beat him -- ties don't count. (e.g. if he puts out scissors, everyone with paper or scissors loses.) Unfortunately, this led to some problems, as he kept eliminating everyone before there could be one winner! He put his manzai MC bow up for grabs, and man, that took forever for someone to win! He decided to bestow the title of "Janken no Kitadai" upon himself, since he was so infallible. On the other hand, he kept putting out "rock" first, then "scissors," so the number of girls winning in the first few hands kept increasing as we became aware of his pattern. He wasn't aware of it, though... hee hee <3
Another form of amusement as we waited for the photo opportunity included Banchou walking Pattsu through the aisles in the audience, where I got to pet and be licked by an adorable, friendly black pug, and Banchou ended up having to exclaim, "DON'T PET ME I AM NOT IN A ZOO!"
... it was not me who groped him, honestly. And I'm not sure if I applaud the guilty parties' bravery, or if I feel ashamed for all fangirls. Both, maybe. [EDIT: Kind of mostly the latter, but hey, maybe the guilty party did it on accident, like what happened with me at DL7. :P]
Anyway, I was mostly impressed by how mellow Pattsu was! His personality really seems suited to his Daddy's. Just a laid back, disproportioned beastie~ <3
And finally, Banchou decided to emulate Ryoutarou at the Green Force event and try some impressions. He asked the audience for impressions, which of course was quite dangerous. These impressions, which he cycled through quickly, gesturing for faster and faster suggestions, included:
- Pattsu (sit on the floor and mope, "Ryuukoooo, leave me aloooone~")
- a gorilla (as expected)
- a banana (he threw his arms over his head and curved his body slightly)
- Ryuuko (which actually ended up being a Chitose impression, as he pulled the "kago n' naka no tori bai" line)
- Shiraishi (ekuthtathii~)
- a leek (Ryuuko's favorite food... Banchou flopped on the floor... um... 'kay.)
- Kin-chan (he ran into the audience a bit then came hopping onto the stage to do the "Kita de, Tokyo!!1" line)
- Takeyan (I forget what he said, but it was a horrid, screechy voice)
- A cotton swab (Ryuuko's nickname for Takeyan... Banchou just put his arms over his head to make a giant "O" shape)
- Koharu ("Isshindoutai shoujotai shugyou ya!!1")
- Tachibana ("Kejime tai!!1")
And probably some others, but man, it was silly and fast.
Finally, when all the girls had gotten their photos taken, Ryuuko ended the event by commanding, "Banchou!! House!!" (which is a common dog command, kind of like saying "Heel!") Then they said their goodbyes, and all in all, it was a very cute time!
Oh yes, and the photo opportunity... many girls brought gifts to hand over, but I was dumb and didn't think about that. Oh well. When it was my turn, I requested the "heart" pose, because, well, it was my first 2-shot, so why not. :P And as for conversation, well, before I could say anything, he grinned big and was like, tentatively but without missing a beat, "Meri-ssa?"
(Referencing This moment from a month and a half ago. I should note as an EDIT that there is no tentativeness at all anymore. It's since become "MELISSA! \^O^/ NOW LET US DO OUR SECRET HANDSHAKE THAT YOU DID NOT KNOW EXISTED." Ryuuko has the best memory for his fans in the world.)
Anyway, I dissolved into giggles. IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK EVERY TIME, BOYO! JUST YOU WAIT!
I thanked him and giggled more, and as I was walking away, I realized that I had forgotten to wish him a happy birthday. Oops!! Well, it wasn't my fault; he'd thrown me off-guard again! Right? Right??
I vowed to get my revenge at the Local Boys event in two weeks.
And maybe someday I'll write that report. And hopefully it will exist of something beyond "OH GOD BABARYO'S TIGHT RED PANTS."
The end.
Happy half-birthday, guys.
Heyyy, maybe Pattsu will be a special guest for Banchou's event!!