Memories from my Johnny's trip 2013 ~ Playzone SONG & DANC'N PART III ~ [1st act]
On August 8th evening, after having waited for what seems like hours for the J-ticket desk to open, I finally got my ticket, made my way to the 8th row of Aoyama Theater and sat down in the fluffy pink seat to enjoy my first Johnny's show of 2013: Playzone ♥
When the show was announced, I was very happy because I love the SONG & DANC'N series. But when we learned that apart from ROAD TO PLAYZONE, Guys Playzone and Liar that are original Playzone songs, the rest of the tracklist would be only covers of Johnny's songs, I have to say I was somehow disappointed. Well, I'd like to apologize to the boys because once again, the show was flawless and now, whenever I listen to the original soundtrack, each song brings back tons of wonderful memories ♥
It was my first time going to see a Johnny's show alone so while waiting for the show to start, I'm sure I must have been looking super awkward xD I was looking around me, wondering if some guests would come and maybe 5 minutes before the beginning of the show, Yabu, Inoo and a guy I knew was a Johnny's but couldn't remember the name at all (It was actually Kazama Shunsuke) came by the aisle that is in the middle of the first floor. This is how everything looked like. It was my first time seeing JUMP members, they looked so good! Especially Yabu, even if he was wearing very simple clothes and wasn't smiling at all whereas Inoo was waving at everyone x)
A short while after the three guests arrived, the lights finally went down and the curtain rose. The opening was very similar to Playzone 2010's one. The stage was dark and we could see some boys were on stage but they were behind this kind of see-through screen. I'm almost sure the first ones were Travis Japan so a spotlight enlightened them and Travis Japan was written on the see-through screen. It was the same for 4U, MAD and They! Budou but each group was standing at a different place. Last one were Yara, Yûma and Tsubasa. I loved last year's opening because it was very impressive but this time, it was really exciting to know they were so close but still somehow far since there was that screen between us and them.
After this members introduction, the see-through screen rose and ROAD TO PLAYZONE started. That was the moment that stupid smile appeared on my face and it disappeared only when I was back to our appartment that night. Anyway, all members were on stage, the outfits and the choreography weren't too different from the previous years but I'm not complaining at all as I love this song and they were super cool and I was super happy to see them after such a long time ♥
Yara, Yûma and Tsubasa then sang Kamen Budokai and Shôta, Eda and Travis Japan joined them for the next song that was Kejimenasai. There were these easy hand moves we were doing all together and suddenly they came through the audience!! I wasn't expecting them to come that early! "Unfortunately" for me, just like last year, my seat wasn't an aisle one. There was a lady on my right side so I tried my best not to bother her too much when outstretching my arm to get a high-five x)
I remember Shôta was the one who was in my aisle for the longest time, he even stopped right behind me to sing and just like last year, I fell in love with him because OMG, this guy is so freaking adorable. Like his smiling face is one of the cutest ever. I seriously wanted to stand up and give him a hug ♥
And as if all this cuteness wasn't already almost too much for my heart to handle, the next song was Hatto shite! Good which was one of my favorite from the OST and that I loved even more thanks to Kosshi, Fuku-chan, Ryôta, Yû and Kôta who were wearing these sailor uniforms. Definitely the cutest Playzone outfits ever. They started the song from the back of the stage that was lifted and gradually came to the front, going down the "stairs", jumping is such an adorable way and sometimes walking all together in a line ♥
Next song were 100%...SO ka mo ne! and LOVE YOU ONLY that were great but I don't have much recollections from these two performances. I remember Kaji and Aran were really excited during 100%...SO ka mo ne! like during the part when it goes "Baby stop! Stop! Stop!", for some reasons they were the only ones who were stomping much stronger than the other boys xD And all I remember from LOVE YOU ONLY is that most of the lyrics (Or maybe all?) were written on the screen and Miyuto is very tall and Kaito's smile is almost as cute as Shôta's ♥ :3
My next highlight is when Yûma sang Dou shiyou mo nai with a version that was different from the CD. Before the song started, I think Yûma was on stage facing the screen on which there was this blond woman we couldn't see the face. She was with some random guy and Yûma, who was actually in love with her, was making these "Noooo!! Don't gooooo!!" moves, outstretching his arm to her and I think he fell on the floor. Then Yara, Tatsu, Fuku-chan and Matsu arrived wearing black clothes and they were walking around Yûma, looking at him with these "Just forget her, dude" looks and Yûma was singing "Dou shiyou mo nai" (I don't know what I should do anymore). The whole situation may sound stupid when I write it but it was actually one of my favorite performance. They were all very handsome and I really liked this "new" version of the song.
But all this was NOTHING compared to the next song: Mizu no kaeru basho. One of my favorite Johnny's song. I was very much looking forward to see how Yûma would perform it and well, I wasn't disappointed one bit. Before the song started, the stage was all black when the rain started to fall. A spotlight then enlightened Yara who was barefoot, wearing white clothes, sitting on the right side of the stage on a black chair that had wheels. His arms were around his knees and he was hiding his head behind. Then he slowly "woke up" and started to dance. But there was no music. Only the sound of the rain and the sound of Yara's feet on the floor. Then maybe 3 or 4 circles of light appeared on stage. He jumped from one to another and each time, there was this sound as if he was jumping in a puddle and at the same time on the screen, there was a water drop falling on the floor. While he was dancing, he had this kind of sad smile on his face. He was beautiful. He then slowly fell on the floor and Mizu no kaeru basho started.
This performance was so amazingly beautiful that it almost made me cry. Even thinking about it now gives me the chills. Yûma who is also barefoot, joins Yara on stage. While he is singing, they turn around each other, sometimes touch, sometimes mirror each others moves and if I remember well, Yara was quite calm until the first chorus and then he suddenly kicks the chair as if he was suddenly panicking. Yûma tries to catch him, to hold him as if he wanted to reassure him, to protect him. The dance was so perfect with the lyrics of the song. This kind of flawless performance really made me realize how strong the power of music and dance can be. I really didn't want it to end. But Yûma sang the last verse of the song live and Ai Kakumei started.
Whoever thought about the choreography for that song definitely wasn't thinking about the audience. Tsubasa was standing on some sort of cart with stairs on one side, wheels and these two gold railings. During the verses, Travis Japan were pushing the cart from the left side of the stage to the right and then from the right to the left and each time they were making a turn, we were dazzled by the gold railings enlightened by the spotlights. The first time, I was so surprised that I think I said "AH!" and covered my eyes xD
Anyway, it was Tsubasa's solo so of course, the boys were doing these flamenco-like moves during the chorus and apart from the gold railings problem, it was a very nice performance.
Yara was back on stage for Maittane konya and seriously, this guy has to stop being that attractive. The whole stage looked like a jazz club which was very cool, there even was that sign with "CLUB" or something like that written on it and at the back, some boys we couldn't see the face well were playing instruments (Not for real though). Towards the end of the song, Tsubasa and Yûma came to sing and dance with Yara and the curtain closed.
MC time~
The curtains started to move and suddenly, Tsubasa's head popped out. He greated us saying "Everyone, are you enjoying the show? I'm TsubAAAsa!!" then Yara's head popped out below Tsubasa's and he said "Hi everyone! I'm YarAAAcchi" and then we heared someone panting before Yûma's head popped out below Yara's, pretty much at the floor's level. And when the curtains opened, Yûma was actually lying on the floor but on top of that, Yara was sitting ON him which was why it took him that long to appear xD
They all got up, said basic stuff like "Welcome to Playzone 2013, thank you for being here today, we hope you're having a great time" and then I think it was Yara who said they were very hot since they had been dancing from the beginning so he asked if a staff member could give them towels. Eda came on stage and he really looked like a staff member! Yûma was totally making fun of him, he was so cute! So Eda-staff-member gave a towel to Tsubasa, another one to Yara and then went backstage without giving anything to the poor Yûma.
Tsubasa told Yûma he should ask someone in the audience to lend him a towel and that was when we ALL opened our bags to take our handkerchiefs xD Tsubasa was like "Ok now it's time to do something interesting if you want him to choose yours!". Yûma came down my aisle but he didn't go too far and took the towel of a girl who was maybe on the 3rd or 4th row. She obviously already came to the show before because who on earth would randomly have a Johnny's Countdown towel in her purse?? So Yûma asked the girl if he could wipe his face with her towel. On the moment, I felt envious but when I think about it now...isn't it a bit gross?? xD
While he was wiping his face, the audience was like "Woooo~w" and Tsubasa and Yara on stage said "It's the first time we see that kind of reaction because of someone wiping his face" xD When Yûma was done, he gave the towel back to the girl, thanked her and she said she actually was a fan of him coming from Shizuoka. He then went back on stage saying "That was embarassing..." How cute ♥ xD
The three of them then talked about the show and Tsubasa wondered why Yûma got to sing his own single Mizu no kaeru basho whereas he sang Ai Kakumei that is Tackey's song. But he said it was ok since he doesn't get the opportunity to sing Tackey's songs too often so he was happy x) He then talked about his play Saraba Hachigatsu no Daichi, Yara talked about the show Song Writers he would be part of and when Yûma talked about Pintokona, Eda-staff-member came again holding this big poster of the drama. He was seriously so cute x) Then they were like "Please enjoy the rest of the show" and STAR LIGHT started.
For this song and the next one that was Paradise Ginga, members were 4U and Travis Japan and they were all SO hyper! It was such a pleasure to see them having so much fun on stage ♥ They were all wearing roller skates and I think it was during STAR LIGHT, each Travis Japan member had two flags. There was this moment they were supposed to stop dancing with their arms outstretched while 4U were roller skating between them and I remember Shizuya's flag was entangled. He couldn't really move so he tried to fix it only by turning his wrist but he failed so in one hand he had a normal white flag and in the other hand, he was just holding what looked like a white stick x)
My last highlight of the first act is Andalucia ni akogarete. The middle part of the stage was lifted and Tsubasa was there, sitting on a wooden bench. He was wearing what looked like a red and black suit but when he got up and started to move, actually the front of his suit was mainly red whereas the back was mainly black. Then he got down and I don't really know how to explain it but the stage was divided into two parts: Tsubasa was standing on the front part that was at a "normal" level and Junior were dancing at the back part that was lifted. They were also wearing red and black suits but for them, the front was black and the back was red. They were all in lines, doing exactly the same moves and all this black and red contrast was very nice to see. Once again since it was Tsubasa's solo there were some flamenco-like moves.
I was having so much fun that I actually totally forgot there was break between the first and the second act so when the curtain went down and they turned on the lights, I was like "...What's happening?" 8D I turned my head just in time to see Yabu, Inoo and Shunsuke leaving their seats and wondered what I could do during this 20 minutes long break.
This is only the first part and it's already getting way too long so I'll stop it here for now. I will post my thoughts on the second act later, hopefully before Thursday which is Playzone's DVD release day but I'm not sure I can do it since uni starts again from tomorrow...
If anyone read this until the end, thank you~ =)
Click on each picture to see it real size.
ROAD TO PLAYZONE
Members: All
Kamen Budokai
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma
Kejimenasai
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Hayashi Shôta, Eda Tsuyoshi, Travis Japan
Hatto shite! Good
Members: Koshioka Yûki, Fukuda Yûta, Yamamoto Ryôta, Ikeda Yû, Matsumoto Kôta
100%...SO ka mo ne!
Members: Tatsumi Yûdai, Matsuzaki Yûsuke, Nakada Hiroki, Shimekake Ryûya, Kajiyama Asahi, Abe Aran
LOVE YOU ONLY
Members: Hayashi Shôta, Eda Tsuyoshi, Kawashima Noeru, Morita Miyuto, Yoshizawa Shizuya, Nakamura Kaito
Dou shiyou mo nai
Members: Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Tatsumi Yûdai, Fukuda Yûta, Matsuzaki Yûsuke
Mizu no kaeru basho
Members: Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma
Ai kakumei
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Travis Japan
Maitta ne konya
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Koshioka Yûki, Fukuda Yûta, Hayashi Shôta, Matsumoto Kôta
MC
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Eda Tsuyoshi
STAR LIGHT & Paradise Ginga
Members: 4U, Travis Japan
Andalucia ni akogarete
Members: All
Stage pictures were taken mainly from this site. Picture of the venue was taken by me.
When the show was announced, I was very happy because I love the SONG & DANC'N series. But when we learned that apart from ROAD TO PLAYZONE, Guys Playzone and Liar that are original Playzone songs, the rest of the tracklist would be only covers of Johnny's songs, I have to say I was somehow disappointed. Well, I'd like to apologize to the boys because once again, the show was flawless and now, whenever I listen to the original soundtrack, each song brings back tons of wonderful memories ♥
It was my first time going to see a Johnny's show alone so while waiting for the show to start, I'm sure I must have been looking super awkward xD I was looking around me, wondering if some guests would come and maybe 5 minutes before the beginning of the show, Yabu, Inoo and a guy I knew was a Johnny's but couldn't remember the name at all (It was actually Kazama Shunsuke) came by the aisle that is in the middle of the first floor. This is how everything looked like. It was my first time seeing JUMP members, they looked so good! Especially Yabu, even if he was wearing very simple clothes and wasn't smiling at all whereas Inoo was waving at everyone x)
A short while after the three guests arrived, the lights finally went down and the curtain rose. The opening was very similar to Playzone 2010's one. The stage was dark and we could see some boys were on stage but they were behind this kind of see-through screen. I'm almost sure the first ones were Travis Japan so a spotlight enlightened them and Travis Japan was written on the see-through screen. It was the same for 4U, MAD and They! Budou but each group was standing at a different place. Last one were Yara, Yûma and Tsubasa. I loved last year's opening because it was very impressive but this time, it was really exciting to know they were so close but still somehow far since there was that screen between us and them.
After this members introduction, the see-through screen rose and ROAD TO PLAYZONE started. That was the moment that stupid smile appeared on my face and it disappeared only when I was back to our appartment that night. Anyway, all members were on stage, the outfits and the choreography weren't too different from the previous years but I'm not complaining at all as I love this song and they were super cool and I was super happy to see them after such a long time ♥
Yara, Yûma and Tsubasa then sang Kamen Budokai and Shôta, Eda and Travis Japan joined them for the next song that was Kejimenasai. There were these easy hand moves we were doing all together and suddenly they came through the audience!! I wasn't expecting them to come that early! "Unfortunately" for me, just like last year, my seat wasn't an aisle one. There was a lady on my right side so I tried my best not to bother her too much when outstretching my arm to get a high-five x)
I remember Shôta was the one who was in my aisle for the longest time, he even stopped right behind me to sing and just like last year, I fell in love with him because OMG, this guy is so freaking adorable. Like his smiling face is one of the cutest ever. I seriously wanted to stand up and give him a hug ♥
And as if all this cuteness wasn't already almost too much for my heart to handle, the next song was Hatto shite! Good which was one of my favorite from the OST and that I loved even more thanks to Kosshi, Fuku-chan, Ryôta, Yû and Kôta who were wearing these sailor uniforms. Definitely the cutest Playzone outfits ever. They started the song from the back of the stage that was lifted and gradually came to the front, going down the "stairs", jumping is such an adorable way and sometimes walking all together in a line ♥
Next song were 100%...SO ka mo ne! and LOVE YOU ONLY that were great but I don't have much recollections from these two performances. I remember Kaji and Aran were really excited during 100%...SO ka mo ne! like during the part when it goes "Baby stop! Stop! Stop!", for some reasons they were the only ones who were stomping much stronger than the other boys xD And all I remember from LOVE YOU ONLY is that most of the lyrics (Or maybe all?) were written on the screen and Miyuto is very tall and Kaito's smile is almost as cute as Shôta's ♥ :3
My next highlight is when Yûma sang Dou shiyou mo nai with a version that was different from the CD. Before the song started, I think Yûma was on stage facing the screen on which there was this blond woman we couldn't see the face. She was with some random guy and Yûma, who was actually in love with her, was making these "Noooo!! Don't gooooo!!" moves, outstretching his arm to her and I think he fell on the floor. Then Yara, Tatsu, Fuku-chan and Matsu arrived wearing black clothes and they were walking around Yûma, looking at him with these "Just forget her, dude" looks and Yûma was singing "Dou shiyou mo nai" (I don't know what I should do anymore). The whole situation may sound stupid when I write it but it was actually one of my favorite performance. They were all very handsome and I really liked this "new" version of the song.
But all this was NOTHING compared to the next song: Mizu no kaeru basho. One of my favorite Johnny's song. I was very much looking forward to see how Yûma would perform it and well, I wasn't disappointed one bit. Before the song started, the stage was all black when the rain started to fall. A spotlight then enlightened Yara who was barefoot, wearing white clothes, sitting on the right side of the stage on a black chair that had wheels. His arms were around his knees and he was hiding his head behind. Then he slowly "woke up" and started to dance. But there was no music. Only the sound of the rain and the sound of Yara's feet on the floor. Then maybe 3 or 4 circles of light appeared on stage. He jumped from one to another and each time, there was this sound as if he was jumping in a puddle and at the same time on the screen, there was a water drop falling on the floor. While he was dancing, he had this kind of sad smile on his face. He was beautiful. He then slowly fell on the floor and Mizu no kaeru basho started.
This performance was so amazingly beautiful that it almost made me cry. Even thinking about it now gives me the chills. Yûma who is also barefoot, joins Yara on stage. While he is singing, they turn around each other, sometimes touch, sometimes mirror each others moves and if I remember well, Yara was quite calm until the first chorus and then he suddenly kicks the chair as if he was suddenly panicking. Yûma tries to catch him, to hold him as if he wanted to reassure him, to protect him. The dance was so perfect with the lyrics of the song. This kind of flawless performance really made me realize how strong the power of music and dance can be. I really didn't want it to end. But Yûma sang the last verse of the song live and Ai Kakumei started.
Whoever thought about the choreography for that song definitely wasn't thinking about the audience. Tsubasa was standing on some sort of cart with stairs on one side, wheels and these two gold railings. During the verses, Travis Japan were pushing the cart from the left side of the stage to the right and then from the right to the left and each time they were making a turn, we were dazzled by the gold railings enlightened by the spotlights. The first time, I was so surprised that I think I said "AH!" and covered my eyes xD
Anyway, it was Tsubasa's solo so of course, the boys were doing these flamenco-like moves during the chorus and apart from the gold railings problem, it was a very nice performance.
Yara was back on stage for Maittane konya and seriously, this guy has to stop being that attractive. The whole stage looked like a jazz club which was very cool, there even was that sign with "CLUB" or something like that written on it and at the back, some boys we couldn't see the face well were playing instruments (Not for real though). Towards the end of the song, Tsubasa and Yûma came to sing and dance with Yara and the curtain closed.
MC time~
The curtains started to move and suddenly, Tsubasa's head popped out. He greated us saying "Everyone, are you enjoying the show? I'm TsubAAAsa!!" then Yara's head popped out below Tsubasa's and he said "Hi everyone! I'm YarAAAcchi" and then we heared someone panting before Yûma's head popped out below Yara's, pretty much at the floor's level. And when the curtains opened, Yûma was actually lying on the floor but on top of that, Yara was sitting ON him which was why it took him that long to appear xD
They all got up, said basic stuff like "Welcome to Playzone 2013, thank you for being here today, we hope you're having a great time" and then I think it was Yara who said they were very hot since they had been dancing from the beginning so he asked if a staff member could give them towels. Eda came on stage and he really looked like a staff member! Yûma was totally making fun of him, he was so cute! So Eda-staff-member gave a towel to Tsubasa, another one to Yara and then went backstage without giving anything to the poor Yûma.
Tsubasa told Yûma he should ask someone in the audience to lend him a towel and that was when we ALL opened our bags to take our handkerchiefs xD Tsubasa was like "Ok now it's time to do something interesting if you want him to choose yours!". Yûma came down my aisle but he didn't go too far and took the towel of a girl who was maybe on the 3rd or 4th row. She obviously already came to the show before because who on earth would randomly have a Johnny's Countdown towel in her purse?? So Yûma asked the girl if he could wipe his face with her towel. On the moment, I felt envious but when I think about it now...isn't it a bit gross?? xD
While he was wiping his face, the audience was like "Woooo~w" and Tsubasa and Yara on stage said "It's the first time we see that kind of reaction because of someone wiping his face" xD When Yûma was done, he gave the towel back to the girl, thanked her and she said she actually was a fan of him coming from Shizuoka. He then went back on stage saying "That was embarassing..." How cute ♥ xD
The three of them then talked about the show and Tsubasa wondered why Yûma got to sing his own single Mizu no kaeru basho whereas he sang Ai Kakumei that is Tackey's song. But he said it was ok since he doesn't get the opportunity to sing Tackey's songs too often so he was happy x) He then talked about his play Saraba Hachigatsu no Daichi, Yara talked about the show Song Writers he would be part of and when Yûma talked about Pintokona, Eda-staff-member came again holding this big poster of the drama. He was seriously so cute x) Then they were like "Please enjoy the rest of the show" and STAR LIGHT started.
For this song and the next one that was Paradise Ginga, members were 4U and Travis Japan and they were all SO hyper! It was such a pleasure to see them having so much fun on stage ♥ They were all wearing roller skates and I think it was during STAR LIGHT, each Travis Japan member had two flags. There was this moment they were supposed to stop dancing with their arms outstretched while 4U were roller skating between them and I remember Shizuya's flag was entangled. He couldn't really move so he tried to fix it only by turning his wrist but he failed so in one hand he had a normal white flag and in the other hand, he was just holding what looked like a white stick x)
My last highlight of the first act is Andalucia ni akogarete. The middle part of the stage was lifted and Tsubasa was there, sitting on a wooden bench. He was wearing what looked like a red and black suit but when he got up and started to move, actually the front of his suit was mainly red whereas the back was mainly black. Then he got down and I don't really know how to explain it but the stage was divided into two parts: Tsubasa was standing on the front part that was at a "normal" level and Junior were dancing at the back part that was lifted. They were also wearing red and black suits but for them, the front was black and the back was red. They were all in lines, doing exactly the same moves and all this black and red contrast was very nice to see. Once again since it was Tsubasa's solo there were some flamenco-like moves.
I was having so much fun that I actually totally forgot there was break between the first and the second act so when the curtain went down and they turned on the lights, I was like "...What's happening?" 8D I turned my head just in time to see Yabu, Inoo and Shunsuke leaving their seats and wondered what I could do during this 20 minutes long break.
This is only the first part and it's already getting way too long so I'll stop it here for now. I will post my thoughts on the second act later, hopefully before Thursday which is Playzone's DVD release day but I'm not sure I can do it since uni starts again from tomorrow...
If anyone read this until the end, thank you~ =)
Click on each picture to see it real size.
ROAD TO PLAYZONE
Members: All
Kamen Budokai
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma
Kejimenasai
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Hayashi Shôta, Eda Tsuyoshi, Travis Japan
Hatto shite! Good
Members: Koshioka Yûki, Fukuda Yûta, Yamamoto Ryôta, Ikeda Yû, Matsumoto Kôta
100%...SO ka mo ne!
Members: Tatsumi Yûdai, Matsuzaki Yûsuke, Nakada Hiroki, Shimekake Ryûya, Kajiyama Asahi, Abe Aran
LOVE YOU ONLY
Members: Hayashi Shôta, Eda Tsuyoshi, Kawashima Noeru, Morita Miyuto, Yoshizawa Shizuya, Nakamura Kaito
Dou shiyou mo nai
Members: Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Tatsumi Yûdai, Fukuda Yûta, Matsuzaki Yûsuke
Mizu no kaeru basho
Members: Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma
Ai kakumei
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Travis Japan
Maitta ne konya
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Koshioka Yûki, Fukuda Yûta, Hayashi Shôta, Matsumoto Kôta
MC
Members: Imai Tsubasa, Yara Tomoyuki, Nakayama Yûma, Eda Tsuyoshi
STAR LIGHT & Paradise Ginga
Members: 4U, Travis Japan
Andalucia ni akogarete
Members: All
Stage pictures were taken mainly from this site. Picture of the venue was taken by me.