In which I try to cram a bunch of stuff into one post...
I haven't really been posting as much as I should and have, yet again, let things build up on me.
[concert notes] Tackey Summer Concert 2010 (100731, 大阪城ホール)
Ok. Here are my notes on Saturday's Takki concert. Won't call it a report since I won't be able to comment on all of the songs... It's a little difficult for me, seeing as how I don't know the titles to most of Takki's songs. Warning now... I do sometimes write some of my notes in Japanese. I try to write the translations next to them, but sometimes I forget. Also, I think this turned out to be about Kanju at Takki's concert. Sorry Snowman fans... I mention them (like Sanada's FAIL at getting audience participation), but it's mostly about Kanju.
Like I said before, I wasn't planning on going to see Takki here in Osaka. I'm going to see the concert in Yokohama and honestly saw no point in going until I had Rachel next to me to tell me who's who in MSM. She's been trying to get me to at least be able to tell the Snowmen apart for about 8 months now. But then at the Kanju concerts, Akito mentioned that the "Chibiko Kanju" would be backing at Takki's concerts this weekend and that sorta made me think that maybe going would be worth it. Still wasn't going to go though cause it was too late to get a ticket off of ticket.co.jp... but then Rachel said someone online had extra tickets. Anyway. Ended up going to the concert with jin_rabu and had an awesome time.
Our seats were 16th row on the left side of the stage. After being in Osaka-Jo Hall for Kanju's cons it was a little surprising to see a proper stage. Have I ever mentioned how low budget Kanju are? 'Cause they really, REALLY are. All those special effects they got to use at their concerts, I understand now were because Takki was gonna be using them.
I'm really not sure where to start, so for now, I'm just gonna type, probably out of order... and also c/p from my online conversations with snowqueenofhoth and murasaki_anna 'cause I'm lazy. It did turn out to be a lot longer than I thought it would.
- There were a lot of empty seats and the amount of seats in the arena section were noticeably less than the Kanju concerts. And because the age range for Takki's fans is older, there were a lot of children, many of which who were sleeping.
- KANJU~! I can't express how happy I was to see Jr.Boys up there, especially since I was thinking Little Gangs and unknowns when Akito had said 'Chibiko Jrs.'. I went with the intention of figuring the Snowmen out and having a favorite (and I was successful... hello Iwamoto), but I really spent a lot of time watching Matori. I'm a little alarmed at how I can pick him out from across the hall, even if his back is towards me.
By the way... can anyone tell me if that's Nakata Atsushi or Asada Junya in Little Gangs? It's Nakata Atsushi (And for my reference... Okazaki, red. Tatsuta, yellow. Jo, orange. Imae, green. Atsushi, blue)
- I knew the older Kanju would come to watch. After Takki sent a VTR video to show at their cons, they were kinda required to come... it was just a matter of who would actually show up. Junta, Daichi, and all of Veteran. It was sad. In the dark, I could tell who they were just based on their clothes and posture (my eyesight sucks, so I rely on posture a lot). They came out for the first time during Takki's yankee Ai Kakumei thing, Junta and Daichi had on over sized fur/cow coats, while Veteran was wearing those satin bomber jackets with the dragons embroidered on the backs. Bun-chan was wearing sunglasses. Ok. Them walking around trying to be all tough and yankee... is pretty damned hilarious. Bun-chan and Muro are probably the most successful. Could not stop laughing though. Kunta's too bouncy to be scary. It was really cute.
- The guest Kanju were actually on stage for a good chunk of the concert. I didn't go last year, but did they perform? Either that or maybe they picked it up from the Jr.Boys.
- Sad face. Hirano and Shimizu weren't at Takki. They weren't in the Kanju concerts either which means they probably weren't at the Shokura filming on Friday either. If they're gone, that'll make 4 of the more well-known Kanju that have left this year. Amano, Backes, Hirano and Shimizu.
Guest Kanju: Junta, Daichi, Kikuoka, Bunichi, Kunta, Ito, Muro, Ryuta
Jr. Boys that I saw and know the names of: Mukai兄, Matori, Ota, Yoshida
Little Gangs: Takumi, Imae, Jo, Tatsuta, Atsushi/Junya
Random: Kanauchi, Masaya
Definitely did not see: Senzaki, Shimizu, Hirano, Mukai Koji, Reiya, or any of Big Gang/Gang Star.
There were obviously a ton of Kanju there, and I recognize most of them... but I have no names to put to faces. Ah, the life of a Kanju fan... I'm looking forward to the upcoming Osaka Shokura episodes.
- The overall theme was a vacation resort, so the stage looked sorta like a tropical beach hotel? Not too sure about this Black Takki and White Takki thing though.
- There's this song that Miyadate and Sakuma backdance, where they're all wearing these nude leotard tops, that have tribal-like markings on them and then black pants. Takki's are red. Miyadate's and Sakuma's are turquoise. There was lots of pretty fire. There was also some dance move where Miyadate and Sakuma do a sit-up. Just one. haha...
- No Gang Star. Was kinda hoping to see some Matori/Kusumoto interaction. Ah well. Go read cute Matori/Kusumoto fic over here.
MC
- Takki looked at Bun-chan and was like, "Hmm... I think I've seen you before." And Bun-chan was all 久しぶりです。浜中です。back. Eloquent as always. Then Takki asked why Bun-chan's hair was blonde (and basically the same color as Takki's). 「あれ？なんで金髪なの？」Bun-chan said that when he saw Takki's hair in the VTR he'd made for Kanju to show at their concerts, he thought he'd trying dying his hair too.
Takki tells them to close their eyes and then tells the people who lied to raise their hand... and Bun-chan promptly raises his hand. 「はい！目を瞑って。じゃあ・・・嘘をついた人〜！」 hahaha... And then Takki scolded him for lying to the fans. 「まずいすね・・・」「まずいすよ！」haha...
- Daichi really wanted Takki's number/mail address. He even pulled out his (pink) slide cellphone to show that he was serious. haha... When Takki said 'Ok', he looked SO HAPPY.
- Daichi tells Takki that the first solo he ever performed was a T&T song (To Be or Not To Be) and that he was really thankful for it, but watching the real thing made him realize how much cooler it is when Takki's doing it. Takki said that although he performed it earlier, it's different without Tsubasa... to which Daichi said that Tsubasa IS here. And then they pushed Kunta forward. haha... Ok. This might make some of you go, "Why Kunta?" but at the unit concerts last year, Kunta was Tsubasa during the sempai medley. So anyway. Kunta continues to do a few imitations of Tsubasa ("Get down", kime-pose, and "Nandakke...") and Takki just looks at the rest of them and asks if Kunta's always like this. Takki asks him who he likes better, him or Tsubasa, saying that Kunta should answer honestly... and then tells Kunta he will never be a star when he chooses Tsubasa. POOR KUNTA~~!
- Didn't know that Daichi joined Johnny's because he thought Takki was awesome. So Takki told him to say 3 things that Daichi liked from that time. "Beautiful smile, something I didn't catch, and blonde hair." I've never seen Daichi so humble and respectful... well. At least he was until he started telling the story of his first time meeting Takki. He first starts by saying, 「ちょっと汚い話だけど・・・」and I immediately was like, "UH-OH."
So apparently, when Daichi was pulled in to do Enbujou a few years back, before going to greet Takki in his dressing room, Daichi went to the bathroom 'cause he really had to go... and Takki walked in. He said that he was so nervous that nothing would come out. Then when Takki said, "Good luck (with the show)" and left, he was so relieved that using the bathroom suddenly became really easy. (Daichi made a 'WHOOSH' sound effect 'cause he's classy like that.)
I was torn between face palming or laughing, probably ended up with a mixture of both, but majority of the audience was REALLY quiet, so Daichi apologized for telling the story and Takki was just like, "THEN WHY DID YOU?!" Good job Daichi. Good job.
- Ito's first time meeting Takki, Takki told him that one of the jokes Ito told during a Kanjani8 skit was funny and that it made him try harder from there on out. Poor Ito... Takki made him do the gag right then and there. It really wasn't funny and they (read as "Daichi") were like, "Um... I think Takki was just trying to make you feel better."
- They apologized for just showing up to his concert and talking so much during the MC. Daichi asked if it was ok for them to advertise their upcoming butai, but Takki said that advertisements aren't allowed on his stage... so they were like, "We may or may not be appearing in this thing, at a place like Shochikuza, possibly from August 3rd to the 28th. And it might be called 'Shounentachi Koushi Naki Rougoku'... Oh. And there's a rumor that there may be more information about this butai-like thing on shaniizu.net, but we're not sure about any of this."
- Takki asked if they just came from the butai rehearsal and if they were all in their shifuku, which they were (I've seen some of those clothes before) and they asked if Takki was also wearing his own clothes. They were commenting on how oshare his Takki Ranger pants and boots were, and asked if he'd gotten the belt in Amemura (an interesting district of Osaka).
- After Kanju left, Takki started talking about his new Takki Channel thing and how he's spent months preparing video footage for it. Said there will be some Jr. dokkiri to show. Someone in the audience shouted/asked if Tsubasa would make an appearance and Takki said he's considering it, going on to say that updating weekly is gonna take a lot so he's considering a bunch of different possibilities.
- Takki said that usually he has Kisumai or ABC-Z, but this time he's decided to go with the Snowmen as the main, so how about having them come out... and then says, "Snow Prince." to which they all come onto the stage going "Chigaimasu~!" There was an awkward pause and then as they're about to introduce themselves properly, Takki interrupts saying that their entrance was boring and that they have to redo it. Being good kouhai, they immediately turn around and start heading back down the stairs, but Takki was still talking and was like, "LISTEN!" and they all stop and turn back to face him. Takki's like, "I just gave you a really good introduction, but you guys come out like that. You're all about 18 right? I'm 10 years older than you, dressed like this and you're all dressed in suits. Be more genki!"
They head off stage and Takki starts his talk about how he's chosen the Snowmen as the main again, but then stops 'cause we're laughing 'cause we can all hear things, so Takki stops and is like, 「おい。Snowman!」「はい！」「全部聞こえてるぞ！」hahahahahaha.... I guess they forgot that their mics were on.
Anyway. The Snowmen come out, they get scolded again because the only thing that changed was the fact that they were talking louder, but then Takki leaves them in charge of the MC while he goes to change. Maybe not such a great idea. Takki's changing behind a screen, so we can see his sillouette, but the Snowmen are just talking like normal and it really wasn't so interesting. They try to advertise for Sanada and Nozawa's studying show on NHK, but they mess up the show's name... but in a way that makes it hard for me to tell if it was a mistake or on purpose. Then as Sanada's saying something, Miyadate interrupts, announcing really loud that Takki's taking off the pants and they all turn to watch. hahaha... But honestly, that was the most interesting thing. Then when Takki comes back out, he asked them if they kept the audience entertained and they said they had. Takki's like, 'Really? 'cause I could've sworn I heard regular conversation like you would in your dressing room.' The Snowmen were like, 'Nope. You must have been imagining things.'
- All the Snowmen other than Sanada and Nozawa leave the stage and Takki sends Sanada into the arena seats to look for a 'cute person' for him to sing to. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he's supposed to find a guy. The first guy he finds is there with his wife and absolutely does not want to go on stage, even though Sanada is BEGGING him to. Even when Takki tells Sanada that the name of MSM is riding on him, the guy does not want to go. Sanada looked so panicked. The guy didn't even want to tell Sanada his name.
The second guy doesn't want to go up either and it's at this point that Sanada gives up on trying to just find a 'cute person' and is like, "Are there any more guys in the audience?!" It's taking a really long time and gets to the point where Nozawa decides that Sanada probably needs help and goes down into another section, bringing back this 10 year old boy named Taka-chan. FAIL SANADA!
Taka-chan sits on the white chair they've placed on the middle stage and Sanada starts wrapping the white chain around the kid, apologizing constantly. Takki stops him and says that it's ok, they don't need to do the chain thing because Taka-chan is really cute. Takki asks the kid what he thinks a man should be like and the kid answers that a man should be kind and strong. Takki asks if he's at all interested guys that are a little scary ("Like a spy!" Sanada said, helpfully), "Um... not really." Takki asks if Taka-chan ever thinks that bad guys are cool and Taka-chan says, "I don't know... Oh. I guess they're ok," because he finally got what Takki was trying to get him to say. haha... CUTE.
After Takki sang that ジンジン song, he asked Taka-chan if he was embarrassed/nervous and the kid was like, "No." Takki then asked him if he wanted to enter the Jimusho in the future and Taka-chan was like, 'Um... not really.' Kid wants to be a manga artist or comedic storyteller.
And of course, he got to take a picture with Takki after.
JUNIOR CORNER
- Question? minus Goto performed that song they performed after Frozen Sky. Sorry I can't remember the title off the top of my head, but this was my first time hearing it without Goto's violin. It was still good, but I missed Goto. BEAST SOUL. They performed BEAST SOUL. (Thanks Anna)
- 3 members of MSM performed Shelter. I love this song a lot (yay for Sakamoto~!) Sanada was one of them.
- WANA... everyone came out for this one, Kanju included.
SHORT CONTO - Juniors doing things and Takki giving judgement
- Sakuma & Sanada got a "NO COMMENT" for their janken thing.
- Takumi, Jo, and Tatsuta did this thing on getting a Takki Ranger from a gachagacha machine. I've seen them do better, but got 3 points from Takki.
- Nozawa & Abe. Abe was Nozawa's cab driver and tried to take Nozawa to the UK instead of USJ like Nozawa wanted. They sang a little song and that was cute. Takki drew them Anpanman with sparkles.
- Muro, Ryuta, and Masaya did this thing about a school of medaka. I usually don't recognize Masaya until he's with his brothers and didn't realize he was there. Ryuta and Masaya were the medaka and Muro sang the song. It's cuter and funnier when I think about it now, but at the time I was thinking that everyone was going to leave the concert thinking that the Kanju are angry, angry people. Ryuta kept getting in Muro's face, telling him to mind his own business and stop looking at them. And then while waiting for Takki's decision, Muro's like, 「三兄弟でがんばりました！」They got 5.2 points. Then as WANA started again, Masaya handed Muro his mic and ran off. I don't think Muro knew the lyrics and was just hopping around, but Ryuta was singing.
- And woah. EROERODANCE2010? There's not much dancing is there? It's more like stripping and strutting around the stage. Someone tell my why MSM had to all be like 18 years old? Like, holy shit.
- Takki's rise/fall platform looks like a love hotel bed. But it does rotate him upside-down and that's really cool.
- To perform some of the songs in a different way, he did this もしタッキーが◯◯だったら thing. Like for Venus, it was "What if Takki was a spiritual man?" and it was ridiculous! But funny.
- I can recognize almost all the Snowmen now! I can only get Fukka by process of elimination, but hopefully I'll be able to fix that in Yokohama. I think Iwamoto's my favorite. In interviews, I always noticed him, but I couldn't remember his face... but I really like that Korean-esque haircut on him. It really suits him. I think Sakuma's second. The permed hair is back, but it's not as ugly this time. And I've always been a sucker for dancers. Which is probably why I like Matori so much all of a sudden.
- There was a VTR of images of Takki as a baby, with a narration by his mother. She said that there were a lot of things that she couldn't do for her son when he was growing up, but thanks to the fans, he's been able to accomplish so much. She said that Takki is the man his is today, not because of her, but because the fans were there to support him and help him achieve his dreams. It was really touching.
But then text filled the screen and asked, "What if Takki became a baby again?" All of a sudden, Nozawa and Sanada come out dress like pre-school teachers (track suits and aprons), followed by baby Takki and Snowmen in baby gowns and bibs, crawling after them. The female dancers came out at some point wearing poop head things, each following a different baby. It was so ridiculous and cute. And Takki was a really tired baby by the end.
- At some point soon after the MC, Kikuoka and Daichi weren't standing with the rest of them anymore. I thought they'd left/gone home. Struck me as strange, considering that Daichi had practically professed his love for Takki just a few minutes before. The reappeared towards the end, so either they went to get a better view somewhere else, or they went to hang out with the other Kanju for a bit.
- When they did the Takki Ranger Taisou thing, they brought Daichi and Junta onto the stage. By the way? I don't know how they expect the audience to be able to do this thing cause there isn't enough space for us to do the 'T'. Anyway. When the song actually starts, all of Kanju (chibis, Little Gangs, and Jr.Boys) come out to dance. Junta and Daichi moved back a little so that they were by Matori and Ota. With Amano and Shimizu gone, it seems like they've taken their place positioning wise. Anyway. There are parts when everyone has to run to one side of the stage or another. Junta ran with them all to the left side, but didn't know when to run back, so he was in Ota's way. Ota stuck out his hand and pushed Junta's back to make him run faster. They were looking at each other, laughing the whole way through and it was cute. haha...
- When Takki introduced Question? at the end, Takki introduced everyone by last name, but Ishigaki got his full name. And I was impressed that Takki was able to name all the guest Kanju. Bun-chan, Junta and Daichi, sure, but I was surprised that he knew Muro's and Kikuoka's names. Veteran wouldn't have been in last year's concert 'cause they'd have been with Kanjani8.
- When the guest Kanju came onto the stage for the Encore stuff, Iwamoto and Bun-chan were passing each other... and hugged. It was cute, but I don't really get it. haha....
Overall, really enjoyed myself. It'll be different to see it without the distraction of Kanju being there, but I think I'll still have fun. And I'm totally wearing my yukata since I'll be missing my Bon Odori to go to Tokyo. I don't know if other people who know nothing about Kanju will leave having a good impression of them or not... but I like that they were still very much them (even in their attempts to be more respectful when talking to Takki).
Matori and Kikuoka... *sigh* Having a hard time figuring out who I like more. I've like Kikuoka for years now and I like him a lot when he's on tv or talking with the other members... but he doesn't have a ton of stage presence, he's not the greatest dancer (although he's gotten better over the last few months!), and has a tendency to scan over a crowd and not look/interact with fans. Matori on the other hand, is a really good dancer, fun to watch at concerts and draws my attention no matter where he is on stage. But I know nothing about him other than his name, his birthday, that he was one of the original members of Little Gangs, and that he possibly goes to university in Shiga. I like them for different reasons and it's hard choosing just one. I dunno... will have to think, but I need to decide before I go to the upcoming butai. Hmm...
30 Days J-pop Meme
I've been really bad about keeping up with this. I'm just going to follow Raras's example and just keep going in order and not make a catch-up post. Wow. Did I really only get up to Day 4 before stopping? Fail.
Day 5: Your favorite j-drama actress
My favorite without a doubt is Horikita Maki. Adored her and her short boy hair in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and totally loved her kick-ass attitude in Tokujo Kabachi. 2nd place is Kitagawa Keiko.
Other than that, CONGRATULATIONS TO KIRA on getting her internship in Japan for this fall! *throws confetti* I'm really happy that you'll be coming back soon! ^-^
[concert notes] Tackey Summer Concert 2010 (100731, 大阪城ホール)
Ok. Here are my notes on Saturday's Takki concert. Won't call it a report since I won't be able to comment on all of the songs... It's a little difficult for me, seeing as how I don't know the titles to most of Takki's songs. Warning now... I do sometimes write some of my notes in Japanese. I try to write the translations next to them, but sometimes I forget. Also, I think this turned out to be about Kanju at Takki's concert. Sorry Snowman fans... I mention them (like Sanada's FAIL at getting audience participation), but it's mostly about Kanju.
Like I said before, I wasn't planning on going to see Takki here in Osaka. I'm going to see the concert in Yokohama and honestly saw no point in going until I had Rachel next to me to tell me who's who in MSM. She's been trying to get me to at least be able to tell the Snowmen apart for about 8 months now. But then at the Kanju concerts, Akito mentioned that the "Chibiko Kanju" would be backing at Takki's concerts this weekend and that sorta made me think that maybe going would be worth it. Still wasn't going to go though cause it was too late to get a ticket off of ticket.co.jp... but then Rachel said someone online had extra tickets. Anyway. Ended up going to the concert with jin_rabu and had an awesome time.
Our seats were 16th row on the left side of the stage. After being in Osaka-Jo Hall for Kanju's cons it was a little surprising to see a proper stage. Have I ever mentioned how low budget Kanju are? 'Cause they really, REALLY are. All those special effects they got to use at their concerts, I understand now were because Takki was gonna be using them.
I'm really not sure where to start, so for now, I'm just gonna type, probably out of order... and also c/p from my online conversations with snowqueenofhoth and murasaki_anna 'cause I'm lazy. It did turn out to be a lot longer than I thought it would.
- There were a lot of empty seats and the amount of seats in the arena section were noticeably less than the Kanju concerts. And because the age range for Takki's fans is older, there were a lot of children, many of which who were sleeping.
- KANJU~! I can't express how happy I was to see Jr.Boys up there, especially since I was thinking Little Gangs and unknowns when Akito had said 'Chibiko Jrs.'. I went with the intention of figuring the Snowmen out and having a favorite (and I was successful... hello Iwamoto), but I really spent a lot of time watching Matori. I'm a little alarmed at how I can pick him out from across the hall, even if his back is towards me.
By the way... can anyone tell me if that's Nakata Atsushi or Asada Junya in Little Gangs? It's Nakata Atsushi (And for my reference... Okazaki, red. Tatsuta, yellow. Jo, orange. Imae, green. Atsushi, blue)
- I knew the older Kanju would come to watch. After Takki sent a VTR video to show at their cons, they were kinda required to come... it was just a matter of who would actually show up. Junta, Daichi, and all of Veteran. It was sad. In the dark, I could tell who they were just based on their clothes and posture (my eyesight sucks, so I rely on posture a lot). They came out for the first time during Takki's yankee Ai Kakumei thing, Junta and Daichi had on over sized fur/cow coats, while Veteran was wearing those satin bomber jackets with the dragons embroidered on the backs. Bun-chan was wearing sunglasses. Ok. Them walking around trying to be all tough and yankee... is pretty damned hilarious. Bun-chan and Muro are probably the most successful. Could not stop laughing though. Kunta's too bouncy to be scary. It was really cute.
- The guest Kanju were actually on stage for a good chunk of the concert. I didn't go last year, but did they perform? Either that or maybe they picked it up from the Jr.Boys.
- Sad face. Hirano and Shimizu weren't at Takki. They weren't in the Kanju concerts either which means they probably weren't at the Shokura filming on Friday either. If they're gone, that'll make 4 of the more well-known Kanju that have left this year. Amano, Backes, Hirano and Shimizu.
Guest Kanju: Junta, Daichi, Kikuoka, Bunichi, Kunta, Ito, Muro, Ryuta
Jr. Boys that I saw and know the names of: Mukai兄, Matori, Ota, Yoshida
Little Gangs: Takumi, Imae, Jo, Tatsuta, Atsushi/Junya
Random: Kanauchi, Masaya
Definitely did not see: Senzaki, Shimizu, Hirano, Mukai Koji, Reiya, or any of Big Gang/Gang Star.
There were obviously a ton of Kanju there, and I recognize most of them... but I have no names to put to faces. Ah, the life of a Kanju fan... I'm looking forward to the upcoming Osaka Shokura episodes.
- The overall theme was a vacation resort, so the stage looked sorta like a tropical beach hotel? Not too sure about this Black Takki and White Takki thing though.
- There's this song that Miyadate and Sakuma backdance, where they're all wearing these nude leotard tops, that have tribal-like markings on them and then black pants. Takki's are red. Miyadate's and Sakuma's are turquoise. There was lots of pretty fire. There was also some dance move where Miyadate and Sakuma do a sit-up. Just one. haha...
- No Gang Star. Was kinda hoping to see some Matori/Kusumoto interaction. Ah well. Go read cute Matori/Kusumoto fic over here.
MC
- Takki looked at Bun-chan and was like, "Hmm... I think I've seen you before." And Bun-chan was all 久しぶりです。浜中です。back. Eloquent as always. Then Takki asked why Bun-chan's hair was blonde (and basically the same color as Takki's). 「あれ？なんで金髪なの？」Bun-chan said that when he saw Takki's hair in the VTR he'd made for Kanju to show at their concerts, he thought he'd trying dying his hair too.
Takki tells them to close their eyes and then tells the people who lied to raise their hand... and Bun-chan promptly raises his hand. 「はい！目を瞑って。じゃあ・・・嘘をついた人〜！」 hahaha... And then Takki scolded him for lying to the fans. 「まずいすね・・・」「まずいすよ！」haha...
- Daichi really wanted Takki's number/mail address. He even pulled out his (pink) slide cellphone to show that he was serious. haha... When Takki said 'Ok', he looked SO HAPPY.
- Daichi tells Takki that the first solo he ever performed was a T&T song (To Be or Not To Be) and that he was really thankful for it, but watching the real thing made him realize how much cooler it is when Takki's doing it. Takki said that although he performed it earlier, it's different without Tsubasa... to which Daichi said that Tsubasa IS here. And then they pushed Kunta forward. haha... Ok. This might make some of you go, "Why Kunta?" but at the unit concerts last year, Kunta was Tsubasa during the sempai medley. So anyway. Kunta continues to do a few imitations of Tsubasa ("Get down", kime-pose, and "Nandakke...") and Takki just looks at the rest of them and asks if Kunta's always like this. Takki asks him who he likes better, him or Tsubasa, saying that Kunta should answer honestly... and then tells Kunta he will never be a star when he chooses Tsubasa. POOR KUNTA~~!
- Didn't know that Daichi joined Johnny's because he thought Takki was awesome. So Takki told him to say 3 things that Daichi liked from that time. "Beautiful smile, something I didn't catch, and blonde hair." I've never seen Daichi so humble and respectful... well. At least he was until he started telling the story of his first time meeting Takki. He first starts by saying, 「ちょっと汚い話だけど・・・」and I immediately was like, "UH-OH."
So apparently, when Daichi was pulled in to do Enbujou a few years back, before going to greet Takki in his dressing room, Daichi went to the bathroom 'cause he really had to go... and Takki walked in. He said that he was so nervous that nothing would come out. Then when Takki said, "Good luck (with the show)" and left, he was so relieved that using the bathroom suddenly became really easy. (Daichi made a 'WHOOSH' sound effect 'cause he's classy like that.)
I was torn between face palming or laughing, probably ended up with a mixture of both, but majority of the audience was REALLY quiet, so Daichi apologized for telling the story and Takki was just like, "THEN WHY DID YOU?!" Good job Daichi. Good job.
- Ito's first time meeting Takki, Takki told him that one of the jokes Ito told during a Kanjani8 skit was funny and that it made him try harder from there on out. Poor Ito... Takki made him do the gag right then and there. It really wasn't funny and they (read as "Daichi") were like, "Um... I think Takki was just trying to make you feel better."
- They apologized for just showing up to his concert and talking so much during the MC. Daichi asked if it was ok for them to advertise their upcoming butai, but Takki said that advertisements aren't allowed on his stage... so they were like, "We may or may not be appearing in this thing, at a place like Shochikuza, possibly from August 3rd to the 28th. And it might be called 'Shounentachi Koushi Naki Rougoku'... Oh. And there's a rumor that there may be more information about this butai-like thing on shaniizu.net, but we're not sure about any of this."
- Takki asked if they just came from the butai rehearsal and if they were all in their shifuku, which they were (I've seen some of those clothes before) and they asked if Takki was also wearing his own clothes. They were commenting on how oshare his Takki Ranger pants and boots were, and asked if he'd gotten the belt in Amemura (an interesting district of Osaka).
- After Kanju left, Takki started talking about his new Takki Channel thing and how he's spent months preparing video footage for it. Said there will be some Jr. dokkiri to show. Someone in the audience shouted/asked if Tsubasa would make an appearance and Takki said he's considering it, going on to say that updating weekly is gonna take a lot so he's considering a bunch of different possibilities.
- Takki said that usually he has Kisumai or ABC-Z, but this time he's decided to go with the Snowmen as the main, so how about having them come out... and then says, "Snow Prince." to which they all come onto the stage going "Chigaimasu~!" There was an awkward pause and then as they're about to introduce themselves properly, Takki interrupts saying that their entrance was boring and that they have to redo it. Being good kouhai, they immediately turn around and start heading back down the stairs, but Takki was still talking and was like, "LISTEN!" and they all stop and turn back to face him. Takki's like, "I just gave you a really good introduction, but you guys come out like that. You're all about 18 right? I'm 10 years older than you, dressed like this and you're all dressed in suits. Be more genki!"
They head off stage and Takki starts his talk about how he's chosen the Snowmen as the main again, but then stops 'cause we're laughing 'cause we can all hear things, so Takki stops and is like, 「おい。Snowman!」「はい！」「全部聞こえてるぞ！」hahahahahaha.... I guess they forgot that their mics were on.
Anyway. The Snowmen come out, they get scolded again because the only thing that changed was the fact that they were talking louder, but then Takki leaves them in charge of the MC while he goes to change. Maybe not such a great idea. Takki's changing behind a screen, so we can see his sillouette, but the Snowmen are just talking like normal and it really wasn't so interesting. They try to advertise for Sanada and Nozawa's studying show on NHK, but they mess up the show's name... but in a way that makes it hard for me to tell if it was a mistake or on purpose. Then as Sanada's saying something, Miyadate interrupts, announcing really loud that Takki's taking off the pants and they all turn to watch. hahaha... But honestly, that was the most interesting thing. Then when Takki comes back out, he asked them if they kept the audience entertained and they said they had. Takki's like, 'Really? 'cause I could've sworn I heard regular conversation like you would in your dressing room.' The Snowmen were like, 'Nope. You must have been imagining things.'
- All the Snowmen other than Sanada and Nozawa leave the stage and Takki sends Sanada into the arena seats to look for a 'cute person' for him to sing to. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he's supposed to find a guy. The first guy he finds is there with his wife and absolutely does not want to go on stage, even though Sanada is BEGGING him to. Even when Takki tells Sanada that the name of MSM is riding on him, the guy does not want to go. Sanada looked so panicked. The guy didn't even want to tell Sanada his name.
The second guy doesn't want to go up either and it's at this point that Sanada gives up on trying to just find a 'cute person' and is like, "Are there any more guys in the audience?!" It's taking a really long time and gets to the point where Nozawa decides that Sanada probably needs help and goes down into another section, bringing back this 10 year old boy named Taka-chan. FAIL SANADA!
Taka-chan sits on the white chair they've placed on the middle stage and Sanada starts wrapping the white chain around the kid, apologizing constantly. Takki stops him and says that it's ok, they don't need to do the chain thing because Taka-chan is really cute. Takki asks the kid what he thinks a man should be like and the kid answers that a man should be kind and strong. Takki asks if he's at all interested guys that are a little scary ("Like a spy!" Sanada said, helpfully), "Um... not really." Takki asks if Taka-chan ever thinks that bad guys are cool and Taka-chan says, "I don't know... Oh. I guess they're ok," because he finally got what Takki was trying to get him to say. haha... CUTE.
After Takki sang that ジンジン song, he asked Taka-chan if he was embarrassed/nervous and the kid was like, "No." Takki then asked him if he wanted to enter the Jimusho in the future and Taka-chan was like, 'Um... not really.' Kid wants to be a manga artist or comedic storyteller.
And of course, he got to take a picture with Takki after.
JUNIOR CORNER
- Question? minus Goto performed that song they performed after Frozen Sky. Sorry I can't remember the title off the top of my head, but this was my first time hearing it without Goto's violin. It was still good, but I missed Goto. BEAST SOUL. They performed BEAST SOUL. (Thanks Anna)
- 3 members of MSM performed Shelter. I love this song a lot (yay for Sakamoto~!) Sanada was one of them.
- WANA... everyone came out for this one, Kanju included.
SHORT CONTO - Juniors doing things and Takki giving judgement
- Sakuma & Sanada got a "NO COMMENT" for their janken thing.
- Takumi, Jo, and Tatsuta did this thing on getting a Takki Ranger from a gachagacha machine. I've seen them do better, but got 3 points from Takki.
- Nozawa & Abe. Abe was Nozawa's cab driver and tried to take Nozawa to the UK instead of USJ like Nozawa wanted. They sang a little song and that was cute. Takki drew them Anpanman with sparkles.
- Muro, Ryuta, and Masaya did this thing about a school of medaka. I usually don't recognize Masaya until he's with his brothers and didn't realize he was there. Ryuta and Masaya were the medaka and Muro sang the song. It's cuter and funnier when I think about it now, but at the time I was thinking that everyone was going to leave the concert thinking that the Kanju are angry, angry people. Ryuta kept getting in Muro's face, telling him to mind his own business and stop looking at them. And then while waiting for Takki's decision, Muro's like, 「三兄弟でがんばりました！」They got 5.2 points. Then as WANA started again, Masaya handed Muro his mic and ran off. I don't think Muro knew the lyrics and was just hopping around, but Ryuta was singing.
- And woah. EROERODANCE2010? There's not much dancing is there? It's more like stripping and strutting around the stage. Someone tell my why MSM had to all be like 18 years old? Like, holy shit.
- Takki's rise/fall platform looks like a love hotel bed. But it does rotate him upside-down and that's really cool.
- To perform some of the songs in a different way, he did this もしタッキーが◯◯だったら thing. Like for Venus, it was "What if Takki was a spiritual man?" and it was ridiculous! But funny.
- I can recognize almost all the Snowmen now! I can only get Fukka by process of elimination, but hopefully I'll be able to fix that in Yokohama. I think Iwamoto's my favorite. In interviews, I always noticed him, but I couldn't remember his face... but I really like that Korean-esque haircut on him. It really suits him. I think Sakuma's second. The permed hair is back, but it's not as ugly this time. And I've always been a sucker for dancers. Which is probably why I like Matori so much all of a sudden.
- There was a VTR of images of Takki as a baby, with a narration by his mother. She said that there were a lot of things that she couldn't do for her son when he was growing up, but thanks to the fans, he's been able to accomplish so much. She said that Takki is the man his is today, not because of her, but because the fans were there to support him and help him achieve his dreams. It was really touching.
But then text filled the screen and asked, "What if Takki became a baby again?" All of a sudden, Nozawa and Sanada come out dress like pre-school teachers (track suits and aprons), followed by baby Takki and Snowmen in baby gowns and bibs, crawling after them. The female dancers came out at some point wearing poop head things, each following a different baby. It was so ridiculous and cute. And Takki was a really tired baby by the end.
- At some point soon after the MC, Kikuoka and Daichi weren't standing with the rest of them anymore. I thought they'd left/gone home. Struck me as strange, considering that Daichi had practically professed his love for Takki just a few minutes before. The reappeared towards the end, so either they went to get a better view somewhere else, or they went to hang out with the other Kanju for a bit.
- When they did the Takki Ranger Taisou thing, they brought Daichi and Junta onto the stage. By the way? I don't know how they expect the audience to be able to do this thing cause there isn't enough space for us to do the 'T'. Anyway. When the song actually starts, all of Kanju (chibis, Little Gangs, and Jr.Boys) come out to dance. Junta and Daichi moved back a little so that they were by Matori and Ota. With Amano and Shimizu gone, it seems like they've taken their place positioning wise. Anyway. There are parts when everyone has to run to one side of the stage or another. Junta ran with them all to the left side, but didn't know when to run back, so he was in Ota's way. Ota stuck out his hand and pushed Junta's back to make him run faster. They were looking at each other, laughing the whole way through and it was cute. haha...
- When Takki introduced Question? at the end, Takki introduced everyone by last name, but Ishigaki got his full name. And I was impressed that Takki was able to name all the guest Kanju. Bun-chan, Junta and Daichi, sure, but I was surprised that he knew Muro's and Kikuoka's names. Veteran wouldn't have been in last year's concert 'cause they'd have been with Kanjani8.
- When the guest Kanju came onto the stage for the Encore stuff, Iwamoto and Bun-chan were passing each other... and hugged. It was cute, but I don't really get it. haha....
Overall, really enjoyed myself. It'll be different to see it without the distraction of Kanju being there, but I think I'll still have fun. And I'm totally wearing my yukata since I'll be missing my Bon Odori to go to Tokyo. I don't know if other people who know nothing about Kanju will leave having a good impression of them or not... but I like that they were still very much them (even in their attempts to be more respectful when talking to Takki).
Matori and Kikuoka... *sigh* Having a hard time figuring out who I like more. I've like Kikuoka for years now and I like him a lot when he's on tv or talking with the other members... but he doesn't have a ton of stage presence, he's not the greatest dancer (although he's gotten better over the last few months!), and has a tendency to scan over a crowd and not look/interact with fans. Matori on the other hand, is a really good dancer, fun to watch at concerts and draws my attention no matter where he is on stage. But I know nothing about him other than his name, his birthday, that he was one of the original members of Little Gangs, and that he possibly goes to university in Shiga. I like them for different reasons and it's hard choosing just one. I dunno... will have to think, but I need to decide before I go to the upcoming butai. Hmm...
30 Days J-pop Meme
I've been really bad about keeping up with this. I'm just going to follow Raras's example and just keep going in order and not make a catch-up post. Wow. Did I really only get up to Day 4 before stopping? Fail.
Day 5: Your favorite j-drama actress
My favorite without a doubt is Horikita Maki. Adored her and her short boy hair in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and totally loved her kick-ass attitude in Tokujo Kabachi. 2nd place is Kitagawa Keiko.
Other than that, CONGRATULATIONS TO KIRA on getting her internship in Japan for this fall! *throws confetti* I'm really happy that you'll be coming back soon! ^-^