Hibiki

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My morning started very early on the first day. Got up at 4:45AM to take the first train. My friends and I ended up on the same train after a couple transfers and reached Makuhari after 6. We headed to the venue and followed the line to find the end. I swear, it was the first time I had seen this part of Makuhari! I never knew there was a river nearby! The line was so long and it took us at least 5-8 minutes to get to the end. Took the first time yet already there were at least 2000 people in line. >__>; Goods were going to start at 9 but they ended up starting early at 8:30. The line actually went rather quickly. There were lots of registers so it only took about an hour and a half to get into the actual purchasing area, but alas, the cushion sold out first and then as I was already in line at one of the registers, the plush sold out too. =( Luckily they plan on selling all of the goods on the fan club website later. I was afraid that they would only be selling leftovers. Went home after buying goods since I had a few hours before the live would begin. On my way back to the venue, I went with a different friend who drove us there. As we walked towards the venue from the parking lot, I spotted Okiayu Ryoutarou and Terase Kyouko. ^^;; I’m guessing they were on their way backstage since they didn’t go up the escalator like we did.

Inside the venue, my seats for the first day were 4th row on the second floor in the G block, so the first block closest to the stage. It was quite close! Also saw steps going down towards the stage so I knew Kamiya would be coming our way. Our seats were close to the aisle too! =D For the second day I was also in the G block but up on the 3rd floor. It was a little further but the view of the stage was still very good. There was a center stage and a walkway connecting it to the main stage. They had an instrumental version of my diary (New chapter) playing in the background. Cue the excitement when the music stopped and the lights went down. Read more…

Reports/Photos Kamiya Hiroshi

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MOB’s first live tour took place in Kobe and Makuhari in June and July.

I arrived in Kobe a day early so I could line up for goods. Took the first train on the Port Liner to arrive at around 6AM and already there was a sizable line. Obviously these were people who were staying at the hotel near the venue. (I didn’t stay there because there is absolutely nothing in the way of food, convenience stores, etc. in the area.) Apparently there was a high school swimming tournament at the venue next door so there were a lot of students passing by. Their puzzled looks when they looked at the event schedule for World Hall were hilarious. Didn’t have any problems buying all the goods I wanted, though the line was pretty hot. Near the goods entrance were the present boxes and they had separate boxes for HIRO-C and Kamiya Hiroshi, and ONO-D and Ono Daisuke. XD After goods, my friend and I went back to our hotel to catch up on sleep.

The set list for all four shows were the same, except the guests were different for Kobe and Makuhari. At Kobe it was Miyake Hirofumi (aka Hiropon, whom you have probably seen as the bassist at OrePara), and at Makuhari it was Oka Naoki. The corners were also the same but with different contents. The videos shown were all the same too, though I was hoping they would be different.

Before the event, they plays songs that were sung at karaoke for OnoD’s birthday episode such as JoJo, FLYING IN THE SKY, Dragon Night, Guren no Yumiya, etc. The audience got really pumped up just listening to the songs. Finally when the lights went down, there was a video played on the monitor with the band members explaining what they thought “rock” is. After, each of the band members were called up onto the stage with the announcements recorded by Lenne Hardt (American seiyuu affiliated with Aoni Production). While the back band came onto the stage from the side, HIRO-C and ONO-D came from below via a pop up mechanism on the stage. Read more…

Reports/Photos DGS, Kamiya Hiroshi, Ono Daisuke

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This year’s KiraFes took place a bit later in the year on May 9-10 at Yokohama Arena. It felt really weird going to KiraFes in May… A few days earlier during Golden Week, a couple friends and I headed to Yokohama for a buffet lunch in Chinatown and also to check out the Kiramune Museum at the Yokohama branch of Animate. At the “museum” they had on display panels from the Fan Meeting event in Yokohama and outfits worn by the Kiramune members during last year’s KiraFes (the shiny outfits they came out with at the beginning of the event), and of course there were lots of goods and media for sale. The outfits were by Jill Blaze and of course customized for each member. Kamiya wore a size M. I think only Eguchi, Namikawa, and Iwata wore size L. On Namikawa’s jacket, there was a large… discoloration… on the right side. Wonder what that was. ^^;; They didn’t allow photos of the outfits.

On the day of KiraFes, it was really cloudy and had actually started to sprinkle a bit. Not too bad, but it was a little annoying. (Grr, Namikawa!!) When we got to the venue, my friend and I headed towards the end of the goods line. We must’ve walked at least 3/4ths of a mile to get there! Had the staff pointed us towards the end instead of making us walk all the way around the venue I think we would have gotten there a lot faster. (He probably didn’t know where the end of the line was.) Um, yeah… Long line was long. I heard that people started lining up at 4:30 in the morning. x__x After goods, my friend and I chilled at a nearby cafe. When we got back to enter the venue, there was a sea of people “lined up.” We had to get our IDs checked before we could go inside. It was pretty exciting to go inside because we didn’t know how the stage was going to be set up so we didn’t know what our view would be like. The setup was different from last year.  The arena is oval-shaped and they had the main stage in the middle with a stage in the back, and walkways from the main stage to the sides. For the first day, I was facing towards the front of the stage on the right side. On the second day, I was parallel to the back stage on the right side. This meant that I wouldn’t get a very good view if they came to the back stage– I would only see their side and if they lined up then they would be covering each other. Also if they were standing at the main stage and facing towards the front then I would only see their back. Oh well, it was pretty cool to have a 360 degree stage, and on the second day I was at the second to last row of the section which means I would be really close when they go around on the carts.

When the lights went down, the opening movie played on the monitor above the arena. That’s another thing with a 360 degree layout like this: It’s hard to look at both the stage and the monitor at the same time, and if you were sitting in the center seats (down in the arena pit) then you wouldn’t be able to see the monitor at all. There was a chandelier at the main stage and we could see someone go inside as the movie was ending. It was Namikawa and he was first  up. I’m not versed in his songs but I do like his “Funky” ones. He would later sing Funky Wave and we all did the wave. It was fun.

Kamiya was after Nobu and for his first set of songs he sang Dolce misto, my diary, and GLORIOUS TIME. Dolce misto was so cute! During the chorus, he would move his right fist in a circular motion near his ear. He sang on the lift at the front of the center stage and at the end was at the center of the center stage. We had no idea what he was going to sing for the next song because when the music started, it wasn’t anything we recognized. We finally new what it was when he started singing– A remix of my diary!! The center stage lifted up and there were screens at the top and on the sides. They played footage from the my diary PV and making video! So nostalgic~! After my diary was GLORIOUS TIME and Kamiya rode in a cart around the upper ring of the arena. I think the key is a little lower when he sings the song live since it didn’t sound like he sang it in as high a tone as the CD recording. On the second day, he messed up at the end. ^^; There’s a long instrumental part before the “todoke ashita he” but Kamiya missed the timing and when he started singing “todoke” the music was fading out and then the song ended. Oops. ^^;;;;

With CONNECT gone, Kamiya took the lead. During the first MC on the first day, they mainly talked about the fan meetings. On the second day, they mainly made fun of Eguchi and Namikawa. XD Nobu had a dream the night before where Namikawa was chasing him and then Ryohei was all, “This way!” and then they both ran away from Namikawa together. ^^; Eguchi had a dream where he was running late because he was out shopping with Ryohei. They then began to pick on Eguchi because his stories have no punch line and are “boring.” XD Miyu was all, “If Suzu san were up here, he’d tell you how boring you are.” LOL. Then they made fun of Namikawa because he doesn’t understand Japanese. XD They also talked about contents in the pamphlet and about the page where everyone answered where they would want to go for the next fan meeting, what they anticipate for each member’s stage today, etc. A lot of them wanted to go to Hawaii or overseas, and Kamiya’s answer was “HAWAII” in big letters. He specifically requested that it be written in big font. XD Namikawa’s answers were all so weird. For where he wanted to have the next fan meeting, he wrote “city at the bottom of the sea” (= Atlantis). His reason was that he wouldn’t have to worry about sweating if he’s underwater, LOL. Yeah…………

KAmiYU had a small set list this year compared to just the one encore song last year. They sang REASON and EXOTIC FEVER. For REASON, Kamiya rode on the crane on the left side of the stage and Miyu on the right side. In the 4th verse where Kamiya is supposed to sing “kokoro no ondo ga,” he accidentally started singing the “bokura wa kanarazu” part from later in the song. ^^; This confused Miyu but he and Kamiya ended the line with “soko ni tadoritsuku yo” and then went back to the correct lyrics. It was kind of cute seeing Kamiya go a little silent when he realized he was singing the wrong part. Oops again. They sang EXOTIC FEVER at the back stage. The choreography was the same as when they sang it during KAmiYU in Wonderland 3. So coooool~!

For Kamiya’s last set of songs, he sang Kodoku to Jounetsu no Shouten and SELFISH. Not too much to say about SELFISH, but Kodoku to Jounetsu no Shouten was really cool. Kamiya sang it at the center stage and there were flames and everything. They timed it to the music and Kamiya’s movements so it would look like he’s controlling the flames. Very neat, though I don’t know if it was just because of the angle I was viewing from or what but Kamiya’s timing seemed a bit off on the second day.

Kamiya sang WALKIN’ WALKING’! for his encore. He would lift his legs high and his arm parallel to the ground in a walking motion and it was really cute. In the middle of it, Nobu and Ryohei came out with Kamiya and “walked” together. ^^ Kamiya came out again with Eguchi for Yocchin’s Do It encore. They had neckties around their heads and acted like drunk salarymen. Very cute.

After everyone finished singing their encore songs, all the members came out on stage again and each of them promoted their upcoming lives and CDs, etc. When Kacky was reading the promotions, everyone kept blocking the monitor so he couldn’t read it and then Nobu came from behind and covered his eyes with a “Da~re da?” LoL. Namikawa did another wave with the audience since the other members wanted to see it. Kamiya was last and he sent the entire venue screaming with his announcement of not one but TWO new CDs and his first solo live. I may have clutched onto my friend’s arm very tightly during all this to contain my excitement. XD I did think that Kamiya’s movements during live were better than in previous years, so maybe he’s been working on increasing his stamina for his upcoming solo live in September. Man, no one is going to stop me from going to this!!! On the first day after Kamiya made his announcements, he talked about how the PV and making for my diary were playing on the screen as he sang, and he said that he wanted to die (of embarrassment). XD I guess it is a rather embarrassing to see video of yourself from 6 years ago.

At the end they sang Ever Dream and Get Together! while riding cranes and going around the arena in carts. They also threw some autographed color balls into the audience. After the first day, my arms were dead tired. It wasn’t as bad the second day but my feet hadn’t recovered from the first day so they hurt a lot. The event was a little over 5 hours both days.

Some last thoughts: I looooooooove Miyu’s singing! He nearly had me tearing up when he sang Dilemma no Yoru. Your heart hurts whiling listening to it, and not only that but Miyu’s facial expressions– Wow! So much emotion! I really liked his new songs too. Trignal and their new songs were cool. There was this one part where they had mic stands leaning on the ground and they used their foot to get it to stand up. That was pretty cool. I think it was Eguchi who said it during the event, but Yonaga was pretty sexy. XD He was also wearing his wedding ring which made me smile a bit. I’m wondering how they will edit GLORIOUS TIME on the BD/DVD since Kamiya messed up on the second day when they were recording for the home release. I hope they keep it in instead of using footage from the first day. I didn’t see it personally because of the angle I was sitting at on both days, but some people have reported that Kamiya scratched his butt a few times during the MC. ^^;;; Will have to check on the BD/DVD release, LoL. Apparently Iwata was there on the first day for a bit before he had to leave early for work, and Suzumura was there on the second day. It really does feel different without them on stage with everyone but I suppose the up side is that now Kamiya gets to sort of play leader. I hope next year’s KiraFes will go back to being held in March.

Reports/Photos Kamiya Hiroshi

CharaHobby 2014 took place August 23-24 at Makuhari Messe, and this year the DGS public recording took place on the 23rd at 1PM at the main stage. It’s been two years since the last public recording, and the first at CharaHobby since 2011. I got a great spot in line this year and was the first into the stage area when the doors opened in the morning. As usual, I chose a spot to the right side of the stage. It’s a very clear view and pretty close too. DGS was the second stage of the day and most of the people lined up around the stage area were there to wait for it.

1PM rolled around and the stage started off with a maesetsu by Yagihashi kun and Chanko chan. Yagihashi kun would read the warnings and whenever he said not to do something, Chanko chan would do exactly that. ^^; A minute after the maesetsu, cue the music and the screams! Out onto the stage came Kamiya and OnoD. They were wearing the tshirts they produced for the event. OnoD greeted the crowd with his usual “mosu.” Kamiya mentioned that it was their first public recording in two years so they were actually pretty nervous and couldn’t remember how to say the “Dear Girl ~Stories~ in CharaHobby 2014” title call. They yelled out towards all the girls, and then the boys, and there were quite a few boys. Actually there were two outside the stage area in the front row near the center, one wearing a “We <3 DG” shirt and the other wearing a Dandy shirt. I guess they were fans of OnoD. XD The episode’s title was something along the lines of, “This week’s episode brought to you wearing nothing but a baseball cap!” This touched on one of the previous episodes where they were joking that they’ll go on stage with just a baseball cap covering their lower regions. XD

After the commercial break, they asked for a show of hands of those who were attending a DGS public recording for the first time, and also those who were attending an event for the first time. There were quite a number of people who were attending their first event, and OnoD apologized for only wearing a baseball cap. Kamiya then asked, “How do you like our BIG boys?” XD Kamiya then asked OnoD how he was today, referring to his legs, and of course, OnoD had shaved his legs. But because he was wearing boots and jeans, he couldn’t show it to the audience. He also made it clear for the radio listeners that he actually was wearing pants and not just a baseball cap. ^^; The fans were definitely disappointed, and OnoD explained that the only way to show them would be to pull his pants down from above, but if he did that then they wouldn’t be allowed to come back to CharaHobby, hehe.

In the first corner, they introduced the goods they produced for the event. Yagihashi kun came on stage holding the tote bag and all the other goods were attached to it. Before leaving the stage, he gave Kamiya and OnoD each a can of Dr. Pepper.

Since the DGS the week before wasn’t aired due to baseball extra innings, they decided to do some of the projects they did on that episode for the public recording. The mail for that week had to do with festivals. OnoD pointed out that while he remembers the contents of the mail, he doesn’t remember having to pull any ropes. On the stage were two long ropes that led to the side of the stage. Kamiya went first and when he pulled the rope, it was Chanko chan tied to the other end. Chanko chan whispered to Kamiya what his task was, and he had to say a dirty joke that would barely not freak out a girl. Chanko chan then gave Kamiya another can of Dr. Pepper. Kamiya said, “I want to eat mangosteen with you.” Next was OnoD and when he pulled the rope, Yagihashi kun was on the other end. OnoD’s task was to tell a one-line joke relating to CharaHobby. OnoD expressed CharaHobby using his body. First he screamed “kyaa~” like a girl, then did Sinbad’s naked pose for “ra” (which means “naked”), said “hoo~” like he was interested in something, and then in a high voice said “bii—” as if shooting a beam. As always, it was a very visual public recording and those listening on the radio probably had no idea what was going on. XD

Next was the usual video corner. This year they showed video from OnoD’s birthday episode where Kamiya was captured and then they had to solve puzzles. When the video started, Kamiya ran off stage so we all guessed that he was probably changing into something. And sure enough, after the video, Kamiya came back on stage as OnoD’s manager Kamiuchi! He wore a black suit jacket and sunglasses. He came to confirm OnoD’s schedule and wouldn’t listen, saying it would only take a second, as OnoD tried to explain that he was working and that they were on the air. XD Kamiuchi was crazy as usual. OnoD’s schedule included playing a titan in the nude (Shingeki no Kyojin), facing off against a lion (Kuroshitsuji), and because there have been a lot of sports series this year, OnoD would also be starring in “Ono Daisuke no Kuroi Baby Daiya ga Free! de Marumie Pedal!!” (combination of Kuroko no Basket, Baby Steps, Daiya no A, Free, Yowamushi Pedal, and Haikyuu!!). XDDDD For the last one, OnoD would have to pedal on bikes naked so Kamiuchi warned that people might be able to see his “kuroi baby daiya” (black baby diamond, referring to OnoD’s privates), LoL. Also, apparently Kamiya also OK’d all these offers too, to which OnoD told him, “Choose your roles more carefully!” Kamiuchi’s just hilarious.

After Kamiuchi left the stage, OnoD proceed to the next corner which was Dear Voice. Kamiya “returned from the restroom” and they introduced the Dear Voice clips that the crowd would also be participating in. When Kamiya said, “Mou, boku onna no ko ja na~i,” the audience had to respond with, “I’m not a girl.” For OnoD’s voice, he said, “Ore no shiri wa hikaru,” and the audience had to say, “My hip shine!”

Lastly, it was time for an announcement! Every year around October, the show’s theme song is changed, and this year would be no different. However, while Kamiya and OnoD usually sing the theme songs, this year “they” would be singing them: Masochistic Ono Band!! I had the feeling that they would be announcing new songs for the show, but I certainly didn’t imagine that MOB would be the one singing them. And as if that weren’t big enough a surprise, they also announced that the new songs would be recorded on MOB’s major debut mini album! The CD is titled “Masochistic Over Beat” and will be released in December. For the ending, they pointed out how some people were wearing the DGS cap, and OnoD mentioned that he was wearing the ONO-D WILD boxer pants. Apparently some people in the audience were too. ^^; Seeing all the different tshirts people were wearing, it reminded them of all the goods they’ve produced.

And with that, the public recording ended. The huge crowd around the stage area practically disappeared after the DGS public recording ended. Pretty much everyone was there just for that event. ^^;

After I went around the venue and checked out both the KADOKAWA and Bunka Housou Extend booths. At the KADOKAWA booth they had a huge Juri plush with a bunch of little Juri plushies around it. On the head of the big Juri plush was a small Juri plush with glasses and a tie around its forehead like it was drunk. So cute. X3 The Bunka Housou Extend booth had a display of a bunch of items used during the filming of Ace of Asia including the outfits worn by Kamiya and OnoD during the PV, the masks worn by the rival air band, and more.

Before leaving, my friends and I spotted a small line at an area close to the restrooms and it turns out that UchiP was holding an autograph session! My friends and I lined up and when it was our turn, we had him sign the back board of the can badges. Everyone had plenty of time to talk to him, and we talked to him about his trip to France and stuff. Apparently he’s pretty tall, even by European standards. XD Nice guy. It was a good end to a great day. I passed out after getting home. XD

Reports/Photos DGS

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KiraFes 2014 took place on March 22-23 at Yokohama Arena. (Sorry for being so late with the report!) This year marked Kiramune and KiraFes’ 5th anniversary. I’m happy that I can say that I’ve been to all KiraFes events, and even the Kiramune Special Stage at CharaHobby which was Kiramune’s first official event. My, how time flies.

This year they’ve become much more strict with Kiramune events since ticket scalping has become so rampant. There were ID checks before we could enter the venue. This year I borrowed my friends’ luck with tickets and we had great seats both days. The stage was very nicely designed with a hanamichi walkway down the middle leading to the stage in the back. As usual, there cranes and trolleys that brought the audience close to the performers.

The lights went down and the intro movie played as the audience become more and more restless. The music then started and we heard a remix of Get Together! that had never been performed before but where were the voices coming from? Down came the Kiramune boys from above!! The crane lowered them down a bit and they sung in mid air. Everyone wore a white suit with colored trimming that matched their member color. Kamiya looked GREAT. He looks amazing with short hair and put him in a suit? *__________* The remix of Get Together! was really cool and I hope they put it on CD as a bonus with the DVD release.

Kamiya was after Yocchin and he sang START AGAIN, Mirror World, and Nijiiro Chouchou. There was some dancing with START AGAIN which was cool. For the second time he came on stage, he sang Shall We Circus! and Silica Gel. OMG, Shall We Circus! was absolutely amazing!! He was probably lip-syncing but I’ll forgive him because the dancing that went with it was so entertaining. Kamiya appeared from the top of the stage dressed like a magician with a cane and top hat. The LED screens that came out from the back of the stage were used with the song to make it seem like a magic show. Kamiya would jump behind and you can see him on the screen. In the middle of the song he went back and came out wearing a different outfit! Just imagining Kamiya quickly changing behind the screens was enough to make me chuckle. The “La Pa Do it Do Pa Pa ” parts were really cute. The choreography and stage direction for this song were just amazing. I can’t wait to see it again on DVD!

For Kamiya’s third appearance he sang Mitsuba no Clover and Kizuna. I really love Mitsuba no Clover and it’s nice that Kamiya finally sang Kizuna live. It was the one song he had never sung at an event. Even though Miyu kun was present at this year’s event, there was no corner for KAmiYU. I suppose with the addition of Yocchin to the lineup the event would be too long if KAmiYU also had a segment. Pity, really, but they did sing one song for the encore, which was TouriStar. Kamiya and Miyu kun were on each side at the corners of of the center stage and then raised high on the cranes where they sang. I’m pretty sure Kamiya lip synced here too because I could have sworn that no sound came out and he yelled something into the mic on a couple occasions. ^^;

During the encore, two other members would come on stage in the middle of the song and dance or do whatever with the performer as they sang. Kamiya appeared with SuzuKen during Yocchin’s song and danced. Kamiya looks like he has much more fun dancing during other people’s songs than his own. ^^; I guess he has to focus more when dancing for his own songs.

Kamiya sang Ichiban Boshi at the center stage for his encore. The real highlight during the encore was CONNECT’s Conne*Sen though. Everyone in the audience danced along, of course, and in the middle of the song, the rest of the Kiramune members came out on stage to sing along. In the middle of the song there is a long pause where everyone falls and lies down on the floor. This part on the second day was absolutely hilarious! Kamiya, Namikawa, and Irino decided to pile on top of each other. Namikawa was at the bottom with Irino in the middle and Kamiya on top. Micchan and SuzuKen went around commenting on everyone and SuzuKen had an absolute ball when he got to the pile. Since they got to them last, Suzu said that the guys were probably regretting having gone into that position, especially Namikawa since he was at the bottom. Then he talked about their horrible positioning because Miyu kun was on top of Namikawa’s (sweaty) back, and Kamiya’s face was near Namikawa’s sweatiest part– his armpit! Being the little devil he is, Suzu “helped” out at Iwata’s advice by re-positioning Kamiya’s face right in the middle of Namikawa’s armpit!! Cue laughter from the audience. XDDDD Poor, poor, Kamiya. The guys couldn’t take it anymore and began flailing. After they all snapped out of it, Kamiya could be seen wiping his face many times with the sleeve of his tshirt, haha. SuzuKen then pointed at where Namikawa was lying down and had the cameraman come by to get a shot of the floor. There was a HUGE puddle of sweat where Namikawa was!! OMG. Thinking back on it, it was rather quite gross, but at the time everyone was just laughing and amazed that Namikawa could sweat so much. ^^; The music started again and they finished the song, but at the end everyone struck a pose and couldn’t be released from the hypnotic spell until Suzu clapped twice. Again being such a devil, Suzu played tricks on them such as clapping 3 times instead of 2 to see if anyone would react. ^^; It was cute. Finally Suzu clapped twice and the members were released. This was easily one of the biggest highlights of the event. So fun!

Because Micchan wants to focus on doing other things, CONNECT is going on a temporary hiatus which means this was their last live performance for a while. Needless to say, they were last for the encore. After the final greetings, they sang Ever Dream. During the song, the members all went around the venue and threw autographed balls into the crowd. They all met back up at the center of the front stage and exited by going back up into the rafters where they had come down from about 6 hours earlier. Yeah, it was a long event. Tons of fun though and I’m really looking to the video release.

Happy 5th anniversary, Kiramune!

Reports/Photos Kamiya Hiroshi