I went to the Bungou Stray Dogs event held on February 19th in Pacifico Yokohama!
Actually, I hadn’t planned on going but later on, I felt the need to go if possible. XD I really like the series itself! It’s very interesting! I was also heading to Pacifico Yokohama to attend a conference and career fair for the following days so I thought it would be perfect if I could go! It was seriously a last-minute impulse! XD I managed to find someone on Twitter so I was able to go!
I waited for over 3 hours in the cold (It was February and the venue is literally next to the sea so the wind was no joke. I was FREEZING. I got there around 8:30 or 8:45… This is when I realized I HAVE to take the first train and stuff if I want to get the goods I want…) before giving up on the goods. The T-shirt I wanted ended up being sold out while I was waiting anyway and I wouldn’t have made it in time for the afternoon session if I continued to wait.
Plus I had to meet up with the person who was willing to sell me the ticket and I didn’t want to keep her waiting! I wasn’t planning on getting much anyway so it was fine. But never again… XD Plus it’s not fun when you’re waiting alone.
Flower stands!
Right, I intended to write a BRIEF fan-report though I ended up ranting. Haha.
The cast who appeared in the event:
Uemura Yuto
Miyano Mamoru
Taniyama Kishow
Ono Kensho
Toyonaga Toshiyuki
Hosoya Yoshimasa
Kamiya Hiroshi
Kawanishi Kengo
It started off with four of the characters in chibi form talking (Dazai, Chuya, Atsushi, and Akutagawa).
A MC led the session. Then the cast was introduced one by one, more like they each gave a self-introduction. Everyone else looked good overall!
Uemura started off (it was my first time seeing him) and he looked really cute! I guess he’s my image of a cinnamon roll… or a friendly person? He was wearing an outfit like what Atsushi would wear: white collared shirt, fancy black vest and those COOL black gloves. He looked really good! He was so cute and fluffy and nervous because he messed up. He said something like, “Please go home and enjoy the event,” 楽しんでかえってください instead of “Please enjoy the event.” 楽しんできてください(Trying to explain Japanese grammar is difficult).
Next, Mamo went up but he copied Uemura and teased him. This was my first time seeing Mamo and I thought he looked really cute especially with that smile.
Hosoya was told, “Ganbare!! (Do your best!) by the audience and the cast. XD Then Hosoya goes, “I’m doing my best!” Hahaha. He always seems to fumble with his words and got teased.
Tosshi wore mostly beige while everyone else wore darker colors.
I didn’t approve of Kensho’s hair but I’m assuming it was inspired by Akutagawa. And he wore a long black cape… like Akutagawa. xD He was pretty energetic (I was worried because the Kensho x Hanazawa news came out the day before).
I remember Mamo and Kishow had good chemistry. XD
The staff brought in desks and the cast was told to sit down. Except Mamo sat… more like laid down on his side with his elbow bent and posed sexily. XDDDD Then Kishow and Kensho proceeded to do a sexy pose as well. They both had their backs to the audience and stuck out their butts with a hand on their hips and turned their heads. XD
Once they sat down, they showed main/favorite scenes chosen by the manga artist and/or directors? The seiyuu commented while it was shown.
First was the Detective Agency scene. It was the scene where Rampo and the others were on standby and Chuya was destroying the cameras one by one.
Next was Port Mafia. It was the Hatano and lemon bombs scene. XDDD The cast commented, “No one from that scene is here!” Kishow and Kensho were asked to make comments. Kensho saw the recording and said that Hatano got fired up doing those lines.
Next was the Guild. The scene was the first appearance of John and Lovecraft. You see the grape vine coming from John’s neck.
Then there was the Tanizaki doing anything for Naomi scene!!! My favorite scene overall!!! It was when Tanizaki and Doppo were working together. They both end up trapped with John’s vines and were held up in the air. Then Joe noticed a truck coming… and if you remember, Tanizaki said he would do anything for Naomi and that was when John realized that the truck driver couldn’t see them because of Tanizaki’s ability!!! AAHHHH love that scene. If you haven’t noticed, my favorite character is Tanizaki. xD Hosoya and Tosshi were asked to comment about the scene. Hosoya tried to comment but failed overall. He did mention that he liked working with Tosshi.
Another scene that was shown was the Chuya and Dazai scene. xD I thought it was a pretty cool scene!! Kishow said Dazai took all the good parts because he defeated Lovecraft. Though Mamo said that thanks to Chuya, he destroyed Lovecraft completely.
Mamo and the others kept doing Lovecraft’s impersonation, like the way he talks. They kept on talking like that. XD
Another scene shown was of course, the Atsushi working together with Akutagawa scene.
In between, there were live performances in between by GRANRODEO, Screen Mode, and Luck Life too! They were all very cool! And they showed scenes of Oda… even the sad ones.
There were also special video messages from Fukujun, Miki, and Suwabe!
Fukujun always seems to enjoy playing his sneaky characters. XD
Suwabe told us something that wasn’t mentioned but told us the director purposely added in the scene where you see the kids crying for help inside that truck and the next thing you see is it exploding… it was to add more impact… I think Suwabe was also asked if his voice was okay.
Game time! They had to take an “exam.”
They brought in desks and had to answer questions about the anime. They had the write down the answer on the sketchbook they were given. They can also get points for interesting answers. Mamo interpreted this as, “You get points for writing interesting answers” instead of the correct answer. The MC told him that wasn’t the goal but he ignored him. Mamo and Kishow started to draw before the MC asked the first question. They actually draw the MC. XD
First question: They showed a picture of John, “What is he holding in his hand?” It got blurred out.
Kamiya answered with pudding. Tosshi answered with Naomi. Uemura wrote, grapes. Of course Kawanashi (John’s seiyuu) got it right. It was actually a potato. XD
Another question: “How many times does Akutagawa say “Yatsugare” (a really old way of saying, I) from episodes 17-23? XDDD He actually does say it a lot… Of course crazy answers were written… I think the most popular answer was around 60… For the answer, they actually showed all the scenes where he said, “Yatsugare.” XDDDD And Kamiya… freaking Kamiya got it right!!! The answer was 17 times! I was so surprised! He’s amazing. XD We clapped for the staff’s efforts of collecting all of those scenes. XD
For the third question, “What is Kyoka holding?” It was when they were having a party and were saying, “Cheers!” and you see a scene of them with many hands and drinks.
Someone… Hosoya maybe.. he said blood? I dunno… and Tosshi answered, “the liquid form of Naomi.” XDDD Apparently it was not a drink but a fruit. Actually it was a tomato and Kamiya got the answer eventually.
For the last question, “What is Elizabeth drawing?” Uemura answered with a drawing of a werecat. It was a very… err… artistic drawing. XD The hint given was it was already shown as an answer earlier. Hosoya realized what the answer was and tried use the drawing of his potato (it was one of the answers earlier but not the right one) but MC said he had to draw a new one and he did so furiously but Kamiya beat him to it. Answer was lemon.
Tosshi kept on saying Naomi as the answer. Kamiya kept on saying pudding.
Kamiya won the game with 75 percent correct.
Hosoya was really funny because he kept spacing out. The MC commented that Hosoya didn’t listen. At one point, he tried answering a question but it was for the previous question.
At one point, Kishow told Mamo to smile and he cutely smiled! He said that he bullies Hosoya all the time.
Lastly, everyone said a closing comment. Tosshi said he was emphasizing how much he loved Naomi. XD
There was also a special announcement! There is gonna be a movie for Bungou Stray Dogs! They showed a visual for it and you see the silhouette of Dazai and Chuya!!!! OMGGGGG ALSKJDKL
It ended with the last four chibis that didn’t appear in the beginning. Doppo kept on saying stuff and someone interpreted and said, “He means don’t go home too late and to be safe.”
The only thing I was sad about was that in order to take pictures of these special displays of Bungo Stray Dogs, you had to go through the goods line. I didn’t want to wait again… but all was not lost with the goods because I actually got my hands on the pamphlet inside the venue! They were selling only pamphlets inside the venue after the event so I got it!
I might post pictures of the pamphlet later. :3
Overall, I was really glad that I got the chance to go! The cast was really awesome!
It has been a few weeks since the event so some things might be out of order. XD My memory is a bit fuzzy, too… and my Japanese… I looked at a few past tweets as well… And this is why I should write a report ASAP and not procrastinate. Anyway, please enjoy this long post of text and some pictures (not beta-ed at all).
The Starmyu event was held in Yomiuri Hall, close to Yurakucho Station.
So I woke up pretty early for the event! And my itabag that I prepared for the event! :3 I’m sure you can tell who my bias is. XDDD
Actually, I had planned to meet up with a girl that I met on Twitter. I waited for her and she came along with two other Twitter friends. I thought it would be awkward because I’m the only non-Japanese person there and my Japanese isn’t the best but they treated me nicely! It didn’t feel so awkward. So I met Shoko-chan, Chi-chan, and Reiha-chan. We sat down in the queue around 8 though we had trouble finding the place where they sold the goods. The line didn’t seem so bad most likely because they sold the Starmyu goods the day before as well.
We killed time by talking and finally it was 11:00! And it was crazy… All of the T-shirts were sold out within 30 minutes! How could it have been sold out so fast!?
I got the Starmyu pamphlet (which I posted), the star-shaped penlight (I was disappointed that it only had blue and green. I thought it would at least have all of Team Otori’s colors) and two random blinds for can badges. For every 3000yen you spend, you get a blind for wristbands so I got two. I didn’t get Nayuki but thanks to my newly made friends, we traded and I got the Nayuki can badge I wanted as well as two Nayuki wristbands. I even got an extra one… Hahaha.
Anyway, after that, we stood around, trying to trade the badges. We walked around for quite a bit. Another twitter friend called Nacchan joined us. A girl approached me and asked if I wanted to buy the Nayuki acrylic strap. I was a bit on the fence because it was 700yen but decided to buy it. XD Also on twitter, I found a tweet selling these other acrylic straps which only came in a set with the other members but I only wanted Nayuki. I managed to get them!
Eventually, we went to a convenience store, sat down, and ate. Then we went to be “confirmed” or in other words “checked in”. Basically, reselling tickets is not allowed so if you’re not the owner of the ticket(s), you can’t enter the venue. The process went really fast. I gave them my ticket and my ID. They had this folder and I assume that it has all our information. Then they put a specially made wristband (and I can say, it’s practically impossible to take off unless you have scissors). For the night session, the wristbands were gold and apparently for the afternoon session, it was silver.
Then we killed some more time by walking around, trading, and sitting, talking. We also looked at the pamphlet!
Then we went to Yomiuri Hall before 17:20, which was surprisingly in the same building as Bic Camera, an electronic store as well as other stores and cafes. We walked up basically 7 flights of stairs because Yomiuri Hall is on the 7thfloor.
We didn’t have much time to take pictures so I only managed to take pictures of some flower stands. Click HERE for pictures.
I couldn’t find the present boxes and eventually had to go back to put in my letter to Kensho. XD
I found my seat and it wasn’t so bad because the venue was fairly small! The setup of the venue was really interesting, too!
And finally the event started at 18:00! I think it started off with Ugawa, Toraishi and Inumine talking. They went over the rules: no camera, recording, etc…
Then Hanae, Kensho and Arthur came out and did a little skit. They talked about how they’re gonna do a “Mr. Ayanagi Contest” for the school cultural festival. The winner of the contest will receive “Yabosuke goods”, “blue-ray disc of Tengenji’s plays.. all 10 of them”, his photobook, his can badges and even rubber straps! XD Nayuki, Tsukigami, and Hoshitani weren’t too thrilled with the prizes. XDDD Hoshitani introduces by saying they were going to start the festival. The three of them left the stage.
And Gero came out and he sung the opening song and had backup dancers. He was wearing green and white jacket and white pants (the exact same outfit in the pamphlet). They played clips from the anime on the screen while he was singing.
Then each seiyuu got introduced. They started off with the “We are the Kao Council” song playing in the background. As the song played in the background, the screen showed clips of the Kao Council members. One by one, the seiyuu came out. Suwabe came out first and said something that Otori would say. XD Then he stood at the left. He was followed by Hirakawa and then Hatano.
Next, “Star of Star” played in the background. Okitsu popped up, acting all dorky. I have never seen him like this (because the first time I saw him was at the Aoharu x Kikanjuu event and you know how he plays Midori…) He said, “Eh eh” and pointed the mic to the audience and we said, “Ooohhhh!!” Then KENN came out and he’s just so freaking cool and handsome. AHHHH!! He said, “Koneko-chan” in a sexy voice. XD And of course we all went crazy. Then Matsuoka popped up.
And finally, “Seishun Countdown” played. First off was Maeno and of course, he was cool! Then Hosoya and came out and said a famous Tengenji line and pointed the mic to the audience and then we yelled out, “Yabosuke!” Hahaha. He was followed by Arthur, who seemed very cool. After that was Kensho who said, 可愛いは作れる！ (literally, “You can make cuteness!” ) in a very very cute voice. AHH He’s so adorable. And of course, lastly, Hanae who just seemed so happy go lucky and had a lovely smile.
Suwabe was the MC and said that each seiyuu would give an introduction. They each introduce themselves. Suwabe started off and went, “Hey girls!” and the girls answered! After that, he went, “Hey boys!” And the cast and we were surprised to see like two fanboys. LOL I was really surprised to see fanboys (could they be boyfriends of fangirls?). And this is where my mind blanks out. XD I think Hosoya did the Yabosuke thing again and Okitsu did the “Eh eh” thing once more. And KENN did the “koneko chan” thing in that voice of his. <33
And then Suwabe called out for Gero who came in. Apparently he is a Tengenji fan. XD He talks about how it’s his first time(?) being offered to sing at an event like this. And on Nico Nico Douga, there’s a video of what the lyrics sound like when Gero sings the song. So for the “D R E A M E R Dreamer”, it turned into Iie Iie , Ebi Kani Peaman (No, no, Shrimp, Crab, Green peppers)… I admit, Gero does have a unique way of singing. Then they left the stage.
Next skit was with Tengenji, Toraishi, and Ugawa. They were facing against each other to be the winner of the Mr Ayanagi contest. Eventually one of them asked about the whereabouts of Kuga and Toraishi commented on how Kuga just gets lost so easily. Tengenji and Ugawa tease Toraishi like crazy. XD It was really cute. Also, I’m pretty sure at this part, KENN, Hosoya, and Matsuoka messed up at least once with their lines (LOL) and when Matsuoka messed up, he just looked so cute and embarrassed because he bit his lip and looked to the side XD
The skit ended and everyone came out. Then Hanae comments on how “Yabosuke” hasn’t come out yet. I noticed that Hosoya didn’t come out and apparently that was a mistake on his part. XDDD Because Hosoya apologized after he came out a few seconds later XDDD
QUIZ TIME
Suwabe and Hirakawa led the next section… so game time!
They split into two teams: Team Otori and Team Hiiragi. Team Otori had 5 people and Team Hiiragi only had 3 so Hatano ended up joining Team Hiiragi. Then they joked around how that it wouldn’t be Team Hiiragi anymore and they jokingly changed the team name.. but I forgot what. XD Anyway they sat down at their respective chairs.
The first game was the “Intro Song Quiz”! Basically, they will play like a few seconds (more like a second) or so of one of the Starmyu songs and the teams have to guess it!
There were two podiums in front of each team. The teams surround their podium, which has a buzzer. First one to buzz in can guess. Someone from Team Otori pressed the buzzer for fun before the game started. XD
If one team gets a question correct, they get 1 point. 1 point = 1 ball, green balls for Team Otori and blue balls for Team Hiiragi. The pink balls were for answers deemed interesting by the MCs. Then the balls are put inside these two podiums placed side by side in the back. The left belonged to Team Otori and the right belonged to Team Hiiragi.
1. The MCs said that they would play a second of the beginning of a song. Arthur quickly buzzed in and got it right. It was “Stand By Dreams”. Arthur said he loved Starmyu (if you saw a previous tweet of Arthur, he tweeted asking where he could sing Starmyu songs and went to karaoke and sang a lot of the Starmyu songs XD) and Suwabe said that Arthur really loved Starmyu.
2. For the second song, they played a few seconds of the chorus. Except at first, both teams looked really confused while the audience went, “Ehhh?” (Basically, we were surprised that they didn’t know it). But Hanae buzzed in and guessed it right. It was “Ayanagi Show Time (Otori arrangement).”
3. This time, 3 songs will be played at the same time. If they can guess one song, they can get 1 point. If they can guess all 3 songs in one try, they can get 5 points. Even I had a hard time recognizing one song. XD KENN buzzed in and since he’s just amazing, he managed to guess all 3. “Honey! Honey! Trap!”, “Caribbean Groove”, and “Star of Star”.
4. For the last song, they will play a song super fast (basically fast forward it). When they played the song, both teams looked confused and Kensho acted really cute/stupid pushed the buzzer and put it on top of his head. In the end, he didn’t guess the song. I think Hanae tried guessing the song and guessed it wrong but when he tried again, he got it right! It was “Eien Stage”!
By the way, while this “intro song” game was going on, Hosoya and Kensho were chilling and sitting around the podium. They kept talking to each other and their interactions are adorable. Hosoya commented that he and Kensho were talking and Kensho joked about putting the buzzer on his head. Hosoya said that Kensho should do it in front of everyone and so that’s why he did it! And when he put it on his head, he told Hosoya to look at him. XD
Next segment
For the next game, the MCs changed to Maenu! (Had to look back on a few tweets for this but couldn’t find many). Suwabe and Hirakawa joined their teams. And why is Maeno the MC? You know… how Kuga is an artist? I’m sure you’ve seen those blob drawings floating around! In teams, they have to guess what is happening in the picture drawn by “Kuga” which is why Maeno is the MC this time.
They give an example of blob!Nayuki and blob!Tengenji making some sort of food. You can only tell it’s Nayuki because you see yellow on the blob and red on Tengenji blob.
Then the teams have to decide and change the order for each round. Team Hiiragi ended up doing the order by playing rock, paper, scissors.
Each person is given a sketchbook and marker. Their order is important.
1st person: “When (the picture happened)”
2nd person: “Where”
3rd person: “Who”
4th person: “What they did (object)” [If you know Japanese, you’ll get what I mean. In Japanese, the verb comes last]
5th person: “What they did (verb)”
It’s a bit hard to translate since Japanese grammar works in an interesting way but I’ll do my best to translate it XD
They decide to do an example. It’s revealed that blob!Nayuki and blob! Tengenji were making curry udon (I swear it looked like pasta). A lot of the audience went like “Ehhh? What?” XD
The last person in each team got asked to give any thoughts. Kensho said Team Otori’s teamwork is amazing. KENN said the same thing about his team and they were “Star of Star”. XD
Here are pictures that someone possibly drew. XD But these are basically what the pictures looked like.
Who: Toraishi and two animals/blobs (Hosoya didn’t explicitly write “animals” but that counter usually is used for animals like dogs) – Hosoya
This answer was just so amusing. XD Poor Ugawa and Inumine XD
What: Shumai - Arthur
What: Ate - Kensho
Team Hiiragi:
When:Cherry blossom season - Hirakawa – Nice one!!!
Where:Hatano (sorry, I forgot!)
Who: the sky, sea, and mountain – Matsuoka LOL
What: Shouronpou – Okitsu
What: Ate – KENN
Answer:
When:During the spring vacation
Where: At Chinatown
Who:Toraishi, Inumine and Ugawa
What:Shouronpou (a kind of dumpling eaten in some Asian countries. It’s a food specialty in Taiwan)
What:Ate
Hirakawa accept Arthur’s answer of “shumai” so they both got around the same amount of points. I was really surprised they managed to answer what they were eating! They just looked like circles XD
2ndRound:
Team Hiiragi:
When:Last summer (in katakana) - Hatano
Where: At the sea - Hirakawa
Who:Otori and Hiiragi - Matsuoka
What: With a stick – KENN who wrote that on purpose when the obvious answer would be to put the correct answer. XD He said that he was debating between writing the correct answer and this. XD
What:Smashed – Okitsu
Team Otori:
When: (sorry, I forgot!)
Where:(sorry, I forgot!)
Who: (sorry, I forgot!)
What:Watermelon smashing – Hanae. The fact that he wrote out this phrase is a bit interesting because if Hosoya answered normally, it would just be “smashed” but writing that would just be repetitive and then… xD
What: Over and over / many times – Hosoya,
Maeno got a kick out of Hosoya’s and the audience too. XDD
Correct answer:
When: During the summer vacation
Where: At the beach
Who: Otori and Hiiragi
What: Watermelons
What: Smashed
Although this picture was fairly obvious, I felt that they just had fun writing down answers. XD
3rdRound:
Team Otori:
When: That time where we could still gradually go with the flow - Hanae who wrote something that’s hard to translate! LOL Something like that..
Where: That promised place – Kensho… poetic XD
Who: The blobs that stepped aside – Arthur – Of course, they didn’t say blobs… it was more like “things”…
What: The five blobs that just woke up – Hosoya – the obvious object should’ve been Inumine. XD
What: As if trying to protect them (the five blobs) warmly, danced and expressed their kindness – Suwabe who wrote such a nice thing. XDDD Sadly, it didn’t make sense because of what Hosoya wrote. XD
Team Hiiragi:
When: At that time – Matsuoka… vague indeed. XD
Where: At Yomiuri Hall (the venue) – Okitsu – interesting one!
Who: Stardust (referring to Team Otori) - Hatano
What: Hoshitani – KENN… wait, what!??? XDDD
What: heard that after they beat him (Hoshitani) up, they asked, “Is there anyone here that’s a doctor?”- Hirakawa
Maenu got a kick out of Hirakawa’s answer. I think he gave this team a pink ball. XD
Correct Answer:
When: At their debut performance
Where: At the venue
Who: Team Otori
What: Inumine
What: Captured (Inumine)
I didn’t think they were capturing Inumine! I thought they were dancing around him! LOL WTF. XD Anyway…
Then Maenu lifted up the podiums in the back where you see a clear tube and balls. And Team Hiiragi won by one point! As a prize, they got T-shirts with the infamous Kuga’s drawing on them (the drawing is based on the visual for the pamphlet/event. Just look at the last page).
Next up was a skit between Inumine, Kuga, and Toraishi. I mostly remember Toraishi being teased/bullied again like crazy. XDDD
And this led to next major skit!
First you see Hatano come out. He talked about how there was a very bad flu… cold going around. And apparently that was why the other two Kao Council members aka, Morikubo and Toriumi, weren’t there. He also found it weird that no one was there…Suddenly he got a call… from Otori. Apparently both Hiiragi and Otori were both at the hospital. They had caught a cold! Otori asked Sazanami to take care of his pupils for the day as well as Hiiragi’s. Hiiragi gets on the phone and coughed like crazy. XDDDD Hiiragi was super sick.. he sounded like he was dying. XDDDD Oh Hirakawa…
So Sazanami waited for Team Otori and Team Hiiragi. When he asked where was Tatsumi and Sawatari, they said that they had caught the cold. And Inumine was missing… Anyway, the situation itself was already amusing itself.
Eventually, Tengenji and Ugawa got into a fight. XDDDD I’m pretty sure at this point, it was most likely adlibs. Ugawa kept saying, “baka baka (idiot)!!” many times. It was actually pretty cute. XD Tengenji retorted with “Chibi (pipsqueak)” as a comeback and then Ugawa said “Loner!” Tengenji then said “Girly face!” And Ugawa paused and finally said, “Loner!” again XDDD
And finally, Sazanami got mad at them. Man… he’s scary. XD
The others tried to calm him down. Eventually, Kuga showed Sazanami his wonderful drawing of him (Sazanami) and suddenly went, “My eyes!! My eyes!!” Poor Sazanami… the others tried to help him but it became worse.
To try to help him, Nayuki panicked and gave him tea to calm him down. Sazanami drank it but suddenly started “dying”. Then Tsukigami looked at it and went, “Oh no, it’s tea made specially for Nayuki.… that his sisters made…” And Nayuki went in extreme panic mode, going, “Oh my god!! I’m so so so so sorry!! My sisters are murderers!!!” Actually, it was extremely adorable. XDDDDDDDDDD
Eventually Inumine (who wasn’t present during all of this) skipped right in… and sang randomly.
And then eventually you hear ambulance noises. And the scene ended. The audience went like “EHHH? That’s it??” kinda thing.
Then Hirakawa and Suwabe came out and closed the skit. XD
Then you hear Hoshitani’s voice. After that, they showed the screen, showing a playback of the entire first season. It felt very nostalgic… (I think I got the order wrong with this one). Hoshitani came out and sung his solo (short version)!!! AHHHH!!!
Followed by sing Seishun Countdown!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THEY DID THE DANCE AND STUFF ALSDFKJAWE SHORT VERSION BUT AHHHH ASDLJFKAWE I WOULD KILL FOR THE FULL VERSION BUT AHHH. <3333 Kensho, Hanae, and Arthur wore the “Satisfy” shirts. XD
After the song, Kensho said how they actually did the star thing before coming out too! <3
Then they sung Eien Stage (short version) and bromance! We screamed seeing Kensho and Hanae putting their arms around each other. Then it was Tengenji and Tsukigami’s part and Arthur and Maeno were all buddy instead and it was like ?? eh? XD Wait.. it should have been Arthur and Hosoya instead… but eventually Arthur went over and put his arm around Hosoya and of course the fans went wild… including me. XD
Then the screen advertised Starmyu stuff like the two DVDs containing the OVAs!! And yes, 2nd season announcement came out!!! AHHH!!! They showed the visual of Team Otori one by one in their second year uniform and they looked really cool and AHHH!! So many feels!! <333
After that, all the seiyuu come out and gave their concluding thoughts. All of Team Otori wore colored T-shirts pertaining to their character’s color but they weren’t the T-shirts that were sold.
Hirakawa commented on how Tengenji has fun with “Yabosuke” and KENN with “Koneko-chan” and how he wanted Hiiragi to have something like that! XDDD
Matsuoka commented that because they will become 2nd years, that Ugawa will have a voice change (because of puberty) and he did this low voice. XDD Then he said, “Of course that won’t happen” And also said that he’s a “small demon” now and he might become a “full-fledged demon” as a second year. XDDD
One of them mentioned how next time, if there’s another event, that they would like Nobu and Yuma to be there so there will be a full Team Hiiragi. XD Dawww
Suwabe announced that there was another big surprise! And a staff member brought in two cakes apparently shaped as stars! And everyone sung happy birthdaaaay to Hirakawa and Maenu!!! Their birthdays were close!! And they both gave comments. XD Picture HERE
Apparently Team Otori has a line group (which got created the day before the event) and Kensho said it felt like a real team because Suwabe sent them a message (something Otori-like) and the rest went like “Yoroshiku!” I just thought that was super adorable. Dawwww <3
My memory fails in the rest of the comments.
At the end, every team did their set phrase and pose!
For the Kao Council, they went, “We are the Kao Council!” Then team Hiiragi went, “Star of star!” And lastly… team Otori went “We are stardust!” and everyone lifted up one arm and pointed up except Hosoya!!! XDDDDDD HAHAHA He didn’t do it. XDDDDDDDD He looked really out of it and after everyone did it, Hosoya just looked confused and got embarrassed. We laughed at that though the others didn’t seem to notice. XDDDD Oh Hosoya…
Random picture of them HERE. That’s what they all wore for the most part except for Team Otori, who changed into those clothes at the end. XD
As I was leaving… I took these pictures!
And eventually, I met up with Reiha-chan, Nacchan, Shoko-chan, and Chi-chan again! And since there were five of us… ☆
And thus this ends my fanreport. God, this took way longer than I thought. XDDD Anyway, I’m so happy there’s gonna be a second season in the spring of 2017! It’s a long way from now but it’ll come in no time!!! New songs!! New characters!! <333 And hopefully another event where they can sing the songs?? XD
Everyone was just super adorable! Suwabe is so cool as always! Hatano amuses me to no end. Hirakawa is just an angel. Okitsu is such a dork. XD Matsuoka is adorably awkward and tries his best. KENN is SO COOL AND HANDSOME AND I LOVE HIS VOICE. XD (Now you know my second favorite character). Arthur seems cool but I realized he is a bit strange. XDDD Maeno is cool in his own way. Hanae has such a lovely smile. Hosoya… always looks nervous and out of it but that’s part of his charm. <3 And Kensho is just pure cuteness like Nayuki. <3 And Gero is really cool!
I’m really glad I got the chance to go to this event! I will definitely continue to support Starmyu!!! <333
Next up, KiraFes 2016 fanreport… which will take time. XD I don’t think I’ll finish it this week because I’m going to the Prince of Stride event this weekend… Anyway, look forward to it! Thanks to everyone who managed to read this whole text of fangirlness! (I should really do a self introduction post as well…)
This is an extra story from the second volume of No.6 Manga (about the anime voice actors) I laughed a lot while reading it, so I thought I would share it (I don’t remember seeing it in the fan translation) I might share more because I’m rereading the digital volumes. (I never get bored of this manga!)
Voice casting for the popular manga-turned-anime「AJIN」was revealed in the new trailer released today! The protagonist Nagai Kei will be voiced byMiyano Mamoru.
K so I had a little time off work and I decided to revisit Kodama Yuki’s; Kids On The Slope or “Sakamichi no Apollon”.
I re read the manga and sat down to FINALLY watch the anime. This one was a series I had avoided watching forever; due to a lot of descriptions of homoerotic tones, in reviews (which would be queerbating for this manga) and the emotional academic experience I have with the subcontext of the story’s subject matter.
Still, I’d always wanted to watch it. Not only because this Era captivates me, but my college studies surrounded it for a long while, and IT’S ABOUT MUSIC! It was directed by Watanabe Shinichiro of Cowboy Bebop fame, the music performed and composed for screen by the incredible Yoko Kanno, and all these years later; it’s still considered a masterpiece and a very very unique anime.
With the anime being condensed into just 12 episodes, from a 50 something chapter long manga; it truly did hold up to the story of youth, uncertainty, and unfair life lessons so well captured in Kodama’s original story.
It’s one that anyone can enjoy, esspecially if you have music fortifying your bones; but know that it does reference quite a lot of societal context, that may be under appreciated in its importance to the characters’ experiences, if you lack at least a basic knowledge of post WWII Japan, and the US occupation.
BUT it’s not a wartime or occupation centric story.
AND it’s not a BL.
It’s a story about that anxious awareness you have in your coming of age; knowing that you are both of the world and circumstances surrounding you, but are not actually in it yet. That time at the end of youth, when you don’t know how one switches from child to adult, but that it will happen, and…it just did. You could’ve blinked and missed it. Yet you can’t say for certain when or how exactly it occurred. You wish for the innocence and idleness of childhood, which at the time, you despised so much. If you’re lucky; you realize the things and people that shaped you, when that elusive moment innocence flew away, happened.
It’s also about the love found in only friendship. The kind of love found nowhere else, in life. A deeper understanding for another person, that cannot be compared to the love of family, or romance; it’s just more than that.
This is why I say; making reference to underlying homoerotic tones, in regards to this story, would be queerbating. There’s nothing queer about it. The two main characters love eachother, intrinsically. They are both male, and they share deeply intimate moments. Yet they’re the kind of moments that can’t be experienced really, in the same way one would expect them to be understood, if they were shared between lovers or even family.
They are simply, eachother’s person.
They also made a live rendition The story is told in a different way, from both the manga and the anime, but it is soooo good. The order of events, and some of the details of circumstances, are changed around (a lot of the darker elements are completely omitted) but it’s done so in a way that allows the main characters’ friendship, to shine a little more pure.
Komatsu Nana (Ritsuko)
Chinen Yuri (Kaoru)
Nakagawa Taishi (Sentaro)
I’ve never seen Komatsu play such a sweet character, and she was very good at showing those subtle reveals of deep emotions, churning inside.
I also thought it was genius to cast Chinen, a JPop idol as Kaoru; since he’s much moodier and insensitive in the manga. Part of his growth is in consideration of others feelings, and that little touch of diva, did the trick while keeping him more approachable for the more upbeat tone of the film version.
Nakagawa is known for rom coms and comedy variety skits, aswell as popular dramas. And he’s the live action Ryota from Your Lie In April! And the live action Arata in ReLife! IRL he’s a big goofball who does a lot of children’s events. That somehow lent a strong vulnerability to even his most violent scenes.
K so I had a little time off work and I decided to revisit Kodama Yuki’s; Kids On The Slope or “Sakamichi no Apollon”.
I re read the manga and sat down to FINALLY watch the anime. This one was a series I had avoided watching forever; due to a lot of descriptions of homoerotic tones, in reviews (which would be queerbating for this manga) and the emotional academic experience I have with the subcontext of the story’s subject matter.
Still, I’d always wanted to watch it. Not only because this Era captivates me, but my college studies surrounded it for a long while, and IT’S ABOUT MUSIC! It was directed by Watanabe Shinichiro of Cowboy Bebop fame, the music performed and composed for screen by the incredible Yoko Kanno, and all these years later; it’s still considered a masterpiece and a very very unique anime.
With the anime being condensed into just 12 episodes, from a 50 something chapter long manga; it truly did hold up to the story of youth, uncertainty, and unfair life lessons so well captured in Kodama’s original story.
It’s one that anyone can enjoy, esspecially if you have music fortifying your bones; but know that it does reference quite a lot of societal context, that may be under appreciated in its importance to the characters’ experiences, if you lack at least a basic knowledge of post WWII Japan, and the US occupation.
BUT it’s not a wartime or occupation centric story.
AND it’s not a BL.
It’s a story about that anxious awareness you have in your coming of age; knowing that you are both of the world and circumstances surrounding you, but are not actually in it yet. That time at the end of youth, when you don’t know how one switches from child to adult, but that it will happen, and…it just did. You could’ve blinked and missed it. Yet you can’t say for certain when or how exactly it occurred. You wish for the innocence and idleness of childhood, which at the time, you despised so much. If you’re lucky; you realize the things and people that shaped you, when that elusive moment innocence flew away, happened.
It’s also about the love found in only friendship. The kind of love found nowhere else, in life. A deeper understanding for another person, that cannot be compared to the love of family, or romance; it’s just more than that.
This is why I say; making reference to underlying homoerotic tones, in regards to this story, would be queerbating. There’s nothing queer about it. The two main characters love eachother, intrinsically. They are both male, and they share deeply intimate moments. Yet they’re the kind of moments that can’t be experienced really, in the same way one would expect them to be understood, if they were shared between lovers or even family.
They are simply, eachother’s person.
They also made a live rendition The story is told in a different way, from both the manga and the anime, but it is soooo good. The order of events, and some of the details of circumstances, are changed around (a lot of the darker elements are completely omitted) but it’s done so in a way that allows the main characters’ friendship, to shine a little more pure.
Komatsu Nana (Ritsuko)
Chinen Yuri (Kaoru)
Nakagawa Taishi (Sentaro)
I’ve never seen Komatsu play such a sweet character, and she was very good at showing those subtle reveals of deep emotions, churning inside.
I also thought it was genius to cast Chinen, a JPop idol as Kaoru; since he’s much moodier and insensitive in the manga. Part of his growth is in consideration of others feelings, and that little touch of diva, did the trick while keeping him more approachable for the more upbeat tone of the film version.
Nakagawa is known for rom coms and comedy variety skits, aswell as popular dramas. And he’s the live action Ryota from Your Lie In April! And the live action Arata in ReLife! IRL he’s a big goofball who does a lot of children’s events. That somehow lent a strong vulnerability to even his most violent scenes.
The story takes place in late Showa Era; mid 1960s to mid 1970s, during a significant period of courtship (if you wanna call it that) between Japan and the US. This is the generation after approximately 230 THOUSAND Japanese civilians were massacred by the US Airforce. The story also takes place in the southern Kyushu prefecture of Nagasaki; one of the two cities annihilated by the American nuclear attacks. During this period; you see a country emerging from military occupation, radically changing in its internal view of itself, and becoming the 2nd strongest world economic power.
Yet for this generation itself; young adults were torn between a nationality steeped in exclusive tradition, and recognizing their identities in the world outside of their nationality. The story can be somewhat viewed as an allegory between not only the “youth” lost of Japanese identity, but also the marriage of modern Japanese and American cultures. There’s a whole history there, that I won’t go into in this post, but some notable points are as follows:
Japanese and American cultures are innately almost the exact opposite, in every way, yet there has been a long standing fascination with each other. There’s just some sort of symbiotic relationship in the two countries’ pop culture.
The US occupation of Japan (1945-1952) changed Japan inside and out, and while the country of Japan is roughly only the size of California; there are close to 100 US military bases throughout the islands and mainland. The US is the only country to have ever invaded Japan.
The phenomenon of what is some times refered to as “children of ash” were the children of US soldiers by Japanese civilian mothers. In most cases; abandoned by their own families, they were outcasts in their own communities. The majority were illegitimate, and often the result of rape.
Debated cival unrest on local levels, due to student protests by the Communist Youth Party, The pro Russian Socialists, and those who fought to rid the American presence from Japan.
Catholicism set up shop and began to convert the locals to Christianity; who had suddenly found themselves poverty stricken, traumatized, and quickly losing their identity as a people.
Jazz; a uniquely American music, was embraced and made even better, by Japanese musicians of the Showa Era. Yet it went hand in hand with American soldiers and businessmen, as they were often the audience. Young Japanese men played to groups of blatantly racist foreigners and occupying personnel, amid the introduction of hard drugs, openly sexual promiscuity, and arrogance that they brought with them. All of which, was also uniquely Western, to them.
So now that you’re up to speed on a lot of the underlying dark tones of the story; know that these themes are mostly brushed over in the manga and anime, and are almost completely left out of the live action film. The story wasn’t really written for an audience outside of Japan, so these points are just known to Japan’s audience. Also, the majority of the dialogue is in a Kansai type dialect, so you definitely want to watch with subtitles.
Kaoru (a pianist) is a moody, introverted young man from the city. His father is a sailor of some sort (not military but probably a merchant) and though they have a loving relationship; due to his business, Kaoru is moved around to different relatives. He’s wealthy, intelligent, speaks and reads English, and his family is very Westernized. He’s moved into his Aunt and Uncle’s mansion in Sasebo Nagasaki, where he’s expected to follow in his Uncle’s footsteps, and become a doctor.
Sentaro (a drummer) is the child of a local girl and an American soldier. We know from a glimpse of a photo; his parents were involved for at least a brief time. Shortly after his birth though; he’s abandoned to the village priest, and later raised by his mother’s family. Though he calls his Aunt and Uncle, Mom and Dad; no one in the family or the village accepts him, save for his Aunt. He’s massive in size, has reddish brown hair and light eyes, and inherented an almost entierly American, boorishness demeanor.
Side note for my Given readers; there’s a lot of Sentaro reminiscent aspects to Akihiko. Besides being a half white drummer; I honestly wonder if the character inspired Kizu.
Both boys were abandoned by their mothers as infants, and while Kaoru’s father is just always away; Sentaro never even knew his. In the manga and the anime; there is a deep theme that women are so easily overlooked and yet so incredibly vital, in the raising of kind young men. The film leaves this out, but it’s not to disregard its importance in life or the story; it’s that they left out all of the instances of lack of consent, which indirectly leads the boys to understanding the traumas and strengths, of their own mothers. So if you watch the film first; you may have some unexpected and unsettling moments, watching the anime. They also leave the topic of political activism and drug use out of the film. Those topics served the context of the society the boys live in, and isn’t as relevant in the film.
Everyone in town is terrified of Sentaro; his laugh is too loud, his stride is too outspoken, he comes and goes as he pleases; getting into fights as if it’s funsies and smiling while doing so. One nuance to the character; is that he smiles big, just showing all those teeth, and talks while he’s eating (not just with his mouth full) which at this time would have still been extremely rude for even a male. The whole town treats him as if he’s an outsider, like he didn’t grow up with them. As a small child; the other children beat him and called him “America” as if he represents the very people invading their world, all by himself.
But inside this man sized 15 year old, beats the heart of a joyous and unconditionally loving child. He’s adored by his Aunt’s tribe of young biological children, and cares deeply for his community, including the Catholic church which he adamantly attends. So much so; Kaoru exclaims at one point; he’ll surely be a natural father, surrounded by happy children, as an adult. Sentaro describes Kaoru as his angel.
When Kaoru arrives in town; he’s singled out immediately by classmates, due to his intellectual way of speaking, his girlish face, and small stature. Yet being a bit of a standoffish dick; he’s the only one of them to “stand up to” the seemingly dangerous Sentaro. Interstingly, he also represents American influence; in that he comes from a family that has completely assimilated. Eventhough he’s more traditional in his mannerisms, and even his physical appearance; he’s all business and reformed etiquette. The two together, mirror two very different Americanized people. A big part of this is subtlety shown in the different ways they go about trying to flirt with girls. He has also lost touch with language, as he speaks English better than local dialects. Eventhough, there are dozens of ways to speak Japanese; it’s a serious problem for him, as he moves around. He can’t understand what his own people are saying.
With the encouragement of Ristuko, who’s father runs the local record store; the two bond over jazz, in a secret practice room, in the basement of the shop. She acts as a sort of guardian over both of them, and she and her father seem to be the only people in town, that know Sentaro is an actual ray of sunshine.
There’s a lot of crushing going on with the boys, as a sort of love triangle forms in Ristuko’s heart, throughout their three years of highschool. And another with Yurika, between Sentaro and Jun; an older musician whom Sentaro idolizes. Yet the main “love story” is between Sentaro and Kaoru.
In their case, the akai ito red string of fate; is represented as Ristuko’s blue yarn. Blue meaning something pure and stable. Both boys suffer extreme attachment trauma, and while Kaoru expresses his as admittedly, not being able to get along with or let other people in; Sentaro expresses his as never letting himself grieve for his excruciatingly unfair circumstances. One of the most heartwrenching scenes in every adaptation, is when he finally let’s himself cry, and sobs uncontrollably into Kaoru’s arms.
In the anime; without knowing subcontext; some of the racial discrimination is easily missed. In the film; they really draw on it, most prominently by adding to a scene where American soldiers are talking shit about the boys while they’re trying to play a set. Throwing slurs at Kaoru and Jun, who is their vocalist and trumpet player, and picking up on the fact that Sentaro is probably one of their “responsibilities”, to put it “nicely”. The scene is even more difficult to watch, knowing both Kaoru and Jun speak English, but Setaro doesn’t understand a word they’re saying.
There is never a moment of sexual or even romantic tension between the two, boys. They experience friendship in its deepest form. Yes they squabble like they’re dating, and no one else knows what’s good for the other. Have throw down fights, followed by silent treatments and angry faced acts of service love language; like an old married couple. Piss eachother off, and know exactly how to soothe one another, like only close partners do. But not a single moment of it is homoerotic. It’s the pure love and joy, only found in those rarest of friendships, where you just know one another, even if you don’t yet know a lot ABOUT the other. Where you heal wounds, without trying to fix the other person, because you’re not looking at them like a mate whom you want to meet your expectations or needs. Instead it’s companionship where you speak eachother’s truths, and cannot be apart without experiencing painful sorrow. Even feeling jealousy at them being with someone else. Where you see the other’s beauty, as well as the faults, and love them all, because that is your person.
At one point; they meet some older men, who while watching them get drunk together; insist that they must treasure eachother, no matter what, because true friendship like theirs’ is forever. For life; through the good and the bad. Their relationship captures the newness of growing from a sweaty, awkward boy; into first loves, and fist fights, and broken hearts. All while being told you’re becoming a man, and there are expectations in that; because men are unfairly expected to make marks on the world. Being told this by adults, who seem to irronically always forget that you are the litteral future expectation, and you’re learning from their all too often, poor examples. Those tedious moments of discovering your ability to be made into a mumbling idiot; by first feels and falling out over your own idiocy. Trying to understand tenderness, and your own terrible ability to be insensitively aggressive. As well as learning that it’s ok, rewarding, human, and HEALTHY to show affection and share intimacy with one another, as two young men. Eventhough half the time; Kaoru interjects that Sentaro isn’t his friend, they just play music together.
Viewing the two as a potentially queer interpretation of that love, only takes away from its profound wonder. Being a gay guy myself; obviously I don’t mean that because it’s QUEER, but because it would make it sexually romantic, which is not this story. They have moments of aversion to eachothers’ affections, that are part of being told men can’t be close, but it’s in childish humor. Sentaro tells Kaoru he’s only truly happiest, when they play music together. Kaoru says that he can’t be separated from him, and that their times together are his “favorite things”.
And they check eachother out, in platonic affection; the same way Sentaro teases Ritsuko, in the film, that she better tell him he looks good. Sentaro comments that Kaoru is pretty and sensitive, and Kaoru exclaims in jealousy, that Sentaro is so handsome; sometimes he takes even his breath away. He acknowledges his impressive, natural masculinity, while Sentaro acknowledges Kaoru’s gentility …but it’s all in admiration and innocent honesty. This too can be seen as that mirror, of two very differently Americanized Japanese men. The two are physically very different, and if you look back at this time in history (not the understanding of toxic male perception, now) Americans were admired as being effortlessly “masculine”.
There’s a whole sort of set of rules for what constitutes being “masculine”, between the two cultures. I’ve written on it before, but for a moment; for the sake of this story’s setting, unlearn what we now understand about the former misconceptions of what it means to be a male. In that time and place; the American men young Japanese boys were exposed to, were big US soldiers. Their average height, was 5'9" to 6 foot. They were muscular, broad shouldered, loud, and assertive, with strong faces and big eyes. Eventhough Sentaro is despised for physically being all of these things; that’s still where young Japanese men at the time, were trying to get to. The average height and weight of a Japanese man at the time, as just over 5 foot, and Americans had them out weighed by a good 20-40 pounds.
Both boys represent to one another, what the other will never be; as perceived by other people. Kaoru who is small and reserved; finds that being courageous and taking the lead in his own life, doesn’t mean he has to be outlandish. By the end, he’s grown his hair and walks with a beautiful air of quiet masculinity and grace. There’s a whole thing with the song “One Day My Prince Will Come” and he does infact grown into one version of a modern prince. Sentaro on the other hand, will never not look white, and his bold presence can be one that instills inspiration and joy, rather than fear or disdain. As a child; he wacks off all of his beautiful, wavey auburn hair; in an attempt to have some kind of control over the way he looks, and declares he’ll use his size and strength, to protect himself.
One part that is always declared to be queer coded (and trust me, I get why) is when the two first see eachother. It’s not supposed to be romantic sexually; it’s romantic interpersonally. Sentaro is in high sunlight, and revealing his face, he’s almost angelic, in an iconic western kind of way. Yet he looks up into Kaoru’s face and thinks HE’S dreaming of an actual angel, because he’s so lovely looking down at him in the light. They are what eachother is told, they should be more like. Really it’s just the sun in their eyes, which I always felt was the mangaka referencing to [the sun rises in the East/sets in the West] but that is their first impression of the other. Sentaro is this impossible vision of unobtainable Westerner presence and command (which we all know is absurd) in the moment Kaoru first realizes he’s another boy. Irronically (absolutely NOT Western) when the Japanese express that even people can be kami; Sentaro is an example of that. Someone who’s presence you can’t disregard, but is unexplainable in their sort of unknown power over the people around them. In another allusion to their sense of self worth; Karou apparently looks like what Sentaro would imagine angels look like. Which to him, is not at all Western; Karou’s delicate, and small, and unmistakably East Asian. This says a lot about Sentaro’s internalized subconscious self; considering he’s a devout catholic, which is the branding iron of western control. Ironic; a Christian diety would look like a Japanese person, to him and Karou himself, even being very Americanized, thinks Christians are odd. This fascination they instinctively feel, is absolutely a form of being in love, but takes on a vicarious, platonic version of it.
The story ends in a twist, and it’s one of those stories that you wonder; how could this possibly end in a satisfactory way for the audience. Yet it’s entirely satisfying and poignant. Without it being sappy or just fanservice. Completely unexpected; the film changes the ending up a little, and it’s even BETTER!
The film is such a beautifully sweet tear jerker, compared to the original’s darker angst, but I absolutely loved every minute of it, and felt the changes were done respectfully to the original. It’s easier to follow, without knowing the subcontexts, but difficult to find, to watch. If you intend to watch the anime or read the manga; I would recommend doing so before watching the film. If you want to watch the film only, it’s a really wonderful stand alone story, and the actors did exceptionally well !!
Anime only:
Side note worth mentioning: During this time; the Beatles had just started taking over rock and roll. Rock was still viewed as a sort of cheap, and dirty music, mostly because of the use of expensive electric guitars, and blatant marketing to underage girls. Simping had been discovered, as a means to sell music; which left a bad taste in the mouths of other musicians. Before music acts on that scale; making music wasn’t about making money or even really fame; it was about being appreciated and respected for your talent.
Okamoto Nobuhiko; My Hero Academia’s Bakugo, voices a boy named Seiji, who heads up a Beatles-esque boy band! He does an INCREDIBLE job in the anime, of being both adorable, and cringey! I really love Okamoto’s cutesy characters
☆Sentaro is voiced by Hosoya Yoshimasa:
My Hero Academia; Tokoyami
Katsuya Honda (Tohru’s dad) in the upcoming Fruits Basket; Prelude
Finally starting on this series even though I already listened to over 200 episodes… Since that legendary inuboku episode, I just had to listen to more of his radio and Tensai Gunshi came up…and there was no way back.
There’s really little subbed content of Hosoya out there (on Youtube at least from what I see) so hoping to get more out there. This episode is from #2 back in 2014. Yasumoto used way too many onomatopoeic words so I could only guess what he’s trying to say -.-
