Con Report: Kanjanism, Osaka Day 2, 1/09/15

This is my second (and official) experience on the Kanjanism tour. Reason why its official? Because it’s my fanclub hit ticket and not a scalped ticket (oops). I won’t go into too much detail but I have to say that this time around I had a ton of a lot more fun than I did at Tokyo.

I just got back from my holiday vacation back in America literally the night before this concert. So, needless to say, I arrived to Osaka around 6pm and missed the first twenty minutes of the concert. By the time I actually got to the section where my seat was at, they were already starting with Gamushara Koushinkyoku.

But before I get into all of that I gotta say that I did not know where my seat was gonna be for this concert because the tickets arrived while I was out of the country. So I had no way to prepare for the experience I was going to have this night. When I got home, I opened up my envelope to be greeted with 神席, or godtier seating. This has been the first time since 8EST tour that I got arena seating. I totally did not expect arena seating because by JUKEBOX I had figured that arena was just a one shot deal. But nope, someone was rooting for me because I got arena!

What I didn’t know was where the godtier seating was. All I saw on the ticket was arena, block B8. I thought that B8 would be in the back, or middle.

When the staff guided me to my seat, I fucking shat myself. The stage was RIGHT THERE. Not even 20 feet away. I was three rows from the main stage along side the hanamichi leading up to center stage. Here, have a crude map of where I was at:

The screens were fucking huge, the lights were fucking bright, the band sounded fucking amazing. It was just insane. Suddenly K8 comes on to the stage after RAGE and its like they’re in my face and I’m like holy shit this is too much they’re too close oh god and yeah.

FUNx8 was awesome fun, and it seems, despite the fact that its obvious a lot of people don’t listen to hip hop in this audience, that K8 loves performing this song. Subaru is especially pretty excited for this song. Towards the end, Yasu and Ryo both start saying Give it away, give it away now which was like yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas ryo yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas you fucking ameriboo you.

Misoji Shounen. Welp. Thanks for all the hip thrusting in my face. I’ll take it to my grave, Yasu. Subaru’s censor button was him dressed like that robot drummer that hangs out in Doutonbori. At Tokyo, Hina actually had to do pushups but apparently this all changed because Yasu did a gag solo that had Ohkura and Subaru in tears on stage. At the end, Yasu flips up his kilt and says, ” Musasabi ” lolwat Ohkura screwed the lyrics up too and he got all like ” omg ” lol

Between Misoji Shounen and the member solos, there’s a video intermission. I believe Maru is the center piece for this intermission but I don’t exactly remember what he was doing in it.

I avoided Adam and Eve at Tokyo because I could, but there was no way I could avoid this song now that both Ohkura and Yoko were twenty feet from me performing it. Its completely lip synched, but honestly, I don’t care since hearing Yoko’s shitty falsettos would probably be worser live than in an autotune recording. Needless to say, Yoko was completely in my eyeline sight for the entirity of that performance and I don’t know if he was staring directly at me or at the audience but like I think senpai noticed me and I feel bad because I hate Adam and Eve but I was totally jamming cause senpai is sounding like a dying cat in heat singing about illcit sex and looking at me or section idk. Or maybe he was caught off guard by the hooker in the audience. Who knows.

Ice Cream was next but I could barely see it since Ryo and Yasu were on the left and right stages respectively. The bad part about arena seating is that it is very hard to see everything around you outside of where ever you are on the floor. So if you’re in my section, you get a lot of a main stage action but the moment they move off the main stage, you’re stuck looking at the monitors for where they’re at.

Next up was Michi and augh, omg… It sounded even better than when I first heard it in Tokyo. Its such a gorgeous song and omg Marubaru babies singing it so perfect. Maru was on the left and Subaru was on my stage and just to hear that voice so close… omg.

After member solos, its an intermission. I think this one features Hina trying to fix one of the carnival booths that broke.

The members come out for Masterpiece and the lasers were so fucking cool to look at up close. And the flames were too hot. Way too hot. I don’t know how they perform with so much heat blaring on them. They move to the center stage for Frozen Margarita and this time there’s more flames but they change colors which was cool. Hell yeah for more money towards stage production.

I’m getting used to Futatsu Te to Te but it still seems like an awkward shove in for a song in this set list. There was also Clover and I was like meh but they were somewhere, IDK. I was watching the PV on the big screens since whenever they get to the backstage, they’re impossible to see. From the back stage, they start with TWL and everyone starts spinning their towels. This then marked the fuck around the arena and sing portion again. Cool Magic City was another lets fuck around as we make it back to the main stage and a lot of the older K8 fans in the audience really enjoyed it but there was a lot of ” huuuun ” too, like the ” I don’t know this song so I’m gonna wave my penlight anyway so I don’t look awkward… ” peeps in the crowd too. I think I only saw like four or five people in total in my immediate area that knew the furi.

Here they get to the main stage and tell us all that we can sit down because it’s MC time. Hina pointed out about Yoko dancing to Yokai Watch during TWL and Cool Magic City. Yoko said he did it for the kids cause they ended up doing it along with him as well. They also had to remind us that they learned it for Kouhaku. Yoko doing that dance was lol tho.

The conversation, if I remember correctly, was about what time everyone went to bed and how much sleep they got. Yoko commented that he tries to get at least 6 hours of sleep and since he’s gotten into his 30s he’s been going to bed a lot earlier (it was cute when Maru asked him how old he was and the way he said ’33’). Then it transitioned into what everyone did last night (Thursday). Maru and Hina had Recommen to do back in Tokyo so they did that and apparently after doing that, Hina went out to eat yakiniku so he had a pretty long night out (apparently he didn’t go to bed until 4:30 and then got back up at 7:30). They apparently came back that morning by train. Yasu mentioned that he went to bed around 2 hours after the concert and read a manga to get himself to fall asleep.

I had to run to get something to drink during the middle of the MC because I was so dehydrated from the flight back and hadn’t eaten anything since 4:30am when I woke up that morning so I missed a huge chunk… But when I came back, they were talking about what was more important to Hina, eggs or water. Hina was pretty serious about his water, saying that stuff is important in life. So everyone started grilling him about what would be more important to him to which Hina was like, Water. But then they started making the situation harder and harder to choose between the two since he likes them both.

Then someone asked him, ” If you were sleeping and suddenly woke up, what would you grab, the water to your left or the eggs to your right ”

Then they started trolling him even more, like what would he have done if he was sleep and suddenly a dog came running at him. lol And Hina was like no bro and why would he have had a dog anyway he hates dogs and then they were like but what if you’re at your parents house and you were sleeping and their dog came in XDD Then they make him say wan and the fun and then fun fun wan wan kan wan wan jani wan wan eight alright lets go lmfao

Yoko asks Maru what he did and Maru rambles off what he did, starring off into the distances. So Yoko asks Maru what the hell is he looking at and Maru is like, I’m looking at the Toto. And Yoko is like wtf are you talking about, and Maru is like, the Toto sign and there’s this big ol sign up in the top stands that says Toto (a toliet bowl company) and he continues to speak to it. lol.

So suddenly, Hina runs off stage to prepare for his solo and the guys continue to talk. This time about gaming. Apparently Yoko called Subaru up to let Ohkura know about playing some games because he was busy doing other things… but Subaru never did it and Ohkura got upset about. So Yoko basically was saying that Subaru blew him off about it but Subaru denied it cause he apparently doesn’t know Ohkura’s contact info. Then Ohkura gets really upset cause he’s like, ” You’ve always had my info! ” but Yoko’s like I totally don’t know and Subaru was like, I was already sleeping by then. So he sends him a message about doing it a little later and Ohkura says he wanted to.

So while Ohkura was waiting, he apparently wasted a bottle of wine and in that process of waiting for Yoko, the card key to his hotel door got jacked up. So he runs over to Yoko’s door and lets him know that he screwed up his hotel card key and he can’t use it anymore and in the process he can’t access his room so then Yoko calls the staff in the front to let them know and they’re like they can’t do anything for him so Ohkura ends up in Yoko’s room till 5 in the morning.

Anyway, they talk about Yoko having a new phone number and Yoko is like every knows I got one and Ohkura blows up again like, ” I didn’t know you had a new phone number! Since when?! ”

Somewhere also in this MC (which was pretty long) they talk about the gag solos in Misoji Shounen and that everyone has done one except Yoko. lol And Yoko was like naw I ain’t doing a gag solo at all.

So the MC is over, after someone on the stage tells them its ok to wrap it up and Hina comes out on the top as King for his solo, ” Ai Love Hip Hop “. By the end of the song, Hina is so tired lol and is like giving up during the rap so he has all of us do it for him and he’s like, ” CAN Y’ALL JUST SAY KING.. YEAH… KING.. SAY IT…  *heaves* ” He totally gave up singing the song by the end. lol

Then its the member solos. Butterfly I Loved, Ai igai nan de mo nai, Revolver, Fantastic Music, and Wanshan Ropin.

There’s another video intermission, this time with Ryo and Subaru. Ryo gives a flower and then Subaru plays the guitar. Which is funny considering this isn’t a band sequence at all.

After member solos, its Bansou. Subaru starts off on the main stage, followed by Ryo over on stage right. Then Ohkura and Yasu are on Stage Left with Maru and Hina on the center stage. Then Yoko is on the main stage along side Subaru. Again, Yoko was in direct line vision. And it was awesome and even tho he was lip synching the fuck away it didn’t matter cause I just kept staring and sobbing internally. He really doesn’t have much to sing in this song either. It’s pretty much the ” oh oh oh oh ”  and ” whoa whoa whoa “lol poor bb. Oh well he made it up by his attempts at being cool.

Flawless skin fucker omg.

For Zou they were on the center stage but this time it spund so I wasn’t just staring at their backs and it was awesome.

They come back to the main stage again for King of Otoko and it was cool how Ryo just handed off his mic to one of the stage hands and grabbed the regular hand mic. One thing I noticed about Ryo which the cameras on the DVDs don’t usually catch or put much emphasis on is how focused he is while performing. Like, you can see on his face that it’s work and he’s got a job to do. He’s not too fanservice-y but he is pretty focused on what he has to do.

Ohkura took off Hina’s shirt during KOO. lol then Hina was struggling to get it buttoned up again during the end of KOO and into the single melody. XD

Its the throwback single melody with Wahaha, Sukiyanen Osaka, Kanfuu Fighting, Aoppana and Hesomagari. Then it was Yu which was like ok, not the greatest but the fans love this song. IDKY.

Then they disappear off the stage for a costume change. Well, half do. Hina, Yoko, and Maru run off mid-way through Yu because once that song ends, the lights cut off and Hina is on the keyboards for the band session. Then Yoko comes out and preps up with his trumpet which he soon joins in. He sounds light years better than Tokyo, which was flubby at best. His embouchure is still weak as hell though. Maru comes in on the bass, followed up with Ohkura then its full band when Yasu and Ryo and Subaru finally get on stage. Subaru is on the harmonica and its like aaaaaaaaahhhhh yiiiiiiiissssssss get ittttttttttttttttt.

They are fucking amazing with this jam session and finally its the moment I’ve been waiting for ALL FUCKING NIGHT.

YOU GUESSED IT.

DOYA MOTHERFUCKING GAO JINSEI.

Holy shit. Oh my god. This shit. I never expected to experience this flawless fucking band session up close and I was like YAAAAAAAAAAAAS SLAAAAAAAAAAY BBS SLAAAAAAAAY YAAAAAAAAAAAAS OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD YAAAAAAAAAS

This is just like. Omg. Fucking yaaaaaaaaaaas. I can’t even put into words how fucking awesome this song is.

Then the jam session when they play it out at the end. Holy shit. Omg. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas

After the flawlessness they move straight into Itta Jyanai Ka, which is a chopped up version from the single. It kind of throws you off cause they pretty much chop out an entire verse (Yasu and Subaru’s bridge) and jump straight into the final chorus.

Then things go silent as they change instruments for the next song and sneak some water in. Subaru then gives a speech about where they’re going and all this stuff, support and yeah. It’s no different than what he said at Tokyo, which means its probably just rehearsed but considering Subaru is so terrible at speaking off of the top his head in situations like this, its okay. It’s not like he speaks all the time anyway since it’s usually Hina that’s always acting as the ambassador for K8.

During Subaru’s speech, Ryo was fingering the chords on his guitar. Ever the professional.

Then its LIFE which was pretty awesome to witness up close like that.

The song ends, the lights cut off, and they quickly move back stage. In the mean time between the main set and the encore, they play the final cut scene which is the old white guy talking about dreams never ending and if we wish hard enough K8 will always be with us forever and yeah. Then everyone is like clapping and the lights come on and everyone is like doing the K8 chant then the lights quickly go off again and they play another video, ” Kanjanism is ” which is:

Kanjanism is going forward

Staying as is

That is being serious

But also being silly

That is love and dreams

Courage and Hope

Great efforts and disappointments

(And sometimes)

Saying embarrassing things

Kanjanism

That is…

To continue to touch hearts

They all come out and start singing Omoidama. Then Mugendai and then Zukkoke Otoko Michi. There wasn’t a second encore. Right after Zukkoke they all got on stage, Yoko told us to hold hands, they quickly went into Oretachi wa saikou no saikyou de Kanjani8 and that was it. They said goodbye and poof as quickly as they came on they were gone.

I thought I would get much gintape but I was too close to the stage to grab any. The gintape just flew right over my head and five rows behind me. LOL /sighs Another bad part about arena seating so close to the main stage 😛

Overall I really enjoyed this concert. I think because I was so up against the main stage I saw more and got to really experience everything because I could see the guys so clearly. Also having them right in front of your face is insane. They are really good looking guys and its like you can understand why they’re in Johnny’s. Yasu is really short, so is Subaru. Ryo is also pretty short and really skinny. But then you got Groot as Ohkura and Yokomaru who top off the group height wise with average ol’ Hina in the middle.

K8 maybe performers but you can see that they’re really focused on the job at hand. Every little thing that happens they are 150% on top of it. It’s sort of amazing to see them “at work” so clearly. On the DVDs, and hell even in the stands, you don’t really see them “at work”. Everything seems like one big show, but up close you can see their facial reactions, them working with the stage hands, etc. Like… this is a job and they’re professionals at what they do. Even though we may laugh at Yoko or give Hina a pat on the back for the attempt, they still are professionals at what they do and could probably out perform any of us on a moments notice.

At that point, I realized, it takes a lot of fucking work to get a crowd of 50,000 people going and continuously at that for 3 hours. If they’re not hearing the right reaction from the crowd, Yasu and Ohkura will run up to each other and perform some fanservice. Ryo always knows when to wave to the fans and give them what they want. Maru knows how to make the fans do the infamous PAN!!!! with him. They never give more than enough attention to everyone.

The only one I can say that always goes above and beyond during encores is Yoko who usually takes time out in every concert to personally shake and greet as many fans as possible. Especially running to the parent/child section and greeting all the little ones.

K8 knows who butters their bread and while there are times where Ryo will zone out, Subaru will half ass a dance, etc…. K8 understands that they’re idols and this is what they need to do in order to stay relevant.

So, now, I’ll be going to the final on Monday. My seat is decent but nothing can compare to being three chairs away from senpaitachi. I just hope I get some gintape this time or Kanjanism will my first con where I wasn’t able to grab any of it. :((((((