Gamushara Matsuri Last

[faded_lace]

So, I'm back from Tokyo and feeling like I got run over by a truck thanks to the horror that is EX Theatre hangover (that place is seriously brutal on the body x__x) and to the typhoon (I swear that 9kinds isn't just an ame onna, but a typhoon onna, sheesh) that completely drenched us for all of Sunday. I'm sure basically everyone on my flist ha already read about the results, but I figured I'd post about them here, anyway, because… I want to :E So there!

The results are all up on the official Gamushara twitter, but I'm not going to translate each tweet because I just don't feel like it. Basically what happened is this:

✖ On Saturday (8/9), Sha won the first show, Ga won the second show (but only by the junior vote; Sha had higher decibels), and Sha won the third show (overwhelmingly; beautifully; I almost passed out and I think Reia was in about the same state) putting Sha at 8 wins to 7 losses and tying them for first with Ra.

✖ As an aside, as I'm sure you heard, Kento, Fuma, and Shori came to see the show on the evening of 8/9 (the show I was at), and came up on stage at the end. Shori exclaimed, "Finally, all of Sexy Zone is together again!" and the audience exploded with cheers. During the encore of Yuuki 100%, Sou tried to move out of the way so that Shori could stand in the center, and the other members pushed him back, having him stay in the center of the group. These guys are amazing and I know now that they're going to pull through this.

✖ On Sunday (8/10), Both the decibels and the juniors tied for Ga and Mu. Apparently, in the event of a tie, the higher decibel side wins, but the decibels were tied too, so they resorted to janken. Team Ga won the janken, so they won the first show.

✖ Team Mu won the following show by one decibel, and team Ga won the final show by one decibel, placing Team Ga at 8 wins to 7 losses and Team My at a horrifying 6 wins to 9 losses.

✖ Since three teams were tied for first, they added up the total decibels and ranked by who had the highest decibel score. Ra had the most, followed by Sha, followed by Ra.

✖ By which, the final results were as follows:
No. 1 - Team Ra (Matsumura, Kyomoto, Tanaka, Morimoto, Morohoshi)
No. 2 - Team Sha (Jinguji, Nakamura, Matsukura, Tajima, Inoue)
No. 3 - Team Ga (Jesse, Iwamoto, Fukasawa, Masuda, Hanzawa)
No. 4 - Team Mu (Iwahashi, Matsuda, Takahashi F, Takahashi K, Hayashi)

I… honestly loved the Matsuri as a concert; it was amazingly well-put together, had a great flow, showcased Marius and Sou beautifully, and gave a lot of juniors a chance to shine, but in the end, I really, really hated the performance aspect of the show. Not only did the voting not at all reflect the guys' actual talent, skill, or the effort they put into the show, frankly, I don't even think it was a good popularity contest. People who were closer to the mic were obviously going to get picked up better in the decibel ranking, so if it just so happened that one team had more fans closer, then that team would likely get higher decibels. It just isn't fair to the guys to put them in that sort of situation, where they feel their own worth is tied to this abstract number, and hearing how the members of Team Mu were so upset that they cried through the second half of the show, unable to pull themselves together, just breaks my heart. I sincerely hope that with their friends there to comfort them they can put this behind them without too many insecurities and hurts, and that they know that their effort and hard work on this contest can in no way be represented in an abstract number. Every one of them worked so hard, and they deserve to be rewarded for that, not punished.

But if nothing else, this served as a healthy reminder to me that Johnny's, as an agency, is inherently cruel and unfeeling towards their talents, something good to keep in mind as a fan if you don't want to get hurt.

On a lighter note, the Funcussion staff has been tweeting about Gamushara this whole time in the most adorable way, and this tweet following the final show was particularly sweet:

(TV Asahi Gamushara!) This is the manager. The show ended today with Team Sha in second place, and having won the decibel vote for 14 out of 15 shows (!), an amazing result! Congratulations to all the fans by whom Team Sha was supported. We at Funcussion, who supported the boys for this show, want to express our gratitude to you from the bottom of our hearts!

Despite the fact that I didn't like the way they handled Matsukura's breakdown during practice, they've been incredibly and adorably supportive to Team Sha this whole time, and before Team Sha's last show, the show I attended on 8/9, they brought a personalized cake for each member of Team Sha (you can see the cakes here)! How cute is that? ♥

I'm going to do a full report for each show (and yes, the Sexy Zone shows in Saitama; I really am planning on it, I'm just really busy right now) but I need to get past this week first, so please bear with me. Just to give you an idea of my schedule (listing the times as times away from my computer, so transit lumped in):

8/11 - Orientation Committee meeting in the prefectural capital, 11:15 am to 6 pm
8/12 - Free (normal work day(
8/13 - Orientation Committee meeting in the prefectural capital, 11:15 am to 6 pm
8/14 - Orientation Day 1, 7 am to 8:30 pm
8/15 - Orientation Day 2, 7 am to 6:30 pm
8/16 - Weekend
8/17 - Weekend
8/18 - City-wide Elementary English Planning Meeting, 10:30 am to 4 pm
8/19 - City-wide Junior High English Planning Meeting, 10: 30 am to 4 pm

Then I have three more days of summer break before second term starts up on 8/25. So just, please bear with me! I'm having a really busy week or so, and I'll be working on the reports, but unfortunately, work comes first!

Anyway, I'm sorry this turned really long and emotional >__>; All in all, I enjoyed the Matsuri but I'm glad it's done. The boys don't need that sort of stress and hurt.

Comments

[yomimashou.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Team Mu ;_______; I hate that Johnny's did that to them.

All the Funcussion tweets have been so cute though~ Team Sha's performances were seriously amazing, and I hope they know that, despite the end result and despite being sad for their friends ;~~~;

Sexy Zone though~ ♥♥ I'm so glad they came! And Marius and Sou were so amazing ♥♥♥

Good luck with all your work stuff, you can do it!!

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

I know. I'm still in shock that Johnny's let it happen this way. It doesn't make sense, or even make good TV, to show Team Mu struggling this whole time just to have them fail in the long run? Ugh. It's just really horrible.

The Funcussion tweets were so adorable XD I love that they got them cakes. And Team Sha really did do amazing. I think they know that, which is a bittersweet last note to end on, at least.

Yes ;___; At least, despite the Junior stuff, Sexy Zone was 100% positive. I'm so happy that they came and were clearly proud of and happy for Marius and Sou ♥

Thanks T___T; Ganbarimasu.

[chynnawitch.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this <3
Good luck!

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

No problem. ^^ I'll write a full report soon.

And thank you!

[elindar.livejournal.com]

since this was a competition, didn't we know all along that some team has to lose in the end? i admit the voting system, especially the decibels, was a bit suspicious but what can you do. i also feel bad for mu for getting the last place but if it hadn't been them, it had been some other team, and it would've been equally regrettable for them. :x i think all teams worked hard, all had their own hardships and all would've deserved the first place for the effort they put into this but, again, competition! that's so johnny's like after all, putting them in order, making the loser do batsu game etc. :/

but on another note, this:
Sou tried to move out of the way so that Shori could stand in the center, and the other members pushed him back, having him stay in the center of the group.
awwww ;__; <3

good luck with your work!

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

To me, there's a really big difference between something like, first place had 10 wins, second place had 8 wins, third place had 7 wins, fourth place had 6 wins, or something, and this, where everyone else tied and Mu was the big loser. There wasn't really a "winner," just Mu being told they failed. If Mu had won one more show on Sunday, they'd have been tied 7 to 7 with Ga, and it would have felt so much less like a failure, since it would be 8 to 8 to 7 to 7. Additionally, fans have pointed out that Mu had the same number of decibels as Ra, despite losing their matches. So really, the system is just completely faulty, and Mu are the victims of Johnny's trying to make it more "interesting." It's not that I think any of the other teams should have lost, I just think that everyone could have been rewarded somewhat for their effort and hard work, instead of having no one really be a clear "winner" (so no one got an exceptionally "good" result since it was a three way tie; there was no one who got to feel good or special) and one Team be told they were bad and not good enough. It just seems cruel to me, especially to do to kids.

TL;DR - I disagree with "if it hadn't been them, it had been some other team" because with one difference in score in one show could have made it hugely better for Team Mu. It's not that I want a different team to suffer. It's that I don't think it's fair to single out one team out of four and call them failures.

But yeah ;___; Sexy Zone was so sweet the whole time. It just became really clear how much the older three love the babies, and how happy Marius and Sou were that Kento, Fuma, and Shori came. ;___;

Thank you! @___@; I really appreciate it! ♥ I need it.

[yararanger.livejournal.com]

I'm still generally irritable about everything 8D;;

I'm glad today's orientation committee didn't result in you working too late, but good luck with the rest of this week ;A;

IA so hard with the 'enjoyed the Matsuri but I'm glad it's done' sentiment. It was really really really fun but I'm glad they get a bit of a rest now. x_X

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

I feel you ;;; I just get incredibly sad when I think about it, more than anything ;;;

Thank you! ;__; I need it.

Yeah, totally. x___x; The episodes leading up to it made me totally crazy and I cried each time, so I'm glad that the guys aren't going through that anymore.

[britkit27.livejournal.com]

Our show was so gooooood~ *_____* I'm really glad we got to see that one. But poor mu ;~; Johnnys, y u gotta be like that, seriously. Definitely agree with the enjoyed the show but glad it's done sentiment, it really was a messed up system.

Christ woman you are busy o.o Best of luck! It's almost over!

[faded-lace.livejournal.com]

Me too! Our show was amazing. But yeah… the whole thing was messed up, and so while I'll miss seeing the amazing show, I'm glad the rough parts are done. @___@;

Thank you!