素直な気持ち伝えるのさ

In about 14 hours or so, I'll be on my way back to Japan! I'm annoyed that on this trip I once again missed all the summer music specials, so I'll have a lot to catch up on when I get back, lol. But on the bright side...

♡ I had a really good vacation!

♡ I caught an episode of ShoKura on TV in Hawaii, which was very unexpected XD It was the first time I had watched Shokura in a long time, so that was kind of fun.

♡ I read Shige's most recent short story, "Pocket" in the anthology, "Ikitakunai." I enjoyed it! I hope to make an actual post about it sometime soon.

I hate flying >< But, soon I'll be home!

Happy New Year! I rang in the New Year this year with NEWS in Kyocera Dome, before rushing back to Tokyo to spend the evening of January 1st with JUMP in Tokyo Dome. It was extremely tiring and stressful, but basically the best new year a fan could ask for!

Sadly, my winter vacation will end after this weekend and I'm headed back to work on Monday, but I'm seeing NEWS both tomorrow and after work on Monday, so that's something to look forward to!

I'm going to do my best to live my best life both as a fan and a person in 2019! Yoroshiku! ♥

♪ I saw JUMP in Miyagi on both Saturday and Sunday last weekend! Saturday we had the expected seats, in the back few rows, but Sekisui Heim Super Arena is so small that honestly the third to last row wasn't even bad. With binoculars I was able to watch Inochan quite closely, and we were near to the center stage, so that was good! But then on Sunday, my friend hit for arena A2 block!! We were 8 rows from the stage and it was AMAZING. I got to see Inochan up close so many times; he came by us on the carts 3 times, and the main stage and the center catwalk were really close as well! They're probably some of the best seats I've ever had for a concert, so I'm really grateful for my friend!

♪ This weekend I saw KAT-TUN in Yokohama yesterday with yomimashou and two KAT-TUN fan friends, and somehow, yomimashou hit for arena seats literally one row away from the center stage. It was insane. They were about the same as the seats that I hit for for Neverland in Sapporo in 2017, but mine were one row to the side of the center stage and hers were one row back from the front, so whenever they were on the center stage they were looking right at us. These were ALSO some of the best seats I've ever had in my life, so I'm still shocked that I had them two weekends in a row. Kame definitely looked right at me several times (and sort of had a mildly surprised "huh, foreign people" expression seeing our row of 4 foreign people together; when I'm by myself I can often blend in since I'm half, but with other foreign people I always stand out XD;). I hadn't listened to the CAST album, but they did a lot of old songs that I really like, so I had a really good time even though KAT-TUN isn't a group that I mainly follow.

♪ Episode 9 of Zero last weekend was good enough for me; nothing can compare to episode 8 (seriously, someone please tell me you're watching the drama and talk to me about the beauty of Seigi and Yuuki, lol), but I enjoyed it and the characters I like had some good parts. I'm questioning why some of the early episodes (particularly 2 and 3) spent as much time as they did on really stupid things and then Shirube only got one episode of character development despite that the show made him out to be so important from the beginning, but that's okay. XD; However, seeing the previews for episode 10 has me deeply, deeply concerned, so I'm really hoping they don't somehow screw literally everything up in the last episode. They mentioned on Shuuichi this morning that they're going to touch on "how the characters' lives go on from now" which has me bracing myself to have the whole drama ruined Harry Potter Epilogue style, but since I've really enjoyed the characters a whole lot, I'm really disappointed even in the chance of that happening. I guess we'll see in about 11 hours, lol.

♪ Today I'm going with yomimashou to get a new phone. Wish me luck that I don't spend as much time in the AU store as I did last time, because I'm still traumatized from it, lol.

Whew, long time no see, LJ. I can't believe how quickly summer flew by, but I'm also amazed at all the things that happened. Looking back...

☆ As I mentioned previously, I went back to America for two weeks in July. My current workplace has summer vacation about two weeks earlier than my previous job, so it was a little off from previous years, and it actually had me sort of jumbled up based on things I usually am able to do surrounding my summer break (for example, I missed The Music Day, which was annoying, but all in all, I had a good, relaxing time at home with my family! I got to see my pets, eat nostalgic foods, and watch American TV, so... that's a win for me? XD;

☆ After getting back, I randomly was able to go see Reia when Seven Men Samurai appeared in the Hi Hi Jets Summer Station show. yomimashou is still a member of the Junior fanclub, and we balloted on a whim when we heard that Reia was going to appear... and hit! It was really nice to see him perform again (he's still wonderful and talented ♥), but man did I feel like a grandma surrounded by all the screaming teenagers there to see some teenagers who think they're really cool. I don't know anything about Hi Hi Jets and I have absolutely nothing against them, but I have to say, the appeal was lost on me. It was sort of depressing to know that I'm getting old. |D;

☆ The next day, I went to see Massu's play at the Globe. Despite the fact that yomimashou and I balloted for it 15 times (!!!), we didn't hit even once, and had to pay a stupid amount for resale tickets for the very last row, but it was definitely worth it! A musical made up of only Johnny's songs was, as expected, pretty great, and I always enjoy Massu's singing. His acting left something to be desired, but that wasn't really the point of the play, anyway, and it was just a really fun watch from beginning to end.

☆ In the meantime, both Shige and Inochan's dramas started! Having both of my tans have dramas at once has been a really strange and overwhelming experience (I've bought so many magazines in the past few months!), but I'm really happy about it! Unfortunately, Inochan's airs past midnight on a week night, so I'm not able to watch it in real time, but I've been recording it each week. While it's sort of weird and goofy with a lot of sex and otherwise body-related humor, which is not usually to my taste, it somehow fits Inochan well, and his character is pretty delightful. I'm actually not totally caught up right now, but I'm looking forward to when I get the chance to watch the most recent episodes.

☆ On that topic, COSMIC☆HUMAN is also a really great song that I really enjoy a whole lot, and I'm so happy Inochan had such a perfect song for his drama theme song. The sales weren't great in comparison to JUMP's recent sales, which was sad, but I'm just happy Inochan had such a really wonderful single made for the theme song for his drama.

☆ Meanwhile, Shige's drama actually started while I was in America, which was crappy timing, but after the first episode, I've been able to watch in real time. The premise is extremely goofy (the parallels to Yu-gi-oh are a little ridiculous, and Shige's character was supposed to be a high schooler in the original manga, which shows in his behavior if you ask me, lol) and I feel like they're trying to fit a 26 episode (two anime seasons) series into 10 episodes (presumably? Most dramas run 10 episodes), but it suddenly got way better last week, and this past week's episode (episode 6) was a real treat. In particular, I really am enjoying Tego's performance (I was not expecting that!), as well as the way the stories have started to turn out maybe slightly more nuanced and slightly less straightforwardly "let's solve this with the power of friendship by the skin of our teeth" shonen anime style. I really hope it continues to go well for the second half of the drama!

☆ Relatedly, I also really like Ikiro as a song, and I'm anxiously awaiting the CD release (which is sadly distant). Seeing the guys sing it really emotionally, enough so that Tego cried, at the 15th anniversary concert really moved me, and it's really grown on me especially since then. I'm also waiting with bated breath to find out what's in the mystserious anniversary box (though they did give some spoilers in the concert).

☆ Tying into that previous point, I saw Strawberry both days at Ajinomoto Stadium, and boy do I never want to see another open air concert ever again in my life. I'll try to write up a report at some point (I know, I know...), but the humidity was killer, and having so many people in that venue made the logistics of going to the stadium, getting inside, getting out again, and getting home totally miserable. The arena in particular was set up really awfully, with only two entrances that had pinch points such that people basically had to wait in a single-file line to get into the arena, which is what led to the show starting so late on Saturday. But, the guys did a really good job with the set up and (presumably) minimal rehearsals that they had, and I had a really great time. Happy 15th anniversay, NEWS! They've gotten through so much, and I'm really proud of them.

☆ JUMP's album comes out this week, which I'm looking forward to! I don't really like the dance style that they've chosen this time (the light and fluffy cute pop style is more to my taste), but I'm still interested to see what they do with it, and I really can't wait to hear Inochan's solo! I'm really, really excited that they're finally having solos for the first time, so I'm definitely on the edge of my seat to see what he does with it. I'm also going to see one of the Tokyo shows of the tour, so I'm interested to see what they have planned for the tour, as well.

☆ Maybe the last bullet point of this stupidly long post is that I recently bought a Wii. You may be thinking this was an interesting life choice 10 years after the Wii was originally introduced, but... I really wanted to have the Wii Fit game so that I could work out in my own home. I made Miis of all the Johnny's I like (as you do, lol) and I'm enjoying cycling and jogging and doing other goofy excercise activities with them, so I think it's been a success so far. XD;

I can't believe that August is more than halfway over! Work is about to go back into a busy cycle, but at least I'm prepared now that I've been here for a year. Ganbarimasu!

My apologies that this is almost a month late, but here's my report of the Epcotia tour show I attended in Ecopa Arena in Shizuoka! I was only able to attend the Saturday show for this venue, but since I hate trekking to Ecopa, that wasn't the worst thing in the world. XD; For more information on the venue, please check out my comprehensive venue guide! This will also rely on my first report of the Epcotia tour, for the show I saw in Miyagi on 4/7, so please feel free to check that report for a detailed account of the setlist, costumes, and choreopgraphy. This is just going to be the highlights from the 4/17 show, specifically!

( NEWS Arena Tour 2018 Epcotia in Shizuoka Ecopa Arena, 2018.4.14 @ 5 pm )

I'm sorry this are all so behind! I'm at the halfway mark now with reports. XD; I still have to write up my experience in Nagoya on May 12 as well as the afternoon show and all last on May 20. I'm going to do my best though! Sorry again for all the lateness.

My friend and I were lucky enough this year to hit for the Miyagi shows of the Epcotia tour this year, so we caught the shinkansen up to Sendai last weekend for the concert! It was my first time to visit Sendai, as well mmy first time to see a show in Sekisui Heim Super Arena, so I was pretty excited! I've added the venue to my comprehensive venue guide, so if you're looking to go there for another show, feel free to check it out to see what the venue was like! I've written up a relatively thorough report of the show, so if you're interested, please feel free to check it out!

( NEWS Arena Tour 2018 Epcotia in Sendai Sekisui Heim Super Arena, 2018.4.7 @ 5 pm )

I saw the show on the 8th as well, and I'm going to Ecopa this weekend, too, so I'll try to keep on top of my reports! Famous last words, I know, but I'm really determined to get back in the rhythm of reports this year, so... ganbarimasu!

Today was my last day of work before winter vacation! In about an hour I'm going to head out to go to the airport to catch my midnight flight for Hawaii! I'll be away from home from tonight until December 28th, and then I'll be busy with JUMP's concerts until the new year. I'll have internet access the whole time and will be checking fairly regularly, but I won't be as reachable as usual. If you need me, please feel free to shoot me a PM, a comment, or an email, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

I'll do my best to check in again when I get to Hawaii, but just in case, happy holidays!

I'm back from Nagoya! I had a great time, the show was wonderful, and I didn't even get typhoon'd on the way I did in Shizuoka! I'm really sad that that was my second-to-last time to see the show, but... since I've been able to see it three more times than I saw last year's tour already, I'm happy.

I also was able to get tickets to Inochan's Peach Girl stage greeting in Gunma! It's crazy that he's even coming out here?? I was all prepared to go to Tokyo, so I'm really stoked that I won't even have to leave my home prefecture in order to see him XD It's hard to believe that the movie is finally coming out, more than a year after I first heard about it being filmed! I'm really looking forward to it.

In unfortunate news... It seems that Shige lost his voice for the second day of shows in Nagoya, after waking up that morning with no voice at all, cried over his inability to sing during the first show, and then was really struggling in the second show ;; He posted to his J web about it using really humble language, apologizing over and over, saying he deserves to be criticized for not being able to perform well, and that he feels like he failed. I really hope he's reading all the fans' tweets about how they were so impressed with how hard he tried despite that he lost his voice, and that no one is blaming him, because it's killing me to think how much he's beating himself up over something that isn't his fault.

For the time being... I'll be sending him positive thoughts until I see him again at the Tokyo Dome shows ;__;

Sorry about the lateness of this post, but... I made it home in one piece! America was super busy and stressful with all the family obligations, but... I'm back now!

I'm still way more jet-lagged than I expected, so I've spent most of the time sleeping and wondering whether my body wants me to eat or not eat, but I'm sure I'll be rejuvenated soon. For now... just trying to survive jumping right back into work after my trip XD;

On the bright side, only slightly more than a week until I see NEWS in Shizuoka!

In an attempt to avoid letting it join the long list of overdue concert reports that I need to write, here's the report for the first day of NEWS's 2017 Tour, which I saw in Sapporo on Saturday! I had a really good time and tried to capture as much detail as possible here, so I hope it's an enjoyable read!

( NEWS Live Tour 2017 'Neverland,' 2017.4.1 @ 5 pm )

All in all, there were some weird parts or parts that I need to see again to really get, but all in all, it was a really great show and I enjoyed it a lot! It's always fun to see the happenings that go on on the first day, too XD; There were particularly a lot of mic issues this time! But at any rate, I'm really looking forward to going again!