As this was my first trip to Japan in
2015, I had been eagerly anticipating it for months now. I managed to
get a really good offer for my flight tickets at SGD572 for Japan
Airlines (JAL). It was a night flight. The leg space is very decent
but the meal was kind of a letdown. They served breakfast at around
5am(?). It was catered by “Tokyo Soup Stock” which is a Fast Food
Chain selling MSG-less Soup. The soup is as bland as I had it in
Singapore. Thus is the healthy life I guess. I watched a movie called
“Focus” (Will Smith)
I arrived at Haneda at around 10am.
From here I head straight to Shibuya to find a Docomo shop so that I
could pay for my sis’s mobile phone bill so that I can use it. I
take some time to find a Docomo shop and after asking around, the
shop attendant told me that the bill has already been paid ORZ.
Family Resturant Lunch
I am quite hungry by this time so I pop
by a Family Restaurant to have my Pasta Lunch.
After this I go to Tower Records to buy
Kikka CDs for the CD Jacket signing that night (After C-ute Con).
The sky looks cloudy... uh oh... MAIMI CHAN
While walking there, I happened to pass
Shibuya PARCO which had a poster on a special Pop-up One Piece Shop
on the top floor. Unable to resist myself, I spend quite some time
browsing here and end up buying 2 keychains. (I had to stop myself
from buying more)
Mugiwara Store!
Now I head to Akiba to meet 2
Singaporeans to go to Yokohama for the C-ute 10 Anniversary Concert.
I also pop by Akiba’s Yodobashi to
see if they had stock of the Apple Watch which I wanted to get for my
dad. They didn’t have the colour that I wanted so I did not get it.
Now off we go to Yokohama! I had
initially wanted to go Yokohama earlier to explore the place as I
heard many nice things about it. But as I had to run some errands, I
ended up in Yokohama only about 2 hours before the concert starts.
Had a quick Conbini Bento before entering the venue just half an hour
before the live starts.
Yokohama Arena has a Capacity of 16,000
people, so getting everyone into the venue in an orderly fashion is
no mean feat.
Team C-ute waiting to go into the Venue
Just as we enter the doors,
Juice=Juice’s new Single “Wonderful World” starts playing. I
quickly rushed to find my seat. The seat is an “Arena” seat, but
actually it is still pretty far for the stage and Terraced so that we
still on a raised platform. Only when the girls run around the sides
of the arena, could we see their faces.
Juice=Juice is the opening act and they
perform “Wonderful World” (which I really like!), Honestly
because I am just settling into my seat, I couldn’t really enjoy
it. But their Singing Quality is surprisingly very good. Their 3 main
vocals of Karin Chan San, Baby Monkey and Kanatomo are very solid.
They could very well become the next C-ute (Although I highly doubt
any of them could obtain the vocal prowess o f Suzuki Airi)
Gamyusha Life Banner at the foyer
The next opening act is a group of
“left-over” Kenshuuseis comprising of Yamagishi Riko, Kaga Kaede,
Danbara Ruru and Hashimoto Nagisa. They sing a KSS release called
“Seishun Beat ha 16”. I have heard this song a few times before
at previous Hello Cons, but this is the first time hearing it with 4
people (Normally its more like 15 people).
Now that we are done with the Opening
Acts, the real fun begins. It starts with a VTR of C-ute Music
Videos, About 10 seconds each, from Newest Single to the Oldest. So
just after Soku Dakishimete, it is supposed to be Massara Blue Jeans
(Their Indies Debut), but instead the Members run out and START with
Massara Blue Jeans. The Arena ERUPTS, this was a really epic Opening,
so simple yet Unexpected. Its genius! Maimai is wearing Sunglasses
here LOL
まっさらブルージーンズ
即抱きしめて
大きな愛でもてなして
桜チラリ
わっきゃない(Z)
Oldies but Goodies! I suspect that
these were aimed at C-ute fans who “disappeared” during the dark
ages of H!P. Its like saying “Welcome Back! We Love you as long as
you come back to us”. Also, I am not too sure I have ever heard
Wakkyanai(Z) Live before (I probably have but just forgot). Starting
off with a touch of nostalgia… not too bad
I miss you
My First time listening to this live!
The audience goes TuTuTu TuTuTu TuTuTu along with the song hahaha
ほめられ伸び子のテーマ曲
Wow, I am totally not familiar with
this songs. Its an album song from their 3rd album LOL. I
guess the title itself is making a statement
悲しき雨降り
< START MEDLEY>
夏DOKIリップスティック
Yaji Solo. This is like the highlight
for Yaji fans. Because YokoAri turns a FULL RED for her. The way the
whole Arena Chants “Maimi Maimi Maimi” during the verse is just
too awesome… the feeling is great :D. I am really looking forward
to the DVD just for this scene.
ディスコクィーン
地球からの三重奏
君の戦法
通学ベクトル
Airi Solo. While it is good, and Airi’s
singing is just out of this world, it just wasn’t as epic as Yaji
Solo. (BIAS)
One's LIFE
< END MEDLEY>
There is a MC somewhere here, but
unlike normal Tour MCs, the girls don’t talk about mundane stuff.
They talk about how great the Arena is, Chisa claims that she can see
everyone even in the last row of the 2nd floor (“Airi
fan, Maimi fan, Chisa fan, Chisa fan, Chisa fan, Chisa fan, Chisa
fan”). At the same time you can tell their nerves are affecting
them. I don’t know if I am too sensitive, but Maimi starts to speak
gibberish when she gets too nervous.
心の叫びを歌にしてみた
世界一Happyな女の子
SHOCK! (Performed by KSS)
This is really not an easy song, but
the talented KSS make it sound very good
Flashdance…What a Feeling
Song performed in English. Oh my God
the horrors. Maimi-chan’s English pronounciation is SO VERY POOR. I
can’t understand her at all. Airi is slightly better.
次の角を曲がれ
Airi’s singing is so dam superb here.
I got goose bumps listening to her.
君は自転車
私は電車で帰宅
The Middle Management～女性中間管理職～
ひとり占めしたかっただけなのに
アダムとイブのジレンマ
悲しきヘブン
The popular “Mid Ages” of C-ute.
This bunch is purely here to showcase their singing and dancing
skills.
Here is the start of what we
call後半戦(Last
Half Battle). The really high adrenaline songs
Midnight Temptation
都会っ子
純情
Kiss me 愛してる
僕らの輝き
ザ☆トレジャーボックス
超WONDERFUL!
Danceでバコーン!
I couldn’t have picked a better
setlist. It has my favourites Midnight Temptation, Tokkaiko Junjou’s
opening speech was made by a joint Yaji and Hagi (so as not to anger
either camps), Bokura no Kagayaki is such a crowd pleaser. And of
course Treasure Box, Chou Wonderful and Dance de Bakoon to end nicely
on a great high.
Only Iza Susume Ready go is missing. I
am forever whining about that song.
たどり着いた女戦士
This is such a fitting song to be here.
The girls have really come a long way. And this song is a triumphant
“WE DID IT”. When it first came out in the album, I thought it
was a filler song, but when it was sung in Budokan, I realized that
it was the most important song in the album. It is a real
tear-jerker. My heart swells with pride for C-ute, as I am sure every
single other member of Team C-ute in the Arena felt as well.
ENCORE
JUMP
It has been a while since they did
JUMP, but I was already expecting this song. Everyone sang their
loudest when C-ute turned their mikes to us.
MC
Members take their turns to thank
everyone (Family, Friends, Staff, Fans) for the 10 years. About how
tough things have been. They mentioned the other 3 members A LOT (We
later learn that all 3 of them are in the audience). Maimi-chan scold
fans who left them halfway, and starts her gibberish again. Everyone
is crying now. Nakky announces their next goal is Saitama Super Arena
(The first time they had actually named the venue)
Even if you weren’t part of Team
C-ute, you would instantly be one. This is the reality. Of the
thousands of Wannabee Idols, only a handful reach this stage. It is
not easy, nor is it for the faint of heart. But if you persist (and
with a little luck) this is where you could end up. They were tested
time and time again. With being the “Losers” of the H!P
Kids, with their first Ace leaving, with their 2nd Ace
wavering, with producer pulling stunts, with 2 members leaving. And
finally their slow climb to the top. The Idols for Idols.
我武者LIFE
This song has been touted as C-ute’s
new Kamikyoku. To me, it has not cemented that status yet. It is nice
sounding enough, but not worthy of being called Kamikyoku. At the
end, they shoot streamers out with a bang. This really gave me a
fright.
View from my seat.
So originally, I intended to rush off
after the concert to go for Kikka’s jacket signing event at
Shibuya, but I realize that it was not feasible at all.
Me and the other Singaporeans end up
joining a bunch of Chinese (from China) for an after concert meal at
a Chinese Restaurant (LOL). We all can speak chinese, but as there is
a Japanese guy there, we end up speaking Japanese to each other. It’s
kind of hilarious. I got praised for my good Japanese and talk C-ute
stuff. I ask the Japanese guy about C-ute’s ability to do SSA. He
tells me unlikely. He said that even for YokoAri, many people were
not Team C-ute, but just H!P fans (Musume fans being the large bulk)
Even for myself, I could see that the back rows of the 2nd floor
were often unoccupied.
This kind of confirmed my suspicions. I
had always knew that C-ute is often Over-hyped about its popularity,
so I was extremely surprised when the news came out that YokoAri was
sold out. I just didn’t think that it was possible. I often told
people that YokoAri is C-ute’s limit. I don’t think they could
sell more. But now that they have officially named SSA as their next
target, as a member of Team C-ute, I have a duty to cheer them on. I
really wish the best for them. Even if their don’t get SSA, I know
that this is best that they could do with what they have.
One of the chinese fans helps me check
when is my last train, and I quarrel with the waitress with how slow
the food is (in chinese). 1 minute later, the waitress brings the
food out. We eat and rush off to catch the last train.
My hotel is in a pretty sleezy area
near Akasaka. Luckily, I didn’t meet with any incidents while
walking to my hotel (It is raining slightly too. さすが舞美ちゃん)
My accomodation for the night. Its exactly as you see in the picture.
The accommodation in question is called
“Centurion Cabin and Spa”. Bascially it is just bath facilities
with a shared sleeping area with (unlockable) sliding doors (Girls
Only). Everything is really public, but its really cheap at about
SGD30 per night. Don’t think I will be booking this place again.
While the facilities are decent, I just can’t take the lack of
privacy. Anyhow I am so drained, it takes me a whole 5 mins to fall
asleep.
