PLAYZONE 1986・・・・2014 Arigatou Aoyama gekijo - August 3, 2014
Oops! I realized that I haven't posted my PLAYZONE reports yet! I went to two shows this year, both were evening shows. This first report is from the Sunday show on August 3.
I had a pretty good seat on the left-hand side of the N row, which means on the second row from the aisle between the sidedoors. I had a very good view of pretty much everything! Going there with a big group of friends was also so much fun!
The lights went out and the whole cast was standing behind the curtain and there were spotlights on the groups or solo members as they were introduced with their name or group name on the curtain. As always, my heart skipped a beat or two when Yuma and Tsubasa were lit up by the spotlight. Finally I got to see them again!!
The first song was ダイヤモンド・アイズ and everyone was on stage for this one. Yuma was wearing such a pretty purple sparkly vest! Well, I guess Tsubasa and Yara as well, but for the first song I could only look at Yuma... With just a few exceptions. I did notice that Tatsumi was just as flirty as usual! Overall I thought it was a good opening number.
The next song was Venus, and it filled me with joy to see Tsubasa and Yuma perform it side by side! The costumes were not my favourites (very bright orange and to much fabric), haha! But I really enjoyed doing the furitsuke during the chorus, and well, just seeing Yuma being the stand-in made me happy.
お祭り忍者 was mostly similar to last year's performance, but some parts were different. The intro was longer, and they had a smoke machine. The ropes and lines between Yara and the juniors weren't bright neon, but long rows of lamps. During the second part of the song, Yara took off the ropes and danced together with the juniors. But then at the very end, they put a rope on him again and he was pulled up towards the ceiling, lying on his back and spinning a lot.
Then MAD, (half of?) 4U and maybe a few others (sorry, I can't remember) entered the room and walked around among the audience while singing FUNKY FLUSHIN' and doing high-fives and dancing together with lucky people in the audience. I got a high-five from Tatsumi! And also from Kosshi and one of the members of MAD.
A・RA・SHI was performed by Travis Japan this year. They wore jeans pants and jeans jackets, and were just dancing on the stage - well, and they did some acrobatics as well. I enjoyed watching Noeru and Myuto a lot, they seem to be good friends. For a part of the song they put their arms around each other's shoulders. And I have to confess that yes, Miyachika is not a bad dancer... In fact, he is a pretty good dancer. For some reason he's one of those juniors I don't like very much, but I know when to admit that someone is good at what he's doing.
I was so happy that Tsubasa did 情熱☆熱風せれなーで again! But this time there was no bed, only a white armchair that he was sitting in from the beginning. But I liked this performance so much better than the one from 2013. There was so much dancing! Flamenco-style dancing. And his arms looked fab! 4U joined him on stage after a while, and there was this video on the screen behind them of a girl they all wanted to go out with, and there was a lot of dancing.
Next was the medley of 恋＝Do!〜君に薔薇薔薇・・・という感じ〜原宿キッス. Most everyone was on stage now, except Tsubasa and Yuma. There was a lot of amazing dancing and acrobatics here! One of the most impressive things was when Yara went down in a split and then jumped right up to standing again! Then the mood changed from partying and clubbing to rocking. 4U entered the stage on motorbikes (on stands) from the left to the intro of 気まぐれ One Way Boy. But they were dancing on the stage for almost all of the song. The looked so cool in their leather jackets, haha! Then at the end they jumped onto the bikes again, but I think Tatsumi was the only one who was standing on top of it - the rest of them were sitting down. At the end of the song there was a lot of smoke on the stage that they disappeared into.
I will never forget the next performance. It was Yuma's ズッコケ男道, and he was wearing the same adorable outfit as last year, this time with silvery poodle shoes - adorable! At one point Yuma and Noeru were smiling a lot at each other and seemed to have a lot of fun! Many juniors were running around the theatre, and I got a high-five from Myuto! And then, Yuma went out among the audience. I was sitting sooo close to where the aisles intersect, and when he came over to my corner he was starting to turn away to walk towards the stage. But I reached just a little for him and got eye-contact with him, and I said to him "High-touch, お願い!" - and then he gave me a high-five just before he turned away! I was soooo happy! He totally made my day!
The next performance was 愛なんだ with MAD and half of Travis Japan. After that was TheyBudou and the other half of Travis Japan, performing うわさのキッス. There was a beach view on the screen behind them, and during the song the setting changed from morning to evening. Both of these performances were nice to watch, those boys are always cute and good dancers. But I can't say these performances got stuck in my mind, unfortunately...
But the next performance certainly did. It was probably the most beautiful performance of the whole show. Yuma, Tsubasa and Yara entered the stage in darkness, and there was complete silence - suddenly they started snapping their fingers slowly, and the intro of 君だけに started. They were wearing white-and-gold costumes , and just standing there the three of them in a spotlight, in front of mic stands. Yuma's first solo verse was spot on. So perfect. As much as I love his upbeat songs, I can't help but think his voice is the most perfect when he sings ballads. He's got such an expressive and emotional voice that's perfect for strong love ballads. My heart is melting just from thinking of it!
Then they quickly changed from the white jackets to a golden t-shirt and thin white shirt wih golden paillettes. So sparkly! And many juniors joined them as they performed What's your name? - I really enjoyed this performance. I remember I liked the choreography a lot. Why? Well, there was a lot of HIPS! And Yuma was the centre for a huge part of the performance! What's there not to love? Lots of Yuma, lots of hips! Perfect!
The first performance after the intermission was アンダルシアに憧れて. It was the same as last year, but I enjoy this performance a lot. There's so much flamenco dancing, and everyone looks so cool and handsome when they dance behind Tsubasa.
After this, all the juniors entered the stage and appeared to be two teams or gangs, and they started fighting. Suddenly Tsubasa appeared like a boss and shouted STOP! Then he walked down a stair snapping his fingers, and when he got down he pointed at them and ordered: Dance! So they all started dancing, and singing $10. So much energy! And they also did a dance battle, that was awesome to see. And Tatsumi did an amazing backflip!
I really enjoyed the next performance too! Lots of hips, again! And it was mainly Yuma, wearing a rust-coloured jacket and singing 愛されるより 愛したい. He had 4U and MAD as backdancers.
And the parade-of-amazing-hips continued, when Tsubasa appeared on stage to perform 愛・革命. This year he didn't bring his golden cart, though. It was just him, on the stage floor, together with Travis Japan. And this version was sooooo much better! He was dancing flamenco-steps during the whole song. And as if that wasn't enough, half-way through the song he ripped open his black shirt and revealed his to-die-for abs...
Next was a long and funny sequence of performances. It started with Yara appearing in the audience, wearing a dark wig and silly round glasses. He was acting like a loser who dreams of becoming a star, so he's daydreaming the whole next performance ロマンチックタイム. He danced to the stage where TheyBudou put him through a total makeover, including a new hair-do, new clothes and removing his glasses. Then at the end of the song he returns to his old self, wig and glasses and all.
Then Yara walked down the left-hand side aisle to the side-doors. But they were locked and he couldn't get out. So he started calling for a staff member to help him open the door from the outside. A spotlight started searching for him, and he said "Oi! Over here! I'm not that short!" and the spotlight locked onto him. At the same time Yuma and Kosshi entered the stage, already dressed for the next performance, and called for Yara. And then when Yuma noticed him, he said "Yara, you're so tiny!" When everyone laughed he added "Oh, I'm only joking" but Yara said "No, I am tiny." Yuma asked him if he was alright, and Yara started explaining that he couldn't open the doors. But then Kosshi interrupted him saying "Won't you stand up?" Yara replied "I AM standing..." More people entered the stage and looked for Yuma and Yara. As the doors still wouldn't open, they decided that Yara should change costume on the stage because there wasn't enough time. The changing of costumes was hilarious!!! Yuma and Kosshi started arguing about who should go and get Yara's clothes. But then they all helped him change. Some of the guys were supposed to block the view with their aprons, but suddenly when Yara was taking off his pants (and he was in a hurry) he slipped and fell, and the guys in front of him tried to cover him but also fell, and then everyone was just slipping and falling and standing up and trying to cover Yara and then deliberately not covering him... It was just total chaos! And then at the end there was something about the belt, I think, and Yuma happened to pull off Yara's jacket (I still don't know if he did it on purpose or not) and Yara didn't wear a shirt beneath it... And then Yara chased after Yuma and pulled off his jacket in revenge (but unfortunately Yuma was wearing a t-shirt...). The most hilarious part was when スシ食いね started and Yuma had soooo much trouble putting his jacket back on. He sang almost the whole first verse trying to dance together with the others and trying to put his jacket on at the same time! So cute, poor thing! Oh, and I love love love this song and performance, by the way...
Next was フラワー with Tsubasa and 4U and TheyBudou. The performance was like last year. They all walked around among the audience. Tsubasa sat down with one girl, and serenaded another.
The next song, We'll Be Together, was also one of the most beautiful performances of the whole show. The stage was formed like three tunnels leading from the back of the stage towards the audience. There were lights at the end of the tunnels, and Tsubasa started walking through the middle one while singing. Next was Yuma, and then Yara. They all had the lights behind them so it looked as if they came walking out from the light. And they were wearing these beautiful white costumes. It was so beautiful it made me all teary-eyed. There was also a part where the audience got to sing together with them.
After this they performed ROAD TO PLAYZONE, and they were wearing the same clothes as last year. Yuma in yellow, Tsubasa in red and Yara in blue. (I did buy the t-shirt at the goods table by the way - a yellow one of course...) I love this performance so much! The choreography is amazing! And...I love Yuma's fierce face right at the end. Not just because it makes him look even more handsome, but because it always reminds me of the moment when I totally fell in love with him (when he walked right past me, looking fierce, during Johnnys' World Takizawa Kakumei in 2013).
The last performance, as always, was Guys PLAYZONE. There's not really much to say about this performance. It's always the best performance of the show. But it just gets better and better for each year. Everyone just gathers all the energy they got left and put it into this performance, and everyone also gets better and better at dancing for each year. Even though it's the last performance (which makes me sad) it's also the performance I most look forward to each year. Oh, and the best part this year was: Tsubasa wasn't wearing a t-shirt beneath his vest... Eye-candy!
The final piece was Liar, when they all walked down the giant white Hollywood stairs and bowed to the audience. Tsubasa held his thank you-speech, the curtain fell, but opened again and they sang the final chorus of Guys PLAYZONE and introduced the whole cast. It totally warmed my heart when Tsubasa introduced Yuma as "the Osaka-boy who everyone loves"!
This show was just amazing. There were so many moments I'll never forget. I can never get enough of Tsubasa's dancing. And my love for Yuma just grows for every time I see him. He's adorable - but he's not a kid anymore. He's totally grown into a young man, and his singing has improved, and his dancing has improved loads and loads, and it makes me so proud to see how many more fans he gets all the time! No matter how many other idols I love and adore, Yuma has secured the top 1 spot in my heart, and there he'll always remain.
Oh... Sorry for all the Yuma-Yuma-Yuma at the end, this post was meant to be just a report from PLAYZONE, haha!
Set List
Act 1
01. ダイヤモンド・アイズ
02. Venus
03. お祭り忍者
04. FUNKY FLUSHIN'
05. A・RA・SHI
06. 情熱☆熱風せれなーで
07. 恋＝Do!〜君に薔薇薔薇・・・という感じ〜原宿キッス
08. 気まぐれ One Way Boy
09. ズッコケ男道
10. 愛なんだ
11. うわさのキッス
12. 君だけに
13. What's your name?
Act 2
14. アンダルシアに憧れて
15. $10
16. 愛されるより 愛したい
17. 愛・革命
18. ロマンチックタイム
Yuma/Yara skit
19. スシ食いね
20. フラワー
21. We'll Be Together
22. ROAD TO PLAYZONE
23. Guys PLAYZONE
24. Liar
Cast
Imai Tsubasa
Nakayama Yuma
Yara Tomoyuki
4U
MAD
TheyBudou
Travis Japan
Nakamura Kaito
Kajiyama Asahi
Abe Aran
Miyachika Kaito
Yoshizawa Shizuya
Shimekake Ryuya
Morita Myuto
Kawashima Noeru
I had a pretty good seat on the left-hand side of the N row, which means on the second row from the aisle between the sidedoors. I had a very good view of pretty much everything! Going there with a big group of friends was also so much fun!
The lights went out and the whole cast was standing behind the curtain and there were spotlights on the groups or solo members as they were introduced with their name or group name on the curtain. As always, my heart skipped a beat or two when Yuma and Tsubasa were lit up by the spotlight. Finally I got to see them again!!
The first song was ダイヤモンド・アイズ and everyone was on stage for this one. Yuma was wearing such a pretty purple sparkly vest! Well, I guess Tsubasa and Yara as well, but for the first song I could only look at Yuma... With just a few exceptions. I did notice that Tatsumi was just as flirty as usual! Overall I thought it was a good opening number.
The next song was Venus, and it filled me with joy to see Tsubasa and Yuma perform it side by side! The costumes were not my favourites (very bright orange and to much fabric), haha! But I really enjoyed doing the furitsuke during the chorus, and well, just seeing Yuma being the stand-in made me happy.
お祭り忍者 was mostly similar to last year's performance, but some parts were different. The intro was longer, and they had a smoke machine. The ropes and lines between Yara and the juniors weren't bright neon, but long rows of lamps. During the second part of the song, Yara took off the ropes and danced together with the juniors. But then at the very end, they put a rope on him again and he was pulled up towards the ceiling, lying on his back and spinning a lot.
Then MAD, (half of?) 4U and maybe a few others (sorry, I can't remember) entered the room and walked around among the audience while singing FUNKY FLUSHIN' and doing high-fives and dancing together with lucky people in the audience. I got a high-five from Tatsumi! And also from Kosshi and one of the members of MAD.
A・RA・SHI was performed by Travis Japan this year. They wore jeans pants and jeans jackets, and were just dancing on the stage - well, and they did some acrobatics as well. I enjoyed watching Noeru and Myuto a lot, they seem to be good friends. For a part of the song they put their arms around each other's shoulders. And I have to confess that yes, Miyachika is not a bad dancer... In fact, he is a pretty good dancer. For some reason he's one of those juniors I don't like very much, but I know when to admit that someone is good at what he's doing.
I was so happy that Tsubasa did 情熱☆熱風せれなーで again! But this time there was no bed, only a white armchair that he was sitting in from the beginning. But I liked this performance so much better than the one from 2013. There was so much dancing! Flamenco-style dancing. And his arms looked fab! 4U joined him on stage after a while, and there was this video on the screen behind them of a girl they all wanted to go out with, and there was a lot of dancing.
Next was the medley of 恋＝Do!〜君に薔薇薔薇・・・という感じ〜原宿キッス. Most everyone was on stage now, except Tsubasa and Yuma. There was a lot of amazing dancing and acrobatics here! One of the most impressive things was when Yara went down in a split and then jumped right up to standing again! Then the mood changed from partying and clubbing to rocking. 4U entered the stage on motorbikes (on stands) from the left to the intro of 気まぐれ One Way Boy. But they were dancing on the stage for almost all of the song. The looked so cool in their leather jackets, haha! Then at the end they jumped onto the bikes again, but I think Tatsumi was the only one who was standing on top of it - the rest of them were sitting down. At the end of the song there was a lot of smoke on the stage that they disappeared into.
I will never forget the next performance. It was Yuma's ズッコケ男道, and he was wearing the same adorable outfit as last year, this time with silvery poodle shoes - adorable! At one point Yuma and Noeru were smiling a lot at each other and seemed to have a lot of fun! Many juniors were running around the theatre, and I got a high-five from Myuto! And then, Yuma went out among the audience. I was sitting sooo close to where the aisles intersect, and when he came over to my corner he was starting to turn away to walk towards the stage. But I reached just a little for him and got eye-contact with him, and I said to him "High-touch, お願い!" - and then he gave me a high-five just before he turned away! I was soooo happy! He totally made my day!
The next performance was 愛なんだ with MAD and half of Travis Japan. After that was TheyBudou and the other half of Travis Japan, performing うわさのキッス. There was a beach view on the screen behind them, and during the song the setting changed from morning to evening. Both of these performances were nice to watch, those boys are always cute and good dancers. But I can't say these performances got stuck in my mind, unfortunately...
But the next performance certainly did. It was probably the most beautiful performance of the whole show. Yuma, Tsubasa and Yara entered the stage in darkness, and there was complete silence - suddenly they started snapping their fingers slowly, and the intro of 君だけに started. They were wearing white-and-gold costumes , and just standing there the three of them in a spotlight, in front of mic stands. Yuma's first solo verse was spot on. So perfect. As much as I love his upbeat songs, I can't help but think his voice is the most perfect when he sings ballads. He's got such an expressive and emotional voice that's perfect for strong love ballads. My heart is melting just from thinking of it!
Then they quickly changed from the white jackets to a golden t-shirt and thin white shirt wih golden paillettes. So sparkly! And many juniors joined them as they performed What's your name? - I really enjoyed this performance. I remember I liked the choreography a lot. Why? Well, there was a lot of HIPS! And Yuma was the centre for a huge part of the performance! What's there not to love? Lots of Yuma, lots of hips! Perfect!
The first performance after the intermission was アンダルシアに憧れて. It was the same as last year, but I enjoy this performance a lot. There's so much flamenco dancing, and everyone looks so cool and handsome when they dance behind Tsubasa.
After this, all the juniors entered the stage and appeared to be two teams or gangs, and they started fighting. Suddenly Tsubasa appeared like a boss and shouted STOP! Then he walked down a stair snapping his fingers, and when he got down he pointed at them and ordered: Dance! So they all started dancing, and singing $10. So much energy! And they also did a dance battle, that was awesome to see. And Tatsumi did an amazing backflip!
I really enjoyed the next performance too! Lots of hips, again! And it was mainly Yuma, wearing a rust-coloured jacket and singing 愛されるより 愛したい. He had 4U and MAD as backdancers.
And the parade-of-amazing-hips continued, when Tsubasa appeared on stage to perform 愛・革命. This year he didn't bring his golden cart, though. It was just him, on the stage floor, together with Travis Japan. And this version was sooooo much better! He was dancing flamenco-steps during the whole song. And as if that wasn't enough, half-way through the song he ripped open his black shirt and revealed his to-die-for abs...
Next was a long and funny sequence of performances. It started with Yara appearing in the audience, wearing a dark wig and silly round glasses. He was acting like a loser who dreams of becoming a star, so he's daydreaming the whole next performance ロマンチックタイム. He danced to the stage where TheyBudou put him through a total makeover, including a new hair-do, new clothes and removing his glasses. Then at the end of the song he returns to his old self, wig and glasses and all.
Then Yara walked down the left-hand side aisle to the side-doors. But they were locked and he couldn't get out. So he started calling for a staff member to help him open the door from the outside. A spotlight started searching for him, and he said "Oi! Over here! I'm not that short!" and the spotlight locked onto him. At the same time Yuma and Kosshi entered the stage, already dressed for the next performance, and called for Yara. And then when Yuma noticed him, he said "Yara, you're so tiny!" When everyone laughed he added "Oh, I'm only joking" but Yara said "No, I am tiny." Yuma asked him if he was alright, and Yara started explaining that he couldn't open the doors. But then Kosshi interrupted him saying "Won't you stand up?" Yara replied "I AM standing..." More people entered the stage and looked for Yuma and Yara. As the doors still wouldn't open, they decided that Yara should change costume on the stage because there wasn't enough time. The changing of costumes was hilarious!!! Yuma and Kosshi started arguing about who should go and get Yara's clothes. But then they all helped him change. Some of the guys were supposed to block the view with their aprons, but suddenly when Yara was taking off his pants (and he was in a hurry) he slipped and fell, and the guys in front of him tried to cover him but also fell, and then everyone was just slipping and falling and standing up and trying to cover Yara and then deliberately not covering him... It was just total chaos! And then at the end there was something about the belt, I think, and Yuma happened to pull off Yara's jacket (I still don't know if he did it on purpose or not) and Yara didn't wear a shirt beneath it... And then Yara chased after Yuma and pulled off his jacket in revenge (but unfortunately Yuma was wearing a t-shirt...). The most hilarious part was when スシ食いね started and Yuma had soooo much trouble putting his jacket back on. He sang almost the whole first verse trying to dance together with the others and trying to put his jacket on at the same time! So cute, poor thing! Oh, and I love love love this song and performance, by the way...
Next was フラワー with Tsubasa and 4U and TheyBudou. The performance was like last year. They all walked around among the audience. Tsubasa sat down with one girl, and serenaded another.
The next song, We'll Be Together, was also one of the most beautiful performances of the whole show. The stage was formed like three tunnels leading from the back of the stage towards the audience. There were lights at the end of the tunnels, and Tsubasa started walking through the middle one while singing. Next was Yuma, and then Yara. They all had the lights behind them so it looked as if they came walking out from the light. And they were wearing these beautiful white costumes. It was so beautiful it made me all teary-eyed. There was also a part where the audience got to sing together with them.
After this they performed ROAD TO PLAYZONE, and they were wearing the same clothes as last year. Yuma in yellow, Tsubasa in red and Yara in blue. (I did buy the t-shirt at the goods table by the way - a yellow one of course...) I love this performance so much! The choreography is amazing! And...I love Yuma's fierce face right at the end. Not just because it makes him look even more handsome, but because it always reminds me of the moment when I totally fell in love with him (when he walked right past me, looking fierce, during Johnnys' World Takizawa Kakumei in 2013).
The last performance, as always, was Guys PLAYZONE. There's not really much to say about this performance. It's always the best performance of the show. But it just gets better and better for each year. Everyone just gathers all the energy they got left and put it into this performance, and everyone also gets better and better at dancing for each year. Even though it's the last performance (which makes me sad) it's also the performance I most look forward to each year. Oh, and the best part this year was: Tsubasa wasn't wearing a t-shirt beneath his vest... Eye-candy!
The final piece was Liar, when they all walked down the giant white Hollywood stairs and bowed to the audience. Tsubasa held his thank you-speech, the curtain fell, but opened again and they sang the final chorus of Guys PLAYZONE and introduced the whole cast. It totally warmed my heart when Tsubasa introduced Yuma as "the Osaka-boy who everyone loves"!
This show was just amazing. There were so many moments I'll never forget. I can never get enough of Tsubasa's dancing. And my love for Yuma just grows for every time I see him. He's adorable - but he's not a kid anymore. He's totally grown into a young man, and his singing has improved, and his dancing has improved loads and loads, and it makes me so proud to see how many more fans he gets all the time! No matter how many other idols I love and adore, Yuma has secured the top 1 spot in my heart, and there he'll always remain.
Oh... Sorry for all the Yuma-Yuma-Yuma at the end, this post was meant to be just a report from PLAYZONE, haha!
Set List
Act 1
01. ダイヤモンド・アイズ
02. Venus
03. お祭り忍者
04. FUNKY FLUSHIN'
05. A・RA・SHI
06. 情熱☆熱風せれなーで
07. 恋＝Do!〜君に薔薇薔薇・・・という感じ〜原宿キッス
08. 気まぐれ One Way Boy
09. ズッコケ男道
10. 愛なんだ
11. うわさのキッス
12. 君だけに
13. What's your name?
Act 2
14. アンダルシアに憧れて
15. $10
16. 愛されるより 愛したい
17. 愛・革命
18. ロマンチックタイム
Yuma/Yara skit
19. スシ食いね
20. フラワー
21. We'll Be Together
22. ROAD TO PLAYZONE
23. Guys PLAYZONE
24. Liar
Cast
Imai Tsubasa
Nakayama Yuma
Yara Tomoyuki
4U
MAD
TheyBudou
Travis Japan
Nakamura Kaito
Kajiyama Asahi
Abe Aran
Miyachika Kaito
Yoshizawa Shizuya
Shimekake Ryuya
Morita Myuto
Kawashima Noeru