大倉忠義コンサート2008 (たチュ～魂)
PICTURES & PRE-SHOW
Pre-day bento / Shimmer&Neon green / Pre-weekend prep / Waiting for the bus
Kira Kira / On the train / Johnnys Theater / Goods line / AIBA’s mum’s / Gyoza
Shrimp noodles / BakuraYokoyama / Yokoyama Inn / Goods / Evening snack / Bunny ears
Lunch / Pre-show / taCHUcon logo / Post-show / Dinner / Purikura
~*vVv*~
BEFORE READING
Objectivity was attempted but whether successfully executed is up for debate. Gushing and squee-ing may have found their way into this report in some places... but, well... It’s Okura! What Okura fangirl wouldn’t?! (*^_^*)
All of the spoken parts were written after listening and re-listening to the audio 50 bajillion times. However, they still might not be too accurate because RoseJeide kept unknowingly tapping her back heel throughout the show and that made it hard to hear the actual dialogue. Apologies for any mistakes.
Comments, corrections and opinions are always appreciated. (.^_^)v
~*vVv*~
VENUE & STAGE SETUP
Johnnys Theater was a big blue and white tent set up in Odaiba. The shows performed there so far were Summary, Mouse Peace, Flat Five Flowers, Paint it Black, etc. It was circular and rather small. All of the seats were decent, even the very last row. This was one of the few venues that allows people to hear what’s going on quite clearly from outside.
The inside was set up like a movie theater. The goods area looked like a concession stand. Everything was 516 yen, 5/16 being his birthday, and sold out. (>_<) Haha. In the middle was a drumset lit up by green spotlights. The bass drum had the same logo as on the back of the uchiwa. Seated on the stool behind the set was Ohkuma with a pair of mini drumsticks.
Throughout the lobby area, screens were set up with scrolling messages from the other members:
I read the paper!☆
Ohkuma?
That’s so cu~te!
The sticker’s also cute.☆
I want the {goods} too.
Since it’s you, Okura, right about now
You’re having a fine tuned, proper {LIVE}.♪
Ah, when the {LIVE}’s over...
Have another!
By Yasuda Shota
As though you just know, you’ve always
mastered the way to bewitch.
And, inside of my tiny laugh,
is your smiling face,
which is thoroughly kept and carried within.
It is essential at this moment.
It is soothing.
Sah, what shades can you scatter today
while at the same time enchant?
Will you tear it up with your music?!
By Maruyama Ryuhei
Dear you, whom I have yet to meet,
I want to see you!
So, I’ll say it.
I can’t love anyone but you.
So, quickly get yourself before me.
But, no worries!
I’ll be waiting for all eternity.
However, just let me say this.
Cool at first glance and
Mature, grown up you.
Getting to know you,
You have a way of bringing me out
More than anyone else
P.S. Dear Okura,
Break a leg at your concert!
By Yokoyama You
Everyone who has come out to see
Okura Tadayoshi’s concert, hello.
Have you already seen it?
Will today be your first time seeing it?
Even though you’ve see it once,
did you come to see it again?
Or did you find this message
while on your way out?
I saw the very first show.
I couldn’t see it with the rest of KJ8
He did what he could because it was a solo.
It was quite bewitching.
Honestly, I feel a little chagrinned.
To him...
I don’t say a word.♥
Elegantly dancing,
Drumming beats that resonate within the heart,
Listening to that warm voice.
The audience’ll probably giggle, hee hee,
at the cutesy girly part sometimes shown.
And so, put up without blinking
from the beginning to the end.
Don’t miss that moment.
Be sure to stay in your seats.
For those going home,
you probably understand this message.
Look forward to it!
Dear Okura,
No injuries to the end.
Work hard to success.
Present our identical feelings
to the entire audience who’ve came out to the venue.
Impress them even beyond that.
That’s your duty.♥
By Nishikido Ryo
I have little to say.
Tada, just let go.
Trust the rhythm with your heart.
{Respect}!
Thanks!
{love you}!
{Big up!} Okura Tadayoshi
By Shibutani Subaru
Tatsu! Don’t hurt yourself!
Give your all!
Just do it!
Charm everyone with all of the different sides of Tatsu!
By Murakami Shingo
The concert area looked like the above diagram. The VTR had an image of the shield with fancy script rotating in front of it. The ends of the stage also had the shield emblem. It kept gradually getting smokier and smokier...
~*vVv*~
SETLIST
00. OP VTR
01. Butterfly I Loved [full ver.]
02. Do you agree??
03. 旅人
04. GREETING
05. KANJIMI3 CORNER
-- 明日
-- モナコ・ブルー
06. JR.S DANCE INTRO
07. ACT SHOW
09. SEMPAI CORNER
-- Higashiyama Noriyuki VTR
-- 怖がらないで天使
-- Domoto Koichi VTR
-- 追憶の雨
-- Matsuoka Masahiro
-- Midnight Rose
10. DRUM CORNER
-- 和太鼓
-- Snare drum
-- Blacklight
-- Snare drum (reprise)
11. OTOKOMAE MC
12. Carnival
13. 無責任ヒーロー
14. VETERAN’S MC
15. まもりたい
16. DRAMA CORNER
-- 必殺仕事人
+++ VTR Montage
+++ Skit
-- 歌姫
+++ VTR Montage
+++ 愛のかたまり
+++ 青の時代
-- ヤスコとケンジ
+++ VTR Montage
+++ Who wants to be a TADAONAIRE?
17. だってアイドルだもん
18. JR.S SECTION
-- 蝶
19. PHOTO ALBUM VTR
-- torn
20. KANJANI8 CORNER
-- 二人の涙雨
-- 大阪レイニーブルーズ
-- ズッコケ男道
21. FAREWELL
22. 最後の涙
23. ED VTR
24. ENCORE
-- エネルギー
-- 無責任ヒーロー
25. ENCORE 2
-- 大阪ロマネスク
26. FINAL THANK YOU
~*vVv*~
“Okura Tadayoshi,” which was written in fancy gold script and slowly rotating in front of a shield emblem on the VTR, faded away and an “ATTENTION” section took its place. ‘Kura-chan asked three things from his audience that evening: Please turn off cellphones. Please remain seated. Please keep what was seen that day a secret. ♥ (Spoilers were prohibited)
Trumpets blared in a dramatic fanfare. Bright spotlights moved back and forth within the venue. The VTR switched to an image of a large golden monument. It was the fancy “T” within a shield logo with beams of light shooting up behind it, much like a certain famous movie company.
Light, fairytale like music began. A sparkly emerald green butterfly appeared and fluttered past a dark “大倉” patterned backdrop. Twinkling with every movement, it made its way through a shiny green meadow and forest to an amusement park. If Emerald City had an amusement park, this would be it. Everything was a brilliant, shiny green from the lights to the rides.
The sign over the entranceway read, “OKURA CONCERT 2008.” The butterfly flew onwards past a merry-go-round. It soared past a Ferris wheel and a swaying pirate’s ship until it found the Johnnys Theater tent, which was just as shiny and just as bright and just as green.
When the butterfly entered the venue, it flitted from the screen to the side LCD screens. It quickly flew along it, leaving trails of emerald green and the tinkle of bells. After looping around once, it disappeared and the venue turned dark.
Now where was the “butterfly” going to appear next? Would he appear onstage? Would he trick everyone, since the first song was quite obvious by then, and start with a rockin’ drumset solo? Would he pop up in an aisle? The split second of anticipation was rather exciting. Then, his lovely deep voice could be heard.
“Butterfly...♪”
Bright white light revealed Okura being lowered partway from the ceiling, gripping the cord with his free hand. He was wearing a regal looking black and red overcoat trimmed with gold and hints of purple. Red and black feathers engulfed his left shoulder and everything below his knees, except for his feet. There, he wore silver shoes. The back of the coat had the gigantic gold “T” crest. He shimmered oh-so-much with the slightest movement. [sparkle]
“...hikui sora o miagete kimi o...♪” After the biggest dramatic pause ever, face tilted downwards, he cried out, “...sasotta!♪”
Translucent purple butterflies floated on the VTR and brighter ones burst around the circular LCD screens. A bunch of jr.s ran onto the stage and began dancing. Okura, who had paused and hung midair during the first stanza, descended the rest of the way down.
“...nureta iki, mimi moto de...♪”
He landed in the center of CS. After disentangling himself from the cable, he stood and sang with the jr.s dancing around him. He joined in with some of the dancing a bit later on but somehow, it didn’t seem as crisp as usual. Perhaps the coat was difficult to dance in. He mostly remained in one place, slightly moving this way and that as he sang. His singing was less tormented and more sweet and mesmerizing.
“...’Cause I love you baby...♪”
Huh? Wait? What was that added bit of melody? Ah! Kya~! Not only was it “Butterfly I Loved” but ‘Kura-chan was singing the full version! It had been almost two years since he last performed that at SOb. That was it. The show was over. It was perfect. Nothing more was needed. What more could he possible do?! It was only the first song and RoseJeide was already enamored and starry eyed, much to her chagrin.
“Do you agree??” immediately followed. The arena was dark and smoky with random strobe lights cutting through. Two jr.s dressed in the feathered chicken suits from Spirits!! crisscrossed around the front.
It was odd listening to this song while sitting down and not being able to jump around like an idiot. It felt extra odd not having him behind a drumset, his hair flying all over and him deftly twirling his drumsticks between his fingers.
However! Seeing him dance during this song for a change was awesome! His voice during the rap was extra deep and pleasant to the ears. He would raise his fist in the air. Jr.s had returned to the stage and were bouncing around. Everyone remembered to direct their penlights towards Okura during that one line, as always. The voice was not overly distorted. Perfect.
Next were the opening notes to “Tabidachi.” Squee! It was really nostalgic.
“Welcome to Okura Tadayoshi’s solo live! Blahblahblah... Have a rockin’ time to the very end!” he shouted. The Veterans darted into the audience like spider monkeys. Okura meandered over to MS left and then made his way to MS right before returning to the center. There was more dancing done by Okura during this song as well. It felt like he missed a line though...
“Okura Tadayoshi here!”
He turned from section to section and asked, “How you doing?!”
Everyone replied, “Fi~ne!”
Okura then turned cutesy and pouty. While he was talking, he walked over to the entrance in front of MS and removed the shiny black overcoat. Actually, Okura’s outfits throughout the show were a combination of red, black, purple, white or gold. He also wore jeans and T-shirts when he could. Wonder whether he did that on purpose... Haha. Anyway, he was now dressed in the white concert T-shirt and black slacks with a wallet chain along one side.
He drank some tea, area 2/3, and it looked like he was going to chug the entire bottle but he stopped halfway. He went to put the cap back on but then he took another small sip and put the bottle away. He explained that the day before he really had a bathroom emergency. He had to use the restroom really really really badly but had to work his way through it so he had to be careful. It was up to his head? (O.o)
He turned to retrieve his green mic stand. As he talked about the KanJimi3 corner, he dragged the stand in a sluggish manner to the area between MS and CS, 2. It was too adorable. He placed the mic onto the stand. He had on a black wristband, which was probably to keep the flying wire from cutting into it in the beginning.
He introduced the trio medley. He mentioned that the “KanJimi3” didn’t have solos. But they still worked hard and did their best. He stumbled over his words a few times which caused a round of “so cute!” and “aww...” from the audience.
He began singing “Ashita” in a baby-ish voice. Shota usually sung that part so it was a tad higher than normal. Two other jr.s came out to perform with him during the dance part on CS. It was just like in Spirits!! minus the cartwheels. At the very end, the jr. closest to stageright looked like he was facing the wrong way because the other two were facing stageleft. Then, he turned quickly to face the same direction as the other two. Haha.
“Monaco Blue” had Okura dancing with a chair and white roses set up in area 1/2. He had put on a black blazer and a black hat. It had a smooth jazzy feel with darker lighting. The Veterans were dancing around him. They were dressed like businessmen and used suitcases throughout the choreography.
Near the end, a gun was lowered from the ceiling. Okura took it and swung it around, firing off a bunch of shots along the VTR before running off stage to change into his next costume.
“Johnny’s juniors,” a male voice announced. “Here we go!”
The boys’ faces and names would appear on the VTR while they danced a brief solo to upbeat rockish music. At the end off their solos, they would throw some sort of weapon towards the next dancer. The first one chucked a dart at the VTR.
The final guy to appear was on top of MS. Okura let out a wild banshee scream and started “Act Show.” Okura had changed into a white suit with silvery trim and sparkly buttons. The slacks had cargo pockets down both pantlegs. He also wore a white hat with a black stripe around it. His shoes were white as well. White looked nice on him.
Okura walked down the pathway of risen platforms to a midway section of the stage. How did he manage that falsetto part?! It was interesting to see how the same song could be performed differently by three different people. Maru!’s seemed the most clever; Shota’s was more rockish; Okura’s was more pop-ish. The other jr.s were dancing as well. Afterwards, he quickly ran off to hidden place stageleft while mumbling something about it being the next corner and getting messages.
Higashiyama appeared on the screen in front of a garish white wall. He said that he was really pleased that Okura would be performing his “Kowagaranaide, Tenshi.” He added that it was kind of strange that Okura chose this song because he was always nervous around him.
The venue was dark except for twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. Okura appeared sans hat on the stageleft crane that orbited him around the stage above the audience. Green laser lights beamed all around. Partway through, when the crane was hovering over a central part of the stage, the lasers paused and created two green lines across his bottom. Haha.
The song sounded so familiar from the very beginning and it took a while to pinpoint from where. Higashiyama had sung it at “Change.” He probably sang it during another Playzone as well. It was a pretty song and Okura’s voice fit it quite nicely. At the risk of sounding cheesy, he really did seem kind of angelic singing and floating amongst the twinkling stars... [sparkle] Grease “Beauty School Dropout” Angel, that is. (.^_~) -☆
Koichi was next to appear on screen. He said that Okura reminded him a little of his father. Okura would always laugh at anything. Koichi then imitated Okura’s laughter with a big, “Hahaha!” During SHOCK, everyone would be setting up and then Okura would show up laughing and leave. “Hahaha!” Koichi must have talked a lot because there was a cut in the video before he finished and told Okura to enjoy himself and break a leg.
A piano had been setup on stage, area 1/2, while Koichi was talking. Okura stood in front of it and watched the latter part of the VTR. Then, he took a seat! He was going to play the piano! He plink-plunked out the small section of melody that he’d learned for SHOCK. Sadly he didn’t include the keyboard smash at the end. Instead, he lifted his hands from the keyboard in a very, “That’s it” manner which made everyone laugh.
After switching places with a jr., he introduced the next song, “Here’s a song I sang with Koichi when I was in SHOCK, ‘Tsuioku no ame’.” A single soft spotlight shone on him and the intro started.
“The DVD will be released October 29. Please buy it.”
During the interlude part, scenes from the musical were on the VTR: dancing, piano smashing bit, dancing, war cry. His voice fit this song quite well also.
The third was Matsuoka, err... Kenji. Matsuoka was wearing the white towel around his head and the black rimmed glasses. Over one shoulder was a kendo practice sword. He was trying to be serious and intimidating but he would have to pause to hold back a smile every now and then.
Okura appeared in front of the VTR with a flash of purple. Amethyst purple! The suit was bright purple with purple sequined lining. It was so bright and so sparkly. One corner of the jacket flipped upward in a suave way and caused an extra bright flash of purple. He strutted down to CS.
“...Sex on the beach...”♪
‘Kura-chan was fabulous during this song! Even though he was under the weather and his dancing wasn’t quite as good as usual, it was a great performance. His voice fit this funky smooth song really well too! Partway through, a huge backdrop had been lowered across the center of the stage, hiding the back part. On the sheet was the huge “T” shield logo.
“...just a midnight rose...”♪
A good chunk of the choreography included sassy shoulder shakes and other cool dance moves. There was lots of dancing and different formations. One such formation had Okura in front with the jr.s behind them and moving forward in unison with dark reddish lights all around. Oh! Imagine being seated right in front of that with the big “T” backdrop!
Boom. The song ended and the sheet fell to the ground. MS was brightly lit. The upper MS had a large taiko drum set up. Two professionals were playing smaller taiko drums on both sides. On the lower MS, two other professionals and two jr.s were lined up.
Each of the four professional drummers was given a few beats of solo time. They were lit up one by one and each would add different arm movements or rhythms during their time. They were really enthusiastic and getting into it. They would make a great show themselves!
Okura appeared on the upper MS and took his place at the large taiko drum. He was wearing a red and gold overcoat of sorts. Two poofy white rings took over his shoulder area. With a loud “Hah!” -- less porno sounding than Fukui and Shizuoka but still not quite as awesome as it could’ve been -- he hit the drum once. Then again. He gradually picked up the pace and finished with one loud boom.
After a pause, he hit the drum and pointed towards CS. Water on one side shot upwards into the air. He hit the drum and pointed. Jets of water on the other side shot up. He struck the drum again and again and the water matched his rhythm. The quieter he was, the lower the water; the louder, the higher. The final strike caused all of the water to shoot high up into the air and fall to the stage with a giant splash.
The professional taiko drummers began playing again. Okura strode to a set of four smaller taiko drums, area 3. Grabbing two sticks from the bag hanging near the side, he joined in. The jr.s brought out a bunch of large folding fans and purple paper parasols. They spun and twirled them around. The two folding fans were held behind Okura like a backdrop.
He went to join a chibi jr. on a raised platform, area 1. They stood on both sides of a taiko drum and performed a duet. The chibi jr. was so tiny compared to Okura! The chibi jr. would play a rhythm and Okura would mimic it. Then, they both were playing at the same time. They weren’t exactly in sync but it was cute. For some reason, the look on Okura’s face on the VTR during that session was like a loving big brother. (.^_^)
When finished, Okura took off his overcoat so he was now just in a plain white button down and fashionably torn jeans. He stepped onto the raised platform before him, area 2. The one with the taiko drum lowered and the one with him rose upwards. There, he held a pair of white drumsticks.
He began with a few taps to test out the snare drum before moving on to a simple drumroll or two. Then he started to get fancy and acting like the percussion section leader of a marching band. He incorporated the wrong end of the stick into the drumming patterns.
Next, he changed the way he held the stick with his left hand and started a drumstick juggling act, still keeping the beat. He flipped the stick into the air. When he went to catch it, it slipped through his fingers and landed on the taiko drum behind him. Bong. It fit so perfectly, that it felt choreographed.
Okura quickly turned to look over his shoulder. Then he looked downwards and around, the empty hand still up in the air. He hung his head slightly and let out a small amused sigh. An embarrassed smile on his face, he used the single stick for a semi-dramatic stroke. His face and reaction was too adorable.
Picking a set of brown sticks from the drum bag, he finished up the set along with the taiko drum players. During a brief rest period, the chibi jr. handed him the white drumstick that had fallen. He left the snare drum, the taiko drums still playing, and went to a basket near the edge of CS right.
The stage was rather dark. Okura put a dark knit cap over his hair. Next, he put on a pair of goggles, gloves and a long waist apron. He picked up a canister and walked over to three large cans that had been set up in a row. The music had changed to a pop rock tune. He poured the liquid onto the middle can.
He hit the can a couple of times. Every beat caused droplets of neon green to splatter in the blacklights. Two others joined him. One had yellow and the other pink. The three of them began drumming. Yellow, green and pink splashed upwards in time with the music. The music was catchy and the visuals were neat. They would cross their arm over the other to hit the drum next to them. Paint was flying everywhere.
When this section was finished, everyone applauded extra loudly. Okura returned to the basket right. He was drenched in the paint. It was as though he’d just been hugged by Slimer. He removed the hat, goggles, gloves and apron.
“Thank you,” he said. He sounded a little out of breath. He crouched on his haunches and removed the button down shirt so he was just wearing a black tank top. Picking up a mirror, he started rubbing the paint off of his face with a goods towel. He told the audience to use that time as a chance to fix their make up and such.
‘Kura-chan’s hair was all mussed up and a tuft of hair was sticking up on one side. He tried to get rid of the paint from his hands and shoes. He moaned about how extra paint got on his face that day and how he felt bad about messing up.
“Kuyashii naa... How frustrating...”
He went over to the opening under a raised platform by the snare drum. He asked for someone to hand him his drumsticks.
“I didn’t catch it so let me try this one more time.”
He returned to the snare drum and tried again. Drumroll. Tap. Tap. Tap. Flip... Yea! \(.^_^.)/ He just barely caught it and it looked like he was going to drop it for a second. He slammed both of the sticks downwards in triumph. He was super pleased that he didn’t drop it that time.
As he returned to the mirror and towels, a couple girls shouted out. He offhandedly responded. One of them caused him to call them all idiots. They might’ve told him to strip. Haha. He slipped a white T-shirt over his head. Then he crouched and went back to scrubbing his skin again. He spent a lot of time looking in the mirror and trying to get it clean. He moaned and whined.
More girls called out, “Are you OK?” and “You’re cool!”
“This sucks... this sucks... the paint won’t come off... mou... what should I do? out, damn’d spot! out, i say! someone, come and help me! any volunteers?”
Then, just as he gave up and, hair still messy, sat back to take a sip of tea, a girl shouted out, “Otokomae (you’re handsome)!” After a brief moment, the biggest most bashful grin spread across his face. He tried to hide it by looking downwards. The delayed reaction made it even cuter. ♥
Okura swiped at his shoes for the umpteenth time before leaving the towels in the heap. He must’ve used at least three or four of them. He began “Carnival.” After the intro part, he ran up the aisle between blocks A*B and climbed onto a trolley cart. As he went around, stage techs cleaned up the paint and water.
After making his way partway around the venue, he returned to CS. A peppy sounding song began and everyone was all super excited about it. It took a stanza or two to realize that it was KJ8’s new single, “Musekinin Hero.” (>_<) It was really upbeat and had a very, “Yea! Go team go!” feel to it. The participation dance was really simple. That was always appreciated. The jr.s were in the aisles and ITO was waving in a silly manner.
Okura began the MC and said that Yoko had visited the day before. However, he spoke so much that he ended up taking over the entire MC as though it were a KJ8 MC. Shota also visited. Even though he had to leave early, he called and told Okura that his show was very “Okura-like.”
Okura took a sip of tea and put it near one of the monitors. He said that lots of people helped made the show possible. Only 4 of KanJuu were there for the show and he called them out. They entered and then Okura criticized them for not being enthusiastic enough. ITO asked whether they could try again. All four of them exited and began from the beginning. This included Okura sipping some tea and stating that lots of people helped make the show possible and only the Veterans were there for the show. Haha.
When the Veterans came out a second time, they were super energetic and overly exaggerated. Muro kept jumping around. ITO would raise his fist in the air but that was about it. The entire MC had ‘Kura-chan switching which hip to sit on. He also kept putting the fingers of his free hand into his back pockets and playing with his back belt loops, so...
Oh wait, ITO went out to eat with Yoko the day before and Muro and Bun’ichi played cards all day. Okura kept giving Bun’ichi a hard time. After the Veterans left the stage, Okura went to CS. He sat on his knees near the edge of the raised circular platform.
He started talking about heat rash and how it still hadn’t healed even though summer was over. As he spoke, he slowly started leaning forward as though he was talking to the stage instead of the audience. It was cute! He then introduced the Jr. who would be playing the piano accompaniment.
Okura began singing. The VTR displayed clouds with his own handwritten lyrics. Okura had really pretty handwriting. This version of the song was really nice. The simplicity of him in just a T-shirt and jeans as opposed to a suit, sitting on the edge of a platform, was really really lovely. Being sick also gave his voice a on-the-verge-of-tears tone to it, as well...
He announced that he would start filming his new drama, “Hissatsu Shigotonin 2009” soon. He was nervous about it. He introduced the next corner. He said that it wouldn’t be as good as an 8 Ranger skit but he put a lot of thought into it so he hoped everyone enjoyed it.
Various clips from “Hissatsu Shigotonin” were displayed on the VTR. It included the scene where he, the puppeteer, flicked his wrist for the creepy snake to go forth and kill. The VTR dissolved into a full moon behind some green reeds.
The Veterans and a couple other jr.s came walking towards the stage between blocks E*F. They were dressed in male kimonos and laughing e~vil chuckles. The main evil guy was... ITO. LoL. They reached CS and continued with their macho male party. One went to the fake paper lanterns to light them.
Muro did a backflip. One of the jr.s complimented him. ITO also went to do a backflip for comparison. He got into position but at the last minute just sort of hopped. The same jr. patted him on the shoulder with a “Too bad...”
There was more talking and deep chuckling when suddenly one of them was pulled up and hung by a rope. On MS, a figure dressed in a red kimono with his face covered by a Hannya mask appeared. He ever so slowly removed it to reveal his face.
Placing a pointy weapon horizontally between his lips, he darted into action. There was a huge battle scene with swords and such. As smexy as Okura looked, it was a little difficult to differentiate between the jr.s and their characters so it kind of felt like Genta was killing them all... (O.o)
The very last person to remain was ITO. After a dramatic battle scene, Genta used the puppet snake. It darted around the circular LCD and jumped out to kill its target, ITO. The screen spurted red with blood and then split in two.
Afterwards, the VTR switched to “Utahime.” TOKIO’s “SEI SYuN” began along with clips of Jinguji and James. It was like Okura’s part in “Utahime” in 30 seconds or less. It had clips from when he first arrived all the way to when he parted with Taro.
“Uwa~h!!! Taro-sa~~~~~~~~~~n!” James ran onto the stage in the most horrid wig ever. He was also wearing a red shirt and jeans. He ran this way and that. He was looking for Taro but after spotting Taro’s guitar, he went towards it.
“He’s not here. He won’t mind if I borrow it.” James picked up the guitar. No way~! Okura was going to play the guitar! Kya~! (*^_^*)
He took a seat and began singing, “Ai no katamari.” The lyrics and chords to the song were scrolling by on a monitor located on the floor. Partway through, James messed up on a chord and tried again. He tried again. He continued but flubbed again. He was too adorable about it.
When finished, James looked a tad upset about messing up and asked in the cutest voice ever whether it would be alright to sing another song. Of course it would be. Silly question.
He sang “Ao no jidai.” Again, the chords and lyrics were being displayed on the monitors at his feet. At the end, This song fit his voice as well! OK, maybe every song’ll fit his voice in Okura fans’ minds. KUSUKUSU. Taro had come back so James ran offstage with the guitar still in hand.
TOKIO’s “Amagasa” started and the crowd screamed throughout most of the VTR. Lots of clips were included in the montage but the one of Tsubaki having glittery sparkles around his head quickly trumped the others and was the only one remembered. Oh, his grin was just way too cute and adorable in that single clip.
Hama Bunta walked onto the stage in a suit and sat at one of the two music stands. He announced the evening’s guest. Area 3 tilted upwards to make a curtain for Tsubaki Jun-kun, wearing his school uniform, to enter through. The VTR had an altered logo that read, “Who wants to be a TADAONAIRE?”
After a little chatter and good lucks, they started playing. The same BGM music was used to signify the first question for 100,000 yen.
WHERE IS ODAIBA’S DATE SPOT?
A: Johnnys Theater
B: Atami
C: Asahiyama Zoo
D: My place
“What was D?” Tsubaki asked.
“My place,” Hama Bunta replied.
“What?”
“My place.”
“OK, Johnnys Theater.”
“My place. Final answer?”
“No! A, Johnnys Theater!”
“Final answer?”
“Yes.”
Hama Bunta ever-so-slowly turned towards the camera, a heartbeat thumping in the background. “You are correct!”
Tsubaki looked relieved and decided to continue. Next up was the 1,000,000 yen question.
HOW DOES OKURA TADAYOSHI CONFESS HIS LOVE?
A: Love letter
B: E-mail
C: Phonecall
D: In person ♥
“That’s odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about me so of course I’ll get it right.”
“But you’re Tsubaki Jun!”
“Oh yeah... haha!” Tsubaki wasn’t sure which answer to pick. “Can I use my 50-50?”
A and B were removed from the list. When Tsubaki chose D, Bunta asked him to act it out otherwise the answer would be wrong. Tsubaki was reluctant. He flatout said that he didn’t want to and after a bunch of prodding, got Bunta to perform instead. Bunta confessed, playing both parts, but the girl gave a negative reaction.
Tsubaki slowly turned towards the camera, with the same heartbeat in the background, and declared, “You are correct!”
Bunta yelled at him. Tsubaki was forced to go next. He stood up and took his place near the edge of CS. Tsubaki approached Yasuko. Okura moved to the side and crouched slightly. Looking upwards with an overly shocked look squeaked, “Huh?!”
He switched back to Tsubaki. “I love you.”
He switched back to Yasuko and crazily flailed her arms around. He squeezed his eyes together and held up his hands, “H-h-hold on a sec... what are you say--”
Okura switched back. Tsubaki leaned forward and wrapped his arms around invisible Yasuko in a tight hug. He then switched to Yasuko being held by invisible Tsubaki. Then he switched back again. After a few lovely words, he leaned forwards and belted out, “Matte~!” ♪
Tsubaki sat back down. The next question was worth 3,000,000 yen.
WHAT DAY IS DECEMBER 25?
A: Christmas
B: Sea Day
C: Mother’s Day
D: Autumn Equinox
Tsubaki was unsure and asked to use his phone lifeline. They called up Kenji. Kenji picked up. He growled. He immediately hung up. They tried again. Kenji stayed on the line this time but still spoke in an intimidating voice and yelled at him. They had edited together a bunch of clips from the drama for the rest of this part. Tsubaki quickly read the question.
“What day is December 25?” Tsubaki asked. “A: Christma--.”
“It’s Yasuko’s birthday,” Kenji interrupted in the clip.
“That’s not an option.’
“Figure it out yourself then!” Kenji then hung up the phone.
Tsubaki whined a bit and then answered Christmas. Bunta slowly turned towards the camera and shouted, “You are correct!”
Next up was the 6,000,000 yen question.
WHAT PRESENT DOES A GIRL WANT?
A: Ring
B: Flowers
C: Bag
D: Evening scenery
Tsubaki was yet again unsure so he tried calling up Kenji once more. Kenji picked up. Tsubaki rattled off the question. The VTR showed a clip of Kenji wading in the water.
“It’s your smile!” Kenji growled, still splashing around in the water. Yes, that was definitely the answer! Definitely! (.^_^) Tsubaki chose D instead and continued onwards to the next question, which was worth 10,000,000 yen.
YOU YOUR YOU YOURS; HE HIS HIM HIS; SHE HER HER HERS; I ME MY ???
A: mys
B: mes
C: mine
D: mai [kanji for “rice”]
Tsubaki once again called up Kenji. Didn’t players usually only get one phone call in the original game? Haha. Kenji picked up. The clip where Kenji was all delirious from a fever and mumbling English was used.
Fully confident with Kenji’s answer, Tsubaki chose C. Bunta slowly turned towards the camera and cried out, “You are correct!”
“Yea!”
“Your prize is...”
“Wait, what?”
Bunta picked up a basket filled with shiny gold shiny. From within, he pulled out a pair of red checkered pajamas. Okura took them and pulled them on over his school uniform.
“How do they look?”
“Great.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, ‘cuz you’re an idol!”
Bunta left the stage and music for “Datte AIDORU damon” started. The jr.s, carrying Ohkuma came onstage. As he sang, images of curry, strawberries and bears flashed around the circular LCD. During one part of the song “L.O.V.E. Okura” was going around.
“I love curry. Morning noon and night. It’s curry. Even if you forbid it, curry! It’s delicious yo~!” ♪
He also sang that he would eat strawberry candy even if it gave him cavities. Partway through, he crawled to the ground and was on his belly. His chin in his hands, he sang in a cutesy voice, “On those lonely nights, mommy kisses me goodnight but I love someone more... Kuma-chan!” ♪
He stood up with Ohkuma held high up in the air. He spent the rest of the song singing and doing Sailor V poses, standing on one hip and then the other, with Ohkuma in one hand. This song was definitely... umm... well... special. It felt a little forced that day but maybe it was absolutely adorable at other shows... The smile though! That was still irresistibly cu~te! (.^_^)
As Okura exited, he clumsily tossed the Ohkuma he’d been dancing with into the audience. It landed in the second row.
The Veterans came out to perform V6’s “Cho” (butterfly, haha). Was this their new song? They often performed V6’s “Cosmic Rescue” last year. One of the other jr.s appeared on CS to perform. He was wearing *that* bellhop outfit.
The emerald butterfly blinked back onto the VTR. A light mystical musicbox melody was in the background. It flew towards a bound scrapbook. When it opened, the butterfly flew amongst the pages.
Inside were pictures of Okura. They included official shop pictures from F.T.O.N. all the way through to the most recent Wahhahha! tour. Baby and childhood pictures were also mixed in. One looked like he was dressed up for the Shichigosan holiday in an itty bitty kimono. It was the most adorable of the bunch. ♥
The butterfly reached the more recent photos, leaving a trail of glittery green. When it got to the last picture, a bajillion girls started screaming as loudly as they possibly could. It might’ve been the loudest all show. What was the reason? The answer was a photo of pouty Ryo. He flashed a devilish grin and the opening notes for “torn” echoed through the dark arena. [Renchan5] let out an earsplitting kya~! next to RoseJeide. (>^_^<)
Okura appeared in the usual red outfit, his shirt untucked and a red hat on his head. He spent most of the song in area 3. Since the song was supposed to be a duet, it felt strange and a tad lonely watching Okura sing it as a solo. Even though RoseJeide only paid attention to Okura whenever it was performed, it still registered that Ryo was onstage as well... especially during the last few stanzas...
However, a PV with Ryo was playing on the VTR. RoseJeide took her eyes away from the real Okura once to glance at it. The *one* time she decided to look and she ended up with an eyeful of someone snaking a hand down his own naked torso. (O.O)
Surprised, if not a little traumatized, she quickly turned away. She kept her eyes glued to dancing, singing, fully clothed Okura. Near the end of the song, red confetti fluttered down around him.
He went CS for “Futari no namida ame.” His green mic stand was on the raised circular platform. Water jetted upwards from the stage around him and lights twinkled. Gosh, even though he was obviously struggling, it was still nice. He didn’t cut the dancing with the mic stand part either. Yea!
“...sora kara nami~ ♪”
Once during the chorus, his voice gave out completely and he had to stop singing. He gripped the mic stand with both of his hands and turned his face away to the right. He was probably kicking himself in his head for messing up again, being the diligent performer he was, but a lot of the girls quickly took over and began singing in his place, to sorta let him know that it was OK until he was able to continue.
He hung his hat on the mic stand and removed his red gloves at the end of the song, dropping them to the floor. The next song in the KJ8 Corner was “Osaka Rainy Blues.” It was the usual rendition.
“One, two... One, two, oo!!”
The circular LCD screens had various street signs and such related to the song flashing and such. He hurried down some steps stageright. It looked like he was exiting but he was actually now on a crane for “Zuccoke Otoko Michi.” Thankfully, he didn’t try to shake his sweaty hair over the audience as it swung him around during the song. (*^_^*) Wait, when did he take the red shirt off?
“Ooo~! So~ya~ so~ya~ so~ya~ so~ya~!!”
He returned to the stage and danced along with the jr.s. The jr.s made a line and one of them ceremoniously came forward to drape a shiny red coat over his shoulders. At the end, they all waved and left the stage.
Okura stepped forward and continued towards CS.
“Thank you,” he nodded his head. He was still wearing the red overcoat. He said a lot in his final address to everyone. “Now, this last song is an answer song for ‘Mamoritai.’ I tried writing it from the female perspective. This would be my ideal. Sah, ‘Saigo no namida.’”
It was a piano based ballad with drums and guitar. Like with “Mamoritai,” it was rather simple. As he sang, the lyrics, written in white, faded in and out on the VTR.
“kanashii toki tachidomatte mo (even when I was wallowing in sadness) ♪
“warattekureta kara mata arukidaseta (you smiled and I could continue forward) ♪
“ureshii toki naitekureta (you shed tears during the happy times) ♪
“yorokobu sugata motto ganbarerunda (your joyful outlook; I could try even harder) ♪”
“deata koto de kawaru (I met you and everything changed) ♪
“ima made nara (up until now) ♪
“hitori de yokatta no ni (it’s fine to be alone I thought) ♪
“futari ga ii kore kara wa sou (but now it appears it’s best together) ♪”
“dakishimete ude no naka (embrace me; hold me in your arms) ♪
“kono namida o tomerareta no wa (these tears will stop spilling just by) ♪
“anata ga yutta kotoba dake (the words that you say) ♪
“itsudatte migata datta (you were forever there on my side) ♪”
“dakishimete kono senaka (embrace me; tight around my back) ♪
“nakigao wa mienakute ii desho (no need to see this tear-stained face) ♪
“futari no ashita ni (I swear, our future’ll be) ♪
“chikaeru kara saigo no namida (together; this is the final tear)... ♪”
The song didn’t have the most original lyrics. However they were romantic. And sweet. They were ‘Kura-chan. They were how Okura thought a girl would respond to a guy who’d just professed his love for her, even though he felt he couldn’t do much else but hold her. ♥
“...dakishimete ude no naka (embrace me; hold me in your arms) ♪
“kono namida o tomerareta no wa (these tears will stop spilling just by) ♪
“anata ga yutta kotoba dake (the words that you say) ♪
“itsudatte migata datta (you were forever there on my side)... ♪”
‘Kura-chan’s voice was still a little husky and hoarse from whatever cold he had caught. It fit the song perfectly. Near the end, his voice became even huskier and cracked slightly; especially during the last stanza. He looked down, his hair wispy around his face.
“...dakishimete kono senaka (embrace me; tight around my back) ♪
“nakigao wa mienakute ii desho (no need to see this tear-stained face) ♪
“futari no ashita o (I want to protect our) ♪
“mamoritai saigo no namida (tomorrow; this is the final tear) ♪”
His drumset had slowly emerged from the opening in front of MS. He turned on his heel and took a seat. It was the first time he sat behind a drumset the entire show which made perfect sense after a little thought. He was always saying that he wanted to dance and dance he did during this show.
As a sheet of water fell from the ceiling fountains around CS, Okura concluded the song with a drum solo. A burst of silver confetti finished it off. He bowed. Everyone was clapping as loudly as they could. Without a single word, he exited; the audience was still clapping.
Fairytale music, now with a sadder, drowsy feel and a hint of “Saigo no namida” to it, played. The butterfly fluttered back through the shiny emerald green amusement park. When it reached the gate, the green “OKURA CONCERT 2008” sign flickered off. The butterfly flew away and the VTR faded back to the shield emblem default.
Everyone was clapping as loudly as they could again. After a while, it turned to chanting.
“Tacchon! Tacchon! Okura! Tada * yoshi! Tatsu! Tatsu!”
Okura came back out wearing jeans and the pink tour T-shirt. He was just way too adorable. He thanked everyone. After a bit of chatter, he told everyone that they needed to help him out with the next song... “ENERUGII!” The jr.s were also dancing and bouncing around.
He followed it up with “Musekinin Hero.”
“1 2 no 3 4, jajajaja~!” Sentai hero pose! (*^_^*) The PV was playing on the VTR but RoseJeide knew she could watch the PV anytime. (.^_^)v Sadly, all that she remembered about Okura’s performance was “So cu~te!!” Oh, and there was some weird hip twist thing in the choreography.
At the end, all of the professional taiko drummers and the jr.s took their curtain calls with some of the audience clapping along to the melody. He thanked them and the staff. Okura then imitated Hina, leaning over with his arm out and everything, and declared, “Props to our precious, precious, precious, precious, precious, precious Eighters!”
Everyone laughed and cheered.
“This was... this was... this was... Okura Tadayoshi!”
He exited but the audience wasn’t about to let him leave yet. Since the curtain call was during the “encore,” it sort of counted as part of the show, right? LoL. After a bit more clapping and chanting, Okura reappeared. He had the goods towel wrapped around his neck and bound with the charm band that came with it.
“Thank you so much!” he greeted everyone. “Morita Go came to the show. He’s the guy I’ve really looked up to. It made me nervous... Thank you everyone for your strength. I’m sorry, today was just one mistake after another even though you paid the same amount as the others...”
He looked a tad weary throughout the entire conversation. It didn’t seem like he was going to have another song. He pulled out some sticks and started tapping on the drums. When some of the audience started clapping along, he immediately quit, smirked and waved his hands around. He shook his head.
“Thank you very much for today!” He turned to leave. The audience would have none of it. He pouted and whined. It was really adorable. Only Okura could get away with it.
“But... but... I can’t talk... My throat...” He hunched his shoulders forward and sighed, “Fine... Here’s my favorite song, ‘Osaka Romanesque.’”
Okura had the audience sing along and sat behind the drums. He finished the song off by playing while everyone else sang for him. At the end, he stood, without his mic, and fiddled with his neck and adjusted his shoulders. He tilted his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Thank you very much!” He bowed. At the exit, his back to the audience, he made the cutest little double peace sign ever. The lights went back up and the female announcer told everyone the show was over. It had been a lovely 2 hours and 40-something minutes with him, but it was now time to leave and bid him farewell... Thank you, Okura Tadayoshi, for the great time!
Pre-day bento / Shimmer&Neon green / Pre-weekend prep / Waiting for the bus
Kira Kira / On the train / Johnnys Theater / Goods line / AIBA’s mum’s / Gyoza
Shrimp noodles / BakuraYokoyama / Yokoyama Inn / Goods / Evening snack / Bunny ears
Lunch / Pre-show / taCHUcon logo / Post-show / Dinner / Purikura
~*vVv*~
BEFORE READING
Objectivity was attempted but whether successfully executed is up for debate. Gushing and squee-ing may have found their way into this report in some places... but, well... It’s Okura! What Okura fangirl wouldn’t?! (*^_^*)
All of the spoken parts were written after listening and re-listening to the audio 50 bajillion times. However, they still might not be too accurate because RoseJeide kept unknowingly tapping her back heel throughout the show and that made it hard to hear the actual dialogue. Apologies for any mistakes.
Comments, corrections and opinions are always appreciated. (.^_^)v
~*vVv*~
VENUE & STAGE SETUP
Johnnys Theater was a big blue and white tent set up in Odaiba. The shows performed there so far were Summary, Mouse Peace, Flat Five Flowers, Paint it Black, etc. It was circular and rather small. All of the seats were decent, even the very last row. This was one of the few venues that allows people to hear what’s going on quite clearly from outside.
The inside was set up like a movie theater. The goods area looked like a concession stand. Everything was 516 yen, 5/16 being his birthday, and sold out. (>_<) Haha. In the middle was a drumset lit up by green spotlights. The bass drum had the same logo as on the back of the uchiwa. Seated on the stool behind the set was Ohkuma with a pair of mini drumsticks.
Throughout the lobby area, screens were set up with scrolling messages from the other members:
I read the paper!☆
Ohkuma?
That’s so cu~te!
The sticker’s also cute.☆
I want the {goods} too.
Since it’s you, Okura, right about now
You’re having a fine tuned, proper {LIVE}.♪
Ah, when the {LIVE}’s over...
Have another!
By Yasuda Shota
As though you just know, you’ve always
mastered the way to bewitch.
And, inside of my tiny laugh,
is your smiling face,
which is thoroughly kept and carried within.
It is essential at this moment.
It is soothing.
Sah, what shades can you scatter today
while at the same time enchant?
Will you tear it up with your music?!
By Maruyama Ryuhei
Dear you, whom I have yet to meet,
I want to see you!
So, I’ll say it.
I can’t love anyone but you.
So, quickly get yourself before me.
But, no worries!
I’ll be waiting for all eternity.
However, just let me say this.
Cool at first glance and
Mature, grown up you.
Getting to know you,
You have a way of bringing me out
More than anyone else
P.S. Dear Okura,
Break a leg at your concert!
By Yokoyama You
Everyone who has come out to see
Okura Tadayoshi’s concert, hello.
Have you already seen it?
Will today be your first time seeing it?
Even though you’ve see it once,
did you come to see it again?
Or did you find this message
while on your way out?
I saw the very first show.
I couldn’t see it with the rest of KJ8
He did what he could because it was a solo.
It was quite bewitching.
Honestly, I feel a little chagrinned.
To him...
I don’t say a word.♥
Elegantly dancing,
Drumming beats that resonate within the heart,
Listening to that warm voice.
The audience’ll probably giggle, hee hee,
at the cutesy girly part sometimes shown.
And so, put up without blinking
from the beginning to the end.
Don’t miss that moment.
Be sure to stay in your seats.
For those going home,
you probably understand this message.
Look forward to it!
Dear Okura,
No injuries to the end.
Work hard to success.
Present our identical feelings
to the entire audience who’ve came out to the venue.
Impress them even beyond that.
That’s your duty.♥
By Nishikido Ryo
I have little to say.
Tada, just let go.
Trust the rhythm with your heart.
{Respect}!
Thanks!
{love you}!
{Big up!} Okura Tadayoshi
By Shibutani Subaru
Tatsu! Don’t hurt yourself!
Give your all!
Just do it!
Charm everyone with all of the different sides of Tatsu!
By Murakami Shingo
The concert area looked like the above diagram. The VTR had an image of the shield with fancy script rotating in front of it. The ends of the stage also had the shield emblem. It kept gradually getting smokier and smokier...
~*vVv*~
SETLIST
00. OP VTR
01. Butterfly I Loved [full ver.]
02. Do you agree??
03. 旅人
04. GREETING
05. KANJIMI3 CORNER
-- 明日
-- モナコ・ブルー
06. JR.S DANCE INTRO
07. ACT SHOW
09. SEMPAI CORNER
-- Higashiyama Noriyuki VTR
-- 怖がらないで天使
-- Domoto Koichi VTR
-- 追憶の雨
-- Matsuoka Masahiro
-- Midnight Rose
10. DRUM CORNER
-- 和太鼓
-- Snare drum
-- Blacklight
-- Snare drum (reprise)
11. OTOKOMAE MC
12. Carnival
13. 無責任ヒーロー
14. VETERAN’S MC
15. まもりたい
16. DRAMA CORNER
-- 必殺仕事人
+++ VTR Montage
+++ Skit
-- 歌姫
+++ VTR Montage
+++ 愛のかたまり
+++ 青の時代
-- ヤスコとケンジ
+++ VTR Montage
+++ Who wants to be a TADAONAIRE?
17. だってアイドルだもん
18. JR.S SECTION
-- 蝶
19. PHOTO ALBUM VTR
-- torn
20. KANJANI8 CORNER
-- 二人の涙雨
-- 大阪レイニーブルーズ
-- ズッコケ男道
21. FAREWELL
22. 最後の涙
23. ED VTR
24. ENCORE
-- エネルギー
-- 無責任ヒーロー
25. ENCORE 2
-- 大阪ロマネスク
26. FINAL THANK YOU
~*vVv*~
“Okura Tadayoshi,” which was written in fancy gold script and slowly rotating in front of a shield emblem on the VTR, faded away and an “ATTENTION” section took its place. ‘Kura-chan asked three things from his audience that evening: Please turn off cellphones. Please remain seated. Please keep what was seen that day a secret. ♥ (Spoilers were prohibited)
Trumpets blared in a dramatic fanfare. Bright spotlights moved back and forth within the venue. The VTR switched to an image of a large golden monument. It was the fancy “T” within a shield logo with beams of light shooting up behind it, much like a certain famous movie company.
Light, fairytale like music began. A sparkly emerald green butterfly appeared and fluttered past a dark “大倉” patterned backdrop. Twinkling with every movement, it made its way through a shiny green meadow and forest to an amusement park. If Emerald City had an amusement park, this would be it. Everything was a brilliant, shiny green from the lights to the rides.
The sign over the entranceway read, “OKURA CONCERT 2008.” The butterfly flew onwards past a merry-go-round. It soared past a Ferris wheel and a swaying pirate’s ship until it found the Johnnys Theater tent, which was just as shiny and just as bright and just as green.
When the butterfly entered the venue, it flitted from the screen to the side LCD screens. It quickly flew along it, leaving trails of emerald green and the tinkle of bells. After looping around once, it disappeared and the venue turned dark.
Now where was the “butterfly” going to appear next? Would he appear onstage? Would he trick everyone, since the first song was quite obvious by then, and start with a rockin’ drumset solo? Would he pop up in an aisle? The split second of anticipation was rather exciting. Then, his lovely deep voice could be heard.
“Butterfly...♪”
Bright white light revealed Okura being lowered partway from the ceiling, gripping the cord with his free hand. He was wearing a regal looking black and red overcoat trimmed with gold and hints of purple. Red and black feathers engulfed his left shoulder and everything below his knees, except for his feet. There, he wore silver shoes. The back of the coat had the gigantic gold “T” crest. He shimmered oh-so-much with the slightest movement. [sparkle]
“...hikui sora o miagete kimi o...♪” After the biggest dramatic pause ever, face tilted downwards, he cried out, “...sasotta!♪”
Translucent purple butterflies floated on the VTR and brighter ones burst around the circular LCD screens. A bunch of jr.s ran onto the stage and began dancing. Okura, who had paused and hung midair during the first stanza, descended the rest of the way down.
“...nureta iki, mimi moto de...♪”
He landed in the center of CS. After disentangling himself from the cable, he stood and sang with the jr.s dancing around him. He joined in with some of the dancing a bit later on but somehow, it didn’t seem as crisp as usual. Perhaps the coat was difficult to dance in. He mostly remained in one place, slightly moving this way and that as he sang. His singing was less tormented and more sweet and mesmerizing.
“...’Cause I love you baby...♪”
Huh? Wait? What was that added bit of melody? Ah! Kya~! Not only was it “Butterfly I Loved” but ‘Kura-chan was singing the full version! It had been almost two years since he last performed that at SOb. That was it. The show was over. It was perfect. Nothing more was needed. What more could he possible do?! It was only the first song and RoseJeide was already enamored and starry eyed, much to her chagrin.
“Do you agree??” immediately followed. The arena was dark and smoky with random strobe lights cutting through. Two jr.s dressed in the feathered chicken suits from Spirits!! crisscrossed around the front.
It was odd listening to this song while sitting down and not being able to jump around like an idiot. It felt extra odd not having him behind a drumset, his hair flying all over and him deftly twirling his drumsticks between his fingers.
However! Seeing him dance during this song for a change was awesome! His voice during the rap was extra deep and pleasant to the ears. He would raise his fist in the air. Jr.s had returned to the stage and were bouncing around. Everyone remembered to direct their penlights towards Okura during that one line, as always. The voice was not overly distorted. Perfect.
Next were the opening notes to “Tabidachi.” Squee! It was really nostalgic.
“Welcome to Okura Tadayoshi’s solo live! Blahblahblah... Have a rockin’ time to the very end!” he shouted. The Veterans darted into the audience like spider monkeys. Okura meandered over to MS left and then made his way to MS right before returning to the center. There was more dancing done by Okura during this song as well. It felt like he missed a line though...
“Okura Tadayoshi here!”
He turned from section to section and asked, “How you doing?!”
Everyone replied, “Fi~ne!”
Okura then turned cutesy and pouty. While he was talking, he walked over to the entrance in front of MS and removed the shiny black overcoat. Actually, Okura’s outfits throughout the show were a combination of red, black, purple, white or gold. He also wore jeans and T-shirts when he could. Wonder whether he did that on purpose... Haha. Anyway, he was now dressed in the white concert T-shirt and black slacks with a wallet chain along one side.
He drank some tea, area 2/3, and it looked like he was going to chug the entire bottle but he stopped halfway. He went to put the cap back on but then he took another small sip and put the bottle away. He explained that the day before he really had a bathroom emergency. He had to use the restroom really really really badly but had to work his way through it so he had to be careful. It was up to his head? (O.o)
He turned to retrieve his green mic stand. As he talked about the KanJimi3 corner, he dragged the stand in a sluggish manner to the area between MS and CS, 2. It was too adorable. He placed the mic onto the stand. He had on a black wristband, which was probably to keep the flying wire from cutting into it in the beginning.
He introduced the trio medley. He mentioned that the “KanJimi3” didn’t have solos. But they still worked hard and did their best. He stumbled over his words a few times which caused a round of “so cute!” and “aww...” from the audience.
He began singing “Ashita” in a baby-ish voice. Shota usually sung that part so it was a tad higher than normal. Two other jr.s came out to perform with him during the dance part on CS. It was just like in Spirits!! minus the cartwheels. At the very end, the jr. closest to stageright looked like he was facing the wrong way because the other two were facing stageleft. Then, he turned quickly to face the same direction as the other two. Haha.
“Monaco Blue” had Okura dancing with a chair and white roses set up in area 1/2. He had put on a black blazer and a black hat. It had a smooth jazzy feel with darker lighting. The Veterans were dancing around him. They were dressed like businessmen and used suitcases throughout the choreography.
Near the end, a gun was lowered from the ceiling. Okura took it and swung it around, firing off a bunch of shots along the VTR before running off stage to change into his next costume.
“Johnny’s juniors,” a male voice announced. “Here we go!”
The boys’ faces and names would appear on the VTR while they danced a brief solo to upbeat rockish music. At the end off their solos, they would throw some sort of weapon towards the next dancer. The first one chucked a dart at the VTR.
The final guy to appear was on top of MS. Okura let out a wild banshee scream and started “Act Show.” Okura had changed into a white suit with silvery trim and sparkly buttons. The slacks had cargo pockets down both pantlegs. He also wore a white hat with a black stripe around it. His shoes were white as well. White looked nice on him.
Okura walked down the pathway of risen platforms to a midway section of the stage. How did he manage that falsetto part?! It was interesting to see how the same song could be performed differently by three different people. Maru!’s seemed the most clever; Shota’s was more rockish; Okura’s was more pop-ish. The other jr.s were dancing as well. Afterwards, he quickly ran off to hidden place stageleft while mumbling something about it being the next corner and getting messages.
Higashiyama appeared on the screen in front of a garish white wall. He said that he was really pleased that Okura would be performing his “Kowagaranaide, Tenshi.” He added that it was kind of strange that Okura chose this song because he was always nervous around him.
The venue was dark except for twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling. Okura appeared sans hat on the stageleft crane that orbited him around the stage above the audience. Green laser lights beamed all around. Partway through, when the crane was hovering over a central part of the stage, the lasers paused and created two green lines across his bottom. Haha.
The song sounded so familiar from the very beginning and it took a while to pinpoint from where. Higashiyama had sung it at “Change.” He probably sang it during another Playzone as well. It was a pretty song and Okura’s voice fit it quite nicely. At the risk of sounding cheesy, he really did seem kind of angelic singing and floating amongst the twinkling stars... [sparkle] Grease “Beauty School Dropout” Angel, that is. (.^_~) -☆
Koichi was next to appear on screen. He said that Okura reminded him a little of his father. Okura would always laugh at anything. Koichi then imitated Okura’s laughter with a big, “Hahaha!” During SHOCK, everyone would be setting up and then Okura would show up laughing and leave. “Hahaha!” Koichi must have talked a lot because there was a cut in the video before he finished and told Okura to enjoy himself and break a leg.
A piano had been setup on stage, area 1/2, while Koichi was talking. Okura stood in front of it and watched the latter part of the VTR. Then, he took a seat! He was going to play the piano! He plink-plunked out the small section of melody that he’d learned for SHOCK. Sadly he didn’t include the keyboard smash at the end. Instead, he lifted his hands from the keyboard in a very, “That’s it” manner which made everyone laugh.
After switching places with a jr., he introduced the next song, “Here’s a song I sang with Koichi when I was in SHOCK, ‘Tsuioku no ame’.” A single soft spotlight shone on him and the intro started.
“The DVD will be released October 29. Please buy it.”
During the interlude part, scenes from the musical were on the VTR: dancing, piano smashing bit, dancing, war cry. His voice fit this song quite well also.
The third was Matsuoka, err... Kenji. Matsuoka was wearing the white towel around his head and the black rimmed glasses. Over one shoulder was a kendo practice sword. He was trying to be serious and intimidating but he would have to pause to hold back a smile every now and then.
Okura appeared in front of the VTR with a flash of purple. Amethyst purple! The suit was bright purple with purple sequined lining. It was so bright and so sparkly. One corner of the jacket flipped upward in a suave way and caused an extra bright flash of purple. He strutted down to CS.
“...Sex on the beach...”♪
‘Kura-chan was fabulous during this song! Even though he was under the weather and his dancing wasn’t quite as good as usual, it was a great performance. His voice fit this funky smooth song really well too! Partway through, a huge backdrop had been lowered across the center of the stage, hiding the back part. On the sheet was the huge “T” shield logo.
“...just a midnight rose...”♪
A good chunk of the choreography included sassy shoulder shakes and other cool dance moves. There was lots of dancing and different formations. One such formation had Okura in front with the jr.s behind them and moving forward in unison with dark reddish lights all around. Oh! Imagine being seated right in front of that with the big “T” backdrop!
Boom. The song ended and the sheet fell to the ground. MS was brightly lit. The upper MS had a large taiko drum set up. Two professionals were playing smaller taiko drums on both sides. On the lower MS, two other professionals and two jr.s were lined up.
Each of the four professional drummers was given a few beats of solo time. They were lit up one by one and each would add different arm movements or rhythms during their time. They were really enthusiastic and getting into it. They would make a great show themselves!
Okura appeared on the upper MS and took his place at the large taiko drum. He was wearing a red and gold overcoat of sorts. Two poofy white rings took over his shoulder area. With a loud “Hah!” -- less porno sounding than Fukui and Shizuoka but still not quite as awesome as it could’ve been -- he hit the drum once. Then again. He gradually picked up the pace and finished with one loud boom.
After a pause, he hit the drum and pointed towards CS. Water on one side shot upwards into the air. He hit the drum and pointed. Jets of water on the other side shot up. He struck the drum again and again and the water matched his rhythm. The quieter he was, the lower the water; the louder, the higher. The final strike caused all of the water to shoot high up into the air and fall to the stage with a giant splash.
The professional taiko drummers began playing again. Okura strode to a set of four smaller taiko drums, area 3. Grabbing two sticks from the bag hanging near the side, he joined in. The jr.s brought out a bunch of large folding fans and purple paper parasols. They spun and twirled them around. The two folding fans were held behind Okura like a backdrop.
He went to join a chibi jr. on a raised platform, area 1. They stood on both sides of a taiko drum and performed a duet. The chibi jr. was so tiny compared to Okura! The chibi jr. would play a rhythm and Okura would mimic it. Then, they both were playing at the same time. They weren’t exactly in sync but it was cute. For some reason, the look on Okura’s face on the VTR during that session was like a loving big brother. (.^_^)
When finished, Okura took off his overcoat so he was now just in a plain white button down and fashionably torn jeans. He stepped onto the raised platform before him, area 2. The one with the taiko drum lowered and the one with him rose upwards. There, he held a pair of white drumsticks.
He began with a few taps to test out the snare drum before moving on to a simple drumroll or two. Then he started to get fancy and acting like the percussion section leader of a marching band. He incorporated the wrong end of the stick into the drumming patterns.
Next, he changed the way he held the stick with his left hand and started a drumstick juggling act, still keeping the beat. He flipped the stick into the air. When he went to catch it, it slipped through his fingers and landed on the taiko drum behind him. Bong. It fit so perfectly, that it felt choreographed.
Okura quickly turned to look over his shoulder. Then he looked downwards and around, the empty hand still up in the air. He hung his head slightly and let out a small amused sigh. An embarrassed smile on his face, he used the single stick for a semi-dramatic stroke. His face and reaction was too adorable.
Picking a set of brown sticks from the drum bag, he finished up the set along with the taiko drum players. During a brief rest period, the chibi jr. handed him the white drumstick that had fallen. He left the snare drum, the taiko drums still playing, and went to a basket near the edge of CS right.
The stage was rather dark. Okura put a dark knit cap over his hair. Next, he put on a pair of goggles, gloves and a long waist apron. He picked up a canister and walked over to three large cans that had been set up in a row. The music had changed to a pop rock tune. He poured the liquid onto the middle can.
He hit the can a couple of times. Every beat caused droplets of neon green to splatter in the blacklights. Two others joined him. One had yellow and the other pink. The three of them began drumming. Yellow, green and pink splashed upwards in time with the music. The music was catchy and the visuals were neat. They would cross their arm over the other to hit the drum next to them. Paint was flying everywhere.
When this section was finished, everyone applauded extra loudly. Okura returned to the basket right. He was drenched in the paint. It was as though he’d just been hugged by Slimer. He removed the hat, goggles, gloves and apron.
“Thank you,” he said. He sounded a little out of breath. He crouched on his haunches and removed the button down shirt so he was just wearing a black tank top. Picking up a mirror, he started rubbing the paint off of his face with a goods towel. He told the audience to use that time as a chance to fix their make up and such.
‘Kura-chan’s hair was all mussed up and a tuft of hair was sticking up on one side. He tried to get rid of the paint from his hands and shoes. He moaned about how extra paint got on his face that day and how he felt bad about messing up.
“Kuyashii naa... How frustrating...”
He went over to the opening under a raised platform by the snare drum. He asked for someone to hand him his drumsticks.
“I didn’t catch it so let me try this one more time.”
He returned to the snare drum and tried again. Drumroll. Tap. Tap. Tap. Flip... Yea! \(.^_^.)/ He just barely caught it and it looked like he was going to drop it for a second. He slammed both of the sticks downwards in triumph. He was super pleased that he didn’t drop it that time.
As he returned to the mirror and towels, a couple girls shouted out. He offhandedly responded. One of them caused him to call them all idiots. They might’ve told him to strip. Haha. He slipped a white T-shirt over his head. Then he crouched and went back to scrubbing his skin again. He spent a lot of time looking in the mirror and trying to get it clean. He moaned and whined.
More girls called out, “Are you OK?” and “You’re cool!”
“This sucks... this sucks... the paint won’t come off... mou... what should I do? out, damn’d spot! out, i say! someone, come and help me! any volunteers?”
Then, just as he gave up and, hair still messy, sat back to take a sip of tea, a girl shouted out, “Otokomae (you’re handsome)!” After a brief moment, the biggest most bashful grin spread across his face. He tried to hide it by looking downwards. The delayed reaction made it even cuter. ♥
Okura swiped at his shoes for the umpteenth time before leaving the towels in the heap. He must’ve used at least three or four of them. He began “Carnival.” After the intro part, he ran up the aisle between blocks A*B and climbed onto a trolley cart. As he went around, stage techs cleaned up the paint and water.
After making his way partway around the venue, he returned to CS. A peppy sounding song began and everyone was all super excited about it. It took a stanza or two to realize that it was KJ8’s new single, “Musekinin Hero.” (>_<) It was really upbeat and had a very, “Yea! Go team go!” feel to it. The participation dance was really simple. That was always appreciated. The jr.s were in the aisles and ITO was waving in a silly manner.
Okura began the MC and said that Yoko had visited the day before. However, he spoke so much that he ended up taking over the entire MC as though it were a KJ8 MC. Shota also visited. Even though he had to leave early, he called and told Okura that his show was very “Okura-like.”
Okura took a sip of tea and put it near one of the monitors. He said that lots of people helped made the show possible. Only 4 of KanJuu were there for the show and he called them out. They entered and then Okura criticized them for not being enthusiastic enough. ITO asked whether they could try again. All four of them exited and began from the beginning. This included Okura sipping some tea and stating that lots of people helped make the show possible and only the Veterans were there for the show. Haha.
When the Veterans came out a second time, they were super energetic and overly exaggerated. Muro kept jumping around. ITO would raise his fist in the air but that was about it. The entire MC had ‘Kura-chan switching which hip to sit on. He also kept putting the fingers of his free hand into his back pockets and playing with his back belt loops, so...
Oh wait, ITO went out to eat with Yoko the day before and Muro and Bun’ichi played cards all day. Okura kept giving Bun’ichi a hard time. After the Veterans left the stage, Okura went to CS. He sat on his knees near the edge of the raised circular platform.
He started talking about heat rash and how it still hadn’t healed even though summer was over. As he spoke, he slowly started leaning forward as though he was talking to the stage instead of the audience. It was cute! He then introduced the Jr. who would be playing the piano accompaniment.
Okura began singing. The VTR displayed clouds with his own handwritten lyrics. Okura had really pretty handwriting. This version of the song was really nice. The simplicity of him in just a T-shirt and jeans as opposed to a suit, sitting on the edge of a platform, was really really lovely. Being sick also gave his voice a on-the-verge-of-tears tone to it, as well...
He announced that he would start filming his new drama, “Hissatsu Shigotonin 2009” soon. He was nervous about it. He introduced the next corner. He said that it wouldn’t be as good as an 8 Ranger skit but he put a lot of thought into it so he hoped everyone enjoyed it.
Various clips from “Hissatsu Shigotonin” were displayed on the VTR. It included the scene where he, the puppeteer, flicked his wrist for the creepy snake to go forth and kill. The VTR dissolved into a full moon behind some green reeds.
The Veterans and a couple other jr.s came walking towards the stage between blocks E*F. They were dressed in male kimonos and laughing e~vil chuckles. The main evil guy was... ITO. LoL. They reached CS and continued with their macho male party. One went to the fake paper lanterns to light them.
Muro did a backflip. One of the jr.s complimented him. ITO also went to do a backflip for comparison. He got into position but at the last minute just sort of hopped. The same jr. patted him on the shoulder with a “Too bad...”
There was more talking and deep chuckling when suddenly one of them was pulled up and hung by a rope. On MS, a figure dressed in a red kimono with his face covered by a Hannya mask appeared. He ever so slowly removed it to reveal his face.
Placing a pointy weapon horizontally between his lips, he darted into action. There was a huge battle scene with swords and such. As smexy as Okura looked, it was a little difficult to differentiate between the jr.s and their characters so it kind of felt like Genta was killing them all... (O.o)
The very last person to remain was ITO. After a dramatic battle scene, Genta used the puppet snake. It darted around the circular LCD and jumped out to kill its target, ITO. The screen spurted red with blood and then split in two.
Afterwards, the VTR switched to “Utahime.” TOKIO’s “SEI SYuN” began along with clips of Jinguji and James. It was like Okura’s part in “Utahime” in 30 seconds or less. It had clips from when he first arrived all the way to when he parted with Taro.
“Uwa~h!!! Taro-sa~~~~~~~~~~n!” James ran onto the stage in the most horrid wig ever. He was also wearing a red shirt and jeans. He ran this way and that. He was looking for Taro but after spotting Taro’s guitar, he went towards it.
“He’s not here. He won’t mind if I borrow it.” James picked up the guitar. No way~! Okura was going to play the guitar! Kya~! (*^_^*)
He took a seat and began singing, “Ai no katamari.” The lyrics and chords to the song were scrolling by on a monitor located on the floor. Partway through, James messed up on a chord and tried again. He tried again. He continued but flubbed again. He was too adorable about it.
When finished, James looked a tad upset about messing up and asked in the cutest voice ever whether it would be alright to sing another song. Of course it would be. Silly question.
He sang “Ao no jidai.” Again, the chords and lyrics were being displayed on the monitors at his feet. At the end, This song fit his voice as well! OK, maybe every song’ll fit his voice in Okura fans’ minds. KUSUKUSU. Taro had come back so James ran offstage with the guitar still in hand.
TOKIO’s “Amagasa” started and the crowd screamed throughout most of the VTR. Lots of clips were included in the montage but the one of Tsubaki having glittery sparkles around his head quickly trumped the others and was the only one remembered. Oh, his grin was just way too cute and adorable in that single clip.
Hama Bunta walked onto the stage in a suit and sat at one of the two music stands. He announced the evening’s guest. Area 3 tilted upwards to make a curtain for Tsubaki Jun-kun, wearing his school uniform, to enter through. The VTR had an altered logo that read, “Who wants to be a TADAONAIRE?”
After a little chatter and good lucks, they started playing. The same BGM music was used to signify the first question for 100,000 yen.
WHERE IS ODAIBA’S DATE SPOT?
A: Johnnys Theater
B: Atami
C: Asahiyama Zoo
D: My place
“What was D?” Tsubaki asked.
“My place,” Hama Bunta replied.
“What?”
“My place.”
“OK, Johnnys Theater.”
“My place. Final answer?”
“No! A, Johnnys Theater!”
“Final answer?”
“Yes.”
Hama Bunta ever-so-slowly turned towards the camera, a heartbeat thumping in the background. “You are correct!”
Tsubaki looked relieved and decided to continue. Next up was the 1,000,000 yen question.
HOW DOES OKURA TADAYOSHI CONFESS HIS LOVE?
A: Love letter
B: E-mail
C: Phonecall
D: In person ♥
“That’s odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s about me so of course I’ll get it right.”
“But you’re Tsubaki Jun!”
“Oh yeah... haha!” Tsubaki wasn’t sure which answer to pick. “Can I use my 50-50?”
A and B were removed from the list. When Tsubaki chose D, Bunta asked him to act it out otherwise the answer would be wrong. Tsubaki was reluctant. He flatout said that he didn’t want to and after a bunch of prodding, got Bunta to perform instead. Bunta confessed, playing both parts, but the girl gave a negative reaction.
Tsubaki slowly turned towards the camera, with the same heartbeat in the background, and declared, “You are correct!”
Bunta yelled at him. Tsubaki was forced to go next. He stood up and took his place near the edge of CS. Tsubaki approached Yasuko. Okura moved to the side and crouched slightly. Looking upwards with an overly shocked look squeaked, “Huh?!”
He switched back to Tsubaki. “I love you.”
He switched back to Yasuko and crazily flailed her arms around. He squeezed his eyes together and held up his hands, “H-h-hold on a sec... what are you say--”
Okura switched back. Tsubaki leaned forward and wrapped his arms around invisible Yasuko in a tight hug. He then switched to Yasuko being held by invisible Tsubaki. Then he switched back again. After a few lovely words, he leaned forwards and belted out, “Matte~!” ♪
Tsubaki sat back down. The next question was worth 3,000,000 yen.
WHAT DAY IS DECEMBER 25?
A: Christmas
B: Sea Day
C: Mother’s Day
D: Autumn Equinox
Tsubaki was unsure and asked to use his phone lifeline. They called up Kenji. Kenji picked up. He growled. He immediately hung up. They tried again. Kenji stayed on the line this time but still spoke in an intimidating voice and yelled at him. They had edited together a bunch of clips from the drama for the rest of this part. Tsubaki quickly read the question.
“What day is December 25?” Tsubaki asked. “A: Christma--.”
“It’s Yasuko’s birthday,” Kenji interrupted in the clip.
“That’s not an option.’
“Figure it out yourself then!” Kenji then hung up the phone.
Tsubaki whined a bit and then answered Christmas. Bunta slowly turned towards the camera and shouted, “You are correct!”
Next up was the 6,000,000 yen question.
WHAT PRESENT DOES A GIRL WANT?
A: Ring
B: Flowers
C: Bag
D: Evening scenery
Tsubaki was yet again unsure so he tried calling up Kenji once more. Kenji picked up. Tsubaki rattled off the question. The VTR showed a clip of Kenji wading in the water.
“It’s your smile!” Kenji growled, still splashing around in the water. Yes, that was definitely the answer! Definitely! (.^_^) Tsubaki chose D instead and continued onwards to the next question, which was worth 10,000,000 yen.
YOU YOUR YOU YOURS; HE HIS HIM HIS; SHE HER HER HERS; I ME MY ???
A: mys
B: mes
C: mine
D: mai [kanji for “rice”]
Tsubaki once again called up Kenji. Didn’t players usually only get one phone call in the original game? Haha. Kenji picked up. The clip where Kenji was all delirious from a fever and mumbling English was used.
Fully confident with Kenji’s answer, Tsubaki chose C. Bunta slowly turned towards the camera and cried out, “You are correct!”
“Yea!”
“Your prize is...”
“Wait, what?”
Bunta picked up a basket filled with shiny gold shiny. From within, he pulled out a pair of red checkered pajamas. Okura took them and pulled them on over his school uniform.
“How do they look?”
“Great.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, ‘cuz you’re an idol!”
Bunta left the stage and music for “Datte AIDORU damon” started. The jr.s, carrying Ohkuma came onstage. As he sang, images of curry, strawberries and bears flashed around the circular LCD. During one part of the song “L.O.V.E. Okura” was going around.
“I love curry. Morning noon and night. It’s curry. Even if you forbid it, curry! It’s delicious yo~!” ♪
He also sang that he would eat strawberry candy even if it gave him cavities. Partway through, he crawled to the ground and was on his belly. His chin in his hands, he sang in a cutesy voice, “On those lonely nights, mommy kisses me goodnight but I love someone more... Kuma-chan!” ♪
He stood up with Ohkuma held high up in the air. He spent the rest of the song singing and doing Sailor V poses, standing on one hip and then the other, with Ohkuma in one hand. This song was definitely... umm... well... special. It felt a little forced that day but maybe it was absolutely adorable at other shows... The smile though! That was still irresistibly cu~te! (.^_^)
As Okura exited, he clumsily tossed the Ohkuma he’d been dancing with into the audience. It landed in the second row.
The Veterans came out to perform V6’s “Cho” (butterfly, haha). Was this their new song? They often performed V6’s “Cosmic Rescue” last year. One of the other jr.s appeared on CS to perform. He was wearing *that* bellhop outfit.
The emerald butterfly blinked back onto the VTR. A light mystical musicbox melody was in the background. It flew towards a bound scrapbook. When it opened, the butterfly flew amongst the pages.
Inside were pictures of Okura. They included official shop pictures from F.T.O.N. all the way through to the most recent Wahhahha! tour. Baby and childhood pictures were also mixed in. One looked like he was dressed up for the Shichigosan holiday in an itty bitty kimono. It was the most adorable of the bunch. ♥
The butterfly reached the more recent photos, leaving a trail of glittery green. When it got to the last picture, a bajillion girls started screaming as loudly as they possibly could. It might’ve been the loudest all show. What was the reason? The answer was a photo of pouty Ryo. He flashed a devilish grin and the opening notes for “torn” echoed through the dark arena. [Renchan5] let out an earsplitting kya~! next to RoseJeide. (>^_^<)
Okura appeared in the usual red outfit, his shirt untucked and a red hat on his head. He spent most of the song in area 3. Since the song was supposed to be a duet, it felt strange and a tad lonely watching Okura sing it as a solo. Even though RoseJeide only paid attention to Okura whenever it was performed, it still registered that Ryo was onstage as well... especially during the last few stanzas...
However, a PV with Ryo was playing on the VTR. RoseJeide took her eyes away from the real Okura once to glance at it. The *one* time she decided to look and she ended up with an eyeful of someone snaking a hand down his own naked torso. (O.O)
Surprised, if not a little traumatized, she quickly turned away. She kept her eyes glued to dancing, singing, fully clothed Okura. Near the end of the song, red confetti fluttered down around him.
He went CS for “Futari no namida ame.” His green mic stand was on the raised circular platform. Water jetted upwards from the stage around him and lights twinkled. Gosh, even though he was obviously struggling, it was still nice. He didn’t cut the dancing with the mic stand part either. Yea!
“...sora kara nami~ ♪”
Once during the chorus, his voice gave out completely and he had to stop singing. He gripped the mic stand with both of his hands and turned his face away to the right. He was probably kicking himself in his head for messing up again, being the diligent performer he was, but a lot of the girls quickly took over and began singing in his place, to sorta let him know that it was OK until he was able to continue.
He hung his hat on the mic stand and removed his red gloves at the end of the song, dropping them to the floor. The next song in the KJ8 Corner was “Osaka Rainy Blues.” It was the usual rendition.
“One, two... One, two, oo!!”
The circular LCD screens had various street signs and such related to the song flashing and such. He hurried down some steps stageright. It looked like he was exiting but he was actually now on a crane for “Zuccoke Otoko Michi.” Thankfully, he didn’t try to shake his sweaty hair over the audience as it swung him around during the song. (*^_^*) Wait, when did he take the red shirt off?
“Ooo~! So~ya~ so~ya~ so~ya~ so~ya~!!”
He returned to the stage and danced along with the jr.s. The jr.s made a line and one of them ceremoniously came forward to drape a shiny red coat over his shoulders. At the end, they all waved and left the stage.
Okura stepped forward and continued towards CS.
“Thank you,” he nodded his head. He was still wearing the red overcoat. He said a lot in his final address to everyone. “Now, this last song is an answer song for ‘Mamoritai.’ I tried writing it from the female perspective. This would be my ideal. Sah, ‘Saigo no namida.’”
It was a piano based ballad with drums and guitar. Like with “Mamoritai,” it was rather simple. As he sang, the lyrics, written in white, faded in and out on the VTR.
“kanashii toki tachidomatte mo (even when I was wallowing in sadness) ♪
“warattekureta kara mata arukidaseta (you smiled and I could continue forward) ♪
“ureshii toki naitekureta (you shed tears during the happy times) ♪
“yorokobu sugata motto ganbarerunda (your joyful outlook; I could try even harder) ♪”
“deata koto de kawaru (I met you and everything changed) ♪
“ima made nara (up until now) ♪
“hitori de yokatta no ni (it’s fine to be alone I thought) ♪
“futari ga ii kore kara wa sou (but now it appears it’s best together) ♪”
“dakishimete ude no naka (embrace me; hold me in your arms) ♪
“kono namida o tomerareta no wa (these tears will stop spilling just by) ♪
“anata ga yutta kotoba dake (the words that you say) ♪
“itsudatte migata datta (you were forever there on my side) ♪”
“dakishimete kono senaka (embrace me; tight around my back) ♪
“nakigao wa mienakute ii desho (no need to see this tear-stained face) ♪
“futari no ashita ni (I swear, our future’ll be) ♪
“chikaeru kara saigo no namida (together; this is the final tear)... ♪”
The song didn’t have the most original lyrics. However they were romantic. And sweet. They were ‘Kura-chan. They were how Okura thought a girl would respond to a guy who’d just professed his love for her, even though he felt he couldn’t do much else but hold her. ♥
“...dakishimete ude no naka (embrace me; hold me in your arms) ♪
“kono namida o tomerareta no wa (these tears will stop spilling just by) ♪
“anata ga yutta kotoba dake (the words that you say) ♪
“itsudatte migata datta (you were forever there on my side)... ♪”
‘Kura-chan’s voice was still a little husky and hoarse from whatever cold he had caught. It fit the song perfectly. Near the end, his voice became even huskier and cracked slightly; especially during the last stanza. He looked down, his hair wispy around his face.
“...dakishimete kono senaka (embrace me; tight around my back) ♪
“nakigao wa mienakute ii desho (no need to see this tear-stained face) ♪
“futari no ashita o (I want to protect our) ♪
“mamoritai saigo no namida (tomorrow; this is the final tear) ♪”
His drumset had slowly emerged from the opening in front of MS. He turned on his heel and took a seat. It was the first time he sat behind a drumset the entire show which made perfect sense after a little thought. He was always saying that he wanted to dance and dance he did during this show.
As a sheet of water fell from the ceiling fountains around CS, Okura concluded the song with a drum solo. A burst of silver confetti finished it off. He bowed. Everyone was clapping as loudly as they could. Without a single word, he exited; the audience was still clapping.
Fairytale music, now with a sadder, drowsy feel and a hint of “Saigo no namida” to it, played. The butterfly fluttered back through the shiny emerald green amusement park. When it reached the gate, the green “OKURA CONCERT 2008” sign flickered off. The butterfly flew away and the VTR faded back to the shield emblem default.
Everyone was clapping as loudly as they could again. After a while, it turned to chanting.
“Tacchon! Tacchon! Okura! Tada * yoshi! Tatsu! Tatsu!”
Okura came back out wearing jeans and the pink tour T-shirt. He was just way too adorable. He thanked everyone. After a bit of chatter, he told everyone that they needed to help him out with the next song... “ENERUGII!” The jr.s were also dancing and bouncing around.
He followed it up with “Musekinin Hero.”
“1 2 no 3 4, jajajaja~!” Sentai hero pose! (*^_^*) The PV was playing on the VTR but RoseJeide knew she could watch the PV anytime. (.^_^)v Sadly, all that she remembered about Okura’s performance was “So cu~te!!” Oh, and there was some weird hip twist thing in the choreography.
At the end, all of the professional taiko drummers and the jr.s took their curtain calls with some of the audience clapping along to the melody. He thanked them and the staff. Okura then imitated Hina, leaning over with his arm out and everything, and declared, “Props to our precious, precious, precious, precious, precious, precious Eighters!”
Everyone laughed and cheered.
“This was... this was... this was... Okura Tadayoshi!”
He exited but the audience wasn’t about to let him leave yet. Since the curtain call was during the “encore,” it sort of counted as part of the show, right? LoL. After a bit more clapping and chanting, Okura reappeared. He had the goods towel wrapped around his neck and bound with the charm band that came with it.
“Thank you so much!” he greeted everyone. “Morita Go came to the show. He’s the guy I’ve really looked up to. It made me nervous... Thank you everyone for your strength. I’m sorry, today was just one mistake after another even though you paid the same amount as the others...”
He looked a tad weary throughout the entire conversation. It didn’t seem like he was going to have another song. He pulled out some sticks and started tapping on the drums. When some of the audience started clapping along, he immediately quit, smirked and waved his hands around. He shook his head.
“Thank you very much for today!” He turned to leave. The audience would have none of it. He pouted and whined. It was really adorable. Only Okura could get away with it.
“But... but... I can’t talk... My throat...” He hunched his shoulders forward and sighed, “Fine... Here’s my favorite song, ‘Osaka Romanesque.’”
Okura had the audience sing along and sat behind the drums. He finished the song off by playing while everyone else sang for him. At the end, he stood, without his mic, and fiddled with his neck and adjusted his shoulders. He tilted his head back and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Thank you very much!” He bowed. At the exit, his back to the audience, he made the cutest little double peace sign ever. The lights went back up and the female announcer told everyone the show was over. It had been a lovely 2 hours and 40-something minutes with him, but it was now time to leave and bid him farewell... Thank you, Okura Tadayoshi, for the great time!