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Your HKT48 Experiences

Discussion in 'General HKT48 Discussion' started by ithebigc, Jan 1, 2014.

  1. ithebigc

    ithebigc Stage48 Admin Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Location:
    Fukuoka, Japan
    Twitter:
    ithebigc
    Similar to this thread here, Your AKB48 Experiences, I thought that with the new year it would be useful to have a separate story thread for all sister groups since they've long been big enough to have one on their own. There's no need to group all the experiences together into one mega thread anymore and it would be more useful for people looking for specific stories of certain groups. :)

    From now on, please post all HKT48 related experiences (theater shows, HKT48 single handshake events, HKT48 concerts) here! I, as well as other people, are looking forward to reading and responding to all of them!
     
  2. ithebigc

    ithebigc Stage48 Admin Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Location:
    Fukuoka, Japan
    Twitter:
    ithebigc
    Tashima Meru's Seitansai
    HKT48 Kenkyuusei "Nounai Paradise" Theater Show
    January 9, 2014


    Background

    Looks like I'll be the one to kick things off in this thread. :) Never would've expected it to start with that title though :^O^: I basically arrived in Japan three days ago to start my five month study abroad program in Fukuoka. I'd been applying to pretty much every available HKT48 show without any luck, and then I didn't have Internet access at all until now because our school didn't think it was important enough to give us access as soon as possible. Luckily, yesterday I had like 15 minutes to quickly use a computer with Internet after my electronic Japanese placement test and by some miracle there was a email waiting in my inbox with the marvelous words 当選, which means "elected." I couldn't believe it at first and wondered if it was for something else, because I had thought there'd be about a zero chance of being chosen for such a popular show when I had totally lost the other normal shows. But reading the email confirmed it, I had been chosen as one of the few people that could attend Meru's seitansai! [angel]

    To say I was excited would be an understatement. The last theater shows I had been to had been in 2009, Akimoto Sayaka's seitansai and a Team B show which I had to use a 100発98中 ticket to guarantee, and both times I had crap seats :^^;: Recently my love for HKT48 has been growing astoundingly, so to have my first theater show in 5+ years and have it be Meru's birthday show, I really couldn't ask for more. I also went into this theater show pretty much blind - I don't have a DMM subscription, so I've never seen a HKT KKS performance of Nounai Paradise w/ Meru in it (only saw Nako's debut), so I was in for a treat.

    Pre-Show

    As soon as I was finished with my orientation business today (and registering for Internet finally, that's how I'm talking to you all now :D ) I headed out to Hawks Town Mall where the HKT48 theater is. It was like a 25 minute walk and up until then I hadn't really ventured anywhere except the surrounding school area, so even thought it was 2 1/2 hours before the show I didn't want to take any chances. I got directions from some of the students who had been here longer, and off I went! I found Hawks Town Mall easily enough, but because I knew it was in Mall 2, I kept going thinking Mall 2 would be around the corner...nope, that's Yahoo Dome :^^;: So I had to go back. From where I went, there is NOTHING indicating that the HKT48 theater was in the mall.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    The second picture is where I went in, and then finally I saw the sign for Mall 2.

    Walking through some stores, aha! The first sign that this is actually HKT's home.

    [​IMG]
    Aha! Finally the HKT48 Theater!

    [​IMG]
    I went in, told the people at the counter I had an ippan ticket, my winning number, showed my passport, paid 2000 yen and got my ticket. Of course, Meru's birthday committee was there to greet everyone attending the show and hand us the things they had prepared, which included a pamphlet with instructions during the performance with a commemorative bookmark, a glowstick as well as a cute kachuusha (headband) with "Meru" written on it, same as the kenkyuusei wore before. :D Oh, and their birthday committee sweaters were in English for some reason [wonder] Like..."May your brilliance continue forever" or something, I was impressed.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Bought a couple things while waiting. Two calendars, Sakura and Haruppi, for 1260 yen each. They're CD size, very small and totally not worth it, but they came with a photo, so....it can't be helped. Also to my surprise and much happiness they were selling photo albums because I had been dying to find an HKT album to put my Sakura photos in (have AKB and NMB photo albums, just never HKT because they had never released them.

    [​IMG]
    Here's a couple of photos of the photos decorating the wall of the theater. There's also a large screen with like 5 seats in front playing footage from stages as well as two smaller screen attached to the ceiling that play off-shot clips of members as well as show their name afterwards, which I think is a really clever way to introduce people to potential members they might be interested in. I would have taken much more pictures, but the skin on my finger chose that moment to break open from the dryness of the air and the cold so I basically spent the next half hour in the bathroom running it under cold water and applying pressure because I was getting blood on everything. It just would not stop bleeding :nb:

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Soon after, it became time for us to line up by our ticket numbers. I was number 52, meaning I had been the 52nd person to pick up their ticket. Having some number xx2 is good, because for those that don't know how the system works for theater shows, you basically line up in your group. Each group has 10 people, 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, etc. Then, when it actually comes time to enter the area with the actual stage and seats, the staff does a lottery thing, and calls out which groups can proceed into the theater. It's random so that it doesn't just favor the people that get there first. I think the first group was like...2xx. But, the reason having a number ending in xx2 is good is because whenever the group 51-60 is called, I'm basically the second person in that group to enter the theater.

    Oh, and now the ticket process is identical to AKB48 theater's. There are no wristbands that you get when you get your ticket. You present your ID to first get your ticket, then the staff all come around to check your ID/ticket again with their scanners once everyone is lined up in their group. Then they scan the ticket once more when you enter the theater. :^^;: Security, man.

    Anyways, the 50's ended up being called somewhere in the middle. I rushed into the theater, and then immediately realized the downside of not watching any previous LODs of HKT KKS shows with Meru in it - I had no idea what would be a good seat, considering which side she goes on the most. In the end, I just chose the left side facing the stage, right behind some members of Meru's birthday committee. If anyone knows what are good seats for Meru's seitansai, I expect her birthday committee to know. :hehe: The left side hadn't filled up as much because more people were rushing for the seats in the center, but their loss, man. My seat ended being pretty amazing...if we count the rows that surround the part of the stage sticking out with the circle that raises, then I was in the 6th row. If you ignore those, then I was basically in the 2nd row and when any girls went on the part of the stage that stuck out, I was maybe 3-4 meters away :drool: More on that later. You also easily notice how much nicer the HKT48 theater is compared to AKB48's - much more lighting, that center part that sticks out, more roomy, etc.

    The Actual Show

    The show started with the overture in which we yelled "Are you ready?!" all together as written in the instruction pamphlet and then Tomo yo started. Meru was like straight on the other side with her bass :fp: but OMG, Mio was like right there! :drool: As my current favorite kenkyuusei, that was really, really nice. Remember, I had had crap seats for my only other 2 theater performances (the AKB ones) and don't even talk to me about Tokyo Dome where the people were ants, but with my seat, Mio was just like...there, and I could see her in all the real-life HD quality. :nb:

    After that, Nounai Paradise came on and Yuka did her thing where she's the only girl on stage and she's prancing around. Only this time, it was special - on the right side she did that wota cheering/support thing and then on the left, Gouriki Ayame's signature dance (recently made popular by Miichan on Mechaike) :lol: We all had a good laugh out of that. I have to say, this segment is extremely suited for her - I can't imagine anyone else doing it. She's got the sass even though she's 13 and you immediately can't help but notice her.

    Also, I have a pretty good view of the center, so this is when the Meru star power hit me. :blush: I think that's the best way I can put it, because after Yuka's segment and Meru came on my head just followed her everywhere and I stared at her the whole time. Her movements were very exact, and with her sharpness, stuff like the headbob are made more impactful when performed by her. She just kind of outshined everybody, or at least I wasn't paying attention to anyone else :^^;: I don't remember what happened in Ki in naru Tenkousei, but eh, I was probably just watching Meru again - it is her seitansai. :inlove:

    MC time came, and while Meru was introducing the topic, Mio butts in and says "Oh yeah, speaking of that, we're going to make today's topic 'What do we like about Meru!'" They were speaking too fast/difficult for my level of Japanese for me to remember which girl said what, but some of the highlights, if I'm remember correctly:
    - "Meru's really kind. When I was just starting out and had no friends, she would come over and try to talk to me. She really saved me at that time."
    - Yuka: "I can give Meru all the things I don't want to eat and she'll eat all of it!" Everyone laughed out loud at this :lol:
    - Mio: "Actually, I have too much to say."
    - "Meru even smiles during practice. Most of us are just looking at the mirror and concentrating on the movements, but Meru always stares at herself in the mirror while making smiley faces." The girl that said this then mimed Meru, and we all had a good laugh out of that because it looked so silly, and imaging Meru doing that all the time was hilarious.
    - I think like half the responses involved food of some sort. I had no idea Meru ate that much.

    After that was Meru's unit song, Nakinagara Hohoende, so we all broke out the white glowsticks provided to us. Sadly, the lighting for this song is dark and made it a bit hard to see Meru, but she looked great in the winter clothes.

    In MARIA, Maichan was primarily on the other side of the stage. Damn it. But oh well, you win some you lose some. Kimi wa Pegasus is such a good song, I'd listen to it anytime.

    Hone Hone Waltz was Mio! And since they get on the circular part of the stage that rises up for this song, she was soooooooo close. 3-4 meters is not that much, so even though I think the song is really bad and I don't care for it at all, Mio made it all ok.

    Kurukurpaa, the leek broke mid-performance, lol. Also, I was totally watching Yuka the whole time. Besides Meru, I would have to give the 2nd MVP prize to Yuka during the whole stage - she's just really, really good as an entertainer. She makes you want to watch her.

    MC2 - "Oh yeah, I brought something for today's MC."
    Crowd: "Ehhhhhhhh?"
    "Meru's bag, actually. Let's dig through it!"
    Crowd: "Yessssssssss" :twisted:
    "As expected, there's like a ton of snacks in here."
    They found a bottle of water, and dismissed it, but Yuka's all like "But what if it's not water? Dun dun dun!" All the other members were like "Hey, if it's not water, that's bad!" (Vodka? :awesome: ) So they told Yuka to drink some, and it was water. But then Yuka said she got an indirect kiss from Meru, so that's good for her [hehe]
    Only other thing was the book she's been posting about on G+ (https://plus.google.com/101107068827865810697/posts/RdiJegFrgAV).

    I don't remember anything specific about Christmas ga Ippai or Theater Pirates, but we broke out blue glowsticks for Kataomoi no Sotsugyoushiki.

    Time for the encore. All of us donned our Meru kachuusha, which is quite the sight to see because we're all adults, mostly male, all wearing headbands :rofl: "Meru-chan!" was our encore, I yelled myself hoarse.

    Then, the highlights of the show, Hana to Chire! and the medley with Virgin love, Cinderella wa Damesarenai and Korogaru ishi ni nare, because I personally think this is the type of dances where Meru truly lies. I mentioned before that Meru's exact in her dance movements, she's more technical, like Jurina. So doing the dances for these fierce songs, compared to happy or cute songs, with sharper or more impactful movements is where Meru can bring her best. Coupled with her expression, all the songs have an extra oomph.

    Anyways, MC, "Chotto matte!," bring out the cake, and they can't get the candles lit because the air con was too strong. Mio was the one who wrote the letter to Meru, and she was basically talking about how Meru has always been at her side, ever since the auditions and how the person Mio is right now is really thanks to Meru. Nothing too deep, but you can tell that Mio really loves Meru and looks up to her as a friend. Then, Mio has another present for her in those boxes where you have to reach your hand in but you don't know what it is, like on AKBINGO! The girls all looked on the other side and were messing with her by acting surprised and screaming, so the crowd joined in and started yelling "Don't put your hand in! It's dangerous!" :hehe: Anyways, it was some brown...thing and a pack of instant noodles? [wonder] Or...some other snack. Anyways, apparently Meru did a CM for it, so it was a pack of whatever the hell she did a CM for recently.

    And then, Mio has ANOTHER present for Meru [hehe] Some girl was like "Huh, Mio, you're really serious about this, huh..." She tells Meru it's backstage, so Meru goes to get it and Mio's all like "Hey, no, you're going the wrong way, to the right." :lol: Mio's really grown more confident, or maybe just because she's around Meru. It's a plastic bat! For some other reason I didn't catch :fear: Meru excitedly goes to hit Mio with it immediately :omg: But apparently it's purpose is to hit Tani Marika and Yamada Marina. Marina was like "Wait, wait, I can understand Marika, but why the heck are you supposed to hit me? T_T" Anyways, Meru practices her swing and Marina gets ready to be hit, but Meru glomps her from behind instead, inspiring an "Awwwwwww" from the crowd. Then it's Marika's turn, and while she says "I trust you, Meru!" implying she wants a hug too, only for her to be hit. :hehe: And the crowd calls for Rikopi to be hit too :^^;: So Meru does, while the girls tell Rikopi to be hit "sexily." But when she falls, they're all "Hey, that's not sexy at all." Meru has a birthday speech and you can tell she really rehearsed it thoroughly because it's long as hell and she goes through it at a breakneak pace..

    They do Wink wa Sankai, which is a real treat because I can't get the song out of my head, but also because it's Meru center. I'd only seen Nako perform it before for Music Japan and then for her debut KKS show, which was of course also Nako center. I don't think Meru's version is necessarily better, but it presents a different shade of the song; Nako is still super shy and hesitant so that's her own flavor, and here comes pro Meru.

    At the end, Meru took pictures with the audience and already posted them here: https://plus.google.com/101107068827865 ... NJKNDceqJ2. By sheer bad luck, either Meru's blocking me or I'm out of the frame because I can't find myself :nothappy:

    After the Show

    To my surprise, they have a high touch session with all the members after the show! :omfg: This was not a thing back in 2009, but I get to high five all the members, which had me more hyped because you know, when you're high fiving someone they're like a feet away, if that <3 First is Yuka with Meru at the end. It was such a blur @_@ The beginning was fine, but after like the third member the staff is just pushing you hard. Some girl even grabbed my hand instead of high touching and I have no idea who the hell it was because I had already been pushed to the next girl! [sweat] Well, I came to Meru and she was still turning to the person in front of me who probably said something interesting :cry: Of course, the staff was pushing me but I hadn't high touched Meru yet! Because the staff was already pushing (stupid guy in front taking up my time) I hastily said "Happy 14th Birthday Meru!" in English but by then the next person was there so I don't even know if she heard :cry: But eh, high touched all the present members (Yuka, Maichan, Mio, Meru), so I can't really complain.

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Conclusion

    I think you can tell by the length of this post I was just really satisfied with this show. It's been a long time coming, and this is perhaps one of the best things I've experienced as a fan. I have a newfound interest for Yuka because she's so good on stage, I got to see Mio upclose, and I'm warming up to Meru's personality and if nothing else, I can say she's a wonderful performer. That star power is there and I finally see some of what AkiP was thinking.

    You always see the people who go to theater shows emphasize their importance, and I wholeheartedly agree. These groups are "idols you can meet" and this sort of performance, where you can just see them so closely, is more personable in ways that concerts simply cannot complete. Yes, there's not the grandeur, special announcements or large scale performances, but compared to Tokyo Dome where I'm basically staring at screens, I'd take this experience anyday. The seat I had was truly golden; my section was active and knew the mixes, and Meru and Mio were frequently on the left side of the stage or the center and I had an unobstructed view, so it was smart to sit behind some of the birthday committee members. I wrote I couldn't believe that my first show would be Meru's birthday show, but I'm so, so glad it was - seeing such a high caliber show, it finally hits me: I'm in Fukuoka now, home of HKT48.

    [​IMG]
    God, I took like 6 hours to write this, WTF. I'm never writing such a long review again, unless I'm winning Sakura's birthday
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Sakura

    Sakura Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2012
    Location:
    Fukuoka
    Oshimen:
    murashigeanna
    Twitter:
    SakuraMurashige
    Wow that's so lucky of you. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for all the pictures too. Do you feel like you stood out as a foreigner? I'm planning on going to Fukuoka in May, but I'm not sure I could work up the courage to go to a performance lol.
     
  4. hjr1891

    hjr1891 Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2013
    Location:
    Anywhere, Everywhere
    Oshimen:
    IxR
    Nice write up, @ithebigc! :) I really enjoyed reading this account. Glad to hear you had a great time and an awesome seat. Here's hoping you get atleast one more show in during you stay. I still need to see the LOD. Mioten in Honehone Waltz. :inlove: :inlove: :cute:

    Man, you have no idea how jealous this makes me. [envy] [envy] It ain't even funny.
     
  5. wotarubsakb

    wotarubsakb Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2013
    Location:
    Australia
    Oshimen:
    yamamotosayaka
    Twitter:
    lepetitechiot
    wow thanks for the write up ithebigc I thoroughly enjoyed it. Personally I didn't really have an interest in Meru, I don't see what's so special about her, but after reading your experience I think I'll go check out her seitansai LOD [hehe]
    But seriously, you are so lucky to see them up close :drool:
     
  6. gocchisama

    gocchisama Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2012
    Location:
    Paris,France
    Oshimen:
    hirateyurina
    Twitter:
    Gocchisama
    your post made me realize i have to accept that Akiyoshi yuka has an effect on me too. Lol.

    HKT is the real deal!
     
  7. cubozoa

    cubozoa Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    suzumotomiyu
    Twitter:
    Cubozoa48
    Great read! [clap]

    Very interesting report and it makes me even more sad though that I'm so far away fron Japan and w/o the financial support to go there anytime soon *student* :(

    Nice to see Akiyoshi getting more and more acknowledged [hehe]
    Akiyoshi went sky-high in my oshimen-list ever since I watched the first LOD with her + her glorious MVP appearances on Odekake.

    in fact she did it before, first time has been at HKT KKS stage on Christmas Day. I posted a gif-set of it a while ago on Tumblr.

    I fully agree she's the perfect fit (or even the only proper choice; like when Shino did it it was dull) for the short interlude. ^^
     
  8. ithebigc

    ithebigc Stage48 Admin Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Location:
    Fukuoka, Japan
    Twitter:
    ithebigc
    For better or worse, I'm Asian so I completely blended into the crowd [think] A girl even asked me in Japanese how to operate the coin lockers, minutes after I had asked someone else for help with them [hehe] Honestly, as long as you follow the rules you'll be perfectly fine because there's minimal human interaction needed to see a show, especially if you know enough Japanese to understand the essentials. Walk into the theater, give them your winning number and type (enpou, ippan, etc.) and your ID, line up in your group when the time comes, let them check your ID/ticket when they come to you again, and then follow your line into the theater when it's called, presenting your ticket one last time and then simply enjoy the show. If you're here in May, hit me up! (Assuming it's not one of the days I'm elsewhere)

    You'll have your chance someday too! I say that after struggling and trying to study abroad for 5 years [shake] The reason I wanted to share this experience is because I hope more people can visit HKT48's Theater someday and then share their adventure here. I know Fukuoka is very out of the way compared to Tokyo or Osaka, but if you can win a show there, it's so worth it to make a trip down here.

    No, I agree with you :D I don't think she's quite on the level that AkiP hyped her up to be (well, that's also subjective, because the main thing I look at for idols is personality and I don't know enough about Meru yet. Other people may have different aspects they care about, such as singing, dancing, looks, etc.) but I did start to gain an understanding of why she's popular and why she got picked as a center after this show. I really enjoyed watching her perform, so now I'm more interested in finding out about her personality and will probably actively pay attention to her, much more so than before.

    If you're in college, it's worth seeing if your school has a study abroad option in Japan. If they do, oftentimes you're only paying the same tuition as your school or even less; school in Japan is not actually that expensive at least compared to where I'm from, so it's actually cheaper for me to study in Japan than study in the US :^^;: As long as your school can transfer credits, see if that is possible for you.

    And thanks for the correction! I had never watched that LOD so I had no idea she had done the dance before, but yeah, Yuka is such a standout idol on stage. Whether people have another oshimen in HKT or not, I think you can't help but pay attention to her when you see her live.
     
  9. JoshTan

    JoshTan Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2013
    Oshimen:
    miyawakisakura
    @ithebigc

    Thanks for sharing your experience. It was definitely a good read for me. Hope I could go to Fukuoka someday... [notme]
     
  10. Shinkansen

    Shinkansen Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2013
    Oshimen:
    uekinao
    I feel so happy just by reading your post.

    okay now I decided to put "going to HKT theater" as one of my dream.
    and I am going to try my best to make it come true :inlove:
     
  11. ithebigc

    ithebigc Stage48 Admin Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Location:
    Fukuoka, Japan
    Twitter:
    ithebigc
    Kyushu 7 Prefecture Tour - Oita Night Show/Shuffle, Theater Viewing
    January 11, 2014

    Pre-Show

    Thanks to DreamingPebbles and SnipaKill mentioning that they were offering livestreaming of the Oita show nationwide at theaters, I decided to go for it versus going all the way to Oita. The first problem that I encountered, however, is that Pia, the ticketing system designated for reserving a ticket to this event, would not accept foreign credit cards. At first I thought it was just my bank blocking the transaction, but after calling them, nope, it was the merchant side. Well, luckily I googled the names of the available theaters in Fukuoka Prefecture and found that the closest one to me, Toho Cinemas in Tenjin (the shopping area that the HKT members frequently mention in their G+ posts) was selling tickets directly. What's more wonderful was that their order system was bilingual, having Japanese and English ever step of the way and it didn't have any fees. Not only was it cheaper, it was easier. So, fuck you Pia [flip] And +1 for Toho Cinemas.

    After asking some Japanese students at my school for some help finding my way to the theater, I still wandered lost into Tenjin. Unlike Hawks Town Mall, this was what I was used to, the hustle and bustle of a Japanese city. Since Tenjin is a central shopping area, for all intents and purposes it looked like a part of Tokyo. Using some landmarks that the students had told me to look out for, I found the theater surprisingly without too much difficulty and ended up being like 45 minutes early to the show :^^;: This was my first time in a Japanese movie theater, so I took some pictures showing what it looked like as well as the title card for the tour.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    A few differences from American theaters: for one, they do not let you go into the theater until like 30 min before the show. The food/drinks were also cheaper, and you're free to walk around inside the place without a ticket really. They only check it once you walk into the screening itself. Finally, the seats are reserved.

    Anyways, I was soon let in and the wait continued. Here's how the screen/inside looked like.

    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    To my surprise, the set I had gotten, K-10, was near the FRONT instead of the back. Normally, I expect A to be in the front, but nope, they started A from the back. A little shock for me, because my neck kind of hurt by the end of the show.

    For obvious reasons, I couldn't take any pictures after the concert actually started.

    The Concert

    I'm only going to talk about the parts where I actually remember something or something of note happened, so some songs will be skipped here!

    M01. The Peace - They opened with this song, and I had no idea where it came from. Still don't, actually. :^^;: Or even why. The outfits were kind of cool (sailor like? Long white pants) but as for the song itself, eh...

    M02. Suifu wa Arashi ni Yume wo Miru - Ok, now THIS song in those sailor outfits was cool. B3 was so long ago (when I first got into the fandom!) so seeing it here like this was a treat.

    M03. Hatsukoi Butterfly - I enjoyed the Haruppi center :lol: When the opening music started playing, Haruppi was still in the center from the previous song so she jumped directly into the song. I was expecting Meru, so this Team H version was also a pleasant surprise.

    M04. Wink wa Sankai - At the end of Hatsukoi Butterfly, the middle of the set on the stage opened up and Nako came out! :blush: Sasshi glomped Nako in the middle of the choreography until Nako fell over :D

    MC1 - I actually don't remember what the heck was talked about here ._. All I know was that Sakura was left in charge. Sasshi actually messed up a little bit, saying "All right, I'm leaving it all to you, Nao! (Ueki Nao) Oh wait, that's wrong, I think this was supposed to be Sakura."

    M07. Soredemo Sukidayo - I still think Sasshi is one of the worst singers in the group. This was done live, and she wasn't hitting the right notes for the most part. In the middle of the song, she also stopped to say "Oh wait, I actually sang that wrong" after she messed up the lyrics. :rofl: The effect on the screen was cool though - it made it look like the screen was looking inside another screen inside another, etc, so there was like infinite Sasshi's.

    M08 - Pedicure day - I don't follow no3b so I didn't have any idea what song this was :XD: Meru and Tani Marika looked great here though, and Meru really is pretty tall :wtf:

    M09 - Seifuku no Bambi - HNNNNNNNGH. Cuteness overload :blush: It was just Haruppi at first and then the two children (Nako, Mikurin) appeared beside her. Seriously looked like an older sister babysitting her two younger siblings. Too cute, need to see again.

    M10 - Valentine Kiss - Anddddd the cuteness doesn't let up. When the intro started, I was all "Oh shit, Warota song?" And then Mio was in the center! :^O^: Perfect song for her, really. Everyone was all "Jo's smile will save the world" (referring to Jo Eriko some time ago) but I would like to correct that to "Mio's smile will save the world." It makes you happy seeing it.

    M11 - Nageki no Figure - This was probably my favorite song from A2, so seeing Sakura and Madoka here got me really excited. Sad to say though, it was somewhat lacking compared to the one performed at Rinji Soukai with Mayuyu, Rena, Meru and Mio. Mayuyu will forever remain the queen of this song because I haven't seen anyone do the cyborg/figure/lifeless movements as well as she does, and last time Meru and Mio were no slouches in this department either. I don't think the 4 HKT members that performed the song here did it as proficiently; there was too much "human/life" in their movements.

    M12 - First Love - Yuka! After seeing her surprisingly amazing singing skils in Odekake!, I was expecting a lot out of this. It was indeed live singing and although you could tell some parts which didn't hit the right notes, I thought she still did a fair job. I hope they keep it live on the Blu-ray.

    M13 - Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou - Oh, now this song was so cool. I mean, at first it looked kind of funny considering the kenkyuusei are kind of small and the seifuku were all oversized for them, but there is a part where the lights are turned down so low that you can barely see anything. Then all the members put on pink gloves and during a remix of some of the music, they do like this visual show using only their gloves, in sync. Because their gloves are pretty much all you can see, the effect was really a sight to see.

    MC2 - Haruppi lead this one, basically asking the other members what they felt about their unit songs. Meru was first, saying that she thought the outfit for Pedicure day made her look more adult-like, which was true with those tall heels. They also talked about this one part in Pedicure day where they are required to hit really high notes and Haruppi was all like "Sakura, you should try it!" :hehe: Because we all know from Odekake that Sakura is the best at singing, right? [hehe] Sakura immediately was "Nope, nope, no way." Mio talked about how she blew a kiss to everyone in the audience, Sakura and Madoka talked about how difficult the dance from Nageki no Figure is. By the way, while this was all going on Sakura and Haruppi looked gorgeous in their black dresses from Namida Uri no Shoujo.

    Afterwards, the talk switched to yankees and Rabutan appeared in her outfit from Majisuka followed by Sasshi. Ah, this really was nostalgic...Sasshi was like "Ah, I wonder how Team Hormone is doing in Tokyo. Oh wait, I think the only left there is Unagi (Rie)" which got a good laugh out of everyone. How time has passed...I was just hoping they'd announce a Majisuka Gakuen 4 starring HKT48 the whole time :fear:

    M13/M14. Show fight!/HA! - As fun as it was to see these two songs performed because I certainly wasn't expecting it and I love seeing Show fight! live, I thought the songs didn't have as much impact as the originals. HA! really needs those NMB48 outfits to make it stand out. [think]

    MC3 - Oh my God, if Seifuku no Bambi was cute, this was on a whole other level. They had Nako and two other 3rd gens stand in front of Oita Station beforehand and ask people questions related to Sasshi, like "Do you know who this is?" and some people wrote messages to Sasshi too, and the MC consisted of them showing off pictures from that trip. The thing is, because all three were in their everyday clothes and not idol clothes, they looked even more like children than usual. Especially Misaki, whose face just looks childish in general. I just imagined like these 3 randomly going up to people looking super tiny and asking them questions and laughed. Anyways, after a certain point the 3 had just started taking pictures of themselves such as them peeking out from behind pillars (totally ignoring their mission) and Sasshi was like, "Wait, what the hell is this, gravure?" :rofl:

    M19 - Te wo Tsuninagara - Probably my favorite SKE song, so seeing Team H performing this? Even more amazing.

    M21 - Dakishimecha ikenai - The girls threw plastic balls they had signed into the crowd. The first moment I was extremely jealous I wasn't in Oita. Then Meru + Mio decided to fish the crowd even more so Meru kissed the ball before she threw it and Mio followed suit. :nb:

    M24 - AKB48 Group Medley - This was really, really well done. Hearing all those songs from long ago and some songs I wasn't expecting at all really brought me good memories. I mean, seriously, when's the last time I heard Chuu Shiyouze! from the AKB/Idoling!!! collaboration? The transitions were quick and certain girls performed each song, not the full group so the songs could keep changing. I think Haruppi and Meru were in the same group and centered a lot of them.

    When Madoka came on with the piano for Kimi no Na wa Kibou , I was ecstatic. The song is one of my favorites across all groups for 2013 (and my absolute favorite Nogizaka46 song), and they brought out the big hitters for it to accompany Madoka, including Sakura, Haruppi and Meru if I remember correctly. It was live too, or at least Madoka's part was as she was singing while playing the piano. This is exactly the kind of highlight that Madoka needs; she's still too bad at MCs, so I hope this sort of thing can bring her more fans. And then her original intro to Ponytail to Shushu (it was original, I had no idea what she was playing for a minute until it kicked into the normal beginning) was great as well.

    The Shuffle

    Well, I was expecting some announcements, and I was right because the lights dimmed and then "Dun dun dun!" (a sound effect) played and Sasshi appeared at the top dressed in a suit of sorts. All the girls were like "Ehhhhh, Sasshi?!" because somehow she had slipped away during the last song. She wasted no time, announcing a "class change" and I was immediately "Wait, what? Class change? That sounds like a shuffle, not just promotion..." Anyways, Sasshi told the girls to stand forward in the center when their names were called.

    She announced the two captains first, Rabutan first for Team KIV. She was surprised, but I think she looked quite happy. I hope she can do a good job with it. Anai Chihiro was then announced for Team H. And then the rest of the announcements started and my fears were confirmed, because a 1st gen member was moved to KIV right off the bat. By now, most of the girls were in some state of tearing up/crying. Sakura was called like....3rd, or 4th, and she didn't even step up immediately. Sasshi had to say "Huh? Is she not here?" to which Sakura was like "Wait, I'm here!"

    If she looked hesitant before, as "Miyawaki Sakura...KIV" was announced she broke down and the theater was all "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh?!" Rabutan tried her best to comfort her, but I don't know how much good it did. When Madoka was announced to be KIV too, they hugged each other hard. I didn't even think they were super close, but that 1st gen relationship...She also hugged Maichan when she was promoted to Team KIV too. The announcements proceeded quickly with Meru getting promoted to Team H being the next "big" announcement, so to speak. She didn't seem overly happy or sad, so I guess it was mixed for her considering some of her generation was moved to KIV.

    Oh, I should mention that at this time I wanted to go over and tell some high school punks in the theater to STFU because every time some girl they didn't like was told to stand in the center, they kept yelling "Graduate! Graduate!" I hope they wouldn't be this rude if they were at the actual venue and could hear them, because seriously?

    By the time Murashige was called, I was actively chanting "KIV! KIV!" if just so Sakura could still have one of her best friends in there. Luckily, she was, and they immediately hugged for a long, long time. Mio was then announced for KIV, and then I think this time it hit everyone - if Mio was KIV, they couldn't very well put Haruppi in KIV too because that would be 3/4 of HKT's top in the same team. Mio and Meru just looked at each other from across the stage... And finally, being one of the last ones, yup, Haruppi was announced for Team H and Sakura cried even harder, same as Haruppi.

    The announcements finished with Sasshi revealing she'd stay in H and her telling the kenkyuusei that were not promoted something something about taking this chance to improve/reflect, not give up, etc. Some general statements that I wasn't really paying attention to because my mind was reeling.

    Hikkoushimashita was about to start, and as soon as they could move out from the H and KIV sides of the stage, Haruppi and Sakura just ran to each other as fast as they could and cried together. Hikkoushimashita was live, so as people launched into their solo lines you could hear everyone's shaky/crying voices. It's perhaps for the best that neither Haruppi nor Sakura had solo lines in this song, because they just stood in the center crying for quite a while. I don't remember how many times Sakura was wiping her face on her towel. Mio looked fine at first, but because the girls standing behind her were crying, she started crying halfway through the song too. Sasshi, meanwhile, was comforting those that didn't get promoted.

    Well, that's that. By the time Melon Juice started I think most of the girls had recovered their composure, and Sakura was the shadow announcer at the end of the concert. She sounded happy enough, but she was saying "a lot of things happened" and closed it with "This was Team KIV's Miyawaki Sakura!"

    Conclusion

    The concert itself was great. I mentioned in my previous experience that the reason theater performances were such a wonderful thing because the girls are so close. On the other hand, concerts can be more exciting because the setlist is unknown and there are so many shuffles, which makes everything fun. I thought the choice of songs was spectacular.

    This is my first time going to a theater to watch a live streaming, and the experience was also mostly good, I think. Not as good as the actual venue because like only several people were doing the mixes and had glowsticks in the theater because it's a bit awkward to chant/wave glowsticks when the girls are not actually there, so some of of the atmosphere is lost. But at the same time, I don't know what cameras they used, but that Sony Livespire technology is amazing because this live was crystal clear. I'm used to the normal 720p streams that AKS provides on Youtube stuttering, so this was possibly 4k resolution and was still amazing looking on such a big screen. I was in the 5th row, so very up close too.

    As for the shuffle, eh...I'm not against it, per say, but the fact that Sakura was crying so, so hard made me unhappy about it because I was very much sympathizing with her. I never want her to be so broken up. While I get the reasoning behind it (rebalancing) I also don't think the teams would have been unbalanced if they just straight promoted the KKS to Team KIV. We don't have a situation like SKE and NMB; because HKT promoted its KKS so heavily right from the start, they had their own set of stars. Meru and Mio, of course, but people like Yuka, Tani and Maichan could hold their own. So was a shuffle really necessary? I don't think so. I'm sure the girls will be perfectly fine even separated like this and they will adapt, but even so, I don't like the initial grief it caused.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. hjr1891

    hjr1891 Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2013
    Location:
    Anywhere, Everywhere
    Oshimen:
    IxR
    Yo, @ithebigc! I had thought you weren't gonna do another jumbo write-up. [hehe] Let me tell you right now. I am super glad you did! [clap] [clap] [​IMG]

    By the way, ever thought about going into PR/Marketing? Cause if I wasn't already sold on buying this tour if it ever comes on video, you would have just sold it to me. :p

    Need to see Seifuku no Bambi agian? I need to see it a first time before I can see it again. :^^;: And that First Love with Akiyoshi. Yeah I need to see it be for I believe it! :wtf: Blu-Ray ASAP, management!

    I won't comment on the shuffle cause I will just start crying thinking of Haruppi and Sakuratan :cry: :cry: , and all the girls really. I AM very happy for Aichan, however, and wish her the best of luck as Captain.

    Thanks again @ithebigc! [hi5] [hi5]
     
  13. gocchisama

    gocchisama Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2012
    Location:
    Paris,France
    Oshimen:
    hirateyurina
    Twitter:
    Gocchisama
    It's a very famous Morning musume song. I'm 100% it was Sasshi decision because she was an H!P fan. Thumbs up for her making negotiation to get the right to do the song, that was really unexpected and original!


    And yeah 4K live concert...i'm so happy having 1080p blu ray on my screen, but 4K in a Movie Theater? That must be...outstanding!

    Thanks again for the report ithebigc!
     
  14. odagiri_juno

    odagiri_juno Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2012
    Location:
    West Java
    Oshimen:
    tanoyuka
    Twitter:
    bizarre_juno
    wut they even wore the same tailor outfit?somehow amazing and weird at the same time since this is 48group concert,well if sasshi could cover matsuura aya's song(iirc) i guess aint impossible for her to pull something like this..
    aghh..wish i was there to see how amazing hkt ver of The☆Peace!,i wonder whose get ishikawa rika solo part and how they perform the bit comical dance at the end of the song part..
    man that bring back memories, Renai Revolution21-The☆Peace!-Mr.Moonlight-Souda!We're alive was the golden moment of momusu for me. W kagoXtsuji was still so pure and freaking cute while yoshi super cute+beautiful and funny.. [hehe]
    jo's smile still the one that will save the world!!but i agree,mio's angelic smile also on par with jo.. [nod]
    here i am,still waiting for jo and mio to perform together and save the world.. [angel]
    at last my darkgloomyrepetitive world.. :p
     
  15. Blue Sweater

    Blue Sweater Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2009
    Oshimen:
    satoamina
    ithebigc, So awesome to read all of your long report. I seriously need to book some time and make myself out there for a theatre or concert trip!

    How full was the theatre that you watched the concert from? Setlist sounds pretty great with songs such as The Peace and Chuu Shiyouze in the mix:) Will they keep the same setlist across concerts?
     
  16. SunnySK42

    SunnySK42 Kenkyuusei Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Location:
    USA
    Oshimen:
    otakiyuria
    Twitter:
    sunnyside_42
    Thanks ithebigc, your experiences have been so interesting to read. I actually live within a couple hours of Fukuoka and have been meaning to apply to see an HKT show for a long time but haven't for whatever reason. After reading about it I really want to go, so I'll definitely apply now. Fukuoka's such an awesome city, I really hope you enjoy your time abroad there. By the way, if you're going to the handshake event next month, I'll probably be there- it's so nice that even though it's pretty far from Tokyo, they have events like that. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write this out!

    As for the concert, as a fan of golden era Morning Musume, I also want to see The Peace- it has an interesting arrangement so I'm looking forward to seeing who gets which lines. I'm sure Valentine Kiss will be good too- Mio is so adorable. The Majisuka MC sounds interesting as well. For the part about Oita Station, I would be really surprised if people there didn't know Sasshi- there are literally hundreds of posters of her face in and around the station. Like, they have them one next to the other lining the walkways that go under an intersection right nearby. It's actually kind of creepy.
     
  17. xunique

    xunique Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2012
    i heard theres special seats for tourists ?
    How do you go and get the tickets ?
    I may be going Hakata IF i can afford . :cute:
     
  18. ithebigc

    ithebigc Stage48 Admin Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2008
    Location:
    Fukuoka, Japan
    Twitter:
    ithebigc
    Yes, I still have to write up my experiences regarding the Kagoshima leg of the Kyushu 7 Prefecture Tour :^^;: I've been delayed with watching Request Hour/Unit Matsuri in the theaters 5 days straight and participating in my first ever HKT48 photo buying/trading events during the weekend, and counting votes for the Stage48 2013 Member Ranking (still counting, actually), but I'll need to write it before I forget everything so it will go up most likely sometime this week. If you haven't sent in your votes yet for the forum-wide member ranking, please support your favorite HKT members and do so! See the link in my signature.

    Not that full really, but I think that has more to do with the fact that Oita is kind of close to Fukuoka so that people that wanted to/could afford to go actually went to the venue. These concerts aren't too hard to win tickets for, actually. They do look like they're keeping mostly the same setlist across the whole tour, with the exception of units. However, even among the units they're just recycled across different days so once you've seen a couple you've really seen it all. I'm hoping they do SOMETHING to distinguish their Fukuoka concert though!

    I'm really glad to hear that! If from reading my experiences people like you are more encouraged to come out to the Fukuoka and see the girls, then I consider it mission accomplished. If you're ever in the area, please hit me up through PM and perhaps we could grab lunch/dinner together somewhere.

    Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be going to the national handshake event because I gave all my tickets from Sayonara Crawl and Koisuru Fortune Cookie to a friend of mine, not knowing the national theater events were going to be continuing so long after the single came out. The only national handshake tickets I have left are from Heart Ereki and they're not accepting those for the Fukuoka location :cry:

    Also, thanks for the interesting tidbit about Oita Station. If they ever have another concert there while I'm still in Japan, I kind of want to make the trip out there just to take pictures :lol:

    Kind of. There are enpou (遠方) seats, but you're not guaranteed a chance to win them either because so many people apply for them. To learn how to apply to theater shows, please see here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2765. Everything is controlled through the AKB48 Group Ticket Center now.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. xunique

    xunique Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 10, 2012
    haha . thanks man ! super enpou seats so cool
     
  20. SunnySK42

    SunnySK42 Kenkyuusei Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2013
    Location:
    USA
    Oshimen:
    otakiyuria
    Twitter:
    sunnyside_42
    A bit off topic, sorry:

    Actually thinking about it I'm not positive that they're up anymore, they were for some time after the sousenkyo but I haven't been there in awhile so I'm not sure. I found some pictures online here: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/vfr750f2/20130608. For the event, I actually just bought some tickets online. If you can (and haven't been before) I would say it's worth it to get even one ticket so that you can see the concert part at the beginning; if you live in Fukuoka it's probably not far out of the way and pretty fun. Of course it also depends on if you like the members going though. I'm not in Fukuoka a ton otherwise but if I win a theater ticket and go to Fukuoka I'll message you and maybe we can meet up. I'm guessing that it'll be fairly difficult to win since I can't apply enpou and I can only apply for weekend shows due to work, but hopefully I can win one eventually.
     

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