I got to the concert hall around 12:00PM, an hour and a half before the doors opened so that I could go buy goods and get food afterwards. It's worth mentioning that NHK Osaka Hall is set up so that once they start lining up for the concert itself and during the concert, you CANNOT go buy goods. This is starkly different than the place they normally are for H!P Concerts which easily allows you to buy goods during the afternoon concert.
Goods this time around were really lackluster. I got Kanon's shirt as it's the closest thing to a "graduation" shirt that they've offered this tour. I also spent the big bucks to get the group micro fiber towel as I've come to realize that they will stay nicer quality long after a poster would. Mostly, however, I just bought a lot of photos. Nonaka's Concert Specific Photo has a comic on it just like the one posted for their first concert, so I'm assuming that she has taken the time to draw a comic for EVERY day/venue. That is pretty dedicated of her. I also, for the first time, actually got Masaki for one of my collection pin-ups.
The Gatcha this time around were rubber bracelets with the girls names on them. At first I thought it was a pretty lame Gatcha, but I ended up happily wearing all of the ones I got. Ogata, Nonaka and Sakura are now my mains after Masaki, and if I'd gotten all their bracelets (only got Haachin from that group), it would have been a great way to wear my support for them on top of my Masaki Wota get-up.
At 1:30PM I entered the concert hall. This time around, I had been given a pretty pathetic seat for a fanclub ticket: middle of the second to last row on the SECOND floor. I hadn't been that far... ever. More than the distance however, it was being in the middle of a row that sucked the most, I was bumping into my neighbors a lot.
Tsubaki Factory came on at around 2:10 and performed Seishun Manmannaka! I was on my feet immediately, trying to remember what color Ogata Risa was (light orange). Not everyone was standing up around me, but on the first floor there were a lot. I had been almost just as excited to see them perform as I was for the main event. Last time I'd watched them it had been on the big screen for the Countdown Party. When I was watching them this time, all I could think was "DEBUT ALREADY!" the charisma they've always had on stage has been multiplied by the polish they now carry. Not one of the girls looked awkward performing. They've grown so much in one year and it's nice to know I don't have to defend them anymore.
After the normal "Don't do these things" video, Morning Musume appeared on the stage. The stage this time around had four elevators instead of the normal center staircase. I found it was a pretty interesting set choice overall and made the concert a bit more unique.
Songs 1~4The first few songs are all oldies-but-goodies. I do feel like it was a lot more songs than normal pre-VTR. The first half of this concert felt like they were trying to squeeze as much performance time as they could. I was really happy to see Ai no Gundan, which I have always loved. Now that Riho is gone, the dance has just gone down to three. Renai Hunter was also really great to listen to, it was very Mizuki/Sakura heavy for the most part, though Ayumi and Masaki both had their moments.
The Introduction VTR was probably 10 seconds long. Unlike the ANGERME one I mentioned last report, which was cinematic and long, this one was literally just one beat for each girl with their photo/name and that's it, no intro part, no interlude between generations, and a short outro with the tour name. It then immediately goes into Tokyo to iu Katasumi, which seems to be a setlist change from before. This song has a hundred times more "oomph" live than it does in the recording. It's definitely a song that I hope to hear in future set lists as well. Masaki and Sakura play off each other like the professionals they are. Masaki brings out Sakura's charm and the two of them exchange glances, at one time you can hear Masaki almost lose out on her singing because she's trying not to giggle about something they did.
Masaki for this entire concert stuck out, and not just because she's my favourite. Of all the girls, she is the one having the most obvious fun on the stage. She puts 300% into everything she does while performing and now that Riho is gone, it has become the attention puller. I watched her flirt around and play with at least half of the other members. I watched her emote the hell out of every song she sang. Whether or not she is ace material, I don't know, but she has become a force to reckon with on stage.
After Tokyo to Iu, the girls finally did their introduction MC, before going into another one of their new single songs (another setlist change) The Vision.
Just like Tokyo to Iu, The Vision is MUCH better live than it is recorded. I have always been impressed by how quiet the wota get when the girls perform TokiSora, but that was nothing compared to the reverence they gave this song. It was ethereal. Ayumi, Mizuki and Erina were incredibly graceful, and there was a echo filter put on their singing which complimented the dancing and music perfectly. It's now, even more than before, cemented itself as my favourite song from this single.
Songs 7~8Next few songs was like a time machine, going through songs from every era of Morning Musume. First was Wakacchanai, which I've actually not listened to in full before. I think I'm in the camp of not really being that impressed by it. Masaki is what saves it for me. Overall, though, it sounds like it'd be a really great album song. Next was Makeru Ki Shinai, which I'd forgotten was a possibility on this set list. This song is one of my karaoke go-to's so I got really pumped up about it. There's a part in the choreography where the girls make a circle, arms on their neighbor's shoulders and jump around in a circle, it's so cool to watch. Another thing of note is that Akane was given a line in this! I really like her tone, so I hope that she can continue to improve so she'll get more.
Onna ni Sachi are was really cool to hear with the current girls. I really enjoyed it. And last, but certainly not least, in this trip backwards was Mr. Moonlight. I was surprised at how well Ayumi sang the intro, her tone is not the prettiest that I forget that she can actually sing pretty well (she doesn't get all those lines for no reason). Haruka, unsurprising since she's the strongest singer of the three, dominated the lines, but Erina and Maria both held their own. I was pretty impressed by Maria's "male" voice, she should sing lower more often, it suited her. Eripon's experience on stage is really starting to push her forward, like Sayumi before her. She shows that after many years of doing this job, even if you're not a strong singer, you can hold your own and then push your other strengths.
Next was an MC with Ayumi and Ogata. Ayumi starts off saying that today's MC with Haachin completes her "MC with all the 12th Gen" set. Ayumi starts off mentioning that soon 12th Gen will become senpai within the group. Ogata replies with how nervous she is about it and asks if Ayumi had felt the same way when 11th Gen had joined. Ayumi's asnwer was that it was actually more nerve wracking when they were anticipating 11th Gen entering than when Sakura actually joined. 10th Gen would get together and talk about how they were worried that they would have to stop "acting stupid" and whether or not they actually had the ability to "stop acting stupid".
Then Ayumi says that in the end they still act stupid all the time so having kouhai hadn't changed anything afterall.
After that Ayumi mentions that it doesn't seem like 12th Gen get together to talk much. Ogata confirms this saying that yesterday they had been able to all talk together for the first time in forever. Ayumi then becomes legitimately concerned (though she tries to play it off as comedy). She says that 10th Gen go out all the time and then insists that it is really important to have those same-gen bonds. She recommends that Ogata start to make sure to great 12th Gen the same way she does with all of her Senpai.
Ogata mentions that they've tried getting together to go eat, but it just doesn't seem to ever work out. Then again none of them really push hard to make sure it happens. Ayumi scolds her and tells her that as the oldest, it's her job to do this. There is some comedic back and forth then about how Ayumi is coming forth with all this "very smart" advice and how surprising it is that it's coming from her. Then Ayumi has Ogata declare to the wota that she will make sure that 12th Gen go out together.
The entire MC was actually kinda weirdly tense as it was pretty obvious that Ogata had been pretty blindsided by Ayumi's crusade to make sure that 12th Gen bonds are strong. At the same time it was really heartwarming that Ayumi had been actively thinking about this a lot to bring it up, she cares about her Kouhai.
Songs 11~13Shuffles! Yay! Koe was a really nice listening, but that's not surprising since all three of the voices in it are the softer/prettier tones in the group. YAH! Aishitai was good as well, it's not a song I'm very familiar with though. I kind of like that this set list pulled a lot of random songs out of the archives. Ato Ippun was my favourite of the three however. Nonaka has very little stage presence many times, but she does have a great voice to listen to, so it was really nice that she got put in one of the songs with long solos. Masaki schooled both her and Ayumi in the art of emotion/passion while singing however when she did her breakdown solo in the song, it was one of her top moments of the concert.
Next was literally the best MC ever. I hope that on some DVD somewhere it will be shown. I think there is a very high possibility since the name of the MC corner was "10 Things Suzuki Kanon wants to do before her Graduation". I'd be surprised if they didn't collect the 10 corners that came from this and have them all in a DVD. Realizing that they can count this down now is really depressing though. On the note of Kanon in general, this graduation has felt like all of the wota are just realizing Kanon exists now that she's going to leave and now she is hitting her high within the group, right before she leaves.
Back to the corner however, Kanon is of course there along with Haruka, Akane and Sakura. It begins with Kanon declaring "I have never played just a normal human in a stage play yet and I would like to." And well... yes, it's true. In every stage play Kanon's been in, she has not just been human. She's been a ghost/spirit, a zombie and a vampire. She then shyly asks for Kudo to play a guy so that she could do a confession. Kudo agrees to this. Oda asks what she and Akane should be doing and Kanon tells them to just do whatever they want in the scene. Then they begin.
Haruka approaches Kanon and asks if she wants to stop off somewhere on their way home for a bit. Kanon is acting pretty giddy. They "sit down" beside a "river" and start talking. Haruka picks up an imaginary rock and starts throwing it like she's trying to skip rocks. As Haruka does this they start getting the conversation to talk about what kind of person Kanon likes. Then a strange noise starts happening as each rock is "thrown". The two "high schoolers" try to ignore it when....
Oda: GRAWWWWW!!
Sakura who was standing with her back to the audience until this moment jumps out.
Haruka: What are you!?
Oda: I am [name of a bug of some kind/monster]! I was sleeping when someone threw a stone at my head!!
Haruka pushes Kanon behind her and makes a fighting pose, but her leg is shaking in fear.
Kanon: No!
Oda: I'm going to eat you!!!!!
Akane then jumps out in between Sakura and the others.
Akane: No, I will not let you!!
Oda: Who are you?
Akane is trying to protect Haruka from the monster. Kanon asks Haruka if she knows who this girl trying to protect her is and Haruka has no idea.
Akane: Akanechin BEAM!!
Sakura acts like she's getting hit and then immediately is fine telling Akane that that's not a real attack and it does nothing. Then Sakura!Monster knocks Akane aside and "kills" Haruka. Kanon dramatically goes to Haruka's side and declares at Sakura that she will get revenge!!! .... ... .... Kanon then stops the scene to say that that was fun and all, but totally not what she had wanted so they were going to have it do it again and this time Akane and Sakura were going to have to do something else less disruptive so they can actually get to the confession part.
So they all rewind and Haruka and Kanon start trying to get the conversation towards a confession. Kanon is about to start describing what kind of "guy" she likes when...
Akane: Mama! Mama! There are some weirdos over here!!!
Sakura: Now, now, it's not nice to call people weirdos.
Akane and Sakura come running out onto the scene again.
Akane: But Mama they're being perverted! Look at them.
Sakura: Akane, it's not nice to say that, there are people like that in the world to you know.
Akane: Wait.. does that mean... is Papa a girl too?"
They walk off. Kanon and Haruka try not to be distracted and continue on and are so close to getting to the big finish when...
Oda&Akane: [in english] Excuse me! I am from America!
They run up and ask for direction and Kanon and Haruka attempt to show the "foreigners" where they're supposed to go. The "foreigners" run off before stopping and going back to ask Haruka if she is "Kudotarou?" when she says yes, they ask for her autograph before running off again.
Now Kanon describes three traits of the person she "likes" Haruka matching the description confidently asks her who she likes.
Haruka: Could it possibly be... me?
Kanon: No, of course not, it's Makino-kun!
Haruka is taken completely by surprise and from the side we hear Akane shout "YESSS THANK GOD IT'S MAKINO!!!" either just being herself, or playing at the first character she was who was also in love with Haruka.
All-in-all a masterpiece of an MC.
MedleyNext was the medley which was mostly Help Me!! to be honest. The dance performance was really interesting however. The girls when to get light green hats and gloves which glowed very brightly under black lights (the rest of their costume didn't glow at all). They then performed a lot of formation related dance moves and some Michael Jackson-esque movies. There is one part where they put their hands together and an incredibly bright light comes from the gloves, it's pretty cool. They then get rid of the gloves/hats before going into Souda! We're Alive. Odore! Morning Curry was my favourite performance of the medley however. They revealed caps that attached to one of their hands like a wing and they danced around with it. It also was a really fun performance and is a song in line of what I hope their musical future holds with Utakata's success.
The next MC was only some of the girls hyping up the crowd so that half of them could go change in the interlude.
Songs 15~19The Matenrou Show was next. For most of the song it was just Oda and Mizuki taking Reina and Riho's old lines, however during the interlude as the rest of the group danced, Ayumi did a back flip off of Kanon and Akane's back (Erina spotting). She and Masaki then both got the next two solo lines before the song returned to just Oda/Mizuki again. Kimi Sae and Wagamama were great to see. Kimi Sae was mainly the core 4 (Sakura, Masaki, Ayumi and Mizuki). Wagamama... was shorter than normal. I had been excited to see who had been given Riho's Aisaretai, but only Mizuki and Masaki performed it, they had cut one, or I'm going crazy.
Mikan like The Matenrou Show had acrobatics during its dance break, but for the first time it wasn't just Nonaka, Ayumi or Eripon doing something, most of the girls were doing something. Erina did her signature back hand springs, but many of the girls did even just basic cartwheels. This made me wonder if maybe management is thinking of making acrobatics another thing that MM does. If so, than Erina will have single-handedly changed MM's path. What is LOVE? was nothing new or special, but as a song I adore, I'm always happy to hear it.
At the end of this stretch of songs, the girls said their goodbyes. Some things of note in this is that Maria now has a call/response thing. It's "Hop, Skip, Maria-Jump!" It's reminiscent of when Ikuta did her Suberi Call. Harunan both comment on Maria's Hop Skip Jump during their goodbyes. The older girls really are working hard to push 12th Gen and help them out. Masaki gets tongue tied on her comment. She attempts to say that from this point on it's just going to get hotter and hotter and she won't lose out to the sweat (the concert hall was pretty hot that day, I was sweaty as well at the end), however she sounded like me when I'm trying to remember how to say something in Japanese. The Masaki Talking Struggle, it is real
Kanon apologized for her voice disappearing at one point (it didn't quite come out during one of her solo lines), she's really hoping it was just a fluke and that she's not losing her voice or something.
The "final" song is ENDLESS SKY. I like this song well enough, but I hate how they've post-Riho adapted it. On the recorded version, the best part of the song for me is when Riho sings that final break down of the chorus solo after it had been full group the rest of the time. The sound of just one voice singing passionately after all the unison really gives the song something special. This new version of it however has, instead of giving that solo to Mizuki, Oda or Masaki (all who would have done it justice) they have changed it so now it's just a unison line. So now the song doesn't have that variance and instead just plateaus and loses a bit of its spark.
EncoreAs this is Osaka, we very proudly did a Haachin Call. It's really amazing "owning" one of the girls like this. Osaka's a really proud city and being able to say one of the girls' names instead of just shouting "Encore" is powerful stuff. Haachin has a very decent following among the wota here as well.
It is something to note that Ogata Haruka is as much Haachin to the Japanese fans as Satou Masaki is Maachan. It's what we call out during her solos and is what we call out for the Encore.
After five minutes or so, the girls run out again and perform Utakata Saturday Night, which, surprisingly, is the weakest song of the current single live. It's not bad, but among all the other songs, it becomes very obvious how short it is. HOWEVER, it had some of the most imitatible dance moves in a long time, so it's one of the most fun to perform with the girls. As anyone whose watched to live performance posted already, Kanon has a completely different monologue for the concerts which I find pretty cool.
Next comes the FINAL FINAL MC, where some of the girls are able to say some extra words. Ogata, being from Osaka, gets first say. After beaming about how much she loves performing in Osaka, she reaffirms her declaration that she will make sure that 12th Gen get together and do stuff, while patting Akane behind her.
Ayumi immediately steps forward and tells Ogata not to repeat the declaration and just do it. Oda counters Ayumi, teasing her and saying that Ayumi should knock down Ogata's enthusiasm for it. They have an Oda/Ayumi moment. (I love how much confidence Sakura gets around Ayumi).
Nonaka then pushes herself forward (I was so proud of her!) and declares that she has something she wants to say. She really wants to do the confession scene that Kanon did with Haruka but with Kanon. Kanon gets flustered and agrees to do so. The other girls shuffle them towards the middle and the scene starts.
Kanon: So what kind of person do you like?
Nonaka: Well... they are wearing blue.
Kanon: [is wearing her blue dress outfit] !!!
Nonaka: They don't have any bangs...
Kanon: !!!!
Nonaka: And they're always very helpful to everyone.
Kanon: Could it... could it possibly be me?
Nonaka: Eh? No, it's Doraemon of course!
Everyone bursts into laughter and Kanon plays at being angry. Another 12th Gen then pushes herself into the moment.
Maria: Wait... does this mean Suzuki-san's call should be a Doraemon call?
Kanon: WAIT A MINUTE!!! NO! Of course not!!
Maria: But.. it's a compliment right?
Aaand that's the concert! My final thoughts on this concert are that if you are still arguing that 12th Gen are not entertaining than you're just not paying attention. The other thought is that I didn't even notice that Riho was gone... I thought I would since she was such a big presence, but MM doesn't need Riho anymore. The core 4 are more than enough to cover her bases and the old back girls have really stepped up and filled in spaces that the core 4 have left open. And there really is something that MM has... maybe it's because they deal with more pressure than other groups, but they feel so much stronger when they perform than any other H!P group.
by Amped » Sat May 21, 2016 1:47 am 
