Year 2022, covid 19 is still here, but most countries have decided to lift up restrictions, either completely or little by little. That includes Japan. This gives me a little sense of ease to go to places with crowds.
Surprisingly 2022 is actually the year where I went to expose myself with shows the most in my life. So, I would like to note them all here for memories.
1. Musical "Ryusei no Neiro" (Timbre of the Shooting Star)
An original musical show produced by Shochiku and Johnnys. The musical starring Taiga Kyomoto, my current celebrity crush 😉, built up the story based on Japanese Tanabata Festival. Besides playing the main role, Taiga also composed some of the musical numbers.
I was simply excited that I could finally see and listened to Taiga singing live in person. His performance was great but I definitely looking forward to seeing him play in broadway musical someday with more challenging numbers.
2. Musical Miss Saigon
I got the ticket of the show where Mitsuki Takahata played the main role. She is Japanese actress whom I knew first through TV drama, but actually her debut was in musical show.
As many of you may have knew, the story is kinda sad, but the stage was really extravagant as expected from a West End and Broadway Musical. Especially that I just saw Japanese original musical few weeks before, I could really tell the difference of the scale. The only thing I was not satisfied about it was the seat at the Imperial Theatre which was not comfortable.
3. Straight Play Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
I did not know what to expect. I was afraid it was going to be difficult to understand considering it's based on Shakespeare's work and all dialogues would be in Japanese. But, it was totally fine. I was very entertained with the comedy presented. I was excited to see Yugo Kochi, Taiga's mate member of SixTONES, who was recently recovered from covid.
Although the main story line still kept Shakespeare's work, it also adapted some Japanese cultures into the show which was interesting. Despite getting the balcony seat (2nd floor) and the seat space was a bit tight, but I could sit comfortably which is a plus point!
4. Bruno Mars Concert
Went with Anin and Jojo to the concert in Tokyo Dome. This was my first western artist's concert after a while, after Celine Dion's concert back in 2018. Fun! However, I was not too happy with the sound system. I wasn't sure if it was due to seat location or the sound system was just not as good as it should be.
As usual I knew some of of the songs such as Billionaire, Grenade, and Mary You, but figured that I forgot many of the lyrics 😁. What's different between Japanese artist and Foreign artist concerts since the pandemic is that the foreign artist does not care. They would make you sing with them. While, for most Japanese artist concerts, they stick to the rule of 'silent' crowds.
5. Calum Scott Concert
Honestly I did not know who he was until Joice asked me to join her. So, I listened to some of his songs in Youtube to give me an idea of what kind of songs he normally sings. It was my first time seeing live performance at the Ex Theatre Roppongi. Overall I enjoyed the show.
6. Maroon 5 Concert
Lastly, Maroon 5 in Tokyo Dome. I did not get the ticket through ticket ballot at first but Joice who initially planned to go with her senpai had to go for business trip so I took her ticket! Luckily Joice's senpai were nice so I could still have fun 😁. The sound system this time was a lot better than Bruno's.
