Live Report Exclusive

JACK IN THE BOX 2021 ～DANGER CRUE 40th Anniversary～

17/03/2022 Author: Coco

A star-studded line-up of artists from the Japanese rock scene celebrated the 40th anniversary of DANGER CRUE and the end of 2021 together at Nippon Budokan.

For the 40th anniversary of DANGER CRUE, MAVERICK DC GROUP hosted a JACK IN THE BOX event at Nippon Budokan sparkling with leading artists from different genres and generations. The line-up featured not just familiar faces from the Japanese rock scene performing in their usual formations but also three brand new projects making their debut.

Petit Brabancon

The kick-off of this epic event was marked by a fusion that was just as epic in itself: Petit Brabancon. The supergroup was founded in 2021 when DIR EN GREY’s Kyo reached out to yukihiro from L'Arc～en～Ciel, who took his place behind the drums while MUCC’s Miya and Tokyo Shoegazer’s antz manned the guitars. Completing the quintet was bassist Hirofumi Takamatsu of the alternative rock band THE NOVEMBERS. It was clear that lots of fans came especially for this band's first appearance because there were many people in the audience wearing hoodies featuring their logo.

To mark the start of the show, all of the lights were turned off. A creepy scratching sound was audible, similar to an error in the sound system. Before the curtain fell, lightning-like lights were projected on the stage and all guests at the Budokan stood up while the big JACK IN THE BOX poster was lifted up slowly. The band members appeared on the stage, with Kyo coming on last at a relaxed pace. Koku began and Kyo headbanged wildly whilst the stage was drenched in red and blue light. Petit Brabancon had released their first double A-side digital single Koku / Kawaki three days before, so many fans were already familiar with the songs. The first song of the single starts with a pretty dark guitar sound but Kyo added his well known screaming to it, performing theatrically. When the first track finished there were only some orange spotlights left pointing at the stage, giving it an especially oppressive and somewhat lonely atmosphere.

There was no time to get lost in that, however, because the set immediately continued with OBEY, another song from the single. Miya jumped along to the groovy beat, led by yukihiro's drumming. For the solo, the guitarist moved over to the edge of the stage where all spotlights were turned towards him as the fans nodded along to the music. Kyo, wearing a black tank top and sporting green hair, danced light-footed over the stage until the lights turned off at the end of the song and he spoke the last line standing in two leftover spotlights.

The performance carried on without any kind of MC, the mystical impression of this new project lingering in the air while the five members started their last song, Kawaki. antz began the song with a guitar intro, keeping the atmosphere as dark as before. It was clear that Miya was having a good time, strolling around in the blue light, jumping and turning in circles so that his loose clothes waved in the air. antz seemed to be putting all of his emotions into his guitar playing as well, while bassist Takamatsu was also swept coolly along with the music. yukihiro got a moment in the spotlight during a short drum solo in the middle of the song. Wild strobe lights covered the stage and Kyo grooved around the space, bending over theatrically as he screamed. With a last hit on the drums, yukihiro brought Petit Brabancon's first performance to an end and the artists left the stage accompanied by a huge wave of applause. The band's upcoming tour dates in September 2022 were shown on the screens, followed by a notice about their debut single and the URL to their official website.

NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST

NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST had a high bar to clear as the follow-up to this opening, but they did a great job by starting off with their energetic track Punch me if you can. Vocalist Hiro urged the fans directly to support the band with clapping and gave every growl and scream his full power while moving around the stage and performing on the box in the middle. The fans put their hands up in the air and treated the band with applause throughout the song.

For the brutal track Life is Once the stage was illuminated by blinking pink light and the two guitarists Yu-taro and Valtz as well as bassist Masa jumped into the air while Natsu set the pace on the drums. This was repeated again towards the end of the song and the whole band finished by headbanging together. In a short MC, Hiro announced they would be joined by two guest vocalists, Daisaku Miyata from a crowd of rebellion and Kaito from Paledusk. The latter dashed onto the stage as he always does, shaking his whole body and urging the audience to join in by raising his arms up into the air.

Miyata and Hiro kicked off REM together while Kaito took over the verse and kept speeding all over the stage. The two guests took over the chorus while Hiro supported them along with the other band members. The seven men on the stage generated an enormous amount of energy that felt almost like an attack on the spectators. It was clear that some of the fans would have loved to join the little moshpit on the stage before the end of the song, but moshing and loud singing were not permitted due to the rules put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Valtz and Yu-taro accompanied the short MC that followed with a slow guitar melody while Hiro thanked the two guests as they left the stage and announced the next track, Reviver. Another heavy track, the song saw Valtz swirl around the stage, despite the challenging guitar riffs he was playing, while Hiro kicked the box in the middle of the stage along to the beat. Hiro encouraged the fans to clap along before letting out a bestial growl from the depths of his lungs. The cameras were fixed on Valtz during the solo, which showcased his passion and skills, and Yu-taro came to the edge of the stage towards the end of the song to say goodbye to the fans as they applauded.

During the stage conversion periods, the screens showed clips of NoGoD frontman Dancho at different places in the hall speaking about the event and joking around.

MIO

The third act was another debut, this time by solo artist MIO. Until recently, the singer has been known for her work with the band MIOYAMAZAKI, which gained some attention internationally by performing an opening theme for the anime "Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi no Togi". However, she recently started a solo project produced by SID’s Yuya and just began her activities online not even a month before JACK IN THE BOX.

The stage light dimmed and the audience clapped steadily to demand the start of the performance. The four support members appeared first, all with their hoods pulled over their faces. MIO followed slowly and positioned herself behind the microphone. Even as her soft voice resounded through the hall, no spotlight was shining on her face to make it recognizable, and it wasn't even shown on the screens. She was wearing a black outfit with large pump sleeves, a short leather skirt, overknee socks, plateau shoes and some white accessories. Her hands were covered by long black gloves, with a huge ring that drew the eye when she was holding the microphone. Even when the instruments joined and bright light shone across the stage, her face was still hidden behind her hands and her long fringe so that only a faint shine let the audience guess at her facial features.

Thanks to her clear, youthful voice, the first track Chikai surely gave many listeners in the audience goosebumps, and her support members were also playing along eagerly. As none of them were introduced by name, it seemed likely that they were well-known musicians, with Yuya himself potentially being among them, as he was also scheduled to appear at the event later on. After, MIO gave a short speech in which she articulated how happy she was to have the chance to be on stage at the Budokan for the first time and how honoured she was to perform alongside so many great artists.

For the second track, an unreleased song titled torikabuto, the stage was wrapped in pink light and, finally, MIO’s beautiful face was visible. The track had a bit more speed than the first one, which encouraged the audience to dance while MIO herself mastered the fast vocal parts without any mistakes. After these two songs, which were both released on February 23rd, she left the stage accompanied by plenty of applause.

Tatsuro

The third act making its live debut was MUCC vocalist Tatsuro's solo project. Tatsuro used the break during the stage conversion to interact with the audience. While the staff was busy, he went up to the edge of the stage wearing a white, loose-fitting shirt and put his arms in the air, making a shovel-like movement to make the people on the left side clap first. Then, he turned over to the right side to claim some applause from them as well, looking a little bit like Jesus entertaining the masses. His solo project hadn't released a full song before the show, but following the event, trailers for his two new albums =(equal) and Hikagaku houteishiki, which were both released on February 2nd, were revealed on YouTube.

For the performance at JACK IN THE BOX Tatsuro had invited some well-known artists to join him. They included Umi from vistlip and Nao from Arlequin on guitar, Masa from NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST on bass and SORA from DEZERT on drums, as well as Fusafumi Adachi on keyboards. The first song CRASH MAN was powerful, with a heavy bassline that made the spectators at Budokan happily clap along with the beat.

The second song, New Chaotic Paradise, made Umi groove around the stage while Tatsuro mastered the changes from loud, powerful singing to long high notes perfectly, his extensive experience on stage obvious from his interactions with the fans. SORA used his huge drum set to its fullest during this song, which also featured wind instruments. When the light went off at the end of the song, the stage was enveloped in an ocean of applause. During a short MC, Tatsuro asked the fans if they were having fun and if he could continue, before kindly requesting for everyone to keep on listening.

He also introduced the next song, door, saying that he would love to know what everyone thinks of it. The screens showed the lyrics as subtitles over the current live broadcast. Sadly, the audience was not allowed to sing along due to the coronavirus prevention measures. The track itself was a slower, easygoing pop song that started with an intro from keyboardist Fusafumi Adachi as the stage was filled with warm white light and white spotlights ran over the audience. Fans who resisted getting goosebumps from the atmosphere at that point surely got them after hearing Tatsuro’s sentimental performance, which was complemented well by the song's easy guitar melody. The two guitarists also played with plenty of emotion, especially during the solo and during the last lighthearted chorus where both of their parts were highlighted. After that, Tatsuro stood at the edge of the stage, spreading his hands out and lifting them over his head, again looking a bit like Jesus, and then all the lights went off.

For the last song, Akai Ito (Japanese for “red thread”, which symbolizes the fateful connection between two individuals) all of the screens showed the music video, in which the story of a couple is shown in a comic style. A ballad, the song was written by eijun from THE BACK HORN. Tatsuro sang in the spotlights about the tragic love story of a couple and, again, the audience seemed deeply moved. The mood in the hall was pretty oppressive and almost sad due to the ballad but when Tatsuro reached the part in the lyrics where the couple become zombies together, the song turned into a brisk rock song and lifted the fans' spirits. When the song finished, Tatsuro thanked the audience quickly and left the stage followed by the spotlights.

DEZERT

This time the stage conversion seemed to be easy because SORA's drums were already in place from the previous set. DEZERT brought a certain flashiness to the stage of JACK IN THE BOX, with vocalist Chiaki’s voluminous hair, in particular, bringing to mind classic visual kei bands like X JAPAN.

During the opening track Shinkei to juuryoku, Chiaki, wearing a knee-length outfit covered with a red check pattern, hammered on his guitar just like guitarist Miyako. Bassist Sacchan shook his long black-green hair along to the music, while torches circling the band on the stage seemed to create an ominous but thrilling atmosphere during the bass-led track.

For the second song, kimi no shikyuu o sawaru, the torches were extinguished and fans joined in the wild furitsuke right from the start. The stage was drenched in pink and blue light as the beige suit-wearing Miyako moved over to the side walkway to cheer the fans on while their hands were dancing in the air. He quickly ran back to the main stage for the chorus and headbanged there with the other members, following along to the beat that drummer SORA was providing with visible joy.

This was followed by a short MC where Chiaki announced two guest vocalists, Aki from Arlequin and LiME from Kizu, who both came on stage to thunderous applause. The song they performed, Satsui, seemed made for headbanging, so Sacchan and Miyako moved over to the walkways to make space for the three vocalists. However, while Chiaki was kicking off the verse with support of the guests, Aki ran over to the left side towards Miyako, headbanged with him, and seemed to suddenly realize he had to be back to the middle of the stage for the chorus, so he quickly returned. When he sang the chorus, Chiaki was standing behind him, showing devil horns with his hand. The other two vocalists joined in and, while their voices all have different tones, it seemed like a perfect symbiosis.

This performance surely brought some fans back to autumn 2021, when the three vocalists were performing together at Arlequin’s Sono Sekai event, although they didn’t have a formal collaboration track ready at that time. Chiaki thanked the two guests and they left the stage. In a short MC he also thanked the MAVERICK DC GROUP for organizing the event, named the artists performing and highlighted how honored the members of DEZERT felt to be playing on the same stage as them.

The last song was the ballad Misery Rainbow, from DEZERT's latest album RAINBOW. The stage was covered in bright light, creating a touching atmosphere for the fans, who swung their hands along the beat. Chiaki put an extra load of emotion into the chorus while Miyako shook his head along to the music, leaving only his blonde hair visible.

fuzzy knot

fuzzy knot, a unit formed by Rayflower’s vocalist Takayuki Tazawa and SID’s guitarist Shinji in 2021, came on stage completely dressed in white, with their support bassist and drummer in contrasting black attire.

Their first track, kokorosagashi, kicked off with happy, colorful lighting but the stage was left almost empty, keeping the focus on the artists. The stage featured only the drum set, the musicians and one amplifier next to the bassist. Starting the first song, Shinji danced around the stage and during his guitar solo, when he was illuminated by the spotlight, everyone could clearly see how much he was enjoying the performance. Meanwhile, Takayuki brought pop star attitude, standing with his legs wide apart and performing theatrically to the song. His voice was clear throughout the show and he hit every note perfectly.

For the second track, the groovy and danceable Joker & Joker, Shinji went over to the walkway on the right side while Takayuki made the left walkway his own and encouraged the audience to clap along to the beat. He seemed to be performing a kind of choreography the whole time, even kneeling down dramatically on the floor when Shinji came over to the edge of the stage for his solo.

For the recent single Set The Fire !, the members returned to center stage and they seemed to have a lot of fun performing the provocative track. Once again, Takayuki hit every note with perfect pitch while Shinji performed with a practised ease that made the guitar parts look like child’s play. The two members were in perfect harmony and the support members performed alongside them just as joyfully. Shinji and Takayuki leaning against each other and performing back-to-back was one of the highlights of the set.

The fourth song, Before Daybreak, sounded a little bit like an anime theme, and Takayuki’s choreography made him almost look like a superhero when he raised the microphone up in the air and pointed to the sky and spun around in the next moment. Both members were in constant motion and they used the whole stage as well as the both walkways as they performed, supported by the fans doing furitsuke and clapping along all the while.

44MAGNUM feat. Akira Takasaki (LOUDNESS)

The appearance of this band founded in 1977 was heralded by classic, dark music featuring violins and trumpets. When the band arrived, vocalist PAUL looked a bit like a bank robber, as he was wearing a skull mask and a cloth over his face, but he quickly cut through this impression by pulling down the cloth. Guitarist JIMMY kicked off the song I’M ON FIRE, and he seemed to take the title to heart. He went over to the side walkway for the solo, performing dramatically like he was at a glam rock show.

44MAGNUM has two vocalists: founding member PAUL and his son STEVIE, who joined the band in 2009. Due to difficulties caused by Parkinson's disease, PAUL is not able to perform like he could in his youth anymore, but he didn’t refrain from showing STEVIE his place and rocking the stage. For the classic metal track THE WILD BEAST PAUL moved around the stage holding his mic stand while JIMMY was again on the walkway getting celebrated by the crowd for his guitar playing. Following that, STEVIE thanked everyone in a short MC and PAUL also expressed that he wanted to have a good time with everyone. When STEVIE stated that, due to the missing voices of the audience, it almost felt like a classical concert, the fans answered with laughter and applause.

After the easy rock song I JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE, during which STEVIE and PAUL obviously had a lot of fun performing together, they introduced guest guitarist Akira Takasaki from LOUDNESS, and he provided a short solo that saw his hand move over the neck of his guitar faster than the eye could see. A battle between him and JIMMY followed, with bassist jack also jumping in before he and Takasaki continued to rock facing each other. As jack is the CEO/founder of MAVERICK DC GROUP, it was a special evening for him on many different levels.

The next song STREET ROCK’N ROLLER gave jack a moment to bask in the spotlight during the bass solo. A loud pop rang out and sparks were thrown out for the intro of NO STANDING STILL. There was no holding back anymore for any of the artists on stage. JIMMY showed off his impressive guitar skills on the right side of the stage, while Takasaki finished the song with his powerful playing, using a guitar decorated with a Japanese flag design featuring red stripes. PAUL thanked the audience before JIMMY and Takasaki stepped forward to the microphone, holding hands, and also thanked everyone, showing the great respect the artists have for each other.

MUCC

The fans prepared for this classic J-rock band by pulling out luminous tambourines and snap light sticks. It was the second appearance of the night for Miya and Tatsuro, and both men had changed and were now dressed to match MUCC's most recent promo pictures. Miya was wearing an outfit with purple accents, while Tatsuro started off the first song aku-JUSTICE- wearing a bright green suit. When the drums joined in, flames shot up in front of the stage and the heat could be felt even in the higher seats. This repeated several times when Tatsuro was screaming, which highlighted the dramatic atmosphere of the opening track from the band's 2020 album Aku.

For the groovy track KILLEЯ Tatsuro, now barefoot, danced over the walkway to the right of the stage. The fans couldn’t join in the group shouts featured on the record, so instead they focused on throwing their clenched fists towards the stage or participating in the furitsuke. The song changed pace, drawing both clean vocals and screaming from Tatsuro, and this exertion combined with the fire from before seemed to make him hot, so he took off his jacket. Miya did a two-step-dance while YUKKE positioned himself on the right side of the stage. The track was celebrated by the fans and as Tatsuro raised his hands up in the air for the outro it seemed as if he was trying to absorb this positive energy from the crowd.

Next was the single GONER, which saw spotlights illuminate the stage brightly from the back. When the intro was over, the band members all seemed to lose themselves completely in headbanging. The lights changed colors to green and blue, creating a somewhat heavenly atmosphere, and the song ended dramatically with Tatsuro raising his hand towards the spotlight above him during the last scream.

In a short MC, Tatsuro announced they would be collaborating with GRANRODEO and the vocalist KISHOW and guitarist e-ZUKA appeared on the stage wearing all black. For NIRVANA, KISHOW started off with the first line and shared the rest of the vocals with Tatsuro. KISHOW was constantly holding his mic stand at first, tilting it forwards while singing and when Tatsuro spotted him doing this he grabbed another mic stand and copied his technique. However, Tatsuro seemed done with it by the next chorus and put it back, also clearing KISHOW’s away when he left it unattended for a moment. During the guitar solo, all of the members with stringed instruments came to the front of the stage to rock out together. The deep friendship between the musicians was again made clear in this moment, and in a short MC after the song the two vocalists thanked everyone, with KISHOW looking almost shy next to tall Tatsuro.

Next, they performed GRANRODEO’s song Mesmerize, this time with Tatsuro starting the vocal part off. Miya and e-ZUKA faced off as they played, with e-ZUKA even ending up on his knees in front of Miya at one point. Tatsuro put his arm around KISHOW as the other vocalist was singing the verse using his expressive vibrato.

As the second collaboration song ended, Tatsuro thanked GRANRODEO and bade farewell to the members as they left the stage. Directly after, the set continued with Ranchu. The intro saw the stage dominated by wild strobo lights and Tatsuro danced around while the fans started to headbang. As the track got faster, Miya and YUKKE ran and jumped around. There was a short, slow part in the middle in which Tatsuro made the fans sit down on their chairs. As his scream galvanized the hall, again flames shot up in front of the stage and simultaneously the fans jumped up, then proceeding to headbang and perform furitsuke together. At the end of the performance, in a classic rock star move, Miya threw his guitar towards the roadie and the band left the stage.

D’ERLANGER

After another short stage conversion, the fans demanded for the next part of the show to start, clapping constantly before anyone was even in sight. An organ-like intro began to play and spotlights drifted over the stage. D'ERLANGER had been forced to postpone a tour in 2021 due to frontman Kyo battling a tumor in his lung, so fans were especially eager to see the band return to the stage.

MUCC’s Tatsuro handled the vocals for the first song, appearing on the stage for the third time in a different outfit. This one featured a long black cardigan and leather shoes. CRAZY4YOU kicked off joyfully, with fans eagerly showing off their hand choreography while Tatsuro sang the track as if it was his own song. For fans who would like to hear him do this, there is an official cover of the track MUCC released for a tribute album available for streaming on YouTube.

Guitarist CIPHER danced around the stage while bassist SEELA played coolly from the same spot, only grooving a little bit to the music. For the guitar solo, Tatsuro cheered the band on as if he was the conductor of the performance and again it was clear that everyone was having lots of fun, especially when drummer Tetsu stood up during the last beats of the song, emerging briefly from behind the huge drum set to see what was happening on the stage.

Then, the moment many fans in attendance had been waiting for came: HYDE appeared on the stage, and he was quickly drowned in applause. He urged the audience to jump and clap since they weren't able to use their voices the way they normally would. Of course, the crowd instantly fulfilled this request with thundering applause. For the second track of D’ERLANGER's set, SADISTIC EMOTION, HYDE took over the vocals and INORAN from LUNA SEA also joined the party on guitar. The vocalist showed he was pumped for the performance by dancing around the stage during the light rock track. He sang facing INORAN and kicked into the air to give the show more speed. He spotted a camera on the side of the stage, stepped towards it and suddenly a huge version of him was visible on the screens, performing angrily into the camera. Undoubtedly, it was his many years of experience in the entertainment world that made the live broadcast look almost like a directed music video. He moved over to CIPHER and took him aside while INORAN and SEELA delivered their parts standing across from one another. INORAN and CIPHER rocked the guitar solo together brilliantly before HYDE danced around the stage once again, his trench coat flying through the air.

MDC 40th Anniversary SUPER ALL STARS

Following D'ERLANGER's set, the “MDC 40th Anniversary SUPER ALL STARS” were announced. The line-up featured six collaboration groups mixing and matching the members who had performed earlier in the evening into exciting new formations.

The first combination consisted of PAUL, STEVIE, JIMMY, CIPHER, jack and Tetsu, and they performed Baby, Come Together by 44MAGNUM. Just like before, the father and son shared the vocal parts, with PAUL focusing on the calm parts but still conquering the walkways to the left and right of the stage. A nostalgic feeling spread through the hall, and repeating the word “Together” in the lyrics seemed to symbolize the strong team spirit of the group, which could be clearly seen when all of the members came together to perform near drummer Tetsu.

The second collaboration paired together members from very different generations: NAOKI and YUKI of the 80s heavy metal band REACTION were joined by Valtz and Natsu of NOCTURNAL BLOODLUST. This quartet presented the song JOY RIDE, a track from REACTION released in 1985. Bassist YUKI looked like a pirate thanks to his long hair, headband and striped coat, but the outfit didn't interfere with his frisky performance. Meanwhile, vocalist NAOKI jumped up and supported his vocals with hand gestures, urging the audience to throw their fists into the air just like him. Performing with no less ambition, the younger musicians on the drums and guitar showed off their skills, obviously having loads of fun. YUKI ended the performance theatrically, playing all the way down to the ground, picking the strings off his bass and throwing his instrument to the floor like a true rock star before leaving the stage.

Following this was a combo consisting of Tatsuro, Miya and YUKKE from MUCC and DEZERT drummer SORA. The members had changed their outfits once again, and they were wearing merchandise from the event this time. Their emotional rendition of Nirvana gave the audience goosebumps just like the previous performance of the song from earlier in the evening and everyone seemed to be dancing along with their hands. While Miya came to the front of the stage for his solo, Tatsuro visited SORA and it looked like they were about to start chatting together, once again highlighting the deep friendship between the performing artists. When YUKKE and Miya turned towards the drum set, giving their all at the end of the song, all of the spectators were carried away by the performance and the group received an enormous round of applause.

The fourth special unit featured Shinji, AKi and Yuya of SID performing their happy track Dear Tokyo. Shinji, who had appeared earlier as part of fuzzy knot, celebrated the song by dancing across the stage and jumping around. Bassist AKi sang while drummer Yuya raised his sticks into the air and supported him with backing vocals. While SID performed with only three members, they had the hall completely under their control with their thrilling performance.

The next SUPER ALL STARS set was a second performance from D’ERLANGER, this time with their vocalist Kyo, who showed off his skills without reservation as they played the classic LA VIE EN ROSE. As he started off a loud pop echoed through the hall and Kyo grooved around the stage. Without a doubt, despite their long career, the whole band seemed to be having just as much fun as the fans, who were dancing with their hands in the air, visibly delighted to see the vocalist on stage. Tetsu poured all his energy into the drums once again, bringing the performance to an end.

For the grand finale, a performance of L'Arc～en～Ciel’s HONEY, nine people in total came together on stage. The announcement of the members on the screens alone drew plenty of excitement from the crowd. A second drum set was unveiled, and yukihiro took his seat, joining D'ERLANGER's Tetsu, who was behind the other kit. HYDE, Tatsuro and Chiaki were on vocals, while Miya, Shinji, AKi and YUKKE were in charge of their respective instruments.

Before the performance began, HYDE mentioned how happy he was to see D’ERLANGER perform together with their vocalist Kyo and expressed his gratitude together with Tatsuro that everyone was allowed to do their job as a musician, something that has become difficult in recent years due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. All three vocalists embraced the grand size of the stage, moving across it, using the walkways on the sides and interacting with the other members throughout the show. For example, Tatsuro was suddenly holding a big light stick in his hand, waggling it in front of the others, and HYDE leaned on YUKKE and hugged Chiaki. The performance looked like a huge party of friends, and watching and listening to it seemed to fill the audience with just as much happiness. Towards the end of the track, drummers Tetsu and yukihiro had a little battle while the other seven musicians came towards them, supporting them and firing them up. The show ended with a huge rain of golden tinsel and an enormous wave of applause that made the Budokan shake.

The event was wrapped up by a speech from HYDE, followed by the artists taking a group picture together, which led to a lot of confusion as they attempted to fit all of the members on stage into the frame. After appearing only on the screens throughout the show, Dancho from NoGoD also made a sudden in-person appearance, stealing some of the tinsel with Chiaki while they were leaving the stage.

Set list