Waterfall & Wings Version 1

[Edited on 1 June: Ahaha, was getting influenced by an apparently not-very-accurate setlist i got from somewhere and got the sequence of some songs wrong! Realised that when talking to Loracyn.. Alamak.. no wonder it got weirder as i write cos i felt something was missing... XDD. Anyway, took out the wrong parts and putting them into Report #2... Hee...)

I bet this is going to be a looooong report cos knowing me, i tend to side-track a lot. Plus, watching all 4 shows sure confused things... but i shall attempt. Wasuretakunai kara sa.

We arrived at Yokohama Arena just 30min before the 1st show is due to start... cos believe it or not, we actually woke up late. Me and Syl slept at like 430am (the sky was already bright!) trying to finish our uchiwa (simple as it might look, but it took us sooo long to cut out the words with our erm.. limited tools). Loracyn slept much much earlier but whacks, the girl refused to get up when the alarm rang. So it was a everyone-tot-that-someone-will-wake-up-but-no-one-did scenario. LOL~ I dunno, this is SUPPOSED to be a holiday but it was soo tiring! We were going so many places everyday, that by the time we returned to our hotel, it was always major bodyache. Then we were always sleeping past 2am.. gahaha. So anyway, we all woke up later than planned, plus the fact that we were staying at about 1hr away from Yokohama doesn't really help. But we did made it in the end, and met Ray and Bee on the first day. Ray was REALLY easy to spot, with that uber red Serenade coat and Takki hairstyle. Actually, there were MANY pple sporting Takki hairstyle. hahah... But she was with this guy who was also wearing a Serenade coat so there you go, how medama can that get? XDDD Wanted to get some concert goods but holy cow, the queue was SOOOOOOOOOOO LONG!!! The staff was gg ard with a loudspeaker saying you wun be in time for the concert if u join the queue now, so for the first concert, i was actually WITHOUT a Takki uchiwa. Is that a sin? But not so bad since i already have a penlight from last time and my self-made uchiwa. There are only so many things i can carry in the concert with 2 hands. LOL~

De, IKU ZO!!!

moe~ Moe~~ MOE~~~

About 5 minutes before each concert was due to start, the Takitsuba will auto-start by itself. LOL~ And T&T are very punctual indeed. They never once delayed the opening. いい子だね。

Takki! *clapclap* Tsubasa! *clapclap* Takki! *clapclap* Tsubasa! *clapclap*~~~

Lights dimmed. EVERYONE stood up and jrs in white hoods appeared on the stage and pranced around with some lite-sabre lookalikes. Then suddenly the opening of Serenade starts to play...

★☆Serenade☆★
T&T finally elevated onto the main stage from beneath a trapdoor, clad in their gloriously red Serenade coats. They look like royalty~ They didn't do the dance at the very very beginning of Serenade but just stood their with their legs opened in a very wide "V"..... uwaa.. KA-KKO-IIIII~~~

The CROWD WENT MAD HERE i tell you... The atmosphere at the arena during the opening was sooooo darn HIGH!!! Everyone was just screaming and yelling for them... Beri FUN!!!

タッキー！！！お久しぶり！！=333
シンガポールから応援しに来てるよぉ～

And Takki , OMG, one year i haven't seen him and he looked even MORE GORGEOUS. The hair was totally KANPEKI!! Shiny, glowing, and falling over his oh-so-pretty face. *dies* It was slightly flatter on the second day and mamamia~ It made him look sooooo yasashiiiii....

And oh, the fireworks was SUPERB. VERY VERY PRECISE. At the very beginning of Serenade, there's this part where they will tap the top of their feet on the ground before doing the circle motion with their hands. So it was like,

ta-ta-ta-ta *BOOM!!!*

They let off this UBER-LOUD fireworks which literally shoke the arena and got everyone WILD. Perfect timing every time! Very impressive!! Thou I think Takki must be very tensed up everytime just before the fireworks go off, cos we all know he's afraid of loud sounds... LOL~ kawaii! *pinch*

They did the entire song on the main stage if I didn't rem wrongly. And on the second day's first show, Takki didn't managed to catch his stick during the throwing part. It fell behind him. He picked it up quickly and bowed to the audience.. didn't catch the look on his face but the crowd was just laughing away. LOL~ Oh, Takki, you dun tink we will be mad at you, would we?? XDD As a result, during the second show that day, everyone was worried if Takki will catch his stick, cos it was the all-last. I think many in the crowd were repeaters like us.. Hahaha~ So anyway, HE DID!!! And there was some applause. Hahah~

I finally get to do the Serenade dance with them!!! Ureshii~ Thou I didn't buy the stick... Gomen ne, Takki... LOL~ But i gotta save for Nov!! However, there were still many many pple who bought the sticks yo. Even the Tsuba fans in front of me. I tink lotsa pple bought the sticks BECAUSE Takki was the one who designed it. So I think it was "good" they revealed that?? Haa~ I still choose to believe Takki is not entirely to blame for that fugly stick... He has lousy drawing we all know.. so maybe he can't put his ideas out on paper properly. And this concert was done in such a rush.. i bet they didn't have time to do a prototype first... XDDD

★☆Love Spiral☆★
Yappari, this is such a fun song to sing at concerts!! T&T finally left the main stage and each took a side. Takki to the right and Tsuba to the left. They began to hype up the audience. (Just that, we are ALREADY hyped up... muahahaha) I think it was somewhere between this song and the next, they got onto the cranes at each side of the arena. Ah oh myyy... cos we were sitting at the upper rows of the arena on Takki's side on the second day, he came really close to us on that crane!! We were waving our uchiwa and penlights like crazy!! Hahaha... i wonder if he saw our uchiwa...

★☆Sora no Screen☆★
One concerty song morphed into the next. We were jumping up and down at Takki's call like crazy fangirls... Hahaha~ I can't rem but were they still wearing their Serenade costumes?? I think Takki and Tsuba switched sides during this song. Actually I can't rem much of what happened during these 2 songs other than plenty of jumping and screaming cos i was too hyped up!! The 2 of them went round the extended walkways before going back to the main stage to change and before you know it...

★☆Kamen☆★
Those gold Serenade pants must have been pull-away pants cos I only saw them slipping on the black blazer before the lights came on again... Uwaaa.. the song that gets me so high everytime!! Yappari, hearing this song LIVE and blasting at MAXIMUM VOLUME is soooo much MORE MOE!!! My heart was thumping to the Kamen beat. Hohoho~
Their creaseproof satin suits were !!! And the dance was executed perfectly! I LOVE the way they spun their way onto the round platform on the main stage as it started rotating and elevating.. gaaah, it's really hard to explain, you gotta see it urself! They played the PV on some of the screens and I had to keep whacking myself not to stare at those!!! MUST LOOK AT THE REAL THING!!! Muahahha... Next up!

★☆We Are The T&T☆★
I wonder which genius wrote this song... or can I call him a genius? Cos the whole song is only made up of 2 lines and name-calling! LOL~ What an easy job... But this is the song where we get all the juicy stuff!!! As well as news of their marriage! Fufufu~ The lyrics to the song is basically something like this...

Mune ni ai ga aru no sa We are the T&T (There's love in our hearts, We are the T&T)
Mune ni ai ga aru no sa We are the T&T
*Tsuba talks about Takki*
Takki! (screams his name about 8 times)
*Takki talks about Tsuba*
Tsubasa! (screams his name about 8 times)
Mune ni ai ga aru no sa We are the T&T
Mune ni ai ga aru no sa We are the T&T
*Tsuba talks about the fans*
You-tachi! (screams about 8 times)
Mune ni ai ga aru no sa We are the T&T
Mune ni ai ga aru no sa Kimi to T&T (There's love in our hearts, You and T&T)
Takki! Tsubasa! You-tachi! (repeats i dunno how many times)

Tsuba says this will be the Takitsuba Family Song. The lyrics are very simple (at least not the neta parts), but it really makes me feel soo much closer to them. Takki had said before many times he wants to close the distance between them and the fans. i think this song really did it... the way they incorporate us into the song, it really makes you feel like part of the family.

And this is the song where all the neta spills. Hahaha~ Tsuba always puts on his MIB sunglasses and pretends to be very serious when he speaks about Takki.

You can see Takki grinning behind his baka aikata. ^^ By now, i think everyone already knows what Takki and Tsuba said about their marriage. We were screaming like mad from Takki's announcement that they will "kekkon shimasu" to Tsubasa's announcement that they have "kekkon shimashita". LOL~ And after Tsuba announced that on the first show on 22nd, Takki blew like multiple flying kisses to him!!! Haaahahah~~ OMG, im sooo glad to be the watching this... There were many other funny neta too. Like Tsuba teasing Takki about the Serenade stick, and Takki teasing him back about his チャック全開. Apparently this whole zipper issue thing became so prominent that it was even mentioned in the news... LMAO~~~

So they intro juicy stuff about each other then Tsuba would represent the unit and intro the fans, which is us. There was one particular show where i think he saw a fan in the centre seats holding an uchiwa of him when he was really young and he said something like...

おいっ！あのうちわが古いぞ。
１３才の時じゃないですか。
俺もう大人になったよ。
新しいのが買ってくれよ！

Oei, that uchiwa is old!
Isn't that when i was 13?
I've already become an adult yo.
Please buy a new one yo!

It was HILARIOUS. I was laughing my ass off. I bet that fan must be elated! Hahaha, lucky girl. Anyway, Tsuba will say something about the fans/audience every show and always end with 愛してるぞ!

Yes, yes, yes! WE LOVE BOTH OF YOU TOO!!! =333

★☆MC Talk 1☆★
After the riot from the previous song, T&T would always kick off this MC Talk with a cheering competition. Takki would be on the left and Tsuba would be on the right and they would do all sorts of baka stunts to get pple on their sides to yell their names. Like pretending to strip, folding up their pants to reveal their legs, wearing their Kamen jackets inside out , stomping on the stage like little brats (that's Takki. LOL~)... This cheering thing got longer and longer with each show until by the last show, i was quite breatheless. *whacks T&T*

Takki would usually be the one to stop the competition by saying they should stop torturing the audience. Haa~ Yes pls, i already lost my voice by the second day yo... Anyway, they talked about many things during this part and among those that i could actually catch and remember...

- Tsuba talked about his upcoming NHK drama, thou the broadcast date is not confirmed yet.
- Takki talked about Yoshitsune. Filming has progressed to Epi 30+ already. There was once he asked the audience what epi was showing on TV now and pple were throwing answers like "18!" "20!" "19!". Takki stomped his foot (again) and was complaining "zenzen mitenai jyan!!?"... Hahaha~ Takki, chanto mitemasu yo!!! One of them then said something like "I didn't know NHK shows dramas in random order..." LMAOOO~~~ Yappari aho.

I was so tempted to yell to him "平泉へ帰れ!" everytime he talks about Yoshitsune. Gaaaah, i just DUNNO how i am gg to handle Takki's first screen death. Ala, digressed again.

- They announced their solo concerts during this part on the 1st show on 22nd. They said how once again, Johnny himself has katteni decided on it just the night before. And they made us thank him. LOL~ But i was TRULY SHOCKED at Takki's announcement. I mean, Tsuba's solo is no shock to me at all... i just KNEW he will do it again this year when he mentioned it the previous day. But Takki!!!!

Tsubasa: It has been decided yo. I will do Tsuba solo con in August.

Audience: Ehhh???? (followed by major cheering... then Tsuba talked a bit more about how this time it will be a proper tour and all...then!!)

Takki: Jitsu wa, I will also be doing a solo concert... in November.

Audience: EHHHHHHHHH??!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (MAJOR SHOCK!!! Eyeballs popped and bounced around Yoko Arena...)

Takki then said he was as shocked when he heard it from Johnny too. He's like "oh dear, i have no idea what to do at all!"... And he kept asking us if we want to hear his solo concert and we were all like raising our hands yelling "HAAAI!!!!" but at the back of ur heads... 汗. I immed tot of my deflated bank account. OMG, is T&T/Takki pilgrimage going to become a bi-annual event from now on????? x____x GROW, MONEY TREE, GROW!

I dunno how im gg to find the money to finance this trip... gaaah.. but i will be there. I HAVE TO BE!!! It is his first solo!!!! Gaaah, this sakusen needs LOTSA planning.... and saving. GIRLS!! Start your pollen/grass diet if you haven't!!! We'll swim there if we have to!!!

[Edited on 1 June: Jr Corner and Starry Sky has been moved to their rightful places... LOL~ Please find them in Report #2.]

[insert]

After the MC Talk, T&T went backstage to change as Jrs pranced around with lite-sabres. They reappeared on each side of the main stage and had their own dance segment (with once again perfectly executed fireworks-on-command effects) before coming together on the main stage to perform the next song.

[End of insert]

★☆Pride☆★
T&T wore silvery white suits to perform this jacket-swishing number. Takki dashed off backstage when the singing part ended, leaving Tsuba to do the finishing dance alone. And i must say he cut quite a svelte figure in that final pose... So tsuba-rashii to stand like that. Fufufu~

Lights dimmed.

★☆Yoshitsune Corner☆★
I THIS PART!!! Contrary to popular belief that it will be weird, it was actually VERY NICE!!! i look forward to it EVERYTIME! They started off by showing scenes from Yoshitsune, beginning with the Ichinotani scene where Takki goes "Katagata... ... ... .... MAIRU!". The Yoshitsune theme would then play in the background as they showed other scenes in mute and finally, the screen would show an empty Gojo Bridge and oh my lordy~~~ Takki would finally emerge on the top deck of the main stage wearing that green Shanaou costume with the red veil over his head. He then flew off and landed oh-so-gracefully on the main stage. This stunt ALWAYS get the audience going "wooooaaahhh~" And oh, my FAVOURITE PART!!!! The part where someone would lift the veil off him and you can finally see his face...

UWAAAAHHH!!!! He looks SOOOOOO GOOD HERE!!!!!!

I mean, he ALWAYS looked good but he was PARTICULARLY STUNNING here!!! Sorry i had to look at the screen to see his expression here but MAMAMIAA!!!!! The way his golden hair frames his face as he "plays" his flute... and he has *that* INTENSE look on his face!! Those arched brows, the icy stare... MOE!!!!! Utterly GORGEOUS!!! *melts* Since when did Yoshitsune become a sex symbol??? LOL~ Those pics you see on auctions and even the shop pictures on this Yoshitsune corner does it no justice at all!!!! Why didn't they have a pic of his face closed up during the unveiling??!??!?!?!??!?!? GAAAHHH!!!!

After the unveiling, Takki would spar with some of the "enemies" before chibi Benkei appeared. You really cannot help but giggle a bit here seeing how small Benkei was. LOL~ But hey, this chibi Benkei got more and more FLEXIBLE and SUGOI with each show... At first, he just ran around as he sparred with Takki. But by the second day, he was already doing backflips and cartwheels as Takki flew over the audience!! I wonder if anyone down below got blessed by his 秀汁... XDDD

Anyway, there was quite a bit of flying and you can see that Takki had trained for it from the way he took off and landed! It was always very graceful~~ Finally, jrs would roll in these big white screens and block Takki from all 4 sides as he changed for his next song. All this time, chibi Benkei would just run round in circles outside... LOL~~ Takki would finally emerged wearing this black jacket (long-sleeved on the left and sleeveless on the right, reminds me of You & I's costume last year) and his armband is now GOLD. Woohoo~~~ He sparred with chibi Benkei one last time and of course, he won. Benkei would then leave the stage as Takki prepares for his next song... Circle!!!!

And this was ONE HELLA HAWT NUMBER!!!!!!! The growling, his husky voice.... *diessss* OH MY GAWD, my FIRST TIME hearing him sing Circle live and he did it sooooo INCREDIBLY HOT!!!! This song DEFINITELY gets a place in my list of "Spontaneous Combusti-able Songs".

I shall save Circle to start off Part 2 of my concert report cos there is no way i can think about this sexy number at this time of the night and still be able to write coherently... ahhahah~ Is anyone banging their head on the wall now? XDDD

Oh my, look how LOOOOOOOONG my report is already!!! And i'm only like one-third thru!! Yabai desu ne...

Dewa, Part 2 gambarimasu kara, tanoshimi ni shite ne!!!

You know you are obsessed when u link everything back to T&T.

I was sniggering when the guy whom we bought our tics from said he's called Ando.

TAKKI "ando" TSUBASA

LOL. (ok, BANISH that idea cos that guy is just a da**ya-ojisan, thou i must say he still had some ethics. He actually REFUSED to take our money. Will talk more about it later.)

Anyway, im back from TakkiLand. Was really TIRED from the flight.. oh man, i HATE Northwest... The stewards' (yes, there were MORE stewards than stewardesses) service were half-past-six... They keep chatting at the back when they should be clearing our cups! And then the STUPID chair.. yeah, so what if they just changed their entire fleet to the same one that SQ is using?? Their chair sucks!!! We were trying to recline the uber-straight chair (the one where when it's in its upright position, i feel like im actually leaning over???) when we realise it only leans back like wat??? 10degs??? CRAP... i was SOOOOO uncomfortable thruout the flight... And the leg space was minimal.. i had tot that since it is an Amercian airline, we might get more leg space. Ya rite. The Amercian sitting next to me had to literally SQUEEZE himself into his seat (legs first). It was so painful to watch. And their so-called personal entertainment system kept cranking up. Loracyn had such a hard time getting the interactive thing to work.

Oh but one funny thing. I was trying to keep myself awake cos there was simply NO WAY to sleep comfortably in that crap chair. I realised we could play Reversi with other passengers on board so i registered calling myself Takki. And asking Syl to be Tsubasa. But that girl said she need to use the toilet first so while i was waiting for Tsubasa, someone ELSE got in and requested to play with me. Someone sitting at 14C by the name of God. LMAO~~~ "Might as well", i tot. So there, Takki pitting against God in a game of Reversi.

And with ALL DUE RESPECT, this "God" is quite dumb. He (my instincts tell me it's a he) let me take 3 corners. So mina-sama, TAKKI won "GOD". LMAO~

OK, so i got home at like 3am and slept til this afternoon. Was unpacking my luggage when i found my regular press Kamen CD which i bot in Japan instead of ordering thru internet. Tot i will play it to check that the CD is ok... (as if i can do anything even if it's not.. -_-;;) and.. and...

MAJOR LOVESICKNESS SETS IN!!!

Hearing Kamen is like
Then Mirai Koukai is like
And finally when it's Romantic

And NOW as i am typing this, i am listening to my recording. There's too much backgrd noise but i can still roughly tell what's what cos i was there.. and OH MY GAWD!!! Listening to Starry Sky and i wanna CRY!!!!!!! It has ALWAYS been my wish to hear them sing it LIVE cos it's SUCH SUCH SUCH a heart-warming song really.. the lyrics and tune and everything.. when they played the intro, my heart nearly stopped. Oh mamamiaa~~~ i wanna go back!!!

okok, i gotta do this in a chronological manner if not i will miss out stuff.. but my mind is really in a BLUR.. i rem bits and pieces from here and there.. and i tink ive mixed up all the 4 shows.

Yes, i snapped and went for ALL FOUR SHOWS.

LMAO~~~ it's my usual excuse of "might as well, since im there". But AMAZINGLY i did not burst the budget i set out for... i ORIGINALLY only wanted to go for the 2nd shows, cos they were actually encore-able. The 3 of us were all ready to THROW OUT everything for the all-last. ONLY THAT, there were no tickets!! -_-

For the 1st 3 shows, we were fine taking stand seats, but we REALLY wanted centre seats for the all-last. The amount of money we were willing to fork out... (and mind you, i actually underquoted)... The guy was like "Why are you all willing to pay so much for a ticket???"

Yesh, he actually ASKED ME THAT. LOL~~~

We asked for centre seats but he doesnt have any. He gave us arena first and said he will exchange them with centre if he has any the next day. But after the first show on 22nd, they still dun have any that we wanted. No one is letting go!!! Even if we pay him x0,000yen or x00,000yen, there's no tickets to sell us!! LMAO~ (is this good news??) Then we tot we try and get better arena seats, but he has none we want. They were all on the wrong side... Then he finally told us, just keep the tics we took the night before and "go enjoy the concert! dun waste so much money!!"

LMAO~~~ It's so funny. I cant believe he's telling me that!!

And i actually told him about Takki's solo con... like how "yabai" it is (for us overseas fans). And he asked me where and when it's gonna be.. ahahah.. omg, am i in cahoots?? *whacks* But anyway, he's like "dakara, save the money this time for November yo. Call me again then, i will save good seats for you." Muahahah... this is so ridiculous.... But oh wat the heck, i might just call.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

So let's see, for the 2 shows on 21st and 22nd, i had stand seats, both Row 7, both on Tsuba's side. *whacks*

Then for 22nd, we were sitting at the back rows of Arena for both shows, on Takki's side FINALLY. Only that the cart that comes round during Aishitagari is soooo bloody high u hafta be a Olympian high-jumper to be able to reach him. But Takki was REALLY near... thou he STILL didn't respond to our uchiwas.. damn. We gotta make it bigger kana... must rem that he's myopic. LOL~

Alamak, I dunno what this entry is about really... it's so disorganised, sumamisen.
Shall work on a more coherent report now... hiakhiak.

I AM SO GOING BACK IN NOVEMBER.

3.5 hours to take off!!! And i'll be back in Takki Land breathing the same air as him. ^-^

Updating my blog now on Loracyn's comp as our is a terribly early flight, so came to her hse to take a lift from her mum. Saves me the midnight taxi cab fare which i can put to better use investing in *cough*takkistuff*cough*. LMAO~~~

Was watching HeyHeyHey jus now and oh myy gaawdd, my jaws are aching... SO damn hilarious... EVERYONE shld watch it... hahahahhah~~~ And Takki laughed sooo much in this epi! SOOO CUTE!!! I am TOTALLY IN LOVE with his egao. His scrunched up cheeks and eyes that disappear into little arches^^!! Kyyaaahhhhh... *pinch*pinch*
I smile seeing him smile. Yappari my Sunshine Boy. XDDD
And Tsuba, thou he was a liiittle neglected in the show, his toothy smile.. hahaha... soo tsubasa rashii. He really has a toothy smile/grin ne? But he REALLY is hopeless in the competive sports department ne... Haaahahah, yametoku!! (but no wait, i want to see his baka self... hiakhiak)

Anyway, wun be having much internet access while im there so prob wun be able to update... kana? Ahahahha... im sooooo comp dependent now i dunno how i will survive one week without it. Will prob still try and find an internet cafe to check email every now and then, so any urgent matter, do tag me!!! (ne, Yvie? *winks* still dangling the -peep- above Japan Sea. LMAAAOOOOO)

Dewa dewa, itte kimasuku! XDDD

p/s: i am going to drop behind in yoshitsune again... Just when i tot i was catching up... gaah. x_x

Yoshitsune and his kerai continue their peaceful life in Kamakura. They are popular with the villagers, who often offer some of their harvest for free. One day, Benkei comments that Shizuka's leg seemed to have fully recovered. She will be able to return to the capital and her mother soon.

Shizuka: "..."

Yoshitsune: "... ..."

Saburo and Jiro: (-_-;;;)

At Yoshitsune's place, Benkei remains the only one who doesn't understand the relationship between Yoshitsune and Shizuka. Never comfortable around women, he keeps urging her to go back to Kyoto every now and then. Seeing this, Saburo and Jiro attempt to enlighten Benkei about their relationship. They go from explaining it figuratively to telling him outright but Benkei just cannot understand. He has totally no concept of man/woman relationships. Feeling vexed, Benkei storms off to the beach alone but falls into the water and nearly got drowned. A fisherman's daughter Chidori saves him.

Waking up in the fisherman's house, Benkei is shocked to see a naked Chidori. He breaks through the wall of her house (LOL) and runs away. That night during dinner, Yoshitsune wonders if Benkei is sick as he is acting strangely. Chidori's father suddenly appears and complains about Benkei's ingratitude, running away without thanking her daughter. After he leaves, the rest of the kerai started teasing Benkei until Shizuka stops them. Yoshitsune asks Benkei to look Chidori up again and thank her properly. (Actually i have no idea why Chidori lets Benkei sees herself naked... Hmm...)

The next morning, Benkei looks up Chidori. Seeing her, he suddenly gets nervous and starts blabbering.

Benkei: "i.. i entered a temple since i was young.. a temple in the mountains.. so.. so i have never really entered the sea before... i didn't know that one's body can feel so different in the water.. and when the waves come... i just... what i want to say is.. i can't swim!"

Chidori: O_o??

Benkei: "i have always been strong... so it's embarassing for me to have to be saved by someone.. and moreover.."

Chidori: "You saw me naked?"

Benkei starts choking (LMAO~~~). He struggles to explain that because he entered the temple at a young age, he doesn't even remember his mother. He has lived for so long in the company of men, that he feels uncomfortable with women. Seeing the body of a naked woman for the first time throws him into confusion...

Chidori: "Did you just call me a woman?"

Benkei: "Eh?"

Chidori: "You called me a woman?"

Benkei nods like a child and Chidori smiles. Seeing that, Benkei runs away again like Mr Bean. (LOLLLL~~~) Walking home, he keeps muttering to himself that he doesn't understand women...

Despite that, he starts going to Chidori's place frequently. Saburo and the rest follow him and are relieved he finally gets what they have been trying to teach him.

Meanwhile, the masses are slowly returning to Kyoto from Fukuhara. Tomomori calls on Kiyomori before he moves back to Kyoto too. Almost everyone else in the family has already moved back.

Sitting alone watching the sunset, Kiyomori is joined by Tokiko. She will be leaving for Kyoto the next day and asks when he will leave. Kiyomori replies he wants to stay in Fukuhara a little longer and tells her about his (unfinished) dream. He has had great plans for Fukuhara, all with the people in mind, but no one understands him. Sadness and disappointment emanates from his eyes.

In contrast, works are underway in Kamakura to develop the city.

Masako summons for Yoshitsune one day and tells him she and Yoritomo are thinking of getting him a wife. Yoshitsune tries to put it off by telling her he does not think the time is right yet. He goes home troubled. (i think he cannot decline flatly cos it will be like defying your "master". For some reason, it seems that Yoshitsune cannot tell his brother that he wants to marry Shizuka. Because she is a shirabyoushi? I think shirabyoushi is often associated with prostitutes sometimes...and also status difference? i have no idea...)

That night, Shizuka overhears Benkei and the others talking about this issue. She senses that she is the cause of his troubled mind and decides to leave him and return to the capital afterall.
Masako tells Yoritomo about Yoshitsune's reaction to their suggestion of getting a wife. (I can't understand what she is really saying here, only that she does not approve of Shizuka. Mou, Yoshitsune-sama... GO BACK to Hiraizumi already... Why bother staying??? Argh...) Yoritomo says he will get Yoshitsune a wife to keep him in Kamakura. (Both have evil looks on their faces. *stabs*)

One night, Shizuka finally announces to everyone her decision to go back to Kyoto. Yoshitsune's kerai try to keep her but Shizuka's mind is set.

That night, Yoshitsune and Shizuka plays the flute together (probably for the last time). Benkei watches from a distance and weeps for them. He feels so helpless that he is unable to help the two of them. (T----T)

Chidori's father drags Chidori to Yoshitsune's house. He demands to know why Benkei is breaking up with her. Benkei explains he don't think it is right for him to continue seeing her when Yoshitsune and Shizuka have to part with each other. Yoshitsune scolds him, claiming that it's two different issues altogether. If his kerai has such thinking, he is better off without them. Shizuka then asks Chidori to take good care of Yoshitsune and the rest after she is gone.
Meanwhile, uprisings against the Heike clan takes place throughout the country. Shigeira is sent by Kiyomori to suppress the riots at Nara (started by monks?) and he burns down temples and the Great Nara Buddha statue in the process. As a result, discontentment with the Heike clan grows even stronger. (I wonder issit that one at Todaiji... i've seen it! It's HUGE but it's supposed a replica of the original one which was even bigger... So Hidehira was the one who burnt down the original one? *coughs*)

Shigehira's wife Sukeko is shocked to find out what her husband has done. She fears that Shigehira will be cursed for burning the Buddha statue and confides in Tokiko.

Meanwhile, Kiyomori has returned to Kyoto. He in somewhat of a depression, that he failed to fulfil his dream. He is talking to Gotari (they are like grandfather and grandson here... so heart-warming) when the latter asks where is his rosary that he always keeps on hand. Kiyomori thinks he must have left it in Fukuhara. Gotari offers to go back to retrieve it but Kiyomori says it's ok. There is no need to go back specially for it as he feels that he will definitely return there again. (only that he doesn't... T-T)

Back in Kamakura, Masako's maid Tekona suddenly appears at Yoshitsune's place. She has escaped from Masako and Yoritomo and begs Yoshitsune to take her in. Yoshitsune says it is impossible. Tekona then decides to return to the capital. Yoshitsune asks her to take Shizuka with her. (I cannot catch their conversation here... i dunno why Tekona suddenly decides to leave Masako... seems like she is afraid of Masako and Yoritomo... er.. sexual harassment from the latter?? HIGHLY possible.. LMAO~~ will find out.)

Shizuka and Yoshitsune have a conversation for the last time before Shizuka leaves the next day.

Shizuka: "Will you go back to the capital one day?"

Yoshitsune: "I wish to if i have the chance... no... i will return one day no matter what."

Shizuka: "If that's the case, when that time comes, let's promise to meet each other again."

Yoshitsune: "i've been thinking what i can give you as a parting gift. The flute you gave me, i want to keep it with me as a momento to remember you. But now I can't think of anything else to give you..."

Shizuka: "You said before, you wanted me to stay here with you, is that the truth?"

Yoshitsune: "From the bottom of my heart."

Shizuka: "If that's the case, i will treat these words as a gift from you, and return to the capital with these words close to my heart."

Shizuka then thanks Yoshitsune for giving her the happiest time in her life during her stay at Kamakura. She will never forget her days here. (wails.... sooo sad... *coughs* *chokes* waaahhhh...)

Shizuka finally leaves with Tekona the next day as Yoshitsune bids her goodbye.

~End of Episode 17~

I CAN'T STOP GRINNING.

Was watching TV in the living room just now when my sis came home and plonked a huge envelope on me. I was like ~_~ but then taking a closer look at it... It's from my fren in Japan!!!! Ton-chaaaannn~~~~ Ahahahah... and i KNEW what it was even before i opened it. Muahahhaha~~~ Because weeks ago, she asked me if i buy japanese mags with T&T or Takki and im like "Of cos! But only those where he's on cover ne... if not i'll be DEAD BROKE cos these dudes appear on EVERY mag EVERY month." Then she was like ok, she'll send me if she sees them..

HERE THEY ARE!!!

Hahahah... i was sooooooo doki doki when i opened it cos i dunno if she had gotten something that i already have!! Which would be such an anti-climax... so i slowly slowly teared up the envelope, peer in... and UWAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAH... TADA!!!



THESE ARE EXACTLY THE TWO I WANT BUT HAVE YET TO GET!!!!!!!!


In fact, me and Loracyn were just discussing about the TV mags... should we buy here? or should we buy there?? The fact that they are weekly TV mags means their shelf life is very short... it is prob not gonna be available by the time we get there... and now im sure it wun be, cos both are until 13 May and we are only reaching on the 17th! But getting them here would mean paying soooo sooo much more!! But now, i DUN have to komaru anymore... hahahha..

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH TON-CHAN!!! =3333

Look at the TV Guide cover!!! The way Tsuba places his arms around Takki!!! Ooh-lala!! Mata role-reversal ka?? Hahahhaha... And Tsuba really looks pretty masculine inside too.. opps, i wonder how the uke Tsuba-fans are taking this... Demo, daijoubu, daijoubu. Tsuba STILL looks desirable.. heheheh~ ALTHOUGH i must say... that picture of them on Page 5, Tsuba looks kinda *peep*... I actually thought of Domoto Tsuyoshi when i saw that pic!! Seriously, the resemblance... Takki looks REALLY relaxed inside thou.

And in this issue of TV Guide, they were asked about their Yume.

Tsubasa: The place i most want to go now is France! I have a friend playing for a French soccer team and i want to go and support him. And then of cos, drink lotsa wine, sleep loads... (laughs) As for things nearer home, i cook a lot, but the cleaning up after that is really troublesome, so i really really want a dish washer! That's why now when i go to those big electronic stores, i'm always checking out the dish washer display sets seriously.

Ok, all Tsuba fans should know what to do now. Go hang out at the dish washer section at Yodobashi Camera or Big Camera or just hang out at Akihabara!! Then when u see a suspicious character decked out in sunglasses and beanie and scrutinising the sets on display, POUNCE! Hohohoho.... Tsuba is really like a obaasan ne. But anyway, i always think a guy who likes to cook is very attractive.. And also because i can't.

Takki: The thing i most want now is off days. Due to concert preparation, i have been sooo busy. I just want to meet my friends for meals and relax. If i have a bit more time, i want to go to Toyama. Because i have a friend staying there, and during summer, one can enjoy marine sports. And of course, plenty of seafood!! It will be nice going overseas too, but i will start craving for rice and nattou immediately. For someone like me who needs to eat Japanese food everyday, going overseas is kinda difficult kana.. (laughs)

He and his nattou and rice. Just like an ojiisan.

An obaasan and an ojiisan. What a coincidence. LOL~

So Takki is not a die-hard workaholic afterall. Yappari he's feeling the stress and wants a holiday. My heart broke a little when i read that line. Actually i REALLY REALLY want him to take a break too. Take a looong one if he wants to. Like one month. I'm totally FINE with it. GO AHEAD!!! I think he deserves it. He is not the first JE artiste to lead in a Taiga drama, but am i wrong to say that he is the FIRST one to continue to have his annual concert tour in the midst of filming?? And CD single release on top of that... He works sooo blooody hard for us, he deserves a good long break. But why am i hearing that they are planning a single AND album release by end of this year?? And Yoshitsune filming wraps up only in October! gaaahh..... sometimes it's not just him who needs a break... i tink we need one too!! All this insane catching up we have to do... uwaah.. taihen. it's a love-hate relationship. I THOUGHT YOSHITSUNE YEAR IS SUPPOSED TO BE RAKU???!? -___-

Anyway, another interesting bit in TV Guide regarding their concert preparation.

Tsubasa: We need to discuss concert details with each other but because both of us usually have little free time, we used to discuss via email. But this time, WE HAVE NO TIME! So it's like "It's faster by phone jyan??" and so we finally exploited the phone.

Hahah... Only NOW they realise the existence of a gadget called phone?? Give me a feeling that they dun tok on phone much?? hehehe... but neva mind, now they do! Moe~~~


So now, i *think* i only need to get Oricon Style and WU? Right?? Oh god, this 雑誌の嵐 is so hard to keep up... THOU i hope the second Yoshitsune Mook comes out soon, cos im nearing the end of the first one and I NEED IT TO GET THE STORY!! hahaha... Now not only my TV Guide Mook is falling apart, even my NHK one the spine is breaking up too!!! I dun even rem flipping my textbooks the way i do now when i was in school!! LOL... but oh dear, this is soo yabai... now i need to like clamp the spine of the mook with my knees when i flip thru it to prevent further damage!!!

And oh, one more happy thing. This friend who's teaching in Japan now.. haha.. she just msged me and said she's seeing a lot of Takki on TV nowadays... She ALWAYS used to say that he looks sooooo "gu niang".. aka, like a girl (or rather a faggot to be specific -_-;;;) but now she realises that Takki's actually pretty goodlooking. "nai4 kan4" was her exact words. (耐看 which literally means one whom u can stare at for loong looong time). HOHOHOHOHO.... She actually VOLUNTARILY told me that! Yesh... Yappari, one must not underestimate Takki Power.

Kamakura. Yoshitsune and Shizuka are taking a stroll in the woods. Shizuka tells Yoshitsune her leg is healing fast. When it does, she will have to leave Kamakura. Yoshitsune's heart sank hearing that and he asks her if she wants to return to the capital. Shizuka does not answer. Masako watches them from a distance with her maid. She feels jealous of their pure relationship and nearly becomes a green-eye monster but re-composes herself and pretend it doesn't bother her.

Kichiji visits Yoshitsune on his way to Hiraizumi and is welcomed by everyone. Yoshitsune's kerai ask Shizuka to ask Kichiji anything about Kyoto as he is from there and she has not been back for some time. Kichiji tells them that the situation in Kyoto is depressing, as the capital has been forcefully moved to Fukuhara by Kiyomori. Only those who are unable to move (that is, the old and poor) remains in Kyoto and they are harassed by bandits and looters.

Munemori brings his eldest son Kiyomune to meet Go-Shirakawa. (I dunno what's his motive thou...) The latter comments on how Munemori still has this tsumuji (my dictionary throws up as "hair whirl") at his eye brows (doko? doko?) since young, just like himself. Munemori seems a little embarrassed. Go-shirakawa then laments about abandoning his beautiful Kyoto for Fukuhara. After Munemori leaves, Go-shirakawa mutters something and has this evil smile on his face. (Seems like he knows Kiyomori's decision to move the capital is very unpopular, even with his sons. My guessing...)

In the evening, Munemori is talking with Kiyomori, telling him how the masses are unhappy with the new capital Fukuhara. He urges Kiyomori to move the capital back to Kyoto but gets a scolding instead. When there are major changes, there will always be some confusion at first. Kiyomori claims his decision to relocate the capital is not a rash one. If they are to move back to Kyoto just because the people complain, how will the Heike clan appear to the masses? It will seem like they are weak.

Munemori sulks by himself at the pond and Tokiko looks him up and asks him what he did to make Kiyomori so angry. Munemori did not answer but instead ask Tokiko if he is really Kiyomori's son. Because Kiyomori is never fond of him since young and always scold him. And he has this tsumuji that no one else in the family has, but Go-shirakawa does. He asks if he is Go-shirakawa's son. Tokiko just laughs it off and tells him not to say that he is not a Heike son again.
A few days later, Kiyomori suddenly calls for a meeting with all his sons. He asks them to choose between Kyoto and Fukuhara. And everyone chooses Kyoto except Tokitada. Kiyomori is disappointed and hurt but accepts the majority's choice to move back anyway.

Meanwhile in Kamakura, Masako cannot find Yoritomo and asks his stepmother if she has seen him. The latter tells her she heard a rumour but does not know if it's true, that...

Yoshitsune is picking flowers in the forest and sees Masako. He tries to follow her and is shocked to see Yoritomo enjoying an intimate moment with his mistress Kame no Mae (whom he has arranged to come over from Izu) at this house. And even more shock when he finds Masako watching them secretly. Masako is furious and upset and turns to leave but bumps into Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune feels awkward and gives Masako the flowers he just picked. Masako is touched for a moment and looks at Yoshitsune with tears in her eyes. Yoshitsune feels very bad for his brother's behaviour and apologises. Masako then runs away.

That night, Kame no Mae's house was burnt. Yoshitsune's kerai manage to save her from the fire.

Yoritomo knows it is Masako's doing and confronts her. Masako thinks she did nothing wrong. She tells him she saw them together that afternoon. Yoritomo is angry but loss for words.
Kame no Mae sits in a daze at Yoshitsune's house. She tells them she is going back to Izu and will never meet Yoritomo again.

That night, Yoshitsune plays the flute with Shizuka. Shizuka's leg is almost healed, which means she will be leaving Kamakura soon. Yoshitsune fears the coming of that day, as he has fallen in love with Shizuka. Kame no Mae's plight acts as a catalyst for him to take some action if not lose Shizuka altogether. The two have a long talk. Shizuka says something about how she admires Kame no Mae (i tink), for willing to step out of the relationship so as not to put Yoritomo in a dilemma. Yoshitsune asks what her dream in life is. Shizuka replies something like she just wants to polish her skills and be a good shirabyoushi, just like her mother.

Yoshitsune: "If you return to the capital, this is the kind of life you will lead?"

Shizuka: "Hai."

Yoshitsune: "Compared to living here and in the capital, which is the kind of life you will rather lead? Do you want to return or do you want to stay?"

Shizuka is shocked, and unable to answer.

Yoshitsune: "I don't want you to leave!"

Shizuka finally finds the courage to speak.

Shizuka: "I want to stay with you..."

Yoshitsune: "Please stay... stay here for me..."

Shizuka: "I have been hoping that my leg will never heal, so that i will never have to leave you..."

Yoshitsune hugs Shizuka in the dark. (ooooohh my goodd... it's sooo sweet, soo touching... T-T See? Love scenes can be so rabu-rabu even without the need to kiss!)

December 1180. Yoritomo successfully sets up his samurai-dokoro and (amazingly) 300+ samurai from all over the country turns up and pledge their allegience to him. Yoritomo becomes known as Kamakura-dono. (Excuse me but, why does an exile like Yoritomo suddenly becomes so popular?? Or maybe it's just that Heike made too many enemies...)

Later in private, Yoritomo is wondering what to do with Yoshitsune. If he gives him a post just because he is his brother, how would the men who have fought with him think? Masako tells Yoritomo to be wary of Yoshitsune. He has a charm in him that attracts people mysteriously and this can be a threat to Yoritomo if people starts going to Yoshitsune. Tokimasa reminds Yoritomo that two of Yoshitsune's kerai (the Sato brothers) come from Hidehira's clan and can also be a threat to him. Masako tells Yoritomo to remember his own mother's words if he is confused, that he is the true bloodline of the Minamoto family. Yoshitsune is just a son from the sideline. Yoritomo starts to become wary and suspicious of Yoshitsune. (Stupid evil Masako...)

Sometime later, Yoritomo's Tsurugaoka Hachimanguu in Kamakura, his headquaters (I think something like his castle?) is completed and he receives a few steeds as congratulatory gifts. A few men are called up to lead the horses and when it comes to the last man, to everyone surprise, Yoritomo calls Yoshitsune to do it. Yoshitsune is shocked because such jobs are usually left to the kerai with low status. But after some deliberation, he finally replies and takes the reins. By doing this, Yoritomo shows his men that his relationship with his brother Yoshitsune is a purely master-servant one. (as in, he's making use of this incident to show others and Yoshitsune himself, who's boss. x__x Booo Boooo~~~)

Yoshitsune'e kerai hear about the incident and are furious that their master has been humiliated. Yoshitsune is obviously affected but tries to find a reason to defend his brother. He tells them, he has not really fight for his brother yet, so it is natural that compared with the rest, he will be given a "lower" job. He does not want to be given a high post just because he is Yoritomo's brother. He will rather work hard to prove himself. The kerai decides to work hard for Yoshitsune too and starts singing some song to encourage each other. Shizuka watches from outside and is glad that Yoshitsune and his kerai eventually finds "peace" among themselves.

~End of Episode 16~

Was yakkin with Yvie so late into the night yesterday that i slept until 1.30pm today! XDD Felt so guilty waking up so late knowing that Takki works his ass out for us everyday... Sumamisen, Takki! But you do know that the only reason i stay up so late every night is because of you!! Not that i have anything MAJOR to do even if i woke up early... i would have just got online earlier... LOL~ Oh gawd, seriously, my social life is ZILCH everytime Takki activities are on a high.... which is pretty much always. Yabaai na.

Anyway, was fumbling around my living room in a sleepyhead mode looking for food when i suddenly SIGHTED the parcel on the dining table!!! KYAAAHHH~~~ Have been waiting and waiting for it the past 2 days and for a moment when u are NOT thinking about it, TADA!! I was starving already but i still grabbed the box and rushed back into my room. And oh man, the people sure SEALED it up like crazy... i had such a HARD TIME opening the box!! And i finally opened it up and .... My Kamen CDs, mattemashita yo~

I have to say, the photo booklet is really really done up tastefully this time... it is sooooo elegant!!! Soooo classy!! Totally in sync with the overall image, totally belongs there with the black-white theme this year! *kicks the fugly Matsuken Samba stick to Pluto Neptune* But i was telling Yosho, how i hate it when they opt to do spreads... cos it is absolutely humanly impossible to look at the spread properly without tearing up the book!!! If they want to do spreads, fine! Err... just give us a BIGGER PHOTOBOOK! lol~

And oooh, Kamen sounds SOOOO MUCH MORE *INTENSE* with CD quality!!! Now i no longer feel guilty putting it on auto-repeat.. ahhaha... and i really plug in my mega headphones and BLAST IT on my comp... Just to you know... create a surround-sound effect... like how it would really sound in concert... and oh-la-la... it's a concert song thru and thru... intense melody, complete with super cool (and complicated) dance steps!!! I REALLY LOVE KAMEN. i love the song, i love the way T&T sound, i love the dance steps, i love the PV!!! The only thing i have problem with is the hadaka in the PV... i STILL do not know why they put in that... *shrugs* And how come Takki's hair appears soo black in that part? i want blonde blonde Takki...

Mirai Koukai. Actually i haven't heard enough of this song cos i am still very caught up with Kamen! Hahahahha... but it really has an anime feel to it. And yea, this fresh feeling. But i prefer concerty songs, and Kamen definitely WINS hands down here...

And the karaoke versions, issit just me, but why do i seem to hear the background singers singing "true heaarrrrt..." at the very beginning of Kamen? hahah... i wonder if im thinking too much. Yosho said he hears it more as "oooh aaah" or something... But hey, "true heart" makes more sense... LOL~

Finally, ROMANTIC. i realised, after REJECTING the offer of hearing the MP3 for sooo long, I DUN HAVE ROMANTIC!!! Lmaaooooo~~~~ I didn't want to spoil myself! But i totally FORGOT that Romantic is only available in the regular press, which i didn't order!! i plan to get it only when i reach Japan but haaa~~ No i CANNOT wait this long... i need to hear it now so in case they decide to sing in it in the concert, i can sing along!! So, *coughs* im getting the Romantic MP3 afterall... but hey! at least now i dun feel GUILTY about listening to the MP3 cos technically, i am not spoiling myself. Bleah~

i'm going to rip Kamen out and overwrite the radio version i have in my flashdrive now... It is going to be soo much clearer and nicer!!! I get so hyped up everytime i listen to it.. it's definitely one of the BEST T&T dance tracks! Up there with Diamond and all!! Just imagine, listening to them back to back...

To be + Diamond + Kamen = SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION!!!

Anyway, was flipping June's Myojo just now. I actually haven look thru the magazine properly since i got it... LOL. There's a Young Song insert in it and wakakakaka, i realised there's actually an article on T&T in it!! OMG, that's THREE articles on Takki in one issue of Myojo alone!! This, the one with Ueto Aya and with Tsubasa! Definitely worth the money. Takki fans, YOU MUST GET IT!!!

Anyway, was reading the article and Tsubasa was saying that Mirai Koukai has existed for some time already, always the backup song for single but neva quite made it somehow. Now, being chosen as the ending theme for One Piece, it finally gets recorded into a single. And the feel of Mirai is very hmmm.. "soft", which makes it a good contrast with Kamen. But the part where i BURST OUT LAUGHING was the part about the title "Kamen".

Apparently when Serenade was released, there was also an interview on them in Young Song? In that interview, Takki supposedly declared he is going to standardise all Takitsuba's romantic songs and create a "3-kanji-character series". That is to say, the kanji names of all Takitsuba's romantic songs from then on will all have 3 characters. Like 愛想曲 for Serenade. So now the reporter is like, "But Kamen (仮面) only has 2...??" And Takki burst out laughing.

Takki: *laughs*. Actually, this song was written to be the ending song for the movie Mask 2. So the title is kinda fixed to be "Kamen" from the start. But if we were to be particular and insist on 3 characters, it might become something like "Tetsu Kamen"... That sounds terrible so we gave up and settled on Kamen this time.

Oh my gawd, 鉄仮面???? (which means metal mask)

LMAAAOOOO.... noooooooooooo.... This is sooo hilarious... hahhahahahha Thank GOD you gave up on that Takki, else it would have been RIDICULOUS!!! LOL~~~ DUN NEED TO BE SO PERSISTENT WITH CERTAIN THINGS ne ne?? omg, why do i keep thinking of that Leonardo DiCaprio's "Man with the Iron Mask"... hahahhah.... LUCKY this aho didn't seem to have a say in the name of the song this time... thank god indeed.

Saw Utaban's Kamen performance. They din sing the whole song but ooooooohh, it is definitely much BETTER than their first MS one... So much MORE ANGST in it this time!!! You can sooo see Takki's super intense look (complete with arched eyebrows) in this one... Woohoo~~~ HOT.

Takki paticipated in some parade/festival at Hiraizumi, Esashi Prefecture on the 3rd of May. I think this is an event held annually by the prefecture to commemorate Fujiwara's rule hundreds of years ago. And this year, since NHK is showing Yoshitsune, and Hiraizumi is a prominent location in the drama, Takki was invited to participate in the parade! Just imagine his HECTIC schedule as he rushes from Osaka on 1st May, to Tokyo for radio show on 2nd May and then to Esashi on 3rd May on this parade! That's almost HALF the length of Honshuu!!! But still very proud of him!!!

Compiling from the various online news sources, basically this is what happened...

Due to "Takki Effect", 280000 people (They had expected a larger than before turnout, but still underestimated by 30,000... XDDD) turned up for the 45th anniversary of the event, the highest in history ever. And this is a VERY SUGOI number because... it is 31 times the population of Hiraizumi!!! LMAAOOO~~~ Apparently Takki's eyes widened when all he could see throughout that 4km stretch that his entourage is supposed to travel is just stormed with people, people and MORE people! (YES takki, THEY ARE ALL THERE TO SEE YOU!!! You wa SHINING STAR dakara ne! XDDD) And people were just yelling "Takki!" "Yoshitsune-sama!" "Onzoushi!" all the way. He was wearing the blue costume he wears now in the show, and rode on a white steed , flanked by 91 other participants. And of course, he is the STAR of the parade. Even the number of security staff increased from 200+ last year to 500!

Hohoho~ And due to this "Takki Effect", the Hiraizumi folks were VERY GRATEFUL to Takki. The head of this temple (which was the destination of the parade) in Hiraizumi was saying to Takki when he arrived, "Thanks to you, we have an unprecedented turnout ever since our temple is built. We want to thank you and the cast, Taiga staff and NHK. Here in Hiraizumi, there is NOT A SINGLE PERSON who watches TV without paying for his TV license yo." (LOL, naaani?? ahhahahha) Takki on the other hand said that he is happy to be able to meet so many people who support him and Taiga thru this event. He knows the ratings of Taiga is high, but to be able to witness for himself how Taiga audience ranges from small kids to obaasans, he feels a sense of confidence and happiness. He promises to work even harder so as not to disappoint viewers.

Takki, I'm happy for you too!!! You always make me SOOO PROUD. I hope you feel the LOVE from all of us!!! We are behind you ALL THE WAY ne!! Gamfammi~~~

Anyway, you can see some pictures of the event here. Weird but, there were actually more pics on the page and even a video clip for download yesterday. But the page was taking soooooooooooo long to load!!! Anyway they are gone now. Only left a few pics... ahahha... Takki fans must be STORMING that page. XDDD

Takki, heard he got a tad sunburnt during the 1.5 hour parade. x_x;;; Dame dayo!!! *rushes to slather sunblock over his fair glowing skin*