MCs at Ryu’s and Ryohei’s birthday live
Azavana presents
Ryu Birthday ONEMAN "IDEAL" @Daikanyama UNIT 2024.10.28
Ryu: "I’m so sorry I had to drag you through a boring 3-minute bass solo. It feels so weird to be the center of attention—I’m not sure I’ll do this again."
Ryohei: "Stop selling yourself short!!!"
Ryu: "It’s just that I’d rather do a solo within a song when all of you are on stage with me."
Ryo: "Ryu and I spent some time together the other day. It was nice."
Ryu: "Yeah, it was. People seem to think we don’t get along well, but that’s really not true."
Ryo: "Definitely."
Shiyu: "Actually, about that—I remember after our rehearsal at the studio, we were talking about going out to eat. I thought it’d be a good chance to leave those two alone to spend some time together so I decided to go home. And guess what? The next morning, I wake up at 5 a.m. to a happy-looking selfie of the two of them with their arms around each other.(laughs)"
Ryu: "I chose the snake as a symbol on my birthday merchandise because it represents transformation and rebirth. It’s actually featured in my new outfit too—there’s a snake-like pattern . on my tights."
Ryo: *returns to the stage with a big cardboard sign that says, "We’ll buy you anything for 30,000 yen" and hands it to Ryu as a present*
Ryu: *reads aloud* "We’ll buy you anything for 30,000… wait… euros?"
Shiyu: "It says yen right there! (laughs)"
Ryu: "Give it to me in euros!! (laughs)"
Ryohei: "Since you never really want anything as a gift, we decided to go with this ‘cardboard coupon.’"
Ryu: "That’s true, thanks. I really can’t think of a single thing I want…"
Ryohei: "Why, though? There has to be something you’d like!"
Ryu: "Honestly, I’m just happy enough playing such an amazing show with everyone in the crowd smiling. But if I had to choose something… the only thing I want is happiness."
Ryohei: "What? What did you just say? Say it louder for the people in the back."
Ryu: "I wish for HAPPINESS! That good enough?"
Ryohei: "Yes! And about that coupon—how about you use it to get something practical, like gear for making music or playing bass?"
Azavana presents
Ryohei Birthday ONEMAN "Kyoki ranbu" (Ecstatic frenzy)
@Tokyo Kinema Club, 2024.11.07
During the encore, Ryohei walks back on stage, joined soon by Ryu.
They wait around, but the other members are nowhere to be seen. Eventually, they spot S1TK peering down at them from the second floor of the hall, before he finally joins them on stage. After a bit, Ryo and Shiyu come out carrying a big red gift bag, which they hand to Ryohei. He opens it to reveal a pillow—the exact one he’d been dreaming of having.
Ryohei: "Oh wow, this is the pillow I told our manager I wanted!"
Other members: "It kind of looks like a Styrofoam box, doesn’t it?"
Ryohei: "I know, but I heard it’s amazing! It’s cooling, temperature-regulating—the works. I’m the type who needs more than one pillow to sleep comfortably, and they all have to fit just right. This one is perfect! Actually, it was Yuya from “Watashi wa ukabinagara shizumu” (ex-DOF) who recommended it to me."
Everyone: (laughs)
Ryu: "Did you hear that? If you want to sleep just like Ryohei, you can get the same pillow—although I doubt there’s anyone who actually wants to (laughs).
Ryohei: "So, I made the band wear tokkofuku (bike gang uniforms) today. S1TK, how’s the view from back there?"
S1TK: "I’m trying not to laugh because there are so many words written on all your uniforms today!"
Ryohei: "You know what? I think we should make this a tradition—wearing tokkofuku every year on my birthday! And that includes all of you, too!" (points to the crowd) "Maybe next year, I’ll even make a tokkofuku-style top as merch so you can all wear it with us. Imagine it: we’d look like one big gang celebrating a victory! Let’s do it!"
Ryohei: "This year, due to some circumstances, we’re celebrating my birthday live in Tokyo, but from now on, I want to do it in my hometown, Hiroshima again. So next year, when we’re wearing tokkofuku, keep this in mind: if you wear it out on the streets in Hiroshima, the police might stop you. Just make sure to put it on once you’re inside the live hall!"
The band played a brand new demo song Ryohei had composed. After the encore, Ryohei remained on stage alone to speak openly with the crowd.
Ryohei: "I want to share something with you all before I go. Some of you might already know if you’ve read my recent blog post. Earlier this year, I lost my brother, and it’s been incredibly hard. I had to handle so many things on my own after he passed, and honestly, I sank into a really dark place. I even had to ask our manager, for the first time, if I could skip a rehearsal just to take a breather. This is why our first mini-album doesn’t have a single song composed by me on it. Fans kept asking, 'Which one did you write?' and I felt so guilty, like I’d let you all down.
But here’s what I really want to say: sometimes life just hits you hard. You’ll go through moments when it’s impossible to find the energy to do anything. It just happened to me. But please, if it ever happens to you—keep living. Just keep living. Find even the smallest things to look forward to, tiny moments of happiness, like thinking, 'If I keep going, I can make it to another live show.' I’ll keep standing on this stage so you can hold onto that. You don’t need a perfect life. You don’t need to have it all figured out. What matters is just staying here, giving life your best shot, however imperfect it may feel. You don’t need a prestigious job or big accomplishments. Whatever you’re doing is enough—just please, stay alive. Please, live!"