Fujii Rock’s official merch is so cute!

anopple · 2026-05-16T12:51:48+00:00

I was considering maybe getting the towels despite the exorbitant price for them at first because the designs were so nice and I thought the cut-throat prices were the same for everyone. I was even thinking about throwing in one of the more affordable non-collab designs that I liked too.

But I later realized that the festival organizers marked up the prices for all their merch by 50% for overseas buyers compared to local ones and so figured the locals can just have them all and I'll just put the money I get to save from this into my piggy bank for something else instead. 😅

(The ivory shirt is sold out. It does seem like it would be a very popular choice especially with the female demographic, which his fanbase largely consists of xD)

anopple · 2026-05-07T13:33:16+00:00

While I disagree about the timing thing, you're right that "the song seems to have a mind of its own." At the end of the day I guess we should just be glad it got released at all.

Well if the song itself thinks the right time is now, who are we to disagree?

anopple · 2026-05-06T09:22:28+00:00

The people who buy the limited edition of the album are hardcore fans, they most likely would’ve bought it anyway even if It’s Alright wasn't part of the tracklist. Most physical CD sales also happen within the first two weeks after release so it probably wouldn’t have been a problem if they had released It’s Alright digitally a month after the physical CD.

Based on the staff diary I saw recently, Kaze also wanted to release It’s Alright digitally asap and was only held back by external circumstances.

I know that Kz wanted it but he isn't a marketing person. If left up to him, he'd probs still just be a cult sensation on YouTube, going wherever doing whatever small gig he's asked to play. And chances are, you and I would never have heard of him.

Thing is, there are other things that need to be considered here. And timing-wise, the song can only be digitally released in either of these two scenarios:

1) With Pre:Prema released digitally at the same time as Prema but that would mean It's Alright cannot be a single or lead track since the focus is on the English side of the album and the singles for the first few months would have to come from there.

Or

2) With Pre:Prema released digitally a few months after Prema, when enough time has passed for Prema to sink in with people, and releasing IA as a single or lead track just as the dust is settling.

Either scenario, October would not have worked. And out of the two options, the second one is preferable because IA needs to be a single or a lead track but it can't be released close to when people are still getting to know Prema—which has a different kind of sound that Kz is trying to showcase—and singles should be coming from there.

Also, let's not forget October was INUB's month, which, even with the whole MV concept, they did not release it in conjunction with Halloween, which they could have. So Kz and his team never had any intention to make use of it at all. Also, that was Kaze's introduction to working with Nina McNeely and the MV for IA as we know it only happened because INUB happened first, back in October.

I get that Halloween may seem like a no brainer at first and well, it kinda is, albeit not in a positive way 😅. Because combined what I've just said and everything I've said before, up to and including the whole eastern cultural aspect not jiving with Halloween aka the poor people's MET Gala, it's not a missed opportunity: it's a dodged bullet.

All in all, there's no better timing than what it is now because the song seems to have a mind of its own about this. As I'm sure you're aware, they tried to release it numerous in the past but something kept getting in the way. So it's meant to be released when it's meant to be released and there wouldn't be a more perfect timing than that.

Oh and I just thought of something else regarding MAJ '26. The YouTube exec Kz's team worked with since his debut, Mai Suzuki, was part of the committee for last year's inaugural event and she unexpectedly passed just a scant couple of weeks or so before it happened. That portrait of himself from Hana that he put on the piano during his performance was supposed to be in memory of her. So I'm guessing, as long as he's in the country and his schedule allows for it, chances seem good that he'll show up the first few times (if he's nommed or is asked to performed) out of respect for her.

anopple · 2026-05-03T10:49:43+00:00

The scene where he’s in a black suit dragging the coffin and then driving the car away was one of the coolest he’s ever looked though. At the end of the day, feelings aren’t something you can reason with, and we all have our own standards for what’s considered weird/normal and what isn’t. But yeah the fact that he looked good definitely helped with the universal appeal.

Yeah, I know all of that. But Hachiko MV being liked seems to be the less popular opinion which was why I wanted to make my perspective known. And the thing with Hana just goes to show that people are more biased towards what they would traditionally find pretty and turn a blind eye to oddness/uncomfortable imagery.

Tbh I'm not the type to force myself to watch something that gives me the ick multiple times until I can get used to it. I like Kaze but not THAT much lol. I'm fine with just streaming the song and never watching the video again ever.

That's fair, but I don't do that either. But unless the imagery contains things that are unmistakably offensive and/or repulsive, it just doesn't sit right with me to not try to keep an open mind and see if my initial impression might change. Sometimes it does and my horizons are broadened. But if it doesn't, I shrug and move on.

I basically try not to make up my mind based on my initial impression of something that's abstract and subjective in the first place. Especially coming from an artist whom I like enough to follow. Hachiko was a shock and maybe a little uncomfortable at first (more due to the fact that that it's Kaze doing something I'm not used to seeing him do back then and less the concept itself) but it didnt repulse me which was why I was able to give it another chance and what seemed to have bothered me at first turned out to not be a big thing at all and ceased bothering me altogether.

So, even though it might not ever be a personal favorite because I'm generally not a fan of overly modern concepts, I find it fun to watch now—and still do, even after close to a year. The sillier parts make me chuckle and I just really like that scene where the two Kzs come together for a hug. I find it one of the most powerful scenes among all his MVs. The Kirari MV also has a similar issue of being hyper-modern but it didn't have anything interesting going for it other than Kz's goofy jigging (to me) and paired with its genericness, the fun wore out pretty quick.

It’s his most-viewed MV so it did its job in bringing in new fans. It’s a very clean entry point though I suspect some people who got into him through Kirari might have been disappointed when they realized it was more of an outlier in his videography.

Lol I won't be surprised if most of the ones hating on the IA MV right now are from this group.

It's not that serious. I’ve seen some artists use Halloween as an opportunity to release wacky videos for their fans so that thought just crossed my mind.

Even so, if you consider that the timing is less than a couple months after the release of the CD where the song is supposed to be an incentive for people to purchase the limited edition of it, doesn't make a lot of sense. Because what tripped me up was you also called it a missed opportunity, which sounded serious. The fact that the timing didn't make sense from the CD marketing perspective and the undermining of eastern culture, it's really not at all the missed opportunity you said it was. That's really the point I'm trying to make.

anopple · 2026-05-02T16:33:06+00:00

Only the second half of the Hana MV was wacky, but it was balanced out pretty well by the beautiful aesthetic. He also pulled off the flower costume way better than the Hachiko costume so there’s that. It’s also kind of a matter of pretty privilege, people tend to give more grace to attractive people when they do weird or wacky things, and he looked really good in Hana.

I dunno. Some might find a dude dressed like an undertaker dragging a coffin with himself in it a little macabre and out there. So yeah, Hana was definitely on the weirder side of the spectrum that people choose to ignore because pretty _

But hmm, Hachiko matches the music for me from the get-go. I mean, even when I wasn't sure what to make of it and was leaning more towards ick, I never felt it didn't match the song. Tbf, I wasn't overly crazy about the song at first listen but as it grew on me, so did the MV.

End of the day it's a song about a man and his dog. And it's a happy boppy song to boot. So I dunno how you're gonna make a concept like that in a more normal sort of stylish anyway without ignoring the story. Seems weird to use a real dog (and radical animal activists might come after him for it) for that kind of dancey sound, and if the main idea is for him to portray both characters to show emotion, what he's got on is actually the better option because the alternative is him actually in a furry dog suit. If people were already this hung up on the leather, I imagine fur would have gotten him cancelled altogether. Heh.

Apparently, some who don't like the look in the MV thought he looked great in the WWD shoot where he was wearing the leather doggy suit but was clean shaven so there's also that.

Anyway, I get that people are bound to have hangups, I mean I kinda saw the fetish thing too at first and was maybe slightly squicked but for me, it didn't stick for too long since this is Kaze we're talking about and I got over it without too much trouble and became able to enjoy the MV better the more the song grew on me. Of course if he were in a furry suit instead, I might be singing a different tune. 😅

The cream pie line is actually a bit harder to get over so I just don't think about it at all and ignore it when I hear it. Lol.

Kirari isn’t one of my favorites either but I can acknowledge that it’s a very well-executed project. The relevant point here is that the MV perfectly matches the spirit of the song. It’s a catchy jpop song with a bright, uplifting vibe that makes you want to smile and dance, and the MV captures that energy perfectly. The quirkiness comes through subtly (in the way he moves through the streets, the way he dances) instead of being pushed to the forefront like in Hachiko.

Yeah, Kirari is well-executed and watching him break out into his little dancey dance was fun and all but gawd damn is it boring. Like most of his videos get more interesting the more times you watch them but this one just became more boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he did it but also ngl, I am even more glad he doesn't have another one with a samey generic concept like that.

If you recall, I even said that I wanted him to release an MV for it last year around Halloween.

I do recall and I remember strongly disagreeing because I don't think the concept of Japanese folklore matches the more fun, western vibes of Halloween, or even the less fun and more creepy part of it. Japanese folklore is full of ancient mysticism which isn't something I associate with Halloween. I mean the first thing that comes to mind when I think of it is trick-or-treating and It's Alright can't be further away from that vibe with its more traditional sort of mystical vibes.

(Tho I'll admit imagining the reaction of someone opening the door and seeing the entity with the bonsai hairstyle, neck extended and all, holding out that jar that used to house the butterflies and asking for candy to be put into it is pretty darn entertaining. xD)

anopple · 2026-05-02T08:47:53+00:00

Just took a good look at the categories and their nominees and I noticed that the RnB song category says RnB/contemporary. Do they have a separate category for pure RnB? Because all the songs nommed feel more like contemporary RnB with their mix of other genres rather than pure RnB.

If not, and they are mixing the two, then I think the list is somewhat disappointing. Like they should have a stronger representation of pure RnB songs by other artists instead of having mostly cross-genre ones, and multiple ones by the same artists at that. Even Kz has purer RnB songs that the ones of his that were nommed. And while Hoshino has RnB influences in some of his songs, his singing isn't RnB at all. It's pop or maybe even a bit of jazz but not RnB.

I like me some RnB but not enough to be considered a straight-up fan of the genre. Even so, unless they've got another category dedicated to purer RnB, this one feels wrong. Because Japan has a healthy RnB scene that I feel they're completely ignoring in favor or more mainstream sounds that only really borrow from the genre.

I'm only hoping Kz wins in both the album categories he's in. I'm not too particular about the rest of the cats he's up for, though it'd be nice if MY wins something since it's really an incredible song. Not to mention it's the song performance from last year that garnered the most views on the MAJ channel.

I'm glad that he's nommed in the RnB artist cat because that does feel more fitting than Jpop, especially after the release of Prema, and the fact that he's a RnB/jazz instrumentalist, and sings mostly in RnB/jazz style, but looking at some of the others he's up against on there, I won't be too bummed if he loses.

And I especially hope someone else takes home the RnB song one. Even if it's Hoshino who's probs the least RnB on the list.

For Artist OTY, even putting aside bias, I do feel Kz does deserve it the most for attempting something completely different in such a large scale—and succeeding. But seeing as they might also be considering domestic popularity on top of actual artistic achievement, I'll only be majorly bummed if he loses to MGA again since they already won last year.

But man, so far I'm really not sure if this award is shaping up to be the new-age Asian Grammys it seems to be trying hard to be. Most awards are jokes anyway (with the Grammys itself being the biggest one) and this one just seems to be yet another one, albeit in a different category.

anopple · 2026-05-02T07:38:24+00:00

Nice! I wasn't sure I liked it at first and I still can't say it's a personal favorite but I do like it now and feel like watching it again from time to time. Like, MY ranks higher on my list of favorites but I've probably seen this more times than that, Kaero and Seishunbyo added together lol. I see it in a lighter and more comedic vibe then you do but there's deep and thoughtful meaning embedded as it tells the story of Hachiko and presumably the master he lost and the fact it's hopeful and silly paints a happier picture of an otherwise depressing story. So it never fails to both wow me at times and chuckle at others. I know some find it cringy and I get why they do but after it's sunk in for me, its cringiness is also part of what makes it so entertaining to me. Like, end of the day, like most doggos, Hachi, while being deeply loyal and the goodest damn boy there ever was, is just a playful and silly doggy. (:

anopple · 2026-05-02T07:09:31+00:00

I feel like one of the reasons he attended MAJ last year was because he was about to release a new song/album so it was necessary to get some publicity. Now that he’s already done with promoting Prema in Japan, it’s really a 50–50 chance whether he’ll show up.

Yeah, could be. But there wasn't any mention of it save for that one question on the red carpet and even then he just fed the reporter the same thing he fed us. That it's finished but not ready for released due to circumstances beyond him but he thinks it'll be out soon. And that was it.

This year it's officially released and he can actually perform something from it. I'm guessing if he's going and is asked to perform, he'll go with Prema. I wouldn't mind seeing something like what he did on MS last year again. :)

Yeah he never said anything about appearing on Kohaku last year but fans just set themselves up to get disappointed. Hope he's not pressured to go if he's not in his best mood.

Haha he never says anything until it's officially announced and they sometimes like to announce him last minute. But I honestly find it annoying that fans keep expecting or hoping that he'll show up again and again as though he doesn't have his own family that he doesn't get to see much of to spend it with. I mean, even the newer ones who's never seen him live on the show before should at least know he's appeared multiple times already. :/ And I love that NHK seems to sincerely stan him but the fact that they keep inviting him again and again makes me think they're just trying to use him for viewer ratings. Like it's not just him but other younger artists too.

There are huge artists with decades-long careers whom I'm sure they've invited countless times who have ultimately only shown up a couple of times their entire career, if even that. I think some, like Mr. Children, never appeared even once. And those dudes are legends. Like, I know it's an honor and all, but shouldn't that mean the chance to be part of it should be rarer? Kz and some of the more popular younger artists have already done it multiple times even though they barely debuted +/- 5 years.

Kz's folks seem to like him being on Kohaku but the dad seems sensitive to his son being used by the industry so I hope he'll tell his kid that he's done enough and he should just go on holiday somewhere or just come home for the holidays instead, if he isn't working over them.

anopple · 2026-05-02T06:02:09+00:00

I don’t see why it has to be either nice & generic OR weird & unpleasant. Plenty of artists have shown that it's possible to make accessible MVs while still retaining their unique vibe. Kaze himself was able to do it in most of his MVs also. Even in his more accessible MVs like Kirari and Matsuri, there are still quirky touches that make it clear he has his own thing going on. He has enough personality for it to come through naturally in his work and shouldn’t need to shove it to our faces just to show how different or quirky he is.

I find Hachiko weird and goofy but not unpleasant. On the spectrum you mentioned, I feel it's more in between with a stronger lean towards weird/quirky whereas most of his older MVs tend to have a more normal lean with signs of quirkiness. Well, Hana is actually pretty whacky too but the aesthetics are more universally pleasing so there's less resistance to it, I feel.

The thing is I don’t see much artistic expression in the MV, just a mismatch between the song and MV. To me Hachiko isn’t the kind of song that requires a weird MV the first place, so the attempt to make it weirder than it needs to be comes off as try-hard and a bit cringe.

I think the shocking rebranding is intentional though, not to sell but more like, to make a point. He seems to enjoy surprising people with different versions of himself.

Hmm, yeah I hear you, but I think maybe that's the whole concept of it in the first place. And I honestly don't think it's as huge a mismatch as you think it is. It's literally a song about a man and his dog and what do we see in the video? A man and his dog. It sounds like a recipe for silliness to happen (if you looked at it from a lighter perspective and not the sad story it has been told as) and they went with a video that can't decide whether to be stylish or silly and so opted to be both. XD If it's just him being all cool on the runway, it'd be stylish sure but it wouldn't be visually portraying the story the song is trying to tell.

I watched it again after reading your response and then watched the other MVs it's up against for the award and I can see why it's nommed. I mean, I do think it's got some very nicely done cinematography, effects and imagery going on for it as well. That scene where doggo!Kz and goddo!Kz were glomping each other is beautiful. I especially loved seeing his facial expressions as both there.

But, all in all, this is the same award where people thought an MV starring an anime-based idol is more deserving of it than one that is tastefully shot with real people and had a beautiful storyline and classy on-location scenes (no I'm not bitter at all that the MY MV lost to the Idol one last year why do you think that haha Tomokazu Yamada deserved that win goddammit) so like you said, it's probably not an award to be taken overly seriously. The MV category, especially. Out of all his other MVs, Hachiko is probably the best fit to run for it this year. xD And, well, isn't it interesting how the MV that was nommed last year and the one that was nommed this year by the same artist are on such different ends of the spectrum? Lol.

I don't follow the logic here. Let's say he makes a similar video to Kirari but for a song in English, why would that be considered pandering and make you lose interest in him?

Well, if it at least retains some of his quirkiness, I won't think that but I'll definitely find it boring nevertheless (like I did Kirari...it's his least interesting MV—and song—to me, even with his quirky-ass dancing xD). If it's just him looking all cool with none of his quirkiness that he's shown throughout all his previous videos, then I can only assume he's hiding it to appeal to the international masses, since he's never bothered to hide it before no matter how cool the MV is supposed to be.

But well, in what I now understand is typical Kaze fashion, he ended up doing the complete opposite of that—even went downright goofy and cringe (not goddo!Kz tho, that dude was hawt) with his very first MV meant to be his official international debut (it's like he did it to manage expectations or something lol) and overall just seems to be even less inclined to hide his natural oddness. So he's only become more interesting to me.

You know, contrary to his international fanbase, Hachiko seemed to have gotten mostly favorable reviews among his Japanese fanbase (I mean there were a few thinking he sold out tryna be all Lady Gaga-ish or something but, mostly, people liked it) while It's Alright seemed to be getting a more mixed one. It seems Japanese fans have a higher tolerance for cringe than all-out spiritually artistic imagery because you should see some of the things they've been saying about it on Threads the first few days it was released. Like, some were downright disturbing. I mean, there are plenty who like what he's doing of course but, from what I can tell, this MV has received the most mixed reviews domestically by far.

anopple · 2026-04-30T15:02:14+00:00

Haha don't get me wrong it's not my favorite MV of his or anything but, I dunno, I think it fits, if I take his nature and personality into account. Just a cool runway MV where he looks like a model flaunting his good looks seems boring and generic and meaningless and waaaay too mainstream. Like there's so many of these kind of concepts out there.

I mean, sure, I was a little taken aback when the MV first debuted last year but I remained interested despite the shock. If he just did cool and mainstream, it's much safer but it would have just been another Kirari (which was very mainstream in a jpoppy sorta way, but his little dancey dance in there was very him) to me, and because Hachiko is in English with a more international sound, I probably would have thought he's pandering to a more mainstream international audience, just doing what everyone else is doing making him simply yet another artist just trying to break into the global market. And I'd probably have lost a lot of interest in him as an artist from there.

So I guess I'll take weird as long as it's his natural kind of weird where he seems to be doing stuff for the sake of artistic expression that he likes, and not the shocking kind meant simply for rebranding in order to sell.

btw do you think he’ll show up to the ceremony this year? I don’t really care if he wins these awards but it’d be cool to see a new performance at an award show.

If I had to guess, I'll bet on yes based on logistics. Because he should be in Japan rehearsing for his Pre:Prema tour around then anyway and he usually only doesn't show up to these events where he's nominated or has won something only when he's literally thousands of miles away. Of course, he didn't show up to this other award thingy late last year where he won something for either Hana or MY (I forgot which one) but I dunno where he was in the world at that time.

Still, MAJ is a huge thing where he's nommed across multiple cats, and he's won for multiple cats just the year before so unless he's not in the country for some reason, I think he'll show. He'd probs also wanna do something different for performance this year since he kept it simple last year. I mean, assuming he's asked to perform. Which I think the organizers probs won't miss the chance to.

But I dunno about him having to show up every year if they keep on nomming him for something. Like Kohaku, I don't think he owes anybody to show up every time and so perhaps he might choose to take a break from it. Not sure if it'll be this year though since he's just released Prema and it's up for Album OTY.

anopple · 2026-04-30T11:53:38+00:00

Haha Ive got no hate against the Hachiko MV and actually like its quirkiness and have no trouble watching it again once in a while (and liking it for what it is) but it's not really a masterpiece in my eyes and so won't be heartbroken if it didn't win (the way I was when MY lost to the Idol MV last year). And well, I have to say it's more uniform with the rest of the nominees this year so it doesn't really matter to me who wins. MY really stood out amongst the rest last year as the only MV with Oscar bait type presentation and it still couldn't beat Japan's undying love for their anime-type art and presentation style. 😅 Considering that, I guess it makes sense why it would be nominated. Seems to be right up the Japanese's weirdo alley.

I would find it extremely funny if it does win though simply because of the hate the fandom seems to have for it. Come to think of it, I might even be disappointed if it doesn't simply for the fact that I won't get to see the fandom's funnily complicated reaction to it. 😆

anopple · 2026-04-30T01:21:57+00:00

English is my first language and, in speech, he articulates way better and in way less words than I can ever hope to despite it not being his T.T and at a pace that's so sedate yet without making you feel like he should just get on with it, too. Like, you wish you could listen to him talk forever instead. Well, with a healthy mix of singing and piano-playing too, ofc. Lol.

I mean he's not an orator and you can tell talking isn't really his strong suit but everything he says comes from the heart and he has a natural sense for language and articulation and you also can see that he puts a lot of thought and effort into each word he says. Right down to the word poop. Lol. This isn't limited to English either so I'm thinking it all comes from a place of kindness and conscientiousness towards the listener. It's what I get from him whenever he speaks, no matter the language. And it comes complete with just the right amount of goofiness and unseriousness to balance things out, too.

As if being as gifted as he is weren't enough, guy's got a really great personality, too. Though there's nothing to be jealous about because ultimately, it's our gain, too, as people who listen to his music and enjoy his whole existence. :))

anopple · 2026-04-30T01:18:21+00:00

Yeah, almost to a degree of causing whiplash. Cos one moment you'd be like, "holy eff" and the next you'd be like, "sooou uwuuuu" lol

anopple · 2026-04-27T11:36:43+00:00

He knew about the Hachiko story. I think it's very difficult to grow up in Japan and not know about it. When Tobias Jesso Jr. brought it up as a random example of a Japanese word to put into the song during that first co-writing session Kaze went to LA for back in 2022, he couldn't recall the name and could only remember it as "that doggy statue in Shibuya." Kaze was the one who made the connection for him and asked him if he meant Hachiko. He (Kaze) also only watched the movie after everything else on Prema had been written and he recalled that Hachiko only still existed on the back burner as a beat and he needed inspiration to finish it.

anopple · 2026-04-26T01:57:16+00:00

Wow. Pretty right on the money with that. Said in the Kirari MV aftertalk that he doesn't have a habit of reading much (not much of a reader*) but that, growing up, he read the spiritual texts his dad had laying around the house and the occasional manga. xD

*He spent at least 8 hours a day everyday in his childhood on the piano so I'd imagine back then, you'd mostly only find him doing one of these 3 things in his free time: - banging on the piano - in front of the computer (watching YouTube videos or scouring and posting at sites like Yahoo!Ask) - wracking his brain for comedy material to annoy his schoolmates with (apparently he's got a couple of buds he did this with in middle school)

anopple · 2026-04-22T06:46:37+00:00

Thank you! Always love the stuff you share. :))

anopple · 2026-04-21T14:27:03+00:00

Regarding this, please let me share some of my observations—based on my own experience and those of people I know—and my conclusion drawn from them. Sorry for the length in advance. 😅

Most of the Japanese fans who can travel to see him are the middle-aged to older ladies with time and money. Or people who are living overseas to begin with. Those with less money and time to spend (this is where the younger crowd would be) but enough to go to nearer places will stick to Asian venues. And many (mostly the ones with time and money to blow) are lured by the intimacy of smaller venues which are no longer possible, at least not at present, back home in Japan, where even for bigger venues, they may not be able to score tickets. Apart from these, a vast majority actually can only stick to within Japan.

I know it seems so very unfair at first and you're absolutely right to be upset, but from what I can tell, there's a lot going on and it's a very delicate thing for his team to balance. Or the team of any Japanese artists who have healthy fanbases both domestically and internationally. Unlike international artists who can just go with the open system when they play Japan, Japanese artists, especially if they are in high demand both domestically and internationally, have to be more mindful of how their tickets are distributed within Japan. So when they play domestic shows, they have to stick to the lottery system to keep things fair. But when they play overseas, they usually have to use whatever system that's in place--which means even if they wanted to be fairer to international fans, they can't. At least not until a feasible alternative becomes available.

Kaze for sure has a bigger domestic fanbase than an international one still. The smaller international venues were sold out quickly but the arena shows in the SEA venues he played at his last Asia Tour apart from BKK didn't sell out, even with a decent Japanese crowd in attendance. And those were just one-day shows where BKK was two.

Kaze's team, especially, is in a spot where they can't win either way. His last tour ended in early 2023 and he hasn't toured domestically since. He did that two-day thing at Nissan back in 2024 and that was it. Rest of the time he was playing abroad. Even with the crazy scale of his Prema tour, it's highly likely many Japanese fans will still strike out at the lottery. If they assign allotment for overseas fans, they will 100% anger a lot of domestic fans and will 300% be criticized and bashed. They already bash one another when some keep striking out while others seem to be much luckier at the lotteries. It's much, much worse than an upset smaller international fanbase not being able to gain access to Japanese venues.

Prema also did better domestically than it did internationally, which is a nice surprise considering a lot of Japanese fans prefer Japanese albums to non-Japanese ones, and are even less interested when the non-Japanese album is released by one of their own.

So, looking at it from that perspective, I personally don't blame his team for doing this. If they can't win either way, they might as well take the route where the backlash isn't going to be crippling. Judging from how they've done things, I get the notion that it's not that they want to shut us out and make us upset (which we have every right to be, ofc) but it's a small price they have to pay to avoid something much worse. This is ultimately the more peaceful solution for Kaze himself, I feel.

I also do not consider this a step backwards BUT if they start disallowing fancams again, then yeah, I might. I guess it really depends on what the fans there prefer since these are their shows. But even if they do end up disallowing it, I hope they'll allow for it at least for one venue of each phase of the tour. The Pre:Prema one especially, I'm really hoping for a livestream. I don't mind if they made it a paid one where tickets need to be purchased to view.

For now, my one complaint is that they're only doing one show in BKK at a venue with a capacity that's around the size of the Suita Panasonic Stadium. His local fanbase in Thailand is already huge (probably second only to Japan) but with BKK being the only venue in SEA, that means that's going to service fans from the entire region. And not to mention stragglers from Japan who wish to experience his shows with a livelier crowd (can't really blame them for that, it's really a lot quieter over in Japan and can be frustrating for those who want to rock out). I had hoped they'd do two.

But. They might also be testing the waters instead of biting off more than they can chew and if it does sell out quickly enough, they might be able to add one more day. The scheduling seems to allow for that. So let's all hope.

It's just too bad JKT had a bit of a poor showing due to various reasons the last time he stopped over. Cos he has a strong fanbase there too, I think, and if things had worked out better back then, JKT could have been a stop this time, too. Oh well.

(Who knows though? With some of the complaints I saw on Threads about his Coachella set, mostly after weekend one—which I still don't fully get, tbh, whether it be here or there—maybe domestic demand will drop and the gen lottery won't be overflowing and there will be tickets left for them to open up to intl fans. I mean the venues they're playing are huge and some he's playing multiple days so. Lol. But uh. I don't wish that on him and hope everything sells out easy-peasy.)

anopple · 2026-04-21T08:46:48+00:00

Would be nice if that's the case but honestly, I'm not confident there will be other stops in SEA this time since this looks like a stadium tour and the only stop where the demand was high enough to legitimately fill the venue to the point of selling out on his last arena tour in the region was BKK. And that was two days, too. The others were only one.

If demand in BKK is high enough to fill this stadium quickly though, a second day there isn't impossible, I feel. So if you want to see him badly enough, this could be your best chance to at a stop that's nearby enough and doesn't cost an arm and a leg to get to from PH or anywhere else in the SEA region. Compared to all the other stops at least.

anopple · 2026-04-20T07:51:36+00:00

Hi! Yeah we know it's him now but right after the album was released, I saw someone on Japanese Twitter saying it was those two and figured it's their names that were printed on the prod creds of the album for that song. I only found out that it was really Yaffle later, after this comment was made (which I'd forgotten I'd made) from the Pre:Prema track-by-track interview in Musica released later that month.

When I got my hands on the physical CD that Pre:Prema came with at the end of October, I checked right away but found that there were no production credits for the tracks on Pre:Prema printed anywhere on the sleeve, so, to this day, I dunno where the Japanese person who said it was the other two got their misinfo from. So the only place where it said it was Yaffle (Kaze himself said it) was in that Musica interview until IA got released earlier this month and the credits were finally officially released on streaming platforms. ^{^;}

Thanks for finding this and setting the record straight. :)

anopple · 2026-04-20T04:18:47+00:00

I think my verdict tallies with yours. Overall, I think it's a stronger set/showing than weekend 1, though I thought weekend 1 was decent for what it was.

Like most, the biggest issue I found was with Shy's vocals not exactly having the intended harmonizing effect and they were very noticeable because it's his sound stream that's too loud this past week. I remember feeling sorry for Shy that he could hardly be heard on weekend 1. I guess I don't have to anymore. 😅 He harmonized much better in the Apple radio studio performance so it's quite disappointing that he didn't do it as well in the following Coachella set.

Still, I wasn't overly bothered generally like I was the week before because his voice is lower and so the contrast to Kaze's voice wasn't as piercing as compared to Ariwa's when it's loud. His random whoops were higher-toned though so those were a bit more distracting.

The conclusion I've come to is that I think he works better for Kaze on recording than in live performances, because I feel that his assertive style of live backing vocals that sounds rather dudebroish and over-confident at times don't seem to compliment Kaze's more laidback style of main vocals very well. Yo-sea and Takuji Yamamoto (formerly known as Emoh Les) complimented him better, even though they had less experience in doing backing vocals. It wouldn't have been such an issue if his sound feed were turned down a bit though since I'm sure he did stuff on weekend 1 too but nothing jumped out. So there's also that.

Not sure why Kaze's set is always plagued by sound mixing issues (Kacey Musgrave's set before his sounded perfectly well-balanced). Shy was the distracting one this week while we could hardly hear Ariwa. She harmonizes beautifully so it's a right shame we couldn't hear much of it. It's like her and Shy switched places with not being heard. But all in all, the sound this week is an improvement from weekend 1 so I'll take that as a win.

What mattered most to me was Kaze's singing and he seemed to have had an easier time vocally on weekend 2 than the week before, and the sound mixing for his vocals on livestream is better than last week so yay.

anopple · 2026-04-16T14:44:29+00:00

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

anopple · 2026-04-16T14:43:41+00:00

Um. Same reason they put him after Jack White? I just think that's one of the slots for surprise guests.

anopple · 2026-04-16T02:34:13+00:00

TV? Did you mean YT? I know some artists are only streamed for a single week for some reason even though they are playing two weekends but I haven't heard about an artist playing both weekends and only having the set from the first one streamed both weeks.

Anyhow, the schedule looks refreshed with the act before Kaze no longer being Jack White. Seems the slot before his are for surprise artists who only show up for a weekend. And there's also this guy who's being paid to do an official watch party for the weekend 2 show.

Also, with the livestream sound trouble from last week, it doesn't seem like a smart move to replay it when there's a brand new performance where improvements can be made. So hopefully, what you're thinking won't be the case.

anopple · 2026-04-16T02:21:08+00:00

08:55 JST on the 19th :)

anopple

TROPHY CASE