The past 2 years have been surreal. It's like Arisu アリス in Alice in Borderland 今際の国のアリス, waking up one day and found that the world he used to know has completely changed. Inside the Borderland, people have to continue to clear game after game in order to survive. I feel the same way about the "vaccine" situation, that we have to continue getting shots every now and then 😫
Enough ranting and pessimism.
I was watching Kouhaku 2021 last night while waiting for 2022 to come. This year, they had live audience, albeit at limited capacity. Also, instead of the usual NHK hall, it was held in the Tokyo International Forum, which felt grand. My overall feeling about the show this year is that they wanted to appeal to the young people: less enka 演歌, more young musicans - especially musicians who are hot on the Internet and social media like YouTube. Frankly, I found those "Internet" artists to be more entertaining and talented than the established ones in general.
Let's talk about the 1st half.
1) First, the hosts. I mentioned a few years before regarding Ooizumi You 大泉洋. He's in his usual self. But Kawaguchi Haruna 川口春奈 was a surprise. She's smooth and composed. I don't remember any moment in the show when she forgot or had trouble with her lines.
2) I'm tipping my hat off to Go Hiromi 郷ひろみ. Somehow he never gets old and looks the same every year.
3) DISH// was impressive. He has a powerful voice. He's one of the young musicians who is hot on the Internet. If you're interested, here's an excerpt of his performance: https://youtu.be/A98Q63Lpnrg
4) What's the deal with handshaking with those plastic toy hands? The performer even sprayed them with sanitizer after each "handshake" just to show covid-19 caution! I don't know whose idea was this. I would feel insulted if I were the audience.
5) Kamishiraishi Mone 上白石萌音 was a huge surprise to me. I watched a few YouTube videos of her before but I thought her singing was so-so. But what a performance at Kouhaku 2021! Yoake wo Kuchizusametara 夜明けを口ずさめたら is not an easy song for any artist. For me, Mone has the most impressive performance of the night. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/Z5iFE6Bsmck
6) Another musician who impressed me in the 1st half was Mafumafu まふまふ. He also has a powerful voice that I think is better than many other more established artists. https://youtu.be/3KkGI6W23kQ
Now, into the 2nd half.
7) I found myself enjoying the music of Dragon Quest by Sugiyama Kouichi すぎやまこういち.
8) BiSH had the worst performance of the night. Sorry if you're their fan. Maybe they're too nervous. Everyone was yelling instead of singing. Well, I am never a fan of heavy rock/heavy metal so maybe it's just my taste.
9) Has Kendama けん玉 become a regular part of Kouhaku now? It's fun in the first 2 years, but it's been 5 years in a row now and it's getting boring. Yes, they broke the Guinness record again this year with 126 people, but...why would anyone care? (Sorry if you're into Kendama)
10) Ooizumi You can sing! Not only that, but he sang part of Kitasakaba 北酒場. He's truly talented. https://youtu.be/XiuGeEtVw9s
11) Another young talented musician on the horizon. I was very impressed by Fujii Kaze 藤井風. They said he started on YouTube. I don't know if it's scripted but he's supposed to be playing in his home town in Okayama and broadcasted live. Somehow he showed up in person at the arena and made a surprise entry. Don't know what's going on but I think it's scripted. NHK probably didn't let the hosts know about it because their reaction was too real. Couldn't find any official NHK YouTube links but here's another one if you're interested: https://youtu.be/PBY9bOnDETk
12) I finally met the original singer of Doukeshi no Sonetto 道化師のソネット, Sada Masashi さだまさし. I first heard the cover version from Matsuura Aya 松浦亜弥. I have never heard the original version until last night. I was impressed by the lyrics when I first heard it. Helps with my Japanese study.
That's pretty much it regarding my thoughts. Singers like Lisa, Perfume, Yakushimaru Hiroko 薬師丸ひろ子, Fukuyama Masaharu 福山雅治, Misia were all good but no surprises there. I actually enjoyed the 1st half better than the 2nd half. Overall it's a good show and I didn't feel bored even though it's 4+ hours long.
I've heard that NHK may cancel Kouhaku this year. I think it's been talked about for many years now. I don't know. There's some history dating all the way back to Japan right after World War II and the show has always been targeted towards Japanese. Since I'm not Japanese, I am not sure if I'm qualified to have a strong opinion on this. Honestly, I probably won't miss it if they cancel it.
It's 2022 but the pandemic has not ended. Stay safe. Wish everyone a better 2022 than 2021!
Hi, Larry. Thanks for putting up an article on the 72nd edition of the Kohaku. Some good reading there. I'll put up my own comments later this weekend but I just wanted to relay some opinions from Gary (our old Kingyo table mate) via his FB page about your points.
ReplyDelete1) agree, 2) disagree, he actually looks younger every year, 3)-6) Yep, totally agree, 7) yep, that was truly awful, 9) I was hoping someone would drop it and then the person before them would stab them! 9)-10) yep, 11) My daughter recognized him from his YouTube videos. Quite a talent 12) yep, and all the others. Same old, same old. But I would miss it if it was cancelled, but more so because of all the snacks and wine we eat and drink while watching. What else would we do on New Years Eve?
It's great to read Gary's comment. Looking forward to your article on Kouhaku.
DeleteIt's up now. Good heavens, I was sweating by the time I finished.
DeleteBrian, I don't play video games and so the music is new to me. I agree that NHK is trying too hard to appeal to everyone and may backfire.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian and Larry.
ReplyDeleteI found the anime segment OK for the first two-thirds consisting of "Dragon Quest" and "Kimetsu no Yaiba". However, I thought that the "Evangelion" tribute was a little awkward since I think that the anime remains a niche and troubled series.
Agreed on that NHK trying to appeal to everyone will backfire. It will never hit those 50% and more ratings anymore and perhaps it ought to just focus on a relaxed mix of enka and pop.