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I'm reading the latest installment of DRCL and I just have to say that I love love love seeing someone close to/admired by Dir running with anti-capitalist themes.

Not that I'm implying that Dir are anti-capitalist....but I still love it 😁

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Loooove💜😍

From Kaoru's insta story

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Kaoru posting in the introduction of his latest blog update here. (This section is always public, and free for anyone to see)

みんなが気にしている事。

とても心配になるとは思う。

　考えが甘いと言われればその通りなんだと思う。

　だが、決して終わりに進もうとしているわけではない。

　無理だと判断した時は止める。

　なので全力で楽しんで、支えてやってください。

Translation↓

I know everyone is quite concerned and worried about it.

I think its true that we are naive.

But it doesn't mean we are gonna push through to the end no matter what.

If it seems impossible, we will stop.

So please enjoy it and show your support as much as you can.

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The Mortal Chapter 0 - Namba Hatch Day 2 2025/07/19 - Kaoru report

Today I had a number in the 900s (btw, why does this happen with 1st round fanclub lotteries??!), so I was actually in the rampway at the back of the venue when i got in. But thanks to some very determined and solidly built men who started a huge push forward from behind when the lights went down, I ended up very mid crowd, almost the same spot as yesterday, with an excellent view of Kaoru. So im very grateful to them!! 

Kaoru's outfit was like nothing I have ever seen. Some people have described it as like a clown outfit, and it kind of was. White, with a black pattern of small squares and lines, a full ruff collar around his neck, and a long layered ruff coming out from his neck, reaching to halfway down his chest, back, and arms. 

He had loose black trousers which were connected to straps which went up to his shoulders under the long ruff. 

Someone reported that his shoulder straps fell down at the end, but they obviously weren't watching him closely, because I was, and I can tell you his shoulder straps fell down  in every song! He spent half his time pulling his straps back up!! 

In the break between songs, he would go over to the side, drink water, adjust his pic....annnd pull his straps up 😆 He often had to pull them up mid song too. 

He was dancing a lot less today, im going to guess this was due to his straps, haha. 

Setlist highlight for me was def Celebrate Empty Howls, as this is one of my faaavourite songs to hear live! Kaoru actually looked like he was mouthing along to the lyrics at one point. 

During new song 1, Kaoru sang the lyrics 座右の銘/Zayuu no mei

Kaoru did actually go and stand in front of the drumset for a short tim in the encore. 

And during the pic throwing, he lifted one leg up high, and threw the pic under his leg! 

During both days, I did have quite a few times where he seemed to be looking in my direction, but whether he was actually looking at me, who knows!! Im happy anyway. 

And yes, he left the stage pulling his shoulder strap back up from his elbow!

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THE MORTAL CHAPTER 0 - OSAKA DAY 1 2025/07/18 - KAORU REPORT

I was very mid crowd, but thats normal for me, and I had a very good view of Kaoru, AND THATS ALL I NEED!

Kaoru was wearing a black suit jacket, white shirt, black tie, with black and white checked pattern shorts (knee length), socks pulled over his ankles, and Dr Martens. 

His hair was shaved sides, and pulled back in a ponytail, with his usual one strand hanging down. His mustache was beautiful. 

Kaoru was in a very dancy mood today, by that I mean that he was dancing a lot on stage....HIS kind of dancing, where he sways to and fro with his feet apart, and strides around in circles to the music. We dont usually think of him as a dancer, but he really is one. He is a dancer on his own terms, and its awesome. 

Ive mentioned this to friends already, but when he is getting ready for his part to come in the song, he crouches and sways with a naughty look on his face, and he reminds me of a tiger swaying in the grass, getting ready to pounce. 

Otogi had me weak at the knees, I love that long riff in the verse part, where he leans into his guitar and just keeps going. 

Saku was so cool, he was headbanging really hard, and his little ponytail was going crazy. 

He got totally up on the truss during the encore too, and was crouching really low while playing. 

I also loved seeing him use the pedal in the warped parts of jesus christ rnr, you could really see the muscle definition in his legs with each push.  

The two new songs were the type to grow on me for sure! And Kaoru had guitar solo parts and backing vocal parts in new song 1. 

Speaking of backing vocals, I loved seeing him sing THAT lyric from Clever Sleazoid 🤭

I saw him adjusting his pic attatchment to his fingers while he was at the side of the stage. 

He had a bit of fun with his pics at the end, placing them on the back of his hand and tryng to flick them off with the other hand. 

Overall, it was magic, and over far too soon 🥰

Back again tomorrow!

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Thinking about how kaoru has quietly held dir en grey together for decades.

no spotlight-chasing, no theatrics—just relentless work, vision, and presence.

The kind of leadership that doesn’t need volume. just precision. consistency. control.

His aura says: I built this, and i’ll hold it together no matter what it takes.

He doesn’t have to say much. You feel it when he plays.

There’s weight behind every note. every silence.

he’s not just in the band—he 'is' the foundation it’s built on.

since the 90s. still here. still leading.

unshaken. unreadable. essential.

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Dir cafe 7/5 Osaka

First day of the second run!

I had less time to take photos this time, since I went with friends and was too busy chatting 🙈

I even started eating before I remembered to take a photo 🥲 But the mapodofu was really good! It was quite filling, and actually had a good spicy kick! A lot better than the avacado shrimp bowl (sorry Shinya!)

My friends had the cheesecake, and both said it was really good, but I had to have the parfait, of course, paired with the highball.

We all also tried the Toshiya Blue, with gold powder in the top. It tasted and looked really good, but I forgot to take a picture 🙈

As for the postcards, my only care was getting Kaoru, which I did twice, so Im happy. My friends got a mix of Kyo, Toshiya, Shinya, and the group cards. Die was the only one we didn't get between us.

But Die was doing the member comment video! And I remember him saying that out of all the menu items, he quite fancied trying Kyo's burger.

The beer was sold out!! I saw a comment online saying that in Tokyo, the other merch items began to sell out first, but in Osaka, the first item to sell out was the beer! That tells you a lot about Osaka 😂

Anyway, it was good! Im all for this kind of thing happening again!

I did drink the beer that I bought last week tho! It tasted nice, quite ordinary, but it was also awesome for obvious reasons.

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Im posting this on all my socials cause im so thrilled, haha.

I met Sakamoto sensei at his signing event!

He had a veeery cool aura, and I was almost too awed to speak. I did manage a short exchange with him tho, so Im happy!

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6/30 Dir cafe report - Osaka 

So this is day 5 of the first run, so I knew what to expect for the most part from seeing the reports of others. 

Ordering was super easy. As soon as I lined up outside, the staff came and checked my ticket, gave me the bonus sticker, and took my order. Then it was about a 10 min wait until we  were led inside and shown to our seats. In the meantime, we were able to watch footage from Zankyo no Ketsumyaku while waiting. 

I was super lucky in that I got a 4 person table all to myself, with great view of the screen/monitor. 

Drinks came as soon as I sat down, Kaoru's highball and Die's red eye. I have read a lot of people saying the highball is quite strong, so I was excited to try it, but I can only assume I have a higher alcohol tolerance, because the strength seemed very normal to me, haha. It had a strong whisky taste of course, but a totally sensible level of kick from my point of view. 

The red eye was also tasty, not spicy, the tiniest hint of tobasco, but NOT the type of drink to pair with dessert (I drank the red eye with the main dish)

For the main, I went with Shinya's shrimp salad. It was ok. The portion size looks big, but it was mainly lettuce. No complaints though, it was nice, just not amazing. 

My dessert was the parfait of course. This was berries on top, black sesame ice creame, bran flakes, a layer of thick cream, more berries, and choc brownie. Im not just saying this cause its Kaoru, but it was verrrry nice. And made a perfect pair with his highball!!

About 10mins in, we got a video comment from one of the members, and today was Kaoru 😍, which was heaven for me. 

It seems like so far the comment video has been Kaoru→Shinya→Kaoru→Shinya→Kaoru, so im guessing the second run will be Die and Toshiya?

As for my free postcards, my random picks were Die, Toshiya, Group 1, Kaoru, Shinya, and for my extra free pick I chose Kaoru again, haha. I could have chosen Kyo and got a complete set, but Id rather have two Kaoru's 😂 

I bought the Dir beer, and a mini fan too. 

Overall, im very impressed. It was expensive, but for a Dir fan, it was such a special experience, and totally worth it. 

The bluray was playing on the screen for the whole time, except when the member comment vid was shown, so I could see a lot of it again, and those wonderful interview scenes 😍 If you can play blu rays, def worth getting!!  

After finishing at the cafe, I took the train from Umeda down to Namba, and visited the Sakamoto Shinichi exhibition, where there was a congratulatory bunch of flowers on display from Dir en grey!! The original print of Sakamoto's collab with Dir was also on display in the exhibition, as well as mention of Kyo's sukekiyo tshirt collab. The art was incredible of course.  

The weather was obscenely hot, so getting there was a challenge, but it was worth it!

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DIR EN GREY

“SUSTAIN THE UNTRUTH”

Kaoru

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I'm going to the Dir cafe, and to the Dir tour starting in July, but im going to be a hot, sweaty mess by the time I get to both, because cause it is soooo humid in Japan right now...Already bordering on incompatible with human habitation humid.

Just the way you want to look when you go to see your faves...make up melting off, and covered in massive sweat patches! haha

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my hobbies include having fun just looking at him 😊

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Why is he soo...MEOW MEOW?

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I want more Leader-Sama! 💘💜