#nobuaki katou

[merry-go-roundo]

¿Lloras mucho?

Fue divertido hacer esto :D

[girugamesh-chaos-and-anarchy]

LET IT DIE

When I read the translation by @japanessie I fell in love with those lines

[neonyankomaru]

Thoughts【Part 1】 Buat yg ngaku fans tp gatau apa apa tentang MFS mending back off deh, kalo ujung ujungnya kalian malah ngerendahin atau ngebandingin mereka sm band lain. What the heck?! Eh kutil, setiap band pasti punya ciri masing masing. Jadi gaada guna kalo lu ngebanding bandingin mereka sm band lain. Atau malah kalian suka sm MFS cuma karena kasian sm Hiro atau cuma karena tau Hiro adiknya "dia"? Gitu? HAHAHA For example deh, gue gatau apa apa soal band "dia" dan gue gapernah komen apa apa soal bandnya atau pun personal life nya. Sekarang kalo gue balik komen tentang band "dia" pasti banyak yg ga bakal terima sama statement gue. Soalnya mulut gue tajem, tapi at least gue ga muna. Gini deh, emang lu pada blm puas nyakitin Hiro sm MFS dari 5 tahun lalu sampe sekarang? Mereka ngebawa beban itu selama 5 tahun atau mungkin lebih. Lu pikir gampang? Pasti berat lah bego. Gue yakin lu yg pada cuma punya mulut gede yg ngomong macem macem soal MFS juga gabakal kuat di judge sehari sm ribuan orang. Paling juga ga nyampe sehari udh pada mewek terus ngedown. Lu semua pasti mikirnya "Oh itu anak cuma sirik", "Tu anak pasti gasuka/benci sama band kakaknya". HAHAHA SOTIL LU NYED. Gue ga benci, sama sekali ga benci. Jujur gue juga sering dengerin lagu mereka. Hampir setiap hari gue dengerin karena emang masuk di playlist gue. Buat kalian yg katanya fans mereka dari dulu dan tau segalanya soal mereka. Kenapa gue perhatiin kebanyakan malah pada gasuka sama mereka sekarang? Gaada yg salah sama lagu lagu di album baru mereka. When people judge them by calling them "POP" based on perubahan musik dan beberapa poin di album barunya, gue disini malah suka sama album barunya dan gue pikir mereka bener bener keren. Kenapa? Mereka berhasil wujudin beberapa mimpi mereka yg akhirnya bikin semua orang all over the world kenal sama mereka. Kalian yg klaim diri jadi fans harusnya bangga dong sama kesuksesan mereka. Tapi yg gue heran, banyak komen yg gue liat malah ngejudge mereka karena mereka berubah. Ada juga yg ngejudge orang karena orang itu deket atau foto hug/cipika cipiki sama band member. Hellooooo they're in America now. Hal hal kayak gitu udah biasa disana kalo sama temen. So just get used to it. Gausah lebay. Boleh lebay tapi cukup sama temen aja. Gausah langsung ke orang yg bersangkutan. Norak. Back to MFS, gue cuma minta satu aja. Ngotak dikit kek gitu kalo mau ngomong atau bikin statement buat public post. Soalnya gini loh, bukannya apa apa. Gue cuma kasian sm fans yg baru masuk dunia fandom MFS trs nemu postingan yg ga bener. Cuma bikin rusak fandom aja kan? Bikin postingan ini itu soal MFS biar dapet banyak followers sama likes. Ga guna lu. Or maybe gini, mungkin lu ga bermaksud buat ngerendahin MFS ataupun Hiro, tapi, persepsi setiap orang pasti beda beda kan? Karena ga setiap orang bisa ngerti maksud dibalik postingan lu sekalipun lu pake bahasa yg bagus. Jadi intinya ya gausah sok tau segalanya kalo faktanya emang lu gatau apa apa soal MFS. Gausah sakit hati sm omongan gue. Dari awal udah dibilangin. Kalo gatau apa apa mending gausah komen. P.s: sorry kalo kata kata gue agak kasar. I'm just being myself. *screenshot from MFS Documentary Film「全心」

[leenaevilin]

[Announcement] Otona Project第二十七弾 演劇ユニット 爆走おとな小学生 第十二回全校集会『勇者セイヤンの物語（仮）』(otona project dai 27 dan engeki unit bakusou otona shougakusei dai 12 kai zenkou shuukai ~ yuusha seiyan no monogatari (kari))

the show will be running from October 24th, 2019 to October 28th, 2019 (Tokyo) @ シアター1010 (Theater 1010)

Cast:

Oota Masaki Koyama Momoyo Shinoda Minami Kominami Kouji Yamanaka Shouta Murase Fuminori Nitta Kenta Matsumoto Yuuichi Nagasawa Marina Umeda Haruka Suzuki Hirono Shiratori Yuuna Maruyama Shougo Matsunami Yuuki Ryousuke (CUBERS) Kawamura Reo Nishimura Nobuaki Abe Kanon Ishihara Misaki Hayashi Chinami Kosaka Takao Yamada Yuuta Katou Koudai Kikkawa Yuu Kuwano Kousuke Kawasumi Bishin

Guest:

Watanabe Yui Inoue Rikako

homepage twitter natalie

[hiroki-moriuchi]

Hi, sorry to bother you.. can you tell me some news of MFS? About members or.. anything else? I am a fan of MFS, but i know them from a little time.

Welcome to the fandom! ^^

I’ll just talk about the members for a little while, ok?

All pictures used (except Kid’z’s) are from here.

First, the youngest band member: Hiro, the singer.

His full name is Hiroki Moriuchi. He comes from a famous family. Both his parents are famous enka singers, and his brother Taka is the singer of the band ONE OK ROCK. Because of his famous family, Hiroki has been in the shadow of his family. By singing in MY FIRST STORY, he is trying to show the world that he is Hiroki from MY FIRST STORY, and not just “the son of…” or “the little brother of….”.

Next, Teru, one of the guitarists.

His full name is Teruki Nishiziwa. He’s seems to be a pretty outgoing guy. I’m not sure what else I can really say about him.XD

Next, Nob, the bassist!

His full name is Nobuaki Katou. This might be personal opinion, but I think he’s a very good bass player. He’s been the victim of numerous pranks that have been filmed by the band, and released on DVD. The DVDs are called Itsuwari NOBROSE, and so far three have been released.

Then, there is the drummer, Kid’z.

His real name is Shohei Sasaki, but everyone uses his stage name Kid’z. He is the only member of the band who hasn’t been a member since the beginning. In March 2016, it was announced that the previous drummer Masack would be leaving the band, and that Kid’z would take his place. At first it seems he intended to keep a low profile so fans would not feel like he was ‘replacing’ Masack, but fans turned out to be very welcoming and soon he showed his outgoing side. ^^ 

Then, the last member: Sho, the guitarist.

His full name is Sho Tsuchiya. He is currently on hiatus. That means that he is still a band member, but he is currently not active in the band: he doesn’t do concerts or albums with MY FIRST STORY right now. Later, he will return to the band as an active member again. Before he went on hiatus, he seemed to be sort of the leader of MY FIRST STORY. If I understand correctly, he also did most of the songwriting for the band. Hiro looks up to Sho quite a lot. ^^ 

This is what I can tell you about the members. I can always tell you more about the band, but now that you know the members, it should be easier to find information on the band yourself. ^^ I highly recommend japanessie’s blog, who has a lot of posts about MFS and also knows some Japanese, so she sometimes translates things too.

I hope you enjoy your stay in the fandom! c:

[talk3tiv3]

Addiction

MY FIRST STORY is really getting into me! I really just want them to succeed. They are amazing, and they deserve more love! Not just Hiro of course! Teru, Nob, Masack and Sho are amazing contributors to MY FIRST STORY. I want to mentally and physically support them but I am out of reach . *cries* They became an addiction to me each time I hear a song from them. I look forward to their worldwide tour in the future! Just Imagine this.

[japanessie]

MY FIRST STORY on Hey! Hey! NEO! with Downtown 30 Sept 2019

MFS was so excited over this one. Must be an honour to be invited to be a guest for these famous comedians, eh?

Disclaimer: I did this with a lot of help from FujiTV onscreen captions and Google speech capture technology wherever possible. My ears can’t do this 100% on their own LOL. Not to mention listening to this a countless number of times! Hundreds! I also rephrased things liberally here and there. The photo collages only serve as a summary. Surely a lot of things were misheard too. Sorry for all the mistakes and fails 🙈 . Here, I picked some parts of the lively conversation and left out the rest that I’m so hopeless at. Words in italic or bracket are my own addition. I also selected some Japanese words to remember and left out the ones I’m not ready for. Sorry it makes things look messy.

A bit of background…..

DOWNTOWN is a popular Japanese comedy duo from Hyogo consisting of members Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. So, this means, they use a lot of Kansai-ben. I can’t even pass standard Japanese, let alone Kansai dialect LOL.

MY FIRST STORY held a lottery for Fan Club members to attend the recording at FUJI TV, Odaiba City on 23 Sept 2019. I didn’t apply because I knew I would not be able to understand things on the spot. Not to mention I had no money to go anyway 😂. Congrats to those who got picked to go!

——————————————

MFS the “handsome"band?

Hitoshi Matsumoto: You guys are kinda like "Visual Kei”.

Hiro: (surprised) Really??

Hitoshi Matsumoto: Very handsome*.

* Not sure if he mentioned someone’s name or what with it.

Masatoshi Hamada: EH? (…looking at Hiro’s face…)

Everyone: (laughs)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: But I’m sorry ok (…putting his hand on Nob…), you are the least popular, I understand that*.

* Oh my God, that’s brutal (but I’m still laughing). Sorry Nob.

Everyone: (laughs hysterically)   Nob: (smiles and nods*)

* Aww…. Nob is so gentle & accepting. It’s not like he’s ugly though. Far from it. Especially if you’ve seen him in person. But it’s hard not to look super “unpretty” when sitting next to pretty boys like Hiro, Teru and Kid'z.

Masatoshi Hamada:   But first, they debuted seven years ago.

Hitoshi Matsumoto:  Since we know nothing about it, were you guys already this good-looking from the band’s formation time?

MFS members: (… err… how to answer this one?…)

Hiro: (…awkwardly..) I guess so. Maybe.

Masatoshi Hamada: Any huge place you guys want to perform in*?

* Actually I’m not really sure what he said. Just guessing ….haha.

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (putting his hand on Nob again) Any problem with him*?

* Kinda like any problem with having a not-so-handsome guy in a band of handsome guys? OMG, brutal LOL

Everyone: (laughs)

Nob: (..somewhat startled…. what, me?)

Hiro: (raises his hand and laughs) No, no. We’re not that kind of band. He’s fine.

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (nudging Nob) Don’t take it to heart, eh? Don’t take it to heart *.

* Not sure if that’s what he meant. Just guessing … huhu.

Everyone: (laughs)

——————————————

Hiro is such a chatterbox, they think he should just enter a grand competition

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (to Hiro) You’re such a talker*! (pretending to look annoyed) Are you going on R-1 Grand Prix or what!

* 喋り達者 / shaberitachisha (?) / master talker, chatterbox

Everybody: (laughs)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: I can’t even talk at all (when Hiro talks)!

Hiro: (laughs) No, no! I’m not going on R-1!

*R-1 Grand Prix is a popular competition where entertainers compete with each other making jokes or whatever funny things to win the title of champion.

* LOL Do you think Hiro talks too much?

——————————————

The Downtown guys know Hiro’s parents very well and are particularly good friends with Mama Mori

Masatoshi Hamada & Hitoshi Matsumoto: (bowing to Hiro in respect to Mama Mori) Send our regards to your mother.

Hiro: (bowing back) Thank you.

* Mama Mori did background narration for the comedy duo for many many years.

Hitoshi Matsumoto: I’ve been to your father’s concerts too.

Hiro: Ah, thank you so much (bowing to Matsumoto-san)

* Sorry, I don’t really understand everything else 😕. Matsumoto-san also mimicked Papa Mori’s onstage self-introduction but I couldn’t capture what was the joke… huhu 🙈.

——————————————

MFS team’s penchant for pranks & Nob’s heart of gold

Masatoshi Hamada: You guys like pranks very much, don’t you?

Hiro: We are mischievous with each other, either with the members or the staff. We do some light-hearted* “hidden camera” thingy. Playful**. Playing stuff on each other (laughs)

* 軽い / かるい / karui / light

* *遊び心 / あそびごころ / asobigokoro / playful

Masatoshi Hamada: (pointing at Kid'z and Nob) It was labour intensive* on you two.

* 骨 / ほね / hone / labourous

* 粗大な / そだいな / sodaina / grand

Kid'z & Nob: (smiling & nodding together)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: Well, keep telling. About the after party and all.

Masatoshi Hamada: You did that in Taiwan!

Everyone: (watching clips of Kid'z and Nob being pranked)

* ネタバ��シ / netabarashi / spoiler

Masatoshi Hamada: (patting Nob) That’s horrible, ne~? Did you feel it was really serious, that being overseas?

Nob: Well, I didn’t know a word (of Chinese). So, I was like, “Could I have brought this powder with me or what?” (gesturing being shown a packet of powder with his hands).

* 粉 / kona / powder

Everyone: (laughs) 

* Both Matsumoto-san and Hamada-san couldn’t believe what they heard.

Masatoshi Hamada: (walking up to Nob and tapping his body)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (reaching for Nob too & repeatedly slamming his hand up & down) Then you (should) just clearly* DENY** it!

* 明確 / めいかく / meikaku / clear, firm, solid, assure, precise

**  否定する / hitei suru / deny

Nob: (looking blurred & clueless)

Everyone: (laughs)

Hiro: (astonished at how goody-two-shoes Nob can be) You don’t say, “Could this be my powder?” in that situation!! You didn’t bring that, right?! 

Everyone: (laughs)

Hiro: In order to do that hidden camera prank, we firstly had to go on a special* trip to Taiwan. Then we had to add one Live performance to it too.

＊わざわざ / waza waza / specially, doing something specially rather than incidentally

Hitoshi Matsumoto: So, you did not do that onwards from that Taiwan live show?

Hiro: Yup, it was the other way round.

Audience: Eh??!!

Masatoshi Hamada:  (referring to the clip) That (felt like) half a year…

Hitoshi Matsumoto:  (…looking at Nob…) Dang! THAT entire time you were getting nothing BUT scolded* (by those actors?)?

* 恨ま��る / uramareru / get scolded, get cursed ~ from the word 恨む / uramu

Everyone: (laughs)

Nob: (smiling and shaking his head)

* OMG, Nob is unbelievably nice! He’s not bitter at all.

Hitoshi Matsumoto: You’re the stuff for Wednesday’s Downtown*! (laughs)

* Wednesday’s Downtown is their famous comedy show.

—————��————————

Why Teru was never picked for pranks?

Masatoshi Hamada: (puts hand on Teru) You are the only one who has never been pranked?

Teru: Yes, that’s right. I don’t know, (…looking at Hiro….) do you hate* me or something?

* Aww 😍…. so all this time, Teru actually feels being left out by Hiro 😮? He was like, Hiro, why you never want to pick me 😕? 

嫌わる / kirawareru / be hated ~ from the word  嫌う / kirau / hate, dislike

Hiro: No, no! The thing is, if it’s him (….pointing at Teru…), it wouldn’t be as funny.

Everyone: (laughs)

Masatoshi Hamada: How is that?

Hiro: He’s like (…still pointing at Teru …), whatever that’s happening*, he is unperturbed most of the time **.

* 起きる / おきる / okiru / get up, rise, occur, takes place

** 動じる / どうじる / doujiru / move, shift, motion

Teru: (laughs)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: Aah you know, my eyes can see around and filter out for certain* who’s funny and who’s not.

* 確かに / tashikani / certainly, surely

Note: I only guessed the rest of his sentence LOL

Everyone: Ok (…. anticipating Matsumoto-san’s verdict….)

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (…looking at Teru “scanning” him with a very serious face…) This one so totally NOT funny.

Teru: (…covers his face in embarrassment…)

* Spot on 😄! Teru oh Teru. When he tries to be funny, he just becomes corny & awkward instead. Strangely, when he’s not trying to be, that’s when he’s accidentally downright hilarious 😂

Everyone: (laughs)

Hiro: You may stop it right there * (laughs).

* Haha, so, it basically just stops there with Teru. Pranks may not work well on him because of his non-reaction to abnormal situations 😄.  But a true bromance story 😍. Hiro spared you all these times because he knew your character so well, Teru 🤗❤️💕.

* Aww... Teru was so embarrassed to be branded unfunny 😄.

——————————————

I don’t fully understand the joke where they asked Teru if he had some prank ideas on Hiro 🙈😭

*Disclaimer: Below is my best guess.

Masatoshi Hamada: (putting hand on Teru) How about your own?

Hiro: (realizing Hamada-san’s intention) For me?

Teru: (scratching his head) Hmm

Audience: Aaahhh!!

Hitoshi Matsumoto: (to Kid’z & Nob) Do you have something good for (prank) ideas?

Teru: (pointing to Kid’z, Nob & himself) The three of us are setting it up*. (nodding)**

* 仕掛ける / shikakeru / set up

** Does that mean “Yes, we’re thinking of pranking Hiro” 😍 ?

Hiro: (wide-eyed & taken aback by Teru’s answer) Holy cow! !

Masatoshi Hamada: Ah, good (….making a hand gesture as if putting something into something else….)*

* Don’t know the words he said here. Sorry 🙈.

Hiro: That’s not even a hidden camera thing!

Everyone: (laughs)

Masatoshi Hamada: You 3 guys can (shackle) him down and ….

Hiro: (looking at Hamada-san) That’s not even…!

Nob: (pretending to …hmm…. pour water onto something?)

Hiro: Normally I would already be complaining*!

* 訴えます / uttaemasu / complain

Hitoshi Matsumoto: Maybe make it like Masako-chan’s* hair or something (gesturing 2 pointy things on his head).

* If Matsumoto-san meant Masako-chan as Mama Mori, then I guess he was saying to tie Hiro’s hair into two girly piggy tails like his mother likes to do during her comedy skits as まーちゃん (Maa-chan).

Everyone: (hysterically laughs)

Hiro: (waving his hand & shaking his head) Ehh! How are you even going to get close to doing that?!!*

* Lets’s take Matsumoto-san’s suggestion LOL 😂 😂 😂

* Hiroki, you cunning little one! You’re so NOT wiggling your way out of this LOL

——————————————

How was that, my fellow MFS fans? I hope the rough idea is there even if I couldn’t get the thing 100% right.

Help and corrections are very much welcomed. Hehe!

Would love to hear your feedback about this talk. Do you think MFS is visually pleasing to the eye? Does Hiro talk too much? Do you feel Teru has no funny bones? Do you want to see Hiro getting pranked?

Oh wow! To me, I can see why DOWNTOWN is such a popular comedy team in Japan. They truly are hilarious! Thank you Matsumoto-san & Hamada-san.

[japanessie]

MY FIRST STORY's New Year 2020 messages are da bomb as usual

They did something similar in 2018. Refer here in case you're new to this 😊.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

TERU:

ロクマル釣る！！/ ROKUMARU tsuru!! / I will catch a fish longer than 60cm!!

* He even drew a diagram for it 😂! But I'm not sure if the term “rokumaru" applies to only bass fish or any fish. Ok Teru, what happened to “Elegant" that you wrote last time?

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

HIRO:

好きな人が優しかった... / Sukina hito ga yasashikatta / The person I like was kind

* Still the same message he wrote before. Hmm.. 🤔 Interesting too that he chose to write his name Hiroki Moriuchi in full Kanji 森内寛樹 instead of “MFS Hiro" similar to his bandmates. I guess he wants to show that being a Moriuchi is also a big part of his identity in music.

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

KID'Z:

目指せヒロより小顔 / Mezase Hiro yori kogao / My aim is to have a smaller face than Hiro's

* Aww... Teru really destroyed him with all that teasing about him having a “big" face. He's still insecure about his Hollywood hunk jawlines & Johnny Depp cheekbones to these days. Someone, please tell him he's perfect as he is 🤗

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

NOB:

シックスパック*/ Shikku pakku / (I want to have a) Six Pack

* I was confused thinking he wrote the kanji 肉 yet it also kinda looked like 面 at the same time. A kind Japanese fan clarified that it actually was just a little drawing he made of a 6-pack ab LOL 😂. Thank you for explaining dear.

Drawing credit to @10969Hana87 on Twitter

[japanessie]

HUGE Nob fan here! Are there any videos of Nob solos? I really wanted to buy his one man show but it was for limited time and only if you bought their live DVD (which I had just bought their older live DVD so wasn't prepared to spend more money at that time since buying stuff internationally is SO.DANG.EXPENSIVE.). I also think in addition, you had to buy from particular place? Anyway, just wondering if you know of anywhere else where I can hear Nob solos or songs he has composed.

Hi 😊

Yes, that Nob One Man Show DVD is a one-time only pre-order bonus. The only way to hunt for that DVD now is at the used market in Japan. The easiest place to find it is at Mercari Japan. Go there and enter “my first story nob dvd” and wish yourself luck. Prices vary as it is up to the sellers to decide. As I’m writing this, there are TWO offers available there at different prices. One is ￥1500 and the other is ￥4444. It’s a limited item. Of course it’s not going to be cheap! 

© Photo from Mercari Japan listing

The problem is sellers on Mercari Japan are not exactly the people who want to deal with overseas buyers (*think language barrier) and you shall need a middleman to buy  from there. Not all proxy companies offer buying services from Mercari. Below are two companies my friends and I have liased with:

1. Japan Depot

Reasonable fee of ￥200 if I’m not mistaken BUT closed on weekends. So, you can lose the item you want to another buyer during that time.

2. VV Japan

A bit pricey at ￥500 service fee but fast reply even after 6pm Japan time which is awesome if you are super desperate to get the item.

NOB’s side projects

Besides ZING, Nob along with Sho and a bunch of musician friends are now registered under a music agency called ON MUSIC. It’s pretty new as I’m writing this and there isn’t much written under his portfolio. But you may check from time to time if they announce anything.  

By the way, I hope you also have checked out BREAKERZ’s NEVER ENDING STORY which featured Nob and Kid'z as guest musicians.

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/never-ending-story/1298544983?i=1298544990

🤗👌

[japanessie]

Hii Shelly! Been reading your blog and it's extremely informative, so thank you for that! Anyways, i was really wondering what are your favourite songs from MFS! Thank you!

Hi there!!! 😁✌️

Hmm ….. that’s an interesting question 🤔. OK, my list changes with times I must say. There was a time when I used to listen to the album 虚言NEUROSE everyday during my daily commute to work as I liked ZERO Gravity and ROOM very much. I used to like What’s My Name? from BONEDS split album a lot too. Apart from the 1st song in the following list which is a crucial song to me, the rest are songs that I’ve noticed I tend to repeat every time I listen to them nowadays.

WARNING: I will be mentioning Taka and OOR a lot here. Read on to understand why.

1. 最終回STORY [Saishuukai STORY]

This is the most important MFS song for me because THIS is the song through which they stole my heart at the height of my “love affair” with OOR back in 2013. The one that turned me into an MFS fan. Don’t get me wrong, I still am an OOR fan. It’s just that I was also looking for something else I wasn’t getting from them. A certain kind of aggressiveness. Not necessarily had to be appealing to the commercial mass market. Something more metal yet still melodic and accessible. I was in love with the song March of Mephisto by Kamelot at the time and I wanted something that leaned more towards that. Then, I heard 最終回STORY. BAM! I found what I was looking for 😍! Different from OOR. Played it on repeat that night and it became the most played song on my phone quickly. I love everything about it and the MV, which somewhat hides the band members’ faces, is just right for it. It makes us focus on the amazing music and not their pretty faces. 

* Though I feel Hiro somewhat ruined it when he swang his mic at one point in the MV (one short second of a movement that his Onii-chan is famous for is enough to tarnish Hiro’s image for life 😖), but overall especially the angles that the video was shot, more than makes up for that “oops …” moment 😊.

2. 終焉レクイエム [Shuuen Requiem]

I do love string sections anywhere and the orchestral arrangement intensifies the song’s melancholic melody. Furthermore, I like how musically, this one leans more towards the work of older rock artists from HYDE’s generation than the younger OOR kind of crowds. It reminds me a lot of my favourite song Gekoukka by Janne da Arc from the anime Dr. Black Jack.

While I understand Hiro’s intention with BLACK RAIL, this one has a lot more depth and is far more revealing of his feelings about being cyber-bullied by some of his brother’s fans. I talked a lot more about it here.

3. 君のいない夜を越えて [Kimi no Inai Yoru o Koete]

Part of Sho’s musical works for Ochanomizu Rock. Musically, it’s safe and sweet.While it wasn’t love at first listen to me but thanks to the drama series, I got drawn more and more towards it. Upon finding out that Hiro cleverly inserted a lyric line that clearly mentions “my first story” which also seems to answer why he and big bro Taka appear detached in public, the song then totally etched itself on my heart. I wrote what I thought about that “hidden” message here. Despite the crazy accusations about him hating Taka, Hiro once again wants us to decipher all the clues he left here and there indicating how he carries his big brother in his heart very much ❤️.

4. FAKE

Surprised to see this one? This one is in a league of its own to me. I wrote my thoughts on it back in 2015 here. OK, this one represents the time when I was adjusting to the fact that Hiro was no longer a boy when I first saw the trailer. How he had blossomed into a man. I remember that day very well. My hands felt cold and my heartbeat was racing, telling myself, “He’s not a baby anymore. Accept it,” 😮. 

Just look at how he flirted with the viewers through the camera lens 😍.

He ended it with alternate wink of one eye! Oh my kokoro ❤️❤️❤️

The song also has a different and sexier groove that sets itself apart from other MFS songs. Listen to those crunchy rhythm guitars 😙!! My favourite part is when they put Hiro’s voice through that “groveling” vocal effect about 1 min into the song. Come on, how can I not find that sexy 😉? You don’t often get to hear Hiro sounding masculine, thanks to his high-pitched natural voice. So, this is where the right voice effect works very well to enhance the man side of him. I also love how schizophrenic the song arrangement is. How it twists to different turns one after another. Weird but good weird 😉. Whether you like the song or not, you have to admit that this song is only one of its kind in their repertoire as they have never made another song that sounds like FAKE again.

* Some fans compared the chorus to OOR’s Never Let It Go but still the overall feels of both songs are worlds apart. The former is an arena rock anthem with a soaring chorus. The latter is just weird but a deliciously sexy groovy kind of weird.

5. The Puzzle

The song that didn’t impress me AT ALL during the trailer. Then they released the video on STORYTELLER in full. Wow! Suddenly I knew how to appreciate it. You can feel the raw feelings and vulnerability they exuded with that video. The video was recorded at their 1st public performance after the lineup change. It was a period of MAJOR adjustment especially for the 3 youngest members Hiro, Teru and Kid’z. Hiro trying to hold back his tears mid-song, Teru still playing under Sho’s shadow and Kid’z (who was still worrying about fans’acceptance) doing his best to prove his worth by elevating the song through his own style of drumming. I almost feel like Kid’z was making his drum beats “sing” with Hiro at certain parts.

* For those just joining STORYTELLER Club, you can watch The Puzzle MV only after being a member for 90 days. Be patient, OK? It’s worth waiting to see Hiro’s raw pain when he sang the line “boku dake / only me”.

6. BOOM

I love heavy sounding bass lines which this song has in abundance. TQ Nob for your awesome work! What a pity it was not made into an MV. To me, this song is a missed opportunity for MFS to show the world especially the skeptics that they really do play a different kind of music from big brother band OOR. Where the big bro is more Good Charlotte & Yellowcard, this one has Limp Bizkit running through its veins. Different leagues. Fred Durst would be proud 😉

7. 悪戯フィクション [Itazura FICTION]

It’s dark and lyrically intense!  I wrote about what I think the lyrics are about here, here and here. Also, why I think it inspired the lyrics to LET IT DIE here. Then how to not fall head over heel over that drumming ❤️? Turned out it was the most challenging arrangement to Kid’z from that album and the one he worked the hardest on to get it right. Hmm …. does that mean I can now trust my ears to detect quality work? Hehe 😁. That sounds like bragging but, from the start, the drumming had been the part that drew me to this song 😊. A song meant to be performed in large halls/arenas.

8. 不可逆リプレース [Fukagyaku REPLACE] acoustic version

The reason? My mind likes to imagine Taka singing with Hiro on this version. Somehow I think the gentler music arrangement fits to bring the two brothers’ voices together onstage. Imagine them singing the lines “… I will follow you … follow you ….“ and “keep you close to me …. close to me ….” to each other. But, I want to see them both together onstage NOT because I think it would be an explosive collaboration. Instead, I want to see the “tears fest” that would happen on that stage. My mind also likes to make a bet who from each band would cry first watching them. My bet ….. from MFS, it’s a toss between Nob and Teru. Then from OOR, it’s Ryota. Am I sadistic or what 😮? Wanting a song to be performed just to see people cry 😄? 

9. REVIVER

I love how somewhat 80′s rock and old school this song is. I talked about that in this post. Even the MV’s aspect ratio is old school! Teruki shines here 😊. Proudly wearing an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt. Basically declaring where his musical influences came from. OK. I don’t need to repeat REVIVER because they actually made TWO equally excellent versions of it and now they added the orchestral version too. Aah …. MFS loves me 😍!

Of course, like the rest of you, I love ALONE, LET IT DIE, Missing You etc. Special mention for AWAKE which I call “the song Hiro has never screwed up Live”. An older song Warning always makes me happy too. Another special mention is If I Am which everyone else seems to find lame but I, on the other hand, think that it has an epic acoustic potential LOL. Did you all see how dead and quiet the crowd was when they performed this song in the ITSUWARI NEUROSE Tour Final DVD 😂? Yeah, I think the guys need to revive the song with a different arrangement.

Sorry this got too long 😮

[japanessie]

Hi! I noticed a few semi-old tweets from November from/retweeted by ZiNG and was hoping you could clarify since it's in Japanese and Google Translate apparently sucks with tweets. Did all of ZiNG or just Anchor participate in the song Respawn off the A3! VIVID AUTUMN EP? I've been waiting for another song release by them so I hope it's all of them 🙏

Hi 😊

Glad you asked! This slipped my mind, I’m ashamed to admit *feeling sheepish*. Well, based on the info given by the band on their official website here, all the four members of ZiNG (Anchor, Pierre, Nob, Yoshi) were involved in the making of the song RESPAWN. Anchor is the Composer/Lyricist and the guys worked together on the music arrangement. These are credited accordingly by PONY Canyon Japan 😊.

The EP is available to purchase internationally on iTunes too. It’s available in my country Malaysia. So, I’m guessing it should be there in most other countries too. I highly recommend buying the Instrumental version to hear the music arrangement better. I personally feel RESPAWN is the most agressive-sounding song on this album. It even has that signature Nobuaki Katou bass break in the middle. It certainly lives up to the song they made for Kamurai Tribe Game in 2017 as their debut 「一芸は天道に通ずる / Ichigei wa Tendou ni Tsuuzuru / An art will lead to Heaven」.

Note:

To new MFS fans who are not familiar with ZiNG, it is a side project that MY FIRST STORY bassist Nob has been doing since 2017. Besides Nob on bass, there are Anchor (main composer, producer), Pierre Nakano (drummer of 凛として時雨 / Ling Tosite Sigure) and Yoshimitsu Taki (guitarist of 9mm Parabellum Bullet). You may check out their website to keep up on their projects time after time 😉.

[japanessie]

Hi Shelly! I was just wondering if you could help me identify in which versions of MFS' CDs and DVDs I can find their bonus content. So far, I only know that Nobrose season 2 is in Antithese LE and ごっつぁんです！！ Vol.2 is in All Lead Tracks Storyteller ver. Where can I find Nobrose season 1 and ごっつぁんです！！ Vol.1? Also, are there any other bonus content I'm missing out on in other CDs/DVDs? I'm working on completing their whole discography hehe. Thank you! :)

Hi (^^)v

First of all, I really hope you had ordered the VR Edition MMA DVD at WIZY since you’re so enthusiastic about Limited Editions.

Hmm ….. ごっちゃんです！！Vol.1 DVD was a pre-order bonus for the Budokan DVD/BD + 虚言NOBROSE combo at HMV Japan. So, it’s not really available anymore unless someone decides to sell theirs.

However, you can get ALL THREE seasons of 虚言NOBROSE if you buy the official DVD. Retails at ￥3800 I think.

It’s this one.

[japanessie]

Getting to know Teruki ~ a man of very few words

Disclaimer: This is of course NOT 100% accurate of what they said. Far from it …. hehe! Just an oversimplified translation of what went on. I rephrased & left out what I didn’t get. I’m sure I misheard things too. Totally not sure what was the last word Teru said there. Skipped it. Hu..hu.. my Japanese listening skill is a sorry state of existence 😁.

This is just to give a rough idea of what was going on when Teru was asked to talk about the ALL LEAD TRACKS album for TOWER Record’s No Music No Life. Yes, I exagerated it a bit though 😁. Anyway, unlike the others who eloquently expressed their thoughts, Teru was like, “hmm … what to say?“. Of course his bandmates had a jolly great time laughing at him. But if you observe him in interviews, he has always been quieter and less articulate.

Me: Still can’t forget that he uttered only ONE word onstage in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Even if he’s too shy to speak English but ….. ONE word? No kidding. And that ONE word was “BOO!” :-P

[japanessie]

what is nob’s これがホントのALONE one man show?

From the name itself, it should mean Nob performing all by himself at Tsutaya O-East. Nob is an accomplished musician on his own. He had played for nano, BREAKERZ, that guy from Johnny Entertainment (forgot his name …. sorry 😕😓) and the latest ZING. He can sing and play the guitar besides playing the bass.

But MFS is unpredictable. The last time, they would even organize a concert in Taiwan just to prank him. So, while I hope it’s a real Nob solo concert, I wouldn’t be surprised if the band has another thing in plan.

[japanessie]

Do you think Nob's solo performance will be on DVD? I love bass and I loved Nob's performance in Zing (i've replayed it so many times) so I'd be excited to hear what he's got, especially since he seems like a man of few words. I feel like in a way music is his way of communicating and being heard so I'm excited to hear just him and his style. I hope it's legit, though, and not another prank special or something.

Hi 😊

I believe it’s going to be on a DVD. They’re obviously planningsomething with it. Those fans who won the posters of their staff memberLuka had been invited to be there. I’m thinking maybe it would be abonus DVD for early bird reservation of the MMA Tour Final BD/DVD? Ormaybe a special edition for STORYTELLERS? I doubt they’re leaving it towaste 😁.

Aah… yes. Watching Nob slaying his bass lines with ZING is sosatisfying, isn’t it 😙? I do hope along with whatever “thingy” they’replanning on him, it will still be a real showcase of Nobuaki Katou.He’s a very versatile musician. He can play heavy music, pop and sappyromantic ballads with equal aplomb.

I do believe the show will be turned into a DVD. MFS is still essentially aself-funded indie band and they’re always looking for whateveropportunity available to generate income. Look at how they practically“plastered” their names on EVERY freakin’ product all over the boothsat Makuhari Messe 😄.

Here is our Nobu with his side project ZING again to refresh our memory 🤗😎

[japanessie]

MY FIRST STORY ~ LET IT DIE lyrics translation

Since I was asked my opinion on the lyrics (refer to this post and this post), I might as well post the words here with a bit of my commentary.

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are all my own based on what I understand from the band members and game music director’s explanation.

This song to me is essentially a broken relationship song seen from the perspective of the person who is battling his inner turmoil over his ex-girl.

Lyrically, the song has a “Do I? Do I not?” theme. 

The protagonist keeps on asking himself “Once again?” but then the hurt he’s feeling makes him think “Never again!”. They tried to make it work as narrated by this line  「何億回も絡み付いてた / even how many hundreds of millions times we twined it up」, which is then followed by 「僕と君の赤い糸はパッと切れた / the red thread of you and I, was broken」。

The line “I love you as a friend” serves more as a defense mechanism to protect the protagonist from jumping back into the doomed relationship. It’s a way of keeping her emotionally at bay. Yet, at the same time, he has doubts over his own strength to resist it and wonder whether he will go and pick up where he left off with her when he asks himself the question “To be continued ....?”. Friendzoning your ex is essentially keeping the door to your heart half open.

LET IT DIE the song to me isn’t about LET IT DIE the video game itself. Rather it is about taking the phrase “let it die” and creating a scenario from that and infusing game-ish phrases like “GAME OVER” and “To be continued”. A broken relationship story is a pretty easy one to create around the “let it die” phrase. What amazes me is for someone who has not been through a serious relationship, not one that we publicly know anyway, Hiro has this deep understanding of the subject. Either that or he is so skillful at transferring his other painful experiences into it.

As usual, I like to put the translation and reading line by line with original lyrics to facilitate singing-along-while-understanding activity. Mostly people put the entire song in Kanji first, then the entire reading and then lastly the entire translation. That style is so unhelpful to someone like me.

 LET IT DIE

Song : Nob Lyrics : Hiro Album : ALL LEAD TRACKS

She changes like a black labyrinth every time alone Begin to doubt if I love you more & more We're getting nowhere now

今心から憎み合えたのに Ima kokoro kara nikumiaeta no ni [Although we were able to hate each other deeply]

もう一回愛し合ってしまえば終われないの？ Mōikkai aishiatte shimaeba owarenai no? [Are we able to end it* if we love each other one more time?]

* to end that hate for each other

GAME OVER

君との思い出は掻き消せた筈なのに Kimitono omoide wa kakikeseta hazu na no ni [I should have been able to erase my memories with you]

何故か「 また会いたい」 って心の声がした Nazeka `mata aitai' tte kokoro no koe ga shita [Somehow there is a voice in my heart saying "I want to see you again"]

もう一度" I wanna be with you" ？？ Mō ichi do " I wanna be with you" ？？ [One more time ... "I wanna be with you" ??]

もう二度と" I can't get back with you" Mō ni do to "I can't get back with you" [Never again ... "I can't get back with you"]

何時になっても言えなかった「 最後の言葉」 を告げるから Nanji ni natte mo ienakatta `saigo no kotoba' o tsugerukara [Because I will tell you the "last words" that I am unable to tell at any given time]

We are just breaking up

何億回も絡み付いてた Nan oku-kai mo karamitsui teta [Even (with) hundreds of millions times that (we) twined it up]

僕と君の赤い糸はパッと切れた Boku to kimi no akai ito wa patto kireta [The red thread of you and I, was broken.]

She keeps making up excuses and lies HACK＆  SLASH We will get killed by JACKALS

今すぐにLET IT DIE [Ima sugu ni] LET IT DIE right now

真っ黒に染まる世界の中で僕は生きるのが恐くなって歩���方を変えた出した Makkuro ni somaru sekai no naka de boku wa ikiru no ga kowaku natte aruki-kata wo kaeta dashita [In the world that is dyed black, I started changing my way of walking because I became frightened of living]

真っ白に染まる世界の中で僕は死ねる事が嬉しくって歩くのを止めて走り出した Masshiro ni somaru sekai no naka de boku wa shineru koto ga ureshikutte aruku no wo yamete hashiri dashita [In a world that is dyed white, I was pleased to die and I stopped walking and started running]

We are just breaking up

To be continued ... ？

枯れ果てた心は何と言う？ Kare hateta kokoro wa nan to iu? [What do you say withered heart?]

I don't know what to do？  What to do？

決められずに... Kime rarezu ni... [Unable to decide ...]

変わりゆく日々を変えたくて Kawari yuku hibi o kaetakute [I want to change the changing days]

I don't know what to do？  What to do？   I don't know what to do？  What to do？

「 僕の心が一人になりたがってる」 `Boku no kokoro ga hitori ni narita gatteru' ["My heart wants to be alone"]

こんな嘘悲しくって涙で濡らしていた Kon'na uso kanashikutte namida de nurashite ita [Such a lie, saddened and drenched in tears]

もう一度愛したい Mō ichi do aishitai [I want to love once again]

もう二度と失いたくない Mō ni do to ushinaitakunai [I do not want to lose it again]

僕が本当に言いたかった「 最後の言葉」 は… Boku ga hontōni iitakatta `saigo no kotoba' wa… [The last words I really wanted to say were ...]

君との思い出は掻き消せた筈なのに Kimi to no omoide wa kakikeseta hazu na no ni [I should have been able to erase my memories with you]

何故か「 また会いたい」 って心の声がした Nazeka `mata aitai' tte kokoro no koe ga shita [Somehow there is a voice in my heart saying "I want to see you again"]

もう一度" I wanna be with you" ？？ Mō ichi do " I wanna be with you" ？？ [One more time ... "I wanna be with you" ??]

もう二度と" I can't get back with you" Mō ni do to "I can't get back with you" [Never again ... "I can't get back with you"]

僕が本当に言いたかった「 最後の言葉」 を告げるから Boku ga hontōni iitakatta `saigo no kotoba' o tsugerukara [I will tell you the "last words" that I really wanted to say]

I love you as a friend

To be continued ... ？

Photo: My favourite part in the MV ..... (^^)