Although its been two years since I last posted on this blog, I still receive requests for the items on the sales entries I originally made. I would like to confirm that yes, the items listed are still available to purchase!! In fact, I now have even more goods for sale at a few new locations:

https://www.instagram.com/atsumedemon/

https://www.facebook.com/AtsumeDemon/


Both pages include the exact same products and posts, so feel free to use whichever link is best for you.

I am frequently adding new items all the time and you may even notice a few rare goods that were previously featured on this blog. That being said, a lot of things sell out quickly so be on the look out for new posts as they're added!

Additionally, I also created a new website to supplement the sales pages listed above. Check it out!




https://www.atsumedemon.com/

Not only does this site include sales posts, it also provides information about shopping services for anyone who needs help making purchases in Japan.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted me from this blog. Its because of you that I wanted to make this update after such a long time. Hopefully the items I no longer have much use for can go to homes where they can be appreciated and enjoyed all over again!

Sarah

As mentioned in my previous post, I still have more goods for sale! As you'll see the products this time are collectible rather than clothes. I will write more about my future listings under this post for anyone interested in what else to expect, but for now here is what I have!

Gekka mini CD
1,000 yen


Condition: New
Note: Illuminati mini CD SOLD OUT


MALICE MIZER handkerchief + mirror
700 yen


Condition: Fair
Extra information: The plastic pouch itself is worn out with a tear along the edge but the handkerchief and mirror inside are still in new condition and have never been used.


Malice Mizer paper face wipes
300 yen


Condition: Good
Extra information: Some slight wear and tear along the edges

Malice Mizer Pop up book
Used book: 600 yen



Extra Information: I have two of these books for sale, but the condition of each book is slightly different. The “new” book is in excellent condition with no tampering. The “used book” is still in great condition, the only difference is the die cuts of the Malice Mizer members are sitting loose leaf inside the book instead of being attached to the sheet they came with.
**UPDATE - Please note the "new" book has been sold. I now only have the used book for 600 yen available.


Malice Mizer handkerchief
1,000 yen


Condition: New

---

I still have more items to go through and sell, but those items will once again be more clothing related. There are a few extra thing I haven't located yet but will be listing such as a Moi dix Mois flag and rucksack, so if you're interested in those before they get posted here, please let me know!
Furthermore, as I mentioned last time as well, I have a huge inventory of magazines up for sale as well. For anyone interested in magazines please contact me for articles/pictures/issues/etc. If there is no specific interest in any particular issues I can bulk sell random magazines together, all of which contain Mana, Malice Mizer, and/or Moi dix Mois.

Finally, I'm looking into selling Moi-meme-Moitie items as well, so once again contact me if you're looking for anything in particular if you want first dibs before they become publicly listed on here.


Sarah

Hello everyone!!
I know I haven't made a post here in so long, but I thought this might be the best place for me to share details on some Moi dix Mois and MALICE MIZER items I'm selling. I am planning on adding a lot more to what you see here, so if there is anything you don't see on the list but are interested in buying, please let me know because I may have it! Details will follow the listing below.

If you are interested in any of these products, please feel free contact me via any social media where this post is being shared by me or by email:
mephistoangelo (at) gmail . com
(remove spaces and include @ sign)

PAYMENT & SHIPPING
Prices do not include shipping fees. Shipping is worldwide so I will include shipping options at the bottom of the page. Payments are accepted via PayPal. All sales are final.

CLOTHING
*Click the thumbnail images for full size pictures to see any details


Le Kitchen Knife Aristocrat Apron (Free size)
2,000 yen

Extra info: Brand new, never been used.

MISC


Moi dix Mois wrist bands
700 yen each




=====================

SHIPPING OPTIONS
Shipping prices will depend on your country. The most popular options include EMS, Airmail, and Registered airmail.
EMS is the most expensive option but is the fastest and most secure route to go. It includes a tracking number that I can send upon shipment.

Registered Airmail is a cheaper option than EMS and includes a tracking number upon shipment. It will take slightly longer than EMS but is a good option for those who don't want to spend a lot on shipping.

Airmail is the cheapest route but does not include a tracking number. It takes about the same amount of time as registered airmail.

Further information on shipping from Japan can be found on the Japan post website here:
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/dispatch/index_en.html

Registered mail
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/service/option/registered_en.html

Prices are calculated by country and weight, so please contact me for shipment details!

*If you live in a country that charges customs fees, yes I CAN write a lower value of the products and mark it as a gift! Please let me know before shipment.


LASTLY
Again, you may see more products appear in posts later on here as well, but if you have any special requests on any Mana related goods that aren't posted in this entry, feel free to contact me anyway! I may have what you're looking for and willing to sell it (especially clothing)! There are a few exceptionally rare items that are currently off limits, but that list is pretty minimal. This offer can be extended to Moi-meme-Moitie items as well.

As a rule, I'm selling shirts for 2,500 yen and hoodies/parkas for 3,500. All other items depend on condition and rarity, so I will offer what is reasonable for the product. I have tons of magazines as well that will tend to go for around 500-1,000 yen depending on condition and rarity.

Thank you for checking out this post and I look forward to helping anyone trying to add to their Mana collections! If you have any questions feel free to contact me!


Sarah

September 8, 2018

A concert so many fans have been dreaming of but likely never thought they would get to experience. Yet here we are...
Its the Malice Mizer 25 year reunion concert.

Thanks to a wonderful friend Sasha, the concert was sponsored for me to go to. In order to express my deep gratitude I am dedicating this entire review to you!! I will never be able to repay you enough!


I arrived after the doors opened but everyone was still finding their seats. Thankfully we still had nearly an hour before the show started, so checked out the lobby area of Toyosu Pitt (the venue) and several Malice Mizer posters were displayed on a make shift wall from the very beginning to the end of the band’s activities. Everyone was crowded around taking pictures so it was a little difficult to get the kinds of pictures I would have liked, but I was still able to take several I could be satisfied with!






Of course there were also tons of flowers from different people which were equally as interesting to check out.





Just as a nice small detail, Toyosu Pit also gave everyone a sticker when we entered the venue. The sticker had a picture of a leaf printed on it which everyone could place on a poster of a tree before entering the concert hall itself. I imagine they must change it every concert, so its something unique for each day. It was a really cute idea!



Once inside the concert hall itself, I found my assigned seat in the 3rd row on Mana’s side during the Moi dix Mois concert and Kozi’s side during the Malice Mizer portion. There were so many people from overseas this time and I was so happy to meet both old friends and new! Particularly I was happy to see those of you who were able to attend for the very first time!!



ZIZ and Moi dix Mois performed before the Malice Mizer portion which was the showcase of the night.

Since both ZIZ and Moi dix Mois performed only for about 30 minutes each, theres not a lot to say about it. Fans seemed extremely excited as the curtains on the stage opened to reveal ZIZ first! Their performance was fun and energetic. I did find it a little funny that I could feel somewhat of a punk rock vibe coming from the band at times, yet the audience was only standing and listening politely. I know its typical in Japan, but where is all the energy and spirit!?? Maybe I’ve been too involved with punk music within the last year or so...(´～｀ヾ)

Here are the set lists for ZIZ and Moi dix Mois


ZIZ Set List
1. 電磁男達 (Denji Otokotachi)
2. AWaWA
3. Glitter Waver
4. Colors
5. GI To DA
6. Seraph (Malice Mizer)

Moi dix Mois set list
SE Sacred Lake
1. Metaphysical
2. Front et Baiser
-SE Solitude-
3. 真夜中に交わした約束 (Mayonaka ni kawashita yakusoku - Malice Mizer)
4. Gardenia (Malice Mizer)
SE sacred lake


During both Moi dix Mois and ZIZ there were two sets of drums on stage. On a giant white and purple platform in the center back of the stage sat Kami’s drums and off to the side below the platform were the drums used for ZIZ and Moi dix Mois. The background of the stage was also decorated with white pillars so the atmosphere totally gave off a Malice Mizer vibe. Another unique touch was a giant screen projector used in the background. Both the ZIZ and Moi dix Mois logos were shown respectively as each band played. The Moi dix Mois logo rotated at the very beginning as a nice little effect.

As you can see from the set lists, both also played Malice Mizer songs at the end! Seraph was really surreal for me since it was my first ever Malice Mizer song. ZIZ’s performance of the song truly impressed me and Kozi’s vocals were spot on!! I can’t praise it enough!! Moi dix Mois felt a little less energetic to me personally and unfortunately Seth had some difficulties with singing this night, so there was a voice over at a few points. It didn’t take away from the performance but it was a shock at first! Of course the crowd went crazy for Mayonaka and Gardenia. Conversely, maybe I should note there were fans who also said they felt the same about ZIZ (the energy wasn’t the same as normal). Perhaps these impressions come from the fact that since so many people were at the concert and it was such a huge venue theres a bit of a disconnect for regulars who are used to more intimate settings. Fortunately the overall quality of sound and performance for the entire night was excellent save for a couple issues during Moi dix Mois. One time the sound totally cut off and the entire audience blurted out their surprise. Then as the sound came back, the background track of the previous Moi dix Mois song started playing again, but suddenly the track was changed to the correct song. Everyone in the audience laughed it off and the concert continued as usual.

Both ZIZ and Moi dix Mois basically just played their short set lists and quickly got off stage. Before the Malice Mizer portion started there was a slight intermission and then before we knew it the lights dimmed and Saikai no Chi to Bara began to play.

Kozi, Mana, and Yu~ki appeared on stage together for this intro (a shorted version of the song) with new costumes that were reminiscent of Malice Mizer days but modernized enough to resemble the appearance of each member nowadays.


(I found this picture circulating around on the internet so if it belongs to someone and they would like credit or anything please let me know)

After the intro, Sakura, the drummer for Kami came on stage and everyone began to cheer.
I didn’t really know who Sakura was until this concert but I was shocked to see how much he resembled Kami!! The same long brown hair and everything! His drumming was extremely impressive as well!! It was easy to understand why he was chosen.

The set list this time might be a little complicated due to the change in vocalists every couple songs, but here it is for reference:

Malice Mizer
再会と血と薔薇 (Saikai no Chi to Bara)
虚無の中での遊戯 (Kyomu no naka de Yuugi)

Shuji session
SE de memoire
記憶と空 (Kioku to Sora)
ILLUMINATI

Kamijo Session
SE Apres Midi
APRES MIDI~あるパリの午後で〜 (APRES MIDI ~Aru Paris no Gogo de~)
ヴェル・エール〜空白の瞬間の中で〜 (Bel Air~Kuuhaku no Shunkan no naka de~)

HITOMI session
SE 前兆 (Zenchou/ omens)
Madrigal
N.P.S.N.G.S

Encore
運命の出会い (Unmei no deai) + Kami Memorial slide show video

Au revoir (Instrumental Only)

Finale (Including Shuji, Kamijo, and Hitomi)
ma cherie~愛しい君へ〜 (ma cherie ~Itoshii kimi he~)

再会の血と薔薇 (Saikai no chi to bara)


As Kyomu began it became clear this Malice Mizer portion was going to be taken to it’s fullest extent. Small percussion stands were set on Mana and Kozi’s sides of the stage as the two of them stood holding whips out. Everything about the performance was perfectly reminessent of the Malice Mizer everyone knows and loves. All the actions were perfectly timed and re-enacted just as they were years ago. This was absolutely the Malice Mizer reunion everyone has waited for!! Mana spoke in the distorted microphone and the famous scene of Mana and Kozi standing back to back gained a ton of shrieks from the audience. In fact, people were crying!!

Afterwards, Shuji was called on stage and as the de memoire background music started to play he came out looking exactly like Tetsu!! In fact two of the three guest vocalists came out looking like Malice Mizer vocalists!

ローディーズ pic.twitter.com/e8w417p0ps

— Hitomi_Vo (@Hitomi_Vo) September 9, 2018

From Hitomi's twitter.
Left to Right: Kamijo, Hitomi, Shuji


Immediately Shuji announced Kioku To Sora as he stood in center stage and the music started to play. He seemed so much like Tetsu it was hard to believe he wasn’t! Then as Illuminati began the crowd went crazy again!! Everything during Illuminati was again perfectly like the famous Malice Mizer Merveilles live performance DVD! EVERYTHING. Even the scene with Mana, Gackt, and Kozi together. To be honest, it felt a little embarrassing to me thinking about them doing such an action at such a point in their lives…I don’t know, they’re just not as young as they once were. (;ﾟ∀ﾟ) But fans ate it up, so truly it was a sight to behold.

Finally there was a little talking time which became a pattern for each guest vocalist on stage. Shuji, Kamijo and Hitomi all talked about their experiences with Malice Mizer. A lot of it was about impressions upon meeting the members the first time with a lot of highlight on Kami. Sakura also talked a bit about his impressions with Malice Mizer upon first meeting too and a lot about his experience with Kami. If I’m not mistaken I believe Shuji said he had talked to Yu~ki and Kami first of all and Kozi was the last person he talked to. However, upon meeting the members Kozi actually was around but he didn’t even pay attention to Shuji at first! Everyone laughed about it and it seems today their relationship is on quite good terms. (If it wasn’t Shuji who said it, then maybe it was Sakura? Unfortunately so much happened at the concert its a little hard to keep straight who said what at some points).

The talking time for each guest vocalist probably ranged from about 10-15 minutes so there were a lot of different stories told and sometimes I couldn’t quite catch everything. However, there are rumors of a DVD perhaps coming out in of Deep Sanctuary in the future, so by that time maybe we’ll all have a chance to hear those stories and get all the details!!

Next Kamijo came out with Apres Midi. I was worried about Kamijo’s performance with Malice Mizer, but I was happy to feel like the songs chosen for him to sing suited him relatively well. There were some short video clips projected on the screen on the stage during these songs which were meant to supplement the sound and feeling. In fact it did work out well but in some cases I couldn’t help but feel like the video footage shown seemed like a Japanese karaoke box video!!(≧∇≦) Was that the real inspiration there?? Maybe we’ll never know, but it really felt the same!!

*(For those who don’t know, if you ever do karaoke in Japan there are often times background videos to match the mood of the song but many times it seems like free stock footage of various scenes thrown together in a movie maker program. Its usually either over simplified and moderately stereotypical footage of messages the songs are trying to portray or overly dramatized clips that end up more comical than their intention)

Kamijo actually looked like Kamijo, so thats to say he didn’t seem to be copying any Malice Mizer vocalist. He seemed a bit more subdued than how I would expect him to act, but I imagine thats because he was a guest and there were certain expectations of him. Still he seemed humble and put on a nice performance. I can only imagine this chance must have been like a dream come true for him! I almost envy him a little!


Finally the last guest vocalist was Hitomi.
I remember Hitomi as Sanaka from early Moi dix Mois days and upon looking into it more, I came to realize he’s from Fatima, which I remember from a long time ago! Hitomi came out dressed similar to Gackt in Merveilles with a black jacket and feathers on his shoulders. Out of the three guest vocalists he was hands down my favorite!! I was never a Gackt fan in the past, but Hitomi’s look truly stood out to me and his voice was stunning!! I couldn’t take my eyes off of him! Even the songs he got to sing, Madrigal and NPSNGS, stood out the most vividly to me! While all the other performances were wonderful, it felt like these two had the most interaction and impact. Madrigal invites the audience to participate by clapping along to the beat and NPSNGS was a full on light, sound, and effects show!

During Madrigal Mana re-enacted the parts as he did back in Malice Mizer days by walking around on the stage and putting flowers on Yu~ki and Kozi’s guitars, playing with Kami’s drum set and dancing next to the vocalist— in this case next to Hitomi. It did seem to me that Mana seemed a little out of breathe from trying to catch up quick enough to do everything. Its only to be expected though, isn’t it? They haven’t done a show as big as this in so many years…

As for N.p.sN.g.s, smoke blasted out from the stage during this song along with lighting effects to give everyone the truest possible sense of this song— war. Even the sound quality as a whole impressed me — the drums were powerful, creating the sensation of guns and canons firing. There was so much energy too! I couldn’t get enough of it!! What a powerful ending to the main part of the concert! It was hands down my favorite.

Soon enough everyone left the stage quite quickly and the audience started calling for an encore.

It took time, but finally the lights dimmed again and Unmei no Deai began to play along with a slide show video on the projection screen. First Kami’s image was displayed on the screen along with a big tribute to him showing Kami as the focal point of most pictures. However, the photos eventually changed to showing behind the scenes type photos of all the Malice Mizer members together as a group — some from old Ma Cherie fan club magazines and some never before seen. It was interesting to watch because everyone could get a sense of how all the members interacted together off stage. One picture that stuck out to me was a photo of a van with the Malice Mizer logo on it that I assume carried the members. In this picture the back of the van had been hit in a car accident and the picture shows the members posing by the damaged area. Other pictures showed everyone in their off time wearing more normal street wear type clothes and it was easy to identify which era of Malice Mizer each photo was from by the changes in their looks. By this point a lot of fans started to get extremely emotional and there was a lot of crying all around. Malice Mizer has touched so many people’s lives...

Afterwards Mana, Kozi, Yu~k, and Sakura came back out on stage to perform Au Revoir. This time the screen projected live footage from the Merveilles concert when Malice Mizer performed the song which included Gackt in the video. However, the members only played the song instrumentally and nobody came out to sing. Instead the audience began to sing the concert together out loud! Again more tears from the audience too...

To be honest, its a little confusing to know whether this was entirely on purpose or not. Looking at Kozi, it was clear he was singing the song out loud but nothing was coming from his microphone. However, at the last Deep Sanctuary the instrumental track to Au Revoir was played at the very end of the concert when the members were leaving the stage and everyone in the audience started singing the lyrics to the song on their own. It touched the members so much they stayed on stage to watch and became emotional. So the question is, was this on purpose to recreate that moment or was this truly an accident? Furthermore, I wasn’t able to go to day 2 of this concert, so it begs the question, if the same thing happened on Sunday was it then designed to be for the audience to sing or did they decide they enjoyed the outcome on Saturday and let it continue on Sunday? Its a mystery...
There was no cue or request for the audience to start singing Au Revoir on Saturday so it was something that only occurred after everyone realized there were no vocals coming from the stage.

Next all the guest vocalists were invited back on stage for the true finale — Ma Cherie!
Again this was another song I think many people have been waiting to hear for several years now at Deep Sanctuary. Ma Cherie is a song that was performed through the entire history of Malice Mizer so its been in high demand at Deep Sanctuary for some time now. Having all guest vocalists sing Ma Cherie together was the perfect ending for this night and it was fun to see all their performance styles come together in the end. Shuji obviously loves dancing because the entire song he was extremely energetic dancing all around the stage. Kamijo seemed more like the classic Kamijo I would expect and Hitomi held his elegance and grace as he sang. Streamers even shot out from the stage into the audience area and people started racing from their seats to catch pieces. A girl standing next to a friend and I bolted from her spot for a chance to catch her own streamers and came back with extra to give us! It was nice that she did because little did I know they all had “Malice Mizer” written on them!



Nothing could have tied the concert better than this final performance which felt like a real celebration of Malice Mizer’s legacy.


After Ma Cherie everyone on stage was invited to take a bow and bid farewell to the audience. Everyone clapped and cheered for each member and finally at the end only the three core Malice Mizer remained on stage, taking several bows. Mana, who stood in the middle, forced Kozi and Yu~ki to hold hands with him as the three of them took a final leap together and started to walk off stage. Mana then put his arms around both Kozi and Yu~ki as they walked off in unison and turned back around to wave at everyone.

The venue was filled with emotion as only tears and sniffles could be heard.

However, just before everyone was about to leave the concert hall a special announcement was made. For another ten minutes everyone was welcome to take pictures of the stage! Everyone went wild whipping out their cameras and in a frenzy started running to the front of the stage for the perfect picture. Since this is something we don’t normally get to do it was so nice to have this chance to commemorate the concert! Dare I say it felt even better than buying commemorative goods?




Click the thumbnails for large size images

Right at the ten minute mark though, the staff quickly closed the curtain and we were all forced to leave. Since I had premium tickets I also received commemorative gifts as part of the deal. At the beginning of the concert we were given a voucher for the present so we could pick them up at the end. I was really surprised by all we received! The gifts were incredibly nice!!



A lot of fans stopped me too because they wanted to know what was inside. The gifts included a wine glass, stir stick, soap, handkerchief, and a commemorative ticket.

It was then time to make our way home. There was a second concert the next day, Sunday, but I wasn’t able to obtain a ticket for it. My Deep Sanctuary experience had come to an end.
That being said, so many wonderful memories were made that night and it was a great way for me to end things off...



So what’s next?
There is now an exhibit at the ESP museum in Shibuya for a limited time to celebrate Deep Sanctuary. From my understanding there are many rare props included so I’m eager to check it out!! I will write about it once I go and that will serve as the real conclusion here.

Please look forward to it!



Sarah

I haven't updated much on here lately, but actually I went to Deep Sanctuary for the MALICE MIZER 25 year reunion yesterday!!
Theres a lot to be said about this concert, so it feels impossible for me to get a good review up as quickly as I normally do.
However, I am working hard on the report and plan on posting it as soon as I can.

I apologize for the delay, but please look forward to it!!

Also, to the people going to Deep Sanctuary today, enjoy!


Sarah

If there is anyone who was anticipating a concert report on here, I apologize for posting it later than normal. The contents are so dense and I needed to work on Sunday from early in the morning that it ended up becoming impossible for me to update within the usual time frame that I do.


Without further ado, here is my report from the Moi dix Mois Lunch and Dinner concerts on Saturday June 23,2018.



On this day we had a total of two Moi dix Mois concerts in one day. Its the first time they have ever done this and by what feels like sheer luck I was able to secure tickets to both shows (I lost the ticket lottery perviously but a couple friends helped me to get my hands on tickets to each concert).

There is a lot of cross over between the two concerts, so rather than dividing my report up by concert, I think it would be much easier to talk about both at the same time. Basically the way it will work is, whenever the two concerts deviate from one another, I will indicate “Dinner” or “Lunch”. If that sounds confusing, it will make sense once you read on.

Both concerts started off with everyone entering the venue and being directed to order their drinks first from the bar area. Afterwards, we were free to find our seats.

LUNCH
My seat number was 83 which was in the third row of tables from the stage. I was seated on Mana’s side of the stage(during the concert) and almost exactly where I sat last year.

DINNER
My number was 96, so my table was in the center of the venue. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) this seat ended up being better than the first because I was able to see everything more clearly.

As each person sat down, the catering staff would then bring the food to the table.

LUNCH
Lunch was not particularly lunch. The venue opened at 3:00 pm, so we were served black pancakes with pink and blue toppings...




The pink was some kind of raspberry cream that was called “Creamy Mana” on the menu (for those who don’t know its a sort of joke and reference to a set of Creamy Mami bandaids Mana bought a year ago and kept wearing). If you’re from somewhere in the US like me, then these pancakes are probably not what you would imagine pancakes to be. The consistency was cake-like and the taste was extremely subdued. In Japan a lot of people don’t like the level of sweetness that many westerns do. I myself feel like my taste has adjusted more over time to what Japanese people like, so when I go back to the US a lot of things hit me as overbearingly sweet now. However, that is to say, some how I felt like the pancakes were a bit bland for me, but they weren't bad. Also, contrary to what you may imagine, they were served cold.(´～｀；ヾ)



I ended up dissecting mine to see what they looked like in the middle. I'm guessing the brown in the middle was a kind of chocolate to help them stick together. That part didn't really have a taste though. I mostly just liked the raspberry cream and the strawberry.

DINNER
Dinner consisted of curry with chicken, vegetables, rice that was dyed black, and blue jelly mixed in the middle of it. There was a side dish of potato salad that was also dyed black.






Last year the blue curry had virtually no spice to it and had a coconut milk base. The taste that time was more like curry from Singapore. However, this time the curry was relatively spicy and tasted more true to Indian curry. The chicken was good, as were the vegetables, and really the potatoes salad wasn’t so bad if you could get over the fact that its dyed black. The entire dish consisted of rice (dyed black), vegetables, chicken, curry, and jelly (which was dyed blue next to the chicken). I've never had curry with jelly in the middle of it, so that was a little shocking to me.
Honestly speaking, I think I preferred the look and taste of last year’s curry. This was another dish served cold, but that probably couldn’t be helped. I probably could have gone with or without the food this year. Perhaps its really the presentation that was supposed to be the focal point? I’m not sure...

By the way, the flag on the food this year was reversible! One side had the Moi dix Mois logo and the other had La包丁貴族 (La Kitchen Knife Aristocrat) written on it.




DRINKS
There were also two special Mana created cocktails. They were the exact same drinks he made last year….and tasted the same as the drinks he made at the rendezvous to me as well. (≧∇≦)
There were an alcohol and non-alcohol versions available. The alcohol version is gin and tonic with blue curaçao mixed in. The non-alcohol version is pineapple juice with blue coloring.

Alcohol Version




Non-Alcohol Version



I got the one with alcohol at lunch and the non-alcohol at dinner. Thinking about it now, I probably should have done it the other way around, but it never crossed my mind then.


MIYOSHI SEIJI

Shortly after almost everyone had been served their food and got a little time to eat half way through, suddenly Hayato popped out onto the stage wearing a huge glittery yellow bow tie, a suit, and a microphone with a giant red foam mic head on it. Ryux also appeared holding a camera. Ryux was dressed casually in his own clothes, unlike Hayato, and walked to the back section of the audience area of the venue to start filming the stage. Hayato introduced himself as Hayamura Jun, the host of the pre-show (during both concerts).

I assume Hayamura Jun is a joke that has to do with Enka and a hint of Hayato’s own name (*Enka is traditional Japanese folk music. It will make more sense as you continue reading). While its a little hard for us non-Japanese people to completely grasp the feeling meant within this segment, I would say its comparable to The Lawrence Welk show in the US (Perhaps some people around my same age may know, certainly those who are even older would).

After giving a short intro speech, Hayato announced Miyoshi Seiji!
To give a bit of brief background information, Miyoshi Seiji is Seth’s stage name in his newest solo musical act. Something very different from typical visual kei, Miyoshi Seiji actually performs Enka music! However, Miyoshi Seiji has described this current musical activity as something that fuses both visual kei and enka.



Why Enka? You might wonder. Some months after K passing, Seth’s father passed away from cancer. Seth eventually came out with this story in full detail on his blog around the same time he formed the band Shape Shifter. When speaking of his father, Seth often mentioned how much he loved Enka music. For a few years now he’s talked quite a bit about wanting to perform Enka in honor of his father, so it seems this was only natural course. I can’t help but speculate if perhaps the reason why Seth decided to make this unique fusion of VK and Enka is because it depicts two very important aspects of his life.

The lights in the venue dimmed as Miyoshi Seiji walked out on stage completely decked out in an elaborate kimono. Disco ball style lights began to dance about the venue as Seiji introduced himself and started to sing.

The song had an authentic enka feel to it. I began to wonder if this is truly a Moi dix Mois concert or a retirement home?(;ﾟ∀ﾟ) (I’m joking!)

Halfway through the song, Seiji walked off stage and started shaking hands with tons of people and serenading the audience as he wandered through the isles between tables. Everyone was laughing at that point and Ryux joined in by getting up in Seiji’s face with the camera and handing him some paper with a word written on it that I couldn’t read quickly enough. Seiji took the paper and frantically tried to find a place to store it while singing, only to shove it down the front of his kimono.

Before we knew it, the song was almost at an end, so Seiji quickly found his way back to the stage, made a closing statement and then walked off.

Hayato finished up the segment giving his commentary on the performance and signing off again as Hayamura Jun.


MOI DIX MOIS TALK PORTION WITH Q&A

Once the Miyoshi Seiji segment ended, a few staff started to set up 3 tables with stools on the stage. Eventually Mylene Farmer music started playing in the background and the Moi dix Mois members walked out on stage for the talk session. Both times Mana carried a small black Moi dix Mois bag with him, which contained items presented during this potion of the event.


This was during the set up of the tables on the stage

There were several consistencies and differences between the Lunch and Dinner shows, so let’s talk about what was the same first.

All the members sat down at the tables on the stage. Starting from stage right Ryux and Sugiya shared a table, Mana and Seth shared a table, and Hayato was at the furthest left table (Seth sat between both the middle table with Mana and the left with Hayato, so he often went back and forth between the two).

Everyone introduced themselves based on their (fictitious) roles.
Mana was the general head chef, Hayato was the head of spicy food, Seth was the head of sweets, Sugiya was the head of alcohol, and Ryux was in charge of the dish washing and apprenticeship.

Before going into the discussion aspect of this part, I want to quickly comment on the different fashion choices of the members between lunch and dinner time.

LUNCH
Everyone came out wearing the same chef-like uniforms that they did last year. For those who don’t know, the style was advertised on the flyer for this event.


DINNER
This time everyone was far more casual, wearing Moi dix Mois logo T-shirts that were sold at the concert. Mana also wore a bright blue apron sold at the event.

Now continuing on,
Being the lower rank, Ryux was ordered by Seth to get drinks at the back bar area for everyone on stage. Obviously this part was pre-determined because it happened exact the same at both shows. The only major difference was Seth complained about Ryux being slow at lunch time and then praising him, saying “You’re so hospitable” at dinner time. Ryux carried back five beer mugs at one time. Mana’s drink was the alcohol version of his special drink served at the concert, Seth’s looked like beer, Ryux seemed to have water, Sugiya’s seemed to be some harder alcohol, and I’m not exactly sure what Hayato had (it was a really light yellow color).


(From Mana's Twitter)

During both concerts, as Ryux served the drinks to all the members at their respective tables, Seth looked at the mugs and faked his surprise to see all the beer mugs have the Moi dix Mois logo on them. His commentary was something along the lines of “AH!! Whats this!? Is that the Moi dix Mois logo on the glass?? Oh, wow!! Its on your mug too!? And yours? How cool!! Thats awesome!!”
Everybody in the audience laughed and seemed to eat it up, but it was such an obviously forced reaction, I couldn’t help but cringe a little both times. This reaction was meant to be a form of advertisement as these beer mugs were being sold at the concerts.

DINNER TIME ONLY
After Seth finished his spiel, Mana brought out a camera he had with him and started taking pictures of himself holding his dink. He then handed the camera to Sugiya to try instead, so he posed for several more pictures with his drink.

From this point forward, the discussion and Q&A began. Mana brought a sketch pad with him in order to write his responses and communicate with everyone. Many times Seth and Sugiya were asked to read off answers from the sketch pad, but it seemed like a lot of trial and error because several times they had a hard time reading or understanding what Mana was writing. Occasionally everyone on stage started getting involved trying to make efforts to completely comprehend everything.

Depending on what was happening in the moment, there were times when Mana started whispering to Seth, making gestures, and speaking/mouthing what he wanted to say in front of everyone, but of course nobody in the audience could hear.

A lot of the talk was based on the food we were served, as expected. At lunch time Seth asked how the pancakes were. Everyone in the audience yelled out “Delicious!”. His remark back was, “Thats great! I didn’t get to eat anything yet...”

The Q&A at both lunch and dinner was extremely limited. A couple weeks prior to the concerts, Mana requested on twitter for everyone to submit questions for the Q&A via the mail form on his blog. I get the feeling not so many questions were asked, because he persisted his request all the way up until a couple days before the concerts, stating he’s still accepting questions.

As far as I can remember there were probably only something like 2-3 questions talked about during each show.
I will do the best I can do recall as much of it as possible, but sadly its going to b a bit fragmented because the discussion often surpassed simply answering questions. There was a lot of off topic interference.

LUNCH Q&A
“What are your favorite sweets?”
Its hard to remember what everyone said because their answers were brief. I remember Ryux answers being somewhat more talked about than the other members because there was some variation of what it is he liked. Mainly Mana’s favorites were the biggest focus. Mana’s favorite sweets are Yan Yan Tsukebo and Kikori no Kirikabu (translated to Lumberjacks Stump).




It was hard to tell if it was an act or not, but concerning the Yan Yan Seth seemed extremely shocked as if he had no idea what it was. He asked the audience at first, “Do you know what that is?” and everyone answered “Yes!”
He still seemed confused, so later on after trying to understand better, he asked again “Really, you all know it??” and everyone in the audience once again confirmed that in fact they did. Eventually Mana pulled out several of packages of both snacks from his bag and passed them around to the other members, so everyone could take a look and display them on their tables. Nobody else really seemed to react except Seth. Mana even had to write on his notepad to Seth that you have to dip the cookie part into the chocolate so he could understand how it works.

HOWEVER!!
I can’t just write off this instance without making a particular note of it. Actually, Yan Yan Tsukebo has been a long time favorite of mine too, but I quickly came to notice years ago that its rarely sold in obvious places. I’ve been able to find it regularly at a grocery store near my apartment, but its an extremely off chance that I come across it at more common shops like convenience stores. Furthermore, I’ve been asked before by various Japanese people what my favorite sweets are in Japan. When I gave that answer, I was often met with the same kind of reaction Seth gave. “What is that?? I’ve never heard of it!”
Therefore, even though I say I’m not sure if Seth’s response was an act or not, I could still find it believable that perhaps it was his honest reaction.

On the other hand, Mana has talked about this being one of his favorite snacks a few times before on his blog and twitter. I don’t think is particularly a surprise to the fans or the other band members, which is why there was hardly a reaction from anyone else but Seth. Maybe Seth has never paid attention to Mana mentioning it before, but event that seems a little questionable to me. I guess we’ll never truly know…

Moving on,

Another question had to do with food and what the members can make themselves. Mana wanted to talk a bit about Omurice (An omelette with ketchup infused rice, chicken, and vegetables such as peas and mushrooms inside, then topped with ketchup or demi-glace sauce), so he started writing an extremely long message on his notepad. This is where things got confusing to the other members. First he showed the answer to Sugiya who tried to read it, but couldn’t understand. Then Seth started looking at it and couldn’t understand it either. It took several minutes until everyone started to understand what he wanted to say. Basically what Mana was trying to explain is that he can make omurice and he thinks the best possible way to make the omelette part is by shifting the egg through the skillet by shaking it for a few seconds.
Ryux made a commentary about hamburg (In Japan some people eat something like a hamburger patty served on a dish with toppings like cheese or gravy and no bun), which suddenly reminded Mana of a continuous joke they made last year because Ryux kept talking about the same thing and made everyone shout out “Hambuuurg” during IMMORTAL MADNESS. Mana wrote on his sketch pad and showed Ryux that he should say it like “hamBUUURG” as they did last year. Everyone started laughing and Mana started laughing so hard he couldn’t control himself. He kept hiding his face behind his arm but you could see him shaking from laughing so much.

The last question I remember being talked about (but I forget if it was at lunch or dinner) was “What do you do when you get drunk?” I don’t recall Mana commenting on this, but Hayato said “I fall asleep.” I don’t remember the other answers, but Mana did add something to what Sugiya said he did. I have an idea of what I think he said about Sugiya, but I don’t think what I remember is exactly right, so I’ll leave it out.


DINNER Q&A

At dinner time they talked about the curry we ate. Since Mana likes curry, he brought spices from home that he likes to use and showed everyone.

A lot of the conversation was more focused on the curry and taken up by one particular Q&A question:
“What kind of girls do you like?”

This is such a tired question by now, I’m surprised they keep re-answering it.
Hayato said he likes motorcycles and he loves it when he sees a girl riding a motorcycle with her hair waving out from under her helmet.

Seth seemed a little bit stuck in his response. When he was thinking about how to explain what he wanted to say, he said “Sexy…….sexy…..” and couldn’t quite finish off his sentence. Some how it got a little awkward so everyone started laughing and Mana wrote on the sketch pad キモイ (You’re disgusting) and showed it to the audience. Everyone started laughing even more at that point, and this started resounding through half of the conversations on the topic.

Sugiya said he liked girls with hair that looks like ramen. The other guys started laughing and questioning him a bit, which caused everyone in the audience to started laughing too. What he was trying to explain is he likes it when girls that strands of hair thats a bit wavy coming down, it kind of reminds him of ramen noodles. That probably wasn’t really a “cute” way of explaining what he liked, but everyone was entertained by his answer.

Unfortunately I can’t remember what Ryux said, but when it was Mana’s turn, he simply drew a picture and showed everyone.

It was a really simple picture of the bottom of a dress or skirt and legs with over knee socks. It looked like this:



Note: This isn’t Mana’s drawing, its simply a recreation I made of exactly how he drew it.

This is yet another answer that has been talked about numerously in the past by Mana, so most of the reaction from the audience came as amusement towards the drawing itself.

There was a bit more talking afterwards and wrapping things up. The talk and Q&A portion of the show was shorter than last year. I think both this time were around 20-30 minutes long.


CONCERT

Now for the concerts. The following are the set lists for both shows:

LUNCH
1. En Lumiere (SE)
2. Solitude
3. Front et Baiser
4. Beast Side
5. Twilight Flower
6. In that Hill
7. Immortal Madness
8. Dead Scape
MC
9. Agnus Dei
10. Perish
11. Ange ~D Side holy wings~

Encore
12. Pageant
13. En Lumiere (SE)

DINNER
1. Destruction xxx (SE)
2. Deus ex Machina
3. Night Breed
4. Material Death
5. Twilight Flower
6. In that Hill
7. Immortal Madness
8. Dead Scape
MC
9. Agnus Dei
10. Solitude
11. Ange ~D Side holy wings~

Encore
12. Je l’aime
13. En Lumiere (SE)

There were a few sound variations in some songs, such as in Solitude. In fact, during the lunch concert, it was really unexpected, so for a second I thought they were opening the concert with an entirely new song. Solitude was changed by adding a short guitar intro by Mana that gave off a jazz vibe at first until the main instrumental track stated to play and the song resumed as we all know.

It certainly gained my attention and was a refreshing experience of the song. There was a slight change I noticed to Beast Side as well. This time I noted a type of siren sound added before the first chorus and Mana seemed to vary up his guitar playing too, creating a more aggressive feel to the already energetic song.

The MC at both concerts were pretty much the same.
Seth asked everyone if they were having fun, to tons of cheers. He said he was enjoying it too but by dinner he said he was getting a bit hungry and tired.
They talked a bit about Deep Sanctuary coming up in September. He included a commentary about how there will probably be lots of new people at the concert who may not really know Moi dix Mois, but they want to leave an impression on everyone and the hope all of us regulars will help raise up excitement for everyone when Moi dix Mois plays. Of course Mana will also be playing in the Malice Mizer session.

On a more personal note, some how it felt a little strange to me when Seth talked about wanting everyone to raise excitement for Moi dix Mois. Is this a form of acknowledgement that our group of regulars is somewhat limited?

Some of you may be familiar by now that I enjoy looking into the statistics and numbers of concerts such as these. There were less than 200 tickets available for each concert this time (186 to be exact). While both shows technically sold out (hence I lost out on the lottery), I no longer feel like thats an honest representation of the number of people who actually attend. After the lottery, several people were selling multiple tickets to both shows, some even lowering the price of the tickets they were selling, which included numbers close to the stage! For the first time I even saw somebody holding up a sign that they were trying to sell off extra tickets they had. While the venue was full, it was by no means sold out.

Of course thats good news for people who want to go but didn’t win a ticket, but it concerns me a little. I haven’t seen anything like this at Moi dix Mois concerts before. There were empty spots with food still on the table that had never been touched. The staff picked these dishes up only once the concert had ended.

Still, all the usual people who went to the lunch concert also attended dinner, so there was hardly a difference amongst the two crowds. That always tends to be the case.

I’m not claiming any of it to be a big problem or anything, but it certainly caused me to think about the reality of the situation. To me, the sentiment of Seth’s statement felt more like “Those of us who are always around no matter what might be small in numbers, but surely we can all work together to make a huge crowd fully enjoy Moi dix Mois”
Its a humbling feeling when you consider the crowd size we will be facing in September. I can’t speak for everyone, so I wonder if anyone else has grown far too comfortable in the intimate atmosphere we typically find ourselves in at Moi dix Mois concerts within recent years?

Anyway, Dis inferno was also announced. I could be wrong, but I believe Seth said December 19. Once more information comes out, I’ll correct that if I’m wrong.

Of course IMMORTAL MADNESS, the typical Call out song was played at both concerts. Every time the Moi dix Mois members said “La Houchou Kizoku dix!” (La Kitchen Knife Aristocrat dix), the name of the two concerts, throughout the day they would make a certain hand movement in unison.

They created a capital letter L with their arms (Left arm standing straight up and right arm laying horizontally from the elbow of the left arm) for “La”, then as “Houchou” (Kitchen Knife) was said, they would wave one arm as if they were creating one half of the infinity symbol ∞ and then finish it off with waving their arm back at “Kizoku” into a “dix” hand sign at the ending “dix”. Everyone was taught to do this same motion during IMMORTAL MADDNESS too. In fact, there were a few calls this time. First everyone was asked to shout the traditional “dix Love” but after some time it was switched to La Kitchen Knife Aristocrat.

During both shows, Mana also wanted to change it a bit, where he asked everyone to act like maiden-like (or as I see it, like shojo anime characters). He wanted everyone to put their hands into fists under their chins and yell things like “yaayy!” and other phrases as they rubbed their firsts together (if that makes sense). Watching everyone try, it didn’t work so well at either concert. The yells weren’t nearly as loud as I think Mana had hoped and it was a little awkward to watch. Everyone gave it their best effort though.

Before In that Hill started, both times there was a spoken intro by Seth along with background sounds of running water and birds chirping meant to lead into the song. However, the more I thought about it during that time, the more I realized I think these background sounds are actually coming from a white noise machine Mana has talked about using at home to help him relax and sleep. Its exactly what it sounded like and I think he’s even shared some of it on twitter in very short video clips he’s made from his house!

Truthfully, when you really consider it, should it really be so much of a surprise? Mana has shown CDs he owns of nature sounds such as rain and thunder, which helps inspire him for his music making process. Since he also loves white noise generators, it makes sense. I don’t know why I never thought about it before, but perhaps it comes from the fact that I found myself far more focused on the mechanics of the music at these concerts. This year I’ve been working extremely hard to brush up my music theory knowledge and understand how everything works in greater depth, so I found myself immersed in these concerts from a new perspective. I’m finding it more and more interesting to talk about technicalities I’ve come to understand better over the course of this year and in terms of Moi dix Mois concerts its fascinating to find details I didn’t think about in the past.

Maybe some day I should make an entry about interesting points I’ve collected on Moi dix Mois music and performances from that stand point. Is it something everyone would be interested in?


Since these shows consisted of several parts (Miyoshi Seiji, Q&A/Food talk, concert), the concert itself was limited to about 1 hour both times, so it went by quickly.

The encore at each concert was slightly different.

LUNCH
Everyone had continued to wear their white chef jackets throughout the concert, so by the time of the encore they all changed clothes to Moi dix Mois T-shirts and Seth wearing a black La Kitchen Knife Aristocrat apron. Mana wore a new white and pink version sold that day. All the other members also wore aprons from the waist down, except Mana who wore a usual Moi-meme-Moitie half skirt for concerts.


(From Mana's Twitter)


The encore song was somewhat surprising: Pageant!
This is usually only played at Mana’s birthday, so it was fun to hear it at an unrelated concert!! All the members left the stage quickly after the song finished, so everyone in the audience was a little confused as to whether we should wait for something more to happen or if that was really the end of the concert. People started clapping as if anticipating everyone to come back out on stage, but after a few minutes it became understandable the concert was done we all left until we could enter the venue again an hour later for dinner.

DINNER

During the concert, all the members changed from their T-shirts to the white chef jackets worn throughout the entire lunch concert. Finally at the encore they changed back into Moi dix Mois shirts again. Ryux was wearing a Moi dix Mois jacket that he had cut the sleeves from. Seth wore a black and pink Moi dix Mois shirt, Sugiya had on a white and black version, and I think Hayato was wearing black and red. Mana wore a black and blue version this time.

The ending song was Je l’aime. Its not entirely a surprise as its a popular ending song for Moi dix Mois concerts. Seeing as the lunch concert had Pageant, maybe the idea was to follow a similar format to Mana’s birthday concerts after all.

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In the end, it was a little exhausting having two concerts in a row. Even though its probably much more difficult to be performing on stage rather than attending in the audience, I could still relate to Seth’s feelings when he said he was getting a bit tired. Regardless, I think everyone had a great time!!

Theres so much going on that it really does make for a unique experience. My curiosity is usually piqued with the food, so I can’t help but want to go because I need to know what will happen! Naturally the music is a great surplus to the event, so its not something you can really go wrong with.


Lastly I have a few extra photos to share from the event!


The seating chart used for both lunch and dinner this year.








What I am looking may seem strange, but actually its a Hiroshima Carp apron over the same Moi dix Mois shirt the members were wearing today and a long EGA skirt. I didn't take many pictures of myself this time, so this was my one commemoration shot. Unfortunately I was photobombed by staff too. (^^;

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PERSONAL MATTERS

This is just a little bit of extra information, but since I haven’t been posting much on here recently, I might as well include it at the end here.

First of all I want to apologize for not responding to everyone who has sent me messages within the past few months and I never responded. I feel like I say this way too much, but my life has been so busy its been hard for me to find a lot of time to do many things I would usually be quicker at. I really wish I had more time to do everything…

Speaking of being busy, something new has been added to my plate that I’m extremely excited about!!


I’m making a book!!!


The contents will be covering my experience as a Mana fan from the beginning. Of course it will be from my point of view, but I want to include the feelings of the atmosphere in western countries like the US from the time leading up to when visual kei was starting to experience a boom outside of Japan to the point where it made a complete take over. There will be a lot about the atmosphere in Japan too and how the two countries compare and contrast, particularly in the world of VK, Lolita/Moi-meme-Moitie, and especially Mana related topics. I love writing and this is a topic I thoroughly enjoy, so I’m excited about it.

In fact, I’ve already written part of it, so its something thats underway. I had proposed the idea to a few friends, but originally it was meant to be something more private among certain people, so it wasn’t going to be anything professional. However, two friends in particular really loved the idea and offered me a publisher!! I didn’t expect it at all, so I was totally surprised! Therefore, I am now altering the original idea a bit to make it into something anyone can read if they want to!

I know there are a lot of other things I need to post on here as well that I’ve held back from. Its been a long wait, but please be patient with me as I try to get as much done as I can with my limited time lately. ><;;


Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the concert report!!
Next is Deep Sanctuary, so please look forward to that repot in September.


Sarah