Concert DVD: Digitalian (Arashi)

I have been a huge Arashi fan for about 8 years now, though I was more obsessed with them around 2008-10 than any other year. Tbh, I think most international fans peaked around that time, but there seemed to be a mass evacuation of at least the Livejournal fandom around 2011. I stopped not because I "grew" out of them, but because college kept me busier than ever and I simply had no time to squeeze them in.

Still, Arashi has always had - and honestly, probably always will have - a special place in my heart. It takes a special kind of dedication to have bought as much merchandise as I have (thank you, family, for supporting my obsessions), and to have contributed different sorts of media into fandom. As such, though I don't follow their variety shows anymore, I try to keep up with at least their singles, albums, PVs, and concerts.

Which brings us to Digitalian! I actually listened to the album a few weeks ago, but I only just watched the concert yesterday, so it's pretty fresh in my memory. Digitalian the album, I think, is the only Arashi album I don't actively like. Digital music - in the sense that there's a very deliberate overabundane of autotune and "digital" sound effects - has never been my thing, so most of the attempts at it in Digitalian felt to me like Arashi was trying to be "hip" with the "youth," instead of providing us with their usual boyband fare. I do appreciate the effort at branching out, and they had some seriously great tracks there (that's for another post), but on the whole, I was quite underwhelmed.

Not so with the concert!

I watched this honestly expecting to, at most, sort of enjoy their old songs. Instead I was treated to some pretty stunning choreography and truly impressive graphics! They really outdid themselves with the stage setup and video. I even started liking songs I didn't really enjoy in the album because their performances were so good.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that they seem be singing without a backtrack that isn't as obvious anymore, particularly in Nino and Sho's case. Ohno has almost always sang perfectly in tune live, I think, so I'm glad he's still singing live. Nino's the one who most notably goes off-pitch every now and then, but those moments only really serve to make him more endearing than anything.

I love the member solos as well! The performances anyway. Of course I'll always have a soft spot for Ohno's dancing (and by soft spot, I mean /the tingles/ HAHA), and Sho's little English speech and cute dance made me not hate his solo even if at this point, all his solos seem to be a rehash of Hip Pop Boogie from Dream A Live. I think probably Nino's solo was what really confused me? I don't remember if it was a Christmas song in the album, but to hear a seasonal song in the midst of a pop concert is a little jarring.

They also had a part where they made their existing songs techno-pop-y, and while I didn't enjoy the new renditions too much, I do think the choices - Lucky Man, Troublemaker, etc - made sense. It's good they left others, like Wish etc, alone. I also really enjoyed the end of the first part, with Hope in the darkness ending things off.

The audience was particularly active!

How did they make their pen lights(??) light up with the same color all at the same time??? What sorcery is this? The wave part was also fun, haha. But seriously, with the lights. How?

All in all, this is another great concert by Arashi and I enjoyed it immensely. The ending felt a little rushed (or am I just spoiled by 5-song long encores? Haha), but it didn't take anything away from the otherwise entertaining show. ♥ Arashi remains to be for dream!