✨IddytheImp's Bangya Diaries- Live Report Masked 2025 ✨
lol so turns out I had this write up, FINISHED, sitting on my work computer and I just never transferred it here LMAO
But then I thought, y'know what? There is going to be another MASKED event this year, a two day event this time. Might as well try to spread the word :D
Quick note, I have added some more info because when this was written, it was before Nurie's disbandment annoucement.
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I went to Masked on 5/25!
Most people made their plans to see as many bands as possible, especially the most popular ones alongside their faves. However, I, having experienced pushing and shoving to find a good spot back in the Do you know Vkei? back in 2023 in Roppongi EX theater and Bugsammi, I realized, I am only going to stay at one venue.
I chose Duo Music Exchange! Why? Because, I like Nurie and Chaqla the most out of the band list. They often played at taiban with my honmeiban, HOWL, and the second to last taiban was with Nurie, Chaqla, and MAMA, aptly titled-> 共鳴世代 (roughly translated into: Resonance Generation, since they are the same generation).
I also was a little sad I couldn’t see Superknova perform at Masked 2025, as I think they would’ve gotten the crowd moving. Tokyo Hanayome was fun, don’t get me wrong, their furi is fun, but I am of the opinion that the Masked audition was unfair as Hanayome and Yamitera, were QUITE popular compared to the other newer/smaller bands (they have a LOT of dedicated fans and have been making music longer). I understand that the audition was considered a challenge, but damn, the smaller and newer bands had no chance. Also out of the bands, only one band, Rurenone got invited to Masked Mini… I thought that was…interesting but okay. I'm tbf Kouki didn't do himself any favors after throwing a tantrum lol
Moving on
Because I’ve seen Nurie and Chaqla a few times, I decided to take a spot in saizen for them. However, since I’m not a regular, I decided to take saizen on the leftmost edge, where the pillar in duo music exchange would hide me from the camera they had. I will NOT be recorded LOL
No one asked for Chaqla nor for Nurie in the spot next to me. When I went to take my spot for Chaqla, the girl showed me the list of people who asked for the spots and told me to take a picture of the list so I can give it to the right person, which never happened to me before but I think that’s smart so I’ll do that if I’m ever in charge of a large saizen. I saw that no one had asked for Sugar or for Azavana.
Please note, I am an AWFUL reviewer. I always have fun no matter what, so this will not be a comprehensive review. I also am not fluent in Japanese, I’m only a beginner.
Here are my views:
Tokyo Hanayome
The vocalist came in last, sporting a pretty bridal dress. The energy was good, personally their style is not my favorite, but, they seemed to have fun. Their fans were loud, especially during member calling.
At the end, when everyone was leaving, Haruya (lead guitarist) patted his belly* and joyfully walked off.
*this is referencing that he is…bigger than most bandmen. He mentions a lot about this on his social media, so if you’re curious about that, you can look*
Setlist-
SE 1.妄想ランデヴー 2.信者ノ行進 3.カミサマサマ 4.「秘密」 5.マリアージュ 6.魔法少女は壊れない 7.愛が狂う。
Nurie
I nervously took my spot in saizen in a spot in the far left, and regretted it. I thought, Maybe, I should run away. I can’t do this. I only know two songs. Then, a girl to my right joined saizen a few minutes before Nurie played, which made me feel better since she had a Ryutaro(the vocalist) Masked t-shirt.
Prior to Masked, they posted the furi for Overkill, and I was practicing last minute on the train. I remember thinking to myself, it’s okay, you’ve made furi for J-pop songs, heck, even for a song from the 80’s for a session performance, you got this. The song’s furi is SO fun. When they played it, the audience was split into two, and then we all crashed into each other(wall of death). As I was about to come back, one lady from the end of the shimote saizen jumped to where I was and stomped on my foot. I remember thinking to myself, that felt like on purpose but okay???
But as I was doing oritatami, I realized, I was in over my head. Cause, the fence was SUPER tall. I was saizen in Veats Shibuya for HOWL fes, and the fence was pretty tall too. However, the fence in Veats Shibuya had more cushioning, so it was more comfortable than Duo Music Exchange. And I know Chaqla has some oritatami songs...so I knew my abs would suffer. They finished off with Borderless, and had the audience join in, and it made me happy to hear the Palettes(Nurie's fan's name) singing.
Setlist-
Drawing (SE) 透明に混ざる。 RooM -6- OVERKILL 自分賛歌 晴天に吠える。 Borderless
Kakumay
I’ve seen Kakumay a few times! The first time must’ve been back in the Do you know Vkei?, similar to Nurie. I also saw them at HOWL fes, and I saw them again at Khimaira, and then I went to a free one-man they had at Edge. It was so fun, their gya really went out despite being in the back, so I picked up the furi quickly when I went. I really like the energy the fans have for the furi, it makes me want to keep seeing them.
Overall, they had great energy! When they played 共依存 (codependency), the crowd was so energetic, with everyone trying to follow the furi.
The only thing that sucked is when I went to a spot in second row some dumb lady brought her SON and FRIEND and squeezed in between me and this other lady. I like to go hard for furi, and I didn't want to accidentally hit a CHILD so I went to the back and in the center. Which was fine cause I was able to have fun without worry lol
Setlist-
IDOL BITE 噛み跡 共依存 SICK'S
Sugar
I gotta be honest, this band did not grab my attention. I know they have some fans, but they're not for me. I saw many people having fun in saizen though! I do know they did have some fillers in saizen, but I think it went well since everyone seemed to have a great time.
Setlist- I couldn't find one :((
The Madna
After Kakumay finished, I ended up moving up a row. Yay lol
I thought their music was interesting! Before they played, they played a bit of Shanghai Honey, a song that Yoppy, my honmei, covered for his birthday live! I was so shocked, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the coincidence.
Then they played their songs. This was the first time I saw The Madna, I was supposed to see them two years ago in July at a taiban HOWL was at, but alas, I had bad cramps because my period decided to show up that day, and I had to go home after HOWL. However, after seeing them perform, I would say they have great energy. Their saizen did NOT play around. I was impressed.
One of their songs had a gyakudai, which is my favorite furi(I will always volunteer for a gyakudai, watch out). Unfortunately, I was behind these two ladies (who were on tanuki???) and they refused to move, so I couldn’t participate without making two enemies, but the second and third row had fun! The vocalist was spitting water into the crowd, which honestly made me cringe because I immediately thought of germs(I’m germaphobic yay). He then poured the water on his head.
Honestly, their music isn’t for me, however, their music was quite stylistic if you’re hoping to switch things up. I'd recommend listening to them if you feel like you're stuck and wanting to branch out a bit :D
Setlist-
サイコ・トキシック sweet dream ビューティフルワールド SPLATTER HYSTERICAL OUTLAW
Dennou Himeca
I ended up moving next to the left pillar afer some people moved. I felt a little sad cause I couldn’t see the drummer, Urarara! He’s actually my favorite cause he usually has cute costumes and hair. I only could see the bassist, the rhythm guitarist, and well, the vocalist when he came to our side. So when there was a bloom for Urarara, I truly was blooming for the sound of the drums rather than seeing him, unlike kao fans who will stand still despite seeing their fave lolol
To be honest, I didn’t want to move much because I wanted to save my energy for Chaqla, since I was going to be in saizen…but when they played the one song I knew, きゅるるちゃん, I knew I just had to move! Especially since the lady to my left squeezed in between her friend and me, pushing me against the pillar. I think that pillar and I became best friends lmao We also were allowed to record part of a song.
I’ve always been impressed by dennou himeca fans who have to do furi with their penlights ALL the time. Some visual kei bands do have songs with penlights, but usually it’s for one or two songs. For example, HOWL has a song titled 生きてるだけで褒められたい。(I want to be praised for being alive) where we used penlights. ふぁぼって人生。idol mix also uses penlight, but they very rarely played the idol mix. For me, even though I did like using penlights, it sometimes got annoying because most furi is right handed, and grabbing two penlights with one hand was always tricky. The dennou himeca fans were also so intense in their member call, I was so amazed and jealous. Also, it was nice seeing penlights of different members’ colors scattered amongst the dark!
Setlist-
姫プして！ Supervision きゅるるちゃん イドロス エスター サブカルエラー ちょろあまch
CHAQLA
When I rolled up to my spot in saizen, I realized that I was royally fucked. Then, a Chaqla fan pushed her way and tapped my shoulder, asking me if the spot was free. I told her no, then she realized she meant to ask the girl to my right. It was then I realized, she was a big fan, so she should know the furi, so I would be able to count on her as I only know the furi for two songs.
The first time I’ve seen Chaqla was also at the Do you know vkei event? I only went cause of HOWL, but I watched a few bands before making the journey back to Saitama. Chaqla was the opener and they impressed me. I honestly prefer it when they are the opening act because they bring a LOT of energy, in my opinion. However, it also works when they’re the last, kinda like a good way to end the day. At least for me, they were the last band I would be seeing this day.
To be honest, Annie A (the vocalist), is SMALLER than what I expected. I always see him having great energy on stage so in my head, it just assumed he was tall. But now that I think about it…I probably was too busy doing furi in the other taiban I saw Chaqla at to realize he was on the shorter side.
I really, REALLY recommend seeing Chaqla live. At a taiban, a one man, anywhere! Please, they are so fun!
SE.開眼 POISON 未知への旅路 hi-lite Liberation-369 ミスキャスト PLAY BACK!!
Bonus!
Afterwards, I decided to head over to Superknova’s free mini live in Shibuya Mini Deseo. It was my first time there, it reminded me a bit of Club Malcom, which is a smaller livehouse.
The first time I saw Superknova was Raymei v Superknova. I attended because it was free, but also, because I wouldn’t be able to attend Raymei’s last concert and I wanted to see them one last time before they disbanded. I also went because Mikage, the ex-drummer of Superknova(he sometimes plays for them as a supporting drummer), often played with Yoppy in the session band, Berori Club. I might be the only weirdo to do this, but usually, I like to go and support artists who invited/worked with my honmei. Kinda like saying thank you? Anyways, I’m weird.
They played well and honestly it was such a fun way to end the day. One thing I really enjoy is that their furi is really easy to pick up. They also have furi tutorials on their YouTube channel. The saizen mentioned that there wouldn’t be an encore, so I decided to head out right after.
Setlist-
デンジャラスゲーム
渋谷事変
バンノリっ！
バンドマンが好き
在宅マジ勘弁^^
I live for U
万年ソノヒグラシ
AUDIENCE KILLER
18782+18782=37564
バス・ラントイヤー
電撃ビリリピリ
薄っぺRIDE
And I also developed a small bruise from the event…yay.
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And in the end I was caught on camera doing oritatami in Chaqla’s saizen and that segment aired on tv… me and my family are just cursed to always appear on TV. Here it is in case you want to see lol
-Apologies for any formatting errors or any mistakes. I didn't want to change much from the old document since I can't remember all the details as it took place almost a year ago. Buuut, I'll try my best to write one for this year :D