Scorching Summer Festival Diary 🙌 in July 2025

Hello, this is Otaku no Imoko.

The other day, I went to our beloved B&ZAI's first festival, "OSAKA GIGANTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL," commonly known as Giga !!!!!!!!

Although there are things I should write about before this, I'm writing this diary while I still have the momentum.

Unfortunately, I lost the lottery for all the First Beat performances, so this was my first time seeing B&ZAI live!!

I've decided to write this Giga diary while I'm still feeling the momentum!

Giga is here!

The venue for Giga is Expo '70 Commemorative Park.
The place where the 1970 Osaka Expo was held. It's where the famous "Tower of the Sun" is located!!
Art is an explosion!!

In such a place, B&ZAI's first! Festival appearance! Summer festival! Summer outdoors! Tower of the Sun! Just imagining the situation gets me excited.

In the first place, I never expected a festival appearance to come so suddenly...

When I was looking at some magazine, Hashimossan said, "I can see until summer," and while I thought summer means festivals, I was surprised because it was so unexpected.

As an aside, my previous festivals were Love Shower and Summer Sonic in 2023, and I was exhausted after seeing my favorites at Summer Sonic, and even before COVID, when I went to TREASURE05X for two consecutive days, I was wiped out by the heat...

Since then, I was afraid of the heat at summer festivals, and since I'm getting older, I didn't have confidence in my physical strength, so I thought I would never go to my favorite idols' first festival... but then this came.

Also, because the venue was relatively easy to get to,
I bought the ticket as soon as it was announced...

When Giga was announced, I think it was during the period when I was waiting for the results of the additional First Beat (live) performances?

I'm the type of person who wants to witness my favorites' first festival after all. 🤘

The day has finally arrived!

Belongings, preparations, etc.

Since it's been a while since my last festival, I gathered information on belongings and heat countermeasures from various social media and the official website, and went as light as possible!

Thanks to everyone who posted various things on social media.
And Yabana-kun's festival lecture blog is also appreciated... Thanks for providing a place for exchanging opinions about festivals with #YabanaMusicSchool...

▼Clothing
・Festival T-shirt
・Half pants
・Hat (outdoor style with good breathability)
・Ankle socks
・Sneakers

▼Main belongings (Zepp drink holder in a zippered sacoche)
・Smartphone (since it's an electronic ticket, make sure it's fully charged, attached a strap to hang around the neck)
・Hydration (at least one OS-1)
・Salt charge tablets (a few)
・Sunscreen
・Money (carefully selected cards and cash instead of my usual wallet)
・Cooling sweat wipes
・Towel (one that gets cold when wet from a 100-yen shop & one for wiping sweat)
・Item that can be frozen to keep cool (ice pack)
・Plastic bag (for trash & for sitting on the ground: in the end, there were plenty of trash cans, and I could sit directly on the lawn, so I didn't use it, but it's probably good to have at a festival)
・Carefully selected fan goods

The weather forecast said it definitely wouldn't rain, so I didn't bring rain gear.

I thought a mobile battery would be bulky, so I charged my smartphone well and didn't bring one.
Actually, I didn't use my smartphone for a long time, so the charge lasted.

The official site said it would be good to have a light jacket because it gets cool at night, but I thought it wouldn't get cool at all based on daily life, so I didn't bring one.
Actually, I think it wasn't necessary this time!

In the end, I bought a black T-shirt though ←
Just in case, I avoided pure black! (Because it collects sunlight...)

I bought my ticket as soon as it was announced, but I was scared to go alone in this sweltering heat, so I looked for someone to come with me, but I couldn't find anyone...
In the end, my sister agreed to go with me, which was a relief.😂
When I'm alone, I sometimes push myself too hard despite how I'm feeling, or I get so anxious that I actually start feeling sick, so it's really helpful to have someone with me when I'm feeling uneasy.🥲

The day before, I showed my sister B&ZAI's YouTube videos and Music Station recordings, and I even drilled the Natsu♡Ai call into her! The day finally arrived!

On the day, we took the monorail to Expo '70 Commemorative Park.

Perfect festival weather!! (Though it's hot...)

Heading to the SUN STAGE.

We entered, exchanged our wristbands, and headed straight for the SUN STAGE first thing!!

Back when I was a university student, there was a period where I listened to Frederic constantly.
I love Frederic's music, so when it was announced that B&ZAI would be at GIGANTIC and I saw the rest of the lineup, I was so happy to see Frederic there too!

To my surprise, Frederic was performing right before B&ZAI on the same stage!

When the timetable was released, I was hit with a mix of joy and anxiety about the heat...
I decided in my heart that I wanted to save my peak energy for B&ZAI, so I'd just have to see how I felt about where to watch from.

(Actually, Yabai T-Shirts Yasan, who did a joint gig with 7 MEN Samurai, was playing on a different stage during the time slot before that, and I wanted to see them...
But I didn't make it in time...
Also, I would have liked to see Blue Encount, who overlapped with B&ZAI... There are a lot of artists at GIGANTIC I don't know, so seeing names I recognize makes me feel at ease.)

After arriving at the stage area, I tried to get as close to the front as I could without it being too crowded or pushing myself too hard.

I got the impression that there were already quite a few B&ZAI fans there at this point. After a little while, Frederic's soundcheck started, and they played,

KITAKU BEATS

and Rererepeat.

They played those two songs!!!!!! Whoa, my youth!!!!!
Right from the start! From the soundcheck! I'm so hyped!!!!!!

Frederic's set finally began, and it was fun from start to finish! It was hot! It was intense!
(Stage time: 11:55–12:25)

During the soundcheck or early on, Kenji-san (the older brother of the Mihara brothers) made a comment that, while not direct, showed consideration for B&ZAI and their fans, and I was so grateful.
(He said something like, 'Since there are groups performing at a festival for the first time and artists from various genres, I'm sure there are audience members here for their first festival too,' and spoke with consideration for everyone, telling us to enjoy ourselves while being careful about heatstroke.)

In the blistering heat, during some song, a breeze blew along with Kenji-san's long tone, and it felt so amazing😭
It was a moment where I felt that the power of music can sometimes even control nature.

The clapping for the new song "Akuma" was seriously difficult, but it was so much fun!!

Before Odoroop, they introduced it by saying “The members of B&ZAI also danced to this song!” and I got so hyped.
Back then, I was already so happy just that the two of them posted a video of themselves dancing to it...
My brain, being a fan of both, went into overdrive.
Thank you so much (T ^ T)

And although it was supposed to be the end, they asked if it was okay to do one more song, and since it was okay, they performed one more!!
Is that even allowed?! As expected!! The best!!

I had so much fun with the songs I knew, and even the ones I didn't (T ^ T)

Today's main event: B&ZAI

Frederic ended, and since I felt like I still had energy, I thought I'd move a bit closer, but everyone was moving forward! There was a wave of people from behind wanting to go to the front too!!
Along with the flow, I was able to get further forward than I was for Frederic.

I made sure to recharge with water and salt in between, used cooling sweat wipes, and borrowed a handy fan from my sister (it was so helpful just having a cool breeze make such a difference in how I felt!!); doing things like that was really important!

Well, as you can see from the angle where I was, I want to ask the Yabana fans: you thought Yabana-san was on stage right, right? (Is my perception correct...?)

When B&ZAI finally appeared for the rehearsal...

Yabana-san was unexpectedly on stage left!!!!!!!! A surprise stage left!!!!!!!

However, during the actual performance, I felt like he came over to the right side a lot.
It might have just felt that way to me, though.
God, Buddha, Yabana-sama

I couldn't really grasp the positions well, but looking at the photo posted on Instagram, was it something like this?
I might be wrong about the front-to-back positioning, though...

From here on, I'd like to write a report including my personal impressions, with my memory being a bit hazy due to adrenaline.

The costumes were the ones they wore for the Kaku-Eki Scorching Derby! I can't believe I got to see them in these outfits!

During the rehearsal, they were checking the sound of their instruments, and the backing track for First Beat was playing🥺

I don't think there was any singing, but I believe Hashimotchan was hyping up the crowd.

From what I could see, Yabana-san seemed to be focusing entirely on the sound check during rehearsals.
I saw Rei Yabana-san playing and then whispering some advice to Yujin? It was absolutely wonderful.

Also, I forgot if it was during rehearsal or at the start of the actual performance, but right after they appeared, they did a light version of what I think was Hoshiki-kun's swan (is that right?), and I was like, 'Whoa!'

Hashimoto-san said something like, 'B&ZAI is coming up next, so please look forward to it!' and then everyone headed off stage!

Yabana-san's instrument was a 6-string bass with Rikako-sama!! With this!! It came to this!! Whoaaaaa!! I was so excited.
Also, I was happy to see the B&ZAI logo on the front of Hoshiki-kun's bass drum, which Yabana-san drew, with my own eyes.

The performance begins!
(Stage time 12:50–13:25)

The name of the next performer was displayed on the monitor,
and they appeared while the sound of 'Pan-pan 👏👏, pa-pa-pan 👏👏👏, pa-pa-pa-pan 👏👏👏👏, B&ZAI!', which is starting to become a familiar way to end live shows and events (?), was playing! (Not many people were clapping along to this, so if they use this for their entrance at Summer Sonic or something next time, I hope more people will clap along!)

Yabana-san was the very first one to come running out energetically!!!!!!!! It was hot!!!!!!!!

▼The official Giga Spotify playlist includes the setlists for all the artists, and B&ZAI's songs that are available on streaming services are included too, which is god-tier!!
(Tracks 280–285)

B&ZAI doing a huddle before starting!! So good!!!!!!!!

Starting off with SHAKE!!! It was super hyped from the very first song!!!

While things were getting hyped like that, a person in front of me literally collapsed, which was an unexpected incident.
Even though we were flustered and upset by the sudden event, everyone around us desperately called for medical staff and asked if they were okay, and somehow the staff arrived and things calmed down.

It seems like things like that were happening all over the venue, but everyone who responded, and everyone who left the area themselves because they felt it was dangerous, you all did your best... I think you're great. And above all, I hope the person who felt unwell has recovered since then.

The population density was high and there were limits to what could be done, and there were times when you couldn't grasp the situation unless you were right nearby, so I felt the problems of summer outdoor festivals...
Also, since everyone enjoys the show with their hands up, it's hard to get noticed even if you raise your hand to ask for help in the direction of the medical staff, so I thought there was room for some kind of measure, like creating a common festival help sign.

While all that was happening, when I calmed down and looked at the stage, Yabana-san was right in front of me (though there was a fair distance)!!!!!!!!
Whoa, Yabana was there!! (Switching gears and suddenly getting excited)

Next up was NEWS-senpai's weeeek!!
I remember Katsuki encouraging everyone to jump.
I also remember him looking cute as he jumped while waving his hands up and down on the stage right.
However, I remember thinking that because the population density was too high and it was too hot, I could only either raise my hands or jump!
And then, when I prioritized jumping, everyone around me prioritized raising their hands, so I remember reading the room and switching over lol

It was tough under the scorching sun, but the adrenaline was pumping, so I didn't care about the heat, not being able to see, or anything else—I was just hyped the whole time.🔥

The third song, PARTY PEOPLE, was the best~~
It started with an unexpected introduction from Hashimot-san: 'We have a genius bassist!' The first two songs were in a band style, but here, Yabana-san was on bass only! And the seven of them were dancing with water guns!
It's summer!
Sexy!
I want to get hit by a water gun!!
(I didn't get hit)
(I remember Micchi aiming his water gun in this direction)

Anyway, everyone was doing a sexy dance move(?) during the chorus (see the video below), so I wondered what Yabana-san was doing! When I looked, he was playing Rikako while his blue shirt was slipping off his right shoulder!!!!!!
🙏

※I think everyone was doing this original dance during the chorus.
I remember Micchi doing it on the riser on the stage right side🥺

And I saw reports saying that this was the song where he played B4N4N4, but honestly, I have no memory of it... It's too painful... Am I allowed to call myself a ShibiAi?......... I feel like I remember screaming, but... I heard somewhere a long time ago that memories fly away due to adrenaline, so maybe that's it.........(TT)
Also, when Yabana-san started playing his instrument during rehearsal, I thought he played a phrase like B4N4N4, but that might have been an otaku auditory hallucination.........

Anyway!!(TT)
The fact that Yabana-san played B4N4N4 on that stage is too precious.
Thank you.

※B4N4N4 is an important song for 7 MEN Samurai written by Yabana-san.

Then came Cry out! Everyone was dancing, so cool!!
During the interlude or somewhere, Yabana-san was in the center, and there was a move where he seemed to be controlling everyone with his hands, which was cool!!

Anyway, among this series of your company's songs, this one in particular was a dance track, but it was fresh to see the audience all raising their fists and getting into it!!

And here, at the fifth song, was B&ZAI's original song 'First Beat'!!
It was a bit surprising that it came here!!
After getting us all hyped up with the seniors' songs and showing both the band style and the dance style!!
Clever,
As everyone said, they are really good at putting together a setlist!!

From the very first 'Wow', everyone raised their fists, and I put a lot of heart into the off-beat rhythm in the chorus, pouring my strong feelings into my fist.
As seen in the performance video on YouTube, it's very impressive how Micchi hits the off-beat while holding his violin bow.

I thought the handclaps would fit the A-melody, so I did them, but there were more people doing it in the second verse, and it felt like a festival even within a single song, which was great.

▼Click here for B&ZAI's first original song 'First Beat' (from B&ZAI 1st LIVE)

After First Beat ended, was there a fairly decent MC segment here?

We had a toast time to hydrate together,
I remember Katsuki Motodaka-sensei explaining it with a nuance like, 'When we say toast, please say Banzai.'
Everyone said,
'Kanpai!'
'Banzai!'🍻🥂
Right after that, while some members didn't drink immediately to check on the audience, I feel like Yabana-sensei drank with us right away.

Also, when toasting,
Ryo Hashimoto said,
'It is written as draining the cup, but read as Banzai.'Personally, I was quite excited by that.

At the beginning, when Hashimot-chan or someone was talking about hydration, Rinne was trying to hydrate from his water gun🔫. (He wasn't able to hydrate at all though🤣 How cute)

B&ZAI got excited when the topic turned to where everyone came from, asking for people who came from outside Osaka🙋, and then finding out there were several people who came from overseas.
Katsuki: "The Expo is happening right now, so there are a lot of people from overseas, aren't there?" (There was no reaction from the members here, lol)
Everyone, please make sure to go there too☺️"

B&ZAI: "We haven't even eaten takoyaki yet!"
Motokatsu: "That's right, we just arrived in Osaka an hour ago."

I feel like it was something like that.

Come to think of it, I remembered this while looking at SNS reports, but when was it that Hashimoto-san incited a call-and-response between the men and women!?
During rehearsal????
I thought, Hashimossan really knows how to hype up fans of the same gender at a festival!!
He said, "Men~ you're not going to lose to the women of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, are you?" (nuance), and as the atmosphere shifted to starting the men's call-and-response,
"Men, are you hyped up!!?? (in a gruff voice)"
The flow was great.
The phrasing of "women of STARTO ENTERTAINMENT" was good and funny🤣

Basically, I think Hashimossan was the one inciting the crowd and communicating with them through words, but
at some point in between, Rinne, who was positioned on stage right, was doing the Gerin pose towards our side, and seeing everyone holding up the Gerin pose towards Rinne (myself included), Rinne nodding while doing the Gerin pose himself was so cool...
Seeing him lower his hand slightly for a fan who was likely a Rinne fan in front of me, as if to say he was doing it for them, made me melt...

And then, he connected it by saying something like, "The next song isn't our company's song, but when you say 'Banzai'..."!

Ulfuls' "Banzai ~Suki de Yokatta~" really is the song that comes to mind when you say Banzai!!
Wait, songs outside our company! That's allowed!! I'm so happy!!
Almost everyone knows it, and can sing the chorus! I think a huge sing-along happened!

Next was the undeniably national idol Arashi's Love so sweet!!!!!

The moment the intro was heard, the venue exploded with excitement!!!!!

I never thought I'd be able to hear this at a festival!! So moving!!!

Konpi saying "Everyone sing!" during the final chorus was very impressive, including his voice and expression!!
It was really great
(I could see it well because he said it on the stage right side)

By the way, was Yabana-san at the far end of stage right at this time??
I honestly have no memory, but I feel like I thought, I can't believe I'm singing this towards Yabana-san...

20250912 Update
The footage came out on B&ZAI's YouTube, and I rushed here after watching it! lol
It turns out my aforementioned memory was a false memory, and it had been altered too much... lol

Yabana-san was not on stage right at all, but on the complete opposite side, stage left!! lol

Well, I probably sang it thinking of everyone in B&ZAI, including Yabana-san!

▼Please be sure to watch the main video♪

Sora Fune was also super cool.
I'm already reaching a peak of excitement.
It was great that Hashmocchan spoke so passionately about this song during the intro!!

The intro that started playing when they said 'Last song!' was Zou!!
This was the one I wanted to hear and see live!!!
It was unexpected to have this as the last song!
It was hot the whole time.

Around this last song or Sora Fune, Yabana-shi stuck his tongue out on the stage right side!! I witnessed it, he was totally killing it, thank you!!!!!!!!!

And at the very end, Rei Yabana lifting Rikako-sama up to the heavens was seriously too good.

B&ZAI finished their stage with a huge excitement from start to finish.

When they were leaving, I was feeling reluctant to let them go, thinking 'Ah, they're leaving~~',
then Yabana-san came out
'Thank you so much! It was the best! Please invite us again!!'
(I was so excited I didn't remember what he said, so I'm relying on the collective intelligence of Twitter)
and the way he left after saying that was truly the peak, SERIOUSLY.

B&ZAI Overall Impressions

Ha~~ it was really so much fun.!!!!!!!!!

Around the beginning, maybe during SHAKE, I saw Yabana-kun in front of the stand mic, nodding his head while facing our direction, and
I felt that the moment we can connect through music is the happiest thing ever!!
I felt that.

Also, when I couldn't see Yabana-san, I focused my hearing on the bass sound as much as possible, and I could hear it so clearly, it was too cool.

My sister who went with me also said Yabana-kun was killing it, which made me happy.
Also, she said 'Who is that person who is so stable with this song!?' and when she looked, it was Konpi, and I just grinned ☺️

My memory was hazy due to adrenaline, and my vision and hearing weren't functioning properly because I was so hyped, but I felt the Yabana soul and Yabana-kun's aesthetics with my sixth sense.
Of course, I felt the B&ZAI soul too 🤘

Really, everyone was great, cool, cute, and killing it!!!!!!!!!
I want to say so many things about each person in detail, but it won't come together, so sorry for summarizing it like this!

Maybe because I was near the front, it was a bit hard to hear the vocals the whole time and it felt like the sound system was having trouble, but it seems like the sound quality varied depending on the location?
Including those things, I'm sure they are having a debriefing and moving toward improvements, and B&ZAI is the kind of group that makes me look forward to that.
I'm proud of them.

After B&ZAI finished, I was so satisfied that I felt I could go home right then and there without any regrets, considering my health!
My happiness and satisfaction levels were seriously at the max.
Of course, there were some festival mishaps and troubles, but even so, I was filled with so much euphoria and satisfaction.

According to my sister, even the male audience members who were there for the next artist were saying, 'They were so cool!'
Yay🤘

B&ZAI, thank you so, so much for your hard work in that truly scorching heat!! Thank you for the best summer memories!!
To everyone who went to the venue, thank you so much for your hard work too!!

One battle over

With our main act B&ZAI finished for now, we headed to the LaLaport adjacent to the festival park to enter rest mode.
(The path to getting somewhere cool inside the facility was surprisingly long...)

I mean, my clothes were soaked in sweat (*_*)
Since B&ZAI's official goods T-shirt probably wouldn't arrive by the festival, and I really wanted a festival T-shirt with the B&ZAI name on it, I bought a GIGA T-shirt in advance. I debated whether to tuck it in or not, but I ended up tucking it in! Personally, I went in with a lot of spirit, but...

When it was over, I was soaked in sweat and both my pants and T-shirt had completely changed color, yikes... It didn't look good tucked in, so I ended up untucking the T-shirt (a digression within a digression).

I bought two more drinks at LaLaport and thought about maybe eating lunch there while cooling off, but it was Sunday, so it was naturally crowded!!
I gave up, sat down inside to cool off a bit, and headed back to the GIGA venue to find lunch~

Yay, this got updated here＼(^o^)／

As expected of a big festival like GIGA, the food stalls were very well-stocked!
From cold items to hearty meat!! There were so many different things, it was fun just looking at them.

But it was hot, and I didn't really have much of an appetite...

While wandering around trying to decide on festival food, I saw a wall lined with artist photos!
I thought, 'Oh, there's a line!' and when I looked, it was the B&ZAI line.
(This line never stopped having people in it whenever I passed by; B&ZAI's ability to draw a crowd is amazing!
Even when I was waiting for the restroom, the people in front and behind me were B&ZAI fans.)

Come to think of it, I saw RIP SLYME, who I was a little curious about as I passed by.
Sho Sakurai-senpai was rapping with them on THE MUSIC DAY, after all👀
And then Yasuko-san came out! Lol

The sponsored Petagoo Gummy spot
They were handing out cute ice packs, but they were already gone by the time I got there, I wanted one,
They were doing a thing where you could get gummies if you hit the target with darts, so I did it.
It was fun.
I got some gummies and took a commemorative photo.

There was also a Häagen-Dazs sponsorship!!!!!! I felt like, 'Wait, I can get a Crispy Sandwich!?' so I went, but they had finished distributing them and I couldn't get one!! What a shame.

There were photo spots everywhere, it was cute and fun~

Here's my festival food~
There were quite a few tent bench spots, and this place in the back was in the shade and had some space, so I was grateful to be able to sit down normally~

I wandered around and went to look at the merchandise.
The shade was reasonably cool and pleasant.
Come to think of it, during B&ZAI's set, there was a moment when it got shady and I felt like I came back to life.

There were also various things that made me feel the 1970 Osaka Expo

I went to see if I could get in, but it was already closed for the day!
I saw on social media later that some people managed to see it, so that was a great way to spend their time!
Usually, you need an admission fee to enter the Expo '70 Commemorative Park, but this time I could enter the park with my GIGANTIC ticket, which felt like a good deal.
Instead, I took a commemorative photo with something outside that was also built in 1970.

Since I was there, I wanted to take a picture with the Tower of the Sun.
Looking at it, it even looked like the Tower of the Sun was doing a 'banzai' pose 🙌

I had some time, so I wandered around the venue.

Samurai Tube's American episodeThere was even a photo spot inspired by the word 'Samba Bus' that I learned thanks to Yabana-kun. So cute.

I watched Nakigoto, who were performing on a nearby stage!
(Since Sakurashimeji did a joint gig with them recently)

There was a sunflower field, too!

After that, I watched Macaroni Empitsu from the relaxed area, and then stayed until the very end to watch the headliners, 04 Limited Sazabys, on the same stage!!

Many of you who are fans of Rea-san likely know 04 Limited Sazabys, also known as Four-limi, as an artist that Rea-san likes and interacts with!

Personally, when I was in high school, many people around me liked Japanese rock, so I followed that path too. It was popular among my generation, and since we are from the same hometown (?), the first festival I ever went to was YON FES, hosted by Four-limi! (I looked at my rubber wristband and it said 2016, it's terrifying that almost 10 years have passed already 😂)

I watched Four-limi from a slightly elevated spot in the back, so I could get a bird's-eye view of the high-density area where the crowd spread out on the flat ground from the stage, and the number of people was just incredible.
Also, the mosh pits and stage diving were intense, lol.
The mosh pits were huge, lol.
It must be so much fun~

Even though I only know songs from before the pandemic, there were plenty of songs I recognized (the same goes for Frederic), and it made me feel a bit nostalgic, thinking about how classic festival songs never seem to fade.
Combined with the fact that GEN-san was talking about "nostalgia."
The situation where it was gradually getting dark was also something else.
And they sang songs that fit that atmosphere perfectly.

At the end, there were fireworks!

I went home after fully enjoying the summer festival.

GIGANTIC, the art of B&ZAI-san was exploding and it was the best.
It became the best memory of the summer of 2025.
Thank you very much!