ROOTS ~Ayano Kawamura Homecoming Performance~

It was a Monday in May.
When I arrived at the office in the morning, I was called by the department manager.

"You'll be in Okayama from around August to December."

The official notice for my next work location was issued.
Just like in a certain TV show, "The notice came suddenly." It arrived.

I basically work in Tokyo (within the 23 wards).

As long as I'm working in Tokyo,
I can usually attend not only weekend and holiday events, but also weekday ones,
if I use paid (half-day) leave.

However, if I'm assigned to a regional location, I won't be able to go.

I explored the possibility of going,
but even after considering every means, I wouldn't make it in time.
Even if I could go, if I stayed until the end, I wouldn't be able to catch the last train home.
There is the option of "taking paid leave," but
it's hard to take, and for this business trip in particular, it's impossible.

"I've been too much of an otaku in the first half of the year, so I should earn money and save..."
"I also have to study for my certifications..."

Let's take a breather from being an otaku.

"I'll take a break from being an otaku and focus on work. I'll stop for a while."
That's what I thought, and that was my intention.

Until this announcement came.

...Kochi? That's close to Okayama. lol

The situation at the time and the benefits look something like this.

This is... I have no choice but to go.

Realistically, the only barrier to going is the ticket.
If I can just figure that out, I can go.

They hold live events near where I'm on a solo assignment,
or they send me on assignment under conditions that make it easy to attend...
My company, they really do things like that for me...
(It's just a coincidence, though.)

Is there someone inside the company who is in cahoots with the idol agency,saying, "We'll hold an event here next,"
and choosing my assignment location for me?
(Like I said, it's just a coincidence.)

Anyway...

If there is an insider at my company,
thank you so much!
(Please continue to look after me in the future!!!!!)

With the bonus of "Yukiho Shimoitani as 1-Day Police Chief"
at Mizushima Police Station on 9/30.

I managed to finish my work,
and I secured tickets for both parts.
All that was left was to enjoy it.

My first time in Kochi Prefecture

Ever since they held a Kochi performance during the 2024 spring tour,
I had been thinking, "If there's a Kochi show in the autumn, I definitely want to go."

Kochi Prefecture was one of the prefectures I had never visited in my life,
so even without the live concert,
I wanted to go as a travel destination.

Bonito, Ryoma Sakamoto, Shimanto River, Sunday Market, Hirome Market
Since that was about all I knew,
I was looking forward to seeing what kind of place it was.
(Though I never thought my first time in Kochi would be for a live concert... lol)

Since I discovered ANGERME,
"Ayano Kawamura's hometown"was added to that list.

I am truly glad that I was in time to discover ANGERME, where Ayano Kawamura is a member.

The high level of singing ability that allows her to master any part,
the high level of expressiveness that matches the melody and lyrics,
and the intense, aggressive vibe when she gets into the zone.

Strength, kindness, coolness, fragility...
She is a truly wonderful person who is ever-changing.

After graduating from junior high, she moved to Tokyo and became a Hello Pro Kenshuusei.
I think she made a huge decision that determined her life,
and I believe it was a resolve beyond the ordinary.

This was the final homecoming performance in Kochi, where Ayano Kawamura was born and raised.
I decided to do everything I possibly could.

I decided to do everything I possibly could.

For starters, from October,
I started building a body that could withstand two performances a day.

With this setlist and my current physical condition,
even if I just did it normally, I would run out of energy by the encore of the afternoon show.
On top of that, it was the final homecoming performance.
I would have used up all my energy in the first five songs.

After work, I went running and did muscle training to get a body that could survive the live concert.

I'm not an otaku who can do anything special,
so I'll shout as loud as I can to liven up the homecoming performance.

I decided to enjoy it so that it would at least convey,
'I'm so happy I could come to Kochi today!!'

I know it will be exciting and fun.
Even if I don't do it, someone else will,
and the people here today are only the kind of people who will do it.
But that's exactly why, in my own way...

-Thoughts on the live concert-

*Since the final day of the tour hasn't arrived yet,
I will write this without touching on the setlist as much as possible.

The live concert itself, rather than just being fun,
I was happy just to be in this space.

'...Welcome back! Ayano! Welcome back!! Ayano!!! Welcome back!!!'

Someone started saying it,
and that voice grew louder and louder.

I've never heard anything like it in all my time as an otaku,
it wasn't so much a call, but the soul-shouting of the otaku.

Compared to the 'Pei-pei! Welcome back!' at the Yokohama performance I went to last week,
even though there were fewer people in Kochi,
the voice was overwhelmingly louder.

To come this far,
it really is only those kinds of 'otaku' who are here...

The venue was enveloped in light purple penlights.
Even though nothing had started yet, I was already overwhelmed with emotion.

It was a song that required chanting from the very first track.
I could feel the depth and pressure of the voices in the "Urya! Oi!"
It was only the first song of the afternoon show, the first song of the two-show day, but
there were only fans here who weren't thinking about what would happen later,
giving their all in this very moment.

There was no saving energy.
I was at full throttle from the first song myself.

It was the MC after five songs, but my throat was already hurting.
It felt like the fatigue and throat condition I usually have after one full show.
But the output of the fans around me hadn't dropped at all. What kind of training have they been doing...?

Suddenly, a calm intro began to play.

"Ah, it's that song..."
I heard a sob from a nearby fan who supports Kawamura-san.
It's a song I started listening to often after Kawamura-san's graduation announcement, and I've come to love it.
It's a song with chants, but
this time, I didn't chant; I just listened and savored it.
When Kawamura-san started singing the second verse, tears welled up in my eyes.

People chanting, people listening in silence without chanting,
people overflowing with various emotions and shedding tears...

I thought to myself, I'm so glad I encountered such a wonderful song.

I finished the afternoon show battered and bruised.
My throat was already dead. But there was still the evening show.
I recovered my throat with Ryukakusan throat lozenges and tea,
somehow getting it into a state where I could fight again.

The evening show started.
An even louder "Ayano! Welcome home!" than in the afternoon.
The volume was unbelievable, considering
that most of these people had just finished a live show about an hour and a half ago.
What kind of training do you have to do to become like that... lol

The members didn't show any signs of fatigue either, and
their performance was even more polished than in the afternoon show.
You guys too,
what kind of training do you have to do to become like that... lol

With the ambition from the members on stage and
the pressure from the fans in the audience,
the heat in the venue kept rising.
It was the hottest space in Japan, filled only with people who could give their all in this very moment.

The ANGERME members today were
all amazing. It wasn't just one person.
In a normal show,
I think I would say, "This girl was the best in today's show!"
In a normal show, that is.

Today, for these two shows only,
Ayano Kawamura was the protagonist.

Strength, resilience, warmth, kindness, sparkle.
To show the culmination of herself as an idol,
she never showed tears, smiled more than anyone, called out, and
shone brightly.

To respond to that Kawamura-san, the fans also
had a volume for the "Ayano!" chant that was
so loud I thought it might break the Kochi Prefectural Culture Hall.
When it was Kawamura-san's part,
I sent my thoughts through my light purple penlight to convey my feelings.

The setlist didn't change by a single song between Yokohama and Kochi.
But it was a completely different live show.

I will never forget this day, as long as I am an otaku.
Ayano is the best! Ayano is the best!


Kochi is the best! Kochi is the best!

Ayano Kawamura-san,
thank you for bringing me to Kochi.
Both the ANGERME concert and Kochi Prefecture
were truly happy experiences. They were the best.

After parting ways with the otaku I attended the amazing concert with,
and catching my breath at the hotel,
I suddenly thought of my own hometown.

It would be no exaggeration to say that my hometown
is 'top-class rural' even by national standards.

The only man-made objects were cracked asphalt and utility poles,
and almost everything you could see was mountains, fields, and rivers.

Instead of the hustle and bustle of the city or the noise of trains and cars,
there was a grand chorus of frogs and cicadas.

The convenience store was a 15-minute drive away,
trains only came once an hour,
they were one-man operated trains just carrying air,
and of course, you couldn't use Suica.

Once a month, I looked forward to the arcade
when my family would take the highway for two hours to go to the Aeon mall.

In that hometown, which was the Japanese representative of the deep countryside,
there was no hope, or perhaps I should say, no bright future.

It wasn't just that there were no growth industries in the area,
and it was just fading away, but...
the people living there... to put it bluntly,
were a showcase of disappointing adults.

Adults who lived as if they knew everything about the world,
despite only knowing their hometown.
Seniors in high school who were somewhat stifled, dissatisfied with the status quo,
but didn't do anything,
just living their days out of inertia,
and wasting their lives away in apathy.

There were no biker gangs or frequent violent incidents,
and the school windows weren't broken and covered in graffiti...

but there were plenty of petty stories about small-time villains
that you'd almost want to share, like
'So-and-so senior got married and dropped out (was forced to),' or
'They got suspended for smoking at school,' or
'They were caught shoplifting at the supermarket.'

'If I stay here, I'll definitely end up a failure.'

Even as a middle schooler, I hated my hometown so much,
I studied intensely for high school entrance exams and escaped.
I got a job at a company in Tokyo
because I wanted to be an otaku and go to lots of concerts and events.

For me, my hometown is a 'negative legacy, something to be discarded.'

Ayano Kawamura moved to Tokyo, saying,
“I want to give back to everyone.”

For Ayano Kawamura, her hometown must be a wonderful place that makes a middle schooler want to say that.

An idol from a major agency fills a venue in her hometown where she was born and raised to hold a live concert. And of course, she is the star of that concert.

Ayano Kawamura, what a magnificent idol life.

The next day, I went sightseeing and left Kochi.

I didn't get to experience everything in Kochi, but it was a very nice place. The eyes of the people in the city were sparkling and warm. I had trouble with the conversation because of the unfamiliar dialect, but everyone was so kind that I fell in love with Kochi.

I am a lucky person, and I think I was truly fortunate to be able to get to know such a wonderful place and to have met Ayano Kawamura in time.

Moe Kamikokuryo: Kumamoto, Rei Ise: Hokkaido, Rin Hashisako: Aichi, Yukine Tamenaga: Nagano, Wakana Matsumoto: Osaka, Yukiho Shimoitani: Okayama

If they were to hold homecoming performances for current ANGERME members outside the Kanto region, I'm sure everyone would go at least once. Once you know the fun and joy of that space, you can never go back.

It costs money and time, but it's definitely fun, and there is a sense of satisfaction that can only be found there. I am happy to have met ANGERME, who makes me feel that way.

Finally.

In a little while, Ayano Kawamura will graduate from ANGERME and Hello! Project. I won't be able to see her anymore once she retires as an idol.

Although I am still on a business trip in Okayama, perhaps thanks to the arrangements of our company's spy, I have returned to Tokyo just for this period, and I can use my paid leave to attend.

She has done what she wanted to do as an idol, and until the very last moment, she has stayed close to her fans, making “Idol Ayano Kawamura” shine brightly.

I was able to secure a ticket for the graduation performance. I have earned the right to witness the culmination of Ayano Kawamura's career.

What I do will not change.

To enjoy it with all my might.
And, just to prepare to enjoy it.