I got hooked on the movie 'Election and Depression' and went to Hakase Suidobashi's birthday celebration 🎉 (Archive available until 9/1)

In my previous article, I wrote my thoughts on the movie 'Election and Depression'.
Through the work, I felt drawn to the personalities of the lead, Hakase Suidobashi, director Taku Aoyagi, the election team, and the politicians involved, and when I heard there would be an annual birthday celebration event on August 18th, I thought I might be able to hear more personal stories from the cast, so I decided to go for the first time.

The event was subtitled 'Election and Depression: Unreleased Footage Extravaganza SP,' which was something I was really looking forward to as a fan of the film.
So, here is a report on what I felt at the venue.

Enjoying the streets of Koenji before the event

Koenji, the station nearest to the venue, is a place I'm familiar with from when I used to live alone in Ogikubo.
I had some time before the event, so I decided to walk around the area.

As soon as I entered the shopping street in front of the station, raindrops started to fall.
I bought a plastic umbrella at the CanDo right in front of me, and as I walked for a while, it suddenly turned into a torrential guerrilla rainstorm.
( I'm glad I bought that umbrella. )

My usual reading cafe, "R-za Dokushokan," was closed that day, so I headed to "COFFEE Coral" to try somewhere new, but it had already closed early. Oh well, that's a shame...
There are many individually owned shops around Koenji, and I thought to myself that I should have visited them more often when I lived nearby, then headed back to the station.

In the end, I decided to kill time at the McDonald's in front of the station.
I spent the time reading 'Hakase no Hanashi' to learn a little more about the personality of the star of the day, Hakase.

Before the show started, I had some salt ramen at "Tsukemen Maruya," which I had found during my earlier walk, and with a full stomach, I headed to the event venue, Koenji Pundit'.
Walking down a path I'd never taken before, relying on Google Maps in the darkness after sunset.
Perhaps because I headed straight from the restaurant, the route took me right through a residential area.
Strangely, I wasn't scared, perhaps because I felt a sense of security being in Suginami.

A familiar face I saw at the venue

When I arrived at the venue, quite a few people were already waiting.
( Tickets were sold out in advance )
The first thing that caught my eye was Tokuma Kaiho, who ran for office with Reiwa in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election.
I felt a bit happy, thinking, "Oh, Kaiho-san is here too."
Also present were incumbent Shinagawa Ward Council member Satoshi Yanagisawa and Satomi Ikezawa, who ran in the recent House of Councillors election.

Plenty of unreleased footage from 'Election and Depression'

Before getting into my thoughts on the talk, let's talk about the unreleased footage from 'Election and Depression'.
As a core fan of the work, I'm incredibly happy to see unreleased footage.
As guest Mr. Furuya mentioned, even though a documentary is only a few hours long as a finished work, they actually film for an incredible amount of time, so he explained that editing must have been very difficult.
Among the vast amount of material, there was a lot of footage that ended up being shelved after much deliberation over what to use or what to cut, even within this unreleased footage.

For example, the scene where Hakase confronts a famous politician.
During his own election campaign, Hakase used a tactic of barging into the street campaign sites of other politicians, and on this day, we were able to see the guerrilla battle with "that person" that we couldn't see in the film.
The reactions of those who were confronted varied, and comparing them was interesting.

There was also plenty of other precious footage, such as a scene between Hakase and his wife.
By the way, my favorite was "Harada Senmonka gets an autograph from Hezumaryu." It was a very surreal piece of footage. Lol

Seeing Ai Yahata's brilliant speaking skills live for the first time

The guests for the first part were Ai Yahata from Reiwa Shinsengumi and writer/critic Tsunehira Furuya.
I had seen both of them on online streaming programs before, but this was my first time seeing them in person.
Seeing them up close, they have a certain dignity, or rather, an aura about them.

Ai Yahata is someone who just talks a lot, and although she speaks quickly, her sense of rhythm and clear articulation make her incredibly easy to listen to.
Her energetic and powerful anecdotal stories were interesting.
I couldn't help but laugh at the story of how she was dumped by someone she liked for "a certain reason" related to this guest.

Furuya-san's commentary was very interesting, and I particularly resonated with his claim that 'Reiwa is conservative,' as I have felt the same way myself.
Although ideological matters are not discussed in 'Election and Depression,' I feel that the public's image of Reiwa is still misunderstood.

The presence of Matazo Mimata

The guests for the second part were comedian Matazo Mimata and Harada Senmonka.
In the movie, they were active as members of Hakase Suidobashi's election team.
Harada Senmonka was just as modest and craftsman-like as I had imagined.
Seeing him enter the venue carrying a guitar, I let out a sigh of admiration, thinking, 'He really is an artist.'
I also play guitar and do design as a hobby, so I felt a sense of kinship with him.

And then, there was Mimata-san's overwhelming presence.
Honestly, I hadn't expected it to be this much through the screen, but the atmosphere in the venue changed completely when Mimata-san appeared.
The sheer level of self-affirmation, where that confidence comes from, was very refreshing and exhilarating.
His interaction with Director Aoyagi was also very funny.
I honestly understood then that the words praising Mimata-san written in the movie pamphlet were true.
Wait, this event was supposed to be for Hakase, right? lol

Happy Birthday, Hakase!

So, getting back to the main point, no matter what, this day was Hakase's birthday.

At the end, accompanied by Harada Senmonka's guitar, we sang Elephant Kashimashi's 'Oretachi no Ashita,' which was also sung in a scene in the movie.
The original lyrics displayed on the screen are really great.
The clapping was pleasantly in sync, and I was overcome with emotion while wrapped in a warm sense of unity.

Next, a cake was brought out, and we sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
Happy 63rd birthday, Hakase🎂

First conversation with Ai Yahata

After the show, Ai Yahata was selling original merchandise, so I bought a pin badge to show my support.
She noticed me and beckoned me over, took the lead in keeping the conversation lively, and even took the photo of the two of us together...
I was moved by her professional demeanor.
I was charmed by her personality, which is truly full of love—a perfect example of how a name reflects the person—and I became a fan on the spot.
Of course, not as an idol, but strictly as a politician.
With that, I headed home feeling warm and fuzzy, clutching Yahata-san's business card and flyer.
Ah~ that was fun(՞ ܸ. .ܸ ՞)💕

You can still watch the archive stream.
The paid archive stream of the event can be viewed until 9/1 (Sun) at 23:59.
If you read this and think it sounds interesting, please buy a ticket and watch it🎫

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