SUPER★DRAGON (commonly known as Supadora), a 9-member mixture unit that made its major debut this spring, held a live event “DRA FES 2024” at Omiya Sonic City Large Hall on September 28th.
“DRA FES”, which is held as an anniversary event around the group’s formation date on September 27th every year, includes a variety of planned corners, and the secret is that you can witness each member’s personality that cannot be seen at regular one-man live performances. In particular, 2024 will be the 9th anniversary of the 9-member unit Superdora, and in addition to the 4 projects, there will also be member shuffles in which vocalists and dancers change parts, and simultaneous performances that connect outside the venue and live broadcasts. According to Jean Kaito of “I’ve done everything I wanted to do”. The assembled BLUE (the name used by Super Dragon fans) thrilled the sold-out audience on the same day, and powerfully declared the start of the event’s 10th year.
Speaking of “DRA FES”, each year the members dress up as students of “Ryuzaki High School” and perform a stage different from the usual one-man performances in a classroom. In 2024, a chime rings in a classroom surrounded by colorful graffiti art, and nine people enter the room on danceable SEs, and the 9th anniversary of “DRA FES” commemorates with the tough and masculine “Strike Up The Band”. opened the curtain. All 9 students had their front buttons fully opened in a school run, and the visuals were so outrageous that they performed, “Let’s go wild, Ryuzaki High School!” (Jean), using a school desk as a prop, creating a dangerous mood as they stood and crouched on the desks. When sprinkled with light, the audience seats become a sea of blue light, which is the group’s color. At the end of the song, the eldest, Reo Shimura, hits the gong and raises his right arm in the air to signal the start of class.
After that, a homeroom session was held, hosted by Ryuzaki High School’s famous teacher, Bebidora Sensei, and two types of individual competitions were planned, based on the idea that “the key to a successful school festival is a sense of responsibility.” The first is a “member image ranking” based on a fan survey conducted in advance, with questions such as “Which member is most likely to survive on a deserted island?” and “Who is the member who looked like an animal in a previous life?” Each member predicted the ranking of the members and answered the question. In the former, all nine people predicted Reo Shimura to be number one, but Kazuya Matsumura came first in the fan survey. The members exclaimed in surprise at this result, and Matsumura complained, “It’s frustrating that Dora is thought to have more brains than Reo.” Also, in the latter category, there were many members who ranked Hayashi Iijima and Raku Shibasaki, who are known for their love of cats, at the top, while Hioma Ikeda, who ranked Matsumura in first place, responded to a voice of dissatisfaction from BLUE saying, “What?!” There are scenes where he gets angry and says, “That’s it!?” As a result, 1st place went to Shibasaki, 2nd place went to Koki Tanaka, and 3rd place went to Iijima, and Tanaka seemed unhappy that he was caught between them. The second project is “Kyunkyun Ogiri”, a specialty of “DRA FES”. Nine people line up in a line, and a randomly selected member improvises a “squeaky line” in response to a given theme, and if they get a “squeaky” line, they get points. When asked, “A word to the girl who dropped the crepe without taking a bite,” Shibasaki smiled and asked, “Would you like to make it at home with me?” and the members did not get a good answer, and the members objected. Even Iijima, who got points for “I fell in the crepe, but let’s fall in love with me,” defended the song by saying, “(Raku’s answer) made me excited too!” Furukawa’s theme was “I’m very late for the school festival! A word to the girl who was doing my job for me,” and Furukawa went from upset to angry at being at the mercy of the spotlight that quickly disappeared. At the end, Shimura got points for asking, “Can we hold hands like this forever?” It is also unique to “DRA FES” that you can see the members being played by the staff.
At this point, Jean asked, “Are you excited enough? Let’s make you excited a little!” and dropped the sweetest love song in Spadora, “Sweets.” The fact that she is wearing a school uniform gives her a more pure feel than usual, and her light bouncing performance gives off a feeling of love, perhaps the result of her “Kyunkyun Ogiri.” In the following “Pretty Girl”, the members descended to the audience seats on the first floor and appealed to BLUE throughout the venue from the stands in the aisles. Just as I thought, “Let’s create an atmosphere around here with the older guys,” Fire Dragon, a group unit made up of four older guys, pretended to be performing a gentle song, but they betrayed expectations with the upper-class song “PAYAPAYA.” That’s nice. Next, Bioma Ikeda raised his arms and said, “Let’s go!” and performed “INAZUMA” with the five younger members of the Thunder Dragon group.According to Ikeda, “The last time we did it was five or six years ago,” and there were many voices of joy. The audience went wild, waving their penlights and dancing along with the members. By the way, during the unit song, past live footage was played on the monitors behind them, and the innocent look of the band in the footage made people cry out in surprise, and it also gave us a strong sense of how much they have grown over the past nine years.
In addition, Mr. Bevidora said, “I want to see more seriousness from everyone,” and there are plans for confrontations such as a “sports chanbara showdown” and a “rental competition.” In the former, nine people shuffled around, defending the paper balloons attached to their waists, and there was a fierce battle between Jean, Iijima, Ikeda, and Shibasaki, with Shibasaki emerging victorious in the end. The latter was a speed competition in which each person borrowed a theme from a box from BLUE in the venue, and first place went to Jean who instantly borrowed “goods from before 2020.” Iijima, who had been asked the rather difficult question of “Why am I holding this today?”, succeeded in borrowing a hanger, and Furukawa brought in “someone who is strong at rock-paper-scissors” against other members, winning 6 and 2. Defeat and prove your strength. On the other hand, Matsumura, who wore “improper glasses,” borrowed sunglasses and received an NG decision, resulting in him coming in last place out of all four projects.
By the way, the penalty game for the lowest place is “to perform with all your might outside the venue”, and while 8 people performed “Untouchable MAX”, Matsumura was seen singing and dancing alone in the park next to the venue on stage. Live broadcast on the monitor behind you! In the presence of passers-by, they took off their school jackets, even their shirts, and watched them dance in a lively manner, and the other eight people rolled around on stage and burst out laughing. Kazuya was given a big round of applause as he tried his best to climb onto the flowerbed and even kicked the camera at the end. By the way, this punishment game had been a project idea since last year’s “DRA FES,” and Furukawa expressed his emotion, saying, “It took a year to come true.”
From here, the main feature of this event, the shuffle of members within the group, begins, with the vocalist/rap group and the dancer group reversing their roles and performing “SUPER★DRAGON.” Reo Shimura plays the role of Hioma Ikeda, Sogo Ito plays the role of Tsuyoshi Furukawa, and the two dancers, who swapped positions with the two main vocalists, raised their voices loudly and boldly confronted the high-tone vocals. In particular, Ito’s energetic singing voice, which challenges the audience without hesitation even the slightest, elicits laughter, while Hayao Iijima, who cheerfully performs Jean Kaito’s rap, and Raku Shibasaki, who dashes forward during Kazuya Matsumura’s part, also receive cheers. Also, Jean Kaito, who is half Japanese and half Turkish, took on Kouki Tanaka’s solo song “AIKOTOBA”. I thought he was going to sing a straightforward love song that said, “I love you,” but before I knew it, he was holding the Turkish flag and saying, “I hope you all accept the message I’m about to send you!” in Turkish translated by his father. It’s nice because I sing. In addition, Furukawa, Tanaka, Ikeda, and Matsumura, who usually perform vocals and rap, took on the challenge of “SAWAGE!!!!”, which is the only song among the Superdora songs performed by only four dancers. When Matsumura, who plays Ito, seriously decides to say “Cheers to your eyes♪” and Furukawa, who plays Raku Shibasaki, says “Kitty-chan♪”, the two of them, who are usually not assigned such parts, let out a loud scream. . Naturally, BLUE’s call explodes with tremendous force, but Tanaka, who played the role of Shimura, said, “I really respect the dancers’ stamina!” I praised him.
Then, “From now on, we want to show us how cool we are” (Jean), showing off SUPER★DRAGON’s true potential in new military-style costumes. Their latest single, “Downforce,” just released in September, skillfully mixes fast-tempo rap and flowing melody over a techno beat, and the chorus, in which everyone slowly leans back, has the audience in the room. An uproar ensues. The belief that Kazuya Matsumura sings, “We can only look in front of us,” is repeated by Koki Tanaka in the following song, “Legend,” saying, “We can only look in front of us.” Although the latest song was performed only once at the summer tour final and has yet to be released as a sound source, the intro drew cheers and the tingling tension of the high-speed rap led to the slow and slow development of the emotional vocals. It’s satisfying enough. During the long interlude, they showed off their dance moves, and the nine members worked together as one to create an “attractive” number. Furthermore, when Tsuyoshi Furukawa hits “Omiya, Are you ready?” on the early song “BAD BOY”, which is perfect for Ryuzaki High School, where rough-and-tumble people gather, the blue light of the light stick in the audience is Rollin, just as the lyrics say. ‘. Even in “Tap tap tap!,” which just flowed in, the song caught the attention of the audience with its light yet powerful steps, and Hioma Ikeda put a lot of energy into the lyrics of “just going my own way.” “Are you ready to wave your towel around?” (Furukawa) encouraged BLUE to sing “Don’t let go of that hand” as they waved their towels and penlights during “Reach the Sky.” At the end, everyone threw in the towel, and Furukawa shouted, “Thank you for the 9th anniversary!” By the way, all of the songs in this last block, except for “BAD BOY”, were produced and written by the members themselves. Their ability to reflect their thoughts so strongly in their music is probably their most remarkable evolution in the nine years since their formation.
In response to enthusiastic voices calling for an encore, the members suddenly appeared in the audience seats on the first and second floors for “Younger Forevermore.” On the monitor, real-time footage and lyrics handwritten by the members are displayed, conveying the message of “don’t try too hard, don’t push yourself too hard” along with the clap. After Jean Kaito said, “This was a special and great live that we could share time with everyone, and one that only happens once a year,” an emergency announcement was made. It was announced that “Ryusaki High School Mobile Classroom – Sendai Edition” will be held at SENDAI GIGS on December 15th as the last one-man show in 2024, and “Ryusaki High School – School Trip Edition” will be held in 2025. , the hall was filled with voices of joy. By the way, regarding the latter, “I haven’t really decided where I’m going,” so please check out future information.
Here, each person confessed their feelings one by one regarding the 9th anniversary. Raku Shibasaki simply said, “With BLUE, we’re the strongest, so please continue to support us!” Raku Shibasaki said, “I love you,” with a big heart, and Sogo Ito looked back on the past nine years and said, “I feel like it’s been a long time.” I feel like it was a while,” and continued, “I hope we can all spend our time together so that we can be even happier in the future.” Kazuya Matsumura made his own declaration, saying, “I’m glad I didn’t give up or give up until now.I will continue to think about everyone first and do things with super selfishness.” Hioma Ikeda also said, “We’re not satisfied with where we are at this point, and I hope we can move forward together with you all on a bigger stage and towards bigger goals,” and Hayashi Iijima said, “From now on, the story of us and BLUE will continue.” This will continue, so let’s all walk together.” Koki Tanaka, who played around with his own hairstyle after receiving short red hair for the first time, said, “I feel like I’ve grown up,” and was enthusiastic, “I want to continue doing this with the nine of us,” while Tsuyoshi Furukawa also said, “There are so many different things.” We’re very particular about things, but what we’re most particular about is that we can do it as a group of nine people.” “I’m really happy that these nine people were able to celebrate this day, and I want to embrace this miracle as we move forward into our 10th year and beyond,” he said, bowing his head and drawing applause. Jean Kaito said, “I think it’s amazing that we’ve been able to make it through without a single one out of the nine members, but it’s no exaggeration to say that I was also born to make these eight people laugh.I’m more involved behind the scenes than on stage. BLUE is making everyone laugh,” he said, surprising BLUE, and declared, “I want to do my best with everyone here in BLUE and my favorite members.” At the end, Reo Shimura said, “From now on, I’ll probably continue to be bullied by these cheeky younger brothers…” and with a bitter smile, “I’m sure that we’ll continue to make more and more memories together, and that this moment will be the best.” I want to create something that I can say.”
Furukawa said, “I would be happy if you would never let go of my hand.I would like to sing this song for the last time.It is a song of bonds!” (Furukawa) “BROTHERHOOD” was released on the 1st album. Holding the shoulders of his vocal partner Ikeda, Furukawa changed the lyrics “Because I had friends” to “Because BLUE was there!” and the two sang the chorus “Oh Take My Hand” and “Kono Hand”. “I want you to win”, expressing his feelings towards BLUE. Then, after the dancers moved around Jean and Tanaka’s beatboxing, BLUE sang in chorus at the command of “Sing!”. At the end, the 9th anniversary live came to a close with all nine members forming a circle and sticking their arms out toward the center, a moving scene that represents the ultimate sense of unity.
SUPER★DRAGON, who have cherished the number “9”, made their major debut in the 9th year, and now they have safely celebrated their 9th anniversary. The stage commemorating this event had more meaning than just an anniversary event, and served as the foundation for their path to the future. The entertainment provided by the nine members who continue to give back all of their experiences to music and the stage will become even more diverse, and the messages contained therein will become even more solid, making their 10th year even brighter.
Interview and text: Shigeko Kiyoshi Photos: Shigeo Kosaka
SUPER★DRAGON major 2nd single “Downforce”
Released on Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Regular edition (CD ONLY)
PCCA-06333 ¥1,500 (tax included)
M1 Downforce
M2 Sweets
M3 Younger Forevermore
Enclosed bonus: 1 trading card included (1 type of set, 9 types of member solo, total 10 types)
First limited edition A (CD+Blu-ray)
PCCA-06331 ¥3,630 (tax included)
M1 Downforce
M2 Sweets
Blu-ray contents:
SUPER★DRAGON DRA FES 2023[Part 2]8th Anniversary LIVE
・BIG DIPPER / feat.UDANJI ICHIKAWA
・ZEN-SHIN-ZEN-REI
・Ooh! Ooh!
・Honey Baby
・SAWAGE!!!!
・Bad Day
Enclosed bonus: 1 trading card included (1 type of set, 9 types of member solo, total 10 types)
First limited edition B (CD+Blu-ray)
PCCA-06332 ¥3,630 (tax included)
M1 Downforce
M2 Sweets
First time B
Blu-ray contents:
SUPER★DRAGON DRA FES 2023[Part 2]8th Anniversary LIVE
・WILD BEAT
・HACK MY CHOICE
・Aim So High
・GETSUYOUBI
・ARIGATO
・Bad Bitter Honey
Enclosed bonus: 1 trading card included (1 type of set, 9 types of member solo, total 10 types)
Artist information
Official website:https://super-dragon.jp/
Official X:https://twitter.com/supdra_staff
Official Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/superdragon_official/
Official TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@superdragon_official
Official YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFoHBqKJImJjw_ouoE6kGVg
SUPER★DRAGON Profile
A nine-member evolutionary mixture unit consisting of Reo Shimura, Tsuyoshi Furukawa, Jean Kaito, Hayao Iijima, Sogo Ito, Kouki Tanaka, Hioma Ikeda, Kazuya Matsumura, and Raku Shibasaki. Commonly known as “Supadora”. The mix-style song combines rap, dance, and human beatboxing by the members, the rapidly changing formation dance of the nine members, and the catchy choreography that makes you want to dance along.
