“BATTLE OF TOKYO” is a comprehensive entertainment project launched by LDH, featuring artists of the Jr.EXILE generation. Since the launch live “BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~” held in July 2019, this project has expanded its worldview while unfolding various battles, and this summer it kicked off with “BATTLE OF TOKYO ~Jr.EXILE vs NEO EXILE~”. In addition to the four Jr.EXILE generation groups THE RAMPAGE, FANTASTICS, BALLISTIK BOYZ, and PSYCHIC FEVER, this “BOT Live” will feature LIL LEAGUE, KID PHENOMENON, THE JET BOY BANGERZ, and WOLF HOWL HARMONY from the NEO EXILE generation, who were born from the LDH-sponsored audition “iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~”. Ahead of the “2nd ROUND” to be held at Kyocera Dome Osaka on August 31st and September 1st, we will bring you coverage of the “1st ROUND” held at Saitama Super Arena on August 10th, 11th, and 12th.
The story of “BATTLE OF TOKYO” is set in “Super Tokyo” – a futuristic city in a different dimension from the present world we live in, which was hit by the global storm “IUS” but made a miraculous recovery with cutting-edge cloning technology, commonly known as “Copy”. In this world, four teams, the elusive phantom thieves MAD JESTERS (≠ GENERATIONS), the unrivaled bodyguard organization ROWDY SHOGUN (≠ THE RAMPAGE), the shape-shifting illusion group Astro9 (≠ FANTASTICS), and the wild and outlaw hacker team JIGGY BOYS (≠ BALLISTIK BOYZ), are fighting using “skills (supernatural abilities)” to solve the mystery hidden in the “Final Fact”. However, as they fight each other many times, they come to sympathize with each other’s roots and way of life. Furthermore, they find out that their common enemy is the security organization “Blue Shield”, and before they know it, they are fighting together. In the latest volume of the original novel, “BATTLE OF TOKYO vol.5” (written by Tsukishima Soki), it is revealed that the shadowy arms dealer DUNG BEAT POSSE (≠ PSYCHIC FEVER) is a villain who has teamed up with Blue Shield, and the first chapter comes to an end when MAD JESTERS’ commander Sherlock (≠ Katayose Ryota) disappears into the other dimensions.
However, this year, the story of the “multiverse” has taken a step forward to a new door. Sherlock has given them a mission to “save the dying ‘Super Tokyo’ by resonating and working together with new possibilities (NEO EXILE) and creating chaos,” and the characters of “Super Tokyo” have appeared in the “multi-present,” a place that holds all possibilities. They skillfully manipulate their two faces – their appearance as a person living in “Super Tokyo” and their appearance as an artist in the “real world.”
A little after the scheduled time, the first to appear on the main stage were the four groups of NEO EXILE, who were chosen as Jr.EXILE’s battle opponents as the key to opening up the future. The four groups of Jr.EXILE immediately appeared on the outer stage surrounding the arena seats, and with a shout from Kawamura Kazuma (THE RAMPAGE) of “Bring it on, NEO EXILE,” the “Great Battle Festival” began. As if to face off against the provocation from their senior, Iwaki Sena (LIL LEAGUE) led the opening song “24WORLD/NEO EXILE ver.” The songs that Jr.EXILE has been promoting as the opening of BOT Live up to now will be repainted with new faces and compositions. The first song that Jr.EXILE delivered was the latest song in the “24karats series” that has been inherited from EXILE, “24karats -type Jr.EX-“. This was also a collaboration unique to the BATTLE OF TOKYO live, with choreography created jointly by Sekai (FANTASTICS) and Shogo Yamamoto (THE RAMPAGE), and rap parts by members of BALLISTIK BOYZ and PSYCHIC FEVER. When the members of each group posed together at the end of the song, a particularly loud cheer went up.
From here, we entered the block of the compilation album “BATTLE OF TOKYO Jr.EXILE vs NEO EXILE” released in August this year. THE RAMPAGE vs THE JET BOY BANGERZ, who were the first to perform the cross-generational collaboration battle, started with a glare between Kawamura and Yuhi Uhara (THE JET BOY BANGERZ) and moved on to “Goodest Baddest”. Not only did THE RAMPAGE, who are now in a position to lead Jr.EXILE, have the presence of a champion, but the energetic three vocalists Uhara, Eiron, and Kota Ishikawa, and THE JET BOY BANGERZ, which is made up of professional dancers from D.LEAGUE, also boldly challenged the dance battle, creating a frenzy early on with a powerful group dance by a total of 26 people. PSYCHIC FEVER vs WOLF HOWL HARMONY performed “YIN YANG” with each group taking on the role of “yin” and “yang”. It is heart-warming to see the elite but small group WOLF HOWL HARMONY defeat the high-spec group PSYCHIC FEVER, the most powerful villains in “Super Tokyo,” with their dazzling light.
There was also a battle between two groups that greatly changed the history of EXILE TRIBE: BALLISTIK BOYZ, the first 7-mic group of EXILE TRIBE, and LIL LEAGUE, who won the grand prize at “iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~” and made their debut. BALLISTIK BOYZ, who once participated in “BATTLE OF TOKYO ~ENTER THE Jr.EXILE~” as “slightly cheeky big newcomers”, became the senior group and sang and danced to “Icy Fire” with the “reliable new stars”, and many audience members must have felt the history of “BATTLE OF TOKYO”. The final act in this block was FANTASTICS vs. KID PHENOMENON, who are known for their particularly flashy staging among each generation. “TurquoiseSun & PinkPurpleMoon” shows the relationship between FANTASTICS, who charm the audience with their refreshing smiles, and the mischievous KID PHENOMENON, who wants attention from his seniors. The song livened up the venue with an expressive microphone relay and a humorous fighting game-style dance part.
In addition to the participation of NEO EXILE, this BOT Live also had many new attempts. One of them was acting. There have been past performances that incorporated acting, but this year, a full-scale acting part was added, incorporating elaborate stage sets and sword fighting. This kind of attractiveness is possible because many of the Jr.EXILE members are expanding their field of activities as actors. When the LED monitor in the center of the venue showed the animation of JIGGY BOYS hacking the Blue Shield system, the next moment, live-action JIGGY BOYS (≠ BALLISTIK BOYZ) appeared on the main stage in the same poses as in the animation. As if to recreate the animated music video for “VIVA LA EVOLUCION,” an arcade game cabinet was used for the performance, and the seven members performed a dialogue just like they would on stage. With the lines “You can’t change the past, but you can change the future,” and “That’s us, JIGGY BOYS,” by Future (≠ Fukahori Mirai) and Skit (≠ Sunada Masahiro) signaling their intentions, the group instantly took the audience to “Super Tokyo.” The same was true for the parts of Astro9 (≠ FANTASTICS), DUNG BEAT POSSE (≠ PSYCHIC FEVER), and ROWDY SHOGUN (≠ THE RAMPAGE). The world of “BATTLE OF TOKYO” is expanded with scenes that will delight fans of the original novel, such as the catchphrase of Astro9’s (≠ FANTASTICS) chef Hajime (≠ Sawamoto Natsuki), a hug between Cain (≠ Kimura Keito) and Kagura (≠ Seguchi Reiya), and a scene where Goemon (≠ Jin) from ROWDY SHOGUN (≠ THE RAMPAGE) and Force (≠ sword) from DUNG BEAT POSSE (≠ PSYCHIC FEVER) cross swords.
The second new attempt was a vocal dream stage. Performer battles have become a staple of BATTLE OF TOKYO live shows, but this was the first time they performed a vocal collaboration stage. As if to blow a fresh breeze into the still-heated venue, Nakajima Sota (FANTASTICS) and HIROTO (WOLF HOWL HARMONY), who has been a big fan of Nakajima since before his debut, delivered “MY WAY,” a song created with the theme of “the wonder of chasing dreams.” HIROTO, who had once admired artists but now has his own image of himself as an artist, and Nakajima, who is working hard to deliver his singing voice to as many people as possible, spread throughout the venue as a refreshing harmony. Next came the dope “BOW WOW WOW” by the three charismatic aura-filled members Kawamura Kazuma (THE RAMPAGE), Matsui Toshiki (BALLISTIK BOYZ), and Konatsushi (PSYCHIC FEVER). MA55IVE, a hip-hop unit formed by performers of THE RAMPAGE (LIKIYA, Urakawa Shohei, Suzuki Takahide, Yamamoto Shogo, Kamiya Kenta), and SUZUKI & RYOJI (WOLF HOWL HARMONY) performed “W”. In addition to the punchy rap parts by LIKIYA, Yamamoto Shogo, and Suzuki Takahide, Urakawa & Kamiya also performed a relaxed vocal with SUZUKI & RYOJI, showing the ever-evolving way of life of Jr.EXILE. RIKU (THE RAMPAGE) and Uhara, who have a strong stoic impression, sang the magnificent ballad “I Sing”, which RIKU said “is a song that contains what we value as singers”. Yoshino Hokuto (THE RAMPAGE) and Yagi Yusei (FANTASTICS), who have been gaining attention in recent years as actors, sang the seemingly particularly difficult song “Believe” with confidence, spreading emotion and happiness throughout the audience.
And then the performer battle began. This block was also different from the previous battle format, being a team battle. TEAM “SOUL STEPPER’S” (Shogo Iwatani, Urakawa, Daiki Sato, Ryuta Hidaka, Ken, NOSUKE, Taki Koshima, Akira Sato), TEAM “NAKAME SWAG” (LIKIYA, Takahide Suzuki, Ryu, Natsuki Hori, JIMMY, Tatsuomi Handa, Kodai Yamada, Shintaro Okao, Shunnosuke Sato, Souma Kawaguchi), TEAM “NIGHT” (Kamiya, Itsuki Fujiwara, Kimura, Yoshimasa Kano, Sunada, Ren Watanabe, Iwaki, Ryudai Nakamura, Tsubasa Endo, Kota Yamamoto, Aoi Nakamura), TEAM “DOPENESS” (Kaisei Takechi, Shin Hasegawa, Takuma Goto, Seguchi, Matsui, WEESA, Kohaku Okao, Rui Suzuki), TEAM “RHYTHM Six groups participated: TEAM “WAVE” (Jin, Yonamine Rui, Fukahori, Konatsu, Tanaka Akira, Kuwabara Takumitsu, Sato Sotora), TEAM “F.dom” (Yamamoto Shogo, Sekai, Sawamoto, Kainuma Ryusei, Okuda Rikiya, Nakanishi Ryoga, Momota Junma, Nanba Aozora, Omatsu Kensuke). By the way, for example, TEAM “DOPENESS” is good at clamping and hip hop, and TEAM “RHYTHM WAVE” is good at pop and breaking, so members who are good at similar dance genres and styles gathered together. They created original stages using props and played with the audience with sexy movements, and competed to appeal to each other by making the most of their strengths. The direct confrontation between D-Leaguer and NEO EXILE representative Kuwabara and Jr.EXILE’s proud dance prodigy Sekai, which was held in the title of the final battle, can be said to be a major highlight of this performance.
It’s been about two hours so far. After the performers’ heated stage, GHEE (WOLF HOWL HARMONY) cut through the silence with his heartfelt rap, and before we knew it, the live show was drawing to an end. As if lured by GHEE’s voice, the four NEO EXILE groups captured the hearts of the audience with original songs that highlighted their respective colors. However, the souls that reside in their bodies are the same, whether it’s Jr.EXILE, who reigns as the face of “BATTLE OF TOKYO”, or NEO EXILE, who holds new possibilities. Kawamura, who collaborated with THE JET BOY BANGERZ on “No Limit” titled “EXILE RESPECT”, shouted with a confident look, “This is EXILE TRIBE!” In addition, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of EXILE’s debut in 2021, songs from the tribute single “EXILE TRIBUTE” released by Jr.EXILE will continue, while PSYCHIC FEVER, who had not yet debuted at the time of the release, will debut “WON’T BE LONG” with WOLF HOWL HARMONY. Other groups will also update EXILE’s songs with arrangements unique to this combination, and “jointly fight”. The annual Jr.EXILE popular song medley also had Fujiwara and Yamamoto Kota making a heart shape with their hands together during PSYCHIC FEVER’s “BAKUBAKU,” Kimura and Iwatani doing push-ups to BALLISTIK BOYZ’s “PASION,” Uminuma, Sato Taiki (FANTASTICS), Kawaguchi, and Ryu dancing close together to PSYCHIC FEVER’s “Just Like Dat feat. JP THE WAVY,” and the oldest member Sekai (FANTASTICS) and the youngest member Namba waving towels together during FANTASTICS’ “CANNONBALL,” making it possible to feel the bond that transcends the boundaries of groups and teams. With Yoshino encouraging the “BOT call” filling the air, the scene truly felt like a “festival.”
During the final MC time, under Kawamura’s MC, several members of each group shared their thoughts on the live. On the final day of the 3-day event, at the beginning of the BALLISTIK BOYZ vs LIL LEAGUE battle song “Icy Fire,” Sunada, who was acting as if he was grabbing Ryudai Nakamura, called out, “Tacchan, we’re really good friends, aren’t we?” Ryudai Nakamura replied, “It was different from the rehearsal, so I was a little scared… (laughs),” revealing his true feelings and drawing laughter. While showing his true colors as a junior, Iwaki, the leader of LIL LEAGUE, spoke on behalf of NEO EXILE, saying sincerely, “The fact that we, a new group, were able to participate in the “BATTLE OF TOKYO” that our seniors have spun is due to the kindness of our senior groups, and the kindness of the fans who support those senior groups, is what made this possible. Thank you very much, everyone.” This caused a huge applause from the audience. Then, the Jr. EXILE members unanimously encouraged the audience and moved on to the last number, “24 WORLD / Jr. EXILE ver.” A total of 65 members performed the BOT Live anthem with all their might, and gold streamers flew into the air in celebration of the opening of a new chapter of “BATTLE OF TOKYO.”
After the show, some good news was announced. Since the character voices (voice actors) were announced at the BOT Live in 2022, the anime adaptation of “BATTLE OF TOKYO” has been moving under the surface, but it is finally starting in earnest. What kind of story will unfold in the anime? We can’t take our eyes off the development of this “new chapter.”
▼Music Video
[Goodest Baddest / THE RAMPAGE vs THE JET BOY BANGERZ Music Video]
[TurquoiseSun & PinkPurpleMoon / FANTASTICS vs KID PHENOMENON Music Video]
[Icy Fire / BALLISTIK BOYZ vs LIL LEAGUE Music Video]
[YIN YANG / PSYCHIC FEVER vs WOLF HOWL HARMONY Music Video]
▼Live information
“BATTLE OF TOKYO ~Jr. EXILE vs NEO EXILE~”
■Schedule
1st ROUND
Saturday, August 10, 2024 – Monday, August 12, 2024
Saitama Super Arena
2nd ROUND
Saturday, August 31, 2024 – Sunday, September 1, 2024
Kyocera Dome
■Tickets
[ticketbook]https://x.gd/Pvujdv
[Lawson Ticket]https://l-tike.com/concert/mevent/?mid=693128
[More details here]https://www.ldh-liveschedule.jp/sys/tour/28647/
▼Release information
Release date: Wednesday, August 7, 2024!!
New Album
“BATTLE OF TOKYO Jr.EXILE vs NEO EXILE”
■ Tracklist
1. Goodest Baddest / THE RAMPAGE vs THE JET BOY BANGERZ
2. TurquoiseSun & PinkPurpleMoon / FANTASTICS vs KID PHENOMENON
3. Icy Fire / BALLISTIK BOYZ vs LIL LEAGUE
4. YIN YANG / PSYCHIC FEVER vs WOLF HOWL HARMONY
5. 24karats -type Jr.EX- / Jr.EXILE
6. 24WORLD / NEO EXILE
[Sales site]
https://rhythmzone.lnk.to/BOT_JrNEO_CD
[More details here]
https://m.tribe-m.jp/news/detail?news_id=48009
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