Turn the Night [English]

長谷川嘉那’s birthday event was just over two weeks ago. It was the capstone to my 37 day stay in Japan. This event was the main reason I stayed in Japan for as long as I did. I wanted to attend the birthday event of my favorite idol and one of two people who made me love the world of idols. But before talking about the event itself I’ll start with the offkai.

It was very fun being with fellow 嘉那ちゃん fans. They’re a lovely bunch and having dinner and drinks with them was a delight. Bonding over a mutual appreciation for 嘉那ちゃん, and getting up to all sorts of shenanigans from silly group photos to impromptu karaoke segments was a blast! Having someone always pour me sake, versus me pouring it myself, was also a novel experience. There was much laughter and mirth had that evening. These few words do not do this event justice; it is a very precious memory to me.

Now for 嘉那ちゃん, the star of the show. 嘉那ちゃん always shines on stage. But that day had a particular focus on her. It was nice to see so much purple. I was also fortunate to get a fairly good spot, around third row. Seeing 嘉那ちゃん fly across the stage, dance her heart out, all while getting so much love and attention from the crowd? That made this event so much better than a usual one-man.

It was also cool to see JINKS, for the first time, because they have a lot of choreography that was done by 嘉那ちゃん. Plus, 嘉那ちゃん joined them for a couple of songs too! I will freely admit that I was exclusively watching 嘉那ちゃん when she was on stage during JINKS’ set w. I always enjoy NightOwl shows but I had a lot of fun at this one in particular, second only to 全梟会.

cheki time was also fun. At the pre-event session I sang happy birthday in three languages: English, French, and Hebrew. 嘉那ちゃん seemed to appreciate that fairly well, it led to a big smile! Great success!

The post-event session, which had 嘉那ちゃん wearing the excellent JINKS collaboration outfit, also had memorable moments. For the first cheki えぬさん rendered an irreplaceable service, entirely unprompted, as an interpreter once again. It was a fun little conversation where I was able to compliment 嘉那ちゃん on how she uses her outfits. I am very thankful for えぬさん’s assistance, because until I learn enough Japanese, such instances are the only time I can truly “talk” with idols.

To briefly explain what I mentioned about the utilization of outfits… If you observe 嘉那ちゃん keenly, which I recommend doing as her dancing is second to none, one can notice that her movements slightly change depending on the outfit being worn. To borrow an English idiom, 嘉那ちゃん does not strictly stick to the script when it comes to choreography, but can make tweaks if appropriate. A good example of this contrast is the current NightOwl outfit compared to the third outfit. When wearing the third outfit, 嘉那ちゃん’s arm movements are sometimes exaggerated to shift the jacket around. In comparison, while wearing the current outfit there are vertical movements which take advantage of the chain attached to the collar.

For the second cheki, I showed 嘉那ちゃん a picture from my hometown, an area covered in snow. 嘉那ちゃん’s eyes went wide as saucers as she exclaimed “Yuki!” [translation: snow]. That moment was extremely cute and endearing, I wish it was recorded! 嘉那ちゃん also thought the scene was pretty. That scenery is pretty, so long as you don’t have to live in it!

This was one of my three favorite events of my entire trip. I hope 嘉那ちゃん enjoyed it as much as us crazy fans did.

If my future plans work out, I hope to see everyone again in April at LIQUIDROOM!

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この記事の日本語訳はこちら： https://note.com/lavo_2/n/nb9657801acb4