GACKT Official blog update. Translation below:

Arrived in KL.
The environment around the airport looks like a jungle at a glance.
A vast expanse of green spreads on one side.
For some reason, I feel at ease when I see this.
I wonder what’s with this sense of relief.
It’s strange.

Maybe the climate makes me feel this way.
Or maybe it’s the country’s atmosphere.
I’ll always say aloud, ‘I’ve finally arrived!’.
I suppose I like it, this country’s unique energy.

I had a meal with my KL staff, partner,
and my little bros who came from Japan on the same day.
We came up with all kinds of ideas
while talking about work until it was around 12 midnight.

From there, we went home and practiced poker together.
Everyone around me now plays poker.
When the businessmen gather we’ll almost definitely
practice together.

It’s so that we’ll generate results
at the next tournament that we all join together.

That said,
the program I produced was broadcast the other day.
It was a poker special on AbemaTV, 【Heads Up Poker】.
This has
hit up quite the View numbers.
Before this, I said to CEO Fujita-kun,
『I’ll create something very interesting』
promising him that,
and I didn’t want to betray his expectations so
I’m a little relieved that I could fulfill my promise.

Apparently, if there were 100,000 viewers, it would be called a huge hit but
this time, it seems that there were 450,000 people who watched it.
While thinking about 『How do we let others understand the joys of poker?』,
we kept in mind
that we were creating something that will be easy to grasp for beginners.

There are all kinds of poker programs around the world.
Though, most of those programs
are interesting players who are already accustomed to it,
while for people who have never played the game before
and beginners, the game’s speed is too fast
and it doesn’t reach the point where they can understand what’s fun about it.

There is still
room to grow in Japan’s market,
so to allow more people to understand the joys and delights of it,
I tried creating this program.

The origin of this idea
was something that we thought of when we were practicing poker in KL.
In my home in KL,
I was commentating at the side while my friends were playing.
Just then,
one of my friends who were there with us said

『Ah〜, I see…』

and I saw him nodding,
and I thought, this might be doable… which was where it started.
Then,
we first had to make a sample of it,
so to create a presentation video on our own,
we set up a few cameras around the table
then started to film, edit, and check numerous times.

Then,
when the plan kicked off,
to make sure that it wouldn’t get subjected to the antipathy of poker players who might think
『What the hell is GACKT talking about when he doesn’t know anything about poker?』,
I decided to take part in various tournaments around the world.
First, I had to create decent results,
because I want them to understand that I’m taking this seriously.

While delivering results in different tournaments bit by bit,
along with my intentions of wanting to learn more and more about poker,
I was able to receive the support
of many Japanese professional poker players.

I’m thankful for it.

When you step into another person’s domain,
there are many things that you have to be careful about.
There are also many more things that they can be sensitive about than you’d know.

It’s easy to make enemies but
winning someone over needs courtesy and effort,
and these attitudes are required.

If they think that you’re half-hearted, you will not be accepted.
That’s why you have to give your best and do your homework.
Be respectful and learn lots from them.

Well,
it’s the same in all industries.
Newcomers can be easily misunderstood,
it’s easy for them to make enemies too,
and they would often get crushed.

With this time’s program,
if even if just a few more people come to like poker,
and it becomes more and more popular in Japan,
then I’ll be able to repay those who have shown me understanding a little.

From a global perspective, it could be that they think that Japan isn’t there yet.
However, there are a lot of excellent players.
I sincerely hope that Japanese poker players who are capable of
standing among the world’s top players will appear more from here on.

Everyone, do your best!

Source: GACKT Blog

Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team

Translation © GACKT ITALIA