INTERVISTE/ARTICOLI

DWANGO.JP: GACKT on Nico Visual

GACKT Appears Again on NicoLive's『Nico Visual』! Ikebukuro in a Wave of Excitement

On March 15, ahead of the start of GACKT’s first 「VISUALIVE」 concept tour in 7 years which starts on March 19, the special edition of NicoLive’s regular V-Kei program 「Nico Visual」, 『GACKT WORLD TOUR 2016 LAST VISUALIVE Saigo no Tsuki -LAST MOON-supported by Nestlé Pre-Opening Day Special! 』 was broadcasred from the Nico-Bukuro Studio in Ikebukuro.

On that day, from 5 p.m., 2012 and 2015’s chapter 1 and 2 of the GACKT all-produce stage play 『MOON SAGA-Yoshitsune Hiden-』 was also broadcasted. It is the origin of this present tour concept.
Before 9:30 p.m., the pre-announced time of GACKT’s live appearance, the area around the Nico-Bukuro studio had a snaking queue of fans who wanted to catch a glimpse of GACKT. It was also screened on P’PARCO’s large wall TV, and the street pedestrians stopped in their tracks as they gazed upon GACKT’s emergence. On schedule at 9:30 p.m., with MC Hoshino Takuya’s announcement, GACKT appears amidst the fans’ cheering through the windows. He smiled and waved to the enthusiastic fans.

GACKT brought up the topic of the “Graduation Ceremony surprise lives” which he has been doing for the past 10 years based on his own proposal and decision, and said that while he is definitely glad to be able to bring joy to the graduating students, the first ones to come running to the front are the fathers, he laughed. Furthermore, right before he steps in for the surprise, some of the mothers realised and when they exclaim to their husbands “Hubby it’s GACKT!”, he thought that the surprise would be ruined but, the fathers coldly dismissed them saying “What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? There’s no reason for GACKT to be here right”, and without the surprise getting uncovered, they could relax and carry out the program.

The talk continued on with his first concept tour in 7 years, the『GACKT WORLD TOUR 2016 LAST VISUALIVE Saigo no Tsuki -LAST MOON-supported by Nestlé 』, and GACKT, who heard about the enthusiasm, remarked「It’s a 99％ chance that we won’t make it in time. What should we do? Is it alright to be behind schedule by 4 days?」. He astonished Hoshino (MC), and shared the reason behind it.「Even though we’re this busy, we were filming for a PV until this morning 5 a.m.. And now it’s the NicoLive right? What am I doing here!?」he said, making Hoshino feel regretful. Following that, he shared the best parts of the live rehearsals in photos, which bloomed into a talk. In addition, with regards to this「VISUALIVE」including the word ”LAST” in its tour title, he said「A VISUALIVE is exceptionally tough. Through VISUAL＋ALIVE＋LIVE it tells a story, and to convey that story all the key elements of video and stage performance, plays and musicals, dance performances, and rock are combined into a live that develops on stage. When I did the previous time’s “Requiem et Reminiscence II ”, I kept on thinking to myself that after such a long time of being in pursuit of the “VISUALIVE”, it has finally taken shape. And for this tour it’s been 7 years since then. If the next one takes another 7 years I’ll be 50. Impossible, impossible. Everyone would probably be dying」he ended with a laugh. But he added on「In any case I’ll think about it after finishing this」.

Next is for GACKT to pick “words he wants to say” from users’ comments, leading to an event which left fans drooling; a “glass-don”, instead of a “kabe-don”, to the fans who were there watching through the glass wall facing the camera, and when he whispered sweetly「I’m sleepy, will you lend me your lap?」, together with the screams of the fans at the filming growing louder, even the users watching the stream broke out in a huge frenzy commenting「Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa」or「I’ll lend you mine! I’ll lend you mine!」.

Talking about the PV shoot which lasted until the morning of the day of the NicoLive broadcast, he said「When considering Zipangu Rock, I think that it’s this cool. It’s really cool. I tried doing it in a way that combines rock, Japanese influences, and dance and, it’s dangerous」, reflecting his confidence, increasing the anticipation for its release. Also, with regards to the tour which starts on the 19th,「You’ll really cry. Use waterproof makeup」he said, promising a touching live.

Lastly is「Nico Visual」’s famous「Visua-lympic」. It’s a challenge to answer as many questions from the users as possible in 1 minute. GACKT said「I’m the worst at that」but, by waving his hand, throwing kisses, and doing impersonations in a variety of gestures, he responded to 24 questions, and drew cheers from users.

Closing off the program, GACKT delivered a message, saying「Basically the world I created is really maniacal. But the fact that there are still many people waiting for it makes me feel really thankful. This time as well, it’s an exceptionally maniacal world. But what I want to convey is still the same. I’m interested in how it makes people feel too, so I’m looking forward to it. I think that I can deliver a wonderful work that makes one feel “I’m glad to be alive”, and it will be a stage that strongly moves your heart and makes you fraught with emotion after it ends so, please do look forward to it」.

For those who unfortunately missed the program, and for those who want to watch GACKT’s “glass-don” which made fans erupt in screams again, the program is available for viewing again via timeshift.

Source: DWANGO.JP

Translation: GACKT Italia
Translation © GACKT Italia

by Sara