Yu Shirota Declares Graduation From Love Redirecting All Energy To Work

If only I could use my love energy elsewhere.

In late October, around 3 p.m., Yu Shirota (38) emerged from the Shinkansen ticket gates at Tokyo’s Shinagawa Station.

Standing tall at 190 cm, he carried large bags slung over both shoulders and pulled a heavy suitcase. Despite wearing a cap pulled low over his face and a mask, his eye-catching cardigan made him stand out.

“Appearing as a guest on the talk variety show Talk Queens (Fuji TV) in February this year, Shirota revealed, ‘Since around 2020, I’ve developed the ability to view life from a bird’s-eye perspective. To put it simply, I’ve achieved enlightenment.’ He also sparked discussion by confessing, ‘I’ve essentially graduated from romance. I completely lost interest in the opposite sex,'” shared a TV magazine writer.

True to his words, this year has been exceptionally busy for him. Especially in the latter half, he has been active in music, releasing his original digital single Yume no Tane ~I’ll be by your side. On October 7, he held his first orchestral concert to commemorate his 25th anniversary in show business, titled Yu Shirota 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert featuring Naoya Iwaki in Tokyo. During a press session for the concert, when asked by reporters about the meaning behind his declaration of “graduating from romance,” he responded:

“I solemnly swear I haven’t been involved in anything like romance for three or four years.”
“If I could channel the energy and effort from romance into something else.”

In December, he will direct the Snoopy Christmas concert billboard classics × SNOOPY ‘Magical Christmas Night 2024’, scheduled to be held in three cities, including Tokyo. Furthermore, on the December 11 broadcast of the 2024 FNS Music Festival (Fuji TV), he is set to perform a number from the lead role he will play in the musical Dance of the Vampires, opening in May next year.

At present, it seems he is pouring all the energy he once dedicated to romance into his artistic endeavors.

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