Number_i” tour starts… “I’ve never been to such a boring concert before” – Why a flood of complaints from fans?

A lot of harsh opinions on the first day of the tour

The concert tour of “Number_i,” a unit consisting of former King & Prince members Shiyou Hirano (28), Yuta Kishi (30), and Yuta Jinguji (27), started with performances in Hokkaido on October 11 and 12. After the performances on the first day, there was a string of negative feedback on SNS, leading to a bit of a flame war. Various factors seem to have been involved in the background.

Number_i released its second full-length album “No. II” on September 22. With this album, the band is scheduled to launch an arena tour “Number_i LIVE TOUR 2025 No.II” from October 11 to December 25, with a total of 25 shows in 8 cities across Japan.

This was supposed to be the long-awaited start of the tour for the iLYs (as Number_i fans call them), but after the Hokkaido show on the first day was over,

There was only the main stage, and the lights were so dark that I couldn’t see the three of us.

[Claire] The concert ended with no center stage and no backstage. Maybe this is the most boring concert I’ve ever seen.

There was a lot of smoke and the lasers were too strong, making it hard to see from the back. The sound was so muffled that it was hard to hear the singers’ voices.

I don’t need solos by the back-up dancers!　The band’s sound quality was so bad that the sound was all over the place. The monitors, which were our only hope, were hidden by the big speakers. The band member’s “I can see you in the back too! made me feel like a fool.

The sound quality was so bad that even the monitors, which were the only thing we could rely on, were hidden by the big speakers. According to a fan who attended the concert, this tour was performed live with a large band. Some fans complained about the acoustics, saying that the sound was “crackling” and “feedback” in some places, especially in the back of the venue.

In addition to the main stage, concerts organized by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s) have a backstage area (known as “bakuste”) at the rear of the arena, and the idols also move along the flower aisles connecting these stages, bringing them closer to the fans.

However, Number_i’s tour was held only on the main stage, and when the trolley went around the perimeter of the arena at the end of the tour, fans in the front rows of the stands were finally able to see the members up close,” said an entertainment writer.

(Entertainment writer) Due to this stage configuration, some complained that they could not see anything from the upper rows of the stands even when the trolley came, and others lamented that “the main show was only 90 minutes long. Critical comments about Number_i flooded social networking sites as soon as the tour started.

There are a certain number of Number_i fans who have long been hostile to the back-up dancers, and there have been many slanderous comments about the female dancers in particular. Since the current tour also had back-up dancers, people who were dissatisfied with the current Number_i system posted harsh comments after the performance.

Then, TOBE and Number_i’s antagonists spread these negative posts. I got the impression that the number of harsh comments about Number_i increased as they began to happily slam the group.

Fans felt perplexed by the “change.

Furthermore, regarding the no-no to the stage configuration, the aforementioned writer points out that “many fans were disappointed because they were expecting the concert style at the former office.

The writer pointed out, “Fans seated in the back of the venue would not have a chance to see the members up close if the concert was held only on the main stage, and they would have fewer chances to receive fan service. The “lighting is too dark,” which is probably because they “want to see the members’ faces,” he said.

In short, the current policies of Number_i and the ideals of some fans from the days of Kimpuri do not mesh, and this is why social networking sites have gone into a tizzy. However, after a few days, more and more people began to defend the show, saying that the show would last about two hours if encores were included, and positive comments began to spread, such as “The live performance was really too good,” and “It was good to see Number_i’s attention to sound everywhere. “The live performance was really too good,” and “It was good to see Number_i’s commitment to the sound everywhere.

Incidentally, in an interview published in the digital edition of “ELLE” (Hearst Fujingaho) on September 29, Jinguji, a member of Number_i, said about the tour, “We are thinking of a lot of completely different performances from the previous ones!　I expect it will be a bit of a surprise, but I think the iLYs who support us will be flexible and accept it, so I hope they will think, ‘That’s fun! I’d be happy if you think, ‘That’s fun!

By “a completely different performance,” the band and the stage configuration are assumed to be what he was referring to, but it is likely that the group themselves wanted their fans to enjoy this change as well.

Number_i is now shifting from the “royal idol” style of the Kimpuri era to a more “artist” style, and they may be approaching a period of transition to see if their fans can keep up with their new stance.