Group PassCode Official Artist Thread (11 Viewers)

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

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level 1
HAILSATANWORSHIPYUNA
Op ·
20h
🤟😈
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I was pretty stoked that DIVE INTO THE LIGHT got the multi-angle treatment just based on this little bit of the choreography alone. Bummer that Kaede's cameraperson lost her in the dark at just that moment, but it's still fun.

So yeah, my first copy of STRIVE for BUDOKAN got lost in the mail, but the second one finally got here. Since no one asked, here's a long, poorly edited series of thoughts.

The show: Still mostly in that pandemic era of shows. The audience is there, but not chanting and not jam-packed and crowd-surfing like in CLARITY Plus and earlier. I really hope that will be back by the time of their big Budokan show. On the bright side (literally), this show wasn't as dark as some of them have been, either due to more capable cameras, more actual light, or both. Additionally, my gut says that the editing is somewhat less jarring and hyperactive as well, which is always welcome!

Speaking of camera angles, how cool is the multi-cam feature? I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'd love to see a whole show done like that. It's possible, at least in theory! This show was just under 15GB on disc. Five different full-length videos to switch between at will would be around 75GB, well within the 100/128GB of a quad-layer Blu-ray disc. RIP to the cameraperson who has to keep up with Nao for over an hour, though...

Setlist: Solid, and great to see some of the new songs, but otherwise no real surprises here. It's an album support tour, so of course it leans heavily toward STRIVE songs (9 of 17), rounded out with four from CLARITY, two from ZENITH, and one each from VIRTUAL and the ATLAS single. No discography deep dives like Orange from STARRY TOUR or MOON PHASE from CLARITY Plus; ONE STEP BEYOND is the rarest, having not been played since Zepp Tour 2019.

Band: Great as always. Some Japanese groups, even for bandset shows, tend to de-emphasise the instrumentals in favor of the vocals, but you won't find that here. There's a great balance between the two. Check that funky bass on Yin-Yang.

Nao: She didn't seem to interject as much this time around. Very little "arigatō," "kakatte koi," "tobe tobe," and the like. Almost restrained, if "restrained Nao" is a thing? On the other hand, it's not like she left her A-game at home: check out her vocals in yours.

Kaede: Reliable as ever. You'd almost think she's an overlooked or underutilized member, but PassCode's sound would be so different without her particularly distinct vocal signature. Not to mention her rapping/scatting or her occasional C&R shouts with Yuna.

Yuna: Yuna might've been having an rough day. Her voice broke a few times early on, and she really appeared to be having trouble catching her breath throughout the show. To her credit, after her usual sabbatical during an MC, she was just on fire from then on. There were some points later on when her deep shouts drop down further, into that almost frightening demonic/animalistic growl-scream (check about halfway through STARRY SKY). Also, of course, she gets a boost from her co-members. Pats on the back and head from Nao, that delightful interaction between her and Hinako during Remnants of my youth, and a hug from Kaede at the end. Everyone's got Yuna's back.

Hinako: Her singing gets more impressive each show. At this point, it's almost a shame to have the vocoder effects going! If, $DEITY forbid, PassCode goes away someday, I don't think she'd have any trouble as a solo artist, or the lead singer of a pop-rock sort of band. And she still has all the time in the world, just turning 23 today.
5
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level 2
GhostFan29
·
14h
Yuna

I love how the all watch over and take care of Yuna. She is a treasure to be protected at all costs.
6
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level 3
IWantItNao
·
12h
👈 He wants it right Nao!

The amount of supportive affection between the girls is well-emphasized by the solo cams. The team chemistry is off the charts. Go PassCode Go!
5
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level 2
VivienneAldnoir
·
11h
Kaede

I absolutely love this bluray, it is on continous play in my house, don't know what it is exactly but it really is superior to the others to me.

A little note, that funky bass on Yin-Yang, if you mean that slapping in the beginning, is actually a guitar :D
5
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level 3
HAILSATANWORSHIPYUNA
Op ·
9h
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A little note, that funky bass on Yin-Yang, if you mean that slapping in the beginning, is actually a guitar :D

Well TIL, then.

I always get tripped up by effects pedals. There's a band I like (also from Osaka, coincidentally enough) that's just a guitarist and a drummer, but I'd never guess if I didn't know that going in.
2
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IWantItNao
·
16h
👈 He wants it right Nao!

What a coincidence my copy got here today too! Yuna poster and all 💙

This was a nice preview, as tonight I will dive into the light!
4
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level 2
Vin-Metal
·
24m
Hinako

Kaede is very steady and reliable which reminds me of an interview once where the interviewer described her as "not flashy." At first I was like, what? But I think I get that - from a performance standpoint.
1
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level 1
Nao-Metal
·
10h

The very obvious highlights would be the five songs that are new to Blu-ray and the three that have multiple cameras to watch from. I will say that this show had the most interactions between the members on stage that I have seen. Lots of moments where you can see two lock eyes for a moment and smile at each other or maybe one will put their hand on another. There's even parts where one of the girls is facing the drummer and you can see them smile at each other. It's the little moments that make each show standout to me. This one had many.

The multi-camera songs help to capture some of the little moments even more. You can see all of the energy Nao puts into each song. How she's all over the stage. Hinako looks the most calm to me. She makes the songs seem effortless. That's a compliment too. Kaede seems to connect the most with the audience. At one point she gives them a little wave. Lots of fist pumping and trying to get the audience into it. I never noticed before how Yuna almost always takes her right hand and covers her face while screaming. They usually primarily focus the camera on Yuna when she's screaming. I like that this gives us an opportunity to see her softer singing parts.

Surprisingly, yours is probably the new song that stands out the most to me. It gives us a chance to hear the girls without the vocal effect. It feels more raw and emotional. Anything New would be much better with fan interaction. If they could actually chant along. I see big potential from that one when things return to normal. Remnants of my youth had a great moment between Yuna and Hinako. Yin-Yang had some great dance choreography. Damn, is it short though. Spark Ignition is a pretty good opener. It can really ignite people. Lives up to its name.

I don't know if this is their best Blu-ray. I need some time with it. I enjoyed it more than STARRY Tour though. Not that that one was bad. I could have done without the video effects, STARRY SKY being performed twice and the audience seemed even more subdued than this one. Not a whole lot to complain about here.
6
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level 2
IWantItNao
·
10h
👈 He wants it right Nao!

Glad to see you've made it through the Minami-cam in one piece. It's hilarious to see the camera guy try and keep up with Nao ducking down and spinning around. I love when she whips her ponytail around. It reminds me a lot of her during the CLARITY Tour which is among my favourites. The lack of the rowdy chanting crowd will always be missed, especially given PassCode's high-intensity. However I agree that it's currently tied for top spot. These ladies just keep on getting better.
3
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level 3
Nao-Metal
·
9h

Yeah, Nao's camera guy had some difficulties at times keeping her in frame. It probably would have been a little easier if he wasn't so zoomed in all the time. I'm surprised he didn't throw in the towel. There's a lot of movement to track from one side of the stage to the other.
3
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HAILSATANWORSHIPYUNA
Op ·
6h
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There was one part where she threw her left arm out, then immediately her right. Both times, she successfully faked out the cameraperson in doing so. So she's standing still, and the frame goes flying away from her. Highly amusing.
2
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level 2
HAILSATANWORSHIPYUNA
Op ·
6h
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I will say that this show had the most interactions between the members on stage that I have seen.

I wonder how much of this is due to the stage being lit more often and shots lingering for more than six frames at a time. I went back and watched bits of a 2018 show and half the time you either could barely see anything, the editing was too fast, or a strobe light was imitating the latter by way of the former. Great atmosphere, very metal, but not very conducive to seeing what's going on!

The multi-camera songs help to capture some of the little moments even more.

Nao is really funny to watch when she's in the background or otherwise not in focus. Some people's neutral face is referred to as "resting bitch face", but she just makes goofy faces.

I liked Kaede habitual amping of an unampable crowd. Like, are you trying to get those poor people kicked out? They're only allowed so much excitement!

Yuna does the hand to her face thing a lot, but sometimes during clean singing, too. I think one time I noticed it here was during yours, she was back to back with someone, and reached up and seemed to be holding her right monitor in. Might just be a habit, but I wonder what it's born out of.

Anything New would be much better with fan interaction.

As would they all. The fact that we're giving praise to a show performed before a quiet crowd (the chanting in songs like It's you was likely added in post) is a testament to how good of a show they're able to put on. It helps you, at least briefly, to forget how huge a part the crowd sometimes played in the past.

I did like all the new songs in a live setting. Even though I would've liked to see Stealth Haze, Majestic, and Shedding tears, maybe those are best left for when the world is back to normal and packed into Budokan.

I don't know if this is their best Blu-ray.

Probably not, but mostly because that would be asking a lot of the environment in which it was filmed. Like you say, time will tell, but it'll hopefully at least be the best pandemic-era Blu-ray.

If they can pull off a show like this but with CLARITY Plus levels of hype, it'll be a strong contender.
2
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level 3
Vin-Metal
·
20m
Hinako

I do think that they have cooled it a bit on the quick cuts for this show which did help with seeing more interactions.
1
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level 2
Vin-Metal
·
21m
Hinako

Good observation about the drummer - I liked that too. Though we'd only see his face, you could tell he was locking eyes/smiles with whoever happened to be standing there at the time. Team PassCode!
1
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level 1
Vin-Metal
·
26m
Hinako

I've been waiting for a post like this to open up discussion on this Blu-Ray. I read yours and some of the other comments below and it was interesting to see the different takes on this show/disk. For me, Clarity Plus tour BD is still the best one because it was the band at the top of their game before a live and loud audience. Nao was at peak Nao, whipping the audience into a frenzy, must have shouted out something between every line of Seize the Day for example, and had some special moments with Yuna and Hinako in particular that gave it an emotional impact. In that show, Kaede and especially Hina both seemed more energized as far as working the crowd goes. The only downside to that show was Yuna's obvious lack of energy as it was reported she missed the show the night before due to illness. Though her face says "I'm dragging" through that show, she didn't seem to miss any obvious dance parts or singing parts. She is a trooper.

Discussion of favorite BD aside, I really liked this one a lot! The only way this could have been better is if the audience was allowed to yell and sing. I really think Nao needs that and even though she can certainly tell herself that they are being quiet due to the pandemic, when it gets down to how she feels, she probably senses something is off. And it is harder for her to get to her usual state of high energy antics. Certainly she was not shouting out to the audience like usual and we saw the same in the STARRY SKY live disk as well.

One thing I didn't see anyone mention below was their dancing. Maybe it was my imagination but I felt like their dancing as a unit was better than ever. I chalked that up to using the semi-hiatus to practice more. They are certainly not as tight as a Babymetal but supposedly they aren't going for that level of precision either. But I felt like they moved better together than what I usually see. The solo cams were very interesting as we don't normally get to see much of them when they aren't singing except in the background of whoever is singing. If the camera work wasn't so tight, we'd get a better look at their footwork. But I did notice some things such as how Hinako is so expressive while dancing. It's not just that she had a big, beaming smile but it wasn't a frozen smile. She seemed to be emoting a lot and looked genuinely happy to be out there performing. There was one spot during Spark Ignition where she takes this breath and it was the breath of someone who is generally really pleased and satisfied with what is happening. On the flip side, I found Nao to be surprisingly "blank-faced" while doing a lot of her moves and I didn't expect that. To me, this meant that she needed to concentrate whereas for Hinako, performing is more natural and I know she works hard at it too. When you work to the point that it becomes easy for you, you can relax and enjoy yourself or focus on the little things.

Yuna seemed to have good energy by recent standards. Certainly compared to the Clarity Plus show she did - more smiles, etc. But when I look at Yuna in clips from years ago like pre-2019, that Yuna looked a lot happier while performing. Don't know if there is still an ongoing health issue but all the other girls seemed to take extra care to support her which is wonderful. We had some warm moments between her and Hina and Kae but even at the end of the show, when they are linked together arm and arm, Nao reaches all the way over to Yuna to pat her on the back though they weren't next to each other. Yuna does seem to cover her ear/face a lot when screaming and I assume this is how she has figured out how to get the most out of her voice as posture is important.

I've only watched all four solo cams one time but will check them out more of course. Initially I started with Nao and then Kaede and my first thought was that Nao seems "bouncy" when she dances and Kae seems smooth by comparison. I think this is just Nao having that extra energy and putting in extra movements as a result whereas Kaede seems to shoot for a more graceful style. This gets to the letting the girls show their individual personalities in their dancing that I've read about.

I'm still not a fan of yours but Nao did sound a lot better than she did during that Christmas party thing in an apartment that they did. She's been working at it I'm sure. I did really like Anything New much more than the studio version. As one of you said, it should be even better when the crowd can chant again. Yin-Yang sounded great and I really thought that was a bass in the beginning so I learned something there. Some of the dance moves for this were cool like these arm moves they did toward the middle. The song feels like it ends so suddenly like it's only 2:00 long.

During one of the MCs, Kaede suddenly starts speaking in this goofy voice and then bends down toward the camera at the foot of the stage and does a little pose like she is getting her picture taken. Anyone know what that was about - I'm guessing she was being funny again. Speaking of MCs, loved how they introduced the band.

Someone mentioned lighting and I liked how it was lit. Not just brighter but it seemed like they had a blue theme going on and that highlighted the sparkle in their outfits better.

Anyway, I would love them to do an entire show one day with solo cams. That said, the solo cams should pan back a little more - let's see those dance moves better and also not lose the girls when they move around!

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

And I contributed to make her happy!

Translated from Japanese by Google

I'm 23 years old. I'm really happy with a lot of congratulations voices. Thank you ~~~

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]

 

[Michael]