The project that kept the duo King & Prince busy from early autumn of last year until late winter of this new year 2025, included as a celebration of their latest studio album ‘Re:Era a tour that has taken the two artists, Kaito Takahashi and Ren Nagase, around Japan (including 9 cities) and has included 25 live shows, started on October 26th at the LalaArena TOKYO-BAY and ended on February 16th at the Hokkai Kitayell.
Of course, Dumpling Box couldn’t miss this new tour of our favourite duo and was able to attend the show that the two guys had last January 25th in Osaka! so we could share with you all the magic that they transmit through their hard and constant work.
Stay with us, because below these lines you will discover everything that happened during the concert!
New styles and experimental scenarios are making their way into the duo’s musical career
Although the show was set to start at 18:00 pm in the evening, as usual, the entrance of the Asue Arena in Osaka was already crowded with fans hours before. Photos of the multiple decorations referring to the new world created by Kaito Takahashi for this tour were repeated incessantly on different mobile phones at the same time. The smiles on the faces of the attendees denoted the excitement and eagerness of the fans to meet their favourite artists once again at the aforementioned venue.
Finally, when the arena doors opened to welcome that evening’s visitors, probably no one who had not attended a King & Prince concert before was prepared for what awaited them that evening, on a vast stage decorated with galactic motifs and shooting stars streaking across the fictitious sky at intervals.
A few minutes after the audience started chanting the duo’s name, the guys opened the show with “Love Hacker“, one of the most popular songs from their new concept album; full of rhythm changes and hints of techno music, a perfect song totally in tune with the mood of the audience. The first block of the concert then began. Followed by “WOW“, the main theme of the album, a song full of rhythm and positivism; “moooove!!” the main theme of the last drama in which Kaito Takahashi played the main character, “ROLLER COASTER” and “COLORS“. With this energetic and danceable opening, King & Prince brought their audience to the exact point of euphoria, preparing them for the rest of the concert ahead.
Kaito Takahashi and Ren Nagase took over the stage, and from the very first moment, with their confident steps and danceable songs—full of different rhythms and styles—they delighted everyone present, from the oldest to the youngest child, regardless of gender. The magic of their voices reached every corner of the Asue Arena. After the first few songs and a brief introduction, the guys gave way to a more extensive musical block, made up of more pop songs, but without leaving behind the touches of techno or R&B style. “Odyssey“, the first song that opens the album, was in charge of giving way to the music again, with its catchy chorus and its inspiring lyrics to face an uncertain future.
The centre stage became the spotlight with “Don’t Grow Up” where Kaito Takahashi and Ren Nagase taught the choreography of the song to the fans to enjoy an almost perfectly coordinated and fun dance together, defending that growing up is not about not having fun, but also about keeping our genuine spirit until the last moment.
“Cloudy” and “HOTTER & HOTTER” changed the mood of the moment with their more innovative style, letting themselves be carried away by the slower notes of the former, evoking a moment of relaxation in the atmosphere that would later be broken by the latter; a melody full of sensuality and insinuating hip movements that reached its climax with both artists intertwining their bodies on the main stage and yellow’s lips too close to his partner’s neck; evidently obtaining the desired effect of screams and excitement among their audience.
Later, and to close the first part of the concert, the first solo of this show, starring Kaito Takahashi devoured the main stage, accompanied by a group of dancers, giving shape to the choreography that articulates his song “POPSTAR in the KINGDOM“, a declaration of intentions, with composition and lyrics by the artist and dancer SKY-HI, a great reference in the world of dance, of which Takahashi has been a part since he was a kid. Once again, Kaito delighted his fans with his precise and perfectly controlled body movements that flowed through the song, blending with his incredible vocal range, this time demonstrating his mastery of rap.
“SPOTLIGHT“, which has become a dancing trend on Tiktok over the past few months and “Harajuku“, which may be the most experimental and different song of his musical career so far, with Kaito Takahashi‘s alter egos ‘Takejan’ (たけやん) and Ren Nagase ‘Jonouchi’ (城ノ内) taking the stage to play two stylish harajuku boys who want to follow in the footsteps of their favourite idols, performing a particular and humorous choreography, were the finishing touch to end this part of the show, leaving an audience eager for more.
Without forgetting their particular princely and classical essence of conventional idols
During the MC, the boys interacted with the audience, having fun with puns and talking about their experience this year in Osaka, a city that Ren Nagase feels particularly close to, having spent a large part of his childhood and adolescence there. Both artists told some light-hearted anecdotes about the local food while holding a stuffed octopus in their hands as a clear reference to the city’s most popular food: takoyaki. Not forgetting fanservice, the two guys praised each other in front of the crowd for both their vocal and dance skills, with Takahashi going so far as to say that ‘if it was Ren’s blood, he would like it to circulate in his veins as well. ’
After some hydration and a well-deserved rest, King & Prince were ready to return to the stage again with the second part of their show, dominated by a larger number of ballads and songs from their past albums; mostly more personal songs, some like ‘Seikatsu (KARI)’/[生活(仮)] or ‘1999’ whose lyrics have been composed by Kaito Takahashi himself, in another of his many artistic facets.
Although this time, the theme of the tour was the discovery of a new planet, a new era, the show’s production did not overlook the connection to the duo’s previous tour: “Peace”/[〜ピース〜], where they performed for the first time as a duo. This was reflected in songs such as: “Boy Meets Girl”/[ボーイミーツガール] where the main stage screen was filled with light and colour with images of two adorable characters (this time two wolves) wearing the members’ characteristic colours, narrating their love story, creating an obvious continuity with the song performed last year’s tour: ‘Ai wa mikata sa’ [愛は味方さ] where it was two cute little bunnies, also dressed in each other’s colours, who made the audience slides with a song that referenced their pre-debut era.
Also, in Ren Nagase’s solo moment, he dazzled everyone once again on stage with his solo “Shimi”/[染み], a ‘possible’ continuation of the solo performed in the previous tour: “Kimiiro”/[きみいろ]. His elegance on the platform and the professionalism he injects into each of his movements, both mixed with the perfect and pertinent smiles, managed to steal all kinds of sighs among the crowd, while he perfectly narrated the love story between musical notes with an impeccable vocal range.
After Ren Nagase left the stage, nostalgia invaded the arena with a repertoire of songs from his past musical works, among which we can highlight: “ItoshiIkirukoto”/[愛し生きること], “I promise”, “&Love”, “LOVE PARADOX”, “Koi-Wazurai” or “Nanimono”/[にもの], which aroused almost the same reaction in the fans upon hearing the first notes as the group’s iconic debut song, at the time as six members, since it can be considered as their “second debut” this time as a duet.
To close the second musical block prior to the encore, if last year ‘Ichiban’ was the song, dance hit of all, which broke with the princely image that had so far characterised the boy band and lifted people out of their seats again, this year “Tsukiyomi”/[ツキヨミ] took over, masterfully performed and danced by the two boys, proving once again that they are willing to carry on the legacy they started in 2018 no matter what difficulties stand in their way, masterfully adapting to both the musical and choreographic needs that each piece requires.
The encore, the icing on the cake of the incredible show offered by our genuine idols and also artists, closed with ‘HEART’ the title song of King & Prince‘s latest single, the main theme of Ren Nagase‘s latest drama, followed by ‘I will… ‘and the iconic “Cinderella girl”/[シンデレラガール], which always manages to steal the last tears of the audience and perfectly closes a repertoire carefully chosen by Kaito Takahashi and Ren Nagase themselves, involved from the first second to the last in each and every one of the decisions of both costumes and choreography, including the perfect order of the songs to shape the mood of the audience as they please.
After this incredible show, we can only wait for what promises to be, if possible, the improved version in the next Re:ERA in DOME starting in spring. What surprises will our favourite duo have in store for their beloved Tiaras? We can’t wait to find out!
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