There is no doubt the bottomless depths of talent within STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, but, in my most humble opinion, 7 MEN Samurai (7 MEN 侍) is a group that is at the top of their game within the Juniors. Consisting of members Reia Nakamura, Katsuki Motodaka, Rinne Sugeta, Taiko Sasaki, Taiki Konno, and Rei Yabana, this six member group launched into their 2024 live tour, and JOY!, at Tokyo Dome City Hall late last month.
According to Reia, and JOY! is a tour that is meant to reflect 7 MEN Samurai’s desire to create a fun live experience that showcases who they are right now in this moment. The tour is a time for them to engage with all of their beloved fans while giving their all at every performance.
This fun, joy-filled experience 7 MEN Samurai were hoping to craft is evident in every moment of the show. Being an idol group that has a dance and band image gives them the opportunity to craft unique moments throughout the show that concert their fans the broad reach they have.
From the very start of the show, 7 MEN Samurai opens with a bang with their original song, B4N4N4, which has its rap written by Katsuki and its composition and lyrics by Yabana. For those meeting the group for the first time, this song shows off the rock image of the group, flexing their talents for everyone in the audience to see. It was the perfect opening to set the level of expectations of what was to come.
The dance side of the groups is perhaps one of my favorite things to watch. Performances like Hey! Say! JUMP’s Try & error or SixTONES’ Uyamuya (うやむや) never fail to take my breath away when watching the group perform. Try & error is a more typical idol performance, the dance moves crisp and 7 MEN Samurai flow between their transitions seamlessly. With powerful vocals mixed in, it’s hard not to pound your penlight into the sky while watching them dance. While in Uyamuya their robotic choreography and carefully timed steps in the spotlights make a great foil to the aforementioned song.
Another stand out dance performance was the remix of three of 7 MEN Samurai’s original songs, Hot Night, Shout (シャウト), and Chaos Killer. The group pairs off to sing and dance each song, trading places with each other on stage as a new song is remixed in. The intensity of the whole performance builds and builds until it hits a musical crescendo near the end. It’s a performance that is visually stunning until its very last moments.
Just as they handle their dance performances with care, this group chooses their band songs to show off their vivid personalities. In the first half of the show, 7 MEN Samurai chose slower rock songs, such as Super Eight’s Rolling Coaster (ローリングコースター) and KAT-TUN’s Rockin’, but that doesn’t make them any less fun to perform. With Reia standing as the frontman of the band, he engages and interacts with the crowd, getting the fans to bob their penlights along to the rhythm he sets.
In these songs where Reia has the most freedom to move around the stage, the other members find small touches to add to their performances that really make these songs feel special when they can’t wave to their adoring fans. Yabana will run across the stage with his bass guitar, his playing style looking erratic but fitting with the rock image. Konno, a usually focused member when playing lead guitar, stays by his microphone but his glances into the audience let his fans know he wants to put on a good show for them. When Katsuki ditches his piano for Rockin’, he joins in with Reia and Rinne on guitar running around the stage to hype up the crowd. And with the ever chaotic Taiko on drums, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself when he’s living his best life drumming out complicated beats. It’s these little touches that make this first band portion sing and come to life.
Later in the show, as the concert comes to a close, harder rock songs are placed to give another layer of depth to their band performances. This is where 7 MEN Samurai break out their band song, Shout, and a cover of SixTONES’ song Rollin’. It’s songs like these that show that 7 MEN Samurai aren’t just sparkling idols. They have a metaphorical gritty edge to them that you would expect more from a rock band.
And these rock songs have heart stopping moments that don’t lose their edge even for fans attending multiple times. In Rollin’, there are stands attached to Taiko’s drum set stage that the others latch themselves into. It allows them to lean back and perform while almost perpendicular to the floor as the stage rotates. It’s a jaw dropping moment of not only athleticism but talent as each member hits each note on their instruments and sings without missing a lyric.
With this band and dance image they have cultivated over the past few years, it allows 7 MEN Samurai to do some incredible mashup performances combining both of their skills. One such song they’ve combined their talents for is a cover of timelesz’s Fuma Kikuchi’s 2016 solo, But….This particular performance was directed by Katsuki who wanted to convey their style within a cyberpunk world.
This particular performance begins with a dance sequence as each member joins in to sing. As the song hits its first chorus, a blast of air shoots up a transparent fabric creating a bubble like world the members dance beneath. With alluring and beautiful choreography, the audience is completely transported into another world under the stage lights. By the time the final chorus hits, Katsuki, Rinne, Taiko, Konno, and Yabana have returned to their instruments which now light up in the dark. The performance swiftly becomes a band performance all under the careful direction of Katsuki.
Beyond the high level performances and carefully crafted setlist, 7 MEN Samurai’s personalities burst their way into the show. This is especially seen in one of their newest songs, Asparabacon (アスパラベーコン or bacon wrapped asparagus). The song was inspired by an old cheer the group did at the start of their YouTube videos that hasn’t been seen in their videos recently. The performance of the song is, in the simplest terms, utterly ridiculous, but I adored every second of it.
A video montage is shown set to epic music befitting a huge announcement before Rinne, Taiko, and Yabana come out dressed like asparagus and Reia, Katsuki, and Konno come out dressed like bacon. Set to a Eurobeat track composed by Yabana and lyrics written by Rinne, the silly dance moves and sad acting moments show off the ridiculous side of the group that 7 MEN Samurai fans adore. But the lyrics show heart and the adoration the boys have for every fan that follows them.
The hilarity doesn’t stop there. Immediately after Asparabacon, the group launches into their MC time. This segment fully allows the audience to immerse themselves in the colorful personalities of the group. I found myself in stitches during their entire MC as I listened to them joke with each other but also guests who had come to attend a show.
7 MEN Samurai’s personalities are further shown in their solos, each one letting the audience take a peek behind the curtain to learn more about each individual member. Rinne’s cover of Kis-My-Ft’s Smile showed off his sweet side as he sang along to this slower number while Konno’s cover of former KAT-TUN member Jin Akanishi’s LOVE JUICE showed off his quiet sexy side and cool dance moves. The last member rounding out the initial trio of solos was Taiko’s cover of timelesz’s ROCK THA TOWN which brought the whole group in to play the song live while Taiko danced and sang at the front of the stage.
In the second half of the show, the audience watches Yabana rock out on guitar to a song that he wrote and composed called I know. Reia showed off his sparkling idol side as he danced and sang along to ARASHI’s Kazunari Ninomiya’s solo song, Himitsu (秘密). Reia also drew all of the images on the screen shown behind him for his performance. Finally, Katsuki performed an original song he created called Akashi (証) on the piano. Each of these songs showed the different types of idols each member of the group is, perfectly encompassing their personalities in a single performance.
The entire experience of and JOY! takes the audience on an incredible journey from start to finish, but there are small touches that 7 MEN Samurai include within the show that make it enticing for fans to come back time and time again. One of these moments is a staple song at one of their concerts: TOKIO’s song, JUMBO. The performance of this song has evolved over the years, and, through 7 MEN Samurai’s practice of being able to play multiple instruments in the band, it was originally a time for them to playfully swap instruments.
During these shows at Tokyo Dome City Hall, a member of the group is randomly selected at each show to be the sole vocalist for the song. The members will then adjust themselves to fill in the missing member, so the selected singer can focus on being the front man of the band. This random selection makes a portion of the show feel fresh and unique even when attending multiple times.
Another part of the show that feels unique is the pair song. During each show, there is a small video played in which 7 MEN Samurai become video game characters racing towards a finish line to determine which pair will sing. The audience has a chance of hearing one of three songs: Reia and Taiko singing PARODY by SixTONES, Katsuki and Rinne singing Kokkara (こっから) by SixTONES, or Konno and Yabana singing Honne to Tatemae (本音と建前) by timelesz. Since the songs are performed randomly, it becomes exciting for the audience to see which pair they will get to watch.
But one cannot attend a STARTO concert without mentioning how the boys show their love and adoration for their fans in attendance. 7 MEN Samurai take this one step further as their concert enters the second half. Singing a mash-up of beloved songs by their debuted seniors, the members make their way into the audience to get up close with their fans. Two members go to the third floor, two to the second, and two wander the first floor and arena level to give high fives and moments of fan service. It’s the careful way each member takes a moment to spend time with the people who love and adore them that shows how much they care about every person filling the venue. Even if they cannot get close to all of their fans, the members of 7 MEN Samurai make every person feel treasured in each corner of the venue, and it is truly heartwarming to watch.
7 MEN Samurai are a truly wonderful group. They care about each other as well as all of their fans in attendance. Whether someone has been following them since before their group was formed or had decided to attend and JOY! on a whim, each person has walked with them through their journey as a unit. It’s what makes their first original ballad, Ashiato (足跡) (In English, Footprints) so impactful. With Ashiato being one of the final songs of the concert, 7 MEN Samurai placed this song perfectly to get the biggest emotional response.
The lyrics of the song speak of persevering when times get rough and how, even on this journey, they have never been alone. The days 7 MEN Samurai have spent together as a unit and with their fans are treasured memories, and they make a promise to everyone in the venue to bind themselves together as they head to the future. It is a beautiful song and message as their concert winds down to the end. It is hard not to tear up listening to their emotion filled voices belting out this song.
The road 7 MEN Samurai have taken to get to this point has been long. Their journey has come with ups and downs, but they have honed their skills into a fine blade over the years. and JOY! shows their commitment to each other as well as their fans that, even with the tools at their disposal, they are not done growing and evolving just yet. With every concert they have continued to enhance their abilities, and I am so excited to see where their path takes them.
Keep yourself updated with 7 MEN Samurai on the following sites!
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | X | Official website
Concert photography © STARTO ENTERTAINMENT. Used with permission.
All the feelings of this concert tour are totally resurfacing while reading. They have an amazing setlist and awesome band/dance parts. Hope their tour will go on smoothly! Thanks for the great report~
Thank you for the comment! I’m glad that you enjoyed reading this piece. I hope 7 MEN Samurai’s hall tour can be done safely until the end as well!