The annual Kansai Junior New Year concert has long functioned as both a celebration and a checkpoint — a moment where one year closes, another begins, and the next generation is invited to step forward. Held at Osaka-jo Hall, Kansai Junior Akeome Concert 2026: A HAPPY NEW ERA PARTY gathered 62 Kansai Juniors, ranging from just seven years old to performers already taking on leadership roles, for a large-scale showcase built around a clear declaration: “NEW ERA”.
For this year’s edition, the experience comes through the eyes of author Kenyth of Life in Cartoon Motion, who previously attended last year’s Kansai Junior Concert 2025: Boys be AmBitious and returned again in 2026 to witness the evolution firsthand. Having now seen these units across consecutive New Year showcases, he generously shared his impressions with Dumpling Box — offering a perspective shaped by continuity, comparison, and fresh awe.
With AmBitious and Boys be positioned at the center, the concert unfolded across more than thirty songs and nearly two hours of nonstop movement. It was designed not simply to entertain, but to show progression in motion — playful New Year traditions alongside sharper, more mature performances, all sharing the same stage. With an average age barely into the teens, the sheer scale was striking, but what stood out most was how deliberately the night was structured to make growth visible.
If STARTO Junior concerts prove anything, it’s that the earliest stages of an artist’s journey carry a kind of electricity that can’t be replicated later. Before polish smooths over instinct, before identity is fully fixed, there’s something deeply compelling about watching performers discover themselves in real time. Few units embody that moment quite like AmBitious and Boys be, and returning to Osaka after last year’s Kansai Junior concert made the contrast impossible to miss. In just twelve months, the performers hadn’t simply improved — they had settled into themselves.
While not every song in the expansive setlist can be explored in detail here, a few moments stood out most vividly.
The concert opened with “NEW ERA” by SixTONES, introduced by a call to move forward that immediately framed the night as one of renewal. Dressed in New Year–appropriate attire, the Kansai Juniors filled the stage with an energy that felt less rehearsed than urgent. Rather than imitating the original, the performance leaned into raw vocal choices, sharp footwork, and an unmistakable Kansai rhythm, setting a tone that favored personality over precision.
As the program moved past its explosive opening stretch, SUPER EIGHT’s “Sweet Parade” brought a shift in atmosphere. AmBitious’ Takeyuki Mayumi (hereinafter referred to as Mayumi) led a procession of Juniors wielding sweets matching their own charm, turning the SUPER EIGHT track into a colorful, almost storybook moment that emphasized playfulness and cohesion.
The scale widened again with “Monster” by ARASHI. Familiar yet freshly charged, the Junior rendition carried a cool intensity that never felt overshadowed by the original. That momentum softened into SUPER EIGHT’s “Kimi e no Carol“, allowing the audience to settle into the performers’ vocal strength and unity before the structure of the concert shifted once more.
Midway through the night, AmBitious took focus with their original song “TANBI,” a rare moment of stillness and concentration that highlighted maturity and control. It stood in striking contrast to the surrounding high-energy numbers and underscored how much refinement has taken place over the past year.
One of the evening’s most visually striking moments was a rendition of Ae! group’s “Joyato,” showcasing the contrast and versatility of Kansai. Streetlight-sultry and restrained, it stood out for its quiet confidence.
From there, the mood brightened again with their fellow Kansai-born group Naniwa Danshi’s “Because I Just Love You“, delivered with pure charm and lightness. The atmosphere intensified soon after with King & Prince’s “HOTTER & HOTTER,” where AmBitious‘ Rion Ouchi’s sharpened performance demonstrated clear growth in stage presence. That heat carried directly into SixTONES’ “ABARERO“, already a powerful song, but transformed here through Kansai flavor into something volatile and immediate.
A later highlight came with WEST.’s “YSSB“, a longtime fan-favorite and a popular choice among Juniors precisely because it allows them to dial up intensity and sensuality to get the crowd going without crossing into excess. Delivered with cheeky confidence and crowd-aware timing, the performance balanced danger and restraint in a way that felt both controlled and exhilarating.
Beyond the setlist, what elevated the concert was the individuality each performer brought to the stage. From AmBitious, Mayumi once again proved himself a near-limitless source of energy, somehow accelerating as the night progressed, and once again, not even the sky can limit his jumps. Ichita Inoue’s growth was equally apparent — vocally, physically, and choreographically — moving with a sharpness that made it impossible to look away, as expected from one of the group’s most prominent dancers. Itsuki Yamanaka balanced sweetness with an edge, a heart of gold matching his member color, and his interactions with younger Juniors highlighting an ease that felt both natural and earned.
From Boys be, Shintaro Sumi radiated joy, glowing brighter each time he caught sight of the audience, and one can’t help but feel refreshed and filled with joy as you watch him. Kosuke Uegaki returned that affection with constant waves and heart gestures, while Atsushi Ito offered a striking contrast — warm in fan service, then laser-focused the moment the music hit, his precise lines and synchronization revealing a performer deeply devoted to his craft. Together, they embody a generation of Kansai Juniors brimming with potential, passion, and unmistakable drive — and if this night proved anything, it’s that there’s truly no telling how far they might go.
Visually and structurally, the concert leaned heavily into contrast. Cute and cool, playful and polished, innocence and ambition collided repeatedly through group stages, yet never flattened into sameness. Even the MC segments — filled with New Year traditions, call-and-response battles, and jokes directed toward standing-room fans — reinforced the Kansai Junior identity: intimate, humorous, and acutely aware of its audience.
As the concert moved toward its conclusion, all 62 performers returned to the stage together, underscoring the collective nature of the night. Before the encore, AmBitious’ oldest member, Yuri Oka, stepped forward with a quiet but resolute declaration: that they would continue moving forward so the Osaka-jo Hall performances inherited from their seniors could be passed on to the newer members who now stand beside them. It was less a dramatic speech than a promise — one that reframed the evening not just as celebration, but as succession. Earlier, Mayumi had addressed the audience with heartfelt sincerity, expressing how grateful he was to welcome 2026’s first live together with the fans, and sharing his hope that with new members joining Kansai Juniors this year, they could deliver even more love as a stronger force moving forward.
Original Kansai Junior song “Dream Catcher” closed the main program. Bright, catchy, and relentlessly uplifting, it captured the spirit of the concert — aspiration without pretense, hope without hesitation. Sung with bright, unwavering eyes fixed toward the future, it felt less like a wish and more like a collective declaration of intent.
Leaving Osaka-jo Hall, fragments of conversation drifted through the crowd — excitement, disbelief, and a shared sense of having witnessed something transitional. Not every moment of the sprawling setlist can be captured on paper, but the highlights lingered clearly enough to sketch the outline of something bigger in motion.
STARTO ENTERTAINMENT has always been known for the depth of its talent pool, but A HAPPY NEW ERA PARTY highlighted something more specific: a generation actively stepping into its own identity. Watching AmBitious and Boys be along with the other Juniors — new and old — grow over the course of a single year wasn’t just impressive — it was genuinely rewarding.
This is not a showcase meant to be seen once and filed away. Like the New Year it celebrates, it asks to be revisited — again and again — as this “NEW ERA” continues to unfold.
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