2024 Recap

 2024 was...indeed a turbulent year. The 50th debut anniversary went bitter, sure, but at least the Sainou no Kiseki Blu-ray set released last month saw many Masayukists watching any of his old concerts for the first time as if they were actually seeing him in person. I wish I was born in the late 70s/early 80s...

This year had me also go on a different approach since I am also an artist who draws. If I am not doing college duties, I am mostly focused on my art and sharing them across social platforms that I currently run on.

In fact, this year, I had little ideas. Little motivation. Little plans in updating my fanpage and providing translations of liner notes, song commentaries and interviews. Those fan pages I made are still sparse and incomplete. I didn't even have the time to write album reviews.

DOES THIS MEAN I HAVE STOPPED BEING A FAN OF MASAYUKI??!!

IS MY YAMAMOTO-SENSEI FIXATION OVER???!!

Absolutely not. I still listen to him almost every day. I'll still love that old man and all of his songs he wrote, even though some may distrust me; even though some of his albums aren't good.

Fortunately, besides the Sainou no Kiseki Blu-ray set I mentioned earlier, we saw the release of the 50th anniversary edition of Moeyo Dragons! titled Ryuu no Risoukyou (The Dragon Utopia) last August. A month earlier, he wrote a short but simple tribute message to his friend and fellow Time Bokan Series castmate Noriko Ohara, who passed away on July 12th.

I guess that would be all that's done in 2024. Not as much as what happened in 2022, but more than what occured in 2023.

It's not over though. We have the 50th anniversary of the Time Bokan Series this October, so I'm excited to see what's going to be in store for Tatsunoko. My prediction is that there could be a new entry in the series, considering we are almost 6 years into the Reiwa era. Tatsunoko brought back Hakushon Daimou and Muteking in the 2020s so far, so maybe there's still hope for not just Time Bokan, but maybe any other classic shows that deserve to come back as a new incarnation in a while such as Hutch the Honeybee.

One of my predictions from last year is, of course, the return of solo concerts. Masayuki hasn't hold one since the end of 2019 and we all are still desperate for a comeback. Maybe Sainou no Kiseki could foreshadow its glorious return to concerts...

We also hope for a new original album in 6 years to finish it off. And when I say original, I mean an album from Yamamoto-sensei that is not part of a sub-series, a compilation album or a concept album. Something like a studio album.

But alas, he's getting older year after year, so I doubt not all of those predictions may happen. In the end, maybe we shall allow him more pleasure time and let us move on.

'Til then, here's to another wonderful musical journey in 2025! 💙