Music is love, love is music, music is life, and I love my life. Thank you and good night.
- A.J. McLean
Music is life, they say. I know all of us have their favorite songs and artists. For some, listening to their songs is already enough, but there are also others who take their support on another level. They go watch them live and purchase every stuff related to the artist.
The second one sounds fun but doing it must require you some money because prices for these are no joke. Some may or may not understand it but I’ll say it brings an inexplicable happiness to our hearts. Yes, recently, I’ve become one of them but I’m not the creep and extreme type of fan. (I don’t want to evolve into that kind.)
(image source: Katsanslimites)
I am just a newbie when it comes to seeing concerts and collecting merchandise and stuff. It's a difficult hobby as a fan, but also fun. So let me share to you my first band merchandise from Japan and how I was able to purchase it.
Here are some information about ONE OK ROCK, the band who owns these merchandise I will be sharing today:
► ONE OK ROCK: The Japanese Rock Band That Conquers the World
► A Night to Remember: ONE OK ROCK Ambitions Asia Tour Live in Manila
AMBITIONS JAPAN DOME TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT
(image source: ONE OK ROCK via Facebook)
Official ONE OK ROCK 2018 Ambitions Japan Dome Tour.
It was on November 22, 2017 when the management announced about their upcoming Ambitions Japan Dome Tour. It was posted all over their official accounts too. The Dome Tour took place at four locations: Osaka, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. Each having 2-day performance and is the biggest ONE OK ROCK tour to date. Of course, in every new tour, there is also a new set of merchandise which fans look forward to!
THE DENIAL STAGE
(image source: ONE OK ROCK via Facebook)
Complete list of merchandise for the Ambitions Japan Dome Tour.
When the list of the Japan Dome Tour merchandise came out, fans were very excited and happy about the new designs. Some were even choosing which ones to purchase already. That's what their reaction were.
Honestly, I do not understand these fans AT ALL. Why? Because none among the merchandise looked appealing to me! Please don't get me wrong. I love the band but their designs of the merchandise for the tour wasn't that impressive for me. However, little did I know this was all nothing but an in denial stage of mine. (Lol.) I didn't know what kind of wave or energy hit me but a few days before the cutoff for the first batch of merchandise sales, I started having some liking on some items on the list. I was unconsciously looking at the items every now and then. I can't get it out of my head! Oh my goodness! So a day before the cutoff, I decided to purchase them!
ITEMS I PURCHASED
Like I've said on my intro, prices for an artist's merchandise is no joke—for us normies. Before I got decided to buy, I've undergone a serious battle inside my head. I only have limited funds so I have to carefully choose what I really like to have. Affluent fans, of course, is an exemption to getting this kind of dilemma. They could just purchase everything on the list if they want to, purchase the highest concert ticket tier available, buy exclusive limited items, and live their fan life to the fullest. Oh how wonderful that must be! But let's get back to reality. Here are the Japan Dome Tour merchandise items I bought!
(video source: Katsanslimites via bitLanders)
Unboxing the goods I purchased.
♦ WRISTBAND (BLACK)
(image source: Katsanslimites)
Black wristband.
Wristband is the cheapest item on the list! Of course, I didn't forget to buy it. This is the first item that I really like to get because ever since, I'd really like to own a ONE OK ROCK wristband. (I already had my first wristband from the Asia Tour but this one's from their Japanese concert so I kind of want to have it too.) I love the color black and it looks amazingly good with yellow color. I like the design too. I think it's awesome.
What I like about the ONE OK ROCK wristbands is that both sides (outer and inner) got designs. The outer side of the wristband have the letters engraved while the inner side is printed. Moreover, another thing I immediately noticed upon removing it from its packaging was its smell. If you try to sniff it after unpacking it for the first time, you would smell something like a burnt rubber or tire. I have to be honest, I really got disgusted at it so I didn't try putting it near my nose again. But don't worry because after a day or two, the unpleasant smell of the wristband fades away.
♦ WRISTBAND (WHITE)
(image source: Katsanslimites)
White wristband.
I guess one wristband is not enough? I find this white wristband so cute and feminine so I decided to buy it too. It has a similar design as the black one but this one got pink lines. The letters on the outer side were also engraved and the inner side printed. I think this design is popular among the fans because it got sold out first among the other wristbands.
In all fairness, the packaging for wristbands from their Japanese merchandise is cool. It comes with an item description (written in Japanese) and the packaging was huge enough to encase the wristband on its original shape. Unlike for the wristbands sold here in the Philippines during the Manila concert which were squeezed to fit it's tiny plastic packaging.
♦ T-SHIRT C (BLACK)
(image source: Katsanslimites)
T-shirt C black shirt.
Shirts! They were expensive for sure. But I am sorry for I am still on high with their Manila concert back then and was under post-concert depression. I bought the Manila merchandise shirt so another shirt from the band sounds good, right? I was totally trapped in a trance that I really want to have this shirt.
Honestly, I like the shirt A first but I am also buying another item that has the same design so I went for my second preferred design instead—shirt C. The design is the word "Ambitions" with a huge "X" in the middle. The word is not easily read that's why I kind of like it. If you stare at it for a short while, the print just looks like random strikes of paint. And the band's name and tour name were printed small below the design just how I like it.
That's not all! At the back of the shirt, the tour dates and venues for the Japan Dome Tour are printed there too! It definitely lets anyone who wears it feel to be part of the tour. The design is also available in white shirt. I like it too, but I love black more. Plus, black color doesn't easily get stained unlike for white.
♦ PARKA
(image source: Katsanslimites)
Back side of the parka.
Last but not the least, my most expensive purchase among my orders and the most expensive item on the list too. The parka. Or maybe we can just call it a jacket because they look the same? The print on the parka is just the same as the shirt A's print but for the parka, it has the print at the back. The design looks better on the parka so I bought it instead of the shirt A. That simple.
(image source: Katsanslimites)
Print on the sleeves of the parka.
The sleeves of the parka also got white prints which looks like an hour glass for me while the front is just plain black. Overall, this parka looks really cool in my eyes. I had been long wishing for a jacket merchandise. I was actually planning to buy a Babymetal jacket last year and already asked my sister to buy it for me because it's easier to buy it in America. But it got sold out immediately. I guess that's why I didn't get to buy that because I'll have this lovely parka. (Think positive!)
GETTING THE SAME SHIRT DESIGN AS YOUR FAVORITE MEMBER
(image source: ruihashimoto via Instagram)
Toru wearing the shirt C white with Taka on his left shoulder. (Lol.)
The blog is already about to end but I forgot to tell that I only bought the merchandise. I did not attend any of the Japan Dome Tour show. My wallet was weeping just by purchasing these items so how much more for traveling to Japan? Anyway, I was very much surprised when band members posted photos of their first show. Toru, the band's leader, was wearing the design of the shirt I ordered! Oh my goodness! My heart just died in happiness and my proud soul was carried by the butterflies to heaven! I am not overreacting here. This is what I really felt that moment. However, he was wearing the white shirt version of the design. A little sad I didn't choose the white shirt but that's alright! Couple shirts don't need to be the same color, right? As long as the designs are the same or matching together then it's good. (Ooops! Couple shirts!? Just kidding!)
ONE OK ROCK members wore some of the shirts on the merchandise during the encore of their shows. Taka wore shirt D, Tomoya got shirt B (white), and Toru wore shirt C (white). Most of the time, they got the shirt turn into a muscle tee which is the kind of top they usually wear during lives. On the other hand, Ryota didn't wear any of the merchandise but had a special shirt which got some prints as the ones sold.
Seeing your favorite member of the band wearing the same shirt design as yours gives you an extra happy feeling. I never got wrong choosing that shirt.
HOW I PURCHASED THE GOODS
I know. You are probably wondering how I bought these when I am living outside Japan. Amuse Inc., ONE OK ROCK's talent management has its own site for their artists' goods. (A!SMART) You can find ONE OK ROCK's goods by clicking on the search button below the A!SMART logo at the upper left corner of the page. Then look for the band's name on the "M-S" section.
However, the shipping fee for the items is very expensive. It may cost as much as the items you are trying to buy or even more sometimes. Luckily, I came across some online stores here in the country that takes order request of Japanese artists' merchandise especially for ONE OK ROCK. So that's how I was able to buy these. Of course, the items got additional prices for their service but it wasn't that much compared to how much you will be spending on the shipping fee when you buy it directly from A!SMART.
A FAN'S TREASURE
(image source: Katsanslimites)
ONE OK ROCK goods!
Having the goods in my hands wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the online store I've known. It is thanks to them that they made it possible for fans living outside Japan to get an easier access to their favorite artists' goods. For fans, items like these are as special as the band's CDs and DVDs. It serves as a memento of a very special event in their lives that just by looking at it brings them back to that day and relive the feeling.
If you were to ask me if I liked the items I bought, of course I do! I've thought of it several times. I like their quality too.These are my first ONE OK ROCK merchandise straight from Japan so it's kind of special to me. And I plan to keep these for a long time to sell it on a higher price someday. These are not just intended for collecting and fangirling. It's a form of investment too, you know!
(video source: きょぴんぬ via Youtube)
A Japanese fan unboxing his Japan Dome Tour goods. I can't understand most of what he said but he liked the merchandise a lot. (His username is read as Kyopinnu.)
Thanks for reading!
✧ Katsanslimites
