Rise of the ‘Hikoboshi no Hoko’ concert; a fun event with 3 Anison Singers

On July 7, the day of the Tanabata Star Festival, “Hikoboshi no Hoko” (The Roar of Hikoboshi) was held again in Yao, Osaka. The annual event is a concert and talk show headlined by three anison (anime song) singers led by Takayuki Miyauchi. The other two are Shinichi Ishihara and Hideaki Takatori. In this event, the three played the role of Hikoboshi — the male lead of the romantic star festival legend. I also participate in this event as — let me muster up some courage — Orihime, the princess in the legend and Hikoboshi’s girlfriend. July 7 is the only day of the year that the couple can meet.

The first Hikoboshi concert took place on July 7, 2013. At the time, Miyauchi was still recovering from a stroke he had suffered in late 2011. He could sing, but had some limitations in singing the songs he could sing, and his speech was far from fluent. It is a guess, but this concert may have originally been intended to inspire Miyauchi and encourage him to recover. The concert was initially a two-man show, with Miyauchi and Ishihara, his longtime friend, supporting him. In 2014, Takatori, who admires the two older singers, joined the event, making it a concert with three Hikoboshi singing their hearts out.

In 2017, another change occurred. I was the host of the show and accidentally played the role of Orihime. That was the beginning of “Hikoboshi theater,” a performance of a short play inspired by Tanabata. Ishihara, who is also an actor, wrote the script in which he daringly incorporated current affairs. When the four of us performed the first Hikoboshi play, which included some comedy sketches and dancing, it immediately became the star attraction of the entire event, as fans loved seeing the singers do things they normally don’t see. The theater portion of “Hikoboshi no Hoko” continued even during the COVID-19 lockdown period, when the concert was livestreamed without an in-person audience. We challenged ourselves with all kinds of theatrical antics, such as dancing to songs and imitating pop songs from the Showa era (1926-89). Once, Takatori dressed up in a wig and makeup and played the role of a housekeeper from a popular TV drama.

This year’s Hikoboshi Theater coincided with the Tokyo gubernatorial election, which was used as the subject of the play this time. But of course, it’s Hikoboshi Theater, so the election wasn’t portrayed in the usual way. I was cast to play the role of an election candidate and had to perform a cancan dance with Takatori, which is apparently very popular online, and sing and dance “Chu, Tayosei” by popular singer Ano. Miyauchi, who played the role of my father, brought a hearty laugh to the audience by coming onstage dressed as the father ghost from the TV anime “Hakushon Daimao” (“The Genie Family”).

Towards the end of the play, Ishihara came on stage in a dog suit. Everything was chaotic, but fortunately, the audience seemed to enjoy it. That said, we prepare diligently and do not take the Hikoboshi Theater lightly. Miyauchi practices his lines every day, Takatori memorizes his role perfectly, and Ishihara makes props himself, helped by his entire family. I danced for five hours the day before the concert to learn the choreography of the dance. I think the audience receives our performance warmly because we work so hard.

Of course, there is more to the event than just the play. This concert is especially popular because the audience can listen to many songs. What is especially special is that the singers also sing a number of deep pieces, fulfilling requests from the audience in advance. The singers say things like, “I sang this song for the first time since it was recorded” and “Since I rarely sing it, I can’t find the instrumental.”

And above all, the greatest achievement of this concert is the fact that Miyauchi, who had to pre-record much of his text for the Hikoboshi Theater, can now make the audience laugh with a long text that he speaks on stage. Since we get singing and dancing challenges every year for the theater portion, and I am mainly a reporter, I just grab my head. But seeing Miyauchi’s happy face drives away all my worries. I want to continue participating in this annual concert as long as I am physically able.