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that-fangirl · 13 hours

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Sir… Sir…

Toshiya x Die

#die #toshiya #interaction #dir en grey #my bloody vampire #gifset

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that-fangirl · 20 hours

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@toshiya_direngrey on IG

↳ The Devil In Me behind the scenes

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that-fangirl · 23 hours

Photo

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that-fangirl · 2 days

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Like always, I've lost track of what I've posted and what... not.

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that-fangirl · 4 days

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These are all fair points.

I like the fact that someone is sharing a screenshot of my TFOE summary on X/Twitter and spouting disinformation with it, and then blocking me when I call them out.

Can we just make one thing clear?

The members were not starved and mistreated on tour. Whatever you may think of the management, there is NO reason to assume they are holding the members prisoners under draconian, cheapskate conditions. And certainly no reason to spout such assumption as fact in public.

Yes, Kyo was complaining, but Kyo just complains. Thats how he is. Those of you subscribed to TheThe Day can see how much Kaoru suffered on tour (i.e He didn't).

As for the new MV, this seemingly was also not solely a result of management demanding cheapness, as we heard from Kaoru recently when he was describing some of the background.

As for the complaint about the overseas merch store, Dir en grey are a niche band in Japan, and an even nicher one overseas. As a first go at setting up a store for overseas fsns, it seems perfectly fine to me. If the merch sells, they will probably continue invest more in it, like any business. Give them a chance, instead of just instant condemnation. Don't even get me started on how many Japanese fans LOVED the merch in the overseas store.

Based on the amount of people who apparently complained profusely in the tour survey about use of AI etc, I would honestly not be surprised if the management think twice about sending the band to Europe again soon. Why would they send them after getting so many complaints??

I really wish people would consider this.

#dir en grey

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that-fangirl · 11 days

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Rest in Peace Reita

The official page of the GazettE announced Reita's death 15 minutes ago. 🕊️

#reita the gazette #the gazette #reita

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that-fangirl · 12 days

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#dir en grey #europe #toshiya #berlin #berlinday1 #totchi #25th anniversary

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that-fangirl · 14 days

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Random gear stuff from EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death & UROBOROS]

No ESP Throbber for Kaoru during Toguro, as they had a limited number of guitars allowed for this tour abroad (he used the blue JZH instead if I remember correctly)

Speaking of Kaoru, he brought his custom ESP D-KV (the brown/yellow-ish one), I wasn't expecting that one!

I saw Toshiya use Finger Ease-like string spray multiple times during interludes, this helps reducing the friction on the strings and playing smoother guitar/bass-lines :)

Die brought the black Morris acoustic guitar instead of the red one, they're the same model so it didn't matter but it was nice to see a non-red guitar in his arsenal :)

The sunburst ESP D-TR [RU-DRIVE Arch] bass (aka the best bass in my totally unbiased opinion <3) was damaged at the beginning of the tour, we could see the scratch at the Paris shows :( (he mainly used this bass for almost all of Mode of WTD, as well as for Akuro no oka at the end of all shows, as a substitute for the white ESP D-TR he usually uses for this song)

Shinya used a partial brown-ish Pearl drumkit (pictures/tag to come) with Remo & Signia toms, Sabian cymbals and at least one Evans drumhead (that he threw in the crowd at the end of Paris day 2). This is a different drumkit than his usual all-white/see-through one; as they're touring in Japan in April-June, he perhaps didn't want to risk damaging his regular kit.

Something I somehow never noticed before: all their guitars/basses are now cable-less! I don't really know how that works sound-wise but it does wonders in terms of stage management & interactions :)

#toshiya #dir en grey #y: 2024 #s: europe tour24 from depression to [mode of withering to death]#s: europe tour24 from depression to [mode of uroboros]#atsushi sakurai

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that-fangirl · 19 days

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New artist photos for the release of The Devil In Me

#dir en grey #the devil in me #phy #magazine #kyo #kaoru #die #toshiya #shinya

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that-fangirl · 20 days

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Amazing video by @ginaxhk on IG!

DIR EN GREY - EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death] - WARSAW 19/03/24

↳ Toshiya being Toshiya during C

#toshiya #dir en grey #s: EUROPE TOUR24 FROM DEPRESSION TO [mode of Withering to death]

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that-fangirl · 23 days

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Oh my God… I’m crying. Damn it Totchi… I love you 😭

Toshiya honoring Atsushi Sakurai during this tour was so heartwarming I can't even

So it sounds like following Atsushi's sudden death in October, Toshiya inherited... a pair of shoes.

Fun fact: Atsushi Sakurai and Toshiya were roughly the same height, so my guess is that they wore the same shoe size.

Two weeks ago, before leaving Japan, our darling bassist posted this picture of his shoes waiting at an airport.

The caption read only "Traveling together. Let's go."

We all thought the "together" meant "as a band". With Dir en Grey. All the greys boarding the same Dir en Plane.

Right? Nope. There was more to it.

At the end of the tour, he posted a picture of his feet wearing the same shoes. This time, the caption read:

"We ended the European Tour, and we are about to come back to Japan. I traveled around Poland, France, England and Germany in these shoes, which I got as memento of you. I was happy when I saw a fan wearing your T-shirt in London. Let's go back together to Japan, Sakurai, in this season when cherry blossoms bloom."

I'm not crying, you're crying. The world is objectively worse with this guy gone.

#toshiya #dir en grey #atsushi sakurai

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that-fangirl · 25 days

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Dir en Grey- Astra Kulturhaus

As someone who attended the shows in Berlin, I have to say that I was disappointed with the location. The boys did good. Great in fact. I saw the same fan service that I often see in Japanese shows and they were giving it their all. But the problem was the venue and the area in which the venue is located.

On the very first day, a friend and I woke up and left our hotel room to get breakfast and I was physically assaulted by a local who very angrily asked me "you rich?" and when I chose to ignore him and move out of his way, he took a large step towards me and slammed his head into mine. My luck were the braids in my hair that somewhat softened the blow, but I was shook and out of it for a good while.

After breakfast we made our way to Astra and spoke to the German fans in charge of handing out numbers for VIP, priority and regular. They were incredibly sweet, worried about me and angry. They alerted us that the area surrounding Astra is dangerous and there are many drug users who intake drugs from morning till noon, so they are already far gone... It is an area notorious for its nonstop loud music, drug users and so on.

They told us that suspecting these kind of issues might occur and because they took the safety of other Dir en Grey fans seriously, they had called the police several times and requested that they do more rounds around the area, just in case. Take into consideration, that besides me, other men had already caused disturbances that morning with other Diru fans. We were advised by them to always walk around the area in groups, so we could look out for each other.

We spoke to several German fans, who lived in Berlin and claimed they were done with Astra and refused to watch another Dir en Grey show at Astra after this tour.

Astra itself? Sound quality sucked, the venue looks like a mix-match of several bits and pieces of materials that were donated to put the place together, but considering the overall vibe in the complex, it is intentional. The staff at Astra? Apart from one or two, most of the people there were rude, laughed at the eagerness and excitement of Dir en Grey fans and did mostly nothing when their safety at the venue was compromised.

A German fan was kicked in a mosh pit on the first day by a foreigner and while other German fans tried to lift her up, she was shoved down by this fan and kicked again. During the second day, other disturbances occurred and little to no safety was provided. In fact, the crowd felt almost off on the second day because we were all scared of what the crowd would be like during Ouroboros.

Yes, we all know that if you are going to a metal or rock show this sort of thing can happen and you do so at your own risk, but there were fans claiming Dir en Grey was to blame for this. I don't think most people understand that Dir en Grey cannot be held accountable for the security services that are provided or their fan's behaviour during the show.

Also take into consideration, that this is the impression I came with from the venue. It is my opinion and the feeling I got from it. You don't have to agree with it. If you went to the Astra shows and your experiences were better than mine, I am very very happy for you. If you like the area around Astra and the place itself, good for you.

I was there for the boys and for the most part, I tried to make the absolute most of it and soak it all up. Would I go back to Astra? Absolutely not. Pass.

#dir en grey #europe tour #astra

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that-fangirl · 25 days

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#Dir en grey #Toshiya #behind the scenes #19990120 #yurameki #thick thighs saves lives

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that-fangirl · 27 days

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Juicy impressions upon spending time with the Greys in the flesh

Okay, y'all, buckle up.

I'm going to try to word this in a vague enough fashion so as not to have Sun-Krad & Friends come for me. (For in the world of Japanese bands, even sharing the tiniest of details and impressions gathered upon being in the same room as their money-makers is an offense punishable with the bull of Phalaris.)

So I didn't interview Dir en Grey last week - another reporter did that.

But.

I was much luckier!!!!111!!! I was given a backstage pass by the local crew (who are friends). That means I got to spend several hours in the venue while the band rehearsed and the sound crew worked.

To be fair, most of it was boring. I sat at the bar through what felt like endless back and forths between the band's crew and the local engineers. Pump up the bass, turn down the bass, more this, less that, you get the picture. Pretty standard small venue stuff where the sound quality objectively sucks.

And in case you're wondering - no, the band didn't rehearse on stage while I was there. I suppose they might have played some songs in the morning, but it was mostly their crew playing the instruments and one guy making random sounds on the mic. Only Kaoru and Die came in at times to test things out. BUT. I still got to see all band members (minus Shinya, more on that later), and even have some brief conversations. I know you want me to cut to the juicy details, and I will, just after this Kaoru gif.

I just had to post that.

DIE

I remember that in the mid-2000s Die was branded the band's party animal. Well, I'm not convinced he ever was one. He was definitely the most outgoing of the band members I met that day, and also the only one who attempted to speak to people in English so everyone would feel included, but he still struck me as a very shy guy. Also, he kept making a beeline for the bar to get... mineral water. That he drank while scrolling on his phone, sitting at a table, alone. Local crew occasionally went and asked him things. Die just flashed people his 10000 megawatt smile and nodded, which in Die language probably means 'leave me alone".

In another note, no homo, but Die looks hella good. Even the bar staff turned their heads to look whenever he walked by in his red t-shirt and fluffy black slippers.

KAORU

Kaoru is an insanely chill guy, and I still can't wrap my head around the fact that he's a rockstar. He shook my hand and gave me a very manly pat on the shoulder. He was drinking beer in his backstage room with a guy from his staff. His room was an absolute mess. Clothes, towels, makeup, hair products, papers, at least two open suitcases. I stepped inside to greet him for a minute, and my dad instinct immediately kicked in: if I stayed for one more second, I'd have have told him to clean his room or I'll take away his Xbox.

By the way, he asked me if I wanted "something from (his) mini fridge" since he was drinking. I told him I was alright. I'll regret it forever. I could have gotten "something from Kaoru's mini fridge", which might very well have been code for the world's coolest drugs.

(I'm kidding you kids, Kaoru doesn't do drugs. Kaoru is a straightedge guy. Inside his mini fridge were only a few sad bottles of coke and possibly Shinya).

TOSHIYA

Barely knew this guy, but for some reason I was under the impression he was a bit of a cocky jock. I was wrong. Toshiya is an extremely nice and warm dude. And when I mean warm, I mean... literally. For some reason Toshiya had sweat dripping from his temples and his hand was clammy and wet when I shook it. So evidently I had my hand coated in Toshiya-brand sweat, but didn't complain. He said he remembered me, even though in the past I spoke to him for a total of 3 seconds. So... unless yo boy Toshiya has photographic memory, he obviously didn't. But he was trying to be nice. Chitchatted with us and said that he was sad the weather was bad or else he'd have liked to go drink wine outside. I regret not telling him to just go get something from Kaoru's mini fridge. KYO

Kyo gives small animal vibes. Sorry to everyone who thinks he must be incredibly intense or the kind of guy who lunges at you with his unhinged stage persona and a blood-stained knife. He doesn't even give half the intimidating vibes he sends off during interviews or on social media. Kyo is a small squirrel in an oversized hoodie who hobbles around with his eyes riveted to his phone. He smokes, holds his cigarette in a funny way and seems completely oblivious to the fact that the venue has smoke detectors that he might set off at any time. Also, at one point he was eating a banana in his backstage room. A BANANA. You're welcome, I know this is a mental image you'll cherish for years to come.

At one point I shook his hand and told him I was with the press, he obviously didn't remember me from last time. He thanked me for my "hard work", although I was doing no hard work at all. His handshake is still very firm and the guy's stare still very intense, but he quickly retreats to his business, which appears to consists of doing things on his phone, walking back and forth in a hallway and eating bananas in a room. Alone.

SHINYA

Was notoriously absent from the venue and its backstage. I asked staff if they knew where he was, but no one knew. Was Shinya in a room somewhere, negotiating good rates with Kyo's banana supplier? Hiding in Kaoru's mini fridge? We'll never know.

#dir en grey #live report #s: europe tour24 from depression to [mode of withering to death]

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that-fangirl · 1 month

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20.03.2024 Warsaw

Before encore