A report on the second Nippon Budokan solo live performance in four years!

Frederick's one-man live "FREDERHYTHM ARENA 2025 CITRUS CURIO CITY -TOKYO NIGHT CRUISING-" was held on February 24, 2025 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

This was the Tokyo performance of the arena concert "FREDERHYTHM ARENA 2025 CITRUS CURIO CITY" held at Kobe World Kinen Hall in Hyogo (February 11) and Nippon Budokan in Tokyo (February 24). It was also Frederick's second one-man show at the Budokan in four years.
For them, their last Budokan concert was held under the Corona Disaster of 2021, with not only the number of audience members but also their cheers and choruses restricted. This one-man live concert, in which the audience at the full-capacity Budokan resonated with them with all their might, was an outstanding act that once again demonstrated the brightness and intensity of Frederic's music "now". The audience was very excited to see the performance.

Photo by Yoshihiro Mori

The stage was set up to reproduce the cityscape of the artwork of the latest mini-album "CITRUS CURIO CITY" released last November, and Kenji Mihara (Vocal & Guitar), Koji Mihara (Bass), Ryuji Akagashira (Guitar), and Takeshi Takahashi (Drums) appeared on stage to thunderous applause and cheers. Kenji Mihara (Vocal & Guitar), Koji Mihara (Bass), Ryuji Akagashira (Guitar), and Takeshi Takahashi (Drums) appeared on stage. The sold-out audience clapped enthusiastically as the band launched into "Only Wonder" with Kenji's words, "Frederic, let's start. The vast space of the Budokan was enveloped in a climax-like excitement from the very beginning of the show. The audience's joy grew with each successive song, including "CYAN" and "Piao de Emotion".

At the end of "Piao to Emotion," Kenji walked to the center of the stage to the chorus of the entire audience. Thank you very much for the second Frederick concert at the Nippon Budokan!　It's the first time for me to feel like my voice is coming down from above," he said with emotion. "But I feel like we haven't yet sung out enough to express our gratitude," he said as if challenging the fans, and then, off-mic, he launched into an exclamation that reached every corner of the Budokan. --The audience was so impressed with his performance that they were surprised to see him singing off-mike. The chorus in the hall grew even more heated at an accelerated pace. It's the best!　It's going to be a great day!　This is going to be the best day of my life," Kenji said, his expression reflecting his heartfelt feelings.

Photo by Yoshihiro Mori

We formed in 2009, and we've been a band for about 16 years now, and all that time we've been thinking, 'Our music is undeniably the coolest,' and we've always been about evolving. So we are the coolest Frederick right now. Whatever musical memories you have, they will all be rewritten by the current, coolest Frederick. You can count on us today."
Kenji began to sing "Famous Villain" with these words. This song, which had been performed as a new song at the first Budokan concert four years ago (......4), echoed out with a powerful intensity, as if to show Frederick's determination to take on further challenges.

Photo by Issei Watanabe

Please win your own happiness by yourself! After the call of "You win your own happiness!", the band performed "Happiness", a song from "CITRUSCURIO CITY", followed by the "FRDC Remix" corner, a nonstop remix of Frederick's songs that could only be performed live. After finishing "Raspberries for a Moment," it seemed as if the spotlight was on Akagashira, who was cutting a lively tune, but the next moment Koji was playing the synth bass and Takahashi was playing the drums, looming high above the flower aisle. When Kenji and Akagashira joined them, the entire aisle became like a big stand, and the four of them seemed to float high in the center of the arena. This avenue was divided vertically into four blocks and moved up and down, literally creating steps in the aisle for "Night Step" and moving up and down in real time like a wave for "PEEK A BOO" (......). The big tricks unique to arena performances, coupled with the passionate performances by the four members, made the live more exciting by the minute.
After aggressive numbers such as "Wanderlust," "LIGHT," and "Let It Be BGM" were performed with cool and hyper club arrangements, "Wake Me Up" drew the audience into a jumping and dancing circle, and "Sparkle Dancer" made the audience shake with excitement. Sparkle Dancer" had the audience shaking in their seats.

When I was about 19 years old, Koji and I were talking at my parents' house about how we wanted to form an interesting band.
When it came to the MC part, Kenji began to look back on the time when the band was formed. I went to a technical school, and there were a lot of friends who were doing music with the feeling of "I'm going to be a pro for real! There were a lot of friends who were doing music with a feeling of 'I'm going to be a pro! I thought that Koji's music was the coolest, the most beautiful, and the music he made would definitely move the hearts of people all over the world! I thought. You can thank me for thinking that!" Kenji's words, which once again straight forwardly conveyed his respect for his twin brother Koji, who is also a ...... songwriter, were met with a high round of applause in the audience.

Photo by Issei Watanabe

In a complete change from the stoic performance scene earlier in the day, they were suddenly in a relaxed mode. Kenji asked Koji, "You've turned 35 years old, haven't you?" Koji responded with satisfaction, "The older I get, the fewer opportunities I have to celebrate, but if I get this many congratulations, I'll be like ...... hey hey hey hey! Koji responded with satisfaction. "My father likes Ryuji for some reason," Koji now turned the conversation to Akagashira. He said, "My father likes Ryuji for some reason. I don't know how they managed to go ahead with the show as it was," said Takahashi. You didn't think they would go up and down that (flower aisle), did you?　It's going to go up to the level of the Japanese flag (on the ceiling of the Budokan)! said Akagashira. Such casual talk excited the audience and further heightened the sense of unity in the venue.

Here, they performed "Peppermint Gum," "sayonara bathroom," and "Hagretsubame" from "CITRUS CURIO CITY" in rapid succession, demonstrating the deep and rich depth of Frederick's musical world, followed by "Now the second half! and "Take me away to the end of the galaxy! the live performance continued to soar to the peak of euphoria. From "Owarase Night" to "Junkie," Kenji shouted, "Show me the best live performance of your life! Kenji shouted, "Show me the best live performance of your life! The main part of the show came to a close.
In the song "Shimmering Boat" from CITRUS CURIO CITY, he says, "This is your song!　Sing it to yourself! The chorus part of "YUURAYAYA YUURAYAYA" was colored by the entire Budokan's chorus, creating the most spectacular scene.

Photo by Yoshihiro Mori

The encore opened with "Odolupe. This important song, which has supported the band's rapid progress, rang out with an even greater sense of scale and urgency, shaking the Budokan with dance and chorus. During the interlude, Akagashira performed his classic guitar solo on the raised aisle, and the excitement in the hall grew to an unceasing level.

Here, Kenji said, "I'm going to play a quick new song! Kenji said, "I'll just play a quick new song! The will to leave not only the aftermath of the festival but also a new footprint in the audience's memory was impressive, as well as the progressive nature of Frederic's music. Frederick has had enough fun, so I'm going to play KITAKU!" (Kenji), the last song of the night, "KITAKU BEATS," completely burned the stage and the audience!　Frederic will continue to be Frederic! Kenji's words, "Frederic will continue to be Frederic!

Photo by Yoshihiro Mori

The Budokan concert "FREDERHYTHM ARENA 2025 CITRUS CURIO CITY -TOKYO NIGHT CRUISING-" was broadcast live on CS Teleasa Channel 1! The show will be available for one week on SKY PerfecTV! The complete version of the show, including off-shot footage, will also be broadcast on April 20 (Sun.).

Text/Tomoki Takahashi