Taking different pathways with hope and love: Iketeru Hearts’ Final Live
Bonjour Idol went full circle on January 21st as we broke our slumber to attend our beloved Iketeru Hearts’ final live at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall.
After eight years and a half of fun lives, exciting tunes and four generations of close-knit members – as all but only one of their OG were sitting and loudly cheering in the audience that night – it was time for the nine idols to call it quits as members of Iketeru Hearts, citing wishing to pursue different pathways as the reason behind their dissolution.
We barely saw the two hours and a half of performance go by, paced by the group’s catchiest tunes for a high-tone send-off. Iketeru Hearts set the tone by opening with the crazy “SING・LA・BANG・SHOW!”, and performed four more songs before welcoming the audience with a short MC.
The following segment felt like a blast from the past; the members skyrocketed their performance with a medley of short versions of not less than 14 songs, starting with their major debut song, “Let’s stand up!”. A full-on pop marathon unfolded before our eyes, taking us on a crazy journey through the best of Iketeru Hearts, some fans cheering in excited surprise as they brought up some of their favorite oldies such as “Drawing again” or “Tenbu no mai, Akatsuki no mon”!
The party went on – and Iketeru Hearts made sure no one was left behind by tackling all of their singles to date, bringing us along on a rollercoaster of emotions. After bearing with the silent treatment of COVID prevention guidelines, it was one of the few first times in three years that fans were able to shout and cheer out loud freely, adding up to the heartfelt emotion in watching them interact fully with their favorite idols for the last time.
The encore call brought Iketeru Hearts back on stage with one of their very rare ballads, “I will”, as most of the members were not able to hold their tears back for very long. Wearing the final live tee-shirts, each member of Iketeru Hearts then proceeded to read a little letter to the fans.
And just like the idols, the wide range of unique characters shined through! Third-generation member Yuzuki Nanaha tried hard to keep up with her upbeat cheerful little sister energy – only to be caught up with heavy tears after a few jokes and wide smiles. Fujisaki Shizuku, on the other side, embraced her new role with a high note as the group’s crybaby, as she had shed some tears a few times over the entire performance already.
Second-generation Koizumi Shiika shook our hearts with a heartfelt retrospective on how much becoming a member of Iketeru Hearts brought her. “I used to dislike myself, but I think I like myself a little more now. (…) I couldn’t have done it on my own (…) there have been many times where I wanted to quit, but I am glad I kept going. Thank you for letting me an idol for 5 years,” she said, holding back in modesty before breaking into tears.
First generation members Tachibana Rie and Usami Madoka both went back on their history within the group as the last remaining original members. With stories about growth, sorority and friendship and self-love – and Madoka confessing that she wishes she can be an idol and perform with the Iketeru Hearts members forever.
Iketeru Hearts sent off their fans with “Kibou no Chizu”, in the quest for hope, and a love confession with “Suki da yo sunshine”. As shiny streamers fell on stage, the members waved around at the live audience and their fans watching the live-stream, before disappearing one last time.
We even noticed Rie pulling a Yamaguchi Momoe-type move by trying to leave her microphone on stage – and if we are sure of one thing, it’s that the Iketeru Hearts legend will also live on forever inside their fans’ hearts.
Editor’s Note
Iketeru Hearts was where it all started for the Bonjour Idol team, as their major debut announcement was our first official photo report ever, back in 2015. We watched them grow into the shining and talented idols we know, single by single, live by live. We followed them to Japan Expo Paris, we watched over them filming MVs… we even tried filming our own documentary videos!
This was all made possible by benevolent people who saw our potential and will to share our passion to the world, as well as the staff behind Iketeru Hearts – an incredibly welcoming, amazing team of reliable professionals, who decided to trust us, despite being foreign nobodies in the idol media field.
The group holds a very special place in our hearts and we wish them the very best in their future endavours!
Thank you for everything.
– The Bonjour Idol team
Setlist
01. SING・LA・BANG・SHOW!
02. Suki da yo sunshine (好きだよSunshine)
03. Dreaming love
04. LOVE♡LOVE♡LOVE
05. KAKERA
Short-version Medley:
06. Let’s stand up!
07. Drawing again
08. GIRL,Me❤︎
09. Happy Day = Beautiful Day
10. Shrimp Girl (シュリンプガール)
11. ORIGAMI
12. Tenbu no mai, Akatsuki no mon (天部の舞、暁の門)
13. Shishin Kakutei (私信確定)
14. Never stop love
15. Distance Love
16. TINT
17. In the name of love 〜Ai to iu mei no moto ni〜 (In the name of love 〜愛という名のもとに〜)
18. Believe in My Dreams
19. Sekai he habatake! (世界へはばたけ！)
20. Rosetta Stone (ロゼッタ・ストーン)
21. Sparkle☆Power
22. Happy End (ハッピーエンド)
23. Complex Image (コンプレックス・イマージュ)
24. Zaishyou no Lucifer (罪証のルシファー)
25. Endless Evolution
26. Otomegokoro (オトメゴコロ)
27. Ike Ike BIG HEARTS♡ (イケイケBIG HEARTS♡)
28. MARIA
29. HEARTS OF JOURNEY
30. NOIR STEP
31. Karma Stripe (カルマストライプ)
32. Lumica Jane (ルミカジェーン)
33. Kibou no Chizu (希望の地図)
EN01. I will
EN02. Kibou no Chizu (希望の地図)
EN03. Suki da yo sunshine (好きだよSunshine)
Iketeru Hearts – Official site Iketeru Hearts – Twitter
Photos, article and translation by Melody.