すてんだっぷガールズ!〜第1話 ダメダメ怪獣にご用心〜 First-Class Edition Bonus DVD

Peak PASSPO☆

Again, this is simply the すてんだっぷガールズ!〜第1話 ダメダメ怪獣にご用心〜 music video. It involves PASSPO☆ in some sort of comic where fight monsters and then defeat the big boss monster using the combined power of their lightsticks. This was the first PASSPO☆ video I ever saw and I think it made me a fan instantly; the video concept is fun, the song is awesome, their outfits are fire and they're all super cute. I don't know how anyone could watch this and not fall in love.

Peak PASSPO☆ right here.

Highlights:
Everything I listed above and probably more.

Lowlights:
There was nothing more to come after that.

7 / 7 Glowsticks

すてんだっぷガールズ!〜第1話 ダメダメ怪獣にご用心〜

Unemployed and ejected from the movie theatre, our heroes can no longer afford windows

This is just a single but I didn't think it fits on the Tracks compilation. Plus it's the final PASSPO☆ release and is responsible for me discovering the awesomeness that is PASSPO☆, so it deserves it's own post.

Our opening song is the title track - you know, the subject of the single - すてんだっぷガールズ!〜第1話 ダメダメ怪獣にご用心〜. Duh! It picks up where Cinema Trip left off. It's just a blazing assault of pop-punk awesomeness that makes every day better. Each girl gets a moment to spit some cool lyrics in a fun way.

Our second song is Party Like a Rockstar! At first, I thought this was inferior, but now I realise this song is actually a different kind of badass. I get the feeling it was written specifically for Band PASSPO☆. It's super awesome.

Then we get instrumentals of both songs, which I don't totally mind because there is actually some really cool stuff going on in these songs and I need to make myself learn すてんだっぷガールズ! in full one day. The Party Like a Rockstar! instrumental is followed by PASSPO☆ talking for 10 minutes. I think Blue just watched the video for ギミギミaction 4 times and said the food looked really good. White gets them back on track to discuss the single but then Red is like 'Why is the title for this song not written in English?" I could try and recap more, but I will leave that for another day when I can focus more and my Japanese is better.

Highlights:
すてんだっぷガールズ!〜第1話 ダメダメ怪獣にご用心〜, Party Like a Rockstar!

Lowlights:
The last release from PASSPO☆

6 / 7 Glowsticks

日本青年館のフライト、9月9日2017

"If your beard is *this* long, you can't enter the airplane!"

This was a concert from 2 years ago that I found on the interwebs - probably from around when I first discovered PASSPO☆ (I got Cinema Trip in November 2017, but my first exposure was the すてんだっぷガールズ! music video. I think that came out around August/September 2017. It's a bit of a jump as far as my chronology goes, but it's nice to have something between the 2015 live and ラストフライト.

This concert opens with Puti Passpo.
They are NOT PASSPO☆.
Yeah, I'm not watching this nonsense...

So Yellow-Green has since gone, due to health or something. It's a shame, because she had grown on me a lot - she was a great dancer and solid singer. BUT this does mean we're down to the core 7 that make up the PASSPO☆ I know and love.

The show opens with a big spoken-word intro over the speakers. Orange keeps sleeping and there is other hilarity but my Japanese is not fast enough to catch it all. Then Popcorn Bought? kicks in and every　time the crowd join in with the big "HEY!" I get very jealous I'm not there. PASSPO☆ come out wearing the outfits from すてんだっぷガールズ! and I immediately know this will be a good live because those outfits are pure fire! Bah gawd this was peak PASSPO☆ for me.

Oh cool they're going to open with Honey Dish - just what I wanted after having to watch the music video 9 times in a row... Purple then teaches the crowd the dance for すてんだっぷガールズ! and I realise I should learn that on my next day off.

The fact that I never got one of these PASSPO☆ star-shaped lightsticks is an absolute crime and the world should be ashamed. Orange and White clearly enjoying performing 7's Up. But Purple using her solo moment to be silly with a security guard shows how she's become a dam star in this group. With the other 2 gone - and her getting older - she's certainly taking command on stage.

Band PASSPO☆ time already??
Blue is no longer pretending to be a DJ and has traded her Xylophone for guitar. And they even pull out BABY JUMP〜天国への搭乗便〜 to my surprise - I did not expect Band PASSPO☆ to be doing the heavy shit. They follow up with WANTED!!, which I did expect. Honestly, they're lucky Purple and Aqua are actually competent at drums and bass because the guitarists are not quite at Ground Crew level. They even do Love Diary, which is kinda cool. But I do miss the choreography. And then we wouldn't have to make Red attempt a guitar solo. BUT at least this means Orange plays a real whistle instead!

White gives a speech where I believe she was discussing how hard they've worked to be able to do Band PASSPO☆ - Purple points out that doesn't apply to her.

Back to just regular PASSPO☆ now and Purple is talking about their previous songs as Band PASSPO☆. I can't quite work out if she's saying she wanted to keep going as Band PASSPO☆ or she was bummed that she didn't do a song as well as she would have liked.

Time for your in-flight meals! Today's options are Beef or Chicken - get it?
So they wheel out two boards (Beef and Chicken) with 4 different songs and the audience gets to choose which they perform. Where's the Vegetarian option?? The audience can vote using the colours on their lightsticks, but Purple thinks using animal noises is more accurate and given her Cow and Chicken impression, I'm going to have to agree. The crowd are split, so the girls also vote and hilarious it is unanimously in favour of the Chicken menu. Aqua reminds the team that two of these songs require Band PASSPO☆ so they spend another 10 minutes organising the menu and labelling each song with Salad, Soup, Main and Dessert. Girls, you just said this was the "Chicken" menu - I ain't never heard of no chicken dessert!

This is a meal, so before we can partake you must wash your hands and say "いただきます”

Anyway, the result is this:

Mr. Wednesday = Salad
キャンディー・ルーム = Soup
Pretty Lie = Main
くちゃLove = Dessert

I'd actually agree.

In the funniest moment of the night, Purple starts talking about Disney but can't remember Mickey Mouse's name. Then tells the crowd they are full of it when they say they knew it.

Playground is still one of my favourite dance routines they've done. And this was possibly one of the best performances of the night! It's just the Aqua, Yellow and Purple show and they killed it. Then Yellow opens 無題 accapella and it is possibly her best vocal performance of the night. Purple nails her solo part and doesn't break into tears. Then oh shit - they're doing フィルム? And then following with バチェロレッテは終わらない? Well, that's one hell of a way to end the main concert!

Encore time! Buy their goods! I would if I could, believe me!!

Time for the madness that is always STEP&GO. This time Orange tries to lie down, so Purple sits on her. They've got luggage attached to scooters and Red goes across the stage. Then pushes Blue on it, who is not so confident and almost runs over Aqua. As soon as the song ends, they ALL fucking destroy Blue for it. Then Purple shows her how it's done by racing across the stage on the scooter and avoiding everyone.

Purple is queen.

Red announces a concert on 22nd September 2018. They're excited! That would become their final concert performance and last official act as PASSPO☆. Then they do one last performance as Band PASSPO☆- 少女飛行 - then rock the house with Music Navigation before calling it a night.

This was a really fun live. One of the reasons I love this 7 the most is that being less members, they all had a chance to show personality. And they have a lot of it! It might even be just that they've gotten older and more experienced, but whatever. I can sit here and badmouth the singing or the Band PASSPO☆ stuff, but really at least they were trying their best to do something different.

Highlights:
Playground, the luggage riding incident, Purple making cow and chicken noises

Lowlights:
No vegetarian meal option

5 / 7 Glowsticks