Rise of ‘Hikoboshi no Hoko’ Concert; A Fun Event with 3 Anison Singers

By Mishio SuzukiYomiuri / Shimbun Senior Specialist

13:00 JST, August 9, 2024

On July 7, which is 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 with talk sessions headlined by three anison (anime song) singers led by Takayuki Miyauchi. The other two are Shinichi Ishihara and Hideaki Takatori. At this event, the three played the part of Hikoboshi — the male lead of the romantic star festival legend. I, too, take part in this event as — let me gather some courage — Orihime, the princess in the legend and Hikoboshi’s girlfriend. July 7 is the only day of the year that the pair can meet.

The first Hikoboshi concert took place on July 7, 2013. At that time, Miyauchi was still rehabilitating from a stroke he suffered toward the end of 2011. He was able to sing but had some restrictions in performing the songs he could sing, and his speech was by no means smooth. It is only my guess, but this concert may have originally been meant to give inspiration to Miyauchi and push him to recover. At first, the concert was a two-man show with Miyauchi and Ishihara, his longtime friend, providing support. In 2014, Takatori, who admires the two older singers, joined the event, making it a concert with three Hikoboshi singing their hearts out.

A further change occurred in 2017. I was serving as the show’s emcee, and accidentally played the part 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 boldly incorporated current affairs. When the four of us performed the first Hikoboshi play, which included some comedy skits and dancing, it instantly became the top attraction of the whole event because fans loved watching the singers doing things they don’t usually get a chance to see. The theater segment in “Hikoboshi no Hoko” continued even during the COVID-19 lockdown period, when the concert was livestreamed without an in-person audience. We have challenged ourselves to various kinds of theatrical antics, such as dancing to songs and mimicking Showa era (1926-89) pop songs. One time, Takatori dressed 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 was not depicted normally. I was cast to play the role of an election candidate and made to perform with Takatori a cancan dance , which is apparently very popular online, and sing and dance “Chu, Tayosei” by popular singer Ano. Miyauchi, who played the part of my father, gave the audience a hearty laugh by coming on stage dressed like the father genie from TV anime “Hakushon Daimao” (“The Genie Family”).

Toward the end of the play, Ishihara came on stage in a dog suit. Everything was chaotic, but thankfully it seems the audience loved every bit. That being said, we prepare diligently and don’t take Hikoboshi theater lightly. Miyauchi practices his lines every day, Takatori perfectly memorizes his part and Ishihara makes props by himself, helped by his entire family. I danced for five hours on 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 the play. This concert is popular mainly because the audience can listen to many songs. What is particularly special is that the singers sing some deep cuts as well, taking advanced requests from audience members. The singers say things like, “I’ve sung this song for the first time since the recording” and “Since I rarely sing it, I can’t find the instrumental track.”

And, above all, the biggest achievement of this concert is the fact that Miyauchi, who had to record many of his lines for Hikoboshi theater in advance, can now make the audience laugh with a long line he delivers on stage. As we are given singing and dancing challenges for the theater part every year, and I’m primarily a reporter, I just clutch my head. But seeing Miyauchi’s happy face dispels all my worries. I want to keep taking part in this annual concert for as long as I can physically cope with it.