Japanese alternative rock band Hitsujibungaku made their Philippine concert debut at the Eastside Events Place on July 6.

Composed of vocalist and guitarist Moeka Shiotsuka and bassist Yurika Kasai, assisted by drummer Yuna from the band Chai, Hitsujibungaku played an 18-song setlist of their most recent hits. (Their original drummer Hiroa Fukuda has been on a hiatus since May.) Presented by The Rest is Noise and Gabi Na Naman Productions, the show marked the band’s first stop in Manila for their first-ever Asia Tour, drawing in a good number of J-rock and anime fans as well as music enthusiasts.

Hitsujibungaku, which translates to “sheep literature”, started in 2011 when the members were still in high school. In their early days, they played covers of bands like Chatmonchy and Sambomaster. It was not until 2017 that they started releasing official EPs. They gained local acclaim by releasing their songs “1999” and “Ningen Datta” in 2019. Recently, their name started making waves globally when their song “More than Words” was featured in the Shibuya Incident Arc of the wildly popular anime series Jujutsu Kaisen.

Starting with a short instrumental snippet from “Yokan” followed by “Addiction”, the trio played each track. Their setlist was predominantly composed of their songs from two of their most recent albums. From their latest album 12 hugs like butterflies, we also heard “honestly”, “GO!!!”, “Shinkokyu” and “FOOL”. From their 2022 album our hope, they played “Lucky”, “hopi”, “OOPARTS” and “Mayoiga” which were among the crowd’s favorites that evening.

The Filipino crowd also got to be one of the first crowds to hear the gritty, angsty riffs of “Burning” performed live as it was only released 3 days before the concert as the closing theme of the anime series Oshi No Ko. Of course, a high point of the show was when they played “More than Words” back-to-back with another stand-out track “Hikaru Toki” which had everyone dancing and singing along.

The audience also sang “Happy Birthday” to Moeka who celebrated her birthday on July 3. “I’m having a lot of fun. Thank you for the warm welcome,” Moeka said in Japanese near the end of the concert. She did, however, come with a curious arsenal of Filipino phrases. From the typical “Kamusta kayo?”, “Mahal ko kayo” and “salamat”, she also said “Gusto ko ng San Mig at Red Horse” and “Masarap ang pancit”, much to the delight of the crowd. Small update: She shared a can of Red Horse with a band member post-gig, as posted in a photo in her Instagram story.

Seeing Hitsujibungaku live in Manila, in a rather intimate venue, was a great way to spend a Saturday evening. It was a rare opportunity as well since not a lot of Japanese artists stopped by the Philippines for their world tours. As someone who knew them from their song in Jujutsu Kaisen, I found their music to be a treasure trove of alt-rock tunes that I could keep going back to in my regular playlists. Hoping for more Japanese acts in Manila soon!

Special thanks to The Rest Is Noise and Gabi Na Naman Productions

by Sandra Mae Laureano

Setlist – Hitsujibungaku Live in Manila
Yokan (Instrumental)
Addiction
Sabaku no kimi e
honestly
GO!!!
Burning
Lucky
Shinkokyu
Kiniro
hopi
OOPARTS
Mayoiga
Eien no Blue
More than words
Hikaru Toki
FOOL
Aimai de iiyo
Wonder