By: Sweiled

Official Report

On March 8, 2008, Gackt sang the Japanese national anthem “君が代” (Kimi ga yo) at the WBC flyweight title match. After an intense 12 rounds match between defending champion, Daisuke Naito, and his long-time rival Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (Thailand), it finally ended in a draw and Daisuke Naito managed to keep his title and his belt.

Gackt sang the national anthem during the opening ceremony of the match. It was reported that Gackt and Daisuke had been friends long before Daisuke earned the WBC flyweight title in 2007 and gained fame. Their friendship started three years ago, after a mutual friend introduced the two. “We hit it off well from the start. I was still unknown back then, but it didn’t matter to Gackt and we became friends [1],” said Daisuke Naito. Since then, the two often met for dinner and they continued their friendship. Both of them also attended last year’s Kouhaku Utagassen, Gackt as an invited singer and Naito as a judge.

[1] 接する sessuru: to approach; to come in contact with; to touch; to connect (with)

Official pictures of the event:

Picture taken from Mainichi Japan

Gackt shaking hands with 香里奈 (Karina)
Picture taken from Sankei Iza! online news

Fan Report

The hall opened at 3:50 pm and the first match was supposed to start at 4:20. I arrived just in time to see them open the gates. I didn't know that there were going to be other matches before Naitou Daisuke's and had to sit through all of them. ^^; There were six matches before Naitou's and then there was the opening ceremony (which didn't start till 7:40), before the actual match began.

Ryougoku Kokugikan Hall

A lot of people were still loitering around in the lobby when the first match started. They were probably there only for Naitou's match and weren't interested in the rest. The hall was bigger than I thought it would be!

It was the first time I had ever watched a boxing match; I have never even watched it on tv before. I don't know the rules or even how the game is played, so it just looks to me like they are bouncing on the balls of their feet and hugging each other a lot. XD XD I think I had better stop my commentaries on the matches here before I get rotten eggs and other such trash thrown at me from boxing lovers. XD It was interesting to watch the matches at first, but it got boring real quick. Unfortunately, I left my book and DS at home, so I had no choice but to sit it all out.

Fast forward to Naitou's match! There was a 40 minutes break before the opening ceremony started. A couple of guys from WBC came in and checked the ring and everything while we were waiting. Then the MC came up on the stage and introduced the judges and a few other people. I didn't pay these much attention; so unfortunately, I didn't notice Gackt coming up the ring. (They didn't announce it or anything!) What made me look up was this lady dressed in a red gown entering the ring and another person wearing a suit standing beside by her. I was too far away to see them clearly though, and I just assumed they were from WBC or some officials. Somewhere in the back of my mind though, I did wonder if the guy was Gackt. There was just... something different about the man. XD Turns out I was right! I don't know if it was the way he stands or his suit that gave him away, but he stands out somehow amongst the other guys wearing suits. Even his suit couldn't conceal his Gackt Aura. XD XD

The ceremony started on time. They turned off all the lights in the hall and the two fighters came in. There were the usual rounds of handshakes and brief greetings before the representative from Thailand (the lady in the red) sang the national anthem. And then it was Gackt's turn! There were many cheers and applauses from the audience. A few people even shouted things like, "Gackt, shikkari utae!!" ((make sure you) sing properly, Gackt!) XD It was so crazy. And this continued even after he started singing!

The performance itself was... absolutely amazing. @@ His voice was clear and loud and it was so powerful that it felt like every word resonated round and round the hall. It gave me goose bumps even though it wasn't my national anthem that he was singing. An excellent performance and the crowd knew it too! They cheered and shouted encouragements for practically every line he sang. I have never seen or heard anything quite like it before. It must be quite pressuring to sing in front of such a crowd, but Gackt pulled it off beautifully. He seemed unfazed by it all and kept singing as if he didn't hear anything the crowd was shouting to him. XD

Then the match started and everybody had to leave the ring. Gackt sat on the opposite side of the hall, which is even further with the ring between us. >___<

A pathetic attempt to take a decent shot, lol.

I changed seats during the breaks between the rounds and found a place which was much closer, though still far away that I couldn't get a nice clear shot. I didn't want to be rude though and keep changing seats and disturb the other audience members. Plus, it's a personal thing, but I feel like it is an insult to Naitou and even to Gackt, if I completely ignore the match and just snap away at him. He was there to support his friend after all and we should respect the man's privacy. So I just stayed at my new seat and kept taking pictures while watching the game. I must have taken about 200 pictures! Hahahaha, and all from the same angle! I think I caught every moment when he looked down or shifted positions. XD;;

Gackt kept shifting on his seat and commenting to the guy beside him. He pretty much ignored the lady in blue sitting beside him. ^^; He was all calm and composed at first, and he had his arms crossed, as you can see in the picture before this. But you can tell that he became more excited gradually as he started leaning in and uncrossing his arms.

It was a close match and ended in a tie. Naitou got to keep his belt and title though. Gackt stayed for a few minutes after the result was announced and then left the hall with the guy on his left.

Rather sad attempts to capture him on camera, but I hope that you have enjoyed this report nonetheless. XD

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