Like dozing off with Cloud at the campfire on a Final Fantasy adventure.

While Japan is well-known for its boy bands, with Arashi and the now-dissolved SMAP becoming famous on an international level, there’s a whole array of other styles and genres to discover once you scratch the surface of the local music scene.

One of those styles is visual kei, which sets itself apart with the use of makeup, outlandish costumes, and head-turning hairstyles that often draw similarities to the glam rock scene in the West. It’s still uniquely Japanese, though, and here to illustrate is Visual Kei band Golden Bomber with their track “Dance My Generation“.

Take a look at the music video below:

Since forming in 2004, Golden Bomber has built up a loyal fanbase, and with a dozen singles and 11 albums under their belt, they’ve received  a lot of views on their YouTube videos, which are all currently being consolidated into one official channel.

Surprisingly, their most recent video has been an instant hit, surpassing view counts on some of their popular videos even though it doesn’t involve any dancing or singing from the group’s members. Instead, it stars the lead frontman, Sho Kiryuin, sitting silently in front of a bonfire for an hour.

Take a look at the soothing video below:

Kiryuin says the idea for the video came about after he’d been having trouble sleeping and somebody suggested he watch a video of a burning bonfire on YouTube. He gave it a try and was surprised at how relaxing it was, and was even more surprised to find it actually sent him off to a sound sleep.

The 35-year-old was instantly converted to the healing effects of the bonfire, but he couldn’t help feeling it would’ve been even better if someone he adored, like one of his favourite musicians, were to have been sitting by the fire as well.

Acting on that idea, he decided to treat his fans to his dream bonfire scenario by stepping through the screen and into a bonfire video of his own.

Releasing it for fans on White Day, the day in March when men give gifts to women in return for their Valentine’s Day presents, made the video all the more special.

“Thank you for such a thoughtful White Day present!”
“Isn’t it great to be able to watch Kiryuin for a whole hour?!”
“The sound of the bonfire makes me sleepy but how can I close my eyes when my favourite frontman is on the screen?”
“I will fall asleep to this every night from now on.”
“I breastfed my three-month-old daughter to this and we both fell soundly asleep.”

It does appear that the healing powers of both the bonfire and Kiryuin are equally great, coming together for a powerful video that has the power to put fans to sleep…in a very good way.

And at one hour long, the video is substantially more satisfying than the eight-second concert the band gave to fans back in 2017.

Sources: YouTube/ゴールデンボンバー公式 via Ameblo/Kiryu-in, Hachima Kikou
Top image: YouTube/Pokemon Official YouTube Channel
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