FLOW brings one-of-a-kind ‘Naruto’ concert to Manila
On Tuesday night, October 20, the band took the stage at the Sky Dome in SM City North EDSA, Quezon City, where fans jumped and sang word for word to the anime songs that many of them grew up with.
Every song on the setlist came from Naruto. FLOW played its own songs from the franchise, as well as its own versions of other Naruto theme songs.
Each number was paired with clips of iconic scenes from the anime on the big screen.
Vocalist Keigo Hayashi said he was happy to be back in Manila.
“We are so happy to see you all,” Keigo said.
“You all love Naruto, right? Let’s show all our love for Naruto and make this the greatest time ever,” he added.
Fellow vocalist Kohshi Asakawa, meanwhile, thanked the fans for coming, especially those who had seen the band perform in Manila before.
“It’s been a while. It’s great to see you again. We’re sold out tonight,” Kohshi said.
He also teased that the night was a one-of-a-kind experience, one made possible by the band’s connection to Naruto.
In an Instagram post, FLOW described their Manila performance as a “powerful.”
“Manila, it was a powerful night✨ Your voices, energy, vibes, everything made our performance greater🔥 We will see you next time,” FLOW wrote.
FLOW has five members. Kohshi and Keigo share vocal duties, Take plays guitar, Got’s is on bass, and Iwasaki is on drums. Kohshi and Take, who are brothers, first played music together in 1993 and went on to start FLOW in 1998. Keigo, Got’s and Iwasaki had all come on board by 2000. The band made its major-label debut in 2003 with “Blaster.”
FLOW’s history with Naruto started in 2004, when “GO!!!” was picked as an opening theme for the anime. It was the first time one of the band’s songs was used in an anime. FLOW later recorded another Naruto opening, “Re:member,” and in 2009, “Sign” was used as the sixth opening theme of Naruto Shippuden. To this day, “Sign” is one of the band’s biggest songs, with more than 140 million streams on Spotify.
Outside Naruto, FLOW is also known for anime songs like “COLORS” from Code Geass and “DAYS” from Eureka Seven.
“Naruto the Rock” is FLOW’s first concert tour that focuses only on its Naruto songs. Aside from the band’s own hits, the tour’s announced setlist includes FLOW’s covers of other Naruto openings, such as Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s “Haruka Kanata” and KANA-BOON’s “Silhouette.” Both covers are on the band’s 2023 album FLOW THE COVER ~NARUTO Shibari~.
The tour has taken FLOW to Europe, North America and Latin America. The Manila show, presented by PULP Live World, is part of the tour’s Asian leg, which also includes Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei.
FLOW is scheduled to perform in Melbourne on October 24 and in Sydney on October 25, followed by a show in Malaysia on November 4.