Nearly eight years of pent-up energy was unleashed when BTS took the stage at Tokyo Dome on Friday evening. As all seven members appeared, the screams were so loud they nearly drowned out opening number “Hooligan.”
It was a fitting start to a show in which the connection between artist and audience became part of the spectacle — where a wink from Jung Kook could spark the kind of delirium usually reserved for a World Cup-winning penalty kick.
BTS’ first of two Tokyo Dome performances marked the opening international stop on the K-pop group’s Arirang World Tour, its first after members — RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — completed mandatory military service in South Korea. It was also BTS’ first concert in Japan since 2018, returning to a country that embraced the group well before it became a worldwide phenomenon.
