It’s obvious I’ve attended various concerts/events since I landed in Japan. I kept saying they’re all “awesome”, but I dare to say AnisamaGN left the biggest impact.

Big difference to normal Anisama which was a big-scale festival with continuous stream of awesome songs… AnisamaGN had each artist talked after each song. ^^;; Befitting its name “Girls Night”, held in small 1k-ish capacity hall, the atmosphere was so personal like.. an epic pajama party! Performers felt more secure to talk/act freely, even responded to whatever crap we shouted! ♥

For now it won’t get a release, so I’m writing A LOT to store this unforgettable experience! Put relevant pics (credits to artists blogs I linked) so enjoy slowly!

Goods.
Arrived 1 hour before, got too excited I bought everything ^^;; well there were only 3 goods.. afraid to invest much on an experimental live?

-Book with photos and in-depth interview of each artist.. all original content!! Includes CD (2 songs) + DVD (40 mins footage)! You can buy this too!
-Shushu!! Technically hairband but everyone used it as wristband.
-Towel is okay but I regret the useless tote-bag >_>
-3rd Polaris CD to get Faylan’s sign orz.
-Silver confetti from the live. Nothing printed but.. sentimental value? lol

Getting in..
Got my ticket from the first lottery and probably the BEST I’ve ever won. Free-seating by entering-number order.. there’s mini-platform and I secured row 2 right in front of that! Getting in early means more waiting time so I talked around. Front-row Ryoko-ists distributed UO! Noticed Makkun fans, Asapon fans with IM@S towel, Minami fans in their 40s (!!), .. happi-coat-wearing Mingos fan ^^; when the hall starts to get full, it already felt different! Girly giggles and chatters lol.

Yes this was girls-only. We’re awesome.

Opening: Fashion Show
BEST OPENING EVER!! Each artist was introduced while doing fashion walk… throwing flying kisses… posing cute and sexy… with all fangirls screaming like crazy!! Zero chance happening in normal live. No idea how I survived (´Д｀；)ハアハア

Highlights..

-Aso Natsuko (Nacchan) TOO !@#!# CUTE I got this kyuun feeling ^^; what a doll!
-Imai Asami (Mingosu) THREW THAT JACKET to us. Row 4 girl caught it OMG as expected from fan(girl-only)service queen!!
-Kuribayashi Minami (Kurinoko) was too dangerous.. bending over and pose that awesome cleavage to our face.. I did get heart attack. d(>_<)b

-Okui Masami (Makkun) & Satou Hiromi-nee can’t possibly be 40 orz
-Makkun’s theme is “first date in Disneyland” oy oy way too innocent! xD
-Faylan did ass-shaking LOL TOO CUTE~ Minnie sweater & ribbon *dies*
-Shimoda Asami (Asapon) in school uniform did BANG!BANG! twice and kamehameha once.

Last artist Aki stayed in center, then 3 girls each from left and right joined in for..

Okui Masami x Kuribayashi Minami x Faylan x Shintani Ryoko x Misato Aki x Aso Natsuko x Shimoda Asami for ZOMGGGGGG HARE HARE YUKAI!! SEVEN artists collaboration! Tension was already crazy after fashion show, but this was EPIC! Nacchan was the only one who knows the dance! ♥

Welcoming MC with Makkun’s “Girls Night smells good!” then Faylan sniffed us LOL. Also said this is going to be long (certainly did..) but we’re all up for it!

Satou Hiromi (blog)
Still on the same costume. Finally I get to see Hiromi-nee! How did her voice stays cute over the years?! GuriGuri sounded exactly how I first heard it in GreenGreen! Angelica was more mature, then wheee Galaxy Angel’s Angelic Symphony!!!!

My area started the “shachou” (company president) call which became the trend ^^;; (she heads S-inc agency). Mentioned her turning 40 this year. We shouted “KAWAII YO!!” (honestly) and she got so happy she wanted to throw 100yen to each of us LOL. Shachou also said that not only all performers/attendees are female, but ALL band members and backstage staff too! Wonderful.

Another call trend started: “mizu oishii?!” (water delicious?) when artist drinks water ^^;; Nico-watchers tweeted they couldn’t believe girls do this too~xD Usually artists don’t really reply (simply “oishii yo” or ignored), but AnisamaGN got replies! Shachou said, “Drinking in Tokyo Girls Night with everyone.. WATER TASTES THE BEST!!” XD

Performers #2, 3, 4 backstage!

Nakano Aiko (blog)
Cut her hair short, wearing all black, deep voice, Aiko was definitely the coolest!! She just debuted earlier this year for Dance in the Vampire Bund; Tsumeato and Friends were more powerful than I thought. Aiko confessed she’s not girly at all, but worked hard to increase her girl power for GN! Loved it when she asked everyone to do “duck pout” while saying “kyu~♥” LOL really girls-night-only!

Stephanie (blog)
Wore really short shorts to expose her really long legs (yes, wins over Kobayu or Tomachan)… as expected from half-European… so jealous! Everyone murmured the same thing (“足長！” Legs so long! O_o). She can really control her high pitch–Kimi ga Iru Kagiri was woah, tho I only knew Gundam00‘s Friends beforehand. Mentioned GN Osaka in MC; some shouted “I went to Osaka!” hayyy if I knew it was this good I would’ve done so too! >_>

Aso Natsuko (blog)
Have I screamed Nacchan’s SO !@#!@# CUTE? I did? WELL SHE IS! Darn catchy songs too, weird since I watched Bakatest and didn’t realize that.. must be real-person effect / full songs? (btw I bought her album ♪) More-more LOVERS!! out next week! Speaking about MM! in MC, Nacchan claimed that she’s M too! xD She taught us to do special Perfect-area complete! move for chorus. Cuuuuuute.

Anison Medley
DAMN EPIC. Totally different set from Osaka Medley. All performers participated to sing 5 great songs!! Started with Makkun x Aiko for a powerful Cruel Angel Thesis! And nostalgic Touch (Hiromi-nee x Aiko x Steph)..

Triple Asa For Fruits Basket (Nacchan x Asapon x Mingosu have 麻 (Asa) kanji in their names~)!! Followed by woooot Catch You Catch Me by Ryoko x Asapon x Aki~ all girls LOVED CCS! Lastly, Faylan x Minami for Tamashii no Refrain! In contrast with Minami’s kind smile, Feinyan looked darn fierce while singing.. I like! (// A //) EPIC.EPIC.EPIC.

Girls Talk Corner
Off limits to boys, even cut from NicoLive streaming! Soooo… sorry guys, no details from me too. :3 The least I could say.. it lasted 30 minutes. Participants sat on chairs reading questions from survey took before the live, discussing the problems.. private sharing fanboys will never know ♥ Makkun and Faylan led the talk, with Asapon, Hiromi-nee, Mingosu, Ryoko, Misato Aki, and Stephanie. No idea why they bother excluding only 3 artists. ^^; Hiromi-nee and Stephanie said good stuff, Mingosu was the ice-breaker.. the rest is secret~♥

Faylan (thoughts, pics)
FEINYAAAAAAN!!! Awesome outfit! One of her best traits: built-in switch from extremely fierce/cool Errand to sweet innocent first-love song spring… then swinging a red stick for sexy Honnou no DOUBT!! And totally airhead on MC…. GAP MOE!! I’m in love~~!! (´ω｀●)

Last surprise, Fei said she had been wanting to do something (everyone な～に？ “What is it?“)… Something inspired by Tamura Yukari (okay everyone just screamed)… lifted her red stick and “MELOOOON!” ROFL I saw many girls wearing Yukarin hoodie (me included) so that was clever!

Okui Masami x Shimoda Asami x Faylan / G.F.N.(Girls Friday Night)
Coupling song for AnisamaGN theme. Dancer audition winners made their first appearance here with pompoms! Pretty easy dance for everyone to follow along~ Looove this song!

Shimoda Asami (blog)
Asapon had more fangirls than I had thought. 2 girls in front of me waved yellow balrog (4 lights each hand)!  Glad I bought yellow lights for her too, since Asapon mentioned in MC the yellow sea felt like a dream~♪ Vocaloid Rinrin Signal was impressive! Need real skill to keep switching male (Len) and female (Rin) voice. Asapon did Ren’s Kokoro in Osaka, but Tokyo got the cooler Len’s Aku no Meshitsukai! The first time she performed it live!

Asapon had special “水タイム” (Water Time); asking everyone to drink together, even “kampai” cheers with us!! Someone shouted “How does the water taste?” xD and get “大地の味” (Taste of Earth)–Asapon’s running joke from Choraji radio. During second MC, she asked us back “What does everyone’s water taste like?” and everyone shouted back “大地の味!!!” awesome crowd control~ and the last BANG! hit the right spots~♪

Misato Aki (blog)
Sutopa kitaaaaaa—!!! Shoujo Meiro de Tsukamaete!!! Introduced it in MC as a song from “Yuri Monogatari” (Yuri Tale). Most girls giggled, the girl next to me shouted “DAISUKI!!” ^^;;; then almost everyone shouted “Watched it!!!” Aren’t we totally the best crowd ever?!

I’ve always liked Aki’s voice. She looked and sounded more mature than Anisama’09, especially in MC before feel it. “There’s a meaning behind every meeting with people you love, no matter how it ended.. both good and bad feelings will help you to grow stronger.” Respect+1. Latest single, energetic SRW song Bokura no Jiyuu ended Aki’s set.

Shintani Ryoko (blogged about each girl)
Ryoko probably had the most hardcore fangirls, most cosplaying as her ^^; Also has the sweetest smile! In MC actually reminded me of her Zetsubou Sensei chara, the “too normal” girl ^^;;; but hey I think she’s charming. Changed 2 songs from Osaka: HONEY TEE PARTY! stays, then Piece of love and Marching Monster. I never really got into her but she built good atmosphere with those fast-beat fun pop songs.

Shintani Ryoko x Imai Asami
Perfect combo of the most normal artist and the weirdest one. xD That way they were a good comedian couple during MC. ^^; First-time singing together, they decided their song… via email. ^^;;; It’s from ancient Gainax anime Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, Blue Water! Actually the first time I heard it but loved it. LOL @ Mingosu’s bad timing for the last-jump.

Imai Asami
Replied our insane “MINGOOOOSU!!” screams with “Yes Mingosu here!” xD It’s a wonder how she excels in gloomy songs with such a bright personality ^^; definitely the best MC! Mingosu is known for her “interest” in girls, be it other seiyuu or fangirls. It’s so obvious she was too happy to be in AnisamaGN she just couldn’t stop smiling. First thing she said, “Surrounded by this many girls.. am I in heaven?” xD

Asked who got the jacket she threw during fashion show.. told her it’s a present so please use it with love! Seeing everyone’s jealous face she asked “What else can I throw?” while inspecting her own costume… everyone got really excited but she quickly said, “What, you think I’m a kigurumi?” LOL. Promoted first album Color Sanctuary before singing its lead song. So happy to hear girls shouting “Omedetou!” she wants to record it.. ^^;

Water time, Mingosu looked in the wrong basket so she checked the other basket saying, “Phew, almost drank other girls’ water.. (someone shouted “Just drink it!“) …good idea! Now is a my only chance to do that.. hmmm Aki’s water or…” Oyoy. ^^; Also best reply to “How does the water taste?” ever…. “It tasted like everyone’s sweat!!” xD

Mingosu took off her long skirt ON STAGE lololol fangirls insanely screamed ^^; Someone shouted “Mawatte!!” so we all followed~ She did her usual turn-jump~ kyaaa legs!! As expected Nyankoi’s Strawberry up next, sweeeet. Last song’s notice got not only the usual “Eeee?!” but also いやだ！もっと歌って！(Nooo, sing more!). It’s Shangrila! She re-used her long skirt as a cloak this time.. what a cool beauty (as long she doesn’t talk?).

Twitter: “Mingosu isn’t a pervert!! I’m normal!! *grins*”

Last 2 performers.

Kuribayashi Minami (blog)
KYAMINAMIKYA!! Everyone just love Minami. To balance her first smexy look, she wore a simple first-date-ish white outfit this time. As much as I like cleavage (lol) this fits her mature/calm composure more. Started with Precious Memories, first song in GN that got call warning (Heeee~~y! heyheyhey!) before PPPH (pan-pan-pan-JUMP!). This didn’t happen in Osaka so Minami thanked us during MC, she was surprised and said it felt special!

Nice boat Namida no Wake is my favorite Minami ballad it made me cry even before I understood any Japanese.. good choice. ;_; And first time hearing Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line!! One of her best energetic songs! Was hoping she’d perform Shining☆Days so ShizNatMyHime can get a representative.. xD

Ee still on stage? “Now I’d like to call my beloved person….”

Okui Masami x Kuribayashi Minami
MAKKUN!! Wuuut more collabo?! And above all, Get along!! Minami filled in Hayashibara Megumi’s parts, even did the back-to-back dance! Before singing Makkun threw her hat to us while facing backwards~ girl in front of me got it lol.

Okui Masami (blog, afterthoughts)
Feeling hot Makkun opened her jacket, leaving a red onepiece. I swear someone shouted “SEXYYY!!” lmao. Started with Shuffle –totally forgot it’s a towel song ^^; Btw already over 4 hours by now but everyone was still so energetic! Makkun changed 2 songs from Osaka, STRATEGY stayed then couldn’t believe Sora ni Kakeru Hashi!! One of my faves! Lastly Makkun shouted “みんなかわゆす～” slang for “everyone’s too cuteee~~” ^^;;

All Performers and dancers~

Everyone joined in OMG FAYLAN HAD A TAIL. ^^;;; No idea who forced her to wear.. that.. leopard-print fetish costume.. but daaaaamn cute! Last song Nettaiya Girls, AnisamaGN’s theme! Cool mature song.

ENCORE
Noticed some went home cuz it’s already late. Zepp is kinda far and they might have work the next day. For once I didn’t sit and keep shouting encore!! Yes I was that high (* A *)ノ☆ AN-KO-RU! AN-KO-RU!! …. They reappeared quickly since there’s no live T-shirt, just take towel and go ^^; Another G.F.N.(Girls Friday Night) with everyone! Pompom dance~♥

Final MC
No other MC is longer than this–almost 40 mins. You can watch just this MC for free in Nicolive (starts at 4h 32m).

-Misato Aki thanked us for the special atmosphere~ Mingosu was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally happy to be in this all-girls event! Being the first two they kept it short without knowing it’d end up a LONG cry-fest..
-Stephanie started the wailing. She said AnisamaGN is more than just “a job”; performers bond with each other, warm supports from girls.. she felt grateful. This got Nacchan‘s eyes teary before her turn. Nacchan broke into tears in less than 30 secs and kept sobbing while thanking us… SO MOEEEE everyone’s “Gambatte!” sounded happy, not sympathetic at all ^^;;

-Asapon talked really fast to hold her tears. Usually performing for 95%-fanboys she was glad we were insane very supportive. Lastly she shouted “がんばるぞ!!” (Let’s work hard!) and everyone “OOOOUUUU!!!” ♥ In contrary Feinyan was already on the verge of crying since Stephanie’s MC. Said how hard everyone worked since rehearsal, especially Hiromi-nee (teary eyes start) and Makkun. Girl power made this event possible in this male-dominated line of work! and moar baaaawls. Understandable why these two got so emotional, being involved with AnisamaGN alongside Makkun closely in Nico channel streaming.

-Minami‘s part was smooth. Didn’t get much rest after OsakaGN and felt unwell, but standing in stage, receiving our support, she felt stronger. Then, “Girls, no matter how strong-looking, are still delicate inside. I hope we all can try our best to achieve our dreams, without pushing too hard!” Respect+1.
-Nakano Aiko broke down within 2 seconds ^^;;; A newcomer to work with such seniors.. so deeply moved she just stood there crying, before muttering she has running nose LOL. Makkun called staff for towel and talked for her, how hardworking Aiko is (making her cry even harder lol). Makkun’s too cool~
-Ryoko was thankful to make new friends, to work with Makkun, and some Girl Power talk. Sorry was paying attention to Nacchan wiping Faylan’s tears with the towel still on Nacchan’s neck.. awww sew sweet! ♥

-Hiromi-nee said it all started in one izakaya night, “All-girls event sounds great, yeah.. *drinks*” LOL (…so they were drunk? xD) Their biggest worry was gathering enough fangirls… will it be a success? Given short time after big-Anisama, everyone had to work extra. This defines Girl Power: working hard while still having fun. Finally in Osaka and Tokyo, seeing our smiles and supports, Hiromi-nee proudly concluded AnisamaGN is a BIG SUCCESS (*≧∀≦)ﾉ

-Makkun said she didn’t have many friends until she joined JAM and then Anisama. Finally brushed her courage up to try producing AnisamaGN……Intermezzoed with Faylan’s eyelashes tearing off ^^; Hiromi-nee did her job as a good shachou: run to cover Fei’s now-makeup-less face LOL.
-Makkun continued talking, somehow Hiromi-nee joined in.. blablabla until Makkun said, “This is becoming a talk show…” ^^;; and Hiromi-nee added, “…Let’s continue in AnisamaGN 2!!!” Insert girl scream here!! YES PLEASE!

-Makkun joked if boys are jealous they should request Anisama Boys Night ROFL all male performers+audience? Honestly think it’s easier to gather more yuri fangirls for the next GN

-Introduced dancers (Yukarin fangirl on leftmost!) and band members: drummer Kanade (tattoo on chest!), bassists Kaya and Shiori, guitarists Yukie and darn-cool Junko, keyboardist Kazuma.

Lastly, Nettaiya Girls!! It was one sultry night indeed!

ENDING
Just like us, they didn’t want to go home! Spent some time waving to everyone.. very nice to see each of them that closely.. (つД｀σ｡ﾟ.o｡

Last part.. Sanbonjime (三本締め), hand claps ritual after artists left the stage. Everyone raised both hands up -> someone shouts short speech -> everyone do 3331 claps. My area led the hand raising, and somehow I ended up doing the speech ^^;;; No chance happening in normal lives so I’m actually very proud~ xD

Phew. 5 hours 15 mins. ^^;

AnisamaGN proved to be more than just a “concert”.
Makkun & Hiromi-nee, all artists, band members, dancers, staff, fangirls who cheered… thank you very much for making this wonderful day possible. m(_ _m)

Will definitely come again next year!!
(3 guys behind doors are Zepp people imo, not GN staff)

PS. Someone posted Osaka’s Nicolive streaming.. very few videos tho. Faylan’s Honnou no DOUBT (beware nosebleed) and final Nettaiya Girls! Might be removed so quickly watch! I want my Tokyo oneeees!

Setlist. For only 11 artists they collaborated A LOT, even more than normal Anisama!

1. Okui Masami x Kuribayashi Minami x Faylan x Shintani Ryoko x Misato Aki x Aso Natsuko x Shimoda Asami / ハレ晴レユカイ (Hare Hare Yukai)
2. Sato Hiromi / GuriGuri
3. Sato Hiromi / Angelica
4. Sato Hiromi / Angelic Symphony
5. Nakano Aiko / 爪痕 (Tsumeato)
6. Nakano Aiko / フレンズ (Friends)
7. Stephanie / 君がいる限り (Kimi ga Iru Kagiri)
8. Stephanie / フレンズ (Friends)
9. Aso Natsuko / More-more LOVERS!!
10. Aso Natsuko / Perfect-area complete!
-Anison medley-
11. Okui Masami x Nakano Aiko / Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis
12. Sato Hiromi x Nakano Aiko x Stephanie / Touch
13. Imai Asami x Shimoda Asami x Aso Natsuko / For Fruits Basket
14. Shintani Ryoko x Shimoda Asami x Misato Aki / Catch You Catch Me
15. Kuribayashi Minami x Faylan / Tamashii no Refrain
-Girls Talk Corner- (30 minutes)
16. Faylan / Errand
17. Faylan / spring～Kimi to no Melody～
18. Faylan / 本能のDOUBT (Honnou no DOUBT)
19. Okui Masami x Shimoda Asami x Faylan / G.F.N.(Girls Friday Night)
20. Shimoda Asami / リンリンシグナル (Rinrin Signal)
21. Shimoda Asami / 悪ノ召使 (Aku no Meshitsukai)
22. Misato Aki / 少女迷路でつかまえて (Shoujo Meiro de Tsukamaete)
23. Misato Aki / feel it
24. Misato Aki / 僕らの自由 (Bokura no Jiyuu)
25. Shintani Ryoko / HONEY TEE PARTY！
26. Shintani Ryoko / Piece of love
27. Shintani Ryoko / MARCHING MONSTER
28. Shintani Ryoko x Imai Asami / ブルーウォーター (Blue Water)
29. Imai Asami / COLOR SANCTUARY
30. Imai Asami / Strawberry～Amaku Setsunai Namida～
31. Imai Asami / Shangrila
32. Kuribayashi Minami / Precious Memories
33. Kuribayashi Minami / 涙の理由 (Namida no Wake)
34. Kuribayashi Minami / Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line
35. Kuribayashi Minami x Okui Masami / Get along
36. Okui Masami / Shuffle
37. Okui Masami / STRATEGY
38. Okui Masami / 空にかける橋 (Sora ni Kakeru Hashi)
39. AnisamaGN / 熱帯夜Girls (Nettaiya Girls)
40. AnisamaGN / G.F.N.(Girls Friday Night)
-ENCORE-
41. AnisamaGN / 熱帯夜Girls (Nettaiya Girls)
-ENDING-

The highlight this week would be the NHK Music Japan Shinseiki Anime SP that will have 2 segments.

The first one will be aired this weekend, August 16th (Sun) 24:10 in the general channel.. only 43 minutes cos MJ is still a stupid digest music TV show, but I’m happy with the fact that this might be a sign that NHK starts to acknowledge anison musicians!

The order of the performances is still unknown, but they already announced what songs will be aired first on the website. The real treat will be aired on August 24th (Mon) 23:30 in NHKBS2 (satellite channel).. means HD quality~! This 2nd segment (hopefully!) will include all 17 songs performed by the 8 artists.

Here’s the full set list. Songs in red will be performed in the first segment.

1. May’n – Iteza Gogo Kuji Don’t be Late, Diamond Crevasse

2. Kuribayashi Minami – Precious Memories, Shining Days

3. HIMEKA – Ashita e no Kizuna, Sousei no Aquarion

4. SCANDAL – Don’t say lazy, Shoujo S

5. angela – Spiral, Shangri-la

6. Ishikawa Chiaki – Uninstall, First Pain

7. Chihara Minori – Tomorrow’s Chance, Paradise Lost

8. Mizuki Nana – DISCOTHEQUE, Zankou no Gaia, Pray

..oh well, can’t get any bigger than this pic, but you know how she looks like in that Animelo 2008 costume anyway: hawt.

The set list is mostly predictable, tho I’m a bit surprised Minorin and Nana were allowed to sing non-animu songs in an anison event lol. And oh, May’n song choices is getting old, yawn.

I’m probably more eager in watching SCANDAL girls pulling off K-On ED than the other performances (well cos I’ve better options to watch the rest).. Anyway, I’m saving the comments for the show airs!

Oh btw, I found the group photo of MJ artists really fascinating in a lot of ways..

- For some reasons most of them look rly tired, and Nana’s face looks awsmly huge.
- Minorin’s uneven eyes exposed to the max. And what’s with the exposed thighs? Well, not that I’m complaining..

- Ishikawa Chiaki is the only one without trendy knee-high boots.. generation gap? xD
- The SCANDAL girl standing between Minorin and Nana scared the shit outta me.
- As expected from angela, both atsuko and katsu look crazy in a formal group photo.

- The stools are a bit tall, but everyone seems to have no problem sitting on it nicely.. except Nana that looks like she’s really desperate to touch the floor with her feet like the others..

Well, I wouldn’t say this photo is exceptionally good, cos something is definitely wrong if Kuribayashi Minami looks the best amongst all. *runs* But I really like the feeling of this photo.. let’s hope some kind souls will upload the show next week!

Finality blue

Kuribayashi Minami
October 21, 2008
1500 yen
OVA My-HiME 0~S.ifr theme song collection
1. Finality blue
2. Heart All Green
3. ここにあったね (Koko ni Atta ne)

Usual Minami stuff, which means nice. Too bad no MILFnami pics this time.. the latest two singles didn’t disappoint me. Listening to these reminds me to finish up My-Otome, it’s been ‘on-hold’ for a long time, maybe when I have extra time later or stop looping shoujo sect.

VANiLLA SALT

Horie Yui
October 21, 2008
1890 yen (w/ DVD)
TV anime Toradora! ED
1. バニラソルト (VANiLLA SALT)
2. I my me

As usual, nice special case means sucky scan quality.
....
Front / Side / Back

Insides (awful scan quality).

VANiLLA SALT is well, an overly sweet song from your favorite oba-chan. Her songs have been a hit or miss to me.. and to be honest the first time I heard she screeched “AMAIIIIII~~” in Toradora!, I was like, WTF have I ordered. Then I remember getting a bonus PV so who cares about the music (which turned out to be the correct decision).

Second song is.. can’t really remember except I My I My I My I My I My I My I My I My I My repeat to infinity. *_* ..and I actually like this song because of that, lol.

PV

Now for the best part (that pays off the 1890yen), we got 3 Hocchan doing er, cute things ..or what normal people will call “bizarre hand movement”, whatever. Funny how the song actually sounds better if you listen to it while watching the PV.

Here’s the main dance loop (..which I’ve memorized by the 2-minute mark):

Also you can see Hocchan:

Talking to her hands.

Look younger.

Look older. (..notice the cheekbone!)

Uhm, better run off before her angry fans turn me to BBQ pork for my last comment. So here’s link to PV, someone just uploaded it an hour ago or so, while I still can’t figure out what’s wrong with my DVD converter orz.

..and don’t forget to call 1800-LOLI-OBACHAN.

I’m not going to write a lot (LOL) since there are those who already did much better reviews (and pretty much similar to my opinion), but well, just thought I’d post the poster and rant a bit before I start drooling over Minorin’s Live DVD. On to the track list..

01. TRUST (Kuribayashi Minami)
Couldn’t think of any better song that suits Minami more than TRUST. One of my favorite in this album.

02. Rinbu Revolution (Chihara Minori)
Call me trolling, but I’ve hated this song since I first heard it in Minorin’s radio last week. It’s so bland I couldn’t believe this is my favorite Makkun song. I guess it’s the weird arrangement or my expectation was too high, but I wouldn’t replace Shimokawa Mikuni’s cover in my Ipod for this.

03. Jounetsu (Misato Aki)
I feel alive again hearing this right after Minorin’s Rinbu Revolution. Loved the original, and while Misato took the song differently, I like her version too.

04. INTRODUCTION (Endoh Masaaki)
All hail the rocker, I want zero-G- from him!

05. Olive (Ishida Yoko)
I have to agree that this song sounds very weak. Maybe I should stop comparing, but it’s really a pity since I actually like Ishida’s sweet voice. She should have done something like, er, My Jolly Days?

06. Iiwake (Suara)
Hands down to the best track of this album. I was tempted to download the flac yesterday for this song, but my patience paid off the minute I heard Suara’s pure voice. m(_ _)m

07. Otomegokoro Mugen (Ohmi Tomoe)
It wasn’t bad, but nothing outstanding too.. a bit unlucky heh, positioned between heavenly Iiwake and awesome Koishimasho Nebarimasho.

08. Koishimasho Nebarimasho (Momoi Halko)
Momoi is always awesome in doing cover songs. Her version of Yuzurenai Negai is the best I’ve heard, and Hirano Aya should be ashamed if she ever listened to Momoi’s rendition of God Knows. Following her trend, this track was really good, I even forgot this was a Makkun song. #2 best track after Iiwake.

09. Wasuregusa (Kageyama Hironobu)
A sentimental song that easily became one of my favorite in Masami Life, and while I think Kageyama is a fine singer, I didn’t really like his version of Wasuregusa.. maybe because I’m a bit attached to this song (i.e. looping it too many times) so I can only accept Makkun’s voice.. oh well.

10. HAPPY PLACE (Yonekura Chihiro)
She sounds like Makkun the most from everyone in this album, in a good way, too. And oh, in the end I didn’t buy Ever After, it got too many of her own songs for a cover album.

…and that was quite a lot of ramblings. ^^; Anyway, I wish there were more tracks in this CD.. 3150yen for 10 songs is a bit pricey –heck it was worthy– but extra songs from Mizuki Nana, Hayashibara Megumi, or Shimokawa Mikuni won’t hurt.

I know I’m 3 months behind this, but yeah, just got this yesterday.. so I decided to ditch my assignment and do a short review of this instead~

Speaking of Kurinoco, I really can’t wait for her usual compilation album, since I’ve been holding off to buy her singles (except Love Jump because it’s so good), and she had released so many after fantastic arrow album (7th one out next month! She sure works hard).

PS. Hocchan’s DVD was shipped yesterday. That’s early. Yay for CDJapan!

On to the real deal..

My first impression of this DVD was.. what a sad-looking packaging. ^^; No booklet, only a piece of paper with tracklist, credits, and a hand-written message from Kurinoco. Well, it’s Lantis for you. I should’ve known by looking at those crappy Jam Project’s DVDs.. definitely no match to King Record’s expertise in decorating packaging for otaku.

I’m really impressed with the video quality, but they could do better with the audio. The singing voice is a bit too soft/quiet compared to the instruments. And I’m sure it wasn’t Kurinoco’s fault. She sings really well throughout the 2-hour concert, although this is her first big-scale live. Well, she did look nervous at times, but it was acceptable.

If I must complain, I still couldn’t believe she only had 2 costumes for a 20+ songs concert. Or at least they could put a warning about it so I didn’t have to put my hope up high each time a song ends. >_> But really, knowing it’s our hawt Kurinoco… boo.

01 Overture

02 fantastic arrow

03 Shining☆Days
04 翼はPleasure Line (Tsubasa wa Pleasure Line)
05 ココロノカケゴト (Kokoro no kakegoto)

06 ある冬の日の午後 (Aru fuyu no hi no gogo)
07 硝子の小瓶 (Garasu no kobin)

There were a LOT of low-angle shots, was that intentional?

08 ふたりきりのプラネタリウム (Futarikiri no Planetarium)

09 boyfriend
10 おなじ月をみてる (Onaji tsuki o miteru)

11 遠い夏の日 (Tooi natsu no hi)
12 innocence

13 桜の花が咲くまえに (Sakura no hana ga saku mae ni) – piano
14 桜の光の中で (Sakura no hikari no naka de) – piano

Pretty impressive

15 人魚姫 (Ningyo hime)
16 Interlude ~affection

Finally she changed costume! xD

17 Yell!
18 マブラヴ (MuvLuv)
19 アプローチ (Approach)

20 Crystal Energy
21 Final MC

Aww…~

22 絆 (Kizuna)
23 Rumbling hearts

Yay, one of my favorites.

24 Encore MC

Band member (clockwise from top-left):

Ichikawa Yoshihisa (drum), Sasaki Mari (keyboard & chorus), Takita Isamu (bass), Iizuka Masaaki (guitar, e-zuka from GRANRODEO‘s)

Dancers (left to right): Aoi, Haruna, Minako, Yabuko

25 Precious Memories

Encore

I should say at some points it lacked the ‘energy’ of a live concert, but it wasn’t a big deal, this is still an enjoyable concert I’d love to rewatch again.

There’s a bonus picture slide-show too. Overall this is one of the best (and the longest) Making Of I’ve ever seen, it was really interesting to get to know Kurinoco and all staffs; how they worked hard to make this concert. Great job! ^_^

01 Making of Live Tour リハーサル (Rehearsal)

Practice, practice~

Practicing for the cute dance sequence in track 5

02 Making of Live Tour in Nagoya

Now I know this guy is her manager. I first saw him talking closely to Kurinoco in Animelo 2006′s Making Of and seriously wondering who he was (yes, up until I saw him in this disc and he called himself ‘suteki na manager-san’). Now I’m a little bit glad. …uhm, did I sound like a crazy stalker? >_> Oh well, he seems like a funny and interesting guy.

fantastic..? arrow!!

That’s a huge beer glass

03 Making of Live Tour in Osaka

She messed up a song and had to redo it from the beginning. LOL. But it was great how the fans was cheering on her.. ^_^

04 Making of Live Tour in Tokyo

Hand-made fantastic arrow special for Tokyo

Because I have a soft spot for meganekko~

“Sugo~i” instead of “test”?

05 Ending

Credits..

Special thanks..

06 “fantastic arrow” Music Clip

Neat

Catalog No.: LABM-7020 (Live Disc), LABM-7021 (Special Disc)
Release Date: 2008.02.27
DVD Region: 2
Price: 6000yen for 2-disc set
Length: 126 min (Live Disc), 81 min (Special Disc)
Buy: Amazon Jp | CDJapan | Play-Asia