Sooo.. last event of 2011 and first event of 2012! Minori Chihara Live 2011 Final & Countdown Live 2011-2012 in Kanagawa Kenmin Hall.

First, setlist!

Minori Chihara Live 2011 Final

1. HYPER NEW WORLD
2. Tomorrow’s chance
3. 雨上がりの花よ咲け (Ameagari no Hana yo Sake)
4. Voyager train
5. 君がくれたあの日 (Kimi ga Kureta Ano Hi)
6. Melty tale storage
7. PRECIOUS ONE
-costume change-
8. 通し道歌 (Tooshi Douka)
9. TERMINATED
10. raison pour la saison
11. Planet patrol
12. Final Moratorium
13. Defection
14. 輪舞-revolution (Rondo-revolution)
15. 赤い棘のギルティ (Akai Ibara no Guilty)
16. Paradise Lost
17. 純白サンクチュアリィ (Junpaku Sanctuary)
-ENCORE-
18. Flag medley (Lush march!!～Best mark smile～Lush march!!)
19. 巡り逢い～かけがえのないもの (Meguriai~kakegaenaimono)
20. Freedom Dreamer

Minori Chihara Countdown Live 2011-2012

1. Tomorrow’s chance
2. 詩人の旅 (Shijin no Tabi)
3. Voyager train
4. 君がくれたあの日 (Kimi ga Kureta Ano Hi)
5.  優しい忘却 (Yasashii Boukyaku)
6. PRECIOUS ONE
-costume change-
7. 通し道歌 (Tooshi Douka)
8. TERMINATED
9. raison pour la saison
COUNTDOWN
-put on happi coat-
10. HYPER NEW WORLD
11. KEY FOR LIFE
-took off happi coat-
12. Final Moratorium
13. Defection
14. 輪舞-revolution (Rondo-revolution)
15. 赤い棘のギルティ (Akai Ibara no Guilty)
16. Paradise Lost
17. 純白サンクチュアリィ (Junpaku Sanctuary)
-ENCORE-
18. Flag medley (Lush march!!～Best mark smile～Lush march!!)
19. 巡り逢い～かけがえのないもの (Meguriai~kakegaenaimono)
20. Freedom Dreamer

Difference marked in blue.
My FC seats were pretty good, row 12 center (Final) and 14 right-side (Countdown). Hall was pretty small with decent sound system, so it was great. :3 Would be perfect if I didn’t have a fever lol.

Songs/setlist

-There were many mini-TV on stage, which should be for countdown use, but apparently affected the song choices too… they chose songs with music videos so they have something to stream on those tiny screens…. orz. ^^;; I was hoping for rarer songs but it was like a single compilation live..

-I haven’t watched Horizon (oops) but Tooshi Douka (IN song?) acapella was nice.

-Right after New Year Countdown, as the confetti exploded everyone shouted AkeOme (meanwhile Minorin put on a happi coat) then intro to Hyper New World!! First song in 2012!

-Very happy to get Moratorium (tho its obvious) and especially enjoyed raison, tho I’ve been in love with it since KFD Live ^^;

-People were expecting Sunshine flower (although its freezing cold winter) but in the end we’re just happy with Key For Life (yellow cyalumes not going to waste! xD)

-Guilty‘s choreography is JUST. DARN. HAWT. AND. AWESOME. What nosebleed? Those made me vomit blood. +that “Ah~” was FFFFFFFF(;´Д｀)’ハァハァ you’ll understand when the footage is out, I’m NOT overreacting.

-Minorin asked us to sing along during Junpaku. Most people remembers the lyrics, way more than purest note during its PV recording in Summer Camp lol.

-Flag medley was great!! Rearranged only the best parts (those with flag waving lol) ^^

Notes/MC

-Scheduled to start 3 pm (Final) / 10.30 pm (Countdown), both started 15 mins late.

-A staff appeared on stage to read the rules because nobody did, and emphasized on the new rules: 1) NO custom penlights (cyalumes, official penlights, those not-so-bright sold in shops are OK), 2) 1 light in 1 hand at 1 time, and 3) NO excessive moves.

I’m happy with 2 and 3 (annoying when it’S like seeing Minorin behind windscreen wiper), but kinda ;_; on rule 1.. as much as I like breaking cyalumes, they are expensive.

-Can’t remember the 1st costume well besides it being ugly and colorful lol. The 2nd costume though, was really good. Black/yellow checkered and showed enough legs. =D

-Band members: Dai-sensei (violin), Nabe-chan (guitar), Dai-chan (guitar), Naoyan (bass), Kenny (keyboard, leader), and Gan-chan (drum). It got hilarious when people start calling Dai-sensei “Musshu” (=Monseiur in Engrish or should I say Frenrish), his new nickname as a member of Nana’s band (since Live Castle).

-MC topic for member introduction (includes Minorin): 2011 reflection (Final), and 2012 resolutions (Countdown). Minorin mentioned Summer Camp 3 was a hard challenge.. and I’m still hating myself for not attending the first day when she covered AKB’s Ponytail to Shushu.

-Liked Minorin being the usual airhead… she said “2011 yoroshiku!!” after New Year then Kenny corrected her “It’s 2012….” LOL I love this girl. She also still hasn’t done her year-end cleaning (and had no intention too).

-Minorin established a new routine that she will wear her favorite yellow sneakers for encore.

-Both lives lasted about 2.5 hours, shorter than usual but it’s understandable since she has to perform twice. Glad it gave me just the right break time to watch Kohaku in electronic shop Yodobashi in Yokohama. ^^; Well huge TV is much better than the mobile phone alternative, and I’m just happy I can make it to watch AKB’s and Nana’s solo parts.

Goods

Only got a flag, a penlight-flag (flag is switchable), and a charity band.

Many interesting stuff like 3D poster, karuta (card-game) and candy drops, or wtf stuff like smartphone-use gloves, very ugly T-shirts, and ultra expensive girls pack (hairband and mirror for 4000 seriously?).

Announcements:
1. New single out 21 March 2012!
Composer Agematsu (EleGa) and lyricist Takarano Alika (ALI Project).. yep gonna be an epic song with very complicated lyrics lol. Title was written in flyer “Celestial Diva“, tie-up with Square Enix iPhone game “Chaos Ring II”.

2. New album is titled “Dream World Formation”
After both lives, we got a first-hand PV screening of the lead track “D-Formation“. It’s the usual fast-paced Elements Garden song (Defection-style), but what intrigued me was how strikingly similar the PV was with Nana’s Synchrogazer. The only problem was who the hell suggested a purple skirt for a cyborg orz. Tempted to do another Nana/Minorin crossover post lol.

Later we found out the price from the flyer.. wtf is 6300 for Bluray set! I want my Acoustic Live in full glory but still wtf.

3. Live tour 2012 “D-Formation”
Crazy schedule here. FIFTEEN lives within 2 months. Best of luck for friends who are going to all lives (and Minorin’s health too). ^^; For now I’m planning to attend Kanagawa (7 April, opening day) and Tochigi (21 April) since they’re not far. I don’t dare to plan for May before Nana’s summer tour schedule is out.. would like to attend Saitama (6 May) too. I hate Tokyo’s NHK Hall (bad sound system). Everyone’s betting there’s an addition final live sometime in June, could be 2 days in Budokan?

Oh, as usual Minorin closed both lives with “Min~na~~~ daaaaaisuki♥”
(and the rest of us screaming insanely)

Oh wow didn’t realize I haven’t updated my blog since my birthday orz. I’m way too spoiled by how practical Twitter is.. Done writing year-end post tho not sure how many people still cares ;_;

Anywayyy… I just attended Symphogear premiere screening event yesterday (Dec 26) in Shinjuku Milano 1 cinema.. My last Nana event of this year (Kohaku is impossible orz). :3

戦姫絶唱シンフォギア Senki Zesshō Symphogear
(Battle-Princess Superb-Song Symphogear)

1000 lucky people chosen out of 5000+ applicants to attend the screening for free. 1:5 is pretty low ratio but expected from a Monday event..

Exactly at 7pm, Washizaki Takeshi greeted us.
The event menu is the screening then talk session with guest seiyuu.

I suck at reviewing anime so bear with it or skip to the talk session?

Anime spoiler warning. I use spoiler tag for the biggest troll but I don’t know your boundaries so read at your own risk.

Started with a flash-forward of Miku (Iguchi Yuka) crying in front of Hibiki (Yuuki Aoi)‘s grave who died in a war.

Jump back 2 years before..
Futuristic settings. Background was pretty well-drawn. Hibiki was in a queue to attend a live concert, on the phone with Miku who couldn’t make it to the live.

Backstage, Zwei-Wing duo appears!
Tsubasa (Mizuki Nana) looked kinda nervous before the live. Kanade (Takayama Minami) gave her a “moral support” with the only obvious way: hugging Tsubasa from behind and holding her hands, and Tsubasa nods as she blushes… darn that was cuuuute. *yuri radar pings really hard here*

Live scene was darn cool. It’s a huge Dome, all audience had orange lights and cheered really loud… actually a bit too loud I couldn’t hear the song properly orz. Takayama Minami is a really good singer (well, TWO-MIX) so her voice balanced Nana’s awesomely (duet CD out Jan 25). *_*

Then alien (I think they’re called “Noise”) started rampaging out of nowhere. Killjoys. They seems to have various types, but the huge insects are just plain disgusting! D= At least they’re all in fancy colors ala Haruhi’s alien, but still disgusting. Their attack turns humans into ashes.

Kanade and Tsubasa transformed to their battle-mode and start fighting them. Battle scenes are okay, it’s pretty cool to see idols wielding swords while singing (seems to enhance their power?). The battle focused on Kanade and I had goosebumps. Minami m(_ _m)

Magically tens thousands of fans managed to escape (or just died) leaving just Hibiki stoned there like an idiot waiting to be killed. Kanade ran to protect her while fighting the alien but Hibiki’s DFC got struck by a huge stone and splat blood like mad. Kanade ran to hold her screaming “Don’t give up on living!!” as the aliens patiently waited for the Kodak moment. I honestly thought it’d be hilarious if Hibiki splat blood from her nose too there… I mean HER IDOL IS HUGGING HER. I’d thank the aliens. D=

Battle over, jump into a peaceful entrance ceremony of The Classy All-Girls Boarding School of Lilies with Hibiki and Miku among the freshwomen. I didn’t expect the school setting so yay?

Jump into Hibiki and Miku’s room. So Hibiki is still alive though she has Ruroni Kenshin mark on her chest now. I’m more interested with the fact that they share a single bed together…

Also revealed that Hibiki enrolled to the school to stalk Tsubasa who is a senior there. Also noticed that Miku stares at Hibiki way too long as she totally fangirled Tsubasa. I foresee delicious drama ahead.

It’s Tsubasa’s new CD release day, so Hibiki dashed to buy it before the tokuten disappears (No kidding, she was humming “CD! CD! Tokuten! CD! CD!” while running)…. then she noticed there are more ashes on the street than usual. Then we heard a little girl scream.

Hibiki and unnamed loli ran for their lives (super slow Noise type this time), until they’re cornered… Hibiki remembered Kanade’s “Don’t give up living!” and something awakened inside her. She grew metal wings…. Synchrogazer intro starts and “to be continued”.

Credits roll. Yuuki Aoi’s name was listed first before Nana… confirms that we were tricked into thinking it was an anime about Nana and Minami, while actually it’s Yuuki’s. The official website is still listing Nana first! orz

Noticed FOUR insert songs were credited (not including OP/ED) so expecting a full-blown live next year!

…

Talk session starts. Wasshi is back as MC.
Guests: Yuuki Aoi, Mizuki Nana, and Iguchi Yuka. Yes introduced in that order.

Nana wore a hot-pink/black checkered one-piece with big green ribbon belt..
thank you for dressing as my Christmas present. (*´д｀*)

Wasshi threw a theme and the girls answer in order of who raised their hands first… ’twas cute.

Theme: Anime impressions.
Nana liked the live scene, especially when the Dome opens up as the song reaches climax… QFT. The audience calls were voiced by the anime’s seiyuu! They were cheering and jumping in recording studio… now I want to see that footage! xD

Yukachi confirmed that Miku cares about Hibiki more than just a friend. And that she will get jealous in the future too… (yandere yuri FTW). Of course Hibiki is too thick to notice that and continues fapping to Tsubasa in front of her.. sigh.

All seiyuu had to sing as a part of their audition. Yukachi failed the test hence Miku isn’t getting a song. xD There are more seiyuu will sing too. From the cast list we can count on Ayahi and Miyukichi? Toyama Nao wasn’t too bad as Kanon (Kaminozo) too. I just wonder about the male characters… quite a number of male cast on the web list but only 1 appeared/talked this episode lol.

Hibiki will start fighting too which means Aoi will sing a lot. I think she sings okay, but not sure if she can hold a duet with Nana.

Theme: Elements Garden.
The anime was based on EleGa’s music, but the talk session was more like gossiping its leader Agematsu Noriyasu behind his back LOL.

Aoi said she expected a silent, quirky genius type, but he’s totally not (silent, still a genius).
Yukachi mocked how big he is (around 185cm I think) and she has to look waaay up just to greet him good morning xD

Nana said they first met 7 years ago. Nana admired his music and was expecting a grand composer.. but he was blond and wore red glasses LOL. Nana said he “matured” now, tho I dunno… the last time I saw him last year, he joined the hardcore fans in the front row of Sato Hiromi’s anniversary live? ^^;;; Nana mentioned how she’s close with his sister too.

Saw a real camera recording it so high chance some footage will be included in the bluray.

..

Conclusion.
I watched it without any expectation, so I think the anime is fairly decent for now. The surprise was shocking, animation was averagely done (not smooth enough, but good camera work), I guess they were focusing on the music, which was flawless. I’m happy with the lack of fanservice and the cool battle scenes.

The plot needs to stand out more though… I mean, in the end people were talking about the surprise, the battle, the music, or the lesbians. Nobody cared about why the aliens are attacking or where they came from ^^;; Well, still too early to judge.

Looking forward to the next episodes!

This is rather sudden, but I was talking with a Nana fan from Hong Kong who wants to make a special fan project for Nana’s Live Castle. It will be great if we can gather fans from various countries!

The point is to show that “Nana gets support from fans around the world“, so this is not limited to those attending Live Castle, but to ANY Nana fans!!

For now, the plan is taking photos of yourself (with or just the Nana goods / CD / message signboard / etc) in a place that can prove you’re not in Japan, preferably something like a famous landmark. Group with Nana fans from your country and be creative!

The photos are going be arranged nicely in a photobook and we will give it to Nana as a present. No plan on distributing it online so don’t hesitate on showing your best smiles! As Nana often says, she wants her fans to always have “muteki na egao” (unrivaled smile)… Only us editors and Nana’s team and *gasp* NANA HERSELF will see it.

All procedures will be done online and it’s FREE for you.
We will cover all editing/printing costs.

It might get too crowded doing it in comments section,
so please email to dan (dot) seth (at) gmail (dot) com
with subject: “Nana Overseas Fan Project”

Name:
Number of people:
City:
Country:

Send it before 30 September 2011.
Sorry for the short notice, it’s just a declaration that you are willing to participate, NO PHOTOS YET. ^^;

We might ask people from the same city to gather for a nice pic together. If you already have your Nanatard clique and feel free to apply together under 1 name.

Depending on the number of applicants, some details in the plan might change, but for now we’re waiting for your application! m(_ _m)

Additions:
- Tentative photo deadline is end of October, hopefully enough time to arrange meet-ups etc. ^^
- I will invite you to Google Project later this weekend (sorry deadlines) to discuss more details between everyone, but for now just the emails please. m(_ _m)
- It doesn’t matter to be alone! And who knows you could find someone

Feel free to post ideas in comments section though!

Angelic.

Officially my favorite live BD/DVD cover ever!!
The contents are officially up too, including all songs from Live Grace Day 2 (see report) and Hibari 7 Days (night part, see report). Now it would be perfect if they include Shounen as bonus footage too, it was the only version I actually like. ^^;

It’s up for preorders and it’s DIRT CHEAP in Amazon. ^^;;;; CDJapan (BD/DVD) that confirms the official POSTER (most likely similar to cover).

Also, Nana Party updates the front page (so I quickly stole it–click for real size).

1. OHMYGODBOBCUTFFFFFFF—It’s the same look as Live Journey’s conductor costume. I love girls in short hair. And I love Nana. So this is like ultimate combo *dies*

2. Honestly her eyes look tired ^^;
3. ULTIMATE DIAMOND CD cover? Really cool but yeah I’m still dead from short-haired Nana.

Plus the profile page.

I wish she will get this haircut for real! >_<

Tokyo Dome live is officially titled MIZUKI NANA LIVE CASTLE 2011.

3 Dec: QUEEN’S NIGHT
4 Dec: KING’S NIGHT

It’s a really befitting name if you ask me. xD Here’s hoping for some serious crossplaying in King’s Night. xD

I’m really happy there are a lot of people applying through me. So far we’ve gathered over 30 Nanatards from various countries. This is going to be fun! xD

I already sent emails with payment details etc to all applicants.
Please notify me if you didn’t receive it.

The PAYMENT deadline is 20 September 2011.
Please at least apply a few days earlier so I can send the details.

I still open the application for anyone who can Paypal me before the deadline. Please read the application guide.

Tokyo Dome, kakatte koi!!!

Being Anisama’s 7th live, it was special in a way (like 7 types of T-shirts lol) and my 4th time participating! Couldn’t believe it’s been 4 years since my first big anison live (and my first time seeing Nana…). I feel old now ^^;

uhm, okay, so…. today’s report! xD

*Pics are from artist’s blogs / news site.
Stage pics (eye-cancer size ones) from Animelo mobile site.

Seat

My seat (red dot) for both days were about the same (just 2 rows off), left side of the center stage. It’s an amazing spot considering the relatively low price I got it off. ^^; Most of the main performances happened in center stage.
-Walkable stage is just the yellow part. Green = empty area around it / backstage.
-Blue = PA staffs (sound /stage lighting etc), and this time they have a huuuge screen on the back (black dot).. I wouldn’t want to sit further than the front half ^^;; left/right sides are totally better than behind.

Opening
Unexpectedly started on time. 5-10 mins off was amazing for this scale. One-by-one artist intro on screen, listed alphabetically.

01. Chihara Minori x Tamura Yukari
(medley) Freedom Dreamer ～ Hoshi no Rendezvous

UOOHHHHHH Minorin x Yukarin!!! I just started jumping when I heard FD’s intro, then I saw so many people on stage… Yukarin and her dancers!!!

-Everyone had pompoms (pink for Yukarin+team, blue for Minorin) then I realized I forgot my pompoms at home…. orz. But still, darn cute & energetic combo!! “Everybody jump! Everybody jump!” to “Go happy! Go happy so let’s jump!!” .. lots of jumping 10 mins in. ^^;;
-Since Minorin also used her higher pitch voice, it was a fairly balanced duet, tho sometimes it’s hard to hear Yukarin in FD.

02. May’n / Kindan no Elixir
03. May’n / Moshimo Kimi ga Negau no nara
04. May’n / Scarlet Ballet

-I expected either Yukarin/Minorin continuing with solo, so my excitement went downhill when I saw May’n.. ^^;; I still couldn’t like her singing, sorry. m(_ _m)
-I’ve heard Moshimo once in Music Japan last year, so it wasn’t too bad.
-Recognized Scarlet Ballet’s chorus too I think.

05. ULTRA-PRISM / Shinryaku no Susume☆

-Honestly I haven’t fully decided on going to Anisama Day 1 until I saw ULTRA-PRISM added to the line-up xD SHINRYAKU SHINRYAKU SHINRYAKU IKA MUSUME!!!! CHU!! xD No way I’m going to miss that geso.
-Usagi-chan wore Ika Musume-ish costume… white/blue one piece with Ika-ish white hat (had blue thing on its back-side too!) lol.
-Koike-aniki said it’s his 10th year of producing anison (he was in UNDER17).

06. Nanamorichu☆Gorakubu / Yuriyurararara Yuruyuri Daijiken

-Watched few eps but it’s too moe for me.. @_@;
-That “yuriyurararara yuruyuri” part really sticks in my head…..

-I’m totally fine with lipsynching if done properly, but I dunno who is who but some clearly forgot to open their mouth ^^;;
-Wore PV costume with the PV dance.

07. THE IDOLM@STER / GO MY WAY!!
08. THE IDOLM@STER / READY!!

GO MAI EEEEEE!!! One of my top Day 1 priority, especially since I couldn’t go to their summer tour (well, Journey) so it’s been a while since January.. I miss Mingosu ;___;

-Today’s unit had the usual Eririn (Haruka) and Mingosu (Chihaya) + first-timers Akki (Miki) and Harami (Takane).
-Summer tour official costume had rainbow skirt.. perfect!
-Both full M@STER version songs, though I’d prefer shorter ones but 3-4 songs instead.

09. Asou Natsuko / Eureka Baby
10. Asou Natsuko / (medley) Diamond Star☆ ～ More-more LOVERS!! ～ Perfect-area complete!

-Nacchan’s first real Anisama (tho she was in Girls Night), explains the great medley! I still use MML as my alarm tune sometimes xD
-Just, uber, cute… Eureka Baby PV costume… ;A; cheerleader ftw.

11. Hyadain feat. Sasaki Sayaka /
(medley) Hyadain no Kakakata☆Kataomoi-C ～ Hyadain no Joujouyuujou
12. Sasaki Sayaka / Zzz

-Hyadain was much cuter? than I expected xD and of course it’s impossible to perform Hyadarukko’s part too hence the collaboration. I expected Nacchan since she was in the PV, but ended up Nichijou-related.^^;
-I’m sorry but I got really Zzz in Sasaki’s Zzz song… cute, but Zzz.

13. Faylan / Last vision for last
14. Faylan / Rasen, Arui wa Seinaru Yokubou.

-FEINYAAAAAN!! As usual, eroi-approved outfit. xD
-Faylan really got used to bigger stage, she moved around very well. And nice personality-switch when singing lol.
-I was surprised she only gets 2 songs.. and whaaat no Honnou no Doubt?? orz

15. ELISA / God only knows～Shuuseki Kairo no Yume Tabibito

-OP+ED of Kaminozo anime.. I knew it was a medley, but felt reaaaaaaally long.

-Wore (Aladdin’s) Jasmine-ish red outfit.. not a fan of abs so kinda disappointed with the lack of legs.. xD
-New ELISA call: E-LI-SA >> Na~ni? >> DAISUKI DA!! >> …kara no? >> MAJI TENSHI!! ^^;;;;; Too lazy to explain “kara no?” gag. xD

16. Okui Masami x Faylan x Asou Natsuko / Nettaiya Girls

LOL that came out of nowhere! Prolly 95% attendees didn’t know what song this is…. it’s Anisama Girls Night theme. ^^;;; didn’t think I could hear that again!

17. BREAKERZ / CLIMBER×CLIMBER
18. BREAKERZ / Everlasting Luv

-Ikemen of the day? I’m used to seeing Daigo on TV, and saw him once in Bushiroad Live few months ago.. he sings pretty well. And really handsome too *_* sadly he sounds rather dumb when speaking
-Very funny MC! He thanked us for not going to toilet on his performance LOL
-Also mentioned Evangelion’s TV premiere (0826) being just 1 day before Anisama = must be God’s work! ^^;;; He sang a part of Cruel Angel Thesis.
-Obviously fangirls went crazy but fanboys also loved them, especially that Conan OP!

20 mins break.
Finally after 7 years they realized people need to pee. ^^;;
Exactly 2 hours after opening, so kinda too fast I guess. Shiraishi Minoru and Milky Holmes had a talk show on screen. Fairly long queue on girls toilet, tho totally nothing compared to the goods-queue-like line in guys side. ^^;;;

Few mins before the break is over, a familiar black bag appeared on center stage..

19. fripSide / (medley) LEVEL5 judgelight～only my railgun
20. fripSide / Heaven is a Place on Earth

-Everyone went crazy when LEVEL5 intro started playing. About chorus part, the bag started moving, but instead of Esper Ito (LEVEL5 PV / the bag’s owner) it’s Maggi Shinji (railgun PV)!!! He performed some magic tricks, then the song shifted to only my railgun!! This time Esper Ito really appeared on stage too and did his usual weird but famous 爆裂鼻手袋 / exploding nose gloves (3:40)… Nanjolno actually stifled a laugh while singing! At least 3 times LOL

-Misaka/Kuroko cos-dancers for Railgun medley, and bulter/maids for Hayate movie theme.
-MC. Nanjolno asked if her new long hair fits her. She looked pretty and most people seem to prefer that, but I really liked Nanjolno’s short hair and her prince-lolita fashion… ;__;
-On Sat’s request we did “Kokoro-chaaaaan!” call too. She replied with “Kokoro-chan iu naa!!!” sew cuuuute. Unexpected “collaboration” with Milky Holmes. xD

21. Sasaki Isao / Uchuu Senkan Yamato
22. Sasaki Isao / Ginga Tetsudou 999

OH MY GOD YAMATOOOOOOOO!!! Really once-in-a-lifetime chance. I doubt I will ever hear this live again lol. A real classic for anison fan! Awesome manly voice.
-50th anniversary of being anison singer. Wow.

-Inspiring (old man style) MC. Left fist on our chest to hold our dreams, and right fist up bringing the courage to move forward.

23. Mizuki Ichiro / Mazinger Z
24. Mizuki Ichiro / Combattler V no Theme

Secret Guest #2, Aniki!!! Mazinger Z!!!!! What’s with this legends one after another!
-40th anniversary of being anison singer.
-On a side note, I wondered how many red leather jacket Aniki has xD *runs*

25. Momoiro Clover / Z Densetsu Owarinaki Kakumei
26. Momoiro Clover / (medley) Mirai Bowl ～ Pinky Jones

-Really. Weird. Choreography *_* Well their songs are weird too..
-Sentai idol kinda thing? Appeared on center stage with helmets etc.. entertaining tho. Z Densetsu’s chorus is catchy, and they lipsynched properly which I don’t mind since that dancing was impossible.
-Aniki joined in the last few seconds of the Z song just because it’s Z?

27. Kageyama Hironobu x May’n / Butter-Fly

Literally jumped off my chair. Possibly one of the songs that got me into anison years ago. Loved Digimon series! Kageyama sang it perfectly, and I actually liked May’n's cover too! Or I just love this song way too much to care. xD MUGENDAI NA YUME NO ATO NOOOOO xD

28. Chihara Minori / Defection
29. Chihara Minori / Planet Patrol
30. Chihara Minori / TERMINATED

-Minorin time!!! She sang exactly my 3 predictions lol. Loved her red dress, too bad she didn’t put up a pic.
-I heard PuraPato  live in Summer Camp twice already, but that time everyone used flags (bright outdoor), so I didn’t know what penlight color to use ^^;; I randomly used green (SC3 color).

-MC. Said it’s her 5th Anisama. Technically 6th including Hare Hare Yukai (secret guests) in 2006, either she only counts solo or totally forgot about it xD
-The opening duet apparently happened because Yukarin wanted to sing Freedom Dreamer ^^;;
-New song TERMINATED sounds great! Fall anime blabla Horizon anime PV was playing on big screen too, though I’m still not convinced to watch it (Sunrise emo oppai mecha).

31. Tamura Yukari / Beautiful Amulet
32. Tamura Yukari / Endless Story
33. Tamura Yukari / LOVE ME NOW!

-Everyone realized only Yukarin and JAM left, so it was sea of pink once Minorin left.
-A Nanoha song is always welcome, and I quite like BA. Still can’t forgive the ignorant dude who used orange though. Regardless of songs, only pink for Yukarin!

-Genius MC xD Yukarin said that although it’s 99.9% pink now, colorful penlights in other performances looked pretty, just like Anisama’s theme “rainbow”.. then stopped for a while and complained “Rainbow MC is so hard” xD
-She likes Freedom Dreamer from a NicoDou video.. this one from Summer Camp 2 when fans could hear Minorin rehearsing from outside and just started cheering xD
-New song Endless Story for Fall anime C3. (“It’s probably just about 1300 yen, so don’t forget to buy it” xD) Song started slow but gets to nice Yukarin-ish pace.
-Lastly another pompom song…my pompom at home… orz.

34. JAM Project / MAXON
35. JAM Project / VICTORY
36. JAM Project / Rocks

-MC related to East Japan Disaster. Endoh’s hometown is in Ishinomaki, one of the worst tsunami victim in Miyagi. He and Kageyama went there and held a mini anison live to cheer the victims. Local fans there promised Kageyama and Endoh “We will come to Anisama! Just wait for us!!!” ;____;
-Nice selections, VICTORY is actuallymy fave SRW song xD

37. JAM Project feat. Mizuki Nana / (medley) GONG ～ SKILL

-Last song started with GONG live karaoke with everyone.. lyrics on big screen tho most people should memorize it. Then as usual continued to SKILL, because there is no other better final song, and everyone likes to fly. During WE CAN FLY session, Kitadani announced a “secret guest”.. I believed it was Aniki, but it’s the other Mizuki.. HOLYSHIT ITS NANAAAAAA!!!! ^^;;;;;;;;

I totally forgot my fatigue and flew twice higher. Nana only got to sing about 2 solo lines, but it’s refreshing to hear a “prettier” JAM song. Only stayed on stage for 2 mins but fwoaaah. xD

Encore
Quite a pause since everyone was busy drinking or tweeting about Nana lol *hides* then the usual encore shouts. Didn’t take long though. Directly to short message from each performers. Quickly noticed the missing ones: BREAKERZ, Momoiro Clover, and all 3 secret guests.

-MC highlight: Usagi-chan talked Ika Musume style with geso and stuff, so some other artists did geso too! xD I remember Sat (fripSide), Nacchan, and ELISA lol.
Also very funny when ELISA approached the mic to talk and the stand is waaaaay too short for her, and Kitadani ran to fix it LOL (with heels etc he looks 20cm shorter LOL). Kageyama apologized it’s Dani’s size although he’s just as short imo xD

38. Animelo Theme Song / rainbow

Honestly it’s the first time I hear a full version of this song. ^^; I still don’t like it that much, but definitely a feel-good ballad to end the 5 hours work-out.

-Everyone picked their favorite T-shirt design/color for encore.
Official blue (Minorin), black (Makkun), orange (Nacchan), yellow (May’n and Faylan.. couple shirt? *runs*), red (Kageyama), light blue (Endoh), respective IM@S colors: red (Eririn), green (Akki), blue (Mingosu), black (Harami tho her chara color is dark red), etc.

…

Lasted exactly 5 hours including the 20 mins break, so this year’s Anisama is definitely the shortest out of those I attended (since 2008), which is obvious if you compare the setlist.. tho there are more medleys this time. Usually they do new theme song twice + old Anisama theme, but only rainbow this time.

-Many artists refrained from talking too much besides the necessary new CD/live promotion.
-Glad I decided to come. Missing Nana when I actually could have gone will definitely kill me.
-Lucky to get a seat next to the walkway, way more space and not suffocating. The weather was fairly cool outside too so maybe no heat stroke victims for Day 1.

Now if I could do Day 2 report soon too..

Monday (Aug 1) was another Music Japan public recording.
I “accidentally” won the lottery for last month’s MJ (no Nana lol) but this time I was invited by a friend who got it (1 ticket allows 2 people to get in).

Quite different from usual, they recorded 3 weeks worth of MJ so it lasted much longer too. Even more awesome with many artists I’m interested in (plus a very surprising special guest).

Nana’s performance is to be aired next Sunday (Aug 7).

This time I got 2F center front. It was pretty good, no annoying crane cameras obstructing the view. Though quite lol that literally everyone in my block were Kpop fangirls….. ^^;;;;

Nana appeared since the start for the talk segments..

I totally screamed when I saw Nana wore THE PV COSTUME!!! THAT KIMONO!!! OFF-SHOULDER KIMONO!!!! HYAAAAAAH!! xD

Talk segment lasted the whole event in between songs / stage preparations. Nana only appeared 3 times and with that many people, she didn’t talk that much either.. and honestly I couldn’t really hear much. Noisy attendees and speakers were only near the stage.. my friend in 3F said he could barely hear anything lol. Thankfully no problem when singing.

Almost all MC topics were related to “summer”.. I only remembered Nana got asked her recommendation for dating spots and she said the beach. What a coincidence I just went to the beach yesterday xD

The recording starts with SKE48 <3 followed by shitload of other idol groups (smileage, Happiness etc etc) then finally I could guess from the red curtain addition to the stage that it's Nana's time!

Cherry Boys members were Tom-kun (piano), Cho-san (dr), Ryu-tan (ba), Kenny (gt), Yabuki Toshiro (gt).. lol Yabuki isn't really CheriBo (tho he composed lots of Nana songs) but seems to keep joining the band for MJ.. maybe he just likes being on TV or sth xD

I was busy nosebleeding for the costume but I realized something was off with this MJ short version.. the cutting was rather off. MJ had 1st verse -> chorus -> -> chorus felt like an abrupt jump orz. Ideally it's 1st verse -> chorus -> last verse -> chorus (like Coming Soon! live). Oh well at least MJ totally won the costume part, Kamisun only got the CD cover’s yukata. xD

Also, surprisingly Nana fans weren’t that many. The majority was SHINee crazy fangirls/fan-aunties. The shouting and name calls could totally fare crazy otaku fanboys in a much higher pitch… what I found disturbing was the fangirls obviously didn’t have interest in other performers so they kept chattering during the MC…. orz. I find it funny that they stared weirdly at idol-wota or Nana-wota but actually screamed way more frantically during SHINee…. ^^;;

..

Soooo Nana’s parts weren’t that many but I was really satisfied with this MJ! Feel free to skip this btw xD

1. Secret guest… ZONE!!!!
Maybe some of you know about them crazy-popular girlband years ago.. but you prolly at least know their most popular song “secret base” that was rearranged for AnoHana anime. They disbanded 6 years ago but revamped again only for this month.. trying to do something for the disaster victims while fulfilling their “promise in summer of August”. They were surprise guests and until now I still couldn’t believe I just heard secret base live.

2. SKE48
Most of you should know that I’m an AKB-wota now, so ofc I also like their imouto group from Nagoya. Pareo wa Emerald is one darn catchy song with energetic choreography. And Rena-chan was really cute! Glad she and 3 other members (Churi <3) lasted almost the whole talk segment (the underage girls could only stay for the 1st talk + live… Kuumin.. Jurina…). I got really excited when Rena sat next to Nana xD

3. SDN48
AKB’s onee-san group. Their new song is just okay (sounds like Kpop..) and that outfit is just plain WEIRD.. what the hell is that… thing… on their back ^^;;;; But still nice to see Meetan and Yukarin <3

4. Koda Kumi
I love how she appears really confident yet friendly at the same time.. and as expected very stable performance. She sang “Poppin’ love cocktail” feat. TEEDA from her 50th single.. 50!!! And I just found out she debuted on the same day as Nana (12 Dec 2000).. wow.

5. JUJU (secret guest)
I couldn’t help but think her face really looks like Arika-sama.. RnB version. ^^;; She sings really well.

Other performances:
-SPEED. Pro dance movements and solid vocals, as expected from once the most famous idol group in Asia.
-Yuusuke. I think he appears the most in talk segments. Pretty interesting dude.
-Kpop boyband SHINee.. for speaking okay Japanese? ^^;; No comment on their performance since I can’t even see/hear them with all the crazy fangirls screaming to my ears..
-Happiness. Most members are 15-yo with matured appearance..
-bump.y They actually have a kid in their group. Grade 6 omg! And she really looked 10-yo. The balance looks off when they performed.
-Smileage. Kids. ^^;

..

….seriously it must be the day I saw the most idol groups in one day. SEVEN idol groups… ^^;;;; Oh well, overall it was a great show. I got way more than I expected. =)

Tune in to MJ on August 7 for Nana’s JunPara live in PV costume.