Maaya Sakamoto's live tour "ALL CLEAR," featuring a mix of new and old songs, has started after an interval of about two years!

Maaya Sakamoto's "ALL CLEAR" live tour, her first in about two years, has begun.

Maaya Sakamoto is a popular voice actress known for her roles as Makinami Mari Illustrious in "Evangelion: The Movie", Lunamaria Hawk in "Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny", Haruhi Fujioka in "Ouran High School Host Club", and Ryogishiki in "The Garden of the Sinners". Since his childhood, he has also been active in dubbing Western/foreign dramas and performing on stage.
She has also been active as a singer since the release of "Yakusoku wa Naiai" (theme song for "Tenku no Escaflowne") at the age of 16, andhas had many hits with her songs with Yoko Kanno and others.

The live report of "Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2018 "ALL CLEAR," which opened on March 10 at Osaka International Convention Center, is now available.

Official Report】

■Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2018 "ALL CLEAR" First Day Performance @ Osaka International Convention Center Main HallOfficial Report

On March 10, "Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2018 "ALL CLEAR" opened at Osaka International Convention Center. With her new single "CLEAR" released on January 31, she performed a setlist that mixed old and new songs from the more than 200 songs she has already released since her debut. The mood was a bit elegant.

The slightly elegant mood and the beautiful lighting on the stage were impressive. The opening of the show was a bit elegant and the stage was beautifully lit. From the very beginning of the performance, the tension of the first tour in a long time and the joy of seeing each other again exceeded the tension of the first tour in a long time, and the excitement on the stage and in the audience grew. The band also performed "Record," the coupling song for the single "CLEAR," which was inspired by the early spring. The lyrics of the song are perfect for this still chilly season, and were delivered with a sophisticated pop sound and soft voice.

The band this time consisted of Shin Kono (keyboard) as the banjo player, Yasuo Sano (dr.), Tomohiko Okada (bass), Tsuneo Imahori (g), Masato Ishinari (g), Rin Inaizumi (cho), and Azumi Takahashi (cho), all of them talented musicians who are closely related to Maaya Sakamoto. One of the highlights of the tour was the brilliant and three-dimensional playing of the two guitarists on either side of her, which is only possible with a twin-guitar configuration. The middle part of the show was acoustic and quiet, but the live unfolded dramatically.

This time, Sakamoto says, the songs were selected mainly from "songs I myself want to sing now" (rare songs that are rarely performed live, nostalgic songs, and many more!) ), and since this is their first tour in about two years, new songs released during that time are also scattered throughout the concert. In particular, the first performance of "Gyakkou," which is already gaining popularity as the theme song for the second part of the smartphone game "Fate/Grand Order," sounded full of tremendous spirit and full-bodied singing. The song was a highlight of the show, as she sang selflessly, revealing all her emotions in the challenging melody composed by Kazuha Izawa.

It is precisely because she is now able to express such emotional and deep songs as "Gyakkou" so sharply that the fresh, pop-like world of "CLEAR," which can be said to be the opposite of "Gyakkou," made a big impression on me as a color of this entire tour. The song, titled "CLEAR" and composed by Yoshiki Mizuno (ikimono-gakari), was also performed for the first time. The phrase "If you don't have wings, I'm going to run..." shone with pure brilliance, and there was even a scene where she turned the microphone to the audience as she sang, making it one of the highlights of the live performance.

When I came up with the title of the tour, "ALL CLEAR," I had an image of a clear sky or something that was stagnant but would clear away," she said just before the tour, and as she said, the voices and sounds at this live performance were sparkling and clear. As she had said just before the tour, her voice and sound at the concert on this day radiated a sparkling, translucent beauty, and her performance was filled with refreshing enthusiasm. After working at a more leisurely pace last year (although he must have been as busy as ever with his World Heritage Site live performance at Itsukushima Shrine and his appearance in the musical "Daddy Long Legs: From Uncle Ashinaga"), Sakamoto says he now feels like he has had plenty of time to think and make a fresh start. His energetic live performance builds up the audience towards the end of the show, as if he is going to perform a series of big moves, and the show takes a sudden turn that is almost as fast as a roller coaster ride. By the way, after this part was over, she muttered under her breath, "Fun ......! I'm sure the audience felt the same way. I am sure the audience felt the same way.

She also said "I have a souvenir for all the people in Osaka who came to the first day of the tour! She also performed her new song "Hello, Hello" for the first time. This song was written and composed by the singer herself, and is based on a song from the TV anime "Amanchu! ～It was also announced that it would be the ending theme song for the TV anime "Amanchu! I was very nervous because it was my first experience to have a song I wrote and composed tie-up with a TV anime. It's a story about high school girls who try their best at scuba diving, so it needs to be cute and fresh, but I also wanted it to be something that could be listened to from an adult perspective, so that people in the midst of their teenage years could listen to it and think, "This is about us. I wrote it with the aim of making it something that could be listened to from an adult's point of view. It could be read as a message from my past self, or as a letter from my present self to the future, calling out "Hello Hello. Hello, Hello," with its soft and fluffy sound, has a tenderness that makes listeners' hearts honest and is catchy and easy to sing along to. Before singing the song, she said, "It's easy music that anyone can learn, because I wrote it (laugh)." It was a fun sight to see the audience quickly imitate the up-and-down movement of her left hand in time with the chorus phrase.

Next week, we are going to perform overseas for the first time. We have a good setlist for newcomers to enjoy, don't we? The audience cheered loudly when he asked, "Wasn't the setlist good enough for people who are new to us to enjoy? Yes, this tour includes overseas performances in Taiwan on March 17 and Hong Kong on March 24. Since many of her fans from all over Asia have been visiting Japan for her live performances for a long time, the tour is sure to be a great success there as well. The first day of the "ALL CLEAR" tour ended on a very happy note, as the stage delivered a clear, new worldview that only the "ALL CLEAR" tour can deliver.

Maaya Sakamoto's still fresh presence and music filled with strength and tenderness must have energized everyone present for tomorrow. It was an exhilarating takeoff toward the final day of the tour on April 1 and into the future.

(Text: Miki Ueno)

Live information
Maaya Sakamoto LIVE TOUR 2018 "ALL CLEAR
3/17(Sat) TICC (Taipei International Convention Center) Doors open: 18:00 Concert begins: 19:00
3/24 (Sat) Asia World Expo Runway11 in Hong Kong Doors: 18:00 Concert: 19:30
3/31 (Sat) NHK Hall Doors open: 17:00 Concert begins: 18:00
4/01 (Sun) NHK Hall Doors open: 15:00 Concert begins: 16:00
Tickets 7,000 yen in advance (tax included) *Pre-school children are not allowed to enter.

Product information】】 【Product information
■"CLEAR
On sale now!
Price: 1,300 yen (tax not included)
On sale: Flying Dog
Distributed by: JVC Kenwood Victor Entertainment Inc.

＜Songs included in the album
CLEAR (Opening theme song for TV animation "Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card Arc")
Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto, Music: Yoshiki Mizuno, Arrangement: Shin Kono
2. record
Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto, music: Kohei Dojima, arrangement: Hiroyasu Yano
Platinum ~acoustic live ver. ~ (Recorded at Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, June 4, 2017)
Lyrics: Yuho Iwasato Music: Yoko Kanno Arrangement: Shin Kono
CLEAR -Instrumental- 5. RECORD -Instrumental- (Recorded at Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, June 4, 2017)

Distribution Information
Gyakkou", theme song for the second part of the smartphone game "Fate/Grand Order
Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto / Composition: Kazuha Izawa
Arranged by Kazuha Izawa and Ryo Eguchi / Strings arranged by Kazuha Izawa, Ryo Eguchi and Toru Ishizuka
Exclusive pre-distribution on ANiuTa!