Ai Nakajima reports on the final performance of "Curiosity of Love," her first live tour in six years!

An official report from the final performance of Megumi Nakajima's first live tour in six years, "Megumi Nakajima Live Tour 2018 "Curiosity of Love,"" has arrived.

Ai Nakajima made her voice acting debut in 2008 as Ranka Lee in "Macross F", and in 2014 she appeared as the main character Megumi Aino in "Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! In 2014, she played the main character Megumi Aino/Cure Lovely in "Happiness Charge Pretty Cure! In addition, as a singer, many of her songs topped the charts, but she took a break from singing after her last live performance "Thank You" at the Seinenkan in March 2014. Then on December 1, 2016, she announced that she would resume her activities as a voice actor and singer in earnest for the first time in almost three years, starting in 2017; on December 11, she held a free live concert at the church square at Odaiba Venus Fort, and tickets forher one-man live concert in June 2017were sold out immediately. Subsequently, they participated in Animelo Summer Live 2017 and sang the opening theme song for the 2017 fall anime "Netojin no Susume". From March 30, 2018 (Friday), Megumi Nakajima will embark on a Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka Zepp tour "Megumi Nakajima Live Tour 2018 "Curiosity of Love The tour will take place on April 8 (Sun.), April 9 (Sun.), April 10 (Sun.), and April 11 (Sun.).

Here is the official report from the final show of "Megumi Nakajima Live Tour 2018 "Curiosity of Love"" held at Zepp Tokyo on April 8 (Sun.).

In addition, a talk event with writer Minori Kai will be held on May 27 (Sun.) to celebrate the release of "What Music Taught Me", a collection of conversations about her love of music in the 80s and 90s!　The talk event will consist of two parts: "SIDE-A: Hajimete no Otome Utaou" (for beginners) and "SIDE-B: A little deeper Otome Utaou" (for intermediate-level users). A special pre-order will be available for Ai Nakajima Fan Club members prior to the general release, so don't miss it!

<Ai Nakajima Curiosity of Love Tour April 8 (Sun.) @ Zepp Tokyo Live Report>

Mameguko and Ai Nakajima have been on a three-city "Curiosity of Love" live tour in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo. The final day of the tour was held at Zepp Tokyo on April 8. They sang a total of 20 songs from their latest album "Curiosity," released in February of this year. The audience was excited, as befitting a final event.

Mamegu appeared on stage in a white dress. She greeted the audience with her arms outstretched and started with "Submarine," the lead song from the album "Curiosity. The second song on the album, "Life's The Party Time! and the third song, "Interstellar Flight," which was released as early as the third song, "Lanka Lee = Ai Nakajima. The fourth song was "Sorairo Love Letter" from her first album "I love you. She sang all the songs up to this point at once.

The first greeting from the audience was "It's been a long time since we performed at Zepp Tokyo. For Mamegu, it was the first time since the tour for her 2nd album "Be With You" released 6 years ago. Going further back, the first live performance of the TV anime "Macross F" was also held at Zepp Tokyo 10 years ago. I had a great experience here 10 years ago. Hasn't this floor changed since then?" He joked, but looked deeply moved.

The next part of the concert was a series of soft, feminine songs, starting with "Hagurete Kotori to Yawn no Sora", the coupling song of the first single after her return to the stage. They performed "Odyssey," "Till it turns into memories," "Jewel," and "Usozukizakura," colorful songs that color the middle part of the album "Curiosity. The ballad "Usozukizakura" was closed by the nostalgic harmonica of Tatsuya Nishiwaki of BANMAS.

Tatsuya Nishiwaki, a member of BANMAS, played a nostalgic harmonica to end the ballad "Usozukizakura. I'm so happy to be back, and I can truly feel it from the bottom of my heart, and I will continue to sing these songs with great care," said Mamegu, looking back on "Curiosity. I want to continue to sing them with great care.


Next up was a cover of a ballad by Ranka Lee. The song chosen for the Tokyo performance was "Ao no ether" written by Maaya Sakamoto. After singing the song, she left the stage and changed into a red costume in between the band's passionate performance. The atmosphere changed at once as they sang "Memories of the Future" and "Afterimage of Avalon," two of the most intense songs in the "Curiosity" album. The bass player Ryuta Sakamoto took a solo on "Memories of the Future. The audience cheered loudly as he performed the song while doing the moonwalk.


Then the live went into the second half of the show. The second half of the live was a raging battle. They sang catchy songs such as "Watashi no Sekai," a single from their return to the band, "Sukkai Moment," featuring a drum solo by Masayuki Muraishi, "Anata no Oto," the third Ranka Lee song of the day, and "Kinkiro ~Kimi wo suki ni naritai dakidatta," an emotional number that is essential for the climax of a Mamegu live performance. The tension of the audience reached its maximum. The last song of the live was the last song from "Curiosity", "Ai wo toroshite", which will become a new anthem of her live performances in the future. Mamegu left the stage for the first time to loud applause.


For the encore, she appeared in a striped tour T-shirt and first performed the energetic pop number "Hello! The performance was full of energy, including a line dance scene with the bass guitarist and the guitarist. Then, "Ai wa Meguru" was followed by a long call-and-response with the audience, which was maintained throughout the concert. It was a moment when the sense of unity that had been maintained throughout the live became even stronger.

The live was not over yet. For the double encore, the band performed their latest single, "Saturday Night Question. The two-and-a-half-hour performance ended with a rock number that was both passionate and sad.

Mamegu is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. In addition to a stable performance at a high quality point, the MC who made the audience laugh was also brilliant, and the stage showed the experience accumulated by the band. He and the band were in perfect harmony, and his big smile was impressive as he watched each member perform his solo. During the live performance, the band also announced that they will release a single by the end of this year. Mamegu's 10th anniversary year is going to be a crazy happy year!


[Event information] (*Honorifics omitted)
■"What Music Taught Me" publication commemoration: Minori Kai and Ai Nakajima Talk Session "Otome Uta-Yo no Susume" (Otome Song Recommendation)
Date: Sunday, May 27, 2018
Part 1: 14:00 (doors open at 13:30) / Part 2: 17:00 (doors open at 16:30) *Replacement system
Venue: Ikebukuro Jiyu Gakuen Asutumukan Auditorium (2-31-3 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)
・Performers: Minori Kai, Ai Nakajima
Fee: 2,500 yen per performance (change of seats for part 1 and part 2, all seats reserved)
Planning: Mill Books, Inc.

Product Information
Ai Nakajima "Curiosity" (CD)
Release date: Now on sale (February 14, 2018)
・Price: First pressing: 3,800 yen (excluding tax) (*) / Normal pressing: 3,000 yen (excluding tax)
(*)Includes Blu-ray with music videos of new songs "Submarine," "Watashi no Sekai" and "Saturday Night Question

■"What Music Taught Me" (book)
Author: Minori Kai, Ai Nakajima
Release date: Now on sale (January 31, 2018)
Price: 1,500 yen (excluding tax)
Published by mille books

Photo: Katsumi Kosaki