The stage that exceeded the limit of "as usual" crystallized by the sweat and time spent on it! Luce Twinkle Wink☆ 4th Anniversary Regular Performance Report

Luce Twinkle Wink☆, an idol unit that aims to bridge the gap between anime songs and idols, held its fourth anniversary "Tsukuru-chi Friday Regular Performance" at the AKIBA Culture's Theater in Tokyo on June 1, 2018.

Luce Twinkle Wink☆ ("Luce") is a five-member unit consisting of Yukino Usami, Saki Fukazawa, Megumi Nishikiori, Saori Itayama, and Kaho Higaki, and has been performing on stage for the first time under the name Luce Twinkle Wink☆ since May 23, 2014, when it was promoted from a research student unit to the five members have continued their activities together. This year's regular performance is a commemorative performance to celebrate Luce's birthday. Tsukuru-chie" is a word that expresses the five members' will to be actively involved in all aspects of creation, including songwriting, composition, choreography (Itayama-san is especially good at this), photography (Fukazawa-san's hobby), and so on. I headed to the venue, thinking about the meaning of the 4th anniversary of the regular performance, rather than a special venue on a special day.

The AKIBA Cultures Theater is located on the basement floor of the "AKIBA Cultures ZONE" in the middle of Akihabara, in the basement of the building with a large "Rashinban" (formerly K-BOOKS) on the first floor. 298 people, which makes it one of the largest in Akihabara, or perhaps Luce's? It depends on your point of view whether you consider the 298-person capacity to be the largest in Akihabara or surprisingly close to the Saitama Super Arena, where Luce has stood for Anisama and NBC Festivals.

After descending the 20-plus steps from the bustling Akihabara on a Friday night, one immediately passes a narrow space for ticket sales and merchandise, and once past that, one is already in the theater. What is impressive is the configuration of the venue. In front of the stage, which is deep considering the theater's size, there is a row of long, soft benches that occupy about 80% of the audience seats. Standing is prohibited in this area (!). Some people sitting on the free seats were waving psylliums, and others were doing small frico-pics with only their hands. However, I was surprised at the number of people who were sitting and enjoying the sound and "watching" the stage at their own pace.

On the other hand, the standing area in the back 20% of the venue was an area where people were standing and making a lot of noise.

Luce has been holding regular performances at the AKIBA Culture's Theater approximately once every two weeks for some time now. The many winkers who gathered to celebrate their fourth anniversary turned their regular performances at their usual venue into something special. The members were thrilled to see the audience packed to the back of the stage! and some were worried about the audience not being able to get into the standing room area, so I guess the density and intensity of this venue is something special that only the 4th anniversary can bring.

The live show started with a screening of memorable photos of Luce's past. The photos included vivid scenes from the convention hall and scenes of the five members in their daily lives. Personally, I was particularly impressed by the back shot of the five members striking a louche pose from the stage in the dimly colored light, as if it were a single painting.

When the five came on stage to perform their major label debut song, "Koiiro ♡Keikoukouri," the audience was filled with surprise, for the five were dressed in separate costumes, each of them wearing costumes from their previous singles. Itayama-san, in the Hakama-like costume from "go to Romance＞＞＞＞＞," and Higaki-san, in the costume from "1st Love Story," with her hair cut and colored to give her a much-needed makeover, looked so different that it was almost as if they were characters from different anime. Even though the costumes were different, the five of them moved with such intensity and vigor that it was clear that they were a unit, a single living being.

In the first block, they sang "Koiiro ♡Keikoukai", "1st Love Story", "go to Romance＞＞＞＞＞", and "Fight on! The composition was like a history of Luce. All of the songs were intense, with the audience dancing to them with more than their full strength, and all of them were killer tunes. The members' hair was sticking to the floor with sweat flowing in no time. The four years of constantly pushing the limits in their monthly and weekly gigs and regular performances have shaped the girls' superhuman performances. As Usami said, "I want to sweat four times more than usual and fly four times faster than usual" for their fourth anniversary, and it was a luxury to sit and watch their performance, which had the potential to convey a sense of dynamism even to the seats at the very back of Saitama Super Arena, from a distance that made sweat dance in the air.

With the majority of the venue seated, the audience could clearly see the members from anywhere in the venue (except behind the pillars). The height difference in the feeling of looking up at the stage made it clear that the five members were trying to capture the gaze of each and every person in the audience. I felt this most in "First Love Pentagram. When each member posed as a gunman and "shot straight through your heart," the person who was shot must not have survived the attack.

I felt Luce's expression that was not limited to "intensity" in "Slight Fever of Girls" and "Let me cry. The expressions on the faces of the five singers and the various combinations of their bodies together were thrillingly glamorous. I was particularly impressed by Ms. Fukazawa, who had changed her bangs for the occasion of her photo book "#Tokimeki. I had heard that she had changed her bangs for her photo book "#Tokimeki. At the time, I only thought it looked stylish, but when she was sweating and her hair was disheveled during the live performance, I found that her expression was much more expressive than before. Especially during "Slight Fever of Girls," Ms. Fukazawa's expression was so bewitching that it gave me the creeps. The mid-tempo of "Let me cry" also allowed the audience to feel the quality of the movements, the power of expression, and the fullness of the song.

The theme was "What kind of Luce do you want to be in the 5th year? Ms. Nishikori answered, "I want to sing the OP of an anime! I want to be in the weekly top 10! I want to be in the top 10 of the weekly list! Fukazawa said, "I want to be on the main stage at TIF (Tokyo Idol Festival)! Ms. Fukazawa said, "I want to be on the main stage at TIF (Tokyo Idol Festival)! Usami: "I want to grow up by performing on arena-sized stages like SSA (Saitama Super Arena) and Yoko-Area! Itayama said, "I want to do a photo book again. When the topic of TIF came up, Nishikori said, "In our first year as Luce, we couldn't participate in TIF, so we stayed home to watch the live broadcast. I was so frustrated!" He commented. I want what I want, and I'm very frustrated about what I'm frustrated about!　It is a good thing that Luce is able to clearly express what she wants and what she regrets. However, there was an unexpected twist to this story: Higaki-san was a little dazed during the MC, and when Usami-san followed up by saying, "We're talking about Luce's goal for the 5th year now," Higaki-san thought for a moment before saying, "I want to be on the main stage at TIF! Hinokaki-san thought for a moment and then said, "I want to be on the main stage at TIF! Although her naturalness was typical of Ms. Higaki, I thought she might have been a bit out of oxygen after dancing from 5 songs to 4 songs almost continuously. I also thought he might have been a little out of oxygen.

The last block was followed by "meteor bell," "Hikari," "Twinkle "5 "stars! ☆" and "Setsuna Halation", which are special divine songs for Luce. The final scene of "meteor bell," with the five members holding hands and staring off into the distance, reminded the audience of the vast ocean of light that lies ahead, which the five members will someday reach. The live ended with a commemorative photo. The final part of the live was a commemorative photo shoot, with the five members and everyone in the audience chanting "Ganbatte Luce! the five members and the entire audience were captured in a single photo.

The next big development for Luce will be a birthday live performance by Megumi Nishikori, a.k.a. "Memetan," at Shinjuku BLAZE on July 1. On that day, Luce will be presenting a new song, and Ms. Nishikiori will be involved in all aspects of the songwriting, composition, choreography, and new costume design, making it a "Tsukuru-Chi-Memetan Special," so we should look forward to it.

Now, in this report, I wrote about the environment of Luce's regular performances at the current "AKIBA CULTURES THEATER" location, which is much more than a regular report. This show is about 80 minutes in length, and tickets are priced at 2,500 yen in advance (3,000 yen at the door) plus 500 yen for one drink.

The live performance of the idol group, which may be the most powerful in terms of performance right now, and which has thrilled the arena at Anisama and the NBC festival, can be seen from a distance with the sweat of the performers dancing in the air. You can sit back and be enthralled, or you can keep your enthusiasm to yourself and watch in silence. This was the first time for me personally to know that such an "experience" existed. And I wanted to share this experience with as many people as possible.

The next Tsukuru-Chieh Friday performance will be held on June 15, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. at the same venue as this time, the AKIBA Culture's Theater.

People who are somewhat curious about the existence of Luce because of the festival and the anime. Those who don't know the groove of idol live performances or are a bit scared of them. Or maybe you're just a person who is free on Friday nights. If such people casually, mischievously, and on a whim descend those stairs on their way home from work, an unforgettable experience is sure to await them. It was a live concert that made me realize once again that the theater with this sense of distance is the stage on which idols fight their daily battles.