The big stage at the beginning of the year! Marei Uchida's first Budokan solo live "take you take me BUDOKAN! Report

On January 1, 2019, the last New Year's Day of the Heisei era, voice actress Mare Uchida's first Nippon Budokan solo live "take you take me BUDOKAN! was held.

On January 1, 2019, the fifth anniversary year of Uchida's solo artist activities and the last New Year's Day in the Heisei era, she held her first Nippon Budokan concert. Since her first live performance, which she says was full of anxiety, she has experienced many stages, continued to renew her memories, and her live performance has been improving. The venue gradually became larger and larger along with it. Finally, they arrived at the Nippon Budokan, a large stage. What was shown there was a live performance that was typical of Mare Uchida.

Let me report on this milestone live performance.

Enjoyable for everyone and filled with happiness - that's what Marrei Uchida's solo live is all about!

I can only imagine the tremendous pressure she must have been under to perform at the Nippon Budokan on New Year's Day (......), but even so, she stood on the big stage to celebrate her 5th anniversary year. And she gave a magnificent live performance.

I am sure it was because of the confidence she had built up over the years. Trusting in the Shinrei team, and with their help, and with all the audience gathered at the Budokan on her side, she gave her best performance .......

Although she showed us a performance like a breakthrough in her last live, it does not mean that what she has accumulated will never be lost ......, and her trajectory was strongly conveyed in this live performance.

The Nippon Budokan was set up as a stage set of a large ship. Under the huge Hinomaru (Japanese flag), guitars and basses clashed with each other in the center of the stage, while Japanese instruments sounded impressive in the opening sound effects. Yosuke Yamamoto, guitarist, and Katsuhiko Kurosu, bassist and bandmaster, can be said to be two of the people responsible for the aggressive sound of her live performances.

Then came the star of the show, Mare Uchida!

Happy New Year!" and sang the opening number, "Takanoki no Solfege. This song was included in the coupling of her debut single, and is a song she holds very dear to her heart, with her favorite words scattered throughout. It was emo to bring such a beginning song to the first song of the Budokan live, a new start for the band. The slightly nervous faces of the performers gradually relaxed, and their voices echoed to every corner of the venue with their usual smiles.

The sense of unity of the MAAYA BAND was further heightened by "take you take me BANDWAGON. The venue was filled with tremendous enthusiasm as the first two songs were quite powerful.

However, the band did not want to let up on the top of their game. This time, they brought in dancers. They performed "Romantic Dancer" while dancing together. Then, as a pillar of fire rose up, they threw gifts into the audience by knocking and batting during "Crossfire" as promised. During the interlude of the song, they changed into pirate-like costumes and sang "adventure bleu" in front of the rudder set at the top of the stage. The floor was filled with blue penlights, making it look like a ship sailing on the sea, which was very powerful.

They sang "+INTERSECT+" and "I My Shakey Heart" with cute dance moves. For the popular song "Karappo Capsule," the Maaya Poi Dancers (using visual poi to make letters appear in space using LEDs. They also appeared in Uchida's 2nd live performance at Yoyogi Stadium 1st Gymnasium) also appeared on stage to color the stage.

In her new song "youthful beautiful," she sang a song about youthfulness, beauty, and the future that lies ahead in high spirits. Even more impressive was "c.o.s.m.o.s". The center stage was lifted up and confetti fell from the ceiling. The sight of Ms. Uchida dancing in the center of the stage was even mysterious.

After the digital songs, there was an acoustic corner where the audience could enjoy the taste of the instruments. Cajon and acoustic guitar warmed the audience as the band performed "magic hour" and "My Stage. The audience could feel the band's broad range of performance, as well as the charm of Ms. Uchida's voice and the depth of her expressive power, and could sense that she has grown even more. Finally, the live performance came to an end.

In the song "To be your heroine," which was prepared for this live performance, she waved her hands from side to side as she sang "la la la la. Her smile has a charm that makes people happy, and this song seems to boost that happiness. After the Budokan was filled with a big circle of people, the band proceeded to drop their standard live songs as if they were going to run through the venue in a single bound.

From "Sekai ga katagatoremo mo mo" (Even if the World Loses Its Shape), the band appeared in gorgeous kimono-style costumes!　I was surprised at the wide range of costumes, from pirate to formal kimono, but I guess you could say it was very New Year's-like in its range of styles. During the song "Smiling Spiral," a wave broke out in the middle of the song, and the tension in the audience rose quickly. Uchida also said, "I received the strongest power from the audience!　Let's get excited for the last song! and closed the show with "Hello, future contact! The audience was also enjoying themselves, waving penlights in their own way.

For encore, they appeared in live T-shirts to loud cheers. After calling out to the audience with "Step to Next Star! and then said, "It's great to be at a live concert. I like the fact that I can hear everyone's voice. I realized that I can do my best because of my fans. That's why I want to be with everyone!　I will do my best so that I can make that time, and I want everyone to be with me. I don't mean "everyone," I mean "you! She commented, "I'll do my best to make that time.

Marei Uchida seems to be a genius at making people fall in love with her. When she makes such a request with a carefree smile, one might think that the only choice is to go along with her, but the fact that she can say that without hesitation is what makes her so amazing.

Then, everyone sang "Sunny Day Anthem," an anthem that was created by a fan club of people who love her, and she sang her debut song "Wound Innocence" powerfully as the last song of the encore. This is probably the song he has sung the most so far, but now he has completely made it his own, and it has become an indispensable enlivening song at his live shows. The live show seemed to end with such a cool song, but a chorus of "One more time! and they prepared for a double encore.

As soon as she appeared on stage, she said, "You all love me, don't you?　I love you too! and called the band members and dancers in for a rapturous applause.

It's been about half a year since we announced the Nippon Budokan concert, and I've been thinking about what we should do there, and in the end what I wanted to do was to share the usual live performance with the Marei team with everyone. So we talked about how we wanted the usual feeling, and decided to do the usual live show. We decided to do our usual live show! I believe that this live concert, which started with "Takanashi Solfege," gave the audience a sense of "This is what we are like! I will do my best so that this view can be seen again, and I want to come to the Nippon Budokan again, don't you? But today's Budokan. I will never forget and treasure the last January 1st of Heisei Era, and I look forward to seeing you again in 2019, Marei Uchida!"

After saying these words, the band, dancers, and fans gathered at the Budokan enjoyed "Shiny drive, Moony dive" and "take you take me BANDWAGON" again to end the first Nippon Budokan solo live on the last New Year's Day in the Heisei era.

(Reporting by Junichi Tsukagoshi)

Set List

01 Solfege of Takanori

02 take you take me BANDWAGON

03 romantic dancer

04 cross fire

05 aventure bleu

06 +INTERSECT+

07 i my shaky heart

08 empty capsule

09 youthful beautiful

10 c.o.s.m.o.s