Column] Looking back again after the Sendai concert: ......The light in the palm of my hand that pushed Wake Up, Girls!

FINAL TOUR -HOME-", a live tour by the voice actress unit Wake Up, Girls! To witness the story, I headed to Sendai, where the final performance was to be held, after finishing my interview the day before.

The scenery that WUG left in Sendai

I chose the Tohoku Shinkansen "Hayabusa" as my mode of transportation. I remembered a voice actress from Sendai who was a good dancer and was much more enthusiastic about her hometown than herself in a solo interview a long time ago, saying that the Tohoku Shinkansen would take her to Sendai in an hour and a half and that she would love to see her in Sendai. I boarded the train from Omiya and arrived at Sendai station in a little over an hour. The speed of the train was so fast that I was jealous that I had to take an express bus on the way back due to budget constraints.

The Shinkansen departed from Sendai Station and headed for Morioka, Iwate. I recall a story about how Nagano-san and Okuno-san used to be distant from each other at first when the members were still commuting by Shinkansen from the provinces. Now that they are best friends who talk on the phone with each other until 4:00 in the morning, they can laugh about the episode.

Getting off at the west exit of JR Sendai Station, I was naturally reminded of "Wake Up, Girls! The pedestrian deck with the vast bus terminal in its belly naturally reminds me of the lyrics of the song "Agape of a 16-Year-Old". Agape is a Greek word meaning "love of God," but it is fate that the girl chosen to play the role of Airi Hayashida, who takes the main part in this song, was a college student studying philosophy with the name "Airi. How much of this is coincidence and how much is inevitable?

Signs for S-PAL, LOFT, and MUJI in front of the station. I didn't even know they existed before the broadcast of the "Wake Up, Girls!" anime, but now they are a familiar sight, combined with my memory of I-1 club announcing the opening of the Sendai Theater on those street screens.

In songs such as "Kotonoha Aoba," scenes of Sendai are sung with freshness and a little sadness. The main area depicted in the anime "Wake Up, Girls! The outdoor stage of Kotodai Park is the "beginning stage" where WUG in the anime jumped into the "Student Metal Band Festival," and in 2017, the real WUG held a triumphant outdoor live performance. On a weekday, Kotodai Park was quiet and spacious, as if the hustle and bustle of two years ago was a lie. In addition, the day after the Sendai Chishu-rakura concert, there were several Wagner's backs on the benches in front of the stage.

There is a term for this: "pilgrimage to a holy place. Because "Wake Up, Girls!" is an elaborate depiction of the town of Sendai, there are things that can only be understood by actually visiting the area. Kumagaya, which is set as the birthplace of Auri Hayashida, is a famous Sendai wagashi store. Upon entering the store, you will see Airi's stand pop displayed there. For some reason, I was relieved to see that Ai was still there as a signboard girl the day after the concert. Kumagaya was selling wagashi (Japanese confections) in the shape of a "shark," Ai's image animal, for three days before and after the concert. The walnut yubeshi, which is a popular Ai's image animal, soon disappeared from the store shelves.

A short walk down the street from Kumagaya-ya is the building that served as the model for WUG's office, Greenleaves Entertainment. In reality, it is a tutoring school that is still in business. When you see the actual building, you will be surprised at its small size and how close it is to Kumagaya-ya. Passing through the front of the office to the next corner, you will find "Cafe Bijou," a coffee shop where WUG used to go. It was in this store that WUG encountered the visiting I-1 club members. The Sendai period of "Wake Up, Girls!" is a story that is truly rooted in the life of a small community.

Stores that appeared in the "Wake Up, Girls!" anime, such as Kumagaya, Cafe Bijou, Gyoza no Tempari, and Pancake no Mitsubachi, were bustling with Wagnerites before and after the live performances, and their related products sold out quickly. The weight of the six years that the work and the unit have spent together is felt by the stores, who also feel a deep attachment to the "Wake Up, Girls! At the Sendai performance, local stores and companies delivered video messages to WUG. On the day of the final performance, Café Bijou closed in the afternoon in order to witness the last performance of the tour by the seven members. The work that began as a way to support the reconstruction of Sendai has become a bond that still connects the local community and its fans.

Memories of that day in Osaka

The night performance of the final show of the tour. Tachiagare! and the solo part of the song, in which leader Yoshinoh Aoyama sang with his powerful voice, was an unforgettable scene that spread throughout the venue. And perhaps it was the sentimentality of the final part. At the same time, the memory of that hot, hot day five years ago came to my mind.

August 10, 2014 at ESAKA MUSE in Osaka.

It was the day of the first performance of the first live tour of the Wake Up, Girls! The special live performance was in doubt until just before the event. This was because typhoon No. 11, which originated in the Mariana Islands, made landfall on Shikoku at 6:00 a.m. on the day of the live concert, and at around 11:00 a.m., it bit into Dottebara in Hyogo Prefecture. I was staying on the eastern edge of Kobe City, and as soon as I opened the door, I was astonished by the wall of rain that I could not see 30 cm beyond. The public transportation system was hopelessly inadequate. If it hadn't been for the cab that was willing to fly me down the half-submerged Bayshore Route 2 at that time, I might not have had a future where I was at the venue of the Chikubu Festival.

When I arrived at the venue, I found that the members and many Wagners had arrived there safely. As I entered the city of Osaka, the signs of rain were fading, and I felt rather buoyant, soaking wet from head to foot. However, the fact that the venue was packed on a day like this probably had its own story to tell, as each member of the audience gathered there against all odds.

The mischief of the typhoon and torrential rain had an unexpected effect on the first live concert of the tour. The heat and humidity in the venue was so great that the audience was sweating even before the show started. The seven members really worked hard in the midst of it all. The sweat that was pouring down the sleeves made me think that Mr. Takagi was going to melt away. The seven members of Wake Up, Girls! But at that time, the girls just gave it their all. They knew no other answer.

It was their first live tour, their first daytime and nighttime performances. The seven girls continued to give their best performances, but the punishment for overdoing it in the harsh environment came at the most dangerous time. Tachiagare! was the only one of its kind for the girls at the time. The chorus of this special song, which was unique to the girls at the time, was the last part of the song. At the moment when the leader, Ms. Aoyama, should be shining at her best, ...... she lost her voice.

It was the moment when the first live performance might have been remembered as an irreversible failure. I was below the stage to take pictures.

In the middle of the chorus, I realized that Ms. Aoyama's voice was not ...... heard, and the next moment I recognized it. Behind me, the live house became one living being. Hundreds of people in the audience sang the rest of the chorus in unison. There was no time to communicate with the audience. The voices of each person in that place, wishing to save the precious girl and shouting, became one singing voice.

As a third party who was between the stage and the audience, I felt the overwhelming power behind my back, and at that moment, I truly felt that I wanted to witness the story of the Wake Up, Girls unit. I remember that Aoyama-san himself later told me that this was the most emo moment in the history of WUG.

I wonder how many of the hundreds of Wagners who left with Wake Up, Girls! Most of the people at the venue were also very talented people who had attended the Saitama Super Arena, so I am sure there were a good number of them, or at least I hope there were. Just as they supported Aoyama-san that day, many hands continued to support and push the girls, and I believe that the miraculous day of the tour's final show was just the beginning.

At the beginning of the anime "Wake Up, Girls! Seven Idols," it talks about the three types of people who can make someone happy. Those who can make many people happy, those who can make those close to them happy, and those who can make themselves happy.

The qualities required of an idol are those that can make many people happy. However, on that day, I think what filled the stage and the venue was a more closed emotion of "I want to make those close to me happy. In words, it was family, family, HOME.

The answer to the wishes and aspirations of "Wake Up, Girls!

(Text by Kiri Nakazato)