Aqours, Minami Kuribayashi, Minori Chihara - Divas who accompany works with their songs "Animelo Summer Live 2019 -Story-" DAY2 Highlights & Report

DAY 2 of "Animelo Summer Live 2019 -Story-," one of the world's largest anime song festivals, was held at Saitama Super Arena on August 31, 2019.

Day 2, the second day of the 3-DAYS event, featured performances by THE iDOLM@STER SideM, Asaki Hana, Minori Suzuki, Minori Chihara, Takuatsu Terashima, TRUE, TrySail, Inori Minase, Minami Kuribayashi, Aqours, Ayaka Ohashi, Starlight 99 Group, Yu Hatanaka, angela, Kita Uji Quartet, RAISE A SUILEN, and YUIKO OHARA performed.

Minori Chihara x TRUE

Masami Okui x Minami Kuribayashi

The live opening on the second day started with "Paradise Lost" by Minori Chihara and TRUE. This is an anniversary Anisama for Minori Chihara, who is celebrating the 15th anniversary of her career. Ms. Kuribayashi, who changed her artist name from Minami to Minami Kuribayashi, performed "Rinbu-revolution-" with Masami Okui. This was Ms. Kuribayashi's 14th (!!!) Anisama appearance. Ms. Kuribayashi was the 14th (!) time to perform at Anisama. The collaboration of legendary female anisong artists who have shaped the history of Anisama and anime songs was one of the pillars of Anisama "Story" on the second day. Ms. Okui said, "Anime songs never fade away, and it's wonderful that the stories of my life intersect with the people who listened to them.

TRUE x Kita-Uji Quartet

Ira Yuki

TRUE and Kita-Uji Quartet performed "Blast!", "DREAM SOLISTER", and "Tutti! and "Tutti! Euphonium," the performers appeared dressed as students of the Kitauji High School brass band that appears in the film. Tomoyo Kurosawa, Ayaka Asai, Moe Toyoda, and Chika Anzai, all dressed in Kita-Uji High School uniforms, joined the cast in playing music. Ayla Yuki performed "Violet Snow" and Minori Chihara performed "Amy" from the "Violet Evergarden" series. Ira Yuki, who made a surprise appearance, expressed everything in her performance of this one song, and dared not to appear for the closing remarks of the entire live performance. The performers who gathered Kyoto Animation's works and sang with deep emotion showed the strong will of Anisama and the artists to continue to be close to Kyoto Animation and its works. On the following day, September 1, DAY 3, a unit of the cast of Kyoto Animation's "K-ON! Houkago Tea Time, a unit of the cast of Kyoto Animation's "K-ON!

Yu Hatanaka

Minori Suzuki

Mr. Takagi feat. Yuko Ohara

A series of stages form a "story".

From here, we will pick up and introduce the highlights that Akiba Research Institute would like to focus on.

M01:Paradise Lost (Minori Chihara x TRUE)

M02:Pure White Sanctuary (Minori Chihara)

M03:TERMINATED (Minori Chihara)

Minori Chihara

Minori Chihara celebrates the 15th anniversary of her activities this year, when Anisama celebrates its 15th anniversary. It is safe to say that she is one of the voice-over artists who embody the history of Anisama. When she made her debut, she personally had a strong idol image. That all changed with two songs. One was "Snow, Silence, at the Window," released in 2006 as a character song for "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. The first was "Junpaku Sanctuary," the debut single from Lantis, which sublimated the new world of Minori Chihara as a voice actress and singer into the expression of Minori Chihara as an artist. The song is full of a sense of speed with many magnificent strings, and the transparent and powerful voice ...... is the original form of the image of Minori Chihara, the artist. This time, Ms. Chihara described this song as "my beginning song. And because Ms. Chihara showed a gentle and gentle side of her voice in "Remained dream" and "Michishirube" at last year's Anisama, the "liberation" of her fierce and burning vocals this year shone more impressively, and I felt a story that transcended the fiscal year. I also felt a story that transcended the fiscal year. The screen behind Ms. Chihara's singing overlapped with a video of her singing at her first Anisama performance.

M08:Nameless Story (Takuatsu Terashima)

M09:Buddy, steady, go!

Takuatsu Terashima

Takuatsu Terashima has performed at Anisama many times as a member of ST☆RISH and "THE iDOLM@STER SideM" 315 Pro, but this time he described it as his "first appearance" at the stage MC. This is a testament to his attitude of separating his singing work under his solo name and his character song work as a voice actor. I personally felt an overlap with Kenichi Suzumura's appearance at Anisama as a male voice actor who is cool to look at, performing a special effects ("Ultraman") song that he has strong feelings for. I believe that there is a story in Anisama, a genre nurtured by seniors that is being passed on and nurtured by juniors. I thought about this as I listened to the two songs that included the word "story" in the lyrics.

M10:UNSTOPPABLE (RAISE A SUIREN)

M11:SECAINOBI TREASURE! (Kokoro Gemmaki & Michelle + RAISE A SUIREN)

Kokoro GENMAKI & Michelle + RAISE A SUIREN

Bandolier! has three real female bands, Poppin'Party, Roselia, and RAISE A SUIREN, RAISE A SUIREN started out as a third band and backing band for "Bandri! ......, whereas RAISE A SUIREN is a band that started out as a third band and a backing band, but later became a voice actor in the anime as well, wearing the character's clothes, so to speak. So, the second song "Sekai no Nobi Treasure!" with Ms. Miki Ito, who plays Kokoro Tsurumaki as the main vocalist is "Bandoli-! For fans of RAISE A SUIREN, it was a little sad to see only one original song by the unit, "UNSTOPPABLE," but the high level of the performance and the quality of the music were well received by the audience. However, it was enough time to showcase the high level of the performance, Boshiki Risa's dramatic growth as a DJ, Kurachi Reiho's frenetic keyboard playing, and RAYCHELL's reigning vocals (......). If you want to see more RAISE A SUIREN, come to the "Bandolier! If you want to see more RAISE A SUIREN, come to the live of "Bandolier! In a sense, the performance was so spirited that it reminded me of the origin of the festival.

M14:Next Season (Minami Kuribayashi)

M15:Crystal Energy (Minami Kuribayashi)

Minami Kuribayashi

As mentioned above, Minami Kuribayashi, who changed her name to "Minami" in 2015, returned to her former name, "Minami Kuribayashi," to perform at Anisama. 14 times in 15 years, Kuribayashi is a symbolic artist of Anisama, and we would like to welcome her back. The first song she performed under a new name was a song from the OVA ("Next Season") of "Kimi ga Koukou Eien," a special work for her, but it seemed to symbolize that she is entering a new season as an artist. What was very characteristic of Ms. Kuribayashi was that she chose "Crystal Energy," another song, because she missed Masaaki Iizuka (who arranged the music), who was not a member of the stage crew this time. Mr. Iizuka, who is an indispensable part of Mr. Kuribayashi's stage presence, is currently on tour with GRANRODEO, so he is not participating in this Anisama. When I look back on the 2019 Anisama in later years, I will remember that she was away on the RODEO tour, and it was a small, family-like story that she left behind on this big stage. I felt that it was her own way to leave a small, family story on this big stage.

M18:LET'S GO! ～Ray of Light - Legacy of Spirit (THE iDOLM@STER SideM)

THE iDOLM@STER SideM

The basic unit of "THE iDOLM@STER SideM" is 15 attractive units consisting of 46 cast members. 2018's Anisama featured a representative member selected one from each unit to represent the team 315Pro, which transcended the boundaries of the units. This was an organization unique to the "THE iDOLM@STER SideM" after TV anime that aired in 2017. At this year's Anisama, the members consisted of Sogo Nakamura as Teru Tendo and Takuatsu Terashima as Fuyuma Amagase, the double center of "SideM," and members based on the two units, THE Toragamichi and Legenders. The composition of the show showed the will of Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Takuatsu Terashima to represent all the units and idols, and at the same time to convey the fact that "SideM" has other attractive units and idols besides the ones in the anime. The image of Mr. Nakamura, who has been leading 315pro as the center since the start of "SideM", and Takuatsu Terashima, who laid the foundation for the birth of "SideM" as the first male idol unit in "THE iDOLM@STER", standing side by side in "LET'S GO! was a special sight for those who have been following the story of "SideM". On the other hand, the fierce battle of sword fighting shown by THE Torakamichi in "RAY OF LIGHT" seemed to leave a strong impression even on those who are not familiar with "sideM". It was a fierce and spirited performance that used the entire stage of Anisama.

M21:THE GALAXY EXPRESS 999 (Starlight 99 group)

Starlight 99

Starlight 99 Gumi, a unit consisting of the voice actors who star in "Girls' Revue Starlight," has covered songs from "Sakura Taisen," in which the same voice actors performed on stage, and "Revolutionary Girl Utena," which shares the motif of girls' battles. What will the 99 Gumi, which has inherited the history of anime and 2.5-dimensional stage performances through its music, show this year? The answer was the unexpected choice of "99 Gumi" to cover the theme song of "The Galaxy Express 999. Needless to say, this is a combination of the numbers "99" and "999," but "THE GALAXY EXPRESS 999" also has another aspect: it is the theme song for "Animelo Summer Live 2013 -FLAG NINE-. Because the song will be sung on the stage of Anisama, the song and the artists will have a story, a warp thread of history.

The music team of "Starlight" was very particular about the division of singing parts in accordance with the characters of the singers. The first part of the song, "For the drama that will begin again," is sung by Mahiru Kurosaki (Yoooi Iwata), who has been watching Hanako Aishiro more than anyone else. ...... is a bit maniacal, but the rest of the song is easy to understand. The lyrics to "That man is a memory now, but I'm staring at you from afar" are already completely aptly applied to Hikari Kagura (Suzuko Mimori). The powerful nuance in the phrase "man's light" is brought to life by the boyishly masculine personality and appearance of Futaba Ishidou (Teruki Ikuta). I felt that this was more than just a cover, as it was a reinterpretation of "THE GALAXY EXPRESS 999" as a song for girls who aspire to be stars in the sky = top stars.

M43: The road we have run... (Aqours)

M45: Asou yo Hitotsunagare (Aqours)

Aqours.

Aqours' performance at the 2018 Anisama was a milestone for a "voice-over unit" that originated from their works. The well-crafted cut and split screen was just like a music video. Personally, I have always thought that the main purpose of such a unit is to watch and cherish the process of growth and development of inexperienced girls as they gain experience on stage and gain more ability and mastery of their expressions. However, when people see a truly polished expression, they intuit that "it must have taken an incredible amount of time and effort to show such a brilliant expression. This rises as the persuasive power of the performance. Some people call it an aura, a radiance. Aqours' performance in 2018 conveys even to those who do not share the story, the STORY of growth.

As an expression of going beyond that, Aqours chose to show it like a musical. Love Live! series, especially in the theater version, there is a method of increasing the density of scenes by presenting parts of the story as if it were a musical. The story and scenes from the world of the anime were expressed directly on stage. The stage expression synchronized with the images of the anime is the starting point of the "Love Live! series.

On the other hand, in the live performance of "Asou yo Hitotsunagare," Rikako Aida, who plays the role of Riko Sakurauchi, played the piano as a prelude, and all nine members of the group joined together for the live performance. This was based on the most emotional moment in the real Aqours story, when Ms. Aida, who once failed to play the piano at a live performance, tried again with the support of all the members and the audience, and succeeded. The setlist was limited to four songs, but the band effortlessly managed to coexist in a way that both shared the girls' world with those who are unfamiliar with their story and expressed the emotions that can only be understood by those who have been following Aqours for a long time. It was a polished expression of a unit worthy of closing a live performance with "Story" as its main theme.