Sheryl and Ranka at Budokan
or
One Christmas in a Judo Arena
Long story short: concert was AWESOME.
Long story: I arrived at Budokan at 3:30 (doors opened at 5:30, concert started at 6:30), and already, TONS of merchandise was sold out. So I contented myself with a concert program, a coffee mug, and a ticket for "Sayounara no Tasubasa" (which came with a free Ranka "Magical Girl" poster). On display was the NEXT poster for the movie, which you will all love. It's very dark.
There were some cosplayers hanging around, but not many. At one point, I wandered over to the smoking area to have a cigarette, and saw a MiniKlan puffing away. I caught her eye, and said, "Klan Tai! Nani o suru no!" We ended up chatting for a bit, and she was really nice.
After a while, it was time to join the throngs of people heading in. Our seats were pretty good...top row (alas), and a little to the left of center, but we still ad a clear view of the stage.
While we were waiting, they showed, again and again, an ad for Macross Triangle Frontier and a new trailer for the movie.
After a while, the stage was lit up, and Ranka's voice said, "Wow...there are so many people..." Sheryl replied, "Of course. After all,
I'm performing."
Then the video presentation started, with Leon (sounding incredibly serious) saying a lot of stuff that went over my head. Then he explained that Macross Frontier would be making a "Christmas Fold," and we should all prepare ourselves. Then the fold occurred (with pink and blue lighting filling the hall, really making the fold on the screen seem like it was enveloping all of us), and then everything went black.
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: everyone (except us, apparently) bought A LOT of glowsticks beforehand, making the audience as mesmerizing as the performers. Maybe this is a Frontier concert tradition, but everyone seemed well-rehearsed, pulling out the green and blue glowsticks when Megumi was singing, and the red, pink, and orange glowsticks when May'n was singing. It was lovely.
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: Everyone in the concert was at the top of their game (except maybe Nakamura). Megumi and May'n both sounded splendid, and the voice actors were really inhabited their roles. As Tochiro said afterwards, Aya Endo has gotten SO good at the Sheryl voice that, just by speaking a few lines, she probably gave every man in that auditorium an erection. Yuichi Nakamura, however, didn't sound QUITE like Alto, but everyone else was spot-on perfect.
IMPORTANT NOTE #3: The stage was built on four levels. The lowest (and closest) level was where May'n and Megumi spent most of their time. The second level had Kanno and her keyboard. The third level was where the the voice actors (mostly) stayed, as well as where the children's choir was. The fourth level was the "dramatic" level, where people would make their debut. The rock band was on the edge of the second level, the orchestra was on either side of the third level.
IMPORTANT NOTE #4: Because it was a Christmas show, they avoided the "sad songs." No "Yousei," no "Northern Cross," no "Ao no Aether."
The Set List
1. Protoculture (MC: Alto)
2. Merry Christmas without You (slightly shortened version, no voice actors)
3. Ranka's Stocking Song (with a "slight return" of "Christmas without You," sung by the children's choir)
4. MC: Sheryl / Klan
5. Universal Bunny
6. Iteza Gogo Kuji Don't Be Late
7. Intstrumental Break (featuring a bit of "Sleigh Ride")
8. Silent Nanka Irarenai
9. Funanori
10. MC: Alto / Ranka
11. the eyecatch fanfare ("pom-pom-pom POM POM POM pompitty-pom-pe-pom-pom-pommmm!") played REALLY slow
12. The "CM Ranka" medley: Anata no Oto / Starlight Natto / Ninjiin Loves you yeah! / Dainam Chogokin / Daruma Seminar / Nyan-Nyan / Family Mart Cosmos / Koi no Dogfight (FULL version: longer than Nyan Cli)
13. MC: Ranka
14. New song (I *think* the title is "Niji Roku Nakuma")
15. MC: Ranka / Klan
16. Tablet
17. Liebe ~ Maboroshi no Koi
18. Hougako Overflow
19. MC: Alto / Sheryl / Ranka / Klan / Michel (via recording)
20. Souda yo
21. Obelisk
22. Infinity
23. Tenchi ni Natchatta
24. MC: Ranka / Sheryl
25. Songbird
26. Eien
27. Lion (with some "Do You Remember Love" mixed in towards the end)
28. Merry Christmas WITH You (with a little bit of "Diamond Crevasse" mixed in at the end)
ENCORE
1. Take Off
2. Gira Gira Summer
3. Seikan Hikou (long version)
4. Band introductions
5. Merry Christmas without You (full version)
6. Instrumental ("Diamond Crevasse" segueing into "Silent Night")
HIGHLIGHTS (for me)
1. The Interplay among the actors: As I said, nearly everyone was in top form. When Aya Endo said, near the beginning, "We don't have this kind of Christmas very often," I applauded almost involuntarily, and I wasn't alone. And it was really strange hearing Klan's voice come out of Megumi Toyoguchii's body. There appeared to be a story with the Mike Chatter bits...but I couldn't really follow it. Everyone sounded like they were having a lot of fun, though.
2. The Children's Choir: They only sang on one song, but damn me if they weren't the cutest thing ever!
3. The New Songs: I'm not completely sold on "Niji Roku Nakuma" (if that's the title...), but "Hougoku Overflow" was tremendous. Both of them were Ranka songs, which makes me hope that Ranka will get a full mini-album for the second movie.
4. "Songbird" and "Obelisk": Megumi and May'n's finest moments, repsectively.
5. Yoko Kanno: Mostly she sat playing keyboards the whole time, but sometimes she'd get up and dance around, cute as a button.
6. The CM Ranka Medley: Megumi had a prop for each ad - a bean case for the natto, a giant carrot for "Ninjiin," and bunch of models for "Dainam" (she kept trying to stand them up, and they kept toppling over...which got knowing laughs from the audience, most of whom probably had the same problem), glasses for "Daruma," and a jacket emblazoned with "famima.com" for "Family Mart." After the songs, she picked up everything and ran around the stage trying to find a place to put them, until Kanno-san walked up and took them from her, giving her a mirror to check her make-up, and a towel to wipe off her sweat.
7. Universal Bunny: May'n doesn't look as good doing the dance moves as Sheryl does, but it was a great, energetic performance. How can ANYONE not love this song?
8. The Aforementioned Glowsticks: At one point I squinted while looking around the theater, and it looked like a beautiful night full of green and blue stars. Again, lovely.
After the show, we went and hung out with the Tokyo Macross Fan Club at a pub. Too bad we had to catch the last train so soon after arriving... Oh well. There's always next time, I guess.
Author
So pretty~
