For those of you with a lot of time to spare, the full-length version of the concert report can be found at OSV. This report is for those who want a quick run-down of my thoughts of the event.

But before we get to that, I’m sure you guys will want a set list. Unlike the MELL Concert, I actually knew most of the songs; the only one that I didn’t know was May’n’s performance of “Kimi Shinitamou Koto Nakare” since I never watched Shangri-La. If there are any mistakes, I’ll blame that on my horrendous notetaking skills.  Anyhow, the set list based on my notes is as follows:

Set List »

So the big takeaway from this concert was something that Taka had mentioned in my AX schedule post; namely, that May’n is an outstanding live performer. She did have a bit of a shaky start when a few phrases were out of tune, but once she got her rhythm going, she was completely unstoppable. The way she sang completely exuded passion, confidence, and energy, and in doing so, made her stage presence impossible to ignore. Though I’d criticized her before for her vocals, which feel somewhat lacking in emotion, by actually being there and seeing her movements and facial expressions as she sang went a long way towards bridging the gap.

Most of her songs are characterized by high doses of energy and passion, but she also did a great job bringing out that nostalgic, longing feelings in “Diamond Crevasse,” which demonstrates her ability to shift tones to match the song during the middle of a concert. To draw the crowd in, she also learned some English, and you can probably guess how thick her accent was. Still, I’ll give her points for trying, and the audience appreciated that quite a bit.

Megumi Nakajima brings out the softer, cuter side, which nails Ranka Lee’s personality to a T, and as a result, her songs were much bouncier. That said, she doesn’t have quite the experience, and therefore stamina, to hold out for very long. And since she was performing 15 songs, it was inevitable that her voice would break. I started hearing it around “Jellyfish no Kokuhaku,” but it really became noticeable when she sang “Ao no Ether,” and that stuck out enough to be a bit distracting at times, especially when I wanted to take in the poignancy that the song had to offer. Oh well. I’ll give her a break for hanging in there and seeing the concert through to the very end.

You’ve all heard by now that Yoko Kanno made an appearance, and that proved to be a really awesome surprise. During the course of the concert, she played the piano, put an instrument that mimicked bird noises up to the microphone and played with that for awhile, sang along with May’n and Megumi Nakajima, and tossed a “Kira!” here and there during “Seikan Hikou.” While seeing her was great, having her on the piano really made songs like “Ai Oboete Imasuka” even more heartfelt and engaging. Though I understand the necessity of having singers sing to some background instrumental track, having live instrumentals there to back up the vocals is even better.

Of the two concerts I attended, this one was the most enjoyable mostly because I was familiar with the music. With 23 songs in tow, the singers kept the pace going strong and kept the audience engrossed with the overall presentation. My respect for May’n’s singing has grown since her voice closely matches those of her recordings and Megumi Nakajima did well enough in spite of her relative inexperience. The word I’ll keep using to describe this is phenomenal, and so far, its magic still sticks with me.

I’m not the only one who wrote about this event, so if you’re looking to get some other perspectives, you can always check out Tim Sheehy’s thoughts on Japanator and Yoruko’s report over at C’est la Reve Qui Chante.

EDIT: Looks like the Anime Diet guys have posted their report too!

With the July 4th weekend just hovering around the corner means yet another trip to Anime Expo with all the madness of making the schedule just tight enough so that I can maximize whatever utility there is to be had by interacting with fans, industry, and of course, meeting people who have been nothing more than internet screenames with all the personality and such encapsulated in those virtual identities. Unlike last year, the concerts this time around are actually worth going to. Also unlike last year, there will be a bit of work involved since I’m on assignment for Original Sound Version. Which effectively means that any enthusing over the concerts will be found there once the dust settles. Of course, if anyone else wants to write up a concert report for Anime Instrumentality as a guest post, do let me know!

Anyway, the plan is to hit up Friday and Saturday. Specifics? Well, here’s the plan given the schedule I have on hand:

Friday:

Not much in the morning though I might go to half of Eri Kitamura’s panel before making a hasty exit to beeline towards what is the must-see event of the day.

Megumi Nakajima/May’n Concert
Is anyone really surprised I’m looking forward to this? Though I might not have liked some of Macross Frontier’s pop music, most of that falls under May’n’s performances; I’m perfectly happy listening to Megumi Nakajima’s stuff since she puts a solid effort in all of her songs. Somehow, I don’t think we’ll see any of her non-Macross Frontier material, but who knows, we could be in for a pleasant surprise there. It’d be cool is something like “Jellyfish” from Kobato pops up. So yeah, mostly going for Nakajima, but if May’n’s as good a live performer as rumor says she is, it’ll exceed my expectations by a huge amount!

Maybe after that, I’ll hit up the Rightstuf/Nozomi panel? I guess it’d be interesting to see if they have anything down the pipeline since I’ve stopped paying attention to their releases since the ARIA franchise finished. No Danny Choo though. Not even for the Black Rock Shooter OVA and I’m not sure Chinka is in the cards for me.

Yui Horie
You can’t really go for that long without having heard her voice work or vocal performances. Anyhow, a lot of this is nostalgia since one of the earliest series I remember watching is Love Hina. Plus, her recent work has been solid, even if I can’t claim to have been awed by her singing like I once was. Maybe that has something to do with the composers/lyricists who write her songs.

MELL Concert
No, I wasn’t all that fond of “Red Fraction” or of I’ve Sound in general, but hey, if she’s here, might as well make the most of it. And if she sings “Proof,” that’ll be enough to make me a happy person. That should about do it for my Friday.

Saturday:

Megumi Nakajima Panel
Why not, right? I’ve already gone to the concert. Might as well grab more tidbits. Guess that means I’ll miss out on the Toradora! panel, but that’s not a total wash since seeing Yui Horie makes up for that.

That’s really about the only thing that demands my attention at this point. If any of you have suggestions for how to fill up Friday or Saturday, do let me know. Probably a lot of that time that I don’t spend wandering the convention hall will be spent in putting faces to names as I meet up with people I’ve only conversed with through online platforms, so that’ll be pleasant since there are quite a few people I’d like to meet in person. (Anyone else I’m forgetting? A meetup might be in the cards as long as people tell me when/where.)

Review: Those who have read my review for the Macross Frontier Original Soundtrack will have noted my discontent with May’n’s vocal talents. The major issues that I had with her performances is that her voice doesn’t catch my attention because she doesn’t really convey much in the way of emotion through her singing and her songs tend to have this generic bland pop feel to it. While this single does not assuage my opinions about her, it is a touch better than the songs that she performed on the soundtrack, making this album enjoyable even if doesn’t blow you away.

Thankfully, “Lion” does an excellent job of grabbing your attention right off the bat with an elegantly-written exposition that sets the tone for the introduction of the electric guitars which charge to set forth the forceful rhythm and tempo that remains for the rest of the song. May’n’s voice is clear as she comes through and already, the amount of energy and emotion that she’s putting into the piece is an improvement over most of her songs on the first soundtrack even if that doesn’t really mean all that much. Megumi Nakajima entrance around 0:42 gives her more soothing and enjoyable voice a chance to shine before she and May’n combine their efforts. If there’s anything that’s readily apparent with “Lion,” it’s that May’n and Megumi Nakajima complement each other really well because May’n’s deeper voice contrasts really well with Megumi Nakajima’s lighter tone. It also helps that the melody is fairly catchy and enjoyable for the whole way through with its jamming guitars that set the song in motion in a fast-paced manner that will hold the listener’s attention. Although it’s not the absolute best OP ever, “Lion” manages to be enjoyable all the same by showcasing one of May’n’s better performances.

“Northern Cross’s” introduction carries with it a harder edge provided by the electric guitars, an electronic rhythm in the back, and a full percussion set to carry the rhythm and harmony. This piece presents May’n on her own and here, she starts off with a light ballad-like introduction before speeding up the pace at which she sings, which piques the listener’s interest through her ability to go through the lyrics at a rapid pace without slurring the lyrics. As you keep on listening to this piece, it sounds mostly like an effort to showcase May’n’s ability to sing the lyrics without really showing off her ability to fuse much emotion into the music itself. In fact, that’s probably the biggest issue that I had with this piece is that its emphasis on vocal virtuosity comes without the emotional connection that makes songs generally enjoyable. While this song is, on the whole, a good listen because of May’n’s performance, I’m just not seeing this one hold up to multiple listens on its own.

May’n’s performance in both tracks continue to demonstrate that she still has difficulty making that connection with the listener and because of that, her music tends to require more enhanced effects to keep the audience interested rather than being strong based on the strength of her vocal talents. Megumi Nakajima’s performance also doesn’t bring anything new to the table in that we know she’s not quite an experienced singer as May’n, but is certainly willing to put in a solid effort which shines even more in conjunction with May’n. Their performances aren’t good enough to single this album out as being excellent, but at least it’s passable and fits in with the show.

Rating: Good

Opening – Lion

Ending – Northern Cross

Review: Yoko Kanno’s latest effort into the realm of soundtracks is another winner with many pieces that succeed at sweeping me off my feet with their sheer force and intensity. This is among the grandest works I’ve ever listened to in the world of anime soundtracks and the epic feel that many of the orchestral tracks carry with them can be seen as a tribute to the best that movie soundtracks have to offer. As you listen, you can hear a smattering of Hans Zimmer, John Williams, and even Bruce Broughton (who worked on Rescuers Down Under) throughout this album. Although the orchestrated and instrumental pieces are all excellent, the vocal tracks are generally mediocre and leave the listener wanting, which brings down the overall quality of the album.

As befits a Macross Soundtrack, many of the tracks have a militaristic and space opera bent to them. The opening track “Frontier 2059” does just that with an opening dominated by drums and trumpet before moving into a sweeping orchestrated fanfare which evokes the image of spaceships embarking upon a grand journey. “Vital Force” is also an epic piece with its fanfares that would fit just fine serving as theme for the Olympic Games.

Spread throughout the album are some other interesting tracks such as “Private Army” which has a Latino flavor to it with the guitar work and “Alto’s Theme” which is fairly solemn. There are also some soothing piano pieces like “Innocent Green” and “Kira Kira,” both of which consist of a repeating melody. They don’t particularly push any bounds, but that’s OK since they serve their role more as introspective pieces.

It’s only a matter of time before the orchestral tracks return in full force, and return it does with the likes of “Tally Ho,” which has all the feel of a battle preparation theme as the lines are being drawn. I’m awed by the sheer emotions presented as the moments of discordant chords which increase the tension. It’s definitely a grand, epic, and powerful piece that will carry you through fortunes and misfortunes until the piece resolves by closing on an optimistic note.

However, “Tally Ho” just really does not compare to “The Target” which may be one of the best action pieces ever. It opens very much with a mood that screams of an intense space battle that draws comparisons to the music played during the Battle of Yavin from the original Star Wars. Of all the superb pieces scattered throughout this album, this track is probably the best of the lot.

The main problems with this soundtrack lie in the vocal tracks, many of which have decent background music and production values but are saddled with terrible vocalists. While the various renditions of “Aimo” are calming and enjoyable, the rest of the vocal tracks that don’t involve Megumi Nakajima are terrible. I often found myself skipping through May’n’s tracks because her voice is just terrible and the melody was never all that interesting to because of how utterly generic it was. Maaya Sakamoto’s poor performance with Triangular was also a shame since her work has been a lot better in the past. Listening to her sing that opening was painful.

The majestic melodies in the orchestral and instrumental tracks just cannot be understated for they represent the pinnacle of anime music. Few soundtracks are able to match the degree of intensity and awesomeness contained here. Although, the vocal tracks by and large are washouts, the Macross Frontier soundtrack delivers a solid performance and is definitely worth your time.

Rating: Very Good

Music Sampler