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The Tokyo concert “15th Anniversary Live Lantis Festival 2014” was held from Sept. 13-15. Tokyo was the third place after Mie Prefecture and Osaka, and throughout the entire tour, this one featured the most––nearly 50––artists. TOM infiltrated the second day of this 3-day concert, when the most artists were present!
The Much-Expected Curtain-Rising!
Along with the dazzling fireworks signaling the start, μ's (pronounced “Muse”) appeared on stage, and the atmosphere suddenly reached its climax! Of course, the μ's performance is a must, but you wouldn’t want to miss out on the excitement surrounding the hall of “Love Livers”, the crazy fans of Love Live!, either.
Without wasting a minute, anisongs from Buddy Complex, Nichijou, Genshiken, Walkure Romanze, Saki, Tari Tari, and The Eccentric Family, shows that aired a few years ago, followed after one another. It was so intense that the fans who had exerted themselves during the μ's performance and weren’t sure whether they would last until the break didn’t even have the time to catch their breath.
The highlight of the live show was the collaboration between artists, which was made possible due to the nature of it being a festival where many artists gather, giving birth to collaborations only seen once in a lifetime.
The first collaboration this day was the amazing combo of Megumi Ogata, the voice of Shinji Ikari in the Evangelion series, and Hyadain!
Opening with “Moonlight Densetsu,” they followed with “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” and concluded with “Bokura no Live Kimi to no Life.”
The first part was concluded by Idolmaster, who performed a setlist that laid the final blow on the audience.
Then Came the Second Onslaught of Spirited Anisongs!
Energetic songs from Witch Craft Works, Nakaimo - My Sister is Among Them!, High School DxD, and Lucky Star continued in succession, and the audience responded with such animated cheering that one wouldn’t think they used up all their voice in the first half!
Then began the second collaboration of the day, where Kensho Ono, who plays Tetsuya Kuroko in the anime Kuroko’s Basketball, teamed up with Yuki Ono, who voices Taiga Kagami from the same anime and who appeared as a secret guest, to perform image songs from the anime. This was probably the ultimate reward for female fans, as their supportive shouts were flying past each other.
Natsuko Aso, known for the opening song of Baka and Test entered the stage shrouded by a warm welcome, looking towards what was to be her last performance before retiring from her career as a singer. She said, teared up, “As I look at your faces I think anisongs are amazing after all,” and the fans cheered her on with all their might. She gave it her all, running from one edge of the stage to the other countless times, and it undoubtedly became an unforgettable memory not only to her fans but also to Aso herself.
However, the reverberation of Aso’s concert only lingered on for a short while. Lantis Festival wasn’t over yet! The final spurt of the raging waves was yet to come. Sphere, Oldcodex, and a big shot of the anisong world, JAM Project, made sure to keep the elevated atmosphere until the last minute.
As the sun was about to set, another wonder was waiting for the audience: an outdoor anisong live! Out with the light sticks! The venue was painted with a swarm of light sticks, as almost all of the audience came prepared. This is amazing to the point that you may ask yourself, “What’s the leading power behind this?” It’s the thrill of an anisong concert!
After JAM Project finished its last song in a way worthy of a last performer, all the artists came forward to the stage for the encore, and the curtains closed after they all performed the theme song of Lantis Festival, “Starting Style!!,” together.
After this amazing show of laughter and tears in Tokyo, only one venue is left in Japan, Tohoku. But this isn’t the end, as there are also overseas performances in store! Lantis Festival isn’t the regular once-in-a-year type of concert but an anniversary concert, so if you miss out on it, it won’t come again! Grab hold of this unique chance!
Concert Information
Sendai Concert
Date: Nov. 15 (Sat) - 16 (Sun)
Venue: Xebio Arena
Anisong World Tour - Lantis Festival 2015
Jan. 16 (Fri) - 17 (Sat), 2015
Las Vegas (venue yet to be announced)
Feb. 7 (Sat) - 8 (Sun), 2015
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre HALL-3G, Hong Kong
March 28 (Sat), 2015
The Star Theater, Singapore
April 4 (Sat) - 5 (Sun), 2015
AX-Korea, Seoul
April 18 (Sat) - 19 (Sun), 2015
Taipei International Convention Center, Taipei
and more!
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.