The Bonkurasu Brigade

Well, today, the concert started five minutes off the stated time.

During the artistes’ announcements, the IM@S girls (So Chiaking is over 30 and ain’t exactly a girl per se but whatever. JUICY BODY YEAH.) got cheers as loud as JAM Project’s.

After yesterday’s epic opening, one would wonder how they could top the duet between Nana and Yukarin. HOLY SHIT! JAM PROJECT DOING OKUSENMAN! THIS IS AWESOME SHIT! JAM DOING A NICO SONG! But wait, that’s not Makkun in the pink coat. Just what the heck’s going on?

The crowd really got into things with them chanting along to the chorus. It’s one thing to hear a Nico song being performed and another to have done by JAM freakin’ Project, the most awesome ensembled of singers ever assembled in recent history.

During the MC, Hironobu Kageyama introduced everyone to their stand-in (I think) for Makkun, Aki Misato. He apologised to everyone that Makkun could not attend the event after she had fallen sick and her condition had worsened after the previous day. Thanks to houkoholic for this portion of the MC.

Remember how Rica Matsumoto going on sabbatical from them was the worse thing that could happen to them? Tonight, at this event, they would be without a female vocalist. Tonight was the night that Hironobu Kageyama, Masaki Endoh, Hiroshi Kitadani and Yoshiki Fukuyama were going to prove and establish why they are the best damned singers in the Japanese animation music industry.

The stage was then handed over to Aki Misato. When she took off her coat to reveal a shimmering blue number, the crowd went insane. It’s always good to see a performer take off their clothes on stage. She sang Blood Queen from , a fast number compared to her usual slow ones. She followed this up with a slower one, Kimi ga sora, the Mai Hime ED. I was hoping that she would perform Mou Ai Shika Iranai, the 2nd SRW: OG anime ED or Silent Wing from the Mai Hime game.

Following her was Elisa. Her songs have this soothing feel about them, with the violins and cellos backing her up. Two songs from her, euphoric field and HIKARI. And if I remember correctly, her Japanese is accented like AKINO’s.

I won’t talk much about Angela’s new goth rock group. Shangri La sounded nothing like Shangri La that I more or less know. And she has got to lose that metalhead act, it’s just too forced for her and she’s trying too hard.

Next up was Sound Horizon. I’ve never heard any of their works but from what I hear, it’s a mix and mash of rock and some light classical. They were easily the largrest group of the night, with nine members, six female vocalists, one male lead vocalist and two ’speakers’ (best term I could come up with). Their live performance was quite impressive, considering that the stage was very cramped with so many bodies. The ladies seem to able to do a good dance routine as well.

Then came Hocchan’s new group Kuroibasomethingorother. The band introduction was pretty hilarious. The drummer’s introduction was replaced a ‘COMING SOON’ shot because they had none. The vocalist’s one was good as well. Ten thousand and seventeen years old, indeed. And just before her name was announced, HOCCHAN JA NAI HOCCHAN JA NAI! Hur hur. As much as she tries, she will never be able to throw that tag away. It’s too deep ingrained in the fandom.

After a new rendition of Hanabi, they went into a long MC period with a toilet break ga. During some point, Hocchan introduced herself as herself (no shit). Ma-sama then question the crowd if we came for them as a band or for Hocchan. Welllllll. Somethings are better with an ambigious response from the crowd. Then the bassist cracked the worst joke anyone could have done at such an event, ‘I wonder why weare signed to Starchild Records.’ Ouch. Talk about right where it hurts. Or at least that’s how I thought the exchange went.

Dirty laundry aside, it was time for the next song, Hikari, the Inukami ED. Somehow, as Hocchan did this song, I wondering if Jun Fukuyama would just rise up on the elevator and get himself whipped by her. Hikari overall still sounds the same but has tinge of more rock to it.