A Crossover Live Transcending Time & Space
The doors to the hall of the concert opened at 16.00 PM, and people started to form lines to get in. Attendees were greeted by the voices of the members of Walküre explaining concert etiquette. My seats were to the left of the stage, and with a pretty decent view of the venue. At 17.00 PM, the lights dimmed and at last, the concert was about to begin.
Opening the concert was a surprise collaboration between Mari Iijima (voice of Lynn Minmay) and Yoshiki Fukuyama (singing voice of Nekki Basara) performing an acoustic duet of “Iki wo Shiteiru Kanjiteiru”, the theme of the Macross Crossover Live 2009 which was also held in Makuhari Messe, ten years ago.
A short interlude narrating the events that led to the story of the first Macross was also shown. Mari then continued her set with a medley of “Watashi no Kare wa Pilot ~ 0-G Love ~ SUNSET BEACH”. She joked how she made sure not to drink someone else’s water bottle this time, as she had made the mistake on the day before. Nevertheless, her experience and presence were undeniable as she conversed with the audience and performed her songs with ease.
Following that, she performed “Tenshi no Enogu” accompanied by footage from the OVA Flash Back 2012. As she performed each song, the screens showed a mix of footage from the series and illustrations of Minmay by Haruhiko Mikimoto to great effect. Nowhere is this more impactful as she began to sing “Ai Oboete Imasu ka“ to the footage of the film. Fans certainly remembered love, as Mari Iijima’s beautiful performance and the footage shown on screen blurred the lines between 2D and 3D. It was truly as if Minmay had leaped from the screen herself to perform on stage.
Up next was the band Fire Bomber from Macross 7. Yoshiki Fukuyama (donning Nekki Basara’s electric guitar) opened with a fiery “Totsugeki Love Heart” that made the crowd go wild. Fukuyama is also a member of the supergroup JAM Project, and his fiery vocals are nothing short of electrifying. Accompanied by dynamic footage of the show on multiple screens, things were off to a heated start.
Rounding up the members of Fire Bomber was Chie Kajiura (singing voice of Mylene Jenius) who then joined in with Fukuyama to perform “Virgin Story” from the film Macross FB7. Fukuyama then greeted the crowd and those attending the Live Viewing, as the second day of the concert was shown live at theaters across Japan (which he referred to as “Public Viewing”). He then closed his set with the mellow “Remember 16”, cooling things off as a perfect lead into the next one.
Next was Chie Kajiura’s turn to take the stage and the lights dimmed for a very different performance from the previous sets. Chie’s set lacked accompanying footage, but more than made up for it with her unique sound. She’s no stranger to smaller venues and live houses, so to witness her performance which had a minimalistic feel to it performed on such a large stage was certainly out of the ordinary. She performed a total of three songs with “LOVE SONG”, “Kimi ni Todoke”, and “Pillow Dream”. Her dream-like vocals combined with the atmosphere made for a set that was nothing short of sublime.
Fukuyama then returned to the stage to perform “Angel Voice” from the OVA Macross Dynamite 7. This was an iconic and particularly moving song from the series, and you could feel the entire venue coming together as they sang along. He commented on how to him, the musician he admired the most wasn’t anyone from The Beatles or Queen, but Nekki Basara as there was truly no one like him.
Chie followed with “My Friends”, the ending song to the TV series. The duo continued with “Planet Dance” to close off a set that surely had left the audience both rocked out and moved in equal parts, as people eagerly kept responding to Fukuyama’s chants of “Fire!” with their own energetic “Bomber!”
The first surprise guest of the concert came on stage, as Hiroko Kasahara (voice of Ishtar) performed “Mou Ichido Love You” from the OVA Macross II: Lovers Again. She was also present at the day before as one of the special guests alongside Haruka Chisuga (voice of Mina Forte) who performed “Planet Cradle” from the Macross 30 video game. There she performed the ending theme to Macross II, “Yakusoku”, along with May’n.
Though now considered as taking place in an alternate timeline to the main series, it’s clear that Macross II is well-remembered and still holds a special place in Macross history.
The 20-minute interlude that followed provided the audience with a much-needed chance to rest and take bathroom breaks, which were necessary considering the concert still had much more to offer. Those who stayed in their seats were entertained with a collection of Macross-related commercials going all the way back from the 1980s shown on screen.
As the lights started to dim again, the screen showed more footage covering the timeline of the series, moving along to 2059: the setting of Macross Frontier. Everyone’s glowsticks turned to a sea of pink as they welcomed May’n, (singing voice of Sheryl Nome) performing “Welcome To My Fan Club’s Night!” followed by “Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don’t be late”.
Completing the Frontier duo was Megumi Nakajima (voice of Ranka Lee) who performed “Seikan Hikou”. This time, the glowsticks turned into a sea of green as everyone did Ranka’s signature “Kira~!” pose in unison. She was joined on stage by May’n as they sang “What bout’ my star?” and their newest single as Sheryl & Ranka in over ten years, “Good job!”. Both expressed their gratitude over the continued support for Macross Frontier and remarked on how long its been since they’ve performed on stage together before being able to do so at Inu Fes (Flying Dog’s 10th Anniversary Concert) earlier this year. It was truly a special occasion for them and Frontier fans alike.
But Frontier fans had much more to look forward to, as Megumi sang “Houkago Overflow” from the Macross Frontier: Sayonara no Tsubasa film to the exact footage of the scene where the song plays in the film. As it was followed by the duo performing the “Nyan Nyan FINAL ATTACK Frontier Greatest☆Hits” medley to the film footage, it became apparent that the audience were in for a very special treat.
Footage from the climax of the film started to play as the duo sings “Sayonara no Tsubasa~the end of triangle” live for only the second time ever, as the song had never been performed live before the first day of the concert. The performance matched the scenes perfectly, even including the voice cameo of Isamu (from the OVA Macross Plus) in the film, to the delight of a roaring crowd. If what makes Macross great are the visuals seen on the screen accompanied by the music, then to see the visual spectacle of the footage shown on a large screen and accompanied by a live performance from the actual singers themselves was truly the ultimate Macross experience.
Greeting the audience again, both May’n and Megumi remarked on the challenges of performing the song live. Megumi commented on how they were adamant in doing it justice, and how they really wanted to perform it to the footage of the film. May’n teared up for a moment as she revealed how during preparation for the concert she was finally able to really open up to Megumi after all these years on her anxieties and doubts of performing as Sheryl Nome. Megumi then answered with how she never thought of her as anyone but. She then commented on how nice it would be if they could perform together again or maybe do another Frontier concert, to which May’n playfully scolded her for casually throwing out such an idea. Both hopeful, it looks as if Macross Frontier fans can look forward to seeing them together again in the future. They then ended their set with “Get it on~Kousoku Cry max”.
It was then time for Walküre to take the stage, as Minori Suzuki (voice of Freyja Wion), JUNNA (singing voice of Mikumo Guynemer), Kiyono Yasuno (voice of Kaname Buccaneer), Nao Toyama (voice of Reina Prowler), and Nozomi Nishida (voice of Makina Nakajima) began their set with “Koi! Halation THE WAR” to a cheering crowd, followed by “Ichido Dake no Koi Nara”, “Zettai Reido θ Novatic”, “Hametsu no Junjou”, “Walküre ga Tomaranai”, and “Walküre wa Uragiranai” from the Macross Delta film.
Though the audience might have been tired from the previous sets, they certainly still had enough energy to match Walküre’s spirited performance. It seemed as if the girls level up with each concert, as even though they’re the newest performers in the Macross franchise, the level of quality and energy they bring to their performance only increases each time. It’s something they’re well aware of, as they mentioned how they’ll do their best even with the presence of their more experienced seniors. Regardless, Walküre have proven themselves to be performers to be reckoned with in their own right. Still, Minori commented on how she and Nozomi couldn’t help but geek out backstage as May’n & Megumi were performing earlier.
It has become the norm at these concerts for there to be announcements regarding upcoming releases for Macross, and the girls surprised everyone by announcing the title for the upcoming second film for Macross Delta, titled Gekijouban Macross Delta: Zettai LIVE!!!!!!. They mused about the six exclamation points in the title and pestered director Shoji Kawamori who was present at the concert as to what it might mean, to which he implied on the possibility of a sixth Walküre member, as well as urging for everyone “to look forward to it”. Still full of energy, they closed their set with “Rune Ga Pikatto Hikattara”, led on by an ever-energetic Minori.
It turned out Frontier fans had one more surprise in store for them, as special guest Maaya Sakamoto took to the stage to perform “Triangler“, the opening theme of the TV series. It was rare enough to see Maaya Sakamoto perform live, so to hear her perform the original TV version of the song was a very special moment indeed. It seemed like everyone in the venue agreed, because the crowd went absolutely wild during this segment.
After that, there was a brief intermission, but the audience couldn’t wait as they began to chant for an encore. The lights lit up again, beginning the “crossover” section of the concert. Chie Kajiura’s voice could be heard as she was soon joined by Megumi Nakajima to sing “Aimo~Tori no Hito”. Up next on stage were Walküre joined by May’n, performing “Ikenai Borderline“.
Finally, it was time to end the 5-hour concert as Mari Iijima, Fire Bomber, May’n, Megumi Nakajima, and Walküre all appeared on stage to sing “Runner”, the ending theme to the original Macross TV series. Mari dedicated the song to the late Macross composer Kentaro Haneda, who passed away in 2007.
While the original footage of the ending shows a person flipping through an album filled with photos of Minmay, the footage shown on screen featured an album full of pictures from all the various Macross shows. It was a truly touching way to end such a memorable concert. One can hope that Macross continues far into the future and that there are many more “Crossover Live”s to look forward to.
| Setlist:
01 – Iki wo Shiteiru Kanjiteiru (Acoustic) |
The Indonesian Anime Times | Report and photos (unless noted otherwise) by Caesar E.S.
