On Sunday, October 7, Animax screened the previously reported Macross studio live as part of ongoing 30th Anniversary festivities. The program started at 21:00 and lasted for just under an hour.
Hit the jump for far, far too many pictures…
Guests and setlists had been announced when the performance was originally recorded approx. a month earlier, but to recap:
Guests
May’n (Sheryl Nome singing voice)
Megumi Nakjima (Ranka Lee)
Yoshiki Fukuyama (Basara Nekki singing voice)
Chie Kajiura (Mylene Jenius singing voice)
Mari Iijima via satellite from L.A (Lynn Minmei)
Aki Kyanchi (MC)
Setlist:
(1)May’n: Iteza gogo kuji Don’t Be Late
(2)Yoshiki Fukuyama: Dynamite Explosion
(3)Megumi Nakajima: Seikan Hikou
(4)Mari Ijima: Do you remember love? (via remote link)
(5)Chie Kajiura: Pillow Dream
(6)Yoshiki Fukuyama & Chie Kajiura: Planet Dance
Post credits:
(7)May’n & Megumi Nakajima: Triangler (Fight on Stage ver.)
In between songs, MC Aki Kyanchi asked the guests about their history with Macross (it turned out she is quite a Fukuyama fan herself)
Of particular interest was Mari Iijima who, via satellite, talked a little about what Minmay meant to her – saying that she felt Minmei was like her ‘soul sister.’ (On an only tangentally related note, Mari seems to be mixing more and more English words in with her Japanese as of late and this was very noticeable during the interview).
Fukuyama was definitely still recovering (the show was recorded not too long after he was discharged from hospital) and while his performance was good he noticeably lagged in some parts and was not yet back to his usual energetic self.
Overall, the in-studio ‘live’ performances were terrific. It was the first time that May’n and Megumi had appeared on stage together in quite a while – their duet of Triangler that played after the credits had rolled was honed to perfection and, imo, surpassed the Maaya Sakamoto original (and this is coming from a huge Maaya fan).
Also, seeing Fukuyama and Kajiura on stage together again (and in an environment where she wasn’t drowned out by the guitarists to the point that she made everyone re-start the song) was great – a hint of things to come at the two Fire Bomber gigs coming up next month.
It seems that most of the special has made its way to Youtube, so check it out and leave your impressions in the forums!
