Kalafina Post-Kajiura thread (Upd: Kalafina appeared at Animax Musix 2026)

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1vVG766EZd/

Ghibli no uta concert. With 3 songs for Kalafina (and the encore with every singers), from 40m46s:

Keiko was pretty great and perfect mostly all the time. Wakana seems to have less difficulties than for the live 2026, maybe because the songs here suits more now to her voice (even if her vibrato is sometimes hard to listen but way better than for the live 2026). Hikaru maybe a little more behind except for Arrietty's song.
Itsumo Nando Demo (Spirited Away) feat. Win Morisaki: Pretty good version. Fits perfectly for Wakana but even more for Keiko. But not for Hikaru. And the male singer is perfect on it, for a really female voice song, impressive
Toki no Uta (Tales from Earthsea): Moh, don't really like the song (like the movie unfortenately), good interpration but don't find it a good choice for the band
Arrietty’s Song (The Secret World of Arrietty): Great version even if I found the harmonies when they all sing together sometimes a little flat or too low? But when they sung individually their parts, it was very good.
Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara (Kiki’s Delivery Service) : As a ensemble song where their solo part was pretty short, not easy to have an opinion on this one. I like it but I'm could be not very objective because it's a song I really like...
 
I watched the whole thing, and for me the highlights (from all the performers). Quite long... 😔

  1. The first lady, Sakurako Ohara, was quite good and stable and gave a cute performance. Her voice was so expressive too, using dynamics, breath, etc.👌🏽Listen to her at 10:30 to 10:37. I loved her movement from her low chest voice, through a switch through an enka-influenced style (to my ears) vibrato up to her head voice (curious about her influences). She's an actress too.🤔I'll be keeping an eye out for her.
  2. For the first collab, the GLIM SPANKY singer seemed mismatched with Ohara for the duet song as she (GLIM SPANKY girl) seemed to be more of a rock-belt-style singer without much dynamics. Glim Spanky's own cover song with heavier instruments was better.
  3. Kalafina singing Win Morisaki, singing "Itsumo Nando Demo (Spirited Away)": Interesting collab. Keiko was smooth for her solo, Hikaru shaky, Wakana OK. The harmonies were basic, I gotta say. The better where Wakana and Morisaki faced each other was a highlight. The end acappella and choral style was actually nice. Wakana went for those high notes, and her head voice sounded more stable.
  4. "Toki no Uta (Tales from Earthsea)": Keiko didn't start too well. She was going for a lighter, softer style rather than in her full voice, so the dynamics weren't there. I preferred Hikaru's fuller, expressive voice to Keiko's 🙂 (first time to say that in a long while). Wakana was breathier with that fluttery/shaky tremolo. Hikaru coming in at 49:30 after the harmony chorus was beautiful, though she then strugged with the held notes at the end. Keiko went a bit off the pitch-centre on a note. The acappella at the end was nice. Now that's Kalafina.
  5. "Arrietty’s Song (The Secret World of Arrietty)": They proved the song in a live performance! 🚀 Keiko's start was beautiful and Hikaru's continued in that same vein, both with rich, full expressive voices and cute mannerisma. Wakana was cool though her voice sounded a little thinner (not sure why). This is still the best non-Kajiura work Kalafina has ever done, in part because of the Celtic style of Corbel's composition, and the sense of progression on a journey. The end where they all gave cute looks for the camera looked just like they were on a Kalafina stage! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
  6. Penthouse was interesting as a guy/lady vocal duo (I like the lady's voice a bit). Their dynamic almost felt purpose built for performing emotional love ballads. They also sang a collab with another guy (didn't get his name) and they did a 3-part harmony, which was a nice counterpart to Kalafina's earlier harmonies during their session. Of course, Kalafina have the poise and no-look-confidence of a seasoned group.
  7. For the ensemble songs, Ohara's solo was the best (chest voice notes).

Sakurako Ohara (taking the picture) with Satoshi Takebe, Kalafina, Penthouse, GLIM SPANKY, Shiori Tamai, .
Screenshot 2026-05-25 124656.png
 
CloisteredFlame said:
I watched the whole thing, and for me the highlights (from all the performers). Quite long... 😔
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Not yet for me, only the songs I liked... "Quite long", I guess some performances was not good for you?
CloisteredFlame said:
The first lady, Sakurako Ohara, was quite good and stable and gave a cute performance. Her voice was so expressive too, using dynamics, breath, etc.👌🏽Listen to her at 10:30 to 10:37. I loved her movement from her low chest voice, through a switch through an enka-influenced style (to my ears) vibrato up to her head voice (curious about her influences). She's an actress too.🤔I'll be keeping an eye out for her.
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CloisteredFlame said:
For the ensemble songs, Ohara's solo was the best (chest voice notes).
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Yes, I liked her too, especially for "Kaze ni naru".

CloisteredFlame said:
"Arrietty’s Song (The Secret World of Arrietty)": They proved the song in a live performance! 🚀 Keiko's start was beautiful and Hikaru's continued in that same vein, both with rich, full expressive voices and cute mannerisma. Wakana was cool though her voice sounded a little thinner (not sure why). This is still the best non-Kajiura work Kalafina has ever done, in part because of the Celtic style of Corbel's composition, and the sense of progression on a journey. The end where they all gave cute looks for the camera looked just like they were on a Kalafina stage! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
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Yes, It will be great if the song could be on the setlist for their next own lives.
 
esteban82 said:
the male singer is perfect on it, for a really female voice song, impressive
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I am not sure the song was in the original key.
esteban82 said:
Not yet for me, only the songs I liked... "Quite long", I guess some performances was not good for you?
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I meant my breakdown was probably long for readers only interested in Kalafina. I have a tendency to watch the entire live to get a context of everything leading up to the desired performance (Kalafina), to see the interactions with other artists, musicians, etc.

It was cool to see the kind-mentor personality of Satoshi Takebe, and how measured and gentle he seems in his interactions. He also has this cute habit of doing a kinda high-five with his artists when they're walking past him to exit the stage on his side.

I can sense a really collaborative and supportive vibe from him, and I think it was a good choice for him to be the musical director for Kalafina. Wakana really seems to be blossoming under his care. He also seems to have a rehabilitative patience.
 
CloisteredFlame said:
Toki no Uta (Tales from Earthsea)": Keiko didn't start too well. She was going for a lighter, softer style rather than in her full voice, so the dynamics weren't there. I preferred Hikaru's fuller, expressive voice to Keiko's 🙂 (first time to say that in a long while).
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Same! I never liked Keiko's cutesy voice she puts on and it really didn't suit this song. Hikaru was great with her heavier tone.

My favorite part of Arietty's Song is still Wakana's "Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh" after the Keiko's line "Sou, kawaru koto no nai" in the 2nd verse. She sounded exactly like an erhu.

Overall the girls were pretty good, Keiko was just a tad shouty in a couple of songs. I liked that she took the lead and Hikaru and Wakana were on dual high harmony, that's a very rare vocal arrangement for Kalafina.
 
Saber said:
Same! I never liked Keiko's cutesy voice she puts on and it really didn't suit this song. Hikaru was great with her heavier tone.
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I actually am impressed that she and can go quite high with it especially during cheers at instrumental solos, but, she doesn't really know how (and when) to use it for singing (i.e. sparingly as a cry effect). It's just something she tries to "put on" as you said, for effect, but the balance isn't there yet. She does need a more forward alternative to her normal voice in her higher range, which is mixed voice, but this is her stopgap.
Saber said:
I liked that she took the lead and Hikaru and Wakana were on dual high harmony, that's a very rare vocal arrangement for Kalafina.
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The vocals were arranged by Takebe I assume, and they were really fitting for the current Kalafina.
Made me wonder if Kajiura was to compose new music for them how she would put it together considering their vocal placement as a group.

It seems to me that [adding missing text] Kajiura tended to write to the fulness of her concept of the music and ends up pushing her vocalists to rise to the occasion to meet up with her composition, so they might struggle a bit as Keiko, Wakana, and Hikaru all attested to in the early days of Kalafina. I mean, even LiSA talked about how she was taken way out of her comfort zone in singing "Shine in the Cruel Night", having to engage with techniques she doesn't usually do, and with all the pitch changes and tempo/dynamic changes, and expression requirements.

Kajiura's music is more like - 'I can intuit what you're probable capable of singing (it may not be comfortable to you) and I'm going to push you to bring it out to the best of your ability'. So she enjoys having powerful or emotional vocalists who can deliver that expectation time and time again. Doing that over time takes its toll, even for trained singers, and much more for less-trained ones.

Satoshi more straightforward and relaxed vibe is, I assume, reflected in his compositions and arrangements, so his music would be more directly approachable by the vocalist, so it works for the current Kalafina.
esteban82 said:
Such a beautiful instrument by the way...
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The erhu is an evocative instrument, even having no connection to its history or culture, that instrument by itself has a powerful expression and tells stories all on its own. I am always amazed at the different Far Eastern instruments (string, percussion, woodwind) and their great variety of sounds and tones.
 
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