Watched the whole live twice now. Even though I have lots to complain about, it was truly enjoyable.
Samidare ga Sugita Koro ni: by far the one in which they looked the most relaxed, which is unusual at the beginning of a concert. Not an exceptional performance, but the fact that they all looked so happy still made it a great start.
Misterioso: they always look so cheerful performing this song, and this time was no different. Hikaru sounded very nasal and stuffy, which I didn’t like at all. They harmonized well enough though, and their enthusiasm made up for the vocals not being that great.
Lacrimosa: Keiko shouted some parts instead of singing at the beginning, but she controlled her dynamics much better later on. Hikaru was close to perfect, and I really liked that she did the second kajiurago part in her deeper voice. Wakana was also very good, only slightly shaky in a few points, but in my opinion, it was one of the best performances of this song.
Ashita no Keshiki: Wakana sounded great here, except for the last part of the bridge, where she suddenly seemed weaker. Keiko was very controlled and on point. Hikaru’s part was far from perfect but nowhere near as bad as I had feared. The bridge was where all three sounded amazing and harmonized wonderfully with the music as well.
Hikari no Senritsu: I was a bit disappointed with this song. Given that they had performed it flawlessly on the Arena live, I was confident they would have no problems with it less than a year later. Instead, they were all rather inconsistent with their dynamics (Wakana sometimes not powerful enough, Keiko sometimes shouting her lines, Hikaru sounding overall extremely strained, especially when singing “ashita o kanadete”, although she was very good on the high harmonies). I liked the guitar solo in the bridge, it was refreshing, but in general, I felt a bit let down – Kalafina can do better than this.
Mirai: they went around clapping and waving for this song, and that gave it more energy. Hikaru had moments in which she sounded okay, others in which it seemed she had a severe cold and was obviously struggling. Keiko sounded great, especially on the bridge, while Wakana seemed the happiest of the three and sang really well. In some points, the instruments overpowered their voices, but I don’t know whether that’s because of the editing or not.
Oblivious: I’m so in love with how Hikaru sang all her parts, she displayed such awesome control! Wakana and Hikaru were both perfect, and for the most part, Keiko too. I would call this the best performance of Oblivious, if only Keiko didn’t sound so terribly strained singing in her higher range the part “itsuka kimi to futari yoru wo asa wo hiru wo”. When watching it, it was almost unnoticeable because of the magic atmosphere of the song (and because it happens during a WaKei moment), but I heard the mp3 version first, and Keiko’s struggling was unfortunately rather prominent. Aside from that, however, truly one of the strongest performances of this song.
Storia: as usual, a good performance. Not exceptional, but solid. I wish Hikaru would go back to singing more legato, with “himitsu no” instead of “himi *break* tsu no” for example, but overall, she sang better than I expected.
Gogatsu no Mahou: all three sounded heavenly in this song, Wakana especially. Hikaru seemed very comfortable in her parts, and she harmonized flawlessly (and beautifully) with Wakana on the bridge. The FBM also did a great job.
Consolation: they were really into the performance, especially Hikaru in her last lines (even though her voice had ups and downs throughout the song). Wakana was strong, and Keiko’s deep notes gave me chills. I liked the lights giving a darker aura to the song.
To The Beginning: probably the only song performed much better than during the Arena live, even though in some points the editing was obvious. I kind of wish they had made this dark and intense, like they did for other songs (e.g. Lacrimosa, Consolation), and same as they did back on the Type Moon 10th Anniversary, instead of making this a more ‘fun’ song. The handholding between Wakana and Hikaru was very cute and, as
@Hayden Kurosaki said, it was as if Hikaru was giving her indirect but passionate support to Keiko and Wakana’s last note.
Haru wo Matsu: I still resent the lack of any kind of harmonies, but I liked it much better than the studio version. Hikaru sounded fine and much more controlled, Wakana sounded perfect (and judging by the way Keiko was staring at her, I’m probably not the only one thinking it), but I just couldn’t like the way Keiko sang her first part. It seemed as if she tried to make her voice sound more childish, and while I understand the intention, it looked forced, and I don’t think it fit the song at all.
Believe ~piano version~: by far, the best performance of this concert. I never hated Believe, but I didn’t love it either; I had no idea that the harmonies in it could be this beautiful, and I loved every second of this song. Flawless, all three were perfectly coordinated and sounded wonderful, it almost made me cry. Great job, Kalafina!
*insert change of clothes*
Märchen: a very enjoyable and powerful performance. The dance in the bridge was weird to say the least, especially since the camera angles weren’t taken well and the girls’ movements didn’t match those on the screen behind them, but it didn’t influence the vocal performance. I’d love to see this with the live flute.
Magia: Keiko and Wakana sounded really good, while Hikaru appeared to be struggling in several points. I appreciated the Madoka-esque background they showed during the bridge (rather than another odd dance), and Keiko was impressive in her part, together with the visual effects while she sang. The camera angles could have been better though.
Kyrie: I liked the fact that they used mic holders, it worked really well with their new hand movements and made the song more intense. I’ve rarely heard them perform this song so well; Hikaru’s struggle from the previous song was completely gone, and she sounded very strong and powerful. Wakana and Keiko were awesome as well; Keiko in particular held the last note of her ‘kyrie’ for a full 10 seconds!
Heavenly Blue: all three had some moments in which they sounded less controlled than usual, and also moments in which they shouted instead of singing, but overall, an okay performance.
One Light: the last time I saw them perform this was with LiSA, and I had not liked it very much. In some points Wakana was a bit weak here, Keiko and Hikaru shouted some parts a little, but it was enjoyable. They walked around with tons of enthusiasm, and the public seemed to get really into the song because of this.
Into the World: I have a feeling that some editing went into this, because some parts sounded quite artificial (especially Hikaru sounded strange in some points). Aside from that, it was a very emotional performance; special mentioning of Keiko, who sounded better in this song than she did in the whole rest of the concert.
*insert change of clothes* Encore
Ongaku: really powerful and energetic performance! They were all jumping around and enjoying themselves immensely. There were also lots of cute moments when they exchanged glances and smiles. When Keiko went to sit down next to Korenaga, it was hilarious to see how she seemed to realize, a split second later, that she was wearing a short skirt and immediately crossed her legs and pulled the skirt down. I liked how happy Wakana seemed to be during her solo.
Blaze: again many moments between the girls, and definitely a strong performance. They all looked confident and sounded impeccably controlled in spite of the energy with which they delivered their lines. (if only they had sung like this during the whole concert...)
Yume no Daichi: Hikaru was a bit off at the beginning, but in the rest of the song she correctly hit all the notes she had missed before. Wakana and Keiko weren’t particularly full of energy, but very on point nonetheless. Even though I don’t really like the song Symphonia, I think it would have been better than Yume no Daichi as conclusion.
Personal favourites: Lacrimosa, Oblivious, Gogatsu no Mahou, Consolation, Believe ~piano version~, Märchen, Kyrie, Blaze. Special mention of Samidare for the relaxed performance, and Haru wo Matsu for being so much better than the studio version.
About their hair and outfits, if I start I will go on and on for days, but this review is already too long, therefore I'll just say that I absolutely loved Wakana's hairstyle :D
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