Kajiura & Fictionjunction Guests @ AnimeCentral in Chicago (concert May 16, 2026)

^ She is been around since forever, im surprised she forgot .

I watched the concert from that YT account. Its nice but the sound quality, at least captured like this was wasnt good. Most of all i liked Koi Kogare and from the edge as they re the only ones we havent seen before on a official release.

I think Kajiura's english are improving as years go by, she speaks more fluently.
Excited to hear what other new projects she has for 2027. However Yuriko in Madoka soundtrack is not much news lol i mean she sung this one before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPFYnrDssSQ
 
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LianaIlia36 said:
I can't believe I just witnessed a Kajiura/FictionJunction concert!!! What is my life?

Swordland: of course. They had to, right? But it was awesome! I was so impressed with everyone's vocals here.

Honoh no Tobira: I can't believe they played my fav FJY song!!! Joelle led which was the perfect choice. I mean they all chimed in at times. You can really hear the piano.

Toki no Mukou ni Maborashi no Sora: not an anime song, but still. Love. They all did great.

Lighthouse: eeeee! I was so excited when she announced this. I was thinking to myself the night before that it'd be cool even though it's from a game. Lino was amazing! Her voice carried through the whole place, which wasn't all that big. Heh

From the edge: I was so impressed with Kaori here. Her vocals on it were so amazing! Everyone did a great job. I like that they had the English words on the screens.

Parallel Hearts: I know others have said this was a Wakana song, but everyone was great! Joelle especially.

Stone cold: ahhh! Again it was vibrating. Everyone was rocking out. I wish I could have gotten a light wand. (I couldn't find the merch booth.) Yuriko goes by Kajiura and Lino and Joelle and Kaori sing together. I think this was the loudest the audience was.

Soukyuu no fanfare: I've come to like this song more through lives. This was no exception. The whole room seemed to vibrate!

Parade: I'm soooo glad I got to see this live! Lino did well on the lower parts actually. I teared up several times.

Encore: Koi Kagare: I loved Kaori here. She seemed so powerful through the whole thing. Everyone did. It is a looong song so it's no wonder if someone got winded. But they didn't seem to.

I was surprised someone got video of all of it. They were cracking down on phones. If it even came out they were on top of you. I didn't try even. I am so thankful they came somewhere where I didn't have to travel very far for. I still want to see the whole band with them and other guests of course. But I'm so happy. The recording doesn't compare to being there.
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Toki no Mukou ni Maboroshi no Sora is an anime song lol
It's from Ookami Kakushi. Very niche tbh
 
george1234 said:
However Yuriko in Madoka soundtrack is not much news lol i mean she sung this one before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPFYnrDssSQ
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Well, I'd argue Yuri is more impactful in that track than Yuriko's chorus (and it's not like Yuriko wasn't credited on Credens justitiam if we want to go back...) and I would hope "Yuriko being featured" in the new Madoka means she gets solos, like in the PV.

PS. I was listening to this compilation The Movie soundtrack when I was playing around with those YK interviews, and I really have to say I still think it's great. Movie/Music Collection 2, plz.

Bit off topic but I am somewhat confused by the credits on Madoka. Like, is The Movie's "her wings"+"rebirth" chorus really the Junior one? ;/ Is there no live flute in Credens justitiam? (Per tokuten OST1 credits.)
 
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Westkana said:
I agree with @TRal55 about the general admission included-with-your-badge system they had- I myself flew in from out-of-state and was also a bit worried about actually being able to get in. I ended up lining up at 1p (3p doors, 4p show) because of that plus the meet + greets having been completely sold out by the time I arrived. Some sort of different ticketed system and not tied to having bought merch would have worked better- I think it would have allowed more people to get merch (instead of just buying for the sake of the meet + greet)
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You weren't one of the guys who flew in from Virginia were you? :P
 
I really enjoyed the live. I could debate what songs I would have rather heard. But hearing how they worked around not having Keiko or Emiko was really interesting. The security guy by where I was said photos were allowed and coincidentally my phone had broken so I had the new iPhone and got some decent photos if anyone is interested. Now sure how to share them 😂
The thing I am sad about is I wish I keiko was still with Yuki 😭😭😭
 
Westkana said:
Yeah, I noticed that too during the performance. I had expected Kaori to take them but they just left them out for whatever reason. Odd arrangement decision imo since I feel like Kajiura almost never cuts main parts unless absolutely necessary
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grunty said:
Well, I'd argue Yuri is more impactful in that track than Yuriko's chorus
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Listened to it twice and, yes, Kasahara made the song carry its intended dramatic weight.
This would be really nice to hear performed live.

I am still hoping for a future single-soundtrack-themed version of Kajiura's shows where she can narrow in on one work and its full musical expression.
 
Lorde-Kowz said:
But she was only lead in 3 songs out of 10. The rest were duets with Joelle, solo songs and Swordland.
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Swordland - ensemble
Honoo no Tobira - Joelle lead
Toki no Mukou, Maboroshi no Sora - Kaori/Joelle split
Lighthouse - Lino Leia lead
From the edge - Kaori lead
Parallel hearts - Joelle/Kaori split
Stone cold - Kaori lead
Sokyu no Fanfare - ensemble but Kaori, gurl is completely overpowering everyone
Parade - Kaori/Joelle split
Koi Kagare - Kaori lead

Yes totally not Kaori and the band.
 
I watched it again and a few more nitpicky/fun things to comment on: 🫢
  1. LL's voice was a little flat for the start with "Swordland". That song requires max drama with a classical, continuous-vibrato-heavy feel throughout the line, but she was singing her straight tone voice, so it didn't sit as well with the other voices, who can all do continuous vibrato (hence why Kajiura had then back Kasahara in KajiFes, for example).
  2. Joelle's solo dramatic singing during "Honoo no Tobira" just before the instruments took over at https://youtu.be/8jbPNlmCxeg?si=TFcxNXBuO_RvoFqo&t=136 was cool, and the energy continued when she started her bouncy little dance (it got a crowd response). She was feeling herself a bit and Kaori mimicked her movements looked her way until she looked back for a bit. Cute way to support and hype her up.
  3. Kaori really stayed quite on pitch for most of the performance. No egregious instances of being off, so I was pleased about that. She was also the most animated on stage most of the time.
  4. In my opinion, LL still need to expand her singing, with classical- or musical-theatre-style training to open her head voice, and generating power to belt, and also give her additional colors. The climactic last note on "lighthouse" was supposed to be powerful/memorable. it was a bit lacking. Still a weird arrangement as has been said to have Kaori suddenly come in and then LL does low harmony to her. Maybe if LL's voice was more powerful/commanding in the verses this change-up wouldn't feel as if Kaori's voice coming in was revealing the gap instead of complementing LL's.
  5. For contrast, Kaori's entrance on "from the edge" was full and resonant at the start (though LL also supported quite well here). During during the bridge's chant section with Joelle and Yuriko, I could hear LL's voice not blending as well (being straight tone so felt a bit less energized) - compare with the latter part where Kaori/LL were duetting and it was just Yuriko and Joelle on the head voice chant (with fast vibrato) which just felt more unified. Anyway, Joelle back with her bouncy side-to-side dance and Yuriko smiling and dancing too. Cute. Kajiura looked back at Joelle when she did the Kimetsu vocalizations - a sign of approval in my book.
  6. "Parallel hearts" - Joelle taking the first pre-chorus lead with Kaori was sweet. Listen to how Joelle navigated those high notes adding some power/weight, with how she navigated straight to the notes especially on "karanai". Her second pre-chorus was also nice, but on the last verse, she lost her pitch completely a bit for a second - tension or just tiredness?A but of a letdown, but it happens.
  7. "stone cold" - https://youtu.be/RZFWQnLuteg?si=D-pwnskxpy43Apt2&t=109 Kaori grabbed Joelle to go with her the side of the stage, kinda a bit like Keiko did for Hikaru at KajiFes (and a few times before). Hilarious. Joelle looked a little lost on stage sometimes.
  8. "Koi Kogare" - Kaori's vocals at the very start, with the resonance and glides she used actually sounded like Joelle a bit to me. I've heard her sound like Joelle before (on low harmony to "Vice Versa" towards the end). The end action move with the last beat was COOL!
 
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