「Kalafina Anniversary LIVE 2025」15th January Tokyo Garden Theater (NO KAJIURA INVOLVEMENT)

Nightmare said:
Not sure why people are whining Kalafina sound won't be the same without Kajiura when I feel like her music/arrangement sometimes isn't that unique lol it's her combination of harmony+ band style that makes her sound now. Then the three of them reunited it's a matter of time to replicate her "style". And they hired Hitoshi Konno before too from Wakana's
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Nightmare said:
album so it's not that hard.
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Konno is known to not work just for Kajiura. He has been on recordings (credited) with music by the likes of Yoko Kanno, Go Shiina and Takumi Ozawa among others.

As for Kajiura's music yes it had been less experimental lately but it still has the something signature-ish that you can tell right away that its by her.
 
Kajiura has been giving the Kalafina sound (and it's really her - from composition to how the voices are handled, harmonies etc) for ten+ years.

Voices are great and all but without the artistic mixing of all the other components, their greatness.. is not enough. They are not Callas, Pavarotti, Mercury, Sinatra as much as I love Keiko's voice lol.

Imo though technically , it's not hard to recapture Kajiura's sound - but somehow I don't see that play well. People will know Kajiura is not there, and if they imitate Kajiuran sound, even if you enjoy the songs, it will most likely make people cringe. Knowing other facts will change their reaction to the music.

Of course with time things may change. I always think about Nightwish for this kinda situation xD Though the singers were replaced in that scenario but the main lead vocal was such a huge integral part of the team that the change was not welcome at first. but after a decade (lol), people grasped the beauty of another sound.

tl;dr the future is not set in stone.
 
wat11 said:
also oh my god Wikipedia is already "updated" : Years active 2007–2019, 2024–present.
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Someone clearly has nothing better to do lol

wat11 said:
.

Of course with time things may change. I always think about Nightwish for this kinda situation xD Though the singers were replaced in that scenario but the main lead vocal was such a huge integral part of the team that the change was not welcome at first. but after a decade (lol), people grasped the beauty of another sound.

tl;dr the future is not set in stone.
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Maybe that was Kajiura's plan with Rito and Lino cause she did say she was thinking about of ways to restart the group, probably with Wakana replaced. But it sunk because the two are slow to even reach Wakana's (reduced) level.
 
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KAJIURA DELETED THE TWEETS.
Wait nvm, they showed up again. Stupid X hue.
 
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I've had a feeling that this was on a slow boil for a long while. The reactions to Kalafina songs in YK lives going back the last few years kept telling me there is a demand for Kalafina to return. I figured that Wakana was always the hold out. May be her contract with Spacecraft has come to an end and she's free to do this. I don't know. Speculating. Still, It's not a surprise to me. I figured it may happen in 2026. Some thing seems to feel rushed about it all.
 
Oooh this situation is so messy. I'm messy so I'm kinda living for the drama but I truly feel bad for Kajiura because she must've felt betrayed (in a way) with how things turn out. The announcement for the concert itself makes it feel like it might be a one time thing but the wordings by Takebe Satoshi in that news article and the letter by Kajiura herself makes it sound like they're planning to continue forward with this "new" Kalafina.

Let me share some insights and drama fuel that might have been posted before. We just got that messy ring your bell live (Hikaru girl please) in FSN concert. Back then Kalafina was trending in Japan because some people were saying "omg Kalafina is back!" that got some Kalafina fans excited, but then they were incredibly disappointed because it wasn't Kalafina - it was three people singing in a similar looking costume in which two singers happened to be the actual members of Kalafina. People were pissed off, saying that it wasn't Kalafina. It was knock-off Kalafina/Fake Kalafina. This was quite heavily tweeted by quite a lot of people. It seems that the Japanese Kalafina fans are divided into two factions: The ones that are alright with Kalafina songs being covered by Kajiura family singers in YKL (the Kajiura faction) and the ones that are set that Kalafina is WAKANA KEIKO HIKARU, without them it's not Kalafina and might as well just don't perform any Kalafina songs if it's not them performing (the Kalafina is WKH faction). These are the people that said that Joelle was deeply unsuitable for Kalafina songs and they actually asked Kajiura (in the YKL audience form) to not perform Kalafina songs anymore. These are also the people who coined the term knock-off/Fake Kalafina for the Lino Leia/Keiko/Hikaru trio in FSN concert. To no one's surprise some of these people do actually accept Lino Leia singing Wakana's parts more than Joelle and they got why people might've thought that these 3 are Kalafina lol.

Now with Kalafina coming back but without Kajiura, especially after the note that Kajiura posted - it seems that the Kajiura faction grew in number and they're now firing back saying "Kajiura please keep doing Kalafina covers in YKL because (to us) it is the original Kalafina" and "Kalafina without Kajiura is not Kalafina".

This is quite messy, it seems that Kajiura deleted her tweets because her tweets are the ones that got much more traction than the one posted by the Kalafina members and the Kalafina_staff account (that got revived for this occasion) lol. This is bad PR for Kalafina and the ladies themselves, especially for Keiko who is still a FictionJunction member and Hikaru who guested often in YKL and will also be guest vocalist in their upcoming Asia Tour. People find it really hard and quite unbelievable that both of them hadn't mentioned this plan to Kajiura at all. Now I'm not totally defending them but in a way it's their manager's responsibility to discuss about this matter with Kajiura's management but omg Keiko and Hikaru why. Especially Keiko who actually posted in her personal announcement that the reason she came back after her one year hiatus was because she's deeply in love in Kajiura's world and music, like I know it's not this simple but honestly girl if you're gonna do Kalafina anyway without Kajiura then there's no need for you to quit and for Kalafina to disband anyway. Like I know people change and she has every right to do so, but people are wondering why now? Is the money really that tempting? It's not like she and Hikaru are hurting for money. I know Keiko definitely isn't hurting for money because she is rich.

On a more serious note, even though Kajiura might have not been notified about this matter, legally Spacecraft aren't obligated to. It seems that the bad blood between them runs really deep if they didn't even reach out to Kajiura before this announcement. Kajiura has resigned her role as Kalafina's producer before Kalafina got disbanded and Spacecraft owned the name Kalafina. Legally they're free to do anything with Kalafina because in a sense, they owned them and Kajiura has rescinded her ownership of Kalafina the moment she resigned as their producer. If it's only about them performing Kalafina songs, it's only a matter of royalty that can easily be paid with a fairly clear fee that's ruled by the Copyright law and this royalty thing is a matter between the managements and the recording label. Now it's a different matter when it comes to ethic because it's quite unethical for the Kalafina members and Spacecraft to plan for an Anniversary concert (and may continue their activities as Kalafina) without notifying Kajiura before. What's ethic isn't always what's legal and it seems that they're really teetering the lines here.

And ngl I quite like Takebe Satoshi's works for Wakana so him composing for Kalafina might not be a bad thing. Takumi Ozawa is clearly influenced by Kajiura in her music and I enjoyed her works as well. I have said before that I actually wanted other composers to compose for Kalafina, but I still want Kajiura to be their main composer/producer. Now that things have come to this I'm gonna wait patiently for the updates. Whether they're really moving forward with this new Kalafina and/or whether Keiko and Hikaru will still perform on YKL Asia Tour (they might still go because I assume some people will go just for the Kalafina cover section of the concert) but if Kajiura is incredibly disappointed then she might change her mind and if Keiko will still continue with her activities with FictionJunction.
 
If she is really bitter about this she is going to kick both Hikaru and Keiko from FJM / FJS (honestly dunno where she'll find another alto singer who has same energy and looks) , if not she will allow them to be present at both the (new) Kalafina and FJ. We ll see. But i dont know whats gonna happen with the songs from now on. Will both perform them ?

That reminds me that back in 2018 in the disbandment announcement Spacecraft said that they were looking for Kajiura-replacing producers even back then but had to proceed with disbandment because they didn't find someone at that time. But seems like their bad financial situation after all the artist quits forced them to press the girls and the Takebe guy to accept. But lets assume Spacecraft wasnt obliged to talk to Kajiura, i think the girls were because especially Keiko she know Kajiura ever since "Kaze no Machi e" back in 2004-5, so 18 whole years. What the, Keiko ? and Hikaru idk if she would be so famous now if it weren't for Kajiura (especially the KnK songs, Magia and Kimi no gin no niwa)
 
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On one hand, I'm like happy that Kajiura is not writing for Wakana and Hikaru again.
But on the other hand THIS breaks my kokoro.
I understand that Kalafina has decided to leave my production company and move forward as a new Kalafina without my knowledge. I have been looking for a way to weave Kalafina's music together again in the future, but that will no longer be possible.It is a great pity, but it is a path that all the members have clearly chosen
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Kajiura wanted to work with them again in the future, and not only did they not wait for her, they didn't even tell her! She probably found out on Twitter lol (Well, maybe some reporters asked her about the reunion and that's how she found out).
Like yeah, they don't need her permission, but jfc at least let her know before everyone else. Get her blessing or some shit.
 
Lorde-Kowz said:
On one hand, I'm like happy that Kajiura is not writing for Wakana and Hikaru again.
But on the other hand THIS breaks my kokoro.

Kajiura wanted to work with them again in the future, and not only did they not wait for her, they didn't even tell her! She probably found out on Twitter lol (Well, maybe some reporters asked her about the reunion and that's how she found out).
Like yeah, they don't need her permission, but jfc at least let her know before everyone else. Get her blessing or some shit.
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Agree with this. I think she found out via twitter or via her manager because people were asking about Kalafina reunion in FJS fanboard. After I read the tweet from Keiko's twitter account I immediately searched for the confirmation from Kajiura and FJS as well but there was nothing from them and what we got was Kajiura posting her letter like an hour-ish later. Initially I was happy because I thought maybe they're doing a special reunion for Madoka Movie theme so might as well do a special concert, but with how thing turns out now I think the chance for Kalafina doing another Madoka Movie theme song is near non-existent. That is, unless they reached some sort of agreement and if Kajiura hasn't recorded one lol.
 
Maybe she did record but will release it with different vocalist (ASCA /Aimer for example) as is her usual practice since 2019.
 
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This was the last thing I expected to see. I’ve never been a huge Kalafina fan, so the reunion is meh for me. The disregard for Kajiura tho is very sad. Obviously the girls can do what they want, but to leave Kajiura in the dark while touring and performing with her…that is cold.
 
Just saw an interesting tweet that basically said: Kajiura used to only write Kalafina when she made any announcement that involves them, but on her letter she's using Kalafina-san to show the distance between her and the members. It's like she's basically saying, I don't know them, they're strangers. Wanted to copy the tweet but melon makes the app not working properly anymore so my TL got immediately refreshed.

Well damn now that makes me think about Keiko's and Hikaru's participation in the Asia Tour... Kajiura might be in a tight spot because I don't think rito and Leia can do Keiko's parts and Kaori is not gonna be there. I initially have given up on attending the Malaysia live because it's far more expensive than the Thailand one and ngl that Hikaru ryb performance really wasn't selling her but now I might try because I want to see if it's gonna be awkward between them or if there's gonna be drama. I'm really messy like that lmao. Gonna check if the ticket is still available and do I have nothing work related planned on that date (I work in an Event Organizer so I often work weekends).
 
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God, I can't believe I'm waking up to these news...

I think it's apparent, that the situation behind the scene seems to be very complicated and I don't have enough information to put the blame on either side for this mess. Fact is, for me, Kajiura and Kalafina are unseparable, and them continuing without Kajiura is worse news to me than if they announced they would never ever reunite. And I am definitely one of the people who have been hoping for a reunification all this time. Although I don't want to see myself as a participant in any type of fan-war I guess this view inadvertently puts me squarely into the Kajiura faction.
 
I'm probably the only one who isn't all that shook up about Kajiura not being involved in future Kalafina projects.

A producer is not the artist. 2NE1 without Teddy Park is still 2NE1. Kalafina without Yuki Kajiura is still Kalafina. It's a very similar situation as these groups feel a lot alike - the group having only the one producer up until they disbanded (there are very small exceptions in 2NE1 but you get the idea, back in the day, Teddy Park was almost synonymous with 2NE1's music).

As much as I love Kajiura-san's music, I'm glad I can continue to listen to Keiko, Hikaru and Wakana together again. My biggest regret in life is not attending a Kalafina concert in person, and this news suddenly lets me have the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine. Kalafina was how I got into Kajiura-san's music, and call me a Kala-stan or whatever, Kajiura hasn't really created anything impressive since Kalafina disbanded in 2018. Even towards the end of their tenure (pun completely intended with 10-year), I could see Kajiura running out of ideas for Kalafina. No new "studio" album released after FotW was the biggest indicator. But I still listened because I love their voices, individually and together. The best thing to come out of their later years was by far the Christmas album, which highlighted their vocals much more in a way that previous albums didn't.

It'd be nice if Kajiura could relinquish control over Kalafina (well guess she doesn't have a choice now). Kajiura always had a specific view in mind for how she used each member and what song an part they'd fit more at singing - at best, we got songs like Red Moon, destination unknown and Magia. At worst, when she pigeonholed each member to their own part, pretty much plateauing any growth they could have had as a vocalist, we have songs like blaze, believe and heavenly blue. Even now she still pigeonholes Yuriko Kaida and Keiko.

I'd prefer Kalafina to go the route of having multiple composers with their own ideas of how to utilise each member's voice. Wakana, Hikaru and Keiko write their own songs now, and I'd love to see them try their own Kalafina song. Switch the harmonies around so it isn't always Keiko on low harmony, Hikaru on middle and Wakana on high. The only time I've seen Wakana do low harmony is love come down and elemental.
 
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@Saber the only blame i have for Kajiura in the Kalafina era is not giving enough lead songs to Keiko. The overdoing of lives turns out it was spacecraft's doing as she is doing alot less now with FJ. Yes the girls blend well but they should have informed Kajiura about their decition because what happened is lsrgely disrespectful at least when it comes to Keiko - Hikaru who were around her all this time anyway.
 
george1234 said:
@Saber the only blame i have for Kajiura in the Kalafina era is not giving enough lead songs to Keiko. The overdoing of lives turns out it was spacecraft's doing as she is doing alot less now with FJ. Yes the girls blend well but they should have informed Kajiura about their decition because what happened is lsrgely disrespectful at least when it comes to Keiko - Hikaru who were around her all this time anyway.
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Kalafina would probably be quite a bit less well known if they slowed down their live activities. YT copyright strikes weren't as common back in the day, and early Kalafina live releases uploaded to YouTube had views in the millions. I became a fan the moment I watched the live Red Moon performance from 2010. This could still be a great way to introduce new fans to their older music because, studio magicked or not, their live releases are top tier (except Consolation Special Final lol). The internet is the main way people discover music and become fans and not capitalising on that strategy when the internet was a lot smaller was IMHO a big wasted opportunity for Kalafina.

Keiko's lead songs aside, I would have also liked for Wakana and Hikaru to have sung more songs outside of their preferred genres (ballad and rock respectively). It would have done a lot to help the songs (especially the singles) less "samey".
 
My thoughts:
  • I'm so happy for this and I also feel overwhelmed by the news.
  • Yuki Kajiura is just acting, executing the I-was-not-informed role. I can't believe Keiko didn't inform her. Sorry, I can't believe it. I think she's acting like this because she can't be related to Kalafina nor Wakana anymore (because of Space Craft).
  • This is just a reunion, just 1 day. Like See-Saw in 2019 (ignore this year's single lol).
  • About the future of Keiko and Hikaru on Kajiura lives. Both will be performing next month. There's no way Yuki can do without the girls at this point, it's too risky (and I suppose they have contracts).
  • As well as Keiko have to be in FictionJunction, her voice is needed. Kajiura can't be that silly...
  • I'm feeling something strange on the fact that Wakana didn't write a personal comment like Ke and Hi... Overall being her producer who will take charge on this.
 
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