Japanese pop star LiSA held her very first concert at the prestigious Nippon Budokan Arena on January 3, 2014. For many artists, performing at Budokan is an honor and a lifelong dream. The-O Network was fortunate enough to attend and provide coverage of the sold-out event. If you are a fan of Fate/Zero or Sword Art Online, chances are you will recognize songs that were performed that night.
The concert began at 5:30 pm to a sea of pink glow sticks and lasted until around 8 pm when LiSA rocked the stage with hits from her latest album Landspace and songs featured in recent anime titles. The concert was indeed powerful and emotional at the same time as weeping fans can be heard across the stadium as she performed "Ichiban no Takaramono" from Angel Beats! fans were not the only ones crying from joy during the concert, LiSA herself was overcome with strong emotions during her MC portions as she burst into tears of joy at finally having made it to Budokan.
The concert definitely began on a high note with “Cosmic Rollercoaster” that got the blood of all the fans in the venue going with excitement. This level of excitement lasted throughout the whole evening as evident by the constant cheering and applause throughout the night. This especially resonated louder throughout the hall during her more recent singles like "Traumerei," her Sword Art Online single "Crossing field," Fate/Zero’s Single "Oath Sign," and her older songs when she was part of Girls Dead Monster.
Another noticeable point during the concert was that she kept everyone engaged throughout the evening with her songs. At one point she even had all the fans at the venue singing along to her song “Itsuka no Tegami,” and dancing along to “Say my name no katamoi” and “Wild Candy.” This is a true testament to how much her fans adore her songs and her ability to engage everyone at the venue. Heck, even the short animations of her cartoon frog that was voiced by her shown during the intermissions were enough to engage the entire stadium full of fans.
Towards the end of the concert, LiSA revealed a special announcement about her upcoming live house summer tour activities and her solo concert “LiVE is Smile Always ?LiSAMMERLAND” at Fujikyu Highland. She also announced that she will be performing the opening song for upcoming TV anime ????????? (Mahou Kakokou no Rettousei) that will be aired in April.
At the end of the show, there was an after-party where invited guests such as industry members, lucky fans, and friends were able to meet with LiSA. The event started with drinks handed out at a sectioned area with the President of Aniplex present to give a few words and toasted LiSA on a makeshift stage. The crowd parted and LiSA walked down the center shaking hands and humbly thanking everyone for their continued support. As a side note, we couldn't help but notice LiSA's musical colleague, Eir Aoi dressed in all blue was present in the crowd and handed LiSA a small gift bag after shaking her hand.
All in all, it was a fantastic concert and a long road for LiSA to get to Budokan. We'll keep you updated when the concert BD/DVD will be available.
Set List
• Cosmic Rollercoaster
• Traumerei
• -MC-
• Canvas boy x Palette girl
• EGOiSTiC SHOOTER
• DOCTOR
• Oath sign
• Itsuka no tegami
• Ichiban no Takaramono
• Little Braver
• I’m a Rock star
• Say my name no katamoi
• -MC-
• Mosou Controller
• Rock-mode
• Crossing field
• Gyakko Orchestra
• WILD CANDY
• Jet Rocket
• Shiroi Toiki
• Believe in myself
• -MC-
• Best day, best way
Photos copyrighted Sony Music Artists Inc.