Atarashii Prelude

The iDOLM@STER 7th ANNIVERSARY Minna to Issho – Part 1

Producer-san! Arena desu yo! Arena!

23 June 2012 is a day I will never forget. For I was able to go to an iDOLM@STER Live Concert on that day.

Hi, I'm Basu and I will be your guide today.

Pre-Event

Like any other anime/game concerts, the festivities started with a massive line for the special limited edition goods. The sale was supposed to start at 9:00 , and it actually did start at 9:00, but what I did not expect was the massive line even though I arrived 30 minutes early. By the time I got there, the line already reached the pathway going to the Shin Yokohama station.

The spot pictured was just the beginning of the line that goes on and on around the arena. I honestly really regretted not going to the event earlier even though I live really closeby. It took around 6 hours to actually reach the shopping area, and by then, a lot of the goods (Towel, Pink T-Shirt) were already sold out. Got lucky, and was able to get the white T-shirt and the Seiyuu Pamphlet, and deep down I was glad because I didn't end up spending over 20,000 Yen on silly things.

Lining up wasn't actually terrible as I got to see (and hear!) some cool stuff like: Miki and Iori Itasha, Kugyu rehearsing Diamond AND Smoky Thrill! When we actually got to hear the rehearsal for Diamond, people around went wild! After getting my shopping done, there was plenty of time before the concert starts, so I got to walk around and see more things. The selection of Itasha and Itabikes in the area was quite cool, and it ranges from a combination Miki/Chihaya Itasha, Two Iorin Itasha, and a lot of Itabikes that I wasn't able to take pictures of. There were a few cosplayers in the arena too, but sadly I wasn't able to take pictures due to my phone not having enough battery.

The Concert

(Photography and Videotaking was prohibited in the concert, so you'll have to use Famitsu's site for pics.)

Remember that time when the Internet was infected with the feels? I felt that way throughout the concert. If I was to describe the concert with just one word, then I will not be able to describe how exactly I felt as it was just mindblowing! All the seiyuu was able to participate this time around, and to prepare for that, I ended up getting quite a few of those lightsticks for otagei-ing. This was actually my first time doing otagei cause you don't exactly otagei in a Super Robot Spirits concert.

Due to not having Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket a certain magical ticket order form for the concert, I ended up getting a pretty shitty spot, but thankfully the stadium's huge screens were enough to enjoy the concert. Lighsticks on hand, the concert opened up with President Takagi welcoming us, and having us do a call for him. It's pretty funny how we all ended up doing it even though he wasn't exactly there. Before he went and started the show, he had a certain Broducer brief us on what not to do in the concert (take pics/videos, otagei too hard).

And with that, the stage is set, the lights went dark, and it is time for the Live to start!

The Setlist

01. READY!!／765PRO ALLSTARS
02. CHANGE!!!!／765PRO ALLSTARS

Instead of doing the usual and starting with THE iDOLM@STER, they changed it up a bit this year and went with READY!! followed by CHANGE!!!! and instead of the combined version they had in the penultimate episode, they did the M@STER Versions of both.

To get a feel of the otagei that went on during this part, go watch Episode 25 again. It was exactly like that, complete with the "woo woo woo woo!” and "se-no EI EI OOOOOOOOOO!" The arena was littered with colours, and it was quite the spectacle. Everyone introduced themselves after this, and Kugyu was all "Aren't we cute?!" Since it was Ricchan's birthday, everyone screamed happy birthday during

03. Otome yo Taishi wo Idake/Eriko Nakamura - Eririn (Haruka Amami)

Eririn followed up with some Otome yo, and well, she has improved quite a lot, especially considering how her first performance of this song was. It was a good choice to keep the audience pumped.

04. ALRIGHT*／Azumi Asakura - Azumin (Yukiho Hagiwara)

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

She actually opened the song with that, and it was quite funny hearing it in the LIVE. Azumin is quite cute and everything, and ALRIGHT* is a pretty good song for Yukiho. Tears actually started flowing out of my eyes during this. It wasn't even the song, it was just the fact that I got to be there.

05. Sora／Juri Takita - Jurikichi (Kotori Otonashi)

Piyo-chan started with the usual, and it was awesome as usual.

06. Cheering Letter/ Hiromi Hirata - Hirorin (Makoto Kikuchi)

This was the ending song used in the Makoto episode of the anime, and Hirorin really kicked ass at it. Her costume was actually the manliest out of the bunch, and it's pretty funny seeing her sing an adorable song like this with such a manly costume.

07. Kazahana／Yumi Hara - Harami (Takane Shijou)

Hime-chin! Harami performed pretty awesomely, and I don't have a lot to add.

08. Ohayou!! Asagohan / Akiko Hasegawa - Akki (Miki Hoshi) and Mayako Nigo - Maya-chan (Yayoi Takatsuki)

Oh my god, after a string of solos, suddenly, a duet! And a Miki/Yayoi one to boot! The song is really fun, and since the theme is "Minna to Issho" I kept on expecting Akira Kushida to pop up halfway through. But sadly that didn't happen.

Some MC followed this part, and Maya-chan asked the arena to do the wave. It was pretty damn awesome being in one.

09. Ippai Ippai／Naomi Wakabayashi - Naomicchi (Ritsuko Akizuki)

Remember Ritsuko's episode in the anime? It was exactly like that, except everyone already knew that they were supposed to use the green sticks instead of having them be changed through stage lighting.

10. Next Life／Manami Numakura - Nu (Hibiki Ganaha)

She is smokin'! Nu is a pretty awesome dancer, and she isn't just for show because damn she performed her song well. The camera kept on showing her boobs and ass too, and that wasn't exactly bad.

11. Nemuri Hime／Asami Imai - Mingos (Chihaya Kisaragi)

Mingos is an AMAZING singer, and she is definitely the best out of the bunch, even during the live. It was a very touching performance, and I kinda wished that they did an acoustic version like what happened in the anime, but even a plain Nemuri Hime that is performed well is mindblowing.

12. SMOKY THRILL／Rie Kugimiya - Kugyuuuuuuuuuuu (Iori Minase), Asami Shimoda - Asapon (Ami/Mami Futami), Chiaki Takahashi - Chiaking (Azusa Miura)

Smoky Thrill! Performed live! It has Kugyu! Oh my god it has Kugyu! Asapon was totally adorable too. Oh and Chiaking.

13. Jibun REST@RT／Everyone - Kugyu/Chiaking

It was the one song everyone was waiting for! The arena completely turned orange and EVERYONE shouted "RESTAAAAAAAAAAAAART!" as the song started. They couldn't really do all the dance routines because of microphones and everything, but they were able to do parts of it and the parts they were able to do was done really well. The rehearsal obviously paid off. During the middle of the song, they even did the pep talk from Episode 13 while they were waiting for Ryuugu to arrive! The otagei was also something else, especially because the crowd was really into it. It honestly felt like the show, the atmosphere, the sounds, the crowd. Everything!

That ended the first half of the show, and everyone was called back to the stage. There was a bit more MCing, and Asapon was saying something along the lines of "When the anime was announced, we were super excited cause it felt as if our activities have become real, and now, the anime has actually become real!"

Since this post is getting really long, I'm going to end it here, and finish it in the next part! Look forward to the Kugyu fanboying!