Even before
Anime Expo officially began, the fans were treated to an amazing concert on Day 0.
Anisong World Matsuri ~Japan Kawaii Live~ was held at the Microsoft Theater on Friday, June 30th and included performances by
THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS,
Wake Up, Girls !,
JUNNA and
Minori Suzuki from
Walküre, and
Aqours.
THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS
© Anisong World Matsuri
Before the girls appeared on stage, the fans were already rehearsing their fan chants. This alone already prepped the audience for a great start to the concert, getting everyone’s energy levels up and hyping up the atmosphere for what was to come. The opening number was
Star!!, the opening theme to their anime, “THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS.”
For the first MC, the members did their introductions.
Haruka Yoshimura rallied up the most cheers due to her cutesy “Ya-ho!” call to the fans. Afterwards, the members all reenacted a few scenes from their anime. They concluded their performances by performing
Onegai! Cinderella, which appeared in both the anime as well as the mobile game for “THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS.” This was the song that the audience were waiting for, evidenced by all the jumping and cheering to the song during the performance.
Set list
01. Star!!
02. GOIN’!!
MC
03. Yumeiro Harmony
04. Yes! Party Time!!
MC
05. Onegai! Cinderella
Wake Up, Girls !
© Anisong World Matsuri
The next group to perform were
Wake Up, Girls !, and the entire seven-member lineup made an appearance. Their first song
Tachiagare! had the entire audience’s penlights set to both green and blue. Right after this, the girls performed
Shoujo koukyou kyoku, which had one of the best choreographies out of all their performances. The way they were segmented to do different parts of the choreography really utilized the members and stage to give off a spectacle of a performance.
It was during the first MC where the audience paid tribute, and as each member gave their introduction, the audience’s penlights changed color to match each member’s image color. They performed
7 Girls War, which was originally used only as an opening for episode three, but eventually turned into the opening theme for all episodes on the DVD and Blu-ray. Throughout each of their performances, the members were just exuberating energy. It was just amazing to see how the fans would change the color of their penlights to suit each performance.
Set list
01. Tachiagare!
02. Shoujo koukyou kyoku
MC
03. Koi? De ai? De boukun desu!
MC
04. Beyond the Bottom
05. 7 Girls War
MC
06. Gokujo Smile
JUNNA and Minori Suzuki from Walküre
© Anisong World Matsuri
After an intermission, the vibe completely shifted to a slower, yet more impactful tempo. Only two members from
Walküre were present:
JUNNA and
Minori Suzuki. They performed songs from their anime, “Macross Delta.” As the intro music for
Ikenai Borderline started, the crowd all started cheering “Oy!” before they started singing.
As this was
Walküre's first time performing outside of Japan and only two members could represent the group of five, they did their best to appeal to the audience by using English during their MCs.
Minori asked the crowd about where to eat in Los Angeles. As the crowd shouted out answers,
Minori mentioned the usual answer that most performers mentioned: In-N-Out.
Set list
01. Koi! Halation THE WAR
02. Ikenai Borderline
MC
03. Bokura no senjo
04. Ichido dake no koi nara
MC
05. Run ga pikatto hikattara
Aqours
© Anisong World Matsuri
Just when one couldn’t think the acts could get any crazier, lo and behold,
Aqours was the next performer. They opened with a video introduction of the members and their character counterparts from the anime “Love Live! Sunshine!!” First song
Aozora Jumping Heart had the crowd all rallied up as they saw the girls performing and matching the choreography of the music video from the anime playing in the back. Although only the first song, one could already feel the energy the audience gave off.
During the MC segments, it was a pleasant surprise to see both
Rikako Aida and
Nanaka Suwa translate what their members said to English. Once the intro music started up for their debut song
Kimino kokorowa kagayaiterukai?, the crowd erupted in cheers. As each song was performed, the audience’s energy levels kept rising and rising.
Aqours’ last song was
Yume kataruyori yume utaou, and they pulled out pom-poms for the choreography. As the song ended the members threw out their pom-poms to the fans in front of the stage and exited the stage. The fans wanted more and started shouting “Encore, encore, encore,” but to no avail. Still,
Aqours brought the most energy out of the fans and were a great way to end the concert. As the saying goes, “Save the best for last.”
Set list
01. Aozora Jumping Heart
MC
02. Kimino kokorowa kagayaiterukai?
03. Koini naritai AQUARIUM
04. MIRAI TICKET
MC
05. Yume kataruyori yume utaou
