AnimagiC 2013 Day 3

The third and last day of AnimagiC might have come too fast for many visitors. However, the last day featured two high-caliber lives of Japanese artists Aoi Eir (on the outdoor stage) and Zwei (at Festsaal).


Rock duo Zwei came first at 13:15. After a short intro they launched into Junjou Spectra. Eager fans gathered quickly in the middle area before stage, cheering out loud and fully into the music. A look behind revealed that although other guests sat still, they paid attention to Ayumu's and Megu's performance. After the last chords and the cheers faded, bassist Megu whipped out a big sheet of paper and said a few words in German. Following was vocalist Ayumu who announced the next song, the wild MONSTER. Megu's heavily plucked bass combined with a strong guitar and drum beats, blowing out dust from the speakers, and Ayumu carried around her microphone stand, stirring up the crowd. The energetic number Occultics no majo was next and its performance saw a lot of animated fans, as well as the obligatory speaker climbing up all over the stage.

Already after these two songs, Ayumu showed in an amusing way that she had become sweaty and then took off her jacket to start the ballad Heading For Tomorrow. Once more she put everything into her singing. With the microphone stand in her hands, she even swayed a bit over the stage before she fell onto her knees and dragged herself onto one of the speakers. Zwei defused the high emotional tension with an MC following. Again they asked for any other otaku within the venue and made a question-and-answer game out of it in the end, causing laughter and cheering up the audience. All of these actions served as an introduction for their single Re:Set. Audience and musicians jumped, danced, and―for the amusement of the crowd―both women snuggled against their image on screen where a video clip was running. There was a lot to see and to hear, and the fans cheered throughout the entire performance.

The fun continued with the last two tracks. In Koyubi no Paradox Ayumu held a glow stick and waved it to the beats of this feel-good song, also fanning out some air towards the fans in the first row. Afterwards the duo announced their last song of the set. Matching a highly enthusiastic audience, the duo was also in the best shape. At the end Ayumu and Megu eagerly shook some hands and distributed some sweets. Much too soon, the set had come to pass, and soon the cheering and squealing people joined in a chorus for an encore. Unfortunately, this one wasn't granted.

However, there still was one more live on the last day: Aoi Eir on the outdoor stage! The fans gathered early outside in front of the stage during her rehearsal. Once more she opened her set with overture, which was followed by AURORA. Meanwhile the singer walked around the stage and lured out even more people with her voice. Next she greeted the AnimagiC audience with her first MC and announced her next song, the energetic and dark starting Avallon Blue. As soon as the sinister guitar sounds became a bit out of focus, Aoi stirred up the crowd, especially during the bridge. During the next track’s performance, the songstress invited the people to wave their hands to the music.

For this fine cooperation, the applause, and the unforgettable days at AnimagiC, Aoi expressed her thanks in another MC. She didn’t linger for too long, though, and soon after she continued with the "Sword Art Online" tracks, Cobalt Sky and INNOCENCE. The fans were really into it here and didn't need any encouragement from the artist. Even the last song, MEMORIA, pleased the fans and artist alike. After the last tune faded and the crowd cheered long and loudly, Aoi admitted that she really enjoyed Germany, Bonn, the people and the event itself. She then said farewell and left the stage under loud applause.

Certainly the main concerts on this third and last day officially had come to an end, but there still was the "big final" at Festsaal scheduled. People who also attended this could surprisingly see one or more musical guests from Japan again. Zwei entered stage around 18:20 and tried to fire up the tension in the audience with another performance of Junjou Spectra. Both women shortly stood on the speakers, cuddled their images on the big screen again, where the related music video was screened, and then Megu suddenly left stage. She ran down the staircase on the left side, made a run near the first row and entered stage again while crossing the staircase on the right. All new won fans commented on this action with thunderous applause. Surely Zwei made a permanent impression on everyone―even on people who hadn't seen them live yet.

About ten minutes afterwards,JAM Project’s performance was announced. Vocalist Kitadani Hiroshi had to travel back to Japan and so only Kageyama Hironobu, Endou Masaaki, Okui Masami and Fukuyama Yoshiki performed the very emotional ballad Kizuna. With this sensitive piece of music, the singers of JAM Project wanted to express how important the bond of friendship is to them and how much these three days, for which they travelled all the way from their last performance in Brazil, means to them. Many fans waved their arms to the beat; apart from that there was pious silence.

No matter how many days spent at AnimagiC, the convention offered a lot each day, and the three musical German premieres picked up points with charm and musical versatility. The artists themselves met an open, friendly and energetic audience, which left a big impression on them, arousing the wish to return one day. Be it Aoi Eir or Zwei or JAM Project, everyone shared the same wish. One can say that the 15th AnimagiC became an unforgettable event for all. There is one last thing to say: Happy Anniversary, AnimagiC!


Set Lists July 28, 2013

Zwei
01. Junjou Spectra
-MC-
02. MONSTER
03. Occultics no majo
04. Heading For Tomorrow
-MC-
05. Re:Set
06. Koyubi no Paradox
07. Kakuchou Place

Aoi Eir
01. overture
02. AURORA
-MC-
03. Avallon Blue
04. Satellite
-MC-
05. Cobalt Sky
06. INNOCENCE
-MC-
07. MEMORIA

Zwei
01. Junjou Spectra

JAM Project
01. Kizuna


JaME would like to thank the organizers of AnimagiC as well as all artists for making this report possible.