Soragumi Encourage Concert!
The concert began with everyone singing "Mirai e", and starting off with a popular song from a Soragumi show is always a good choice to me. ;-D
Then, the individual babies...
Kazahane Reia: I love "Manrico no Renka", and I love Sattsun. (I discovered her in Young Bloods!!, which I still need to write a review about...) Yes, I squee'd all the way through this number. <3 <3
Shiramine Sayuri: My appreciation of Sayuri's performance (she sang "Aida no Shinnen") was slightly soured by thinking that she's left us now... *sniffle* But she did sing her little heart out. :-)
Hamuro Chiari: I spent most of Chiari's' solo ("Ai no Shinjitsu"! <3) imagining her being Taki-san's heir as Soragumi kumichou sometime in the far far distant future. ^___^; So yeah, it was good.
Amakaze Ibuki: She was really cute singing "Kimi no Na o Yobeba". I like her! <3
Kashou Naoto: Kanachin reminds me of Maggie somehow. ^^;; But that's certainly not a bad comparison! ;-D Anyway, she sang "La Nostalgie". It was... all right.
Ayane Raira: At the risk of sounding as if I don't love all my Sora babies, I'll say Raira's "Kokoro wa Itsumo" was just "all right" too. (Tomochin and Ecchan danced in the background during her solo; that was fun. <3)
Nanami Hiroki: Kai-chan sang "Amore, Amore". How could I not love it? ^___^
Akatsuki Gou: Sang "Sekai ni Motomu" from A Song for Kingdoms. LOVE. YOU'RE SO COOL GO-KUN. Even if she messed up a tiny bit at the end. ^^;; Love her. <3
Kazari Jin: YAY CHIYAKO. She did "Saredo Yume" from Calaf and Turandot. I love seeing my Sora girls sing Soragumi show themes. ^____^
Hanatsuyu Sumika: Wow, hearing "I Dreamed a Dream" in Japanese is interesting. But yeah, Rena was pretty good!
Oomi Ako: Okay, so during her solo ("With a Song in My Heart") I was focusing on Go-kun dancing with Tacchin and trying to figure out who Chiyako was dancing with. ^^;; Then the tempo sped up and Ecchan was kind of cute. <3
Amou Tamaki: princesslucia, you were wrong about Tama only getting one solo. The truth is, when I first made the Wiki page for this concert I wrongly attributed her song to Kazari Jin; complete mental lapse on my part apparently. ^^;; But her first number, "O Infante", was pretty forgettable in my opinion. T__T;; Which is sad because I really like Tama-tama.
Kanon Mai: It's not that she wasn't good... it's just that "Kiyoku, Tadashiku, Utsukushiku" is kind of a boring song. But damn, those high notes! Clearly I have to watch out for this girl.
Mikaze Maira: Aoi is so cool. And she sang "Nessun Dorma". And just... dude, she rocks. <3
Kazune Miou: Looked soooo beautiful and regal and sang "Amazing Grace" in English. At the beginning and end at least. ^^;; I think I have to change my mind about Chiari... Tacchin would make such a killer kumichou.
Yuumi Hiro: Whoa. Tomochin. Whoa. I discovered how much I love her voice in Le Petit Jardin... and yeah. She was just smolderingly hot here. <3 (She sang "Ooinaru Rakujitsu" from Sunset in the Forbidden City, which I guess is a show Hoshigumi did back in 1991.)
Group number ending the first act was some song from some show I've never heard of. ^^;; Musumeyaku twirled on the stage while otokoyaku strolled down the aisles.
Then for the group number opening the second act, the musumeyaku went up the aisles. Nice. ;-)
Raira's second song was "My Favorite Things", and I have to admit I liked it better when the other girls came out to sing harmony. ^^;; But she is really cute...
ANYWAY. THEN SATTSUN SANG "VAMPIRE REQUIEM". I've decided that Sattsun is the baby winner of this concert for me. <3 <3 Love love love.
Kanachin's "Golden Days"... meh, could have been better. :-(
I think Ibuki is the surpise second-place winner baby for me. ^_^; And not just because she sang "Where in the World". Her adorable determined face at the end~! <3
Then Rena sang a song from Elisabeth that's not in the Takarazuka version. It was really good! Yaye!
Go-kun's second solo was "Et maintenant", which Zunko sang in Angels in Harmony. (And Go was in that concert. :-D) I see good things in her future, I really do. ^___^ Actually she might beat out Ibuki as second-place winner for me. ^^;;
Tacchin... I think we've established already that Tacchin rocks. Her "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" was just beautiful. <3 (She doesn't get the "winner" title simply because as much as I adore Tacchin, I was more excited to discover new faces to love in this concert. ^^;;)
And have I already said how much I love my babies singing standards from Sora shows? "One Heart" isn't even my faovorite NSG song, but... seeing Kai-chan and Sayuri sing it was really touching. ^___^ (Total count of Soragumi showtunes: 8 / 9 if you count "Watashi Dake ni". :-D)
Tomochin sat on the stairs for the beginning of her solo ("Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon). <3 The whole song was great, and it was somehow like seeing a side of Tomochin I'd never seen before. I liked it. ^__^
Sayuri's second number was "On My Own", and might I say she totally did it better than whoever sang it in the Tsuki Encourage Concert. :-P Dangit, Sayuri, why did you retire?!
Chiari's "My True Love" certainly didn't disappoint either. I even got a little chill at the end. <3
Next, Chiyako again! Singing a really pretty song from Mozart! with Aoi. <3 I almost thought they were going to hug at the end; it was so sweet. ^__^
Then Ecchan came out with a red flower in her curly half-wig, and she kept pulling all these intense stares during her solo, and I realized I can't keep feeling lukewarm about her. LOVE. (Her song was also from Mozart!... seriously, I'm really interested in this musical now.)
Kanon's second song was "I'd Give My Life for You". It was pretty good! Baby chills!! Too bad she looks cross-eyed so often. T__T;;
Aoi sang "Watashi Dake ni", and to be honest I've heard her sing better... but oh, when she mimicked the stage blocking just like they do in the show... somehow it tugged at my heart-strings. <3 And she really nailed it at the end.
Tama-tama's second song was really pretty!! ^___^ "Ruri-iro no Chikyuu"... I guess it's a pop song that a lot of people have done covers for. Anyway, I just adore Tama's voice, especially when she sings high. :-D
Tomochin & Tacchin's "Love Can't Happen" duet was very good, and thinking about them in Le Petit Jardin made me realize that they're kind of a cute couple. <3 (Sorry, fannore - but hey, I'm sure Chigi still has a chance. ;-D)
During the final song, "Grand Hotel", everyone walked out in a weird order. ^^;; Like, not seniority order at all. It confused me.
Go-kun wins for the best speech! She talked about how scary it is to stand on the stage all alone, but it's comforting to know that your classmates are in the wings and your parents are in the audience. <33 And she had this totally dorky laugh at the end. XD Love you Go~!
Tama-tama commented on hitting "juunen" (10 years) during her speech. It made me realize that I've never been sure whether to count a 'sienne's first year as ken-0 or ken-1... But by Tama's reasoning it would be ken-1. So now I know!
I really liked Aoi's speech because she pulled the rank card and talked rather frankly about how everyone had improved and only belatedly remembered to say she'd also learned a lot herself. Hahaha. She deserved it; she was the "kumichou" of the concert, after all. ;-D And she got a little choked up too, and I always love that. <3
Oh, and a random thing: someone obviously told the cameraman to take extra close-ups of Tomochin because she was the most popular Soragumi member in the concert. ^^;; I found it distracting yet amusing.
At the last curtain call, on the last "hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita", everyone started speaking at different times. It was hilariously adorable. <3 <3 <3 Love love love my babies (and non-babies). ^____^
Then, the individual babies...
Kazahane Reia: I love "Manrico no Renka", and I love Sattsun. (I discovered her in Young Bloods!!, which I still need to write a review about...) Yes, I squee'd all the way through this number. <3 <3
Shiramine Sayuri: My appreciation of Sayuri's performance (she sang "Aida no Shinnen") was slightly soured by thinking that she's left us now... *sniffle* But she did sing her little heart out. :-)
Hamuro Chiari: I spent most of Chiari's' solo ("Ai no Shinjitsu"! <3) imagining her being Taki-san's heir as Soragumi kumichou sometime in the far far distant future. ^___^; So yeah, it was good.
Amakaze Ibuki: She was really cute singing "Kimi no Na o Yobeba". I like her! <3
Kashou Naoto: Kanachin reminds me of Maggie somehow. ^^;; But that's certainly not a bad comparison! ;-D Anyway, she sang "La Nostalgie". It was... all right.
Ayane Raira: At the risk of sounding as if I don't love all my Sora babies, I'll say Raira's "Kokoro wa Itsumo" was just "all right" too. (Tomochin and Ecchan danced in the background during her solo; that was fun. <3)
Nanami Hiroki: Kai-chan sang "Amore, Amore". How could I not love it? ^___^
Akatsuki Gou: Sang "Sekai ni Motomu" from A Song for Kingdoms. LOVE. YOU'RE SO COOL GO-KUN. Even if she messed up a tiny bit at the end. ^^;; Love her. <3
Kazari Jin: YAY CHIYAKO. She did "Saredo Yume" from Calaf and Turandot. I love seeing my Sora girls sing Soragumi show themes. ^____^
Hanatsuyu Sumika: Wow, hearing "I Dreamed a Dream" in Japanese is interesting. But yeah, Rena was pretty good!
Oomi Ako: Okay, so during her solo ("With a Song in My Heart") I was focusing on Go-kun dancing with Tacchin and trying to figure out who Chiyako was dancing with. ^^;; Then the tempo sped up and Ecchan was kind of cute. <3
Amou Tamaki: princesslucia, you were wrong about Tama only getting one solo. The truth is, when I first made the Wiki page for this concert I wrongly attributed her song to Kazari Jin; complete mental lapse on my part apparently. ^^;; But her first number, "O Infante", was pretty forgettable in my opinion. T__T;; Which is sad because I really like Tama-tama.
Kanon Mai: It's not that she wasn't good... it's just that "Kiyoku, Tadashiku, Utsukushiku" is kind of a boring song. But damn, those high notes! Clearly I have to watch out for this girl.
Mikaze Maira: Aoi is so cool. And she sang "Nessun Dorma". And just... dude, she rocks. <3
Kazune Miou: Looked soooo beautiful and regal and sang "Amazing Grace" in English. At the beginning and end at least. ^^;; I think I have to change my mind about Chiari... Tacchin would make such a killer kumichou.
Yuumi Hiro: Whoa. Tomochin. Whoa. I discovered how much I love her voice in Le Petit Jardin... and yeah. She was just smolderingly hot here. <3 (She sang "Ooinaru Rakujitsu" from Sunset in the Forbidden City, which I guess is a show Hoshigumi did back in 1991.)
Group number ending the first act was some song from some show I've never heard of. ^^;; Musumeyaku twirled on the stage while otokoyaku strolled down the aisles.
Then for the group number opening the second act, the musumeyaku went up the aisles. Nice. ;-)
Raira's second song was "My Favorite Things", and I have to admit I liked it better when the other girls came out to sing harmony. ^^;; But she is really cute...
ANYWAY. THEN SATTSUN SANG "VAMPIRE REQUIEM". I've decided that Sattsun is the baby winner of this concert for me. <3 <3 Love love love.
Kanachin's "Golden Days"... meh, could have been better. :-(
I think Ibuki is the surpise second-place winner baby for me. ^_^; And not just because she sang "Where in the World". Her adorable determined face at the end~! <3
Then Rena sang a song from Elisabeth that's not in the Takarazuka version. It was really good! Yaye!
Go-kun's second solo was "Et maintenant", which Zunko sang in Angels in Harmony. (And Go was in that concert. :-D) I see good things in her future, I really do. ^___^ Actually she might beat out Ibuki as second-place winner for me. ^^;;
Tacchin... I think we've established already that Tacchin rocks. Her "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" was just beautiful. <3 (She doesn't get the "winner" title simply because as much as I adore Tacchin, I was more excited to discover new faces to love in this concert. ^^;;)
And have I already said how much I love my babies singing standards from Sora shows? "One Heart" isn't even my faovorite NSG song, but... seeing Kai-chan and Sayuri sing it was really touching. ^___^ (Total count of Soragumi showtunes: 8 / 9 if you count "Watashi Dake ni". :-D)
Tomochin sat on the stairs for the beginning of her solo ("Why God Why?" from Miss Saigon). <3 The whole song was great, and it was somehow like seeing a side of Tomochin I'd never seen before. I liked it. ^__^
Sayuri's second number was "On My Own", and might I say she totally did it better than whoever sang it in the Tsuki Encourage Concert. :-P Dangit, Sayuri, why did you retire?!
Chiari's "My True Love" certainly didn't disappoint either. I even got a little chill at the end. <3
Next, Chiyako again! Singing a really pretty song from Mozart! with Aoi. <3 I almost thought they were going to hug at the end; it was so sweet. ^__^
Then Ecchan came out with a red flower in her curly half-wig, and she kept pulling all these intense stares during her solo, and I realized I can't keep feeling lukewarm about her. LOVE. (Her song was also from Mozart!... seriously, I'm really interested in this musical now.)
Kanon's second song was "I'd Give My Life for You". It was pretty good! Baby chills!! Too bad she looks cross-eyed so often. T__T;;
Aoi sang "Watashi Dake ni", and to be honest I've heard her sing better... but oh, when she mimicked the stage blocking just like they do in the show... somehow it tugged at my heart-strings. <3 And she really nailed it at the end.
Tama-tama's second song was really pretty!! ^___^ "Ruri-iro no Chikyuu"... I guess it's a pop song that a lot of people have done covers for. Anyway, I just adore Tama's voice, especially when she sings high. :-D
Tomochin & Tacchin's "Love Can't Happen" duet was very good, and thinking about them in Le Petit Jardin made me realize that they're kind of a cute couple. <3 (Sorry, fannore - but hey, I'm sure Chigi still has a chance. ;-D)
During the final song, "Grand Hotel", everyone walked out in a weird order. ^^;; Like, not seniority order at all. It confused me.
Go-kun wins for the best speech! She talked about how scary it is to stand on the stage all alone, but it's comforting to know that your classmates are in the wings and your parents are in the audience. <33 And she had this totally dorky laugh at the end. XD Love you Go~!
Tama-tama commented on hitting "juunen" (10 years) during her speech. It made me realize that I've never been sure whether to count a 'sienne's first year as ken-0 or ken-1... But by Tama's reasoning it would be ken-1. So now I know!
I really liked Aoi's speech because she pulled the rank card and talked rather frankly about how everyone had improved and only belatedly remembered to say she'd also learned a lot herself. Hahaha. She deserved it; she was the "kumichou" of the concert, after all. ;-D And she got a little choked up too, and I always love that. <3
Oh, and a random thing: someone obviously told the cameraman to take extra close-ups of Tomochin because she was the most popular Soragumi member in the concert. ^^;; I found it distracting yet amusing.
At the last curtain call, on the last "hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita", everyone started speaking at different times. It was hilariously adorable. <3 <3 <3 Love love love my babies (and non-babies). ^____^