Audiophile, Japanophile and Kalafinaphile. Web: http://audiojapanstyle.com Admin: Nat (nothing-too-old.tumblr.com) FJ/Kalafina gifs posted here are were made by me unless otherwise stated. Feel free to repost them elsewhere, but I'd...
I was extremely fortunate to have been able to attend both days of KajiFes. Took a lot out of me financially, but it was very much worth it. Been a fan of Kajiura for around 20 years, and KajiFes my first time watching Kajiura and FictionJunction perform live. I was also thrilled to be able to hear a number of Kajiura's BGM vocalists live.
This isn't going to be a comprehensive report, sorry; I don't have the energy for that. I'm not going to touch on every song or use paragraphs. I'm just going to post like I was excitedly tweeting this.
Some of this content is in fact reposted from my Twitter account, which I rarely use these days (I'm mostly on BlueSky now — feel free to follow, or ask me if you'd like a BlueSky invite code!)
On to KajiFes Day 1:
KajiFes Day 1
FINALLY GET TO SEE YUKI KAJIURA ON STAGE LIVE I WAS SO HAPPY. AND THE FRONT BAND MEMBERS AHHH
I have loved 'Canta Per Me' for almost 20 years, so thankful to be able to hear Yuriko sing it. How nostalgic.
YURI KASAHARA. OH MY GOD. UNREAL. CHILLS. Utterly incredible. I love Liminality so so so much. And 'Salva nos'! Jaw-droppingly and mind-blowingly epic. The FJ utahime were also absolutely on point in that. Just WOW
Remi! I love Remi so much, very happy she was one of the guests. She sounds so ethereal and is an adorable human being. I love 'Luminous Sword', very happy I got to hear Remi sing that live.
I was secretly hoping that Chiaki Ishikawa would show up, but alas, it was not to be. Still, 'Obsession' with Lino Leia was very enjoyable. And then 'SENYA ICHIYA'? MY FAVOURITE SEE-SAW SONG?! I could have cried, hearing it made me so happy. Rito did a great job.
Oh, Kajiura and the FBM have been pretty awesome as always, but shoutout to the accordionist (Yoshiaki Sato) and Uillleann pipes player (Naomi Nakahara). I confess, I've never been much of a fan of the Uilleann pipes in YK's stuff but I definitely have a new appreciation for them after watching Nakahara play, she was amazing
Aimer was awesome. Commanding while she's singing, and adorably awkward when she's not. I don't understand Japanese, but I could tell YK was teasing her a little, it was cute. 'I beg you' was my favourite of the songs she performed, it was epic.
YAY 'STONE COLD' always wanted to hear that live
Revo showed up just for 'Sajin no Kanata e' (and some banter with YK), still managed to be a show-stealing drama queen, loved it
Also, Sajin no Kanata e with everyone, pretty good, and then the part that was Wakana's solo comes and KEIKO IS SINGING IT? EXCUSE ME? "GOODBYE DEAR FRIEND" HOW DARE YOU BREAK ME LIKE THIS I'M CRYING NOW
Encore! 'image theme of Xenosaga II' with utahimes plus Lino Leia and Rito was AMAZING. It's almost a proper choir with the six of them.
Thank you for reading! Will post Day 2 impressions soon!
(1) It's been years since I've updated the audiojapanstyle.com. Last month, I decided take the site down. It was still getting a few clicks, but the amount I was paying to keep it hosted didn't feel worth it anymore.
Thank you so much for all the support and visits to the site over the years. I enjoyed running it, but I don't have the passion anymore. Of course, Kalafina's disbandment had a lot to do with it, but I probably would have run out of steam anyway. I do still try to keep up with the members' activities and with Kajiura/FJ stuff, though.
(2) I'm still on Tumblr! Mostly lurking, but present. I'll keep this account alive. I'm also on my main @nothing-too-old, in case you see me pop up in your likes or replies. I have an Insta for photography (https://www.instagram.com/farahphernalia_foto/) if anyone's interested.
(3) If all goes well, I'll be in Tokyo to attend KajiFes! Really broke the bank funding it, but I'm soooo looking forward to it. I might even write about it. And maybe I'll see some of you?
(4) Part of the reason I have less time and energy for writing is because I have cats now! They're both kinda young and playful and want so much attention, and one of them likes to go out for daily walks OTL. But I do what they want, because I love them so much.
Note: It’s been 84 years. I’m finally continuing my “Kalafina-hub” project. In the past I have gathered all sorts of HQ Kalafina content on my personal Google Drive to make everything easily accessible to fans. Recently I have switched to a second account with a huge 2TB plan which allows me to add even more stuff. Below you can find links to my old masterposts〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→
I started with Kalafina’s complete works in MP3 and FLAC format. After all, what’s more significant than their music?
My next big category was dedicated to Kalafina’s official live releases (including live audio MP3s).
In my third masterpost I provided links for the bonus content available on Kalafina’s CD releases (including all PVs as well as various documentaries and additional live videos).
In my fourth post I shared all the official footage of Kalafina’s appearances at grand-scale anisong events (i.e. ANIMAX MUSIX, Animelo, LisAni).
For my fifth post I prepared all the Yuki Kajiura/FictionJunction lives (including live audio MP3s).
For this post, I’ve tried compiling official video footage of Kalafina’s media appearances on TV and various streaming services.
These videos are for PERSONAL USE ONLY! Do not share them or upload them to other sites. Thank you!
THE ENTIRE FOLDER
»»———— Download me ————««
There are way too many videos to put them in this post so here’s what you need to know.
➔ The videos are listed in chronological order
❈ I’ve tried my very best to find the correct date for each and every media appearance but some of these videos are so old that I wasn’t able to trace them back
➔ This list is by no means exhaustive
❈ I wish I could say this was a complete collection but alas, there is a lot of content missing. I didn’t become a fan until 2010/2011 so I probably don’t have some of the super old stuff. I also didn’t always have the necessary resources/means so throughout the years I kept missing out on certain videos, simply because I couldn’t access/download them
➔ Some of these videos have abysmal quality
❈ I always took what I could get, not questioning the quality. I’m sure there are HQ versions out there for some of these appearances but right now, I have no way of getting my hands on them.
➔ This collection is a work in progress
❈ If I come across “new” old videos, I will be sure to add them to this folder. The same applies to better versions of already existing videos. If you notice anything obvious missing in my collection or if any of you happen to have HQ versions of some of the super crappy videos, please don’t hesitate to share them with me. I’d be very grateful!
➔ The content is not categorised
❈ I was having a hard time putting these videos together in certain sub-folders so for the most part I just kept them as they were in one big folder
➔ All of my old links to any of these videos no longer work
❈ As mentioned above, I’ve invested in a brand new Google Drive account with a much bigger storage plan and am currently moving everything over there. Some content still remains in my old account but most of it has already been deleted to free up storage space. This entire data migration and a recent anon request have actually motivated me to finally get my shit together and sort through all my random Kalafina videos which were scattered across different hard drives.
➔ No summaries/subtitles will be made available for any of the vids
❈ I have neither the skills nor the time to provide summaries or subs for all of these videos so please, don’t even ask. However, I have posted quite a lot of summaries in the past so if you go through my archive and browse through my posts (use the video date for reference), you might be able to find something.
H-el-ical//’s First Online Interview (English Translation)
Note: Here’s my English translation of H-el-ical//’s first online interview with SPICE. I hurried to finish my translation because I wanted everyone to read this awesome interview. I think there are so many gems in this, especially for us Kalafina fans. Hikaru is talking quite a bit about Wakana and Keiko and their respective solo careers. Please be sure to check it out! As always, take everything you read with a grain of salt, my Japanese is by no means perfect. CREDIT me if you share my translations or use parts of it.
In her first online interview H-el-ical// talks about a new world ~ “I want to discover this world together with everyone”
Solo project『H-el-ical//（ヘリカル）』 by Kalafina’s Hikaru//. Although many songs have already been released on her official YouTube channel, her major debut single 「Altern-ate-」will be released under NBC Universal on May 20. In this interview she has told me about stepping forward on a new musical path with the help of this song which is currently being used as the opening theme for the TV anime “Gleipnir”. What is Hikaru// ’s “relationship with music” at this moment?
I just made a video on ALL of Kalafina's Acapella Openings over Kalafina Club's entire run. This took me weeks, I really hope some people take the time to watch it.
i agree with you, so yuki kajiura was really a pain in the ass for kalafina huh ?
Nah, despite what I may think I really wouldn’t wanna put it that way. Simply because it seems disrespecful to phrase it like that. It might have come across like that but it really wasn’t my intention to talk down on YK in my previous reply post. While I have never been a hardcore fan of hers I have always had a lot of respect for YK and her music. There is no doubt that she is a genius in her field so she can afford to act a certain way.
Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru also have nothing but respect for her. Even if she might not be the most pleasant work companion she is held in such high regard by everyone. It’s obvious that the members of Kalafina are eternally grateful for getting the chance to work together with someone like YK for such a long time.
But still, as I said, that whole experience was both a blessing and a curse. At the end of the day though, more good than bad came out of it so I think it was worth all the troubles. I am sure the girls see it like that as well. Yes, they had to give up on so many things for such a long time but sometimes you have to make sacrifices. Sometimes bad things need to happen so that great things can happen next. Not that anything really bad happened to them. It’s just their dreams and individual visions that got kinda lost along the way. But in this case they were definitely rewarded for their sacrifice. They got to work with a hugely talented composer who for the most part knew how to utilise their voices to their full potential. That’s pretty neat and not everyone gets a chance like that.
Now they can slowly start to work on their independence. At their age they might be late bloomers but they are certainly not TOO late. They have so much time ahead of them. Time to explore, time to experiment, time to grow. Whatever roads the three of them decide to take, I will try my best to support them along the way.
I...what? How did the person who created Kalafina (as a musical project, at least, I doubt Kajiura had much to do with the branding that set Kalafina apart from other Kajiura+vocalist projects), handpicked three individual talented singers and trained them to work together to sing the harmonies we love so much come to be perceived as a “pain in the ass” to Kalafina? This is so befuddling to me.
Okay, here it is, a more or less thorough report of my Japan trip in January (which mostly consisted of doing Kalafina-related stuff so I thought it might be interesting for some of you XD). Sorry, this is like 5 million years overdue. @mello-chi‘s comment about looking forward to my upcoming Japan trip reports actually reminded me that I still had this post in my drafts so I thought I better finish this now before I have to write another one XD
Aww, I'm so glad to hear you feel that way! I was pretty anxious myself, but also excited to meet and talk to you and all the other Kalafina fans. I really wanted people to feel comfortable talking to me, and I wasn't sure how well that worked out heh. Thanks for arranging and coming to the meet-up despite your reservations :) It was great getting to talk to you! I have no idea how, but I hope we can maybe meet again! And I hope you have loads of fun on your next trip, and get as much loot as this one! So many great finds!
~The Culmination of my Dreams~
Yuki Kajiura holds Kalafina in high esteem: “They are really amazing”
Original article: https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2114546/full/
Notes: Thanks so much to @kuroiyuki88 and Erinn for helping me with this. Would have taken much longer without the two of you. And some parts definitely wouldn’t have sounded as good.
This February, Yuki Kajiura (52) became independent from the agency she had belonged to for more than 20 years. She has composed the background music for popular anime like “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” and “Sword Art Online”, served as Kalafina’s producer for 10 years ever since their debut, and captured the hearts of many fans both in Japan as well as overseas. Taking the chance to become independent, she has currently resigned from her position as Kalafina’s producer. What are Ms. Kajiura’s thoughts towards the girls? In the first interview since her independence, we talk about the mutual connection between “composer and singer”, and the respect which is born from the earnest clashing of professional spirits.
I ordered this a few days before the Kalafina rumours broke out. Finally got this last night, and only had time to set it up today.
In the time this Walkman took to get to me, Keiko has officially left the band, Hikaru and Wakana have announced solo performances, and Kalafina no longer exists in the form that I knew and loved so much. I’m honestly not certain I can say this was worth the money and effort I spent (Sony JP’s website was a pain to use, especially for someone who doesn’t read Japanese). But I had been looking to buy a budget(-ish?) DAP. A pretty model like this, with the name of my favourite band of ten years engraved on it, was too appealing to resist. And I guess having this as a memento soothes the pain, just a little. I’m thankful I could afford it while it was still available.
On 23rd January 2018, Kalafina commemorated their 10th anniversary with an incredible concert which I had the privilege of witnessing.
So...most of this had been written down long ago, mainly in notebook pages and phone memos. But I couldn’t find the time to compile and edit it all into a (somewhat) coherent post until tonight. Even then, I’ve had to skip that stage where I proofread it 200 times (and then still find errors in the published post and cry myself to sleep) so forgive me if it’s riddled with typos and bad grammar. I just felt like I needed to get this out before we learn, for sure, what will happen to Kalafina.
It’s not much of a report, really; it’s mainly just me talking about how happy I was. I guess I mostly wanted to preserve the joy I felt that night, in writing.
Whatever comes next...I’m grateful that I got to enjoy these ten years as a Kalafina fan. And being able to share this love of Kalafina with fellow fans, online and otherwise, has been a big part of the fun. Thanks, guys.
Note: Here’s this week’s episode. It’s technically* the first episode after their 10th Anniversary so I thought I’d provide a summary for it. Also, Keiko’s surprise message at the end is the sweetest thing EVER!!
Please keep in mind that my Japanese is not the best (my listening comprehension is severely lacking) but I tried my best as always XD
[*An episode aired on the actual day of the live but that was recorded before the live so it doesn’t really count. I will probably provide a summary for that once I am done with this one here]
Let’s get right to it 〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→
Episode #391
Day Duty: Hikaru
Song: All My True Love by SPEED (1998) as requested by “まいやいやえいえいる”
