Anisong World Matsuri at Otakon 2017 Concert Review

12:58 AM August 21, 2017

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RMMS-AWMOTA17-JAM-Project-2017-08-11-0103.photocredit-David-Weaver-700x467 Anisong World Matsuri at Otakon 2017 Concert Review

Anisong Artist Rock the Capital
Friday August 11th and Saturday, August 12th
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Intro: Rock n’ Rolln’ Rock Stars

Anisong World Matsuri made its debut at Otakon and the blew the doors off of the venue. The concert held in the massive ballroom before a crowd of 3,000 fans. The first act to take center stage was JAM Project, who played their first US concert almost ten years ago at Otakon.
“The first time we sang in the US was at Otakon – do you remember? Time flies!” Hironobu Kageyama said. “We got a little older, but we still have great passion for singing anisong! Anisong can connect the world!”

JAM Project then treated their fans to a wide collection of their hits from anime and games. The five-member group filled the room with their powerful voices and instruments. Crowd-members reveled in and sang along with songs from Garo, Super Robot Wars, and Tomica Hero. The sound of the audience was deafening when they entered into the first few bars of their international hit song “THE HERO!! ~Ikareru Kobushini Hiwo Tsukero~” from the One Punch Man anime.
JAM Project members Hironobu Kageyama, Masaaki Endho, Hiroshi Kitdani, Masami Okui and Yoshiki Fukuyama truly seemed honored to be playing the convention again and thanked the crowd on multiple occasions for their enthusiasm.

The second act for the night was T.M. Revolution. He was filled with passion and energy from the moment he stepped on stage and asked “D.C.! Are you ready to rock?!”
His set began with “Inherit the Force” from the game Mobile Suit Gundam EXTREME VS-FORCE. Following that up was the hit song “Invoke” from the theme from the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed series. The fans were in the palm of his hand as the performance continued into the opening of the Soul Eater theme song, “Resonance.”

He too, was moved by the audience’s enthusiastic response, remaking that Otakon was “My first performance in the U.S.” a decade ago and he could never forget it.
He was working on stage, bringing all the energy he could muster under the hot lights. T.M. Revolution was half-naked by the end of the performance, removing his leather jacket and vest.

When he began singing “Heart of Sword” from Rurouni Kenshin he shouted “Sing it with me!” and the audience – still filled with energy – joined in to finish the set.

Performance Review

T.M. Revolution played at least three encores before leaving the stage only to return with JAM Project for a group sing along. The artists and the crowd seem to feed off each other until they finally had to conclude the evening with a joining of the hands and a “Banzai!” curtain call.

Final Thoughts

The concerts continued on Saturday during the day with Yousei Teikoku and FLOW, but it conflicted with other events and interviews we had planned. Is the Anisong World Matsuri worth attending? Yes. The event at Otakon is a separately ticketed event but well worth it. The atmosphere generated by the fans and the musicians is electric. You don’t even need to know how to use a glow stick (which takes a sense of rhythm) to enjoy the show. We feel it is like a lot of the events at a convention, it’s about the people you’re with. The Honey’s reporting team was seated next to a convention translator named George. We’ve met him several times over the years and he always seemed so reserved, that changed when the music started. He got really into it, he knew all the lyrics to all the songs and had the rhythm to move the glow sticks in unison with the crowd. We got so much more out of the concert with him there with us.

SETLIST

JAM PROJECT:

1. Crest of “Z’s”

2. Hagane no Resistance

3. Garo ~Savior in the Dark~

4. The Brave

5. THE EXCEEDER

6. Hero

7. THE HERO!! ~Ikareru Kobushini Hiwo Tsukero~

8. Victory〜Gong

9. Rocks

10. Rescue Fire

T.M.Revolution:

1. Inherit the Force

2. Invoke

3. ignited

4. Meteor

5. resonance

6. High Pressure

7. White Breath

8. Hot Limit

9. Flags

10. Sword Summit

11. Heart of Sword

World Tour Details

ANISONG WORLD MATSURI

With the goal of delivering Japan’s anisong concerts worldwide in the highest quality, Japan’s leading entertainment companies teamed up to produce Anisong World Matsuri.

The first Anisong World Matsuri was held in July 2016 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California at the Microsoft Theater and multiple other venues for a total attendance of over 18,000. In 2017, Anisong World Matsuri returns to deliver anisong to fans in the United States and the world.

Anisong World Matsuri Social Media:

Anisong World Matsuri Website: http://anisongworldmatsuri.com
Anisong World Matsuri Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnisongWorldMatsuri
Anisong World Matsuri Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnisongWorld
Anisong World Matsuri YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/anisongworldmatsuri

Writer

Author: Zeke Changuris

I’m a journalist, writer, photographer, video producer, social media manager and above all a storyteller. I’m located on the east coast of the United States but travel the world with the love of my life. I’ve been a nerd since birth with a love of history and science. I fell in love with anime, watching ROBOTECH and Venus Wars in the 80s when our only source was secondhand VHS dubs. A crazy new thing called the internet changed that, giving me access to new and amazing anime every day. I love to write for work and pleasure. I’m living the dream of every kid, getting paid to watch anime and loving every subtitled line.

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