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At the very first anime convention I ever went to, a highlight of the programming was a concert given by a Japanese voice actress. It was a low-key event, with her performing on a small stage set up in the banquet hall of a modest San Jose hotel, with open seating on a first-come, first-seated basis.
Things are very different now. International anime fandom is now so large that music producers recognize overseas conventions as a major opportunity to promote their talent and their associated series, with Los Angeles’ Anime Expo being the most prized venue. AX 2018, as the convention is also known, will be taking place between July 4 and 8, and it’s just announced its concert lineup, which features some of the biggest names in the industry.
In conjunction with Anisong World Matsuri, Anime Expo will be welcoming Aquors, the in-anime and real-world vocal unit featured in "Love Live! Sunshine," the latest chapter of Japan’s premier idol anime franchise.
▼ Aquors, seen here performing in Japan, goes all-out with its stage productions.
The Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours World Love Live! in LA ~Beyond the Pacific~will feature not only Aquors, but two other concerts will also be taking place at Anime Expo, each with multiple acts. The lineup for Japan Super Live consists of vocalists Aimer (whose credits include theme songs for "Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. presage flower" and "After the Rain"), and May’n ("Macross Frontier"), composer Yuki Kajiura ("Sword Art Online," "Fate/Zero," "Puella Magi Madoka Magica"), and mixed-media singer-songwriter Sanketsu-girl Sayuri.
▼ Aimer
Finally, performing at the bouncier Japan Kawaii Live will be popular idol units AKB48 Team 8 and The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, six-voice actress idol group i☆Ris, and high-profile anime fan and media personality Shoko Nakagawa.
▼ The presence of The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls should appease at least one fan who hates rival franchise "Love Live!"
All three concerts will be held at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, with Aqours World Love Live! in LA ~Beyond the Pacific~ coming first at 4:30 p.m. on July 4. Next up is Japan Super Live at 5:30 on July 6, with Japan Kawaii Live closing out the concert series at 4 on July 7. Attendance requires both an Anime Expo admission badge (prices start at $60) as well as a separate ticket for the individual concert, (prices range from $60 to $150). Tickets can be purchased online here, with the earliest to go on sale being those for the Aquors show.
Source: Anime Expo via Otakomu
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
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© SoraNews24
17 Comments
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WA4TKG
The California Crazies will arrive in FORCE when they perform.
gogogo
Japan's biggest embarrassment, nothing more than soft porn with the fans being all 40 year old men. This is not exportable into the real world.
Steven Fennel
This does nothing positive for Japan's image
Red suns
Japan’s entertainment exports is only second to that of hollywood.
a lot of American millenials grew up consuming whacky japanese games, comics, anime... and most of it appeal to otaku. I will not be surprised they get hooked to this idol thing too.
Pukey2
Live, as in lip-synching live?
kolohe
Who in the U.S. (excluding Japanese fans living in the U.S.) would really want to waste their money on seeing them when their musical talent and performance are so borderline amateurish?
kawabegawa198
The local weirdos who enjoy this (along with manga and anime) will be out in force, I'm sure.
juminRhee
Gogogo:
I believe your icon shows more than the singers (the "soft prn" as you call it). ;)=
oldman_13
Well, the fact that they are very young females, Japanese, and easy on the eyes, gives them plenty of admirers who could care less about their talent (or lack thereof).
GaijinInvader45
The epitome of 21st century Japanese culture.
Haruka
It has to be a viewing thing with lots of hyped up commercials. Because once you see the out of sync dance moves, and and cringe at the tone deaf singing, the only thing left is to just watch them.
gogogo
You failed to realize the majority of the girls are underage and as young as 12 in some cases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AKB48_members
starpunk
THAT's the problem with so many 'American Idol' contestants and this teen pop phenomena in America. Young, female, lots of choreography, 'easy on the eyes' - gogogo, awful singing! It's sad, it's sexist, it's pathetic and it's PERVERTED. It ain't just in Japan, folks.
starpunk
Small towns in the USA have these 'beauty pageants' for whatever cause. The girls are very underage - at a 'Pumpkin Festival' last October I saw contestants riding on the hoods of white Mercedes and Cadillac limos. They were all no older than 6. This is exploitative and a pervert's dream. This is called 'small town virtues' in America. I CAN'T STAND IT.
starpunk
Look fellas, Japan has plenty of talent out there. BORIS is a group of technically and musically proficient noisy rock'n'rollers - and they are CRA-ZEE! (that's a complement). They are wild and berserk and they really ROCK down the house! I have seen (and met) the all woman band Shonen Knife. They draw in the cosplay, otaku, manga and anime crowd to their shows but these ladies play punk rock inspired by American punkers the Ramones, the Beach Boys, 'girl group' harmonizing and of course, 'J' pop/rock. These adult women often perform in sexy glam/sci-fy outfits on stage and there's the 'cutesy-wutsey' element to them but make no mistake, these women are SERIOUS punk rock and they play HARD. They rock hard and they should be respected for that and taken seriously for that. Their musicality and their talents come before their sex appeal and that's the way it should be.
gogogo
@starpunk: But the audience of those beauty pageants are not 40 year old men and are not targeted and marketed toward them.
starpunk
Oh yeah? I saw a 'pumpkin queen' beauty contest last October in a small town parade. The girls were no older than 6, they were riding on the hoods of white Mercedes and Cadillac limos, they were too young to know what was going on - and the audience was of ALL AGES, incl. 40+ yr. old men and older. It was sick and horrible.
It's become even more common in America during the past 20-25 years. Little girls get exploited at these pageants so their parents can make $. They get made up to look 'adult' and they are like monkeys wearing fez hats who dance to a hurdy-gurdy, then they hold out the cup for you to put a coin in it. It's absolutely SICK. It IS targeted to 'dirty old men'.