洞若觀心

Morning

Being way over at Connecticut, we expected traffic and wanted to arrive at the gallery before it closes for our tickets at 1 pm. From Connecticut to New York, the trip takes about 2 hours; with traffic, the trip takes up to 3 hours. We departed at 10 am and drove to New York. We barely made it arriving at approximately 12:40.

Perfume Gallery Experience

The gallery was located at Purespace, a building seemingly used by models for photoshoots and whatnot. The gallery was surprisingly small, and for the first batch of tickets with the earliest time slot of 10 am - 1 pm, it was pretty crowded. Those who pre-ordered their tickets got an exclusive post card. Most attendees and staff members were Japanese. Upon entering, you’re greeted by a large display of the girls from their COSMIC EXPLORER visual in glorious floor lights. A very bright and eye catching entrance.

The room walls were decorated with photos of Perfume and a visual of their discography starting from Monochrome Effect to STAR TRAIN in a form of posters. Here below, we see the posters, and some fans writing their messages to Perfume in a small notebook. Reading everyone’s messages, it’s very encouraging! Perfume is lucky to have great fans.

One of gallery’s biggest attractions are the authentic outfits that Perfume wore in some of their PVs and performances. Perfume’s Facebook page had a poll in which fans got to vote on which outfit will be brought to the gallery, and sure enough the winner of the poll were the love the world outfits. And there it was! I voted for something else, but I understood everyone would want to see an old classic outfit instead.

Other outfits in the line up were Spending All My Time, Magic of Love, FLASH, and their outfits for the COSMIC EXPLORER tour.

Not pictured are their outfits from Spring of Life, and their projector dresses from WORLD TOUR 2nd. These outfits had their own dimly lit room for you to experience the wonderful light and visuals of the dresses.

The gallery also had a physical line-up of the history of Perfume’s albums, and their high heels that they’ve worn that you’re free to touch!

Gallery Buppan

The gallery buppan had a lot to offer! First thing we did upon arriving at the gallery were to buy merchandise. Although we were in the earliest time slot, most of the DVDs were sold out. I was able to snag a DVD of their LEVEL3 tour, with it being the last on the table. Another thing sold out were the US tour exclusive shirts. I didn’t mind it much since I didn’t like the design and I liked the Japanese ones better. 

During this time I bought the DVD, the shirt in cosmic pink, and a towel. My boyfriend bought himself a badge, and my friend bought her own shirt and towel. I was given a free clear file for my purchase. We were in quite a pinch for awhile because we only carried a limited amount of cash and the table accepted cash only, but we made it.

We hung around the relaxing couches of the gallery until it was time to line up, which was around 2 pm. Being there around 6 hours before the venue with general admission, we were quite behind. As expected, dedicated Japanese fans have been there since the morning and the night before and are in front of the line as they very well deserve!

6 hours passed by very quickly. People chatted and left and came back to eat and go to the bathroom, and it was a very lively environment. Some fans were even playing their favorite Perfume songs out loud— some even performed it!

The Live

We were placed around the 4th row from the front in general admission. I’m tiny and I felt that whatever position I ended up in, someone taller than me was bound to be in front. My view was alright, though it was very difficult for me to see through.

1. NAVIGATE

The live started around 5 minutes after 8. It started off with a video on the screen featuring the girls in a space ship travelling to... well, to wherever we are. Not much happens at this time, for the girls don’t appear until the next song.

2. COSMIC EXPLORER

As expected, the title song of the album were the first song that the girls appear in. COSMIC EXPLORER is a good mellow opening overall. The song is slow and kind of eases it in very well. The girls start at the top of the platform and start walking down the stairs to the beat of the song. I’m personally not a fan of the song being so slow, but it definitely feels a lot different when performed.

This was when I saw the girls for the first time and I was emotionally overwhelmed. I definitely started crying at this point.

3. Pick Me Up

A hype song! I’m a huge fan of Pick Me Up, and I was very excited for this song. Everyone cheered in unison to “jump lightly” and “pick me up”. It definitely made the place light up.

4. Cling Cling

First time I heard of Cling Cling I wasn’t too fond of it. But somehow, seeing them perform it live made me feel a little bit different, in a good way, about it.

MC — Introduction

As they stand close to the stage, they introduced themselves one by one. Of course, they did their signature Perfume intro, but in English this time. I couldn’t help but join in to say it in Japanese. The girls thanked us for coming tonight in the best English that they can. Nocchi’s English has definitely improved, and I was really impressed with her accent. Kashiyuka tried her best to read off of her mental script, and A~chan went off on her own merry way to say whatever she wanted to. Their outfits were very cute, and I loved Kashiyuka in purple. They end the intro with A~chan announcing Miracle Worker.

5. Miracle Worker

Just to give everyone a break from the last song, Miracle Worker was next. This song is one of my favorites from COSMIC EXPLORER, and one of the few I was excited to see. Everyone hummed on cue with the song and jumped along to the bridge.

6. Next Stage with YOU

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but this song really hyped me up. I’ve loved this song ever since it was featured in that commercial, and I was really excited to see it on the album. Everyone jumped to the beat and shouted “next stage with you” along with the girls. 

7. Perfume 2016 Medley

A medley! I was surprised when the screen showed that a medley was coming up. I had absolutely no idea what a 2016 medley could mean, but I was excited at the idea of them singing outside of their album.

 Relax In The City

Relax In The City was nothing too special. Relax In The City was in the 10th anniversary single along with Pick Me Up and was popular for having a mellow vibe similar to Kasuka na Kaori. For a very slow song, it was a nice short break from the last. It came in as quickly as it ended as they moved on to the next song in the medley.

Toumei Ningen

As they were singing this and I was jumping along with everyone, I had to stop and realize that they were actually singing Toumei Ningen. I thought to myself, “Really? Toumei Ningen?” I was surprised to see it in the setlist, but I don’t really have problems with the song much. I haven’t seen this song live so it was my first time seeing the choreography to the song.

Spending All My Time

Oh yeah, here we go, a hype song! Everyone was very excited for Spending All My Time. A very iconic song for the girls to sing in their world tours for the simple English, I had a feeling that everyone was expecting this song at one point. Nonetheless, I love the beat and choreography of Spending All My Time and I was definitely excited for this one.

Fushizen na Girl

Everyone cheered to “can’t stop feeling” and jumped along with the girls. I’m not a huge fan of the song, but this is one of Perfume’s iconic songs and I was happy to see it live.

Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow

This song was the embodiment of my middle school days. I could’ve sworn I cried at some point. Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow has very cute choreography and a part of their Complete Best album. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs.

Computer City

At this point the girls were just breaking my heart and the tears would not stop. Computer City was such a good follow up to Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow and I felt all the nostalgia coming in like a giant bus.

Imitation World

The nostalgia train definitely didn’t stop there and they followed up with Imitation World. At this point I was just holding my heart for a cardiac arrest if they follow it up with Counter Attraction, but that’s just wishful thinking on my end. I actually like Imitation World, and seeing the choreography of about 10 years come to life in the present was very nostalgic. I’m sure the girls felt it too.

Sweet Refrain

Another non-surprising song to appear, but did not stop everyone from being excited for this song. I love their choreography when it involved them actually not dancing in sync, and Sweet Refrain is one of my favorites to have it.

MC — Baby Face

At this point, Nocchi came out first to talk to everyone in her very good English again. Kashiyuka soon followed, and A~chan came out last with clear evidence that she took a drink and wiped her face. The girls took this time to talk to everyone thoroughly by asking for a translator in the audience. They talked about their endeavors here in the states, mainly their steakhouse trip. A~chan made everyone cheer one side of the room “steak” and the other part of the room “house”. Team Steak forever.

They introduced Baby Face as the next song. I don’t quite remember if they mentioned that it was going to be in English.

8. Baby Face (English ver.)

This was a very cute song in English. The girls tried their best singing it as they all sat on the stairs and swayed back and forth at the audience in their best smiles. The lyrics were very romantic, and I could’ve sworn my boyfriend held my hand at this point as we swayed to the song.

9. STORY

Now, if we’re talking about hype songs, this was the best hype song in the show. I was definitely surprised they didn’t perform this song earlier. The girls performed the song as they did in their SXSW performance with the holographic panels. I loved the build-up of the song and the visuals were definitely the best.

10. FLASH

Yup, it was time for FLASH. Another favorite of mine in the COSMIC EXPLORER album and the theme song for the live-action theatrical release of “Chihayafuru”. I’ll have to admit, while it’s a good song, I’m really not fond of the choreography of this song. It was also obvious that the kicks are a bit awkward for the girls in their short dresses.

11. Dream Fighter

Dream Fighter was the song that I kept telling everyone that I was tired of more so than Polyrhythm. When the song started, I was a loud and shameless hypocrite and cried with joy to the song. The video in the background showed the song translation in English. The crowd cheered their names respective to their solo.

MC — Pokemon GO and other things

This was the MC that we were shown A~chan’s glorious and adorable charisma. I love the song she came up on her own with the bananas and apples and everything in between. The girls took the time to tell us that they went to the San Francisco headquarters of Niantic for Pokemon GO stuff and captured US exclusive Pokemon themselves. Then we had a go in catching Perfume on-screen, Pokemon GO-esque, by everyone making a swiping motion towards the screen. The pose they did in the end were so cute; Kashiyuka did a very cute pouty one and my heart stopped.

12. Fake It

I remember A~chan shouting “Fake It!” to everyone in the crowd and we all cheered and jumped on cue to the start of the song. This was the song I know that seemingly has a part where everyone is allowed to go nuts as the lights flickered on and off. It was great.

13. Polyrhythm

I definitely cried to this song. The iconic in all of the iconics, Polyrhythm was the song everyone knew and heard. Something about this being one of Perfume’s memorable songs and being able to finally see it live at least once that touched me the most.

14. Jenny wa Gokigen Naname

I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t expecting this at all. Jenny wa Gokigen Naname is one of the songs they sang back in the day where they only had a few songs of their own and had to do covers to make up for remaining time in small market events. The girls stood on the middle platform with standing mics as they all danced in place a la 90′s idol style. Everyone cheered for their names in cue with the colorful visuals on screen. I’m sure the girls preferred to perform this song rather than an old one of their own, but I did wish they would perform Kareshi Boshuuchuu instead for the maximum embarrassment.

15. Chocolate Disco

It’s a live tradition that A~chan would start with the beat and have everyone shout “disco” back at her after she says “chocolate”. So as expected, Chocolate Disco followed after the warm-up cheers. Chocolate Disco was the first song I’ve ever heard from them and this was probably the most important part of the live to me. I was probably crying more than half of the song and fell to the ground at one point. It was like everything I ever wanted it to be and it was great. I always loved the simple footwork they did in the second set of “chocolate disco”’s in the chorus and I was thrilled to see it live.

Encore — STAR TRAIN

The encore took a little bit of effort from the crowd because of the confusion of the encore card flyer. The encore card mentioned about singing the chorus of Hurly Burly as the encore cheer but no one really started it. It took about 3 tries, and on the third encore chant A~chan came out thanking us for the encore and that their last song would be STAR TRAIN.

I personally think STAR TRAIN was a very good encore song. Throughout the whole song there were cries in the crowd because of how touching and meaningful the song is to Perfume and to the fans. I myself cried along with my friend as we swayed and chanted along to the few English lines of the song with everyone.

Live Buppan

After the live, there was a very long line for buppan. Thankfully through skillful navigating in the crowd thanks to my small size, we were able to go in line quickly and get fairly close up front. It seems like they had a huge stock of goods, probably merged in with some leftovers from the gallery. It was here that I was able to buy one more shirt in earth grey for me and my boyfriend before we started heading home.

Conclusion + After thoughts

Back when I was in high school in California and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu started to perform lives in the states, I had the notion that maybe Perfume one day will start going into my area. I told my mom that time that although I know I’m not allowed to go out much, my only number one exception would have to be if Perfume ever goes in my area, I would have to go.

This was probably more than 5 years ago. I still never really dreamed of meeting or watching Perfume live. Perfume was such a huge part of my everyday life since I first heard of Chocolate Disco in Fan Service and I just considered them as normal as seeing cereal on the table every morning. I listened to Complete Best during my middle school and the only thing that was in my car on my way to college was the LEVEL3 album. I wasn’t really active or vocal about my love for them, but it was constant and unconditional. I knew all of their songs, all their albums, and recognized their choreography. There was a time that I sat down and decided to watch every single variety show with Perfume. I was enthralled by them. I love them. These were all more meaningful to me simply because the moment built over time—they weren’t just a favorite band. They were part of my life.

I never imagined I would even get close to see them in person. I wasn’t a fortunate fan enough to go to every one of their lives and feel a bit inferior to most die hard fans, but I know that they mean a lot to me and that’s all that mattered. For years I’ve cheered them on from the back of my heart and it was in this moment that I felt the ecstasy of being able to support these people that you adore from afar.

Line-up this season has been a bit small for me in terms of things I’m interested in. Though, I’d argue that it has been awhile since I’ve watched more than one anime weekly, so this may be a big list after all. First thing that will catch my interest would probably be a really cute girl.

And first in the cute anime girl lineup is Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. Actually, the first time I’ve heard or seen about the anime is a tweet of a screenshot of Emilia posted on the day of the first episode; this particular one:

Upon seeing the screenshot, I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s a really, really cute girl. I need to watch this, like right now.” And so, I did. First thoughts were about the two-part long first episode. I worried that the anime would drag along and somehow fall in pace, but thankfully it did not. The anime was surprisingly fast-paced, and had a decent amount of character development for the first episode. You start off being introduced to Subaru, your seemingly typical self-insert protagonist (and seemingly aware that he is) who finds himself warped into a fantasy world. After a few plot twists and finding out the anime’s darker themes, the show ends with a great cliffhanger. This anime does not and will not disappoint, after 3 episodes in. 

The opening theme is “Redo” by Konomi Suzuki. Ending theme is “STYX HELIX” performed by MYTH & ROID. I’m not personally too into the opening, but the ending is great.

Haifuri, or High School Fleet is up next in the cute anime girl line-up. Personally, I wanted to watch the anime regardless of whatever it was about because of the amazing cast, plus with Nansu as the main protagonist along with the entirety of TrySail, I honestly couldn’t pass it up. You’ve probably heard from many people already that, yes, Haifuri is just straight up Garupan with ships. If you’ve enjoyed Garupan and liked Kancolle or Arpeggio, then this anime is worth a try. I had myself a good feel for this anime simply because I’ve recently watched the entirety of Arpeggio and the ship-girl momentum just tugged me along. 

The anime is visually great. The art style is very cute and the CG ships is something we’ve all gotten used to. Nothing too special or notable, but I do find the style very fluffy and pleasing to the eye.

Opening theme is "High Free Spirits” by TrySail. More TrySail is always good.

And now we end this cute anime girl line-up with a, err, something funky. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable has been very good to me so far. I’ve worried about the anime ever since the anime visual and the announcements of the cast; I jumped into the bandwagon of those who complained about the rushed, lazy art style compared to the previous season, and the almost entirely new voice cast from ASB. But, nevertheless, part 4 has always been my favorite part in Jojo, so I tried to sit on the first episode.

First up, last month I bought myself tickets for the Perfume 6th Tour, COSMIC EXPLORER. I’ll be heading out to the NYC venue on September! Watching the time tick for March 21st, I first accidentally purchased a ticket for the LA venue rather than the NYC one, but thankfully I caught my error the next day and still had time to purchase the ticket at a reasonable price with a floor seat. I have not really attended a live since the 2011 AX Mikunopolis, but I am very glad that the start of my live attendances will be with Perfume. I have always dreamed of meeting them and watching them live, and after waiting years and years for the right place and the right time, I will finally be watching them perform. (I’ll finally be able to see Kashiyuka’s wonderful legs, in the flesh!) Seeing as how the Hammerstein Ballroom has general admission, I am a bit anxious about arriving early enough to get good seats. Being the small person that I am, I do hope that I’ll be able to see well. Next, I’ve purchased Connecticon tickets around late March. The convention is slated for July 7th up until the 10th. This will be a my first convention after my big move to Connecticut, so fingers crossed that it becomes a great one! I look forward to Tokyo Attack attending this year bringing in Bemani cabinets. I may be able to try DanEvo for the first time this year. Unlike AWA 2015, with the attendance of Kato*Fuku, fhana, Eir Aoi, and a couple seiyuus, I don’t really think a small convention like Connecticon will have a stellar guest line up. Not for anisong fans, at least. Seems like Connecticon isn’t an animeccentric convention to begin with, meaning this is to be expected. Which also means no guests I’m interested in this year. As for cosplay, I have plans to cosplay Mashu Kyrielite from Fate/Grand Order. My boyfriend has been wanting to create a cosplay that requires a bit of armor, and I thought that Mashu would be a great start and practice run for him. Another choice would be Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere to get in on that Leifthrasir hype, but we will see in the upcoming weeks to see what we settle with. I am hoping that next year will bring in more events that I will look forward to. That being said, ML4th is just around the corner, and who doesn’t want to attend an ML live with the whole cast in it? Maybe I’ll just get myself to Japan somehow next March.