NANA MIZUKI LIVE ISLAND 2018 Wave 01 in Miyagi

Happy Holidays everyone! Figured I'd squeeze a report out as an Xmas present for you all so here it is! I have one more LIVE ISLAND report in the pipeline after this (I went to three, but for personal reasons I am skipping the report on one. I am sorry everyone! Please look forward to the final in Met Life Dome at least) and a lot of various other events I'm planning to cover (such as KING SUPER LIVE 2018, Pop Cast Epic, TGS stage event and Persona 5 shenanigans..), but hopefully those should be pretty quick to write up. Or I am being overly optimistic. We'll see!

(For report on LIVE ISLAND 2018 Wave 12, go [here]!)



Goods
We ended up going to the venue only around noon'ish or so, since it was quite in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do around there. The queuing didn't take a crazy long time and we managed to get everything we wanted, so all in all not bad! We still had some time to spare too so we ended up indulging in all the delicious street food being served outside  the venue.

Inside Sekisui Heim Super Arena
Our seats were really close to the middle stage tonight, just a few rows away in front of it! It was obvious that Nana was going to start there due to the way it had been set up so the excitement was really building up for us.


SET LIST:
01. STARTING NOW!

02. Angel Blossom

03. Ano ne -Mamimume Mogacho- 

MC1

04. Happy dive

05. Setsuna Capacity

Cherry Boys -showcase

06. Toraware no Babel

07. BLUE ROSE

MC2

08. Rensou Hanabi

09. PHANTOM MINDS

10. Invisible Heat

Team Yo-Da -showcase

11. PARTY! PARTY!

12. GIMMICK GAME

MC3

13. Ego Ideal

14. Karen Moyou

Nana goes to Island -insert movie

15. Aoi Iro

16. Happy-Go-Round

MC4

17. ETERNAL BLAZE

18. NEXT ARCADIA

19. Exterminate

MC5

20. FEARLESS HERO

Encore:

21. Synchrogazer

22. Kimi yo Sakebe

MC6

23. Birth of Legend

24. POP MASTER

Outfit #1 - Red Sailor Girl

01. STARTING NOW!

Nana shows up on the middle platform on a water jet! A real one! Can actually see the water being sprayed around from under it as she rides along. xD And man, STARTING NOW! is such a good song to start a live with. I was wondering a bit why it hadn't already happened earlier, but I guess it has been quite a while since an upbeat summer live came along.

02. Angel Blossom

Yay! I love how this song now automatically makes all the memories of making that tribute video for Nana with it before LIVE GALAXY. I still find it unbelievable that we pulled it off, but that just makes the memories all the more fonder. <3 Have to say that my dancing for Angel Blossom has deteriorated, but luckily it all came back to me when I saw Nana start doing it.

03. Ano ne -Mamimume Mogacho- 

Aaaand the dancing continues! I wasn't expecting to get this much exercise and the concert has barely even begun  ww, but I have to admit that this has been one of the funnest opening sets that I have experienced in Nana's summer tours so far.

MC1

Welcome to LIVE ISLAND! Nana mentions it's been 3 years since her previous summer tour, so it was time to have one again. She muses that the winter ones feel always so serious and GATE was very rock, so as a change of pace tonight will be very poppy. Nana calls up the water jet one more time so we can have a better look at it. It is a real one, just like her Nana Davidson was for LIVE GATE. She calls it the Mizuki Jet and it can go over 200km/h.

04. Happy dive

I haven't really been actively listening to Happy dive ever, but it had a nice calming effect.

05. Setsuna Capacity
Not the biggest fan of this song. I mean, I don't dislike it or anything but would have just rather had something else instead. Still I did end up enjoying it a lot tonight. Think a part of it was the lingering happy feelings from all the dance along songs at the beginning.

Cherry Boys -showcase

This summer tour sees our dashing gentlemen taking it easy on a cruise ship, leisurely enjoying the buffet together and engaging in conversation and various other activities together. A very summer vacation'y feel.

Outfit #2 - White Summer Dress

06. Toraware no Babel

Hearing this live again really brings me back. Think I haven't heard it since my first Nana live ever. It's kinda crazy to think of all the places my life has taken me since LIVE JOURNEY.

07. BLUE ROSE

This has kind of fallen into the abyss of the "Nana's game songs that don't leave an impression" category for me. I admit that it hasn't helped that I am not the biggest fan of buying music digitally so I never actually bought it nor listened to it actively because of that. I did enjoy hearing it live tonight, it does take you with it for the duration of the song, but once it's over it won't be long before I forget how it went. orz Gomenne BLUE ROSE...

MC2

It's time for mawatte calls! Nana does the mou ikkai with Yutapon, since he's from Sendai. He tried to escape right after, but Nana kept stopping him. Nana then does the introduction to LIVE ISLAND's special corner and mentions some of the old ones that she has done like the one she did for ZIPANGU, since that one was a bit similar. This time it'll be an acoustic corner of songs she has never sung acoustic before. For tonight's treat, she calls forth Tom-kun, Itaruvich and Martin. Nana mentions that they only practiced for this for like a week. She also explains that it will be a different song for every concert.

08. Rensou Hanabi - acoustic-

I don't know how Nana always manages to choose songs that speak to me and where my life is at the time of the concert, but Rensou Hanabi showing up tonight out of the blue and it being mainly about saying goodbye, kind of made me convinced it was a sign that I would never get the chance to see my precious dog ever again. For a few weeks prior to the concert, his state has been deteriorating constantly at such a fast pace. I have been hurting so much knowing there is nothing I can do and that I left him just before his world turned upside down... I had been struggling a lot these past couple of years between staying in Finland and spending more time with him or leaving and doing something that is better for my personal well-being (than what I was doing in Finland) and finally I took this leap.... And now this song was a gut punch reminding of how I have made my choice and it comes with sacrifices. I cried.

Afterwards, Nana talks for a bit with the three CheriBos. Nana makes sure to bug each of them individually. Martin apparently just had his birthday yesterday and turned 60. They bring out a fancy ISLAND inspired outfit for him. Nana mentions that she too wants to be as genki when she is older and that Martin should prepare himself to be energetic at 99 still, since she needs him for her lives. Also, Itaruvich's birthday is coming up real soon too. 

09. PHANTOM MINDS

For this, Nana came to the middle platform. While I love PHANTOM MINDS, I have to admit that I wasn't paying too much attention now because Rensou Hanabi and all my thoughts were still floating around in my mind. I was utterly emotionally exhausted.

10. Invisible Heat

Been waiting for this to pop up since its release, as it really struck a chord with @flying_mug. Glad he got to hear it with me tonight finally. I also managed to gather up the pieces of my heart by now and was back into full concentration mode for this. I have to say that Invisible Heat finally resonated more with me tonight as well, than it had up until now.

Team Yo-Da -showcase

DJ Sakaryu makes a comeback and Martin does some rapping. AND OMG, Shizuka is back!! After so many years! She used to be my facorite Team Yo-Da dancer till she suddenly disappeared so it felt so nice to have her back.

Outfit #3 - Tropical Gold & Lace

11. PARTY! PARTY!
Can't believe that I am finally getting PARTY! PARTY! again (p.s. so when is my HIGH-STEPPER happening?!)!! I was really mesmerized by this dance back in LIVE UNION so it was kinda fun to see how I felt about it now. I still like it and it is such a fun thing to watch!

12. GIMMICK GAME

I was kinda holding onto the hope that HIGH-STEPPER would have surprised me after PARTY! PARTY!, but I am more than happy to take GIMMICK GAME as well.

MC3

Nana talks about the photo shoot for LIVE ISLAND. She flew somewhere for a couple of days for it and said it was the first time in like 15 years she did a photo shoot in a swimsuit, so she was really careful the night before and at breakfast so she wouldn't be all bloated in the pictures. All day she kept thinking about dinner and how she wanted to eat a good portion of veggies and meat and once she was done for the day she decided to stuff herself with Italian treats - pizza and pasta and etc.... then her phone rang and she saw Mishi-P calling her. Turns out her swimsuit pictures were gone and she needed to do them again. Ooooh snap. xD She tried her best to suck in belly. She says that the next time she'll do a swimsuit again will be 15 years from now when she'll already be in her 50s. She promises to stop when we tell her please don't do that kind of stuff anymore.

13. Ego Ideal
This was a nice surprise! In the past year or so I've been starting to relate with this song a lot, so it was nice to get to hear it again live now... with this time it being possible to actually focus on the song instead of Nana's safety like in LIVE GALAXY.

14. Karen Moyou
I was expecting this since it's been a while since the last summer tour and this is one of the more summery songs in Nana's arsenal. Listening to this usually makes me feel pretty peaceful but now felt somehow bittersweet. Not sure why, but maybe because the older you get the more you understand and accept the fact that memories like the ones in Karen Moyou happen and then they are gone forever.

Nana goes to Island -insert movie

Guided by the narration of Hisakawa Aya, Nana embarks on a trip to a small island where in order to get to where she wants to go she needs to clear a challenge. Turns out, the challenge is the traditional Japanese suica (watermelon) smashing! It takes Nana forever to find the watermelon on the beach, thanks to Hisawaka-san's not always so accurate instructions. Finally she succeeds however, and is granted access to climb to the top of the lovely cliff on the island. There Nana is surrounded by mysterious energy and is beckoned to fly with a hang glider!

Outfit #4 - Jeans Dress

15. Aoi Iro

I wasn't really expecting any flying tonight, because of the venue but Nana flew out with the hang glider! It was a pretty short flight, but a flight nonetheless. I have to admit though that Aoi Iro and flying will always remind me of LIVE FLIGHT, which still remains one of the most fun lives for me.

16. Happy-Go-Round

Yes, one of my favorite towel songs makes a return!! Nana went to the middle platform for this in order to be in the middle of the sea of towels. I can't really explain it, but this is one of the songs where doing stuff with the towel reaaaaally fits well (I am looking at you Rock Ride Riot, why did you betray me??)

MC4

Nana mentions the hang glider. She had been thinking of what would be good for the ISLAND theme and another thing she came up with was paragliding, but that wouldn't have been feasible in the concert venues so hang glider it was. She talks about Hisakawa's teasing in the insert movie and about her being Fate's mom and shisho in Nanoha. She also mentions soccer and some smile-gang batsu game related to it four years ago... for ikemen team Nana chose Germany?? She also chose Spain for something, but don't remember what.

17. ETERNAL BLAZE
Happy to get this so early on in the last segment, since that leaves more surprises later on! Plus, this is perhaps the best moment to energize everyone for the rest of the live.

18. NEXT ARCADIA
Oooooh! The atsui feels continue with NEXT ARCADIA. It feels like it's been a while since I heard this, but I don't think it really was that long ago? Anyways, I let the nice piano wash over me and enjoyed the ride.

19. Exterminate
Oh, sweeeeeeet! After LIVE ADVENTURE and that version of this song being so readily available in karaoke I have to admit that this might be, if not my very favorite, then at least one of my top favorite Symphogear songs. They just work so perfectly live - especially this one with the sing-along parts in the chorus.

MC5

Time for the last song! Nana picked one that suits the summer theme well.

20. FEARLESS HERO

I was expecting something more epic (maybe because of how high the lingering feelings of epicness were from Exterminate), but I guess FEARLESS HERO is not a bad choice even if it is not a personal preference for me. I feel like I've been hearing this a lot recently somehow? Though the last time was in LIVE GALAXY... I think? Oh well.

Encore:

Naa-naaaaaaaaa!

Outfit #5 - Encore

21. Synchrogazer

Oh, another Symphogear song! I'm usually pretty content when I get even just one so getting two is having Nana spoil me rotten. Nana was going around in a little boat that looked very much inspired by Tron. She passed by really close to where we sat, so we did our usual combined heart with @flying_mug and received one from her in return.

22. Kimi yo Sakebe

This song gives me the NEXT ARCADIA vibes because of the arrangement so it kinda felt funny having both of them pop up tonight. At least there were a couple of songs in between, which helped both songs stand on the own in the set list.

MC6

Shassu! Dudes! Ladies! CheriBo! Team Yo-Da! Can't remember much about this MC somehow, but Nana said the next song will be a new one, namely the full version of a song she did for Million Arthur.

23. Birth of Legend
I still haven't made up my feelings about this song (even now, half a year later when writing this report). I mean, it's pleasant to listen to but it doesn't really do anything special to me. Maybe I need a full day of just listening to this and actually paying attention properly to fix this. It'll probably become FEARLESS HERO #2 for me.

MC7

Nana promises that the next one really is the last song. Nana tried to troll us into thinking that the last song would be POWER GATE, but nuh uh.

24. POP MASTER

Yay! While this is definitely in the top 3 likeliest encore songs, it was a very welcome finishing song tonight. Somehow, it just always puts me in a good mood no matter what.