Every summer, anime fans from around the world flock to Los Angeles for the ultimate celebration of Japanese pop culture: Anime Expo. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, this year's Anime Expo, which ran from July 4th to July 7th, was a whirlwind of panel discussions, cultural workshops, and screenings of anime both old and new.
One of the new highlights of this year was the 3-D animated concert lineup that took place at the The Novo event venue, near to the convention center, featuring characters from the multimedia blockbusters Utano☆Princesama (UtaPri) and Obey Me!
[[A ticket to “Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE” was provided to me for the purposes of review with no constraints on thoughts or opinions.]
UtaPri started out in 2010 as a video game about a group of aspiring pop idols, and rapidly became popular enough to expand out into music CDs, movies, stage dramas, and more. It has captivated fans through its captivating songs, renowned vocal talent, and wide cast of characters.
Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE, ©UP-ASSMU Illust.Frontier Works Inc.
In the 3D Live concert “Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE,” the three UtaPri groups ST☆RISH, QUARTET NIGHT, and HE★VENS entertained the audience with vocals from the original voice artists, as well as energetic motion-captured choreography. LEDs, spotlights, smoke, and shadows all contribute to the realism of the performance, giving fans the impression of having been to an actual live concert.
Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE, ©UP-ASSMU Illust.Frontier Works Inc.
Frontier Works PR manager Maki Sato-san was kind enough to spend a few minutes talking with us about the 3D LIVE concept, which is basically designed to give fans the sensation that they have actually experienced a live concert with their favorite pop idols. The simple staging avoids weird or inorganic movements and prevents the audience from being pulled out of the live performance illusion. There is no English subtitling for similar reasons, however non-Japanese speakers can still get a decent idea of what’s going on during the interstitial bits from the characters’ well-animated body language and vocal performance.
Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE, ©UP-ASSMU Illust.Frontier Works Inc.
Certainly one of the things that gave the event its concert-like feel was how invested the audience was. Equipped with lightsticks glowing with the color of their idol of choice, fans cheered and responded just as enthusiastically as they would for any live performer.
Utano☆Princesama ALL STAR STAGE – MUSIC UNIVERSE, ©UP-ASSMU Illust.Frontier Works Inc.
A somewhat different but no less entertaining show was “Obey Me! 1st Virtual Concert ~OVERTURE~.”
This was more of a conventional filmed concert experience as there were subtitles and various cinematic visual effects, but given that these characters are literal demons brothers, there’s probably a limit to the degree of realism they could reach anyway.
Obey Me! 1st Virtual Concert ~OVERTURE~
This film was a bit shorter than the UtaPri concert, ending in a little less than an hour, but the audience was still extremely engaged with the characters’ performances and amusing interactive segments.
This year’s 3-D live concerts at Anime Expo were a testament to the universal appeal and innovative potential of virtual idols. Whether you were a long-time fan or new to the franchises, the performances from UtaPri and Obey Me! offered something for everyone, blending music, technology, and storytelling into a unique entertainment experience. At a ticket price point of around $90, it wasn’t a cheap show, but one distinctly unique to Anime Expo.
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