“AnisongJapan” (note: “anisong” is an abbreviation of “anime song” used in Japanese) is a collaborative project held in association with Lis-ani!, an anime music magazine. This event provided a space which gave an opportunity to enjoy anime songs through different media, such as the airing of “Best opening & ending theme collection” and a DJ time. The space also held a two-day discussion panel that looked back at the history of anime songs. The topic of the first session was the 1970s and 80s that built the foundation of anime songs which stands to this day. As a witness who lived through this era, the event welcomed MIQ as its guest, the singer known for singing the theme songs of AURA BATTLER DUNBINE and MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0083: STARDUST MEMORY . The hosts were the three members of “Lis-ani! Recommending Men”: Fumiaki Nishihara, the editor in chief of Lis-ani!, Ryuichi Sumigawa, the associate editor of the magazine, and the music critic Akihiro Tomita.
The event kicked off with a discussion while listening to one of the signature songs by MIQ: “L-GAIM-Time for L-GAIM-“(the first opening theme song for HEAVY METAL L－GAIM ). This song, released in 1984, was written by Kyohei Tsutsumi with the lyrics penned by Masao Urino, the hit-makers in the Japanese music scene of the time. MIQ reflects on this by explaining that it represented the direction taken by the anime song industry of the time, which was to have non-anime fans listen to anime songs as well. In reality, this was a period when the public’s attention to anime songs was gradually increasing, with anime theme songs reaching the top spots on the music charts. Having interacted with anime fans from such times to the present at various events and concerts, MIQ knew how to work the crowds, stating, “The passion of the fans has not changed from back then to now. It is as hot as ever!”
In addition, the differences in the recording environment between then and now were touched upon, which invited an opportunity for the speakers to feel nostalgia toward an era where live performance was the norm, unlike today where step recording now is the standard. Since the vocals were recorded in one take, and not by connecting short recorded segments, the hosts were astonished to hear that the first-take (the recording that was sung first) was adopted and used for “GET IT!” (the image song for BLUE GALE XABUNGLE ).
　While carrying on the spirit of the anime songs from the 70s that laid out the foundation, the 80s saw anime songs go through transformations in accordance to the changes of the times. From this period and onward, anime songs experienced a new era of evolution, which will be discussed in the second session of “Anime Song History”.

Writer：Yoshikatsu Nakagami

　This is a discussion panel that looks back on the history of anime songs from the past to the present. The second session focused on the 1990s and discussed the development of seiyu (voice actor) artists. Megumi Hayashibara, a seiyu known for playing Rei Ayanami in NEON GENESIS EVANGELION , Musashi (Jessie in English) in POKeMON , Ai Haibara (Anita Hailey in English) in Detective CONAN , and many other famous roles, was invited as a guest. Megumi, who is also active as an artist, released 22 singles and 9 albums within the decade of the 90s, played a central figure in the third wave of seiyu boom that took place during this era.
The 90s was a decade in which many J-POP artists had their forays into anime songs, leading to the generation of various hit songs. Therefore, it was ground breaking that a theme song sung by Megumi Hayashibara would make it to the top positions on the music chart during this period. The discussion started on the topic of Slayers , a series that would serve as an impetus behind the creation of an era of mania which Hayashibara herself emphasized by stating, “I couldn’t believe that I would come at a top position in the Oricon music chart”. At the time, radio drama series were at their prime, with songs that seiyu artists sang being frequently included when these series were packaged as CDs.
Such songs were forerunners of what we now consider as “character songs” (also referred to at times as “image songs”). Riding on this trend, Megumi also became in charge of singing the theme song to the TV animation Slayers , with the opening credit song of the second series Slayers NEXT , “Give a reason” becoming a major hit. Although Hayashibara herself stated that she does not remember much about the time when she recorded the song, she reminisced about the enthusiasm at the post-recording site by saying, “The theme song raised the appeal of the show. I think NEXT had a dramatic element that everyone could relate to.”
　In addition, Hayashibara herself wrote the lyrics for her songs on several occasions, and cited that Slayers was the catalyst behind this. As the series went on for a longer period, she started to feel that she wanted to express the thoughts of the protagonist Lina Inverse with her own words. Thus, she decided to try writing the lyrics to “Just be conscious”, the theme song for the movie Slayers RETURN. The song contained the wish of Hayashibara, who also worked as a radio personality, to give back the strength she derived from Lina to all the fans.
Through such accomplishments by Hayashibara, many seiyu artists came to emerge from the 2000s to the present. Seeing the work of her juniors, Hayashibara remarked that, “I think they got their plates full because they really have to do many things - from concerts to photo books”. In the end, this was an invaluable event in which we, the audience, were able to hear Hayashibara’s attitude toward her music career while what the audience seeks from seiyu artists is gradually starting to change.

Writer：Yoshikatsu Nakagami

　The first day of Anisong Japan was concluded with a talk event in which the producers of three major anime song festivals that bring excitement to the current anime scene gathered to passionately discuss the large-scale anime song festival industry in 2014. The speakers were Koji Saito, the general producer of Animelo Summer Live, Yoshitoyo Sonoda, the producer of ANIMAX MUSIX, and Fumiaki Nishihara, the booking producer of Lis-ani! LIVE. The three speakers actually have had previous exchanges through work, but this was the first time they gathered together in public.
　To kick off, Akihiro Tomita, a music critic and the moderator of the discussion introduced the characteristics of each festival in an easy-to-understand manner. Animelo Summer Live, marking its 10th year in 2014, is characterized by theme songs, simple performances, and collaborations performed by artists from different labels. Under the anime song festival’s spirit of being a pioneer, the festival is being held for three days at Saitama Super Arena this year as it was last year. ANIMAX MUSIX, held by ANIMAX, the anime-specialty channel at BS and CS satellite broadcasting, is held with the premise that it will be recorded for TV. It is characterized by the performance of many covers of anime songs and not just collaboration. Furthermore, ANIMAX has the strength of having its channels broadcast to 28 countries outside of Japan. Among the three, Lis-ani! Live is the last entrant to the scene, adopting a “guerrilla band” format in which artists and each of their own bands perform as they are. By actively performing songs that are not used in anime series and having longer time for MCs, the festival deeply explores the attraction of each artist. It is also characterized by strongly putting its collaboration forward with each Lis-ani! medium deployed in its magazine, TV, and on the web.
　After going over the above details, the three producers started their heated discussion. The speakers exchanged their opinions from their positions on topics such as “what are the advantages and disadvantages of ‘guerrilla bands’ and ‘fixed-set bands’?”, “how should we handle non-anime-related songs?”, and “the difference between the venue and the performance.” When discussing the current anime music scene, after Sonoda stated that he wanted to seek music that is more synchronized with the footage from anime, Saito, who shared the same opinion, revealed that “we started using anime clips at live performances.” In contrast, Nishihara asserted that, “At Lis-ani! LIVE, it is our policy not to use animation.” While the differences between each festival became clearer, all three guest speakers agreed that all is well if one could enjoy the different styles.
　Lastly, as his vision on how to continue running large-scale festivals, Saito proposed to enliven the entire anime songs industry as a whole. The crowd cheered all at once when he remarked that “One of these days, we might actually host a collaborative Lis AnmeloMAX festival!” Tomita, who saw the history and the current state of anime songs throughout the AnisongJapan that day, summarized by saying, “Large-scale festivals are a visible representation of anime songs that have continued seamlessly. This industry is in safe hands if this trend continues,” thus concluding the first day of the festival.

Writer：Yoshikatsu Nakagami

　Anisong Japan is an immense project that looks back at the history of the anime song industry from the 70s to the present. The moderators on day 2 were the same three members of Lis-ani! Recommending Men as day 1 (Fumiaki Nishihara, the editor in chief of anime song magazine Lis-ani!, Ryuichi Sumigawa, the associate editor of the magazine, and the music critic Akihiro Tomita). On day 2, a wide variety of programs were prepared under the theme of anime song from the 2000’s, including a talk session with guests and live performances.
The first program was “Haruko Momoi & Masaya Koike: the lineage of denpa (Japanese slang for ‘quirky’),” in which the two members of UNDER17 (disbanded in 2004) that made the genre “moe song” known to the world were invited. The impact UNDER17 left in the current anime song genre is significant, considering that the fusion of idol-like icon and otaku culture became the start of akiba-style idol development that took place later on. The circumstances behind the disbandment that the members can now discuss were explained in the talk session, as well as the members giving a ten-year late apology, exciting the visiting fans that knew of the band back then.
　The next special guest that was invited to review the 2000s was the hit-making lyricist Aki Hata who has worked with series such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya , Lucky Star , and Love Live! The words used by the eminent lyricist capture the times and continue to illustrate the ideal image of girlhood that is always one step ahead. Such expressions are filled with connotations, such as “A ‘maiden’ is a girl’s false stoicism” and “a boy actually doesn’t exist in the world of a girl in love.” She is currently active as an artist as well, and has just released her album Ai suru hito yo shinjitsu wa chikawazu ni iyou (“To my loved one, the truth should remain unpledged”) on March 19. She described her album by saying, “Since it’s a dangerous drug, please have a listen first before purchasing it.”
The follow up program featured club events that play anime songs, which is gathering attention as a new possibility to anime songs. D-Yama, the manager of the DJ bar, MOGRA, in Akihabara and DJ WILDPARTY came to the stage and gave a lecture on an innovative way of enjoying anime songs by presenting the latest information of the anime song DJ and DJing anime songs genre through lecture.
The last program was “Sekirara anime song summit - the forecast in 2014,” held by Kurodo Seta, the producer of the online show Denpa News , Tetsu Narimatsu, a writer for the online news site Natalie , and the Recommending Men. Panellists who deal with trends from different standpoints - web broadcasting, web media, and print - discussed the future development of the anime song industry and the direction that the media should aim for, while candidly revealing the behind-the-scenes information of their industry. The conclusion that they came up with was, “Just like it has been for the past 40 years, new trends will keep being generated on a daily basis in the anime industry in the future. What the media can do is to keep pursuing such development without being beaten by its speed.” The ambitions and hopes that people hold will never perish. The evolution of anime songs will definitely continue progressing without stopping.

Writert：Tetsuya Hoshi