Black Sword

Hi Everyone! As you can see, I’ve survived Anime Expo! More importantly, I MET KAJIURA-SAMA!!!!

Ok, ok, as we all know, I flew out from New York to Los Angeles specifically to attend Kajiura-sama/FictionJunction Live. My other objective was to meet Kajiura-sama, and let me tell you, there were some close calls and enough despair-inducing moments to bring Urobuchi Gen to orgasm.

Well, let us begin. On Day 1 of the convention, Kajiura-sama attended the Fate/Zero finale screening, with guests such as Rikiya Koyama, the seiyuu of Emiya Kiritsugu, Ei Aoki, the director, Atsuhiro Iwakami, the producer, and LiSa, the first OP singer. They were escorted by an army of fantastic Fate/Zero cosplayers, led by the talented Maridah, the best Saber cosplayer on the internet. Kajiura-sama told us that she found it an honor to compose for Fate/Zero, and thought the final product was very good, but very dark. So far as I know, that’s one of the rare times she has actually watched an anime she has composed for.

Later that day, at her panel (which started 40 minutes late. I volunteered at AX, but still, that was ridiculous. Damned AX staff /hypocritical humor) we got the chance to line up and ask Kajiura-sama and Fiction/Junction questions. The translator sucked, to be honest: at one point, Kajiura-sama and FJ were asked what they would have done if they had not gone into music. The translator rambled for a long minute, before Kajiura-sama picked up the microphone and answered, very concisely, “systems engineering,” in very clear English. The translator gibberish was deleted from memory. Kaori wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, while the other girls were pretty stumped.

Kajiura-sama stated that she was still looking for her “style” and didn’t have one. She also said that Fate/Zero was very dark, very heavy, so it was good to work on Sword Arts Online, which was lighter, and for the shounen genre.

One interesting thing is that Kajiura-sama deals with sadness by working more. Keiko deals with it by dancing it away, while Wakana deals with it by turning on the shower and crying underneath the water. Relevant later.

When asked what their favorite songs were, Kajiura-sama said she didn’t have one. Yuriko said that the one that inspired her the most was Canta Per Me. Kaori felt the closest to Yume no Tsubasa, which was the first one Kajiura-sama composed for her. Keiko and Wakana were inspired by Kaze no Machiye and Hikari no Yukue, respectively. …unfortunately, I was two people away from asking a question before the staff cut the line off right in front of me because we ran out of time due to starting so damned late! I was very unhappy, but then Kajiura-sama announced that the concert would be one hour longer, and there was much rejoicing. At the end of the panel, a raffle was held, with winning tickets getting priority at the autograph session on Day 3. I didn’t win, so I tossed mine. Relevant later.

Incidentally, Yuriko is friendly with LiSa. I recognized her at LiSa’s autograph session, not drawing attention to herself and just hanging out together.

Of course, my euphoria lasted until the next day, when the autograph session was canceled. Six hours of despair later, the concert began. Or was supposed to. AX screwed up again, so the concert started one hour late.

Oh. My. God. There is no point trying to convey how AWESOME Fiction/Junction is live. There really isn’t. Even the crappy acoustics of the hall (since X Games took the Staples Center, the buggers) were no match for Kajiura-samma. I made friends with the editor-in-chief of Anime Instrumentality during the concert, so you can try to get an idea from him, but my writing prowess is no match for how transcendental the experience was.

Track List
Beginning of the End (Fate/Zero)
The Battle is to the Strong
Image Song of Xenosaga II
Vanity (Fiction)
Liminality (.hack//liminality)
In the Land of Twilight, Under the Moon (.hack//sign)
Hanamori no Oka (Hokuto no Ken Toki Den)
Parallel Hearts (Parallel Hearts)
Salva Nos (Noir)
Sis Puella Magica (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
Forest (El Cazador de las Brujas)
Credens Justitiam
Himeboshi (Mai-HiME)
Duran-Shouken
Mezame
Stone Cold (Sacred Seven)
Zodiacal Sign (Aquarian Age)
Open Your Heart (.hack//sign)
The World (.hack//sign)

Kajiura-sama would stop after a few songs to make comments. During the first one, she again mentioned how dark Fate/Zero was, and how nice it was to work on something light for a change. After she introduced the band, she mentioned that she felt at ease performing with them, because she knew everything would go well so long as they were there. Incidentally, that answers why she doesn’t have a live flutist and why there will never be an orchestral version of her work.

During another pause, she teased Wakana a little, mentioning how if you’re wondering why a song is so dark and tragic, then Wakana’s the one singing. The expression on Wakana’s face was “Oh, no! Don’t!” Apparently on a whim, the other day Kajiura-sama counted how many songs Yuriko had been in, and she reached one hundred before she gave up. Keiko is a wonderful alto, full of energy, while Kaori has the gift of perfect harmony.

One thing I noticed was that Kaori has a tendency to stand a little apart from everyone. During the concert, Keiko bounded over to her during one of the more energetic songs and danced with her. That made Kaori thaw out and they danced together, and then the distance was erased as Kaori drew back together. Another thing I noticed was that Wakana is usually the one closest to Kajiura-sama. During Zodiacal Sign, the energy just made everyone want to dance, and Wakana was the only one to go dance with Kajiura-sama and just be close to her.

On Day 3, the day of the last autograph session, the line was absurd. What was worse was that anyone who held on to their raffle tickets, winning or losing, got priority. YUP, AX COMPETENCY STRIKES AGAIN! The mood turned very ugly, especially with me in the crowd. Mezame, who as hanging out with me for most of AX, was very nervous when I started inciting the crowd. I found out later that the Volunteer HQ had desperately needed staff to man Kajiura-sama’s autograph session because they were close to rioting but no one volunteered.

Fortunately for AX, the staffers, and the guy in charge of the staffers, I managed to get an autograph! I met them all, and spoke to each one. I told Kajiura-sama my dream: I want to write a story so good that she would want to compose for it. She said in perfect English, and I quote, “I’d be happy to.” I have a lot of work to do, folks. I will make that dream a reality!

I talked to the girls as well, with my piss poor Japanese. I told Wakana she’s the sweetest, and a total sweetheart. She said, in Japanese, “So nice! Thank you so much!” I told Yuriko that she was a cutie pie. Yuriko gave me a “Are you serious?" look? and asked the same in Japanese. I confirmed I was serious, she was cute, and she smiled and thanked me for it. I told Keiko that she was the most genki one, to which she replied, “Hai, genki des! I am the fun one.” I said, “Yes, you’re the dancer.” She agreed and did a little dance in her chair. It was adorable. I told Kaori she was the coolest one and she gave me a huge smile and thanked me. I walked a little bit away before I let out a war whoop that made the crowd jump. Then they glared at me. I might have dislocated Theo's shoulder from joy...

Honestly, the whole experience, highs and lows, was amazing. Just meeting Kajiura-sama and the FJ girls was a total mindblowing event. I managed to talk with them and see them and hear them, and I'll cherish the memories forever.