Blue Encount and Reol completely rocked the halls of this year’s Anime Boston. Being that this was their first time in Boston meant that they had to put their best foot forward in making the perfect first impression. And that they did. You could feel the frenetic energy in the room as Blue Encount served up their catchy pop-punk numbers, and Reol’s one-woman performance kept the momentum going with her brand of musical and visual spectacle.
Blue Encount kicked off the Friday concert with a performance of “Z.E.R.O.” from Code Geass R2. From there, they played many of their songs featured in anime such as “Gifted” from Rising Impact, “Blade” from Yaiba: Samurai Legends, and “Day x Day” from Gintama. For added measure, they did throw in some of their own original non-anime work like “…FEEL?,” “Rainbow,” and “Alive.” But as one might expect, their closing performance of “Polaris” from My Hero Academia was the number that brought the house down, serving as an obvious yet still fitting finale.
The performances were tight and had me locked in the entire time. Tsujimura Yuuta was slapping his bass like his life depended on it, while drummer Takamura Yoshihide completely pummeled his kit as if he was trying to fight it. Meanwhile, lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tanabe Shunichi tore his way through razor-sharp power chord riffage using two different
Gibson Les Pauls and lead guitarist Eguchi Yuuya breezed through so many double-tapped solos and licks that made his riffing look easy and second-nature. As a guitar freak, you could catch me geeking out and trying to cop some pics of their gear.
Reol’s performance came up afterward. Her set was more minimalist, bearing only a white pedestal and a huge screen in the back for some visual accompaniment. Reol’s image bore a frosty look, donning a white skirt and big white boots that altogether looked torn and frayed. This made Reol appear more vigorous rather than fragile. Believe me when I say that the frosty look made her performance hit the audience like an avalanche.
The Vocaloid diva played all of her big hits like “LUVORATORRRRR!!,” “Hokusaishiki,” and “Edge.” She seemed more focused on doing her own works, although a few numbers birthed from collaborations did hit the stage, such as the Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow Saga OP “RE RESCUE,” and “WANT U LUV IT,” which was used in a music video produced by Studio Pierrot, serving as an advertisement for the fictitious WcDonald’s fast food chain. Reol would conclude her set with her big hit “No Title,” because of course you have to end with a bang somehow. And a bang there was, along with a sea of glowsticks that seemed to hover above each audience member’s head.
Blue Encount and Reol would then each have their own Q&A panels on Saturday. Blue Encount’s panel started off with what it was like being in Boston for the first time and what sites to explore. The usual destinations such as MIT, Fenway Park, and Salem came up, although I had to raise my hand and give a shout-out to a culinary mecca: Eagle’s Deli, home of the whopping Godzilla Burger. After all, when you need a bite to eat after a long day of anime conning, why not have your taste buds go up against a kaiju?
The band members briefly discussed how they formed Blue Encount back when they met in high school. It was then that they came up with their songwriting formula: Tanabe pens the melodies while the rest of the band comes up with the lyrics. An interesting tidbit that added to their origin story came when Tsujimura Yuuta revealed that discovering Sheryl Crow was his gateway into American music.
Of course, fans asked the Blue Encount rockers who their favorite anime characters were. Tsujimura said he admired My Hero Academia’s Todoroki because he’s cool, while Tanabe picked Shinnosuke from Crayon Shin-chan. Takamura’s answer, however, was an eclectic and offbeat choice: “I like the side characters that don’t even have names,” he said. Considering how drummers are often mysterious dudes who linger in the back, this answer seemed highly appropriate.
Reol’s Q&A occurred just a few short hours later. A brief introduction video served as a prelude of sorts, showcasing the tracks she cut for the 2023 Ruroni Kenshin anime, Blue Exorcist, the aforementioned WcDonald’s music video she did with Studio Pierrot, and Riot Games’ Valorant. Regarding the WcDonald’s video’s usage of the cut “WANT U LUV IT,” Reol said that the video was produced during her China Tour. “The song is all about turning over,” she said. “Turning over good from bad, despair into hope. And I think the music video shows that really well.” Reol would go over her career and her origin story from there. One of the best moments came when a fan asked her what the difference was between playing in America versus playing in Japan and China.
“I felt that the way people in America express themselves is more about ‘freedom’,” Reol said. “In Japan and China, the crowds behave as part of one group, but in America, you have each member of the audience really enjoying things their own way.” To demonstrate how she saw Americans enjoying her shows, Reol rotated her fists in a danceable, funky manner that evoked laughter from the audience.
Reol was also asked what it was like to collaborate with other artists, specifically Mori Calliope on the track “Carousel of Imaginary Images”. “I don’t see her as a VTuber. I see her as more of a rapper. I think her strength is the way she expresses herself in English very well and her fast-paced rapping. So I had a lot of fun using my strengths of singing and expressing myself Japanese alongside Calliope, so I thought it was a lot of fun.”
When queried where she got her inspiration for her image and style, Reol said she started off as a trumpeter in a marching band, which made her used to wearing a costume. “It’s just something you do,” she said. So when I go on stage now, that’s just how I feel about it. It is what it is.”
