Arai Akino, the voice of Myung from Macross Plus.

Since the concert heavily emphasized Iijima and Fire Bomber, MACROSS PLUS and MACROSS II were given the short end of the program. For MACROSS PLUS, only one song was played. However, what other song is necessary after hearing "Voices" live — sung by Arai and accompanied by the maestro Kanno herself on a solo piano? As scenes of Isamu, Myung, and Guld's idyllic youth on Eden played in the background, the duo (with Yamamoto Youko assisting the chorus) gave a haunting performance that lingered long after the last note. Kasahara sang as MACROSS II's Ishtar two songs, "Mou Ichido Love you" ("Love You Once Again") and "Yakusoku" ("Promise"). (Most of the other Macross II songs including the opening and ending themes were sung by Kaneko Mika and other singers.)
As the reader may note, almost all of the songs up to this point were featherweight pop songs and slow ballads. Fire Bomber's Fukuyama injected a much needed boost to the tempo with a rousing rock number "Totsugeki Rabu Haato" ("Charging Love Heart") from MACROSS 7. Like Fire Bomber's previous concerts and unlike most anime or idol events, the audience wasn't just sitting or standing while waving or clapping hands. Quite a few members were dancing, especially those close to the stage. (Incidentally, unlike many anime events, the gender spread at events with MACROSS 7 is more even, thanks to the cross-gender appeal of Macross in general and popularity of Basara in particular.)

Fukuyama Yoshiki, voice of Nekki Basara (Macross 7).

After Fukuyama's first round, he gave the stage over to his partner Chie-Kajiura — or rather, her video image. Kajiura was the singing voice for Mylene Jenius in MACROSS 7, but she had to cancel her live appearance at the concert. She had the best excuse of all though -- she's having a baby! She apologized for not being able to come, and as a consolation, she offered an impromptu video she created just for the concert for her song, "Pillow Dream."
After Kajiura's surprisingly well-executed video, Fukuyama walked back on stage with just an acoustic guitar. He proceeded to play a moving rendition of "My Soul For You" (this reviewer's favorite Fire Bomber number) in the tradition of some of the most pivotal scenes in MACROSS 7. After this ballad, Fukuyama and his band returned to a repertoire with a faster beat, including "Power to the Dream" and "Try Again" (the MACROSS 7 song that became the opening theme for MACROSS DIGITAL MISSION VF-X). Fukuyama even sang the theme for the upcoming MACROSS DYNAMITE 7 as well as "Light the Light" for the inevitable fan-requested encore. During the encore, Fukuyama presented each of his band members, and then presented each of the previous Macross singers and Kanno as they returned onstage one last time.

Kasahara Hiroko, voice of Ishtar (Macross II).

To be sure, the organizers made no attempt to hide the merchandising aspect or the unrelenting promotion for future Macross projects and the singers' upcoming releases. A few costume-playing fans reminded everyone of the grass roots of the Macross phenomenon (Macross cosplayers began appearing at Comic Market and Comic Square as early as 1982), but otherwise the concert was a heavily orchestrated event.
In the end however, the tinge of commercialism faded before so many unforgettable memories. Minmay singing "Do You Remember Love?" with the audience, Myung singing "Voices" with Kanno's piano, Basara singing "My Soul For You" with his acoustic guitar, the entire ensemble lining up for the final curtain call... Suffice it to say that by the end, the attendees were all ready to welcome 1999.

Vocal artist images © East West Japan, Pioneer LDC, Victor Entertainment.
Exterior photography by Richard Kim, KimTech Enterprises. No reuse without permission.