fhána and Sachiko Kobayashi Celebrate the Release of New Theme Songs for Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Movie: “Parade of Tears” and “Bokutachi no Hibi” [PRESS RELEASE]

A special event was held on July 13, in AEON LakeTown mori, to celebrate the release of the new opening and ending songs for the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid movie!

Report and Event Photos by: Junichi Tsukagoshi

Kyoto Animation’s newest work is a heart-warming tale about family and the bonds that unite us. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved is the latest installment in the animated series, which started airing in 2017. Of course, seeing these popular scenes from the original work on the big screen has been a huge hit with the audiences!

On July 13th (Sunday), fhána and Sachiko Kobayashi made an appearance at AEON LakeTown mori, to help kick off the release of their respective opening and ending songs, “Parade of Tears” and “Bokutachi no Hibi.” Since Koshigaya in Saitama Prefecture serves as the story’s backdrop, the location couldn’t have been more fitting.

Tickets for the priority viewing area (which came with the purchase of one of the CDs being released that day) sold out in a flash. The space was packed with spectators before the event even started. Since there might not be enough time during the concert itself, Kevin Mitsunaga (sampler, etc.) gave the crowd a primer on the choreography for “Parade of Tears” during their rehearsal, and asked them to lead the rest of the audience for the real deal.

The event itself started right at 1:00 p.m., with fhána’s performance of one of the definitive opening themes from the anime, “Rhapsody of Blue Sky.” Towana (vocalist) got the audience all fired up as her voice rang out from the stage, accompanied by Junichi Sato on the keyboard, and Kevin on the metallophone. The crowd sang and clapped along, clearly enjoying their amazing pop performance.

Pausing just long enough to announce their group name, fhána launched straight into “Love Supreme!”, the opening song from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S. Towana and Kevin’s bright, bouncy rap makes it a memorable song, and their fast-paced repartee, mingled with the crowd’s applause, created a euphoric atmosphere.

During the MC segment, they mentioned that they were pleased to be visiting Koshigaya for the first time. And most people in attendance raised their hands when asked whether or not they’d seen the Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid movie. On seeing that, Junichi mentioned that their next song had been “inspired by Kanna’s (CV. Maria Naganawa) tears.” Then, Kevin gave the crowd a quick review of the choreography before launching straight into the movie’s opening theme, “Parade of Tears.” The crowd was quick to put those moves into action when the chorus came around. Though, for an upbeat pop song, there’s an element of melancholy to it.

Since fhána has created each of the series’ opening songs, their lyrics and melodies have really stuck with the listeners. Junichi joined in the dancing partway through, livening up the performance even further—but was probably going to limit that to this event. (Or possibly the upcoming Animelo Summer Live event.) ”Yeah, I think that’s it for the dancing,” he said, mellowing the mood out.

This was the perfect transition into the ending theme’s portion of the event. The audience called out for “Kobayashi-saaan!” (just like the titular character), Sachiko Kobayashi took to the stage to sing “Bokutachi no Hibi.” The message there is that “Nothing is certain, but that’s easy to forget. We might have met here by accident, but that’s a kind of miracle. These precious moments ought to be cherished.”

Standing on stage in her stunning red dress, Sachiko’s gentle voice rang out, instantly catching everyone’s attention. Her voice couldn’t be better suited to a song that talks about how the “usual” things are the foundation of life. The performance was only a few minutes long, but it was a wonderfully moving piece that truly encapsulated the movie.

After that touching finale to a rousing mini concert, fhána closed out the event by signing CDs that the fans had purchased.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved is a huge hit! fhána and Sachiko Kobayashi’s opening and ending songs have gone on sale to great acclaim! Plus, it was okay to take pictures and videos at this event, so there are probably plenty of those to check out on social media.