[Live Report] Hisui Kiseki "Once You Climb the Future Slope"

The other day, member Yuzuki Kamiya posted an article on note reflecting on her one year of activities as an idol since passing her audition.

The record of her activities is written in a clear and very easy-to-read style.

She writes about how, at the beginning of her debut, she could only perform at live shows as a supporting act for other groups in the same agency.
She also writes about how, while dreaming of what it would be like in other groups, she was able to welcome more guests than expected at her first live show outside the agency, which renewed her determination to do her best in this group.

She apparently sacrificed her time off to write the article so that it would be finished by the day of this live show.
Because the writing is so smooth, the struggles and fulfillment she felt after joining the group were conveyed very well even to me, who did not know her at that time.

Among them, the most impressive part was the night before her activities began.
It is a story from before she became "Yuzuki Kamiya".

In writing about this, I will briefly touch upon the "trajectory" of Hisui Kiseki.
Hisui Kiseki, which belongs to Eight One, debuted in June 2021 as a four-member group.
All four members won their spots as initial members through auditions, but none of them had auditioned with the intention of starting a new group.
This is because what they had applied for was the new member audition for "Suiro Drop," which had debuted from Eight One in 2020.
At this point, no one had been told anything about a new group.

It seems that nine people remained for the final screening out of over 2,000 applicants.
As a result of the screening, five people successfully became members of Suiro Drop.
However, the four candidates who were not called were not "rejected."
A different path was prepared for the four of them, separate from Suiro Drop.
That was Hisui Kiseki.

However, even after some time had passed since the final screening, there was no word from them.
In the end, the contact reached the four of them more than a week later.
For those who have auditioned for idols, not receiving a pass/fail notification for a week is considered on the long side.

"I probably failed."

The long wait made Kamiya half-give up and drove her to take a certain action.
That was filming a dance video.
To keep the judges from rejecting her, she rented a lesson studio and captured herself dancing alone on camera.

"I intended to force it onto the management."

Kamiya uses this expression when looking back on that time.

The new song "Mirai-zaka" (Future Slope), which was performed for the first time on this day, has these lyrics.

I won't lose to anyone when it comes to being persistent

I feel that this comment by Kamiya, who used the nuance of "forcing it onto" them while acknowledging the trouble it caused, exudes a persistence like someone clinging to the ground.

Yuri Shiramatsu, who read Kamiya's note while listening to "Mirai-zaka," could not help but feel the link between the lyrics and the article.
It is said she read the article while shedding tears.

There is also a background to "Mirai-zaka" for Shiramatsu as well.
It seems she auditioned for Suiro Drop without job hunting, even though her graduation from vocational school was fast approaching.
"I came here to make this my job."
She attended the final screening for Suiro in a recruitment suit to appeal her intention that this was her only job hunt.

Having touched on the content of the note, I will now move on to the first one-man live show for the three-member Hisui Kiseki, "Once You Climb the Future Slope," held on Sunday, February 27.

The subtitle included "Ariga-10 Performances."
What does that mean?
In the MC, that explanation was given by the members themselves.

Last October, 2021, when the group finished their first one-man live show, Hisui Kiseki conducted a survey of their fans.
The content was about what they wanted from Hisui Kiseki in the future and what kind of initiatives would make them happy.
To aim even higher, they borrowed the wisdom of their fans.
It seems that countless ideas were gathered.
From there, 10 projects were carefully selected, and the "Ariga-10 (Thank You) Projects" were those that were executed one by one.

For example, trial cheki (polaroids), hosting joint concerts, issuing point cards, etc...
When I first learned about Hisui Kiseki and checked their social media (just a month ago), I thought their point card system was a unique initiative, but tracing it back to the source, it seems it started from a survey.

The ideas were steadily executed, and by February of this year, 8 out of the 10 plans had become reality.
Only two remained.
The last ones left were "releasing a new song" and "holding a solo concert."

On February 25th, the new song "Mirai-zaka" (Future Slope) was first released for streaming.
And two days later, on February 27th—exactly one year after the members received their audition acceptance notifications—the 10th wish, "holding a solo concert," was realized.

It is rare to see a group reach the point of holding a concert or releasing a new song in a way that involves not just the members and staff, but the fans as well.
Surely there are no fans who wouldn't want them to hold a solo concert, and no fans who would reject having more songs in their repertoire.
Since the group is still young and at a stage where they are actively gaining fans, they would have reached the day of these "happy announcements" sooner or later, even without conducting surveys.

But even with the same result, it feels special when it's not a pre-planned track laid out from the start, but something achieved through collaborative work with the fans.
Looking back on the group's activities in the future, this day will undoubtedly be an unforgettable one.
Seeing the members' expressions, which were filled with non-stop smiles from the moment they appeared, I felt that way.

From here on, I will look back on the live performance in general terms.

The sound echoing through the venue, Shibuya Kinmirai Kaikan, was adjusted to be quite loud.
However, the members' singing voices did not rely on that.
They didn't hide behind the volume; they competed with their own resonance.
The way they vocalized, creating space in their mouths to fully convey the vibrations, was pleasant to listen to.

I will write about each member.

Yuri Shiromatsu

She supports the low-end parts of Hisui Kiseki.
When I first heard her voice at a joint concert, I was surprised that someone could produce such resonant low notes.
When listening to Hisui Kiseki's songs live, the low notes of the accompaniment stand out.
Shiromatsu-san's vocal quality is a perfect match for that.

Mirei Nakatani

Nakatani-san's turns are fast and beautiful; her movements catch the eye.
There is one scene I would like to highlight.
Hisui Kiseki has a unique production element that others don't have.
That is the SE (sound effect) during the live performance.

The SE here refers to the melody played between songs, which is an arrangement of the accompaniment for the next song.
It plays for several dozen seconds.
I imagine it might serve the role of an intro to the intro.

The SE for "Rainbow" starts with regular low-pitched sounds at equal intervals.
The sound, like knocking on a heavy iron door, overlaps with the members' movements of raising their arms toward the ceiling.
After repeating this for three measures, the sound of a keyboard could be heard.
This time, they each reached their arms forward one by one.

The one who led the charge was Nakatani-san.
Her sharp arm movements had excellent crispness, building momentum for Kamiya-san and Shiromatsu-san who followed.

There is one more similar piece of choreography.
It's in "Mirai-zaka," which was performed for the first time.
I believe it was during the final chorus, where Nakatani-san, in the center, performs a move where she pushes her arms out in rhythm.
It's a simple move, but that's exactly why it feels so satisfying when the rhythm and movement are perfectly in sync.

Yuzuki Kamiya

I was impressed by how she filled the gaps in the MC talk, which were surprisingly fragmented perhaps due to nervousness, and properly conveyed what needed to be said.

In the outro, when the lights were dimmed and she peeked toward the audience, her expression blended beautifully into the darkness.

The live performance that day ended with all 8 of their songs performed in the main set, and a second performance of "Mirai-zaka" during the encore.

"Hisui Kiseki will not stop with these songs from here on out!"

The members said "we won't stop" over and over again.
If you stop halfway up a slope, you can only fall.
That is why they are accelerating.
It was a live performance where such determination could be seen.