Respect Sakura

It’s difficult to structure something like this as a review.  Typically, a review has to be objective and present both sides evenly.  The issue with ‘A Night in Fantasia’ was that I found it difficult to see any real negatives short of ranting fanboyishly about music that they didn’t play. It was an excellent concert, that I’d highly recommend to most anyone who enjoys the orchestral sound and anime/video game soundtracks.

I don’t go to concerts regularly and the amount of times I’ve been in the same hall as a real orchestra could be counted on one hand.  So, it’s beyond me to evaluate it in terms of other performances.  However, compared to playing the games, or listening to the soundtracks, A Night in Fantasia was incredible.

The two most memorable pieces (and, to me, the most moving) were the theme from Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 and Time’s Scar.  The rest of the music was of equally high quality and I didn’t feel let down by any of the choices of song for the entire evening.

While it was interesting hearing from the composers between sets of pieces, the actual separation of sets felt a little awkward.  It seems to be Eminence’s style to break up the concert with a number of MC intervals, but they would’ve been better placed at the end of some of the softer finishing pieces.  However, that’s just a minor point in comparison to the rest of the evening.

Overall, I’d highly recommend attending an Eminence concert if you can.  Although you may be unfamiliar with the source content, if you’re a gamer or anime fan who even remotely enjoys strong, orchestral pieces that don’t have to be separated into movements then you’ll certainly find something to enjoy at the concerts.  According to the surveys, the next concert will be dedicated entirely to anime music, so I’ll definitely be attending that one too.

P.S. Blizzard is clearly not receiving enough new WoW addi^H^H^H^H^H members from Australia.  Every seat had a 14-day trial on it, the major prize pack for the survey raffle included the game and expansion, and the Warcraft Suite was an unlisted piece.  So, if you’re not using your soul, apparently the MMORPG is getting hungry.