#wakana

[putschki1969]

KALAFINA REUNION 📢IT'S TRUE📢

Why did I even go to bed last night??! Damn it, I lost precious time. Anways, many of you must have seen my post last night about that ominous Nikkan Sports article speculating about a possible comeback of Kalafina. I honestly thought it was fake news since it contained a ton of unconfirmed/uncredited information. However, there was lots of interesting stuff that kept me from dismissing it entirely. I mean, who would go through all the trouble coming up with details such as specific quotes or exact concert details? Turns out they mostly got the dates mixed up but the rest was true. At noon Japanese Standard Time, we got all of our official announcements. Here's the gist of it〈(•ˇ‿ˇ•)-→

Kalafina Staff Posts 1 & 2 on Twitter

Announcement of "Kalafina Anniversary LIVE 2025" Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 Open at 17:30 /Start 18:30 Venue: Tokyo Garden Theater Performers: Kalafina (Wakana, Keiko, Hikaru) Music Director: Takebe Satoshi

To everyone who loves and supports Kalafina We have decided to hold a "Kalafina Anniversary LlVE 2025". We want to sing together as a trio again, knowing that you all have always cherished Kalafina, even while we are doing solo activities. We look forward to seeing you there! Kalafina (Wakana, Keiko, Hikaru)

Ticket sales are scheduled for the following dates: ■Wakana/KEIKO Fan Club Advanced Lottery October 10, 2024, 11:00 - October 20, 23:59 ■Hikaru X (formerly Twitter) Advanced Lottery October 25, 11:00 - November 4, 23:59 ■General Ticket Lottery November 9, 11:00 - November 11, 23:59

Keiko Posts 1 & 2 on Twitter & Fan Club Site & Tristone & Instagram post

To all our supporters We have decided to hold a "Kalafina Anniversary LlVE 2025". Through my solo activities and activities with FictionJunction, I have had many new encounters and taken on new challenges, and I am where I am today thanks to the support of many people. This is a personal matter, but the reason I took a break from singing and then decided to sing again was because of Yuki Kajiura's music. And it was the feelings of everyone who has supported us up until now that led to this event. I am grateful for those feelings, and I am simply happy that the three of us can deliver Kalafina's music again. I am truly looking forward to seeing you all next year. KEIKO

Hikaru's Post on Twitter and Instagram

To everyone who always supports us We are happy to announce that we'll be holding a "Kalafina Anniversary LlVE 2025". Even during my solo activities, I always got a strong sense of everyone's love for Kalafina. I'm grateful we are getting this opportunity to sing together again as a trio and to perform all those treasured songs which Yuki Kajiura has written for us. I hope we can raise a new flag together with all of you. I look forward to seeing you there that day! 2024.10.03 Hikaru

Wakana Posts on Twitter & Botanical Land & Instagram post

(We finally have an official statement from Wakana on her Insta) It has been decided that an "Kalafina Anniversary LIVE 2025" will be held on January 15th next year. From 2018 to the present, we have each pursued our own music, but we have decided to sing together again. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who always think of and love Kalafina. I am very much looking forward to meeting you all.

Satoshi Takebe Tweet 1 & Tweet 2 & Tweet 3 (deleted)

Today I had a meeting with some artists I truly respect and had a beer in the middle of the day 🍺 We had a fun afternoon. I hope there will be lots of fun things to do next year too. I can't say anything yet, but I'm already working on some exciting projects!! (Tweet 1)

I believe that my mission is to support artists. It is never my intention to betray or hurt people. That is the one thing I have always stayed true to, and I will continue to do so. It may sound naive, but I believe that sincerity and passion are what motivate people. (Tweet 2)

Due to confidentiality obligations, I cannot explain the situation. However, Kajiura-san is an artist I respect, she's a wonderful musician, and I am a fan of the music she creates. I would like to support the three members with the utmost respect. (Tweet 3 - deleted)

Tweet by Yuki Kajiura & Tweet 2 & Tweet 3

Regarding Kalafina I've received some inquiries in relation to the most recent announcement of an upcoming Kalafina Live Concert so I'd like to use this opportunity to clarify that I, Yuki Kajiura, will not have no involvement whatsoever in this concert. Furthermore, I have not received any advance notice or explanation from the organisers or any of the group members. Given the situation, I am therefore unable to answer any questions. I apologise, but any future inquiries regarding Kalafina should be directed at the organisers and official agencies of the group members.

I believe the members of Kalafina have decided to step away from me as their producer to go on a new path that is not related to me. I had been searching for a way to work together again in the future to create new Kalafina music but that will no longer be happening. It is very unfortunate but this is the road that each member has chosen. We are all individuals searching for our personal musical path so things like this happen.

As you all know, the three of them are truly wonderful singers so I have no doubt that they will continue to deliver amazing vocals and music to their fans. I would like to express my sincere gratitude once again for the privilege and happiness of having been able to create music together with them for nearly ten years, and I wish Kalafina continued success in the future.

Yuki Kajiura (Tweet 1)

I hope for a great success regarding the upcoming concert, and that's all I can say about this. I hope to continue making music in a cheerful and fun way in the future (^^). (Tweet 2)

This may be an unnecessary remark, but… there's no way that Kalafina will no longer be able to sing their past songs just because one producer has left, and I personally don't wish that upon them.

I'm sure they'll create a wonderful harmony at their live show in January, so I hope you'll give thunderous cheers and applause to Kalafina's singing and to the musicians who support them on stage. Once again, I wish them all the success in the world. (Tweet 3)

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Wow. All of this is wild. I don't even know what to say. I can hardly believe it. On one hand, I am beyond happy and excited. There's no way I will not be there for this concert and everything beyond that. But on the other hand, all the announcements make this feel a little bittersweet. The personal statements by Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru don't necessarily feel disingenuous but they sound a bit flat and forced. Sadly, there's no personal statement from Wakana yet. Obviously, the elephant in the room is Yuki Kajiura's statement and her exclusion from the entire project. The way her statement is written comes off as quite bitter, passive aggressive and honestly a little petty which doesn't bode well for the future (maybe her manager Mori asked her to phrase it in such a way to make the organisers look bad. And I can understand why she would feel frustrated at being excluded like that). Mostly, I interpret her standoffish attitude as a knee-jerk reaction or as a way to strongly distance herself from the whole thing and not so much as an attempt to bash the members (the latter half of the statement would indicate that at least). Also, she already seems to regret posting such a harsh statement and posted a couple of follow-up tweets. I truly do not understand what is going on behind the scenes to cause so much hostility between Yuki Kajiura, her management and whoever is pulling the strings for this Kalafina reunion (presumably Space Craft's management). My best guess is that Space Craft is at least somehow involved in this project since both Wakana and Satoshi Takebe are able to participate (Takebe is not affiliated with Space Craft but he's been in charge of almost all of Wakana's solo work so maybe there are some ties to the agency).It looks like Space Craft are adamant about not working together with YK (same old childish attitude). Then again, Satoshi Takebe has enough influence in the industry to organise a project like this without the help of Space Craft. Maybe Sony is also involved? I have no idea. Hope we are getting more details once the ticket lotteries start. A new Kalafina website (still being developed) has popped up and it's run by Space Craft so that's probably proof enough that they are one of the main players in all of this.

I wonder if this was a spur of the moment thing once they realised how much hype there still exists for Kalafina after that "ring your bell" performance at the FSN event...Overall, the timing is so weird, Why now? I mean, this doesn't sound like it has been in the making for a very long time based on the fact that Yuki Kajiura didn't even know about it. Keiko and Hikaru literally collaborated with her a couple of weeks ago so how did this topic not come up even once???! Wonder how it will affect future collaborations between Yuki, Keiko and Hikaru? They still have the Asia tour dates coming up in November so I can imagine it would be kinda awkward to work together after this bomb has been dropped. Will they still be covering Kalafina songs? Either way, I refuse to believe tha there has been a real falling out between any of them. It comes across like a series of unfortunate events. Maybe some miscommunication and rushed action but nothing that couldn't be cleared up with a proper conversation.

One thing I'm also curious about is whether or not Satoshi Takebe will take on the role as producer for future music (if they are even planning to go down that route?? It does sound like they might have new projects/releases in store for us...I do feel a little conflicted about that since Yuki Kajiura is such an important component of Kalafina. This is basically what I thought would happen back in 2018/2019. With someone else coming in to take charge of the music production. Back then I wasn't completely against the idea since I was convinced the girls could make it work (especially with the help of someone as established and competent as Satoshi Takebe) but it certainly wasn't my preferred option. Ughhh, I will remain open-minded for the time being. My love for Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru goes beyond anything so as of right now, I feel happy and excited. The live in January will be a celebration of Kalafina so there's no way I'm not going. If they continue to hold "tribute" concerts like this, it will mostly be a nostalgic cash-grab but hey, I'm the target group for that. They can have all my money. And I can definitely see myself supporting them in future projects even with Yuki Kajiura out of the picture. Takebe has been engaging in some surprisingly frank one-on-one discussions on Twitter and so far, it looks like certain confidentiality agreements keep him from going into detail in the matter but his involvement as of right now is limited to being a director/producer for the concert on January 15.

It goes without saying that I will not tolerate any hate towards the girls on this blog! If you are bitter that Yuki Kajiura is not involved, that's your prerogative, I'm sure this will antagonise quite a few hardcore YK fans. But please, don't shit on the members for making this decision. I'm sure they put a lot of thought into it and felt like this course of action was in everyone's best interest. They are clearly thinking about the fans, their own passion/love for Kalafina's music and obviously their careers within the industry.

[tearzah]

[maigeiko]

Anniversary and debut in Yamagata Back in August 2024, Miyuki (美ゆき) celebrated her 10th year as Yamagata Geiko, and we saw the debut of Wakana (わか奈), who previously worked as a Maiko in Yamagata from 2006-09. Miyuki works as Jikata Geiko (musician). As of September 24, Wakana also works as Jikata, but practises dance, so she can work as Tachikata Geiko in future. Congratulations to both!

[frickingnerd]

what would i do without you?

pairing: wakana gojo x gn!reader

summary: while taking a break from work with gojo, he reveals to you how much you mean to him…

tags: minor injuries & mentions of blood, flustered gojo & reader, vague confession, holding hands, wholesome fluff

it had been hours since gojo and you had started working on this new outfit together. the sun had already set, but neither of you seemed to have even noticed. you were diligently working together; gojo was sewing together the cloth for the outfit, while you were sketching new concepts, adding details to certain outfits and thinking of how to build the perfect accessories for it.

“ouch–!”

gojo's gasp made you look up from your sketch. the needle he worked with had slipped and he hurt his finger. it wasn't a huge wound, but you still put aside your work and inched closer to him, taking his hand into your own.

“let me take a look at it” you said, shortly smiling at him, before focusing your attention on his finger. he started to bleed a little, so you grabbed your bag with your free hand, roaming through it, until you found some bandages. carefully, you wrapped one of them around his finger.

“does it still hurt?” you asked, after you were done. but gojo shook his head softly.

“no, it's fine. thank you…” he said, his eyes lingering on you for a moment and his gaze softening, before a few more words slipped from his lips. “i… i wouldn't know what i’d do without you.”

“h-huh?” a blush hushed over your cheeks and you chuckled awkwardly, hoping to play off how flustered that bit of praise made you. “i– i didn't do anything, really! it's just a bandage, it's not a big deal…”

“no, i– i didn't just say that because of the bandage. you're just always there to help me, no matter what. buying the materials with me, helping me come up with the concepts, spending your days here and helping me wherever you can. if you weren't here, i don't think my work would be even half as good as it is now. i couldn't imagine doing this without you…”

gojo's kind words didn't necessarily help you to get less flustered. with each sweet and genuine word of praise, your cheeks turned more and more red. until finally, you sunk your face into your hands, in an attempt to hide how flustered you were.

“i-i'm sorry! d-did I say something wrong?” gojo panicked when he noticed you hiding your face. “i-i didn't mean to upset you! you're just really important to me and i… i wanted to let you know! things just don't feel right when you aren't by my side…”

“g-gojo…” you slowly removed the hands from your face, revealing your blushing face to the boy. when he saw that you were all red, a blush hushed over his cheeks as well. “you… you didn't say anything wrong. i feel the same way, actually. i couldn't imagine doing this without you either”

there was a moment of silence, in which gojo seemed to be deep in thought. until suddenly, he felt your hand brushing over his own and a soft “oh” escaped his lips, as his cheeks burned up.

“this doesn't change anything, does it? i mean… we can still work together, right?” you shyly asked, hoping you hadn't ruined things.

“n-no! I mean– YES! we can still work together! i still *want* to work together with you! y-you're my inspiration for all of this, so if you weren't here anymore, i–” gojo caught himself before he could say more, taking a deep breath and sighing softly. he really needed to calm down, but it was so hard when you sat so close to him and held his hand.

“then… shall we get back to work?” you asked, hoping the awkward tension between you two would dissolve once you focused on your work again.

“i…” gojo opened his mouth, only to shut it again right after. he hesitated, before suddenly he tightly held onto your hand. “i'd like to… sit like this for a little bit longer. if you don't mind, that is…”

[boyofzoot]

Marin Kitagawa & Wakana Gojo From My Dress Up Darling

Commission Info | Patreon

[autumnwalk]

My reaction about the issue about Kalafina

1. I don't believe Keiko or Hikaru intentionally lied to YK. I feel like the talk about the concert is still in the early stages and thus its not appropriate to tell Kajiura about it yet. But the article forced their hand.

2. YK's reply was a hard jab intented to make the fans conflicted. I get it, she was hurt but could she have talked to K and H first before posting.

3. Satoshi Takebe said that he only agreed to be the musical director for the concert only. So Kalafina continuing activities after the concert is still up in the air. (To the hurt fans, please stop attacking the poor Man!)

4. Why would anyone think Wakana and YK's has beef? Wakana has utmost respect for YK. But she has stated before that she wanted to try a solo career and now she has. I can see the main reason she stayed is because of her dream. She wanted to find her own music and that is impossible when she is with YK because she is typecasted in a role. Another possible reason is because she needs rest, her voice needs rest. Doing FJ and Kalafina for 10 years is exhausting. She might have wanted a different pace where she has time to recover but also sings from time to time.

5. I know the girls wanted this reunion more than anyone. And I hate the backlash this reunion has received. (Those bashers can go f themselves)

6. Wouldn't it be better if Kalafina keeps singing YK songs to keep them alive than being stuck in a vault somewhere? Those songs are being wasted not being performed!

7. I'm going to the concert. I will not miss it. I've always wanted to see how Kalafina song will be performed now that the girls grew mature as singers. I know it would be awesome.

Also the chances of this happening again in the future is slim.

8. I was hoping this concert was a step to fixing the issues between YK and SC. But I can see it runs deeper than that. I dont think this beef would end anytime soon or at all.

[barefeetwiki]

Wakana Sumino

[you-turn-it-into-light]

Kalafina - All Live Releases (8/9)

Kalafina "9+ONE" at Tokyo Kokusai Forum Hall A 

[such-a-downer]

Uwuuu can't get enough of their voices

[jazzplusplus]

THE JAZZ AVENGERS - Funkadelic Muse (live) - composed by Jun Abe Ami Nakazono (ss), Miho Terachi (as), WaKaNa (as), Miku Yonezawa (ts), Marie Takeda (kbd), Chizuru Segawa (g), Juna Serita (b), Senri Kawaguchi (dr)

[hikarugloria]

Someone wanted me to combine these two covers, so I made this video.

[putschki1969]

FictionJunction Radio vol.#22 ~ About Kalafina's Reunion and Yuki's Official Statement

A couple of days ago, Yuki announced that there would be a new FJS Radio broadcast coming up soon so fan club members were asked to submit questions. It was all done in quite a rush and fans only had one day to send their messages. Obviously, everyone (including myself) was thinking that Yuki would use that opportunity to do some further "damage control" after her official statement regarding Kalafina's reunion concert went viral and caused quite a lot of turmoil among fans. HERE's my translation of her statement. It reflects pretty badly not only on the organisers of the event but also the members of Kalafina which has led to many fans seeing this project as a sort of betrayal from Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru. It has since been very quiet on the social media front and there have been no updates from either Keiko or Hikaru.

Today, the new radio episode was posted on the fan club site and yes, Yuki is dedicating a large portion of it to this topic. Bless her! The latest mail magazine also includes a brief message from Yuki Kajiura. I'll go through some of the important parts of that before I tackle the broadcast. Please note that I will not be providing full translations. This will be more of a round-up of all the highlights.

Regarding the statement I posted on X the other day (I apologise to those who have not seen the post. A proper explanation is provided on the radio broadcast.) I tried my best to convey everything to FJS members as honestly as possible. This is a decision I made after much deliberation, I was worried about whether or not I could be causing further distress by repeating all of it again. It goes without saying that everything I am talking about in the broadcast is true, but to be honest, there were some questions that I intentionally chose not to address. However, this was not because of "adult matters" but because I wanted to avoid hurting anyone more than necessary, so I hope you will understand.

I think I've said everything I wanted and felt like I needed to say about this matter on the radio episode. I'm grateful that so many wonderful musicians and singers have been involved in the music I've created up until now. Even if we are not always on the same stage, I always hope that each and every one of them will continue to make music in a bright, fun, interesting, and cheerful way, in their own way and on the path they have chosen.

Once again, I apologise for causing you all trouble and concern.

Yuki Kajiura

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FJS Radio Vol.#22 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗

At around 24:00, Yuki starts talking about all the questions she has received regarding her statement in response to the Kalafina Reunion Live announcement. Yuki appreciates that everyone was very careful/kind in their phrasing and clearly tried to not step on her toes. To clear up some confusion and in order to answer a few questions, Yuki is doing a more in-depth discussion of the situation. Initially, she just wanted to write a short text for the fan club mail magazine but she didn't feel like it was enough so it ended up becoming a main topic of the radio episode. This way, it was easier to eliminate uncertainties. 

When she first saw the announcement, her reaction was to ask herself "why??". She was basically in shock. After all, she had not been informed of the project so it was complete news to her. Soon after, it got very awkward for her when she started to receive a lot of inquiries and messages of fans congratulating her on Kalafina's comeback. Naturally, this made her feel very uncomfortable since she had nothing to do with it. Additionally, there was some confusion among fans about the extent of Yuki's involvement because the official announcement from Kalafina Staff did not mention her name at all but both Keiko and Hikaru mentioned her in their statements. For these reasons, Yuki felt like she had no choice but to make her own statement in order to clarify a few things.

She still does not know all the details, for example the exact reasons behind the secrecy and why the members were not able to talk about this to her in advance. Or if this is going to be a one-time thing or if Kalafina will resume their activities.

Yuki says that her statement might have been perceived as quite "angry" because of her usage of certain "strict" phrases (like Kalafina-san, ございます/gozaimasu", etc) but she wants to clarify that she is really not the type to be angry, it was more a sense of shock that made her write like this and the fact that she wanted to stick to very precise/formal language in this "official statement". She wasn't angry or trying to scold anyone. The main focus was actually supposed to be on the latter half of her statement but due to her phrasing, everyone was focusing on that first part (to a point where people were starting to draw false conclusions). She thinks that even the Kalafina members themselves must have been quite taken aback when they read the statement. It was never her intention to create so much backlash for the project/the Kalafina members and she doesn’t approve of it. To avoid further misunderstandings, she posted some follow-up tweets and ultimately decided to record the radio episode. Yuki wants us to know that the sentiment she was trying to convey was fundamentally positive. She does wish the members of Kalafina all the best and she knows that they will do an amazing job. She repeats this several times.

Of course she would have wanted to do a live concert together with Kalafina, it was always a dream she pursued and something she had discussed with Keiko and Hikaru during their activities together. But there were a lot of hurdles and it was going to take a long time. There was no way of knowing if it was ever going to happen (especially with Wakana still being signed under Space Craft) so she completely understands that the girls would look at different options just to somehow make this concert happen. They were undoubtedly presented with a good opportunity so it would have been unwise of them to not take that chance, especially since it offered a faster solution. With an appealing offer like that, it's only natural that the Kalafina members would have agreed to the project. Despite feeling sad, Yuki knows that sometimes things like this happen in life. When things don't work out one way, you need to try other options. She doesn't fault the members for going down a different path. In fact, she wishes nothing but luck to the girls. She supports them all the way and highlights their splendor as singers (especially Keiko who she admires for her discipline). They all continue to have a good relationship and Yuki will always see them as her "music nakamas".

She is also looking forward to working with Keiko and Hikaru in the upcoming Asia tour. She is sure they will have fun together so there is no need to worry. The same applies for the summer tour next year.

Yuki then goes on to talk a bit about Satoshi Takebe who she highly respects as "senior/senpai". He actually reached out to Yuki after this whole debacle and they talked about how he kinda ended up bearing the brunt of fan hatred which Yuki found very uncalled-for. She is sure he will do a great job as music director for the concert. And it's not a matter of him stepping in to replace her as producer because his role as music director is not the same as what Yuki did in her role as producer. He is just doing his job. And he always wants to do the best he can so he will make sure to make Yuki's music shine.

Last but not least, Yuki actually addresses the infamous BLOG that I wrote about HERE. She read through it and she wants us to know that all the "supposed facts" are fabrications, complete fantasies, especially all the conspiracy theories regarding Sony wanting to get rid of her and trying to control her.

All right, this was really insightful. Love that Yuki is pretty frank. I think this is her basically clearing up the tension and offering an olive branch to the members of Kalafina (and Satoshi Takebe). She is putting out all the stops to convey a positive message and she is using every opportunity to hype up this project. Her fondness for the girls is also very apparent, she uses the chan suffix almost all the time when she refers to them and she praises them frequently throughout the entire episode. So there is no doubt that they are still on good terms with each other. There has been no falling out or anything!

Now is honestly the best time for the three of them to become active on social media again and release some genuine and heartfelt statement. I feel like this is the only way to salvage this current disaster of a situation. I mean, they can't let this drag on forever. I am actually a little sad that it seems like the girls haven't already talked the whole thing through with Yuki but now is their chance.

They all have events and concerts coming up and the general lottery for the reunion live is about to start soon so they need to come out of their hiding place asap.

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PS: There's no need for people to bombard me with tons of messages about stuff like this. Of course I have seen it! Of course I've read/listened to it! Of course I'm going to post about it! Of course I will be providing all the info! Rest assured that I will always try my best to keep everyone updated. But please, give me some time!! I have a real life with a full-time job. Running this blog is not the only thing I do in life so I can't always post about everything right away (even though I would like to).

[tearzah]

[koloquials]

gibbous spotlight 🌔

[dramatastuff]

Sweet Bean (2015) dir. Naomi Kawase

[racequeenparadise]

Wakana, Ohlins Lady