LiSA Strikes a Chord at SDCC 2024 Concert

J-pop singer LiSA returned to the U.S. for the first time since her appearance at Anime Boston in 2015. Crunchyroll hosted two nights of concerts as part of their performance series at the Rady Shell behind the San Diego Convention Center. The show was free for Comic Con 2024 badge holders, but those who didn't have a ticket could watch the concert from the side of the venue. Opening for her were DJs James Landino, Hyper Potions, VGR, and the experimental artist Alice Longyu Gao.

Needing no introduction, the superstar jumped on stage while bathed in a sea of pink light. Fans, who were lucky enough to buy her light stick, waved them furiously as the first notes of Shouted Serenade, the opening for the third season of The irregular at magic high school, blared through the speakers. Various clips from the anime played as she warmed up the crowd to get on their feet. Her setlist focused primarily on her anime song hits, differing slightly from the ones she performed during her 2024 Asia Tour. Taking a step back in time, the singer revisited her top charting single from Fate/Zero, "oath sign."

“What's up, San Diego! Thank you for coming to my stage,” thanked LiSA. The crowd immediately returned her enthusiasm with cheers and barks. “Do you know me?” Although she could see the filled venue, she cheekily asked the rhetorical question to those in the front and the far back. There wasn't a single soul who hadn't heard of her discography. “I have many anime theme songs for tonight. Are you ready?”

Picking up the energy from the earlier rock ballad, the songwriter drove the crowd's energy back into high gear with My Hero Academia season two's second ending song, "Datte Atashi no Hero." Encouraging the fans to cheer and sing together during the bridge, the star rushed from one end of the stage to the other. Since her first U.S. performance at Anime Expo 2012, her stage presence and vocals have grown more confident. With every call of “San Diego” interspersed and ad-libbed into her lyrics, the cheers from the audience only grew louder.

Before she continued to her next song, "WiLD CANDY"—a cheerful song featured on her first album—LiSA asked everyone with and without a light stick to follow her choreography. The first couple of tries were met with a disappointing head shake from the singer. “Oh my god. You can do it!” She demonstrated an even slower version of her directions but wasn't quite satisfied with the results. “I have an idea. Let's battle!” Splitting the crowd between Team A and Team B, she would judge which side was better. Friendly competition always encourages more motivation, and after five minutes of practice, everyone was ready for the real deal.

Once she left the stage, the band played a quick interlude during her costume change. Arriving back in a white rhinestone-embedded kimono and a red oil-paper umbrella, LiSA continued onto a set of slower melancholic songs. From Demon Slayer's "Akeboshi" to the tearful "Homura," the musician showed off her vocal prowess with growls and challenging sustained high notes. As a surprise, she debuted a live arrangement of NieR:Automata's second anime opening, "Black Box." “This is for you.”

Approaching the last section of her setlist, the performer changed her costume onstage into a black belted punk-rock outfit. Because she was at Comic-Con, she had to call out people's love for Spider-Man. “Next song is the Japanese theme song for Spider-Verse!” After she finished "REALiZE," it was time for her to hear from the crowd. As she pounded on a standalone drum to the first beats of Sword Art Online: Alicization's "ADAMAS," LiSA would turn her microphone to the crowd to sing for her.

As the last song to her main performance, LiSA beckoned her fans to sing together for the hit song everyone had been waiting for. The live performance of "Gurenge" hit harder than any of her previous ones as she put her full weight into the song's demanding vocal growls and sharp notes. Not a single person held back as they sang the onscreen lyrics together, which put a collective hush over the crowd once the music ended.

Of course, no one expected the show to end without at least one encore song. Coming back onstage after one last clothing change into a relaxing patchwork denim outfit, LiSA's band prepared everyone to take a selfie picture together. Then, she played an acoustic introduction of her song "NEW ME" before setting up her actual last song, Sword Art Online's "crossing field." Ending with a bang, the singer thanked the crowd for coming to see her as a firework show erupted over the venue.

“It's been ten years since I performed in the U.S. So, I was nervous. But you made it so special. Thank you everyone!”

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Crunchyroll will distribute LiSA's concert film, LiVE is SMiLE ALWAYS -LANDER-, in select North American theaters starting August 17, 2024.