December was a busy month. I ended up having an outing almost every weekend, which just doesn't happen to me. I am currently coughing with a light fever and hoping I didn't catch COVID at some point *fingers crossed*
Happy New Year's Eve! \:D/~~~~
Outings / Events in December:
- Attended a holiday dinner my boyfriend's work place was hosting. We ran out of food at some point.
- Met up with some of my former co-workers for a holiday lunch. I hadn't seen some of them for almost over 2 years. It was a really nice time.
- Had a movie outing with my sister, her husband, and my boyfriend. We had dinner at Konjiki Ramen afterwards.
- Went to St. Catherine's to visit my boyfriend's relatives for the holidays. The food was really good.
- Had a lunch and dinner date with my boyfriend for the holidays. We went to The Cheesecake Factory and then to Five Guys. I'd like to eat some Five Guys again.
- Attended a holiday party for my boyfriend's friends. It was wild and fun, aside from one unfortunate incident.
- Had a lunch with relatives to celebrate my Grandmother's birthday (who recently passed). I suspect this is some cultural tradition or ritual but I'm not 100% sure.
- Subscribed to a free trial of Amazon Prime so for this month, so I prioritized watching some movies and shows on Amazon Prime. I ended up watching 7 movies, 1 special, and 3 series.
- A few days before Christmas, my boyfriend drove us to a bakery to buy a dozen Jewish jelly donuts (sufganiyot). It was a fun splurge for ourselves.
- I think it is official that I've quit Genshin now. I've uninstalled the game and have no plans to re-install. I may blog about this in the future.
Exposures:
- Nothing this month.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie): Wicked -- The singing was great. I'm looking forward to the second part.
- (Movie): Taxi Driver -- It was okay.
- (Movie): Triangle of Sadness -- The were some moments I couldn't predict. I really enjoyed the first 10-15 minutes.
- (Movie): The Zone of Interest -- This was interesting in an unexpected way.
- (Movie): The Whale -- I enjoyed this a lot.
- (Movie): Anatomy of a Fall -- It was a bit too long but overall, this was really good.
- (Movie): Little Women -- I have issues with the ending.
- (Movie): Hand Rolled Cigarette -- This was the movie that didn't have a title when I first looked through Netflix's catalog. It was not that interesting for me.
- (Movie): Pacific Rim Uprising -- This movie doesn't exist.
- (Movie): Fried Green Tomatoes -- It was quirky.
- (Movie): Longlegs -- There were some moments but... not that scary.
- (Movie): Oppenheimer -- This was great. It was interesting to observe all the conversations and the ideas being bounced off each other.
- (Movie): Mandy -- It was okay.
- (Movie): Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- This was funny at times. I do prefer one pairing in this movie over the original.
- (Special): Atom Eve Special -- It was interesting.
- (Series): Like a Dragon: Yakuza -- This was the first thing I watched with my Amazon Prime subscription. As a standalone, it may be interesting to viewers who have never played the series... but for a fan like me, I was left unsatiated.
Playing:
- Nothing this month.
Reading:
- (Book): I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi -- Some of the stuff I was already familiar with but it was nice to go through the content with my boyfriend.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim - (PS4): Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered - (PS4): Moon: Remix RPG Adventure - (PS4): Yakuza 6: Song of Life
- (PS4): Baldur's Gate I: Enhanced Edition
- (PS4): Tunic
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (PC): Crusader Kings III
- (Mobile): Bloons TD 6
Watching:
- (Series): Criminal Minds: Evolution (Season 2)
- (Series): The Goldbergs (Season 5) - (Series): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10) - (Series): Stranger Things (Season 5)
- (Series): The Boys (Season 5)
- (Series): Love Death + Robots (Season 1 - Episode 14)
- (Anime): Tokyo Revengers (Season 2 - Episode 25)
- (Anime): Gurren Lagann (Episode 6)
- (Anime): Chihayafuru (Season 4?)
- (Anime): One Punch Man (Season 3?)
- (Anime): Fate/Apocrypha (Season 2)
- (Anime): Junji Ito's Japanese Tales of the Macabre (Episode 5)
- (Anime): Demon Slayers (Season 4)
- (Anime): Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 3)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 1061)
Reading:
- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1135) - (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)
- (Manga): Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi (Volume 10)
- (Novel): 86 by Asato Asato (Volume 2)
That's it for December. Here are some pics I took this month plus a YouTube video.
What I had at Konjiki Ramen. It was pretty good for its price (about $20).
What I had at The Cheesecake Factory. It tasted okay.
The Jewish jelly donuts (sufganiyot) at the bakery.
Some of what we bought. My boyfriend enjoyed the Birthday Cake and Oreo flavours. I really enjoyed the raspberry flavour.
"i recreated the 'i'll kill you' scene from gundam wing" by ProZD.
Even though I haven't watched the full Gundam Wing series, I find this really hilarious.
Thanks for reading! May the new year bring you wealth, health, and lots of love :) Next week should be my long year-end review.
Also, for anybody waiting on the blog about FFBE, I am still working on it! It has been difficult to find the time with everything happening. My apologies *bows*
As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.
November was busy. I found some freelance work so we'll see how long that will last. Some things happened at home that affected my routine and I will likely have less free time for the rest of the year.
Outings / Events in November:
- Watched StephenGeorg's Extra Life stream. It started at noon and ended around 7 AM the next day. I nodded off a few times through the night, but it was a hilarious and fun time.
- Celebrated my boyfriend's birthday by ordering a durian cake. He loves durian.
- Attended a birthday x2 / retirement banquet for my boyfriend's brother-in-law's father. There was karaoke, food, and dancing.
- Did some catching up with a friend over early morning dim sum.
- Had a voice chat with my LINE friends. It was nice.
- I didn't log onto Genshin for a few days...! Does this mean anything??? I logged on today, though.
Exposures:
- Nothing this month.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie): Robin Hood (2010) -- It wasn't horrible.
- (Movie): The Piano Teacher -- I had no idea what this movie was about. I never thought it would leave me feeling as unsettled as it did. >_>
- (Movie): Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles -- It was a long movie. It started off okay -- then it dragged a bit. I sort of predicted the ending.
- (Movie): What a Girl Wants -- I watched this mainly for Colin Firth. It was goofy at times but I enjoyed the message.
- (Movie): Charlie's Angels (2019) -- It was just okay.
- (Movie): Candyman (2021) -- Not as memorable as the original Candyman movie.
- (Movie): The Craft -- This had some flaws but I enjoyed it.
Playing:
- Nothing this month.
Reading:
- (Novel): Molly's Game by Molly Bloom -- I was surprised to find that this was very different from the movie. I think Molly's character was more relatable in the novel.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim - (PS4): Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered - (PS4): Moon: Remix RPG Adventure - (PS4): Yakuza 6: Song of Life
- (PS4): Baldur's Gate I: Enhanced Edition
- (PS4): Tunic
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (PC): Crusader Kings III
- (Mobile): Bloons TD 6
Watching:
- (Series): Criminal Minds: Evolution (Season 2)
- (Series): The Goldbergs (Season 5) - (Series): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10) - (Series): Stranger Things (Season 5)
- (Series): The Boys (Season 4)
- (Series): Love Death + Robots (Season 1 - Episode 14)
- (Anime): Tokyo Revengers (Season 2 - Episode 25)
- (Anime): Gurren Lagann (Episode 6)
- (Anime): Chihayafuru (Season 4?)
- (Anime): One Punch Man (Season 3?)
- (Anime): Fate/Apocrypha (Season 2)
- (Anime): Junji Ito's Japanese Tales of the Macabre (Episode 5)
- (Anime): Demon Slayers (Season 4)
- (Anime): Jujutsu Kaisen (Season 3)
- (YouTube): StephenVlogs (Day 1061)
Reading:
- (Manga): One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Volume ?? -- Chapter 1131) - (Manga): Berserk by Kentaro Miura (Volume 2)
- (Novel): 86 by Asato Asato (Volume 2)
That's it for November. Here are some pics and a couple screenshots I took this month plus a YouTube video.
The durian cake I got for my boyfriend. It was all for him 'cuz I don't like durian that much, haha.
Some of the dishes I had at dim sum. The BBQ pork puff pastry and the black sesame balls were great.
One of the games played at StephenGeorg's Extra Life stream. I'd like to play this game myself one day (if I can get my hands on it).
Another game that was played at StephenGeorg's Extra Life stream. This segment was intense with high energy. I really enjoyed it. :D
"You should fail" by Josh Strife Says.
I agree with what he's saying here.
I saw examples of this in past jobs.
Thanks for reading! For those celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving! For those doing Black Friday shopping, good luck on finding good deals (I already bought a few games from the Playstation store)! :)
As usual, if you have any questions / comments about anything, feel free.
Now that I've recovered from COVID, and with the weather still strangely warm at times, I went outside more often than usual.
Outings / Events in October:
- Had a voice chat with my sister and our LINE friends. It was a fun time.
- Had a hang out with my sister, her husband, my boyfriend, and a friend to play board games. It was a great time.
- Dined at Shinta (Japanese BBQ buffet) with some old friends. I hadn't seen them in almost a year.
- Had another hang out with my sister and a friend. It was a good time.
Exposures:
- Nothing this month.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie): Suspiria (1977) -- There were some amusing moments, but I think I prefer the 2018 version a bit more.
- (Movie): Chloe -- I had no idea what this movie was about. It was okay.
- (Movie): The Circle -- It was just okay.
- (Movie): The Platform -- I enjoyed this.
- (Movie): The Platform 2 -- I didn't enjoy this as much.
- (Movie): A Perfect Murder -- It was okay.
- (Movie): Climax -- This was an experience. The dance scenes were great.
- (Movie): The Hateful Eight -- A very long, long movie, but pretty decent and great acting.
- (Movie): A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood -- This was great. Highly recommended.
- (Movie): Tucker and Dale vs. Evil -- Quite hilarious.
Playing:
- (PC): Stardew Valley -- My boyfriend and I spent over 100 hours on this game. We were more or less done once we achieved "perfection".
Reading:
- (Novel): Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman -- There were some good moments but for the most part, I thought it was just okay.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim - (PS4): Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered - (PS4): Moon: Remix RPG Adventure - (PS4): Yakuza 6: Song of Life
- (PS4): Baldur's Gate I: Enhanced Edition
- (PS4): Dungeon Punks(STOPPED -- My boyfriend lost interest and it wasn't as fun playing by myself).
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (Mobile): Bloons TD 6
Watching:
- (Series): Criminal Minds: Evolution (Season 2)
- (Series): The Goldbergs (Season 5) - (Series): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10) - (Series): Stranger Things (Season 5)
- (Series): The Boys (Season 4)
- (Series): Love Death + Robots (Season 1 - Episode 9)
- Did an escape room with my boyfriend and a couple of his friends. We went over time but the staff were nice enough to let us finish the room.
- I borrowed a DVD from the public library for the first time in a long time (it was Dario Argento's Suspiria). I hope this leads to more physical visits to the library instead of just using their online streaming services from home.
Exposures:
- Nothing this month.
Finished...
Watching:
- (Movie): Insomnia (2002) -- It was okay.
- (Movie): Zombieland: Double Tap -- The humour was hit-or-miss for me.
- (Movie): Ford v. Ferrari -- It was very well acted.
- (Movie): Black Adam -- It was okay.
- (Movie): A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) -- Not bad.
- (Movie): The Forgiven (2021) -- I don't think I'd watch it again, but it was a pretty good movie.
- (Movie): The Resident -- This was pretty bad.
- (Movie): SINoALICE: The Last Story -- It was decent as a send off for SINoALICE fans.
- (Anime - Movie): Ni no Kuni -- I didn't like the way it ended. I haven't played the video games yet, so I may feel differently after playing them. I doubt it though.
- (Show): Russell Peters: Almost Famous -- There were some comical moments.
- (Series): Flower of Evil -- I had issues with certain parts of the story but overall it was an intense and gripping series. I think the main leads acted well with each other.
- (Anime): Hunter x Hunter (2011) -- I didn't like everything, but overall it was a great series. I would like to read the manga sometime.
- (Anime): Blue Archive: The Animation -- I had to watch this. It wasn't the best but I enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be a second season in the future. For anybody in North America, it is currently legitimately available on YouTube with English subtitles.
Playing:
- Nothing this month.
Reading:
- Nothing this month.
Currently...
Playing (not all at once):
- (PS4): Dark Cloud 2
- (PS4): Skyrim - (PS4): Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered - (PS4): Moon: Remix RPG Adventure - (PS4): Yakuza 6: Song of Life
- (PS4): Baldur's Gate I: Enhanced Edition
- (PS4): Dungeon Punks
- (PS3): Borderlands 2
- (PSP): Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
- (3DS): Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies - (GBA): The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition - (Wii): Fortune Street - (PC): UnEpic - (PC): Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry)
- (PC): Stardew Valley
- (Mobile): Bloons TD 6
Watching:
- (Series): Criminal Minds: Evolution (Season 2)
- (Series): The Goldbergs (Season 5) - (Series): Huff (Season 1 - Episode 10) - (Series): Stranger Things (Season 5)
- (Series): The Boys (Season 4)
- (Series): Love Death + Robots (Season 1 - Episode 9)
Last Saturday I attended Symphonic Anime 2024. Unsure what pieces from which series would be performed, but knowing with high probability I will NOT recognize all the tracks, I kept an open mind.
Inside Meridian Hall.
Me and Anime
If you've been following my blogs for some time, then you know that I watch anime. I don't consider myself a hardcore fan, but I'm not a casual fan either. I'm somewhere in between. I sometimes watch popular series but sometimes I don't. To this day I still haven't watched some "staples" like Ranma 1/2, Fushigi Yuugi, or Inuyasha. I generally just watch what piques my interest or sometimes what has been recommended to me by friends. And I have no problems watching series that have over 100 episodes if the episode length makes sense.
Some of my favourite anime series include Mushi-Shi, Black Lagoon, Parasyte Maxim, 86, Nodame Cantabile, Azumanga Daioh, Chihayafuru, Yu Yu Hakusho, Death Note, and of course, One Piece (I've been a fan of One Piece for over 20 years). Really, I could go on... XD
For anybody curious, below is my MyAnimeList page, where I keep track of all the anime I've watched. These days I usually don't add an entry until I've finished the series completely or I drop it. My manga section is very out of date.
When my boyfriend, my sister, and I got to Meridian Hall, I was expecting a line to the front entrance. Instead we scanned our tickets and got inside right away. I was also expecting our bags to be checked and we'd be told to throw out our water bottles, but that didn't happen either.
I was glad because I needed my water attached to me at all times. I recovered from COVID but still had a lingering cough and having no water would have made me stressed and anxious to no end. I also did not want to pay $4 for water, which was the price at the bar inside the hall. My boyfriend was thinking about getting beer but the $14 price tag was a bit ridiculous.
I looked around for a merch table but sadly I didn't find one. I was hoping to at least get something to commemorate the event, like a nicely designed programme booklet or a pin / button. I did, however, find papers taped on the pillars and auditorium doors stating that no photos and video recordings were allowed.
While we were waiting for the doors to the auditorium to open, we were guessing what series would be on the setlist. For a concert featuring anime music as a whole, I was thinking they would likely prioritize pieces from series that may not be seen by everybody but could be familiar with a large number of people. Our guesses were (a couple were wishful thinkings):
-One Piece
-Attack on Titan
-Demon Slayer
-Sailor Moon
-Pokemon
-Naruto
-Dragon Ball
-something from Hayao Miyazaki (I specifically guessed My Neighbor Totoro)
-Frieren
-Jujutsu Kaisen
-Death Note
-Full Moon wo Sagashite
-Evangelion
The auditorium doors opened around 7:15 PM.
My seat from the stage. I have a good view of everything.
A closer shot of the stage.
7:30-ish PM -- Music START!!
When the lights started dimming, the audience started cheering. The emcee came on stage and spoke for a few minutes, encouraging us to give our energy (or "chakra") to pieces and series we liked.
The conductor then came onstage and seconds later the auditorium exploded with choir voices, drums, and brass. An image of Death Note with the subtitle "Death Note Theme / Death Note" showed on the screen above the orchestra. The audience cheered, including me. It was a great track to open the concert.
A few minutes later, I noticed that the subtitle changed to "Low of Solipsism / Death Note". A thought crossed my mind -- I have to write this down! It would save me so much time when I blog about it later if I had the setlist down right now. I whispered to my boyfriend, asking if he had a notebook I could write with. He said no. I turned on my phone and my boyfriend covered the screen with his hand, saying it was too bright. I lowered the brightness and wrote down "Death Note theme" in my "Notes" app. Not wanting to keep track of the setlist this way, I asked my sister if she had a notebook I could write on, and she handed me a small notepad. It was difficult to write in the dark, but I managed for the most part.
Why did I not want to keep track of the setlist on my phone? Because I was crappily recording the concert. Like what I do at previous concerts I record the tracks for my own personal use. And by personal use, it's mainly so I can put together a setlist when I blog or cross-check that the recording matches the tracks when I put together a playlist on Spotify. Sometimes the track names are in Japanese on Spotify and if I can't find out what the Japanese track name is supposed to be, I listen through each one until I find one that matches the recording. Recording this way has never stopped me from attending any future concerts, because I intentionally record it crappily. The recordings will always pale in comparison to the live experience.
After the Death Note pieces, the conductor talked about Kira in Death Note as a type of anti-hero. He also said that the next pieces will stick to the theme of heroes in anime. Then he hinted that the next series has something to do with grails. Ooo, I thought. Fate!
It was "To the Beginning" from Fate/Zero. The strings sounded very beautiful. It also brought back a lot of memories -- of chasing Akai Ryusei from Active NEETs and TAM that one year when they were guests for a couple anime conventions in Canada (looking back, I hope I wasn't too annoying to them! ^^'') -- and then finally watching the Fate/Zero series.
After Fate/Zero was One Punch-Man, a series I watched with my boyfriend last year. The pieces were nice and fun. I really enjoyed the "Theme of One Punch-Man ~Ballad~". What can I say? I like my ballads.
Then came pieces from My Hero Academia, the first series I didn't watch. When it comes to listening to pieces from series I'm not familiar with, I generally ask myself these questions to gauge if it was a good piece:
-Can it stand on its own (without needing some kind of imagery to make it "whole")?
-Do I feel anything from it?
-Does it pique my interest in the series?
Satisfying at least the first two questions means the song is pretty good. If it can satisfy all three then the song is fantastic. If it can't satisfy the first two questions, then I wouldn't consider the piece very good... because it relies on having watched the series to really enjoy it or appreciate it.
Unfortunately, all of the pieces (except for one) from My Hero Academia did nothing for me.
Afterwards, the conductor spoke some more and mentioned they couldn't have a three-hour concert without an intermission. My eyes widened. Three hours?! At most I thought the concert would be about two hours. O_O
The last pieces before intermission were from Fairy Tail and Naruto: Shippuden, series I never watched. I enjoyed one song from each series.
8:30-ish PM -- Intermission
During the intermission, I chatted with my friend who was seated closer to the stage. He wasn't super impressed, wanting more variety of genres and more covers of opening and ending themes. I agreed with the variety of genres but didn't mind the instrumental pieces. Good music is good music, regardless of whether there are vocals or not.
We also talked about the screen being a bit underutilized since it only showed a picture of the anime and the song track subtitle underneath. Sometimes there wouldn't be a picture of the anime and just the song track subtitle. In past concerts, I've seen the screen used to feature footage from the series. If they decided not to do that to avoid spoiling parts of the series, I can respect that.
I told my friend I was hoping for Attack on Titan to be performed. I also asked if he thought the concert would really run for three hours and he said it was a possibility.
When I got back to my seat, I told my sister to head out early if the concert was getting too late. In my head, if the concert ended around 10:30 PM, it'd take about an hour to get home. Getting home by 11:30 PM may not seem late to some, but it is late for me. >_>!
My friend texted me a screenshot of a website saying that the approximate runtime for Symphonic Anime was three hours. No.... =_=''' Later that night, my friend would point out that the screenshot also mentioned Attack on Titan being cut from today's performance. NOOOOOOO.... T_T''''
8:55-ish PM -- Part Two Start!
The second half started with "il vento d'oro" from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. I haven't watched the series, but the jazzy sounds were great and pumped me up. That was a song that satisfied my three questions above!
After that was "Tank!" from Cowboy Bebop, which sounded fine until the very end. Then a couple pieces from Spy x Family, another series I haven't watched (though it's on my to-watch list). The pieces were fine but nothing spectacular for me.
The conductor then said he'd like us to delve into anime with fantasy elements and play a piece that we probably know very well. I chuckled, thinking that the wording was amusing. When a picture of Inuyasha showed up on the screen (a series I never watched), I chuckled more. The piece itself was very good, which delighted and surprised me. Good music is good music.
Then the conductor said he'd like to switch to slow ballads. I suspect they wanted the audience to cry at this section. They got pretty close with "One Summer Day" from Spirited Away (what nostalgia).
"Nandemonaiya" from Your Name was the first track that featured the guest vocalist, Nan Sathida. It was going pretty good until it reached the bridge. Then... something didn't sound right. The melody sounded a bit offkey. Was I just hearing things? o.O
After that, the conductor said the next series would be the last. The audience was sad. I think they saved the best for last because we got treated to three great pieces from Demon Slayer. Nan Sathida sung during the third piece and she did a much better job.
The conductor bowed and left the stage. The audience gave a standing ovation. Little did we know that we would end up giving a standing ovation three times.
The conductor came back onstage, performed one encore song, and left the stage again. Then he came back to perform the last encore song, which was "My Neighbor Totoro" from My Neighbor Totoro. Credits rolled on the screen as they played.
The concert ended around 10:05 PM (earlier than three hours!).
The Inuyasha piece. It was called "Inuyasha Fantasy" in the subtitle, but I had to type "Inuyasha Gensou" to find the track on Spotify. I enjoyed this very much. Remember that this is crappily recorded. If Kashamara Productions finds this blog and would like me to remove the recording, please either leave a comment or drop me a message through the Contact Form and I will remove it.
Setlist
Here is the setlist for Symphonic Anime 2024. I'm glad that the concert provided the track names. It would have taken me ages to figure out the setlist, especially for the series I'm not familiar with. Track names with the * after them were tracks I enjoyed and were performed well. For example, there is no * after Tank! because it wasn't performed well, despite being a track I enjoy.
Here's the Spotify playlist for Toronto if you want to check it out. This was a bit difficult to put together since some of the track names were in Japanese on Spotify. Unfortunately I couldn't find the original tracks for one of the tracks for Spy x Family and most of the tracks for Demon Slayer so in place are covers.
The first half needs more variety from different genres
It is fine to try focusing on anime with heroes as a theme, but the term "heroes" can also encompass magical girls. Heroes do not need to fall only in the Shounen genre. Listening to something from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena or Magic Knight Rayearth (these are just examples) would have offered a slight change of pace and musical variation to the pieces in the first half.
Tracks do not always need to focus on mainstream
I understand needing to perform pieces that cater to a wide audience, but having a concert is a great opportunity to showcase or make nods to lesser known series that are wonderful and have fantastic music.
While I am aware that part of the setlist was likely structured to showcase music from the three guest composers, each of their discography are varied so pieces from different series could have been considered.
I think having a couple medleys -- one medley showcasing spectacular music from lesser known series and another medley showcasing spectacular music from the guest composers from lesser known series -- could add some variation and some memorability. Imagine an audience member hearing an awesome piece from a series they know nothing about, which then leads them to search out the series when they get home, which could potentially turn them into a fan... and it was all thanks to listening to that awesome piece at a concert.
Please do more advertising
If my friend didn't tell me about this concert, I never would have known it existed and it would have passed me by. I'm not sure what advertising was done, but unfortunately it didn't reach me. I am a person who watches anime a fair amount, but I do not actively check out anime news. Advertising could have reached me via YouTube, Facebook, sometimes gacha games, and the subway.
Also, this is totally random, but below are a couple track suggestions I have for a future setlist:
"Lost My Pieces" from Toradora! If the goal during the ballads section was to make the audience cry, for anybody who have watched the series, this would definitely achieve it.
"Allegro Cantabile" from Nodame Cantabile. It's just very fun and upbeat.
Overall Experience
Symphonic Anime had strong opening pieces and strong outro pieces. It needed some work in the middle. Despite that, my time was not wasted and I would check it out if it comes back to Toronto. Hopefully with Attack on Titan staying on the setlist. *fingers crossed*
