a-nation ‘07 BEST HIT LIVE (a J!-ENT Music DVD Review)

ARTIST: Various Artists

DVD TITLE: a-nation ‘07 BEST HIT LIVE

CATALOG #: avtdvd-096

DURATION: 1:44:24

DVD INFO: Region 2, 16:9 LB

1. Suzuki Ami - Delightful
2. AAA-Sunshine
3. My Little Lover - dreamy success
4. Tenjo Chiki - Piranha
5. KEN MATSDAIRA - Mashiken Barabara
6. Takasugi Satomi - Tabibito
7. COLOR - Hoshi ga Ochinai Yoni
8. Natsuki Mari - Kimi e - ONE NIGHT ONLY-
9. Every Little Thing- Kirameki Hour
10. Tohoshinki - Sumer Dream
11. mink - Amazing Grace
12. Nakamura Ataru - Tomodachi no Uta
13. Otsuka Ai - CHU-LIP
14. Koda Kumi - FREAKY
15. TRF- BOY MEETS GIRL
16. TRF - LEGEND OF WIND
17. Hamasaki Ayumi - 1 LOVE
18. Hamasaki Ayumi - fated
19. Hamasaki Ayumi - glitter

OPENING ACT:

J-Min, Seara Ko-jo, JONTE, MAY, Ramuji, FONK, Hiroki

BACK STAGE:

MIYAGI, EHIME, SHIZUOKA, HYOGO, TOKYO

The latest DVD for a-nation ‘07 is here with “a-nation ‘07 BEST HIT LIVE”.

The summer concert festival featuring artists on avex’s various sub-labels and also artists managed by avex management agencies such as tearbridge took part in a concert that brings out thousands of people.

In 2007, the concert was held in Miyagi, Ehime, Shizuoka, Hyogo and Tokyo.

The DVD features the various performances from the artists that took part in the concert which was held in different cities throughout Japan but how does the latest a-nation DVD fare compared to past releases?

“a-nation 07 BEST HIT LIVE” was interesting in what artists they included on the DVD.

In the past, we would get a really beefed up DVD with several performances by an artist or group but continuing the trend since 2005, a-nation DVD releases would feature only one performance for each artist with only Hamasaki Ayumi to get multiple performances.

Of course, fans who want more than one single performance on the DVD comparable to the 2004 release are upset that a-nation has continued the trend in 2007. With only TRF and Hamasaki Ayumi getting multiple songs.

So, I do understand where the fans of the 2004 DVD are coming from and why they have been vocal. In the past, you would get around 8 artists (typically the more popular artists) with multiple songs.

But I feel that Avex wants to spotlight their roster (which they have a large roster of artists) and show them on the big stage. And for me, I actually like that because if I wanted to hear multiple songs of an artist, I can watch a DVD of that artist. I’d prefer to see a performance of an artist that I’ve never seen.

So, for 2007, the DVD shows performances by Suzuki Ami, AAA, My Little Lover, KEN MATSUDAIRA, COLOR, mink, Nakamura Ataru, Koda Kumi, Otsuka Ai, Hamasaki Ayumi to name a few and with the differences of musical styles from let’s say a TRF from a My Little Lover, you get a bit of everything.

My highlights of the DVD were:

Suzuki Ami - Delightful: Previous performances of Suzuki at a-nation were ok. Nothing great. But this performance, it was great to hear her sing live and not be super-diva and it was great to see the support from the fans during this performance.

AAA-Sunshine: AAA is always a lively band to watch perform live and their performance at a-nation was energetic and vibrant.
My Little Lover - dreamy success: I would not imagine ever seeing My Little Lover performing live at a-nation but her they are. Akko and band were lively and great to see them perform live.

Tenjo Chiki - Piranha: This quartet from Korea actually surprised me. Their onstage presence was very sexy and their performance of “Piranha” sounded great live!

COLOR - Hoshi ga Ochinai Yoni: Wow! I’ve always loved COLOR (past group and present group) because it’s a very western R&B sound and to hear them perform live was great. Great vocals!

Otsuka Ai - CHU-LIP: This performance was probably among the most lively that night with possibly several hundred people on stage dancing to the song. Very energetic and Otsuka Ai is always fun to watch perform live especially in this song because the band and everyone is into it and dancing.

Koda Kumi - FREAKY: A very cool performance and actually very surprised only one performance from Avex’s diva is on this DVD. Very sexy and love the pyrotechnics.

TRF - BOY MEETS GIRL and LEGEND OF THE WIND: The fans continue to support TRF, avex’s oldest group currently on the label. And it’s great to see them perform because they still look as great as they did 15 years ago.

And there were a lot of musical performances that also caught my eye. I was interested in watching Nakamura Ataru perform (Avex’s transexual artist) for the first time and she did a great job. Her songs are very elegant and would be great to watch in concert with an orchestra as opposed to something like a-nation.

mink (made in korea) did an awesome job singing “Amazing Grace” but personally, would love to see them include other songs that she performed at a-nation but nevertheless a good song.

Hamasaki Ayumi’s performance was good but it pales to comparison of what you could see on her own personal concert DVD’s which are more energetic and great to watch. But her performance at a-nation are still very cool to watch.

As for Tohoshinki, they performed well but still, that performance of “Rising Sun” in a-nation 2006 still remains my favorite performance by the group.
As for bonus features, the DVD features the 10-minute “OPENING ACT” which features clips of J-Min, Kojo Seara, JONTE, MAY, Ramuji, FONK and Hiroki. Similar to previous DVD’s, the opening acts tend to show about two minutes worth of each performance. I don’t see why they don’t include the full opening acts on the DVD, would have loved to see the full performance of JONTE and MAY. This goes the same for those who played on the Power Stage such as JAMOSA, Mother Ninja, DRM, Asia Engineer and 5050 (to name a few) who are briefly shown on the Back Stage bonus feature.

The final bonus feature is BACK STAGE and this one was actually pretty cool. It’s a 30 minutes behind the scenes segment for a-nation from setting up and behind-the-scenes at the concert performances at different cities throughout Japan primarily Miyagi, Ehime, Shizuoka, Hyogo and Tokyo.

On the screen, you see Japan and a location of each areas that a-nation took place and when you click on it, you get to see the “Power Stage” performances of several artists on various avex sub-labels. Or you can watch all performances by clicking “watch all”.

The cool thing about the inclusion of “BACK STAGE” is watching other performers enjoying the performances of other artists. Watching Koda Kumi and Hamasaki Ayumi enjoying TRF, AAA, Tohoshinki and My Little Lover getting excited about their performance and watching the audience walk to the concert area and see the dancers and people who are involved with the performances getting excited. So, always loved the inclusion of this on the a-nation DVD’s.

The DVD is presented in 16:9 letterbox which was cool to see and offers a 2.0 (Linear PCM Stereo Track) and a Digital 5.1ch track.

The DVD insert features photos of all artists performaning at a-nation which include those who performed on “POWER STAGE”, “OPENING ACT”, “SHOOTING ARTISTS”, “SURPRISE ARTIST” and “REGULAR ARTIST”.

Surprising is no appearances (or mention) by avex sub-label artists such as ANNA TSUCHIYA, EXILE and several others on the DVD (only on the Website). It’s understandable to not see non-Avex related artists such as mihimaru GT and SEAMO not on the DVD (although, they are managed by avex owned talent agency Tearbridge Productions) but would really like to see all artists who performed at a-nation to be mentioned or a small performance clip shown on the DVD.

Now mihimaru GT and Kome Kome Club are special tracks on the “a-nation ‘07 BEST HIT SELECTION” which is a CD album that contains a DVD with music videos.

And last, there is a special DVD limited edition release that comes with a t-shirt. Previous limited edition releases have included t-shirts and even the a-nation blue bear.

All in all, a-nation 2007 DVD is another cool DVD compilation of seeing other avex-related artists perform on stage together and watch it on DVD.

Sure, we can see the many concert collaborations on music specials on television but if you’re an avex fan, you will dig this DVD.

I know that many reviewers are very critical because their favorite artist(s) who performed at a-nation are not on this DVD. Some have mentioned “what about mihimaru GT or ANNA TSUCHIYA?” and really, I don’t know why they have no mention on this DVD.

The other reviews were extremely critical that only one song is represented for the majority of the artists and I guess if you compare the a-nation DVD to American concert DVD’s such as the woodstock performance or even the recent UK DVD release of celebration for Lady Di, I guess you can say, why not a multi-DVD release for a-nation that shows all artists?

I’m sure there are reasons for why it’s not done and in this release, I figured TRF got two songs because it’s their 15th Anniversary and helped put Avex on the map in the company’s first five years and of course Hamasaki Ayumi for what she has brought to the company financially.

I expect next year’s “a-Nation” (2008) to be even more special as the company celebrates it’s 20th Year Anniversary but for now, if you want a DVD that shows off cool performances by various avex artists, then definitely pick this DVD up. If you are more into the R&B sound for Avex’s RhythmZone label (such as m-flo, Koda Kumi, EXILE, RAM RIDER, etc.), then pick up Rhythm Nation 2007.