Hiroyuki Sawano's Solo Concert opened to a Full House

Hiroyuki Sawano is a name that needs no introduction. From Attack on Titan to Solo Leveling to most recently To Be Hero X, his sound has become synonymous with making your anime sound epic. So when the Peacock Theater announced they would host his First Solo Concert in Los Angeles, it was destined for a full house. Not even pouring rain could stop anime fans from lining up to hear the Sawano Drop. But how was the performance itself?

To set expectations, this is not a full orchestra. The Peacock theater stage is by no means small, but it's not equipped to handle the army of choir singers and brass players present in his biggest songs. So I wasn't surprised when his purely orchestral tracks, like the ones in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, couldn't make it in. But while he couldn't bring an orchestra, he managed to bring in six vocalists he's worked with throughout the years. So while he sat by his piano with his drummer and two guitarists (who'd also double as string players), each would be given time to shine as his most valuable instrument.

Starting with the franchise that put Sawano on the map, the Attack on Titan suite brought in our first three vocalists of the night: Eliana, Laco, and mpi (aka Music Pro Inc). Consisting of four songs set at Wall Maria's Fall and Rescue (ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn wmid, Before Lights Out, T:T, and Appleseed), each song set a different mood for the singers to channel into their voice at that moment. Eliana put power into the opening chant of “ətˈæk 0N tάɪtn wmid,” as the Colossal Titan stomped its way into Eren's childhood. That sense of defeat is met with defiance, echoing Erwin's climactic charge in “Before Lights Out,” as Laco followed up by holding onto her notes like an opera singer.

When Eliana returned for “T:T,” she softened her voice to bring back memories of Eren's mother being feasted upon. Even if I couldn't recite the words, that melody of sheer misery brought me back to twelve years ago when I saw it happen live. Laco then finished the suite with “Appleseed,” which played during the final fight inside the walls as Mikasa strikes the Colossal Titan Shifter. But this time she's not alone: mpi arrives to boost her. The first duet of the night was a reminder of when victory was won through working together, something one of the main trio members would eventually cast aside. And the Attack on Titan parade didn't stop there, as the next six songs cycled through the series' greatest hits.

It started with mpi taking a humorous break, revealing that he and Sawano had stopped by for tacos in LA (presumably with hot sauce, considering he then said “Los Calientes” to a cackling crowd). Sawano said he can't speak much English, but “let's have a great time together.” And boy did we, because the next two songs with mpi are among the series' victory anthems: “The Reluctant Heroes” and “Call Your Name.” Saved for when the scout regiment achieved a massive hurdle like plugging the hole in Wall Rose, these tracks were accompanied by a particularly locked-in Sawano on his piano and mpi gesturing to the crowd as if singing directly toward them. “Call Your Name” in particular had space for the two of them to be the only ones playing, building up to the eventual dropbeat for the rest of the band to join in.

The next song, “Barricade,” continued this victory lap, but this time while hyping up the 4th vocalist of the night: SennaRin. Right out the gate, she impressed me with how her voice easily pierced through an already loud song. Then, mpi left the stage to her. The next two songs were solo performances with her and covered some of Attack on Titan's emotional peaks: “Bauklötze” and “Call of Silence.” Whether it's Hange's last stand, Ymir's Rebirth, or Mikasa's Goodbye Kiss, these songs all signal new beginnings at the price of another's life. SennaRin delivered that mix of hope and despair with a voice that isn't full of rage, but sorrow. The funny thing is, she seemed the most nervous out of the vocalists thus far, announcing a quick water break in the middle of her speech as fanboys cheered her on. But the personal performance she delivered here was a sign that something special was coming.

Laco finished off the Attack on Titan marathon with “Zero Eclipse,” the song most closely associated with Historia's act of rebellion against the ruling family. Notably, the band lowering their noise made her sound like a lady commander calling the crowd to attention. Turns out this was just the right mood to set, as she seamlessly transitioned to “FAKEit” from Fate/strange Fake. Even after releasing one episode a year, audience members couldn't help but join along to chant SO GET THE JUSTICE. Laco then thanked everyone attending tonight, saying it's been a dream to perform here to us. She then said, “Let's take it higher!” and signaled the crowd to stand up and clap along to a rhythm familiar to fans of Eighty Six: “Hands Up to the Sky.”

After three rounds of waving our hands in the air, Eighty Six continued for two more songs with our fifth vocalist: mizuki. Arriving with the biggest cheers of the night, her first song, “Avid” made it clear why she earned that hype: her voice flows consistently like a river. She sounded the most like a J-Pop star, able to hit the highest notes of the concert without a sweat. This feat in particular stood out during her rendition of the next song, “LilaS.” Whereas “Avid” is most known for cutting episodes at their cliffhangers, this song is known for the sense of relief it left fans after a 3-month delay of Season 2's climax. It was by far the most gentle song performed thus far, and the way mizuki was able to so gracefully shift from the highest to lowest notes felt like the crowd was given a warm embrace.

After that fuzzy feeling we were left with, mizuki mentioned her last two songs of the night would come right after. Everyone stood up waiting to hear the first notes, and a huge wave of nostalgia flooded the room: it was Aldnoah.Zero. After getting an extra OVA this year, hearing “aLIEz” once more in a packed crowd was a real treat. Even 10 years later, the crowd knew exactly when to scream I SAY CRY! And it didn't stop there: her performance of “Keep on keeping on” changed the whole atmosphere into a rock concert. She gestured to the crowd, pointed to the ceiling, and at one point leaned over Sawano's piano as if she were directly singing to him (his smile was infectious). After performing four songs in a row (the longest stretch a vocalist has gone so far), she left the crowd on an unbelievable high.

Eliana was no slouch either, because she came prepared for her return with another song we could easily sing along to: “Before my body is dry” from Kill la Kill. DON'T LOSE YOUR WAY may have become a meme after how often it was played, but that didn't stop us from screaming along with her like it was 2013 all over again. Then SennaRin made her return with “Saihate” from Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict, a song that starts with a goofy beat before dropping straight into something menacing. The next two songs kind of came out of left field: “time” from Seven Deadly Sins Season 4 and “X.U.” from Seraph of the End. The reason these two threw me off at first is that there's no way they'd call ReoNa and Gemie for one song each, so who could they call to fill in? None other than our final vocalist: XAI

If you're a Solo Leveling fan, you'd definitely be familiar with XAI's voice. She has a heft to her singing that makes every line she delivers hit hard, and that air of confidence she brought was electrifying. She screamed to the crowd, clapped with the audience, and in general felt super comfortable being on stage. That energy in the crowd would shortly be rewarded by the first Solo Leveling track of the night: “Dark Aria lv2.” Made famous by Sung Jin-woo's first human prey, I've always felt that it wouldn't feel out of place in something like Arcane. XAI lets the rage fester in her voice as she sings about committing an unforgivable sin at death's door and that there's no turning back after this point. It's exactly the kind of sharp delivery you'd need to sell an admittedly edgy song. This was then followed by “SHADOWBORN,” where she and mpi launched a two-pronged attack, reciting Jin-woo's battle anthem. Much like the shadows he called to fight at his side, the two matched their chorus in perfect sync. I could see why people in the crowd screamed the title of this song before the lyrics even started.

But if the last two songs were about Aura Farming, SennaRin's return signaled the warrior's respite. “REVIVƎЯ” was my favorite performance of the night. What SennaRin brought to “Call of Silence” from Attack on Titan earlier is amplified in this track. I somehow heard the tears coming from Sung Jin-Woo's hollow body at that moment. This is a case where the small band set-up worked in its favor, as Sawano's piano, accompanied by two cellos, was all this song really needed to make this work. This is also Solo Leveling, so he made sure to bring the hype with Eliana one more time: it was time for “H∅WL.” I've heard this song numerous times in the background while the final fight with Beru trended throughout the world, but this was the first time I got to hear it on its own. There's a gravitas to how this song was performed, as if we were in the presence of two lords fighting for the sake of their species. Even without hearing the knife clashes or witnessing the jaw-dropping animation, I could practically see the fight playing in my head as it went through its multiple stages.

The last song on the set list was a return to Seven Deadly Sins, but this time from its beginning: “Perfect Time.” One thing I always appreciated about that score was its festive feel, like you could picture a bard in medieval times somehow having access to electric guitars. Sure enough, that's exactly the vibe mpi and Laco brought to the stage in their last duet. Everyone stood up from their seats, clapping once more as this crowdpleaser was set to end the night. After it was done, Sawano took a much-deserved bow and welcomed all the vocalists on stage for a selfie with the crowd.

But it wasn't over yet: not with the crowd screaming for an encore. Sawano and SennaRin had one more Attack on Titan song to end the night. This time it was a deep cut for fans of Levi: “So ist es immer (That's how it always is)” from the No Regrets OVA. Originally sung by Benjamin, this track was only used when Levi could be comfortable being vulnerable in his past. That moment when he and his fellow urchins from below could bask in the night sky showed a side of him that the battle-hardened soldier rarely shows. SennaRin brought a similar vulnerability she did in “REVIVƎЯ” to her rendition of this song, made more personal by Sawano being the only other performer in the room. It was the perfect choice for saying goodbye for real.