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Marina Kawano Holds Concert & Discusses Baseball with Fans at AnimeNext

Fans of anime, J-pop, and baseball should consider checking out Marina Kawano. All three topics were discussed at Kawano's concert and panel at AnimeNext in Atlantic City. Marina Kawano is a Japanese singer, whose work has appeared in several anime opening and closings. At her concert, she performed some anime-related songs, such as "Kieru Daydream" from Nekomonogatari (Black), as well as the popular song “Weight of the World” from NieR:Automata.

But maybe the most interesting part of both events was Kawano's interactions with fans. In between songs, she stopped and explained things to the audience, such as her love for anime. She also talked about her other personal passion: baseball. Kawano is very outgoing and talkative. When the music cut out during the last song of her concert, she was able to keep the audience entertained by talking with them, even during the first couple minutes before her translator came back on stage. She said things like, “What is happening?” and “Sorry, I can't English!” The fans were very supportive and patient as the tech crew fixed the problem.

After she successfully performed the last song again, the concert ended and then Kawano held a Q&A panel for the fans. Although her singing career and anime interests were brought up (such as who she ships in Monogatari), the fans mostly discussed baseball with her. Kawano follows both Japanese and American professional baseball leagues, so fans were able to discuss both with her. Some American teams that were brought up were the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers, though she says she follows many teams. The discussion covered everything from some of Kawano's favorite Japanese players, what team she would like to pitch for, Japanese high school pitchers, and even the so-called “Curse of Colonel Sanders” on the Hanshin Tigers. If there is one thing for certain, Marina Kawano loves baseball, singing, and anime.

The names of her fans are Marinars, a pun of her last name and the baseball team the Seattle Mariners. Kawano regularly posts about sports, her songs, her latest events and anime on her Twitter account.

The full list of her concert at AnimeNext is as follows:

• "Morning Arch"
• "Sekai no Hate"
• "Takaramono"
• "Sono Koe wo Oboeteru"
• "Kieru Daydream"
• "Weight of the world"
• "Shirushi"
• "Arata-naru Sekai"
• "No.009"

Marina Kawano began her singing career by winning the 4th Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix in 2010. She has sung multiple songs for the Monogatari series, performed the opening for the Grisaia: Phantom Trigger game, and many more.