Concert Review: Cinderella switch Vol 3
/Here we are, back with Volume Three of this highly unique collaboration between VR company VARK and the popular V-Tuber idol company hololive. This time, featured is the duo of Flare and Watame. Over the last couple of months of last year the two companies have banded together to bring the Cinderella switch live concerts. A duo from the company performs a 3D live, with one member onstage and another in the virtual crowd. They then switch roles for thefollowing performance. One of the added twists is that both concerts are VR viewable via a multiple of VR capable devices such as the Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR. After the successful pairs of Kanata Amane and Marine Houshou and Towa Tokoyami and Roboco-San broke barriers with their amazing performances in Volumes One and Two, how does the pair of Flare Shiranui and Watame Tsunomaki stack up against them?
Watame Tsunomaki
First up was Watame Tsunomaki taking the grand stage with Flare in the “crowd”. As someone who hasn’t watched much Flare content I found it quite amazing to see her designs up close—and while yes, I was in a VR setting so of course I could see a bit more detail, I was very impressed. Watame’s intro “Doremifa Rondo,” was just classic and got the ball rolling with the high energy track. Her vocals are just out of this world and have that “idol feel” you can just tell by listening to her first song along with the follow up ”Sheep -Song of teenage love soldier-”. I was highly anticipating Watame’s performance out of the first six artists who were in this collaboration because of the idol-like glow-up she has while singing—and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. Her banter with Flare in the crowd was also quite enjoyable and she did the traditional concert thing of pumping up the fans with calls, saying, “Fans with VR, clap!” and “Ladies only, clap!”, and such. Her stage presence was taken to another level with her track , by having intense camerawork along with flashy stage transitions. Flare also did amazingly as a part of the crowd audience, as she replied at the right time and seemed to have the right sayings at the appropriate moments. This alone was probably one of the strongest acts of the duo. Watame didn’t let off the gas with an incredible finale “Connect”; just by listening to her sing the first verse you can tell she’s a natural for live concerts like this.
Flare Shiranui
Switch to Flare Shiranui taking the stage with Watame on crowd side seating. Even though this was my third time around viewing this style of live concert, I was still just blown away by the pageantry of the whole thing and that illusion of having that other guest next to you reacting to the whole act was just so futuristic. Nothing more proves my point than, in Flare’s performance, having the other person (Watame) have such natural interactions with the vocalist. It’s something very intriguing to watch play out and gives the show that more natural idol feel with these V-tubers. Watame was also very interesting as the concertgoer next to you, as she gave commentary during transitions and made various sound effects to kill the time before Flare’s next song, especially in the beginning when they were having some issues.
While the beginning stuttered a bit it was worth it, as Flare’s first song’s “Luminous”, stage transitions were absolutely fantastic, giving off a “starry night” feel at times. Her vocal range for this act was also on-point, as I do like the original version, but she knocked it out of the park with such grace. Flare’s transition to the second song, “Reckless fire” was great; she held a high tempo composition and really showed how well she can reach notes in a lower pitch. Her mixing it up even more to a more cutesy idol track with the camerawork was fantastic, as its positions would be like those of AKB48. Watame was also able to chime in with the “Hai Hai Hai!” replies which are normally seen in songs like these and she was exceptionally well in the banter during their part of the performance as well. Flare’s last performance with the track, “schwarzweiß -Kirino Mukouni Tsunagaru Sekai-” was a pure spectacle; the stage presence was amazing and while it did take somewhat of a different turn, it overall didn’t distract me from a sensational finale.
After-Talk Segment
Like with the previous two concerts, Volume Three also included an after-talk segment and the duo started by talking about particular dance movements the girls executed. The conversation was very fun and really showed that the duo are very close to each other. The girls also went into the crowd and showed off both of their designs side-by-side very well. The fan service was done quite well, using head pats on both the viewer and the artist, along with a very nice hug which is nice for the fans of the girls. Watame also did a head nuzzle (her design is that of a sheep with a small horn) and the duo did a very dangerous Wakipai showoff which fans loved the most. They also announced that they will be holding a second season with Volume Four taking place in March.
Volume Three of this collaboration between VARK and hololive was as great as the first two shows, with out of this world performances by both Watame and Flare. Overall I enjoyed all three performances but this one was my favorite. With a pair of amazing vocalists with various ranges along with spectacular stage presence, this duo really impressed me the most. This collaboration was fun to watch and I can’t wait to watch and review Volume Four and beyond!
