A Journey Through Time: Revisiting Aqours' Past Venues

Many years ago, I promised myself that before Aqours' final (or Finale) live, I would travel to each venue that I'd seen then perform in over the years one more time as a "pilgrimage" of sorts.

As I went, I wrote down my emotions and reactions. These aren't really "edited" in any meaningful way before posting. Either they don't make sense, or they ramble on and on. But they're my experineces as I felt them. I think its good to be honest about our feelings sometimes, so I'd like to share a few of mine. I doubt there will be any grand conclusion to this. Maybe an event report from Finale, if I can find a gap in the tears to write it.

MetLife/Belluna Dome#

2025.04.28

ラブライブ！サンシャイン！！Aqours 5th LoveLive! ～Next SPARKLING!!～
2019.06.08-2019.06.09

I'm sitting on the train out to MetLife/belluna dome now. I didn't plan on today being the start of my pilgrimage, but that's how it turned out. I decided to start with Belluna Dome since it's probably the least accessible late at night, but it also hits a little harder since exactly 54 days from now I'll be sitting on the train to finale. I'm listening to the sunshine ost as I write this, and I'm trying my best not to cry (as much as id like to).

It's eerie out here and I don't like it. The only other time I've been out here, it was packed full of fans coming to support Aqours. Listening to the main theme, I could almost see the Finale stage through a gap in the dome wall, with the nine members of Aqours standing on it. Past that, a full dome packed with 35000 people, ready to shout themselves hoarse attempting to convey even a fraction of their love for the angels of Aqours. It just, doesn't feel right out here. I'm not ready for June. Even being out here, it hasn't sank in.

Nothing about this feels right.

I don't want Aqours to end.

Arriving at the station, my heart felt tight and panicked. The station is exactly as I remember it, though I mainly remember it at night. Even though some things have changed in the surrounding area and I don't have many photos of what the area around the dome looked like in 2019, I can see all the fans walking back and forth as I walk up the road. I can hear the excited clamor of everyone looking forward to the live. Walking back to the station, I can feel the crowd crush of fans attempting to get on a train back to Tokyo.

MetLife Dome (as it was known back then) was the last place I saw Aqours in a nine-man solo live. That was almost 6 years ago now. The next (and last) time I can say that will be Finale, right back here in this spot. Their second home.

Musashino Forest Sports Plaza#

2025.04.28

幻日のヨハネ -The Story of the Sound of Heart-
2023.12.15-2023.12.17

Apparently as of 5/1, Musashino Forest Sports Plaza officially becomes Keio Arena Tokyo. The signs are already up. To me though, this will always be Musashino Forest Sports Plaza (or Musapura for short, as Liella!'s Suzuhara Nozomi would call it a few months after I saw Yohane and her friends perform here).

This is one of the most recent venues I've seen Aqours perform at, so it was full of happy memories. "Recent" as in, 18 months ago. Listening to 「La la 勇気のうた」 filled me with a bit of courage and instantly transported me back to December 2023. During that song the stage lights repeatedly flashed blue, pink, and yellow; they perfectly highlighted the costumes of all nine of them on stage singing their song of courage. Midway through the song a flurry of streamers burst through the air, leading me to hope that maybe one of my friends in the arena could catch one for me.

Even though it wasn't an "Aqours" solo live, I was so happy to see them on stage again that I didn't care that my seats weren't great. I was just happy to see them again and to get excited about the next time I'd be able to see them perform.

K Arena#

2025.04.28

Love Live! Series Presents ユニット甲子園 2024 (CYaRon, Guilty Kiss, AZALEA, Saint Aqours Snow)
2024.03.09-2024.03.10

LoveLive! Series Asia Tour 2024 ～みんなで叶える物語～(YYY)
2025.02.01-2025.02.02

While Liella! is the first group that comes to my mind when I think of K Arena, I've been luckily enough to see most of the members of Aqours perform there too. My first time seeing CYaRon! again since their 1st live (4 years prior) was here. CYaRon! brought back references from their first live, and even broke out into playing baseball mid song.

I don't feel uneasy at the thought of being at K Arena for a trip like this. Maybe that's because I've already gotten over some of the fears of Aqours being gone, or maybe because it's the venue I've seen them at that I have the weakest connection to. Either way, I can only think of happy memories of Aqours and their subunits here, which is exactly what they'd want to be remembered for. At this point, I can feel my heart sparkling again.

Tokyo Dome#

2024.04.28

ラブライブ！サンシャイン!! Aqours 4th LoveLive! ～Sailing to the Sunshine～ 2018.11.17-2018.11.18

異次元フェス アイドルマスター★♥ラブライブ！歌合戦
(Ijigen Fes Idolmaster★♥Love Live! Utagassen)
2023.12.09-2023.12.10

Tonight couldn't have been any more different than my first day seeing Tokyo Dome, which was a sunny, cloudless morning full of hope and optimism 6.5 years ago. I walked up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as nobori of Aqours members fluttered in the breeze to Tokyo Dome, my first ever live venue in Japan. It was Aqours' first time there too, performing a solo live at Tokyo Dome after just three short years of performances. Not only did they make it to Tokyo Dome, but they sold it out at 55,000 people per day (with 250,000 more in movie theaters across the world to watch a live feed). I told myself I would do whatever was necessary to see Aqours perform on that stage and by god I did so. Aqours 4th live was, without a doubt, two of the best nights of my life. If I had told myself 2 years prior to going (in 2016, with the wound from µ's Final Live still fresh) that I would be there to see Aqours perform in Tokyo Dome, I would've loathed you for even getting my hopes up.

To this day, it remains my sharpest memories of any live I've been to. If I close my eyes, I'll be standing back in my seat in the second row of stands, just behind the dugout. I'll be watching Rikyako descend the stairs to the main stage as the piano chorus to OmoHito tugs on each of my heartstrings. I'll be staring in awe as a sailing ship carries Aqours effortlessly across a sea of sparkling lights to the wonderful tune of Mirai Ticket. To say it means a lot to me would be a gross understatement.

After Day 2 of Aqours' 4th Live, I made myself a promise that I would never miss a) another Aqours performance in Tokyo Dome and b) an Aqours numbered live. No matter what happened, I would be there. Regardless of my determination, I was forced to break that promise thanks to the pandemic border closures. That still weighs on me, and even now I remember what could've been. I did make it back to see them on that stage again during the Ijigen Fes, a legendary cross-franchise collaboration event between The Idolmaster and Love Live that will go down in history as one of the most incredible nights of performing the world will ever see. I can't believe that was already almost 18 months ago.

Contrast those feelings to tonight; a cold, rainy april and a compounding sense of dread that Aqours' days of performing as a full group of nine are drawing to a close.

On the Chuo-Sobu Local train between Ochanomizu and Suidobashi, it took everything I had not to cry to Kiseki Hikaru. As I approached the dome, I closed my eyes to see all of the nobori from Aqours 4th Live and Ijigen Fes lining the walkway, the corridors draped in Aqours' members' bright sparkling smiles. Under a small outcropping, I quietly sang Thank You, Friends! to myself, my eyes closed so I could exist in the venue once more. I sobbed as the Main Theme and KimiKoko played through my headphones, reliving the start of the live as if it was happening again for the first time. I continued listening to the setlist as I left, tears flowing from a swirling vortex of happiness and sadness within my heart.

thank you aqours. thank you for everything. thank you for letting us be your number 10. thank you for all the amazing memories and wonderful stories you've given us. thank you for your never-fading sunshine.

Just like they carved their names into love live history, they certainly carved their names in mine.

Bonus Round: Water Blue New World#

In episode 12 of Season 2, Aqours runs up the stairs to a footbridge down the street from Tokyo Dome right before their performance of Water Blue New World. In 2018 on our way to Tokyo Dome for 4th Live, my newly-found friends and I took a picture on that bridge with the dome in the background. Over the four days I spent in Japan in 2018, all of us went from knowing nothing about each other to becoming a nearly unbreakably-tight knit group of friends. We'd talk all hours of the day and night, and see each other in Japan every few months to support Aqours with everything we had.

Since then, I've lost all but basic contact with almost all of them, for one reason or another. None of them regret their time spent following Aqours, but all of them have left.

Walking up onto that bridge tonight hurt more than visiting any other spot could.

I wish we could all see Aqours perform again together some day.

West Japan Exhibition Center Hall B#

2025.05.02

CYaRon! First LOVELIVE! ~Braveheart Coaster~
2020.02.22-2020.02.23

I was here as my last venue before lockdowns began, and I've already returned for another live (liella 5L).

It's a sunny spring morning, a couple clouds in the sky. A gentle sea breeze. The sunshine is warm, but comforting.

My memories of Liella 5L are obviously fresher, and when I came back last January for that I had a bit of an emotional moment seeing the Kokura station sign again.

Listening to Changeless is making me emotional. I remember standing on the shinkansen (there were no seats so I was standing between cars) on the way back to Fukuoka the monday after cyr 1st with tears running down my cheek. I didn't want that weekend to end. I still don't, in a way. I don't want to leave, even now. I think a part of me is still in that hall in 2020,

I'm not sure if I've rewatched CYR 1L after 2020.

From Changeless:

Even if you go far away
Even if we were to be separated
As long as the time we spent in the same season is carved into our hearts
It's going to be alright

遠くへ行っても
離れてしまっても
同じ季節　過ごしたこと胸に刻んだら
だいじょうぶだから

Let's meet again someday.

Bonus: Regal LA Live Stadium 14#

2025.06.08

ラブライブ！サンシャイン!! Aqours 2nd LoveLive! HAPPY PARTY TRAIN TOUR Delayed Viewing
2017.10.14

The delayed viewing for Aqours 2nd Live Tour was my first DV. I didn't even know if I'd make it. I red-eye'd overnight from Texas to LA on a shoestring budget, but there was no way I'd miss any opportunity to see Aqours again. I was still reeling from the excitement of seeing Aqours in person for the first time.

That DV made me realize (again) that my love for Aqours was absolute.

I have a whole story about how I was barely able to buy goods at the theater that day, though that's one I only tell in person. If you know me that well, you can ask me about it. Long story short, I bought the last penlight out from under someone that I'd later become best friends with, even though when we met again we had no idea that had happened that day.

Every time I meet Aqours is a treasured memory. Even though there's clouds today, I can feel the sun shining down on me like it always did when I was there with Aqours.

The NOVO at LA LIVE#

2025.06.08

LOVE LIVE! SUNSHINE!! Aqours World LoveLive! in LA ～BRAND NEW WAVE～
2019.07.05-2019.07.06

Aside from being in my (now) home city, The NOVO holds a special place in my heart because it's the last place I saw Aqours perform as a full (well, kind of) group before the pandemic hit. I've been back inside once since 2019, but all my memories of this venue are filled only with Aqours. 2019 felt like yesterday as I ascended the escalator to the third floor entrance. It's so close to home, but that time is so far away now. Except for in my heart, I think. If you told me back then it'd be almost 6 years until the next time I'd be at an Aqours solo event, I would've laughed in your face.

Day 1 of BRAND NEW WAVE was my first time getting a VIP ticket to an Aqours LA live, which meant I could finally participate in their Omikurikai (a post-event goodbye session where you walk past and wave). It was the first time I'd met any seiyuu, and it'd be my idols. During Hop? Stop? Nonstop! I held my penlights in the shape of an "A" (in the color orange, for Chika), and as Anchan twirled gracefully on stage, she saw me up in the first row of the balcony. She made an "A" back to me with her hands and gave me a big smile. I couldn't believe it, she'd seen it! As I waved to each member after the live, Anchan saw me again, and with the same bright smile she thanked me. To say I was happy would be the understatement of the century. In a few brief seconds, my oshi made me the happiest I could've possibly been.

Keeping with Aqours' tradition of terrible weather following them everywhere they go, there was an earthquake during Brightest Melody. I remember my legs feeling exhausted during the song, and like the whole balcony was swaying. I was so focused on Aqours, I didnt find out it was an earthquake until after they rushed off stage for safety. I just thought we were jumping hard enough to make the balcony shake, and that a costume change after one song was a little strange. Luckily no one was hurt, and the live resumed without incident. A memory for sure.

As I walked, I could feel the heat from the sun that day, I could feel the tension in the crowd, I could hear the excited murmors of everyone standing in line to go see Aqours again that weekend. I felt my own excitement from that time, getting to see Aqours perform twice in one month!

I wish we could've made it 5 years in a row. We all promised we'd try.

I miss those peaceful, youthful days.

Microsoft Theater#

now Peacock Theater
2025.06.08

Anisong World Matsuri at Anime Expo 2017 ~Japan Kawaii Live~
2017.06.30

LOVELIVE! SUNSHINE!! Aqours World Love Live! in LA ~Beyond the Pacific~
2018.07.04

This is the last stop on my trip. Not only is it the closest venue to home where I cheered for Aqours, it's the one that hits closest to home emotionally. The Microsoft Theater was the first place I saw Aqours perform live. It was the place I saw their first overseas solo live. It's a place where my dreams of seeing a Love Live concert in person finally came true.

When the announcement that Aqours would be performing at Anime Expo 2017 was made, my girlfriend and I spent hours on the phone as we planned out how, no matter what, we'd be in that audience. Needless to say, we made it. Missing this chance wasn't an option. I spent weeks preparing, learning calls and watching the anime and Aqours 1st Live over and over again.

They finally took the stage. I cheered, I cried, and I knew in my heart that I would follow Aqours until the end. In 2017 I didn't think I'd be able to go to Japan to see them, but that distant dream grew stronger and stronger. I wanted to reach out and chase my dreams, just like Aqours had done.

I'd be back again for Aqours first one-man overseas live just one year later. In 2017, I couldn't have dreamt that they'd be back for a full solo live. I spent all morning in line for goods, on the hottest day of the summer. It was worth it though! With just enough time to cool off, my girlfriend and I headed back into the Microsoft Theater once more, where we were kindly offered seats near the front by two kindhearted fans that wanted to sit near their friends.

I have too many feelings and memories from that night, but not enough words to put them in. One moment, naturally, stood above the rest. During 「勇気はどこに？君の胸に！」, we managed to surprise Aqours with a rainbow of lights. As Anchan sang her solo, wave after wave of color rose in unison in a spectacular display of love and affection for Aqours. Anchan's voice broke, and everyone in the room, Aqours and us, cried through the rest of the song. I'm not sure anything could ever top that moment. The rainbow was a sight burned so completely into my memories that even if I lost every memory I've ever made, it'd still be there.

I was sad about not making it to 3rd live. But after that night, I was going to make it to 4th no matter what. It was the push I needed to make even more of my dreams come true. To reach out my hand and chase that shining light. Their shining light.

Thank you for inspiring me, and helping me to chase my dreams. I've gotten lost a lot along the way, but because of Aqours' support I'll always get back up again.

Aqours is eternal.

Conclusion#

Is there such a thing as a conclusion for a legacy like theirs?

Soon it'll be time for Aqours to stand on their Eternal Stage. A grand sendoff for the past 10 years of wonderful stories. A celebration of the incredible feats they've achieved, of the heights they flew chasing their radiance.

I know they're not going away. But to me, this is the end of an era. Aqours has been with me my entire adult life. I don't know what shape my life would've taken without them. But I know I wouldn't be 1/10th of the person I am today without them. I'll keep my love of Aqours alive in my heart, so let's walk hand in hand towards the future.