Sakamoto Maaya, Part 2 of 2: Countdown Live 2012-2013 - Tour "Mitsubachi" Final (DVD) Commentary

From the Mitsubachi Diary.

To view Part 1, where I go over the packaging and first press bonus details, click here.

Hi all. Ten billion years (3 months) ago I wrote about Sakamoto Maaya's latest concert DVD release, Countdown Live 2012-2013 - Tour "Mitsubachi" Final. A link to that post is above.

Today I am here to finally share my thoughts on the performances with you.

As much time has passed, I contemplated whether or not there was a purpose to following through with this post. I wrote notes on the performances as I watched the DVD. It seemed appropriate to share what I thought about each performance. But then a month passed, then two and three, and I was stuck wondering what the point was. Who cares what I thought about the performances? The songs are songs we know already, there's nothing new, so why?

Well a friend convinced me to do it anyway (shout out to you dear Maxi) so here it is. But this will be briefer than originally planned because, again, why?

Sakamoto Maaya, Part 1 of 2: Countdown Live 2012-2013 - Tour "Mitsubachi" Final (DVD) + First Press Bonus

To read Part 2, my thoughts regarding the performances of this DVD, click here.

Hi everyone. :) Here is my pretty timely post on Sakamoto Maaya's most recent concert DVD, Countdown Live 2012-2013 - Tour "Mitsubachi" Final (release date: 06/13/13) - a recording of the last tour date of her holiday tour back in December 2012. Before I get into anything, I want to say that this post is going to follow the same format as my Singer-Songwriter review: that is, it is going to be split into two parts. The first, which you're reading right now, is going to focus on the first press bonus details and have a lot of pictures. The second, which I will link here when it's up, is going to focus on my opinions/reactions to the performances/other features of the DVD.

Anyway, I am still basking in the natural high that I get every time a Sakamoto package finally arrives in the mail (lol). The time between preordering and actually receiving feels like forever sometimes! But this past Sunday, I finally got the much-anticipated email saying my package was shipped out (again, I love how early CDJapan sometimes sends out preordered products in relation to their actual release dates - this one was shipped out on 06/10 when the release date wasn't until 06/13). And then, when I was ready to go walking yesterday, I saw this...

Sakamoto Maaya: Live2011 In the Silence DVD + First Press Bonus (05/30/12)

Perhaps the biggest highlight of this past week was Wednesday the 25th, when my much anticipated package from CDJapan arrived: the DVD of Sakamoto Maaya's live 2011 concert "In the Silence" and her most recent single, More than Words. My life momentarily felt complete as it always does when I receive a Sakamoto-related package (lol!). This review is dedicated solely to the DVD, which I've watched in its entirety twice since then.

Sakamoto Maaya has been my favorite singer since I was about 10 years old. Her albums, singles, and DVDs are the only luxury items I really don't mind spending what others most likely consider 'too much' money on. Her music has been an important part of my life thus far, and I've attached a great deal of memories to nearly every song I have of hers. That may very well be the reason why this DVD is my absolute favorite of the three I own with live concerts she's held ("We Are Kazeyomi" and "Gift" being the other two).