Evan Call Orchestra Concert (2025)

EVAN CALL ORCHESTRA CONCERT
Music composed by Evan Call
Performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Makoto Tajiri & Evan Call
Featured vocalist: Yui Mugino
Guitar, mandolin & banjo: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
Tin whistle, Irish flute, Quena: Akio Noguchi
Chorus: Barzz
September 7, 2025
Tokyo International Forum Hall C
Tokyo, Japan

PART 1: GUNDAM FOR THE WIN

As my son is a huge fan of Gundam, visiting the Gundam Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka was at the top of our “to do” list when we visited the Expo in late April this year.

To be perfectly honest, I was not really expecting much – I thought we’d see a few giant moving robots and maybe even interact with ones embedded with the latest AI technology.

But what we experienced when we got there was much, much more exciting.

The Gundam Pavilion offers an immersive simulated experience in which visitors are taken on a walk-through tour of a giant space station that comes under sudden attack from an enemy robot. As the situation becomes dire and hope begins to fade, Gundam shows up to save the day, and with him (or it?) an exciting showdown in space with the enemy robot.

One factor that really pushed the experience to the next level was its score which was bristling with heroic and thrilling themes – but truth be told, I had absolutely no idea who had written that music.

A quick Google search revealed that the music was composed by Japan-based American composer Evan Call, a name that I vaguely recall seeing on various online film music message boards, but one that I had never bothered to explore.

And what a mistake that was.

PART 2: HEAR THE CALL

Since that day at Expo I’ve slowly gone through Call’s back catalogue and have been utterly astounded by the quality, range, and emotional depth of his music.

He captures feelings of love, adventure, innocence and regret with stunning realism, and his music is always orchestrated in a way that allows each instrument to shine and be heard with crystal clarity.

I do have to admit though that despite amassing a fair amount of Call’s music on CD, I have not seen a single anime or TV drama scored by him.

With most available without English subtitles or in genres that I have little interest in, I’ve been collecting and listening to Call’s music based on the sole expectation that the music will be good – and I am yet to be disappointed.

PART 3: AN ORCHESTRA CONCERT

September 7th saw Evan Call put on his first ever concert for full orchestra that was devoted to his ever-expanding body of music for anime, TV and other media.

Performed by the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra with special guest soloists and a sixteen-piece chorus, the main program was conducted by Makoto Tajiri with the opening and encore pieces conducted by Call himself.

Short anecdotes about the music were interspersed between select pieces, and these were spoken in fluent Japanese by Call.

The final concert set list was as follows:

In the concert hall lobby was a poster stating that the concert would be recorded live and released on CD by Sony Music Japan in mid-December.

A limited edition postcard will also be sent to those that pre-ordered on the spot – one can only wish that it will be signed… please 🙂

PART 4: THE FIRST HALF

TOKYO ESP
“World on Fire”

The concert kicked off with Call conducting “World on Fire” from TOKYO ESP, an anime about high school students with ESP.

This pulse-pounding piece featured an exciting heroic melody with a catchy hook and powerful support from the chorus.

VIOLET EVERGARDEN
“Theme of Violet Evergarden”
“The Voice in My Heart”
“To the Ends of Our World”
“Across the Violet Sky”
“Never Coming Back”
“The Ultimate Price”
“Violet’s Letter”
“Echo Through Eternity”

Next came an emotional suite of music featuring eight individual pieces from VIOLET EVERGARDEN, an anime about an emotionless girl in search of the meaning of the words, “I love you.”

The sweet, innocent and joyous “Theme of Violet Evergarden” opened the suite.

I was wondering how they would handle the typewriter sounds as performed on the original recording, so I was pleasantly surprised to see (what I believe to be) a bright orange typewriter being “played” by one of the percussionists during the piece!

“The Voice in My Heart” came next, a lilting theme full of innocence and charm. The piece also featured some lovely performances by oboe and violin.

Three upbeat and touching pieces followed before a truly heartbreaking performance of the sublime “The Ultimate Price.” This piano and violin-led piece was just dripping with beauty and melancholy, and had me shaking my head that a piece of such emotional calibre was written for an anime.

The orchestra later joined to give the piece even more weight and emotion – and by the end of the piece, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

While the lovely “Violet’s Letter” and “Echo Through Eternity” concluded the suite, my heart was still knocked out by the emotional punch of “The Ultimate Price.”

SWALLOWS NEVER RETURN
“TSUBAME”
– Guitar: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
– Vocal: Yui Mugino

It was now time for a change of pace with the frantic and action-driven “TSUBAME” from SWALLOWS NEVER RETURN. This TV drama, centering on a story about surrogacy, featured a catchy yet tragic vocal melody sung by the talented singer-songwriter, Yui Mugino, who has actually known Call since their time as students at Berklee College of Music.

HOTARUGUSA
“Theme of Hotarugusa”
– Guitar: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
– Tin whistle & Quena: Akio Noguchi
– Vocal: Yui Mugino

HOTARUGUSA is a TV drama that tells the story of Nana, a girl whose father is forced to commit ritual suicide for a crime he did not commit, and her quest to avenge him.

Opening with a desolate melody on the tin whistle, the “Theme of Hotarugusa” soon shifted to evoke a time of peace, nobility and gentleness… it was a perfect performance of an utterly gorgeous theme.

THE 13 LORDS OF THE SHOGUN
“Main Theme”
“The Man Who Would Become Regent”
“For Kamakura!”
– Quena: Akio Noguchi
– Vocal: Yui Mugino

Next came three blistering pieces from the NHK* TV Taiga Drama, THE 13 LORDS OF THE SHOGUN.

* NHK = Nippon Hoso Kyokai or Japan Broadcasting Corporation

Complete with male chants and grunts reminiscent of the style of Ennio Morricone’s main titles for THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, Call’s “Main Theme” could best be described as “samurai western” music. It was thrilling, epic and loaded with heroism.

The two other pieces also left strong impressions with their driving percussion, adventurous themes, and supporting vocals by Mugino.

SENGOKU YOKO
“Main Theme”
– Irish flute: Akio Noguchi

SENGOKU YOKO, an anime about demons and humans set during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), was another exciting piece that featured a strong heroic theme. It appears that this soundtrack has yet to be released on CD which is a real shame because I’d buy it in a heartbeat…

MY HAPPY MARRIAGE
“The Dreams of Miyo Saimori”
“A Home for the Heart”
“Kiyoka and Miyo”
– Mandolin: Hiroaki Tsutsumi

Three pieces from the anime MY HAPPY MARRIAGE came next. This anime follows the story of Miyo, a young girl with the supernatural power of “dreaming,” and her desire to build a “happy marriage.”

The first piece, “The Dreams of Miyo Saimori,” was a romantic and nostalgic piece featuring piano, mandolin and orchestra. Despite having trouble hearing the mandolin part as it was amplified a bit low, it was still an enchanting performance.

Backed by piano, “A Home for the Heart” had Mugino providing vocals that were both ethereal and arresting.

The suite then ended with “Kiyoka and Miyo,” another winner that made you believe that the anime’s protagonists did indeed achieve their “happy marriage.”

HAKUMEI AND MIKOCHI
“Tiny Little Life”
– Guitar: Hiroaki Tsutsumi

The first half of the concert concluded with the folksy “Tiny Little Life” from HAKUMEI AND MIKOCHI, an anime that tells the adventures of two tiny girls that live in a forest.

Featuring Hiroaki Tsutsumi on acoustic guitar, it was a tremendously catchy piece that lingered in my mind well after the intermission.

PART 5: THE SECOND HALF

FRIEREN: BEYOND JOURNEY’S END
“Journey of a Lifetime ~ Frieren Main Theme”
“Fear Brought Me This Far”
“Dragon Smasher”
“Time Flows Ever Onward”
“Frieren the Slayer”
“Zoltraak”
– Mandolin & guitar: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
– Tin whistle: Akio Noguchi
– Vocal: Yui Mugino

What better way to kick off the second half than with a truly spectacular suite of music from FRIEREN: BEYOND JOURNEY’S END, an animated fantasy about an elf magician and her journey to collect magic and learn more about humans.

The suite opened with “Journey of a Lifetime ~ Frieren Main Theme,” an upbeat Celtic-inspired piece featuring violin, tin whistle and orchestra.

A lonely phrase on the oboe marked the beginning of “Fear Brought Me This Far,” which then transitioned into a piece brimming with courage and drive.

The tremendously exciting “Dragon Smasher” followed with brass, tin whistle and violin stealing the spotlight during certain parts of the piece as percussion kept the piece rolling forward.

To slow things down a notch, the gentle and folksy “Time Flows Ever Onward” came next, with acoustic guitar taking turns with the tin whistle and violin in short but pretty duets.

The epic “Frieren the Slayer” came next complete with choirs of doom and an orchestra so powerful that it was about to blow the roof off.

But my favourite piece during the whole concert would have to be “Zoltraak,” a piece that brought every soloist to the fore to bring about a truly showstopping moment.

There were so many things going on in this piece, but how Call orchestrated it made every instrumental line crystal clear. From Mugino’s dashing vocals to the tubular bells tolling in the distance, it was a veritable hotpot of sounds that knocked my socks off. I just cannot wait to hear the live recording of this!

DRAGONITE AND THE SPECIAL DELIVERY (for Pokémon Day 2025)
“Welcome to Paldea Post Office – Paper Airplane (Instrumental ver.)”
“Zoltraak”
– Guitar: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
– Irish flute: Akio Noguchi

It was now time for a change of pace with “Welcome to Paldea Post Office – Paper Airplane,” and instrumental version of a song written for the animated short, DRAGONITE AND THE SPECIAL DELIVERY.

Written to commemorate Pokémon Day 2025, it was a triumphant and soaring piece that probably would have elicited an even greater emotional response from the audience if it had been sung live in Japanese. Maybe next time?

GUNDAM: NEXT FUTURE PAVILION
“The Power of Gundam”
“Dream Beyond Forever”
– Vocal: Yui Mugino

It was now time for what I had been waiting for all afternoon: music from GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION.

Powerful, exciting and full of heroic badassery, “The Power of Gundam” has got to be one of Call’s signature pieces, and one that should be sent to directors and producers to showcase his tremendous talent at writing big and exciting themes.

I absolutely adore the part near the middle where during a short respite the piano and choir join and rise until the orchestra comes in for a smashing climax.

My only niggle about the performance was the volume – the chorus seemed to be amped to 11, so there were times that the sound was ear-piercing (or it could be that these 40-something ears are more sensitive than they used to be!)

The main program then ended with the inspiring and triumphant vocal piece, “Dream Beyond Forever.”

I actually preferred Mugino’s vocals here to the original recording because she sang it in a stronger and more direct way. This gave the lyrics added clarity and weight, and only made me appreciate the song even more.

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After a few words of appreciation from Call to the musicians and audience, he left the stage and the audience wanting for more.

Then something rather unexpected happened: a short and somewhat comical arrangement of “Star Sprangled Banner” was performed by the orchestra as Call returned to the stage.

I actually thought it was the set up to an elaborate joke, but no – it was just Call having a bit of fun with the audience.

In any case, Call then took to the podium to conduct the actual encore for the night, “Where Stray Stars Fall,” a piece written for the picture book STRAY STAR SONG.

This piece featured a lovely Celtic-inspired theme on the violin as well as an epic theme suggestive of a journey or adventure.

And that ended a perfect afternoon in the concert hall with the music of Evan Call.

PART 6: CONCERT MERCH

Aside from the pre-order CD of the live recording of the concert, a handful of other merch was on sale including a tote bag, plastic A4-sized filing sleeve, and a sticker.

To my surprise, they were also selling copies of the original picture book to STRAY STAR SONG. This book also came with the soundtrack CD as well as a personally signed postcard from the picture book project’s director, Taichi Ishidate, who also directed VIOLET EVERGARDEN.

We took a selfie together but unfortunately it came out somewhat unfocussed… my bad! In any case, here’s a pic of the signed postcard:

PART 7: OVER TO YOU

Did you go to this concert too? How did you like it?

And what did you think of my report? Feel free to comment below or reach out to me directly in the “Contact Me” section.