First time Reaction & Vocal Analysis of LiSA - homura / THE FIRST TAKE 

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"No matter how unworthy you feel, set your heart ablaze, grit your teeth, and move forward"

Set your heart ablaze! 😭

Been listening to LiSA for a decade, always fantastic. She gets emotional during her live performances pretty often cuz the songs are so personal. A generational talent in my opinion, and one of the most immediately identifiable voices in the business.

Next : Gurenge (LiSA)❤❤❤❤❤

LISA is a a freakin rock star. Absolutely a tremendous artist who if you this is your first time seeing and hearing her, I IMPLORE you go down the LISA rabbit hole. The emotion she puts into everything she does. And if you come to understand her story, this songs and the feeling she gives them hit differently. Would love to see her work explored and enjoyed more on this channel. Thank you for this.

The first take version of Homura has never failed to make me feel emotional. . .

Here's a tip for those who don't know the lyrics. LiSA is so good at conveying emotion, as teacher Chris Leape explains, that I don't think lyrics are necessary to get the message across.... The lyrics of this song are difficult to translate into English. Some of the important points of the lyrics are extracted. "We met in the middle of a burning journey." I met him / her in the midst of a life that's trying so hard to make something happen. "I want to say goodbye, thank you, to you as you go away." "I reached out and held you, a fierce bundle of light, shining and fading." He/she probably had to give up the journey. The Japanese kanji for flame is written with two "hi-" (fire) characters. It is usually pronounced as "hono" (I know it sounds like I'm joking, it's pronounced like HO in HOT). It means "strong fire," but when read as "homura," it evokes a more sacred flame. Such as the flame used to strike a Japanese sword "Katana", or the flame used to send off the dead, since Japan is a cremation country. I would not call a fire like a gas burner a homura, even if it is a strong fire. "The one and only irreplaceable world that crumbles with a sound." It may imply the bereavement of someone important to her. It is a song of determination to move forward into the future with a homura in our hearts, looking only forward.

I've been listening to LiSa for over a year now. Came across 'Crossing Field' and it has been a regular in my playlists. It's great to see coverage of her as she's a pretty big star in Japan. Good music, good singer.

I’ve read in the other’s comment that her husband betrayed her before this first take was taken. She could have mentioned it and criticized him publicly. But instead she put everything into this song and literally nailed it. She transcended and brought us to a completely different world. What a beautiful soul. What a beautiful way to fight back the adversity of life.

SOMEONE GO GIVE HER A HUG RIGHT NOW!!!!

LiSA is an Angel amongst us.

this song is pure perfection and the take made it eve more special.

Me too, the same Japanese pay attention only to the meaning of Japanese lyrics and emotional expressions, but when I look at the video of Mr. Chris who doesn't know Japanese at all, I notice simple mouth movements and voice techniques, so it's really fun. Also, I sometimes watch videos that analyze reactions of other voices, but I'm obsessed with that video every time I see that only Mr. Chris actually imitates the movement of the singer's mouth and analyzes it with a real reaction🥰 私もそうですが、同じ日本人は、日本語の歌詞や感情表現の意味に注目してしまいがちですが日本語を全く知らないミスタークリス先生のビデオを見ると、シンプルに口の動きと声のテクニックに気づくので、本当に楽しいです。また、他の声の分析リアクションをする動画を見る事もありますが、ミスタークリスだけが実際に歌手の口の動きを模倣したり、本物のリアクションで分析している姿を見て、私は毎回そのビデオに夢中になっています🥰

You have to make a video on Lisa-Gurenge from the First take, it's breathtaking experience

She's a pure artist in a true sense. She comes across to me as very practiced, and meticulous - a perfectionist. She comes into every song with that sort of mind set and then channels all her emotions into it and becomes the song. It creates a sort of contrast between technicality and just letting your voice go where you are taken. I recommend anything else by her on First Take. All her performances here are pure gold.

Finally, you reacted to LiSA. I've been following her for 11 years, even before I discovered ONE OK ROCK XD. Both Taka and LiSA are my favorite singers because they always pour out all their emotions when singing, and both are versatile enough to sing various genres. Next, I would like to recommend the First Take versions of "Gurenge" and "Unlasting." I look forward to your reaction👍

Love this! Gurenge by LiSA first take please! her voice is so adaptable, such a powerful voice.

LiSA is the GOAT.

i've been listening to LiSA since 2012, and the word that always come to mind whenever i hear her performance is "energy". She have that energy that affects the listener in many ways, and brings out emotions that transcends through language barrier. And as always, your reaction and analysis is a delight to watch!

Dear Chris, Thank you so much for responding and making this video. I am very happy to understand that you liked this song🥹. I completely agree with every word you say. LiSa masterfully possesses voice, breathing and a certain "gift" to convey her emotions and feelings even to foreign listeners🥰. She has several songs recorded as a first take, if you're interested, I'd love to hear your take on "gurenge" and "Adamas"🙏🙏🙏

for me this performance is one of the best i've ever seen

Rest in peace Rengoku. The way she slowly started her singing with tension is because she wanted to show the beginning of the fight between Rengoku and Akaza. Lil spoiler (at the end of the song Rengoku dies). I can understand her why she sings in that way. Fantastic artist and idol for me

She's one of the biggest artists in Japan, HUGE following, gotta check more of her, she's really really good.

I think precise fits her. It's her brand. Not many pulls it off like she does. Controlled and intentionally tense. She has even said herself that she is very controlled and aims for perfection when she sings, which is hard for her herself.

This is why I have spent the past 25 years since I first came across MP2 on my old 486 computer listening to Japanese pop music. It is outstanding and way too underrated in the west. Thanks for the awesome video!

THE FIRST TAKE is always such a nice choice. LiSA also has such a good delivering power. There are quite a lot of singers left to hear on first take anf I recommend yuuri or hoshimachi suisei. Both have an AMAZING power to deliever lot's of emotion!

man this is a Chris Liepe reaction ive been waiting for 🙏

This such a beautiful song and the best version that I have listened to.❤

was waiting so long for this clicked it so fast

I wish Chris could react 'Creepy Nuts - Bling-Bang-Bang-Born / THE FIRST TAKE'.🙏🙏🙏

Ado has her own first take verison of Ussewa in a piano verison, you should react to it. Its really good.

The first part of you explaining how the accuracy she has is also free really made a lot of sense to me. She hits notes with precision in the way she intends to - normally that just follow a stale flow but because she's constantly changing things up in such unique ways it's both free while being accurate.

This song is particularly powerful, as the very first word, "sayonara", isn't just goodbye. There are other words that bear that meaning that are commonly used. The word sayonara carries much more meaning. It carries a level of finality to it. Rather than saying "bye for now", it says "I do not expect we will ever meet again"

This performance, along with the lyrics and her crying at the end, really gets to me... it's stunning 🥺🥺

i love how passionate you are about singing, thx for keeping those positive energy Chris

LiSA is a wonderful singer, the reason why i started seing anime (not really seing a lot, but mostly listening to A BUNCH of openings, ost and endings, and covers) , going down into the rabbithole of JP music, and some time after i entered into the vtuber rabbithole just because of that, they were doing a bunch of anime music covers and anime-like original songs, after that, i got into your reactions because you reacted to Ado, which at the point of having felt into the rabbithole of anime music, she was already one of my favorite JP singers in short: i discovered your channel thanks to LiSA, despite discovering your channel before you reacted to her

Love these breakdowns, even if I don't know anything about singing techniques. Particularly enjoyed the early point about LiSA's posture before the start. Following your journey into throat singing, I wonder if it would be interesting for you to analyze something from The Hu. They are a Mongolian band whose vocal lines are primarily throat singing. They have some great acoustic tracks in the past year, though a good primer could be their breakout track, "Yuve Yuve Yu". Regardless, thanks for these videos. Watching people geek out over something they are passionate about makes my day.

I really wanna see him react to Mafumafu once😞🤌

sos un genio pela, ame tu reacción, se nota que vivís la música.

Thanks for reacting! Please take a look at Uru - 振り子 from The First Take, she has a very soft voice!

The algorithm brought me here. And I dunno why your reaction and explanation is the only one I’ve seen by far that I didn’t skip any part of it.

Finally!!!!!!!! This song has a special space in my heart!! Now I am crying 😭😭 please react to Gurenge the first take too. Also more ONE OK ROCK please!!!!!!

Chris, your passion for a great performance is amazing. Thank you for the intro to this (for me) new amazing artist!

I member hearing this for the 1st time with the lyrics and I dam near cried. This song is so freaking beautiful. I've been listening to LiSA for 10 years now but every time I hear her live it's a different experience man.... Set your heart ablaze Chris!

So happy you did this one :) great video as always keep it up! ❤ I’m honestly not much of a singer myself but I love hearing an expert analyze the artists I enjoy.

Thank you for your excellent analysis :) I am a native Japanese and a big of her fun !

Finally here !!!

As always love the content! LiSA has been one of the most influential singers in my life in recent years and I am so glad you could experience this performance of hers. I hope even on your own time you can enjoy more of her vast music. If you are looking for more "First take" videos of incredible artist you should check out "Babymetal" piano ver. of "Monochrome" Su metals voice is amazing. Thank you for everything you do in connecting us by music!

Great reaction and analysis!

Whaaa another banger of a video!! I’d ADORE if you check out another First Take Video! Novelbright - Tsukimisou is an absolute experience. The vocalist is absolutely crazy at what he does. He conveys such emotion while exhibiting immense control. Idk what more to say but I would LOVE seeing you react to him!!😭💕 Thank you so much for reacting to these amazing Japanese singers Chris. I love hearing your perspective!!

LiSA is a living legend!

Thank you for reacting to Japanese singers. I truly appreciate your reaction and analysis. One day, I hope you will react to a song called “Ikanaide” by “Koji Tamaki”. He is a very emotional singer and I would love to see your vocal analysis

Thank you for making videos like this chris liepe! more advices from u

I love thir girl, she's so precious.

we need more THE FIRST TAKE vocal analysis.

Chris can you do a reaction to "Ado - Fleeting lullaby"? There are a lot of things to listen!❤️

Apoio de Portugal 🇵🇹

Reol - 切っ先 / THE FIRST TAKE - things are not quite ordinary here either

8:48 i love how well placed that vocal fry was

I can't count the times that I cried with this song

10:25 i used to listen to japanese tracks and not know as well (till i learnt the language subtly) but the first 5 times i listened to it i would listen for the vocals and backing tracks, and then when i am i attached to the song i go back to the lines and meaning of the vocals.

I'm always looking forward to your reactions！ There are other videos that I would like you to react to. It's "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" sung by "Creepy Nuts". This is the opening of an anime called "MASHLE". Be sure to watch "The first take" after the opening video. I think you'll like it！

I hope you react to more songs from Lisa she's absolutely amazing

She has an amazing control of her voice. I once saw her singing opera in a TV show and it was amazing too (even if totally unexpected). For a totally different japanese voice in the same show, check Aina The End "Orchestra" - another singer who totally know her voice and how to "break it" at will. Another great reaction would be the japanese band Band-Maid with their live performance of "Don't You Tell Me" at The Yokohama Arena - it's so great to watch a great singer with the audience in the palm of her hand!

リアクションをありがとうございます。😊👍️ この曲は是非歌詞の内容を知って聞いていただきたかったと残念です。 機会があれば次こそは発声のテクニックだけではなく、歌詞やその背景を理解した上で聞いていただき、どんな気持ちをこめて歌ったかを感じていただけたら嬉しいです。😊💓

Try watching the first take of the song Daddy daddy do, from Masayuki Suzuki. They really sing that song in an awesome way! (A little underappreciated in my opinion)

If you're looking for more THE FIRST TAKE performances to react to, I suggest Stellar Stellar by Hoshimachi Suisei.

I’m Japanese. I initially though he reacts only song with screams. So I am glad to watch his reactions of j-pop.

Can we also have a Vocal Analysis for "Red:birthmark" by AiNA THE END?

10:35 i think the same, and thats why despite wanting to learn japanese to be able to see anime without captions, original version, and also because i would like to visit japan and because i like the idea of learning other languages (my main language is spanish, i also know galician, english, a bit of portuguese, a bit of esperanto and i want to learn more) but, on the other side, i love listening to JP music without understanding the lyrics, specially japanese music because of how emotional it usually is, compared to lets say spanish or english music

You should react to LiSA unlasting it’s absolutely incredible

I think you will enjoy some of Utada Hikaru her singing, take a pick it's all mesmerizing. Hope you pick up on this comment. Love your channel, the content is top notch and you changed the way I approach making music more than once, vocally but also instrumentally. If I ever find the courage to release something I'll be sure to mention you in the album notes as a person who sparked many insights I would have not have had otherwise. Thank you.

Since you love Ado so much, let me reccomend you this. Gigi De Lana, check out her cover of Unholy first, and then you can proceed to songs like Through The Fire and If Ever You're In My Arms again. They're my top two favourites as of present time. Always go for Unholy first and you'll find the same playfulness, freedom and inner rock star Ado also portrays. I'd love to see more from you, Chris! As always.

Finally !!!! 🔥🔥🔥

check out first take Aina The End as well. i like her voice, she has. unique voice

Loren Allred. She has recently had 2 trips to the FIrst Take channel. Both are *amazing.*

3:55 You're exactly right. Japanese tends to not have any glides between vowels it's more of an immediate flip to the next vowel depending on what's being said. She said "itami' and her last word ended with "to" so to have better clarity between words it probably works best to have that small pause and then the hard onset when saying "itami"

I hope you check out Co Shu Nie's Ashpyxia and YumewoMisete on The First Take Too

Near gurenge. It showcases her flexibility between voice techniques really well.

LiSA❤Please do more videos about LiSA’s songs🙌🙏🏻

a singer can make you become emotional, thats a success

LiSA - gurenge. You’re welcome

Please react to THE FIRST TAKE ( Yuuri - BATELGUESE)

I cry every time i listen to this. 😅 If you have been enjoying the first take, I will throw out a recommendation for the channel "dingo killing voice" where groups sing snippets of their discography live. It may seem like a bad way to get a grasp on a performer, but you'd be surprised! In particular, I recommend G idle and Red Velvet! (They are kpop, not jpop, but you might enjoy them anyway!)

I recommend Mika Nakashima - Boku Ga Shinou To Omottanowa The First Tale performance if you like LiSA

I wanted watch this reaction

Hey man ! I have been listening to ren and the big push alot lately, and the song "Goodbye Good Days" by the french guitarist Romain Axisa is such a beautiful song and it has such beautiful vocals ! I was wondering if you could check it out because he deserves alot more attention and credit than he gets for his solo stuff ! Love your reactions aswell man!

Escucha Believe in my self de Lisa ... Tiene tantos temas y son tan personales que te llegan al corazon cruzando la barrera del idioma...

Oh man, if you enjoy artists pouring their emotions into their work, you should react to Park Hyo Shin's live performance of Wildflower!

Hello from Japan 🇯🇵 Please react to Fujii Kaze's new song "Michi Te Yuku (Overflowing)"

I hope you will try Unlasting from LiSA on the first take next. 😉

Maybe look at Sakurai Atsushi work. He passed away a few months ago and he Is pretty important to japanese music in general. And for me. Coyote - Buck Tick

Another cool channel is Killing voice It's mainly Korean artists who sings snippets of a few of their songs really shows their personality, versatility & skills. I recommend u to check out Ailee on Killing Voice prob the best female vocalist in Korea, she is so good, think you would enjoy that channel a lot too. There is subtitles too so u get a idea what the lyrics mean

You should react XG - WINTER WITHOUT YOU / THE FIRST TAKE will blow your mind 🐺

You should also note that Lisa was approached to write the lyrics to this song specifically for a character in an anime movie.That explains why the song is always so emotional for her. For more back story to the song, Lisa talks about it in her documentary in Netflix.

May I perhaps suggest Mrs. Green Apple Live sessions? They sounds great!

I saw you did Aimer, now LiSA (my favorite vocalist from Japan), you should also check out Uru (She has two solo songs on the First take and a Duet with Lisa) and Milet (Inside you is the best one on the first take for me)

Please check out Lisa x Uru - Saikai from The First Take. Still one of my all-time favorites The First Take performance.

You should rewatch this with the subtitles on.