IWSF2026 Day 2 Pits Vocalists Against Live Band and Strings
The day's staging placed the band on the lower stage and the strings on the upper tier, letting the physical sound pressure of the instruments carry the sense of the idols' presence, a different route to realism than Day 1's dancers.
Key Facts
- IWSF2026 Day 2, themed "ALL Live Band" and titled "-ZESSYOU-", was held on July 25, 2026, at Keio Arena TOKYO.
- The performance featured 14 idols from multiple Idolmaster franchises, including Chihaya Kisaragi, Azusa Miura, and Ikaruga Luka.
- Live accompaniment was provided by the 4-member IWSF BAND and the 4-member IWSF STRINGS quartet.
- The setlist included the songs "Tonari ni...", "Saihyo", "1/3", and "Alive Factor".
- The archive of the performance is available on ASOBI STAGE until August 17, 2026.
Reporting from 2 sources: MoguLive, PANORA.
The second day of the Idolmaster series' first cross-franchise xR live event, "THE IDOLM@STER 20th Anniversary MORE RE@LITY LIVE IDOL WORLD SUPER FESTIVAL 2026" (IWSF2026), took place on July 25, 2026, at Keio Arena TOKYO. The day's theme was "ALL Live Band," titled "-ZESSYOU-", featuring 14 idols known for their singing ability. The performers included Chihaya Kisaragi, Azusa Miura, Nao Kamiya, and others from various franchises like Cinderella Girls, Million Live, SideM, Shiny Colors, and Gakuen Idolmaster. The live band IWSF BAND, led by keyboardist and bandmaster Shunsuke Takizawa, and the string quartet IWSF STRINGS provided live accompaniment. The setlist included ballads like Azusa's "Tonari ni..." and Chihaya's "Saihyo," as well as rock numbers. A notable moment was the performance of "1/3" by Ikaruga Luka, with Tsukasa Tsukimura and Retra joining in, which the report highlighted as a powerful display of the live music approach. The event concluded with all 14 idols performing "Alive Factor" together with the 8 musicians.
- IWSF BAND members: drummer Kazuhiro Murata, bassist Ryosuke Nikaido, guitarist Shimizu "Carlos" Hiroto, and keyboardist and bandmaster Shunsuke Takizawa.
- IWSF STRINGS: Tomo Ito on 1st violin, Risa Yamamoto on 2nd violin, Tomoko Shimaoka on viola, and Yasumi Endo on cello.
- The day opened with Azusa Miura's "Tonari ni..." backed by strings alone, then Chihaya Kisaragi's "Saihyo" added keyboard. The overture and performer introduction video were also played live by IWSF BAND.
- Chihaya handled the pre-show announcement, asking the audience to sing along after the idols left the stage, including "La la la" for those who did not know the lyrics.
- "CRIMSON LOVERS," originally a Chihaya and Haruka Amami duet, was performed this day by Shiny Colors' Chiyuki Kuwayama and Luka Ikaruga, an unusual pairing even though they share a project.
- Chihaya appeared during Momoka Sakurai's "Aivi" after covering the song at her January Budokan show "OathONE."
- Julia performed "Ryuseigun" without her usual guitar, using a stand mic, joined by Shizuka Mogami and Retra.
- Aslan=Belzebuth II and Kei Tsuzuki performed "Sanctuary World" and "Waga Konton no Sabbath Mariage," with Miura and Hijiri Mochizuki joining the latter as a female chorus.
- Mochizuki, who was in a choir, sang "Messiah" with Chihaya and Shika joining from the second verse.
- "Shooting Star" from the vα-liv rock project was sung by Shizuka, Aslan, and Tsubame Amagase.
- The closing "Alive Factor" had all 14 idols sing in sequence, with the audience singing "Ai NEED YOU (FOR WONDERFUL STORY)" during the credits as Chihaya requested.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.