Key art for theKirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert.

TheKirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert was a series of concerts performed by theTokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Osaka Symphony Orchestra, held across Japan in the year 2017 to celebrate the25th anniversary of theKirby series. A live recording of the July 21st performance^[1]—along witha second set of bonus tracks—was then released in Japan on December 20th, 2017 on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray. These two albums were released on streaming services internationally on June 26th, 2018.

The concert arrangements were written byShogo Sakai andMegumi Ohara, and were conducted by Taizo Takemoto, except for the "Kirby Air Ride Medley", which was conducted by Sakai.

Concerts[edit]

Initially, three separate concerts were to be performed; two in Tokyo and one in Osaka, all featuring the same suite. The Tokyo concert, performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Orchard Hall, featured an afternoon and evening show on April 16th, 2017; the Osaka concert, performed by the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra at the Orix Theater, featured only an evening show on June 18th, 2017. Due to high demand, three more performances were added; the Osaka concert gained an afternoon show, and two more Tokyo evening shows were added for July 20th and July 21st, 2017.

All concerts featured—in addition to the orchestra—a video display which showed gameplay footage in sync with the music, and commentary in-between performances by the staff.Makiko Ohmoto appeared as a special guest at all six concerts; in addition to participating in the commentary and demonstratingKirby's voice, she also performed a brief dialogue betweenQueen Sectonia andSusie, and sang a short rendition of "The Noble Haltmann" (present on the DVD and Blu-ray but not the CD).

Masahiro Sakurai also appeared as a special guest solely at the April 16th and June 18th performances. He gave a presentation featuring development secrets of the originalKirby's Dream Land, as well as an extra section aboutMeta Knight's design at the June 18th performance only. He would later share this presentation on his YouTube channel six years later.^[2]

Ticket prices were ¥7500 ($48.69) for A seats, ¥8500 ($55.18) for S seats, and ¥12000 ($77.91) for "Dream Seats" (which included special merchandise and a unique ticket). With the additional demand, obstructed viewing seats were added for the Tokyo performances; these seats were only ¥5000 ($32.46) but did not include a clear view of the video screen. All prices included tax.

All tickets were sold on a reservation system; the initial three concerts used a lottery to determine who could purchase tickets. First-run copies of theKirby: Planet Robobot Original Soundtrack included a "priority reservation" for the lottery. The additional concerts were sold through general sale (i.e. first-come, first-served), so the priority reservations were not valid for them.

The July 21st concert had a paid livestream, hosted onNiconico, that could be purchased for 2,500 Niconico points, equivalent to ¥2500 ($16.23). Once purchased, the stream could be rewatched at the viewer's leisure until August 20th, 2017. This performance is also the one from which the CD, DVD and Blu-ray versions were derived.

CD release[edit]

On December 20th, 2017, the Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert was released for sale in Japan only. It could be purchased either as a two-CD set or as a three-disc bundle with the CDs and a Blu-ray or DVD recording of the concert.

The first disc,Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert, consists of the full suite as performed in the concert. The second disc,Kirby Memorial Arrangements, consists of bonus music and orchestrations which were not part of the concert proper. The two-CD set by itself cost ¥3200 ($20.78), minus tax.

Digital versions of the CDs were released internationally on June 26th, 2018, available on several music streaming services.

All tracks were arranged by Shogo Sakai except for the "King Dedede & Meta Knight Medley" and the "Kirby Ball Medley", which were arranged by Megumi Ohara.

DVD/Blu-ray release[edit]

The Blu-ray and DVD releases are largely identical other than the difference in format. They include a video recording of the concert with chapter selection for each song and a multi-angle feature, which allows for switching between the pre-recorded game footage and the live concert footage. Additionally, the commentary between songs is included, but not mentioned on the packaging or on the menu screen. The concert footage begins automatically when the disc is inserted, and the menu screen is only available once the concert ends or if the MENU button is pressed.

The three-disc CD+Blu-ray set cost ¥8000 ($51.94), while the three-disc CD+DVD cost ¥7000 ($45.45), both minus tax.

Official uploads[edit]

On March 14th, 2022, to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary and in anticipation for theKirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival, the officialKirby and Nintendo YouTube accounts uploaded a handful of pieces from the concert: "Grand Opening", "Kirby's Dream Land 3/Kirby 64 Medley", "Kirby Super Star Medley", "Kirby's Return to Dream Land Medley" and "Kirby's Dream Land 2 Animal Friends Medley". All of the uploads were made private on March 31st, 2023.

At launch,Nintendo Today! featured videos of each of the individual pieces as part of its daily news updates. Each medley was posted in the order it was performed in the concert, starting with "Kirby 25th Anniversary: Grand Opening" on March 27th, 2025 and continuing through early April.

Gallery[edit]

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  Artwork ofKirby
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  Artwork of Kirby
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  Artwork ofMeta Knight
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  Artwork ofKing Dedede
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  Artwork of aBronto Burt
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  Artwork of aScarfy
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  Artwork of threeBlippers
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  Artwork ofBlade Knight
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  Artwork ofBonkers
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  Artwork of aGordo
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  Artwork of aWaddle Dee
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  Artwork ofChilly
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  Artwork ofMr. Frosty
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  Artwork of threeCappies
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  Artwork of aWaddle Doo
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  Artwork of aWaddle Dee family
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  Group artwork
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  Header from the website

Trivia[edit]

• Free music sheets of "Kirby's Adventure Medley" and "King Dedede & Meta Knight Medley" are available on the official website (distribution link).
• The ending of "Kirby's 25th Anniversary: Grand Opening" references the ending of "Gourmet Race to Green Greens: Chamber Music" from theKirby's Dream Collection Special Edition Compilation Soundtrack. Likewise, a section in the "Kirby Air Ride Medley" references the arrangement of "The Legendary Air Ride Machine" fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.
  • Both of these references come from specific rearrangements done by Shogo Sakai, which might explain their inclusions here, given his contributions toward the concert as a whole.

Names in other languages[edit]

External links[edit]

• Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert main site (JP)

References

• Music
• Soundtracks
• Events

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