[Live Report] Singing the Hesitation, the Strength Found Within — Rana Merisa Demonstrates Her Current Stance on Stage
On April 9, singer-songwriter Rana Merisa held her self-produced event 'Jealous of the Sun vol.2' in Shibuya, featuring guest artist Honoka, delivering a passionate performance of 11 songs including her upcoming new track.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 02:00
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On April 9, singer-songwriter Rana Merisa's self-produced event, 'Rana Merisa presents Jealous of the Sun vol.2,' was held at TOKIO TOKYO in Shibuya. Following vol.1 in February this year which featured Toaka, this was also a two-man format event, with Honoka as the guest. Although their sound directions differ, the two artists share the commonality of expressing emotions welling up from their own experiences through their music. The live performance of these two, who are in the process of exploring what 'adult' and 'maturity' mean, taught us the richness of getting hurt and feeling hesitant.
The first to color the stage that day was Honoka. She is a solo artist who won the grand prize at the Victor Entertainment / Colourful Records audition in 2022 and has been showing a strong presence in the recently booming alternative rock scene.
Honoka's set lasted 30 minutes, featuring 7 songs in total. Her MC was non-existent, except for saying 'Please treat me well' and 'Thank you.' From the very first note, a solid mass of sound poured down incessantly like a flood: guitar tones sharp with distortion, a bass grooving hard enough to resonate in your heart, powerful drumming that shook the live house walls violently with every kick, all carrying Honoka's voice that expressed both her fragility and her unwavering will. Showered in the sound overflowing from the stage, various past memories naturally flashed back in my mind. The sound and song, imbued with pain and wishes, ringing out from a stage illuminated from behind by white light, reawaken memories of each listener's neglected emotional wounds that haven't quite scabbed over, or the impulses they suppressed when they wanted to scream.
However, Honoka also showed an innocent smile—such a beautiful smile that the word 'exceptional' fits perfectly—whether in the moments she shouted during 'Futari Nikki,' when she matched breaks with the band in 'Ikiteiru' and 'Hanasaku Oka,' or during the jam session before entering 'Samayowanai.' The final song she played was 'Yasashii Kaminari' (Gentle Thunder). True to its title, it was a band ensemble that seemed to tear through all pain, sadness, anger, and impatience like 'gentle thunder.' It was an ending gently embraced by Honoka's accommodating nature alongside warm orange light.
Hosting the event, Rana Merisa, who only just made her major debut last November and has only officially released two songs, expressed her current stance by performing a total of 11 songs, adding covers to 10 original tracks including unreleased ones. The first song was 'Eros,' sung while playing a single acoustic guitar. While this song gained attention on social media due to its impactful lyrics, it is not the only song of Rana Merisa's that drifts with eros and sensuality. The new song 'BAD Ai' (Bad Love), set to be released on April 22 and performed at the very end, also features a catchy chorus melody but sings of 'BAD love = a wrong love' where the protagonist is 'attracted to your inconsistency.'
While vividly singing of emotions and scenes she might wish to keep secret from others, she loosens up the hearts and bodies of the audience gathered in front of the stage with humorous and playful phrases like 'Feelings overflowing when drunk in a taxi, throwing up costs 30,000 yen' from her 3rd song, 'Gaito ni Koishitai,' which she performed joined by her band members. Her sense of balance as a live performer is admirable. Furthermore, what is noteworthy throughout the entire show is Rana Merisa's expressive power as a vocalist. In 'Denshinbashira-san' performed in the middle, just the vocalization of 'ha' in 'Haru ni saku' (Blooming in spring) clearly evokes a spring scene, and in 'Natsu Ippento,' the 'yo' in the chorus 'Modoranai Natsu yo' (Oh, the summer that won't return) vividly brings out the feeling of late summer.
Moreover, the reason I am drawn to the existence of Rana Merisa is that she portrays various images of women. While she sometimes makes us imagine a woman walking through an old Showa entertainment district within a sound containing elements of blues and jazz, she also sings about 'current' images of women that no one else has made into a song yet. The protagonist of 'DUMMY' who resists what gets in the way of her desires and reaches out for what she wants; the protagonist of 'Ubai Ai' who can bluntly say 'Betray that girl next to you for me right now'; and furthermore, the protagonist in 'Medeteyo Baby'—a song where the audience's claps and voices grew particularly loud on this day—who, despite being manipulated by her partner, throws back strong words like 'Do you hate me? Hate me? Love me? / Don't string me along, don't mess with me, kid.' I believe these partly project her own ideal image, but beyond the 'Girl Crush' and 'independent female images' that have spread in society over the past few years, I feel she has the potential to show an image that women today empathize with and admire.
Encompassing these elements, 'Jealous of the Sun vol.2' was a live performance that... (Article truncates here)
The first to color the stage that day was Honoka. She is a solo artist who won the grand prize at the Victor Entertainment / Colourful Records audition in 2022 and has been showing a strong presence in the recently booming alternative rock scene.
Honoka's set lasted 30 minutes, featuring 7 songs in total. Her MC was non-existent, except for saying 'Please treat me well' and 'Thank you.' From the very first note, a solid mass of sound poured down incessantly like a flood: guitar tones sharp with distortion, a bass grooving hard enough to resonate in your heart, powerful drumming that shook the live house walls violently with every kick, all carrying Honoka's voice that expressed both her fragility and her unwavering will. Showered in the sound overflowing from the stage, various past memories naturally flashed back in my mind. The sound and song, imbued with pain and wishes, ringing out from a stage illuminated from behind by white light, reawaken memories of each listener's neglected emotional wounds that haven't quite scabbed over, or the impulses they suppressed when they wanted to scream.
However, Honoka also showed an innocent smile—such a beautiful smile that the word 'exceptional' fits perfectly—whether in the moments she shouted during 'Futari Nikki,' when she matched breaks with the band in 'Ikiteiru' and 'Hanasaku Oka,' or during the jam session before entering 'Samayowanai.' The final song she played was 'Yasashii Kaminari' (Gentle Thunder). True to its title, it was a band ensemble that seemed to tear through all pain, sadness, anger, and impatience like 'gentle thunder.' It was an ending gently embraced by Honoka's accommodating nature alongside warm orange light.
Hosting the event, Rana Merisa, who only just made her major debut last November and has only officially released two songs, expressed her current stance by performing a total of 11 songs, adding covers to 10 original tracks including unreleased ones. The first song was 'Eros,' sung while playing a single acoustic guitar. While this song gained attention on social media due to its impactful lyrics, it is not the only song of Rana Merisa's that drifts with eros and sensuality. The new song 'BAD Ai' (Bad Love), set to be released on April 22 and performed at the very end, also features a catchy chorus melody but sings of 'BAD love = a wrong love' where the protagonist is 'attracted to your inconsistency.'
While vividly singing of emotions and scenes she might wish to keep secret from others, she loosens up the hearts and bodies of the audience gathered in front of the stage with humorous and playful phrases like 'Feelings overflowing when drunk in a taxi, throwing up costs 30,000 yen' from her 3rd song, 'Gaito ni Koishitai,' which she performed joined by her band members. Her sense of balance as a live performer is admirable. Furthermore, what is noteworthy throughout the entire show is Rana Merisa's expressive power as a vocalist. In 'Denshinbashira-san' performed in the middle, just the vocalization of 'ha' in 'Haru ni saku' (Blooming in spring) clearly evokes a spring scene, and in 'Natsu Ippento,' the 'yo' in the chorus 'Modoranai Natsu yo' (Oh, the summer that won't return) vividly brings out the feeling of late summer.
Moreover, the reason I am drawn to the existence of Rana Merisa is that she portrays various images of women. While she sometimes makes us imagine a woman walking through an old Showa entertainment district within a sound containing elements of blues and jazz, she also sings about 'current' images of women that no one else has made into a song yet. The protagonist of 'DUMMY' who resists what gets in the way of her desires and reaches out for what she wants; the protagonist of 'Ubai Ai' who can bluntly say 'Betray that girl next to you for me right now'; and furthermore, the protagonist in 'Medeteyo Baby'—a song where the audience's claps and voices grew particularly loud on this day—who, despite being manipulated by her partner, throws back strong words like 'Do you hate me? Hate me? Love me? / Don't string me along, don't mess with me, kid.' I believe these partly project her own ideal image, but beyond the 'Girl Crush' and 'independent female images' that have spread in society over the past few years, I feel she has the potential to show an image that women today empathize with and admire.
Encompassing these elements, 'Jealous of the Sun vol.2' was a live performance that... (Article truncates here)