Kalafina is a Japanese vocalist unit consisting of 3 gorgeous and elegant members – Wakana Otaki, Keiko Kubota and Hikaru Masai. The group is produced by famous music composer, Yuki Kajiura. They made their debut by singing all the theme songs of animation movie, Kara no Kyoukai, in 2008. Since then, Kalafina has been famous for their quality performance.

From singing the theme songs for Kara no Kyoukai to anime series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and their latest single “to the beginning” (which was featured as the theme song for popular anime series Fate/Zero), Kalafina has managed to capture the hearts of many fans in Japan and worldwide as well. Apart from holding concerts in Japan, Kalafina has toured many countries around the world such as the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore to perform for their fans.

The key to Kalafina success lies within the beautiful harmonics that is created through the perfect combination of the 3 vocalists. Wakana, who has a powerful voice, sings the main melody for most of Kalafina songs. Keiko, who has a lower voice range, seldom sings the main melody but harmonies the song, adding a very unique sensation to the song. However, in songs like “Te to Te to Me to Me” from their Red Moon album, Keiko sings the main melody of the song and it was very nicely done, showing a different side of Kalafina. Hikaru, who has a very pure-sounding voice, brings life to the songs with her wonderful singing skills.

Kalafina’s songs are just like a good bottle of wine. You can lose yourself, slowly savouring the mystical feelings their songs inject, while enjoying the powerful and yet elegant voices of the three songstress. Here are my top 5 all-time favourite Kalafina songs:

  1. Hikari no Senritsu (Opening theme for Sora no Woto)
  2. sprinter (Theme song for animation movie, Kara no Kyoukai- Chapter 5)
  3. Kizuato (Theme song for animation movie, Kara no Kyoukai- Chapter 3)
  4. Lacrimosa (Ending theme for Kuroshitsuji)
  5. neverending from their 3rd album After Eden

Besides these songs, their latest single “to the beginning”, which is the opening theme for anime Fate/Zero, is one of my personal recommendations as well. It serves as the perfect opening theme for the anime series, and was the best selling anime single for the 2012 Spring Season with close to 40,000 copies sold.

3 interesting facts about Kalafina:

  1. Kalafina’s producer, Yuki Kajiura, originally wanted Kalafina to be a group without fixed members.
  2. Prior to the debut of Kalafina, Wakana and Keiko used to perform at the same dining bar in Tokyo, but never performed together on the same stage before.
  3. During the early stage of their debut, Kalafina performed regularly at a live house in Roppongi and will gather ideas and opinions of audiences through surveys after the performance.