Infinite: Second Invasion Evolution Plus DVD Review

I'm a little late on a Thanksgiving post, but here it is. If I were to write a Thanksgiving post about the things I'm thankful for this year, it would just look like my OGSLA Anniversary post; I'm thankful for the unforgettable experiences I gained this summer while studying abroad in Korea. But since that's already been done, I'll just review a little something that I bought while in Korea!

I am so behind on my unboxings, but now finally I'll be reviewing Infinite's 1st Arena Tour in Japan, the Second Invasion Evolution Plus Concert DVD! I wasn't going to buy this when it originally released in early January, 2014, because this DVD set is only available in Region 2 (for Japan, and therefore no English subtitles) or Region 3 (for other parts of Asia, but with English subtitles), and therefore I didn't think I could play it in the US. But while I was in Korea, I couldn't stop myself and bought Region 3 on impulse for 39,500₩, which is quite reasonable since there is no shipping fee.

I bought this in Myungdong at YP Bookstore, the bottom floors of Noon Square. The CDs and DVDs are in one corner, and there's a little counter with a worker there. I thought that was where I was supposed to pay, so I showed him my items, and he handed me a packet of Infinite postcards that come with the DVD set, then pointed across the store to the actual cash register. Apparently this is the counter to receive the bonus posters and whatnot; I'm so glad I came here, or else I wouldn't have gotten the postcards! I knew the DVD came with postcards, but I thought they'd be inside the packaging. Onto the actual product~

Second Invasion Evolution Plus is the last concert series from Infinite's Second Invasion concert series, and this is Infinite's first arena tour in Japan. Though this was released in 2014, this arena tour actually occurred from October 27, 2012 to November 22, 2012, will 11 shows. This DVD specifically covers the last two dates at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo.

The front photo is the same group photo from Second Invasion Evolution. The overall design is simplistic, with metallic silver detailing that reflects all colors of the rainbow. The side is angled so the contents are peeking out, and you can see the little Infinite logo on the front and back.

For some reason, the Japanese DVDs tend to look...bootlegged (or I guess, just really basic in appearance) in comparison to Infinite's Korean DVDs, as seen on the side and back. All these companies are just printed on the box and it just looks cheap. Usually Infinite's Japanese products don't have authentication seals, so it's reassuring that this DVD set has two.

The back has the two seals, the tracklist for all three discs, and DVD information. Everything is written in either Korean or English.

Here is a closeup of all the information. The DVDs are for Region 3, but I was able to play it on my American DVD player, which I thought was set up for only Region 1. So possibly this is for Regions 1 and 3. The subtitles are in Korean, English and Chinese.

This set includes the 3-disc box on top, the photobook on the bottom, and exterior postcards. Here you can see the tiny Infinite logo is on the front of the DVD box, and on the back of the photobook, so they can both peek out on the front and back.

Here are the postcards. During the VCR of the Second Invasion concert DVD, Infinite said L and Hoya were currently the most popular, so possibly that's why those two postcards are the covers. The seven postcards come a a resealable plastic bag.

The postcards came in order from top left to bottom right, with the bottom row facing backwards (like this matters...). They're just smaller than 4" x 6" and are like flimsy card stock with a completely white background. I really like these photos and their backgrounds; they show various parts of the concert and the members enjoying themselves.

These are the covers to the DVD case. The symbol really looks like striped candy canes to me. Like the exterior box, this case is highly glossy.

The DVD case is tri-fold. The first two discs contain the concert footage while the third disc contains the special features. The first disc is 88 minutes long and contains the majority of the set list, at 19 songs. The second disc is 40 minutes long and contains just 4 songs, but with the ending comments. And the third disc is 30 minutes long. I am so sorry, I didn't mean to write so much about the DVDs, but my fangirling could not be controlled and I just had to write it all out.

The main reason I wanted to buy this was to see how Infinite would deal with performing in a foreign country. I thought that they would sing their songs that have already been released in Japanese at the time ("BTD," "Be Mine," "Julia,"  "She's Back," "Come Back Again"). Surprisingly, Infinite sang almost all of their songs in Korean. During the opening song, "Come Back Again" (Korean version), a member even said in Korean, "Shout!" so I really thought that everything would be in Korean. But then during the intro ment, everyone spoke really confidently and fluently in Japanese; they all seemed to handle the stage just like at their Korean concerts. They sang "BTD," "She's Back" and "Be Mine" in Japanese.

The menu on the DVD has the set list including all the "ments" and videos, and it's all in Korean or English. The songs played throughout these various menus for the first disc are "BTD" (Korean version), "Paradise" and "That Summer," and for the second disc, the Korean versions of "Come Back Again" and "Nothing's Over," and for the third disc, the Korean versions of "Hysterie" and "She's Back."

The concert begins with the Second Invasion intro VCR, but with a new extension VCR where the members failed at dismantling a bomb and rescuers just barely missed saving Myungsoo (the feels!). The VCR continues with the Second Invasion Evolution VCR where Infinite's wearing their white military suits and walking dramatically with the white feathers floating around. The opening is similar but not as upscale as SIE, with the strobe lights and industrial container and "Come Back Again." They also performed "Tic Toc," "Wings," and "Voice of My Heart," which are three of my favorite songs performed live; the vocals, dance and orchestra are so amazing, making it so different from the recorded version. I was tearing up at Sunggyu's long note during "Wings!" They also performed the acoustic version of "I Like You," and Myungsoo acted so cutely during his line! A random thing I noticed, their second set of outfits is the same set from That Summer Concert, the one with the feathers. Except this time Woohyun's wearing a tank top underneath!

The set list doesn't explicitly mention any solo or duo stages, but actually I'm just blind! In Korean there is "Without You," "Only Tears" and "Timeless!" This is like a combination of Second Invasion (Woohyun's "Timeless"), Second Invasion Evolution (Sunggyu's "Only Tears") and That Summer Concert (Infinite H's "Without You"). And Sunggyu performed "Only Tears" in Japanese; I didn't even know they made a Japanese version of that song. His English is also correct now for that song, "I'm missing you" instead of the original "I missing you." And Woohyung also performed "Timeless" in Japanese, even when that version hadn't been released yet! Sadly the DVD doesn't include the maknae line, though from the photobook it seemed like they did the Infinite Band like in TSC.

There was one ment where Sunggyu was asked to sing a bit from his solo album, since it was just released just a few days prior, on November 19th (hence his red hair, since it's his solo era!). He sang part of "60 Seconds" and it was so amazing!

During the ending ments, they showed a VCR of Infinite practicing over the years. Then there was a surprise birthday cake for Dongwoo, since it was his birthday on the last day of the tour! This scene is so adorable as the members are joking around, and Dongwoo tears up, it's so touching. The encore included Infinite wearing what looked like suits that Englishmen would wear, and they sang "Lately" on those moving lifts like in SIE, and lastly "With."

The third disc contains the behind-the-scenes for both the "Chaser" music video and "With" music video, both spoken in Korean. Both of these seem really unrelated to the concert itself. I'm so lost as to when these two videos were released, or if they were only released for this DVD set. Anyways, the "Chaser" Making is about 18 minutes long, then they play the music video at the end. It was cool seeing each member's individual scenes, especially Myungsoo's in the rotating car! And the "With" Making is titled "Letter from Infinite," where each member writes a letter reflecting on the Arena Tour and on life itself, for about three minutes, then they show the "With" music video. They're all wearing those British outfits again, and with sad and serious expressions throughout the entire video.

Here are the front and back covers of the photobook. It's 26 pages of quality photos and paper.

Inside includes the concert dates and venues from this arena tour, the set list from this concert DVD, mostly group photos of Infinite on stage, very few individual photos (some of which are the postcard photos), and several behind-the-scenes photos. The venues are written in Japanese while the set list is written in both Japanese and English.

Overall, Second Invasion Evolution Plus is really like a blend of Second Invasion, Second Invasion Evolution, and That Summer Concert. I really don't know how to recommend which concert DVD is best, because they all have their special touches. What sets this DVD apart is the Japanese, which is used during the ments and during a few songs, the ending ment with Dongwoo's birthday, and of course the special features. But really when I first bought this DVD, I thought it'd be just like the other DVDs, but the more I watched, the more I realized just how amazing this DVD is, and I'm so glad to have it! I definitely got emotional throughout the entire concert and special features.