Sakura Con, hANGRY & ANGRY, and a downtown mugging…
Well, I’ve been doing a bit of traveling lately and my latest excursion was to the fair city of Seattle, WA to attend my first ever Anime Convention and discover things about myself that I should really be ashamed of (like my propensity for pink-clad maids and girls wearing cat ears). Things started to make themselves clear as I stood in the pre-registration line; a 31-year-old adult male amidst a sea of nubile young nerds wearing next to nothing and having all manner of conversations about the melancholy of so-and-so or the sound of weeping cicadas. There I was, for the first time, pretty much the most normal-dressed person around. I mean, I was actually wearing a blazer for crying out loud. I could have been mistaken for a guest speaker, but instead I was treated like exactly what I was: an interloper.
What made my presence even creepier was the fact that I wasn’t even there to appreciate anime culture, although I *did* certainly appreciate the cosplayers.
\\ A quick word about American cosplay: it’s one of the only ways you’ll see the very last person you would EVER want to see dressed as a scantily clad Anime character standing just across the hall from the person you would MOST want to see dressed as a scantily clad Anime character. It’s like heaven and hell combined. \\
とにかく、 I wasn’t there for anime. No, I was there to see my girls. hANGRY & ANGRY were in attendance and I was there to show my support during their first US concert. In fact, I was only at the event for about 6 hours; just long enough to take lecherous photos of cartoon hotties and then lecherously attend a show performed by two cartoon hotties.
While waiting in line for the main event to start I befriended a fellow fanboy and Hello!Online member (whose name i have already forgotten; sorry man!) and felt briefly like one of the crowd. We speculated on the new single and how the venue would sound, etc. He brought me up to speed on the current state of affairs with the group and I in turn explained my position on how the “Golden Era” was the only era worth a damn. It was a good experience. Eventually we parted ways only to meet again in the “mosh pit” directly in front of the stage.
The show was like magic. The real appeal of the idol concept is that they are so otherworldly and unattainable that when you finally get to actually see them and hear them and enjoy their performance it almost feels unreal. It was like witnessing a dream first-hand. Additionally, it may have been one of the best shows I’ve ever seen on a technical and entertainment level. hANGRY & ANGRY really is like Metal Musume. Super-charged and in your face. They even did a rocked out version of “The Peace” (although I kinda felt like I was the only person who recognized it) and it totally kicked ass. Yes, I screamed and shouted like a little girl and even managed to yell 「ヨッスイ、大好き！！」 at one point. A truly invigorating and satisfying experience.
After the show was over I called a buddy from Bellingham (just north of Seattle) that I hadn’t seen in ages and we went to a sake bar and drank ourselves silly. I puked out a similar but more verbose chronicle of the evening to him which he patiently ignored.
Oh, and yes, on the way to the bar we witnessed a guy get his pocket picked then get punched to the ground. When his girlfriend rose to defend him, the assailant reared back and punched her as hard as he could in the face in response to which she silently crashed to the ground asleep. It was … well, it was horrible.
But, Yossie was awesome.
A quick update…
Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I’ve got some posts in the revision stage pending publishing (somehow I always feel like I’m talking to myself when I do this). So, in due time there will be some actual content.
A quick aside: I’ve been rediscovering Ishikawa Rika lately (in direct response to Hangry and Angry research). As I may meet her in a week, I’ve been going through classic footage and interviews to re-familiarize myself with her. She was always very low on my faves list and I was never sure why. I’m starting to realize why now and I’m officially changing my position. I’ll probably end up writing a self-evaluation and posting it. lol. So thanks to Koiphish for opening my eyes to Rika-chan again!
So, that said, only a little over a week until go time for Sakura-con in Seattle and Hangry and Angry in concert. すごい！
See ya in the next update…
The best year ever…
皆さん、こんにちは！
Just thought I’d give a quick post while I wait for Fallout 3 to finish installing. (^_^)
Some pretty amazing things are happening in my immediate, foreseeable future. For one, Fallout 3 is installing, but more importantly, two very special dates are right around the corner…
Date 1: April 10-13 – Hangry & Angry at SakuraCon
What’s that? You mean to tell me that Yossie and Charmy are coming to the US of A (Seattle, WA to be exact) to perform at a friggin’ anime convention? And I have tickets? And they’re signing autographs? So, let me get this straight. Not only will I be able to see one of my all time favorite members (Yossie) perform live in concert on my home turf, but I’ll also get to meet her, speak to her, and possibly shake her hand? It’s almost too good to be true! As you may or may not know, Yossie and I were meant for each other. She’s gets the “member I could most easily see myself having a meaningful relationship with” award. What I’m saying is that I may be arrested at this event.
Date 2: July 2-5 – Morning Musume at Anime Expo
Um … what? Are you fucking kidding me? Morning Musume will be in Los Angeles for a performance? And, again, I’m going? Did fate just decide to go through my Christmas list and start making shit happen for me or what? I honestly don’t understand this. How could this year be this good? Obviously I don’t need to rattle off all the ways that this news totally fucking owns. Up close and personal with the girls. Close enough to throw a shoe at Koharu’s head (as much as I have and will continue to give Koharu a hard time for being a total tardbot, I must admit she always ends up in my “naughty dreams”). I think I’m most excited to see JunJun and Sayu at this show.
So, as awesome as this news is, I still can’t help but feel a little sad about it. I mean, this is obviously the start of a potentially tragic decline for the girls, isn’t it? I mean, here they are playing at a friggin’ American anime convention; picking up scraps from the gaijin otaku demographic. Surely, that’s shameful, right? Time can only tell the future of Momusu, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we are in the “phase out” stage. I get the feeling they are “reaching” at this point. I almost feel bad for taking part in their decline.
(clicks Submit button to finalize ticket purchase)
