I quit my job for AKB48

I always said it was a story for another time.

Well, it’s been almost two years, and I think “another time” has finally come.

Remember that time when Rino Sashihara was technically still in Undergirls? LOL.

April 2010 was a tumultuous time for me. Management changes were going on at my (former) job, I had gone on a week-long vacation to ZA MOTHERLAND, and at the end of the month, on April 27th 2010, Anime Expo announced that they would be bringing over AKB48 as guests to perform at the convention IN LOS ANGELES.

Thus began a chain of events that would change my destiny forever.

Tips For Being a Good Stupid Ass Wota

THIS.

With the Summer of Idols Encore having reached its climactic peak, the time now comes to look back and reflect on our experiences of chasing Japanese pop tartlets around the world. Since the global J-idol wave is a relatively new phenomenon–did anyone think, before 2009, that you’d ever get to see a Hello! Project act on Western soil?–it’s still kind of a wild frontier fandom out there (IN AMERICA). Comics/TV/movie geeks have been going strong for decades, the anime crowd has had their protocols laid out since the early cons of the 90′s, but where is the code of conduct for stupid ass wotas? I’m not gonna tell you exactly how to behave … that’s up to the forumNazis who tell you “YOU MUST LEARN THE CHANTS BEFORE YOU ATTEND THIS CONCERT.” But I think there are some basic tips and pointers on how to conduct yourself–much of it common sense–that will make your J-idol experience that much more fun. (IN AMERICA). ((Euroland can come too.))

You’re already full of love for idols. Here’s what you can do to make idols love YOU.

EMERGENCY! WARNING!

As stupid ass wotas, we are bound by our common love of the J-pop idol culture. Unfortunately, it only takes one bad apple to piss in our collective cornflakes and ruin the experience. To that end, I offer the following caution to ALL stupid ass wotas IN AMERICA:

If any of you should cross paths with this gentleman:

gtfo.

RUN, DON’T WALK, FAR FAR AWAY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
This goes double if you actually are a famous Japanese idol.

The Summer of Idols Encore: The Last Song

I got screwed out of AKB48 autographs … during the session after the concert.

There was a mad dash to get to the autographs room on Thursday night and, let’s just say, I got out of the Nokia Theatre too slowly and took the long way around.

So, realizing my mistake, I reminded myself for Friday: you have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat a bunch of stupid ass wotas.

Left: the last page of Sakura no Shiori. Right: the greatest AKB48 autograph collection of THE FOREVER.

I have become an AKB meme.

This is not something I say lightly.

This morning, as a stupid ass member of the press, I ran into one of AKB48′s cameramen — an official media guy who is “in” with AKB management and is tasked with covering the group. He had been in the hotel suite during my interview, and had spoken with me briefly before I carried out my business. Since I was wearing the same outfit as the previous day, he recognized me immediately.

So he says … “Hey, you know, that interview yesterday? The girls wouldn’t stop talking about you.”