Is AKB48 coming back IN AMERICA?

At last year’s Anime Expo I was approached by a staffer who was doing, by the looks of it, a little “market research.” It was just your basic customer questionnaire about stuff like “How long have you been going to AX,” “What kind of AX events are you interested in,” “Who were your favorite guests at AX,” “Who is your favorite Doctor,” actually no they didn’t ask that last one because when I go to an anime con I expect to engage in the hobby of ANIME and not be surrounded by freaking cosplays of DOCTOR WHO. Anyway. Last week I got a follow-up survey where AX is trying to figure out what kind of music acts they should be bringing to this convention.

To be succinct, the survey was asking which music guests, among Anime Expos of the last few years, were of greatest interest TO ME. So like they wanted to know if you like Kalafina or Hatsune Miku or [hold the punchline] Animetal USA. And if they brought back THAT guest, would you be interested in seeing them again.

YES, we could be once again be graced by Yasushi Akimoto’s shit-eating grin.

Silently Judging Other Wota

Some lingering thoughts on Seattle …

People people people WHOA WHOA WHOA.

Idol-chasing at conventions invariably means interacting with other fans. Some of them are nice. Some of them are … less nice. I have already openly expressed my disapprove_face.jpg about the ones who felt entitled to BOTH Berryz autograph sessions, even enlisting a relative/friend//homeless-guy-hanging-out-by-convention-center to stand in line for a 2nd Priority Ticket at the H!Store just so they could circumvent the “ONE PER PERSON” rule.

It’s like, yeeeeees I understand you love Berryz Koubou SOOOOO MUCH that you want to see the girls as much as possible, but when you double-book, you’re occupying a space in line that could have gone to a curious new fan. Aren’t you supposed to be recruiting new converts? Like someone who MAYBE just wandered into the concert last night and now wants to get to know them better? But now they won’t, because Mister or Miss Greedy is standing in line ahead of them.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

What I meant to talk about was interacting with fans while waiting in line for things. LOL! Anyway, it struck me just how many layers of Berryz fandom there are. It’s like an onion … everyone smells kinda funny and after a while you just start crying. Okay, wrong metaphor. In any case, here is your Anthropological Field Guide to Berryz Koubou Fans IN AMERICA:

Jesus Christ wasn’t the only Resurrection on Easter this year

And now, after the smoke has cleared, the bags unpacked, and all the articles turned in …

… I write for myself.

Sometimes I still like to go back through TEH BLOG and laugh at my younger self, when I stormed New York on AKBquest and wrote everything down in this panicky, hummingbird-on-Ecstasy tone as if my heart were about to burst. And, to tell the truth, that really is how I felt at the time. But now, coming around to Seattle, the third time that I have had a personal interview with a Japanese idol group, I’m like …

… like …

…. God, please don’t let me ever get used to this.

This blog post = 7000 words

The Springtime of Idols Comes With Sakura And Berryz

This should have happened about 4 years ago, then I'd REALLY be into it.

Sakura-con of Seattle, Washington, which famously hosted IshiYoshi Lesbian Duo Hangry and Angry’s debut appearance IN AMERICA, has now announced that they will be bringing over Former Loli Unit Berryz Kobo in 2011 as a musical Guest of Honor. [Do you know how weird it is to see that juvenile, ungrammatical name for a girl group where 5 of the 7 members are now over the age of 18? Yeah. Anyway.]

This, to me, spells out two things:

(1) American anime convention organizers are finally starting to GET IT, or have GOTTEN IT, with respect to idol-pop as a legitimate sub-niche of Weeaboo Fandom.
(2) With the first true “sister group” of a blockbuster idol act (i.e., Berryz as an offshoot of the Morning Musume / Hello! Project family) now putting on a performance in the U.S.*, this opens the doors for a lot of second-tier idol groups that aren’t necessarily iconic names in the Japanese entertainment industry.
(2½) I must really enjoy eating my words.