Day 2

I probably stayed in bed a little longer than I should have. With the lack of sleep, too much sun, and the massive hate that I was riding on the previous day, I was quite exhausted. More proof that I’m not as young as I used to be. I can’t imagine how Navaash lasted, seeing as how he stayed out even longer with the Something Awful goons partying it up at the Rock Bottom bar and restaurant ‘til the wee hours of the morning. Still, he was up before I was, since he wanted to head over to the Geneon Industry Panel.

As for me, I procrastinated a bit before getting up and decided to join him. I suppose I could have gone to see Anna Tsuchiya, but I’m honestly just not that big a fan. I was actually hoping this was the full on Q&A session with the Geneon execs concerning a few of their series. I had a question or two that I wanted answered. Unfortunately, this one just turned out to be announcements on license acquisitions, how they’re going to market said licenses, box set descriptions, music distribution…that sort of thing.

I didn’t stay for the full panel, as I wanted to hit the dealer’s hall and take pictures. I had also seen a few items I wanted to buy, which is quite strange for AX nowadays. Unlike years previous, I didn’t pull out a map and plot the stalls I wanted to visit; I was just in the mood to see where I wound up and what I’d find. What I found was that they had broken street date on several anime I was collecting. Notably: Fate Stay/Night, Hellsing OVA 2, and Rozen Maiden. I also came across a place that had stacks and stacks of figures piled high and wide. Probably the biggest figure seller there at the convention. Let it never be said that it hurts to simply ask, “Hey do you have…?” As when I asked that question, the salesman walks over, picks up a box of her beautiful psychoticness, Tsugintou, and hands her to me. As is usual, when I find something like this, I typically wind up paying what’s asked, and it was probably a good thing I did as he was sold out of her later…and I never did see this figure in any other stalls. $50 wasn’t so bad for her…though to be honest, is probably the most I’d have been willing to pay in any event.

This day, unlike the day before, they actually had a way to get out of the dealer’s hall the same way you came in. Just one roped off section where people walked up the stairs and out past the line coming in. Don’t worry folks…this one brief moment of actual intelligence on their part was a fluke. Trying to get out the ‘designated’ way out was nothing short of a miracle in and of itself. It was not marked at all and every other way out was guarded by the nice hotel staff for some really strange reason. Eventually one was herded to the ‘correct’ exit after being told several times that they weren’t allowed out the way they tried to go. I can’t see why they just didn’t lock the fuckin’ door or allow people in and out all ways…it’s not like they were metering anything.

I’ve often said, getting food at these conventions is extremely hard with everything going on. Still, Mayhem and I took some time today to hit Chille’s for a quick lunch. That’s still one of the only things good about this convention: The fact you could get food far easier than at Anaheim…and it was far better food overall. However, for every real meal I had, I wound up consuming a couple of meal replacement bars the rest of the time. Those things were an invaluable resource, and I can’t say enough good things about them. The only thing that might have been better would have been a couple of MREs…I’ll have to see about getting some of those for another convention.

Honestly, up until the SOS Brigade concert, the day was uneventful. I hadn’t even really planned on going, but then I was informed that they were just handing tickets to the event out, much like they did for the Anna Tsuchiya concert. In this instance, the location they were handing these out was right outside the dealer’s hall’s exit; in the inlet between the convention center and the arena. Gensao then told me to acquire several tickets if possible, which I actually did. They were actually having problems giving away seats to this event…which had to be a first.

Not too long after I got tickets for everyone, it was time to line up for the event in question. After what happened to me the day before, I was honestly not up for spending too long in the sun at any point. Like a few others, I hung out in the shade of cars for as long as possible. Also, I doused myself in water, Mayhem lent me his hat, and I even used some suntan lotion. It spared me the worst of it. Oddly, we also had a Staff Pro guy walking up and down the line this time, selling lemonade. I don’t know if the convention center was really authorized to do that, or why they didn’t have water instead (and water for free for that matter), but it did help curb the worst of the problems that could have resulted in people winding up in the hospital. There were also those that went on drink runs for their group, and even for those that were just there alone, so yeah…it could have been real bad. I’m pretty impressed with the way people pulled together under circumstances that had no business being as difficult as they were…or should I say, as they were made to be.

Getting inside was the usual shit. No cameras, props, etc, though this time, there was no full pat downs. Then finally it was time to start.

This had to be the strangest ‘concert’ I’ve ever been to. It was actually more like one large goof off session than a concert. Patricia Ja Lee was the host of the event, trying to maintain her Haruhi persona through the entire thing, and failing miserably…though that was actually part of the joke. The original Japanese VAs for Mikuru, Yuuki, and Haruhi were up there, as was the English VAs for the above mentioned, the other two members of the ASOS brigade, and Johnny Yong Bosch, the english voice of Koizumi. I seem to recall a couple of AX personnel there as well, but they were quite forgettable…like the translator, heh.

There was quite a bit of improv on stage, to which I can only salute them, as it was mostly fun to watch. Especially fun was when they performed live recording sessions as their characters. The contrast between the Japanese and US voice cast was there for all to see, though honestly, all were good. They really messed with Johnny a bit this time around, using him for ‘other’ voices, heh. They also did a bit of mix and match with the English and Japanese, as well as actually having Patricia do a voice over for Haruhi herself. This was set up in a manner that had everyone believing that it was totally spur of the moment. Mind you, when she sat down and rapped off her lines perfectly in both sync and character, it was quite clear they had set us up for that one, heh.

The singing portion of this ‘concert’ involved a song from each of the Japanese VAs. Yuko Goto, the voice of Mikuru, started us off with the "The Mikuru Legend of Love", a song she had to deliberately sing out of key, as the character Mikuru sings this out of key. It was obviously pretty hard for her to do that, as she’d often slip up and start singing it perfectly before realizing she was supposed to be singing this just a bit off. It was an experience; that much was certain. Next up was Aya Hirano, the voice of Haruhi herself singing “God Knows” from episode 12 of the anime. I recall the first time watching/listening to this song in episode 12 and just stared in awe at the animation budget they must have blown for it. Even better, the song rocked hard, and in the context of the anime, hell, it was as if the audience at home was part of the audience in the anime. Poor Aya Hirano drowned out the instrumental portion of the song altogether on stage, prompting me to wish a singularly painful death on the mixer. It just sounded wrong with the karaoke turned way down and Aya turned way up. Mind you, at least they finally got the song started…I seem to recall this one just wouldn’t play there for awhile. Finally, Minori Chihara, the voice of Yuuki came out for her performance. I would have to say, she had by far, the best performance out of all of them (not to mention she was utterly stunning looking in that blue dress of hers) with a haunting song that, for the life of me, I don’t recall the name for. If anyone could drop me a line and tell me what song that was, I’d be most grateful.

The end of the Invasion had to be the singularly most awesomely fangasmic experience I’ve ever been privy to. A short time before this concert started there was a dance contest held for groups of fans who could best perform the Haruhi dance. The winners, as there would be two chosen, would go on to do what happened at the end. Those two fan groups, the entire ASOS Brigade, the English VAs, the Japanese VAs, Johnny Young Bosch, and I even think the translator was in on this; all got up there on stage and danced the Haruhi dance. I can only imagine how the two fangroups felt when they went on stage and did this. This will forever only be in my mind. No one was allowed to film except AX staff, and we all know those tapes go into a vault somewhere, never to be seen again. I wish I could have shared these moments, but now, I can only give to the world the barest glimmer of what I experienced by writing this report.

AX Idol was next, and it was time to go grab my camera gear.

Yeah that was its own paragraph. I have extremely mixed feelings about this particular AX Idol. I had the perfect seat with which to record, so that wasn’t a problem. I had plenty of film, so that wasn’t a problem either. The contestants were certainly a talented lot this year…no problems there. Hell, Johnny Young Bosch was in top form entertaining the audience. Whoever spread the rumors about him being an ass this year are total fuckwads. He was in no way an ass, though he had every fucking right to be. What really yanked my crank was…well to put it bluntly, all guys should just boycott AX Idol. Straight out, do NOT even try out if you have a set of testicles (or think you do). You will not…you CANNOT win.

Seriously, there is no two ways about it: there is just no point in even trying. The cute girls will always…ALWAYS beat you. I am outright saying it: the judges are biased towards picking them. I like cute girls too, but this is a contest of talent and talent should be given its due. Unless you sing like Freddy Mercury, look like Gackt, and talk like Peter Cullen, you don’t have a ghost of a chance…and even then you’d not be that much better off.

Case in point, Jose Sanchez, the guy from last year who was legitimately beaten by Nickole Dixson, got up on stage this year (after a humorous, “Hey, I remember you!” from Johnny) and rocked the house down. I have the concert on tape, so I’ll be sure to share when I can. Quite simply, he won. Still, a young lady was chosen over him, and not even the best singer out of the girl’s present, which just adds insult to injury. On the other hand I would say the member of the Voice Acting Alliance, Haushinka, legitimately won with her outstanding portrayal of Haruhi Suzumiya. And while very good, make no mistake; there’s has been a notable and very disturbing trend with the young men chosen as voice actors, which has the effect of stacking the deck in a girl’s favor. They have the ‘typical’ voice for the most part and often don’t seem to have much variation in the way they voice a part, though there were a few good actors in the mix. Though arrogant as all Hell, and encumbered of an accent, the guy who did the Count of Monte Cristo a couple years ago was, at least, different.

We were promised something very special from Momoi, who was one of the judges this year, after AX Idol. There’s a lot to say about what happened, so I’ll try to put it in some tangible order. Apparently Johnny Young Bosch’s band, Eyeshine, was supposed to play after AX Idol. However, Eyeshine was canceled in favor of Momoi coming up and singing for us. I’m quite concerned about the whys and whatfors. I’m sure that most people at AX would have rather seen Momoi get up and sing, but if Johnny’s band was supposed to go originally…he should have gone. Biggest reason for that is, Momoi didn’t get up and sing a song or two, she got up and did a flat out mini concert. Let me expound upon this a moment.

The entire Momoi event was played off as something pretty much just impromptu. There was no advance warning before the event, and it certainly wasn’t in anyone’s schedule. Certain blogs seem to indicate however, it should have been according to Momoi, though I’m wondering just how much warning ANYONE had on this. It is my firm belief that if you pull something of this nature, impromptu with no warning, anywhere at any time, you forfeit ALL right to…whatever it is that artists think they’re protecting by refusing fan videos or recordings. With that being said, had she personally requested it, I’m absolutely certain no fan recordings would have been taken of the event, because it was she that requested it. On the other hand when some no name red vest walks up to me and tells me to turn my camera off, I’m more than a little annoyed. One, I don’t really know if he’s speaking for her, or for whatever AX thinks it was doing…or just for his own personal power trip. Two, they probably should have said something at the beginning, in deference to her wishes. Three, I should have just pointed the camera at him, asking him to repeat his order that I cease recording the concert just so everyone knew who did it. I could have fought it, I suppose. Probably would have won, but it would have ruined the experience for everyone there. I’m both not that big a fan of her music, and more respectful than AX was this year of the artists present. So I packed up and left, without causing a scene. The bit of her concert I actually did record will never show up online, this I swear to her and ONLY to her; if it was really something she didn’t want. Since I can’t really ask Momoi personally, I’ll just take on faith at the moment. On the other hand if she didn’t mind it, well, that changes a few things, and I’ll see what I can do at that point.

Getting back to the hotel room and unloading our gear, we found a small problem: Naga had gone missing. Naga is a ufo catcher doll of the Slayers Naga that we’ve had since about AX 2000. She’s a bit of a good luck charm for our group, and to have her go missing, well, that’s not good. Immediately we thought to go back to the arena and check around where were sitting both for the SOS Brigade Invasion and AX Idol. Before hitting the arena up, we did a quick retracing of our steps through the parking lot where the line was just to be safe; but with no luck. In the arena proper Momoi was still singing her heart out with the small group of fans still there, while we marveled…it had been about 40 minutes since we left after all, heh. It was her final song, which was fortunate as we didn’t find Naga in either place we sat. The crowd had gathered around the stage hoping she’d stay and sign stuff for them. She was looking a bit terrified of the prospect so Johnny stepped up, and said he’d sign things for people, allowing Momoi a graceful exit.

Johnny Young Bosch now has my full respect as a real man for both his performance here, and what he sacrificed beforehand. He did so in a very amicable and civilized manner, never once allowing any frustration or anger to show. Stepping in for Momoi like that, when she was so obviously unprepared…I would love to shake his hand and go drinking with him, and drinks would be on me. That’s how much respect I have for the man right now for what he did right then. Anyone who thinks Johnny was an ass this AX needs to pull their head out of theirs.

Still, as I said before, it was a good thing that her concert ended about then. It enabled us to ask the con goers there if anyone had picked up the Naga plush. We got a lot of “Huh?” there, which rather frustrated us.

Getting back to the Hotel to off load some pics off my cards and onto my external HD, I was not in the best of moods. In fact, no one there was really in what you'd call the best of moods. I certainly wasn't ready to crash, but I was feeling a bit self destructive. One shot of Captain Morgan later, (others had a few more, heh) we were off to the dance.

We got there about 1:00 am. Getting in was a bit of a hassle, since they had a very strange way to make sure that people going in were above the legal age to drink. I'm not even sure why, I didn't see any alcohol anywhere around there. Regardless, we got in and was treated to about two hundred con goers just making the ground quake. We had dancers, we had people that couldn't dance, we had glow stickers...fuck, we had everything there. It was great, and no one gave a damn about anything except moving. I even had a pretty girl with goth clothing and hair extensions dance with me for a song. Ah, but she was fickle, and went off to dance with others when the song ended.

Gensao wanted to see about the Karaoke room, so we headed over to the Westlin, I think it was, where the arcade room and karaoke was located. 24 hour rooms, right? Well, supposedly anyway. Karaoke turned out to be pretty lame when we finally found it tucked in a back corner...I expect it was the time we went to check it out, heh. Outside in the hall, we found the hotel staff kicking people out of places they were just sitting down, shutting down supposedly 24 hour rooms, and basically telling con goers to leave. This was BULLSHIT, and said as much quite loudly. I hope that AX did one thing right and sued these guys for whatever they could. There are contracts associated with conventions, and no one, NO ONE, was being roudy or loud. That would have been the only way they could have started to do that.

It was about 2:30 am by this point. On our way back to the hotel, we met Jose Sanchez and some of the other AX Idol attendees...I was still kinda buzzed, but I think last year's winner, Ms. Dixon, was with them as well. Don't quote the drunk guy on that, however. We congratulated him on an excellent performance, and I noted there I felt he deserved to win this time around as well as noting no guy seems to win this. After we parted ways, Mayhem wanted to hit a real bar, but I was just plain beat down with the way the past couple days had been going. So once we got back to the hotel, Mayhem took off to go bar hopping and I crashed...hoping beyond hope the next day would be better than this.