Got in with my pass so they forgot to tear off my ticket stub. Needed the ticket for the AKB48 concert because there was no VIP area this year which led to some confusion for some of the Japanese guests (quite a few who were here before as well) who didn't know.The forum was pretty much a lighter version of last year's conference, held in a cheaper-looking place (the same hall as the AKB concert) with a new name and a far less fancy dinner (not even a dinner, just a cocktail).
What the place looked like before the thing started. Like with last year, they were giving out headsets with interpreters translating on the fly for both English and Japanese.A lot of interesting speakers this year. It was kind of odd, though; I don't see the point of them holding this thing in Singapore- Most of the stuff would be far more relevant for Japanese businesses. Yeah, most of the people attending there were Japanese, but they'd get more people in, I don't know, Japan, maybe? Ah well, it's still interesting for everyone else, so yeah.
Anyway, the whole thing boiled down to...
-Some people related with the Japanese government talking about how real life is a game of Civilization and how Japan is aiming for a cultural victory through anime and manga.
-Some people plugging their stuff.
-Some people talking about the industry.
-One guy talking about the concept of "shun-kan consumption" or "shun-kan shouhi" (he flashed the word in Japanese for a second and I can't for the life of me recall what the kanji for "shun" was; It certainly wasn't 瞬 and Google isn't helping. Bah.) which I found pretty interesting.
-One guy, really out of place, talking about himself.
Didn't stay very long at the dinner because of the AKB48 concert.
So yeah, AKB48. I got my ticket today and so was seated with members of the public (besides, no VIP area, or rather the VIP area is gigantic and open to anyone willing to pay for more expensive tickets).
Was seated in the midst of a whole bunch of Japanese kids, some in uniform. Talking with people later it turns out they were probably from the local Japanese school.
Good thing I wasn't in the middle, because...
Local fans.
Hot pink shirts that say "世の中 AKBしか ねえんだよ！". Noisy, and equipped with way too many light sticks. Oh, and one had a bandanna with a few light sticks in it, standing up, which drew laughter from the people around me because she looked like she was trying to wish someone to death. Or at least she would have if she hadn't instead looked totally ridiculous.Stuff I heard from the kids behind me: 「頭おかしいんじゃないの？」「あんなのと同類だと思われたらいやだからね」.
What can I say? Kimoota will be kimoota. With emphasis on the kimo. つかキモッ
I may sometimes joke about being one but I think I can now say with great confidence that I'm not.
Not in public, at least.
The performance was alright, I guess. They tried to speak English but it was the usual locals going all "????????" and the performers ending up just speaking in Japanese and the locals just yelling in delight after everything they said. Only difference was this time there were people fluent enough in both languages (once again, the kids) to laugh at the whole thing together with me.Anyway, this was my first contact with not just AKB48 but also the entire idol subculture in general (I mean in 3D, of course). It's gotten me interested, I think I'll get some CDs later.
After the concert I took a quick look around the event hall for the main event which opens tomorrow.
I'll probably be getting some Gunpla (clear Qan[T] and pearl Wing Zero) and maybe Figuarts (been meaning to get but hadn't gotten round to getting Accel and Faiz for some time). Maybe some Weiss Schwarz stuff.Maybe some Milky Holmes CDs (FYI I've started watching it due to 21 going on about how good it is. I like it, it's reminiscent of GA TV before it got crappy with II and all).
Nitroplus is here for some reason. What the hell is an eroge company doing in a country that rules porn illegal? (Even better, their bit in the brochure-map-flyer-thing? It mentions their popular titles, starting with... Muramasa. Which unlike stuff which has gotten animated and is thus not so bad on the porn-in-a-country-which-will-arrest-you-for-it scale is nothing but eroge.)
The main stage highlights on the brochure say tomorrow is awesome. I'll pretty much be there the whole day.
Sunday... well, it has the Haruhi movie airing in the morning. That's okay, I guess. Otherwise eh.
