Before I begin, I'll help ya with the setlist.
RIVER
Aitakatta
Iiwake Maybe
(MC)
Kuroi Tenshi
Seifuku Resistance
BIRD
Heart gata virus
Blue Rose
(MC)
Boku no Taiyou
BINGO!
Oogoe Diamond
Sakura no Shiori
Encore
Namida Surprise
Pony Tail to Shu Shu
Hikoukigumo
Now onto my review.
I can't really describe today. It was amazing, surreal, stunning? Anyone who knows me knows that I am not one to use these words. I'm not one to get swept up emotionally into this incredibly fun little hobby.
Today, it was different.
I wrote about what happened at opening ceremonies. Seeing them by surprise was pretty awesome. I wish I could clarify it, write out every last detail, but in reality it was what it was. They walked by, I waved, they waved back. I guess the excitement was all in the feeling of the moment. It was nice to get some semi-personal acknowledgment from them. I just hope Acchan didn't think we were ignoring her. She was hard to see in the middle behind Tomochin and we did wave at all of them. I love you too Acchan.
But anyway, it was just a terrific, unexpected, AWESOME moment. Yuko and Rie are already awesome girls but they easily gained about 14 billion awesome points there.
The rest of the opening ceremonies were very routine. It was AWESOME to see May'N as I'm a huge huge fan of Macross Frontier. Nakajima Megumi was not there sadly. Was also cool to see Kenji Kamiyama, the director of another beloved anime of mine, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Also, Nabeshin is so funny.
After the opening ceremonies, I went back to eat some lunch. I had a burger(lol I'm so cultural in the big city
) and my friend had some kabob and we got some bubble tea for the walk back to AX. We then went to the remainder of the May'N panel. I arrived a bit later than I wanted and was unable to get a question in. I really didn't have one, I just wanted to tell her how much I love Macross and that I was so in love with Macross Frontier, and how thrilled I was to see top talent like her and Megumi used for the franchise. Her panel was running long. And mostly, it was stupid questions like "Say this in Sheryl's voice!" I left because my friend wanted to go to a Nabeshin panel and I'm very glad we did. This guy is a total hoot. He was so hilarious and engaging to the audience. I've seen bits and piece of Excel Saga and enjoyed what I saw of Nerima Daikon Brothers. I'll definitely be getting into these shows and more after seeing this awesome guy.
After his panel ended, I walked around the Exhibit Hall to look for an AKB booth which turned out to not exist.
Looks like I might be mailing my cards for them to Japan at this rate. Anyway, the hall was as it usually is on Day 1: Otaku City and crowded to the brink. We skimmed all the halls. I saw a Sailor Mercury wall scroll that I really wanted until I saw it was 100 dollars.
Sailor Moon is awesome, stop laughing. Anyway, we wedged our way around the manner-less people making a mess of the walkways and got out. We checked in our stuff at the bag check and proceeded to the concert. We were in row K, just a smidge to the right of a dead center view of the stage. The view was excellent. We weren't dead close but we were able to easily make out who was who. The concert started about 30 minutes "late", but when it started, everyone went into overdrive. RIVER was an awesome start. The crowd got way into it and it was just an amazing scene to be seeing AKB48 live. Aitakatta was also terrific. The song that got me into AKB48 done right in front of me? Shit yeah! I was also happy about it because I know the hand movements for this song since I've seen it done so many times. I fail at wotagei.
The first MC was fun. It was awesome to shout their names out. Sayaka also did an absolutely terrific job of running the English MC's. I wish I could write more but the details are escaping me right now. Really, all they did was introduce themselves. It was cute to see some of them struggle but have fun with it.
Then, the units came. Nothing short of a brilliant selection as far as my taste went. When Acchan, Akicha, and Reina came out in those Kuroi Tenshi outfits, I said "OHHH MYYYY GOOOOOOOD". Stunning to see. I was mesmerized by it to be honest. I tried really hard to get Akicha's attention and towards the end, I got it. Total fanboy moment.
Awesome. Then, as if my mind wasn't blown enough, Moeno, Erena, and Tomochin come out in the Seifuku Resistance outfits. My friend flipped out a bit because she loves K6 as do I, and all I could say was "OHHHHHH MYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD." Seeing this live... I have no words. I saw it and I can't describe it. It's awesome. Great dancing, a catchy song, it has everything and seeing it live only affirmed that twenty times over. Moeno really is a terrific performer, and Tomochin and Erepyon are no slouches either. Also, Erena's new hair is super cute. I love it and it works well for that song too. BIRD was also amazing. Sasshi looks so different in person. Her face has more of a.. mature look to it? Maybe she's just ultra tired.
In any case, this song was also cool to see. Takamina is so awesome. Heart Gata Virus was cool. Finally, some Ami action. I tried to get her to notice me but didn't have a lot of luck. She's really great, I can see why they are pushing her.
Kojiharu and Mocchi are insanely hot chicks. I was really digging this one. Up next was no other than Blue Rose. Seeing this live was UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE. I tried to keep an eye on everyone, but I was STUCK on Sae. SHE. WAS. HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT. HOT. ........... HOT!!! Sexiness aside, this was great to see. Team K 2nd Stage was my first AKB48 DVD purchase, so it really meant a lot. I did watch the others too some. They were all great. Sayaka was really into it. The mic stand kick was present and executed perfectly.
They then did another MC which was pretty funny. They were saying where they wanted to go in LA. Sayaka wanted to go to the beach. Miichan wanted to go to Disneyland. Someone said they wanted to go to Universal Studios. They then started imitating characters and we had to guess what the hell they were doing. Miichan imitated Pooh... badly.
Sae did Jaws and "ate" Sayaka. It was fun to see those two glomp each other.
That was so funny. Sayaka then did a really weird roar. People yelled out "Uhhhh, Godzilla?" Eventually, she said, "Yes yes, dinosaur... ehhh tou, no no no Jurassic Park!" Probably the funnest MC I've seen.
After that, they did Boku no Taiyou and an English version of BINGO!. I was so into BINGO! I didn't realize it was in English until a bit into it.
It's one of my top songs, so seeing it here was amazing, English or not. They then did Oogoe Diamond which is fun. I knew a lot of the wotagei to that.
Then, they did Sakura no Shiori which was just surreal. I was singing along with it. I love that song.
After that, it was encore call time. I've read that gideon123 of stage48 was the one to start it. They came out and did Namida Surprise which was a terrific performance. I'll get to it more at the end. Fun song for sure. After that, they did Pony Tail to Shu Shu which was a lot of fun. Everyone was VERY into it. And finally, they did their last song of the night, Hikoukigumo. Again, the whole audience was way into it and they did a terrific job all the way until the last second. We waved our goodbyes and headed out. I heard some people stayed for a second encore but it did not occur. I didn't expect it to. The rental times for the Nokia Theater are quit strict and they were already 7 minutes over their time when the show ended.
So, in summary, this concert couldn't have been better. The late start was kinda irritating but looking back on it, I think that was meant to be there. Anyway, I see now why AKB48 has hit #1. Why they attract so many fans. Why they're a huge hit. Whey they are going nowhere but up in recent years. Obviously, I already loved them but now I see the catch of seeing them from Japan's perspective. The show they put on is nothing short of exemplary. From start to finish they are on fire. I've never seen anything like it. I can't really put a lot of it into words, but I am so thrilled I got to see this. It was worth whatever amount of money I end up spending on this adventure, and worth any amount of time it takes to recoup the funds. It was nothing short of incredible, amazing, cho sugoi, however you want to word it, it was the best thing I've ever seen.
To top it all off, I said I had one more thing I had to say about Namida Surprise. I enjoy this song but when it played today, towards the end I did get emotional. Not like baww baww crying or anything, but I just felt moved that all of this awesomness happened by fate, luck, scheduling, whatever... it all happened on my birthday. I don't think it gets any more awesome than that.
Thanks AKB48 and thanks Anime Expo. I'm really enjoying this trip.
I'm going to cut off here because I am dead tired. The only other thing to write about is the autograph session which is not much of a story. I didn't get in. Not much of anyone did. Started late and ended on time. I'd be surprised if 25 people got in. I was bummed to see more cutting by the same people. All I have to say on that is that I'm a big believe in karma, so best of luck to them. Anyway, that's all I have for you right now. I had to drink two Ramune's, orange juice, and some water to bring you this review.
Later.
Topic: [2010.07.01] AKB48 Official Guest of Honor of Anime Expo 2010 (GIRLS ANNOUNCED!) (Read 60735 times)