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Author Topic: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA  (Read 12303 times)

Offline Slack

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2013, 10:26:07 AM »
Arrived in Santa Clara this evening and checked in, watched some TV and headed out for dinner at the famous Orenchi Ramen restaurant.
Just as we were heading out, we saw Kikka in the lobby! We waved hi to her and she waved back. :heart:

Dinner was excellent. Possibly the best ramen I've ever had in the US.
About to go to bed soon so we can line up in the premium ticket line and get in early.

I sincerely hope the autographs aren't as ridiculously strict as their policy says.
The "one autograph per guest per artist for the entire convention" rule on their site is bullshit.
I can understand how it would be necessary at a 200k attendance con like they have in France, but this one is going to be nowhere near that big.
What's the point of this if the autograph sessions are scheduled to be an hour long each?
If they stick to this, they'll have guests sitting around for half an hour doing nothing.
Ridiculous.

And yes, due to factors I don't want to talk about, we have no press passes this time.
Good news is that at least 1000say have still agreed to do an interview with us!
Look forward to that later!

In any case, I'll be around all weekend, so let's get together and do something!
J-tri and Tris have my contact info, so let's represent JPHiP!
Karaoke sounds like an awesome idea! Let's do it!
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Offline Tris-chan

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2013, 04:19:25 AM »
Kikka is really cute, very sweet girl. The interview will be up later to get the full story on what she said and how she was - but very sweet is a good descriptor. And pretty as hell.

As for the other people we met...well, you'll have to wait to find out! (They were SERIOUSLY awesome though. For real. So awesome.)

Offline J-Triumf

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #22 on: August 26, 2013, 08:47:06 AM »
Just when I thought my lack of sleep was gonna ruin my ability to fully enjoy things, I managed to wake up just in time for a great finale to quite an interesting weekend!

I'll be posting a more in-depth recap eventually...if I can remember everything from the first two days properly. In the meantime I really need to catch up on rest! :imdead:
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Offline Dracil

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #23 on: August 26, 2013, 09:53:16 AM »
Here's a video of Kikka doing wotagei to Ally and Sally's cover of Dempagumi.inc's Mirin's solo single Remocon Disco.  It's like all the best parts of my experience at JX all rolled into one.  Also, good to see you Rayle.  I saw another guy with a jphip shirt as we were leaving the con on the last day, but I don't really recognize anyone else but Rayle.

http://ojou-sammy.tumblr.com/post/59326681586/kikkawa-you-doing-wotagei-at-the-japan-expo-usa

Edit: Forgot this pic too

« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 10:49:06 AM by Dracil »

Offline Rayle

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #24 on: August 26, 2013, 04:13:38 PM »
^



My brain is just buzz-fucked right now. But I will have my recap up at some point.

Offline boinsie

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #25 on: August 26, 2013, 06:52:05 PM »
Hi~ boinsie from JPlop here.  It was great meeting you h!ppers and getting to hang out and share in the Kikka glow. ^^  The whole convention experience was honestly better than I could have possibly hoped for it to be.  I can't wait for next (?!) time (!!!?!?!!!).  :twothumbs
(I won't steal any of the regular users' thunder by posting my experiences here before they get a chance to recoup, but if you want to make the trek I've rambled a bit about stuff over at Jplop... ^^;;; )

Offline Slack

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #26 on: August 27, 2013, 10:58:14 AM »
We've gotten several interviews that Tris-chan and I are going over and writing up for the JPHiP.com front page.
There's tons of pictures to go through and post, as well as videos that need to be edited and uploaded.

edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that on Saturday our press passes finally came through! Woohoo!

Right now it's late and I've had far too little sleep in the last few days.
And there's still sooooo much to write.  :banghead:

But yeah, in the coming days we should be posting our interviews and articles about Japan Expo USA.
There's also going to be a giveaway of some Kikka stuff! ...once everything else is in order, anyway.

If you were there and would like to contribute, just PM me or better yet email me at slack@jphip.net .
(Or if you're Rayle, just submit directly to the site)
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Offline Rayle

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #27 on: August 28, 2013, 05:03:20 AM »
Slowly gathering my thoughts for my recap, but for now, know this:

The best guest at the entire con wasn't Kikka, Dempagumi, or even Sadamoto.

It was motherfucking Gamushara Ouendan.





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Offline J-Triumf

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #28 on: August 31, 2013, 09:42:58 AM »
Damn, can you believe it's been a week already???

I understand some of y'all are still recovering, so I'm not surprised at the lack of recaps. As for me, I've been reluctant to post for two reasons:
1. My memory's still a bit fuzzy regarding the first two days due to the lack of sleep I had during that time, and I haven't gotten around yet to retracing my steps via the schedule.
2. I honestly feel a bit guilty about not being able to put my all into doing everything I could've done to fully enjoy the weekend (not interacting with Kikka more, passing on buying a shirt, etc.), again owing to the aforementioned lack of sleep back then.

But don't get the wrong idea, though. I still had a great time meeting up with everyone and bonding over Kikka, and above all else I still got to see her live and up close multiple times, snagging some autographs (seriously, Rayle, thank you for convincing me to go for a third autograph, even though I still feel a bit guilty for taking credit for your origami work :nervous) and a two-shot along the way as well as enjoying two awesome performances from her. Hell, I was even the first one Philippe approached for post-concert commentary on Sunday! All of that are more than most can say and helps make up for me not being able to go to Atlanta last year.

And really, all things considered, I'm glad I was able to salvage that weekend via that Sunday show. Kikka's English MC segments, the singles medley, and the Momusu/H!P covers were so much fun to keep up with--I just love how hyped up we all got once "Romantic Ukare Mode" came on.

As for the rest of the convention, it was still interesting enough that it wasn't a one-act experience for me. Gamushara Ouendan were definitely memorable. Despite the weirdness caused by their ages, J*Deez were cute and really good with their dances...and I swear if I hadn't known better I would've thought they were from here in the Bay Area rather than Japan. Even though they were difficult to keep up with, Dempagumi was interesting to see in action, though for a non-fan like me the fact that they opened with "Sabotage" is akin to . :P

And despite all the ups and downs regarding press passes and the confusion regarding autograph ticketing, the only real complaint I have with the convention is how the premium passes were handled. Honestly they felt a little overpriced and the non-removable non-replaceable wristband system was just stupid. But I guess I'm fine with paying that much if it means supporting JX for its first year to help ensure that it sticks around in the future.

Maybe I'll post a more detailed recap later...or just wait for others' recaps and just build off of those. :lol: But yeah, JX was good, and hanging out with fellow H!P fans again was even better. I hope we can do it again sometime...especially you locals, we should keep in touch for any possible future get-togethers, whether idol-related or otherwise.
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Offline Tris-chan

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #29 on: September 01, 2013, 12:29:55 AM »
I'll do a minor recap without touching on the subject of the actual interviews - those are coming, I promise!

Saturday: Met up with Slack to grab press passes, then went to see Kikka doing two-shots at her booth upon purchase of a thing. I got a One for YOU CD and posed (awkwardly) with her. I wasn't thinking straight so I just did v-signs instead of the jphip sign :( She recognized Slack though, and he confirmed that he and I were friends. We also talked a little bit to Yaz about our press pass troubles from earlier in the week - Yaz has SERIOUSLY mellowed since I saw her at AX '09 and Berryz in Seattle (when was that, '10? '11? I can't even remember.) She was really nice and I bumped into her a few times over the weekend.

Anyway once the Kikka goods line was over, we all got in for a picture with her. She told us to say "Kikkake wa...YOU!" with her, but I don't think we did it very loudly because she tried to teach us what to say a second time. Then she went back behind the curtain for the signing!

I got lucky in that after her line was done, they let people in who didn't have a ticket. So I got my CD signed. Also, I didn't say it before, but Kikka is seriously gorgeous. Like so pretty it's hard to look at her. So she said thank you, and I said I loved her music, and she said thanks again. Then Rayle noticed that J*Dee'Z's line was empty so I went over there to get autographs from them. I felt (and still feel, kinda) weird about how young they are, but they were REALLY cute. I asked about their dancing with Aigasa Moe (who is in AKB48 Team 4 now...I know I know, I can be dual fandom people! It's allowed!) and shook hands with each girl as I went by. Ami noticed my nails, which I did special for the con  :wub: So My weird feeling went away nearly instantly because anyone who loves my nail art is automatically the best.

After autographs we had some time before the interviews, so we went to in-n-out, because it's the best. Then when we got back I realized that double onions on my burger makes for not good interview breath, so Slack was kind enough to give me an (unused) toothbrush. Thanks Slack!

Then we interviewed Kikka, took some pictures. She, as I said, is really sweet and SO goddamn pretty. Interview to come :)

After THAT we wanted to see if we could interview anybody else...I wanted to interview J*Dee'Z in particular because so cute and also nail art lovers  :wub: What can I say, I'm easily won over. We were lucky enough to get one with them! And they were ADORABLE. Seriously adorbs. They were very nervous, very sweet, and laughed a lot. And after the interview and pictures, they showed me their own nails and continued to exclaim over mine. Did I mention the best? Because they're the best....well, second best. The best was right after.

Sarah (our fabulous liason between the talent and press) got us a last minute interview with...GAMUSHARA OUENDAN!!! THESE guys are the best. Hilarious, super high energy, and they remembered our names for the rest of the weekend. I cannot WAIT to post up that interview, it's seriously the best one I've ever done. Better than Momusu by far (and that's saying a thing!) You guys will love it, for real.

Then I went home because tired! So tired! And other people went out. And I'll post about Sunday later.
 

Offline Slack

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #30 on: September 01, 2013, 12:14:41 PM »
Kikka interview is up!
Details on the giveaway TBA.

http://jphip.com/jphip-interview-kikkawa-you-japan-expo-usa/
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Offline shirenuファクトリー

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #31 on: September 01, 2013, 03:08:25 PM »
ORSM! Seems like she's still as lovely as ever. :lol: Almost consider her a part of the family now, haha
LJ★  ~Rest in Peace marimari, Jabronisaur, ChrNo & Fushigidane

Offline Tris-chan

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #32 on: September 01, 2013, 08:23:40 PM »
So let's talk about Sunday, which was madness day! At least for me. Got to the con late (thanks flat tire!) and missed out on Kikka signing and two-shots :( Stupid car.
Then we went upstairs to find out our 1000say interview had been pushed back to 4:45! 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE KIKKA CONCERT! Noooo! So we spoke to Sarah and she said she would try to gt it moved up for us. We sat around for a little bit, discussing whether we should try to get any other interviews. Then Kikka walked out to go downstairs while wearing a signboard. That was our cue to leave. When we went downstairs we saw her rush off towards the main stage area, and J*Dee'Z followed after shortly. I stopped them to show them my new nails (cause I did 'em the night before. Hey man, if nail art is what gets you in good with the talent, you do nail art  :lol:)

Then we went to lunch at a wraps place I used to go to when I worked in the area. Memories~

When we got back it was a bit of a whirlwind: Slack went upstairs to network while the rest of us saw the J*Dee'Z concert. It was SO good! They're a little rough, and don't how how to talk to the audience between songs, but the singing is good and the dancing is amazing. Also because they recognized me I got tons of smiles, pointing, waving, etc. And Ami, who seemed really nervous in the beginning, smiled and waved at me and seemed okay for the rest of the show. I felt like a proud big sister  :wub:

After that I picked up some gifts for the idol talent from my friend Jenny's shop, Sugar Clay Cafe (sugarclaycafe.com - she also did gifts for Berryz, so if you want to have something from the same place Berryz/Kikka/J*Dee'Z does...) and ran upstairs to give them to J*Dee'Z and Kikka before our interview. Kikka we only got to give it to her from afar (it seemed like she was coming over to thank us but her manager then called her away) but J*Dee'Z got them in person and seemed super grateful! They wore the rings in some photos with Kikka too, so yay advertising lol.

After that was our interview with 1000say! Interview footage to come, but I will say that API and NON were adorable (and API had awesome nails. I'm obsessed with nails, I know), MAN was very thoughtful with his answers, and MICHELLE was off in space somewhere.

After THAT...it was time for Kikka's concert! Others will have better write-ups than me, but I will say she was very cute, sang really well, and was very discrete with people needing to turn up the mic  :lol: She sang all of her hits and some album only/b-sides too. I admit I'm now TOTALLY enamored with Zutto Zutto Zutto Suki Da - it was my favorite by far. She also really went all out in Sweetie, which was pretty cool to see. She said a lot in english which was really cool, and whenever she had trouble she asked a member in the audience to translate for her (which was probably the highlight of the concert, for them AND us!) It was really cute. At the end we called for an encore and she came out and did a repeat performance of Kikkake wa YOU! for us.

Then, after many hugs and awesome things, I went home.

All in all I'd say it was a successful weekend, especially considering how last-minute the press passes were. The media staff were nothing short of amazing, the talent and their managers were really cool, and I got to go home with some awesome swag. I would absolutely recommend buying something from EACH of the artists that attended JX, because in meeting them and seeing them perform we were able to see how hard they work - they deserve the support!

Big thanks to J-Triumf, Rayle, and people whose forum names I don't know (you know who you are!) for hanging out this weekend, spazzing over idols, and making the whole experience at least 100x more fun than it would've been otherwise. Special thanks to Slack for making sure we got our press passes and being an awesome interview partner for not one, but two events so far! And to our photographer (whose forum name I don't know and I don't want to give his real one just in case...) for putting off other events to hang with us and make sure our pictures were awesome. You guys are the best.

Can't wait for our next event! Otakon vegas, anyone...?

Offline Rayle

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #33 on: September 02, 2013, 05:32:52 AM »
I'm doing my super detailed recap as articles for the front page. I already submitted my first post, but it's not showing up. is there anything I need to get it reviewed and published?

Also, I completely exacerbated my sickness by doing Sac-Anime anyways and currently feel like the worst. Oddly enough, that means I'll probably get out the next posts sooner.  :lol:

Offline J-Triumf

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Re: [8/23-8/25] You Kikkawa @ Japan Expo USA in Santa Clara, CA
« Reply #34 on: September 16, 2013, 03:44:00 AM »
No recap yet, just felt like sharing my favorite cosplay from the convention. They even had a soundtrack going on! :rockon:

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