Wanted to post this much much earlier.... but thanks to my computer breaking down, work and general laziness never got down to it till now (3months later) but better late than never i guess..... my pix and event report of "my goddess" Meguru Ishii's DVD release event for
Meguru no Sebu to Yukai na Nakamatachi which i went for on 11th February!!!
Yes I know that the shots aren't fantastic, I'm not a great camaraman and i don't own a huge SLR like most of the fans there, unfortunately. And rather than going for quantity like above I admit that I could have gone for
quality instead and actually maybe adjusted my focus and gone for the "looking at cam" shots more rather like clicking the shutter button like an epileptic madman but I was kind of nervous enough as it is.
Basically, I had planned my whole trip to Japan in February to coincide with Meguru's DVD release event which I knew will be held around that time, thankfully just after the Sapporo Snow Festival which was another of my aims so i could pop to Akiba just after I finish with Hokkaido.
This is just the second idol event that I had gone for in my whole life (since I don't have the luck being a Tokyo-jin). It would have been the 3rd time if not for the fact that an emergency made me miss one a few years but there was no way I could miss this even if Godzilla decides to hit Tokyo that day. The first time was in April last year, when i went for
Noriko Kijima's event (I could share the pix for that one if anyone is interested), but this one was very different.
Simply put, my attendance for Noriko's event was a mere act of inconvenience if you may (I knew I would be in Tokyo that day and i scanned through the list of idols having events that day and she was my favourite from the bunch) unlike for Meguru which needed pre-planning (including checking the Air Control website every day to find out the event details-- they always release them just a couple weeks before if you are lucky so it doesn't leave much time for planning).
And the attendance!!!! While Noriko Kijima's event had a pathetic attendance of barely 20 odd otakus (including me and my travel buddy which i dragged there) Meguru's event had a room-bursting 140-odd fans. The room which the event was held in, (top floor event space of Sofmap Amusement-kan) had barely enough space to accommodate us all. Before the event started, there were already so many fans with gifts loitering outside Sofmap waiting for it to start, I guess particularly as this would be her first solo event for half a year or so, and her first since she had her coming-of-age ceremony in January. As far as minor idols go, she seem to be doing rather well, happily enough, of course she is the top girl in PBB (her talent agency) as well.
The number for my event coupon was 72 (I wasn't able to grab the DVD on release date unfortunately so there was no way I could a much better number), and that got me a seat somewhere in the middle, with a relatively good view, but unfortunately we
could not take pictures of her at any time other than the designated camara-time, otherwise i could have taken a hundred more shots and maybe a video as well lol.
As usual, before Meguru appeared on stage two hosts came up and made some jokes/introductions to kill some time. To their credit they were pretty funny but of course no one was really that interested. And then the moment --- Meguru ran onto stage with a little boy, holding his hands, to a huge roar from the audience. あれ？！ Did she suddenly adopt a little boy, or got pregnant without me noticing!?! Turns out that the kid was just the child of the camarawoman responsible for shooting the DVD, Aya-something. You can see that Meguru really loves little kids, from the way that she plays with this one as well as her little cousin who she always showcases on her blog.
Then comes the first part of the event -- the talk. She isn't a really great talker and seem slightly shy in front of the audience but
that's part of the appeal, i guess. Basically Meguru talked about the "mystery" of the title (the "yukai na tomodachi" referred to the kids, naturally), the shooting of the DVD and her experiences, how she really enjoyed playing with the Cebu children when she was there (she played baseball with them). She joked that the scene at the end of the DVD when she jumped into the sea from the pier was like that of the Calpis CM (the one with Haruka Ayase) and i had to agree! Unfortunately, no thanks to my half-baked Japanese i could not understand a fair bit of the dialogue, like when she talked about the second meaning of the title as well as when she said she did not really want to go back to the island again, for some reason (i think she might have hurt herself in some way there or something).
And then comes the exciting time, the photoshoot! Row by row, the audience had the chance to go up and shoot all they like for one minute while she did all her poses. (my favourite is still the "heart" pose) When my turn came, I immediately shot as though my life depended on it, but my @#%%^ camara was still in virtual slumber mode and hence there was a few times when she looked at me but I was unable to take a shot due to the lag time, argh!!! And unfortunately, I only remembered to actually to do a close up in the last few seconds and wasn't able to take a proper half-shot...... T_T one minute was just too fast.
The third part, and the highlight of the event for everyone naturally, was at the end, when everyone gets to shake hand/talk to/take a pic with Meguru. As with most idol events, buying multiple copies enables you to a privilege. In her case, 2 copies got you a polaroid shot of her and 3 copies got you a pola with her. Which is virtual robbery as you could get a pola with most idols just by buying 2 copies, but I guess they wanted to milk her popularity for all it's worth... being the baka that I am, I happily bought 3 copies, spending 10000++ yen in the process just to get that precious twin shot.
But for all the money spent, i reasoned that at least I got something good in return, because as she had previously announced on her blog she turned up with a Valentine's Day gift for everybody! Home-made chocolates for all, as it turned out, and she got a whole basketful. Horror of horrors though, there were so many people attending the event that she said that she wasn't sure if she had enough chocolates for all -she made just 140 little packets or so-!!!!
What's worse, because i bought 3 DVDs i was at the end of the queue. The people who bought one got to go first to shake hands and get their signed DVD jacket (everyone gets one of those), followed by those who bought two who get an additional pola (she took those on the spot). By the time it got to the 3-ers, there were only 30 odd(?) people left and i was among those at the back, so i was really fearful, but luckily as it turned out she had
just enough for everyone.
From my observations of the people before me, it seemed that you could choose what pose you would like to take with her as you sat on the chair. Most used the peace sign but one or two crafty buggers asked for the "heart" instead.... ah hah! That would show my undying fandom all right.... (lol) When it came to my turn, she actually prepared the "peace" again so I had to encourage her by holding my half-heart out first... slightly surprising her.... her part of the shot turned out well but I spoiled the picture by not only being non-photogenic (can't be helped) but by somehow not looking at the camara as well!!!!!! *bashes head into wall* blame it on my nervousness....
After i got my picture taken, i got to shake her hands and present her with my gifts which I carted all the way from home.... including one merlion soft toy (I am from Singapore after all) and also that of her favourite animal, the capibara which i bought from the famous Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido (pix below, capibara on the right, danpa on the left), a little key chain as well as photos of Hokkaido's ice capibara and of course my precious fan mail.
As there were still people waiting, I didn't get to talk long to her, except to tell her that I'm from Singapore and how I loved the dorama, Shinrei Tantei Yakaumo, the only one which she starred in so far, so much. Besides, I was so nervous i was positively stammering. Thank god I wrote all the important stuff in the fan mail... Of course, i got her pack of home-made chocolate as well, and i certainly didn't forget to collect my pola and signed jackets.
My prized pola! -censored for your enjoyment-
And the event was over just like that. just about over a hour, too fast if you asked me, but it was possibly the best/most unforgettable experience of my life. She had a second event later that week with a few others to promote the release of the Keitai Shojo series but unfortunately much as i want to i could not attend that one, since my boss could most certainly sack me if I extended my vacation by another week during the busy period!
Epilogue: When I went back to my hotel, i ate one of the chocolates and it was delicious, as she actually put cornflakes into them so it was crunchy. If it is really homemade as claimed, her Valentine will be really lucky to have her. Unfortunately, it was exactly the cornflakes bit that tricked me into thinking that it was actually a cookie, so the second one melted when I neglected to put it into the fridge...... T_T Wanted to save it for later.
And...... most excitingly of all...... she actually sent me a handwritten letter a few weeks later.... all the way to my home!!!! Thanking me for my gifts and for religiously reading her blog daily -- not a chore as she is an excellent writer unlike most other idols-- Although she is just a minor idol in the entertainment scene but I am sure not every one bothers to send mail to fans, and those from other countries to boot. From her fan BBS, i do know that she sends handwritten mail to fans and even a birthday gift to a female fan!! I have to respect her for the fact that she really does treasures her fans to this extent, and i certainly don't regret being hers. In fact, her birthday is coming next week and I already have a present for her.... (first time I am actually sending a present to an idol) ... I think she deserves anything that she can get and hopefully more success in the future, especially for a dream of being a successful actress.
Anyway, here are the more "professional" photos of the event taken from Ascii JP website:
Topic: Meguru Ishii (Read 41868 times)