VIZ Media will delight manga (graphic novel) art fans with the release of D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE on December 6th. The new art book arrives just in time for the holidays and will carry an MSRP of $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN. (more…)
Hey folks, have a happy thanksgiving and be safe for those that are traveling to their dinner meals.
NEW PEOPLE, the dynamic San Francisco entertainment destination bringing the latest examples of Japanese popular culture to North American shores, kicks off the 2011 holiday shopping season with a variety of special sales and promotions that will take place throughout the venue beginning on Black Friday, November 25th. (more…)
VIZ Media Europe is proud to announce that Hyoe Narita, previously Executive Vice President at VIZ Media, LLC in San Francisco, will become the new President of VIZ Media Europe (VME) from December 1, 2011. (more…)
It is 2:00AM right now and I just finished up with the Hatsune Miku: Live In Sapporo (One Night Event In 9 U.S. Cities) Report. It was quite an experience to get to see what all the vocaloid hype was all about. The fans in the U.S. are serious!
First off, I want to thank Erik Jansen of MediaLab PR, for giving me the chance to go to this event as press, because if he did not do that, I would probably be standing or sitting on the theatre steps; it was that long of a line, that big of a crowd. Next, I would like to thank Live Viewing Japan, for bringing the Hatsune Miku Live in Sapporo concert event to other parts of the world, especially to New York City! Before I go on, I want to let everyone know that I was not a fan of vocaloids. I did not see the point in an anime styled idol, singing songs. So I wanted to give a chance for Hatsune Miku, Kagamine Rin and Len and Megurine Luka to impress me. I want to see why vocaloids are getting the attention they are getting. Anyways, onward with my Hatsune Miku Live in Sapporo concert event experience!
It was a normal autumn day in New York, and as my friend and I were commuting to AMC Empire 25 in Time Square for the event, we chatted a bit about what we should expect, and how we should cover this. On the topic of what to expect, I said, “that it was either going to be crazy with fans in lines or a normal day at the theatre.†As we walked down to the theatre from the subway station, I was looking ahead to which extreme we were dealing with. We did not have to get to the door step to see the line of fans waiting to get into this event. That is where Erik Jansen of MediaLab PR came in, because I just waltzed into the front of the line, checked off Ray and my name on the guest list and went on ahead. When I saw the size of the crowd, I got scared. And now Live Viewing Japan is doing a L’Arc~en~Ciel 20th anniversary concert event on November 29th? I can just imagine how crazy it will be!
So we got to theatre 17 and picked out some nice seats, it did not take long for the fans to start filing in. You got fans with green, pink, blonde, blue wigs attending, and I have to give it to the people who showed up even though not knowing a thing about vocaloids; they stayed through the entire show! How did I know? The person asked Ray and I what this event was about… so pretty much, that sums it up. Before the concert began, the audience was already yelling things out, gasping at the movement of the screen saver anticipating the beginning. A young girl, who could not possibly be older than 13-14 years of age, urged on a Hatsune Miku chant and a Vocaloid chant from the audience, and that was quite impressive for someone her age.
When the event finally began, the audience was loud, screaming for their vocaloid idol, Hatsune Miku. The glow stick section lit up and started to do whatever they do with the glow sticks at the concert. Now I do not want to sound harsh, I have heard Miku sing some songs, and they were slow songs. But when she came blasting on with a quick paced song, I could not understand a thing she was saying. Her voice was a bit too high pitched to make out words, when she is speeding through lyrics. I told Ray, Miku reminded me of the Chipmunks with the way she sounded. This will later change as she progresses to the slower paced songs.
Hatsune Miku is projected on a clear screen, for those who did not know, so her movements are limited to the size of the screen on stage and on the top of the stage. Also, while her dancing movements are fluid, they do get repetitive. I know there is a limit to what animation can do to bring out the life of a vocaloid idol, but because Miku was the main attraction, and her on screen time was the longest, her repetitive motion can be picked out compared to the other vocaloids. Aside from that small beef I had, the music was quite good, I have to say.
When it was time for Hatsune Miku to “rest,†Kagamine Rin crashed in and the crowd again goes loud, as they welcome in their second vocaloid idol. Kagamine Rin probably got the lowest cheer in terms of decibels. The reason I say this, is because the roof almost gets blown off and the females of the audience went ballistic as soon as Kagamine Len shows up. To be honest, I do not feel Len’s vocaloid voice that much, it was very hard to hear the lyrics as his voice often merged with his music beats. It sounded a lot like mumble jumble for the songs that he “performed.â€
For a while after Len’s performance, Miku came back, did a few wardrobe changes, which were awesome and finally, finally, finally. Even though I was not a fan of vocaloids, I do not know why I felt I was attached to this one from the sight of her in the poster. Megurine Luka lights up the stage and the audience is going insane, I would say, Luka got the loudest cheer, because everyone was just pondering when she was going to come up. When she was on stage, she did two songs and they were both very good. I had no problem hearing her, her voice was just right; not too high and not too low.
After Luka, Miku came back and the closing was near, because the slow songs started. This is also the point in time where I said to myself that, Miku’s voice is not that bad, when she is singing slowly. My mind had changed about her at that instant. When the event was all over, people filed out and grabbed some Hatsune Miku goodies, such as, poster, bookmark and a bio card. Elderberry, a model / cosplay singer also greeted people outside as Hatsune Miku. Ray and I took the chance to snap a photo with her.
The concert has come and gone and overall I thought it was quite successful. It brought fans of these vocaloids some happiness, to be able to see a show that they normally would not be able to. I was eavesdropping on what people had to say about the experience and from what I can hear, they were excited, and loved every bit of it. Crypton Future Media is doing a wonderful job in doing what they are doing, and hopefully one day, Miku and friends will be holograms, instead of projections on a screen. On a side note, I want to thank the girl who kept screaming in my ear, my ear drums love you dearly for that. Also to the guy sitting behind me, I do not know what the heck happened, but when you placed your hands on my shoulders simulating a shoulder massage… that felt really uncomfortable, please do not touch strangers. That is all.
Its been long delayed as I was battling some writer’s block, but here are my final Fall 2011 views for Cross Fight B-Daman and Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing-.