Category Archives: Conventions and Concerts

Anime Boston 2014: Day 2 JAM Edition

Thanks, Lantis

I’m about an hour-and-half from their press session but I want to just doc some bullets from their lives.

Well, I missed their fan panel, which was a mixed thing although you can still pull some joke points out of it. Anyway.

Fukuyama is as awesome as you expect. JAM Project with and without him make a huge difference. Because who would go grab my friend’s king blade half way through a song LOLOL. Also, at the end of day 2’s SKILL he threw a pineapple about 10 feet high and caught it bare handed. How he got a pineapple is a mystery (well a fan brought it up to the stage).

The turnout was okay at Boston, I’d say maybe ~2000 for the proper concert and ~1000 for the second concert. The low day-two turnout probably has to do with how the show starts at 11pm and ends at 12:30am. But because of this it means the ticketing thing is bull and you can get tickets at any time during the con so LOL. The main auditorium seats maybe 5000-6000, including the balcony.

There are laid-back balcony seats. I think it’s always cool.

Some VGO/Berkley VIPs (friends of Asa-nee and the con I think) got the center aisle seats on day 2, but LOL there were two JP girls that went balls when Dani came out for his OP solo. Anyway. There were a few people who ran up and gave flowers to everyone at the end too.

Set lists here:

http://t.co/XyRyUOu5xs

http://t.co/E0whKEJVYm

MASK with a live band and that bass solo OMG HOLD ME.


Anime Boston 2014: Day 1

The concert was awesome. This dealer room’s booth took my money.

Thanks, Lantis

Not as cool is the whole AnimeJapan is happening and I’m missing it from the internets part. But what’s even better than a JAM Project concert? Another JAM Project concert, even if they go solo (especially they go solo).

So, what’s next? Not much. Just panels and press crap and line con things. Hopefully I’ll do a final recap here once I get home.

If you catch me, say hello! Look for the guy with the WUG pins, because I don’t think anyone else is doing that stuff.


The IDOLM@STER M@STER OF IDOL WORLD at Saitama Super Arena, Feb. 22-23, 2014

The Sun Sets on One Great Live

This is a very long post about a two-day concert. I touched on various of things but I sort of had to stop writing because it’s simply way too long. So this is just kind of the key notes I wanted to jot down, some impressions, and stuff that I don’t want to forget.

Continue reading


Character Designs in Kill La Kill as Translated by Cosplay

Satsuki, Ryuuko, Mako

The anime con season in North America is getting into swing. Kill la Kill seems to be trending among top costumers and the like.

It’s times like this I wish the guys at Trigger would fess up that they made these scandalously dressed heroines partly to get some cosplayers to show some skin. Of course, this being just my own wish and probably does not reflect the truth, but I think if Kojima would fess up this much, it might just be a matter of semantics.

So I think it’s important to track where Trigger dudes are going this summer? So far we have Director Yoshinari plus Kaneko (art director) and Hori (animator?) at Animazement, so maybe these guys will make some comments to this degree. We’ll see. American cons are a great way for fans to mix with creators, so I hope Trigger dudes will get an eye full at North Carolina. And maybe we can ask why … are the two (somewhat titular) characters dressed that way.

Either way, if you are man or woman enough to parade out there in battle mode Senketsu or Junketsu, you have my respect. I’ll save the question for your wisdom later.


KOTOKO – Kuchuu Puzzle Tour 2014 at AiiA Theater, Shibuya

Aiia Theater

Let’s break it down before IM@S breaks me down.

  1. My-Les
  2. WING OF ZERO-the ring-
  3. 黙れよ、ピーター
  4. フシ-ギナ-アナ
  5. サ・ヨ・ナ…ラ
  6. frozen fir tree
  7. 冬の雫
  8. snow angel
  9. 原罪のレクイエム
  10. agony
  11. 海豚
  12. 雪華の神話
  13. Largo
  14. サクラノアメモエギノヨ
  15. ささくれ
  16. Re-sublimity
  17. Loop-the-Loop
  18. Rock☆DE フルーツバスケット♪
  19. Flower!
  20. Light My Fire
  21. Pâ—‡liGâ–³n
  22. 空中パズル

Encore 1

  1. Presto
  2. 開け!ソラノオト
  3. →unfinished→-Album ver.-

Encore 2

  1. SHOOT!-KOTOKO.ver-

Check Kotoko’s blog for pics of her outfits. And all the stuff I was gonna say until I read it www.

So let me keep it personal and point out the big things. First, there were two costume changes in the main set. Encore has the usual t-shirt + skirt combo and she puts on No. 11 jersey for Shoot! She also tried to score a couple handicapped freethrows, and makes the last one of three.

The “Winter” set is in her snow-fairy-peter-pan inspired getup. I really like how it gave her an excuse to sing all these old snow-theme songs. The stage had this fake snow setup where it’ll spew out mysterious snow-like substance that floats down much slower than actual snow. It would be neat except I’m kind of sick of snow at the time given how it interrupted travels so much.

The first costume change happened during a really long instrumental solo if I recall correctly. The second outfit I remember liking more, because it’s got this weird white theme going on and is a little bit like a wedding dress except the huge ribbon-like thing on her shoulder. I could be wrong.

I was too busy rocking out to have an opinion of the third one.

KOTOKO isn’t so much what I call “a sight for sore eyes” both visually or musically, but the strongest immediate reaction was that I really missed her, and I didn’t even know it. Her music in the live context just gets me.

The crowd was another point of observation. I’ve never seen her live over in Japan so it’s not clear to me how the fans move. So it turns out they move the same way as they do in the States, basically. There aren’t too many songs with calls, and those that do tend to be just anime or game songs that go by the usual pattern and/or hooks into some other franchise, like Shoot, which has the full cheer-ppph-thundersnake thing built in. Just rock and thrash as usual guys!

Can’t wait for her Raleigh stage!