Bata-kun no Atarashii Nikki/バタくんの新しい日記

Sorry that the report took forever. I still needed to set up images. That’s why.

Well, this will most likely end up being the most detailed con report/rant of this year’s Anime Expo you’ll see. Keep in mind that this will be more ugly than the ladies that were invited to the early party in “Great Teacher Onizuka”. Okay, maybe that is a bit too extreme? It will still be ugly and that’s why I attached the word “rant”.

Thursday

I got picked up by Jorge/DarthRyu or rather, a friend of his. Though this was the first time I went to AX, I have not been to an anime con in which I’ve actually did pay for the entry fee or be part of the staff in three years or so. What’s ugly was that I had an irritated throat and I knew that I was going to have some cold.

We reached the Long Beach Convention Center at 18:30/6:30 P.M. or so. There was nothing I could do because I couldn’t buy my badge until the following day. I managed to talk with Ray/Inin and a whole bunch of other Bay Area people. We talked about what we’re doing these days, which in my case would be a lot.

Some time after that, we, Jorge, his friends and I, went to different paths and I thought I was supposed to stay at Queen Mary’s, but I entered the place one day too early. Too bad I left my wallet in the car. I really hate that wallet.

Well, I got to see Chupiler and his friends. I slept at his place, which isn’t really far from the event. So, at least that saved me.

Friday

Pretty much, all I did was stand in line for registration and I forgot that I didn’t have my wallet. It wasn’t until that evening I managed to get a badge. I took some photographs of cosplayers obviously seeing that I’d be here for a while. I did talk with a bunch of people and two south guys I met really emphasized on why Long Beach is a horrid place to hold Anime Expo and some other stuff.

After I got my badge, Chupiler, his friends and I went to have some Hawaiian dinner. Then, we went to Max Karaoke down in Torrance. This is probably the best karaoke experience I had. Period. Of course, I had an horrid throat and it was pretty late, but oh man. It was a riot. If you’re down south, go to Max’s!

The songs I picked were Chemistry’s “Kimi ga Iru” (「キミがいる」), “Tokimeki Memorial II’s” “Yuuki no Kami-sama” (「勇気の神様」), “Groovy!” (「グルービー!」) from “Cardcaptor Sakura” and a “Love Hina” song: “Yakusoku” (「約束」). I think “Yakusoku” now became my 18th song. “Yuuki no Kami-sama” was the only duet I did and I did it with Chupiler, who likes this song.

This was the only night, if I should be saying that, in which I stayed at Queen Mary’s and it was okay, even though there are those stories. Why did I get a bed? I don’t know. They pretty much prefer sleeping in unusual places. Heh heh.

Saturday

Though there were interesting moments this day, this really was the one day I was supposed to be in a serious mode. Part of what I supposed to was to see if Long Beach would be a city I’d move to in two or three years. Of course, at this point, the answer’s “no” not only because of its notorious history, but because of the structure of the city itself. I’d seriously move south, but not to Long Beach.

Saturday showed real signs of horror. We were waiting for a while in regards of the S.O.S. dan autographs. Guess what? They were pushed back a day. This may be a good thing until you realize that this royally messes up my plans because Momoi Haruko-san, Halko-san if you’re sassy, had her panel the following day. Now, I had to start deciding on whether I go have another shot at the autographs or go to the panel.

I didn’t get breakfast until way late in the morning because I left my stuff at Chupiler’s place. After my quick breakfast, I did eat at a place called Wasabi. I made my waitress who was serving me cutely confused because she’s not used to hearing the word “bentou” when I wanted the bentou special and she had to look at one of her coworkers who I was talking with when I came in. It was fun and I got some anime moments in.

Shortly after lunch, I met up with Shin ATProof, who managed to get a cell before the con. He mainly wondered how are my “Rage of the Dragons” skills now and I laughed not only because they were waiting, but because it’s “Rage of the Dragons”. Hardly anyone plays that game. Oh and yes, I did tell him that I can beat Johann with a keyboard, which tells you that I’m some sort of game god.

We went our different ways and I played a few arcades games to kill time as well as reading “Nodame Cantabile” in the manga kissaten. I played “Mushihime-sama”, “Dodonpachi”, “Act Cadenza” and Arc’s “Hokuto no Ken” game. I didn’t really play my hardest in the games because all I wanted to do was kill time. It showed in the shooters because I didn’t go far in either of them.

I told my opponent for “Act Cadenza”, “Watch me become horrible in ‘Act Cadenza’” seeing that I will always prefer “Final Tuned”. It was fun because we talked for a bit in regards of the game like who we picked. I picked Ciel and he was winning with Kohaku and Hisui. I did push him, but not enough to make it a three round bout.

I played “Hokuto no Ken” for the first time and I had a four game winning streak with Kenshirou, which wasn’t bad. Some game couple was teaming up against me. Ha ha ha! After I lost, I smiled, which is unusual for a situation like this because you don’t smile after you lose. I smiled not just because I had fun, but because I had to attend another important matter. This meant I had to miss the S.O.S. concert.

I met with Chupiler and his friends in the evening. They had to take care of matters in regards of the booth they were working with: Doujin Online. I managed to hear an “Idolmaster” album with the girls singing some random songs. We went to some Irish pub and I didn’t remember much what went on other than I was told by one of the AX staff members that I was a good man for knowing Chupiler.

Sunday

Sunday. S.O.S. Dan autographs or Momoi-san’s panel? I had to make a decision. Either way, I’d lose something. I ended up going to the Momoi-san panel because at least I get to experience something other than waiting in line. Not only that, this would be my panel day and adding on, I had an idea that I wouldn’t be getting for sure the autographs anyway.

I felt that I made the right decision because Momoi-san’s panel was a blast. Megane, Akibahara, Under 17, hearing Anise lines (”Tales of the Abyss”), why did her panel get less than an hour? I don’t know. Her panel should have been 2 hours long! That wouldn’t be fair for the other panelists now, ne? Ha ha ha! Well, she should deserve a 2-hour panel if she wants it.

Of course, the panel was not all joyful. Momoi-san was forced to cancel her autograph sessions because AX staff members were still planning out the concert. I’m like, “What is this?!” and I felt like I wanted to enter the Riot of the Blood state, but I kept my cool. Too bad I couldn’t take out all my anger on Vega and Geese.

Right after the panel, I bumped into Jorge and we shopped for various items. I bought for Jorge a “Rozen Maiden” figurine set and a Lumiere (”Kiddy Grade”) shirt. After that, we broke off again. I somehow found out that Circus (who is known as the company that made the “Da Capo” series if you don’t know) was having a panel that night and I figured that I should attend this panel as well.

Remember the two guys I mentioned when I was waiting in line for my badge? I met up with one of them, Dean, and then, the three of us, Ron being the other guy if I’m recall, decided to have lunch at Tokyo Wako. Of course, we had to do some waiting. I tell you. This con was all about waiting.

Once lunch was over, I told the guys I had other things to take care of. I talked with Richie/Richielikesmaids and we talked about the many things that went wrong in this con. It’d be cute if he got to watch over Momoi-san should she come to San Jose. Hee hee! Oh and we so could have had something like lumpia. Ha ha ha!

After Rich went off to sleep and I went to finish my leftovers, which I should have started doing in the first place instead of buying lots of food, I went to the Circus panel. Yes, I went to it instead of the masquerade contest. Anyway, the people presented were the producer Tororo-san and the two illustrators, Tanihara Natsuki-san and Kayura Yuka-san if I remember properly.

This was a silly, but fun panel. Everyone took photos of them and they took photos of the crowd. The staff members were surprised at the fact that majority of the crowd preferred girls with a modest bust because they would think that Americans love girls with a big bust. (In many cases, that’s true, but not here.) Oh and I managed to win a sketch from Tanihara-san, which made my day. ^_^

Monday

I went to Momoi-san’s concert. Of course, I will never understand why there’s that Premire Ticket thing. It’s a waste of time really. Anyway, the concert was fun and I got rave sticks. Hee hee! She sang a whole bunch of songs like “Ai no Medicine” (the “Komugi-chan” opening song) and she and Manzo-san were really excited to see a lot of people at the concert. (Of course, it wasn’t really a lot to me.)

Well, after Momoi-san gave her thanks and cried with joy as well as having a photo, I left a message in her fan book. I wrote in kana, but I rushed it because I still had to worry about the autograph session I won yesterday. I hate it when you’re on some sort of time budget.

So, I went to Circus’s booth and I got my autograph from Tanihara-san. The sketch is of Yume from “Da Capo II” by the way. I told her that writing my name in katakana is fine. Well, I got my name both in roumaji and katakana, which works out too. Ha ha ha! Initially, a Circus staff member’s autograph wasn’t at the top of my item list, but Circus somehow ended my run at AX on a high note.

I helped clean up the Doujin Online booth for a bit and this was the last time I would see Chupiler and his friends. Before, I got a figurine of Eri from “School Rumble” and some other items. I ended my run early as I heard various tunes like “Tank” from “Cowboy Bebop” while I rested. I found Jorge and after we found his friends, we headed back north.

Epilogue

After four days and over $500, this year’s AX wasn’t that bad, but calling it “terrific” would be pushing it. Like I said, Long Beach is not a very good city to hold an anime con. Yeah, it would have been better if it was held in Anaheim because that’s more of a family city. (Disneyland.) In Long Beach, you still have that grim aura. Not only that, you can end up going the wrong way when you walk or drive here.

It’s a shame I didn’t get to touch my Dreamcast. I would have wanted to play against someone in “Moero! Justice Gakuen”, but oh well. There’s that and I wanted to go to Arcade Infinity. I thought the game rooms were horrible in Fanime. AX had worse. Can a person at least get a game like “The King of Fighters 2002″ or “Pink Sweets”?! The latter wouldn’t matter anyway because I’d still be considered slow to play it.

I already knew that there’d be no fan subs at the con, which is why I didn’t bother going to check the viewing rooms. I did get a glimpse of some “Lucky Star” episode before the Circus panel. Ha ha ha! Can’t remember which one though.

In regards of the guests, I feel sorry for Momoi-san and the rest of the guests. I also feel sorry for the people who waited in line for the S.O.S. Dan autographs because I would have done the same and I know that the majority of you people left empty-handed, which is a darn shame. If only there was a way to clone myself.

Oh! Random notes. I went to the Borders store close by on Sunday and I told him that it feels weird for him to serve the enemy because I was wearing a Giants hat and obviously, you can’t wear a Giants hat if you’re in Long Beach. He does like the city of San Francisco though. By the way, I ate at least one Japanese food item everyday while I was down south. I am not going to bother mentioning the ugly stuff.

The ups of this year’s AX? Outside of the outside stuff like the karaoke session, I got to see old friends and I got to see new ones. I even got to have lunch with random people I’ve met, which is something no one would do at AX normally. I bought a whole bunch of items (mostly shirts) and I got an autograph from Circus. Oh and I met a guy with the fan name of “Hanase”! XD

The downs of this year’s AX? I mentioned them already. I didn’t get an autograph from Momoi-san, the reason why I came to AX in the first place. Food’s not cheap. It’s the walking and waiting con. The games were disgusting to put it lightly. Simply put, this was really disorganized.

At the highest, 2007’s AX gets a 7/10 and that’s me being nice. At the lowest, it gets a 3/10. Again, that’s me being nice. So, it gets a 5, which is not bad, but not that good either.

Oh. Next year’s AX will be in downtown Los Angeles. I haven’t been to Los Angeles in years, but while this means that there will be a bigger place to work with for the staff, bigger doesn’t mean better always. This is Los Angeles. I’m worried about the safety of cosplayers, especially those that are not 18 yet. It still has that dark aura and if you thought Long Beach’s is bad, this is worse.

What should be done? If it can’t be done in Anaheim, bring it to a city like Pasadena or Santa Ana. If a bigger city is required, bring it to San Diego. I’d rather travel for another hour plus and have that safe feeling than travel for only a few hours to be concerned about the safety of people not familiar with Los Angeles all the time.

Well, that’s my rant for AX2007. It took me a while to complete this. I am so not going to use a disposable camera if I ever go to a big event again. If you didn’t enjoy AX this year, I feel for you. If you did enjoy AX this year, more power to you. This event was too much of a mixed bag. I wish I could work with guests from now on, but I live up north. I guess it can’t be helped. –’

Photos are below. The reason why there aren’t many is that I was on a time budget pretty much. Also, they look horrible because I was using a cheap camera, which is what I will not do again. Hopefully.

Photos

Max Karaoke in Torrance.

“Azumanga” waiter and waitress gang.

“Guu’s” title character.

“Haruhi’s” title character in that bunny outfit.

Kyousuke of the “Justice Gakuen” series.

Maid in Long Beach.

Maid pair in Long Beach.

Nakoruru and Iori, two popular characters in the SNK Playmore world. (Yes, I know that this looks horrible, but it’s better like this than having them pose in the middle of the crossway.)

“Samurai Spirits’s” Shizumaru. (I’m probably one of the few people who actually knows who he’s cosplaying as.)

“School Rumble’s” Tenma.

Yuki, that mysterious girl of “Haruhi” and Haku of “Naruto”.

Right now in Japan is Hayashibara Megumi-san’s birthday. I believe she is now 20 years old. Ha ha ha! I kid. You know, it’s hard to believe that she is now 40 years old. I wonder how she’ll celebrate her birthday. The same goes for Kawasumi Ayako-san who is now 21, uh, I mean, 31.

What’s there for me to say about one of my all-time favorite seiyuu in Hayashibara Megumi-san? She influenced the second half of the 1980’s. She heavily influenced the 1990’s. Need I say more? Actually, both of these two still have something left in them.

What’s surprising is that Hayashibara-san’s not the only big person that’ll turn 40 later this year. In less than a couple of months, it’ll be Koyasu Takehito-san’s turn to be 40. For June, it’s Ueda Yuuji-san. At the end of August, Hiramatsu Akiko-san turns 40 also. Oh and towards the end of the year, Mitsuishi Kotono-san hits that time as well as Koshiro Yuuzou-san who contributed to “Pink Sweets’” OST if you’re wondering what is his latest work. Wow. So many people.

Since I brought up “Pink Sweets”, I have to mention that it has nearly been a year since it was released and yet, I still haven’t played it. I’m beyond mad to put it lightly. I am now forced to wait for a PS2 release because no arcade place here’s willing to accept it. I bet that somewhere in Manila, the game’s there. I don’t know. If there is a place that has the game in the area, I’m so going to be moving there soon.

Of course, I want the OST. (Details can be found here and here by the way.) I don’t know if there’s a special version of it, but I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $15 or so for a figurine of Kasumi or any of the other girls. Ho ho ho! Ahem!

Uh, the OST was released a few months back and besides your usual Cave people and Koshiro-san, people like Sasou Ayako-san and Hosoe Shinji-san, both of them turning 40 earlier this year, are here as well. So, if you like their works, you’ll definitely want to pick it up. On a side note, I think I invented a new term: “romantic techno”. I tell you, if NEC manages to make a 10th anniversary album of the “Sentimental” series and Koshiro-san works on a track, I’ve seen everything then.

So, yeah, “Pink Sweets” has occupied some of my time as of late. I’m waiting for my port Taito! Oh and don’t mess up!

I am going to visit a friend’s place soon. I am pretty sure he wants to test out my newly created characters from “Moero! Justice Gakuen”. Not the best job in the world in regards of my creations, but at least I have something. I’ll definitely need a bunch of favors for him. Of course, he’ll get something, seeing that his birthday’s coming up.

I will admit it. I am not the best person to talk with in regards of “Tokimemo”, “Tokimeki Memorial” if you don’t know, overall. With this in mind, Chupiler really flashed out a reason on why he would never make a blog of his own. Last night and past midnight, he told me why he never liked “Tokimemo III” and he’ll never like “Girl’s Side” or “Girl’s Side II”.

Before I go on, let me get some statements out of the way. The first game is well, the first game and nothing more really needs to be said. (Some day, I will finish this game. Just not now. I’d probably buy a PSP just for the new version, though it is pretty much emulation.) Chupiler loved “II” because of the characters and I probably would have loved “II” also if I did manage to play it. I don’t remember “Online” very well, though I would have been annoyed by it if I had to guess. I don’t remember the others before “III” as well.

Now, unlike the first two main games, “III” never sold well. Not only are the visuals horrible overall, the game mechanics are horrible also. Chupiler mentioned that he hated the way of you picking clothes on your date. While this may sound like a spiffy idea, what you don’t realize is that if you pick some sort of formal clothing, the girl will go home. I instantly said “The Hell?!” and adding on, if you pick normal clothes, the girl will dump you on the spot. He didn’t like the characters since I’m still talking about this game, but I have to see myself.

“Girl’s Side” came out at around the same time as “III”. This was really Konami’s form of mockery for Chupiler if you will. You know, I defintely wouldn’t enjoy this game as much as a girl would because of the fact that I’m trying to get a guy to like me, but there are two redeeming pluses this game has. One of them is that it has B’z (and I’m guessing that this is the only plus Momo liked about “Girl’s Side”). The other plus is that it has a bunch of seiyuu that I like. (I actually made a seiyuu guide for this game by the way.)

As for “Girl’s Side II”, I wouldn’t like this game that much either. Yes, Ueda Yuuji-san is back, but not as Yoshio, who I actually liked over the years. While having him anywhere is usually a plus, I found this to be a plus and a negative because as much as I like Ueda-san, this game now makes me wonder if Konami is running out of ideas. The chance to date a foreigner really is not a task I’m ready to do and the boys don’t look that impressive.

Oh. I am not going to bother with the American clone of “Tokimemo”. The scary thing about that game is that Konami is working on it also. Chupiler and I think that the Konami employees were drinking some good sake. Of course, Chupiler would rather play “III” or either “GS” game than this “clone”. So would I.

I’m beat. I can barely type properly. I can barely think properly while I’m at it.

Uh, I just want to say an early “Happy New Year”. I don’t plan on typing another entry until the time of Amano Yuri-san’s birthday. Tomorrow, I plan on cleaning up and on New Year’s Day, the day after tomorrow, and Tanaka Rie-san’s birthday, I’m working. Yes, it’s a crime that I’m working on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I’m doing a bunch of errands. So, Thursday, it is.

Oh. There are those awards. I’ll mention them now.

Best anime: “Haruhi”.

Most surprising anime: “Zero no Tsukaima”.

Best game: “Megamari”.

Most surprising game: “Pink Sweets”.

Individual of the year: Hirano Aya.

Company of the year: Kyoto Animation.

2006’s the year of “Haruhi”. I mean, Hirano-chan’s my person of the year! Need I say more?

Okay. I’m really tired. I’m off.

12月31日のノート:誕生日おめでとうございます伐。あなたも舞。お、明けましておめでとうございます日本。 ^_^

Decided to get a head start here. If you’re wondering what was yesterday’s entry all about, Anime Blogger’s running a contest in which you can win a copy of “Hellsing”. That’s it.

I got “True Love Story Summer Days and Yet’s” OST today and I’m listening to it right now. (It arrived a day earlier than I expected.) I am not going to give much of “TLS’s” background. “TLS” is a romance game series that started in 1996 by from ASCII and later by Enterbrain. All of the games have been released on Sony’s first two PS systems and “Summer Days and Yet” was released in 2003. An OVA series was released in the same year. (As far as I know, this is the only game to have an anime.)

To be honest, it’s one of those soundtracks you want to pop in if you want to have fun. Well, at the start at least. Of course, it has some songs that will put you at ease. That’s what ren’ai games do. Oh and there’s a paper figurine which seems silly, but interesting never the less. Kuwatani Natsuko-san, who plays as the key girl of the series Hina (who is the girl of the figurine for me at least), does sing a song here. Great seiyuu, but I wouldn’t call her a grand singer also. She’s just decent.

The problem with “Summer Days and Yet’s” OST or any “TLS” OST for that matter is well, the audience. Obviously, the only people that will like this are people that like ren’ai games pretty much. I’d only bring this album if I’m going to see a certain group of friends as I really can’t show the majority of my friends this OST. They’d end up confused most likely.

So, should you get “True Love Story Summer Days and Yet’s” OST? If you’re a fan of the series, yes. If you’re a fan of ren’ai games, I’d say so. If you’re a fan of anime and manga, maybe. If you just started out in anime and manga as well as games, probably not. It gets a 9/10 score from me.

Just want to wish everyone the best for their holidays. (If you’re not celebrating any holiday of some sort right now, I just hope you’re enjoying the day today.) If you’re wondering if I’m enjoying my holidays, yes and no. Yes, I like this year because I actually got items that did something for me, a task I never did get the last several years. No, I don’t like this year because I lost $10 in poker yesterday. I should have played tighter, but oh well. I got “Final Fantasy III’s” remake and the new “Yoshi’s Island” game prior to today and I’ll get the “True Love Story ~Summer Days and Yet~” OST on Friday. I should have received more, but eh. This is good enough. I’ll bring out a new entry on Friday also.