Anime Expo 2010 and AKB48, RSP, SOPHIA...

やっぱり日本語でしゃべることがあんまりすきじゃない．．．

めちゃ恥ずかしかった(T^T)

BUT! I suppose these things take time..."まだまだだね"

One day, I'll be able to speak with more confidence!~

Even in English, I find myself stuttering often when I try to speak and struggling to find the words I need to say.

Perhaps now I'm not very fluent in any language. Or was I ever able to speak clearly? (笑)

However, as Mitsuru Matsuoka (松岡充) from SOPHIA confessed during his concert, even without speaking the same language, we can all still communicate and understand one another. If that's really so, then I hope that all the Guests of Honors I met could understand my feelings of happiness and excitement. We were all so starstruck that I can only guess we looked like a couple of idiots gaping at the Japanese celebrities.

Mitsuru Matsuoka and us

AKB48 Day 1: Red Carpet

The Guest of Honor I was most excited to see this year was by far AKB48

<3

I had bought a ticket to see their concert on the first day of AX and made sure I made it to their panel and autograph session on time. Ever since I had known AKB would be at Anime Expo, I've been so excited I haven't been thinking of anything else. Unfortunately, there were many other people like me there...but on the bright side, I had a chance to meet other AKB fans such as myself.

AKB48 seemed to be the most popular group at Anime Expo. It had been my first time watching one of their concerts, and of course, meeting a few of the members. The concert was such a great experience!, (even if only 16 of the 48 were there to perform). I had so much fun waving my glowsticks and trying to remember all the cheers! The encore was a nice addition to it all, as well.

Here is a list of the songs they performed, in order:

1 - River
2 - Aitakatta (会いたかった)
3 - Iiwake Maybe (言い訳Maybe)

Intro
4 - Kuroi Tenshi
5 - Seifuku Resistance
6 - Bird - Takamina, Rie (Mariko), Sasshi (Maimai)
7 - Heart Gata Virus - Haruna, Ami (Nozomi) , Mocchi (Maimai)
8 - Blue rose - Sayaka, Sae, Yuko, Miichan

MC
9 - Boku no Taiyo (僕の太陽)
10 - BINGO! (English version)
11 - Oogoe Diamond (大声ダイヤモンド)(English version)
MC
12 - Sakura no Shiori (桜の栞)

ENCORE
13 - Namida surprise! (涙サプイズ！)
14 - Ponytail to Shushu (ポニーテールとシュシュ)
15 - Hikouki Gumo

Here is a list of the 16 girls chosen to perform in L.A.:

Team A members Asuka Kuramochi, Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Aki Takajo, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda, Ami Maeda; Team K members Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Itano, Yuko Oshima, Erena Ono, Moeno Nito, Reina Fujie, Minami Minegishi, Sae Miyazawa; and Team B member Rie Kitahara.

(Should I type all this in Japanese as well?) Perhaps.

concert pics from msn jp

The next day after the concert, AKB48 were having their panel in the morning, where fans, such as us, were allowed to ask questions. Unfortunately, only 8 of the girls were there to attend since the other 8 had left America the night before. My sister, Sean, and I all went up and decided to ask a question. Right after the panel ended, everyone from the room sprinted all the way across the convention center to line up for the autograph session in exhibit hall. We were yelled out for running, and when we reached the booth, security was being extremely uptight about fans. We were finally allowed to line up, and then we stood there patiently, waiting for the girls from AKB to show up. The girls from AKB were only there to sign for an hour, so only a small fraction of the fans waiting in line were able to get their autographs. Luckily for us though, (and thanks to our sprinting efforts), we were part of that small percentage. It was certainly a happy day for us!

Over the next few days, we continued our mission of collecting autographs from some of the other Guests of Honors we were eager to meet, especially RSP. Before coming to AX, I was not aware of the fact they were attending, so I was surprised to see them there, but overjoyed when I realized they were staying for all the 4 days. I managed to get their autograph twice, and bid them farewell as they were leaving on the final day. As for SOPHIA, my sister and I were not very familiar with the band, but after seeing their concert, I can honestly say that they had completely won us over. What an entertaining group! Especially their vocalist...

meow

concert picture from anime expo forums

Overall, Anime Expo 2010 was the best year they've had in a few, in my opinion! Besides the wonderful GoHs present this year, (AKB!!! and etc), another plus was the usage of Nokia theater, Nokia Plaza, and best of all, Club Nokia, (which is 10x better than that ballroom at the JW Mariott), and the Japanese DJs, too! The cosplayers this year were on a completely different level, and the convention center was packed with people all weekend

long. I met a lot of people this year while meeting up

with older friends from previous years. Of course, there were also a few things going on this year that some people weren't happy about, but we won't get to that section...

However, I am pretty upset to know that this year was Raven's last year here. It feels as if he's been here and a part of AX forever. What will the dances be like without him?? Hopefully though, we'll still be able to see him somewhere in the future.

Did I also mention? I never cosplay, but this year I wore my Japanese school uniform when I could. Some people found it amusing, after all...

AX really is the best!! Even though I had to miss out on it last year, (being in Japan and all), I was satisfied with this year's and I can't wait to see the next!

P.S.

A couple of days ago, I happened to be reading something from the blog of Sashihara Rino (指原莉乃) that made me laugh:

"ロサンゼルスって、エスカレーターは左右どちらかに寄るルールが無いんですよ"

This is true!! I was pleased that someone other than myself had found this important enough to point out, ...even though I'm sure many other visitors in America from Asia have noticed this as well...

P.P.S.

In the future, I hope I'll be motivated to write and post more on my blog.

And originally, I intended to post this blog up over a week ago, but some last minute complications made that impossible.