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Anime Expo 2009
Jul. 11th, 2009 09:58 pmIt's been almost a week since AX has passed. Just for reference, I'm going to list the panels I visited.
Thursday
-Manga Cafe
-Origami
-Masquerade Ball Dance Workshop
-Chibi Masquerade
-Magic Macabre
-Building the World's First Mech
-Japan's Hottest Doujin Videogames
Friday
-Freedom Episodes 1-3
-Whose Line is it Anime?
Saturday
-Taiko Drumming
-Mirai no Neiro Vocaloid : The Sound of the Future
Sunday
-Production IG
I didn't do as much as I usually did the previous years. For one thing, this is the first year I didn't attend the dance! I usually hang out at the dance hall at night after all the events have finished, but the dance was held about 5 blocks away from the convention center. It was a big hassle just to get there.
There were still a lot of memorable moments though. My favorite panels were Magic Macabre, Whose Line is it Anime, Taiko Drumming, and Vocaloid.
Magic Macabre was pretty awesome. We saw this guy from Masters of Illusion perform a few of his tricks. http://media.theory11.com/2146-Human-Blockhead---Masters-of-Illusion
He also reappeared again in the improv event of Whose Line is it Anime. It was hilarious to watch, especially with reoccuring references to tentacle monsters and baguettes.
Another of my favorite panels was Taiko Drumming. It wasn't listed on the original schedule, and I found out about it at the last moment. A collegiate group came and gave us a performance. http://www.senryutaiko.com/ Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by taiko drums, so this was an awesome experience. I would've loved to joine a Taiko group myself, but unfortunately, my college didn't have one.
Finally, I really enjoyed the Vocaloid panel. I'm really surprised at how popular the Vocaloid scene has become. Basically, Vocaloid is a japanese musical synthesizer program developed by Yamaha. Users can create their own songs using the program, so it can sorta be categorized as Japanese indie music. I think Vocaloid gained its popularity by having a cute character like Hatsune Miku as its front.
Also the Japanese video site, Nico Nico Douga, helped intensely in the promotion of Miku and Vocaloid. It's become really renown, that even CLAMP has taken notice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqu5az9XTAM
Uhm, anyway, the vocaloid panel showcased some of the songs/videos out there. One of my favorites shown was Meltdown, a fairly upbeat song by Rin Kagamine (another Vocaloid singer). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ox5-fEH4Ww&feature=related
Oh, and just for fun, here's a really good cover of Scarborough Fair
in english sung by Megurine Luka. It's awesome how this is all done using a program. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06LZi2DlFo
Whew, Anime Expo was fun, but I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the past years I've attended. I haven't watched anime for years now, but I still do enjoy going to this expo. There's a lot of energy from the crowd that's really cool to experience. It's one of the highlights in my year, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.
Thursday
-Manga Cafe
-Origami
-Masquerade Ball Dance Workshop
-Chibi Masquerade
-Magic Macabre
-Building the World's First Mech
-Japan's Hottest Doujin Videogames
Friday
-Freedom Episodes 1-3
-Whose Line is it Anime?
Saturday
-Taiko Drumming
-Mirai no Neiro Vocaloid : The Sound of the Future
Sunday
-Production IG
I didn't do as much as I usually did the previous years. For one thing, this is the first year I didn't attend the dance! I usually hang out at the dance hall at night after all the events have finished, but the dance was held about 5 blocks away from the convention center. It was a big hassle just to get there.
There were still a lot of memorable moments though. My favorite panels were Magic Macabre, Whose Line is it Anime, Taiko Drumming, and Vocaloid.
Magic Macabre was pretty awesome. We saw this guy from Masters of Illusion perform a few of his tricks. http://media.theory11.com/2146-Human-Blockhead---Masters-of-Illusion
He also reappeared again in the improv event of Whose Line is it Anime. It was hilarious to watch, especially with reoccuring references to tentacle monsters and baguettes.
Another of my favorite panels was Taiko Drumming. It wasn't listed on the original schedule, and I found out about it at the last moment. A collegiate group came and gave us a performance. http://www.senryutaiko.com/ Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by taiko drums, so this was an awesome experience. I would've loved to joine a Taiko group myself, but unfortunately, my college didn't have one.
Finally, I really enjoyed the Vocaloid panel. I'm really surprised at how popular the Vocaloid scene has become. Basically, Vocaloid is a japanese musical synthesizer program developed by Yamaha. Users can create their own songs using the program, so it can sorta be categorized as Japanese indie music. I think Vocaloid gained its popularity by having a cute character like Hatsune Miku as its front.
Also the Japanese video site, Nico Nico Douga, helped intensely in the promotion of Miku and Vocaloid. It's become really renown, that even CLAMP has taken notice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqu5az9XTAM
Uhm, anyway, the vocaloid panel showcased some of the songs/videos out there. One of my favorites shown was Meltdown, a fairly upbeat song by Rin Kagamine (another Vocaloid singer). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ox5-fEH4Ww&feature=related
Oh, and just for fun, here's a really good cover of Scarborough Fair
in english sung by Megurine Luka. It's awesome how this is all done using a program. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06LZi2DlFo
Whew, Anime Expo was fun, but I have to admit that I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the past years I've attended. I haven't watched anime for years now, but I still do enjoy going to this expo. There's a lot of energy from the crowd that's really cool to experience. It's one of the highlights in my year, and I'm already looking forward to the next one.
