Anime Expo 2009 Convention Report
OMG A con report!! When was the last time I did one of those!? Well AX is too big to go without mention, at least this year. Of course Happy!Project made this trip to see Morning Musume and perform in front of fellow fans.
Day -1
Everyone arrived at my house in Tempe, Arizona to spend the night. They (Chris, Harumi, Mikitty, & Hapichan) came all the way from Texas and picked up Mirachan in Oklahoma. I got a grand total of 2 hours of sleep. xD I felt tired and a soreness in my throat, so I knew I was already getting sick...
DAY 0
We awoke this morning early to find a lovely surprise. Flat tire. >.< This set us back a couple hours. We slept most of the trip.
If only I looked this cute while I was sleeping.
We decided that LA looks like Dallas, but with more tagging and more smog.
Giant Final Fantasy XIII people!! =o
I think we're here guys!!
We arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center in time to wait in line for 4 hours, but successfully got our badges and Morning Musume concert tickets. Row 7!!
Trying not to roast while in line outside. xD
TICKETSSSSSSSS!! =D
Our hotel was...not five star. xD The elevators are scary and kept stopping on floor 6 when no one was there. We were on the 15th floor so the showers were not very kind. The hot water, and the water entirely, came and went as it pleased. xD; It was far too cramped for 7 people (Brandon also joined us). We made the best of it!
Having several hours to kill, we got dressed up in lolita attire and went to have dinner in Little Tokyo. It really is a cool area. I wish we had more time to explore it during the day, when everything was open. It was cold out. The food was delicious!
We met Pedobear and were featured on Youtube! xD
DAY 1
First on the agenda for today was getting in line early for the dealer's hall. We had to buy Morning Musume merchandise in order to get an autograph ticket. Of course, we would buy it anyway, right? We did not get there early enough! They ran out of tickets in the middle of our group. Justin-san and Mira-chan were lucky enough to get the very last Momusu autograph tickets! I think the crazy Japanese wota got in line very very early for them.
I was a little dissapointed with the merchandise, but at least we got what were probably some exclusive items that sold out! The coolest thing was how they displayed different Morning Musume concert costumes on a couple mannequins as well as some interesting merchandise from Japan.
This was my favorite one!
We wore our cool blue outfits from the Bon Kyu concert today! Aren't we stunning? I love this costume.
Hapi-chan (the all too happy leader) as JunJun
Mikitty (the disgruntled subleader) as Eri Kamei
Mira-chan (the old one) as Reina Tanaka
Nyu-chan (the pervert!) as Ai Takahashi
We met this cute Koharu Kusumi cosplayer. Isn't her Tan tan taan costume amazing!?
Next was the Morning Musume Q&A panel. Unfortunately we did not get to ask any questions. It was a cute panel and it was the first time we were able to see the girls in person! I believe they were wearing the outfits from the Shouganai single cover. Everyone was very cute! It's funny that Reina wasn't paying attention even when the fans were saying how much they loved her. xD Linlin spoke impressive English!
DAY 2
Today is the big day! Morning Musume Concert and Happy!Project's performance at Hello!Party!
The first thing I thought was "Wow! What a tiny stage for Momusu!" I had a pretty good view of the stage, except for one tall guy who never even budged an inch the entire concert, in the middle of my view. xD But our seats were pretty good! It was amazing to see Morning Musume live, actually in the same room - so unreal!! I danced and waved the glowsticks someone gave me, and sang along some, but I couldn't yell because I had to save my voice for later. I shouted a little when they did The Peace, though. I couldn't help it! We were expecting to hear more Platinum 9 album songs, so the classic Momusu medley was quite a surprise, but a good one! We were music video Contest winners. The videos were amazing! Also it was the only time I got to see Yossie (oh, sorry, HANGRY). However, I would have rather seen Momusu perform more songs, and not perform Breakin' Out twice. (Are we sick of it yet? LOL) And no encore!! This was dissapointing but I am still so happy I was able to see Morning Musume in concert in the USA. :)
Hello!Party was a lot of fun! I wish I had been able to enjoy the entirety of it. I really wanted to play the drawing game. I would have been so pro! xD All the Niigaki fans won prizes and I snagged an awesome photobook!! =D
First we collaborated in singing the Ame no Furanai with Sekai no Melody. Such a beautiful song. This was very hard with my sore throat!
Someone was kind enough to post a video of our dance performance.
Morning Musume Medley
Cinderella Complex
We rocked it! I did my best, but being tired and dizzy from sickness did not help me perform my best. x.x The fans really seemed to enjoy our performance and many people wanted our pictures. ^^ It was great to perform in front of people who recognize the songs and love them as much as we do. :D
We wore Shanimuni Paradise costumes from the Bon Kyu Bomb concert for most of the party, and our blue costumes again briefly for the dance performance. Here's a funny picture we took while on our way back to the hotel. xD
DAY 3
We were late for the Tsunku panel, but we still got to see the man in his beautiful perfect hair glory. =o I would have liked to hear more from him. He gave really insightful answers.
We wore Shanimuni Pardise costumes today. Photoshoot time!
Mirachan and Justin-san got their Morning Musume autographs today! Mirachan says Ai Takahashi & Eri Kamei recognized her Shanimuni Paradise costume! ^.^ While the rest of us weren't able to get autographs, we are so happy for them! Here's the cool thing for all of us. Press that traveled from Japan with Morning Musume were interested in us and took our picture. Mirachan called us and we promptly power walked all the way to the convention center for that photo! xD We hope that Tsunku or the Momusu girls see our picture! It was featured in a Japanese magazine with Morning Musume at AX coverage!
This evening, Justin-san took Mira-chan, Hapi-chan, and me to the Santa Monica beach! We arrived as the sun was setting. We had the most fun chasing the waves! Why did I, the tallest one, get soaked up to my butt and the others didn't? >.< I forgot how wet sand feels under your feet - much better than dry sand. It was nice and cool. We were able to see some fireworks, too. :) I can't wait to go back to the beach!
(Can you tell Mira-chan is a Twilight fan? Well, so is the rest of Happy!Pro...)
xD I like Justin-san because he has a worse sense of direction I do, which is an accomplishment.
Chasing the waves is fun!!!
DAY 4
We had to leave today! It was a long trip back home for the rest of my group. I feel very bad because I think I got half of my roommates sick...
Here is a listof all the loot I came home with.
-Morning Musume Platinum 9 Album CD (I got an Ai-chan card!)
-Morning Musume Shouganai Yume Oibito Single CD
-Hangry & Angry Kill Me Kiss Me mini album CD
-Morning Musume Fan
-Morning Musume Platinum 9 Bag
-Morning Musume Platinum 9 Poster
-Morning Musume in USA T-shirt
-Hello!Project Photobook (prize!)
-Pink cupcake hairties
-Black bow hairclip
-Red polka dot cherry barrettes
-Red heart jeweled Hello Kitty charm
(Don't ask me how much I spent! xD I'd rather not think about it...)
I also found my dream dress in the exhibit hall!
Someday I shall have that Angelic Pretty dress. =o Yes that's a $300 price tag. xD
Full size photos are on my FlickR. Most of them are from Mira-chan's camera, a few are from mine, taken by various people, often Justin-san.