NYAF – Rie Tanaka EPICNESS

Placeholder until I write something lengthy later. I generally suck at taking photos and usually don’t bother for guests given how bad they’ll turn out, but took a quick one at random. For better photos of Rie Rie, look towards the usual folks

Quick Edit: I just got a call from one of the guys I was chilling with at the Rie Tanaka panel who was contacted by one of her staffers; if anyone took photos of Rie during the autograph session please contact me ASAP. I know they told us we couldn’t but they’re looking for any photos of Rie signing stuff, even if it is from outside the entrance. I know someone out there must have been sly and did it; please help Rie Tanaka out! Thanks to all for the help. Honestly have no clue what they may use the photos for, but nice to know fans are quick to help when the need arises!

So somewhat being charged to write some epic-ish post via Hinano and Omo, I guess I’ll start from the beginning. This is going to be long, like uber long as I try to remember and write up more or less everything that happened from waking up at 6AM to leaving NYC at 4PM. Be prepared for a lot of bad moyism style grammar and story telling as I tell the story legend of Rie Tanaka and Anime Bloggers at NYAF 2008, with as much “OMFG” as I can muster!

I think the best way to start off is simply this: getting up at 6AM on a Sunday no matter the rhyme or reason really sucks. But I guess as a fan of seiyuus, any chance one gets to meet and greet them you just do what you gotta do. With that being said, I hauled my arse from Chinatown around 6AM and made it to the Javits Center around 7:15AM in hopes of being one of the first to be there. Was I the first? Hell no as apparently at least another 15-20 people have the same zealous and forsaked sleep in the hopes of getting a Rie Tanaka autograph ticket (basically guarantees you a signature which otherwise would be impossible). Talking to my new line mates (one whom I found out is also a blogger at Fujoshi scribblings. BTW Hinano, she wanted to meet you!), found out the first guy arrived at 5AM to line up. Now that’s hardcore and simply something I would not do myself unless it was say, Nana Mizuki or Minori Chihara.

Anyway after getting to know a few of them, staff eventually moved the line from the benches (where some in line were actually crashing due to lack of sleep) to the actual line to get in. There we all pretty much just sat and chilled seeing what each of us would get Rie to sign and just trying to stay up. This was around say, 7:30ish AM which at that point had maybe 30ish people already lined up. Not too bad since there were 50 tickets but not for good old con buddy Omo who was cutting it as he had yet to arrive, coming from NJ. Between just chilling with the line folk, I met Benson from yesterday where he showed off his poster to Rie (look for a yellow poster when the various Rie Tanaka panel photos come out) which I thought was kinda cool. It was also around this time that Omo (with rose for Rie, that’ll come in play later) finally showed up and entered the line easily under 50 people…

… or so we thought as when they eventually started to give out the tickets around 9:45AM, Omo missed out by two people! Obviously some folks line cut which sucked for him (told him he should have stayed with me as the folks around me would have been cool about it) and while he showed a brave front, I knew he must have been disheartened (hell I would be!). Really couldn’t offer much in words but told him at least to stay with me so we could be part of the first for her panel and most likely get some fanclub only limited pen that her staff said they’ll give out to the first 20 people.

So with some renewed energy and the promise of seeing Rie in person (again), the line was let in a little after 10AM where we thought one of the main staffers was leading us to the panel to ensure the first 20 stayed intact. Yea, that like hell didn’t happen as it turned into a mini-rush to get first. Luckily the Group of 20(TM) more or less managed to stay first with high hopes of getting a limited freebie and some good seating to see the star herself. Yea, that didn’t work either. Oh, we got good seating definitely but the whole pen thing got thrown out due to people with VIP passes that basically let them cut the line and be first; and of course NYAF was going to pamper the ones who paid more which makes sense but really sucks for the fans that were “hardcore” about it. Actually let me step back a bit as that was found out right before we got in and let me talk a little about one or two folks I met-ish while waiting. I want to give a huge shout out to that one huge Rie Tanaka fan from Osaka Japan that flew out to NYAF just for this (heck he’s part of her fanclub)! Props to Benson’s Japanese and having the balls to talk to the guy as it was cool seeing how the actual Japanese fans are like; very cool guy and I definitely respect his devotion(?) to Rie Tanaka as in so much to come to NY just to meet her in person and get her autograph. I know some may be thinking “why do that when they can do the same in Japan” but it’s like Omo and myself told others: countries outside of Japan (I guess I’ll just use the US for now) get a lot more personal interactions with seiyuus and industry folks (Yoshitaka Amano for example). Usually in Japan, and anyone (I’m looking at seiyuu3) is more than welcome to correct me if I’m wrong, the only times fans really get to interact with their favorite seiyuus are during major events promoting whatever new series they’re in (or their company is invested in) or/and the seiyuus’ own personal events. So while getting an autograph or photo op of x seiyuu may be the normal and something relatively easy for folks in the US, the Japanese aren’t so lucky.

I’m getting off-track, sorry. Anyway back to linecon #2; so yea folks with VIP passes (at least the first 20) got the pens after the NYAF and Rie Tanaka’s staff worked things out. Sucks but it’s the way of life and personally, I did not care that much. I’m seeing Rie Tanaka with my own two eyes plus will be getting an autograph (and god if I was lucky, a photo op) so who was I to complain? As for seating, wasn’t too bad as general audience got after the first two rows with me ending up in the 2nd row far left from the center. Definitely not horrible at all but with my crappy photo skills and laziness to really learn my camera, I knew I wasn’t going to get any great shots. Room took about 10-15 minutes to fill and just like Yoshitaka Amano’s panel, it was packed! I say probably another 5 minutes or so and the panel started with Rie Tanaka and staff walking in from the entrance right in front of me. Omo later said I should have gotten a shot but honestly, I was a little awed seeing Rie Tanaka so close in a nice all black getup (er… different from the cosplay she had yesterday).

Even if I was a little awed, that didn’t stop everyone else from giving one heck of a welcome and taking photos of Rie Tanaka as they setup the panel. There was a lot of cheering, trying to get Rie’s attention (which Benson did pretty well with his poster. She got a kick out of it from what I could tell and waved to him which definitely made his day), etc but eventually the panel opened up straight to Q&A given the fact everyone there pretty much knew Rie and her career. As is the trend of late, I remember jack and sh*t about what was exactly asked but thankfully the pros like Mike and Omo have this covered. One thing I will note however was how surprising the questions were asked as at least 1/2 of them were asked in straight understandable Japanese. Normally sure, you’ll hear one or two people break out the Japanese giving the guest a quick surprise but man, I guess US based Rie Tanaka take the cake being more prepared and learn-ed than most. Goes to show this old man can’t keep up with the youn’ings anymore ^^;;

Around mid-way through the panel, things got insane in a good way. For one, a fan gave Rie a pink Haro while the Japanese fan gave her a Lacus plushie (ninja outfit BTW). And what does Rie do? Start a mini-photo shoot posing with the pink Haro resulting in one crazy mad rush to get up and close to get some shots. Me, I didn’t even try as that just isn’t my thing even if I wanted photos but I know some folks that got good shots which will hopefully be posted in the coming days. After the insanity of the photo shoot died down thanks to the NYAF staff, Q&A resumed with the usual gauntlet of questions. Eventually, with all things, it had to end with the panel almost running out of time but not before Rie Tanaka dropped a nice little surprise to the fans: a massive Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament to win a few gifts she bought along (t-shirts, cell phone strap, signed CDs off the top of my head). I would love to say my luck prevailed and I won but I lost after the first round much to my charging. Funny thing is, just when one thought it would end after the tournament, there was still one more “treat” for the fans that we (well Benson and the Japanese guy) asked of Rie: to get a group photo which they gave the okay to. Sounds awesome right? Well in theory yes, if you happen to be in the front but not so much so if you’re slow (i.e. me) or get crushed by everyone else trying to get in the photo… made “worse” with Rie actually getting off stage and standing with the rest of us. I know there’s no way in hell I’m even visible in the shot but I do know at least Benson should be as apparently he was right next to her when the photo was taken. Much props and jealousy to you my friend!

Group photo done, one would think folks would start to head out and line up for her autograph session taking place in 30 minutes right? Yea right, if anything from what I can tell US Rie Tanaka fans go for the gold as the majority of us stuck around in hopes of photos op or whatever. Including Omo, who missed out on the autograph ticket, but could at least give her the rose and maybe get a quick photo as thanks. If this was a con like Otakon, I think that would have easily happened (heck that’s how I got my two-shot with Mamiko Noto last year) but NYAF is a well oiled machine that really tries to keep the guests on schedule even if said guests are more than willing to do stuff for the fans. Much to say, Omo’s attempt failed but we had hope that maybe during the autograph session, there would be another chance.

Linecon #3, Rie Tanaka’s autograph session. If it was anything like Yoshitaka Amano’s on friday I thought, at least it’ll be nice and quiet and I could finally rest a bit. But as I learned with anything to do with Rie Tanaka, like heck that was going to happen! The drama about the Rie Tanaka fanclub only limited pens came back in full force as some of the guys who were in the 5AM+ line talked to one of Rie’s management explaining the situation and how it was unfair that the VIPs got them without doing the time. Obviously her management was pretty understandable and said she’ll see what she could do given they had more than 20 for press and other stuff; which I thought was cool. The Group of 20 (which became like 10) definitely tried to have voice in numbers since I was pulled into the scheme just ’cause even if I didn’t care that much. At the end, we were able to get some which was great but definitely not enough for all 20; I didn’t even bother asking as I’ve mentioned, honestly did not care that much simply for a pen. The mini-drama to try to get one was more entertaining than anything else and met a few interesting folks in the process.

Mini-drama pretty much settled, I went back to waiting on line while Omo hatched his own plans to try to meet Rie, which I’ll get to shortly. Oh, before I forget, the staff would not allow any photos of Rie while getting an autograph due to time constraints which a lot of us were annoyed about but was understandable. I should say while I may sound pretty calm about it, I was kinda pissed as I was hoping to get a handshake photo like I did with Yoshitaka Amano or two shot like with Mamiko Noto; yes I’m petty but I wanted to keep the trend of envy going dang it (I ssssooo gonna get killed by some other bloggers now cause of that)! No photos aside, it was a pretty quick affair but I did at least give Rie a slight surprise as she asked where I got my item (below – amazon) plus being a little brave, was able to shake her hands and give thanks even if there’s no physical/digital evidence! At least that’s something good, right?

Leaving the autograph room with my mission 90% complete (the 10% for no photo ops), went looking for Omo which ended up being one heck of an adventure in of its self. As I mentioned before, Omo had zero shot of getting an autograph without a ticket and his attempt earlier to give Rie a rose failed with staff more or less telling him there was no 2nd chance during the autograph session. However, thanks to some understanding individuals, they did tell him her schedule and where he may be able to give her the rose which resulted in myself, Omo, Mike, and Jabel (met the guy last year at Otakon who is a seiyuu otaku way more than me I believe) camping out guerrilla style. We all had no idea what to expect or hope for but like the crazy folks we are just waited and planned. Obviously at worst, we would get bum rushed by security and nothing would happen while at best, Omo would deliver his rose plus maybe get something signed and/or photo op and Mike could do a quick interview of her as well. Myself I just wanted a frickin’ photo with her due to my ego but you all know that by now right? Yes, we were hoping way too much but guys do have to dream right?

The end result? Somewhere inbetween as the low-down went something like this: We saw Rie Tanaka and her bodyguards (i.e. NYAF staffers) come our way to wherever she was going next with Mike getting ready on camera, Omo with the rose, and Jabel and myself hanging back. It was easily the fastest 15 seconds of our lives as Omo literally handed off his rose to Rie (the staffers point this out as they were the ones who told Omo her schedule), gave her thanks and wave and went on her merry way. Quick but job completed with Omo at least able to leave an impression on Rie Tanaka plus with Mike taping, had a nice memory to look at (in HD) as well. With a job well done we were more or less ready to pack it up and leave but to the pleasant surprise of us all (specifically Omo) one of her staffers came back with a signed Chobits postcard for him as thanks! How beat is that? Literally against all odds Omo pulled one heck of a trick out of his hat and accomplished what he set out to do. I don’t think what I wrote can really describe the pure WIN of the moment; maybe finding out you won the lottery is one way? Heck I wasn’t even the one who experienced it but even I thought it was really f*cking cool to put it bluntly. Much to say, Omo (and the rest of ours) goal(s) for coming to NYAF were complete.

Doesn’t end there, however, as the four of us “celebrated” the victory by grabbing lunch at Go Go Curry again. For Jabel and Mike, it was a first which I believe they thoroughly enjoy while we all got to chat for a bit and just chill. As a side note, which Omo already mentioned, we got to do so while some crew were setting up to film some Japanese film (I assume indie-ish) which was nice just for the sake of something random. Plus as a random kicker, one of the actors asked if we were coming from the convention, which was something none of us expected.

With full stomachs, much to write about, and overall tired we all split ways heading to our next destination with for myself, meant going home and catching up on the anime I missed over the weekend. LOL and obviously, writing this 3000+ word post of epicness since someone has to

I probably should have finished with the above paragraph but totally forgot to write about my overall impressions of NYAF which were mixed at best. If one reads my other posts about the convention, I pretty much aired out the majority of issues which were three: little to do, general fan treatmeant, and staff management. If it wasn’t for the company of friends to make the experience better (which at the end, is what all cons are about), NYAF would have been dirt arse boring. Personally the only reasons I went, and I believe the same for “veteran” con goers, were for the two headline guests Yoshitaka Amano and Rie Tanaka. Because beside the guests, there just weren’t enough anime-related activities to do; no game room and limited panels. I can only hope as NYAF grows they’ll start adding more events to keep con goers busy as rare guests can only make a con go so far. On general fan treatment this has more to do with how they tried to get as much money off of you as possible with things like VIP passes (like $200), very limited autograph times, etc. And while I know Press and Professional (i.e. people with panels) are easy to get, really offered nothing in terms of extra treatment (especially Press) while VIP they more or less kissed the ground you walk on. I guess this is the major difference between a con ran by professionals versus a con for the fans and if I had my choice, I’ll take a con for the fans any day of the week. Speaking of the management, this bring me to my major issue in how management was more or less everywhere. The masquerade is a perfect example how that was handled, plus things like being uber strict with time and guests, telling folks different things based on who you talked to, etc really left a “bleh” taste in my mouth that has me wary of any future NYAF conventions. It seems the only way to truly enjoy the convention was if you had a VIP pass (money money) that allowed you to cut all lines, have all autograph tickets, and still get up early for specific stuff that was time or quantity based. Well maybe VIP and Press (need to ask Mike on that one), but in any case I doubt I’ll be going to any future NYAF unless the management gets their act together or/and there’s some uber guest I must see (*cough* Nana Mizuki *cough*).

… and BTW, 8+ hours later I’m still slightly bitter of the whole no Rie Tanaka photo ops ^^;;