NYAF 2009 – Day 2 – Yui Makino & AKB48 Madness

I think the day when I don’t have to get up early to go to a convention will never ever happen as long as I’m interested in seiyuus and Japanese music/idols in general. Much to say, Day 2 of NYAF 2009 so far has been all about Yui Makino and AKB48.

Top post image I’ll have up later tonight since I did not feel like taking a loot shot while in McDonalds ^^;; Anyway, the day itself started well enough with me arriving on-site at 8:30AM and NYAF actually having two lines to let people in; general attendance and VIP. So finally +1 for NYAF and its VIP privileges as I was able to be like second in line (under VIP since VIPs are suppose to get in first) for Yui Makino’s concert at 11:30AM when they let us in at 10AM. While online waiting, met up with Omo and the usual crew from yesterday, finding out they got onsite roughly the same time I did however they drove up from NJ to do so! Also ran into one or two folks I met last year during the whole Rie Tanaka affair.

Chilling back with old and new folks to kill the time, the staff eventually let us in around 11AM. And boy, VIP finally paid off as we got literally front row center seats to the concert! It still didn’t make up for the powered down version of this year’s VIP but getting good seats was a decent start. They showed a ANA commercial as well as a quick intro video of sorts with Yui Makino (answering questions about her roles, career, showing video from other overseas appearances, etc) as everyone slowly settled in, the concert starting shortly after. I won’t go into what was played or my thoughts on the music itself since I’m not Omo but overall it was a good solid concert. Yui is definitely a strong performer live with hearing and seeing most of her anime tied-in songs was a treat not soon to be forgotten. And yes, she’s definitely cute as a button BTW ^_^ I could probably go on and on about Yui Makino if I really thought about the concert but honestly, it was a nice way to start the day. Also couldn’t beat being in an audience photo with her with our group literally right behind as well as getting random high-fives with her. If you happen to see any photos with Yui Makino after the NYAF concert posing with the audience, look for the guys with the blue glow sticks; that’s us!

The concert now over with, we headed to her autograph line to find it already decently long. And obviously with our luck, VIP did nothing again as everyone was in the same line; unlike last year where there were two lines, or at least all VIP went first prior to normal attendance. More random conversation with wah recording as usual kept us occupied as we waited for her autograph session to start. Nothing too blackmail worthy although getting wah to (badly) propose to Yui Makino kept us more entertained than it should have. On the actual autographs themselves, it was weird how they were screening what items were OK or not; basically just CDs, DVDs, and some character related items. Strange shit but I think eventually the staff stopped caring. I was after Omo so it was cool seeing Yui’s reaction to the bunch of roses he bought her, but Omo is PRO in this regard so yea. Myself was a quick affair getting her to sign my Undine CD and giving a quick handshake and thanks for the concert…

… now on my second and third turns… it was still the same ^^;; And yes, I went three times due to having two tickets myself and one Omo gave since he wasn’t going to use it. Second time around got her to sign the CD single that was being sold at NYAF (and isn’t released yet in Japan) while the third got her to sign one of the photo cards (got to frame that when I get back). All pretty quick and easy, and surprisingly enough no one really noticed me going three times over LOL.

With Yui Makino’s autographs done, split up with the group as some went to eat, others to check out other panels, meet folks, etc. I ended up going to AKB48′s mini-concert stage only to painstakingly count down 45 minutes crushed like crazy until the concert started (and I could actually get up and move around). The concert itself was pretty quick, actually only like 20 minutes tops, but overall was pretty enjoyable. I was surprised how many fans there were but AKB48 songs were pretty catchy in that Morning Musume type of way. The girls themselves were pretty cute and I was not one to complain about cute girls in skirts singing and dancing for the enjoyment of others ^^;;

I could add a bit more about the concerts, or how specifically NYAF is still rather disorganized at times, like having audio and seating issues but at this point, it seems like I’m beating a dead horse. Plus Day 2 is only half done thus far, so who knows what craziness is left. I will leave off with a quick “WTF” moment that just happened a few hours prior. Had to hit the can at one point, so went to the nearest restroom. No big deal so far as there was no lines and open stalls. So doing the mental game of which open stalls I’m suppose to choose when others are using the corner ones, I ended up going to the one on the right, next to a old man in a neon pink dress shirt… only to wait for the regular full stall instead since I forgot I’m wearing button jeans, and it’s a pain un-doing them in the normal stalls especially with others around you. Anyway as I was waiting, the old man finishes and goes to wash up, passing me. It was then I realized he was Yoshiyuki FRICKING Tomino! I thought there’s just no way since I only got a quick glance at the corner of my eyes as he passed me, but I later confirmed this as one of the guys getting an autograph from him (right after) let me know.

So yes, I was next to Yoshiyuki Tomino in the men’s bathroom too embarrassed to do my thing thanks to my jeans. Just got to love cons huh?