Anime Weekend Atlanta 2013 - Saturday
Day two of Anime Weekend Atlanta was mostly filled with signings and concerts, as far as I was concerned. There was an Iwata and Asakawa signing at 13:00, and so with my previous con experiences in mind, I sought to be at that line at 12:00. I actually arrived at the con at a little past 11:00, and just hung out in the dealer's room until the autograph line formed.
Pictures: https://caelk.shutterfly.com/pictures/1192
Unfortunately, I didn't find a lot at the dealer's room even though there were a couple of good booths. Now, a bunch of places also carry import figures, but I didn't find the one I was looking for. The only thing that caught my eye was a Wagnaria T-shirt being sold by a custom T-shirt vendor, which I ended up picking it up on Sunday. I did find a really good Rockman X outside the dealer's room, though.
At around 12:25 I went back to the autograph line, since I was informed that they would be formed a half hour before the actual signing... and actually experienced something I've only seen in anime. See, after I was turned away at the line entrance five minutes before it was time, I went and started walking towards a wall to rest, be out of the way, and keep watch on the line entrance. So, while I was leisurely stroll to the edge of the dealer's room, I hear out of my right ear something like, "The line for Todd Haberkorn is now open!"
... Well, I just happened to be right in front of that line's entrance, and immediately a swarm of rabid fans rushed directly into me, trying to get past me to get into their autograph line. I actually had to force my way out of the line, and let's just say it was really interesting to be trying to walk in the opposite direction of what can only be described as a... fan-person stampede. It felt like swimming upstream, but at least people tried going around me rather than straight through.
Takase Mizuki... Hiiragi Tsukasa... I sympathize with you entirely now.
About a minute after I fought my way out of the Haberkorn line, the Iwata/Asakawa line started forming in a... slightly more orderly fashion. I ended up being near the front of the line, though I felt a little bad I had nothing for Iwata to sign. I left my (English) copy of Gitaroo Man with my parents, and I really had nothing else that he had done, so I gave him my badge. Asakawa Yuu got to sign my figure base, and after a brief, failed attempt to make the silver marker actually write, she threw out the black marker and gave me the signature I came for. I also got a picture with her, taken by a kind staff member who... actually knew how to take photos. I was pleasantly surprised when she gave my camera back to me, as I found she had changed my viewfinder settings and flipped it to manual mode. That's always a good sign.
After lunch, the next thing there was on the schedule was an Idolm@ster panel, so I made sure I attended. Honestly, it was a bit rushed - they were trying to fit time for fan performances at the end, so they had to blast through their presentation. I attempted (with five others) to sing Go My Way, but well... the song was chosen without my input really (and I had no idea my performance would involve other people). I don't know that one by heart, but then again, only two of us did, and they didn't have lyrics with them. Meh. I actually got to talk with one of the hosts later on, who... after fanning about Cinderella Girls (can't be blamed for that), said that the panel was intended for 90 minutes, but they only ended up getting 60 minutes. At least I ended up with the first Million Stars CD for my efforts.
Past this, the only things on the list for me were the concerts. There was actually another ZUN panel going on where someone would play one of his games and he'd comment on it while the playing happened... which happened at the same time as the Iwata/Asakawa concert. I chose the concert in the end, since I wanted to see Asakawa perform, though I hear that the Gaming with ZUN panel was pretty interesting in it's own right.
However, some things just don't change. I seem to remember concerts at previous AWAs starting late, and this year was no exception. The concert, which was scheduled to last an hour, started 40 minutes late. Fourty whooping minutes. I don't know how long they were setting up, but apparently it wasn't enough. I can't really say good things about the acoustics of their concert either - at least from where I was, the singers had the tendency to get drowned out by the music.
The concert itself saw each performer sing three songs each - Asakawa had three Vocaloid songs, and Iwata had three of his rock band's songs. I have to say that Iwata left a bigger impression on me. The man had energy, he had spunk, and he did what he could to share it with the rest of us during the concert. Maybe he has a bit more experience performing live?
But having started late, the concert ended late by 20 minutes. I kinda wonder if they cut one or two songs to make time, but at least there was an encore. Asakawa performed Fly Me to the Moon for hers, while Iwata came out with another of his band's songs, though he told us it had never been performed before. By this point, though, ZUN's autograph session at 17:30 was coming up fast, so as soon as he finished his song, I was out the door. And since the room where the autographs would be held wasn't marked on the map, I actually had to search for it. It didn't end up being too far in the end, being in Boardroom 4 with a short line outside of it. There was a short line, and by the time I entered the room, there were a few surprises waiting for me.
The first, of course, was ZUN himself, with a beer in his hand as was normal for him. The second was that before I entered, the doorkeeper asked me to write my name on a slip of paper, since ZUN wanted to personalize his autograph for his fans. The third... well, it's actually not related to ZUN at all, but his translator ended up being someone I knew. So I got to say hi to him again. I had originally planned to get my the base for my Sakuya figure signed, but ZUN was only signing for things that he personally did himself. So, I brought out my backup item - Touhou Youyoumu (Perfect Cherry Blossom), the first game I played in the series. He signed it (in gold!), and my friend snapped a few pictures of us before I said my thanks and goodbyes.
Needless to say, I left the room in a really good mood, having accomplished everything I set out to do here. I'd actually come to terms that I might not have gotten his autograph, since I knew that there'd only be 100 people getting it, so actually getting it topped off a really good con and left me feeling... quite elated.
After dropping my stuff off at the hotel, I made my way back to the bless4 concert, and although I was late, I really didn't care at this point. The acoustics of their concert was much better than the previous, and they did a really good job of getting the audience involved in the concert. They seemed really used to performances, and I ended up buying one of their CDs and getting it signed (and getting a picture with them), even though I'm not sure I really like their music. I mean, they did take the time to come to Atlanta, and they are a real musical guest which is something that I'd like to see repeated next year for this con. So, I figured I'd thank them in the form of monetary support... admittedly banking on the chance that they'll do something awesome later on which will make me glad I got their signature and their picture. ^_^
And with the concert done, the day was pretty much over. Dinner was had, and I missed my chance to sign up for karaoke (the line was long, long, long and they stopped taking submissions after a while)... so I spent the remainder of the night hunting for cosplayers, one of which ended up being one of the hosts of the Idolm@ster panel. All in all, a nice, relaxing way to end the day.
