Kidd's Top 3 Tokyo Spots (Part 2 of 2)

Ghibli Museum

You know when they say "save the best for last"? Well, there's a reason why I put Ghibli Museum on the last of the list. I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, it was such a fulfillment to finally come here. I can't remember how long have I been looking at pictures and videos on the internet before even coming. A friend told me that I'm gonna miss the "surprise factor" and I didn't care, still the feeling I felt when I made it inside the museum is something I can't explain. It was magical.

I know Totoro is the superstar here, but can you find the soot balls?

It was probably, no, definitely my favorite part of the trip, that even though this is a compilation of my trip's highlights, I decided this one should get a separate post.

The entrance door of the museum

Let me just say, for one thing, getting a ticket to the museum is not easy for somebody living in the Philippines who has no close friend or relative in Japan. It's not sold in the museum, you have to purchase it on a kiosk called Loppi at Lawson combini (only in Japan). I thought of getting one when I get to Japan but the museum is very popular, it limits 200 visitors a day, I probably won't get a slot for the time I'm staying if I do that. I could make it easier by joining another tour but it's way more expensive and I didn't like my visit to be time-bounded so I looked for other options. I tried to ask the staff of the hotel I booked if it's possible to buy a ticket on my behalf and I'll just pay when I get there. They politely decline as it is something beyond what they can do. Thank God for the internet, I found a better option -- a shopping agent! Bridge.Jpn offers a proxy buying service in Japan, they bought the ticket for me for a fee but still a lot cheaper than joining a tour. I asked them to send the ticket to my hotel then I picked it up when I checked in. You don't get the actual ticket by the way, instead you get a reservation ticket, when you get to the museum, you hand it to the entrance counter then they'll give you the actual ticket. The complexity of the ticket procurement process was worth it, the ticket itself is a keepsake. It has frames of an animation film as ornament, lucky me, I got one from my favorite anime film!

I remember this scene

Photography inside the museum is prohibited and I am not sorry for this policy. The principle behind is for one to enjoy the experience through eyes and senses rather that a camera's lenses. To take the unique experience as a special memory not even a camera would capture.  I have so much respect for Miyazaki I gladly abide the rules.  It's okay if I can't take images with me, because I'll definitely see it again.

The building and the interior of the museum was designed by Hayao Miyazaki himself using drawn storyboards, and I know he's a genius, but oh my God, when I think about the interior and the landscape of the museum, I have no words. Just like his films, there's a strong European architecture influence. Everything in the museum is intricately decorated, you know when I say that Japanese put art into everything, well, this one is taking that notion to the next level. I don't know if I have stressed this enough but I have no words, that's how amazing this place is. And let me tell you, I've never seen a more beautiful and elegant toilet in my life.

The first floor showcased different animation techniques. Be prepared to be enchanted and get some goosebumps. I looked at the display and suddenly I understood why I prefer the traditional animation than CG animation. The gallery is graced with Joe Hisaishi's amazing music. It really gave me that feeling of being transported in another world. Some displays are interactive, child and adults alike are welcome to play. It was so fun, it would surely bring out the child in you. The Saturn Theater features Ghibli short films, you can only watch once, the film I saw was Hoshi Wo Katta Hi. My only dilemma here was the absence of subtitle. I am not that fluent in Nihonggo. I did get the context of the film through the scenes and few familiar words I caught, but I still would want to understand everything.

The second floor features a mock-up animation studio to show how Ghibli animators work, this is also the part where artworks of Studio Ghibli films are exhibited. Another wing of the second floor is for the special exhibition. This year they are featuring "The Lens at Work In the Ghibli Forest". Basically it's a showcase of functions of lens and the magic they create. I was so fascinated and inspired by it, I started collecting small viewfinder toys (not to mention I own a view master and a stereoscope prior to this trip).

The third floor has the Museum Cafe, Mamma Aiuto (souvenir shop), Trihawk reading room/bookstore and surprise, surprise, the Tonari no Totoro catbus. It's still inside the museum, but this I couldn't resist taking a photo. The only disappointing part here is, adults are not allowed to get in or play with it. Strictly for kids only. How unfair is that?!? I heard there's for-adult version of this one somewhere in Tokyo, but I didn't really have the time to check it.

I didn't get to taste the delicacies at the cafe because of the long queue, I didn't want to spend too much time waiting for my turn to buy food. But there was a hotdog and ice cream counter for express orders, I lifted all my diet restrictions for this trip so I settled with hotdog and ice cream.

They do allow pictures outside the building, The most photographed part of the museum is probably the robot soldier, the sculpture in the middle of lush vegetation is perfect. There's also a replica of Laputa's floating block. It was cool, but it's the not really the best spot to hang out on a sunny day.

The museum grounds view from the roof top

I didn't really anticipate spending too much and I was doing great the first 3 days until I entered Mamma Aiuto, the museum shop. A lot of Ghibli novelties here are not sold anywhere, Ebay sellers make a lot of money out of it, they mark up the prices too much. I figured, it's better to seize the opportunity to buy souvenirs. They were expensive but still cheaper than buying online. I bought cookies, t-shirt, a glow-in-the-dark Kodama flower vase, a stereoscope and of course a music box.

Princess Mononoke music box and a Kodama flower base (no flowers yet)

I wanted to stay longer but I had to go as it was getting late. I've already said it early on, but I'll say it again, this was my favorite experience in Japan, I highly recommend it to everyone, even if you are not a fan of Ghibli works or anime. As for me, I can't wait to go back!

Kidd's Top 3 Tokyo Spots (Part 1 of 2)

First things first, a disclaimer - the title does not necessarily mean that these are my ultimate favorite spots in Tokyo, I can't really decide on that one yet when I haven't fully explored the metropolis, but when I decided to go to Tokyo this year, I immediately identified 3 destinations essential for my first visit. There are many places that I want to go to, but given the time and financial restriction that I had, I thought of 3 places that I MUST set my feet on at all cost. You might have thought that it would have been easier if I came up with a title that would describe the context of this post but the creative juice isn't really pouring right now, thus, a disclaimer.

Anyway, on to my top 3...

Tokyo Tower

Tokyo Tower behind Zojoji Temple

I don't really want to start with negative stuff, but this needs to get out of the way. During my research, I've read a lot of bad reviews about Tokyo Tower. It's not because the place sucks, but because going in the observatory is expensive (JPY820 on the first deck and additional JPY600 on the second deck), and they are pretty reasonable (the reviews). I mean why would you spend that much when you can actually get a bird's eye view of the city at no cost. There are skyscrapers with open-to-public observatory deck for FREE. But, I'm no ordinary traveler, I don't just visit a site for it's beauty and historical importance. I also take pop culture references into consideration. Huge consideration, I must say. The main reason I wanted to go there was because I'm a huge fan of CLAMP and we all know that Tokyo Tower plays a significant role (landmark that is) not only on many works of CLAMP but other famous anime and manga like Please Save My Earth and Sailormoon, plus, Always Sanchome no Yuhi is one of my favorite films, there's no way I'm gonna miss it just because some budget conscious tourists think it's not worth the buck. Seeing it in my favorite movies and anime made me want to go there and recreate similar scenes. I also see Tokyo Tower as a symbol of the Japan's impressive rise to power after the devastation of World War II. It's just one of the many things I really admire about Japanese people.

Always Sanchome No Yuhi is a nostalgic film about life at the time Tokyo Tower is being built

Diorama display of the setting of Always Sanchome No Yuhi

There are lots of attractions inside the Tokyo Tower, at the base of the tower is a four-story building at the called Foot Town. There's an aquarium, wax museum, hologram gallery, and more. They have separate admission fees so I didn't try them. I only get to see souvenir shops and nothing really appealed to me. In the main observatory, there's a cafe, souvenir shop, a stage for musical performance with a DJ and you can request songs too, and a Shinto shrine. I tried the soft ice cream at the Cafe because I remember Sakura Kinimoto and friends having that when they went to Tokyo Tower. It's not bad, but I don't find it spectacular either.

Collaboration between Tokyo's night scene and music

Now let's talk about how I feel about my overall experience. Let me just stress the fact that I love Tokyo Tower. It's an impressive structure and I really think one must not miss it when going to Tokyo. But some things were missing and they could have made my first visit a perfect experience.  For one thing, there was an ongoing maintenance work. When the tower lights finally lit up, there was a portion unlit, so from afar, it looked like some sort of a gap. It kinda disappointed me.

Beautiful but the gap was a disappointment

Another thing is, The place is a popular spot for couples. Being single doesn't really bother me, but sometimes, when I go to places that are obviously invaded by couples, I can't help feeling a little bit out of place and lonely. When I hopped in the elevator on the way up, I was accompanied by 4 couples, each pair was occupying each corner of the elevator, while I was in the middle all alone. At the observatory, seeing the city night lights shine like stars, again I can't help but think how romantic it would be to watch it with someone special.

A Shinto Shrine inside the main observatory is said to be responsive to fulfillment of love and school success

But those things I mentioned were minor stuff. I will definitely definitely go back to Tokyo Tower someday. I would love to see it again in daytime and fully illuminated at night time. I'll have to think twice if I'd go inside the Foot Town and the observatory again. Maybe when I have more pocket money or if I have someone special with me hehehe.

Tokyo Tower is celebrating its 55th year

Mount Fuji

Another disclaimer, Mt. Fuji is not really located in Tokyo, it lies about 100 km southwest of Tokyo, but it's part of my "Tokyo trip" and it is visible in the city on clear days. Now here's another huge symbol of Japan. I anticipated Mt. Fuji just as I anticipated Mt. Mayon last year. I kinda think of them like a pair of maternal twin sisters. I booked a day tour to Mt. Fuji through Japan's largest travel agency JTB. The package I got included a stop at Oshino Hakkai, Shiraito Falls and Shengen Taisha Shrine. This is the nature leg of my trip, I was really excited for this one, unfortunately, Typhoon Wipha made a landfall the same day my Mt. Fuji tour took place, it rained all day so it didn't turned out the way I anticipated it to be. Funny how I imagined Mt. Mayon to be Mt. Fuji when I was in Albay, but looking at the clearest image I got of Mt. Fuji, one can easily mistake it for the other. I wanted to see it with an ice cap, but the weather betrayed me.

Summit view from Fifth Station

The clearest picture I got

Mt. Fuji is divided into 10 stations, with the 10th station being the highest. The tourist buses can only go as far as fifth station. Climbers can go further but climbing season is only on summer (July-August) due to severe cold weather. At that time, the temperature in 5th station was 2°C, it may not be so much for some, but for someone living in a tropical country, that is COLD (the coldest I've ever been, in fact). Our tour guide, Emiko-san, told us, that if somebody questions us for claiming of having been to Mt. Fuji, we can always show our picture with the marker, and in my case, this is it:

I may have not see Fujisan in its full glory, but I did get to enjoy it in other aspects. Ever wonder where the melted snow cap goes? Of course it goes down in all places and it is beautifully laid.

Oshino Hakkai is a set of (8) pristine fresh water springs of melted snow that has sunk into the ground over long years. It was absolutely gorgeous. A tranquil ambiance dominated the rain, the thatched roof farmhouses were lovely. A fine weather would have made a perfect experience.

With Claire, a British woman who was traveling alone, some of my pics on the tour was taken by her

Another snowmelt fed site is the Shiraito Falls. It is said to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls of Japan. It is 200 m wide and 20 m tall. I love waterfalls, the bigger the better. I crave the idea of swimming in cold water, if only I could take a dip. But it's a protected area, I think they don't allow allow people to swim there.

The last leg of the my Fujisan tour touched the religious aspect of the mountain. The Sengen Taisha shrine deifies Mt. Fuji itself, and its okumiya, or "inner shrine", is located at the very peak of the mountain. The main shrine is a registered important cultural property.

Omikuji tied in a wire surrounding a Sakura tree to repel bad fortunes

Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha is located in Fujinomiya City in the southwestern foothills of Mount Fuji. Originally built over 1000 years ago for the protection from volcanic eruptions, it has become the region's most important shrine and the head shrine of over 1300 Sengen and Asama shrines (a type of Shinto Shrine centered on the worship of the god of volcanoes) nationwide. The grounds has about 500 Sakura trees and is a popular hanami spot during spring. I could have taken better pictures but I was already tired at the time and the weather started to intensify, also my camera's battery got drained so I switched to my phonecam, most of my pictures here are really not blogpost-material, but heck!

Meet Yuu-chan, a very cute Akita dog, I couldn't resist

At the end of this tour, Claire asked me if I think I wasn't meant to see Mt. Fuji, all I said was, "I think I am meant to go back". Oh I will definitely go back, maybe I'll try another season, spring perhaps. I am not one with you yet Fujisan!

To be continued...

A Well Spent Weekend

I normally spend my weekend bumming out, sleeping most of the time. I knew I need it as I barely get enough sleep during weekdays. But this weekend was a busy one, and as Christmas comes closer, I expect the succeeding weekends to be busier.

But let's talk about this weekend. Last Saturday, I attended the 25th anniversary of Toei Animation Philippines. I believe that I have outgrown the fandom and that my main reason for attending otaku events is to be with my friends. But then there are things from the community that I still cling on to, Toei is one of them. For one thing, a lot of the earliest anime and sentai series I've watched were produced by Toei. Having that said, I expected the event to be a nostalgic experience for me. The place was a really good choice, It's always great to attend an anime convention outside Megatrade hall. We didn't have to fight for a space to come through, there was no struggle to breath, the weather was great and the cozy atmosphere of Eastwood set a really good mood, in short, I love the venue, I should have worn a nicer pair of shoes! The ticket was really good too. I make a big deal out of it because I keep tickets for souvenir, and I have to say, their ticket is one of the best tickets I've gotten so far.

One of my disappointment though, is the fact that there's not much to be seen. I mean, we're talking about one of the biggest animation studio in Japan, I know for a fact that there's more to Toei than Dragon Ball and One Piece. There were very few exhibits to check, like probably six or seven booths and checking them out would not take more than 15 minutes (all of them). I like the dioramas though, I only wish there were more. I didn't see anything different on the cosplay activity. There's a photobooth with a long queue, It would have been better to have booths that have interactive activities. Then I wish there were merchandise booths, even if it's only Toei related, I've no problem with that, I'm sure there's a market for Toei merchandise, I mean, I'm sure somebody would be interested to get a Galaxy Express 999 music box.

Cosplayers nowadays are really creative and particular to details and accuracy of their costume, which is great. There's a lot that I don't recognize, but that's barely my concern. I have seen 2 group cosplay skit that I really enjoyed, Daimos and Voltes V. But I didn't bother to see the others. My appetite for cosplay have long dwindled, but there were still cosplayers that got my attention.

I couldn't help staring at their crotch to check the bulge. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pervert, it's just that they are always flat on the actual series and I always wonder if the actors under the suit are really male. I know that the one cosplaying Red One is a female.

OMG! This guy has been cosplaying that character forever!

Who doesn't know Peebo? Who?!

I want to steal it!

If you ask me though, this handsome little guy is my favorite!

Of course, my friend Nagi, once again fulfills her Sailor Neptune dream cosplay :). Too bad Sailor Uranus is not around :(

My biggest disappointment was the float parade. It was the activity that I looked forward the most. With a cash prize of P100,000, I wish the contestants put more effort and I wish there were more contestants. The were only 3, get that 3 anime floats, and one Toei (studio) float, and none made my eyes expand or made me exclaimed wow! All of them looked like they were done by amateurs, I got that impression even though I looking from afar (really far). Our town festival's floats are far more amazing (and I live in a small town).

Dragon Ball float

But I have no complain. The event was free. It seems to me that organizers operated on a limited budget. I cannot remember seeing any sponsors. I do hope that the areas for improvement I've mentioned would be considered for the 30th year celebration. I hope they'd be more creative and get ample financial support next time.

The best part of the day, or any event I've been to, is hanging out with my friends. Chris, Nagi, Aish, Duston and Shamsa came. Like always, a day is never enough to hang out with awesome friends. We ate Takoyaki at a mini food court nearby. It was really good, the sauce reminded me of the Okonomiyaki I ate in Little Tokyo. The octopus meat was pretty big, I didn't get to see the actual meat in most of the takoyaki I've tried. We spent the rest of day at Aish and Duston's apartment. Duston made some brownies which was really good too. Shamsa was surprisingly hyper at home. She's friendly but normally quiet outdoors. This time I saw her screamed and laughed a lot and it was really heartwarming whenever I'd get a hug from her. Awww... We ended the day with a game of "which do you prefer" and "what's you top 3" which was fun. I got home past 2 am, I was so very tired I didn't get to brush my teeth before going to sleep. Ugh!

The next day, I woke up mid-afternoon and got a text from my elementary and highschool classmate Fati, reminding me of a lunch date with our other grade school classmates. Shoot! I have forgotten about it, I would have wanted to stay home but I have committed that if it was set on Sunday I could come. So I did. I thought I needed it too. I know so little about my gradeschool and highschool classmates. Reunions are the only venue I get to be updated. I need to be more connected.

This is the second time I attended a grade schooler' get together. We had a coffee then had little coldies session. It turns out to be more fun than I expected. I am aware that I'm different from my classmates, but I get along just fine. I have very little memory of events from grade school, I was a loner and I got bullied, it was a sad part of my childhood, but I'm glad that I didn't harbor hatred to my bullies to this day. I have not forgotten them but I have forgiven them. I have no problem attending reunions like this, I'd like to be updated, what are they now? Where have they been? I just wish there are more attendees next time.

When I got home, there was a celebration at home. It was my late Uncle Al's birthday, my cousins from Pasig came to celebrate. There were too many food, but too little space left on my tummy. I ended the day with a mass. Yesterday was the lightening of the first advent candle, this is the official start of Christmas celebration, which reminds me, we need to start putting up the Christmas tree and lights.

It was a tiring weekend indeed. But I am thankful. I have this exhausted body, but then I have this energized soul. Rawr!

I wasn't gonna blog about this, but because of so many times I've failed to upload this on youtube (thanks to my amazing broadband connection), I've felt that a successful upload (finally) deserves a blog post (and plug) hehehe.

Evangelion is one of the most popular anime of my time, there are tons of merchandise available and thank God music box is one of them. It comes in different variant, this one is the version 2. It is manufactured by Sega and is supposed to be an arcade prized item. The set comes with Asuka and another Rei wearing white one piece suspended in a glass tube. I sell the Asuka figure and also the version 3 (both Rei and Asuka).

Fly Me to the Moon is a popular song by Frank Sinatra. It has different versions by various artists but I have to admit though, that only Evangelion made me love this song.

For some reason, whenever I wind this up, our dog Majinbu barks along. Even when I tried playing the video, he goes barking again -sigh-

Music Box

Here's something that I haven't shared. I love music box! I think it started more than a year ago when my fascination with this 18th century technology started and I don't really know why. I know that I've always loved music box version of some anime songs, but I'm really fascinated with the wind-up movement. That complex mechanism of interlocking cogs, gears and wheels got me locked. In this age of Ipod and digital music, here I am, crazy for an old technology.

I created a youtube account so I can upload some of my collection and hopefully meet other music box enthusiasts. Here's a sample from my collection. Being an anime fan, I tried to limit collecting to anime related music boxes. In Japan, music box is referred to as "orgel". This one is Laputa Castle in the Sky orgel figure that plays the movie's theme song. Please enjoy =).

Bonbon Candies

Sherry gave me this Sakuma bonbon candies. Now I don’t know if this stuff is as popular as Pocky but this tin can played a very important role in “Grave of the Fireflies”. When I saw this can, the first thing that I thought of was “Barefoot Gen” and I don’t know why Sherry and Mike agreed, but it’s a different film. Maybe because it’s also a story about a child during World War II. According to Isao Takahata (director of “Grave of the Fireflies), Sakuma bonbon candies were popular during that time but it was scarce due to war. In the film, Seita put Setsuko’s ashes in the tin can and took it with him until the day he died. It’s a very sad story, just looking at the can made me want to cry. The candies were really tasty though.

The Waiting Hours

Last Sunday I went to see “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” together with Sherry, Mike, and Lester. We were at the mall as early as 12:30 PM but we didn’t get the tickets for the 2:00 PM screening so we had to wait until 6:00 PM, the release of the tickets of its 2nd screening. Then after we got the tickets, we had to wait for another 2 hours because it was scheduled to play at 8:00. During the time we waited, I realized that sometimes it’s not very healthy to have all the time in the world when you ran out of things to do. Thank God I was not alone!

But anyways… “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” is about Makoto, a normal (as always) high school girl who accidentally gained a power to travel or as the title suggests, leap through time. On a not so lucky day, the day she was destined to die, she bumped to a “time” device from the future, which gave her the power to time leap, thus she prevented her untimely death. Having this kind of power, she went back and forth on days she experienced mishaps and changed them in accordance to her satisfaction. But later she realized that the misfortunes she avoided diverted into somebody else and her intention to help other people made things worse.

I know that one should never play with destiny but given the chance that I will be given of such power, I will do the same thing. It’s a very selfish act, but c’mon, everyone has his own share of regrets over the past. The good news is, no matter how great the technology will advance, a time machine is an impossible creation. No such thing can ever manipulate the events from the past. I will bet my life on this one.

Coffee Prince

I just had a Coffee Prince marathon. It’s not anime but a Korean drama series. This is the first time I got interested and watched Korean stuff. I learned about it when my sisters are watching it. Sometimes I watched with them but it’s not like I always had the time to do so, besides I prefer the original version. Korean names are so hard to remember though (at least for me).

Honestly I was drawn to this series because of the androgynous Eun Chan. This girl “pretending to be guy” is nothing new to me. It has been used in anime and manga many times – Hanakimi, Rose of Versailles, Mint na Bokura, Pretty Face , etc. But this is the live action video that made me believe that this girl can really pass as a boy. I’ve seen the Ashiya of Hanakimi (Japan and Taiwan version), Jill of Jack ‘n Jill (played by Sharon Cuneta), and there’s this Hollywood film I’ve seen, I forgot the title and story already, but the main character pretending to be a guy looks like Ralph Machio (Karate Kid). They are good actresses but they didn’t really look like CUTE BOYS. And of course, I find Coffee Prince funny too. I’m just not so satisfied with the ending. I dunno, everyone ended up happy but I still feel something’s missing. My emotions were really pouring throughout the series, but when I saw the ending, all I said was, “oh that was it?” Maybe it’s because it ended the way I expected or maybe it was Eun Chan’s hair, LOL! I was hoping for something that would come out of the blue. But a never ending series is much more boring so I guess it was better that way. In general, it’s really a good series.

And just to share, these are things I’ve learned about Korea from watching Coffee Prince:
- there are both right had drive and left hand drive cars in Korea (but I still need to verify this)
- Asuji is uncle
- Oscar of Rose of Versailles is popular among Korean teens
- they also celebrate Valentines day the way Japanese do
- they also celebrate White Day

And speaking of Oscar, when I hear of him, I mean her, the image of Genma Saotome in panda mode in Oscar get up pops in my mind. Oh Panda-chan I want to see you!

How Joe Hisaishi made my (early) morning

It’s 3:32 in the morning and I’m really feeling restless from a not so pleasant dream. I stupidly tried bothering people but they are wise enough to ignore… so I end up talking to my best friend - my laptop. I need to calm myself. I browsed my file looking for a powerful music and I just have what I need – Joe Hisaishi!

I’m not really in a position to talk about Hisaishi. My words can never justify the greatness of his music but I’ve always think that his music is one of the great contribution why Miyaki’s films were successful. It’s amazing how the serene and mystic note blend with every scene. It takes my heart and mind with the scene. I don’t need a holographic effect to feel I’m part of the movie. Just now, I’m listening to Piano Stories II: The Wind of Life and I feel like I’m in the spirit bath house that Chihiro worked. Now I feel like sleeping again with a wish of dreaming a Hayao Miyazaki world…-yawn-

Anicon nostalgia

Part of my daily routine at home is looking, savoring and caressing my anime collection. Kinda weird but I never seem to get tired of looking at them. This is what you call avarice (BAD!). Anyway, this morning I was looking at a manga called Imadoki (vol. 3) by Watase Yuu and I noticed something that caught my attention and memories.

This is a Watase-sensei’s free talk. Free talk is a column in tankoubons where authors talk about random stuff, usually embedded in between chapters. I find it surprising that I get to notice something important just now when I bought this manga 6 years ago. If you know how to read katakana and hiragana and look closely at the image, you’d know that the mangaka is actually talking about her experience with the Filipino fans at the Anime Explosion 2000. Yes! The Very first anime convention held in the country. And there it goes, nostalgia filled the air.

I can’t read kanji and I know very little of Nihongo so I don’t really understand the whole free talk. But the thing is, the first Philippine Anime Convention made its way on the manga pages is really amazing (at least for a simpleton like me). I even downloaded the manga scanlations, unfortunately this page was not translated…

Anime Explosion 2000 was held November 3-5, 2000, the height of Fusigi Yuugu and Ruroken popularity. I wonder why Watase-sensei said in the free talk it’s 11/4-6/2000, I’m pretty sure Japan is just an hour ahead our time. But I knew all about the event beforehand because my cousin, Van, was actually working with ACPI at that time. I remember how excited I was every time I’d get updates from him. The sad thing is, I never made it to the meet and greet (with the mangaka and anime directors) part of the convention because I had class. I was able to attend at the last day and missed the cosplay and panel forums. The good thing about it was I went thru without paying for the entrance fee and was able to get enough freebies because of my cousin. Too bad I haven’t had a camera at that time. It was also the age of Nokia 3210, what can you expect? I don’t have any friends with me that time too, but for some reason, the event felt more lively than the ones I’ve attended the recent years and months… being a newbie is really something and besides, we’re talking about the FIRST ANICON here.

Have a sweet Friday the 13th everyone (“,x)