"Hangry" at AX 09 - article on Otaku USA website

[Madara]

I turned my Yossi interview from Anime Expo into a piece for the Otaku USA website. Check it out:



http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/JPop/Publi...AX_09_1554.aspx







Also at AX, I interviewed a Japanese rock band named Fujiko-chan for the site and it's up also:



http://www.otakuusamagazine.com/JPop/Publi...ochan_1553.aspx





My article about Morning Musume's trip to AX will be in the print edition of Otaku USA, the Dec.-Jan. issue, and I'll let you know when it comes out.

[Ap2000]

When I read "article on Otaku USA website", I thought you meant it derogatory as in "those weeaboos wrote such crap together !! RIOT !" haha



I only flew over it so far, but I already got two questions:



Was some translator involved that would have censored you or were you asking her directly in japanese ? (though, I guess not, since you asked her about Kago [you must have quite some balls])



Was there any other special "security" there, watching what you two guys were talking about ?

From the photos it looks like she was just hanging around some booth and you randomly encountered her.



EDIT:

btw, you got a typo there. You wrote "Iroppoi Jetai", but it's "Iroppoi Jirettai".



2. EDIT:

Though I prefer a clearer question -> answer (A: what ? - B: Answer.) type of text, when it comes to interviews, it was quite interesting to read.

[Madara]

[quote name='Ap2000' post='67182' date='Aug 12 2009, 04:38 AM']When I read "article on Otaku USA website", I thought you meant it derogatory as in "those weeaboos wrote such crap together !! RIOT !" haha



I only flew over it so far, but I already got two questions:



Was some translator involved that would have censored you or were you asking her directly in japanese ? (though, I guess not, since you asked her about Kago [you must have quite some balls])



Was there any other special "security" there, watching what you two guys were talking about ?

From the photos it looks like she was just hanging around some booth and you randomly encountered her.



EDIT:

btw, you got a typo there. You wrote "Iroppoi Jetai", but it's "Iroppoi Jirettai".



2. EDIT:

Though I prefer a clearer question -> answer (A: what ? - B: Answer.) type of text, when it comes to interviews, it was quite interesting to read.[/quote]





Thanks for the correction in the song title. It's now been fixed.



The photos were quick grabs taken when Yossi appeared at the Morning Musume booth on Thursday afternoon about an hour before the interview.



I only spoke in English. There was one interpreter who translated my questions and her answers. There were two other people in the room during the interview, but no one I would have pegged as "security." They didn't even seem to be paying attention to the interview.

[EmEl]

Thanks for the article. I'm still upset that I happened to wander over to the booth and people were all like "Hey, Yossi was here like 3 seconds ago!" Ah well, I still got to meet her at the signing.



I liked your frame of figuring out the differences of America and Japan for these pop stars. Interesting interview, even the innocuous answer about bento was amusing. How long will your print article be? I suppose I'll buy the upcoming magazine, even though I don't want to buy some magazine I've never heard of for one article. Perhaps the local comic shop will carry it.



As for the other article, I didn't even realize there would be bands playing at the Masquerade. I would have liked to see them. But if one wanted to devote the whole expo to Morning Musume, there were a lot of chances to miss things: I'm sure I was in some unfruitful autograph line at the time or something.

[Madara]

[quote name='EmEl' post='67186' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:24 AM']Thanks for the article. I'm still upset that I happened to wander over to the booth and people were all like "Hey, Yossi was here like 3 seconds ago!" Ah well, I still got to meet her at the signing.



I liked your frame of figuring out the differences of America and Japan for these pop stars. Interesting interview, even the innocuous answer about bento was amusing. How long will your print article be? I suppose I'll buy the upcoming magazine, even though I don't want to buy some magazine I've never heard of for one article. Perhaps the local comic shop will carry it.



As for the other article, I didn't even realize there would be bands playing at the Masquerade. I would have liked to see them. But if one wanted to devote the whole expo to Morning Musume, there were a lot of chances to miss things: I'm sure I was in some unfruitful autograph line at the time or something.[/quote]





Fujiko-chan performed during the intermission at the Masquerade Contest on Saturday night. They came on around 10:30 or 10:45 PM. They weren't even announced in the program. I only knew they were there because I'd been asked by the editor to cover their performance and interview them. There was another act that played before them, a band consisting of a large group of middle school students from L.A. playing exotic instruments. Very charming and very unusual. I forget what their name was.



The print article should be about 1200 words, a short amount to pack in as much as I did. I submitted some sidebars, so we'll see how much makes it in.



I showed all this stuff today to my Japanese friend who gave me the alternate translations of the interviews. She often finds stuff in American pop culture that's really surprising and open and interesting to her, while I find the same in Japanese pop culture. She pointed out how Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus always speak their minds and say what they want and treat the interviewer as an equal, something a Japanese performer would never do. And she is impressed by that.



I showed her a picture of Ai Takahashi and she asked if Ai-chan didn't have some other ancestry besides Japanese. I said, "You mean she looks Latina?" "Yes!" I pointed out that we had that discussion here on the board a couple or three years ago. No resolution one way or the other, though. Interesting.

[EmEl]

[quote name='Madara' post='67197' date='Aug 11 2009, 08:23 PM']I showed her a picture of Ai Takahashi and she asked if Ai-chan didn't have some other ancestry besides Japanese. I said, "You mean she looks Latina?" "Yes!" I pointed out that we had that discussion here on the board a couple or three years ago. No resolution one way or the other, though. Interesting.[/quote]

And isn't that very issue one example of something that wouldn't be spoken of openly with an interviewer in Japan?

[sspng]

Was in the local bookstore earlier when I spy with the corner of my eye the August issue of Otaku USA with the words 'Morning Musume Interview'. Does this qualify me as a hard core MM otaku now since I bought it without hesitation just for the interview? I scanned it for your reading pleasure which you can download here.

Don't know who Zac Bentz is but would I be wrong in thinking that this is not the interview you wrote for Otaku USA Madara?

[Madara]

[quote name='sspng' post='67275' date='Aug 13 2009, 03:20 PM']Was in the local bookstore earlier when I spy with the corner of my eye the August issue of Otaku USA with the words 'Morning Musume Interview'. Does this qualify me as a hard core MM otaku now since I bought it without hesitation just for the interview? I scanned it for your reading pleasure which you can download here.

Don't know who Zac Bentz is but would I be wrong in thinking that this is not the interview you wrote for Otaku USA Madara?[/quote]



Correct. That's not mine. That one was done one-on-one with Ai-chan via e-mail before Anime Expo. I want to find out if she wrote in English or had a translator.

[Pucchi-Mo]

Was in the local bookstore earlier when I spy with the corner of my eye the August issue of Otaku USA with the words 'Morning Musume Interview'. Does this qualify me as a hard core MM otaku now since I bought it without hesitation just for the interview? I scanned it for your reading pleasure which you can download here.

Don't know who Zac Bentz is but would I be wrong in thinking that this is not the interview you wrote for Otaku USA Madara?

Correct. That's not mine. That one was done one-on-one with Ai-chan via e-mail before Anime Expo. I want to find out if she wrote in English or had a translator.

Via E-mail? Oh.. Then you certainly have him beat.

Hi this is Ai-chan ~Mooning Musume no Leader~,

I'm at Pucchi's house.

I want a kitty and please ending the global warming everybody.



Ok, now Pucchi.

Thanks Ai-chan. Sorry about the squat pictures.



(see how easy it is to be Takahashi on the internet?)