Random Happy Time, 23 O’Clock - Clap Happy!

With Tiger finding movies more enjoyable than the theatre, Rabbit uses RHT to convince Tiger to see the error of her ways. From candy to clapping, read on to see how successful Rabbit has been in proving that the theatre is supreme.

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Rabbit: The theatre is so much better than the theater. o(>< )o

Tiger: I don’t know about that, there are a lot of perks at a movie theater versus a theater with a stage.

Rabbit: The Paramount had concessions just like at the movies, they had drinks and snacks.

Tiger: We don’t ever do that though.

Rabbit: ー( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ Broadway shows have merchandise booths! You don’t ever see that at a movie theater.

Tiger: I don’t think that’s a good thing. Yes, I bought the program/CD combo and you got a hoodie, but it’s not like that’s a game changer.

Rabbit: The Paramount is a storied theater with lots of history and great architectural details.

Tiger: (¬‿¬) Okay, that is true. The Paramount is an amazing building, I would love to just walk around the place when it’s empty but we’ve also been in there before during PAX. So it’s not as if you have to go to a show to see the theater.

Rabbit: You get to clap, a lot!

Tiger: I hate that about the theatre, absolutely hate it! (⋋▂⋌) Why must we clap after every freaking song? It is one big piece, it should be like the symphony, you don’t clap between movements. It’s foison of clapping!

Rabbit: It’s fun though; you get to feel like you are a part of the show.

Tiger: I don’t know; I’m not sure I want to go again.

Rabbit: I treated you to Mongolian Hot Pot afterwards! I know how much you love that place. ヽ（゜ロ゜；）ノ

Tiger: You love that place, I just tag along.

Rabbit: We went to Kinokuniya and got to look around.

Tiger: They were having a massive street fair in the International District.

Rabbit: It was packed, they had a few vendors inside Uwajimaya too, similar to an artists’ alley.

Tiger: I did enjoy spending time down there. I purchased a couple of Vocaloid CDs though I was really looking for Wagakki Band.

Rabbit: We also did some grocery shopping and bought a cool looking plate.

Tiger: A plate we will never use because it is cool looking.

Rabbit: I think next time we go we should see the Beauty and the Beast.

Tiger: I want to go see a hockey game in the fall or Rach 2, not another show.

Rabbit: Rach 2? If we go to the symphony again, it should be Pini di Roma.

Tiger: Yeah, I guess.

Rabbit: They are having A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder next year.

Tiger: Oh, we have to go see that one, that’s a great show. I still say we should go to a hockey game; the Everett Silvertips are just across the water.

Rabbit: You and your love of sports, I’m trying to get us to do something cultured here! (꒪⌓꒪)

Q Attack, Round 14 - Are eSports Better Viewed Live and in Person?

Tiger and Rabbit were spectators for the Arc System Works tournament finals hosted at Sakura-Con 2015 in Seattle, Washington. They talk about what it’s like to watch fighting game matches live and contemplate whether the Evolution Championship Series should be their next destination.

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Rabbit: We’re here today to discuss part four and our final entry in the “milk our Sakura-Con 2015 weekend for all it’s worth” series! So, what’s on our agenda this time?

Tiger: The BlazBlue Experience with special guests Mori Toshimichi, the Designer for the BlazBlue series; Ueda Kana, voice of Rachel Alucard; and Kondoh Kanako, voice of Noel Vermillion.

Rabbit: They showed a lot of stuff at this event, and we didn’t even stay for the whole thing!

Tiger: Yeah, they started about an hour late, it was around 10:00pm on Saturday, April 4th, when things got underway and it was supposed to be a three hour panel. We left around midnight; I was too tired to stay for all of it.

Rabbit: What we did see was pretty cool though. They previewed the anime BlazBlue: Alter Memory which is directed by Tachibana Hideki and produced by Hoods Entertainment.

Tiger: Admittedly it seemed like a crazy mess of a story from what we saw.

Rabbit: Who buys a fighting game for its story anyway?

Tiger: Uh… I got Persona 4 Arena for its story mode.

Rabbit: You’re terrible. I’m the one that’s supposed to be the story hound, not you.

Tiger: I also got it to play as a fighting game; I know you aren’t into fighting games at all.

Rabbit: They take too much practice and I usually get bored with them pretty quickly. When we had lots of people to play with, they were fun, because you could do your own mini tournaments. It’s not as fun when you don’t have the numbers playing.

Tiger: They also showed off the new mobile game called BlazBlue: Battle Cards.

Rabbit: They sure are expanding into everything with this brand, aren’t they?

Tiger: Didn’t they do a visual novel too?

Rabbit: XBlaze Code: Embryo was a prequel to the main BlazBlue series. It also got a sequel called XBlaze: Lost Memories, which I’m kind of surprised they didn’t mention at their booth since they were really pushing everything BlazBlue. I picked the first game up on Vita but I haven’t played it yet.

Tiger: After peddling their wares, we finally got to the main event, the BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend finals!

Rabbit: I don’t think that name is long enough.

Tiger: This game hadn’t been released in North America when Sakura-Con took place, so it was really awesome to see this in action and on the PS4 no less. Some notable participants in the tournaments were Spark, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II EVO 2011 Champion; DSMoove12 who placed 7th behind Spark; and GameClucks|Nakkiel, an officially sponsored player. They even had commentators from the local fighting game community calling the game.

Rabbit: DSMoove12 stuck with Noel Vermillion, the same character he used at EVO 2011. Though they had to restart the first match because someone had left the settings on Stylish, the 1st match up of the semi-finals finally began.

Tiger: OMG! There was one round where he literally had only a pixel of health left and his opponent was one hit away from a perfect. But DSMoove12 was able to go on the offensive and win the round!

Rabbit: You’re so excited, did you drink caffeine today?

Tiger: It was exciting!

Rabbit: It’s like we’ve switched personalities…

Tiger: Hey, watching those matches live was exhilarating. You got to see the players, watch the match, and hear the audience cheer throughout the event. It’s a great experience, almost like a real sporting event.

Rabbit: DSMoove12 was able to move onto the finals. The second semi-finals match up proved to be much more interesting.

Tiger: With Huey253 sporting his Noel Vermillion against GameClucks|Nakkiel’s Litchi Faye-Ling, the table was set. I actually like playing with Litchi when I do play BlazBlue, though Rachel is my favorite, so it was awesome to see a highly skilled player show off her abilities as a character.

Rabbit: Man, Nakkiel owned Huey throughout this match up. Every time you thought Litchi was in trouble, she would find a way out of it quickly.

Tiger: Nakkiel definitely used Litchi’s staff effectively, giving Huey’s Noel no time to make a move. I think it was the last round where Huey could only defend, it was brutal.

Rabbit: I think Nakkiel got a perfect in there too.

Tiger: Nakkiel did go on to face DSMoove12 in the finals.

Rabbit: I was really wondering how it would turn out. DSMoove’s Noel dominated his opponent but Nakkiel’s Litchi seemed to have that character all figured out. Who would reign supreme as the Sakura-Con 2015 BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend Champion?!

Tiger: It was a back and forth battle, with Nakkiel and DSMoove splitting the first two rounds.

Rabbit: It was do or die time.

Tiger: DSMoove went on the offensive right off the start and was able to pin Nakkiel’s Litchi in the corner without her staff. Noel kept chipping away at Lichi’s health but then suddenly…

Rabbit: Litchi was able to break free and tried to use her special when…

Tiger: Noel dodged it and unleashed her own special, winning the round and the match! DSMoove12 beat GameClucks|Nakkiel and was crowned champion!

Rabbit: It was definitely an exciting match to watch and the crowd went wild when he dodged Nakkiel’s special.

Tiger: It was an awesome match up and I was glad that DSMoove12 won. I thought he did a nice job adjusting to Nakkiel’s Litchi. He was definitely less defensive than Huey’s Noel and went on the offensive right away.

Rabbit: They do say that the best defense is a good offense. Don’t feel bad for Nakkiel though, he won the BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma finals beating fwVista.

Tiger: It was nice to see Mori, Ueda, and Kondoh all congratulate the winners as well.

Rabbit: After the awards were presented, we got to hear a bit from the special guests before moving onto the Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN- finals.

Tiger: We don’t play Guilty Gear which made watching the matches a little harder and in all honesty, there really wasn’t a question of who was going to win this.

Rabbit: The only close match up was Sytha’s Zato-1 against See Me In +R’s Ky Kiske.

Tiger: Ky Kiske took the first round by a very slim margin and then was dominated by Sytha’s Zato-1.

Rabbit: Veteru’s Sol Badguy had no trouble at all winning against his opponents, even pulling out a couple of perfects. He easily won the title of GG champion.

Tiger: I was impressed with how easily he dodged everyone’s special attack too. I don’t think he got hit once by those moves.

Rabbit: After all that excitement, the awards were presented and then Kondoh Kanako gave a performance. We left shortly after that.

Tiger: I love how ecstatic she was that the character she voices won the tournament.

Rabbit: It was fun seeing Noel Vermillion herself congratulating DSMoove12.

Tiger: I still hate Noel though. Man, that character is a pain to fight against.

Rabbit: I felt bad for Ueda Kana because no one used Rachel Alucard.

Tiger: Well, she did remedy that eventually. Man, was she ever popular. There was a huge turnout of Fate/Stay fans, and if you didn’t know, she’s the voice of Tōsaka Rin.

Rabbit: Lots of love for all the special guests that night.

Tiger: *sighs*

Rabbit: What’s the matter?

Tiger: I’m just glad we’re almost done with these posts from Sakura-Con.

Rabbit: Why?

Tiger: Because they contain so many freaking macrons. I’m getting tired of them.

Rabbit: But I love macrons, they go well with coffee.

Tiger: *shakes fists* Macrons, not macaroons. Anyway, did you enjoy watching the matches live? Do you think it was more enjoyable than watching it online like we do for EVO?

Rabbit: I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it more, yeah it was fun but probably about the same for me as it is when we stream EVO’s content. I mean, I’m not really into watching eSports, I just don’t get them. For one, I’m not sure if they are even truly sports. Yes, they train and compete, and yes they are quite talented but I wouldn’t drop a couple hundred on tickets just to see them play like I would for an actually sport such as hockey. I don’t know, it’s strange watching someone play a game when you can just play it yourself. Out of all the games we do watch online, fighting games are the most entertaining because I know I will never get to that level, so it’s fun to see those highly skilled players duke it out but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to attend an event like this.

Tiger: I can see your point that if you aren’t interested in the game, it would be hard to watch people playing it. I know the Dota championships are held in Seattle also, which would be easy for us to attend, but since we don’t have an interest in the game it’s not worth spending the money to go see. However, fighting games are a totally different genre that was built around the rich history of martial arts and competitive boxing. How could you say that it’s not a sport?! No, those who train to become competitive fighting game players are at the apex of gaming’s echelon. They are the best of the best and represent the true abilities all gamers seek to hone. Their championships are sought by many but achieved by few. It’s exhilarating to witness and makes me want to strive for that level of commitment in all the games I play.

Rabbit: ^shakes head^ I take it you like watching fighting game tournaments in person? You sure did yell enough during those matches.

Tiger: Of course! I think we should try to go to EVO 2016. Tickets aren’t expensive, the only thing that will be pricy is the airfare and I’m sure we could make it work.

Rabbit: Why would I want to go to that?

Tiger: To see the best players in the world compete against each other in games like Ultra Street Fighter IV, Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN-, Super Smash Bros., Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat X, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Tekken 7, and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax!

Rabbit: Wait, Smash got two slots at EVO this year?

Tiger: Yeah, you should have heard Anthony and shidoshi from A Generic Video Game Podcast talk about that, they weren’t too pleased with the decision.

Rabbit: That’s a lot of money to go see other people play video games; I mean why not just spend it on ourselves?

Tiger: You know EVO is held in Vegas right?

Rabbit: ^shocked face^ Why aren’t we going this year?!

Are eSports Better Viewed Live and in Person?
Tiger     vs     Rabbit

Random Happy Time, 20 O’Clock - George the Thirteenth!

There’s still more to discuss from The BlazBlue: Experience at Sakura-Con 2015. Tiger and Rabbit share their thoughts on a special match up and voice their concerns over the fate of Rachel Alucard in this issue of Random Happy Time!

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Tiger: There’s still more from The BlazBlue: Experience that we didn’t get a chance to talk about yet. 〜(^∇^〜）

Rabbit: Huzzah! Like why the controls were originally set to Stylish and who ended up playing as Rachel Alucard.

Tiger: So before the Chrono Phantasma Extend finals started, the audience was treated to a head-to-head battle featuring none other than Ueda Kana, voice of Rachel Alucard, and Mori Toshimichi, the game’s designer.

Rabbit: (*^^*) This was a funny section of the event. Ueda apologized to DSMoove12 for leaving the game set to Stylish, she was practicing for her match again Mori.

Tiger: Of course Ueda picked Rachel but no one knew who Mori was going to pick. He ended up picking random and was stuck with V-No.13- aka Nu-13.

Rabbit: (*ﾟﾛﾟ) Mori’s Nu was really impressive, leaving Ueda’s Rachel with no chance to attack. Ueda used George the Thirteenth and was able to chip away at Nu’s health but unfortunately, Nu was able to overpower Rachel and win the first round.

Tiger: The second round was more of the same with Nu going on the offensive and Rachel forced to dodge the turret attacks. But some sneaky work by George helped to tip the table in Rachel’s favor leaving it tied one-to-one.

Rabbit: The final round commenced and Rachel went all out, pinning Nu against the left side and unleashing some killer combos. Finally, she finished off Nu with her special attack. Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Tiger: ヽ(^。^)丿 Congrats to Ueda-san!

Rabbit: I gotta wonder if Mori threw the match. He did create this game; he should know literally everything about this game and to lose to a voice actor.

Tiger: Ueda is a big gamer so it’s not like she doesn’t play at all but I get where you’re coming from. Only time will tell.

Rabbit: How so?

Tiger: If Rachel sucks in the next game, we’ll know that Mori didn’t throw the match.

Rabbit: ^laughs^ He wouldn’t do that, would he? ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )

Tiger: *smirks* I know I would. (◣_◢)

Q Attack, Round 13 - Does Understanding Lyrics Matter?

Tiger and Rabbit were in Seattle and saw the featured musical guests of Sakura-Con 2015. They got to see popular performers who came straight from Japan and rock out to their music. This got the pair of cute mammals thinking, is language truly a barrier or can music reach out to anyone?

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Rabbit: Righto! It’s part three of the “milk Sakura-Con for all it’s worth” series! This time we’ll be chatting about the concert with featured musical guests Itō Kanako and GARNiDELiA of Sakura-Con 2015!

Tiger: The concert was held on Saturday, April 4th, in front of a rocking crowd. We got some pretty good seats too.

Rabbit: I’m not one for mosh pits, too many people and the music is way too loud to be up front like that.

Tiger: We have musician style earplugs that we use for concerts like this.

Rabbit: They definitely come in handy if you want to keep your hearing for as long as possible.

Tiger: Yeah the music was super loud. They had songs playing before the performance started and you could hear it all the way in the queue room.

Rabbit: They played Under the Sea in Japanese! That was so cool sounding.

Tiger: It was more like “Unda da Shii.”

Rabbit: First up was Itō Kanako. She hails from Utsunomiya, Tochigi and is known for singing a lot of video game and anime theme songs.

Tiger: I know she got pretty popular for her work for the video game School Days as well as the anime and drama CD adaptations.

Rabbit: She also sung the songs for Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and Robotics;Notes.

Tiger: That’s a lot of semicolons there.

Rabbit: She’s been to the U.S. before, making her debut at Anime Boston in 2012.

Tiger: Now it’s time to talk about the setlist she sang…

Rabbit: ^scratches head^ Right… so here’s the thing, since we don’t know Japanese, I have no idea which songs she actually sang.

Tiger: I know she sang Skyclad no Kansokusha from Steins;Gate and I’m pretty sure she sang Hacking to The Gate from the Steins;Gate anime. Those are the only songs I really know from her though.

Rabbit: Her music was catchy. She liked talking to the crowd quite a bit too.

Tiger: I was surprised at how much we were able to understand since again, we don’t speak Japanese. I pretty much got all of her jokes though which shocked me.

Rabbit: All that time watching anime has paid off!

Tiger: That’s actually kind of sad, if you think about it.

Rabbit: I thought it was cool that she did an encore too after the audience chanted for her to come back.

Tiger: Yeah, they really liked her.

Rabbit: Next up was-

Tiger: GARNiDELiA!!!!

Rabbit: You’re a fan, I take it?

Tiger: I love MARiA so of course I’m a fan. Founded in 2010, GARNiDELiA consists of vocalist Mizuhashi Mai, aka MARiA, and producer Abe Yoshinori, aka Toku. Together, they’ve created some of the catchiest anime theme songs of recent years.

Rabbit: Their name came from a French phrase, “Le Palais Garnier de Maria” which means Maria's Opera and the moon Cordelia, which was discovered the same year Toku was born, 1978.

Tiger: They made their debut with Ambiguous, the second opening theme for Kill la Kill and have songs for Mekakucity Actors, The Irregular at Magic High School, Gundam Reconguista in G, and Gunslinger Stratos.

Rabbit: And we actually recognized all the songs they sang too!

Tiger: Yes, in addition to performing Ambiguous, they also did Grilletto, Blazing, and others from their album Linkage Ring. I’m still impressed with how powerful a singer MARiA is.

Rabbit: And Toku’s music fits her so well. It’s a great pairing.

Tiger: I think this was the first time either one of them has been Stateside too. So it was awesome to be able to see them.

Rabbit: Did you have a favorite song?

Tiger: I’d have to say Blazing.

Rabbit: Ever the Gundam fan. Mine was Grilletto, it’s just a great song.

Tiger: We also saw Kondoh Kanako sing too. While she wasn’t a part of the concert, she did sing at The BlazBlue Experience right after the concert was over.

Rabbit: She is the voice of Noel Vermillion and also sings the theme songs Love So Blue: Ao no Kodō from BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and Pandora Tears for BlazBlue: Continuum Shift.

Tiger: We also bought her two albums while at Sakura-Con.

Rabbit: I think the concerts are my favorite thing about Sakura-Con. Last time we went in 2012 we got to see garage rock band Stereopony, visual kei gothic metal band Moi dix Mois, and baroque pop singer and cellist Wakeshima Kanon. This time it was Itō Kanako, GARNiDELiA, and Kondoh Kanako. We’ve gotten quite spoiled I think.

Tiger: It is a great opportunity to see and hear musicians we would never otherwise be able to.

Rabbit: I just wish we could understand what they are singing about.

Tiger: It’s not like it really matters a great deal. I think you can convey your thoughts through music alone. Plus, you could always look up a translation on the internet.

Rabbit: You could if you could remember the song’s name… but really, you don’t think lyrics matter?

Tiger: Overall, no I don’t. It is music; the musical lyrics matter more than the words themselves. Yes, I get that songs do have meanings that lyrics can convey but I don’t think there is any barrier that music cannot breach, especially the barrier of language. The phrasing, tonality, and tempo all work together to paint a picture for the listener and that’s done without words. Sometimes, I think it’s better not to understand what they’re singing about. I don’t want to hear about someone grinding in the kitchen.

Rabbit: ^shudders^ That’s why I don’t listen to modern American music.

Tiger: See? I’m right, sometimes it’s better not to know what the singer is saying. At least everything in Japanese sounds pretty even if we don’t know what it means.

Rabbit: I don’t know, I think that without knowing the meaning of the lyrics you are only getting half the experience. It’s like if a colorblind person looked at a painting, it’s going to be pretty but it won’t have the full impact that it would on someone who can see the colors.

Tiger: That’s a very cruel example.

Rabbit: ^shocked face^ How so?

Tiger: If you are colorblind, you don’t have a choice in how you perceive the world. In some ways, not understanding the lyrics in a different language is a choice since you could always learn the language and then be able to understand what those words are conveying.

Rabbit: Okay, so it was a bad example but you get my point. You’re missing half of the song’s essence without understanding the lyrics because if the lyrics were throwaway, why write them in the first place? So I think understanding the lyrics does matter and I like to put in the time to try and get translated lyrics for the Japanese songs I listen too. Some of them actually help the meaning of the song, like Roshin Yuukai, knowing what the lyrics state changes that song completely. While music can convey so many ideas and emotions on its own, lyrics can clarify those ideas and expand upon them. Plus, when have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head without the lyrics getting stuck too? They go hand in hand and they should.

Does Understanding Lyrics Matter?
Tiger     vs     Rabbit

Random Happy Time, 19 O’Clock - Daze/Days!

With Japanese Pop and Rock music still on their minds, Tiger and Rabbit sit down to chat about their favorite anime soundtracks. From Mekakucity Actors to Lucky Star, they touch on some of the more memorable theme songs in recent history.

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Rabbit: ^singing^ ai taina, ae naina, setsuna ina kono kimochi. (๑´▿｀๑)♫•*¨*•.¸¸♪✧

Tiger: Stop! Please stop singing that song!

Rabbit: What? It’s a good song, a really CATCHy song.

Tiger: That’s the problem, it’s too catchy.

Rabbit: ^singing^ Hora catch you, catch you, catch me, catch me matte! ♪♪)>ш=(^。^ )

Tiger: For those who don’t know that’s Cardcaptor Sakura’s first opening song “Catch You Catch Me” by Hinata Megumi aka GUMI.

Rabbit: But not GUMI of Megpoid fame. It’s a great theme song and one of my favorites.

Tiger: I’ve currently had deizu from Jin feat. MARiA from Mekakucity Actors stuck in my head.

Rabbit: ♪(┌・。・)┌ I know you've been rocking out to GARNiDELiA's Linkage Ring album that you picked up at Sakura-Con.

Tiger: It's a really fun album, every time I think I find a favorite, I end up discovering another song on the album that's better.

Rabbit: How about we get some cherry pie?! ┌(・。・)┘♪

Tiger: Motteke! Sailor Fuku is the opening theme song for Lucky Star and is sung by the four voice actors that star in the anime.

Rabbit: I love that song.

Tiger: You know what I hate most about all the Japanese music we listen to?

Rabbit: How it always makes you hungry for pizza?

Tiger: Eh, no. How Alexa can never understand what I’m asking it to play.

Rabbit: ^laughs^ Alexa is the name of our Amazon Echo. She can stream all of our music as long as she understands what you’re asking for.

Tiger: It, Rabbit, it is not a “she.” Anyway Alexa cannot speak or read Japanese very well so it’s a pain to get it to play certain songs.

Rabbit: Like how she calls Hatsune Miku “Hat Soon Mike” or will play the song “days” instead of “daze.”

Tiger: KAITO is Cato like the Hunger Games character. Alexa pronounces IA’s name properly but when you ask it to play “songs by IA” you have to say “I.A.” for it to know what you want. It’s such a pain. ┗[© ♒ ©]┛

Rabbit: But so awesome in so many ways! One day she’ll learn enough Japanese that we won’t have this problem anymore.

Tiger: *growls* Alexa isn’t a person, Rabbit!

Q Attack, Round 12 - Is Demand for Live Classical Music Dying?

While partaking in Sakura-Con 2015 festivities, Tiger and Rabbit had the opportunity to attend a performance by the Seattle Symphony. They converse about the exciting trio of music performed and question if live classical music performances are becoming a thing of the past.

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Tiger: We’re back to discuss in greater detail, the symphony we attended on Thursday, April 2nd, while at Sakura-Con 2015 in Seattle.

Rabbit: This is like part two of our “let’s milk this weekend for all it’s worth” series of posts.

Tiger: Well, it would’ve been difficult to connect the topics of anime and classical music together into one post. Better to bring it up here so we can discuss just this subject.

Rabbit: We were lucky to attend the Seattle Symphony’s performance of Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with Argentine pianist, Ingrid Fliter.

Tiger: Founded in 1903, the Seattle Symphony has been awarded one Grammy and two Emmys. It is under the direction of Ludovic Morlot, Music Director, who is currently wrapping up his fourth season. They perform at one of the premier concert venues in the world, Benaroya Hall, in downtown Seattle. We were able to walk to the performance from our hotel, such a great location, and it has amazing acoustics.

Rabbit: We’ve been there before too. PAX uses it as one of its largest theaters and the concerts are often hosted there.

Tiger: With guest conductor, Thomas Søndergård, the symphony was set to perform Karol Szymanowski’s Concert Overture in E major, Op. 12; Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21; and Sergey Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100.

Rabbit: We were there for the Chopin but were excited for the Prokofiev too.

Tiger: The first piece of music to be performed was Szymanowski’s Concert Overture in E major, Op. 12. I have to admit, I was slightly upset when I saw that this was up first for the performance.

Rabbit: Slightly? You were practically ranting about it.

Tiger: I read the name wrong; I thought it was Pawel Szymański who is still alive. Classical music is not classical when the composer is still alive! Anyway, for those of you who don’t know, Szymanowski was a Polish composer born in 1882 and died in 1937. He was considered to be a member of Young Poland, a 20th century modernist movement along with Karlowicz and Fitelberg. Young Poland sought to immortalize their culture within music, focusing on traditional Polish music among other themes.

Rabbit: Ironically, Szymanowski was under the strong influence of Richard Strauss and The Five.

Tiger: I caught a bit of avant-garde in there as well.

Rabbit: You mean impressionism.

Tiger: No, I don’t. I hate that people called it “impressionism,” even the so-called impressionists didn’t call it impressionism.

Rabbit: You just have to be different than everyone else, don’t you? It’s like you calling it the Enlightenment Period instead of the Classical Period.

Tiger: We’re getting off topic here. Anyway, Szymanowski’s Concert Overture was originally drafted in 1904 and orchestrated the following year. It was his first symphonic composition and is an imitative work of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. Even though it was his first, it’s still considered a wonderful repertoire piece, which is why I think Seattle chose it. Plus, it also went well with the theme of the night being Polish and from a Young Poland composer.

Rabbit: Very true, though Prokofiev wasn’t Polish, he did share some similar life events that Szymanowski and Chopin did. I enjoyed it, it was quite nice though it felt like a hors d’oeuvre for what was about to come next.

Tiger: Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2! This is by far my favorite concerto ever.

Rabbit: A concerto is a piece of music written for a solo instrument and accompanied by an orchestra or large ensemble. Since they rolled the piano to the front of the stage, we knew that it was time for the Chopin. I was really excited too, I love this music.

Tiger: We probably own over 20 versions of this concerto. I tend to listen to the version by Dang Thai Son with Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century the most.

Rabbit: This time Søndergård would be accompanied by Ingrid Fliter. I read an interview with her and it sounded like she really loves playing Chopin.

Tiger: Chopin was born in 1810, died in 1849, and like Szymanowski; was of Polish decent. This was actually Chopin’s first piano concerto; the number two denotes that it was the second to be published. Written in 1829, it premiered the following year with Chopin playing the solo and conducting from the piano. Chopin was a recent graduate of the Warsaw Conservatory and still trying to establish himself. He was ambitious and this is reflected in his concerto.

Rabbit: This concerto is often compared with those of Mozart and Beethoven and their larger classical forms. No. 2 was actually composed in the style called stile brillante, made famous by virtuosos Hummel and Weber. This is probably why Chopin’s concerto is more of an organized showcase of skill versus the more cohesive form of the classical style.

Tiger: Poetry versus structure I say. His concerto is bold and colorful; it is also very personal and highlights his imagination throughout. Chopin’s Concerto has three movements; the Maestoso is moody, the Larghetto is passionate, and the Allegro vivace feels like it’s going to dance off the stage ala mazurka. Actually Fliter was much more aggressive than I thought she would be. It sounds sexist but I thought she would be more sensual like Son but she attacked the piano more like Jenő Jandó does.

Rabbit: Her vision of the Larghetto made it feel like I was listening to an Italian aria. Supposedly Chopin wrote the second movement for his love of Constancia Gladkowska, a singer he met at the conservatory.

Tiger: The third movement, Allegro vivace is my favorite. So fast and uninhibited, it has flurries of emotion and drama that it’s hard not to get caught up in it. Was it just me, or did they skip the col legno battuto?

Rabbit: I was looking out for that as well, we were in the balcony but still should have been able to catch that.

Tiger: Yeah, I thought I knew every place it is used but I never once saw them do it.

Rabbit: Col legno battuto, or col legno for short, is a technique for bowed string instruments where the musicians strikes the string with the stick of the bow, not the hair. It was truly an impressive performance and Fliter’s interpretation of the work was powerful and dynamic.

Tiger: After a quick intermission, the night was capped off with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.

Rabbit: Prokofiev was born in 1891 in Ukraine and died in 1953. His Fifth was composed in 1944 when he spent time at a Soviet Union retreat for composers during WWII.

Tiger: I cannot help but always compare Prokofiev’s Fifth to Shostakovich’s Fifth or even compare and contrast the two composers. When Prokofiev returned to the Soviet Union after spending much time abroad, including in the States and France, Shostakovich was already actively presenting his works. Shostakovich was Prokofiev’s junior but had suffered a scathing review, some say written by Stalin himself, so it was an opportunity for Prokofiev to shine.

Rabbit: The Fifth has four movements; Andante, Allegro marcato, Adagio, and Allegro giocoso. The Andante is rigidly presented in sonata form. The exposition, the beginning of the piece, introduces two themes with the first theme being placid and played by the flute and bassoon. The second theme is more intimate with the oboes and flutes being accompanied by the strings. These two themes are elaborated upon during the development section before being brought back to their original forms in the recapitulation.

Tiger: The Allegro marcato is a throwback to Prokofiev’s pre-Soviet style. Actually, I caught a bit of Debussy in this second movement and it’s my favorite of the Fifth. Prokofiev presents his classic humor with the clarinet solo; the theme really reminds me of the music in an old Disney cartoon.

Rabbit: The Adagio starts off sweet and romantic before evolving into a moodier sound. The high notes of the woodwinds almost sound like lamenting cries from some maiden before the sudden return to the lovely theme, almost as if she awoke from a bad dream.

Tiger: Prokofiev once again brings back his favorite instrument, the clarinet, for the finale. The Allegro giocoso begins with the cellos introducing the first theme from the Andante before breaking out into a rondo, think a musical round of sorts, before the pastoral-esque clarinet is joined by the flute and strings.

Rabbit: It was a wonderful performance and I'm happy we got the opportunity to attend. Too bad it seemed like we were the youngest people there.

Tiger: Very true, do you think that there’s still a demand for live classical performances or is that demand waning?

Rabbit: I still think there are people who love going to the symphony or attending chamber performances, though I know they’re not as popular as they once were. Think what the world was like before movie theaters or the radio. Classical music was the entertainment of the day but now it’s not something everyone gets to experience. But I don’t think you can get such moving performances, where your emotions are truly tapped into, through any other medium than classical music. There is a sophistication to its design that makes it as interesting as any book plot and emotionally touching as any movie. Classical music can also be dramatic and exhilarating, and hearing that live, the sound resonating through your body, is an impressive experience. I believe that there is still a demand to see classical music performed live and I hope that people like us who enjoy going to the symphony can introduce others to the experience.

Tiger: While I love going to any classical performance, all you have to do is take a quick glance at the audience to realize that demand is waning. I would guess that over 80% of attendees were senior citizens and the rest were late middle aged people. Young people aren’t attracted to things like classical music or opera anymore and it’s quite apparent by the music news we see too. Multiple symphonies have had to shut down or cut their seasons short because they cannot sustain themselves. It’s an unfortunate state we are in but I do believe that demand for this form of art is dying. It’s sad to admit but the music can be boring if you don’t know what to listen for. We were both lucky enough to be taught at an early age how to really examine the music, almost like being musical detectives, rather than just passive listeners. How many people do we know that are our age who don’t have a clue about classical music? It’s not something that you find in everyone’s media repertoire anymore so it’s hard to cultivate a love of seeing the music performed live when people aren’t listening to it.

Rabbit: While you may have a point, I think it’s our duty as fans of the symphony to invite others to do something they may have never done before, and that’s go to a live performance. As we left the Benaroya, I overheard a younger person thanking friends for inviting her to the performance. She had never been, had never even heard the music before, but was moved by the live performance. She even expressed interest in attending again, so maybe there still is hope that this truly special art form can continue and eventually thrive.

Is Demand for Live Classical Music Dying?
Tiger     vs     Rabbit

Random Happy Time, 18 O'Clock - Manners, People!

This time it's Tiger highjacking Rabbit’s Random Happy Time to voice her concerns about the state of modern manners. While attending a performance of the Seattle Symphony, Tiger witnessed some atrocities that she's still ranting about and gives some tips for those who would like to attend the symphony but have never done so before.

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Tiger: So I’m letting you know now that I’m taking this over.

Rabbit: ^shocked face^ What? This is my time.

Tiger: Sorry, but I have some things I want to get off my chest like dress code, etiquette, and general manners.

Rabbit: ^puts on helmet^ ﾍ(･_|

Tiger: First off, it’s the symphony, not gym time so you should dress accordingly. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up in shorts and flip flops. Show some respect people! ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ

Rabbit: Well, you do want to be comfortable while you sit and listen to the music.

Tiger: You don’t need to be that comfortable. Business casual is as low as you should go. (-、-) Heck, we’ve been to performances where it was formal attire and we had to wear a dress.

Rabbit: That was funny to see too, you in a dress.

Tiger: Oh shut it. Next thing to note is that the symphony isn’t like going to the movies. You shouldn’t bring candy with you! ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ It’s distracting to the other listeners around you and it’s just rude. (¬д¬。)

Rabbit: You never know, some people might need to eat.

Tiger: (」゜ロ゜)」 They should have eaten before then! Also, this shouldn’t need to be stated but you must not clip your fingernails at the symphony!

Rabbit: Eww…

Tiger: It’s true, we saw that lady doing it a few rows down from us. Why? Why would anyone in their right mind think it’s okay to clip their fingernails at the symphony?! o(-`д´- ｡)

Rabbit: I have no idea.

Tiger: Some other quick pointers about the symphony. It’s a good idea to go early; everyone should be seated before the orchestra comes out. Also, make sure to pay attention to the intermission bell, it sounds to let you know that there is only five minutes left. A few people straggled in late after intermission and it was quite annoying.

Rabbit: I would also add that you shouldn't use your mobile devices during a performance. The light from people’s phones was distracting.

Tiger: One big thing that inexperienced classical music attendees might not know is that you do not clap after every movement; you only clap at the end of each full piece. For example, it was okay to clap after Szymanowski’s Overture was over since it was only one movement. With Chopin’s Piano Concerto, you would not clap after the Maestoso was finished but wait until the Larghetto and the Allegro vivace were completed as well.

Rabbit: Same with the Prokofiev, you would wait until all four movements were finished before applauding. ヽ(‘ ∇‘ )ノ

Tiger: The reason is that while it is broken up into movements, these pieces are still seen as one entire musical entity so applauding after one had finished would be like applauding partway through a movie.

Rabbit: Who applauds at a movie? ｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)

Tiger: It’s just an example.

Rabbit: You could have used a stage show.

Tiger: But people applaud at various times with stage shows.

Rabbit: How about a video game then, you only applaud at the end because your hands are busy playing the game the rest of the time.

Tiger: *shakes head*

Rabbit: Is your rant over now?

Tiger: I think I've covered everything. I wanted to admonish the person sitting behind me for clacking a lozenge in his mouth but I found out later that he was just clacking his dentures.

Rabbit: ^shutters^ (／。＼)

Q Attack, Round 11 - Are You an Otaku?

Tiger and Rabbit have returned from their adventures at Sakura-Con 2015, one of the oldest anime, manga, and cultural conventions on the West Coast. They spent an entire weekend immersing themselves in all things Japanese and share their experiences here.

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Rabbit: Tsukarechatta!

Tiger: *moans* You can say that again, I’m beat. I love going on all these trips but man is it hard to function once you get back.

Rabbit: We need a vacavacation.

Tiger: There you go, making up words again.

Rabbit: No, really. We need a vacation from our vacation.

Tiger: I second that. So you want to explain why we’re both so tired.

Rabbit: ^stretches arms^ Five days of craziness, that’s why. We attended Sakura-Con 2015 in Seattle.

Tiger: It’s an anime, manga, video game, and general Asian cultural convention. They have everything from industry panels, anime theaters, a manga library, to special guest panels.

Rabbit: They also have an exhibitors hall, artist alley, and art show.

Tiger: Some of the guests included Vic Mignogna, Shimamoto Sumi, GARNiDELiA, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, Kashiwada Shinichiro, Mori Toshimichi, Kitada Katsuhiko, Asai Masaki, and n.NAOTO.

Rabbit: Which we didn’t see… at all.

Tiger: We saw some of the special guests though most we really didn’t care about seeing. It’s hard to get excited for all the English voice actors that go to Sakura-Con because we don’t watch anime in English. Now the Japanese voice actors were another story, I was really excited to see and hear Ueda Kana.

Rabbit: It was amazing to see the members of WIT Studio too.

Tiger: And Mori Toshimichi. We saw him at one of the panels, which we’ll be discussing in a different Q Attack. But before we move on to what we saw and did, let’s start with the first day of our trip.

Rabbit: ^deep voice^ Captain’s log, star date-

Tiger: *bops Rabbit on head* Do it normally.

Rabbit: Hai, hai. So we left our terribly sheltered lives behind us on Thursday, April 2nd, 2015 to travel to the big city that is Seattle, Washington.

Tiger: Calling Seattle a big city makes me miss Cali.

Rabbit: ^glares at Tiger^ Interrupting! We traveled with the help of a magical fairy named Tinker Bell who helped us fly across the water.

Tiger: Chigau! It was a ferry and we sailed across the water.

Rabbit: The truth is just a matter of perspective. ^sticks out tongue^ We arrived at our destination and headed straight to the International District.

Tiger: Ever noticed how Seattle is constantly under construction?

Rabbit: Yeah, it took us a lot longer to get to the International District than usual because all the roads were closed.

Tiger: I’m telling you, that city is always in a state of disarray.

Rabbit: From there we ate-

Tiger: Yamero!

Rabbit: Yamete!

Tiger: Kotowaru!

Rabbit: Why did you stop me?

Tiger: We are not, I repeat, we are not going to talk about food.

Rabbit: Bu-

Tiger: Nope!

Rabbit: Kedo…

Tiger: You always do this, you always digress to food. We have a lot of things to cover so let’s not waste time on food.

Rabbit: ^crosses arms^ Fine… We spent the day in the International District shopping at Daiso Japan, Uwajimaya, and Kinokuniya before checking into the Sheraton Hotel and picking up our badges. We also went to see the Seattle Symphony that night but we’re saving that for a different Q Attack as well.

Tiger: Friday, April 3rd, was the first official day of Sakura-Con 2015. We started out bright and early, arriving at the Washington State Convention Center at 7:00am. The first anime we watched was The Basketball that Kuroko Plays from Production I.G. and Tada Shunsuke. It was originally a manga created by Fujimaki Tadatoshi and follows the great basketball players from Teikō Middle School, known as the Generation of Miracles, as they play in high school. What’d you think of this one?

Rabbit: I really enjoyed it; I wish they had a U.S. release planned sometime soon. Unfortunately, they didn’t show the beginning of the series but started it somewhere in the middle so we didn’t quite catch the entire plot. Still, I’d pick it up if they ever do release it here.

Tiger: I noticed there were a lot of sports related anime and cosplay at this Con. Last time we went in 2012, everything seemed to be focused on the school theme.

Rabbit: There were a lot of people running around in basketball uniforms, cosplaying the various players. I almost got hit by a couple runaway basketballs too.

Tiger: Next, we caught a single episode of Level E on accident. It was in English too, ugh. Originally a manga from Togashi Yoshihiro, it was turned into an anime by Studio Pierrot and directed by Katō Toshiyuki. The plot centered on a high school student and his encounters with the various aliens that had moved to Earth.

Rabbit: We didn’t mean to see that one. We were actually there for another anime but they were off schedule. So we watched that until…

Tiger: Steins;Gate! Originally a visual novel by 5pb. and Nitroplus, the anime adaption was created by White Fox and directed by Hamasaki Hiroshi and Sato Takuya. I really enjoyed this anime, we’ve seen it before, but watching it on the big screen made me enjoy it even more. I love the time travel story that it centers around and how mad scientist Okabe Rintarō copes with his ability to change the past and the future. The game is even getting released on the PS3 and Vita this year in the West.

Rabbit: We actually got to see a guest that’s connected to Steins;Gate on Saturday but we’ll be saving that for another post.

Tiger: We did so much that we’re going to spread this out across a few posts to try and limit each post’s length.

Rabbit: Really, we just want to milk this trip for all its worth.

Tiger: *laughs* Sō desu ne…

Rabbit: I feel like we’re on one of those game shows. “We’ll reveal the winners… next week! Goodbye everyone!”

Tiger: We aren’t doing this on purpose, honestly. Back to Friday, next up was the Aniplex of America Industry Panel.

Rabbit: Which was basically an hour of them showing anime trailers we could’ve easily watched on YouTube or something.

Tiger: It just made me sad. I want to own the Fate/Zero series so bad but Aniplex is freaking expensive! They are Aniplex of America so why do they only import their stuff? I don’t get it.

Rabbit: They always make limited or premium editions too. It’s not like we need that stuff, I’d love if they did just a plain ‘ole standard set that’s affordable. Oh well. That was our version of pressing our noses against the glass of an expensive restaurant and watching people eat inside.

Tiger: *shakes head* I don’t even know how to reply to that. Next, we saw Nisekoi: False Love. It was first published as a one-shot manga by Komi Naoshi and then serialized before becoming an anime series from Shaft and Shinbo Akiyuki.

Rabbit: I absolutely loved this one! Out of all the shows we hadn’t seen before, this was my number two pick. The story follows high school students Ichijo Raku and Kirisaki Chitoge. But these two aren’t your average high schoolers, nope. Ichijo is the son of Shuei-Gumi’s leader and Kirisaki is the daughter of Beehive’s boss. What does that even mean? Shuei-Gumi is a yakuza and their rival gang is Beehive. A war is brewing between the two factions and to settle the feud, Ichijo and Kirisaki are told to become boyfriend and girlfriend. Then there’s this thing about a locket and a promise and trying to find a key. Really though, it’s super funny.

Tiger: Next was my number two pick… but again the theaters were behind schedule so we ended up seeing an episode of DRAMAtical Murder. I kind of liked this, which is really sad to admit.

Rabbit: ^crosses arms^ Bad kitty, you have a dirty mind.

Tiger: I swear I didn’t know what it was, you can’t tell by watching just one episode!

Rabbit: DRAMAtical Murder was originally a visual novel by Nitro+chiral and then turned anime by NAZ and Miura Kazuya. But it wasn’t just any visual novel, no it was BL. ^shocked face^

Tiger: It had a PG-13 rating on the program! The story is set in the near future where an entire island is turned into a resort and the residents are all forced to live in the Old Residential District. Seragaki Aoba lives a simple life here until he is forced into the popular cyber game known as Rhyme. Soon, turf wars break out in game and in real life, dragging Seragaki deeper into the fray. Anyway, we weren’t there for that. Really, we weren’t.

Rabbit: I don’t know about you…

Tiger: *blushing* Oitoite. The real reason why we were in that theater was for Mekakucity Actors. It’s the anime adaption of The Kagerou Project by Jin. It’s a little confusing to explain but the project basically started with the Vocaloid song Kagerou Daze and soon became a phenomenon with a light novel series, manga, and anime. Produced by Shaft and directed by Shinbo Akiyuki and Yase Yuki, Mekakucity Actors follows the Mekakushi Dan, a group of people with eye related powers. The episodes seem to run out of order, making it a little confusing at first, but it’s a great show. I know the manga and light novels got a U.S. release and I hope to see the anime soon too.

Rabbit: Vocaloids, there were a lot more of them around too. Quite a few cosplayers, I even saw an IA cosplayer which was impressive.

Tiger: Very true, in the past you would only see Hatsune Miku and the other Crypton Vocaloids. Mekakucity Actors was all over the place. Lots of merchandise floating around the exhibitors hall.

Rabbit: I’d reckon that the only anime that you saw more cosplayer or souvenirs of was Attack on Titan.

Tiger: Well, I’m excited that The Kagerou Project is finally making its way stateside. Just picked up the first manga and hope to see Mekakucity Actors get a physical release soon.

Rabbit: Speaking of IA, the last thing we did on Friday was see the IA – KAGEROU Project Concert Movie.

Tiger: Or attempted to see it. They had a small table with merchandise inside the theater where you could buy stuff. Thing is, the line formed down the center aisle, blocking the view of most of the people there. We ended up buying a few CDs and then leaving early.

Rabbit: You got a few IA CDs; I know you were happy about that.

Tiger: I love IA; she’s one of my favorite Vocaloids so it was worth going just to pick those up. I also bought a CD I had no idea what it was. Turns out it’s an album called VOCALO Zanmai from Wagakki Band. They blend traditional Japanese instruments with Vocaloid music. Really, really awesome stuff. If you’re a fan of Vocaloid music, I’d definitely check them out. I love their rendition of Kagerou Days and Senbonzakura. Really glad I picked up their album even though I didn’t know who they were beforehand.

Rabbit: Then we went to sleep and woke up bright and early for our second day of Sakura-Con. Saturday, April 4th a poppy seed muffin-

Tiger: *shoots eye-daggers at Rabbit*

Rabbit: And then we proceeded to the anime theater so we could see an irregular high school magic show.

Tiger: *rolls eyes* Once more, the theaters were behind schedule and we caught the end of Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie… in English. Nothing is more painful than Naruto in English.

Rabbit: I know how much you love that anime.

Tiger: The guy who created it needs to die.

Rabbit: Finally we got to see what we came for, The Irregular at Magic High School.

Tiger: More commonly known as Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei, it started as a light novel series written by Satō Tsutomu and illustrated by Ishida Kana.

Rabbit: Since then, it has been adapted into five manga series, an anime, and even two video games.

Tiger: The anime is done by Madhouse and directed by Ono Manabu. Two musical facts about this anime; the music is composed by Iwasaki Taku and the second opening theme is Grilletto by GARNiDELiA.

Rabbit: The series is set in a world where magic is considered a form of technology and students go to specialized schools to study it. Students are separated by their test scores with the best students enrolling in Course 1 (known as Bloom) and the rest being put in Course 2 (known as Weed). Shiba Tatsuya and his sister, Miyuki, are new students at one of these schools and while his sister aces the entrance exams, he gets enrolled in Course 2. But not all is what it seems and Tatsuya seems to possess skills far greater than any Weed should.

Tiger: The Director, Ono Manabu was actually at the Aniplex of America industry panel to not only present the U.S. release but also announce some of Aniplex’s new releases.

Rabbit: I thought this was an okay show. Nothing too exciting story wise but the magic battles were pretty rad.

Tiger: Yeah, there have been some mixed reviews on the anime. I’ve read a lot of reviews that said you should stick with the manga but I’d be willing to give the anime a try. We only got to see a few episodes before-

Rabbit: Before we could be free and enjoy eternal summer!

Tiger: *shakes head*

Rabbit: Free! Is another anime that’s based on a light novel series, written by Ōji Kōji and then turned into an anime series by Kyoto Animation and Utsumi Hiroko.

Tiger: What we watched was actually Free! –Eternal Summer-, the second season since the first season has not been licensed for publishing in the States yet. The plot focuses on four high school guys-

Rabbit: Hot guys I might add.

Tiger: *shakes head* And you say I have the dirty mind. Anyway, these four are members of Iwatobi High School’s swim team. Other characters include members of Samezuka Academy’s swim team.

Rabbit: There were a lot of Free! cosplayers too which was kind of strange and cold looking.

Tiger: Seattle in April is by no means a warm place. You have to admit that the guys running around just in swimsuits were dedicated. So, I take it you enjoyed this one?

Rabbit: I did. Nanase Haruka rivals Saitō Hajime in looks but his personality isn’t as cool. And it was sports related so you should have enjoyed it.

Tiger: It was alright, I enjoyed The Basketball that Kuroko Plays better but it wasn’t bad and it had its funny moments. Up next was a panel that we’d been looking forward to for a while.

Rabbit: Yes! The Rolling☆Girls Special with Deai Kotomi, Kitada Katsuhiko, & Imai Arifumi of WIT Studio! Surprisingly, this one began as an anime series before it was spun off into two manga series. Directed by Deai Kotomi, the story is… hard to explain.

Tiger: It has one of those “you have to have been there” stories to really get it. It’s a coming-of-age comedy set 10 years after the Great Tokyo War which caused the prefectures of Japan to become independent states. As these new city-states competed with each other, vigilantes from the war were hired and became known as Best, representing their prefectures in one-on-one territorial disputes. These Best are supported by Rest, or commoners, who help to maintain peace in their respective prefectures. The story follows Moritomo Nozomi, a Rest, who is trying to answer the pleas for her prefecture’s Best who has been seriously injured. Tagging along are three other girls, who go with Nozomi on her trip across Japan.

Rabbit: And since it is called The Rolling☆Girls, they of course ride motorcycles. I have to say that the art style is very, very unique.

Tiger: During the panel, not only did they show a couple of episodes but they also showed what their animated storyboards look like when they are working on it. Definitely a great panel with lots of information on the behind the scenes action that’s needed to create an anime series.

Rabbit: And it was WIT Studio too! They might not be very old but they already have a solid track record with Attack on Titan, Hal, and Hōzuki no Reitetsu already under their belts. Add The Rolling☆Girls and the upcoming Seraph of the End, this is a studio to keep an eye on.

Tiger: After that, it was a mad dash to the main hall for the Itō Kanako & GARNiDELiA Concert.

Rabbit: It was amazing… but we are going to wait to talk about this one.

Tiger: As with our next panel, The BlazBlue Experience. So basically the last two events of Saturday night will be discussed separately in their own Q Attacks.

Rabbit: Sunday, April 5th, was the last day of Sakura-Con 2015! So sad.

Tiger: So we used this remaining day to just watch anime.

Rabbit: First up was Log Horizon, another “trapped in an MMO” anime. This one was also a light novel series first, written by Touno Mamare, before being turned into a bunch of manga series and an anime series. Produced by Satelight Studios and directed by Ishihira Shinji, the story follows game strategist Shiroe and other players as they become trapped inside the game of Elder Tales following a massive update.

Tiger: I actually really enjoyed this one, I thought it added some things and did well to differentiate itself from all the other anime in this genre.

Rabbit: You just like it because the game their stuck in is called Elder Tales.

Tiger: *sticks out tongue* After this one, we saw-

Rabbit: ^jumps in air^ Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!

Tiger: Here we go.

Rabbit: This was my absolute favorite anime we saw all weekend! Created by Umatani Kurari and Diomedéa, it was directed by Takamatsu Shinji. The story is about five guys who attend Binan High School; Hakone Yumoto, Yufuin En, Kinugawa Atsushi, Naruko Io, and Zaou Ryuu. A strange wombat-like alien approaches them and tasks them with saving the world. By using Loveracelets, the five transform into the Battle Lovers, who can use the power of love to combat enemies who spread hate. They form the Earth Defense Club in order to fight the Earth Conquest Club, which is also a club at Binan High School bent on destroying everything good on earth. I absolutely loved this one!

Tiger: It was very funny and made fun of the magical girl genre in a great way. It seemed like a pretty decent show in its own right too, not relying solely on gags. It also helps that the guys closely resemble those from Free! which makes them easy on the eyes.

Rabbit: So many pretty boys to stare at…

Tiger: Next was my favorite anime of the Con-

Rabbit: And we all know why you picked this one, you lucky star, you.

Tiger: Created by Kuroha and then turned into an anime by Nomad and directed by Sato Hikaru; the last anime we saw before Sakura-Con 2015 shut down was Chronicles of the Going Home Club. The plot follows a group of high school girls who are in the Going Home Club, a club that is dedicated to having as much fun as possible. It’s definitely a slice-of-life comedy that reminds me a lot of Lucky Star. You have club president Domyoji Sakura, the self-proclaimed ordinary girl of the club. She is energetic and downright crazy at times. Ohagi Botan is the club commander and successor to an ancient martial arts style. She once traveled the world fighting bears. Kokonoe Claire is club treasurer and heiress to a mega-corporation. Claire wanted to experience a normal school life but it’s hard for her to do so with her vast amount of wealth. Then there are the newest club members, Ando Natsuki and Tono Karin, both freshmen. Karin is an airhead, excellent at home economics, and her cuteness is Botan’s greatest weakness. Natsuki plays the part of resident Tsundere who’s serious and doesn’t always get the jokes of other club members. It’s a pretty hilarious anime that’s not only self aware but pokes fun at other anime too.

Rabbit: The bit about having to retool the show by episode three if you aren’t popular was super funny.

Tiger: And they have a gag where the ending credits will play too early only to have Natsuki freak out and rip them off the screen.

Rabbit: It was definitely a great way to end Sakura-Con but that wasn’t it for us!

Tiger: It wasn’t?

Rabbit: Nope, we stayed in Seattle on Monday, April 6th, and went back to the International District to eat-

Tiger: To do some more shopping at Kinokuniya and Uwajimaya. I was able to pick up a few more CDs including EXIT TUNES PRESENTS vocalogemini feat. Kagamine Rin & Kagamine Len.

Rabbit: I bought a melona ice bar!

Tiger: Sheesh, you can’t stop, can you?

Rabbit: I don’t know what you’re talking about. So any final thoughts on Sakura-Con.

Tiger: Furries, lots of furries, cosplay seemed to be kind of downplayed this year. Got to see a lot of anime, panels were good, concert was amazing, the tournaments were some of the best we’ve seen, and it was overall a great experience. You?

Rabbit: Lots of amazing food, lots of things to look at though we didn’t buy very much, I almost got killed by a soccer ball when walking around downtown Seattle, and it didn’t rain so that was great.

Tiger: I guess it’s time to wrap this up then.

Rabbit: After experiencing a weekend jam-packed with everything Japanese related, are you officially an Otaku?

Tiger: I’d have to say no to that.

Rabbit: ^shocked face^

Tiger: After all of the conventions we’ve gone to, I’ve learned that I’m not an Otaku, I’m a gamer. While I do enjoy anime, manga, and Asian cultures in general; I don’t find myself really engrossed in Otaku culture. I actually felt like an outsider at Sakura-Con. I don’t stream anime online so I’m really out of the loop with what’s popular. Take The Rolling☆Girls, that series has been out online for awhile now but this was my first time seeing it. Heck, I hadn’t even heard of Free! until you told me about it. It’s fun, I like going, and I like watching anime but I’m not a big enough fan to label myself an Otaku. It’s not like video games were when we went to PAX I recognized all the studios, I knew about the games before we got there, and everything appealed to me. There were lots of things I liked at Sakura-Con but going to Q&As with voice actors I’d never heard of or watching fan panels about certain shows just didn’t interest me. Anime is an interest of mine but not a passion. I don’t love everything about it like I love video games.

Rabbit: Well, I have to disagree with you.

Tiger: Naturally.

Rabbit: I totally consider myself an Otaku. Japanese culture is something that I love and not in that weird, I’m not Japanese but I love everything about you and even want a pet schoolgirl sort of way.

Tiger: I’d argue that I didn’t know anyone was actually like that until we went to our first anime convention.

Rabbit: We’re both Japanese-

Tiger: Faux Japanese.

Rabbit: We’ve lived there-

Tiger: Until we were five.

Rabbit: And it’s something that will always be a part of us. Plus, I like anime and manga in general. Japanese comedy is some of my favorite; it’s nothing like what we get Stateside. The action shows are awesome, the stories are amazing though sometimes stupid, and nothing can compare to manga. So what if we’re from Otaku Generation 2, being fans of older stuff doesn’t make us any less of a fan than those who only like what’s popular now. And while I don’t stream either, I still enjoy keeping up to date with what’s new and trendy in Japan. Otaku are pretty cool people in general too.

Tiger: I like that the Otaku culture is pretty nonjudgmental.

Rabbit: Stop in the name of Judgment! But you’re right, Otaku are generally great people so of course I consider myself one.

Tiger: *shakes head* Haha, very funny.

Rabbit: Really though, I love anime, manga, Vocaloids, chanbara, tsundere, and I especially love Japanese food! I’m happy I got the opportunity to experience things I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to do. I also have a pretty big list of which anime I want to buy next.

Tiger: You’re incorrigible.

Rabbit: And you’re a party pooper. But fear not TvR faithful, the moment you’ve been waiting for is next! Random Happy Time Sutāto! Doki doki transformation in the name of LOVE!

Are You an Otaku?
Tiger     vs     Rabbit

Random Happy Time, 17 O'Clock - Asian Delights!

Rabbit finally gets her chance to talk about all the delightful meals she and Tiger ate while at Sakura-Con 2015. Though they stuck with their favorite Seattle restaurants, the pair were able to be adventurous and tried some new eating experiences.

**^^**
Rabbit: I know you Qgers and Qbbits want to know all about the most important events of Sakura-Con 2015.

Tiger: What events are those?

Rabbit: Where we ate!

Tiger: (￣ェ￣;) I can’t stop you, can I?

Rabbit: Of course not, this is my segment; anything goes in Random Happy Time! So when we got into town on Thursday, we ate at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot! Umai! ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

Tiger: Admittedly, it was really good. (*´∀｀*人*´∀｀*) With hot pots, they bring out a large bowl of broth and then your meats and veggies are brought out raw. There’s a burner in the table and you cook everything yourself.

Rabbit: It was amazing, I was in heaven. There were some things that I didn’t know what they were though. 【・_・?】 Like the pink balls and the strange alien flesh.

Tiger: ー(￣～￣)ξ Those were beef kidney meatballs and beef tripe.

Rabbit: Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）

Tiger: After that it was MOD Pizza for dinner. I got the Mad Dog and you got two pizzas.

Rabbit: The first one, they put the wrong toppings on and burnt it, so they made me a second one on the house. They were having personnel issues when we went which probably explains the mistakes, it was still yummy.

Tiger: They have really good marionberry lemonade there.

Rabbit: On Friday we ate lunch at Ruth’s Chris Steak House. They have the best burgers ever and a really weird name! ꒰˘̩̩̩⌣˘̩̩̩๑꒱♡ We always eat lunch there every time we’re in Seattle.

Tiger: Next was dinner at Blue Water Taco Grill. They are a great inexpensive and fast meal that’s close to the convention center.

Rabbit: On Saturday we ate a huge lunch at P.F. Chang’s since we knew we weren’t going to get dinner because of all the events that night.

Tiger: We did pack apple fritters from In Short Order and ate those that night. They were good even if they got smooshed in my bag.

Rabbit: For Sunday’s lunch we ate Phở at New Saigon. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Nice to be so close to WSCC so we could save our tired feet the hassle of walking for a long time. We wrapped up dinner that night at our hotel’s restaurant, the Daily Grill. We both got tilapia in a lemon pepper caper sauce. Very good, very expensive.

Tiger: They are always pricey there, a little too high for my tastes but it was convenient.

Rabbit: As for our last day, we ate at Kau Kau BBQ which I’ve heard was really good but I wasn’t impressed with the pork I ordered.

Tiger: My chow mein was kind of greasy too. Isn’t Kau Kau a Dynasty Warriors character?

Rabbit: I think the spelling’s different.

Tiger: Well, at least we got to experience a lot of delectable entrées that we hadn’t had before or had in a long time.

Rabbit: I’m still dreaming of that hot pot. (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡