The Uta-Pri panel
This morning we discovered a pile of stuff on the floor that had previously been on top of a bookcase. We figure it got there because our "prisoner" is trying to escape. Our best guess is that she hopped up on the windowsill hoping to get outside, but since the window has a screen, the attempt failed, and she figured she might as well keep exploring. At any rate, if we're right about her wanting to escape, there's hope! So tonight, we kept the front door open while we stayed in our bedroom all evening (watching Miraculous, but you probably already knew that). We also moved all of Page's food into the office, so the only food available to Grandma Kitty was outside. Of course, this plan depends on our very deliberately not watching the proceedings, so I don't think we'll know if it's a success until we decide it's time to close the door for the night.
In the meantime, I still have AX stuff to talk about. We were at the post-UtaPri panel! Let's see, I believe each of the voice actors introduced himself in English. I don't remember the exact order of anything, but I do remember they showed a very special video clip...featuring the rest of the Starish cast! Tadah! Naturally, the audience screamed their lungs out to see it, to the point where they were about halfway through the video before we could confirm that the audio wasn't working. It was pretty funny, because something seemed off about the whole thing, so I was like, "You know, I don't think there's any sound coming from this video," but I really could not tell until the screaming subsided.
It was super cute as soon as the voice actors confirmed it, though. They were all, "Stop, stop!" ...I guess you had to be there. Just trust me, they were cute. And the actors in the video were cute, too. There was a part where...I think it was Kenichi Suzumura...asked how we were all doing or something along those lines, and then they all paused to give us time to scream. And you could tell they expected screaming from the way they posed at the time. They said next time, all of Starish would come. But they always say that, so we don't know how much we can trust it. Also, the Japanese word for "next time" is very noncommittal. It's more like "some time in the unspecified future."
Let's see... As usual, the voice actors were asked how they were enjoying Los Angeles, and if there was any Los Angeles food they especially liked. They had been to Universal Studios (because of course they had (also, Miyano-kun is a big fan of Harry Potter and the Minions from Despicable Me (and anything from Illumination Studios), both of which have strong representation at Universal Studios) and eaten giant turkey legs. They asked for recommendations, and a bunch of people shouted In-N-Out, but the MC and the interpreter, who were probably both from Texas, weren't too excited to pass that recommendation along.
When the message finally got through, the VAs asked what In-N-Out is, and the interpreter explained it was a burger place with a very limited menu, which is how you know she's not from California, because Californians know that there's a secret menu with lots more options. ...Actually, they're mostly variations on the same options (like a Neapolitan milkshake instead of just one of the standard flavors). And to be fair, I don't know what most of the secret options are, because all I ever want is a plain cheeseburger (and their cheeseburgers are super tasty). But I think one (or several) of the secret menu items involves bacon, which is not on the regular menu anywhere. At any rate, I do think In-N-Out has good food, so I hope they got a local to introduce them.
They were asked about their favorite part of the movie, and Terashima-san said his favorite part was at the end as they were running off stage and waving goodbye to the audience, because Tokiya (Miyano-kun's character) draws a heart with his fingers and mouths something as he leaves. Terashima-san suspects he's mouthing, "I love you." Miyano-kun's favorite part was the hoverboards... But it was super cute how he talked about it, because he said that they were singing and then suddenly, "Whooooosh!" and when he said whoosh, he took his right hand and did a two-finger point, then moved the hand around to mimic the hoverboards. It was the most adorable thing.
They were asked what they like most about their characters, and they both answered in English. Terashima-san said, "He's so cute! And his voice." and Miyano-kun said, "He's so...sexy." And of course, any time anyone said the word "sexy," they had to drop their voice an octave and get all sultry. It was pretty funny, except that the interpreter went waaaaay overboard with it and would use the sexy voice for practically everything at some points. It's supposed to be a garnish, not the whole meal.
But the cutest was when they were asked if they had a favorite character other than the one they played. And they both seemed to struggle with this one for a while, and we couldn't tell if it was because they really just loved their characters so much that they hadn't thought about the others, or if it was because they knew that there were so many potential pairings that anything they said would disappoint a significant portion of the fujoshi fans. They went the practical route, and selected the character of the other voice actor in the room. And they gave the answers in English. So Miyano-kun said, "I like Otoya. He's so cute!" and Terashima-san said in a very cute Otoya voice, "I like Tokiya! He's so cool! And so...sexy."
They were asked what their favorite memory of working on Uta-Pri was, and they had a hard time with this question, too, but they were more vocal about why. They have so many good memories that it's hard to pick one! So Miyano-kun said that his favorite memory was when they did the live concerts, because they got to be there with the fans and feel that energy and make that connection in person. And Terashima-san agreed.
They were also asked their favorite song from the whole series, and they both answered Maji Love 1000%...at least, I think that's the title. It's the end theme from the first season, and it's still our favorite, too! They like it because it represents when Starish came together and all that sappy sweet stuff. But there was also talk about the choreography for that song (I don't know if it was part of this question or a different one), and one of them asked who could dance the song, and a bunch of people raised their hands. And Terashima-san was like, "What!? Even I can't do the dance!" And then they spent a minute or two trying to remember the choreography from the dance. Miyano-kun was making all the hand moves...for a couple of lines, and then he was like, "...I don't remember anymore."
And there was a part at the panel! I don't remember what happened, but there was music playing? Or something? All I remember is that the focus was not on the voice actors, and there must have been music playing, because suddenly they both started making hand gestures, in perfect sync. It was the best.
...And I think that covers all the best parts. Let me just skim the ANN report to see if there's anything else I want to mention. Not really, but! there was talk (which didn't really get interpreted) of bringing an Uta-Pri concert to the US. It sounded like a, "It would be nice if we could..." kind of thing, so of course it's not a reliable bit of news, but now people with influence know there's a desire on the performers' side and a demand on the fans' side. Miyano-kun seemed pretty determined to come back, based on later things he said, too, so who knows?
And that's all for tonight! Tune in next time, for our report of the In/Spectre premiere! Oooohh!
Today I'm thankful for hope that Grandma Kitty might be wanting to not stay here forever, getting to go to Target and buy a big bag of peanut butter M&Ms, making good enough progress on work today that it won't be too much of a problem to work on it tomorrow, the super adorableness of the Uta-Pri panel, and getting to fight an Oddity Trace in Wizards Unite.
In the meantime, I still have AX stuff to talk about. We were at the post-UtaPri panel! Let's see, I believe each of the voice actors introduced himself in English. I don't remember the exact order of anything, but I do remember they showed a very special video clip...featuring the rest of the Starish cast! Tadah! Naturally, the audience screamed their lungs out to see it, to the point where they were about halfway through the video before we could confirm that the audio wasn't working. It was pretty funny, because something seemed off about the whole thing, so I was like, "You know, I don't think there's any sound coming from this video," but I really could not tell until the screaming subsided.
It was super cute as soon as the voice actors confirmed it, though. They were all, "Stop, stop!" ...I guess you had to be there. Just trust me, they were cute. And the actors in the video were cute, too. There was a part where...I think it was Kenichi Suzumura...asked how we were all doing or something along those lines, and then they all paused to give us time to scream. And you could tell they expected screaming from the way they posed at the time. They said next time, all of Starish would come. But they always say that, so we don't know how much we can trust it. Also, the Japanese word for "next time" is very noncommittal. It's more like "some time in the unspecified future."
Let's see... As usual, the voice actors were asked how they were enjoying Los Angeles, and if there was any Los Angeles food they especially liked. They had been to Universal Studios (because of course they had (also, Miyano-kun is a big fan of Harry Potter and the Minions from Despicable Me (and anything from Illumination Studios), both of which have strong representation at Universal Studios) and eaten giant turkey legs. They asked for recommendations, and a bunch of people shouted In-N-Out, but the MC and the interpreter, who were probably both from Texas, weren't too excited to pass that recommendation along.
When the message finally got through, the VAs asked what In-N-Out is, and the interpreter explained it was a burger place with a very limited menu, which is how you know she's not from California, because Californians know that there's a secret menu with lots more options. ...Actually, they're mostly variations on the same options (like a Neapolitan milkshake instead of just one of the standard flavors). And to be fair, I don't know what most of the secret options are, because all I ever want is a plain cheeseburger (and their cheeseburgers are super tasty). But I think one (or several) of the secret menu items involves bacon, which is not on the regular menu anywhere. At any rate, I do think In-N-Out has good food, so I hope they got a local to introduce them.
They were asked about their favorite part of the movie, and Terashima-san said his favorite part was at the end as they were running off stage and waving goodbye to the audience, because Tokiya (Miyano-kun's character) draws a heart with his fingers and mouths something as he leaves. Terashima-san suspects he's mouthing, "I love you." Miyano-kun's favorite part was the hoverboards... But it was super cute how he talked about it, because he said that they were singing and then suddenly, "Whooooosh!" and when he said whoosh, he took his right hand and did a two-finger point, then moved the hand around to mimic the hoverboards. It was the most adorable thing.
They were asked what they like most about their characters, and they both answered in English. Terashima-san said, "He's so cute! And his voice." and Miyano-kun said, "He's so...sexy." And of course, any time anyone said the word "sexy," they had to drop their voice an octave and get all sultry. It was pretty funny, except that the interpreter went waaaaay overboard with it and would use the sexy voice for practically everything at some points. It's supposed to be a garnish, not the whole meal.
But the cutest was when they were asked if they had a favorite character other than the one they played. And they both seemed to struggle with this one for a while, and we couldn't tell if it was because they really just loved their characters so much that they hadn't thought about the others, or if it was because they knew that there were so many potential pairings that anything they said would disappoint a significant portion of the fujoshi fans. They went the practical route, and selected the character of the other voice actor in the room. And they gave the answers in English. So Miyano-kun said, "I like Otoya. He's so cute!" and Terashima-san said in a very cute Otoya voice, "I like Tokiya! He's so cool! And so...sexy."
They were asked what their favorite memory of working on Uta-Pri was, and they had a hard time with this question, too, but they were more vocal about why. They have so many good memories that it's hard to pick one! So Miyano-kun said that his favorite memory was when they did the live concerts, because they got to be there with the fans and feel that energy and make that connection in person. And Terashima-san agreed.
They were also asked their favorite song from the whole series, and they both answered Maji Love 1000%...at least, I think that's the title. It's the end theme from the first season, and it's still our favorite, too! They like it because it represents when Starish came together and all that sappy sweet stuff. But there was also talk about the choreography for that song (I don't know if it was part of this question or a different one), and one of them asked who could dance the song, and a bunch of people raised their hands. And Terashima-san was like, "What!? Even I can't do the dance!" And then they spent a minute or two trying to remember the choreography from the dance. Miyano-kun was making all the hand moves...for a couple of lines, and then he was like, "...I don't remember anymore."
And there was a part at the panel! I don't remember what happened, but there was music playing? Or something? All I remember is that the focus was not on the voice actors, and there must have been music playing, because suddenly they both started making hand gestures, in perfect sync. It was the best.
...And I think that covers all the best parts. Let me just skim the ANN report to see if there's anything else I want to mention. Not really, but! there was talk (which didn't really get interpreted) of bringing an Uta-Pri concert to the US. It sounded like a, "It would be nice if we could..." kind of thing, so of course it's not a reliable bit of news, but now people with influence know there's a desire on the performers' side and a demand on the fans' side. Miyano-kun seemed pretty determined to come back, based on later things he said, too, so who knows?
And that's all for tonight! Tune in next time, for our report of the In/Spectre premiere! Oooohh!
Today I'm thankful for hope that Grandma Kitty might be wanting to not stay here forever, getting to go to Target and buy a big bag of peanut butter M&Ms, making good enough progress on work today that it won't be too much of a problem to work on it tomorrow, the super adorableness of the Uta-Pri panel, and getting to fight an Oddity Trace in Wizards Unite.