Hyper Japan 2013
I went for food, traditional culture, cute plushies and the music :)
Hyper Japan 2013 took place from 26th - 28th July 2013. I only went on Friday and Saturday since I was still feeling the fatigue from long hours on the previous Thursday.
Friday was easy to walk around since it was the first day and it took me 20 mins to get inside. I arrived just after 2pm and the queue was moving fast. Yanakiku had just finished their setlist on the second stage when I walked in and after watching a few performances I went to walk around the stalls till Jrock band Vaniru would show up on the main stage.
I had researched Vaniru before going to Hyper Japan and if there was one thing that pulled me in it was the fact they are on the same label that made Buck Tick famous. Listening to them for the first time made me notice how they did have an old school Buck Tick sound which I adored. Leoneil the vocalist even sings a little like Sakurai. I was mesmerised by the video teasers on Youtube and when I first saw them in real life it was surreal. I did question their attire which somehow became poor jokes for Otakus sitting behind me who would not stop laughing and making terrible comments. I stared at them briefly while I pretended to check something in my bag but their attitude was just rude.
I had to wonder if Leoneil secretly picked up on this while he performed on the main stage. Yuto the guitarist wore a white blazer that showed his belly off and white trousers on Friday. His skinny jeans fitted his legs so easily. I enjoyed the setlist on Friday though had this deep feeling in my gut that Vaniru were a little uncomfortable. Leoneil wore black from top to bottom and even had a fur scarf over his upper body.
I would've gone to the opening club night after Hyper Japan to see these guys again but I was really tired from work so I ended up walking around the stalls to do some shopping after watching Vaniru's stage performance. I ended up buying B.A.P's One Shot CD from the one Kpop stall that attracts young Koreaboos like bees.
On Saturday I arrived around 09:45AM and the big queue had disappeared so I just walked right into Earls Court 2. I managed to meet up with missmomoko and we had a long day walking around the stalls looking at cute plushies and trying food. We ate Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki mostly. We also tried Lolita wigs on which made us look so weird, especially me since I woefully picked the wrong wig to go with my rented Kimono. Maybe the red wig would've been better. Kimono rental cost £15 and I could've worn it for four hours or more if I didn't need to go the toilet XD I ended up wearing the Kimono for maybe two hours instead. I also realised I couldn't walk as freely as I could and had to completely slow down my usual walking speed. We got random photos of Siro-A who were walking around Earls Court 2 promoting their show at 5:30pm which we didn't go to because we were exhausted from spazzing over the stalls. We did however manage a photo with the guys when they were at their stall :) As far as shopping goes, I ended up buying more Kpop things lmao. I went with two file folders. One of GD&TOP, the other of B.A.P.
Hilariously enough when we were getting a photo taken by one of the HJ stuff while playing dress up, two other photographers took photos of us too!!!! AWKWARD. Anyway we then went to the second stage to see Yanakiku and wait for Vaniru to show up. Yanakiku are certainly bubbly but I think few people could understand their Engrish even though they tried to interact with the audience. They were waving at some of us and I got a wave back from Kiku. Vaniru were intoxicating like the previous day and thankfully Yuto dressed more appropriately in black trousers and blaze with a white shirt underneath. It made him look more attractive and typical Jrocker. Leoneil had the same attire as before XD Again with the hair envy. I just wanted to go up to him and feel the hair in my fingers OMG.
Vaniru had another quick interview session after their small set and there was a white girl doing the interpreting. I think there was a moment where she struggled to translate something and Leoneil looked all, "uh hello? Surely you know this." To tell you the truth, I wonder if Vaniru were peeved by the crappy sound from their performances or were tired from their recent activities overseas as well as their Friday Night clubbing in East London. They were in a Jrock festival a few weeks ago in Europe and I found some clips off Youtube where they were playing live. It was electrifying. Not sure if the back track used in Hyper Japan helped them much. There was no live drummer and it was often difficult to hear Yuto play his guitar.
Vaniru and Yanakiku got indigo coloured roses as presents from this woman and funnily enough Leoneil gave his rose to this Jrock fangirl who squealed and flailed non-stop, even at Earls Court station while waiting for the train. She was a blonde girl and I guess Leoneil found her fangirling endearing when she asked for the band's autograph. Or the fact she was a pretty Jrock fangirl may have been a reason. Unless he didn't like his rose...
Vaniru had a few people ask for photos before their performance and I wasn't sure if I should do the same but then after they finished on the second stage other fangirls followed them to the JP Books Stall when the PR woman said we could get photos with the band later on. I thought I may as well try to get a photo with them even though I'm not a hardcore fangirl yet. I may not ever see them again so I thought I'd take the opportunity. It was a bit of a 'rush forward first' gesture because there was no actual queue to get a photo. So after one black Gothic Lolita girl finished with her photo pose I then walked in, did a hand gesture to ask for a photo and missmomoko took the photo for me. Yuto is quite handsome and approachable. Leoneil is super pretty but very guarded. That's his image I guess. We said thank you to each other when the photo was taken and I ran off.
Some photos I took:-
Links to all my Friday photos and Saturday photos
Earls Court 2 is much bigger than Brompton Hall and Olympia but I felt there was something missing in this year's Hyper Japan. It might have been the technical issues mostly. Sure you could breathe easily since the venue is big but the clashing from different stages did make it difficult to listen to the songs. Not only the stages but also the gaming area where there were lots of games going on. There was a lot to do and watch definitely. Just the tech stuff made me perplexed. Roll on 2014 though :D
This is Vaniru's debut single Cosmic Night. I really like it.
Hyper Japan 2013 took place from 26th - 28th July 2013. I only went on Friday and Saturday since I was still feeling the fatigue from long hours on the previous Thursday.
Friday was easy to walk around since it was the first day and it took me 20 mins to get inside. I arrived just after 2pm and the queue was moving fast. Yanakiku had just finished their setlist on the second stage when I walked in and after watching a few performances I went to walk around the stalls till Jrock band Vaniru would show up on the main stage.
I had researched Vaniru before going to Hyper Japan and if there was one thing that pulled me in it was the fact they are on the same label that made Buck Tick famous. Listening to them for the first time made me notice how they did have an old school Buck Tick sound which I adored. Leoneil the vocalist even sings a little like Sakurai. I was mesmerised by the video teasers on Youtube and when I first saw them in real life it was surreal. I did question their attire which somehow became poor jokes for Otakus sitting behind me who would not stop laughing and making terrible comments. I stared at them briefly while I pretended to check something in my bag but their attitude was just rude.
I had to wonder if Leoneil secretly picked up on this while he performed on the main stage. Yuto the guitarist wore a white blazer that showed his belly off and white trousers on Friday. His skinny jeans fitted his legs so easily. I enjoyed the setlist on Friday though had this deep feeling in my gut that Vaniru were a little uncomfortable. Leoneil wore black from top to bottom and even had a fur scarf over his upper body.
I would've gone to the opening club night after Hyper Japan to see these guys again but I was really tired from work so I ended up walking around the stalls to do some shopping after watching Vaniru's stage performance. I ended up buying B.A.P's One Shot CD from the one Kpop stall that attracts young Koreaboos like bees.
On Saturday I arrived around 09:45AM and the big queue had disappeared so I just walked right into Earls Court 2. I managed to meet up with missmomoko and we had a long day walking around the stalls looking at cute plushies and trying food. We ate Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki mostly. We also tried Lolita wigs on which made us look so weird, especially me since I woefully picked the wrong wig to go with my rented Kimono. Maybe the red wig would've been better. Kimono rental cost £15 and I could've worn it for four hours or more if I didn't need to go the toilet XD I ended up wearing the Kimono for maybe two hours instead. I also realised I couldn't walk as freely as I could and had to completely slow down my usual walking speed. We got random photos of Siro-A who were walking around Earls Court 2 promoting their show at 5:30pm which we didn't go to because we were exhausted from spazzing over the stalls. We did however manage a photo with the guys when they were at their stall :) As far as shopping goes, I ended up buying more Kpop things lmao. I went with two file folders. One of GD&TOP, the other of B.A.P.
Hilariously enough when we were getting a photo taken by one of the HJ stuff while playing dress up, two other photographers took photos of us too!!!! AWKWARD. Anyway we then went to the second stage to see Yanakiku and wait for Vaniru to show up. Yanakiku are certainly bubbly but I think few people could understand their Engrish even though they tried to interact with the audience. They were waving at some of us and I got a wave back from Kiku. Vaniru were intoxicating like the previous day and thankfully Yuto dressed more appropriately in black trousers and blaze with a white shirt underneath. It made him look more attractive and typical Jrocker. Leoneil had the same attire as before XD Again with the hair envy. I just wanted to go up to him and feel the hair in my fingers OMG.
Vaniru had another quick interview session after their small set and there was a white girl doing the interpreting. I think there was a moment where she struggled to translate something and Leoneil looked all, "uh hello? Surely you know this." To tell you the truth, I wonder if Vaniru were peeved by the crappy sound from their performances or were tired from their recent activities overseas as well as their Friday Night clubbing in East London. They were in a Jrock festival a few weeks ago in Europe and I found some clips off Youtube where they were playing live. It was electrifying. Not sure if the back track used in Hyper Japan helped them much. There was no live drummer and it was often difficult to hear Yuto play his guitar.
Vaniru and Yanakiku got indigo coloured roses as presents from this woman and funnily enough Leoneil gave his rose to this Jrock fangirl who squealed and flailed non-stop, even at Earls Court station while waiting for the train. She was a blonde girl and I guess Leoneil found her fangirling endearing when she asked for the band's autograph. Or the fact she was a pretty Jrock fangirl may have been a reason. Unless he didn't like his rose...
Vaniru had a few people ask for photos before their performance and I wasn't sure if I should do the same but then after they finished on the second stage other fangirls followed them to the JP Books Stall when the PR woman said we could get photos with the band later on. I thought I may as well try to get a photo with them even though I'm not a hardcore fangirl yet. I may not ever see them again so I thought I'd take the opportunity. It was a bit of a 'rush forward first' gesture because there was no actual queue to get a photo. So after one black Gothic Lolita girl finished with her photo pose I then walked in, did a hand gesture to ask for a photo and missmomoko took the photo for me. Yuto is quite handsome and approachable. Leoneil is super pretty but very guarded. That's his image I guess. We said thank you to each other when the photo was taken and I ran off.
Some photos I took:-
Links to all my Friday photos and Saturday photos
Earls Court 2 is much bigger than Brompton Hall and Olympia but I felt there was something missing in this year's Hyper Japan. It might have been the technical issues mostly. Sure you could breathe easily since the venue is big but the clashing from different stages did make it difficult to listen to the songs. Not only the stages but also the gaming area where there were lots of games going on. There was a lot to do and watch definitely. Just the tech stuff made me perplexed. Roll on 2014 though :D
This is Vaniru's debut single Cosmic Night. I really like it.
Click to view