SakuraCon 2012 and Moi dix Mois: The experience.

[OtakuDee]

So, Serenade and I went to SakuraCon in Seattle this year as A/V staffers, and this is my story.

Building a Dalek:

In the week previous, we got confirmation our friend was coming, but had no money to maintain her cosplays. My dad caught wind of it, and asked if she wanted to do a Dalek. (for you non-Whovians, its the Doctor Who equivalent of the Borg in the fact they are the main character's cybernetic arch nemeses) My dad when he helps with projects, never does anything small.

The project proved to be a bit of a pain due to engineering difficulties, wiring trouble, and of course a garage full of paint fumes, but in 3 sleepless nights, the Dalek was finished, just in time for it's debut in Sakuracon.

Day 0
The train ride up was a bitch not because of any particular reason with the railroad or the train itself, but because we had to drag the damn Dalek with us. But the day after was Day 0 and I had alot of work ahead.

I woke up at 6 in the morning with barely any cash for food. Thankfully Serenade had talked to her friend who was staying in another hotel and informed me that particular hotel offered free breakfast to convention staff. A bagel and some orange juice later, and I was raring to go.

I had never been to the Convention Center before, so I did not know what to expect. The place is HUGE. we find the meeting place, and for the next 18 hours, I'd be working like I never did before.

But fortunately what began as grunt work ended with higher purposes, as the manager of our department knew my skills, and put me on setting up panel rooms, and basic EQ in spots that needed it. Thank god...

"Good job guys! Get some rest: we finish tomorrow for two hours."

Not but 10 minutes after going to the hotel, we get a call that everything is absolutely FUBAR. Going in, we found a piece of the crew had bailed on an entire section of Con, leaving us to finish. 2 exhausting hours later, I passed the fuck out when I hit the bed.


Day 1: The Eleventh Doctor

We got in early and worked the extra 2 hours required before we were let go because of what we put in the night before. The con was ours. Not having too many plans other than the BBC character meetup at 8, I wandered the con, looking for as many Doctor Whos as i can, and doing the "Doctor" gag from Spies Like Us, with a British inflection.

The Dalek had suffered  some injuries in transport, so eventually we got it functional except for one problem: We couldn't travel more than 10 feet without someone stopping our friend for a picture and a gaggle of cameras would follow.

The Moi dix Mois Q&A was pretty cool. I had thought I would have had to wait in line with the sea of lolis and general fangirls, but thankfully being staff had it's privileges and I sat not but seven feet in front of Mana: the man himself. I had been a fan for over 10 years, and never thought in my life I would be able to meet the band, or Mana, let alone be able to see a show even if I went to Japan. Needless to say the experience was surreal.

The questions raised ranged from relevant and curious, to just plain silly, but one question had half the croud (including me) wince painfully:

"Is there any chance of a Malice Mizer reunion?"

They answered politely that Yu~ki and Kozi (the bassist and guitarist respectively) will be playing with them in the summer in Japan. This however was obviously not the question asked, as many fans want to see them reunite with Klaha or more popularly, Gackt. This topic is very controversial in fan circles and a ban-worthy topic on fan forums. Thankfully the rest of the session went without incident, and the Q&A was done. I left with a heart rate that probably would have killed a weaker man.

I got a chance to visit the Vendor's hall, and I had multiple nerdgasms as I saw the near square mile of geek swag, games, posters, comics and J-rock fashion, beautiful, beautiful fashion!!!!!

The BBC photo shoot went by nicely, and was a bit strange seeing about 20 of the same character, albeit in different incarnations. It seriously felt like what would happen if two Falcon Punches collided. But again the Dalek was a success, and we ended with a nice dinner in the hotel and some rump rattling beats at the con rave.

NEXT! THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!

Day 2: The Visual-Kei Yaoi Pair and Moi dix Mois.

That morning, I got dressed up throughout the day in stages, as I didn't want to rush getting clothes and makeup on before the show was going to start. Riku, a good friend of ours had stayed the night, and we both dressed up very pretty. Riku was dressed in a white outfit which all were bought from Japan, and I had a black and blue semi-lolita look. While walking the con, we hung on eachother's arms in suggestive poses. We also thought it would be fun to keep silent up until the show, in tribute to the ever silent Mana.

Fast forwarding an uneventful day, we walk to the main event doors and waited a solid half an hour to be let in. Mind you, I was wearing heels, and I had forgotten insoles. I was ready to kill right before the doors opened. Quickly as my limited stride would allow, I grabbed onto the rail in front of the stage, securing my position for the show.

First on stage is Kanon Wakeshima. If you know, she did the opening for Vamipre Knight. Her set was pretty good, the first half being a Darkwave type of music, and the second half being an interesting take on Cabaret. Her cello skills killed, and flooded my ears with emotion. I wasn't familiar with her work, but now She's got me as a fan.

She left and the stage darkened. The Japanese roadies quickly came in, setting up guitars and amps, and even doing a little bit of shredding. In 5 minutes, everything was ready and prepped. The Moi dix Mois icon faded in on the back projections, and the orchestrations swelled into the overall sound.

for an hour and a half, Moi dix Mois tore up the stage in the best show I've seen in years, ranging from "Lamentful Miss", "D+SECT", and even an 8 minute extended version of "Immortal Madness". The croud tightened and all moved as one. I even heard stories of people moshing in back.

So, those who are fans want to know about Mana. He looks great, taking into account he's going to be 40 this year. The guy can still shred, and his bandmates are the coolest in the world.

K (rhythm guitar and screamer) is a fucking riot, and the guy who mostly spoke English throughout the show. His presence was commanding especially in his instruction.

"Take your right hand... ...Place it on your head... D!"
"Now uhh... Lower your hand. *croud lols* Take your left hand... Put it in the air... I! "
"Now cross both your hands... X!"

I walk out, my feet killing me, my makeup worn down, My wig tussled from doing Nathan Explosion-type windmills. Was it a concert I went to, or a strange form of sex?

Day 3: Teardown
Pretty much all I did that day, other than that, this was an experience I'll never forget the rest of my life.

Thanks for reading.