Japan Expo 2014 PART 8 The handshake

*hyperventilation* Okay, just calm down. It’s gonna be fine. Breathe in and breathe out. Like you always do and you’re gonna be oookaay.

Concert or handshake?

Concert and handshake?

Concert or handshake?

Concert and handshake?

Risk the concert or risk the handshake? Decisions, decisions and not much time D:

I asked friends and it seemed that all of them had different opinions on the matter like e.g. “handshake is better”.

Or “standing far away from the front row at the concert is the best”. Or “the first row is the best, are you fucking with me?”.

I decided to play safe and check both lines. First I ran to the handshake line (let me skip losing the NaviGo, finding the NaviGo, losing the JE ticket, finding the JE ticket, missing two RERs  and all the bad karma kicking my ass for the good luck the day before ==).

It was empty. Absolutely NOBODY was there apart from Airi’s lingering smell (the latter part might be my sick imagination). Great, I could be the first one for the handshake.

Or….. I could check the concert line.

Time to find the freaking Live House. I knew it’s gonna be somewhere far far away, over moors and mountains, and pools of lava and woods full of giant spiders but I didn’t expect it to be THAT hard to find. But it was. JE staff (useful as ever) told me I can reach the Live House straight from the Japan Expo hall. I said I was pretty sure I had to go out and around all the halls to find the queue because it’s probably shut by now to prepare for the concert. They said: no, it’s open just follow the correct rabbit…ee… carpet.

I already imagined myself lurking in the shadows of the Live House while girls would have a rehearsal but of course the Live House was closed. (somebody told me it was open not long before that so the JE staff wasn’t so wrong after all). I knew there was long way to go but then I saw one security door open next to the Live House entrance.

Hell yeah. A shortcut. I appeared in the middle of nowhere and felt the wrath of the orange demon (aka the Sun) peeling off my skin.  Soon I met some quite surprised security guards (remember I had my pink wig on. After getting Airi to recognise me the other day I just needed to wear it again at least for the handshake. I just changed a T-shirt into a pink bunny blouse which btw I bought in the kid’s department store ==”).

They showed me the way to the Live House where I met another bunch of amazing/nice/not so nice/neutral people.

For the sake of your naïve view that all people are good (and intelligent) at heart I’ll pass over the rest in silence. Let’s just say we all became friends in the end. Or at least stopped ripping our throats out which in my dictionary is as close to “friends” as it gets.

RainbowSeven (H!O user), who falls into the “amazing ppl” group, prepared the queue tickets and after me waiting in the scorching sun for some hours gave me one with a blessing to go to the handshake and come back to my place.

Of course that would depend on the kindness of ppl around me to allow that. The person in front of me said “fuck you” (sorry, this one negative thing must have slipped) but some people behind me said “No problemo”. One of them was a Japanese guy. I kinda met A WHOLE LOT OF nice Japanese Guys.

Hostel Japanese Guy aka The Japanese Guy Who Got Airi To Sign a Book For Me

Queue Japanese Guy aka Dashuu- san (I’ll explain later)

I ran for the JE expo and found out that without my brilliant shortcut it took me about 20 minutes to go back to the handshake line.

Did I say line? I meant a fucking spiral! ARGH! The stupidity of ppl! They literally made a turn in the line so it started to spiral inwardly resulting in much confusion. Thanks JE staff for not helping. I know you were busy not helping  the concert line. *thumbs up*

But on the bright side I met Chobineko again and about a dozen of new people I might not be able to name.

Firstly I met Julia from Netherlands who I knew from H!O and Facebook (one of people I actually could recognise without asking for a name, thanks God). I met MimiChama from Germany who I saw the day before but never had the chance to talk to). She was preparing a gift for Maasa so thanks to her I could at least write a birthday message 😀 Then I met two great girls from Finnland. We had a nice chat and finally I regained some faith in humanity after meeting the not so nice people in the queue. We even exchanged some candy. I got a Moomin gum which tasted fruity and sweet just like real Moomins would. I think I did the Airi Oishii ~~~~~face. I’m not sure :]

The handshake was about to start in less than an hour and I still felt utterly unprepared for it. I don’t know how it happened but I wasn’t able to form the words I’d like to say to the girls. The language barrier was huge. There wouldn’t be enough time plus I found a somewhat sad truth. I didn’t have much to say to many of them :((

My sister’s friend who speaks Japanese really well taught me some phrases. I’ve written them down but I only had like three of them and much too many idols to speak to D:

Stress kicked in again and my mind was blank.

The line was getting all confused more and more. People were butting in but I really think that most of them just couldn’t find the end of the line which by now was eating its own ass.

I decided to butt in as well because there was no use pretending there’s a line anymore. I mingled with Julia hoping nobody would kick me out which they didn’t.

And then my good karma came back to me. By total accident another amazing representative from Japan was standing right behind me. This time it was a Japanese Girl who I will now call a MaiMaiFan because dear God how she loved MaiMai. I might start thinking that all Japanese people are just pure amazing from now on. Or maybe just wotas? But I digress.

She spoke perfect English and tried to calm me down because I was seriously on the brink of falling off my trolley.

The handshake wasn’t such a big deal for her and she promised to translate for me whatever I’d want. That was so generous of her. But I knew that it wouldn’t work for the handshake. I wanted to say the words and get the immediate reaction. The translator would delay the process. I practiced my phrases with her and decided to stick to them. She said she would say whatever I’d forget to say.

Can you imagine what she did next?

She gave me an extra handshake ticket.

I’ll let you ponder on that for a minute.

I didn’t have the money to buy Airi’s goods that would make me feel more like other fans in the venue beside the towel.

I didn’t have the money to buy multiple CDs to get more handshake tickets.

(I apologise to all the ppl who didn’t have the money to go to France, to meet the girls, to get the premium ticket because it’s unfair to feel bad about myself while I was VERY privileged. It’s just during JE I didn’t feel this way.)

I cried again. And I cried some more. Hell, I’m crying right now. I don’t think that anybody gave me a more amazing gift. Out of the whole JE experience handshake was the most valuable one. And this amazing woman doubled it for me like it was nothing. I felt this emotional the moment I was given the first gift, the Airi’s photo. Those two gifts cannot be compared but somehow they felt similar.

The surprise, the shock, the stress, the happiness, the confusion – all of them contributed to the fact that when the girls arrived and the line started moving I was a total mess. I consider myself a rational human being but those minutes before the handshake I almost went crazy. I was THIS close to jumping up and down, laughing and screaming and rolling on the floor with saliva dripping down my chin.

At the same time I was paralysed by fear because my mind became a sheet of totally blank paper. The Japanese phrases, the preparation, the message I wanted to convey disappeared.

I thought about a great handshake tutorial I once read (http://www.jicchan.com/?p=386 ) <=== AWESOME

The most relevant things for me were: 1. calm down and stop crying, it’s impolite for the girls to see you like that 2.talk about yourself  3. mention something they said on a blog

And magically I did calm down. I was just a couple of people before the girls would hold my hands and my mind started working again. I count it as another miracle of that day. And there were still many to come.

One of them is that a bit behind me in the queue were Morningtime (<===check out his great blog!) with his lovely wife MTSayuRin. They didn’t know it was me while they were filming and taking photos of the girls. Guess who was in those photos as well? This was just too much of a coincidence to not call it a MIRACLE. (I’ll include the photos but not all of them are from Morningtime. Just the best ones :D)

HANDSHAKE EVENT ROUND 1

(all in Japanese, very very simple Japanese mind you)

Me to SAKI: I really liked you in Koi no Jubaku.

SAKI: *surprised face*Oh! Do you like it? (I think she meant the song)

Me to SAKI: Yes!

 Saki was taller than I expected and very gentle. Her hand was soft and she was smiling in a very girly way. She wasn’t forcing anything. Just being herself I think. I really enjoyed her surprised face. It was  a mixture of genuine and idol-like. Plus the hairstyle really suits her I think. It was flawless.)

(partially Japanese, partially English because the MaiMaiFan said Momo would appreciate the English part)

Me to MOMOKO: I like you, yurushite nyan. *cutesy sad face*

MOMOKO:*a bunch of strange faces*

I’m not sure she DID understand me. Her reaction was great but confusing. Like I said something between “I hate you, forgive meow” and “There’s spinach between your teeth, forgive meow”. Just look at her. What the hell was that about? Notice how Saki is smiling at me aaaahh *melting*

(in Japanese)

Me to CHINAMI: By the way, do your best at the concert!

I aimed at a pun. A poor pun really. Chinami ni – means by the way. I don’t think she understood it 😀 I said it really slow, putting much emphasis on the “ni” part. I think she didn’t expect it from a foreigner.

I never thought that Chinami is pretty and looking close I just reassured myself that she truly isn’t XD Yeah, it’s a nasty thing to say but I don’t consider myself to be a beauty either 😀 She was smiling kindly and had a moderate handshake grip. God, holding their hands was a strange experience. I didn’t really want to do it because it felt really unnatural. How many times do you talk this close with somebody’s hand in your hand? But it created the connection and I felt the idol in front of me was all eyes and ears and it felt nice. She did a nice *I understand*  face which I aimed for really.  I was soo happy 😀 She even waved a little at me. Watching the video I noticed that Saki was still staring at me 😀 🙂

 

(in English)

Me to MAASA: Happy Birthday!

Maasa acted just like I thought she would. She was nice but not overly cutesy or hyper. A bit businesslike if you prefer 🙂 They said she was sick that day but I haven’t noticed that. Her grip was normal. I don’t know why but I expected a bone-crashing grip of death *shrugs*. She thanked me for wishing her happy birthday. I know that was kinda lame to say but hey, I knew I’d say something more creative next round 😀

(in Japanese)

Me to YURINA: Yurina! Green Giant is amazing!

Why did nobody tell me it’s a bad idea? >< Okay, she clearly forgave me since I’m a foreigner/wota/in shock apparently 😀 She was super tall and super nice. They all looked so tall to me and looking at the photos/videos I think that’s because I was bending so much. The natural reaction to idols I guess 😀 She had a nice smile but her facial expressions weren’t as nice as other girls’. I think she was intimidated by us or a bit tired. Both most probably. I know she can do so much better. I had a great moment with her during the concert but handshake was plain and simple. Smile, handshake, go.

(in Japanese)

Me to MIYABI: Miyabi! Please do the Miyabeam during the concert!

MIYABI: *does the Miyabeam* Okay!

I was shaking by then that’s perhaps why I yelled her own name at her. ==’ My face which I’m glad you can’t see there but it was something like that:

Again the same energy as from Yurina. Smiling but not putting much energy to it. I don’t say it in a bad way. She just seemed a bit distanced. I liked her hairstyle but up close she doesn’t look any more appealing.

(in Japanese)

Me to RISAKO: Risako! (what’s with the name again == my mind was on overdrive) I’m Polish./I’m an English teacher. (whichever it was at that round. I could say “thank you and I like xxx” but I also wanted to say something about myself.)

RISAKO: *nods politely and smiles*

I yelled Risako at her with a different emotion than to Miyabi. You know that our *cough* relationship is  a bit shaky but because of that I feel close to her. I just got this feeling when she looked at me “THIS is the Risako, the ONE I mentioned so many times, the one I dedicated a video to”. She really is very pretty. But boy oh boy how not interested she looked. She was even more bussiness-like than Yurina, Maasa and Miyabi all combined. Really, she was silent. I don’t even remember if she acted surprised to any of what I said. Her grip was also the weakest of them all. Like she was scared to touch us. Am I the only one feeling that?

(in Japanese)

ME to MAIMI: *pointing to myself* I’m Polish. (this time I’m pretty sure I said it)

Okay, maybe it’s because Risako was so laid-back immediately before but Maimi was super right into your face involved. Her grin was making ME feel nervous but at the same time soo happy.  I regretted not being her fan because interactions with her are extremely rewarding. First thing is that she moves really close to your face and pulls your hand to her. Suddenly I was VERY close to MAIMI’s face and I felt tiny. Her face was like: “NO FUCKING WAY?! POLISH?! THIS IS MADNESS” and I loved for that great reaction. I don’t know if she has any idea where “Poorando” is but hell I hope she understood it’s a country XD

Another great thing is that the amazing JapaneseMaiMaiFan after me clearly said something to Maimi about me. Once I know I’ll tell you but it seems she tried to explain where Poland is XD

Now I’m super curious 😀

Me to NAKKY: Was the pole dancing difficult? (slowly because this phrase was longish for me)

NAKKY: *painful face* Really dificult. *big smile*

I was really glad that I asked that. I’ve read their blog before going to France and both Nakky and MaiMai talked how hard it was to hear negative feedback about the pole dancing. My opinion on the matter was “you’ve crossed the line a bit but I really enjoyed watching it and I think you did a great job”. I wouldn’t say that to them. But I wanted them to have the support even in France. I think she was surprised to hear me speak about it. She responded to me with actual WORDS (only Saki did that too) not just facial expression. Those were great too. I was happy for the reaction.

I don’t have the video to show the array of great emotions that passed her face but there’s something else. You can see how Airi was already observing our conversation and reacting to it! I haven’t seen that back then focused on Nakky but re-watching the video makes me notice more things. Just look at Airi.

 

She’s a pro at this. She could have just looked around and sigh but she actually got involved.

I knew that Airi will be next and it felt like a dream. There was just everything I wanted to tell her.

my phone number, shoe size, her perfect eyes and lovely teeth, my love for her, the weather outside, that I’d lick her face anytime etc.

Well, I couldn’t do that but I blurted out what I wanted to say the most.

(in Japanese)

Me to Airi: Thank you for your autograph from yesterday. (I’m Polish.  – I’m not sure I managed to say that real quick. )

Airi, sweet Airi. The look on your face was recognition. It had to be. I think you remembered me from the day before. I really hope you did.

She was so happy and energetic and sincere. There are no words to describe it. There’s this special aura about her. My dreams came true that moment. I was full of emotions by the time my hand touched hers. She had a delicate brittle hand. Her smile was big and toothy. I think I fell in love  with her even more. I wish I could remember every second, every word I said but the fact I spoke was a miracle on its own.

(in Japanese)

Me to CHISATO: Bokura no Kagayaki is great!

CHISATO: *smiling* Thank you!

I apologise for the quality of the caps from now on. They’re not from Morningtime that’s why they’re so shitty 😀 Chisato was smiling brightly. I haven’t noticed anything special about her. Her voice is powerful and I rank her quite high in my personal favourites.

(in Japanese)

Me to MAIMAI: I’m Polish!

MAIMAI: *confused smile*

I was rushed through her unfortunately so I think she might not heard me properly. I felt bad for her because there weren’t many MaiMai fans in France. The year before there were a lot of MaiMai shouts during the concert but this year perhaps because of Berryz Koubou I felt that they were left out. The same for the Captain. She’s a pretty up close even more than in PVs.

It was the end of round one for me. I felt utter bliss. Like running the marathon. I looked around and saw ppl crying, flush and as happy as I felt. The feeling of belonging no matter the amount of merchandise you own was amazing. For a split of a second I thought to myself: I told them everything I wanted to say so maybe it’s better to give away this second handshake opportunity? Yeah, it was a silly thought. I looked at the girls  and the thought evaporated. I want to see them up close one more time!

By the time JE staff decided to organize the queue (FINAlly!). You won’t guess who was right in front of me. Yep, the Queue Japanese Guy. Hell yes. Now I had another person to help me with any translation plus we could run to the Live House together. Unfortunately his English was non-existent. the nice girl behind me knew some basic Japanese phrases so with many gestures and silly faces we managed to communicate.

(if you know Japanese pls forgive me. I write the conversation here just for the lolz :)))

ME: Laivu Haus doko doko? *hand to forehead and look around*

That was so funny XD He nodded and said a string of Japanese phrases I understood as yes, I know where it is

ME: *running motion* Ishonii? *pointing to him and me*

He looked at me really confused.

ME: Run? *running motion but more exaggerated this time*

QUEUE JAPANESE GUY: Oh. Dashuu? *running really fast motion*

I didn’t understand him because really, if you don’t know the word “run” in English how come do you know “dash”?! But then I thought that’s because of the “R” in “Run” and  we laughed together. He pronounced “DASHUU” in such a funny way. So he became Dashuu-san in my mind 😀 I tried to ask him for more translations. I wanted to say to the girls to do more tap dancing during concerts (you can already imagine how I tried to communicate TAP DANCING to Dashuu-san). He told me some phrases but there was no time to say them as the queue was moving really fast and I decided to stick to the ones I already knew.

HANDSHAKE EVENT ROUND 2

(the honourable mentions only. It all boiled down to basically switching between I’m Polish. / I’m an English teacher. / Do your best during the concert. for SAKI, YURINA, MAASA, MAIMI, MIYABI, RISAKO, NAKKY. I received the appropriate smile/surprise/thank you so much for coming)

(all in Japanese this time)

Me to MOMOKO: I’m a preschool teacher. (I wanted to say that to her because I knew she had the papers to teach in preschool as well. I teach in preschool but not only there but that’s the quickest I could say it 🙂

MOMOKO: *surprised face and a smile*

Me to CHINAMI: I’m a preschool teacher. (I don’t know why I repeated myself >< but I got a similar reaction to Momoko’s)

Again, I knew Airi was close. The special moment. The last occasion to be this close to her. I think I finished my interaction with Maimi as soon as I could and rushed into words.

(in Japanese)

Me to AIRI THE GODDESS: I’m your fan. I’m Polish. I’m an English teacher. Please sing Wakkyanai (Z) more.

(I’m not sure how many of those I managed to blurt out because Airi interrupted me. I got a feeling she was half listening to me politely but wanted to say something to me.

(in ENGLISH Goddamit, in the purest English accent ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

AIRI to me: What’s your name?

sdjipfo9ijr golkfdbn n ,xvkasfae iopr peopdc,;xdc,gkofr…………………………………..

I’m gonna cherish those words forever. It’s not “I love you”, “Please, visit me at my hotel at midnight” or “Come with me to Japan, beautiful foreigner” or even “We’ll come to Poland next year” but it was a CONNECTION. A CONNECTION she initiated! It may be normal for her to ask fans for their name. Is it? Does she do it all the time? I’m not sure. For me it was the greatest thing ever. I can’t find a good picture to represent how my face looked like but I think I was crying.

A person behind me from JE staff was already pushing me to Chisato but I was still holding Airi’s hand.

Me to AIRI THE PERFECT IN EVERY WAY: Nyuchandesu!

I know it means “My name is Nyu” but it represents much more to me; my twitter account, my blog and this part of me who is a total Airi lover. I said the words in my cutest voice along with a slight tilt of the head and Airi smiled brilliantly at me.

*sigh* that was pure WIN.

I managed to say to MaiMai that her pole dancing was great and she understood this time which I appreciated. She was slightly surprised but not as much as Nakky was the first time. Still, it felt nice to finally get the message accross.

It was the time to DASHUU indeed. Concert, here I go!

nyuchandesu

Japan Expo 2014 Part 7 second signing (Airi-ME contact achieved)

Sheesh, this report is getting longer and longer 🙂 It turned out to be quite a diary but it’s very important for me to remember every moment.

After the conference I decided to watch the girls during the second signing session. I couldn’t attend it but was still surprised to see that I could stand really close to the queue. We exchanged lots of waves and smiles mostly with Airi who was very generous and some with other C-ute members. Airi was by far the most expressive one with her famous playful facial expressions. There are tons of photos online.

I ran for my sister to come and look at my idols live and when she came she was as shocked that it was soo incredibly easy to see them up close! I’m not sure that even if I went to Japan I’d have the same opportunity.

Time during the second signing was spend trying to encourage any of the members to wave back. They did that a lot but you never knew if that particlar wave/hearts sign/peace sign was directed at you and not at all the other eager people around you. I was somewhat shy to scream too loud and I found my voice too weak even if I tried. I noticed how a guy standing not far away from me had this strong booming voice. I immediately thought: “Good job!”. He started some chanting and managed to get the girls attention which was really good. I learnt that day the famous Berryz ikube! C-ute saikou! Chinami and Momo took photos of us all and I want to see them so much 😀

Many fans gathered around and I had the chance to give out more candy. I received many gifts. If one small photo of Airi made me cry I probably should have died of heart attack that instant because of the things I got from other fans (one of them was Airi’s PB/beauty book or whatever that was didn’tmatterhadAiriandwasperfect). It was UNREAL. It was like being on constant high. Like being washed off the shore by a great wave of idols. Receiving so much merchendise made me feel really bad about not owning any (I guess that’s how the whole “giveaway” works, amirite? You give some and the person feels obliged to buy some :D). I went to the NoLife booth and bought myself the greatest of them all (because paid with my own money) Suzuki Airi towel. I value it so much. Nobody would ask me about my oshimen. They would know and it felt really nice.

When I came back I noticed somebody in the crowd that I knew. A Japanese guy from my hostel who I knew would attend the concert. He was a MaiMai fan. And he won the drawing! I couldn’t believe my luck! I ran up to him and thought that it was my moment. I could ask him to get Airi’s autograph! He was sincerely surprised that a person can have many items signed. He didn’t even expect to have a CD signed by more than one member! When I told him the news he and his friends almost cried. JE you’re confusing == He agreed to take Airi’s PB and I stood close to the signing place so I could see Airi sign the book for me. About halfway through an idea struck and I almost did a major facepalm in front of everybody. I signaled for my friend (jeez, I still don’t know his name. His English was okay but we didn’t have an popportunity to exchange names) and managed to run up to him and quickly pass my request.

I asked him to tell Airi to write my name and tell her that a girls in a pink wig is her big fan. I was to stand in one place and hopefully exchange a nice wave or two. God I was so nervous it wouldn’t work.

I waited for him to approach the girls. Some reporter stood in front of me and Airi wouldn’t be able to spot me D: I was close to throwing my phone at him. Luckily (srsly, the amount of sheer luck I had that day was MONUMENTAL), the guy moved away just in time my Japanese friend started to get his CD signed by Berryz girls. When he walked up to Airi I felt like my whole body was sweating. I could here anything but after his words Airi did a series of cute sad faces and clearly declined something (later I learnt that she couldn’t write anybody’s name so she drew a heart next to her autograph as she explained). She did her signature and then listened to what my friend told her.

She looked me straight in the eye and I think the Earth stopped revolving. South became North, icebergs melted and polar bears started dancing Macarena. My mind became a big bucket of pink fluff. Airi did some cute signs with her hand in quick succession and my mind later registared that she was repeating my signs (mostly a heart sign and “ok” to a cheek) plus some waves. I think I cried. I think my eyeballs started sweating. The friend passed me the signed PB and I put it next to my heart with the cover visible to Airi.

When the signing ended and the girls started to say their mute goodbyes to us I showed Airi the signed book and bowed mouthing Arigato with tears in my eyes. She nodded and smiled at me.

The contact was achieved. The one I never dreamt of achieving. And it wasn’t even the handshake!

Here are the photos of goods I received from the nicest people I’ve ever met.

 

And some special photos of Airi’s book. Every picture inside is just perfect.

nyuchandesu

Japan Expo 2014 PART 6 The conference

The day started with choosing the outfit. I opted for a short  black skirt, my Team Berikyuu T-shirt and a pink wig I decided to decorate with cat’s ears headband and a cherry pin. From the lobby of my hostel I managed to send a message on Hello!Online about my outfit so ppl would recognise me. I packed my Polish candy and was ready to go.

                                                                                  The secret ingredient is COCAINE .

Okay, just vodka. What did you expect from Polish candy anyway?! :>

Again, from the very early morning I harrassed the JE staff for information, although I already knew everything but I was just so stressed and giddy.  I harrassed the official JE booth the most since they had the H!P staff so eventually they gave me my goodie bag that comes with a premium concert ticket way earlier than they announced. Well, asking for it like 100 times helped a bit 😀 The goodie bag consisted of a poster, album and a black T-shirt (the same girls wore that day). I oggled those items in my booth waiting for JE to open. I looked at the tracklist of the album and was happy that Yurushite Nyan was there and slightly sad that my song “Berryz Kamen” wasn’t. Still I was satisfied with the choice.

When the time for first premium JE ticket holders to enter the expo came, I went to the signing place and felt immediately taken back. I didn’t know any of those ppl! Did I really expect them to yell ” Hi, nyuchan!” ? The wota family is big and I only knew some of them online. I wandered around the queue willing myself to be brave and just talk to any of those ppl. They had merchendise all over them. I admired the T-shirts, the towels and felt really out of place. Then I noticed a Kappa costume and recognised chobineko.  I knew how she looked from her website photos and Youtube channel and of course from the previous H!P concerts in France 🙂 She was in the line for the first-come-first-serve signing and I felt like a total stalker waiting for her. I jumped at her when she finished and my heart was racing (not in a perverted way but pretty close :D). She turned out to be as sweet and kind as I thought she would be and then some more. And boy was she excited! I gave her my secret Polish candy and helped her to find the official JE boutique so she could take her goodie bag. I was surprised how excited and stressed she was. Next to her enthusiasm I felt relatively calm and composed 😀

And then she did something that I would never expect. She offered to take my poster to the signing.

I was speechless. 1. I didn’t know that a person can take more than one item to the signing. 2. I didn’t know that anybody would be willing to do it for a person they didn’t even know too well

I think I fell in love with this bundle of energy and sweetness that is Angelique that instant. It was the first nice thing any fan did to me and that was just the beginning.

She asked which member’s sign would I want and I knew that Airi is of course her favourite so I said it didn’t even matter. Of course I have my favourite in both groups but all of them are precious to me in their own way. That’s why I wrote Team Berikyuu not Team C-ute or Team Berryz Koubou on my T-shirt. She promised to get Maasa’s and Chinami’s signs and give me the poster at the conference. I showed her my booth and we parted. I went to queue for the conference. I expected hundreds of people already there but I was the only one. A conference for some anime already started so I was standing at the railing when some fans came. One of them was Japanese and the other French that spoke English well. The man was Ethaneal Natsugaya.

He made sure with the JE staff (happy to talk to a French speaking person :D) that we’re standing in the right place. The security prepared the line for the conference so we were the first ppl. Of course the first in the line for ordinary ppl without the JE premium tickets/Press/VIP. We talked a lot but mostly I listened to his stories :)) He’s been to Japan and apparently was a hardcore Risako lover (I felt bad about bashing her so much on my blog but shh… 😉 He volunteered to translate the conference if I sat next to him (which I vowed to do no matter what). New fans came and more people returned from the signing session I kinda felt sorry for skipping. I couldn’t do both.And then another small miracle happened which made me believe in the unity of wota family. Some random guy that I’ve never seen before asked about my favourite member ( I neeply regretted not having any Suzuki Airi merch on me) and gave me this:

He gave out other pictures to different people around me but I was the only one that started crying (that was just the beginning of the pattern of me crying all of the sudden ==). Ethan translated to this guy how much this small gesture meant to me. I had chobineko signing my poster and this nice man giving me Airi’s photo. I couldn’t believe how blessed I was. Yeah, laugh go on. Because it doesn’t really mean anything, right? It’s just one picture. But for me it was huge.

Later, JE staff came up to us with pieces of paper to write questions for the girls to ask them during the concert. I asked Ethan to translate for me two: Was pole dancing difficult? (I knew it was but I wanted them to talk a bit about it) And if they would like to do more tap dancing during concerts.

Premium tickets already sat in the very centre so we decided for the right side which was closer to stage. Chobineko came and sat in the centre so I went to her and got my poster back. The right side was the Berryz Koubou corner but I just wanted to be close to my new friends and understand the conference. I was the only Airi fan on this side and slowly I began to be Team C-ute more than Team Berryz Koubou. Another guy came up and talked a bit with Ethan and gave me those awesome stickers.

I had no time to cry again and express my happiness properly because soon the girls came and I was too busy screaming. Ethan managed to sneak a red penlight in my hand (me supporting Risako, the world is ending XD).

Seeing the girls was surreal. It was everything I imagined and it shocked me. They were there in front of me, without the glass screen looking like normal human beings with legs, eyes and facial expressions. They reacted to the crowd with waving and smiled at us. I know how it sounds. Of course they’re human beings! >< But it’s so easy to forget about it when you just watch the PVs. I don’t know how to explain it. I felt obliged to show them how much I love them and how I longed for this moment. And I think they received the message because the conference hall was loud with our screams and our faces were sore from the constant beaming.

The girls walked on stage and…. sat the other way round! So I had C-ute in front of me! Hehe, the Berryz Fans around me screamed for them to change places but Momo saved the day by swapping the signs. I was so glad ❤ I wasn’t in the centre so I got Chisato and Nakky straight in front of me.

I won’t re-tell the conference because many ppl already did that and you can read the translations but I can tell you what I noticed:

– poor Nakky fell off the bar stool many times before she decided she could just lean on it. Later Chissa did the same and both had some whispering conversations clearly concerning those stools XD They were clearly uncomfortable

– Nakky and MaiMai looked scared of us. Okay, we did look mighty obsessed and fanatical but they definitely have seen some weird shit fans in Japan as well (even weirder I’m pretty sure). Was it the racial/cultural difference? Or were they just nervous and shy? They never look shy and nervous in Japanese lives so I was surprised.

– Momo stood out the most. Just as I expected her to be she was the usual over the top/helium addict we love to hate. She made us do the Yurushite Nyan which we all did with great delight. She also made us do the horse which wasn’t as nice. Of course we all did it enthusiastically but inside a part of my soul died just a bit. Is there a video of us doing it? Please, God no! >o<

– (don’t take this one too seriously 🙂 Maimi was smiling really brightly and out of the C-ute girls I think she tried her hardest. It’s just my subjective opinion but I think she wanted to express “Please, like me”.  Other girls were more like: “I appreciate your support” (Airi was the best example of that) “It’s fun! Unicorns fly and rainbows taste like cotton candy” (Momochii of course), “I’m the Queen and you’re my peasants” (Miya and Risako) or “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE” (MaiMai, Nakky, Chissa, Yurina, Maasa ….) Maimi had a completely different vibe.

– questions were BORING and PREDICTABLE. I’m sure there were better ones out there. What’s Risako’s favourite colour?! WHAT THE HELL? The beatbox was nice at least. I would like some acapella to it as well.

– some girls had problems answering the questions. Especially MaiMai was often out of words and other girls had to help her. It was imperfect but showed another side to my favourite idols so I felt happy 🙂

– I don’t know how Chinami’s special glowstick move (THE BARREL :D) originated but doing the move just for her was fun

When the conference ended and the girls left the stage I felt totally spent. I looked around and wondered how the girls would leave the hall for the second signing session. I noticed some space on the right which was separated from the hall yet had some holes in it and I noticed the girls there. I wasn’t the only one and we all ran there. The girls were soo close and we exchanged waves and smiles 😀 We sang an early Happy Birtday for Maasa in French and I think she said Merci or I love you in French 🙂 I even shared a special moment with Chinami who did a strange semi wave like the ones models do at pageants or Queen Elisabeth. I parroted the wave with a silly face and she laughed. This was amazing!

Thinking back about it it must have been hard for them. They were chased, screamed at while expected to maintain eye contact and exchange gestures/signs with their fans. I would be terrified :O Especially after the AKB48 incident when some psycho attacked the girls at the handshake.

Woah, the emotions were high and the drawing signing session didn’t even start.

nyuchandesu

Japan Expo 2014 PART 5 The 1st of July

I’ll try to be consise because nobody wants to know about the day before the important day 🙂 But bear with me. I deeply apologise any French ppl here or anybody with a strong opinion about this country because I’m soo skipping any sightseeing I did that day.

It was great, France is very nice, my hostel was great, Paris at night is so pretty etc.

That’s all.

The day before the expo starts, exhibitors can enter and set up their stalls. I was giddy just thinking about seeing any Berikyuu posters. I slowly changed from a sister/friend the people I went with knew, to the Nyuchandesu I am deep down.  In practice it all boiled down to me spazzing around, squealling and screaming like a crazy person randomly.

The empty hall of Japan Expo was a really nice sight to see but I just looked for one thing only. And I found it.

Trying to look normal. Just conceal the excitement….

…. screw that! ~    enftiogjmtlbv,d;fk4iefncdmdmdm droool :D~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wandered around I talked to any Japan Expo staff I could find to know everything about the following Berikyuu events. That I got a cold shoulder is a tiny bit understatement. I mean they were VERY helpful and nice but overall acted like it was so strange to be into a group this hard.

For example I talked with some staff members from the signing systems to make sure that as an exhibitor I can’t attend a signing. It took half an hour and many phone calls to tell me that I could only attend the drawing session with the Japan Expo ticked I would have to buy just to be a part of the drawing.

The man I talked with looked at me and said:

Is it really that important to you? *doubtful look*

I wanted to scream : Yes it’s THAT important! It’s more important that you could even imagine but am I really the only obsessed person you’ve met working for Japan Expo for two years? Seriously? No weird looking people? Are you blind?!

And it wasn’t just this guy. I talked to many staff members that day and the following day just before the Japan Expo started. I asked various complicated questions and made sure I understood everything. I probably made them sweat and cry just a bit 🙂 I really forced them to step up with their English.

And I can’t stress it more. They were extremely nice (yet not always informed) and always trying to give me all the info I wanted even if that meant using silly preschool gestures for queueing which was hilarious.

I learnt the basic French phrases to be polite to them before jumping straight to English so don’t judge me.

But most of them reacted to me the same way.

Is it really that important to you? – kept on reapeating itself and made me doubt myself. Is it really “normal” that this is extremely important to me?

It was the day before I met any fan mind you so I only had the Japanese wotas picture in my head and nothing else to compare it to in real life. Would people be more reasonable/laid back about Berikyuu? Less panicky and eager than me? Not very likely but the staff’s reaction stuck to my head.

I took pictures of empty halls.

I wished I had internet connection to post it to people not knowing where to go during Expo 😦

To sum up what I gathered.

– the halls are huge but not as huge as I thought they would be after listening to my sister’s rambling from previous years

– going to the conference before the Berikyuu conference to get the best seats was not an option because for the “vidage” all people need to get out (you can imagine how hard it was for the security guards and the JE staff to explain the whole “vidage” rules with broken English 😀

– the stage for the conference as well as the signing place weren’t far away from my sister’s booth which was very convenient

-being a wota means putting up with non-wotas laughing at you

I need my strenght for the following day.

nyuchandesu

Japan Expo 2014 PART 4 before the flight to Paris

Waiting for the day of my flight to Paris was like crawling through desert towards a fridge full of icy cold water and some Airi photobooks. Difficult.
The closer I got to the date the more panicked I felt. I planned the day since I first saw them on YouTube (which btw was Sakura Mankai by Momusu and Rock n’ Roll Kenchoushozaichi ~Oboechaina Series!~ by MiniMoni). I wanted to be the hardcore wota but the reality hit me hard. And the name of the reality was MONEYZ$. T-shirts, towels, Kingblades, wristbands, posters – all the good stuff that I would love to just put on myself to express how much of a fan I am at heart (but I learnt that it’s not the only way). There was no way I would afford any of that. I was so happy that at least I could meet them.
I had to improvise. Airi’s colour is pink so I bought anything pink to wear I could get. I’ve written Team Berikyuu on a T-shirt and decided on borrowing my sister’s pink wig (which as it turned out later was a brilliant idea).
Another step was learning the chants and discovering all the songs that I might have missed out like B-sides or any album songs. I didn’t want to be surprised by any song. I put everything I could find on my mp3player on a constant loop. I was ready to force myself to listen to them even if I didn’t like them but I surprised myself. I loved them all! I haven’t been listening to either C-ute or Berryz Koubou recently. But the songs were really good!Especially Yuuwaku no Kyuujitsu by C-ute and I’m so cool by Berryz Koubou.
I imagined the last week to be all about preparing myself but it was so hectic thanks to my job, my friends, my flatmates and family. I had nightmares and trouble falling asleep. Every second of every day was filled with thoughts like:
What if I miss the flight?
What if they change the venue and I won’t know about it?
What if I’ll meet them and just freeze speechless?
What if I won’t be accepted by the fans?
But there was no time to think it over because of all the other build-up stress.
The saddest thing was that nobody really understood what I went through.
I talked with some of my friends about the concert but how much can you really say without being riddiculed?
The usual was:
There’s this group I really REALLY like and thought that I’d never ever see them live because they’re from Japan but this year they’ll perform in France and it’s as close as it gets.
I had different reactions. The most predictable was a polite “Good for you COUGH weirdo COUGH” but one of my collegues (now I don’t think that “friend” suits her best) frowned when I showed her the video and said that the girls look way too young and that I might not be a pedo but definitely support them in this way.
Can you hear it? Yes, it’s the sound of my jaw hitting the floor.
That’s perhaps why I cried myself to sleep during those days and hoping that I’ll meet peaple who feel the same I do. The people who understand what it means.
Buckle up my dear readers because it’s gonna be a very emotional report from now on. Nothing you would have expected from your old/snarky/pervy/Nyuchandesu you know.

nyuchandesu