July 2, 2005

  • From July 1 - 4 is Anime Expo
    weekend (oh, Independence day too), so I planned to do what I've been
    doing these past years, go one afternoon with a "dealer's room only"
    pass. Afterall, I don't even watch the anime shown there, as I'm only
    interested in what is being sold in the dealer's room and taking
    pictures of all the cosplayers (slang for costumed folks). I planned to
    go on the second day, but I was invited by my friend to go with him to see his friend's band called "Random Ninja."

    Even though I was only going to go see the band, I should have brought
    my camera.  Man, there's still a lot of cosplayers on the first
    night! I'll have to make sure to abuse my camera when I go later today.
    Just like it has been the past few years, there seems to be a good
    fifty percent split between guys and girls. Very impressive for a
    convention that's primarily seen as for geeks and nerds, or "Otaku" as
    they are called.

    Random Ninja performed from about 9PM - 10PM. They did a really good
    show too, playing their own stuff (all with Japanese
    vocals) as well as video game and anime cover songs. Their own material
    was nice and varied, mostly in the pop and rock category (with some metal thrown in).  Their
    covers ranged from Ranma, Sailormoon, Evangelion, Super Mario Bros,
    Zelda, and Naruto, Naruto, and Naruto. I know Naruto is a hugely
    popular anime among fans right now, but damn everyone seems to love
    Naruto.

    The singer is a Japanese exchange student who seems a little shy to be
    their lead singer, and primarily stayed behind her keyboard and
    mic.  The bass player is the "head" of the band and does the in
    between bits, and he has some killer bass lines.  They also have
    an additional keyboardist, a Japanese drum guy, and a traditional drum
    guy.  But it's the lead guitarist ("full metal ninja" or something
    like that) that really impressed with his awesome solos.  To top
    it off, they had "performance ninjas" that did their own little shows
    (dances, fights) in front of the stage. All in all, it was a great performance.

    Ofcourse being that this is the Anime Expo, you have a bunch of
    cosplayers dancing around like ravers. With that, I respected these
    Otaku just a bit more.  Even though a lot of them are primarily
    considered outcasts of society, when gathered in an event that was
    designed just for them, they KNOW how to have a good time. No holds
    barred, everybody was enjoying the moment and were hardly ashamed or
    embarassed at all. They weren't socially inept people like the
    stereotype is for nerds and geeks.  They were all "normal" people,
    except that they happen to have a great passion for Anime. Keep it up!