We arrived at the Otakuthon not knowing what to expect. It was our first presence at the Otakuthon, and on my side, I had never even heard the name of it… In Japanese, “otaku” has somewhat of a negative meaning, and it was hard to get past it, to be honest. What would it be like? Would people enjoy music at all, or will they all be about video games and manga and anime?

The room was huge and filled with rows of empty chairs. The stage was empty. The room was really bright. It was clean. It didn’t smell of booze and sweat like other venues, that, as clean as they are, are still impregnated with every emotion that is being lived within their walls. Even backstage was sparkling clean – you didn’t feel bad for sitting on the couch in the artist room. Somehow, it felt kind of strange to be here. Especially the chairs. What would people do sitting on chairs during a concert? That was meant to be no conference at all…!

Sound check went well. Usually, we use up all the time we have for them, and more. But not this time. It just felt right, right away. The team was professional, they knew what they were doing, and they were able to give the guys what they wanted in terms of sound right away. We quickly went backstage, relaxing, eating, and warming up before the show would start, 2 hours later.

And then the show started. The empty seats weren’t empty anymore, filled instead with high excitement and color. The room was finally back alive. People gave this room a soul of its own, bringing in who they were. After a short introduction, the band got on stage. Alex’s first words were to invite people to get up and come to the front of the stage. “And there goes my freedom of movement for pictures”, I thought. Nonetheless, I was happy to see everybody rushing in to the front, the rows in the back probably very happy to have a chance of seeing a little better!

The show lasted 2 hours. I have NEVER seen Alex jump like this on stage, from left to right, back in the middle, and from left to right, and back in the middle again. There was a very special flow of energy that was going on from the stage to the crowd and back again. But I think what I will always remember is when everybody got on stage. There was no band, no crowd no more. Everybody was jumping on the stage – so much it made me afraid it would break down. The last time people actually got on stage in such a fashion was in Tokyo, in 2011.

But I think what will truly remain within me is what Alex said while he was on stage. How important it was to be who we truly are, without fears, without masks. As colorful as we are, sometimes from colors we do not know, or do not want to accept. And in such a conference, I think it was truly befitting. Because what was going on was REAL. As different as people were, everybody was welcoming, and the only thing you could see around were smiles. And this is what was going on at the concert as well. We didn’t want the moment to stop. And I guess that after a 2 hour show, this is why we stayed about just as long talking with the people before going back home, very late at night, or very early on the next morning, depending on your perceptions 😉

We left early in the morning. Once again, the day would be packed. Q&A session, signing session, and then judging at Otakuthon Idol. The Q&A went well. We talked about the creation of the songs for the soundtrack of the game “Dissidia: Final Fantasy”, yes, but mostly about “being real” and true to who you are… I guess that was the keyword for the weekend. We have been gently “kicked out” of the conference room after everything went black, letting us know in a quite radical way our time was over, and that we needed to move to the next event: signing sessions.

We were allowed 1 hour for that autograph session. It took over 2 hours. Once again, we had to be kicked out in order to move away…! It was so much more than only a “signing session” however. The discussions were deep, real, intense. And though I was watching from a distance, taking pictures, I could feel just how real everything was, and how mutual the feelings were.

And then came time for Otakuthon Idol. Jeff – who can’t sing a single note on pitch, and who seems to reinvent what a scale is every time he sings – was to judge. He did good, despite probably being more stressed than all of the contestants…! A whole bunch of talent was there, once again, without a mask, without fear. And it was truly inspiring to see.

We finished the day with the closing ceremonies, where we could see the complete team of volunteers at the Otakuthon! Thank you, to each and every one of you, volunteers and attendees, for making this such a wonderful event. It might have only been our first time, but we do understand how meaningful this has become for everyone, and for us as well.

PS: Here are some of the pictures I took during the autograph session. If you remember me taking one and don’t see it here, don’t hesitate to tell me so I can send it to you 🙂

– Stephanie

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