Yoshiki

[rockmanpet]

depressing I missed out on his panel and autograph session.

I missed his concerts due to scheduling conflicts (I was out of state) and then he was announced semi last minute after I passed on Fanime for work.
Heard it was a pretty good panel and a few things were announced....still sad

his show on Sirius was pretty good too

[Mango Bunny]

I loved this event! There were some problems...

Why did Press get to take up the first two rows when some girls had been waiting 10 hours or so just to secure those spots? They ended up in the third row! I thought that was somewhat disrespectful to the fans.

I understand that the autographs were limited, and I am so grateful to Yoshiki for staying as long as he could, even while not feeling so hot, but rock paper scissors made it really hard to handle. It put people in the position of.... if you're honest you lose, if you're dishonest you win. I didn't get an autograph because I was honest, while some people who weren't upfront about it got to get the autograph, which I would have killed for. I love this man. I'd been waiting since I was 13 years old to get to see him! So yes, I would have DIED for an autograph, but out of personal respect to Yoshiki I opted to not be a jerk about it, while others were lying about their win and got rewarded.

It also destroys me knowing some of those people didn't have anything they even wanted signed or even knew who he was.

But all that aside, it was wonderful. Yoshiki's efforts to make us a video with the Buddha footage  were wonderful and appreciated. He was so nice to come.

I really, truly appreciate everyone who made this happen, especially Yoshiki himself. It was wonderful and memorable and I can't say enough about it.

We just need to ask Yoshiki back next year so I can ask him a question and get an autograph. I'll gladly wait another day in line!!

As he said "Well, it isn't that far."

[LordKefka]

Why did Press get to take up the first two rows when some girls had been waiting 10 hours or so just to secure those spots? They ended up in the third row! I thought that was somewhat disrespectful to the fans.

As he said "Well, it isn't that far."

It's like that everywhere with Press with every anime convention. There weren't many of us there either and definitely we didn't fill up the second row (let alone the first row) because MOST of the people behind me and a good amount next to me where fans ( on the left side). Not sure on the right though.

And with people in the autograph line having something signed when they aren't even a fan. If you think about it if there were people in front of you who you claim " don't know who he is or have stuff they didn't even want signed", then why were you behind them? Shouldn't you be in front of them if you were a "bigger" fan who was there earlier in the autograph line? And even if people were lined up before his panel was over to get his autograph if you wanted his autograph that bad, shouldn't you have left the panel a little bit earlier to stand in the autograph line? My friends were very close to the front of the line and they were in the panel with me till the very end. They didn't have any trouble getting an autograph from him. I'm not sure what happened but it doesn't seem to make sense though.

[Mango Bunny]

Why did Press get to take up the first two rows when some girls had been waiting 10 hours or so just to secure those spots? They ended up in the third row! I thought that was somewhat disrespectful to the fans.

As he said "Well, it isn't that far."

It's like that everywhere with Press with every anime convention. There weren't many of us there either and definitely we didn't fill up the second row (let alone the first row) because MOST of the people behind me and a good amount next to me where fans ( on the left side). Not sure on the right though.

And with people in the autograph line having something signed when they aren't even a fan. If you think about it if there were people in front of you who you claim " don't know who he is or have stuff they didn't even want signed", then why were you behind them? Shouldn't you be in front of them if you were a "bigger" fan who was there earlier in the autograph line? And even if people were lined up before his panel was over to get his autograph if you wanted his autograph that bad, shouldn't you have left the panel a little bit earlier to stand in the autograph line? My friends were very close to the front of the line and they were in the panel with me till the very end. They didn't have any trouble getting an autograph from him. I'm not sure what happened but it doesn't seem to make sense though.

I WAS ahead of those people in the line to get in.  I was not able to be in the autograph line. The autograph line was only 40ish people who played rock, paper, scissors and either won or lied.

Are you talking about one of the other guests??

And there was no leaving the panel to get in the autograph line.... it was all the same event, and in the same room. Yoshiki just left the room for 5-10 minutes while they set up the autograph session.

[LordKefka]

You know what I think I accidentally confused it with Tohru's panel and autograph.

No wonder... I was wondering what in the world you were talking about with the whole rock paper scissors and rows of press behind me and whatever else @_@

[Mango Bunny]

You know what I think I accidentally confused it with Tohru's panel and autograph.

No wonder... I was wondering what in the world you were talking about with the whole rock paper scissors and rows of press behind me and whatever else @_@

Hahaha, I was like "WHADDYA MEAN?! Why did your friend have no problem??? SADFACE." Yeah, his flight was delayed so we didn't all get Yoshiki's autograph. Heartbreaking, but I still appreciate him coming.

[Miyu_Mya]

I loved this event! There were some problems...

Why did Press get to take up the first two rows when some girls had been waiting 10 hours or so just to secure those spots? They ended up in the third row! I thought that was somewhat disrespectful to the fans.

I understand that the autographs were limited, and I am so grateful to Yoshiki for staying as long as he could, even while not feeling so hot, but rock paper scissors made it really hard to handle. It put people in the position of.... if you're honest you lose, if you're dishonest you win. I didn't get an autograph because I was honest, while some people who weren't upfront about it got to get the autograph, which I would have killed for. I love this man. I'd been waiting since I was 13 years old to get to see him! So yes, I would have DIED for an autograph, but out of personal respect to Yoshiki I opted to not be a jerk about it, while others were lying about their win and got rewarded.

It also destroys me knowing some of those people didn't have anything they even wanted signed or even knew who he was.

But all that aside, it was wonderful. Yoshiki's efforts to make us a video with the Buddha footage  were wonderful and appreciated. He was so nice to come.

I really, truly appreciate everyone who made this happen, especially Yoshiki himself. It was wonderful and memorable and I can't say enough about it.

We just need to ask Yoshiki back next year so I can ask him a question and get an autograph. I'll gladly wait another day in line!!

As he said "Well, it isn't that far."

I definitely agree with you about the people who didn't have anything to sign, there were girls in the winning line that had wanted to have Yoshiki sign like the back of their weekend badge (yellow paper) or on their Fanime books.

Like I was saying before, I've been a fan of Yoshiki's talents since I was 15 (12 years ago) and it is a dream come true to see him especially because I believed that I would never meet him. My loving family sat in line with me for 4 hours missing gathering, shopping, and even eating. I was looking forward to an autograph (Which I super appreciate Yoshiki) and when they said we had to RO sham bo for his autograph, I knew I was going to lose and I did. I sat down and felt so defeated. I'm happy to say that I did have a great spot and I was able to record him.

Another wonderful thing that happened was that I made reservations at Arcadia for 8pm the same day. My husband and I noticed a large table and he urged me to look because he thinks he sees Yoshiki and by golly he was right! Yoshiki was having dinner with some other big wigs from Fanime. I freaked. My husband and facebook friends kept saying "go over and ask for a picture with him. Once in a lifetime." But I didn't because I made a promise that I would never bother a celebrity when they are having dinner or out. respect personal space. I didn't bother him, instead my husband asked the hostess to order a drink for Yoshiki as a gift. Sadly, because of language confusion the drink gift could not be given.  :(
I a few got more glimpses of Yoshiki as I pretended to go to the bathroom. It was a wonderful coincidence. A day I will not forget.

[keiko.]

I was waiting there since around 1pm (I actually wanted to get there at 11am! But my sisters are so slow, ugh) BUT I guess it didn't matter due to the damn rock-paper-scissors shenanigans. Me and my boyfriend kept yelling for them to just offer them to the first 40 people who were waiting, since there were people there waiting at 11am! I actually won the first round, so of course I was pissed that they counted 45 and made us do it again!! I lost, but I stayed in line since I freaking won the first round and was waiting 5 f***ing hours! Me and my boyfriend both regret not sneaking him my X JAPAN ticket stub though; he was the first guy in line that gave YOSHIKI my roses, but I'm sure if he whipped out something YOSHIKI wouldn't not sign it haha! Oh well. My little sister got it signed for him, so he was really happy.

Just curious, how many of your were surprised by some of the things he talked about? Like, the comic book collaboration with Stan Lee or BUDDAH/Scarlet Love Song? I was kinda shocked at how many gasps I kept hearing throughout the panel... for once FaceBook has been good to me, I felt proud LOL.

@ Miyu_Mya I heard from a friend that he was having dinner with 2 girls! SO jelly.... but grateful just to be able to meet him! I really need to get with technology... if only I had internet on my phone I would've ran to stage zero.... possibly had the chance to have dinner, but at the same time thinking about that, I'd feel bad to take that dream from those girls. And I would've missed out on MusicFest! I just wish I had known so I could've at least seen him, you're very lucky!! During the panel I was barely watching the videos; I was recording the whole panel, and I saw most of the videos already, so I kept my eyes on YOSHIKI as much as possible! He's RIGHT THERE... of course I'm gonna look as much as I can, and his laughs are SO cute >w<

[Mango Bunny]

I've been meaning to ask, when was he at Stage 0? And what did he do up there?

[keiko.]

I'm unsure he was there himself, but just his assistant. I think the crowd would be too crazy if YOSHIKI was there himself. He asked for everyone to scream "WE ARE X" as loud as you can, and he'd pick 2 lucky people to have dinner with him at the Arcadia. I wish I had known, f***ing Fanime staff told us he had to leave right after his panel!! >:(

[Mango Bunny]

I KNOW!! I looked on his twitter, and apparently he announced it there, but I have no phone right now and generally don't use twitter.

I actually recall hearing people screaming that, but I thought it was just some other scream-oriented game show, since everyone had been doing a lot of weird screaming before that for like, 20 minutes. My only thought was "Oh cool, I love X!"

I could cry now! Seriously. I might. Even though I probably wouldn't have won, to at least know I tried....

We really need Yoshiki to come back now!!

[Miyu_Mya]

That is so messed up of Fanime to not notify us. I didn't even know he was still at Fanime. I went up stairs to change for dinner, if I knew he would be going to stage Zero, I would have stayed and tried to win. In some ways, I guess I was lucky to have made Reservations at Arcadia around 2pm that day for 8pm. But Damn, that sucks. I love Yoshiki's talents and his personality.

[keiko.]

Fanime staff are always SO disorganized, it's ridiculous. Like, what the hell was with them telling us no photographs during the panel, then constantly changing their minds?? UGH. That was so annoying and frustrating!! Also, not sure about you guys, but I was also getting annoyed that they kept pronouncing his name "YO-SHI-KI" instead of "Yoshki". My boyfriend kept complaining in line about it hahaha! Anyways, back on track. I'm grateful that they asked for him to come down here at all, but in the end it was YOSHIKI that was reaching out to the fans, not the staff. WHY would they tell us that he's leaving right afterwards, I have no idea. Maybe YOSHIKI himself said so, but that seems doubtful. I don't see him lying about it to keep this a secret. The staff should've just shut their mouths and say the panel was over.

I hope YOSHIKI would be willing to come back next year though. And in the case he does, I hope the staff will be more organized next year.

In a way, I'm a little relieved I didn't just stumble across this, because my boyfriend went back to his hotel and would've missed out possibly, unless all of us just happened to walk by, but then if one of us won, then one of us (me, my sister or boyfriend) would've been left behind lol. Still, it would've been a lot of fun to participate! I always see that he holds these dinners, but I had no idea he would do it at Fanime because the staff said he had to leave!!

[Tony]

Hi everyone!

As someone intimately involved in the planning and execution of this event, I would ask everyone to have some consideration - for both the staff and for Yoshiki - for how things happened.

It might help to view this from Yoshiki's perspective. I am not claiming to speak on his behalf, but here's what I could ascertain...

First, he was ill all week. There was a chance that he wasn't going to be able to come. We didn't get official confirmation until the early afternoon on Saturday. In fact, we were expecting only his assistant to come! But just as his assistant was about to board a plane in his stead, Yoshiki made the decision to come. He really wanted to meet the people at FanimeCon - even despite being sick. All of us staff were touched at his character.

Second, the plane was delayed, which didn't help things. Luckily, the flight and drive to the convention center was smooth. It did take him some extra time to get composed and ready for his appearance, but that's typical when you just come off of an airplane.

Third, with his injured hand, it became apparent he wouldn't be able to do many signings. We had to make up a system with very limited time, and that was the best we came up with. I'm sorry it worked poorly, but we had to do something to limit how many autographs Yoshiki would have to do.

Why did he stay? It seemed that the panel gave Yoshiki a lot of energy. We were ready to get him back on a plane home, and booked a limo to SJC. In fact, I left the panel midway to start walking over to the Civic to wish Yuya and FLOW good luck at MusicFest. But as we were greeting Yuya, we got called back - Yoshiki was feeling really good about everything and took us up on an offer to go to dinner! Now, you don't deny Yoshiki wanting to hang out - so we booked out of there to meet him.

Yoshiki was very excited by the fans, and he immediately began chatting with his assistant about tweeting different things - eventually talking about wanting to cause "a riot" at Stage Zero. (Yoshiki is a bit mischievous, it seems  ;D) Eventually his assistant left to go pick winners, and brought back two girls. Yoshiki was quite kind - took pictures with them and such, and bought them dinner.

Yoshiki was having so much fun that he actually missed his first plane. We realized he might actually want to stay the night, and so booked a hotel room for him while he was at dinner. But eventually his assistant insisted he had to go catch the next plane. We got a new driver - now headed to SFO instead of SJC - to make it happen. Just like that, he was off.

It suffices to say that it was quite the whirlwind appearance. We tried to handle things as best as we could. I know that both FanimeCon and Yoshiki himself wished that more could be done, but it was a very spur-of-the-moment thing for all of us, and we managed the best we could.

I hope this helps to explain all that went on that day. Hopefully he can come back again - we would certainly love to have him (and make more mischief!) :)

[Mango Bunny]

Important con chair stuff

Thanks for replying. You see, I am in no way disappointed with the actual event. I'm so grateful to everyone who made it happen, I really am. I'm also still excited over it.

It was just somewhat heartbreaking, as an over-emotional fan who'd been waiting 9 years or so to go to an event like this with him. I would have liked to see the fans who waited in line right up front, and also in the autograph line (not just because I was waiting 10 people back or so). Also, I would have liked for the girl who drew him a picture to be able to present it to him. It would have been quick! She had to leave it at the desk, which made me pretty sad for her.

I love Yoshiki super much, and you know what? To make up for the stumbles someone just needs to convince him to come back!

I swear I'll wait 20 hours if I have to. But I would like to get his autograph! And I'll just have to steal someone's phone and follow his twitter next time. I'm sad that I missed the Stage 0 event, but it's also because I blame myself, not the staffers. If we could iron out the kinks I think nobody would have anything negative to say!

I'm so happy he came, it really made my Fanime/LIFE.

[Tony]

It's really rough - some of our staff got emotional about it all as well.

You're right, though - we'll just have to convince him to come back, and really show him some Fanime awesomeness. I think he responds the most to the fans - maybe we can organize something from all of us.

For now, though, time to recuperate. I wonder if Yoshiki got me sick, haha...

[Mango Bunny]

It's really rough - some of our staff got emotional about it all as well.

You're right, though - we'll just have to convince him to come back, and really show him some Fanime awesomeness. I think he responds the most to the fans - maybe we can organize something from all of us.

For now, though, time to recuperate. I wonder if Yoshiki got me sick, haha...

You're lucky, you got dinner with him AND his germs.

And I would LOVE to have something to thank Yoshiki. I am so truly appreciative for his attendance it's insane. Just a small event like this one would be enough for his second appearance! Just maybe with more autographs. =D I don't want him to feel obligated to do anything bigger if he doesn't have the time, because I know he is REALLYREALLY busy.

I don't get very fangirly anymore (I'm so old and wise!!) but about Yoshiki.... I really do. He was a part of so much of my adolescence with hide (RIP) as well, without ever actually knowing either one of them. So having him so close, in person, was sort of that point where things came together. It was like being 13ish again! I think a lot of us feel that way, especially since it's such a long-standing Japanese popculture staple. X-Japan was around long enough for many people to grow up with. With all the tragedy that's happened with the band (Toshi leaving, the break-up, hide's death and the resulting postponement of a reunion, as well as some of Yoshiki's apparent personal challenges with the aforementioned topics) many of us never thought they'd be together again ever, and many of us worried about Yoshiki's involvement in the industry for a while with everything that was happening.

But now they're back together! It still seems so new to me. I was unable to go to the concert (my mom was diagnosed with cancer in July, had her mastectomy in October) so I'm somewhat behind in the "this is really real" feeling in some ways. It really was a dream come true to have Yoshiki here to share in the fun of Fanime (which I love to death even if there were no schedules). It was absolutely special.

It's crazy we're to the point where people like Yoshiki want to show up to our fan-run con! 6 years I've been going and it's just evolved so much while maintaining the same feeling. It's great!

Thanks again to everyone who dealt with the running around Yoshiki caused.

[keiko.]

Thanks for taking the time to clear that up, Tony. What disappointed me most was the simple fact of how they decided to organize the autograph session. Rock paper scissors? The very first round people lied to get in line, so they should've just sat everyone back down and counted 1-40. Oh well, I got my autograph and I won the first round.... I just feel terrible for the die-hard fans who were waiting even before me who didn't get autographs and even came prepared. I'm truly grateful however, for Fanime's efforts in putting this together; I didn't realize Yoshiki was going to surprise everyone with the dinner (sounds like Yoshiki haha), but like I said, I was just truly disappointed with the way the autographs went down. My boyfriend gave Yoshiki the roses I brought for him because, despite waiting in line with me for over 4 hours, he wasn't allowed an autograph. They wouldn't even allow us to go together, or at least stand in line together. Ah well, my boyfriend got to meet Yoshiki, which is more than I could ever ask for. I just hope Fanime will take all this into consideration for next year. :)

I hope Yoshiki will also take into consideration our plees for him to return with the rest of X to perform in the Bay Area!! Yoshiki へ〜 I know LA is right around the corner, but that's still 6 hour drive for me, and I can't drive LOL!! Please come to San Jose/San Francisco area again?? <3 *crosses fingers*

[Miyu_Mya]

Thank you for clearing this up, Tony. I am really grateful that he was able to come and visit us. I would have been happy even if he did a web cam thing with us. I was just really disappointed about "the game". My family and I waited for 4 hours to get a good seat (we did, YAY) and be first to get his autograph. I fell in love with X Japan 12 years ago, during a very hard time of my life, and it was Xjapan's and Yoshiki's music that help me through it. For me to get an autograph was like getting a validation that it was real and that I lived thought the hardest time of my life. I think thats why I felt so sad when we had to play "the game" to win his autograph. I knew I would lose and I did.   :'(
Again, looking at what Fanime had to do, Thank you for tending to Yoshiki. I really hope he could come again.  :)

[asiagal2]

I was up close to see Yoshiki and recorded him.  Here's my video to share to all the fans of X-Japan  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w92E-OnEZcA&feature=email&email=comment_received

I'll have the pics uploaded in a bit.  Enjoy!