Arriving at the Nokia Theatre on Day 2 for concert ticket pickup.
Three years… That’s how long many Hatsune Miku fans within the United States had been waiting to see if there would be another major event within our own borders. With the announcement of Hatsune Miku Expo 2014 in Los Angeles and New York, these prayers were answered, and with far more than what we could have ever asked for.
A couple members of our staff (myself included) attended both days of the event in Los Angeles, and we tried to cover everything we could while also attending the concert events on both days. But even then, it was impossible to enjoy everything the event had to offer. So we’ll also be sharing some photos and experiences from friends who managed to attend the parts of the event we missed.
We started lining up with fans early Saturday morning, about 3 and a half hours before the event gates were due to open. The line was still short at this time, but started growing quickly soon afterwards. Everyone was excited talking to one another, and many people made new friends. There were a few fans from Japan giving away special items to visitors in the line. These ranged anywhere from Miku Halloween candy, to sweat bands and shirts (like the one pictured above).
After the gates opened, the mad rush to the Miku Monster Store began. Along the way, you could spot this overhead banner and balloons, as well as the Candy Stage area. DJ Revolution Boi was already at work playing music for guests as they walked through the exhibition gates.
My first stop at the Monster Store was the Good Smile Company booth, since I had help with getting goods from the merchandise booth. GSC had the new Halloween Miku nendoroid on display, along with some other merchandise. Included above is a photo of all the goods that were offered from their booth.
Finally, as I exited the store area, Crypton Future Media CEO Hiroyuki Itoh was about to make his opening ceremony announcement. Unfortunately, fans were too occupied waiting in lines and didn’t want to leave their spots, so he didn’t have a big audience for his opening announcements.
Back inside the main building to the center and left areas were the exhibition rooms, where various artworks and activities were on display. The Hatsune Miku Exhibition area featured various Hatsune Miku merchandise and information on the history of Hatsune Miku, as well as a demo table where fans could play the soon-to-be launched “MikuColle“, a mobile RPG game developed by Crypton. We were also able to confirm an English release sometime before 2015!
Afterwards, we headed to the Pumpkin Dome area to see the Skylight Theater, but the event was unfortunately sold out until 4:30 PM. This conflicted with our schedule to pick up our VIP concert tickets at 4:00, so we decided to go rest for a while before heading to the Nokia Theatre.
Of course, we also met some amazing cosplayers on our trip. Above are a few of the photos we took. Thanks to all cosplayers for allowing these photos!
We were roomed in at the JW Marriot next to the Nokia Theatre, so traveling to get in line for VIP ticket pickup was a non-issue. There was an amazing sense of nostalgia being back at the Nokia Theatre again. Our last visit to the venue was in 2011 for Mikunopolis. I only managed to snap one last photo inside the theater itself from the VIP pit before the concert started…
Concert photo via official Hatsune Miku Facebook page.
The concert itself was everything I could have hoped for. The audience was much livelier compared to Mikunopolis, and much more in synch for the calls and glow stick wave patterns.
The concert setlist consisted of 27 songs, 3 of which were in English. Below is the track list, thanks to hightrancesea:
01: Sharing The World feat. Hatsune Miku (English)
02: Senbonzakura feat. Hatsune Miku
03: Kocchi Muite Baby feat. Hatsune Miku
04: Koi Iro Byoutou feat. Hatsune Miku
05: Colorful Melody feat Hatsune Miku & Kagamine Rin
06: Fire Flower feat. Kagamine Len
07: The Butterfly on My Right Shoulder feat. Kagamine Len
08: Melancholic feat. Kagamine Rin
09: Kokoro feat. Kagamine Rin
10: Glass Wall feat. Hatsune Miku (English)
11: Torinoko City feat. Hatsune Miku
12: Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro feat. Hatsune Miku
13: Romeo and Cinderella feat. Hatsune Miku
14: Piano × Forte × Scandal feat. MEIKO
15: Pane dhiria feat. KAITO
16: Parades feat. Hatsune Miku
17: Poppippo feat. Hatsune Miku
18: The White Snow Princess Is feat. Hatsune Miku
19: Just Be Friends feat. Megurine Luka (English ver.)
20: Luka Luka Night Fever feat. Megurine Luka
21: Himitsu Keisatsu feat. Hatsune Miku
22: Yellow feat. Hatsune Miku
23: World is Mine feat. Hatsune Miku
24: Melt feat. Hatsune Miku
-= Encore =-
25: Tell Your World feat. Hatsune Miku
26: Miku Miku Ni Shite Ageru feat. Hatsune Miku
27: Starduster feat. Hatsune Miku
The VIP bonuses included the memorial Miku Expo VIP badge, a sensu (Japanese folding fan) with Crypton’s Vocaloids printed onto it, and a vinyl record of Sharing The World, the Miku Expo LA & NY theme song composed by BIGHEAD.
Following the concert event was the Halloween Dance Party, which was relocated to the Belasco Theater due to guest capacity issues. We stayed long enough to see Machigerita and BIGHEAD perform, as well as to attend the ending raffle where they gave away Miku Expo posters signed by the illustrator, Apapico. Crypton staff could also be seen walking around the dance, and there was a cute Miku plushie shrine set up on a table for fans to take photos of.
After a long day and night of activities, we had a short rest before starting the day to enjoy the VIP concert yet again, which began shortly after noon. Once we finished enjoying the concert for a second time, we headed back to the exhibition area to enjoy more of the scenery, as well as the cosplay contest event.
After the contest was finished, Crypton CEO Hiroyuki Itoh once again took the stage for the closing ceremonies, where he made a surprising announcement:
“Did everyone have fun? I’ll be back next year, here in Los Angeles. Next year, we will make it even bigger!”.
Our visit to Hatsune Miku Expo in Los Angeles was an unforgettable experience that was an amazing followup to Mikunopolis, and we can’t wait to see what sort of plans Crypton has to make an event even bigger than this one. Thank you to Crypton Future Media and all associated company and staff for making this event possible. We look forward to seeing you again next year!