Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-10422715-20160720171448

With C3 CharaExpo 2016 taking place in Singapore, we, Lunaries and Ischy (who manages the Love Live! Wikia Twitter) attended it as reporters representing Love Live! Wikia to cover the event.

What a great convention it was, and here is our report on it!

Intro
After the successful run of CharaExpo the previous year, C3 CharaExpo is back again this time bigger and better. Last year, Bushiroad was the sole organizer, but this time, they managed to get various official partners like ADK, Sotsu and Amuse. They even got to invite exhibitors, guests, game masters and artistes, including prominent individuals like Suzuko Mimori (Mimorin) and Emi Nitta (Emitsun)! Seeing the rapid growth of C3 CharaExpo compared to last year, I hope it continues to grow in the future to become a convention with an attendance rivalling that of AFA’s.

General LL presence
Love Live! fans were extremely blessed this year, with the appearance of Tokui Sora (Soramaru), Mimori Suzuko and Nitta Emi in various Bushiroad stage events. The movie theater also held a small screening of the Love Live! School Idol Movie on both days. Of course, in what was arguably the most hyped up event for all Love Live! fans, the three Aqours second years’ seiyuus, Inami Anju (Anchan) as Takami Chika, Aida Rikako (Rikyako) as Sakurauchi Riko, and Saito Shuka (Shukashuu) as Watanabe You came to C3 CharaExpo and held a special talk stage as well as a Meet & Greet session! Demand for both of these events were intense; the Meet & Greet sessions were out of stock within the first 45 mins on both days and the event hall was filled to the brim.

Bushiroad Booth
Being the main organizer, Bushiroad had the biggest booth in the hall, with a good variety of merchandise from Love Live! and other Bushiroad titles. There were also special items on sale that were previously only available at the SIF Thanksgiving Festival 2016. Full list of Bushiroad merchandise can be found here.

Of course the allure of merchandise itself wasn’t nearly enough to justify the sheer size of the crowd camping outside the expo on the first day, waiting for the doors to open. What attracted many of the eager 'convention goers' was the chance to meet and greet the seiyuus of the second year Aqours members.



For those who rushed in the moment the doors opened, the chances of securing a Meet & Greet ticket were high, relatively speaking. With 35 tickets available per seiyuu per day, there were a total of 210 chances to meet a seiyuu over the duration of C3 CharaExpo and as such, very possible to get more than one ticket. A lucky (or dedicated) few even managed to secure as many as three or more tickets! There was even someone with SIX!

Even though most goods were pretty unexceptional and commonly found online or at other conventions, the promotions that were available with the goods were what most convention goers were going for, with the first few customers that spent above a certain amount being eligible to claim a Meet & Greet ticket.

Despite these promotions being the main appeal, most of the popular items were sold out by the end of the first day. Those who unfortunately missed the chance would have to find them again elsewhere.

Surprisingly, the subunit singles were more popular than the group singles and sold out by the end of the first day. And even though μ’s has ended, their popularity has not diminished. Their final single Moment Ring and best collections were all sold out as well. いまが最高!



Check out how full the area was!



Kuji
Unfortunately, this year’s kuji wasn’t as crazy as last year’s. The prizes were smaller and less valuable, containing many small ‘free gift’ items. The fans and illustration card did look pretty good, although nothing topped the astronomical odds of getting a signed shikishi from the members of Milky Holmes the previous year.



On the first day, it was the 'SIF PR Set', which they somehow managed to run out of stock. (Love Live! is way too popular) On the second day, the most common prize was the WS PR Card. To be honest, aside from the avid Weiss Schwarz players, postcards would have been preferred as the 'common' item.

SIF Booth
The booth was decorated simply, with red carpet flooring and the game's login page as wallpaper. Near one corner was a 42" touchscreen TV that sat on in a frame situated way too low for us taller players. In another corner was a standing table with 4 iPods with SIF running, allowing for a LAN Score Match to be played. After completing either of the options, players would receive small tokens like stickers or fans.

Despite being the same game, the opportunity to play it on a big screen with friends and fellow fans attracted many to the booth. The booth remained packed with people throughout the day and the length of the queue persisted throughout the duration of the convention on both days.

Default SIF settings were applied, with card skill cut-ins turned on and notes moving at the usual speed, with possible difficulties being Easy, Normal, Hard and Expert. It was also impossible to fail a song since the health system was turned off. The song participants played was chosen from a random mix of the following:


 * Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE
 * Snow Halation
 * Natsuiro Egao de 1,2,Jump!
 * Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu!
 * Wonderful Rush
 * Bokura wa Ima no Naka de
 * Music S.T.A.R.T!!
 * Takaramonozu
 * Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki
 * Angelic Angel
 * SUNNY DAY SONG
 * Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari
 * HEART to HEART!

Unfortunately, no Full Combos were reported throughout the whole event, not even on Easy. The Score Match on the other hand, wasn’t as popular and was removed near the end of the first day.

Other booths
In the neighbouring Kadokawa booth, there was a small section with a Sunshine gallery.

Banpresto Booth
The best way to describe the Banpresto Booth would be a glorified gambling den, open to all ages. Banpresto mostly manages the 'Ichiban Kuji' booth. For those of you who are not familiar with ‘Ichiban Kuji’, players typically purchase tickets, priced between 8 and 12 dollars (depending on which anime they were drawing for). They then draw the sealed tickets from a box, with each ticket giving them a chance to win a prize, ranked in descending order of value from A to J (sometimes it is from A to M).

Gamblers Players often spend large sums of money for a chance to win one of the top prizes, which can be worth up to 10 times the ticket price. There are usually tickets available for many different anime series, and for this year's CharaExpo, tickets were available for Bakemonogatari, Super Sonico, Love Live! And Neon Genesis Evangelion, just to name a few. Love Live! even had two different kuji sets, "School Idol Movie", and "Miracle of µ's".

Open Stage


The open stage is similar to a mini-stage, it holds smaller scale activities to allow for closer interaction between the guests and the audience. Noteworthy figures and experts of the industry were specially invited to speak about their experiences on the job.

Movie Area


Movies are streamed for free, and are available for fans to catch their favourite movies with other convention goers as well. The location could have been improved as the nearby wrestling ring was quite loud and occasionally interrupted the movie experience. The audio simply couldn’t compete, not to mention the area was too bright which made it hard to see what was happening on the screen at some points.

Details of the viewing can be found below.

Pro-Wrestling Ring Area
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), owned by Bushiroad, received quite an upgrade to their setup, with a proper ring and a viewing area set up for this year's convention (as opposed to the crude ring of traffic barriers at last year’s CharaExpo). The spectacle of large men duking it out in a ring proved entertaining for many, though personally, pro-wrestling just isn’t my cup of tea.

Main Stage


Where all the fun happens. Events like mini lives, special stages and many more were held here. Best of all? The whole thing was completely free. Being one of the main attractions of the convention, at times it was so full that a sign with 'Hall Full' had to be placed at the entrance.

Love Live Movie Viewing Experience
As soon as the previous screening ended, Love Live! fans started streaming into the venue and pretty soon, the place was packed. Fans that arrived shortly after the event started even resorted to sitting or standing in the aisles. Fans cheered loudly for their favourite scenes and sang along with the songs. A few diehard fans even whipped out their lightsticks and waved them in tune with the songs. The mood throughout the viewing was merry and overall it was an extremely pleasurable experience. That is, until the scene after Sunny Day Song, where μ’s and the other school idols took the group photo.

The audio for the movie was suddenly filled with static and could barely be heard. Luckily, there were no problems with the video or the subtitles. The finest moment of the viewing was during the last scene where μ’s was shown backstage with their customary ceremony, and the audience counted down with them ...7! ...8! ...9! ...10!! μ's... Music Start!!! Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari started to play and though the audio was still fuzzy, none of the fans seemed to mind and sang along while waving their lightsticks. The audience continued singing even throughout the credits and only stopped when the screen turned black. After a brief moment of silence, everyone present broke out into applause.

The sight of the audience members, both seated and standing, friends and strangers alike cooperating to ensure the movie ended on a good note made this one of the best experiences I have ever had as a fan of Love Live!

The dedication and devotion shown by the fans near the end was exceptionally heart-warming and in that regard, the technical issues might have turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Aqours' Stage
This is single-handedly the most important stage for any Aqours fan, as C3 CharaExpo managed to successfully invite the 2nd years down for a special talk show. Inami Anju, Aida Rikako, and Saito Shuka. It is Aqours' first official appearance in Singapore, as well as the whole of Southeast Asia.

Even though the event was scheduled to only start at 4:00, fans were seen reserving seats all the way since noon in an effort to secure good seats for the event. In addition, it was the only event throughout both days that necessitated a 'Hall Full' sign outside of the event stage, as both the seats and standing space were fully occupied by all the fans eager to watch the stage.

The stage consisted of character introductions from the 3 seiyuus, a Q&A section, viewing of the project PV, a small School Idol Festival segment and a lucky draw with five clear 'Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai' posters signed by all nine of the Aqours seiyuus as the prizes.

The stage started and the hall was filled with colours of light pink, light blue and orange.

After the seiyuus entered, they held up their character placards and introduced their characters. Shukashuu then asked for the audience to reply 'Ohayousoro!' after she called. The stage barely started and the crowd's energy level was already brought to the maximum.

Introductory questions
@Anchan - For your first time at this event, what's your impression so far?
 * "I'm surprised at the amount of people turning up, but I am really happy about it."

@Rikyako – This being your first time in Singapore, what is your impression so far?
 * "I've been to the Merlion and it was pretty. Singapore's cities also seem very futuristic to me. I would definitely want to come back to Singapore again."

@Shukashuu – How do you feel seeing all the Singaporean fans?
 * "I am very happy and glad to have all of you here."

Every time a seiyuu spoke, the mess of colours would all coordinate to show their respective colours.

After the questions were finished, Anchan moved up to the front of the stage and introduced the standard call that Aqours began their lives with, inviting the audience to participate as well.

"1, 2... SUNSHINE!"

PV
To bring new fans up to speed on the current state of Love Live!, an introduction video was played, giving a brief history of how the Love Live! project had evolved over the years, from the first single, Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIVE, all the way until the ''µ's Final LoveLive! ~µ'sic Forever♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪~'', held recently in the transition between March and April.

The PV introduced what school idols are along with a brief description. 'Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?' could be heard and fans already started doing calls to the background songs. After the description of school idols, the next segment of the PV showed the journey of μ's. Anyone familiar with Love Live! would know that μ's was formed because their school was in danger of shutting down due to low enrolment  and wanted to promote their school through school idol activities, which would raise the new student intake and stop their school from closing. The music playing in the background was 'Bokura no Live, Kimi no Live' and the fans' calls could be clearly heard. When the music changed from Borarara to START:DASH!!, without missing a beat, the audience also changed their calls to the song and carried on livelier than ever. It then proceeded to show clips of the School Idol Movie and SUNNY DAY SONG. And finally, μ's 6th Live── the Final Live. Many of the fans there probably participated in the live viewing, and when reminded that μ's had ended, they had complicated expressions on their faces. Anchan even waved her finger along to the Fuwa * 4 in START:DASH!! and mouthed the lyrics of SDS, showing how much she too loved Love Live! just like the rest of us.

But after that, the hall exploded with cheers and roaring when Aqours were shown, KimiKoko was played again and the crowd went into a frenzy. The PV concluded and character descriptions of the Aqours characters were displayed and narrated, starting with Chika then Riko, Kanan, Dia, You, Yohane, Hanamaru, Mari and Ruby. These character introductions are the same as the official ones given out a while back, the translated versions can all be found on the Love Live Wikia.

Q&A Section
1. The project takes place in a town called Uchiura, within Numazu, but what kind of place is Uchiura?
 * Anchan: A beautiful town especially the nature and wide oceans. It is also filled with delicious food, the people are very warm and hospitable, and it gives you a welcome feeling.

2. Regarding the characters you voice, if you could describe her with a single line, what kind of a girl is she?
 * Anchan: With one word? 元気 (Genki). Chika-chan is an energetic girl, she shines brightly like the sun.
 * Rikyako: If I were to use one word... 真面目な子で (Majime na ko de). Riko-chan is a very serious girl.
 * Shukashuu: Ehhh? One word? ヨーソロー (Yousoro)! Yousoro is the very being of You-chan.

3. You all sing and dance the same songs as the members in the PVs, please tell us any interesting stories that happened during the practice and stage performances.
 * Together: Not all of them were experienced in singing or dancing, so when asked to mirror the MVs, they had to work really hard to study the videos. Only after a lot of hard work did they manage to be like the idols in the MV.

SIF Section
With the Q&A concluded, the SIF segment started. But of course with SIF it didn't go smoothly. Just when they were about to start, there was a 'Connection Error'. The reactions of the seiyuus were just utterly cute: 'なんで?','Wi-Fi?'.

While the technical team was sorting the issue out, the three seiyuus took to the stage and started an impromptu call. Leading the audience, Anchan started Chika's greeting 'Kan Kan' to which the audience replied 'Mikan!!' And at that moment, the connection issues were fixed! "It's the power of Mikan!", commented Anchan. With another '1, 2, SUNSHINE!', the seiyuus started to play. Unfortunately, the easy mode of 'Koi ni Naritai Aquarium' was selected and the slow gameplay started. Undeterred, the audience faithfully did the calls of the song, ASOBIMASHOU! Despite Rikyako failing a note, the crowd shouted words of encouragement and the rest of the song went smoothly.

After the song finished, news for the English version of SIF was announced. The big 4.0 update that would add Aqours to SIF was once again announced to be coming out in the fall! With that, the SIF segment ended.

Lucky Draw
The special stage then moved towards the lucky draw, the part where tensions were highest. There wasn't a single doubt that in the hall filled to overcapacity, everybody wanted to win, but there were only 5 posters. As each number was called out, all heads turned in the general direction of the seat to take a look at the lucky winner. Funnily enough, one of the winners was cosplaying as 'Yohane', so much for her bad luck.

The TV anime was announced that it would start airing on Animax in Singapore.

With all segments wrapped up, the seiyuus were asked to leave a comment.


 * Anchan: "I'm full of gratitude, please support us. I LOVE YOU GUYS!" completely in english.


 * Rikyako: "Thanks for coming to support us today, I'm really happy to be here. I'll also return to Singapore soon! Please continue supporting us!"


 * Shukashuu: "Thank you everyone who are here to cheer us on. This is actually my first trip overseas and it was a pleasure to have you guys. Next time, I'll definitely come back with all nine members of Aqours!"

Crowd: "YOU SAY ONE AH"

With that, the special stage concluded and the seiyuus exited the stage.

Meet & Greet
The best part of C3 CharaExpo, a Meet & Greet session with the 2nd years!!!! Although this was the best part, it was only for the lucky few that managed to purchase $30 worth of goods and were quick enough to redeem a ticket. Those participating in the Meet & Greet session would also be entitled to receive the special name cards from Aqours' first nation-wide shop campaign. The Meet & Greet session would allow the fans to have a very brief conversation with the idols, which is otherwise impossible to attain.

Luna
 * Mentioned earlier, there were individuals with more than one ticket. These people would have multiple chances to meet their idols and convey their feelings across. I for one, had tickets for Rikyako and Anchan. When it was my turn to meet Rikyako, being my first time experiencing a Meet & Greet, I stood there blankly and didn't say a word, only to thank her when she handed me the card. Deciding not to mess up again, when I met Anchan, despite stammering slightly, I managed to get all of my words out.

Ischy
 * This time, I only went for one ticket to meet Shukashuu. It was rather nerve-wracking even though it wasn't my first time, but I still managed to keep calm enough to say some words to her. Although, I took way too long and ended up being gestured at by the staff to quickly leave so as to not hold up the line. Still, it was definitely a nice experience to be able to say something in a high pressure situation (my first Meet and Greet a few months prior did not go as well as this).

After the Meet & Greet was over, the onlooking fans were cordoned off to allow for the Official Photographers to get pictures of the seiyuus with their standees and the giant Sunshine wall. Throughout the entire session, the Bushiroad staff was extremely vigilant and constantly blocked the bystanders from taking any photography.

Main Set
 M-02 Aitai yo... Aitai yo! M-03 Mirai Start M-04 Glory! MC-1 M-05 Univer Page M-06 Seiippai, Tsutaetai! MC-2 M-07 Light for Knight MC-3 M-08 WONDER FLIGHT M-09 Wonderland Love MC-4 M-10 Xenotopia
 * M-01 Fantasic Funfair

Encore
EN-01 Smilium
 * MC-5

Report
Saturday evening kicked off in an exciting way as Mimorin returned to Singapore to perform in her very own solo live. Receiving a warm welcome from fans all over the region, the artiste performed a variety of fan-favorite songs as well as her most recent releases.

While slight technical difficulties were present immediately after Fantasic Funfair was performed, that did not stop the crowd from letting out their energy by chanting ''Mimorin! Mimorin! Mimorin!'' to show their support as they waited to welcome her back on stage with loud cheers.

Mimorin has been known to be a fan of Singapore for some time now, and it certainly showed once again in the MC segments of this live. "Singapore is so warm," she commented during the first MC. "There are lots of nature and buildings. I'm so envious of all of you for living here!".

In what was a gesture of appreciation for the Singaporean fans, the second MC segment of the live had a special quiz segment for Mimorin hosted by the main event translator titled Naruhodo the Singapore to test her knowledge on basic Singaporean facts.

Q1: There exists an important landmark in Singapore. A picture of the Merlion is displayed on screen. It has a lion's head, but what is on the bottom half?
 * Mimorin: That's easy! It's a fish!

Q2: There exists a famous food souvenir in Singapore with coconut cream, egg yolk and honey together that creates a type of jam. What is it?
 * Mimorin: That's also easy! It's kaya! Although, I didn't know it was made of coconut cream (laughs). I thought there was actually a plant called kaya that it was made from! It's nice, though, I've brought it back to Japan as a souvenir before.

Q3: In Singapore, there is a fruit that you cannot bring onto public transport. What is it?
 * Mimori: Singaporeans love it. I don't like it. Four years ago, I ate it with gloves. Genji-san from the staff had brought it. It was really smelly! The answer is... durian. It's really smelly, but Singaporeans love it somehow. Someday I'll try it again, so please wish me good luck!

Mimorin passed the quiz with flying colors, to which she was proclaimed to be "a premium member of Singapore". After that, she then continued to perform her next song, Light for Knight, before promoting her coming Grand Revue Tour in her 3rd MC segment. "Will anyone here be attending?" she asked the crowd, to which several members responded with loud cheers, bringing a smile to her face. In addition, she also gave a mention to her upcoming album, Toyful Basket, with a September 7 release date.

Right before her final song in the main performance, Mimorin thanked the audience for being there to support her. "I'm happy and honored to be able to perform solo in Singapore," she said, before ending the set with her most recent single release, Xenotopia.

Of course, the crowd hungered for more. Right after Mimorin left the stage, cries of On-ko-ru! immediately echoed from the audience. While it only started with a few members at first, the rest of the crowd quickly joined in enthusiastically. It was not long before Mimorin once again returned to center stage. "Singaporeans are really passionate and fantastic," she commented as she got ready to perform her encore. Right before she started, however, she treated all the Singaporean fans with a final gift in her last MC.

Mimori: Everything ok? Wait, this is Singapore. Ok lah?

The crowd broke out in wild cheering at her usage of basic Singlish, beginning the encore on a high note. After that, she performed her final song of the day, Smilium. This time, it really was the final song, and the lights immediately turned on after she left the stage once again, bringing the day's concert to a close.

Main Set
M-02 Egao to Egao de Hajimaru yo! MC-1 M-03 Tankyuu Dreaming M-04 Kiseki no Uta MC-2 M-05 Tsunagu Melody MC-3 M-06 Meiyaku no Kanata M-07 Spica MC-4 M-08 flower M-09 Time Capsule MC-5 M-10 NEXT PHASE
 * M-01 EMUSIC

Encore
EN-01 EMUSIC
 * MC-6

W-Encore

 * W-01 EMUSIC

Report
Sunday evening marked a special occasion for Emitsun, with this being her first live performance to be held in Singapore. To commemorate the occasion, she performed a few of her MC segments in English, which she thanked her little sister for helping her to prepare them. However, her limited English knowledge resulted in them being not as engaging as that of Mimorin's the day before, but still, fans were just as, or maybe even more energetic during the concert itself.

With this only being her second time in Singapore, Emitsun commented, "Singapore is hot. But the people are also hot!". With a big smile on her face, she complimented the passion of the audience, thanking them for their support.

Just like Mimorin, Emitsun had her own segment of Naruhodo the Singapore, just with different questions from Mimorin's.

Q1: There is a famous beer that's drunk all over SEA with an animal on its label. What is that animal?
 * Emitsun: Definitely Tiger!

Q2: Between Hokkaido, Tokyo city area, and Nagano, which one is the most similar to Singapore?
 * Emitsun: I'm very confident in my answer. They're both very very small, but nice. It's the Tokyo city area!

Q3: Singapore is famous for being a fine country. Which one of the following results in a fine?
 * 1) Play game on MRT
 * 2) Whisper talk in front of teachers
 * 3) Chewing Gum on the street

Note: After displaying all three slides, the production team accidentally scrolled one slide too many, displaying the answer to this question for sometime before realizing their mistake.


 * Emitsun: I saw the answer in my head! (whole room laughs) It's chewing gum on the street!

Having gotten all three quiz questions right, Emitsun was also declared to be a "Premium member of Singapore". Thankful for the support, she commented, "Singapore is a beautiful country. I will definitely drink lots of Tiger Beer after the Live!" With that, the quiz segment ended, returning the concert back to song performances.

A while after, a special song was performed. The song was flower, which was not a song originally performed by Emitsun herself, but instead a cover of a character song from Luck and Logic. Throughout both days, this song was the only cover performed, adding to the emotion already present within the song itself. The audience waved along to the melody together as well, further adding to the experience.

It would not be long after that that the concert finally ended on an upbeat note with the song NEXT PHASE, with the crowd cheering and calling along to it as well. Just like the day before in Mimorin's Live, the crowd immediately broke out into cries of On-ko-ru! right after EMitsun exited the stage. They did not have to wait long, for only a minute passed before Emitsun came back on stage and thanked the crowd for their support. Met with increasingly loud cheers from the audience, she responded and sung EMUSIC for the second time in the Live, this time with even louder cheers from all the fans present.

Even after the encore performance of EMUSIC ended, however, an even bigger surprise awaited everyone involved. As the instrumental of EMUSIC played, the whole venue began to chant ''E-mi-tsun! E-mi-tsun!'' in a large roar of support. As people were beginning to pack up and leave, Emitsun once again surprised everyone by returning back on stage in the second verse of the EMUSIC instrumental in what was presumably an impromptu double encore. The crowd grew even louder and called along the loudest they had been in both days, truly ending C3 CharaExpo 2016 with a bang.

Final Thoughts
Luna
 * C3 CharaExpo was an extremely enjoyable journey that I would love to experience again. The one this year had much more to offer than the one held previously, the excitement and satisfaction it brought was also a level higher. But with each convention, it comes with its own unique set of memories, and this is one journey I'll never forget. If you liked AFA and you are hesitating about Chara, don't, just go for it. If you are new to anime, Chara might be able to provide you a starter on what anime conventions are like. Long story short, go, just go. Go. Hope to see you there.

Ischy
 * C3 CharaExpo 2016 was the first convention that I've had the opportunity to attend for the full duration. Officially, my first con was A-Kon in 2015 in Dallas, Texas, but I was only there for 1.5 days out of the full length of 2.5 days. I also had the opportunity to attend CharaExpo 2015 and AFASG 2015, but I was merely a casual fan back then and did not participate extensively in the events that they showcased. Attending C3 CharaExpo 2016 was a vastly different experience from anything that I had been used to doing. In all, there were quite a few "firsts" that I experienced. Many of these were things I would not have even dreamed of doing just a few months ago! C3 CharaExpo 2016 was definitely a fun experience; I will definitely return if I can. I would definitely encourage any readers to go to; even if you're not a particularly big fan of any particular series that are featured, there's still much to do and enjoy over the two days. And who knows, maybe you'll become a fan of something new because of CharaExpo!  