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A Fine Roast: Fantôme Thief’s Revenge

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If there was ever any sign that I’ve become a serious fan of VTubers, it would have to be the fact that I went to the Fantôme Thief’s Revenge concert in Atlanta, Georgia.

When this joint event between Dokibird and Mint Fantôme was first announced, I felt conflicted about whether to even go. On the one hand, I had decided to support Doki in ways I hadn’t back when she was Selen Tatsuki. Mint, for her part, is a charismatic performer whose friendship with Doki goes back to their previous incarnations in VTubing. On the other hand, this was pretty bad timing, being right before the holidays. Moreover, the concerts I had attended previously were either attached or adjacent to other things I was already doing, like conventions. Anime Weekend Atlanta was the same weekend, but I simply couldn’t stay too long.

But between the lack of an official streaming option and the reveal that one of the special guests was none other than Dooby (another big name who made the decision to go independent), I made my decision to go. I had a focused mission: Fly to Atlanta, go see Doki and Mint, sleep, go home. (Also, eat some fried chicken and Bojangles.) I never thought I’d do something like this, but here I am, and it was totally worthwhile.

Entering the Venue

Upon first arriving in the area of the concert, I saw a large line outside that gave me a bit of deja vu from Breaking Dimensions. While waiting in line is never fun, I did enjoy seeing all the eager fans. There were the Doki and Mint supporters, of course, and Dooby’s reputation precedes her, but I even saw some who were clearly there for the other guests—PiaPiUFO, Phoebe, and Juna Unagi.

After finally getting into the concert site, the Tabernacle, I was faced with a second line—this time for merch. Unfortunately, the penlights sold out before I could make it to the front, but I bought a few other things instead, including a holographic ticket that isn’t going to be sold online. Also, I thought there was a chance I might not get my hands on a concert penlight, so I brought a backup with me, just in case. From there, I made my way up to the balcony. To my surprise, a good number of seats were available despite the fact that the tickets for them were unreserved, so I got to have an amazing and unobstructed view. After a half-hour delay (due to the sheer number of people trying to buy merch), things kicked off with the opening acts.

The Opening Acts

I had little prior experience with PiaPi, Juna, or Phoebe. At the very most, I’d seen Phoebe on guest lists at conventions here and there. Knowing the lineup, I actually spent a bit of time in the days prior and on the plane getting to know their music. While I got the sense that they were all decent performers, I wasn’t prepared for how much more impressive they were at the concert. PiaPi did a great job building up hype and using her 2D model to its fullest, and she just sounded great. I’m glad I finally got to hear Phoebe in action, who was solid all around, and I enjoyed her cover of “Snow Halation.” Juna’s sultry voice and presentation worked well, though I’m not quite the audience for a parody song that describes gay sex and waterworks in extremely fine detail. 

Each of them sang three or four songs, and were almost half the entire concert. I think Doki and Mint granting so much time to the other VTubers is very representative of them and their desire to create events that celebrate others. PiaPi has the smallest following out of all of them, and she’s seeing a significant bump in subscribers. While waiting in line before the concert, I happened to spot two PiaPi supporters (known as Pickles) dressed in themed happi.

It was then time for the main acts, and the screen transitioned to Dokibird—except she wasn’t singing or dancing, but was instead indulging in her latest gaming obsession: Marvel Rivals. The audience spent seven minutes watching her play as Luna Snow while Mint was telling her to wrap it up. If there’s anything that a more corporate VTuber event wouldn’t be able to do, it’s probably silliness like this.

The Main Attraction

Finally, on a stage decorated with their fan mascots waving penlights, Doki and Mint warped in, fully 3D and amidst raucous applause. I can’t say enough about how beautiful their models were. It was as if the original 2D designs had been brought to life, and to make them look that good both when still and in motion was no easy feat. Mint’s concert model wasn’t her official one, but the quality was still very nice. Dokibird’s is her official one, and she even hired for it a highly regarded artist in KarakuriPower (who’s done work for hololive). 

I didn’t recognize a lot of the songs, and I even thought their first act was an original number when it was actually a cover with the words “Doki” and “Mint” swapped in. Regardless, I enjoyed the sheer variety of musical choices. Doki acknowledges that she’s nowhere near as good a singer or dancer as Mint, and so her individual performances tended towards meme picks, like  “Xue Mao Jiao”, the Doraemon opening, and the Five Nights at Freddy’s theme. Even if she admitted to flubbing some choreography, I think she succeeded in bringing the fans along for the ride. Hopefully next time, she can do a Cantonese song too.

Mint loves idols and idol culture with all her heart, so she tended in that direction. Her performance of “New Romantic Sailors” was a personal highlight. Not only is it one of the best Love Live! Songs, period, but I actually got to see it performed live at Anime NYC a few years ago. While she delivered in spades on the “Minto-chan Laser Beeeaaaam!” (playing off “Riko-chan Laser Beam” from the original performer), I also appreciated seeing her substituting her name for all three Guilty Kiss singers in the lead-up to the yell. However, in between the idol stuff, she threw in a cover of “Break Stuff’ by nu metal band Limp Bizkit, which has become an anthem of sorts for Mint. The ghost maid is such a solid entertainer.

The Ultimate Callback

One of the biggest moments of Fantôme Thief’s Revenge snuck up on the entire audience. A duet began with Mint sitting at a table with a cup in hand. Doki walked over, also holding a cup, and then she sang the words that brought some of the loudest cheers of the evening: “Someday, we’ll have our last conversation…and drink our last cup of coffee.” 

The significance of lilypichu’s “Last Cup of Coffee” to Doki and her fanbase cannot be understated. For her original supporters in her earliest days of VTubing, this was like Doki’s gift to them shortly before her original graduation. For those who discovered her as Selen, her cover music video was supposed to be her Christmas present to us, but its removal is what started the chain of events that led to her tumultuous firing and subsequent revival as Dokibid. And now here she was, almost a year later, singing it once again, as if to show that she dictates what the song means to her and her fans.

Much of Dokibird’s return since February has seen her reclaim aspects of her identity, such as her fan name (Dragoons), her appearance (a design by the same artist used for Selen), and her subscriber count (800,000+). This song was one of the last pieces of the puzzle. In later streams, Doki and Mint revealed that the decision to have this in the concert was Mint’s idea, and that it was to make “Last Cup of Coffee” a happy memory for the Dragoons. 

Dooby and a New Age of VTubing?

What actually brought the loudest yells of the concert was the awaited appearance of the final guest.

As the stage screen transitioned to a red curtain backdrop, “Sugar Song and Bitter Step,” the ending theme to the anime Blood Blockade Battlefront, began. Mimicking the ending video, Doki appeared in a spotlight, followed seconds later by Mintl. This left an open spot in the middle, where a little train car suddenly appeared, signaling a warp-in by Dooby in all her train-conducting Jerboa glory. The audience erupted and I did my best to add to the excitement. This song was also a popular karaoke choice for Dooby in her previous identity, so it felt extra special to her fans who have been supporting her these past five years. Seeing them all dance and kick and just have a good time is one of my fondest memories from this concert.

I think the crowd reaction wasn’t simply because Dooby is a beloved Vtuber. Just as important was how these were three of the biggest names in English VTubing, now all working as indies. It was as if a new era had arrived.

Bringing It Home

The “final” song of the evening was emblematic of the general irreverence of the concert as a whole: “I Just Had Sex” by The Lonely Island. PiaPi, Phoebe, and Juna all joined in, still using their 2D models. The comedic nature of the song had the whole audience bopping along, and I think the fact that Doki and Mint brought the opening guests in for this performance once again speaks to their general interest in using their platform to bring attention to lesser known talents. It was an attitude that benefited their previous company, and it’s heartwarming to see them follow through on their desire to help others out. The encore was “shake it!” by Vocaloid composer emon. I didn’t know it myself, but in hindsight, having it end with a Hatsune Miku song is about as appropriate as it gets for a VTuber concert.

Closing Thoughts

While there was no official stream of Fantôme Thief’s Revenge, the two made it okay to record the concert. Later, I learned that there was a handcam stream on Twitter that had over 50,000 concurrent viewers. Days later, a full version was also uploaded to Youtube:

So why did I write all this up despite it being freely accessible to everyone? Because I think it’s important to still have these memories put into words for posterity. Also, I think there are some things that don’t easily come across even with a video, 

In terms of criticisms, I don’t have many. I wish I could have gotten a penlight. Some of the reserved seating (which I wasn’t a part of) forced that part of the audience to view things at an awkward angle because of the screen. Not only was the timing of the concert inconvenient because it was so close to the holidays, but it also overlapped The VTuber Awards which had a halftime performance), as well as hololive EN’s musical, “The Broken Promise.” 

I’m happy I ended up going to “Fantôme Thief’s Revenge.” It was both Dokibird and Mint’s first true 3D concert as their current selves using their updated designs, and I cherish the fact that I could be part of it. Getting to see Dooby make her concert debut was also a treat, as was being better introduced to Piapi UFO, Phoebe, and Juna Unagi. It was an experience that rewarded my fandoms and helped me discover new possibilities. And while I hardly talked to any other fans, I could at least appreciate their mutual enthusiasm and energy. 

Merry Christmas!

Thinking About “New Romantic Sailors”

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Of the many Love Live! Sunshine!! songs, “New Romantic Sailors” is a favorite of mine. Not only is it just a catchy tune, but the fact that I got to see Guilty Kiss perform it at Anime NYC over two years ago makes it a special memory. But what really makes it stick out in my mind is the choreography for live performances, specifically the poses in the above image that they take. 

On the left is Kobayashi Aika, the voice of Tsushima “Yohane” Yoshiko, a character who calls herself a “fallen angel” and her fans “little demons.” Aika just screams chuunibyou, like she’s trying hard to convey how dark and mysterious she is, or as if she’s about to break into villainous laughter any second.

In the middle is Aida Rikako, the voice of Sakurauchi Riko. Her arms, crossed at the wrists, are reminiscent of the “Specium Beam” seen in Ultraman. Riko is a bit of a closet otaku herself, but it also sets up one of the signature moments of “New Romantic Sailors,” when Riko shouts, “Riko-chan Laser Beeeeeeaaaam!”

And on the right is Suzuki Aina, the voice of Ohara Mari. In other songs, Aina also does a finger-gun, and it speaks to Mari’s background as an Italian-American who also sometimes dresses like a cowgirl. Associating Americans with guns feels a little on-the-nose, but it’s also kind of fair.

“New Romantic Sailors” full song

I think this stuff is probably obvious for more hardcore Love Live! fans, but I just wanted to write about it to show my appreciation for its cleverness. What I really love about these poses is the fact that they’re all similar yet unique—each one’s a cross-arm pose, but the differences between them exemplify each character’s persona perfectly. Often, it feels like the dance moves for Love Live! songs don’t necessarily speak to each individual character’s traits, yet “New Romantic Sailors” has it in spades.

Hajimari no Real G’s: Anime NYC 2019

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For the third year straight, Anime NYC 2019 has continued to fill a much-needed void as a New York Metropolitan-centric major anime and manga convention that is run by experienced professionals.

More of the Javits Center was taken up by the con compared to previous years, implying continued growth. While it’s not as large as New York Comic Con, and there’s a bit of an upper limit as to how many dedicated otaku are in the NYC area versus how many comics fans there are, I don’t mind the current balance. One of the strengths and weaknesses of NYCC is that it’s extremely broad and seems more like a general nerd multimedia convention than one dedicated to its core concept of comics and comics-related things. With Anime NYC, however, it still feels like an event dedicated to anime and manga fans fire and foremost. That alone is much appreciated.

The Guests

The guests this year were pretty much straight out of my dream list. Sadly, due to both personal obligations and just the sheer amount of overlapping content, I couldn’t even see everything I wanted to. On the fortunate side, however, I got to attend both the premiere of the first Gundam Reconguista in G film and a press Q&A with the tsundere master herself, Kugimiya Rie. You can check out Ogiue Maniax’s dedicated entries to both of those in the accompanying links.

Anime NYC 2019 went with a pre-show lottery system for getting autograph tickets as a way to prevent people from trying to line up at 3am in the morning and to give a fair chance to those who are coming from far away or don’t have the means or ability to get to the convention extra-early. Despite the fact that I didn’t get any autographs, I didn’t mind this system because it seems to be about as fair as it gets.

Alternately, some autographs could be obtained through purchasing specific products at the start of each day. There were also the $125 Kugimiya autographs that sold out in literally about five minutes, but Anime NYC 2019 was her first US appearance, so that was more or less expected.

That said, I’m not especially fond of the trend I’m seeing at Anime NYC where guests will only sign things from the shows they’re at the convention to promote. I understand why it happens, given that the guests coming want to make sure that the works they’re being advertised for get top billing, but these industry names often have such long CVs that it’s a shame when fans aren’t be able to express love for the particular things they feel closest to. For example, wanted to get autographs from Yukana and Kimura Takahiro, one of my favorite voice actors and character designers, respectively. But rather than being able to have my Pretty Cure and Gaogaigar signed, their autographs were tied to Code Geass—a series I don’t have quite as much affection for. Limiting what can be signed (aside from obvious things like “no bootleg merchandise”) is a direction I’d like to see conventions move away from in general, even more than paid autographs.

Exhibitor’s Hall and Artist Alley

I did not end up buying much at the convention—a t-shirt here, a manga there—but from what I could tell, it was not especially difficult to navigate in terms of foot traffic. At times, it could be difficult to tell which row corresponded to what designated section, but it was manageable. They also placed the Artist Alley in the same space as the Exhibitor’s Hall this year, which meant the loss of the third-floor space but maybe more reliable crossover traffic for both the big companies and the small artists.

One new feature was a special food area in addition to the food trucks outside and the food court down in the bottom level. It was a great idea in principle, but the prices seemed a bit ridiculous even for convention standards. Go Go Curry (aka my favorite Japanese curry chain ever) was the star of the show, but the line was so constantly massive that I never had time to try their convention-exclusive fried-egg-on-gyudon curry. Here’s to hoping that it becomes a standard item on the Go Go Curry menu!

Lantis Matsuri

I was incredibly pumped to attend Lantis Matsuri at Anime NYC this year, as it had an impressive lineup of musical guests: JAM Project, Guilty Kiss from Love Live! Sunshine!!, TRUE, and Zaq. Months prior, I swooped in on a ticket as soon as they became available, and I’m glad that they eventually opened up more tickets for those who couldn’t get the initial ones. I wonder if they were hedging their bets, and trying to see if the demand would be there for more.

When it comes to attending anime music concerts, part of the fun is song familiarity and being able to enjoy your favorite themes live. But even for the less familiar tunes, Lantis Matsuri hit it out of the park. All the singers were fantastic, and really felt like they belonged on that stage. Guilty Kiss clearly had the largest fanbase there, and their hype was well deserved. I still have “New Romantic Sailors” stuck in my head. TRUE and Zaq ended with their best-known hits, “Dream Solister” from Sound! Euphonium and “Sparkling Daydream” from Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions. It was not lost on the audience that these were both Kyoto Animation series themes.

Despite the stiff competition, however, JAM Project showed they they know how to steal a show There’s something about their energy that draws you in that outshines even the brightest stars. I have to wonder how someone completely unfamiliar with them felt about their performance. They led with One Punch Man to get the crowd to realize just exactly who they are, but they also made sure to include songs less widely known by the general audience. Of particular note is their blend of GONG and SKILL, which combined two of their best Super Robot Wars themes.

There were multiple collaborations throughout the concert, and one sticks out to me above all: JAM Project with Guilty Kiss doing the second opening from GARO. Before the concert began, someone near me was expressing their love of GARO, and seeing him scream wide-eyed as JAM Project announced that the next song was “Savior in the Dark” was a real highlight of the con.

My only complaint about the concert was that the audio was a little too loud. I was not sitting especially close to the speakers, but I could feel my ears ringing the next day. I also had this problem at the Gundam Reconguista in G showing, so I have to wonder if it was a convention-wide issue.

Overall

I thought Anime NYC 2019 was great, and I’m looking forward to next year. As the convention gets bigger, though, I hope it continues to properly straddle the line between big professional expo and intimate-feeling fan-oriented gathering. It might be an impossible task, but I still want that dream nevertheless.

Anime NYC 2019 Hype Post, aka The Craziest, Most Incredible Guests

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Anime NYC 2019 is only two days away, and I want to use this opportunity to talk about how amazing the guests are this year. I promise that this is not a paid or sponsored endorsement in any way—these are my genuine feelings, and my feeling is that the guest list this year is just virtually perfect.

First and foremost, you have the legendary director of Mobile Suit Gundam, Ideon, and Zambot 3, Tomino Yoshiyuki. I saw him 10 years ago at New York Anime Festival 2009, and I am eager to see his return. He’ll be showing the first Gundam: Reconguista in G film, and as a staunch defender of that series, I’ve gotta go see it.

Then there’s Kimura Takahiro, animator and character designer on Gaogaigar, Godannar, Betterman, Brigadoon, and Code Geass. He is one of my favorite character designers ever, and I’m so, so stoked for him to be in New York.

Speaking of Code Geass, the voice actor Yukana will be making her New York City debut. In addition to playing C.C. in Code Geass (aka the best character in that series), she’s also Teletha Testarossa in Full Metal Panic!, Li Meiling in Cardcaptor Sakura, and Cure White in Futari wa Pretty Cure!

But Yukana is not the only Cure who will be there, as Ise Mariya (Cure Lemonade from Yes! Pretty Cure 5) is coming to promote The Promised Neverland, where she plays Ray. The director of The Promised Neverland, Kanbe Mamoru, will also be at Anime NYC 2019. He’s also the director for one of my favorite anime ever, Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san.

Megalo Box is an amazing anime and reinterpretation of Ashita no Joe, Moriyama Yo, and both the director and producer, Fujiyoshi Minako, will be attending.

And the Lantis Matsuri concert Friday night will feature both JAM Project and Guilty Kiss from Love Live! Sunshine!! Having now attended concerts for both groups, I’m pumped to see them again (and again and again in the future, hopefully). Nothing is as fantastic as JAM Project performing “SKILL,” and a part of me is sincerely hoping all the groups involved will join in for a rousing “WHOHhhHHoooHHHooOoooH.”

So see you all at Anime NYC, and I hope these guests get the star treatment they deserve.