Hatsune Miku Expo 2014 in Los Angeles - Trip Report

Last weekend on October 11th and 12th was the very first Miku Expo here in the United States!
I've always wanted to attend a VOCALOID concert live, but the last time there was a live concert in the states was at Anime Expo 2011, which I was unable to attend. So I was super excited to hear that Miku and the rest of the Crypton VOCALOIDs would be back!



I bought VIP standing pit tickets for the Sunday afternoon show, so I decided to spend my Saturday at the Halloween Party / Exhibition portion of the event at LA Center Studios.

Saturday October 11th - Miku Expo

Even though we arrived after the gates opened, there was still a line to get into the gate itself. And then after arriving at the main entrance, there were more lines to be had. This will become a main theme of my Saturday experience.

Here's a map of the expo area. The actual venue was a bit smaller than I expected. Looking back, I think the organizers may have underestimated the number of people who would show up to the free event.

Here's a photo of the entire venue. I'm standing between between the Pumpkin Dome (5) and the Candy Stage (8), looking down the street. The white tents on the right are food stands (6) and there's a booth for demoing Project Diva f 2nd across from it (Pitchfork Area; 7). The building on the left is "Miku's Mansion" which houses the merchandise booths and exhibits on the 2nd floor.

Each of the food booths gave out Miku Expo stickers, and some of them offered loosely 'Miku-themed' foods. For example, I got an okonomiyaki with negi (green onions) and egg inside. I didn't get a close look at the Miku Dog but I'm guessing it had negi on top as well. XD The other booths were selling the usual street fair foods like ramen, karaage, gyoza, crepes, cotton candy, shaved ice and more.

The area for trying Project Diva f 2nd.

Unfortunately the lines were not very well managed in the beginning, and it wasn't clear which line was for Project Diva, for buying merch at the Monster Store, or for the exhibition. Later we found out that somehow there had been two lines for getting into the store, which surrounded the Project Diva booth and eventually combined behind the booth... it was a bit messy. Or maybe I was just cranky at the time because it was warm under the sun... ^-^;;

Sometime during this time there was also an opening ceremony on the Main Stage, but most people were too busy waiting in line to check it out. Karaoke also took place after that, but was limited to only 20 singers.

As you approached the entrance to the main building, you could see the lines for buying merch up above. The folks on the roof estimated that it was another two hour wait to buy merchandise after getting into the building. We also found out that they had set up a separate line for people going in just for the exhibition. At this point the sunk costs fallacy factored in and we decided to continue toughing it out in the merch line. The people waiting in line around me were fun to hang out with though, as we sang VOCALOID songs together and joked about MELT-ing in the sun. As they say, misery loves company!

Once inside the building there was another line for buying the official concert merch. We were glad to be out of the sun, but the reprieve was short as there was another portion of the line that was outside on the roof.

There was also a glass case in the lobby with four items on display: Good Smile Company's "Tell Your World" Miku and Nendoroid Halloween Miku, and Max Factory's Mikuzukin and Ebata Risa Miku. "Tell Your World" Miku in particular looks great in person. I'm definitely looking forward to her release!

The menu of official concert goods on sale.

'Behind the scenes' at the main merch booth. 

There was some miscommunication between the event staff and venue staff about how the lines worked. Some said that you had to wait in line inside before being allowed to any of the store booths outside on the roof. Others said the line was only for the concert goods, and that you could freely exit to the roof for the other booths (GSC, Kinokuniya, Hobby Stock, and Papa Bubble). The latter turned out to be the case, but I heard that some folks were still interrogated by venue staff for trying to exit the line. 

There was no line to purchase from Hobby Stock or Papa Bubble caramels.

By the time we got to the booth, this is what GSC had left. I'm glad I managed to get a Halloween Miku Nendoroid before she was sold out!

After five hours MELTing in the sun in line to buy merch, we decided to took a look through the exhibition side of the expo. One half was a Halloween-themed "Halloween Party" exhibit.

It consisted of four Halloween artworks, and four displays about iconic Miku designs: this year's Halloween Miku (by Suoh), Lamp Miku (by Cat Fish), Calne Ca (by Deino), and Mikudayo.

There was also an area where attendees could make paper masks and fold cute Miku origami~ The masks ran out early on, so I decided to try my hand at the origami instead. The table was a bit small so I opted to take a sheet of paper and a photo of the instructions instead of trying to squeeze onto the bench.

Here's me in my Cheerful Japan Miku cosplay on the photo-taking stage! GSC's Support ver. Miku was my very first scale figure, so the design holds a special place in my heart~

The other side of the floor was the main Miku Expo Exhibition.

There were a few banners on the history of the VOCALOIDs, as well as display cases of VOCALOID merchandise.

Yasai (vegetable) juice from Po-pi-po! I wish they had been selling this at the Expo, haha.

The Piapro wall was like a guestbook where visitors could draw and leave messages. Unfortunately all the lower space was already full and I was nowhere near tall enough to draw at the top. Maybe I should have brought a stepladder... XD

There was also an area to demo Crypton's new VOCALOID mobile game, but I had a hard time figuring out the instructions. ^-^;;

Back outside we stopped by the Pumpkin Dome where there was supposed to be a 360-degree overhead show once an hour. Unfortunately we didn't know that the tickets were sold out well in advance, so I never got a chance to experience it. I heard from others that it was a great show and well worth the $5 though!

Folks still in line when we left...

Afterwards we got dinner in Little Tokyo and did some window shopping in the area. One of my favorite stops is the Mikawaya in the Mall Plaza for delicious mochi-lato (mochi filled with gelato)~

Sunday October 12th - Concert

On Sunday I didn't do much beyond getting into my cosplay and heading for the Nokia Theater to pick up my VIP badge. Then it was time to line up to get inside!

I have nothing but praise for the concert itself. It was tons of fun being in the VIP standing pit and the crowd had so much energy! I was told that it was a lot emptier on Sunday than on Saturday (Groupon even had Sunday tickets on sale) but we made up for it with our synchronized calls and glow stick waves.

Here's the setlist thanks to hightrancesea:

01. Sharing the World - Hatsune Miku (English)
02. Senbonzakura - Hatsune Miku
03. Kocchi Muite Baby - Hatsune Miku
04. Koi Iro Byoutou - Hatsune Miku
05. Colorful Melody - Hatsune Miku & Kagamine Rin
06. Fire Flower - Kagamine Len
07. The Butterfly on My Right Shoulder - Kagamine Len
08. Melancholic - Kagamine Rin
09. Kokoro - Kagamine Rin
10. Glass Wall - Hatsune Miku (English)
11. Torinoko City - Hatsune Miku
12. Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro - Hatsune Miku
13. Romeo and Cinderella - Hatsune Miku
14. Piano × Forte × Scandal - MEIKO
15. Pane dhiria - KAITO
16. Parades - Hatsune Miku
17. Poppippo - Hatsune Miku
18. The White Snow Princess Is - Hatsune Miku
19. Just Be Friends (English ver.) - Megurine Luka
20. Luka Luka Night - Megurine Luka
21. Himitsu Keisatsu - Hatsune Miku
22. Yellow - Hatsune Miku
23. World is Mine - Hatsune Miku
24. Melt - Hatsune Miku

-Encore-
25. Tell Your World - Hatsune Miku
26. Miku Miku Ni Shite Ageru - Hatsune Miku
27. Starduster - Hatsune Miku

Lots of fun energetic songs to sing along to~ I've also realized that "Tell Your World" has the ability to make me teary-eyed almost instantly haha.

After the concert I took a photo in front of the stage. The glass screen reflecting the pink light is where the images of the VOCALOIDs are projected onto.

We went back to the Expo after the concert, but unfortunately tickets for the Pumpkin Dome were already sold out. I took part in the Cosplay Contest, which was a lot of fun (but unfortunately I don't have any pictures since I was in the contest haha).

We had to leave before the closing ceremonies in order to catch our flight, but I've been told that Crypton CEO Hiroyuki Itoh stated that Miku Expo would be back next year! All in all it was a great trip and I'm glad I got the chance to attend the first Miku Expo here in the US. I'm looking forward to the bigger and better Miku Expo they promised for next year!

Obligatory Loot Report

Everyone attending the concert received a white tote bag filled with papers and the Expo glow stick. 

Mac Factory promises us more Miku figures in 2015. The art is a bit too sketchy for me at the moment so I'm looking forward to more updates down the road.

VIP ticket holders also received the black bag after the concert. 

It consisted of a vinyl record, folding fan, and the VIP badge.

I wonder how many people actually own a record player? 

The VIP badge looked pretty neat but served no functional purpose, since it was given after the concert. It would have been cool if being a VIP ticket holder gave you more privileges like shorter lines for merch and the like.

I liked the art on the folding fan and wished that I had it when I was standing in line on Saturday haha. XD

Here's what I bought from the merch booths! Unfortunately the wall scroll and tote bag of the main visual were already sold out when I got there, so I got the T-shirt instead (even though it only came in size 'Free' which basically means size XL).

Perfect time for Halloween decorations!

Here's stuff that I got for free! Yes, I took home some of the streamers that were shot out during the concert. I got the art book for participating in the cosplay contest on Sunday. 

A fan from Japan I met in the VIP pit gave away a few T-shirts (and chocolate) to attendees. The T-shirt was his design and featured Mikuzukin on the front and a history of Miku's concerts on the back!

...According to the wrapper this "Black Thunder" chocolate is popular among young women, and after trying it I must say that it's quite tasty. It reminds me of a Twix bar without the caramel. 

Thanks for reading! A review of Nendoroid Halloween Miku will also be coming up shortly, so keep your eyes out for that!