Ideal setup for Morning Musume in the US

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If the US is fine with Japanese idol singer and anime cosplay enthusiast Shokotan, above, why not Morning Musume? (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

There they are, big as life. The Los Angeles Convention Center, Staples Center and Nokia Theater. A major national Japanese-culture convention. All that is needed now is … Morning Musume.

Idol singer, blogger and anime cosplay superstar Shokotan, J-pop dancer and singer Ishida and soft-pop duet Jyukai made the magic happen on July 4-5 inside the 7,100-seat Nokia Theater. Granted, neither the Ishida-Jukai show nor Shokotan actually sold out during Anime Expo 2008 – free tickets were being handed out by convention staff right before each concert started – but the overall impression was very positive.

Glowsticks -- famous in Japan at Morning Musume concerts -- invaded the Nokia, first for Ishida and Jyukai, then for Shokotan the following day, July 5. Keep in mind the Shokotan concert was set for 1 p.m., a matinee, and that dozens of panels and other attractions probably kept many of the 50,000 or so attendees from the show.

Further, it was a separate ticket. Anime fans have historically rejected extra fees at AX, but it was much more acceptable, it seemed, this time around.

Bottom line is this: Morning Musume, or a comparable idol group, could easily slip into the Nokia – or, better yet, the nearby Staples Center which could hold 20,000 or more fans. But that’s a little ambitious. The Nokia will do just fine.

The Nokia Theater in LA seats 7,100 and has that steamy indoor feel reminiscent of Yokohama Arena. (Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

Now, a smart promoter might want to book Morning Musume into the Staples Center as a completely separate act to AX and time the concert for, say, the day before the convention starts (not during the convention, which would affect attendance). It would be a captive audience and, properly promoted, might be workable. The catch is that Morning Musume, in and of itself, has few if any anime connections.

And anime fans tend not to be big music fans. Frankly, J-pop fans tend not to be big anime fans. There needs to be a bridge, and the Staples Center might be the answer, perhaps through the Nokia for “trial” concerts as took place last weekend.

Now it would have been a better convention to invite, say, Buono! or Koharu Kusumi to AX 2008. Both have a deep anime-theme history and Kusumi has actually done voice-overs for anime. Either would have attracted quite a bit of attention. Shokotan, who made her US debut over the weekend, Ishida and Jyukai – with marvelous female singer Manami – were certainly wonderful, but both Buono! and Kusumi would have been much better.

The Staples Center, July 3, 2008: Right in the middle of Anime Expo territory, through 2009 at least.(Photo ©2008 by G.A. Carroll)

Idol singers inappropriate for an anime convention? Hmm. Well, Shokotan considers herself an idol. Further, a youthful trio known as Karen Girl's (yes, the apostrophe, however misplaced, is part of the trade name) was shown on the large video screens at the Nokia prior to the Ishida-Jyukai concert July 4. Karen Girl’s is made up of three pint-sized idol singers – Suzuku, Ayami and Yuika – who bear a striking resemblance to Hello! Project Eggs and whose sound is strikingly similar. Their anime theme has been spun into a debut single.

If you're going to invent Karen Girl's out of whole cloth, why not just hire °C-ute or Berryz Kobo?

Anime Expo has already announced it will be at the Los Angeles Convention Center again in 2009, preliminary dates July 2-5. Each year AX shoots for the Fourth of July weekend in some capacity, and this time around the Convention Center appears to be the rock-solid site with experiments elsewhere, like Long Beach, a thing of the past. Long six-hour signup lines were eliminated for the most part this year because of an advanced online registration system, among other issues.

The future looks bright. Now bring on Morning Musume.

This is Rad signing off – for now.