(Photo from the Miku Expo concert, New York, 10/18/14)
The time had finally come where Miss Hatsune Miku made her New York concert appearance at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. My boyfriend and I were fortunate enough to get VIP tickets that allowed us to get a bag of goodies and “front row seats” at the concert! Here’s the problem though: by “front row seats”, it really means “standing”, which if you don’t mind standing for 6 hours straight then it’s not really a big deal. If you are new to Hatsune Miku, she’s actually not a real person. In fact, that’s what so awesome about her. Hatsune Miku is actually a humanoid singing synthesizer created so that musicians can use her voice in their songs. Her voice actor is Saki Fujita, who was also the opening singer in the popular anime “Working!!.” It’s a pretty interesting concept, and a lot of the music that is used with “her” voice is fantastic! The concert was amazing, however it wasn’t the concert that drove me to write this article but the fans.
This is a message to the fans of Hatsune Miku from a fellow fan. We all love Miku for our own reasons. Some of us love the concept of her, some of us love her because she’s adorable, some love her because her songs are catchy. These are all amazing reasons! So when you go to these kinds of concerts, expect to be open to all different kinds of fans. You are not the only one at the concert, and yes it is crowded, but you still need to be respectful to those around you. For example, telling the girl or guy next to you that “maybe you should have worked harder to get to the front row,” is the absolute worst thing to say. Yes, a person near us did say that to a girl who was there with her mother. What the heck guys? I thought Miku fans were better than this! One of the free items the staff gives out at the concert are glow sticks. When at the concert, have fun with them, but be aware of those around you. There was a girl next to me that got hit in the face with the kid in front of her’s glow stick and he turned around and said “stay out of my way.” Excuse me sir, but we paid for these “seats.” It’s things like these that make the concert less enjoyable for those around you. I understand everyone is tired and cranky, a lot of us have been waiting around outside for hours, but you still must keep it together. In addition, when you are in the front, remember that although you may have an amazing view of Miku, the people behind you are still trying to see over you. There were a few kids in front of us that refused to move over slightly so that a shorter person behind us could see. I felt so bad for her because afterward she had told me that she had come all the way from Florida to see this concert.
Miku is a way of getting all types of people together to enjoy her as a community. If your bad attitude and pride is going to get in the way of everyone else enjoying the concert, then stay home. Honestly, I was really disappointed in the fans at this concert. Obviously I’m not saying everyone was not well behaved, we met a lot of very nice people on the waiting line who were not like the other rude fans, but unfortunately it was the fans that were not respectful who made the night less enjoyable. I hope that the next time I get the chance to go to a Hatsune Miku concert, the fans will be better behaved.