This
event displayed the combined power of two young musicians and the
Cartoon Network. When Ami and Yumi of Puffy AmiYumi entered the big
meeting room on Otakon's Friday night, they were welcomed as conquering
heroes. Never mind that they were an hour late because of of the East
Coast's brutally heavy road traffic, or that the cartoon show that
features them owes more to Huckleberry Hound than to Japanese
animation, or that their concert schedule didn't include an Otakon
performance - the crowd wanted to see them. The singers were met with a
standing ovation when they arrived, apologetic for being late. They
asked fans to slip away from Otakon to see their Saturday night concert
in Philadelphia, saying it would "...show another aspect of us that's
not the cartoon show." They gave away some tickets to their Monday
night show in Washington, D.C., and then answered a few questions from
the audience. They like performing in Los Angeles the best and said
their favorite U.S. band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
One
fan asked if the pair get on each others' nerves. "When we met we were
already adults," answered Yumi. "When we're together, we hardly ever
fight. We complain together and we're on the same side. We don't fight
- we're very close." That closeness comes from the way the two got
started - auditioning for the same management group at the same time,
becoming friends and deciding they wanted to be in the same band. That
led to their debut song, which, while not as well known among U.S. fans
as their later works, remains a point of nostalgia for the two because
it helped lead to their success as performers. After their brief,
20-minute appearance, which included fan questions about their favorite
food and a marriage proposal, the pair was gone and fans crowded the
front of the room for a souvenir folder giveaway.
One
anecdote that shows the power of the Cartoon Network show: appearing
before the pair arrived was the band's manager, who doubles as a
cartoon character. It's obvious that the animators made the cartoon
version look like the real thing, although the flesh-and-blood manager
isn't as short as the drawn version. That manager was asked what he
thought of being made into a cartoon character, and he replied that
he's never seen the series. That manager was seen intently viewing the
cartoon episode that was screened for fans. Ami and Yumi also noted
that the U.S. series had not yet been shown in Japan. None of the fans
at the panel asked the singers what they thought of the U.S. series or
whether it had changed their careers - although, considering that they
were on their second U.S. tour of 2005 at Otakon time, it couldn't have
hurt them.
This
event displayed the combined power of two young musicians and the
Cartoon Network. When Ami and Yumi of Puffy AmiYumi entered the big
meeting room on Otakon's Friday night, they were welcomed as conquering
heroes. Never mind that they were an hour late because of of the East
Coast's brutally heavy road traffic, or that the cartoon show that
features them owes more to Huckleberry Hound than to Japanese
animation, or that their concert schedule didn't include an Otakon
performance - the crowd wanted to see them. The singers were met with a
standing ovation when they arrived, apologetic for being late. They
asked fans to slip away from Otakon to see their Saturday night concert
in Philadelphia, saying it would "...show another aspect of us that's
not the cartoon show." They gave away some tickets to their Monday
night show in Washington, D.C., and then answered a few questions from
the audience. They like performing in Los Angeles the best and said
their favorite U.S. band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
One
fan asked if the pair get on each others' nerves. "When we met we were
already adults," answered Yumi. "When we're together, we hardly ever
fight. We complain together and we're on the same side. We don't fight
- we're very close." That closeness comes from the way the two got
started - auditioning for the same management group at the same time,
becoming friends and deciding they wanted to be in the same band. That
led to their debut song, which, while not as well known among U.S. fans
as their later works, remains a point of nostalgia for the two because
it helped lead to their success as performers. After their brief,
20-minute appearance, which included fan questions about their favorite
food and a marriage proposal, the pair was gone and fans crowded the
front of the room for a souvenir folder giveaway.
One
anecdote that shows the power of the Cartoon Network show: appearing
before the pair arrived was the band's manager, who doubles as a
cartoon character. It's obvious that the animators made the cartoon
version look like the real thing, although the flesh-and-blood manager
isn't as short as the drawn version. That manager was asked what he
thought of being made into a cartoon character, and he replied that
he's never seen the series. That manager was seen intently viewing the
cartoon episode that was screened for fans. Ami and Yumi also noted
that the U.S. series had not yet been shown in Japan. None of the fans
at the panel asked the singers what they thought of the U.S. series or
whether it had changed their careers - although, considering that they
were on their second U.S. tour of 2005 at Otakon time, it couldn't have
hurt them.
