While most of Duel Jewel remained in Japan to work on their forthcoming album, vocalist Hayato (left) and drummer Val (right) traveled to Katsucon to meet with American fans. That album should be finished around May, and there's talk of a near-simultaneous release of that album in Japan and the U.S. "We always try to make our new songs better than the last ones," Hayato said. "It's a challenge for us...if you listen to our new stuff, you'll wonder where we were going with the previous albums." Each new album goes beyond a new sound to also generate a new look for the band. "Whatever CD we're putting out, we think about the images of the songs on the CD and apply our costumes to that," said Val. Before arriving at Katsucon, the Duel Jewel members met with a MTV correspondent who told them about the growing number of Americans who are interested in Japanese pop and rock, something that pleased Hayato and Val - and something that got them thinking about the differences between American and Japanese audiences. Val said, "Here, you can really, really hear the fans' feelings. Everybody's so loud. Japanese people are really shy. They don't talk in a loud voice very often, and there's never just one person cheering in Japan - everyone has to cheer at the same time." Added Hayato, "But in the United States, everyone cheers when they want to cheer - it's a free country."

Part of the fascination of watching an American appearance by a Japanese band is hearing American fans' questions. One fan wanted to know more about the boar design on a shirt Hayato wore in a concert video screened for Katsucon; turned out that the video was made during the year of the boar. Then things got unusual; one fan asked where she should have a Duel Jewel tattoo placed on her body, another fan asked for hugs and got them (after which Hayato joked "I think my nose is going to bleed"), and a fan asked them to dance. "Why is everyone trying to make us do stuff?" Hayato asked, to which Val replied "This guy is a great dancer." Hayato then said of Val, "He's not actually playing the drums, he's dancing." When the musicians were asked about their hobbies, Val said he was a Final Fantasy player, while Hayato said he was a Gundam fan, especially of the Seed Destiny series. That reply showed how closely the fans listened to the musicians; before the interpreter could translate Hayato's response to the hobby question, fans heard his comment in Japanese and a few squealed "Seed" in delight. Hayato also revealed he's a baseball fan who supports the Hanshin Tigers and follows the exploits of Ichigo Suzuki with the Seattle Mariners.