ltgmars | in which Inez has the best night of her life

a.k.a. another GANTZ premiere report. This is mostly a runthrough of my day, so non-friends (and some friends... be honest with yourself, Inez) will probably find some of these parts boring, but it does get juicy, so stick around if you're in it for Nino. [Also, this is not in the A*ashi filter because Harrison -- the person, not the computer -- would want to know. ♥]

So, as I mentioned previously, I ended up getting tickets to the Hollywood premiere of GANTZ. And so I went.

I'd planned on leaving right after history class so that I could get to the theatre and hang out in line or whatever for a while, but upon wearing my yellow heels of doom through my first two classes, I noticed that the side of the right shoe was kind of popping out (shoddily made, but what can you do? still freaking adorable, amirite), so I stopped by the bookstore to buy superglue and put them back together. Thankfully, I'd had the wisdom to slip an extra pair of flats into my bag, just in case my feet got tired (and they did... but more on that later).

After the nice lady bus driver told me that the bus wouldn't be leaving for another half hour and I bummed around at the student center and ate overpriced, frozen sushi (like, really? I can't expect it to be Tsukiji-fresh, but at least pretend you don't freeze that shit), and after consulting with said nice lady bus driver on the route (which was a good decision, because I was going about it all wrong), I figured out how to get to Hollywood. It felt like a long ride only because I was anxious to get there, though I did get the chance to see the bus do its thing to help someone in a wheelchair get on (I don't take public transportation much, so I've never seen it before, and it was really nice to see how it worked, and how patient and helpful the passengers were in getting the aisle cleared out and the seats set up). Walked the three blocks down from where I got off the bus at Sunset and Highland, peeked left, peeked right, saw "CHINESE" and the Walk of Fame, figured I was headed in the right (left!) direction.

Got there around 2pm (hottest time of the day~), asked the guy at the entrance wearing a Chinese outfit how to get to theatre six, went up the escalator, and found myself in the company of family. ♥ There were a bunch of people hanging out at the tables right at the top of the escalator with their Nino uchiwa scattered on the table and their Arashi bags and shirts and merch in plain view. Called up Armay (

alphie_damiek) since she'd been trying to get fans together, and we ended up gelling amazingly well, which, you know. It's always nice to instantly click with someone you've never spoken to before. Also called up Jelyn (

hazukashiii), the recipient of my second ticket, just to make sure we were on the same page before all of the chaos happened.

At around 3:15pm or so, the group of people there funneled into a line, so we figured something was going down (duh-duh-dumm). I found Jelyn again, and I spent the rest of the night with her and her sisters. We flowed into the theatre, got our tickets (these superbly amateur pieces of paper with "GANTZ ticket" and the GANTZ orb printed on them) and posters and rules/specific information about the event, and waited. Waited for a damn long time. It was torturous! (It was also at this point that I decided enough people had appreciated my killing my feet for Nino, so I switched into my flats.)

But it was also incredibly nice to just chill and veg out and chat with Jelyn and her sisters and the people in front of me (who had gone to LAX that morning to greet the stars when they got off the plane... that's dedication, or something XD). We were instructed to stand along the walls of a short corridor leading to an exit, and people kept coming by to tell us to stand single-file, etc., over and over again, which was tough when there were so many people just clumped together. The e-mail that had gone out prior to the show had said that the ~*~stars would be arriving~*~ around 4:15pm, but by that time, they still hadn't come. There were a couple of false alarms when cameras rolled by and people were asked to get excited (ahaha ohgod, I just clapped and went "woo", please let's not have that be on television anywhere), but eventually, around 4:30pm-ish-maybe, there were more screams, and I was like, "Is it another false alarm?" But it ended up being the real deal -- the real fucking deal, Nino and MatsuKen strollin' through, not ten feet away from us, escorted by their bigger, buffer bodyguards. (Not difficult when it's Nino, but.)

And now I pause briefly to pose a question to you all: Have you ever screamed so hard no sound came out? Pressed air through your throat in a wild plea for something, anything, and come up with nothing? Wailed and shrieked silently, thankfully silently, because if you actually made sound, your throat would be ripped to shreds?

I haven't ever had that experience. Until tonight.

Fuck, guys. Like, fuck. Nino, right there. Right there. Solid and gorgeous and mere feet away from me. It was surreal. I was kind of tearing up and freaking out, and Jelyn's friend had the misfortune of catching me doing some kind of flappy jig on camera (she may or may not have also caught the moment where I couldn't even stand anymore and I kind of collapsed into a heap against the wall), but no matter, Nino was there. Nino was there.

And guys? This isn't even the best part of the night.

So after that went down and we all collectively freaked out a bit more, a cleaning guy came by and did a groovy little wave and bow, and we all cheered for him, too. XD And after a bit more waiting, we finally, finally filed into the theatre.

The theatre, as far as I could tell, was set up into three tiers (like a regular movie theatre, really). The lower tier, closest to the screen and the ~*~stage~*~, filled up right before we got there, so we started the first line of the second tier. Sat around, chatted some more, etc. There was also some sound equipment that was kind of in our way, and since I'd seen a Japanese guy in a suit talking to his video guy while they'd been standing in front of it, I pulled out some BAMF Japanese and asked him politely if he could move the equipment out of the way. He and the American sound equipment guy found a place for it that wasn't in anyone's way of the screen or the stage, and I considered it a job well done.

(Sorry about that interlude there. I'm arrogant about two things: my Japanese (not because I'm anywhere near fluent, but because I've worked damn hard at it and made it passable) and the way my hair is beautifully no-fuss. So let me have my simple pleasures. XD)

At 5pm sharp, or pretty damn close to it, after the screen had been filtering through some fun facts! that everyone in the theatre knew about Nino (his J-Pop group, Arashi, was the best-selling artist in Japan for two years straight, apparently) and MatsuKen (Death Note? What's this now?) and some little movie clips from the company that had produced GANTZ (it was funny how people cheered for a bunch of the movies and were dead silent for the ones no one had seen), the interviewer (the editor of OtakuUSA, apparently? How nice for you) went up on stage, said some stuff, and beckoned Nino and MatsuKen to come on down~

The price? The price was so right, guys. Nino and MatsuKen came down from the top of the theatre, presumably from a private box of some kind, and just went down the regular side aisle, closer (and slower, and not as obscured by big people) than before.

Cue more screaming, and hand-clutching of people I'd just met (Jelyn on one side and one of the airport-goers, Monica, on the other), and "holy shit holy shit holy shit ahhhhh."

They went on stage, and if you were at any of the other screenings, you will know that they did their opening greetings in English and I just about died because Nino. Nino. Like, can you teach me? SO CUTE.

(I'm not sure where else I'm going to fit this in, so I'll just mention now that Nino was wearing very shiny pants. :3.)

And then they were shooed away, and the movie started.

Brief, hopefully not-too-spoilerrific thoughts:
- The dub? Wasn't terrible, as far as dubs go. I mean, live action dubs are pretty terrible on principle, but it could have been worse. I think the worst part was just how distracting and jarring it was, since I know what Nino and MatsuKen and some of the others sound like. And goddamn, I was reading Nino's lips on occasion and I could hear him saying some of those lines, and I really, really wished it'd been in Japanese.
- Nino was licentious and arrogant and calculating and pathetic and determined and perfect.
- MatsuKen had a moment that made me cream my pants. Like, unf.
- They kept it pretty gory, which is fine (though I totally did that cringe-in-your-seat-in-anticipation thing a few times). They obviously toned down the sexual, misogynistic parts, though Nino as Kei had his moments.
- There was one shot where Nino was standing in his GANTZ suit with a gun in his hand and a smirk on his face and I objectified him. Ohmygoodness, I objectified him so hard.
- Some of the action scenes were pretty awesome, NGL.

Watching a movie with a lot of enthusiastic people is pretty fun. There was some clapping and cheering and gasping and sighing and "aww"ing and laughing. Good times, and I hope Nino and MatsuKen found it to be a fun experience.

Afterwards, there was the scheduled Q&A. Nino and MatsuKen came on down~ again (the price was still right), and they answered questions from a paper. This part is actually pretty jumbled for me (though it was interesting to hear the answers in Japanese and then to see how the interpreters translated them; Nino's was spot on -- earnest when Nino was earnest, funny and colloquial when Nino made a joke; MatsuKen's had a bit of a harder time because MatsuKen spoke in long, stream-of-consciousness type answers... boy had a lot to say, apparently!), but I'm sure there are other, more precise explanations of this part crawling around on LJ by now (and even a video?). I'll just throw out a few general comments about this part:

- Nino. Nino.
- Nino did his snarky, know-it-all face at one point and OMGGGGGG.
- Nino called MatsuKen his usual nickname of "Macchan" and it made me d'aww.
- Nino hiding behind MatsuKen. MatsuKen hiding behind his interpreter. Ahahahahaha. ♥
- MatsuKen is hilarious. God, he was saying some really amazing stuff basically all the time, and I felt so bad for the interpreter, who was having trouble following him and translating it all without missing parts.
- When MatsuKen said something funny, the way Nino laughed was just. Guh. ♥ Greatest moment of my life.
- I definitely did the awkward thing where MatsuKen said something funny and I laughed, and then I thought about it and laughed again, loudly, by myself, while everyone else was paying rapt attention. (This, I find, runs in the family -- I hate watching movies in theatres with my brother because if something's funny, he'll laugh... and then three scenes later, he'll slap me on the arm and recite whatever was funny and laugh again. Loudly. I come from a family of loud laughers; if you've ever spent five minutes with me in person, you know this to be true.)
- Basically, my appreciation for MatsuKen shot through the roof on this one. Though obviously it's still all about Nino.

After the Q&A was over, the broadcast stopped, but as a special treat~, we had the actors around for a few more questions. As far as I can remember, they were something like this (though I might be conflating these questions with the first part):

- What was it like to listen to yourself dubbed? (Standard answers about how it was strange, but, as they'd said before, the dub actors did a great job and fit their parts and the story well.)
- Promise to come back! (Nino at that point pulled up the producer and said that he was the person to be directing that to, and the producer said that if you watch it a lot, they'll definitely try their best to bring them back.)
- Both your English seems to be improving... y'all wanna dub your own voices next time? ("Ahahaha, I'll try it," said Nino. "Um, I'd rather it just be in Japanese..." said MatsuKen.)
- Did you know you had this many fans in the United States? (Both said that they didn't know. Nino also mentioned how people came to the airport, and my airport friends to my left freaked out. XD)
- How was it to watch the movie and see all of the people's reactions? (They both said they thought it was great, and a wonderful opportunity that they don't often have.)
- Lots about coming back to America, dubbing their own voices, etc. The details get blurred because...

because...

After the special Q&A was done, the industry guy was like, "Hey, let's take a picture with the audience." Cue screaming from the audience... you know, the usual.

But us? The people I was sitting with? We kids in the first row of the second tier? Were just thinking about how there was quite a bit of empty space right in front of us... perfect for the stars to be taking a picture, really. You know. If they felt like it.

AND THEY DID OH GOD FUCK THEY FELT LIKE IT

I don't know how wide the cameras go, and I don't even know if it's going to show up anywhere, but if you see the Hollywood premiere picture and it goes wide enough, you'll see me there in the row right behind Nino and MatsuKen, grinning like an idiot, amongst wonderful people I'd just met.

AND THEN?

Best part of the night?

(Wait for it... wait for it...)

After they were done taking plenty of versions of the group picture, they had to head back to the stage. Of course, everyone was cheering and going nuts, and I figured this was my chance to make myself heard, since they were passing by, say, five feet in front of us...

So I scream out something they'll both appreciate: "Otsukaresama deshita!"

And Nino turns his head,

meets my eyes,

and nods at me.

Shit. Like, shit.

I can't even explain what I'm feeling right now, hours later. I can close my eyes and see it happen all over again. I can do it with my eyes open. Nino knows I exist? Nino responded to me personally? From five feet away?

IS THIS EVEN REAL?

Honestly, I had to check with Jelyn to make sure I didn't imagine it. But I hadn't. It happened. There was definite acknowledgment. Definite eye contact.

AHAHAHA I SOUND CRAZY like all that matters in my life is that Nino knows I exist, but I can't even. What is this feeling?

Anyway, that was basically it. XD They took more pictures of just the two of them on stage, and they had some closing comments, which were warm and wonderful and my brain and my heart and the rest of my internal organs were mush on the floor from how amazing it had all been. And then they slipped out of the theatre and into the night~

Just, this night, guys. I met some fantastic people and saw Nino -- and he saw me -- and just. I'm high on how incredible this all was, and I never, ever want to come back down again.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

alphie-damiek.livejournal.com

THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY REVIEWS ILL READ OF THIS AMAZING, AMAZING EVENT. for me, its finally sinking in, but still. wow. WOW. did we just... i mean really? ninomiya kazunari in the flesh? ONLY 90% of me believes it.

omg i love your phrasing: THE PRICE WAS INDEED RIGHT. so, so right. i was also squeezing the hand of someone i just met. XD arashi fans are great.

YOU ARE ONE LUCKY SUNNAVAGUN. WELL PLAYED, GIRLFRAAAN. what a great way to end it by telling him something im sure he wanted to hear. =3=

i hope we get to see ourselves or at least one of the pictures from the event. and i really hope our faces aren't derpy. XDD

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in which Inez has the best night of her life

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