(originally posted November 27, 2019)
This November, I made the trip from Philadelphia to New York City to attend Anime NYC and meet one of my idols, Yoshiyuki Tomino, and several of my online friends who are also among his biggest fans.
In addition to this year being the 40th anniversary of the original Gundam series (and 20th of Turn A, 5th of Reconguista in G, 25th of G Gundam, 30th of 0080: War in the Pocket, etc), it’s also been a decade since Mr. Tomino last visited the US for a convention. This year marks a few decade-long anniversaries for myself as well: 2009 is when I began cosplaying and when I watched Turn A for the first time, discovering the work of Tomino and diving into the rest of the Gundam franchise shortly after. While Gundam was not what initially got me into cosplay, it is what inspired me to learn how to make my own costumes and to stick with the hobby for as long as I have. Though I wanted to celebrate these milestones at Otakon this summer, Anime NYC ended up being the ideal convention to do so instead, especially considering it drew in an Otakon-sized crowd this year.
It’s rather funny how I didn’t think I would attend Anime NYC again after I was disappointed with it last year (I only attended one day anyway). However, when it was announced that the creator of several of my most favorite anime would be one of the guests this year, I had no choice but to return to the city that never sleeps this November.
While I’ve visited NYC a few times before, this was the first time I spent an entire weekend there, so I took some time to explore the city on Thursday night before the convention began. I especially wanted to visit the Garment District. I also needed to pick up my badge for Anime NYC, and was very pleasantly surprised to run into Feez and his friends at the Javits Center. This was the second con in the same year I would get to hang out with fellow Tomino superfan Feez so I feel very fortunate.
For the first day of Anime NYC, I planned to wear my Kihel Heim (disguised as Dianna Soriel) cosplay that I originally debuted at Otakon back in July. Just prior to the convention, I won a ticket for Tomino’s autograph and thought that since Turn A was my first and top favorite work of his, Kihel would be the best cosplay of mine to wear when I meet him. I also booked a personal photoshoot for this cosplay. Despite how long I’ve been cosplaying, I never managed to hire a photographer to take pictures of me in any of my costumes and thought I should finally give it a try.
Friday got off to a rocky start, however. I took too long to get ready that morning, and I decided to walk to the Javits Center while carrying my costume when I really should have paid for a ride instead. My photoshoot still went well, as my photographer was very kind, but because I had to rush over to make it in time I know I looked rather disheveled. What made matters worse was Tomino’s Q & A panel, where many of the people I wanted to meet up with were going to be, was scheduled only a half hour after my shoot. I was super lucky to get in line for it right before they capped it off!
Edit (12/2/2019): I got the photos back from my shoot, and here’s one of them!
As I walked into the panel room to sit by my friends, I was dazzled by the numerous other Gundam cosplayers I saw. It seemed the biggest Tomino fans that I know from online all managed to get seats towards the front. Soon enough, the man we were all there to see walked up on stage, welcomed by a standing ovation and chants of “Tomino! Tomino!” The first half of the panel with moderator Austin Walker asking questions was wildly entertaining. Some of the questions were a little generic and redundant, which made for priceless answers and reactions out of Tomino. Above all, I was really touched by how happy Tomino was to be in NYC again to interact with his American fans. The second half, when attendees were allowed to ask Tomino questions, had me on the edge of my seat but for very different reasons.
It’s very clear there are two kinds of Gundam fans: ones who care about Tomino’s characters, worlds and messages, and those who only care about cool robots (or at the very least, only the Gundam titles that Tomino had nothing to do with). The first person surprisingly asked a question about Turn A and if Tomino ever thought about making a prequel to it, to which his answer was “no I haven’t, and I don’t think I could think of a good enough backstory for one, so to me, Turn A is fulfilled.” As someone who’s been hoping for more Correct Century content for many years, I was saddened to hear this but I understand why Tomino would feel that way, especially now that he has moved onto Reconguista in G. The next guy’s “question” however very nearly ruined the panel, and there were several more blunders after his. Thankfully, the good questions ended up outnumbering the bad, saving the panel from becoming a total disaster. (To be honest, I am considerably more angry about the guy who asked Tomino about the ending of Iron Blooded Orphans than I am about the guy who insisted on telling his convoluted story about handing stickers out in Japan, because it at least the latter eventually asked a reasonable question whereas the former could have easily looked up online that Tomino had nothing to do with IBO and allowed someone else to ask a better question instead!)
Questions pertinent to Tomino’s career included those about his songwriting, naming characters, the possibility of a Crossbone Gundam anime, how can other artists help heal those who are suffering, and which of his own characters and scenes are his favorites. Much like Mr. Walker’s questions, Tomino gave some sassy answers:
“Despite their tenuous relationship, what positive traits would you ascribe to Char and Amuro?”
“I actually don’t know, so you might have to ask them directly!”
The final question could not have been more perfect: Tomino was asked if he’s aware of how much he has inspired everyone in the audience to be better people. I was among the many who applauded this question as I know how true that is for me. Tomino himself was taken aback by this, saying he’s never heard such a compliment from any fans back home, thus reaffirming his affinity for New York and presumably his American fanbase.
With the panel over, the next major activity was getting the lovable old man’s autograph. While the line for his autograph was short, I was exhausted by time I had to be there. Chatting with some of the others in line about Turn A and how lucky I felt to be able to meet its creator kept up my spirits. When my time came and I had to show the staff member my merchandise to be signed before proceeding though, it couldn’t help but cry a little as I explained to her why I brought a Turn A poster for Tomino to sign. Upon entering the mysterious black curtains, Tomino’s representatives were impressed with my cosplay, telling me in English, “He’ll love it!” The tears stopped and my heart was soaring. The mecha mastermind himself was with his interpreter, all smiles as I bowed and handed him my poster. Trembling, I told him,
“Mr. Tomino, it is an absolute honor to meet you. Turn A Gundam means the world to me. I first watched it ten years ago and since then have watched and loved all of your other work, especially Ideon. I look very forward to seeing the G-Reco movie tomorrow. Thank you so very much for all of your creations.”
I couldn’t see his face as he signed my poster since it was covered by the brim of his gold-on-black “Gundam” hat, but he nodded in approval, and had his interpreter to tell me, “I don’t want you to thank me; I want to thank you for supporting my work!” Then his representatives had me pose with Tomino for a photo that from what I understand may be used in Gundam 40th anniversary promotional materials. (I hope I can see it and share it one day!) I was starstruck. I couldn’t even cry anymore because I was thrilled by getting to meet the legendary director of the anime that changed my life. Ten years of dedicating myself to this man’s repertoire of science fiction anime led me to this moment!
There was one last thing in store for day one of the con, the Lantis Matsuri concert, but I was just about out of energy and pain tolerance. After seeing my friends again and showing them the signed poster, I headed back to my hotel thinking I would call it a night. Once out of my costume though, I mustered the strength to catch the end of the concert, since I was told JAM Project was probably going to be the last act (and they were the only act I had any interest in seeing anyway!). I rushed back to Javits Center and to the Special Events Hall and there they were on stage, freaking JAM Project, singing a song with one of the other Lantis acts, Guilty Kiss. Admittedly, I am a new fan despite being aware of their existence for many years. I first heard their song SKILL when I found a music video made for Gundam’s 30th anniversary that used it, and knew they were famous for all their Super Robot Wars opening songs, but little else. So while I couldn’t sing along to any of their songs besides SKILL I still enjoyed the sheer energy of their performance. Reuniting with Feez’s group yet again for a very late dinner afterwards, the momentous first day of Anime NYC came to a close.