Being Asian American isn’t just about genetics, it’s about culture. The influx of Asian-fusion pop culture into the United States is a testament to the rise of Asian American culture. Outside the mainstream of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Linkin Park, however, is also a whole underground world of Pacific Media flowing in American subcultures, surviving on the power of fandom more than anything else. This year’s Pacific Media Expo served up a cornucopia of Asian American media from both the mainstream and underground.
Extreme Fashion
For the average American, dressing up in costume is something relegated to the dark festivities of Halloween or the occasional thematic party. For the fan of Asian/Pacific media, the more days of the year that can be spent in costume, the better! So what do you get when you combine Halloween with the premier industry trade show for Pacific Media? Nothing short of an explosion of the hottest, hippest cosplay creations of the year.
PMX was not only another haven for costuming in favorite Japanese anime characters, it was a hot spot for aficionados of Lolita fashion — the popular street fashion in Japan among female teenagers in recent years. Lolita fashion is modeled after Victorian and Edwardian designs. Lolita girls looked like Victorian porcelain dolls come to life at the Twisted Tea Party, and Novala Takemoto, an author and fashion designer who is a major figure in Lolita and Gothic culture, met with American fans as a guest of honor.
Also featured were Harajuku fashions (yes, the type that Gwen Stefani sings about), named after the Tokyo neighborhood famous for its showings of outrageous, trend-pushing fashions. From Harajuku’s many live street performers, the fashion is reminiscent of punk, rock and goth fashions in the U.S.
ASIAN CINEMA
For all of you that love Asian films like I do, PMX featured all the movies you can’t catch on the American big screen here. A few that caught my eye were Sars Wars, Azumi 2 and Shinobi. Set in Thailand, Sars Wars is a zombie apocalypse play off the SARS disease scare in Asia. Azumi 2 is the sequel story of a young orphan girl raised to be a government assassin. Shinobi tells the Romeo and Juliet story of a pair of ninja lovers from rival villages. Also showing was Kamikaze Girls, based on the Takemoto novel.
Of course, Pacific Media means both sides of the ocean, so it’s no surprise that some of PMX’s biggest guests were the co-creators of the popular Asian-inspired cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bryan Konetsko and Michael DiMartino. With professional martial arts built into the animation and epic Asian action-adventure fantasy backdrop, I’m looking forward to buying Avatar’s complete DVD box set.
SHOPPING
PMX seriously was a one-stop shopping destination for all the stuff you can’t find at your local American mall. The exhibit hall was full of a variety of merchandise that aptly represented the range of interests of the Pacific Media fan.
In the fashion department, you could try out Cloud Strife’s signature top from Final Fantasy VII, accessorize with jewelry from the anime NANA, don a silken kimono or a Japanese school uniform, or pick up a baby top hat from Lolita Kisama. I was happy to pick up with an elegant samurai silhouette from Sanbon Pro Apparel, though I probably should have also gotten the T-shirt that said, “I know karate.”
For foreign film lovers, there were plenty of booths selling import DVDs featuring Korean martial arts fantasy, Hong Kong gang fights, Chinese kung fu classics and Japanese horror flicks. Watch a bag of these movies and you’ll get a clear idea of what Quentin Tarantino was on when he decided to make the Kill Bill films.
On top of all that, there were tons of manga graphic novels on sale at a 20 percent discount, and many a booth such as Anime Jungle was brimming with anime goodies such as Naruto plushies, Full Metal Alchemist phone charms, and even a full Shinigami (Death God) outfit from the anime Bleach.
Of course, when you got thirsty, there was also a boba booth serving up some tasty Asian teas and snacks.
LIVE MUSIC
The biggest news at PMX was the live music program, bringing to stage the best of what’s hot in the American underground Asian and Asian American music. This year’s line-up had a real rock focus with a strong theme of Asian female hard-rock vocals.
Mesmerizing both goth fans and anime lovers, OLIVIA gave her first live performance in America. Olivia Lufkin is a Japanese American singer and is the singing voice of the character Reira Serizawa of the popular anime NANA. OLIVIA’s vocals are reminiscent of the Russian group t.A.T.u., and the music was full of melodic and heavy rock with gothic undertones.
After their performance full of raw energy last year, it was no surprise to see Los Angeles-based rock band Dig Jelly invited back with their heavy rap-rock lead by the versatile, powerhouse vocals of Rayko.
The popular visual kei band (Japanese glam rock) from Japan, UchuSentai NOIZ, brought their high-energy pop-rock, elaborate costumes, and even their Japan-based fan club to mingle with American fans.
Japan’s MECHANiCAL PANDA showcased more Asian female rock from the underground music scene with two girls, Ren (vocalist and guitar) and Isa (bass).
Closing out the PMX con was the established L.A.-based epic, Asian-fusion rock band Random Ninjas, who put on a spectacular show complete with a gorilla, a pirate and their own troupe of martial arts ninjas working with the EMC Monkeys martial arts group of YouTube fame.
COMMUNITY
As usual, PMX provided a wonderfully intimate experience for fans. The concerts were majorly packed events, but they weren’t massive coliseums. Even seats in the last row could make out OLIVIA’s doe eyes, see details of UchuSentai NOIZ’s makeup, and get a pretty good view of the Random Ninjas’ hair highlights. There were ample opportunities to interact with the musicians and artists at photo-ops, autograph sessions, and in cozy panels.
All in all, PMX provided a world-class line up of entertainment without losing the sense of community and personal touch that often gets lost in large fan gatherings like the well-known Comicon.