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Haruhiko Mikimoto held his annual art exhibition at the Art Jeuness gallery space in Akihabara from Feb. 23^rd ~ 27^th . As in previous years the main purpose of the exhibition was to drum up some sales for Mikimoto’s (primarily) original art, although the man himself dropped by on Saturday 25^th for a small talk session and autographs.

With prices averaging 300,000~600,000 yen and upwards, there was no way that yours truly could afford one of the gorgeous pieces that adorned the walls, however I did hang around for the talk session and the chance to ask the big man a question or two.

(for anyone wondering, those fortunate enough to receive an autograph at these events can only have the signing board provided by the venue autographed. Taking personal merchandise to have signed is not permitted). 

At the end of the session, Mikimoto directly addressed the pink elephant in the room – namely, possible plans for Macross’ 30^th Anniversary. While he was fairly tight lipped on the subject, he did offer the following tidbits:

You know you’ve been geeking out a little too hard when a seemingly random Japanese guy approaches you in the local convenience store in Kawasaki and asks if you were at the Yoko Kanno concert in Kobe. For those not in the know, Kawasaki is a looooong way from Kobe!

Then again, maybe I shouldnt have been too surprised. After all, Kawasaki Cinecitta was right next door to the convenience store in question – and in 20 minutes time it would be showing the premiere screening of ‘May’n the Movie: Phonic Nation in 3D.’

Maybe ‘Premiere’ is a bit of a misnomer – there were 3 ‘Premieres’ staggered throughout the day, with the first being in Ikebukuro in the morning, followed by Saitama at midday, before Kawasaki in the mid-afternoon. The reason for the staggered schedule was to allow both the director and the leading lady herself to hold a small talk after each screening.