.:My 2 Yen:.
TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2004
Tickets Sell Out As They Go On Sale
Just one day after tickets went on sale for the first US Final Fantasy concert, being held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Disneyland on May 10th, sold out. Concerns first arose that this also takes place during E3 - the biggest US gaming convention of the year. However, the concert is now actually being considered a part of E3.
A sold out concert could definitely provoke more shows of this kind. Afterall, this concert is being held as a sort of payback to Square for Kingdom Hearts. Enix was not yet part of Square Enix before Kingdom Hearts went into production, so technically this is a Square show (no pun intended). Does this mean the future could hold Disneyland throwing a little something just for Enix - perhaps a concert dedicated to the music of Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, or other Toriyama game staples.
So if this concert is part of E3, a convention only attended by console representatives and gaming celebrities, does this mean that the concert will be filled with nothing but suits, leaving no room for the average fan?
I seriously doubt it. I imagine a bigger group of Final Fantasy cosplayers to show up then I've seen since the Final Fantasy Ball held at a Florida con a few years back.
Any bets on whether Disney will release a soundtrack of the concert?
On sale today are tickets for 3 big name anime movies, Doraemon, the story of the robotic time-traveling cat thats graced asian television since 1973, Ghost in the Shell: Innocense, a movie premiereing 10 years after the first movie with only a tv series recently breaking the scene in 2003 to remind diehard fans of the popular 1995 movie and recruit some new fans, and, my personal favorite pic, the Fifth One Piece Movie, the story of a pirate who's skin is more rubbery then a Stretch Armstrong doll, rating number 3 in the box office.
When can we expect to see these movies? Sadly, Doraemon and One Piece will have to wait awhile. A LOOOOOOOOOONG while. The original Doraemon '73 series was only recently licensed for American release, and there's been a new Doraemon movie every year since. As for One Piece, though the manga is doing well in Shonen Jump there's no word yet on a license for the anime, meaning that we'd have to wait. I wouldn't be surprised however if Innocense made a showing in America sometime very recent in the near future, despite its somewhat low box office rating (#5).
Very little information is released at this time about these movies. As for the concert, good luck finding a scalper who can get you a ticket. I'd say you missed your chance if you don't have one. But don't feel bad, because though I believe the fanatics will be there in full costume, the execs probably had a better chance at getting at those tickets first. Anybody out there who works for Disney, pull some strings for me, eh?