Topic: Celebration Japan

I have been living in Japan now for seven years and I have been looking forward to attending a Star Wars Celebration since they began but I have been so far away and without enough funds to travel to the location where they have been held in the past.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I heard that this year it was going to be held here.

Unfortunately it sucked big time. I don't want to get all negative and waste life by going into the details. Suffice it to say, it was more of a small get together  than a celebration.

What I do want to share is that I was able to meet Jeremy for the first time and get his signature.

Wow! What a super nice guy! There was absolutely no line at his table, because most Japanese don't care about who was behind the mask, and I was able to talk with him for a while. My wife was with me and I explained to him that she doesn't speak English. He was so cool because he listened, really listened and told her that she should study English so that we can communicate better. The point is obvious that it is so ironic that such a kind person was the man behind the mask of such a ruthless bounty hunter.

He let me take a photo with him and meeting him made the trip out to the convention center worth the effort , time and money.

Boba Jeremy Fett rules!

Jeremy must be pretty suprised that he's so popular for a total of a couple of minutes in a couple of movies. :P

Even if it sucked, ity's cool that you're able to say you went to one.

I've never been to a Celebration. And I looked at the pictures, you guys had some pretty good costumes!

That is such a shame that you did not enjoy the celebration as much as you had hoped but that was fantastic about meeting up with Jeremy :D from what I have read he seems like a lovely man :D (I would love to meet up with him for a blether as well as to pose in one of my pictures for my one object 365 days project)

I am so jealous of you meeting Boba :P

Anyways congrats on that and sorry you didnt enjoy the rest of the celebration as much as you expected to

I've only gotten to go to the first one, and that was because it was in Denver and I was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming at the time.  It was actually on the old Lowry Air Force Base section that they turned into a museum.  So, that was kind of neat seeing the base down there again after they had closed it down.  Anyway, it was pretty cool, although it rained all weekend.  This was right before Episode I came out, so they had a lot of Darth Maul stuff everywhere and plenty of costumes.  First time I ever saw someone dressed as a Slave Leia.  I think she's the one that started it, actually.  Of course, she was a big hit with the fanboys.  From reading all the articles and checking out the media of the others after that, it sounds like they have continually gathered momentum.  Kind of like the Comic Con.  More and more people, more and more costumes.  The first one was bigger than any of the StarCon's and StarFest's they had in Denver before, but it still wasn't near as big as the ones they have now.  I think they had it down on Denver for the first one, because at that time, the Star Wars and Star Trek fan clubs were both based out of Denver, CO.  So, they had all their people down there to help set it all up.  They had that X-Wing fighter down there for the first time.  The one they use at the Comic Con every year now.  That was pretty cool.

I'm sorry to hear that the one in Japan wasn't as big.  I'm wondering about the wisdom of having it the same week as the Comic Con in San Diego?  Pretty much made people choose which one they wanted to go to, didn't it?  Unless you're rich and could go to both.  I know Steve Sansweet made appearances at both of them.  Man, you know that guy has to get tired of flying all the time.  Still would be a fun job.  Most Americans, I think , would just go to Comic Con, since it's cheaper, and they know it's still going to be a big Star Wars presence there, like it is every year.  I know that even some of our friends over at The Dented Helmet had a Mandalorian Wedding at the Con this year. 

So, did you get any good pics of the event that you might like to share with everyone on here?  Even the smaller events have alot of cool things to get into to.  And most of the time, like you said, it's easier to get through the lines and actually see people.

Yeah, having it at the same time as the San Diego con was a bad move but the locals did not really come out either and there was very little marketing here in Tokyo. If there had been a new film associated with it, say "Clone Wars," then more Japanese might have come out. They are really into the "new" here and since there has not been anything "new" going on on screen I think only the die-hard fans were promoting it.

I hate to be all negative about Japan but I have lived here so long and I am tired of the crap that I have to deal with and the Celebration Japan was a perfect example.  It should have been one of the best. There is all kinds of Japan-only merchandise out there that people wish they could get where they live. I guess this was a Japan only celebration, as in you can only be this disappointed here in Japan at a Star Wars Celebration.

As someone said before, at least I can say I have been to one and I did get to meet and chat with Jeremy.

So although the Celebration was a flop I took away something positive.

....plus you got to sit on a Dewback!!! *envious*

Sorry to go against what you said mate, but my family travelled from Osaka and spent all three days at the convention! It was great! We had a blast everyday and we were there from open to close and we were not bored or disappointed at any stage. We went to all the shows and all the forums on collecting and about stuff released in Japan only. We meet and got pictures with Jeremy, Daniel Logan, Temura Morrison, Mark Hamill, Dave Filoni (director of the new CW movie) and Ray Park plus pictures signed by all three fetts to my son Oscar!  We spoke to Daniel for a good 15 minutes and Jeremy too. When we meet Temura, my son was cranky, as he is two, and did not want to be in a picture so he said just come back later when he is happy and grab me for a photo!!! It was really nice of him and they were all great with my son! Mark Hamill said he was the cutest Yoda he had ever seen, as Oscar had his costume on. We rode the Dewback, sat in the falcon and sat with Jabba. We saw sneak peaks of the new Clone Wars movie introduced and explained by the director Dave Filoni. We also got to see all three Fetts on stage talking together about the characters they played! We went to the VIP party where all the actors came out on stage and talked to the crowd and got some great bargins at the toy stores. The 501'st were there and where more then happy to be in a million photos with me and my son and I got a bounty hunter shirt with a bantha  skull on the front and the "Kanji for hunt for money" on the back. Over all the trip cost my family over 2 grand for the whole weekend and I don't regret spending a cent! I wish it went for a week! I am sorry you didn't enjoy it but don't paint it in a bad light cause you are cynical about Japan! It was rad!

all you're all lucky, I've never been to a convention, but it's on my bucket list.

I appreciate your feedback and I am really glad that you and your family had such a good time and I'm not trying to be confrontational but there are a few points I would like to respond to.

1st, 2 grand! I don't have that much to spend on this kind of event, as much as I wish I did.
2nd, all the things you mentioned could be done at the previous four celebrations, the photos, the celebrity talks,(which I attended as well), the 501'st etc.

What I was really trying to get at in my original post was how the fan base was missing and there was such a small vendor presence. I talked to one of the guys who owns a store in the states and he has had a table at every celebration and he said that this one was really limited compared to the others. He also said there was not as much "convention only" merchandise as in past events. Also, one of the artists told me that the information they got from the Japan side was wrong and it kept a lot of people from coming because of the cost.

Yes, I have a bad attitude about Japan but I think I am right about the scale, scope and the entertainment value of the Celebration Japan lacking in comparison to Celebrations 1-4.

That being said, I did explain how much I enjoyed talking with Jeremy, I think it is really cool that he still only charges $35.00 for his signature (while "Luke" charged $200.00 and "C-3PO" wanted $80.00)

I know these things are all about making money for Lucas anyway but I just think they could have put just a little more effort into Celebration Japan.

Meeting and talking to Jeremy was indeed very Rad and I am very happy that I got to attend a SW celebration at least once.

I think the real problem is that I was expecting too much.

I understand what you are saying, and can see how compared to the US and EU that it could seem small. I just took it for what it was and was just stoked to be at one at all! I don't think that you could ever match the US because they have everything at their fingertips and there is no language barrier to get through! Glad you enjoyed meeting Jeremy as he is good guy and doesn't mind having a chat! Hope you enjoy the site as much as I do! They are great people and its nice to have another person from Nippon on the site!

Well the Celebration day in Brisbane back in 2002 was pretty disappointing. I don't think it was advertised particularly well. It was awesome to meet Jeremy though.

Guess all the good Celebration days are in the US, need to save up for a plane ticket :P