--EVENT REPORT: GIRLS BRAVO 2--
6/12/00
Yesterday I went to Girls Bravo 2, a Trigun man-woman-coupling-and-girls-only event in Ochanomizu, Tokyo. By "event" I mean "doujinshi market" (doujinshi being Japanese fanzines usually consisting of amateur comics and/or stories), and "man-woman-coupling-and-girls-only" refers to the content of the doujinshi, not the attendees (mostly female, no obvious man-woman couples).
The first Girls Bravo was held last November in the basement and fourth floors of a cramped little building in Mejiro, and while Mejiro brings back fond memories for me, the event hall in Ochanomizu was a lot nicer--they could fit everything in one big, high-ceilinged room, there was a comfortable waiting room, and the front of the building had a big covered space, which was good because it was raining that day. I later heard from Suzuki-sensei that that hall is often rented for small doujinshi events.
I arrived a little early--the building was fairly easy to find, plus there was a guy dressed as Wolfwood sitting outside. I bought my catalog and got in line. I didn't have enough time to work out a plan of attack, though, so I ended up just meandering around the tables in a totally random fashion.
There were about a hundred doujinshi circles in attendance, plus another dozen or so who had sent their books for consignment sale. The main Trigun male/female couplings are Vash/Meryl and Wolfwood/Milly (with small followings for Dominique with either Legato or Midvalley), but Girls Bravo 2 showed a marked increase in unusual pairings like Wolfwood/Meryl, Midvalley/Meryl, and Knives/Milly (they're still very rare, but there are more books about them than before). Lesbian-themed books remain all but nonexistent.
I spent all the change and small bills I had (down to the point where I was counting out small coins), but still, I bought less than I ever have before. Partly it's that I'm getting a little picky now that my Trigun collection is so huge, and partly it's that I already owned some of the older books for sale. All the same, I got some real treasures that I haven't been able to put down. In particular, Yuko Yano (Driving Force) put out a fat little anthology of very good Vash/Meryl stuff, Shiori Sagami (Tokeikan) did the same for Midvalley/Meryl and also put out an unbelievably cute Midvalley/neko-Meryl copy-book. A new (to me) person named Aozou Aoyama (Mechanix) also did some cool Midvalley-centered books in a very American art style.
Aside from the doujinshi buying and selling, there were also a number of other diversions.
The initial announcement that the English-dubbed Trigun would be playing at one end of the room sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd; there was a cluster of viewers around the TV at all times. They didn't seem to be able to understand the dialogue very much, but overall, the response seemed very favorable. It was also my first time to hear the dub, and while (a) I thought Vash sounded too young (or something), and (b) I just hate dubs, period, I could see myself getting used to it pretty easily if I had to.
There was also a cosplay corner with a bunch of Vashes, Wolfwoods, Meryls, and Millies, plus one Midvalley, a very cool Knives, and a bunch of props. This time I remembered to bring my camera, but unfortunately the pictures didn't turn out so good (e-mail me, or check the Trigun Mailing List archives if you'd like to see them anyway). In any case, thanks to all the cosplayers for their patience.
Finally, near the end, there was a lucky-number drawing for color illustrations by some of the bigger doujinshi artists. From the numbers they called, I ascertained that at least 200 people were in attendance that day. I didn't win, but I had a really good time, and I hope they do a Girls Bravo 3.