Mana in Berlin?

Xelyna

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I heard that Mana appeared in an anime shop in Berlin (yesterday?)... It sounds quite random to me, but I saw a picture of people with autographs- can anyone here confirm or deny?
 

Illaparatzo-sama

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I think it's real. If it was an impersonator, I'd think they would have to study his writing really well to get it like that. And, well... I just feel that it is. I do think a more detailed description of what happened would come out though... Of course, how detailed can you get? I read that he came in plain clothes, the store didn't even know he was coming, he signed for 30 minutes and left. Maybe he's getting stuff set up for his Europe tour.

Lydia-the-everhopeful
 

Ninett

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Well, if he decides to drop by Oslo. I'll be there. :lol:


Btw, I'm new. Hi guys. :D
 

-Gardenia-

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yes,apparently it's true..
he appeared at neotokyo yesterday afternoon..
as far as i know the shop keepers have been noticed about the whole thing one hour before...I've no clue how many people where able to meet him , shake hands with him and to receive autographs but I guess only a few..
nobody had known it before ..so~
it is said he went there in normal clothes with hat and sunglasses...
 

Pessimiste

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0.0 without make-up? with bodyguards?
I wonder why he would suddenly drop into an anime shop....there wouldn't be *that* many people there, and how did he know beforehand that they knew him, let alone that they were fans? :o
 

Geisha

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Going by the accounts I have read from people who were there, it sounds very believable and that’s definitely his signature in the picture that Xelyna posted. Having said that, it sounds nothing like an official visit. Apparently Mana was wearing casual clothes (the well-known black shirt, black trousers, black platform boots, black hat, black sunglasses combination) and no makeup. He also apparently acted very shy and they only had blank paper for the autographs. Would he turn up at an official autograph event without makeup, unshaved (!) and in plain clothes? I think not.

He arrived at 5pm on Saturday afternoon when there were only about 14 people left in the shop and only stayed 30 minutes. The shop staff apparently received 1 hour notice and instead of clearing the shop they told the few people who were still there to stay on because Mana was coming. If that was really him then I think it was another one of his ad hoc decisions to mingle with mere mortals thinking he would not be recognized (like he did at the Japan Expo – with similar results). Considering how paranoid he is about his image I think he probably enjoyed the contact with the fans but not necessarily the circumstances. I don't think he expected having to sign autographs - looking the way he did.

Apparently when Mana first arrived at Neotokyo he spent some time looking around the shop, specifically the glass cabinet in which the M10M and MM stuff is displayed. Neotokyo is not only an anime shop but also sells tons of JRock CDs and merchandise. They are the official distributor for M10M merchandise in Europe and they also sell and distribute the European pressings of M10M (and soon MM) music by Mabell. Earlier this year they were in negotiations about selling MMM clothes in their shops (I emailed them to confirm that at the time) but there wasn’t enough interest from potential customers (too expensive) and so eventually Mana decided to sell MMM over the internet instead. I think he really just wanted to check out the shop that is selling his music in Germany and got dragged into an autograph session instead.

What I would like to know is: he must have been in Berlin to discuss business matters. What could that have been? His music is already being sold there via Neotokyo and his clothes are sold over the internet now. Could he have been checking out suitable venues for his European tour? I hope he is not bringing his European tour forward - now that I have taken time off work for Dis Inferno 3 I have no holiday left until January (and no money). :cry:

@ Pessimiste: There is no offical account of this event, only what the people who were there wrote on a German internet forum. I'm German, so I *could* translate it but it is basically just what I already wrote above.
 

Ninett

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Geisha wrote:
Going by the accounts I have read from people who were there, it sounds very believable and that’s definitely his signature in the picture that Xelyna posted. Having said that, it sounds nothing like an official visit. Apparently Mana was wearing casual clothes (the well-known black shirt, black trousers, black platform boots, black hat, black sunglasses combination) and no makeup. He also apparently acted very shy and they only had blank paper for the autographs. Would he turn up at an official autograph event without makeup, unshaved (!) and in plain clothes? I think not.

He arrived at 5pm on Saturday afternoon when there were only about 14 people left in the shop and only stayed 30 minutes. The shop staff apparently received 1 hour notice and instead of clearing the shop they told the few people who were still there to stay on because Mana was coming. If that was really him then I think it was another one of his ad hoc decisions to mingle with mere mortals thinking he would not be recognized (like he did at the Japan Expo – with similar results). Considering how paranoid he is about his image I think he probably enjoyed the contact with the fans but not necessarily the circumstances. I don't think he expected having to sign autographs - looking the way he did.

Apparently when Mana first arrived at Neotokyo he spent some time looking around the shop, specifically the glass cabinet in which the M10M and MM stuff is displayed. Neotokyo is not only an anime shop but also sells tons of JRock CDs and merchandise. They are the official distributor for M10M merchandise in Europe and they also sell and distribute the European pressings of M10M (and soon MM) music by Mabell. Earlier this year they were in negotiations about selling MMM clothes in their shops (I emailed them to confirm that at the time) but there wasn’t enough interest from potential customers (too expensive) and so eventually Mana decided to sell MMM over the internet instead. I think he really just wanted to check out the shop that is selling his music in Germany and got dragged into an autograph session instead.

What I would like to know is: he must have been in Berlin to discuss business matters. What could that have been? His music is already being sold there via Neotokyo and his clothes are sold over the internet now. Could he have been checking out suitable venues for his European tour? I hope he is not bringing his European tour forward - now that I have taken time off work for Dis Inferno 3 I have no holiday left until January (and no money). :cry:

Could it be that he is on vacation?
 

Anonymous

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Gensou- wrote:
FAKE!

Unless it's his support double member.
Or his other support member... errr impersonator.

It sounds and looks real and I think Geisha got it there. He was probably tricked into it (poor Mana... I wonder if he's getting frustrated with European 'unprofessionalism' yet). And yeah my bet is also that he's there to look into touring.
 

Eresjkigal

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i was just about to say something like that, and why would he have to anounce it every time he goes somewhere? poor mana.. it must be very annoying if you think people won't recognise you and suddenly they start asking for autographs :S. i'm glad i'm not him:P.
 

Anonymous

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Funny thing is, sounds like the only reason he announced it to the store in advance was so that they would make sure no people were there... ehehe -___-;;;
 

Danae

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(where did my other account go? >< *resigns up*)

What confuses me is, Mana went alone so....do the people at NeoTokyo have a Japanese speaking person there at all times? Or did Mana just pick up German in his spare time? :P
 

Eresjkigal

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aww
haha that reminds me of michael jackson telling supermarkets to make sure no people are there when he comes to buy things:P
 

Danae

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That's why you do all your grocery shopping at three in the morning, like me! 8D

But yeah, I'm gonna go stake out my local Japanese Goods store and wait for Mana-sama.

...*sits infront of Asia Superstore in a stripmall for a few hours*
 

Geisha

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Eresjkigal wrote:
poor mana.. it must be very annoying if you think people won't recognise you and suddenly they start asking for autographs :S. i'm glad i'm not him:P.
Yes, poor Mana! What were the shop staff thinking? :P

Obviously the fans (= regular Neotokyo customers) who were there are very happy now and it seems that ultimately Mana enjoyed the attention he was getting (apparently he smiled shyly from time to time) but it sounds like he was totally unprepared for this. He must have been terribly embarrassed having to face his fans stripped of all his usual glory. Thankfully the fans seem to have behaved respectfully, although some were crying. I think Mana will probably be more careful from now on. When he decided to check out the Japan Expo in plain clothes (to the horror of security) he was recognised immediately as well. He must be starting to realise that he is far more famous in Europe than he expected and surely he will take precautions in the future.

Danae wrote:
What confuses me is, Mana went alone so....do the people at NeoTokyo have a Japanese speaking person there at all times? Or did Mana just pick up German in his spare time? :P
He wasn't alone but, even so, apparently he didn't say a word while he was in there.
 

Anonymous

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Eresjkigal wrote:
aww
haha that reminds me of michael jackson telling supermarkets to make sure no people are there when he comes to buy things:P
Lol... no comments. But poor Mana wanted to go at 5pm when shops tend to close. He would have been better off not having said anything. :P I'm just trying to figure the odds of you on your casual visit to the record store to check out those M10M goodies and Mana appearing in the flesh for his first spotting in Germany ever.
 
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