Metrocon anime human chess match.

[ChicoChan]

Hey everyone. I didnt know quite where to post this, but whatever. I don't know how many people got the chance to go to metrocon this past weekend in tampa or see the anime human chess match, but I just wanna thank everyone in the cast for doing such a great job.

I was haruko in the match and I had sooo much fun participating, all those practices in the rain, giving up my saturdays, driving an hour and back every weekend. It was all worth it to meet all of you guys and to have the fun we had. Almost everything went so smoothly, and I would like to hear the opinions of anyone who saw it.

Mega hug to everyone in the cast ^___^ ::hugs::

<3 chico

[Neko_Kaolla]

WE ROCKED THE HOUSE!!! wOOt!!

<3 the resident pirate kitty

[misato is hot]

i saw it

i got to the chess match cuase anime ref in the right place make me laugh

it was a really good game best part was when kyo became a human whal inside al

the 2 things that wear kinda bad tho wear

1 sometimes it was hard to hear you guys and chess peieces would loose and id have no idea why

2 becuase you guys dont wanna hurt eachouther and becuase you wanna hit your marks alot of the fights are really slow and kinda dumb looking

there was one fight i think between naruto and someone that was more fast paced and awsome

unfortunitly i had to leave the match early so i didint see the ending all i know is ninjas won

[yuffieleonheart]

w00t! I was Misaki, and btw the fights where slow yes, because in all honesty we only had our entire cast present at ONE practice, so it was hard for people to practice their fights when their fight partners where not present. And they where using real weapons. Also of the entire cast, maybe... 6 of them had taken martial arts, myself included however I did not have a fighting part. So all of the rest where starting from scratch =)

[Lucifer]

2 becuase you guys dont wanna hurt eachouther and becuase you wanna hit your marks alot of the fights are really slow and kinda dumb looking





Wow, thanks.

[Rini-chan]

I got to see it^^! everyone that participated in it did so awesome!!! I tried to take pictures but I was all the way in the back and I had a cheap disposable camera><. anyways I had a great time and hopefully next year it will be even better^^. I might even try out for next year since I was already in anime idol on Saturday^^;

[ChicoChan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by misato is hot

2 becuase you guys dont wanna hurt eachouther and becuase you wanna hit your marks alot of the fights are really slow and kinda dumb looking


Wow, thanks.
.


I know right :/ ...its not like we practiced every weekend for 2 months or anything. I thought a few of the fights could have been speed up a tad, but everything else was awsome and went through without a hitch.

[scandia]

I enjoyed watching it. But I wish there had been less delays.

[Crash]

Wow, thanks.

Well from an audience's perspective, it's true. A couple of the fights looked okay but overall, it was like playing them on slow motion. Also some people did not have common stage knowledge like "if the person standing next to you's microphone is not working, hold yours over towards them so that the audience can hear them." I was in the 4th row and I couldn't hear most of it. That's not good.

[Lucifer]

Well from an audience's perspective, it's true. A couple of the fights looked okay but overall, it was like playing them on slow motion. Also some people did not have common stage knowledge like "if the person standing next to you's microphone is not working, hold yours over towards them so that the audience can hear them." I was in the 4th row and I couldn't hear most of it. That's not good.



Um, only four individuals had microphones, and that was because they -needed- them. Those being Gendo, Ed, Al, and Rei. The rest of us had none, and resorted to the stage mics. No one could 'hold their mic' over to any of us.

And I'm sorry but yeah I'm offended to hear our fights being called 'dumb.' I would rather us have done a more slow motion fight then getting ran through with steel weapons (yes, those weapons WERE real).

[Kitsune]

Yes - there is no need to call the fights dumb. I didn't participate (I had no way of getting to rehersals, so I didn't audition >.> Hopefully next year), but I know the troubles of stage combat. It's not easy, especially with steel weapons. I know I'm only good with fists, staves, and juggling clubs (...what? That's what I get for having a juggler as a father =3). There were a few fights that went REALLY slow, but I know its inevitable, because I assume that few people there had training in stage combat.
Even so, people well trained can have a hard time. At the Bay Area Renaissance Festival, even their chess match fights can be slow - it's not an easy feat.

I'd like to know - I believe a few of the fighters, especially at least two of the pirates, were Largo Renaissance Festival staff. Do you know if anyone worked the chess matches at Bay Area fairs?

[Lucifer]

I'd like to know - I believe a few of the fighters, especially at least two of the pirates, were Largo Renaissance Festival staff. Do you know if anyone worked the chess matches at Bay Area fairs?



Only the pirate that fought Ed was professional (he was the stunt director of the show). None of the other pirates were professional. I assume he works at the bay area fairs, but cannot be sure.

[Kitsune]

Thanks. I was sure I had seen him before. Their fight was amazing. ^^ I'll ask around the cast next year at the festival.

[Hime no Toki]

I was Rei, I personally think the fights looked great but that's my perspective. Keep in mind, we had only trained and practice in slow motion, and if people go too fast, someone WILL get hurt. Common sense, folks. Those were real weapons, my lance was made of steel and could potentially cause injury to someone. Many people had blades, or objects that could bruise someone bad or do worse damage. Keep this in mind. To say things looked "dumb" is an insult, and also a tad ignorant. We all worked hard, in the pouring rain and heat, all for this production. It requires a lot of effort, more than most people realize, goes with the old saying that it takes one to know one.

[Crash]

Well if you guys weren't trained to handle real weapons and make it look decent, you shouldn't have had real weapons then. I'd say the acting was good but I couldn't hear a word of it. Also the Vash dude had a microphone and the Ash dude was right next to him and he didn't hold his mic out, that was the incident of which I am talking.

edit: I'm not trying to be totally negative here. Most of the costumes for it looked amazing and the people looked good in them. A couple of the fights looked really good and the parts I actually heard of it were funny.

[HakuXIII]

I loved the chess match! I was all the way in the back with the "standing room" people. I didn't hear most of the chess match from back there though. There were a lot of funny parts but I enjoyed Yugi (I think that's his name) taking Ash off stage over his shoulder. That was so funny! Great job guys.

[Lucifer]

Well if you guys weren't trained to handle real weapons and make it look decent, you shouldn't have had real weapons then. I'd say the acting was good but I couldn't hear a word of it. Also the Vash dude had a microphone and the Ash dude was right next to him and he didn't hold his mic out, that was the incident of which I am talking.

edit: I'm not trying to be totally negative here. Most of the costumes for it looked amazing and the people looked good in them. A couple of the fights looked really good and the parts I actually heard of it were funny.



Dear, we were trained to handle whatever weapon was picked for our fight. We all worked MONTHS on the battles, but were taught in slow motion because that is how true stage fighters are taught. The fights would have looked ridiculous if they were with fake weapons.


Btw, Ash had his own mic.

[Princess_Garnet]

Ohmigoodness.

I only saw about 5 minutes of the chess match [I was on the move] and I understand the difference of opinions on it. I mean, I know that I've done shows and I've worked my ass off the try to do the best I could, but that doesn't mean everyone is going to like it. It is a let down [and he could have said it a bit nicer :x] but not everyone is going to like your hard work. I am certain you all worked very very hard on this match, but remember, not everyone will like it. From what I heard it was great, and I know the cast had fun, so that's all that matters!

Congrats to the chess match cast, woooot! [boogies]

</two cents>

[Omi]

HEY HEY PEOPLE! the chess match was awsome! you try going fast motion and crap and not hurt anyone! Staged fighting is not that easy! I thought it was awsome "the matrix" style!

But I totally enjoyed the chess match and want to try out for it next year as well! Everyone in the match did an awsome job! Cast Crew everything and as Nikki said there was only like one day were the whole cast was there, and for that i think it ran pretty smoothly. Hey I'm not good at chess as much but I like playing it and to take actual people and play (and bend the rules hahaha!) is awsome! Good job guys *another round of applause*

[Crash]

Btw, Ash had his own mic.

And it wasn't working when they came on stage together at first.

Like I said, I understand that you all put a lot of hard work into it and I appreciate that. I just think the fights looked too contrived and slow, and not being able to hear 90% of it kind of makes it hard to follow.

[SelphieLu]

After watching the chess match on video, I finally got to look at the fights.. again.

To be honest maybe only 2 or three of the dozen or so that we had looked too slow/fake. The rest of them, in my opinion were rather well choreographed and up to at least 3/4ths speed. We weren't doing an action movie. We weren't wielding lightsabers OR hand guns with CG effects. And even though we did have months of practice, it was stretched between 30+ cast and only 3 fight coordinators.

I think that the fights were rather good, and I don't really understand where people thought they were 'too slow'.

Oh well. I guess watch the video again if you have any doubts. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. :)

[FalconW]

I saw the chess match on video and you guys were awesome!! Great job! I love the fight between the Luffy Pirates and the Leaf Ninjas. That was funny. The show had everything, humor, action, drama and tragedy. Two thumbs up!

One thing I'm curious about. How were you able to bring real weapons into the show if cons don't allow real weapons?

[SelphieLu]

I saw the chess match on video and you guys were awesome!! Great job! I love the fight between the Luffy Pirates and the Leaf Ninjas. That was funny. The show had everything, humor, action, drama and tragedy. Two thumbs up!

One thing I'm curious about. How were you able to bring real weapons into the show if cons don't allow real weapons?

Thanks so much for the positive feedback!

As for the weapons, none of us were actually allowed to carry them around the con itself. They were used only for the chess match and were only kept in con-ops when not being used. We had like.. super permission to have them because they were for stage combat only.

My wrench however was made out of wood and was registered so I was lucky and could carry it around after the match. :thumbsup:

[Hime no Toki]

Yeah, I couldn't carry my lance around the con because it was real metal and could hurt someone...heck, even I was nervous weilding it, though I had practiced with a metal pole and the lance prior to the match so I knew what I was doing. Whenever I wasn't using the lance, I had to keep it in Con Ops.

[Crash]

Yeah, I couldn't carry my lance around the con because it was real metal and could hurt someone...heck, even I was nervous weilding it, though I had practiced with a metal pole and the lance prior to the match so I knew what I was doing. Whenever I wasn't using the lance, I had to keep it in Con Ops.


Maybe that's it. A lot of people seemed very nervous and hesitant with their weapons instead of confident that they could do what they needed to.

[yuffieleonheart]

Maybe that's it. A lot of people seemed very nervous and hesitant with their weapons instead of confident that they could do what they needed to.


;p I think anybody would when you're wielding a weapon that could kill your fight partner if you mess up. Anyways, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[UchihaGirl]

The chess match was really good this year and it is true that it was very hard to hear. I applaud you for your hard work but when they coordinaters went over stage combat, did they also go over projection of the voice? Having worked in theater, I can easily say that in a room of the size of the ballroom that the match was held in, you should be able to easily project your voices to the back without the aid of microphones. Blocking and projection are two of the most important aspects of any performance. Turning your back on the audience will change the direction of sound waves....away from those intended to hear it. You should always face the audience and speak loudly and clearly, not quite at a yelling level but forcefully enough to reach the back of the room.

I don't mean for that to sound rude or anything, or insulting your hard work. You guys truly did a good job and it showed in the parts we were able to hear. I just wish I could have heard the rest to fully appreaciate the match.

[SelphieLu]

The chess match was really good this year and it is true that it was very hard to hear. I applaud you for your hard work but when they coordinaters went over stage combat, did they also go over projection of the voice? Having worked in theater, I can easily say that in a room of the size of the ballroom that the match was held in, you should be able to easily project your voices to the back without the aid of microphones. Blocking and projection are two of the most important aspects of any performance. Turning your back on the audience will change the direction of sound waves....away from those intended to hear it. You should always face the audience and speak loudly and clearly, not quite at a yelling level but forcefully enough to reach the back of the room.

I don't mean for that to sound rude or anything, or insulting your hard work. You guys truly did a good job and it showed in the parts we were able to hear. I just wish I could have heard the rest to fully appreaciate the match.

The fight coordinators only did what their name suggest -- they only dealt with fighting. No one had a vocal coach to help us with projection. WE also were on a stage with nothing to help bounce out sound.

I do know that none of us were prepared to have 1200 people in the room at one time while performing, and unfortunately for us, this wasn't like a highschool play where everyone stays silent or laughs only briefly at the funny parts. There was constant chatter, fangirlish screams and other things that did prevent us from being heard.

I'm not blaming our projection solely on the audience, some of us really did speak too softly. But over half the cast had had no experience in acting or even took a highschool drama course. No one was there to help us out with that. Unfortunately seeing as this was a play, there should have been more time spent on the performace part, but we spent an awful amount of time trying to perfect out combat ( which people seemed to not like anyways ><; )

But each year Metrocon gets better with the sound issues for the Chess Match, hopefully next year that can all be fixed.

[Rini-chan]

either way I think you guys still did a great job with the fighting and talking considering that the weapons were real^^;. There's been a lot of people complaining about every little thing but I'd like to see them get up there and do what you guys did><. I'm looking forward to seeing it next year and hopefully I can try out for it. Great job guys^^!

[SelphieLu]

either way I think you guys still did a great job with the fighting and talking considering that the weapons were real^^;. There's been a lot of people complaining about every little thing but I'd like to see them get up there and do what you guys did><. I'm looking forward to seeing it next year and hopefully I can try out for it. Great job guys^^!

Thanks so much! I'm just glad some people can see the hard work we put into it! And do try out next year! It was a lot of fun!

[CaptinKong]

I've heard so much about this chess match I can't wait to see it. Sounds awesome. I'm not watching any youtube versions of it to keep from spoiling the suprise haha. If I like how it looks and goes I'm going to try out for Metro 010's chess match. I have a feeling though from what I heard it will be awesome. I knew eventually all my weapons training and karate etc. would come in handy for something I like haha.

[MasKasFu]

I remember seeing something like this at another convention, I guess metro ripped it off. How is it original then? Sounds bogus if you ask me.

[PhantasmaJun]

Metrocon has a chess match every year and is not the only con with one but the reason it is called an original chess match is because it is custom with its own story line and characters chosen from random anime by the staff at metrocon it is not called original cause metro was the first to come up with the chess match. The chess match is not bogus it is an amazing display of hard work and talent of otaku who volunteer they're time and effort to make it a awesome experience. I urge everyone who has not seen the chess match to make time for it this year it is really compelling and watch the youtube videos the story continues every year so you wont spoil it for yourself you would just be catching up although the youtube videos do the actual performance no justice.

[LainaBug]

I remember seeing something like this at another convention, I guess metro ripped it off. How is it original then? Sounds bogus if you ask me.

Metrocon was the first anime convention to take the idea of a live chess match, and revolve it around anime. That was back in 2004.

A live chess match is a popular and fun idea, so many other conventions followed along with similar events. Each con seems to have it's own take on the idea, and nobody does it the same way so it's pretty cool in that aspect.

Note: Also based on your posts, you seem to be nothing but a troll attempting to stir up trouble. (New account, only 4 posts, Janicon listed as homepage lol)

[SoedBlackChaos]

Training for the Chess Match and Masquerade started three weeks ago, just so everyone knows how long they're going to be working on these shows for you folks. And the Fire-show has been having tons of work-shops. *drools* I can't wait to see everything finished come JUNE!!!!