On a hot & steamy August 5th, 2007, The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational celebrated it's 4th season, TAKII 4 ~Rhythm D-Generation X-Treme~! As was decided during a "The Lost Otakus" meeting, the theme design for this season would be Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist), with the theme song being "Melissa", by Porno Graffiti (also from the same show). Coordinating everything for TAKII 4 was such a huge undertaking, but one that reaped so many rewards. From trying to figure out which festivites we would debut, to flying out our 1st cross-country guest, to changing & updating the schedule on the fly, it all worked out & played rather well into the fact that we are "the most extreme Asian culture fusion festival"! People as young as 4 & as old as 84, from just around the corner to Chicago & France (YES, France ^_^), from all walks of life were represented & were not disappointed. Let's look at just a few of the festivities that made TAKII 4 so memorable:

<< The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational Show >> Four brave souls (by the names of Sherry, Rachel, Temari, & Haku) competed in the 1st version of our Asian Karaoke Idol Show that was infused with Dancing With The Stars (a highly popular & entertaining celebrity dance competition). The original Show only started with Rachel, Temari, & Haku singing hits from shows like InuYasha, Naruto, & Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), but as soon as they were done their 1st round songs, Sherry came into the mix with the J-Pop song "Traveling", by Utada Hikaru. Not to be outdone, resident TAKII "Queen B***H" Simon (aka Kimichou/Amanda W.) got up in a huff & sang her own version of "Give A Reason", by Megumi Hayashibara (from the series Slayers). What also made this season's Idol Show special was the fact that it was the 1st Show appearance of our esteemed guests/performers Jeffrey Branch (Pink Lady enthusiast) & Natz (J-Rocker from the band "Rusika"), both of whom played their roles beyond compare! In the final round of competition, all 4 young ladies had to freestyle dance to the song "Hunting For You" by Togo Project (feat. Megu & Scotty D.) (from BeatMania) -- but there was a catch: I (D-chan) ran up to the stage unexpectedly to dance among them! Of the 4 contestants, Temari was the youngest (at 14 years old) & the most shy, as I bent down on 1 knee to pleutonically kiss her hand (which was received raucously by the rabid TAKII 4 fanbase & with a back-away from Temari herself LOL). After the smoke had cleared & Natz wished he danced like myself & the contestants (^_^), Haku was named the TAKII 4 Show Champion!

<< TAKII Tribute Series ~Pink Lady: A Comical Tribute~ >> In an effort to pay homage to the stars of Japanese music from yesteryear that make it possible for us to enjoy so many artists today, we thought it appropriate to produce a series of festivities known as the "TAKII Tribute Series", with its kick-off debut honoring none other than J-Pop retro duo, Kei & Mie, Pink Lady (by way of "Pink Lady: A Comical Tribute")! Pink Lady was best known for hits such as "Kiss In The Dark", "Chameleon Army", & "Peppa Keibu (Sergeant Pepper)", but would be remembered by most American audiences for their cult-classic variety show "Pink Lady & Jeff". TAKII 4's tribute to the ladies was a comical depiction of their lives after they peaked their popularity in Japan many years ago, spiced up with some infamous Pink Lady song covers ("It's Raining Men" & "Boogie Wonderland", to name a few) & plenty of audience participation (DOMO @ guest performer Natz getting on stage & getting rather close to a certain member of Pink Lady ^_*). This inaugural Tribute would not have been possible without the efforts of our guest MC (Jeffrey Branch, Pink Lady worldwide authority), sound engineer (Allison C.), & the "ladies" that played Mie ([Ai]/Carmen L.) & Kei (D-chan). Jeffrey was so wowed over by TAKII's tribute to Pink Lady that he wrote a rave review on his official Pink Lady website!! Will we see the girls again @ TAKII? Only time will tell.... ^_*.

<< Ota-Rave ~PDNMZ: AMEN LiVE (feat. Natz: Live In Concert)~ >> TAKII 4 was also the season where performers from all over the country (& in some instances, the world) requested in record numbers to perform at the "House Of Hardcore Asian Music", all of which was entirely flattering ^_^. However, TAKII Coordinators made the decision to send for California's own Natsuo Kimura (aka Natz), leader singer of the hit J-Rock group Rusika! What made Natz's appearance so special was that it would be the 1st time he or anyone from his band came to the East Coast to perform, making news of this 1 of TAKII's most syndicated press releases ever! When it came time for Natz to get on stage, TAKII extremists weren't disappointed as he gave a spirited acoustic rendition of his album, "Hope Through Loneliness", coinciding with our fantastic "Ota-Rave"! Afterwards, he greeted every TAKII 4 fanatic & held an impromptu meet-&-greet/CD signing in our TLO Video Lounge. Another note-worthy item on Natz's appearance was that it was also the 1st time a J-Rocker performed their entire album live @ a season of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational! Natz had such an amazing, inspirational time that he committed himself & additional bandmates to take part in future seasons of the fusion festival!! 

  << Cosplay Battle Royale >> Without needing to count or look at our attendance books, TAKII 4 was, hands down, the season that had the most people in some sort of cosplay! Asian Karaoke Idol contestant, Temari, had the largest cosplay prop of the day (her giant Naruto-inspired harisen), while many TAKII-goers could be spotted with Chii ears, DeathNote chains, InuYasha robes, intricate facepaint, & other things that just go to prove what an influential mode of expression cosplay has grown to become in recent years. Of course, it was time for people to "stop being nice & start being real" by getting down & dirty in our "Cosplay Battle Royale", which produced the following winners:

    * BEST MALE = Soi Fong (from Bleach)
    * BEST FEMALE = Orochimaru (from Naruto)
    * BEST YOUTH = Akamaru (from Naruto)
    * BEST SKIT = The Complete Cast From DeathNote

<< AMV Battle Royale >> During the course of many a TLO club meeting, we'd survey many AMVs & critique them. It wasn't until TAKII 4, however, did we finally produce TAKII's inaugural offering in the world of this eclectic artform, "AMV Battle Royale"! TAKII fans were front & center, gazing upon our über-sexy wide-screen projector as it cast images of shounen perverts & live action Japanese show madness backtracked with some of today's hottest Pop songs. 10 videos were entered & when all was said & done, Asian Karaoke Idol Show's own resident "Simon", Kimichou/Amanda W. won the title of AMV Battle Royale Champion! (My personal favorite had to be Pretty Guardian SailorMoon on a random sound clip track, but hey, it was the audience who decided the winner & for good reason ^_^ lol). Afterwards, TAKII fans voiced their desire to see all of the videos once more, which only solidified the fact that AMV Battle Royale would be coming back.  

In less than 2 years, PDNMZ & TLO were able to team-up & produce 4 full seasons of what everyone knows & loves as the world's most extreme Asian music/gaming fusion festival. The idea for TAKII itself was a dream come true from day 1, with the festival itself proving to be the birthplace of dreams many of our own fans had (ie: Joonaira Entertainment announcing @ TAKII 4 that because of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational, he was able to get a cultural funding grant from the local government to complete his cosplay documentary, or Rachel from our Idol Show kissing me on the cheek for restoring within her a source of confidence ^_^). It is because of all of this that we ended up announcing TAKII would, from now on, expand to no less than 2 days! DOMO to each & every one of you who have made all of this possible; C U @ TAKII 5!