TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~ took the Internet & Philly, PA by storm on October 25th-26th, 2008. It was the very 1st season of "the world's most extreme Asian culture fusion festival" to have been produced at dual venues (online, c/o Asian Multimedia Entertainment Network (AMEN) & Philly, PA, c/o The Rotunda). This season's theme design was inspired by the Nintendo Wii game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with the theme song being "King Dedede's Theme (SSBB Remix)" (from the same game). A special Asian-themed focus was also placed on the 2008 Presidential Race (featuring John McCain & Sarah Palin VS Barack Obama & Joe Biden), something other like-minded events had never done before!! When 1st announced, critics of the festival were quoted as saying "Internetcon, I think not", or "Like anyone would bother to give TAKII the time of day", among other opinions of skepticism. However, the weekend that was TAKII 6 would not only blow away predictions made by its fans, but the TAKII Coordinators alike! History, truly, was being made; let's take a look back at just a few of the festivities that made this season so uniquely extreme:

 

 

 

<< PDNMZ: Asian Multimedia Entertainment Network Debut >> On Day 1 of TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~, Oct. 25th, 2008, The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational debuted the most innovative interaction apparatus in the history of Asian culture fandom: Asian Multimedia Entertainment Network (AMEN)! An unparalleled media maven, AMEN combines both the boundless entertainment enigma of online broadcasting with the iconic online movement known as social networking. Gone are the days of having to keep track of fellow otaku & Asian culture enthusiasts over multiple social networks & having to go elsewhere for a source of online entertainment. At Asian Multimedia Entertainment Network, TAKII fans & PDNMZ enthusiasts worldwide converge to enjoy audio & video streaming shows & presentations, customize their own profiles beyond the capabilities of MySpace & Facebook, submit & review their own music/videos/images, participate in online tournaments, create their own online clubs/groups, & SO MUCH MORE, 24/7!!!! ....& just like a season of TAKII, AMEN is completely FREE to join!!

The debut of AMEN during TAKII 6 weekend saw the premier broadcast of AMEN X-Stream (w/shows like "TAKII Fanatic Top 44 Countdown", "Name That TAKII Tune", & "In The NMZ", to name a few) coupled with a wide variety of presentations streaming on AMEN Vidiocity (featuring shows like "TLO Video Lounge PLUS" & the online debut of "AMV Battle Royale"), going on 24/7. Those who joined the social network side of AMEN were quickly impressed with Asian culture fandom's most extreme online social hub, making great use of its many features & facets. The overwhelming amount of love & support Asian Multimedia Entertainment Network received during TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~ made it clear to TAKII Coordinators that AMEN was here to stay!

<< NintenDecision 2008 Election Epicenter >> TAKII 6 was about much more than Nintendo this season....it was about the power of choice & the honor of being able to exercise one's ability to vote. With "NintenDecision 2008 Election Epicenter" (featured on AMEN), TAKII did what other festivals/conventions haven't ever done before & brought to the Asian culture community a special focus on the 2008 USA Presidential Election! Coverage began shortly after the conclusion of the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary season between (then) Senator Hillary Rodham & (then) Senator Barack Obama. All the way up until Election Day on Nov. 4th, 2008, TAKII Coordinators published articles examining John McCain & Sarah Palin (Republican Presidential & VP Nominees), as well as Barack Obama & Joe Biden (Democratic Presidential & VP Nominees), from a comical & serious side, with a TAKII twist & focus on issues that matter the most to Asian Americans & young people. We examined which anime personalities they should nominate as running mates, wondered what manga they'd read, analyzed the funniest political cartoons, & even covered (& scored) the Republican & Democratic National Conventions respectfully. It was thanks to our groundbreaking efforts & expanding presence in the Asian community that the Obama Campaign personally contacted us about having their Asian Americans For Obama group appear at TAKII 6 & help us in our get-out-the-vote efforts!!

The "NintenDecision 2008 Election Epicenter" was also the online hub for all of our online voting-based contests, which included the following:

    * TAKII Fanatic Top 44 Countdown
          o Fan's top 44 favorite songs to be played at a season of TAKII
                + 1 = "Yume Hanabi (Dream Fireworks)", by Garnet Crow
                + 2 = "Tomei Ningen (Invisible Man)", by Pink Lady
                + 3 = "Jelly Kiss", by Togo Project
                + 4 = "Holla", Desiree Jackson
    * Official NintenDecision 2008 Election Ballot
          o TAKII's quest to honor the best of Nintendo
                + BEST CONSOLE = NES
                + BEST HANDHELD = Nintendo DS
                + BEST CARTOON SERIES = The Adventures Of SMB 3
                + FAVORITE FEMME FATALE = Mother Brain
    * AMEN Talent Showcase
          o Fans deciding the most extreme stunt from "Takeshi's Castle"
                + BEST STUNT = Congressional Log Jam
    * TAKII Cover Art Contest
          o Finding the best faux game art out there
                + CHAMPION = "The Angry Video Game Nerd" on Wii
    * AMV Battle Royale
          o TAKII's AMV contest goes online for the 1st time
                + MOST EXTREME = "Negai", by Maria
                + TAKII 6 CHAMP CHALLENGE = "Got Melee?", by Bautista

  << The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational Show >> The namesake festivity of "the world's most extreme Asian culture fusion festival", the TAKII 6 Show, saw 12 brave TAKII faithful compete for karaoke-style glory in front of our most engaged grouping of attendees in the history of this organization ever! People all-day were asking Team TAKII Coordinators about the show, hungry for their chance to compete, or watch people fail miserably in an event worth of its own reality TV show :-P. As much of a hard time our fans give TAKII Show contestants each season, they are also the most passionate, supportive attendees any festival/convention ever has the honor to amass.

The TAKII 6 Show was witness to many special performances, including Mudkip Girl's rendition of "Zankoku Na Tenshi no Theze (Cruel Angel's Thesis)", the Chibi Chocobo flexing her feathers to the Pokemon Theme from the 1st dub movie, & Jo-el (a participant on FOX's "So You Think You Can Dance") giving us a break dance session that blew our minds. The lady who stole the show, though, was Nikki H. (aka Kyuubishinobi), with her pop/dance interpretation of the SailorMoon R Movie's "Moon Revenge". As she sang her heart out, all contestants & even audience members got up on stage & let the beat take us all away in an epic moment of sheer vocal ecstasy. It would end up being no surprise that she became the TAKII 6 Show Champion, but....WOW! SUGOI!!!!

<< Makenai: Fusion Charity Benefit Concert >> The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational goes well beyond your normal anime convention, where you're treated to "more of the same" with a different name on it. However, with "Makenai: Fusion Charity Benefit Concert", TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~ brought "change everyone can believe in" by raising funds for its seasonal Charity Beneficiary, The Asia Foundation, through a cavalcade of live performances & video presentations. Kicking off this season's Concert were our special guest performers, D-chan, [Ai], & Half-Born. Their fusion of love ballads, J-Rock, & DDR themes brought people to their feet, shouting in ovatious tones, & struck emotional cords in all those who let the music piece their souls. Our musically-momentous journey wasn't complete without a special hour-long block of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, the classic 1980s live-action version of Super Mario Bros.!!!! 

<< Gaming Tourneys >> "Gaming Tourneys" was headlined by co-main event challenges -- 1 being a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament hosted by TAKII 5 ~Shin Seiki (Neon Genesis)~ SSBB Champion, Bravo, & the other being yet another TAKII premier....the Blind Faith Challenge, featuring the original Super Mario Bros. on NES! The goal of that tourney was to play Level 1-1 & race through it with the shortest time, yet largest score....all while being flamboyantly blindfolded!!!! Out of the 10 tourneys we had for TAKII 6, the Blind Faith Challenge ended up being the most popular (go figure LOL). While TAKII 6 was filled to the brim with consoles from every gaming generation to have ever existed, this season's "Gaming Tourneys" featured a special focus on the powerhouse franchise known as Nintendo! On top of a majority of the festival's tournaments coming from a Nintendo game, each tourney winner got the chance to win 1 of 4 TAKII 6 Nintendo Prize Packs, which included a Nintendo Console (NES, SNES, N64, or GameCube), cords & controllers, & complimentary games to get the winners started!! Congrats go out to Robert M., Nikkia H., David V., & Andrew T. for winning their respective Nintendo consoles!!!!  

 

<< Community Centrale & Dealer's Dominion >> TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~ saw its largest contingent of dealers, artists, & exhibitionists in Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational history, with over 16 tables being used to display talents & swag from all over the area, nation, & the world! For some individuals at "Dealer's Dominion" & "Community Centrale", it was their 1st time having a table at any festival/convention. For others, it was an experience that was compared with & easily exceeded similar situations at other traveled-to events. All of TAKII would like to take the time out now to pay homage to those vendors & exhibitionists who helped to make TAKII 6 such a stunning success:

         # Cosplay Forever
         # The Secret Shoppe
         # Bawls
         # Dastardly Deeds
         # Anime Sunrise
         # Boiled Fish Studios
         # Joey Dangerous
         # The Foundation
         # The Lost Otakus
         # Asian Americans For Obama 

<< Cosplay Battle Royale >> It's hard to believe that "Cosplay Battle Royale" almost didn't become a TAKII mainstay festivity years ago. However, TAKII 6's version of our costumed contests was, to sum it up, AMAZING! Continuing the streak of unparalleled participation each of this season's festivities had garnered, "Cosplay Battle Royale" saw dozens of participants, from Dr. Weird (Aqua Teen Hunger Force) to Dante (Devil May Cry), from Mario & Luigi (Super Mario Bros.) to Jonin (Naruto) & Homonculi (Fullmetal Alchemist) & everything in between, competing for cosplay glory to the extreme! Hosted by professional cosplayer, Dokudel, & featuring a surprise performance by TAKII Show alumni, Drea, attendees were treated to otaku faceplants on-stage, video game heroes J-Rock'n'out, & Bill Clinton using a Hillary Clinton life-sized cut-out as an air guitar (^_^). While no politicians were injured during "Cosplay Battle Royale", we were able to crown the following champs:

    * BEST MALE COSPLAYER: Random Jonin (Naruto)
    * BEST FEMALE COSPLAYER: Lust (Fullmetal Alchemist)
    * BEST THESPIAN COSPLAYER: Sexy Investigators (Random)

<< Otaku Jeopardy >> The perfect way to end the 6th season of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational came by way of "Otaku Jeopardy", as hosted by Team TAKII Coordinators Dan & Annie R. of West Chester, PA's The Lost Otakus (TLO)! This season, we gave festival-goers 2 non-stop hours worth of the zaniest questions & answers in all of otakudom, complete with audio & visual enhancements, random tasks, & much more. Among many of "Otaku Jeopardy"'s memorable moments include chasing people around the Main Stage of The Rotunda to the theme from Benny Hill & smacking them with Zanpaktou from Bleach, dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" & doing a zombie pile-up on stage, & seeing Team TAKII Staffer, San, get glomped against his will for the 2nd season of TAKII in a row :-P! When all was said & done, however, it was Team Dave that won top honors, with them doing "jan-ken-pon" to determine the recipient of our TAKII GameCube Prize Pack!!

<< "Domo Arigatou" Party >> November 15th, 2008 marked the very 1st seasonal TAKII "Domo Arigatou" Party, in honor of TAKII 6 ~NintenDecision 2008~. It's our unique opportunity to honor TAKII supporters (attendees, staffers, & supporters-alike) by throwing a randomly awesome bash, featuring music, food, friendships, & video game frenzy! This season's "Domo Arigatou" Party was held in West Chester, PA & saw people get down with Rock Band 2 (TAKII Coordinators VS Attendees), epic Soul Calibur 4 battles, a "Scene It" Trivia Hour, & the Undergraduate Pizza (a pizza featuring almost any side order you could think of, on the pizza itself :-P). Of course, it was also a chance for everyone to pick the brains of TAKII Coordinators & discuss the upcoming season of The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational, TAKII 7 ~Simply SINs"ASIAN"al~. At the end of the "Domo Arigatou" Party, it was announced it would become a permanent seasonal fixture of our fusion festival, with bigger & badder things to expect next time ^_*!

 

With over 2 dozen flavors of festivities for fusion festival fans to enjoy during the weekend that was TAKII 6, the season subtitled "NintenDecision 2008" proved to be a super smash (bros. lol) success! We did what other festivals & conventions never did, dare not do, or only dream of & came through stronger than ever before. In less than 3 years, The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational has completed 6 seasons, all thanks to the love & support of its fans all around the world! Whether in virtual or actual reality, TAKII reigns supreme. With TAKII 7 ~Simply SINs"ASIAN"al~ coming up April 25th-26th, 2009, Team TAKII Coordinators & Staff are already hard at work on what promises to be our most extreme season of all time!!