A surprise last-minute special guest for MAGFest 9, Hiroki Kikuta flew over from Japan in what is his second visit to the east coast in a rather short span of time. Fans will remember he attended Otakon 2010 in Baltimore last August, so it was certainly unexpected that he’d come to the same area again so soon.
Unfortunately for everyone (Kikuta and fans), it wasn’t the world’s most enjoyable trip. Kikuta-san, the composer most famous for Secret of Mana and whose new work Shining Hearts just hit Japanese stores, was an active participant in the festivities on the first day (Thursday). He played a live performance of a new piece of music he’d written, and he volunteered to be a judge in a cooking contest akin to Iron Chef. Apparently, the food made there was atrocious, and Kikuta didn’t hide that fact.
Whether it was the nasty food that sent his immune system into a state of shock, or some combination of jet lag and just finishing his work on Shining Hearts, Hiroki Kikuta awoke Friday feeling rather ill. He spent all of Friday in his hotel room. On Saturday, he mustered enough energy to attend the Q&A panel and subsequent signing that was planned for the afternoon. It was here that he informed fans that, while he’d very much like to mingle with others at JamSpace and elsewhere at MAGFest, he wasn’t sure he’d be feeling any better by Sunday.
Sure enough, he wasn’t.
But we’re still super-appreciative that Kikuta-san powered through what looked like a raging headache/cold/fever combo to meet with MAGFest attendees. The Q&A panel was hosted by my fellow OSV staffers (Chris Ling, Audun Sørlie, Shota Nakama). I sat in the audience to soak it all in, and it certainly wasn’t below me to get my Secret of Mana soundtrack signed.
After the jump, you’ll find out what the fans wanted to ask, and the very… unique… answers that Kikuta gave. It’ll be sure to entertain. (more…)
