E here! No lie– this was one of my favorite parts of Animeland Wasabi. Walking through the dining area, I heard the faint serenade of the Tetris theme. I grabbed Weltall and drug him through the crowd to the piano to get a closer look.
The guy at the piano looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place his face. Then I saw the yellow feather tucked behind his ear, and I realized!! “Oh! It’s that Chocobo guy!” We pulled out our cameras and started recording this fella hammering on the piano.
People gathered around to listen. Attendees walked by with a smile on their face as Warky dished out piano renditions of all the nostalgic video game music we grew up with. He then started singing a medley of pop music that the crowd joined in on.
We got to meet Warky.
You know those people with magnetic personalities? The type of person who everyone wants to be around just because of their sheer awesomeness? That is Warky. The press conference video that will be posted later will give you a hint of what his sense of humor is like, but it wont show the calming, happiness–creating aura that this guy carries.
Warky delivered that impromptu performance to blow off some steam, we later found out. Despite his own frustrations, he delivered a performance that made others happy– and I’m guessing that made him feel better too.
I’ve sounded so cheesy and sappy throughout this entire post so I might as well throw a cherry on top.
This little performance meant a lot to me. I’m not good enough with words to describe the sense of unity around that piano, but I can try. Stuff like this is the reason I love conventions. I stood next to complete strangers who felt the same warm-bubblies that I did when we listened to Warky play, and it was like finding friends I never knew I had.
Animeland Wasabi, as a convention, really does have a flavor all it’s own. It’s obvious to see that it wants to grow into something bigger with celebrity guests and whatnot, which is all well and good, but the stuff like Warky’s performance is what makes this convention special.
