2018 Year End Recap: The Word of Greg

Once again, the Selective Hearing staff go over all the events in 2018. Being the supreme leader of the site, I get to go last, as is customary. As usual, these posts go long, so get comfortable, have a pee break and then come back to reading this.

Selective Hearing in 2018

Looking back at our 12th year of existence, I say there have been a few changes regarding what we offer from our small corner of the Internet. Of course, Japanese and Korean idol music and pop culture is still a thing here, but many staff have also decided to expand their horizons further past those tried and faithful subjects over the year.

I’m not going to stop anyone from writing about what they want. As long as there is a positive contribution to the site, I’m good with whatever the others here want to post.

I believe this trend will continue into 2019 as the interests of staff continue to evolve, and they find other things to write about in addition to the standard content we have been providing for the countless moons we have been around.

Events

Like last year, 2018 started in Tokyo with the Tokyo Project x @JAM New Year Premium Party idol festival in Odaiba. As I mentioned in my mid-year recap I managed to get out of the festival on my own two feet rather than in an ambulance. I only attended the first day, but I got enough of the acts I like to be satisfied with.

The next event was Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome to watch the much-hyped return of Chris Jericho to New Japan Pro Wrestling. For those who do not follow professional wrestling, this was a big deal as Jericho, for most of his career, has been seen as a WWE guy and seeing a star of his magnitude wrestle for another promotion was surreal. Add the fact that he was facing off against one of the best wrestlers on the planet today Kenny Omega and it made for a must-see match-up regardless of your loyalties to any particular wrestling company.

The next night was New Year Dash, the New Japan equivalent to the Raw after Wrestlemania. Not many new feuds started at the event, but it confirmed that Chris Jericho was committed to New Japan for a bit longer when he came out to attack Tetsuya Naito.

If you ever have the chance to watch pro wrestling at Korakuen Hall, definitely do it. There is not a bad view anywhere in the building.

In April, I went to the Calgary Expo after skipping out on the past couple of years. However, unlike the last time I went, I did not have a regular pass to get into events for registered attendees. So instead, I just had my media pass.

OSAKA2018-COLLAGE-05

June marked my return to Japan for some more 2-shots with the remaining 48 family members I can still name and care about in Osaka. I found it challenging to find new members to take pics with, given that the current roster of 48s was pretty “meh” for me at the time I bought my bundle of useless CDs from Chara Ani. So I mostly stuck to the members I have been following since I got into the 48 fandom, along with a few new names catching my attention on AKBINGO.

After the 2-shots it was more New Japan Pro Wrestling at Osaka-jo Hall for their Summerslam equivalent called Dominion. I made it to the venue mid-way through the show since the train ride from Intex Osaka was close to an hour long.

The rest of my scheduled time in Osaka was spent doing touristy things, and I was expecting to leave on June 11th. However, my flight home to Canada was delayed due to technical issues and weather conditions, and I got a bonus day in Osaka. That was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, when I left on June 12th, all I got for an apology from Air Canada was a $10 food voucher to use at the airport. I guess I should be thankful they re-booked my flight and got me home.

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