Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

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kndy
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Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by kndy »

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#PMX2013 #Manga Guest of Honor Izumi Matsumoto, creator and artist of Kimagure Orange Road at #PMX. #KOR More info here: http://pacificmediaexpo.info/2013/index ... iew&id=586 — at Pacific Media Expo.
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by usamimi »

MAN, I wish I could go. ;___; I would love to get to see him/hear him speak, and maybe get an autograph. I love KOR <3
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by PinkAppleJam »

Envy!!! Ohh how I wish I could go and show him my fangirlish art and talk about cats. Waah!
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by greg »

Wow! It's good to see him attend a Western con! That would be great to see. Unfortunately, I predict that there will be low turnout and all the modern anime fans won't have a clue as to who he is. I hate how legends like this get snubbed by a bunch of idiots who only care about One Piece, Narutard, Ponies or that one show people complain a lot about.
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by usamimi »

greg wrote:Wow! It's good to see him attend a Western con! That would be great to see. Unfortunately, I predict that there will be low turnout and all the modern anime fans won't have a clue as to who he is. I hate how legends like this get snubbed by a bunch of idiots who only care about One Piece, Narutard, Ponies or that one show people complain a lot about.
I believe last year he was at Katsucon, and the year before that Anime Expo? So he's no stranger to Western cons. I'm glad to see him come over here fairly often! I agree that he probably won't draw as big a crowd as, say, anyone related to the shows you mentioned...but given that PMX is in CA, I assume that he'll probably get at least a fair amount of people there. CA's gotta have at least SOME old-school fans around still, right?
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by Akage »

Apologies for reviving an old topic. I had hoped to have responded to this back when I applied to join the board...but my membership was just approved.

I went to PMX in 2013, when Matsumoto was a guest. He was at Anime Expo in 2011 and he popped in for Japan Expo USA in 2014. I went to both of these conventions as well.

PMX is a very small con; Usually less than a couple hundred people attend. Prior to the 2015 convention, it took place at a hotel nearby LAX. This year, it moved to Pasadena, which was very inconvenient. That, combined with the lackluster guest list (no artists) and change of date/location mid-cycle, led to my decision to attend this year. Prior to that, I had attended for a couple years. It was one of the few conventions where I actually really enjoy attending (most cons feel more like work than actual vacation).

You're right; Matsumoto was largely ignored. Most of PMX's attendees are teenage and young adult cosplayers, the majority of whom didn't know nor cared about him. When I arrived to the hotel on the first day of the con, it was late afternoon on Friday. A couple of earlier arriving attendees had purchased some canvas prints he had brought with him to sell, but that was hours before I arrived. Matsumoto was sitting at a table near the stairs on the main floor, surrounded by some merchandise he was hoping to sell. He seemed really down, maybe because most of the con goers had no interest in him and quickly passed him by without so much of a glance. Having met him a couple years prior at AX, I knew who he was, so I was very excited to see him. I bought both books he was selling (I have an extra, if anyone is interested), and I asked if he would sketch for me. He readily agreed, I took out my Copic markers, and I walked away with a colored sketch of Madoka.

I went to Matsumoto's panel on the second day of PMX. He spoke about an injury he sustained during a car accident that occurred when he was a child that left him suffering from Cerebrospinal Fluid Disease. He spoke about how, during the production of his Sesame Street manga, he began to have difficulty sleeping and was always in pain. He mentioned that he went to multiple doctors and blew through a lot of his royalties earned from KOR, but no one was able to properly diagnose him. For years, he experienced this condition, which affected his ability to draw and release any more manga. He mentioned that he drafted a sequel to KOR, but he was unable to do anything with it. Matsumoto mentioned that he contemplated committing suicide several times, but because of his sister's support and his love of playing the Final Fantasy games, he found the will to live. Eventually, though, he met a doctor who had recently just read about spinal fluid diseases, and figured out that Matsumoto was suffering from a CSF leak stemming from the car accident. Matsumoto underwent surgery and began to feel like his old self again.

After meeting Matsumoto a couple times, I've noticed that he draws Madoka differently if he really likes you. Most of the Madoka sketches I've seen show Madoka with a relatively expressionless face. But if he likes you, he'll draw Madoka smiling.
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by davemerrill »

Honestly I'd been wondering what had happened to Izumi Matsumoto. Orange Road is really popular among a pretty specific age-range of anime fans, but after it ended there wasn't anything new from him to keep his name in front of fandom. I hope his health improves, and that his next North American convention appearance is at a convention that publicizes him a bit better.
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Re: Kimagure Orange Road's Izumi Matsumo is coming to PMX

Post by usamimi »

Wow, thanks for all of that, Akage! It's so sad to see Matsumoto ignored. He's so talented, and KOR holds a special place in my heart. I would've loved to meet him, and getting a color sketch, wow! That's wonderful, how nice of him!

I'd read about his health problems, and he talked about it a little bit in an interview he did for PMX that was put online...that was something I made sure to talk about in the KOR episode of my podcast I did last year. Although I didn't know about his struggle with mental health as well. I'm so happy that he was able to push through it and start to feel better. It's a shame that he couldn't work more on what he wanted to do, but I'm glad he's still drawing. I hope that brings him joy. It would def. be great to see him guest at a con that had more older fans who would appreciate him, hopefully the experience doesn't sour him on visiting America again!

That's so cute! Madoka only smiles for nice people...that seems very fitting. :lol:
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