Morning Musume arrived in Los Angeles today (July 1) for Anime Expo. I just saw clips of them arriving at LAX and was both excited and bummed out. Excited because they’re finally in America, and bummed because I’m not there. Yes, you can ponder the irony of someone who is one of the most vocal proponents of wanting Morning Musume to have a bigger presence in America not being able to attend their American debut. More ironically, I already had this bit of time off from my day job long before news of their debut was announced, which would have made things otherwise absolutely perfect. (I have my reasons for being unable to get there, but I will not go into them here. This is not the place.)

Today is also what the AX site calls “Day 0″, their press junket. Apparently, several blogs and fan sites (including Hello! Online) were on the press list to interview the band, but were turned down at the last minute. I am sure they’re upset about this, but one has to realize that Morning Musume had just arrived after a long-ass plane ride from Japan, are probably tired and maybe a bit jet-lagged, and only have so much time to devote to press. Major press were said to be getting the first shot at interviewing the band, who are without a doubt the most requested interview subjects at the convention.

It’s also worth noting that most of the blogs and fan-run sites that were on the press list are fans first. I am not saying that no one in that category is incapable of acting professional – far from it. But they are fans first, and a first in-person look at the members of Morning Musume could most certainly cause even the calmest fan to become extremely nervous. I know I’d probably be.

Simply put, please don’t get mad at the band, or Tsunku, or UFA, or the AX organizers. This is their first time dealing with an American audience. The best thing for the fans to do is attend the concert and cheer them on, and let them know that Morning Musume is more than welcome here and would be welcomed with open arms time and time again. I know that, had circumstances been different for me, I’d be doing the same thing.