Arita, by far, signs more than any other artist. Why not just wait till there’s something more concrete and in the US? This all sounds like a massive gamble to maybe walk away with nothing.
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OP lives in Japan
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Yeah I live in Japan. I will probably make a trip to the US at some point, but that means I have to line up my schedule, the kids’ schedules, and Arita’s schedule. There is really no guarantee that it will work out for me
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One option you could have is to meet him at a non pokemon event in Japan to just meet him.
Then just pay to have someone get the pokemon items signed at a future event. That way you can meet him in a way that works for you and still get the autos you want at some point.
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You mentioned this event in the OP but it says he will also do blank card sketches
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Thanks for the reminder, I want to go now
Yeah I have thought about that. I asked my brother to go to the San Diego Comic Con but he didn’t want to go because it would be too crowded. Also I don’t think he signed Pokemon merchandise at the San Diego event. But yes that’s probably the best way to go about it at this point.
Interesting. I’m pretty sure the event page specifically said no Pokemon items allowed for signatures
What the event page says, and how he felt at that exact moment he signed is a different story
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Those cards from above are from e4’s very own @viridian. Supposedly he was only doing autographs on pokemon cards at the Tiktok booth which was limited to 30 people a day. The other main booth Arita was at didnt allow Pokemon cards to be signed
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Yep those were from me. At the TikTok booth you had the option to get a much more expensive package from him with a limited art print, and he would sign a ‘personal item’. Nowhere did it say Pokemon cards but that was everyone’s implicit understanding.
Also, very few people aside from me chose to do it. There were 30 slots a day, but on Thursday when I went, only 4-5 people got signatures at all. I think it was partially because of the cost, and partially because no one knew he was coming. He only announced he was visiting NYCC 2 days before the show, when tickets were already sold out.
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Wow that’s interesting. Glad you got those signatures. How much did it cost if you don’t mind me asking?
I really wish I could go to the Malaysia event but it’s basically $500 per card and sketch. Including the flight it’s just very, very expensive for me
It was even more expensive in New York, his handler wanted $600 per card, and there wasn’t even sketch available on the Pokemon cards. I paid because with airfare to one of his other cons, it might have been even more for me personally. In NYC I can just take the train to him. Definitely a lot of people would be priced out though. It was also very restrictive, you couldn’t take any pics of him signing the cards, or pics with him if there was Pokemon in the pic.
For reference, his MTG card was only $30 to sign, $40 if you want a shadow signature, and $100 for remark (sketch) and signature. You could take as many pics of the process as you want. Crazy what the difference is.
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Wow that’s insane! Malaysia event doesn’t sound bad by comparison
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