Shuki @ Toy Fair New York - That's a Wrap!

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: So it's 3 in the morning, back at the hotel, realizing that I filmed nothing the rest of the day, and I apologize for that. So when I got done with Toy Fair, I went to go get the shuttle, and then I felt really cold, and I'm like, Aw, crap, my coat is still in the coat check. So I had to walk all the way on the other side of the convention hall to the press coat check, get my coat, then walk all the way back to the shuttle, and at that point I also realized I was carrying around that Hasbro bag that I could have put my coat in and not checked my coat. I could have saved myself a lot of time, but I'm done. So that was where I was at with that, so I was kind of miffed, but I finally got back, dropped my stuff off, met back up with Eric. We hitched a lift to Blanken on the name, because it's a Filipino name. I'll try to put it here. I'll try to look it up and put it here, because I can't remember it. I'm sorry. But that was super delicious. They had a really awesome burrito that was just to die for. So that was really good, and then we didn't know what to do, and we haphazardly decided to go to the movies, because there was an AMC right across from our hotel. And then we went and saw Alita, Battle Angel, which was phenomenal. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. Right now I just hope that there will be sequels to continue the story. And at the very least, I have to hunt down the manga and read it, because not only do I need to know what continues to happen in this world, but I just want to read the source material. But no, it was absolutely phenomenal. It looked gorgeous. The choreography was great. The acting was great. Everything about that movie was really good. So if you haven't seen Alita yet, go see Alita as soon as you can. If you have to wait for digital or Blu-ray or what have you, then you do you. But definitely see it as soon as you can. So, very good. Five out of five. So, that was actually the night I got back and then I started attempting to pack. I had to do the radio show with Mr. S. So that was 1 o'clock to 2 o'clock. And then at 2 o'clock, I had this stack of toys. I had to open these Fortnite Nerf guns and Leia and Captain Marvel. This is just a really good figure. That I had to open everything to fit it in my bag because I only have the suitcase and I have my backpack. And all those, like, boxed toys were not going to fit in these bags. Along with all of my clothes and all of the shirts that I bought here and all of the plushies that I bought here. And all that. So none of that was going to work. So I had to open up all these toys. So I did just a Periscope for an hour and now that's why it's 3 o'clock and I'm just now filming this. But just some closing remarks that I wanted to get off my chest. Like I said when I was at Toy Fair. I think in the future if I do Toy Fair again, one would be a lot more forward thinking. Like apply early. Get everything ironed out with Hasbro early. Everything like that. Because this whole thing was very, very last minute. I applied at the beginning of middle of January, I think. And it took like two weeks to get back to me about my press application. I finally got accepted at the beginning of February. And then I had to scramble to try to get the money to come here. And thankfully like I said, a huge thanks to my family in particular. My mom and dad for making this happen for my 30th birthday. Honestly, I couldn't think of a better 30th birthday present than everything I just experienced here. This was an absolute treat. But like I said, going forward, I definitely want to keep attending these Hasbro events. Because I think they're very worth it. Especially as a bunch of a Transformers fan and a Power Rangers fan as I am. As for Toy Fair itself, I don't know if I would necessarily go to Toy Fair again. Toy Fair, when you have an image in your mind of Toy Fair, and it just doesn't really work the way that it does in your mind. It's a buyer's show. It's a trade show. Before all else. Like a lot of people envision Toy Fair as like this nerd show. That you go and look at all these cool new toys that are going to come out in 2019. And while that is what happens, it's meant for stores that buy this product. Or distributors that want to distribute this product. Or even, I guess, spies that want to find out what other companies are doing. Whatever you may do. And so it's not meant for the public. It's not meant for that kind of thing. And so as a press person at Toy Fair, it's kind of awkward because you're in this really weird gray area where you're not there to buy things. You're there to report on things. And like some companies are really anal on what you report and what you don't report. And some companies don't even want you to take pictures in their booths. So you always have to ask first. Which is just a polite thing to do anyway. But, and then like I said, that upper floor was almost all like closed off booths that you couldn't even access without an appointment. If you asked, I mean there was a chance that you might be able to get in if it wasn't that busy. But, like Saturday and today, the two biggest days, is going to be the days where they're busy the most. So your chances of actually getting in there without an appointment are very slim. And so you have to be forward with these companies that like, oh, I'm pressed. I want to come into the booth at this time and plan everything out accordingly. And that's just something that I didn't have the time and foresight to do. And so like my experience at Toy Fair was very warm and very exciting just to be in that atmosphere of all these companies and all these toys and all these new products was very kind of like a sensory overload. And like an imaginative overload. Lord? Overload. And so like it was very exciting in that regard. It was exciting to have been accepted and it was exciting to have been there and experienced that, especially for the first time. Just the entire atmosphere of Toy Fair is just very exciting. But in terms of a takeaway, I really wanted to network and I didn't unfortunately get enough time to network with anyone that wasn't Hasbro because I didn't have appointments and I didn't have this and I didn't have that. I couldn't find it. So like that being said, next year, should this be in the cards again, I definitely would come here to do the Hasbro event. But I necessarily wouldn't put a lot of stock into trying to cover Toy Fair. I would probably apply for press anyway and get in and do what I can, but I'm not in that mindset of where I was before this trip where I'm like, yeah, we'll do this, we'll cover this, we'll cover Lego, we'll cover Playmates, we'll cover wicked cool toys, we'll do this, we'll do that. So that doesn't happen, especially not when you're only there for two days and one of those days gets completely swamped by Hasbro for four hours. So yeah, that's just, it was a lot of like over excitement on my part and a lot of over commitment on my part that just wouldn't happen with the amount of time that I had and the like lack of social ability that I have. So, uh, like that's that, I, like I said, I would love to do Hasbro again in the future. I would love to do Hasbro's Comic Con event, but I don't see that happening because of costs. I mean, we'll see what happens. Comic Con, San Diego Comic Con's quite a ways away. Uh, so we'll see what happens with that, but I, I can't see, I'd see like a justification of a, of a California plane ticket to go to San Diego Comic Con for, just for Hasbro. But, I don't know, we'll see. I, I'm dedicated to this enough. Uh, particularly like I said, Transformers and Power Rangers to like follow Hasbro around wherever they go. Uh, but yeah, so that, uh, that's that. I, I still very much had a great time. The, the Hasbro event in particular was an absolute blur, an absolute blast. Uh, just to, to see all these new Beast Morpher toys and the Lightning Collection, like first, in person is crazy. And, um, Chad, the guy that was running the, the booth at, uh, the Hasbro event, he's super cool. I don't know if he'll ever watch this, but I hope he does because he's great and I just want to talk to him all the time. Uh, and, uh, of course, Jason, um, uh, Sim Young, I think, and Beth, I think were the three, um, Hasbro reps. Of course, Jason was there. We, we, we've known Jason Bischoff for, since the Saban days. Uh, they just, like, the four of them together as a little cohesive unit just made this an absolute great experience. And it was awesome of Jason to have so much one-on-one time with us. I, I appreciate that a whole lot, uh, as, as a fan, as a collector, and just as me, I guess. So it was, it was an absolute blast just to be able to do this and see this. But, again, most importantly, I say this a lot in the Morphicotton vlogs, the, the greatest part of this whole thing, and, and the movie premiere, uh, in 2017. The greatest part of this whole thing is being able to experience this, like, this entire unveiling with some of my best friends in this fandom, and just in my life in general. Um, being able to share this with Eric and Hassan was incredible. Uh, being able to spend this weekend with Chris was fantastic. I love just hanging out with him. Uh, he is hilarious, and if you're, again, if you're not subscribed to Chris, go watch Chris's stuff. He's great. Uh, was, was super, and, like, we, we shared a room, so we were just around each other the entire time. It was great. Wouldn't have it any other way. Um, I thank you to Eric for letting me bother you almost literally this entire trip. Uh, you, you, you've, you've kind of been my brother in this fandom since we met at Yomacon. Way back in, like, 0-4 or whatever it was. Uh, it's like, like I said, you've always been, like, my big bro in this fandom, and I wouldn't have that any other way either. So, like, being able to, I didn't say anything special about Hassan. Hassan, I love you. You're great. And I'm, I'm super glad we're friends. Like, your, your general positivity is, like, just melt-worthy. Like, you, you kind of, like, ooze that, that positivity, and it, it's hard to ever even think negative when, when you, I'm around you. And I, I appreciate that. So, like, getting to experience this Hasbro unveiling with Eric and Hassan was fantastic. Like I said, getting to spend this entire weekend with Chris was, was great as well. I'm glad that you were all able to make it out. I'm glad we were able to do this together. I wouldn't have it any other way. Huge shout-out to Mike from Power Rangers Now for hanging out with us after the Hasbro event on Saturday. It's always great to catch up with you. We don't get to talk nearly as much as we should. And I hope that can change, uh, in the future, for sure. Uh, so, like, uh, being able to see, see you is, is something that's really cool. Because, like I said, it doesn't happen that often. Um, Bruno and Mia, if you happen to be watching this, it was great seeing you as well. Same thing applies as with Mike. Just don't get to talk a whole lot. We don't get to catch up. And it's always a, a nice little treat to, to see all you guys at moments where it's not, like, a Morphicon thing. So, it was, it was great. Like I said, just being able to have this entire experience, this entire weekend with some of my favorite people in the universe, uh, is, is the best treat possible. And so, like I said, huge thanks to my parents for making this happen. Best 30th birthday present I think you could possibly have. Because not only did I get to do something that's super cool, I got to do it with a bunch of people that I love. As I whack this Nerf gun off the table. So, I'ma leave it at that. I have to, uh, get everything situated. Clear my bed off. I need to get to sleep. Thankfully, I don't have to be up early, because checkout's not until 12. And my flight isn't until 3. So, I'm pretty set, I think, in terms of the sleep department. Even though it is 3.30. So, uh, huge thanks to, to you guys for, for watching all these videos. Um, apologies again for how long it's taken to not only get these videos out, but to how ununiform they were. Um, some was shot with my camera. Some was shot with my phone. I had a lot of technical difficulties throughout this weekend. Uh, unfortunately. That, uh, couldn't really be helped, I suppose. But, uh, yeah. Like, nothing particularly went my way in terms of, like, what I wanted to film, what I wanted to cover, what I wanted to record. Like, nothing went my way in that regard. But, everything went my way in terms of just hanging out with my friends. Like I said, I wouldn't have it any other freaking way. You guys are great. I love all y'all. And, until next time, take care. And, have a great one. Bye.