雖然台北國際書展在前天傍晚六點就結束了, 不過昨晚還有最後一個相關活動 -- 宮崎吾朗出席在台北的"地海戰記"特映會. 我搭乘計程車去參加, 沒想到車子走錯了出口, 提前下了快速道路, 結果卡在車陣中, 比預定時間晚了二十分鐘才抵達. 雖然司機先生很有禮貌地道歉且少收了我的車資, 但是仍然沒能趕上, 又聯絡不上博偉的工作人員 (後來才知道她手機電池已耗盡), 沒有門票的我被擋在電影院入口外又等了約二十分鐘. 後來雖然終於與博偉取得聯繫, 但是為時已晚.

五樓的紀伊國屋書店在電影院入口外擺了個攤子, 販售"地海戰記"的原著與畫冊等周邊商品. 我在稍微瀏覽之後想, 既然都坐計程車來了, 不如去紀伊國屋看看也好.

Although TIBE 2007 had ended at 6 PM on Sunday, there was another event last night: Goro Miyazaki attending the special premiere (not open to general public) of Gedo Senki in Taipei. I took a cab to cover the event, but the driver took a wrong exit and got me stuck in traffic, and I arrived 20 minutes later than planned. Although the driver apologized politely and even gave me a discount fare, I was unable to catch the event; worse yet, I couldn't manage to contact any staff of Buena Vista Interactive (later I learned that her cell phone battery was dead due to heavy usage on that day). Without a ticket or pass, I was left standing at the gate of the theater for another 20 minutes, before I finally got contacted with BVI staff. It was all too late, then.

Books Kinokuniya Taipei, located at the fifth floor of the same mall, had a small booth selling original novels and artbooks of Gedo Senki. After skimming through those items I thought, "darn, I've spent money on a cab here; it would be a waste if I don't window shop at Kinokuniya.

進去之後首先令我感到驚訝的, 是英文書不比日文書少, 甚至有很多英文版的漫畫 (Viz, Tokyopop 等等), 當然日文漫畫還是最大宗, 足足有一整面牆. 在一個不起眼的角落擺著一些不是很知名的畫冊, 但在其中我找到這個:

The first thing surprised me was its abundant English books -- no fewer than Japanese ones, including many English manga published by Viz, Tokyopop, etc. Of course, Japanese manga is still the biggest category, having an entire wall dedicated to them. A few not-so-popular artbooks were shelved in a relatively unnoticed corner, but I found this among them:

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

我雙膝跪地, 竭力阻止淚水奪眶而出. 更難得的是, 這本是初回限定版, 有初回限定特典: アルファさん, ナイ的 Texan, 還有機場的受付さん的模型組, 如同漫畫第八集一樣.

I had all four on floor, tried very hard to stop tears dropping out from my eyes. Moreover, it was the first print with omake: a model set of Alpha-san, Nai's Texan, and the airport receptionist as in manga volume 8.

不僅如此, 還有另一個驚喜: 柳沼行的ふたつのスピカ畫集, 附星象圖與月曆.

In addition, there's another surprise: Twin Spica Illustration Book by Kou Yaginuma, with a constellation map and a calendar.

上帝這次真的開了我一個大玩笑. 如果我準時抵達電影院, 照完宮崎監督的活動照片大概就會走人了, 不會去逛紀伊國屋, 更不會找到這些珍品 (雖然原價 ¥2,800 的東西賣到 NT$1,372 實在有點貴).

God played a big joke on me. If I had arrived the movie theater on time, I'd probably go home after taking pictures of the event, let alone shop at Kinokuniya before finding these treasures (although it was quite expensive for an item with the list price of ¥2,800 sold at NT$1,372).