At Northen California's Fanime Convention this year, walking down the corridor between the Westin Hotel and the Santa Clara Convention Center, I heard a little lilt in the air that perked up my ears. What could be the reason for live, harmonic melodies radiating from an area where dance music and J-pop usually rock the scene? Nearing the Dealer's Room with the intent to empty my wallet, I soon got my answer.

High school students Kimberly (a senior) and Michelle (a junior) Kwon, known as the talented "Ramen and Rice Duet," played cello and violin renditions of anime theme songs, all without the aid of sheet music. They created the music after listening to any given song and transposing it for their instruments to each amazingly accurate note. Hailing from Pleasanton, CA, Kimberly (violin) and Michelle (cello) have played for ten years and realized only a year ago they could have fun playing their favorite anime and game theme songs.

"Anime music in classical form?" you ask? How can that be? Even I was skeptical because if anything most groups that try to recreate music themselves usually go the easy way and play only the recognizable melodies in the song. But it's not a straight transposition of the dominant melodies that this duet plays. Utilizing the benefits of having both a cello, a bass instrument, and a violin, the higher pitched instrument for suited for melodies, the Kwon sisters singled out each layer in the music and played their parts accordingly, bass lines by the cello and melodies by the violin, adding to the amazement of the surrounding fans.

And yes, there were many surrounding fans. Strategically placed in front of the Dealer's Room, Kimberly and Michelle performed off a playlist posted nearby and in addition to requests from the crowd. Though their hard copy list contained mostly video game themes from the Final Fantasy series, even the movie's theme "The Dream Within," and a few other gaming themes including Mario's RPG, the duo clearly had more knowledge of anime themes than the list implied. Lain's "Duvet" was so eerily accurate that it could have made it onto the soundtrack as an instrumental version of the opening theme. Someone requested Trigun's opening theme, "H.T.," but the doubt in the air was quickly tapped away by Michelle's foot as she set the quick beats for their start to an opening that would even make Vash look classically cultured, in a cool renegade way of course.

Kimberly's violin case decorated with a handmade "AX or Bust" sign made the perfect receptor for the listeners' generous donations. This says a lot for the talent of this duo. Donations made by anime fans about to go into a Dealer's Room, where cash is sometimes the only form of payment, is obviously rare, most fans preferring to donate a new DVD to themselves.

However, there is much to be said for the generosity of anime fans to help other fans get to the biggest anime convention this side of the Mississippi, Anime Expo, Los Angeles.

Says Kimberly, "We are only doing this for fun... We want to go [to AX] on our own [without our parents paying for it]." [Ed: Such nice kids!]

An emphasis on fun was the key point of our conversation. Other fans asked if the Duet had a CD or tape. Kimberly emphasized it was only a hobby, not for any sort of profit, except to get to AX. With Kimberly going off to Stanford in the fall, with a desire to major in animation, the duo will no doubt be separated from playing together for a while.

Hopefully they'll bring along their instruments to sunny LA this summer and I can maybe drag them to a studio for a quick recording!