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Spurred on by Yoshiko's posts, here are some of my own pictures from Anime Expo. (And not even two weeks after; practically a record!) Some of them are a little blurry (new camera I'm not quite used to yet) and some of them are a little dark/overly brightened in Photoshop because they were dark (I'm not so good with lighting), but hopefully some of you will be interested anyway.
I actually took a lot more pictures than usual this year. I was fangirling a whole bunch of current stuff, and the atmosphere just felt so congenial... I had a really good time. ^-^
Greeting con-goers first thing were these GIANT Final Fantasy XIII banners across the corner from the Holiday Inn. I hear they simply left them up from E3. Clever.
Morning Musume! I wasn't allowed to take pictures during their concert (which we totally scored second row seats for), but opening ceremonies were fair game. I decided I liked their leader person the best, as she had the nicest hair. I'd feel shallow about that, but it's about the only way to tell them apart and they're just going to be replaced in a couple years anyway, so I figure it's okay.
Side note: that girl at the podium almost never looked up, and read her cue cards with the enthusiasm of a dead cat. And she's the con chair or whatever? ::sigh::
Part of the enormous entry way before going into the dealers' hall. I didn't take too many pictures of just the scope of AX, since I've done that before, but now I kind of regret it.
I feel it's way too early in the entry to say this, but this was totally my favorite cosplay of the whole con. Can you tell who he is?
Baby Naruto! Soooo cuuuute!
Speaking of. Now, it saddens me that Sakura doesn't get her fair share of even cosplayers, but it's hard to complain about the teams not being canonical in the face of such adorableness. Awwww, badass nine year olds. <3
This picture is interesting for two reasons. One, hey, we're getting more guys cosplaying One Piece! (And also, as Yoshiko noted, Prince of Tennis and several other series that are usually more female dominated, at least on the cosplay side.) Two, the Zoro was hot. This picture doesn't really do him justice. And then I ran into them again like two more times during the con. I did not mind.
Hetalia! With convenient flags for those of us who might not be quite sure of all the countries yet!
That is one awesome hat, and he so knows it. I do love hats.
You know another thing I love about cons? Ninjas using the ATM.
(Don't worry, I wasn't trying to steal his PIN or anything. He kindly posed for me after he finished.)
There were two cosplays that really stood out to me in the halls, because it just felt so in character for them to be wandering around like that. One was the Akatsuki (seen later), and the other was Zero. Of course Zero's going to strike a pose and let you take his picture. He's Zero. What else would he do? (Don't answer that; it's probably depressing.)
Excellent Phoenix Wright cosplayers. Godoh really had the pose and attitude down, too.
Junjo being announced at the Right Stuf panel. Honestly, I was probably the most excited person in the room. ::crosses fingers for nice merchandise::
Eating out at IHOP - the first time. Note: if you ever go out to dinner with some friends you met last year and have a wonderful time, do not, under any circumstances, attempt to catch lightning in a bottle and repeat the experiment. It will not work and you will end up with a scheduling mess.
...But the chicken-apple-bacon salad was delicious.
Yoshiko very nicely helping me stick on ribbons for my Lenne cosplay. Unfortunately, they ended up not working out as well as I had hoped and two hours later I ended up going with plan B after all (drawing them on with eyeliner borrowed from some nice girls next door). ::sigh::
I like this picture for some reason. Also, the hotel wallpaper was very, very yellow.
Me with a moogle. Does Lenne ever actually encounter a moogle in the game? I don't think so, but what the hell. I wasn't going to be able to go to the Final Fantasy gathering on Sunday, and the guys two doors down from us (and originally meant to be in a connecting room, but for the whole sordid tale of How the Holiday Inn Screwed Up, ask Yoshiko) did various Final Fantasy cosplays and were quite nice in general, so a picture seemed in order.
From the same group - Alicia, I think? Anyway, she makes a great Cloud.
So, apparently Pokemon is popular again. Not only did I spot this Empoleon, but there were people cosplaying Charmander, Blastoise, Venusaur, and more. Crazy.
This is the One Piece booth in Artists Alley where Vicki and I spent a great deal of time and money. Seriously, his art was bang on, and he was super nice to boot. We heaped massive amounts of praise upon his head.
(In the background, you can see two girls cosplaying Skip Beat. More on them later.)
Vicki and Yoshiko! I had a fantastic time at AX this year, and you're looking at two of the primary reasons. True, Vicki could only be there one day, but it still worked out.
The three of us together. Yoshiko is cosplaying Nadeshiko from Shugo Chara, incidentally, and looking quite good at it.
I love conventions.
Awww, little Akatsuki! Don't let his size fool you, he probably murdered twenty people just before breakfast.
As mentioned earlier, seeing Akatsuki in the crowds kept making me do double-takes. See, it's just like them to hang out with a bunch of people in their cloaks like it's perfectly normal just before killing them all in some crazy, horrible fashion.
I totally bought the Roxas shirt (it looks very sporty on me ^-^), and so did quite a number of other people, considering how many I saw being worn around the con. I asked the lady running the booth if they overprinted Roxas and Axel compared to the others (seriously, Lexeaus? who?), and she confirmed they totally did.
OMG it's monster!Chopper! And next to him is an artistic take on the Sunny Go Thousand Sunny and what must be Laboon.
Here's a poorly photoshopped closeup so you can see the ship.
Kuma! Run away! Run away! No, Luffy, don't try and fight him...!
Avatar cosplayers: still some of the nicest cosplayers there are. Even the ones portraying the evil, betraying minions.
I like Suki. ^-^
Aww, brotherly love doesn't always work out. However, isn't it nice when grown-ups get to cosplay up instead of down?
At least with Kingdom Hearts we now have an excuse for the random Disney cosplayers. And that's a damn fine Carpet.
Ice cream was a dollar! Who can pass that up on a hot day? (My dad totally could when I was younger, that's who. Though thinking back on it, the price hasn't gone up in 20 years, making it a total bargain today. Huh.)
This picture looks casual, but I assure you it was staged, as I had to ask a passerby to take it. :P I'm not sure why I look like I'm pontificating, but whatever. Instead, check out the cute Code Geass bag I bought in Artists Alley.
Eating at Wokano with Vicki and Gretchen, who also roomed with us for a few nights. The food was absolutely fantastic, and the place not crowded at all - much to the owner's dismay. We pointed out that he might want to try advertising next year.
How cute is the idea of Sasuke and Naruto chilling at the arcade? Totally cute.
There was even a Kakashi to appear to be supervising. ^-^
I'm torn between whether this picture is creepy, funny, or merely indicative of how we spent the morning. Probably the latter?
Vicki helping Yoshiko out with her Marianne (Code Geass) cosplay.
Someone cleverly brought Pizza Hut pizza to the Code Geass photo shoot, and then confused the hell out of everyone there by asking who ordered it. Fortunately, we eventually all figured out it was for the shoot, and pictures commenced.
Lelouch is dismayed.
(...Or actually probably just adjusting his hat, but I like my interpretation better.)
But not even emperors can resist free pizza.
Zeros being awesome. Also, some Kallens, but they're really just there to give the Zeros props to pose around.
This picture is a spoiler!
Everyone was like "Did anyone bring a sword? Anyone?" And then some other cosplayer had one, so of course this shot got set up.
There were lots of Vocaloids at the con, much to my delight.
Funny story. So I was eating a snack at the cafeteria, and I saw these two girls and asked if I could take their picture, since the idea of Suzaku and Lelouch casually discussing plans and not trying to kill each other made me happy. They said sure, and then were like "Wait, aren't you the same girl who took pictures of us as Sasuke and Naruto last night?" What are the odds?
(Sadly, I did not run into them the next day cosplaying, I dunno, Ed and Al shopping or anything, though that would have been even more awesome.)
A very good Trudy, and a fantastic Mr. Hat. Also, Von Karma.
Kyoko and Moko-chan have apparently been ordered to work Artists Alley as part of their Love Me duties. (Yes, I took a great many pictures that consisted of "Excuse me, could you keep doing what you're already doing?")
Hetalia Allies! France seems to have been swapped out for Italy, but that's fine with me. Probably even somehow canon, but my Italian history is terrible.
Hee. If you are familiar with later chapters of One Piece, you will recognize that this is eerily accurate.
Edgeworth likes to take pictures.
Gin-tama cosplayer? Uninteresting. Gin-tama cosplayer with an appropriate prop? I need a picture!
Gretchen's friend... Celeste, I think? ...helping me assemble the Code Geass Petit figures I bought for a sum not entirely worth it in the Dealer's Hall. However, I did get the whole set, and that included three each of Suzaku and Lelouch, so I can't really be mad at myself.
One wonders what else an alarm might sound like.
This picture is hilarious.
So, during the Masquerade halftime break there was a couple of drumlines, and then the AX Idol winner from last year, and eventually this band from Japan, Fujiko (?). By then, no one really much cared, and Yoshiko and I were feeling sorry for them. However, they did their set with such professionalism and talent that by the fourth song people were up and dancing (including us) and a number of people even produced glow sticks from who-knows-where. Also, the guitarist was hot. I approved.
So, yeah, apparently Michael Jackson died or something? Anyway, the Staples Center is right next to the convention center - like, you have to walk past it to get in - and there were all these police and camera crews hanging around for the inevitable onslaught... except everyone there was there for AX, much to their confusion. Here's people from AX signing the memorial after we realized you could cross the police barriers if you wanted to.
Fun story: a friend of Yoshiko's ran into some guy cosplaying Pedobear. I think you can guess the inevitable photoshoot that occurred just after.
The view outside our hotel window.
This is totally MTV's spot, yo.
I've always known the media are basically vultures when it comes to these sorts of things, but I'd never really seen it in action. My already low opinion was not improved.
It was funny watching reporters from all over the world (I met one from Switzerland. Sadly, he was not voiced by Paku Romi.) trying to get hotel rooms. Dude, nothing's going to be free until Sunday. Sunday.
Poor Snake. Love the random Japanese sandals in the background, though.
When Yoshiko decides to buy posters, she really buys posters. Fair warning.
Italy very nicely surrendered when I asked.
Yoshiko and I enjoying our last lunch of the convention. In the background is yet another friend of Yoshiko's doing a very nice Pokemon cosplay.
The two girls whose table we totally crashed and struck up a nice conversation with. And wouldn't you know it, it turns out they're friends of another of Yoshiko's friends. I hope we see them again next year.
Wouldn't these make adorable One-Piece-style wanted posters?
Side note: I find that the adjective that most comes to mind when discussing Naruto is "adorable." Why is that, I wonder?
Funny Artist Alley keychains. The spoiler, if you're interested.
My desk at work is now very Shonen Jump. Especial points of interest are my awesome new One Piece poster, the Naruto fashion pin ups, a Pokemon piece done in sort of flat cut-out style, a DS games print, the Naruto wall, and my lone concession to shojo, an Ouran print in totally girly style.
Figures now include a smaller tribute to CLAMP chess, Naruto gashupons I actually bought last year but never displayed, Code Geass in separate school and war displays, and Roxas in yet another new pose.
Also, my co-worker David apparently is sleepy.
Clamp no Kiseki, now reduced to Tsubasa, xxxHolic, and cameos from Miyuki-chan, Naruto, and FFX.
I couldn't decide which of these angles I liked better, so you get both.
No one will ever guess who my favorite Naruto characters are! Never ever!
So, my co-worker Phillip peers intently at my Naruto pin ups and is like "Is that supposed to be Kakashi?" And I'm all "Hell no, that's Sai." But see, it's an honest mistake. I didn't have anywhere else to put the chibi Kakashi sticker without making the set look unbalanced. Oh well.
I'm sure there's even more I'm neglecting to mention, like Yoshiko helping me pick out a pretty, non-anime clover necklace I totally did not need but which does look quite nice - she was right, the heart was the better choice - or critiquing Masquerade choreography, or the horrors of traveling on Southwest both there and back (Southwest, what happened? I loved you!) or that it took the full four days just to work our way fully around the Dealer's Hall, but it's late and I should probably get some sleep.
I actually took a lot more pictures than usual this year. I was fangirling a whole bunch of current stuff, and the atmosphere just felt so congenial... I had a really good time. ^-^
Greeting con-goers first thing were these GIANT Final Fantasy XIII banners across the corner from the Holiday Inn. I hear they simply left them up from E3. Clever.
Morning Musume! I wasn't allowed to take pictures during their concert (which we totally scored second row seats for), but opening ceremonies were fair game. I decided I liked their leader person the best, as she had the nicest hair. I'd feel shallow about that, but it's about the only way to tell them apart and they're just going to be replaced in a couple years anyway, so I figure it's okay.
Side note: that girl at the podium almost never looked up, and read her cue cards with the enthusiasm of a dead cat. And she's the con chair or whatever? ::sigh::
Part of the enormous entry way before going into the dealers' hall. I didn't take too many pictures of just the scope of AX, since I've done that before, but now I kind of regret it.
I feel it's way too early in the entry to say this, but this was totally my favorite cosplay of the whole con. Can you tell who he is?
Baby Naruto! Soooo cuuuute!
Speaking of. Now, it saddens me that Sakura doesn't get her fair share of even cosplayers, but it's hard to complain about the teams not being canonical in the face of such adorableness. Awwww, badass nine year olds. <3
This picture is interesting for two reasons. One, hey, we're getting more guys cosplaying One Piece! (And also, as Yoshiko noted, Prince of Tennis and several other series that are usually more female dominated, at least on the cosplay side.) Two, the Zoro was hot. This picture doesn't really do him justice. And then I ran into them again like two more times during the con. I did not mind.
Hetalia! With convenient flags for those of us who might not be quite sure of all the countries yet!
That is one awesome hat, and he so knows it. I do love hats.
You know another thing I love about cons? Ninjas using the ATM.
(Don't worry, I wasn't trying to steal his PIN or anything. He kindly posed for me after he finished.)
There were two cosplays that really stood out to me in the halls, because it just felt so in character for them to be wandering around like that. One was the Akatsuki (seen later), and the other was Zero. Of course Zero's going to strike a pose and let you take his picture. He's Zero. What else would he do? (Don't answer that; it's probably depressing.)
Excellent Phoenix Wright cosplayers. Godoh really had the pose and attitude down, too.
Junjo being announced at the Right Stuf panel. Honestly, I was probably the most excited person in the room. ::crosses fingers for nice merchandise::
Eating out at IHOP - the first time. Note: if you ever go out to dinner with some friends you met last year and have a wonderful time, do not, under any circumstances, attempt to catch lightning in a bottle and repeat the experiment. It will not work and you will end up with a scheduling mess.
...But the chicken-apple-bacon salad was delicious.
Yoshiko very nicely helping me stick on ribbons for my Lenne cosplay. Unfortunately, they ended up not working out as well as I had hoped and two hours later I ended up going with plan B after all (drawing them on with eyeliner borrowed from some nice girls next door). ::sigh::
I like this picture for some reason. Also, the hotel wallpaper was very, very yellow.
Me with a moogle. Does Lenne ever actually encounter a moogle in the game? I don't think so, but what the hell. I wasn't going to be able to go to the Final Fantasy gathering on Sunday, and the guys two doors down from us (and originally meant to be in a connecting room, but for the whole sordid tale of How the Holiday Inn Screwed Up, ask Yoshiko) did various Final Fantasy cosplays and were quite nice in general, so a picture seemed in order.
From the same group - Alicia, I think? Anyway, she makes a great Cloud.
So, apparently Pokemon is popular again. Not only did I spot this Empoleon, but there were people cosplaying Charmander, Blastoise, Venusaur, and more. Crazy.
This is the One Piece booth in Artists Alley where Vicki and I spent a great deal of time and money. Seriously, his art was bang on, and he was super nice to boot. We heaped massive amounts of praise upon his head.
(In the background, you can see two girls cosplaying Skip Beat. More on them later.)
Vicki and Yoshiko! I had a fantastic time at AX this year, and you're looking at two of the primary reasons. True, Vicki could only be there one day, but it still worked out.
The three of us together. Yoshiko is cosplaying Nadeshiko from Shugo Chara, incidentally, and looking quite good at it.
I love conventions.
Awww, little Akatsuki! Don't let his size fool you, he probably murdered twenty people just before breakfast.
As mentioned earlier, seeing Akatsuki in the crowds kept making me do double-takes. See, it's just like them to hang out with a bunch of people in their cloaks like it's perfectly normal just before killing them all in some crazy, horrible fashion.
I totally bought the Roxas shirt (it looks very sporty on me ^-^), and so did quite a number of other people, considering how many I saw being worn around the con. I asked the lady running the booth if they overprinted Roxas and Axel compared to the others (seriously, Lexeaus? who?), and she confirmed they totally did.
OMG it's monster!Chopper! And next to him is an artistic take on the Sunny Go Thousand Sunny and what must be Laboon.
Here's a poorly photoshopped closeup so you can see the ship.
Kuma! Run away! Run away! No, Luffy, don't try and fight him...!
Avatar cosplayers: still some of the nicest cosplayers there are. Even the ones portraying the evil, betraying minions.
I like Suki. ^-^
Aww, brotherly love doesn't always work out. However, isn't it nice when grown-ups get to cosplay up instead of down?
At least with Kingdom Hearts we now have an excuse for the random Disney cosplayers. And that's a damn fine Carpet.
Ice cream was a dollar! Who can pass that up on a hot day? (My dad totally could when I was younger, that's who. Though thinking back on it, the price hasn't gone up in 20 years, making it a total bargain today. Huh.)
This picture looks casual, but I assure you it was staged, as I had to ask a passerby to take it. :P I'm not sure why I look like I'm pontificating, but whatever. Instead, check out the cute Code Geass bag I bought in Artists Alley.
Eating at Wokano with Vicki and Gretchen, who also roomed with us for a few nights. The food was absolutely fantastic, and the place not crowded at all - much to the owner's dismay. We pointed out that he might want to try advertising next year.
How cute is the idea of Sasuke and Naruto chilling at the arcade? Totally cute.
There was even a Kakashi to appear to be supervising. ^-^
I'm torn between whether this picture is creepy, funny, or merely indicative of how we spent the morning. Probably the latter?
Vicki helping Yoshiko out with her Marianne (Code Geass) cosplay.
Someone cleverly brought Pizza Hut pizza to the Code Geass photo shoot, and then confused the hell out of everyone there by asking who ordered it. Fortunately, we eventually all figured out it was for the shoot, and pictures commenced.
Lelouch is dismayed.
(...Or actually probably just adjusting his hat, but I like my interpretation better.)
But not even emperors can resist free pizza.
Zeros being awesome. Also, some Kallens, but they're really just there to give the Zeros props to pose around.
This picture is a spoiler!
Everyone was like "Did anyone bring a sword? Anyone?" And then some other cosplayer had one, so of course this shot got set up.
There were lots of Vocaloids at the con, much to my delight.
Funny story. So I was eating a snack at the cafeteria, and I saw these two girls and asked if I could take their picture, since the idea of Suzaku and Lelouch casually discussing plans and not trying to kill each other made me happy. They said sure, and then were like "Wait, aren't you the same girl who took pictures of us as Sasuke and Naruto last night?" What are the odds?
(Sadly, I did not run into them the next day cosplaying, I dunno, Ed and Al shopping or anything, though that would have been even more awesome.)
A very good Trudy, and a fantastic Mr. Hat. Also, Von Karma.
Kyoko and Moko-chan have apparently been ordered to work Artists Alley as part of their Love Me duties. (Yes, I took a great many pictures that consisted of "Excuse me, could you keep doing what you're already doing?")
Hetalia Allies! France seems to have been swapped out for Italy, but that's fine with me. Probably even somehow canon, but my Italian history is terrible.
Hee. If you are familiar with later chapters of One Piece, you will recognize that this is eerily accurate.
Edgeworth likes to take pictures.
Gin-tama cosplayer? Uninteresting. Gin-tama cosplayer with an appropriate prop? I need a picture!
Gretchen's friend... Celeste, I think? ...helping me assemble the Code Geass Petit figures I bought for a sum not entirely worth it in the Dealer's Hall. However, I did get the whole set, and that included three each of Suzaku and Lelouch, so I can't really be mad at myself.
One wonders what else an alarm might sound like.
This picture is hilarious.
So, during the Masquerade halftime break there was a couple of drumlines, and then the AX Idol winner from last year, and eventually this band from Japan, Fujiko (?). By then, no one really much cared, and Yoshiko and I were feeling sorry for them. However, they did their set with such professionalism and talent that by the fourth song people were up and dancing (including us) and a number of people even produced glow sticks from who-knows-where. Also, the guitarist was hot. I approved.
So, yeah, apparently Michael Jackson died or something? Anyway, the Staples Center is right next to the convention center - like, you have to walk past it to get in - and there were all these police and camera crews hanging around for the inevitable onslaught... except everyone there was there for AX, much to their confusion. Here's people from AX signing the memorial after we realized you could cross the police barriers if you wanted to.
Fun story: a friend of Yoshiko's ran into some guy cosplaying Pedobear. I think you can guess the inevitable photoshoot that occurred just after.
The view outside our hotel window.
This is totally MTV's spot, yo.
I've always known the media are basically vultures when it comes to these sorts of things, but I'd never really seen it in action. My already low opinion was not improved.
It was funny watching reporters from all over the world (I met one from Switzerland. Sadly, he was not voiced by Paku Romi.) trying to get hotel rooms. Dude, nothing's going to be free until Sunday. Sunday.
Poor Snake. Love the random Japanese sandals in the background, though.
When Yoshiko decides to buy posters, she really buys posters. Fair warning.
Italy very nicely surrendered when I asked.
Yoshiko and I enjoying our last lunch of the convention. In the background is yet another friend of Yoshiko's doing a very nice Pokemon cosplay.
The two girls whose table we totally crashed and struck up a nice conversation with. And wouldn't you know it, it turns out they're friends of another of Yoshiko's friends. I hope we see them again next year.
Wouldn't these make adorable One-Piece-style wanted posters?
Side note: I find that the adjective that most comes to mind when discussing Naruto is "adorable." Why is that, I wonder?
Funny Artist Alley keychains. The spoiler, if you're interested.
My desk at work is now very Shonen Jump. Especial points of interest are my awesome new One Piece poster, the Naruto fashion pin ups, a Pokemon piece done in sort of flat cut-out style, a DS games print, the Naruto wall, and my lone concession to shojo, an Ouran print in totally girly style.
Figures now include a smaller tribute to CLAMP chess, Naruto gashupons I actually bought last year but never displayed, Code Geass in separate school and war displays, and Roxas in yet another new pose.
Also, my co-worker David apparently is sleepy.
Clamp no Kiseki, now reduced to Tsubasa, xxxHolic, and cameos from Miyuki-chan, Naruto, and FFX.
I couldn't decide which of these angles I liked better, so you get both.
No one will ever guess who my favorite Naruto characters are! Never ever!
So, my co-worker Phillip peers intently at my Naruto pin ups and is like "Is that supposed to be Kakashi?" And I'm all "Hell no, that's Sai." But see, it's an honest mistake. I didn't have anywhere else to put the chibi Kakashi sticker without making the set look unbalanced. Oh well.
I'm sure there's even more I'm neglecting to mention, like Yoshiko helping me pick out a pretty, non-anime clover necklace I totally did not need but which does look quite nice - she was right, the heart was the better choice - or critiquing Masquerade choreography, or the horrors of traveling on Southwest both there and back (Southwest, what happened? I loved you!) or that it took the full four days just to work our way fully around the Dealer's Hall, but it's late and I should probably get some sleep.