Anime Expo
**UPDATE** Found out who interviewed me on Friday. Link is added in the text!
Undeniably, the best part about having moved to California is the fact I got to attend Anime Expo this year. It was an amazing experience, and despite being exhausted and my voice being about an octave lower than it normally is, every moment I was at that con was entirely worth it all.
Wednesday night, I got off of work about thirty minutes early to attend a Wizards of the Coast staff meeting. That's right - I worked for Wizards of the Coast this past weekend as a volunteer in their gaming room. This marks WotC's first appearance at Anime Expo, and they were very nervous about how it was going to go. Wednesday night involved meeting the other volunteers as well as some of the more prolific WotC staff. The most impressive, for those of you big into the RPGA, was Chris Tulach (who I ended up squeezing a few interesting tid-bits out of regarding Living Forgotten Realms, such as the confirmation that drow are a core playable race and that the Artificer class, an Arcane-based Leader class, will be fleshed out and also made core access. He later shared with me some other stuff - see Sunday's blurb for that info).
I met a couple of guys who quickly became my friends over the course of the weekend. Dave and Gil were also both volunteers in the gaming hall, but while they ran Return to the Moathouse most of the weekend, I was the floater judge for the Delve. So while I didn't get a room or a badge for free, I also didn't have to work as many hours and got pretty much the same amount of swag as everyone else.
On Thursday, I got there bright and early around 10am, when most of the con opened up. In the morning, after dropping off my books and gear at the Wizard's post, I went with Dave and Gil to the Toshihiko Seki panel. For those of you who don't know, Toshihiko Seki is my 2nd favorite Japanese Voice Actor, only 2nd because I would have the children of Kappei Yamaguchi. Seki-san, for me, is most famous for voicing Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing, which was pretty much my gateway anime.
Later, after running a couple hours of the delve, I skipped out for an hour and a half to wait in line for Seki-san's autograph (I had estimated 30 minutes... BOY WAS I WRONG). It was worth it, he signed my bag and I pointed out to him (in Japanese) that Duo's English voice actor was also on my bag. He found it quite interesting and gave me a smile that all but melted me into a pile of happy fangirl goo.
I went back to the Delve and Gil was kind enough to fetch food for both me and Dave while we were finishing up our shifts. After cramming some pretty decent food from a Teriyaki place, we went as a trio to the AMV contest. There were some HILARIOUS videos in the comedy competition. These two were my favorite:
Ouran High School Never Ends
Bustin'
Seriously, both of those made me bust a gut laughing. The one that eventually won the Comedy bracket was kinda funny, but TBH I think it won because it appeals to the rabid Yaoi contingent that was really obvious in the room. Seriously, they were all concentrated at one section of the theatre... it was a little terrifying.
Friday, the Fourth of July. While I saw not a single firework on this day, it was still the best Fourth of July of my life. I had been bummed because I hadn't though I would get to cosplay at AX - I had most of my Fujioka Harhi cosplay finished and the only thing I hadn't had time to complete was my jacket. Otherwise, I had my home-made tie and the other easy-to-obtain pieces of clothing. I had also trimmed my hair again to an appropriately short length (perhaps too short for some people, but in all honesty, probably a more "realistic" representation of Harhi's haircut). I didn't lose hope though - I arrived again at the convention center at a prompt 10am and went straight for the dealer's room in half-costume. I scoured every booth and lo-and-behold, I found a place with relatively decently crafted jackets to complete my ensemble. They even had a size small that fit me perfectly! Even though it cost me $70 and that pretty much ate up my spending money for the con, it was worth it to go to my first event in full costume. That is, to go see the official Dub cast for Ouran High School Host Club announced.
I couldn't be happier with the cast, to be honest. There's been a lot of hate on the internet so far at the announcements. I can't really understand this... I mean, everyone raves about how awesome the FMA dub is and the new cast is pretty much the same people. Anyone who thinks they got the jobs because they're friends is a moron. Anyone who thinks they got the jobs because they know each other is somewhat correct seeing as they all work at the same studio. People are stupid, and rabid fangirls are even worse.
Anyway, besides dumb internet people, the panel itself was a great experience. I ended up being first in line to ask a question of the cast (which only a handful of people got to do, since they were short on time). I I asked, besides Vic, who had been a fan of the show or had heard much about it before recording. Caitlin and Vic were the only two who had seen it in its entirety (and Caitlin had been pushing and pushing and PUSHING to get this show in her hands), while a couple of the other actors had only heard stuff about it (mostly from Caitlin XD) or seen the dozens upon dozens of powder blue coats at other cons (Travis, you crack me up XD). So that was cool.
Other than announcing the VAs, they also said the series would be released in a 13 episode half-season box set on October 28th. There will be two or three commentary tracks, a blooper track, and it will come packaged with a 2009 Host Club calendar. They also *all* signed an Ouran High School Host Club jacket that was auctioned off on Sunday (I never found out how much it went for, I couldn't make the event m'self). Finally, they ended by showing the dubbed opening for the show. It's not too bad - I think it's partially my spoiled ears that makes it sound strange, but it's one of those dubbed openings I think I'll end up taking a liking to in the end.
After the panel, I ran up to the front to see if I could go wave to Vic (since I still feel bad for the misunderstanding at DePaul, for those of you who know what I'm talking about) and I ended up talking to Mike McFarland (and getting a picture with him, seeing as how he was DRESSED IN DRAG AS RANKO, ZOMG FTW) who was very cool and is also in charge of overseeing the whole project. He was really nice and I totally admire his bravery for going as far as he did for the event. XD Nice to know I wasn't the only one decked out in cosplay for it.
After waving furiously at Vic, I made my way over to Caitlin Glass. Because she's such a fan to the series itself, I had to tell her how much I appreciated her involvement and passion for a series that's very dear to my own heart. She really appreciated it, and asked me if she could take a picture with me! I got to be her first Haruhi cosplayer picture, and that's just kind of inherently cool. Not only that, but these two guys ran up with a camera and a microphone to interview her, and she yanked me over to get interviewed with her! I'm not sure who they were with now (probably Funimation, since I don't think it was ANN) Found out it was Funimation, but it was very cool if not ridiculously nerve-wracking for me. I was so completely stoked at the panel that I think I just kind of rambled non-sensically for a while. XD They cut out my part of the interview (*tear*), but it's just as well with how nervous and freaked out I was. You can see me at about 11:40 in the video.
I also ended up running into Vic (again) outside of the panel space, and apologized for how DePaul handled things, as well as my own inability to solve the problem. It was kind of emotional for me - I really do honestly feel bad. None of that crap should have ever happened, especially not to someone as awesome as him. He was very understanding though. Hopefully things have been mended between him and I. =) I did tell him that I still owe him an apologetic dinner though, and he appreciated the thought (though his schedule kept me from being able to fulfill that this con - maybe next time Vic!!).
Greg Ayres was also outside of the panel, and he remembered me! That was really cool, and I told him about this little project I have developing called Truth From The Fans. Some of you know I presented a panel at DePaul a couple months ago on Ethics in Anime with a focus on the illegal distribution of fansubs through downloading. Well, I've taken that idea and expanded on it, wanting to create a group that's dedicated to the education of fellow fans. Greg was thrilled to hear it, and I hope I get to give my panel at a con he's at some time - I bet he'd attend. So I talked to him for a while about it and he told me to drop him a line and he'd get me in touch with another group who has a similar goal. Hopefully I can make my endeavor a big one - let's get people some knowledge!
I had heard there were going to be autographs for all the Ouran VAs, but I unfortunately had other things I had to do. I was so bummed I wouldn't get to spend more time saying hi to all of them. =(
After that exciting bit of the day, things weren't quite over yet. I had some judging to do back at the gaming room, and ran a few more delves through. I continued to get very positive feedback from my players, and I think people actually started requesting me as a judge. I also advertised that I would be running the Mystery Dungeon Challenge (wooOOOOoooo) on Saturday and that people should try to make it to it. For those of you who don't know, the Mystery Dungeon Challenge (wooOOOOoooo... okay, I'll stop) was a challenge issued by Wizards to write your own 4ED adventure and run it at the con. If you did, you got free swag. I'll explain more how it went in the Saturday section.
Once me, Dave, and Gil were done with our shift, we went out to eat together (YAY SUBWAY!) and then they helped me play-test my module to make sure my encounters would work out okay. The last two needed some tweaking, and I changed some of my magic items around to be more useful to the players. It was a huge help, and despite getting home really late (whoo, 5 hours of sleep!), I was glad I had taken the time to refine my game.
Sadly, this was Dave's last day of the con - he's in the military and was on duty the rest of the weekend. Still, it was a blast to have spent time with him. =)
Saturday almost rivaled Friday in coolness factor. I got there, once again, at 10am so that I could spend some time in the Exhibition Hall. I went in costume again, since I figured if I paid 70.00 for the outfit I should at least wear it a couple of days. As soon as I entered the hall, I saw this huge line wrapping around the Funimation booth. Intrigued, I approached and asked. I was informed it was a line for autographs for the Ouran VAs! They were doing a second bout of them. Totally excited, I ran around to the rear of the line and happily stood there for an hour and a half, determined to get my pencil board signed. I made a couple of temporary friends in line, a few of which asked for my picture in costume. I was nervous because I really wanted Caitlin to sign my infamous VA bag, but I didn't want her excluded from the pencil board either (since it would be strange having everyone sign the board but her). When I finally got my chance to talk to people, I first off thanked them all for being so enthusiastic about one of my favorite series. Vic got up and hugged me again and I congratulated him once more on getting a role I know he wanted so very badly. Wishing him luck and reminding him to keep in touch with me (which he smiled and definitely agreed to), I moved on to the second table. Caitlin immediately recognized me and cheered, happy to see her first Haruhi cosplayer. I was a little embarrassed but I asked her to sign my bag, mentioning that I didn't really tend to get a lot of people on it (and I don't - every person on there has a significant meaning to me in some way). She was happy to, and that made my 2nd of four signatures that were added to the bag this weekend. I also hugged J. Michael Tatum because Kyoya is hot. XD
I wandered around the dealer's room for quite some time, and ran into both Vic and J. Michael again. "Kyoya" leaned in and whispered to me that he loved my outfit (which seriously made me fangirl squeal on the inside), and I got my picture with Vic. After all, what kind of Haruhi would I be if I didn't get my picture taken with Tamaki? I hope it comes out... I had some disposable cameras for the whole weekend, so I'm not really expecting stellar pictures when I get them developed. D'oh!
I also made sure to stop by Scott Ramsoomair's booth and got him to sign my bag right next to Mookie's drawing. I mentioned my "Will Dance 4 Gil" shirt and he was impressed I had one since they had stopped making them so long ago. He's a really nice guy and very different from the way I had imagined him.
Before my Mystery Dungeon Challenge, I had one more stop to make - the Adventures in Voice Acting panel hosted by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. For some of you who don't know, I've interviewed with Bang Zoom before for an internship, and I'm hoping the next time I go in for an interview, it'll be something bigger, better, and, you know, I'll actually get it. XD I met a very cool gal in line who wants to get me involved in her circle of anime-viewing friends, which I'm very excited about. While I've found my gaming circle here in California, I still don't have a group of anime fans to share series with and chat about manga and such. Hopefully that will be remedied soon. We sat next to each other during the panel and screamed at the MC, Tony Oliver, whenever he asked for a volunteer. Sadly, neither of us got picked during the panel. =( The panel itself was interesting, and I discovered many of the basic steps to becoming a VA I've already completed. I have stage experience, breath training, Improv Training, and Acting training. The only thing I'm missing is specifically Voice Over training. Unfortunately for me, the $300 classes he was offering are a *bit* out of my price range... Luckily, a good friend of mine offers them for $100. =) I'll have to talk to him about it some time when I have the cash.
After that, it was back to the dealer's room... or so I was intending when I realized my wallet was missing. I freaked out and ran all the way back to the room where the VO panel was... It wasn't there. So I went to Lost and Found. Thank GOD for good people, it was there. Apparently it had gone missing much earlier and I hadn't noticed. Not only was it there, but not a *single* thing was missing, and none of my cards had been used. I gotta admit, a convention in Los Angeles is the LAST place I'd expect that to happen. It goes to show how awesome the anime community can really be.
Having wasted my spare time freaking out, I went back to the Game room to prepare my module before running it. It went over very well - I think I was the only DM who encouraged heavy role-playing by having skill challenges and role-playing encounters in my mod. I understand much of the 4ED games out there are designed to show the players how to use the combat system and understand the rules... however, that's why a lot of people are leaving tables with a bad taste in their mouth about 4ED. Of course they're saying it doesn't encourage role-playing! Because none of the judges running it have been encouraging it at their tables! I remedied that with mine, and a good time was had by all. Incidentally, Gelatinous Cubes are terrifying now. Though, if you had a good 3.5 DM, they should have been before anyway. =)
Gil and I were going to go see the Masquerade, but apparently it ran short (in addition to the tickets running out). So instead I went home and got some well-deserved and much-needed rest.
Sunday was full of unexpected surprises. I started off by going to a second run of the Adventures In Voice Acting panel, in an attempt to get behind the mic this time. While I didn't get the opportunity (they only had 4 people go up this time), they talked about much more in-depth stuff about breaking into the industry since it was the last day and many of the people there had been to more than one of the panels (they ran them each day at the con). However, when they had their little "Answer a Question and win free swag" thing at the end, I got an answer right and ended up winning a free copy of the Adventures in Voice Acting DVDs they were selling at the con. This was awesome because I had intended to buy one, but by the end of the con didn't have the money (that Haruhi jacket really cost me). I also ran up to talk to Tony Oliver before I left. I mentioned I was interested in script adaptation just as much as voice over, and he told me to contact Bang Zoom and keep in touch. Hopefully something will come of that. =D Also, vaguely related, I got a free Astroboy shirt. Yay.
Almost immediately afterwards, there was a "Voice Actor Panel" on the schedule, though it didn't list who was going to be there. So I decided to check it out. Turns out it was David Hayter. He's really awesome to listen to and really loves being Snake. XD I also had no idea he was Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi. I really admire the screenplays he turns out (well, some of them anyway), and ended up getting him to sign my bag too. I told him I was an aspiring writer and he wished me luck. =D
After that, it was back to the Wizards work for me, and I ran one last delve as well as helped with the pack-up for the end of the con. The two guys in charge, Dru and Chris, thanked me quite profusely for my work there and actually requested me to put in to judge at GenCon as well. I said yes, and signed up immediately once I got home. I'll likely be running the Delve again. They gifted me with the usual swag, and let me pick something extra for, and I quote, "such a wonderful job DMing." It made me feel really good about myself as a DM, and I talked a bundle with Chris about some LFR and 4ED info. He told me a little about the Bard class (which will be another Arcanist Leader class), and also about the Primal power source and a bit about Druids and Barbarians. He mentioned that those will probably be available around next March. He also hinted at the Ki power source and the coming of Monks and other Oriental-flavored classes. Likely, those last ones will be a while in coming, unfortunately.
With everything at a close, I packed up my swag (which there was a CRAPLOAD of, I will take pictures, and ya'll will go HOLY SHIT) and headed out. I was exhausted (finally), and wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nap. I grabbed a quick dinner at a local chinese place near home, and passed out for about five hours. Man, did that feel good.
All in all, Anime Expo was an amazing experience and I'm totally going again next year. Now, whether that will be as an attendee or if I'm going to have an Exhibitor's badge... well, that remains to be seen. Wizards of the Coast already wants me to volunteer full time. =)
I made good impressions, met tons of people, even did a little networking. I even completed a cosplay. Yep, Anime Expo was productive and fun. I couldn't have asked for more.
Undeniably, the best part about having moved to California is the fact I got to attend Anime Expo this year. It was an amazing experience, and despite being exhausted and my voice being about an octave lower than it normally is, every moment I was at that con was entirely worth it all.
Wednesday night, I got off of work about thirty minutes early to attend a Wizards of the Coast staff meeting. That's right - I worked for Wizards of the Coast this past weekend as a volunteer in their gaming room. This marks WotC's first appearance at Anime Expo, and they were very nervous about how it was going to go. Wednesday night involved meeting the other volunteers as well as some of the more prolific WotC staff. The most impressive, for those of you big into the RPGA, was Chris Tulach (who I ended up squeezing a few interesting tid-bits out of regarding Living Forgotten Realms, such as the confirmation that drow are a core playable race and that the Artificer class, an Arcane-based Leader class, will be fleshed out and also made core access. He later shared with me some other stuff - see Sunday's blurb for that info).
I met a couple of guys who quickly became my friends over the course of the weekend. Dave and Gil were also both volunteers in the gaming hall, but while they ran Return to the Moathouse most of the weekend, I was the floater judge for the Delve. So while I didn't get a room or a badge for free, I also didn't have to work as many hours and got pretty much the same amount of swag as everyone else.
On Thursday, I got there bright and early around 10am, when most of the con opened up. In the morning, after dropping off my books and gear at the Wizard's post, I went with Dave and Gil to the Toshihiko Seki panel. For those of you who don't know, Toshihiko Seki is my 2nd favorite Japanese Voice Actor, only 2nd because I would have the children of Kappei Yamaguchi. Seki-san, for me, is most famous for voicing Duo Maxwell in Gundam Wing, which was pretty much my gateway anime.
Later, after running a couple hours of the delve, I skipped out for an hour and a half to wait in line for Seki-san's autograph (I had estimated 30 minutes... BOY WAS I WRONG). It was worth it, he signed my bag and I pointed out to him (in Japanese) that Duo's English voice actor was also on my bag. He found it quite interesting and gave me a smile that all but melted me into a pile of happy fangirl goo.
I went back to the Delve and Gil was kind enough to fetch food for both me and Dave while we were finishing up our shifts. After cramming some pretty decent food from a Teriyaki place, we went as a trio to the AMV contest. There were some HILARIOUS videos in the comedy competition. These two were my favorite:
Ouran High School Never Ends
Bustin'
Seriously, both of those made me bust a gut laughing. The one that eventually won the Comedy bracket was kinda funny, but TBH I think it won because it appeals to the rabid Yaoi contingent that was really obvious in the room. Seriously, they were all concentrated at one section of the theatre... it was a little terrifying.
Friday, the Fourth of July. While I saw not a single firework on this day, it was still the best Fourth of July of my life. I had been bummed because I hadn't though I would get to cosplay at AX - I had most of my Fujioka Harhi cosplay finished and the only thing I hadn't had time to complete was my jacket. Otherwise, I had my home-made tie and the other easy-to-obtain pieces of clothing. I had also trimmed my hair again to an appropriately short length (perhaps too short for some people, but in all honesty, probably a more "realistic" representation of Harhi's haircut). I didn't lose hope though - I arrived again at the convention center at a prompt 10am and went straight for the dealer's room in half-costume. I scoured every booth and lo-and-behold, I found a place with relatively decently crafted jackets to complete my ensemble. They even had a size small that fit me perfectly! Even though it cost me $70 and that pretty much ate up my spending money for the con, it was worth it to go to my first event in full costume. That is, to go see the official Dub cast for Ouran High School Host Club announced.
I couldn't be happier with the cast, to be honest. There's been a lot of hate on the internet so far at the announcements. I can't really understand this... I mean, everyone raves about how awesome the FMA dub is and the new cast is pretty much the same people. Anyone who thinks they got the jobs because they're friends is a moron. Anyone who thinks they got the jobs because they know each other is somewhat correct seeing as they all work at the same studio. People are stupid, and rabid fangirls are even worse.
Anyway, besides dumb internet people, the panel itself was a great experience. I ended up being first in line to ask a question of the cast (which only a handful of people got to do, since they were short on time). I I asked, besides Vic, who had been a fan of the show or had heard much about it before recording. Caitlin and Vic were the only two who had seen it in its entirety (and Caitlin had been pushing and pushing and PUSHING to get this show in her hands), while a couple of the other actors had only heard stuff about it (mostly from Caitlin XD) or seen the dozens upon dozens of powder blue coats at other cons (Travis, you crack me up XD). So that was cool.
Other than announcing the VAs, they also said the series would be released in a 13 episode half-season box set on October 28th. There will be two or three commentary tracks, a blooper track, and it will come packaged with a 2009 Host Club calendar. They also *all* signed an Ouran High School Host Club jacket that was auctioned off on Sunday (I never found out how much it went for, I couldn't make the event m'self). Finally, they ended by showing the dubbed opening for the show. It's not too bad - I think it's partially my spoiled ears that makes it sound strange, but it's one of those dubbed openings I think I'll end up taking a liking to in the end.
After the panel, I ran up to the front to see if I could go wave to Vic (since I still feel bad for the misunderstanding at DePaul, for those of you who know what I'm talking about) and I ended up talking to Mike McFarland (and getting a picture with him, seeing as how he was DRESSED IN DRAG AS RANKO, ZOMG FTW) who was very cool and is also in charge of overseeing the whole project. He was really nice and I totally admire his bravery for going as far as he did for the event. XD Nice to know I wasn't the only one decked out in cosplay for it.
After waving furiously at Vic, I made my way over to Caitlin Glass. Because she's such a fan to the series itself, I had to tell her how much I appreciated her involvement and passion for a series that's very dear to my own heart. She really appreciated it, and asked me if she could take a picture with me! I got to be her first Haruhi cosplayer picture, and that's just kind of inherently cool. Not only that, but these two guys ran up with a camera and a microphone to interview her, and she yanked me over to get interviewed with her! I'm not sure who they were with now (probably Funimation, since I don't think it was ANN) Found out it was Funimation, but it was very cool if not ridiculously nerve-wracking for me. I was so completely stoked at the panel that I think I just kind of rambled non-sensically for a while. XD They cut out my part of the interview (*tear*), but it's just as well with how nervous and freaked out I was. You can see me at about 11:40 in the video.
I also ended up running into Vic (again) outside of the panel space, and apologized for how DePaul handled things, as well as my own inability to solve the problem. It was kind of emotional for me - I really do honestly feel bad. None of that crap should have ever happened, especially not to someone as awesome as him. He was very understanding though. Hopefully things have been mended between him and I. =) I did tell him that I still owe him an apologetic dinner though, and he appreciated the thought (though his schedule kept me from being able to fulfill that this con - maybe next time Vic!!).
Greg Ayres was also outside of the panel, and he remembered me! That was really cool, and I told him about this little project I have developing called Truth From The Fans. Some of you know I presented a panel at DePaul a couple months ago on Ethics in Anime with a focus on the illegal distribution of fansubs through downloading. Well, I've taken that idea and expanded on it, wanting to create a group that's dedicated to the education of fellow fans. Greg was thrilled to hear it, and I hope I get to give my panel at a con he's at some time - I bet he'd attend. So I talked to him for a while about it and he told me to drop him a line and he'd get me in touch with another group who has a similar goal. Hopefully I can make my endeavor a big one - let's get people some knowledge!
I had heard there were going to be autographs for all the Ouran VAs, but I unfortunately had other things I had to do. I was so bummed I wouldn't get to spend more time saying hi to all of them. =(
After that exciting bit of the day, things weren't quite over yet. I had some judging to do back at the gaming room, and ran a few more delves through. I continued to get very positive feedback from my players, and I think people actually started requesting me as a judge. I also advertised that I would be running the Mystery Dungeon Challenge (wooOOOOoooo) on Saturday and that people should try to make it to it. For those of you who don't know, the Mystery Dungeon Challenge (wooOOOOoooo... okay, I'll stop) was a challenge issued by Wizards to write your own 4ED adventure and run it at the con. If you did, you got free swag. I'll explain more how it went in the Saturday section.
Once me, Dave, and Gil were done with our shift, we went out to eat together (YAY SUBWAY!) and then they helped me play-test my module to make sure my encounters would work out okay. The last two needed some tweaking, and I changed some of my magic items around to be more useful to the players. It was a huge help, and despite getting home really late (whoo, 5 hours of sleep!), I was glad I had taken the time to refine my game.
Sadly, this was Dave's last day of the con - he's in the military and was on duty the rest of the weekend. Still, it was a blast to have spent time with him. =)
Saturday almost rivaled Friday in coolness factor. I got there, once again, at 10am so that I could spend some time in the Exhibition Hall. I went in costume again, since I figured if I paid 70.00 for the outfit I should at least wear it a couple of days. As soon as I entered the hall, I saw this huge line wrapping around the Funimation booth. Intrigued, I approached and asked. I was informed it was a line for autographs for the Ouran VAs! They were doing a second bout of them. Totally excited, I ran around to the rear of the line and happily stood there for an hour and a half, determined to get my pencil board signed. I made a couple of temporary friends in line, a few of which asked for my picture in costume. I was nervous because I really wanted Caitlin to sign my infamous VA bag, but I didn't want her excluded from the pencil board either (since it would be strange having everyone sign the board but her). When I finally got my chance to talk to people, I first off thanked them all for being so enthusiastic about one of my favorite series. Vic got up and hugged me again and I congratulated him once more on getting a role I know he wanted so very badly. Wishing him luck and reminding him to keep in touch with me (which he smiled and definitely agreed to), I moved on to the second table. Caitlin immediately recognized me and cheered, happy to see her first Haruhi cosplayer. I was a little embarrassed but I asked her to sign my bag, mentioning that I didn't really tend to get a lot of people on it (and I don't - every person on there has a significant meaning to me in some way). She was happy to, and that made my 2nd of four signatures that were added to the bag this weekend. I also hugged J. Michael Tatum because Kyoya is hot. XD
I wandered around the dealer's room for quite some time, and ran into both Vic and J. Michael again. "Kyoya" leaned in and whispered to me that he loved my outfit (which seriously made me fangirl squeal on the inside), and I got my picture with Vic. After all, what kind of Haruhi would I be if I didn't get my picture taken with Tamaki? I hope it comes out... I had some disposable cameras for the whole weekend, so I'm not really expecting stellar pictures when I get them developed. D'oh!
I also made sure to stop by Scott Ramsoomair's booth and got him to sign my bag right next to Mookie's drawing. I mentioned my "Will Dance 4 Gil" shirt and he was impressed I had one since they had stopped making them so long ago. He's a really nice guy and very different from the way I had imagined him.
Before my Mystery Dungeon Challenge, I had one more stop to make - the Adventures in Voice Acting panel hosted by Bang Zoom! Entertainment. For some of you who don't know, I've interviewed with Bang Zoom before for an internship, and I'm hoping the next time I go in for an interview, it'll be something bigger, better, and, you know, I'll actually get it. XD I met a very cool gal in line who wants to get me involved in her circle of anime-viewing friends, which I'm very excited about. While I've found my gaming circle here in California, I still don't have a group of anime fans to share series with and chat about manga and such. Hopefully that will be remedied soon. We sat next to each other during the panel and screamed at the MC, Tony Oliver, whenever he asked for a volunteer. Sadly, neither of us got picked during the panel. =( The panel itself was interesting, and I discovered many of the basic steps to becoming a VA I've already completed. I have stage experience, breath training, Improv Training, and Acting training. The only thing I'm missing is specifically Voice Over training. Unfortunately for me, the $300 classes he was offering are a *bit* out of my price range... Luckily, a good friend of mine offers them for $100. =) I'll have to talk to him about it some time when I have the cash.
After that, it was back to the dealer's room... or so I was intending when I realized my wallet was missing. I freaked out and ran all the way back to the room where the VO panel was... It wasn't there. So I went to Lost and Found. Thank GOD for good people, it was there. Apparently it had gone missing much earlier and I hadn't noticed. Not only was it there, but not a *single* thing was missing, and none of my cards had been used. I gotta admit, a convention in Los Angeles is the LAST place I'd expect that to happen. It goes to show how awesome the anime community can really be.
Having wasted my spare time freaking out, I went back to the Game room to prepare my module before running it. It went over very well - I think I was the only DM who encouraged heavy role-playing by having skill challenges and role-playing encounters in my mod. I understand much of the 4ED games out there are designed to show the players how to use the combat system and understand the rules... however, that's why a lot of people are leaving tables with a bad taste in their mouth about 4ED. Of course they're saying it doesn't encourage role-playing! Because none of the judges running it have been encouraging it at their tables! I remedied that with mine, and a good time was had by all. Incidentally, Gelatinous Cubes are terrifying now. Though, if you had a good 3.5 DM, they should have been before anyway. =)
Gil and I were going to go see the Masquerade, but apparently it ran short (in addition to the tickets running out). So instead I went home and got some well-deserved and much-needed rest.
Sunday was full of unexpected surprises. I started off by going to a second run of the Adventures In Voice Acting panel, in an attempt to get behind the mic this time. While I didn't get the opportunity (they only had 4 people go up this time), they talked about much more in-depth stuff about breaking into the industry since it was the last day and many of the people there had been to more than one of the panels (they ran them each day at the con). However, when they had their little "Answer a Question and win free swag" thing at the end, I got an answer right and ended up winning a free copy of the Adventures in Voice Acting DVDs they were selling at the con. This was awesome because I had intended to buy one, but by the end of the con didn't have the money (that Haruhi jacket really cost me). I also ran up to talk to Tony Oliver before I left. I mentioned I was interested in script adaptation just as much as voice over, and he told me to contact Bang Zoom and keep in touch. Hopefully something will come of that. =D Also, vaguely related, I got a free Astroboy shirt. Yay.
Almost immediately afterwards, there was a "Voice Actor Panel" on the schedule, though it didn't list who was going to be there. So I decided to check it out. Turns out it was David Hayter. He's really awesome to listen to and really loves being Snake. XD I also had no idea he was Tamahome in Fushigi Yuugi. I really admire the screenplays he turns out (well, some of them anyway), and ended up getting him to sign my bag too. I told him I was an aspiring writer and he wished me luck. =D
After that, it was back to the Wizards work for me, and I ran one last delve as well as helped with the pack-up for the end of the con. The two guys in charge, Dru and Chris, thanked me quite profusely for my work there and actually requested me to put in to judge at GenCon as well. I said yes, and signed up immediately once I got home. I'll likely be running the Delve again. They gifted me with the usual swag, and let me pick something extra for, and I quote, "such a wonderful job DMing." It made me feel really good about myself as a DM, and I talked a bundle with Chris about some LFR and 4ED info. He told me a little about the Bard class (which will be another Arcanist Leader class), and also about the Primal power source and a bit about Druids and Barbarians. He mentioned that those will probably be available around next March. He also hinted at the Ki power source and the coming of Monks and other Oriental-flavored classes. Likely, those last ones will be a while in coming, unfortunately.
With everything at a close, I packed up my swag (which there was a CRAPLOAD of, I will take pictures, and ya'll will go HOLY SHIT) and headed out. I was exhausted (finally), and wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nap. I grabbed a quick dinner at a local chinese place near home, and passed out for about five hours. Man, did that feel good.
All in all, Anime Expo was an amazing experience and I'm totally going again next year. Now, whether that will be as an attendee or if I'm going to have an Exhibitor's badge... well, that remains to be seen. Wizards of the Coast already wants me to volunteer full time. =)
I made good impressions, met tons of people, even did a little networking. I even completed a cosplay. Yep, Anime Expo was productive and fun. I couldn't have asked for more.