Yaoicon 2010 Report!
I just wanted to share my first yaoi-con experience with everyone especially meeting Yamane sensei.
I live in Florida so we really don’t go to conventions outside the panhandle, but when we found out that Yamane sensei was coming to Yaoicon, my sister and I promised we’ll go no matter what. We arrived at San Francisco on Thursday and spent the rest of the day sightseeing, as well as Friday morning, so we missed the Opening Ceremony. We did make it to the Bishie Bingo and it was super fun! Especially with the large wall poster! (My sister said she could stare at it all night! ( ^w^ )
There were lots of prizes during the Bingo - some really gorgeous posters, BL merchandise, autographed posters, tickets for breakfast with the voice actors, Ryoutarou Okiayu and Hidenobu Kiuchi, and the highlight of it all - an Ayano Yamane Special Collection Box. That was what we came for, and I think, everyone came for! They ran out of their special Bingo paper quickly, so the organizers improvised with the normal Bingo papers. I bought $20 worth, because that’s a small price to pay to get that coveted box. Sadly, someone else Bingo-ed first and the room was dead silent when they were calling out her numbers. The host joked that she should hide quickly since all the girls in the room will hunt her down after the event ( ^w^ ). At the end of the event, they gave out the remaining prizes to quite a few lucky people.
On Day 2, we decided to line up extra early to get front row seats (and possibly a sure chance to get tickets for the autograph session - at least, that’s what I thought). We weren’t the only ones lining early! We got a fairly good seat with a good view, and met a really nice girl who flew from another state just that morning! And then, an assistant put up Akihito… and it was like CRAZY! All of the room screamed and people started rushing to the middle to get better pictures and the whole room was buzzing! When the assistant explained that there were only ten of the pillow cases, and that they were $130 each, the whole room was silent. I decided that I must have one, whatever the cost. So we had to give up our good seats and move near where the pillows will be sold at the end of the panel. Also, when they announced that the autograph session will be raffle style, a lot of people were pissed, including me. It should have been first come first serve. We saved up all year, flew from Florida just to get an autograph from Yamane sensei only to be disappointed if we don’t get picked in the raffle! I was thinking more along the lines of getting an autograph for each of us sisters, one for Asami and one for Fei bed sheets.
Anyways, Yamane sensei is so cute! She’s really pretty and I like her fashion style! Everyone had really good questions about her current and future work. I wanted to ask one, but I was too shy. A girl even asked if they were going to make an Asami Pillow case, while I was off at the side waving my Asami/Fei bed sheet like mad! Everyone saw it except the girl asking the question. Even her editor and translator saw me and were giggling. As the panel was nearing its end, everyone was waiting anxiously. I saw a lot of competitors from all directions eyeing the Akihito Pillowcase, and as soon as the host said “That’s the end!” It was a rush! It only took one second to make a line from the table, I even got squished between two ladies. BUT it was all worth it!! I was the 9th in line and I thank heavens for that! Of course, my sister was on the side letting girls take pictures of the Asami/Fei Bed sheet (^w^). We had to take it outside though since they were prepping for the next panel. Yamane sensei even took pictures with the Crimson Spell cosplayers! She was really impressed! Outside the room, a lot of girls asked us for more pictures of Asami and Fei, so we had to hold it up for a good 5 minutes. The girl we met earlier also got an Akihito Pillowcase, so she took hers out and it was flashing like crazy! (^o^)
After that, we took a quick break for lunch and when we got back, they had the raffle numbers out. My heart was pounding so hard, worried that I might not get picked. If I didn’t get picked, I would have cried for the rest of the day. When I saw my number, it was a big relief! But my sister’s number didn’t get picked, so it wasn’t like we thought. Our dream can’t happen now. We decided to line up for the Sunday session since a lot of girls were already in line that day. We stopped by the Dealer’s room and it was full of Yaoi-y goodness, I almost fainted! Sadly, I didn’t get as much as I wanted since Akihito cashed me out (be he’s so worth every dollar! <3 ).
Back in our hotel room, I couldn’t wait to bust out Akihito and take pictures of him with Asami (every fan girl’s dream! ^o^) Here's a taste!
We went to the Bishie Auction that night, and it was a full house! I can’t even believe the people spending $200-$400 just to spend three hours with a guy in cosplay! But the biggest shocker of all was when the Voice actors auctioned themselves off. It was MAD! It reached a whopping $11,000, courtesy of the Tech team!
On the third day, there was already quite a line waiting for the Yamane line. I was finally getting my sheet signed!! My heart was pounding and I knew I wasn’t emotionally ready to meet her yet. Like the other girl said in the panel yesterday, she is a goddess that every girl in the room looked up to! When it was finally my turn, it was the 5 minutes of my life that I will never forget!! I walked up to her, with my Asami sheet ready for her autograph. All that I could say to her was “Ohayo sensei!” and she was very warm and all smiles. She and her editor were surprised to see the Asami bed sheet! As she was signing it, they took a few touches near Asami’s face, and her editor even took a picture of her signing it! I was completely ecstatic inside and I was smiling from ear to ear as she was signing it (smiled more when she drew the heart on it!). At the end of it, all I could say was “Arigato sensei!!” and slowly walk outside. When I saw my sister waiting for me, all I could do was SQUEE and jump up and down! It was a dream come true! My sister even said she cried a little because it made the whole trip worth it! She said there were even people clapping when I went out! I was so ecstatic that a Japanese reporter even noticed us! They interviewed us, asked where we were from, if there were many conventions in florida, why I was so happy with the autograph, etc. We unfolded the sheet and showed them Asami and Fei in all their glory! The camera man was especially taken with Asami’s face and chest! ^o^ He took about three shots of it!
After that, I could have died a happy girl! But luckily I didn’t and we quickly got my Asami up and took pictures of him. Even with Akihito!
And that’s the end of my report, my first Yaoi-con just to meet Yamane sensei. (^w^) Thank you for reading up to here. Enjoy the pictures!
If you are wondering how I got the sheets (i have four ^o^), please send me a PM. I also have another Akihito pillow case from Japan along the way~
(my whole stash~ ^o^)
I live in Florida so we really don’t go to conventions outside the panhandle, but when we found out that Yamane sensei was coming to Yaoicon, my sister and I promised we’ll go no matter what. We arrived at San Francisco on Thursday and spent the rest of the day sightseeing, as well as Friday morning, so we missed the Opening Ceremony. We did make it to the Bishie Bingo and it was super fun! Especially with the large wall poster! (My sister said she could stare at it all night! ( ^w^ )
There were lots of prizes during the Bingo - some really gorgeous posters, BL merchandise, autographed posters, tickets for breakfast with the voice actors, Ryoutarou Okiayu and Hidenobu Kiuchi, and the highlight of it all - an Ayano Yamane Special Collection Box. That was what we came for, and I think, everyone came for! They ran out of their special Bingo paper quickly, so the organizers improvised with the normal Bingo papers. I bought $20 worth, because that’s a small price to pay to get that coveted box. Sadly, someone else Bingo-ed first and the room was dead silent when they were calling out her numbers. The host joked that she should hide quickly since all the girls in the room will hunt her down after the event ( ^w^ ). At the end of the event, they gave out the remaining prizes to quite a few lucky people.
On Day 2, we decided to line up extra early to get front row seats (and possibly a sure chance to get tickets for the autograph session - at least, that’s what I thought). We weren’t the only ones lining early! We got a fairly good seat with a good view, and met a really nice girl who flew from another state just that morning! And then, an assistant put up Akihito… and it was like CRAZY! All of the room screamed and people started rushing to the middle to get better pictures and the whole room was buzzing! When the assistant explained that there were only ten of the pillow cases, and that they were $130 each, the whole room was silent. I decided that I must have one, whatever the cost. So we had to give up our good seats and move near where the pillows will be sold at the end of the panel. Also, when they announced that the autograph session will be raffle style, a lot of people were pissed, including me. It should have been first come first serve. We saved up all year, flew from Florida just to get an autograph from Yamane sensei only to be disappointed if we don’t get picked in the raffle! I was thinking more along the lines of getting an autograph for each of us sisters, one for Asami and one for Fei bed sheets.
Anyways, Yamane sensei is so cute! She’s really pretty and I like her fashion style! Everyone had really good questions about her current and future work. I wanted to ask one, but I was too shy. A girl even asked if they were going to make an Asami Pillow case, while I was off at the side waving my Asami/Fei bed sheet like mad! Everyone saw it except the girl asking the question. Even her editor and translator saw me and were giggling. As the panel was nearing its end, everyone was waiting anxiously. I saw a lot of competitors from all directions eyeing the Akihito Pillowcase, and as soon as the host said “That’s the end!” It was a rush! It only took one second to make a line from the table, I even got squished between two ladies. BUT it was all worth it!! I was the 9th in line and I thank heavens for that! Of course, my sister was on the side letting girls take pictures of the Asami/Fei Bed sheet (^w^). We had to take it outside though since they were prepping for the next panel. Yamane sensei even took pictures with the Crimson Spell cosplayers! She was really impressed! Outside the room, a lot of girls asked us for more pictures of Asami and Fei, so we had to hold it up for a good 5 minutes. The girl we met earlier also got an Akihito Pillowcase, so she took hers out and it was flashing like crazy! (^o^)
After that, we took a quick break for lunch and when we got back, they had the raffle numbers out. My heart was pounding so hard, worried that I might not get picked. If I didn’t get picked, I would have cried for the rest of the day. When I saw my number, it was a big relief! But my sister’s number didn’t get picked, so it wasn’t like we thought. Our dream can’t happen now. We decided to line up for the Sunday session since a lot of girls were already in line that day. We stopped by the Dealer’s room and it was full of Yaoi-y goodness, I almost fainted! Sadly, I didn’t get as much as I wanted since Akihito cashed me out (be he’s so worth every dollar! <3 ).
Back in our hotel room, I couldn’t wait to bust out Akihito and take pictures of him with Asami (every fan girl’s dream! ^o^) Here's a taste!
We went to the Bishie Auction that night, and it was a full house! I can’t even believe the people spending $200-$400 just to spend three hours with a guy in cosplay! But the biggest shocker of all was when the Voice actors auctioned themselves off. It was MAD! It reached a whopping $11,000, courtesy of the Tech team!
On the third day, there was already quite a line waiting for the Yamane line. I was finally getting my sheet signed!! My heart was pounding and I knew I wasn’t emotionally ready to meet her yet. Like the other girl said in the panel yesterday, she is a goddess that every girl in the room looked up to! When it was finally my turn, it was the 5 minutes of my life that I will never forget!! I walked up to her, with my Asami sheet ready for her autograph. All that I could say to her was “Ohayo sensei!” and she was very warm and all smiles. She and her editor were surprised to see the Asami bed sheet! As she was signing it, they took a few touches near Asami’s face, and her editor even took a picture of her signing it! I was completely ecstatic inside and I was smiling from ear to ear as she was signing it (smiled more when she drew the heart on it!). At the end of it, all I could say was “Arigato sensei!!” and slowly walk outside. When I saw my sister waiting for me, all I could do was SQUEE and jump up and down! It was a dream come true! My sister even said she cried a little because it made the whole trip worth it! She said there were even people clapping when I went out! I was so ecstatic that a Japanese reporter even noticed us! They interviewed us, asked where we were from, if there were many conventions in florida, why I was so happy with the autograph, etc. We unfolded the sheet and showed them Asami and Fei in all their glory! The camera man was especially taken with Asami’s face and chest! ^o^ He took about three shots of it!
After that, I could have died a happy girl! But luckily I didn’t and we quickly got my Asami up and took pictures of him. Even with Akihito!
And that’s the end of my report, my first Yaoi-con just to meet Yamane sensei. (^w^) Thank you for reading up to here. Enjoy the pictures!
If you are wondering how I got the sheets (i have four ^o^), please send me a PM. I also have another Akihito pillow case from Japan along the way~
(my whole stash~ ^o^)