Short report on Anime North
For the most part, it was okay.. but it definitely didn't motivate me to go again next year. I mean if I was new to Anime North, I'd probably find it loads of fun so I hope I don't discourage anyone from going cuz I think it's good for new congoers, or hardcore anime fans.. but I'm just not a hardcore anime fan anymore. I like manga and that's about it. I've been going for too long, and it's just.. not exciting for me anymore. Not really worth my money..
Anyway, as for what I did enjoy, I'd say the Masquerade Ball was quite fun. We learned medieval dances (one of which was to the TETRIS theme! looool) and I even got a chance to teach Sara how to cha cha cuz they played Michael Buble's "Save the Last Dance for Me". Aside from the Medieval dances and a couple songs, MOST of the other songs were like.. 80's/old. And I wasn't into them, so that was a bit of a letdown (musically) but otherwise it was very fun. I got to wear my mask... (yay!) hahaha. I'd say half the people had masks and half didn't, so it was a good mix.
Soo... as for what I got, not much. lol I really tried to minimize spending this weekend. I got a cute hand-made cell accessory that looks like a slice of cake with fruits on top, a Japanese umbrella (the ones for the sun, and not rain), 2 cute erasers that look like super-detailed foods.. like one is a plate of fried rice, and one is like a slice of cake.. with a strawberry on top (can you tell I like things that look like cake? XD) Ya they're really cute. So, I also got a lovely cloth fan, and one manga (Il Gatto Sul G vol 2). These are really small items, but I still ended up spending a bit more than I intended.
As for the people I met, Aoba was really nice (Sara's friend from England) and very friendly and generous, and Sam was.. Sam? lol and his friend was a bit of a party pooper. Complained a bit more than I would like, and didn't want to go to the ball which resulted in Sara's brother being unable to obtain a refund. I mean seriously some men are just so boring. BUT.. other than his interests, he was still a nice person, and I enjoyed meeting him.
FINALLY.. the WEIRDEST part of the whole convention happened just as I was leaving the hotel to go home. I was walking past Swiss Chalet with all my luggage and stuff and suddenly this man who looked like he was in his late 30's walked by with 3 other people and he was slim, dirty-blond haired, and he was OKAY-looking, but not particularly handsome to me.. ANYWAY, so he passed by and suddenly stops me and what happened was:
him: "Hey, where have you been this whole convention?"
me: "Um... around?"
him: "Ah, cuz I've seen you around a couple times today but not that often over the weekend and you never came to see us!"
me: "oh.. um.. haha.."
him: "hi my name is Spike." *puts out hand*
me: "oh.. I'm Rachelle." *shakes hand* (at this point I glance at his badge and I see it's marked as a 'Special Guest' badge)
him: "well I can see you've got your stuff so I won't keep you long but I just wanted to say hi, and that you're really cute."
me: "Oh.. ahaha.. thanks."
him: "bye!" *walks off with his little entourage*
me: *confused and bewildered*
So I find out he was Spike Spencer, who did voice acting for anime such as Evangelion (Shinji Ikari) and Bleach (Hanataro Yamada), and apparently has acted in some movies with other big names and written a few books.. and Aoba told me he was also a bit of a manwhore (his way of saying a womanizer, I suppose), and apparently hits on women, especially at big events like conventions, quite frequently.
So on the one hand I get a sense of flattery in that he chose to take the time to tell me I was "cute", but on the other hand I was a BIT creeped out cuz he's like 39 years old. Here's what he looks like.
So um.. interesting weekend? XD
Gorgeous Geisha costume:
The next few pics are of Sara dancing with one of the helpers who aided in guiding people with the medieval dance steps. He was a cutey. ;D The lighting was bad and it was hard to get proper shots cuz she was always in the middle of a giant circle (btw, I believe she's doing the tetris dance).
And a nice shot of her, the dude, and the dude's girlfriend:
Now a shot of a girl who sat with us at our table (she was really friendly and nice.. we danced as partners a few times cuz there was a shortage of available men in that ball XD)
And now for pics of the crap I bought/got:
This is a pic of all the smaller items I got... the manga, the erasers (top-left corner on the manga), a random prize item from the table at the ball (the bowl of... noodle soup?), the little slice of cake as a cell accessory (bottom-right corner on manga), and Sara's gift for me, Hell Kitty:
Close-up of the cake.. cuz it's adorable and I love it:
Close up of the erasers:
The beautiful fan:
And finally, cuz I'm lazy, here's what my umbrella should look like.. except mine is a pale pale turquoise, not pink.. and I think the pattern painted on it is really similar too:
Anyway, as for what I did enjoy, I'd say the Masquerade Ball was quite fun. We learned medieval dances (one of which was to the TETRIS theme! looool) and I even got a chance to teach Sara how to cha cha cuz they played Michael Buble's "Save the Last Dance for Me". Aside from the Medieval dances and a couple songs, MOST of the other songs were like.. 80's/old. And I wasn't into them, so that was a bit of a letdown (musically) but otherwise it was very fun. I got to wear my mask... (yay!) hahaha. I'd say half the people had masks and half didn't, so it was a good mix.
Soo... as for what I got, not much. lol I really tried to minimize spending this weekend. I got a cute hand-made cell accessory that looks like a slice of cake with fruits on top, a Japanese umbrella (the ones for the sun, and not rain), 2 cute erasers that look like super-detailed foods.. like one is a plate of fried rice, and one is like a slice of cake.. with a strawberry on top (can you tell I like things that look like cake? XD) Ya they're really cute. So, I also got a lovely cloth fan, and one manga (Il Gatto Sul G vol 2). These are really small items, but I still ended up spending a bit more than I intended.
As for the people I met, Aoba was really nice (Sara's friend from England) and very friendly and generous, and Sam was.. Sam? lol and his friend was a bit of a party pooper. Complained a bit more than I would like, and didn't want to go to the ball which resulted in Sara's brother being unable to obtain a refund. I mean seriously some men are just so boring. BUT.. other than his interests, he was still a nice person, and I enjoyed meeting him.
FINALLY.. the WEIRDEST part of the whole convention happened just as I was leaving the hotel to go home. I was walking past Swiss Chalet with all my luggage and stuff and suddenly this man who looked like he was in his late 30's walked by with 3 other people and he was slim, dirty-blond haired, and he was OKAY-looking, but not particularly handsome to me.. ANYWAY, so he passed by and suddenly stops me and what happened was:
him: "Hey, where have you been this whole convention?"
me: "Um... around?"
him: "Ah, cuz I've seen you around a couple times today but not that often over the weekend and you never came to see us!"
me: "oh.. um.. haha.."
him: "hi my name is Spike." *puts out hand*
me: "oh.. I'm Rachelle." *shakes hand* (at this point I glance at his badge and I see it's marked as a 'Special Guest' badge)
him: "well I can see you've got your stuff so I won't keep you long but I just wanted to say hi, and that you're really cute."
me: "Oh.. ahaha.. thanks."
him: "bye!" *walks off with his little entourage*
me: *confused and bewildered*
So I find out he was Spike Spencer, who did voice acting for anime such as Evangelion (Shinji Ikari) and Bleach (Hanataro Yamada), and apparently has acted in some movies with other big names and written a few books.. and Aoba told me he was also a bit of a manwhore (his way of saying a womanizer, I suppose), and apparently hits on women, especially at big events like conventions, quite frequently.
So on the one hand I get a sense of flattery in that he chose to take the time to tell me I was "cute", but on the other hand I was a BIT creeped out cuz he's like 39 years old. Here's what he looks like.
So um.. interesting weekend? XD
Gorgeous Geisha costume:
The next few pics are of Sara dancing with one of the helpers who aided in guiding people with the medieval dance steps. He was a cutey. ;D The lighting was bad and it was hard to get proper shots cuz she was always in the middle of a giant circle (btw, I believe she's doing the tetris dance).
And a nice shot of her, the dude, and the dude's girlfriend:
Now a shot of a girl who sat with us at our table (she was really friendly and nice.. we danced as partners a few times cuz there was a shortage of available men in that ball XD)
And now for pics of the crap I bought/got:
This is a pic of all the smaller items I got... the manga, the erasers (top-left corner on the manga), a random prize item from the table at the ball (the bowl of... noodle soup?), the little slice of cake as a cell accessory (bottom-right corner on manga), and Sara's gift for me, Hell Kitty:
Close-up of the cake.. cuz it's adorable and I love it:
Close up of the erasers:
The beautiful fan:
And finally, cuz I'm lazy, here's what my umbrella should look like.. except mine is a pale pale turquoise, not pink.. and I think the pattern painted on it is really similar too: