Anime Expo 2010 Con Report...Read On, Ambitious One!
All righty, so I took a trip to LA to check out Anime Expo over the 4th of July weekend, and I must say, it was a great time. I didn’t expect any less. It definitely came off like less of a party than Dragon*Con, and while I didn’t go to AX for business or to buy shit (I only bought one item), it was still terrific. To put it bluntly, I went to meet people, and meet people I did. There were a few things that happened that irritated me, but given the circumstances, my problems weren’t horrid or anything, so I’ll mention them real quick at the end and be done with it.
Okay, to start, I woke up at 3:30AM on the 30th to make my 7:30 flight out of Bangor. Before I left, my dad gave me something weird: A pair of condoms. Yeah, I shit you not. He was telling me, “Take them, just in case”, but I wasn’t going to LA to get laid, so I left them in my bureau ‘cause I knew I wouldn’t use them and, believe it or not, didn’t want to. You probably think I’m lying, but I was going to be on the other side of the country. I couldn’t hook up even I wanted to. That ain’t how I operate.
Also, for future reference, lack of sleep would be a recurring theme throughout the con, but not one I let get to me as I slept less at D*C than at AX. I was waking up at 6AM every morning during the con with only 4 or 5 hours sleep, but I didn’t bother me overmuch until the end.
Anyway, I arrived in LA around noon (Pacific Time), and was immediately taken aback by the weather, but in a good way; it was GORGEOUS!! It was in the 60’s, there was a decent breeze, and the humidity was minor at worst. It felt much like I never left home. In fact, I remarked later on, while in the shuttle to the hotel, it felt like Montreal, just with palm trees.
It took 2 hours to get to the hotel ‘cause the driver got it wrong, and when I did get there, Melissa (the one who registered the room) hadn’t checked in, so I left my bags at the hotel and headed to the LA Convention Center to pick up my badge.
I waited an hour in line just for the center to open registration, which I found silly, considering the mass of bodies in line. I thought starting at noon would be wiser to give the staff and congoers some extra time, since I felt waiting in line is a pointless venture. Then, I waited 2 more hours to actually get into the Convention Center, then 30 more minutes for the line INSIDE (yes, a line inside) to get my badge. The bright spot was I met a guy named Nick who gave a heads-up on some of the events, what’s good, and where some of the good places and panels were. Nevertheless, the wait is something I hope gets addressed one day, but after that, I went back to the hotel and finally got in the room.
I wasn’t greeted at the door by Melissa, but her sister, Christina. She was doing some humanoid version of a Pokemon, apparently, and she gave me that “don’t interrupt me” vibe ‘cause she was very standoffish. When Melissa came in, she was more social, but not by much. About an hour later, I met the rest of the group: Two couples (Albert and Tatiana, Sean and Christina) and Wade, so it was 8 people in a one-bed room (in short, a fucking orgy). There’s no point in talking about the rest of the day, but in short, I got to bed (on the hard floor) at around 1AM and, waking here and there, got up at around 6, and saw some antics, so I took a few shots.
Okay, I know this is weird, but I took it because Wade stuck a light in the back pockets of his pants, and I took a picture just for shits and giggles.
I also took this one of Sean pretending to light one up. It was actually some kind of Korean cookie he was using as a cigar.
I should say right now, I didn’t cosplay on Day 1. I don’t like re-wearing the same clothes unless I manage to wash them (which is how I wore Dr. McNinja during multiple days of Dragon*Con), so I wanted to wait ‘till the next day and use this one to take photos and screw around.
So after leaving the room, I left for LACC and got there around 7 to find out the place doesn’t open until 8. Ugh. So I waited for the doors to open, and found few people around. I wanted to check out the arcade first, but it wouldn’t open until 10. When I went to the console room, same thing, not open ‘till 10. I waited at the console room until 10, and guess what? They still weren’t open. I was pretty pissed because these people are supposed to have shit ready on time, and considering the wait I had the day before, the first impression was not turning out so hot. Finally, they opened at 10:30, and I ran right over to play Tekken 6. I played a few rounds here and there throughout the day, mostly as Raven (this ninja thing runs beyond obsession, lol), and sometimes as King or Armor King (did I mention I’m also a pro wrestling fan? Well, there you go). I think I was in 20 or so fights that day, and won just one. Yeah, I really sucked, but I hadn’t played a Tekken game since Tekken 5 came out in the arcades, and I hadn’t played a video game PERIOD since RE4 in ’07, so I was rusty at best. Tekken 6 plays very differently and incorporates more juggle/ground attack combos, which I don’t care for because fights where you’re stuck on the ground are no fun.
Before and after the game room, I took some shots around the convention center, and after a while, out came the cosplay:
I didn’t get the timing perfect, but you can tell Ryu is about to whack Altair upside the head.
Uh-oh. The Heartless spotted Sora. XD
A trip down memory lane, it was.
Someone’s gonna have to tell me what the hell this is.
Make up your own caption here.
Tonight, on CSI: Mushroom Kingdom…MURDER in Koopa’s Castle! Detective Mario will report the results of his investigation in a special conference tonight!
…………………Yeah.
Hellsing cosplayers. I would see them a few more times throughout AX.
Transformers FTW.
Every time I see this Kaiba cosplay, I keep thinking that line from the first ep of Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged, “Screw the rules! I have money!”
I know this is a blood elf, but I don’t know if it’s a paladin or a warrior, or another class.
Not sure on this one.
I was lucky enough to stumble on this TTGL gathering.
So after a while, I decided to venture into downtown LA, take in the sights, and find a place to plunk my ass. Before that, though, I ran into a Deadpool cosplayer.
Deadpool is one of the comic characters that screams “win” at all times.
So after that, I checked out this restaurant called The Flat of Beverly Hills or somesuch and got gouged on calamari. Never going back there. I made sure to check ALL the menus before I went anywhere. I wanted to try what was in LA, but I also wanted to walk out with something in my wallet besides a huge dent.
All right, enough of that. I headed back to the convention center, and made damn sure to check out a 1:30 panel. Why? It was the Black Lagoon Season 3 Premiere, and I was NOT disappointed! It was great. To be frank, I was actually surprised there was going to be a third season. Not because it was bad or the mangaka was slow to publish new chapter (false for the former, true for the latter), but because I read it was going to be an OVA. Still, I was glad to know there would be a 12-ep season. At least, that’s the impression. They also previewed other series, including High School of the Dead, Hakuouki, and Fate/Stay Night, all of which I haven’t seen yet. In fact, the last anime I watched WAS Black Lagoon (well, not quite, I also saw Monster).
Once the panel ended, I played some more Tekken 6 (and actually won a match or two), checked out the Dealer’s Alley (which I’ll elaborate on shortly), and took more photos.
Konkey Dong…I mean Donkey Kong, lol. Okay, that sucked. Sue me.
I really liked these two.
Very good Zelda outfits.
I believe these are Eathbenders from Avatar, but don’t quote me on it.
After the last photo, I played around a little more, then went back to the room to find Melissa and Christina. Instead of staying, I headed out for dinner to some place on Fifth and Flower called Weiland Brewery. They were doing Happy Hour ‘till closing, so I got some dinner on the cheap. I would come back because it tasted great (garlic fries, quesadillas, and beer, FYI) and it didn’t cost me much. After returning to the room, I went to the IHOP with Albert, Tatiana, and Wade, pulled out my Batman cosplay, and called it a night, excited because come Friday, I’d be Batman.
Day 2 had me waking at 6AM (again) and I managed to change and go to the bathroom, all without waking a soul (pretty impressive with 7 others were in the room, lol). I should also mention this is the last time I saw Melissa at the con. This also marked the official debut of my Batman. Unfortunately, some of it fell apart on me. I used industrial strength Velcro for the cowl, which turned out to be a huge mistake ‘cause it was ripping within a few hours’ time, and a couple pouches on the utility belt came apart, which forced me to discard a few of them mid-way through the day. I just forgot I had business cards in them, but that was the bad (a glaring bad because sitting would pull the pouches off the belt), but it could’ve been worse. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good day if it didn’t start out the right way: With HOT GIRLS IN COSTUME!!!
Don’t know the series, but she was mighty fine.
This girl, too. Yoko cosplayers got it goin’ on. And yet I’m from Maine and they’re from California. Still, part of my code is “It’s okay to stare, just don’t cop a feel.” XD
This Zangief was great. It took real guts to do something like this, and no, I’m not making a pun, he really had courage. He’d make a great Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker, too.
It was in the morning that I ran into the first guy I met at Dragon*Con: Lionel. If you remember that epic Bumblebee I took pictures of at Dragon*Con, that was him. He grabbed a pic of my Batman (I’ll be keeping it for a little while), but he actually didn’t know who I was right off. When I explained how we met, he remembered. I forgot that every time I saw him, I was dressed as Dr. McNinja, so he never ACTUALLY saw my face, lol. But anyway, we spoke only for a few minutes because he was there to take photos. I’d see him on Day 4, though, so it was all good.
Okay, so to elaborate a little on Batman, the costume went over EXTREMELY well! Better than I could’ve imagined, really, considering the outfit was rife with mistakes. Still, I shit you not when I say at least a hundred people asked for my photo. I found that comforting. There was even a professional (at least I think he was) who wanted to take pics of me in various poses. He said he was from a magazine, but I highly doubt anything will come of it. Like I said, it wasn’t that great. I also haven’t found too many shots on my Batman on the ‘Net, so I can’t prove all those people got a pic…unless I hack into their computers.
One thing I liked most was that many of the photos I got were from women, and I got hugs from some cute girls, to boot. On that front, I was thrilled with how it turned out, but alas, I’ll need to re-make the utility belt and the cowl, but they served their purpose for the day.
I also got interviewed by these guys from something called Badime Review. At first, when they explained who they were, I thought they were just around to make a mockery of anime and otaku, but they were very light-hearted, and most of the fun poked at me was FROM me. I tried to stay in character and secretly admitted to a fascination for hentai. Hey, Batman lived in Japan for a couple years, so maybe he was into it, but that was part of the humor. I haven’t seen it broadcasted yet (and may never), so we’ll see how that turns out. Back to photos:
Wasn’t sure on this, but it looked pretty cool.
I also said I’d tell you of the Dealer’s Hall and, well, it was pretty big, and full of neat stuff. Since I was wearing Batman, though, I couldn’t buy anything, so I took some business cards. I also got a pic or two in the room.
This is Yaya Han. For those who don’t know, she’s well known in cosplay for her excellent outfits. Seriously, check her site out. She’s the shit. She’s also extremely nice. Anyway, as I was fumbling for a business card (I had cotton gloves, but she was nice about it, as apparently she’s had that problem herself), I shyly asked for a photo, and she let me, which surprised me. I didn’t think she would since she appeared to be selling photos, but she had no problem. I looked at her site and she didn’t seem to have any photos of this Jill costume. Still, thanks, Miss Han.
I also bumped into a Kick-Ass and Spider-Man cosplayer posing at an empty station, and they asked me to join for a few, so I did, proceeding to take odd positions and make ourselves look stupid. I also introduced myself to the Kick-Ass (I think his name was Peter, lol) in case I saw him again.
Ancestors meet.
That’s the Kick-Ass and Spidey I mentioned, just an hour after meeting. I wanted a shot now that I had a chance.
Remember when I said I liked taking photos of hot girls in cosplay? That trend continues. I found the Sailor Jupiter’s Flickr account by accident and she now has this photo. Did I mention the hot girls part? Yeah.
Okay, so the trend was bucked a little, but Berserk is probably the greatest manga ever. Alas, he didn’t have the flayed flesh, the sliced-off tongue, or the severed tendons in his wrists and feet, but I would’ve thought that kind of dedication a little too odd, lol.
I was curious whether or not this Big Daddy was the same one I saw at Dragon*Con, but I was never sure.
This guy didn’t say a word. This led me to believe he didn’t speak English, but I never spoke to him.
Much as I’d rather not, I’ll show you my Batman outfit. I’m really not in shape for this, so this is my lesson: Get my ass in gear.
Not sure on this regalia, but hey, looked good.
Oops, going into Danger Mode.
At around 4, I headed back to the room, but no one was there. I called Melissa three times and left a text, but she never got back to me. The staff was no help, either. At this point, I was furious at Melissa because she said if I needed in, she’d come and open the door, when in fact, I never saw her again after the first day (no joke). When I headed back to LACC, I found Sean and Christine (by luck), and after a little chat, I ran into Trevor hybrid_twist, and we caught up real quick. He was wearing a Sazh outfit from Final Fantasy 13, but I’m not putting up the photo (I don’t think he liked that I tagged him on FaceBook for it, so I’m not gonna upload it). He’s seen it, and that’s all that matters. But I spent a good amount of time talking to him and a few of his friends, specifically Taylor (another friend of his), Chloe (his girlfriend), and Ken (whose full name escaped me). I will say this: When I shook Chloe’s hand, I was almost worried I’d break her hand if I shook too hard. She’s very petite.
Chloe would be second from the left. The second from right was Ken, who I introduced myself to the next day, and the kid on the far right is Taylor.
I also spent a great deal of time conversing with Taylor. She’s a girl, in case you’re wondering (Taylor can be given to boys and girls), and she says she likes cosplaying boys more than girls because guys are sometimes confused whether or not she’s a girl, which I found odd because she looked and sounded like a girl to me, even dressed as a guy. Yeah, I’ll explain later.
We all went to Trevor’s room, but I left after a few because he had to change costumes, while I spent a few more minutes with Taylor before we separated (she wanted to find some of her friends). I headed back to the Mariott, then wound up sitting for 45 minutes because my feet were absolutely killing me (I found find later I had blisters on both feet). At first, I was gonna stay a few minutes, but I stayed longer, my feet hurt so much. Many people came and went, and I got a comment that I thought was stupid.
“Comic-Con’s a couple weeks away, dude.”
I call this stupid because, while AX is an anime convention, there’s no rule saying I have to wear an anime cosplay there. Way I see it, I will wear whatever I please, not what everyone thinks I should be wearing. I made a Batman costume because I wanted to, not with AX in mind, so I see no problem with wearing what I wore. No matter what con I go to, I’ll follow that philosophy. Simple as that. There was also the people who asked if it was the Adam West version of Batman I did or people doing that campy song, which felt insulting. I know no one meant any harm by it, but the last thing I want to be associated with is the faggy Batman. I know I shouldn’t let these thing get to me, and they didn’t while I was there, but reflection can lead to irritation. To me, Batman is not humorous. I mean, his parents were murdered when he was 8. You wouldn’t act like a douche after something like that.
Okay, so after the long and relaxing sit, I headed back to the hotel and wound up waiting another hour for someone to show. Albert did, but he left his key at the Dealer’s Hall (which was closed by this time), so I waited another hour to get into the room. Finally, I got in, took a shower, and escorted Albert, Tatiana, and Wade to the Weiland Brewery (where I was the previous night). We ate, drank, talked, and I read their little doujinshi about two schizophrenic office workers, a fantasy world, military grade Viagra (that was 100% effective…occasionally), and so on. That over, we headed back, and Albert realized he forgot the key IN THE ROOM! It was around 11:30 by this point, but he got a hold of Melissa’s sister, who got us in. Exhausted, I fell onto the floor and went to sleep, me feet sore and my legs killing me.
Day 3 (Saturday) was more mellow, and this time, Albert gave me the key because he thought I wouldn’t lose it, and I would need the room most since I was cosplaying. He was right. Now, regarding Dr. McNinja (my cosplay for that day), fewer people asked for my picture, which was fine by me ‘cause I just wanted to walk around. Since I knew the good doctor wouldn’t garner as many photos, it worked out perfectly for me. My feet were also blistered at the toes, so I made sure to sit from time to time.
This gave me some freedom to take more pics.
Too bad there was no Cartman. That would’ve made it perfect.
A walking ad, which I found amusing, to say the least.
Didn’t really recognize this one.
I’ll take ‘shrooms.
I ran into a small Naruto gathering and took some shots of it.
These folks were singing. What song, I didn’t really know, but I took this outside the convention center.
I ran into Trevor (as Auron) at around…10, I think? Whatever the time, I spent most of the morning chatting with him. I finally got to see his Auron up close (which I think is probably the best costume I have or will ever see), so I made sure to find him as he told he’d only wear it for the morning, and I managed to see it for myself. It really is a great costume. Here’s proof:
There are pics of him in Auron all over the ‘Net.
Just before we separated, I also took a pic of his friend, Ken. I introduced myself to him at this point. Nice guy.
I headed back to LACC after this and got more photos.
Whitebeard had that “I can kill you with my beard” motif. It’s technically a moustache, but I doubt anyone cares.
Green Ranger is win. There were a few of them, and I thought this was best. He even had the Dragon Dagger.
Ooh-la-la!………..I mean Ulala. Also, while she didn’t wear it to AX, this is worth mentioning: This cosplayer also made a Silk Spectre II (movie) outfit to last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and you’d think she really WAS the character from the movie if you saw it.
Another small TTGL gathering. The Yoko on the right was someone I took a photo of the previous day.
I headed to the Dealer’s Hall again, this time to actually buy something…and take pictures.
Seemed all right. Yeah.
That is one dirty mouse, lol.
While in the Hall, I bought my only souvenir: An Auron figure. It was an item I’ve been trying to find for a few years, but didn’t want to buy over the Internet as I buy enough stuff from Amazon.
My last shot of the afternoon.
Did I mention I played more Tekken 6? Yeah, I played more, and won a bit more, as Raven (again).
I needed a rest, so I headed back to the room, took off Dr. McNinja, washed some of it, donned street clothes, ate at an IHOP, changed back, and headed to the Nokia Theater. They were showing the finale of AX Idol and, while I only saw half of it, the guy who sang the theme to Code Geass and the first VA finalist to take the stage were my picks to win it. The VA nailed his clip in the first take (which was impressive). It was a Vampire Night clip and his “You’re a bad girl” line got a lot of cheers from the girls. I could see why. The VA and aforementioned singer had great voices.
Of course, I said I saw half because I head to the Masquerade an hour early. I bought a ticket for it on Day 1, and was damn glad I did. I thought the skits and costumes were very well done. As much as I hate yaoi, the Super Yaoi Brothers had me LMAO. There was also a Hellsing skit that referenced Monty Python, with many deserving of recognition for their skill. Before the awards, we were also treated to the AMV’s for Drama (an FMA vid called Alchanum), Action (TTGL using “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters), Pro (Soul Eater using a song called “This is Halloween”), and Comedy/Staff/Best in Show (Didn’t know the song, but the vid was called “A Word From Our Sponsors”). The drama and action vids were a total adrenaline rush, especially the action vid. SO AWESOME!!!
The hosts were Matthew Mercer, Kat Steel, and Kyle Hebert, if anyone wanted to know. Hebert tried different accents, Kat was hot (if coming off a bit ditzy), and Mercer was urged to take off his clothes (he didn’t).
I won’t go far into the awards, other than the group Trevor was a part of won Best in Show for their skit. Good for them! They deserved it!
The masq ended at around midnight, where I was able to take some extra photos.
There were also some of the animals from Princess Mononoke, but I couldn’t get a pic.
This dragoon won a construction award. The armor was all metal.
This girl also got a construction award.
AAAAAAANND: The winning group.
Long and short, finished the photo taking, took my leave, and went back to sleep.
So on Day 4 (Sunday), I slept in until 7 instead of 6. Yeah, stop the presses. I didn’t want to cosplay (everything was sweaty, so I couldn’t), but I ran into a few gatherings.
These two were also in the masq. They got an award for their skit, which involved the Sailor Moon henshin and required an army of ninja.
There was a big Baccano! gathering, but I missed most of it.
I also checked out the arcade, but didn’t play. Instead, I saw Yoko vs. Tuxedo Mask at DDR Extreme. If I remember, the Yoko won, so it went to Yoko vs. Nia. Yoko won again.
Walking away, I spotted some anime going on in the Concourse, and saw it was the final eps of FMA. I didn’t really watch the anime or read the manga, but I did read the last chapter, so I knew what would happen. I won’t spoil anything (almost made that mistake), but it was a good ending. Appropriate, even. Then, I met those DDR kids in the lobby.
I seriously think they may be sisters. They might not be, but they sure look it.
Anyway, I met up with Trevor and Chloe, and spent the rest of my time at AX with them, also picking up my final photo of the con.
We went to the all over the LACC, met some of their friends, and spent some time in the Dealer’s Hall, where I ran into Taylor. Okay, remember when I said she prefer dressing as guys? Well, when we met, she was dressed in (I believe) Alice in Wonderland, and she was saying this was the only girl she’d ever do. This furthered my surprise when she told me folks are confused by her gender while cosplaying because her voice is very feminine. That, and I also thought she looked pretty in her outfit. She’d probably be surprised if I told her that, but that’s what I thought. And before you say anything, I said she looked pretty. That’s it. I haven’t thought of any of the women I’ve met through cosplay so far as anything more than a buddy. Like I said, I didn’t go to AX to hook up. I went to meet friends. That’s not changing considering how far I’ve been to both cons. Nevertheless, when it came time to leave (at around 4PM), I didn’t want to say goodbye to her, Trevor, Chloe, or any of the others I met. So yeah, I said my goodbyes and got raped on my way to LAX. And by “raped”, I meant paying 60$ for a taxi (not 50$, which I was first told), and ride with a driver who didn’t know Maine was a state. *sigh*
So, to put it bluntly, my flight was an overnighter, so I waited, slept on and off during the flight (I nodded off a few times, but was worried by massive heat lightning in the distance), waited a few hours in Philly, then got back to Bangor at 11AM.
And now, comes my comparison between AX and Dragon*Con. Dragon*Con felt like one long party, whereas AX seemed more like business. The security at AX were also, by and large, a bunch of assholes (at least to me), while D*C was merely an irritation. What I thought was so stupid was how they blocked off the stairs to the Artists’ Alley and Dealer’s Hall before opening. Why would you create lines for places that wind up clusterfucks in ten minutes, was my thinking. That was just stupid and devoid of logic. AX was also very rule-heavy, which annoyed me after a while. However, I met more folks at AX and I felt like I socialized more than at D*C. Overall, I would rate AX at around the same level as D*C based on sheer socialization, though I do think D*C was more mellow, with more eclectic and (sometimes) more comedic costumes. AX is a bit more specialized, and since everything interests me, I guess that’s why Dragon*Con appeals to me a little more. Still, I have to go back to AX one day.
All this, of course, brings me to my next quandary:
I need to figure out what con I’ll be going to next year. My parents are offering to send me to a con as a graduation present. At first, it was Dragon*Con, no question. Now, I have to decide between that and San Diego Comic-Con. My big interest right now is comics, and I want to meet the Cali folks again, so I’m strongly considering this one. However, there is the matter of badges selling fast and hotels being ridiculously expensive. Yeah, I’ll need to think about it. Considering Taylor’s pitch and what everyone told me, though, I’m giving SDCC serious thought.
Okay, to start, I woke up at 3:30AM on the 30th to make my 7:30 flight out of Bangor. Before I left, my dad gave me something weird: A pair of condoms. Yeah, I shit you not. He was telling me, “Take them, just in case”, but I wasn’t going to LA to get laid, so I left them in my bureau ‘cause I knew I wouldn’t use them and, believe it or not, didn’t want to. You probably think I’m lying, but I was going to be on the other side of the country. I couldn’t hook up even I wanted to. That ain’t how I operate.
Also, for future reference, lack of sleep would be a recurring theme throughout the con, but not one I let get to me as I slept less at D*C than at AX. I was waking up at 6AM every morning during the con with only 4 or 5 hours sleep, but I didn’t bother me overmuch until the end.
Anyway, I arrived in LA around noon (Pacific Time), and was immediately taken aback by the weather, but in a good way; it was GORGEOUS!! It was in the 60’s, there was a decent breeze, and the humidity was minor at worst. It felt much like I never left home. In fact, I remarked later on, while in the shuttle to the hotel, it felt like Montreal, just with palm trees.
It took 2 hours to get to the hotel ‘cause the driver got it wrong, and when I did get there, Melissa (the one who registered the room) hadn’t checked in, so I left my bags at the hotel and headed to the LA Convention Center to pick up my badge.
I waited an hour in line just for the center to open registration, which I found silly, considering the mass of bodies in line. I thought starting at noon would be wiser to give the staff and congoers some extra time, since I felt waiting in line is a pointless venture. Then, I waited 2 more hours to actually get into the Convention Center, then 30 more minutes for the line INSIDE (yes, a line inside) to get my badge. The bright spot was I met a guy named Nick who gave a heads-up on some of the events, what’s good, and where some of the good places and panels were. Nevertheless, the wait is something I hope gets addressed one day, but after that, I went back to the hotel and finally got in the room.
I wasn’t greeted at the door by Melissa, but her sister, Christina. She was doing some humanoid version of a Pokemon, apparently, and she gave me that “don’t interrupt me” vibe ‘cause she was very standoffish. When Melissa came in, she was more social, but not by much. About an hour later, I met the rest of the group: Two couples (Albert and Tatiana, Sean and Christina) and Wade, so it was 8 people in a one-bed room (in short, a fucking orgy). There’s no point in talking about the rest of the day, but in short, I got to bed (on the hard floor) at around 1AM and, waking here and there, got up at around 6, and saw some antics, so I took a few shots.
Okay, I know this is weird, but I took it because Wade stuck a light in the back pockets of his pants, and I took a picture just for shits and giggles.
I also took this one of Sean pretending to light one up. It was actually some kind of Korean cookie he was using as a cigar.
I should say right now, I didn’t cosplay on Day 1. I don’t like re-wearing the same clothes unless I manage to wash them (which is how I wore Dr. McNinja during multiple days of Dragon*Con), so I wanted to wait ‘till the next day and use this one to take photos and screw around.
So after leaving the room, I left for LACC and got there around 7 to find out the place doesn’t open until 8. Ugh. So I waited for the doors to open, and found few people around. I wanted to check out the arcade first, but it wouldn’t open until 10. When I went to the console room, same thing, not open ‘till 10. I waited at the console room until 10, and guess what? They still weren’t open. I was pretty pissed because these people are supposed to have shit ready on time, and considering the wait I had the day before, the first impression was not turning out so hot. Finally, they opened at 10:30, and I ran right over to play Tekken 6. I played a few rounds here and there throughout the day, mostly as Raven (this ninja thing runs beyond obsession, lol), and sometimes as King or Armor King (did I mention I’m also a pro wrestling fan? Well, there you go). I think I was in 20 or so fights that day, and won just one. Yeah, I really sucked, but I hadn’t played a Tekken game since Tekken 5 came out in the arcades, and I hadn’t played a video game PERIOD since RE4 in ’07, so I was rusty at best. Tekken 6 plays very differently and incorporates more juggle/ground attack combos, which I don’t care for because fights where you’re stuck on the ground are no fun.
Before and after the game room, I took some shots around the convention center, and after a while, out came the cosplay:
I didn’t get the timing perfect, but you can tell Ryu is about to whack Altair upside the head.
Uh-oh. The Heartless spotted Sora. XD
A trip down memory lane, it was.
Someone’s gonna have to tell me what the hell this is.
Make up your own caption here.
Tonight, on CSI: Mushroom Kingdom…MURDER in Koopa’s Castle! Detective Mario will report the results of his investigation in a special conference tonight!
…………………Yeah.
Hellsing cosplayers. I would see them a few more times throughout AX.
Transformers FTW.
Every time I see this Kaiba cosplay, I keep thinking that line from the first ep of Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged, “Screw the rules! I have money!”
I know this is a blood elf, but I don’t know if it’s a paladin or a warrior, or another class.
Not sure on this one.
I was lucky enough to stumble on this TTGL gathering.
So after a while, I decided to venture into downtown LA, take in the sights, and find a place to plunk my ass. Before that, though, I ran into a Deadpool cosplayer.
Deadpool is one of the comic characters that screams “win” at all times.
So after that, I checked out this restaurant called The Flat of Beverly Hills or somesuch and got gouged on calamari. Never going back there. I made sure to check ALL the menus before I went anywhere. I wanted to try what was in LA, but I also wanted to walk out with something in my wallet besides a huge dent.
All right, enough of that. I headed back to the convention center, and made damn sure to check out a 1:30 panel. Why? It was the Black Lagoon Season 3 Premiere, and I was NOT disappointed! It was great. To be frank, I was actually surprised there was going to be a third season. Not because it was bad or the mangaka was slow to publish new chapter (false for the former, true for the latter), but because I read it was going to be an OVA. Still, I was glad to know there would be a 12-ep season. At least, that’s the impression. They also previewed other series, including High School of the Dead, Hakuouki, and Fate/Stay Night, all of which I haven’t seen yet. In fact, the last anime I watched WAS Black Lagoon (well, not quite, I also saw Monster).
Once the panel ended, I played some more Tekken 6 (and actually won a match or two), checked out the Dealer’s Alley (which I’ll elaborate on shortly), and took more photos.
Konkey Dong…I mean Donkey Kong, lol. Okay, that sucked. Sue me.
I really liked these two.
Very good Zelda outfits.
I believe these are Eathbenders from Avatar, but don’t quote me on it.
After the last photo, I played around a little more, then went back to the room to find Melissa and Christina. Instead of staying, I headed out for dinner to some place on Fifth and Flower called Weiland Brewery. They were doing Happy Hour ‘till closing, so I got some dinner on the cheap. I would come back because it tasted great (garlic fries, quesadillas, and beer, FYI) and it didn’t cost me much. After returning to the room, I went to the IHOP with Albert, Tatiana, and Wade, pulled out my Batman cosplay, and called it a night, excited because come Friday, I’d be Batman.
Day 2 had me waking at 6AM (again) and I managed to change and go to the bathroom, all without waking a soul (pretty impressive with 7 others were in the room, lol). I should also mention this is the last time I saw Melissa at the con. This also marked the official debut of my Batman. Unfortunately, some of it fell apart on me. I used industrial strength Velcro for the cowl, which turned out to be a huge mistake ‘cause it was ripping within a few hours’ time, and a couple pouches on the utility belt came apart, which forced me to discard a few of them mid-way through the day. I just forgot I had business cards in them, but that was the bad (a glaring bad because sitting would pull the pouches off the belt), but it could’ve been worse. Of course, it wouldn’t be a good day if it didn’t start out the right way: With HOT GIRLS IN COSTUME!!!
Don’t know the series, but she was mighty fine.
This girl, too. Yoko cosplayers got it goin’ on. And yet I’m from Maine and they’re from California. Still, part of my code is “It’s okay to stare, just don’t cop a feel.” XD
This Zangief was great. It took real guts to do something like this, and no, I’m not making a pun, he really had courage. He’d make a great Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker, too.
It was in the morning that I ran into the first guy I met at Dragon*Con: Lionel. If you remember that epic Bumblebee I took pictures of at Dragon*Con, that was him. He grabbed a pic of my Batman (I’ll be keeping it for a little while), but he actually didn’t know who I was right off. When I explained how we met, he remembered. I forgot that every time I saw him, I was dressed as Dr. McNinja, so he never ACTUALLY saw my face, lol. But anyway, we spoke only for a few minutes because he was there to take photos. I’d see him on Day 4, though, so it was all good.
Okay, so to elaborate a little on Batman, the costume went over EXTREMELY well! Better than I could’ve imagined, really, considering the outfit was rife with mistakes. Still, I shit you not when I say at least a hundred people asked for my photo. I found that comforting. There was even a professional (at least I think he was) who wanted to take pics of me in various poses. He said he was from a magazine, but I highly doubt anything will come of it. Like I said, it wasn’t that great. I also haven’t found too many shots on my Batman on the ‘Net, so I can’t prove all those people got a pic…unless I hack into their computers.
One thing I liked most was that many of the photos I got were from women, and I got hugs from some cute girls, to boot. On that front, I was thrilled with how it turned out, but alas, I’ll need to re-make the utility belt and the cowl, but they served their purpose for the day.
I also got interviewed by these guys from something called Badime Review. At first, when they explained who they were, I thought they were just around to make a mockery of anime and otaku, but they were very light-hearted, and most of the fun poked at me was FROM me. I tried to stay in character and secretly admitted to a fascination for hentai. Hey, Batman lived in Japan for a couple years, so maybe he was into it, but that was part of the humor. I haven’t seen it broadcasted yet (and may never), so we’ll see how that turns out. Back to photos:
Wasn’t sure on this, but it looked pretty cool.
I also said I’d tell you of the Dealer’s Hall and, well, it was pretty big, and full of neat stuff. Since I was wearing Batman, though, I couldn’t buy anything, so I took some business cards. I also got a pic or two in the room.
This is Yaya Han. For those who don’t know, she’s well known in cosplay for her excellent outfits. Seriously, check her site out. She’s the shit. She’s also extremely nice. Anyway, as I was fumbling for a business card (I had cotton gloves, but she was nice about it, as apparently she’s had that problem herself), I shyly asked for a photo, and she let me, which surprised me. I didn’t think she would since she appeared to be selling photos, but she had no problem. I looked at her site and she didn’t seem to have any photos of this Jill costume. Still, thanks, Miss Han.
I also bumped into a Kick-Ass and Spider-Man cosplayer posing at an empty station, and they asked me to join for a few, so I did, proceeding to take odd positions and make ourselves look stupid. I also introduced myself to the Kick-Ass (I think his name was Peter, lol) in case I saw him again.
Ancestors meet.
That’s the Kick-Ass and Spidey I mentioned, just an hour after meeting. I wanted a shot now that I had a chance.
Remember when I said I liked taking photos of hot girls in cosplay? That trend continues. I found the Sailor Jupiter’s Flickr account by accident and she now has this photo. Did I mention the hot girls part? Yeah.
Okay, so the trend was bucked a little, but Berserk is probably the greatest manga ever. Alas, he didn’t have the flayed flesh, the sliced-off tongue, or the severed tendons in his wrists and feet, but I would’ve thought that kind of dedication a little too odd, lol.
I was curious whether or not this Big Daddy was the same one I saw at Dragon*Con, but I was never sure.
This guy didn’t say a word. This led me to believe he didn’t speak English, but I never spoke to him.
Much as I’d rather not, I’ll show you my Batman outfit. I’m really not in shape for this, so this is my lesson: Get my ass in gear.
Not sure on this regalia, but hey, looked good.
Oops, going into Danger Mode.
At around 4, I headed back to the room, but no one was there. I called Melissa three times and left a text, but she never got back to me. The staff was no help, either. At this point, I was furious at Melissa because she said if I needed in, she’d come and open the door, when in fact, I never saw her again after the first day (no joke). When I headed back to LACC, I found Sean and Christine (by luck), and after a little chat, I ran into Trevor hybrid_twist, and we caught up real quick. He was wearing a Sazh outfit from Final Fantasy 13, but I’m not putting up the photo (I don’t think he liked that I tagged him on FaceBook for it, so I’m not gonna upload it). He’s seen it, and that’s all that matters. But I spent a good amount of time talking to him and a few of his friends, specifically Taylor (another friend of his), Chloe (his girlfriend), and Ken (whose full name escaped me). I will say this: When I shook Chloe’s hand, I was almost worried I’d break her hand if I shook too hard. She’s very petite.
Chloe would be second from the left. The second from right was Ken, who I introduced myself to the next day, and the kid on the far right is Taylor.
I also spent a great deal of time conversing with Taylor. She’s a girl, in case you’re wondering (Taylor can be given to boys and girls), and she says she likes cosplaying boys more than girls because guys are sometimes confused whether or not she’s a girl, which I found odd because she looked and sounded like a girl to me, even dressed as a guy. Yeah, I’ll explain later.
We all went to Trevor’s room, but I left after a few because he had to change costumes, while I spent a few more minutes with Taylor before we separated (she wanted to find some of her friends). I headed back to the Mariott, then wound up sitting for 45 minutes because my feet were absolutely killing me (I found find later I had blisters on both feet). At first, I was gonna stay a few minutes, but I stayed longer, my feet hurt so much. Many people came and went, and I got a comment that I thought was stupid.
“Comic-Con’s a couple weeks away, dude.”
I call this stupid because, while AX is an anime convention, there’s no rule saying I have to wear an anime cosplay there. Way I see it, I will wear whatever I please, not what everyone thinks I should be wearing. I made a Batman costume because I wanted to, not with AX in mind, so I see no problem with wearing what I wore. No matter what con I go to, I’ll follow that philosophy. Simple as that. There was also the people who asked if it was the Adam West version of Batman I did or people doing that campy song, which felt insulting. I know no one meant any harm by it, but the last thing I want to be associated with is the faggy Batman. I know I shouldn’t let these thing get to me, and they didn’t while I was there, but reflection can lead to irritation. To me, Batman is not humorous. I mean, his parents were murdered when he was 8. You wouldn’t act like a douche after something like that.
Okay, so after the long and relaxing sit, I headed back to the hotel and wound up waiting another hour for someone to show. Albert did, but he left his key at the Dealer’s Hall (which was closed by this time), so I waited another hour to get into the room. Finally, I got in, took a shower, and escorted Albert, Tatiana, and Wade to the Weiland Brewery (where I was the previous night). We ate, drank, talked, and I read their little doujinshi about two schizophrenic office workers, a fantasy world, military grade Viagra (that was 100% effective…occasionally), and so on. That over, we headed back, and Albert realized he forgot the key IN THE ROOM! It was around 11:30 by this point, but he got a hold of Melissa’s sister, who got us in. Exhausted, I fell onto the floor and went to sleep, me feet sore and my legs killing me.
Day 3 (Saturday) was more mellow, and this time, Albert gave me the key because he thought I wouldn’t lose it, and I would need the room most since I was cosplaying. He was right. Now, regarding Dr. McNinja (my cosplay for that day), fewer people asked for my picture, which was fine by me ‘cause I just wanted to walk around. Since I knew the good doctor wouldn’t garner as many photos, it worked out perfectly for me. My feet were also blistered at the toes, so I made sure to sit from time to time.
This gave me some freedom to take more pics.
Too bad there was no Cartman. That would’ve made it perfect.
A walking ad, which I found amusing, to say the least.
Didn’t really recognize this one.
I’ll take ‘shrooms.
I ran into a small Naruto gathering and took some shots of it.
These folks were singing. What song, I didn’t really know, but I took this outside the convention center.
I ran into Trevor (as Auron) at around…10, I think? Whatever the time, I spent most of the morning chatting with him. I finally got to see his Auron up close (which I think is probably the best costume I have or will ever see), so I made sure to find him as he told he’d only wear it for the morning, and I managed to see it for myself. It really is a great costume. Here’s proof:
There are pics of him in Auron all over the ‘Net.
Just before we separated, I also took a pic of his friend, Ken. I introduced myself to him at this point. Nice guy.
I headed back to LACC after this and got more photos.
Whitebeard had that “I can kill you with my beard” motif. It’s technically a moustache, but I doubt anyone cares.
Green Ranger is win. There were a few of them, and I thought this was best. He even had the Dragon Dagger.
Ooh-la-la!………..I mean Ulala. Also, while she didn’t wear it to AX, this is worth mentioning: This cosplayer also made a Silk Spectre II (movie) outfit to last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and you’d think she really WAS the character from the movie if you saw it.
Another small TTGL gathering. The Yoko on the right was someone I took a photo of the previous day.
I headed to the Dealer’s Hall again, this time to actually buy something…and take pictures.
Seemed all right. Yeah.
That is one dirty mouse, lol.
While in the Hall, I bought my only souvenir: An Auron figure. It was an item I’ve been trying to find for a few years, but didn’t want to buy over the Internet as I buy enough stuff from Amazon.
My last shot of the afternoon.
Did I mention I played more Tekken 6? Yeah, I played more, and won a bit more, as Raven (again).
I needed a rest, so I headed back to the room, took off Dr. McNinja, washed some of it, donned street clothes, ate at an IHOP, changed back, and headed to the Nokia Theater. They were showing the finale of AX Idol and, while I only saw half of it, the guy who sang the theme to Code Geass and the first VA finalist to take the stage were my picks to win it. The VA nailed his clip in the first take (which was impressive). It was a Vampire Night clip and his “You’re a bad girl” line got a lot of cheers from the girls. I could see why. The VA and aforementioned singer had great voices.
Of course, I said I saw half because I head to the Masquerade an hour early. I bought a ticket for it on Day 1, and was damn glad I did. I thought the skits and costumes were very well done. As much as I hate yaoi, the Super Yaoi Brothers had me LMAO. There was also a Hellsing skit that referenced Monty Python, with many deserving of recognition for their skill. Before the awards, we were also treated to the AMV’s for Drama (an FMA vid called Alchanum), Action (TTGL using “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters), Pro (Soul Eater using a song called “This is Halloween”), and Comedy/Staff/Best in Show (Didn’t know the song, but the vid was called “A Word From Our Sponsors”). The drama and action vids were a total adrenaline rush, especially the action vid. SO AWESOME!!!
The hosts were Matthew Mercer, Kat Steel, and Kyle Hebert, if anyone wanted to know. Hebert tried different accents, Kat was hot (if coming off a bit ditzy), and Mercer was urged to take off his clothes (he didn’t).
I won’t go far into the awards, other than the group Trevor was a part of won Best in Show for their skit. Good for them! They deserved it!
The masq ended at around midnight, where I was able to take some extra photos.
There were also some of the animals from Princess Mononoke, but I couldn’t get a pic.
This dragoon won a construction award. The armor was all metal.
This girl also got a construction award.
AAAAAAANND: The winning group.
Long and short, finished the photo taking, took my leave, and went back to sleep.
So on Day 4 (Sunday), I slept in until 7 instead of 6. Yeah, stop the presses. I didn’t want to cosplay (everything was sweaty, so I couldn’t), but I ran into a few gatherings.
These two were also in the masq. They got an award for their skit, which involved the Sailor Moon henshin and required an army of ninja.
There was a big Baccano! gathering, but I missed most of it.
I also checked out the arcade, but didn’t play. Instead, I saw Yoko vs. Tuxedo Mask at DDR Extreme. If I remember, the Yoko won, so it went to Yoko vs. Nia. Yoko won again.
Walking away, I spotted some anime going on in the Concourse, and saw it was the final eps of FMA. I didn’t really watch the anime or read the manga, but I did read the last chapter, so I knew what would happen. I won’t spoil anything (almost made that mistake), but it was a good ending. Appropriate, even. Then, I met those DDR kids in the lobby.
I seriously think they may be sisters. They might not be, but they sure look it.
Anyway, I met up with Trevor and Chloe, and spent the rest of my time at AX with them, also picking up my final photo of the con.
We went to the all over the LACC, met some of their friends, and spent some time in the Dealer’s Hall, where I ran into Taylor. Okay, remember when I said she prefer dressing as guys? Well, when we met, she was dressed in (I believe) Alice in Wonderland, and she was saying this was the only girl she’d ever do. This furthered my surprise when she told me folks are confused by her gender while cosplaying because her voice is very feminine. That, and I also thought she looked pretty in her outfit. She’d probably be surprised if I told her that, but that’s what I thought. And before you say anything, I said she looked pretty. That’s it. I haven’t thought of any of the women I’ve met through cosplay so far as anything more than a buddy. Like I said, I didn’t go to AX to hook up. I went to meet friends. That’s not changing considering how far I’ve been to both cons. Nevertheless, when it came time to leave (at around 4PM), I didn’t want to say goodbye to her, Trevor, Chloe, or any of the others I met. So yeah, I said my goodbyes and got raped on my way to LAX. And by “raped”, I meant paying 60$ for a taxi (not 50$, which I was first told), and ride with a driver who didn’t know Maine was a state. *sigh*
So, to put it bluntly, my flight was an overnighter, so I waited, slept on and off during the flight (I nodded off a few times, but was worried by massive heat lightning in the distance), waited a few hours in Philly, then got back to Bangor at 11AM.
And now, comes my comparison between AX and Dragon*Con. Dragon*Con felt like one long party, whereas AX seemed more like business. The security at AX were also, by and large, a bunch of assholes (at least to me), while D*C was merely an irritation. What I thought was so stupid was how they blocked off the stairs to the Artists’ Alley and Dealer’s Hall before opening. Why would you create lines for places that wind up clusterfucks in ten minutes, was my thinking. That was just stupid and devoid of logic. AX was also very rule-heavy, which annoyed me after a while. However, I met more folks at AX and I felt like I socialized more than at D*C. Overall, I would rate AX at around the same level as D*C based on sheer socialization, though I do think D*C was more mellow, with more eclectic and (sometimes) more comedic costumes. AX is a bit more specialized, and since everything interests me, I guess that’s why Dragon*Con appeals to me a little more. Still, I have to go back to AX one day.
All this, of course, brings me to my next quandary:
I need to figure out what con I’ll be going to next year. My parents are offering to send me to a con as a graduation present. At first, it was Dragon*Con, no question. Now, I have to decide between that and San Diego Comic-Con. My big interest right now is comics, and I want to meet the Cali folks again, so I’m strongly considering this one. However, there is the matter of badges selling fast and hotels being ridiculously expensive. Yeah, I’ll need to think about it. Considering Taylor’s pitch and what everyone told me, though, I’m giving SDCC serious thought.