AnimeNext report
Kind of late but here’s my AnimeNext report.
The days leading up to the con were pretty crazy since it was only 2 1/2 weeks after Anime Boston. I really wanted a new costume to wear, considering I’d only finished one costume since last September, and I basically made Tamaki’s ballgown in 3 weeks. I only had the hoopskirt done before I left for AB so I didn’t get much sleep the last couple of days before the con. And I still spent about 3 hours at the con hand sewing. ._.; I’ve got to stop making a habit out of this; it’s already the second con this year where I’ve finished stuff at the hotel and I never had to do that before this year. So, things were a bit rough prior to the con but I still had fun wearing that silly dress and got to see a lot of friends. ^_^
I saw about a quarter of my friends list at the con, although there were a few I only saw in passing and never got to talk to. *waves to animeangelblue, blackjackie999, chienverde, dressdragn, hikaruchan, hystericraider, ifuritaoni, lady-ava, lampbane, loudnbothered, luv-blindly, natalie526, neoangelwink, nerdraeg, ryoko, sailormo, sakuralenayuy, selphie84, snuzzlebunnies, thedreamerworld, twilitesea, usa-ko, vikki, wildhorseranma, yeu*
Friday: Was up until 5AM, trying to finish Tamaki. Slept for a few hours and then packed costumes. (Fortunately, my mother helped by packing all the regular stuff for me the day before.) Left the house after lunch. My father picked up my brother’s friends and then drove the 4 of us to the con.
Arrived around 2:30, checked in, and unpacked a bit. I changed into D’s tailcoat outfit before picking up my badge and going through the dealer’s room. Bought DVDs 10 and 11 of Tsubasa and both Ghost Hunt box sets. Checked in for the masquerade and wandered for a bit. Nothing I really wanted to do until my panel so I went back to the room and hand sewed some trim on my Tamaki headpiece.
Had my seam finishes workshop at 8:30. Turnout was low again, with about half a dozen people this time. Maybe, it would have helped a bit if I actually had time to advertise; I’d been so busy sewing that I didn’t get to post about it on forums. I didn’t think I was talking that fast but I somehow ended up finishing the material 25 minutes early. O_o; (It was supposed to be a 90 minute panel and at AB, I only finished 5 minutes early.) Tried to fill up the rest of the time with questions but didn’t get that many. Talked to hikaruchan a bit afterwards and she helped me carry panel stuff back to my room. (Thanks! ^_^)
My brother and his friends brought me some food since I missed dinner. Afterwards, I sat in the lobby in normal clothes for a couple of hours, hand sewing trim and a pair of hair combs to the headpiece for Tamaki. Chatted a bit with animeangelblue and lampbane at different points while I was working. Finally finished around 1AM.
Saturday: Since I finished Tamaki so last minute I didn’t get a chance to try on the entire costume until that morning. I wasn’t used to walking around in the hoopskirt and stepped on my skirt several times when I forgot to pick it up. ._.; Between getting dressed and figuring out my walk-on, I didn’t get out of the room until 12:30. Wearing the costume was fun though. It seemed to remind people of lots of different things; guesses I heard were Princess Peach, Rose of Versailles, Kaleido Star, and a Disney princess. A few people did recognize it as Tamaki though and there were more who remembered after I mentioned it was from Ouran. The funniest had to be when a Kyoya cosplayer recognized it: “Daddy is Mommy now!”
Unfortunately, it started raining soon after I had my tech rehearsal and judging so going outside for photos was out of the question. And except for the pics dressdragn took at the photo booth, it was too crowded inside the hotel. So, I just wandered a bit, chatted with people and took a break before lineup for the masquerade. I’d warned sailormo about the huge hoopskirt before the con and she was able to get a separate chair for me off to the side so I could sit and not be in anyone’s way. (Thanks, Maureen! ^_^) For those without ACP accounts, my walk-on is now on YouTube:
As mentioned before, I won Best Craftsman Craftsmanship and then, embarrassingly fell after getting my award. (Luckily, my back is recovered now!) Stood around chatting with people for a while after the masquerade and then headed back to the hotel. Thanks to neoangelwink and the others who helped carry my huge skirt so it wouldn’t drag on the wet pavement! ^_^
Tried to call my brother to see about doing photos but kept getting his voicemail so I just stayed in the lobby chatting with people. At one point, a couple of Kuroshitsuji cosplayers wanted to take pictures with me. I thought it was kind of funny since Ciel’s ballgown seems to be a popular cosplay this year and I was also cosplaying a guy in a ballgown. :-D There’s a picture of Sebastian holding Tamaki’s hand somewhere!
Had a bit of food and finally ended up doing pictures with my brother at 1AM when there weren’t as many people around the hotel. Boy, this turned out to a late con for me. o_o At cons, I’m generally in my room by midnight and getting ready for bed!
Sunday: Started packing and changed into Count D’s peacock dress. Went to watch cosplay chess, which was amusing as usual. My father called during the game, saying he had arrived, so I had to run right after the checkmate to finish packing and check out of the hotel. After that was taken care of, I wandered a bit and talked to sakuralenayuy and usa-ko while they finished up slides for their panel. Finally made it over to the video rooms to say hi to ifuritaoni. We chatted for a while and I made his head hurt with the information that I made Tamaki’s ballgown for the con. ^_^; (“You’re a girl cosplaying a guy cosplaying a girl…”) Had lunch with my father, brother, and his friends and my brother got a few pics of my costume with the bird before we went home.
I have mixed feelings about the new location. It was good that there was more space and since my room was on the second floor, it was pretty convenient to just walk down the hall and have panel rooms right there. The outdoor areas would have been nice if the weather were good. But I think the new location wasn’t really intended for such a high volume of people. :-/ I mostly just used the lobby stairs but the 4 elevators seemed to get rather crowded at times and I assume it might have been frustrating for people on the higher floors. Also, the covered path between the hotel and exhibit center seemed to be only about 5-6 feet wide and the bridge was even narrower so there wasn’t room for much beyond than a single file going each way and it was slow during the more crowded times. It was a good thing that my hoops were pretty flexible so that I could squeeze past people on Saturday.
All the rain during the con didn’t help either; I’ve been going to AnimeNext since 2003 and that had to be the worst weather I’d ever seen during any con. o_O Although no one can control the weather, the location seemed very adversely affected by it and the con probably would have gone considerably better if it didn’t rain so much.
I disliked the lack of food options within walking distance of the area. Since my costumes tend to be cumbersome, I usually prefer to pick up something quick like a premade sandwich and go back to my room to eat it. But there didn’t seem to be much other than the hotel restaurants and I always had commitments at mealtimes so my brother and his friends brought me whatever was left from their meals. We brought some snacks and a hot pot to boil water so I basically ate leftovers, ramen, crackers, and bananas most of the weekend. >_>;
Now that AnimeNext is over, I’m going to take a break from costume stuff for several weeks. As much as I like cosplaying, it was too crammed having 3 of my 4 cons for this year within a month and a half. x_x (With only NYAF left, I almost feel as if I could write a year end post now!) I’ll probably plot for future costumes, pick up some little crafty projects, and maybe even sew myself a summer dress but don’t intend to actually make any costume stuff for a month or so. And I hope to have a chance to hang out with local friends more this summer. ^_^
The days leading up to the con were pretty crazy since it was only 2 1/2 weeks after Anime Boston. I really wanted a new costume to wear, considering I’d only finished one costume since last September, and I basically made Tamaki’s ballgown in 3 weeks. I only had the hoopskirt done before I left for AB so I didn’t get much sleep the last couple of days before the con. And I still spent about 3 hours at the con hand sewing. ._.; I’ve got to stop making a habit out of this; it’s already the second con this year where I’ve finished stuff at the hotel and I never had to do that before this year. So, things were a bit rough prior to the con but I still had fun wearing that silly dress and got to see a lot of friends. ^_^
I saw about a quarter of my friends list at the con, although there were a few I only saw in passing and never got to talk to. *waves to animeangelblue, blackjackie999, chienverde, dressdragn, hikaruchan, hystericraider, ifuritaoni, lady-ava, lampbane, loudnbothered, luv-blindly, natalie526, neoangelwink, nerdraeg, ryoko, sailormo, sakuralenayuy, selphie84, snuzzlebunnies, thedreamerworld, twilitesea, usa-ko, vikki, wildhorseranma, yeu*
Friday: Was up until 5AM, trying to finish Tamaki. Slept for a few hours and then packed costumes. (Fortunately, my mother helped by packing all the regular stuff for me the day before.) Left the house after lunch. My father picked up my brother’s friends and then drove the 4 of us to the con.
Arrived around 2:30, checked in, and unpacked a bit. I changed into D’s tailcoat outfit before picking up my badge and going through the dealer’s room. Bought DVDs 10 and 11 of Tsubasa and both Ghost Hunt box sets. Checked in for the masquerade and wandered for a bit. Nothing I really wanted to do until my panel so I went back to the room and hand sewed some trim on my Tamaki headpiece.
Had my seam finishes workshop at 8:30. Turnout was low again, with about half a dozen people this time. Maybe, it would have helped a bit if I actually had time to advertise; I’d been so busy sewing that I didn’t get to post about it on forums. I didn’t think I was talking that fast but I somehow ended up finishing the material 25 minutes early. O_o; (It was supposed to be a 90 minute panel and at AB, I only finished 5 minutes early.) Tried to fill up the rest of the time with questions but didn’t get that many. Talked to hikaruchan a bit afterwards and she helped me carry panel stuff back to my room. (Thanks! ^_^)
My brother and his friends brought me some food since I missed dinner. Afterwards, I sat in the lobby in normal clothes for a couple of hours, hand sewing trim and a pair of hair combs to the headpiece for Tamaki. Chatted a bit with animeangelblue and lampbane at different points while I was working. Finally finished around 1AM.
Saturday: Since I finished Tamaki so last minute I didn’t get a chance to try on the entire costume until that morning. I wasn’t used to walking around in the hoopskirt and stepped on my skirt several times when I forgot to pick it up. ._.; Between getting dressed and figuring out my walk-on, I didn’t get out of the room until 12:30. Wearing the costume was fun though. It seemed to remind people of lots of different things; guesses I heard were Princess Peach, Rose of Versailles, Kaleido Star, and a Disney princess. A few people did recognize it as Tamaki though and there were more who remembered after I mentioned it was from Ouran. The funniest had to be when a Kyoya cosplayer recognized it: “Daddy is Mommy now!”
Unfortunately, it started raining soon after I had my tech rehearsal and judging so going outside for photos was out of the question. And except for the pics dressdragn took at the photo booth, it was too crowded inside the hotel. So, I just wandered a bit, chatted with people and took a break before lineup for the masquerade. I’d warned sailormo about the huge hoopskirt before the con and she was able to get a separate chair for me off to the side so I could sit and not be in anyone’s way. (Thanks, Maureen! ^_^) For those without ACP accounts, my walk-on is now on YouTube:
Click to viewAs mentioned before, I won Best Craftsman Craftsmanship and then, embarrassingly fell after getting my award. (Luckily, my back is recovered now!) Stood around chatting with people for a while after the masquerade and then headed back to the hotel. Thanks to neoangelwink and the others who helped carry my huge skirt so it wouldn’t drag on the wet pavement! ^_^
Tried to call my brother to see about doing photos but kept getting his voicemail so I just stayed in the lobby chatting with people. At one point, a couple of Kuroshitsuji cosplayers wanted to take pictures with me. I thought it was kind of funny since Ciel’s ballgown seems to be a popular cosplay this year and I was also cosplaying a guy in a ballgown. :-D There’s a picture of Sebastian holding Tamaki’s hand somewhere!
Had a bit of food and finally ended up doing pictures with my brother at 1AM when there weren’t as many people around the hotel. Boy, this turned out to a late con for me. o_o At cons, I’m generally in my room by midnight and getting ready for bed!
Sunday: Started packing and changed into Count D’s peacock dress. Went to watch cosplay chess, which was amusing as usual. My father called during the game, saying he had arrived, so I had to run right after the checkmate to finish packing and check out of the hotel. After that was taken care of, I wandered a bit and talked to sakuralenayuy and usa-ko while they finished up slides for their panel. Finally made it over to the video rooms to say hi to ifuritaoni. We chatted for a while and I made his head hurt with the information that I made Tamaki’s ballgown for the con. ^_^; (“You’re a girl cosplaying a guy cosplaying a girl…”) Had lunch with my father, brother, and his friends and my brother got a few pics of my costume with the bird before we went home.
I have mixed feelings about the new location. It was good that there was more space and since my room was on the second floor, it was pretty convenient to just walk down the hall and have panel rooms right there. The outdoor areas would have been nice if the weather were good. But I think the new location wasn’t really intended for such a high volume of people. :-/ I mostly just used the lobby stairs but the 4 elevators seemed to get rather crowded at times and I assume it might have been frustrating for people on the higher floors. Also, the covered path between the hotel and exhibit center seemed to be only about 5-6 feet wide and the bridge was even narrower so there wasn’t room for much beyond than a single file going each way and it was slow during the more crowded times. It was a good thing that my hoops were pretty flexible so that I could squeeze past people on Saturday.
All the rain during the con didn’t help either; I’ve been going to AnimeNext since 2003 and that had to be the worst weather I’d ever seen during any con. o_O Although no one can control the weather, the location seemed very adversely affected by it and the con probably would have gone considerably better if it didn’t rain so much.
I disliked the lack of food options within walking distance of the area. Since my costumes tend to be cumbersome, I usually prefer to pick up something quick like a premade sandwich and go back to my room to eat it. But there didn’t seem to be much other than the hotel restaurants and I always had commitments at mealtimes so my brother and his friends brought me whatever was left from their meals. We brought some snacks and a hot pot to boil water so I basically ate leftovers, ramen, crackers, and bananas most of the weekend. >_>;
Now that AnimeNext is over, I’m going to take a break from costume stuff for several weeks. As much as I like cosplaying, it was too crammed having 3 of my 4 cons for this year within a month and a half. x_x (With only NYAF left, I almost feel as if I could write a year end post now!) I’ll probably plot for future costumes, pick up some little crafty projects, and maybe even sew myself a summer dress but don’t intend to actually make any costume stuff for a month or so. And I hope to have a chance to hang out with local friends more this summer. ^_^