SacAnime Summer 2012: Saturday September 1st - Image Heavy!
Well in a shocking turn of events I'm actually posting my con photos the day after I attended the con - I know, scary right? :) I'll only have 2 posts for my brief visit to SacAnime in Sacramento, California; this one which is the con photos and I'll have a second post with autograph pictures and swag. In my brief post I made last night before bed I did mention that I ended up going to this convention very last minute and only because I found out that Travis Willingham was one of the guests. Since I had the day off work, had about a week to figure out scheduling for the con and when I'd have to leave, not to mention Sacramento is only a 2 hour drive from where I live, everything just kinda fell into place. This was the first anime con I couldn't pre-register for but I've been to cons enough I didn't worry about that too much other than figuring out the time I could register.
That said since I have been to a number of anime cons now (4 AX cons, 1 Yaoi-con, 1 Sakura-Con, and 2 local cons) this one really surprised me at how...unorganized it was. I don't want to speak ill will of the convention cause I know it's possible they were having a bad day but it really lacked what I'm used to from cons that have been established for awhile. I mean my local con I give a lot of slack cause it is so new and so small, I mean this year is only the third year we've had it, but I know SacAnime has been around for quite awhile. I also know I'm spoiled with big dealer rooms and artist alleys (like at AX and Sakura-con) so the fact I only really had to go around both of these once (and both under an hour) before I was good to go again kinda surprised me.
But considering that my goal was "meet Travis Willingham" my trip was worth wild and I consider it a smashing success :) I even was joking last night to my parents it feels like a credit card commercial: "a half a tank of gas - $23.00, registration fee - $30.00, con swag - $164.00, meeting Travis Willingham - priceless."
So that said I think it's time for pictures and less babble. Sound good? Good :)
Teaser:
One last note before moving onto pictures. I do want to state that ALL the con photos were taken by my con-buddy. I was so focused on my goal I decided to leave my camera home and my friend said she'd have her's. So yeah, just wanted to throw that out there :)
After getting through the registration line on Saturday morning we went to scope out the autograph line which had kind of started lining up. So naturally we hung out around there and had the opportunity to watch a lot of cosplayers walking by since the line was around the only panel room and main event room. So a few pictures here will be from our line waiting experience.
First up is Shinra and Celty from Durarara!! - pictured above. I felt kinda bad for this couple though cause a lot of people kept asking the Celty cosplayer for a photo without realizing that the guy she was with was cosplaying Shinra.
Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Brothers.
I know there's only two cosplay pictures but we spent more time talking and people watching waiting for the autograph session to start than anything. So next up are some pictures from the autograph session I successfully went to. Which I guess I should point out that the registration for the convention started at 8am on Saturday with nothing really beginning until 10am at the convention. The autograph session that Travis was on started at 10, so first thing in the morning - naturally. Travis was one of three guests that were all signing at 10, the other two were Roger Craig Smith and Laura Bailey (who happens to be Travis' wife).
So I was a little anxious about getting into the autograph session since they were only scheduled for a 2 hour block with other guest right after. But as the morning progressed and there was only like 10 people in line ahead of me, the anxious feeling gave way to excitement :) Since my con-buddy is admittedly not an anime fan (more of a casual observer at this stage) she was willing to take a set of goodies to have the guests sign for me. So I have at least 2 things signed by each guest (2 in one instance) cause the main rules for the autographs is you could get 2 things signed per guest and if you had a camera out and ready you could get 1 picture.
This is a shot my con-buddy took as we were moving up to the autograph table (I'm the mystery arm in the right hand side holding my autograph goods while Roger was signing my Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition PS3 insert. So behind the table we have Roger Craig Smith, Travis Willingham, and Laura Bailey.
Now just to help people who have NO idea who these people are Roger did the voice for Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5 and the upcoming Resident Evil 6. He's also done a number of video game voices and he was also one of the voice actors in Resident Evil Degeneration.
Travis Willingham is most known for being Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist but has done other characters such as Kanda from D.Gray-Man, Ginko from Mushishi, Free from Soul Eater, Mori from Ouran High School Host Club, Iggy from Ergo Proxy, the list goes on and on. He's done a lot. And in the world of Loyal as an anime fan girl my top 2 favorite voice actors are Todd Haberkorn and Travis Willingham. So yes, big deal to meet Mr. Willingham :)
Laura Bailey is known for being Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist but has done other characters like Tohru from Fruits Basket, Maka from Soul Eater, lots of video games, and she was one of the voice actors in Resident Evil Degeneration as well and the upcoming Resident Evil 6 game.
A shot of Roger Craig Smith. He was the first person you met in the autograph line and was very nice. When I gave him my Resident Evil 5 insert he wrote "Come on!" before he signed it and made the comment that it was the only line he seemed to remember Chris really having because of how often he had to record it.
This is me (middle) with Travis and Laura *squee* This was after I got my items autographed from both of them and can I just say that I was flying high after walking away from that table? Both were SO nice and I fully admit I gushed a bit when I got to talk to Travis as he signed my DVD inset I took (also the same one that Christopher Sabat signed in April). After I told him I really loved his work he asked me my name and how to spell it so he could personalize the autograph he gave me. And seeing Travis in person I have to say the man is tall. I never realized til I saw him stand up in front of me that he's over 6 feet and just...yeah, I'm a fan of Travis voice wise and look wise - I admit it *g* And Laura is just so sweet. I took one of my Fullmetal Alchemist pencil boards that has Lust on it for her to sign and she said she loves that print but that she's noticed a serious lack of Lust things for her to sign. So that kinda made me happy I brought her something to sign she doesn't get to do often. They were just awesome to meet :D
So at this point in the con it was only 10:16 and my goal of my fandom insanity day was complete. Since we didn't have anything to do til the next autograph session at 12, which we were told we couldn't line up for til 11:30 *cough cough* bullshit *cough* we decided to look at the dealer room. Now I know I made a comment the dealer room didn't really wow me, which is true, I did find a few goodies that I bought before we went out to people watch some of the cosplayers in one of the open areas outside you could hang out. The convention was at a hotel so they had a gazebo area open and a courtyard. We ended up going to the gazebo.
And there we found some demons (no idea what they are from) that were dancing on the 2nd floor balcony to amuse everyone down in the area.
Here is a group of video game cosplayers. I fully admit outside of Resident Evil and Silent Hill I'm not as knowledgable with video games. I used to be better but I don't really have gamer friends anymore so...kinda out of touch. I know at least a couple of these are Assassin's Creed, no clue on the others.
An awesome cosplayer dressed up as Kallen from Code Geass in her season 1 outfit - my favorite :D
Another shot of the same Kallen cosplayer.
At this point in the convention we went to get in line for the next autograph session...which turned out was being run in with the line for the autograph session I had already been to...and wrapped around the back of the hotel. Since there was really nothing else to do at the con we decided we'd give the line an hour and a half and then decide if we were going to stay there or go attend the panel Travis was going to be on. Now the only reason I was making an attempt at the second autograph session was it was for Johnny Yong Bosch (Izaya from Durarara!!) and Michelle Ruff (Anri from Durarara!!) - 2 of the main characters that were not at AX panel or autograph session I attended for Durarara!! So naturally I was kinda hopefuly I might get them so I'd really only be missing 2 other characters signatures instead of 4. Well that and they were my backup in case the morning session went bad.
The autograph line was extremely slow moving and we only made it back around to the gazebo area (which is within sight of the doors that let you back into the hotel and into the hallway we were in line in during the morning session) when it was a half hour before the panel Travis was going to be on. As we were trying to debate what to do I did at least see Johnny as he made a dart down the autograph line to get to the hotel room they were providing for the guests to use for bathroom needs (my buddy said he must be embarassed that the whole line knew he had to cut out from the session to do that). After he went back to the session and I decided that worked and as much as I wouldn't mind the additional Durarara!! autos it wasn't as sure of a bet as the session that morning. So we dumped the autograph line and switched to the line closer to the building, but still outside, on the other side of the hallway for the panel Travis was going to be on.
Now that moves us to the Voice Actor Overload Q&A panel with Laura, Travis, and Roger :) While we had to wait in a long line we easily made it into this panel. When we got in there were still a lot of seats open (they did fill up by the time the panel started) but we got seats in the 3rd row off to the left of the stage, so not too bad at all.
My friend said after the panel that she wasn't sure if she really got any pictures of Laura cause she kept looking the other way, but hey, I know who she is :) This panel was AWESOME and after attending it I really don't regret bailing on the autograph line I was in. And honestly, the time that I bailed on that line there was only an hour left of their autograph session before the next one started with a different guest. The con really did not know how to schedule autograph signings, thats all I'm gonna say on that matter.
I don't really know what to put for these pictures, like in the past when I've posted panel pictures. But it was just a fun experience. Laura and Travis just play off each other so well, I can only imagine how fun their home life is with each other. And at the beginning of the panel Travis got to be all cute and possessive when someone screamed "I love you Laura Bailey" loud enough the panel room got oddly quiet and Travis decided to introduce himself as the "husband of Laura Bailey" after standing and glowering in the direction of the screamer for a bit. It was just cute.
This is really the only picture that my friend got of Laura kind of looking our way. She did look on the side we were sitting on a lot, but honestly, at one point me and my buddy were just laughing at the panel and enjoying ourselves.
Guh - that is all *g*
Now Roger I felt a little bad for in this panel. There were some people that asked him specific questions or if he would do a line from one of his games or talk as a specific character (mainly he was asked to talk as Sonic the Hedgehog) but most of the questions for the panel were geared for Travis and Laura, which is understandable, but I still felt a little bad for the guy. But he was a good sport and the 3 of them would sometimes get distracted by each other and just kind of go off on these little tangents or skits on stage.
Look at that grin. My con-buddy was really happy with this shot.
After the panel got out we decided to make our way back to my car to take a breather, eat some of the snacks we brought, and put some of the goods I bought in the trunk so we didn't have to carry them around anymore. Now this is something I've never done at a convention before, but I've also never been able to park so close to the convention either. There was an added perk to arriving at the hotel at 7:35am when nothing started really until 10.
While we were at my car I happened to see a Stormtrooper making their way to their car as well. Considering con-buddy is a Star Wars geek at heart she dug the camera out and snapped a quick picture.
After our little break we decided that there wasn't anything either of us really wanted to do in the main area anymore and decided to go to the artist alley, which was the part of the hotel we parked in front of - not planned but hey we weren't complaining. The courtyard area that the hotel had open for cosplay gatherings happened to be around the artist alley so we kinda looked around there before looking at the artist alley, which again, was a little disappointing. I mean the size was small but it was really odd cause there were a lot of artists there that weren't really selling anything and were working on commission. I'm used to artists in con artist alleys to offer commissions to make some extra money and keep busy during the con but usually they have prints to sell as well. It was strange just seeing people there to commission.
Once we were done in the artist alley we found a shady area in the courtyard to hang out and just people watch. Well, people watch and we were deciding if there was anything else we wanted to do at the con or if we were going to call it good.
We did find a Rick Grimes from Walking Dead in the courtyard - which my con-buddy squeed over. That made me happy since I was the one squeeing most of the day :)
And I don't think it would be an anime con for me without seeing a Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2. Although this one was a little less cool in my book since they had no blood what so ever, none on the knife, or on him. And come on, Pyramid Head is not blood free. We didn't ever get posed pictures of Pyramid Head, candids seemed to work, especially when he was stalking a zombie cosplayer for awhile.
And another shot of Pyramid Head.
Allen Walker from D.Gray-Man. The only thing I really regret the con was doing that wasn't on Saturday was they were doing a D.Gray-Man cosplay meet up on Sunday. It would have been nice had it been Saturday afternoon cause I would love to see what characters would have shown up.
And finally a Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. I technically saw 2 Bane's at the con but this one was the best one, or at least better one since the first one I saw was really short.
After hanging out in the courtyard for awhile we decided to call the con good. We didn't really have a need to go to the vendor area or the artist alley again and while Travis was on another panel later in the day - with all the guests and was going to be a game show styled panel - neither of us felt like standing in another line since we'd both been up since 3:30-4:00am. So we made our way out and headed home.
All in all I had a blast at the con in my fandom way. I wasn't impressed with the way the con was organized but in all honesty I don't think I would plan on going to SacAnime unless it was a situation like this where the desire to meet one of the guests was too great and it's just so damn easy to get to from home.
Please DO NOT hotlink or steal!!
And with that this post is done :) I will probably post the autograph and swag edition post tomorrow. While tomorrow (Monday) is a holiday for me I do believe it's bedtime. Night all.
That said since I have been to a number of anime cons now (4 AX cons, 1 Yaoi-con, 1 Sakura-Con, and 2 local cons) this one really surprised me at how...unorganized it was. I don't want to speak ill will of the convention cause I know it's possible they were having a bad day but it really lacked what I'm used to from cons that have been established for awhile. I mean my local con I give a lot of slack cause it is so new and so small, I mean this year is only the third year we've had it, but I know SacAnime has been around for quite awhile. I also know I'm spoiled with big dealer rooms and artist alleys (like at AX and Sakura-con) so the fact I only really had to go around both of these once (and both under an hour) before I was good to go again kinda surprised me.
But considering that my goal was "meet Travis Willingham" my trip was worth wild and I consider it a smashing success :) I even was joking last night to my parents it feels like a credit card commercial: "a half a tank of gas - $23.00, registration fee - $30.00, con swag - $164.00, meeting Travis Willingham - priceless."
So that said I think it's time for pictures and less babble. Sound good? Good :)
Teaser:
One last note before moving onto pictures. I do want to state that ALL the con photos were taken by my con-buddy. I was so focused on my goal I decided to leave my camera home and my friend said she'd have her's. So yeah, just wanted to throw that out there :)
After getting through the registration line on Saturday morning we went to scope out the autograph line which had kind of started lining up. So naturally we hung out around there and had the opportunity to watch a lot of cosplayers walking by since the line was around the only panel room and main event room. So a few pictures here will be from our line waiting experience.
First up is Shinra and Celty from Durarara!! - pictured above. I felt kinda bad for this couple though cause a lot of people kept asking the Celty cosplayer for a photo without realizing that the guy she was with was cosplaying Shinra.
Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Brothers.
I know there's only two cosplay pictures but we spent more time talking and people watching waiting for the autograph session to start than anything. So next up are some pictures from the autograph session I successfully went to. Which I guess I should point out that the registration for the convention started at 8am on Saturday with nothing really beginning until 10am at the convention. The autograph session that Travis was on started at 10, so first thing in the morning - naturally. Travis was one of three guests that were all signing at 10, the other two were Roger Craig Smith and Laura Bailey (who happens to be Travis' wife).
So I was a little anxious about getting into the autograph session since they were only scheduled for a 2 hour block with other guest right after. But as the morning progressed and there was only like 10 people in line ahead of me, the anxious feeling gave way to excitement :) Since my con-buddy is admittedly not an anime fan (more of a casual observer at this stage) she was willing to take a set of goodies to have the guests sign for me. So I have at least 2 things signed by each guest (2 in one instance) cause the main rules for the autographs is you could get 2 things signed per guest and if you had a camera out and ready you could get 1 picture.
This is a shot my con-buddy took as we were moving up to the autograph table (I'm the mystery arm in the right hand side holding my autograph goods while Roger was signing my Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition PS3 insert. So behind the table we have Roger Craig Smith, Travis Willingham, and Laura Bailey.
Now just to help people who have NO idea who these people are Roger did the voice for Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5 and the upcoming Resident Evil 6. He's also done a number of video game voices and he was also one of the voice actors in Resident Evil Degeneration.
Travis Willingham is most known for being Roy Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist but has done other characters such as Kanda from D.Gray-Man, Ginko from Mushishi, Free from Soul Eater, Mori from Ouran High School Host Club, Iggy from Ergo Proxy, the list goes on and on. He's done a lot. And in the world of Loyal as an anime fan girl my top 2 favorite voice actors are Todd Haberkorn and Travis Willingham. So yes, big deal to meet Mr. Willingham :)
Laura Bailey is known for being Lust in Fullmetal Alchemist but has done other characters like Tohru from Fruits Basket, Maka from Soul Eater, lots of video games, and she was one of the voice actors in Resident Evil Degeneration as well and the upcoming Resident Evil 6 game.
A shot of Roger Craig Smith. He was the first person you met in the autograph line and was very nice. When I gave him my Resident Evil 5 insert he wrote "Come on!" before he signed it and made the comment that it was the only line he seemed to remember Chris really having because of how often he had to record it.
This is me (middle) with Travis and Laura *squee* This was after I got my items autographed from both of them and can I just say that I was flying high after walking away from that table? Both were SO nice and I fully admit I gushed a bit when I got to talk to Travis as he signed my DVD inset I took (also the same one that Christopher Sabat signed in April). After I told him I really loved his work he asked me my name and how to spell it so he could personalize the autograph he gave me. And seeing Travis in person I have to say the man is tall. I never realized til I saw him stand up in front of me that he's over 6 feet and just...yeah, I'm a fan of Travis voice wise and look wise - I admit it *g* And Laura is just so sweet. I took one of my Fullmetal Alchemist pencil boards that has Lust on it for her to sign and she said she loves that print but that she's noticed a serious lack of Lust things for her to sign. So that kinda made me happy I brought her something to sign she doesn't get to do often. They were just awesome to meet :D
So at this point in the con it was only 10:16 and my goal of my fandom insanity day was complete. Since we didn't have anything to do til the next autograph session at 12, which we were told we couldn't line up for til 11:30 *cough cough* bullshit *cough* we decided to look at the dealer room. Now I know I made a comment the dealer room didn't really wow me, which is true, I did find a few goodies that I bought before we went out to people watch some of the cosplayers in one of the open areas outside you could hang out. The convention was at a hotel so they had a gazebo area open and a courtyard. We ended up going to the gazebo.
And there we found some demons (no idea what they are from) that were dancing on the 2nd floor balcony to amuse everyone down in the area.
Here is a group of video game cosplayers. I fully admit outside of Resident Evil and Silent Hill I'm not as knowledgable with video games. I used to be better but I don't really have gamer friends anymore so...kinda out of touch. I know at least a couple of these are Assassin's Creed, no clue on the others.
An awesome cosplayer dressed up as Kallen from Code Geass in her season 1 outfit - my favorite :D
Another shot of the same Kallen cosplayer.
At this point in the convention we went to get in line for the next autograph session...which turned out was being run in with the line for the autograph session I had already been to...and wrapped around the back of the hotel. Since there was really nothing else to do at the con we decided we'd give the line an hour and a half and then decide if we were going to stay there or go attend the panel Travis was going to be on. Now the only reason I was making an attempt at the second autograph session was it was for Johnny Yong Bosch (Izaya from Durarara!!) and Michelle Ruff (Anri from Durarara!!) - 2 of the main characters that were not at AX panel or autograph session I attended for Durarara!! So naturally I was kinda hopefuly I might get them so I'd really only be missing 2 other characters signatures instead of 4. Well that and they were my backup in case the morning session went bad.
The autograph line was extremely slow moving and we only made it back around to the gazebo area (which is within sight of the doors that let you back into the hotel and into the hallway we were in line in during the morning session) when it was a half hour before the panel Travis was going to be on. As we were trying to debate what to do I did at least see Johnny as he made a dart down the autograph line to get to the hotel room they were providing for the guests to use for bathroom needs (my buddy said he must be embarassed that the whole line knew he had to cut out from the session to do that). After he went back to the session and I decided that worked and as much as I wouldn't mind the additional Durarara!! autos it wasn't as sure of a bet as the session that morning. So we dumped the autograph line and switched to the line closer to the building, but still outside, on the other side of the hallway for the panel Travis was going to be on.
Now that moves us to the Voice Actor Overload Q&A panel with Laura, Travis, and Roger :) While we had to wait in a long line we easily made it into this panel. When we got in there were still a lot of seats open (they did fill up by the time the panel started) but we got seats in the 3rd row off to the left of the stage, so not too bad at all.
My friend said after the panel that she wasn't sure if she really got any pictures of Laura cause she kept looking the other way, but hey, I know who she is :) This panel was AWESOME and after attending it I really don't regret bailing on the autograph line I was in. And honestly, the time that I bailed on that line there was only an hour left of their autograph session before the next one started with a different guest. The con really did not know how to schedule autograph signings, thats all I'm gonna say on that matter.
I don't really know what to put for these pictures, like in the past when I've posted panel pictures. But it was just a fun experience. Laura and Travis just play off each other so well, I can only imagine how fun their home life is with each other. And at the beginning of the panel Travis got to be all cute and possessive when someone screamed "I love you Laura Bailey" loud enough the panel room got oddly quiet and Travis decided to introduce himself as the "husband of Laura Bailey" after standing and glowering in the direction of the screamer for a bit. It was just cute.
This is really the only picture that my friend got of Laura kind of looking our way. She did look on the side we were sitting on a lot, but honestly, at one point me and my buddy were just laughing at the panel and enjoying ourselves.
Guh - that is all *g*
Now Roger I felt a little bad for in this panel. There were some people that asked him specific questions or if he would do a line from one of his games or talk as a specific character (mainly he was asked to talk as Sonic the Hedgehog) but most of the questions for the panel were geared for Travis and Laura, which is understandable, but I still felt a little bad for the guy. But he was a good sport and the 3 of them would sometimes get distracted by each other and just kind of go off on these little tangents or skits on stage.
Look at that grin. My con-buddy was really happy with this shot.
After the panel got out we decided to make our way back to my car to take a breather, eat some of the snacks we brought, and put some of the goods I bought in the trunk so we didn't have to carry them around anymore. Now this is something I've never done at a convention before, but I've also never been able to park so close to the convention either. There was an added perk to arriving at the hotel at 7:35am when nothing started really until 10.
While we were at my car I happened to see a Stormtrooper making their way to their car as well. Considering con-buddy is a Star Wars geek at heart she dug the camera out and snapped a quick picture.
After our little break we decided that there wasn't anything either of us really wanted to do in the main area anymore and decided to go to the artist alley, which was the part of the hotel we parked in front of - not planned but hey we weren't complaining. The courtyard area that the hotel had open for cosplay gatherings happened to be around the artist alley so we kinda looked around there before looking at the artist alley, which again, was a little disappointing. I mean the size was small but it was really odd cause there were a lot of artists there that weren't really selling anything and were working on commission. I'm used to artists in con artist alleys to offer commissions to make some extra money and keep busy during the con but usually they have prints to sell as well. It was strange just seeing people there to commission.
Once we were done in the artist alley we found a shady area in the courtyard to hang out and just people watch. Well, people watch and we were deciding if there was anything else we wanted to do at the con or if we were going to call it good.
We did find a Rick Grimes from Walking Dead in the courtyard - which my con-buddy squeed over. That made me happy since I was the one squeeing most of the day :)
And I don't think it would be an anime con for me without seeing a Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2. Although this one was a little less cool in my book since they had no blood what so ever, none on the knife, or on him. And come on, Pyramid Head is not blood free. We didn't ever get posed pictures of Pyramid Head, candids seemed to work, especially when he was stalking a zombie cosplayer for awhile.
And another shot of Pyramid Head.
Allen Walker from D.Gray-Man. The only thing I really regret the con was doing that wasn't on Saturday was they were doing a D.Gray-Man cosplay meet up on Sunday. It would have been nice had it been Saturday afternoon cause I would love to see what characters would have shown up.
And finally a Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. I technically saw 2 Bane's at the con but this one was the best one, or at least better one since the first one I saw was really short.
After hanging out in the courtyard for awhile we decided to call the con good. We didn't really have a need to go to the vendor area or the artist alley again and while Travis was on another panel later in the day - with all the guests and was going to be a game show styled panel - neither of us felt like standing in another line since we'd both been up since 3:30-4:00am. So we made our way out and headed home.
All in all I had a blast at the con in my fandom way. I wasn't impressed with the way the con was organized but in all honesty I don't think I would plan on going to SacAnime unless it was a situation like this where the desire to meet one of the guests was too great and it's just so damn easy to get to from home.
Please DO NOT hotlink or steal!!
And with that this post is done :) I will probably post the autograph and swag edition post tomorrow. While tomorrow (Monday) is a holiday for me I do believe it's bedtime. Night all.