The Wrath of Con
So, I went to this new anime convention today. It's on its first year and it coincides with Anime Expo. It's called AM², which is "anime, manga, and music." Get it? Uh. Yeah, the turnout was pretty okay since it was free admission, but the panel attendance was a little dead. I wasn't even planning on going to any conventions this summer since I had no idea what kind of schedule roadblock would jump into my path. My friend invited me to this one. No idea how she heard about this.
The crowd didn't start to form until a little before noon. The first panel we went to was a Q&A session with this J-rock band called Sadie. I've sort of been out of the loop when it comes to today's popular music in Japan. Or today's popular anime. Or all anime in general. So, I had no idea who Sadie was. It's a band made up of five different guys. Five guys, five bottles of hair gel.
It's a different experience seeing famous people who you've never heard of, as opposed to what happened last year with me at Comic-Con. These guys just seemed like the kind of bros I met in Japan when I was at the high school last year. Goofy guys who are enthused to talk to you and practice their English. Someone asked what their favorite English word was. They went down the line and it was kiss, fuck, sex, 69, and... I don't remember. Quality band. Someday, I'll hear their music. Or maybe I won't. I'm not so into the Visual-K J-rock.
We were dragged into an empty panel by a lonely panel host. No, seriously. The room was completely empty until we ended up in there along with two other guys. My friends and I did not enjoy the panel at all, but all we know now is that we would not like to turn out favorite anime into a LARP. Nor would we like to hear the acronym LARP used in a sentence ever again.
I knew I was screwed when the panelist said that he'd ask everyone in the room what their favorite anime is. I took a total headturn toward the door, but I thought it would be rude to use my power to make a seven-person panel into a six-person one. Hey, guys. Guys, hey. I don't watch anime. My answer was that I don't have a favorite anime and the guy moved onto to the next person. So, crisis averted.
Basically, we stayed in there so we could get good seats for the next panel. Little did we know that we didn't exactly have to fight for the good seats. There might've been less than 15 people in there. 22 minutes after 4 PM, in came voice actor David Vincent. Known for his work in Blazblue, Bleach, Fate/Stay Night, and Code Geass. I mean, not known by me, really. Like I said about the whole not being familiar with a guy that you should supposedly be nervous around, it was like listening to some pretty cool bro talk about his work. It was interesting though. He gave tips on going into the business and mentioned that he proposed to his wife through redubbing one of his scenes.
The exhibit hall can be considered underwhelming after you've gotten used to the massive Anime Expo hall. Okay, so I'm not so familiar with anime, but I can still get around to recognize and name a lot of characters by sight. Video game characters, on the other hand, I've got that down pretty well. (I really need to post about my Assassin's Creed antics someday.) So the stuff you can buy still excites me like the normal convention-goer. But in a practical sense, I was able to steer myself away from temptation. And I bought a new bag. It has nothing to do with anime. It's just a canvas shoulder bag that reminds me of the one that Veronica Mars uses.
Disneyland was right next door to the convention center, so we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. Those burritos. They are so delicious. The crowd over there wasn't as bad as I was expecting, considering the fact that it's summer, a Friday night, and the new rides just opened up. My friend who was dressed up as a Gothic Lolita felt so paranoid walking through Downtown Disney in her outfit. When she explained it to the first person who asked and we all saw the blank look on his face, I think my friends and I all simultaneously remembered that not all people know what anime is. Awkward.
Not even gonna lie, when I stepped out onto my porch, I was expecting myself to be back by noon. And then I end up staying at the convention until seven-ish and end up at Disneyland for the evening. Hah.
The crowd didn't start to form until a little before noon. The first panel we went to was a Q&A session with this J-rock band called Sadie. I've sort of been out of the loop when it comes to today's popular music in Japan. Or today's popular anime. Or all anime in general. So, I had no idea who Sadie was. It's a band made up of five different guys. Five guys, five bottles of hair gel.
It's a different experience seeing famous people who you've never heard of, as opposed to what happened last year with me at Comic-Con. These guys just seemed like the kind of bros I met in Japan when I was at the high school last year. Goofy guys who are enthused to talk to you and practice their English. Someone asked what their favorite English word was. They went down the line and it was kiss, fuck, sex, 69, and... I don't remember. Quality band. Someday, I'll hear their music. Or maybe I won't. I'm not so into the Visual-K J-rock.
We were dragged into an empty panel by a lonely panel host. No, seriously. The room was completely empty until we ended up in there along with two other guys. My friends and I did not enjoy the panel at all, but all we know now is that we would not like to turn out favorite anime into a LARP. Nor would we like to hear the acronym LARP used in a sentence ever again.
I knew I was screwed when the panelist said that he'd ask everyone in the room what their favorite anime is. I took a total headturn toward the door, but I thought it would be rude to use my power to make a seven-person panel into a six-person one. Hey, guys. Guys, hey. I don't watch anime. My answer was that I don't have a favorite anime and the guy moved onto to the next person. So, crisis averted.
Basically, we stayed in there so we could get good seats for the next panel. Little did we know that we didn't exactly have to fight for the good seats. There might've been less than 15 people in there. 22 minutes after 4 PM, in came voice actor David Vincent. Known for his work in Blazblue, Bleach, Fate/Stay Night, and Code Geass. I mean, not known by me, really. Like I said about the whole not being familiar with a guy that you should supposedly be nervous around, it was like listening to some pretty cool bro talk about his work. It was interesting though. He gave tips on going into the business and mentioned that he proposed to his wife through redubbing one of his scenes.
The exhibit hall can be considered underwhelming after you've gotten used to the massive Anime Expo hall. Okay, so I'm not so familiar with anime, but I can still get around to recognize and name a lot of characters by sight. Video game characters, on the other hand, I've got that down pretty well. (I really need to post about my Assassin's Creed antics someday.) So the stuff you can buy still excites me like the normal convention-goer. But in a practical sense, I was able to steer myself away from temptation. And I bought a new bag. It has nothing to do with anime. It's just a canvas shoulder bag that reminds me of the one that Veronica Mars uses.
Disneyland was right next door to the convention center, so we went to Downtown Disney for dinner. Those burritos. They are so delicious. The crowd over there wasn't as bad as I was expecting, considering the fact that it's summer, a Friday night, and the new rides just opened up. My friend who was dressed up as a Gothic Lolita felt so paranoid walking through Downtown Disney in her outfit. When she explained it to the first person who asked and we all saw the blank look on his face, I think my friends and I all simultaneously remembered that not all people know what anime is. Awkward.
Not even gonna lie, when I stepped out onto my porch, I was expecting myself to be back by noon. And then I end up staying at the convention until seven-ish and end up at Disneyland for the evening. Hah.