Anime Matsuri 2008
Short comments about Anime Matsuri this year. The whole set up was better than last year. The con flowed more smoothly and was far less confusing than last year. Last year, it was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, this year at The Woodlands Marriott. The hotel made for a much better con.
My one complaint (aside from the fact that they put it on Easter weekend) is that some things did not start on time. The opening ceremonies finished up at 10 pm, when the concert was supposed to start and then they still had to go through the gaming and cosplay finals (though a lot of the skits were amusing). The concert was over two hours late. That might not have been such a big deal except that it pushed back the start time to after midnight. I would've liked to stay but I was too tired (still am).
The atmosphere at the con was friendly and open. The dealers room in one room (instead of two like last year). And it wasn't too hard to find rooms. Though, they should have labeled the panel rooms or listed their official names. That made it just a little confusing. But since it wasn't too big, it wasn't hard to find a room.
Overall, it was a nice, pleasant little convention. The perfect grounds for a con virgin like one of the people in my group. ^_^
I did pick up some Japanese manga really cheap. As in, 2 for $2. Got 10 volumes: Steam Detectives 1-8 (It looks kind of cute and fun), St. Tail 3, and a volume of Saiyuki (which I gave to a friend). Also picked up The Comedy of Errors artbook for Matantei Loki Ragnorak for $15 (half off!). They really wanted to sell the manga.
The crazy thing is that, even though I didn't cosplay, I still got hugs. I just wore my Cardcaptor Sakura shirt (it is an overall print over the whole shirt rather than just on the front). People really liked it. As I told my friends, I'm so awesome, I don't need to cosplay to get hugs. ^_~
My one complaint (aside from the fact that they put it on Easter weekend) is that some things did not start on time. The opening ceremonies finished up at 10 pm, when the concert was supposed to start and then they still had to go through the gaming and cosplay finals (though a lot of the skits were amusing). The concert was over two hours late. That might not have been such a big deal except that it pushed back the start time to after midnight. I would've liked to stay but I was too tired (still am).
The atmosphere at the con was friendly and open. The dealers room in one room (instead of two like last year). And it wasn't too hard to find rooms. Though, they should have labeled the panel rooms or listed their official names. That made it just a little confusing. But since it wasn't too big, it wasn't hard to find a room.
Overall, it was a nice, pleasant little convention. The perfect grounds for a con virgin like one of the people in my group. ^_^
I did pick up some Japanese manga really cheap. As in, 2 for $2. Got 10 volumes: Steam Detectives 1-8 (It looks kind of cute and fun), St. Tail 3, and a volume of Saiyuki (which I gave to a friend). Also picked up The Comedy of Errors artbook for Matantei Loki Ragnorak for $15 (half off!). They really wanted to sell the manga.
The crazy thing is that, even though I didn't cosplay, I still got hugs. I just wore my Cardcaptor Sakura shirt (it is an overall print over the whole shirt rather than just on the front). People really liked it. As I told my friends, I'm so awesome, I don't need to cosplay to get hugs. ^_~