Denkyu: Anime Webzine

Written by Andromeda

Welcome to a world where Sci-Fi and Fantasy become one. Wait? Aren’t those the same thing? Well, yeah, those some would say that Sci-Fi is just a branch of Fantasy. Hey works for me, cause I like it all.

ConCarolina’s is a con that’s any LARPer or Table Top Gamer’s dream. This year they had twice the gaming space as they did last year. So many games were organized that it blew my mind. It was fun to sit there at the table for South Carolina Anime and listen to the players as the role played or played some board game with figures. Are those the same things? I have no clue. The only role playing I’ve done is online.

This con is also a host to some of the best costuming that I’ve seen. There were three different fan groups for Stargate SG1 mostly cosplaying soldiers, but a couple cosplaying others from the series. Their display tables of props were amazing to see, not to mention the Stargate replica that was outside. Granted, it’s not to scale, but it was amazing to see and even had working lights!

Keeping on the fan group topics, there were members of the 501st Storm Troopers in costume, Klingons and Trekkies, Naruto fans, period costumes from the middle ages and best of all for me, Pirates. Lots and lots of Pirates from the Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast. I so want to be a member of this group. Then I will for sure be in conflict next year on when to wear my SG1 costume, my pirate costume and my anime costume.

From last year to this year, there was tremendous growth for ConCarolinas. This of course is a good sign for any con. And from what I understand, they weren’t in the red this year and even made a little money that will completely go to next year’s con. This year they not only added more table top gaming space, but their dealer’s room was twice the size, there was a console gaming room and more anime related panels.

This con was also an experience on a different level than that of just a regular attendee. Talking my friend into helping, our anime group had a Fan Table at the con, making us one of two anime clubs there. I’ve always said that some of the biggest Sci-Fi fans I’ve ever met were anime fans as well. But not only did we have a fan table, but we hosted two panels, co-hosted four and had two anime blocks in the viewing room.

There were a few bumps and bruises made this weekend as I found out somewhat what it was like to be involved with a con and not just attend it. From the planning alone of the panels to the actual weekend of the con, it was a learning experience and one that I would love to do all over again. Hopefully this time with some of the wrinkles in the plans ironed out.

I think one let down that I had about the con was the lack of any anime dealers in the dealer’s room. One would have been nice not only for me but for those anime fans that did attend. For a lot of us in North and South Carolina there isn’t much related to anime. Clubs are few and far apart, there aren’t many places to buy anime paraphernalia other than the rare comic shop or Best Buy, maybe if we’re lucky, Walmart may have something. But come on, who wants to shop there? Hopefully next year an anime dealer will be enticed into coming.

Even though there was a lack of anime dealers, there was an author by the name of Robert V. Aldrich. He’s a funny man, great to talk with, and hosted one of the anime panels with me. Robert, who has a great knowledge of anime, has written a few anime-style books. I haven’t read his published books, but I have read some of his work on his website and must say I enjoyed them. The cover of the books were a bit of a turn off because they looked like cheesy fan art, so don’t judge them by the cover, go past that and dive into the pages. If you want to check out Robert for yourself, then visit his website at http://www.teachthesky.com/ . And I promise he didn’t pay me for this shameless plug.

Another thing I liked about this con was its costume contest. At a lot of anime cons that I’ve attended, I’ve run into many costuming elitists and they can suck the complete joy of doing this. At a Sci-Fi con, they accept you no matter what you look like or level of costume artistry. The rules were simple and the costumes were great. And what other con could you see Stitch from Lilo and Stitch impersonating Elvis? Another aspect that I liked to the costume contest was a separate one held later on in the night for those outfits that aren’t fit for young eyes, the NC-17 costumes. Believe it or not, some actually don’t go in hopes of seeing boobs. [Editor: *cough* *cough*]

An added thing that I liked was the Rocky Horror Picture Show viewing that was done on Saturday at midnight. For some, that’s not their cup of tea, but for others it’s fun! There’s nothing like seeing fishnets and lingerie on both guys and girls singing unforgettable songs while watching the movie. I was surprised last year when I attended. Surprised that something like this was at a Sci-Fi con and not done at an anime con. Things like this that individualize one con from another is what makes it great to go.

Another thing that made this con different from so many others that I attend, is that it does fund raising for charities locally. This year they raised funds for the North Carolina’s Search and Rescue Dog Association. This was done through the Charity Auction they have every year and this year the fan groups, SG-Special Forces and SG-Atlanta provided photo opportunities with the Stargate for donations for the charity.

Anyone in North or South Carolina, I urge you to attend this growing con. It has a lot to offer and is growing every year offering more and more things to its attendees. We need to support this con, to show that everyone here isn’t a bunch of hillbillies or bible thumpers. Check out the website, go into the forums, suggest things that you want to see at the con, volunteer, and pre-register for next year!

http://concarolinas.org/

Written by Andromeda

Animazement has now got to be my favorite con. This year was my first year attending and I’ve never been enticed by so many panels and met so many Japanese guests. It amazed me that a con could have so much to offer and had me remembering the fun I had at the very first con I ever attended. Somewhere along the way I forgot just why I was going to cons to begin with. It wasn’t just to hang out with friends and spend oodles of money in a dealer’s room, but to participate, learn and meet new people.

I first discovered anime back when Toonami first started running on Cartoon Network. Finding out that my old love, Voltron was playing, I tuned in one afternoon and caught an episode of Sailor Moon. Becoming enthralled with it, a few years later when I bought my very first computer and was able to get online, I decided to do some research on Sailor Moon. To this day when asked what my favorite anime is, I will always say first, Sailor Moon. So to my joy and delight, three of the Japanese guests at Animazement had something to do with Sailor Moon.

Going fangirl I decided to get the autographs of Keiko Han who did the voice for Luna and Akira Kamiya who did the voice of Professor Tomoe. I did say there were three. An additional guest had been added that I did not know about until opening ceremonies. I couldn’t help but go double fangirl when I found out that the special effect director of the Live Action Sailor Moon, Nobuhiro Suzumura was a guest and had to make sure I also got his autograph. This con guide will be the most treasure thing I got while at the con.

The list of panels was amazing and it was so hard to decide which ones to go to. Luckily, Bunny-chan went to ones that I couldn’t go to and vice versa, taking notes for each other for later. A lot of the panels were done by the Japanese guests who made it more interesting. It was fun sitting there listening to people ask Toshifumi Yoshida questions about Inuyasha and getting to see a hilarious episode.

Some of the other mentionable panels were Japanese Anime: 2006 which talked about the state of Japanese Animation, emphasizing market size and its characteristics. Dub Your Own Anime workshop. Photoshop Coloring workshop. How to run an Anime Club panel. Many different drawing workshops on different levels from beginners to advanced with emphasis on anatomy and shading. Customizing and Styling Character Wigs, which I would love to see again. Japanese Language Lesson workshops. Kendo demonstration. Character Design Iron Chef-style with Yoshinori Kanemori. Judo Demonstration. Manga Publishing Online.

Of course, intermingled with all these panels and workshops you do need some fun and entertainment and Animazement had plenty of that. Friday night they had a J-Rock dance party. Of course there was the usual fun dance on Saturday night. Can’t forget to mention Karaoke, AMV contest, Quiz Bowl, their musical It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Cosplay, the Art auction, and the presentation of the Negima Premier.

The musical, It Seemed Like A Good Idea at The Time: A Musical Comedy About Convention Running was fun to watch. It starts with an anime club and a few members thinking it would be a terrific idea to put on an anime convention. What they didn’t see was all the problems that come along with it. Throw in a few song and dance numbers, and they have a hit. Amazingly enough, stage props consisted of a few chairs, a podium from time to time and a tree. By the end of it, the tree was a drunk as the con chair.

This musical idea wasn’t 100% original, but darn it, it comes close. I’ve heard of the musical idea before and one has been put on at JACON by Wasabi Anime, but it’s nothing like this. This musical actually has a script and the actors do sing. The original scores are songs with their lyrics completely changed. I would love to see more of this in the future and can only imagine what the Carolina Otaku Uprising will have in store for the fans next year at Animazement.

I will say the only bad point of the con was when they made everyone wait outside in groups for the AMV contest and Cosplay. It was hot and the majority of people were wearing costumes and the color black. That right there creates major fangirl and fanboy funk. But that didn’t irk me as bad as Cosplay starting almost two hours late. Sitting in on the Feedback Session on Sunday they blamed it on the sound equipment, something about having to change the setup from the Musical to the Cosplay. Now granted, they gave themselves an hour buffer, but the Musical started late as well. Maybe they need to think about moving the Musical to Friday and making that one of the main program blocks for that night.

Next year will mark Animazement’s 10th year. I can’t wait to see what they have planned for this important anniversary. I hope they don’t let down fans like me. This con has definitely been added to my list of cons I will be attending next con season. This year happened to be a fluke that I attended. It was a graduation gift from my friend Bunny-chan. Thanks Bunny!!!

When making your list of cons to attend next year, definitely consider putting this one on your list if you are on the east coast… or where ever you may be!

Written by Andromeda

Anime Weekend Atlanta is one of the biggest anime conventions in the state. It’s done so well that this year marked it’s 11th year. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go, but friends of mine did attend. One friend in particular is new to the con scene and this con marked her 3rd con experience ever. She was overwhelmed by the size of it. I loved getting phone calls from her that weekend. The excitement carried over the airwaves of our cells and infected me. I never wanted to attend a con so bad before until then. It’s now on the list of things to do next year. One thing that was fortunate for me was that my friend video taped some of the con for me so I was able to see the costume contest and a few other things. There were many great costumes done this year by con attendees. I wish I were as talented as some of these people.

So listening to her inspired me to ask some of the people I knew, a few questions about their experience of AWA.

Kit-Yang
What did you like? There were many things to like, but among my favorite was getting the chance to see all the cosplayers. It was mind-blowing because the costumes were well-made and absolutely incredible.

What did you dislike? There wasn’t anything to dislike actually since it was my first convention and I was too excited to care.

Who was your favorite con guest? Unfortunately, I didn’t pay attention to who the guests were since I was busy chasing down cosplayers.

What event did you like best? Since I missed out on the cosplay contest (stupid me), I occupied myself with the viewing of award winning AMVs that won in the past AWA conventions.

Have you been to AWA before? If so, how would you compare it to previous AWAs? The only AWA I attended was 10 but from that experience, it was kick ass *^.~*v

Luc1fer
(Luc1fer won Best Attention to Detail for her costume.)
What did you like? Hanging out with my friends

What did you dislike? Stairs

Who was your favorite con guest? Gir’s voice, dun know his name

What event did you like best? Costume contest

Have you been to AWA before? Yep, went last year

If so, how would you compare it to previous AWAs? Much more fun then last year

ShamusOddish
What did you like? Hanging with my friends.

What did you dislike? The fact that Daryl’s panel was the same time they were showing Godzilla : Final Wars.

Who was your favorite con guest? Yoko Iishida

What event did you like best? Hmmm…Either the Panel of Doom, the AMV contest, or the premier of AMV Hell 3

Have you been to AWA before? Yes, numbers nine and ten previously.

If so, how would you compare it to previous AWAs? I didn’t get to stay in the con hotel and between the six people i was with at the con we only had one car which meant that if one of us wanted to leave…we for the most part all had to make with the exodus, however. the AMV contest was better then the previous years i had been there and also the environment overall was much nicer.

Shannon’s Sister What did you like? Seeing my friends and sister

What did you dislike? Them thinking a walking cane is a weapon

Who was your favorite con guest? Rikki Simons (voice of Gir)

What event did you like best? Costume contest

Have you been to AWA before? Yes

If so, how would you compare it to previous AWAs? I think I had about the same level experiences as before… if not better this time

AnimeBelle
I loved the way the AMVs were handled. Of all of the rooms at the con, I spent most of my time in the AMV room, between panels, showings, and the Cowboy Bebop Lounge. I also enjoyed the Time Traveler’s Ball, it was a vast improvement over previous years.

As for dislikes, the costume contest bugged me… The entries were all awesome, and I have no problems with the awards that were given. Also, Lauren Goodnight is quite possibly the best costume contest host I’ve seen. My major problem is that the contestants all rushed across the stage so quickly. Many of them ran out, did a quick turn, then ran off… Which made it nearly impossible to get photos. Many of my cosplay photos are blurred, or of someone’s back.

Favorite con guest? Wuaagh, so hard to say! I was disappointed that Steve Bennett wasn’t considered a guest this year, but it was still great seeing him there… Vic Mignogna is always great, and so is Lauren Goodnight. And of course, you know I love Select Start… But darnit, AWA, give them the main room! It stunk that Select Start came all the way up to AWA and ended up having to play in the dealer’s room.

As for favorite event, it’s a tough call. I think the Cowboy Bebop Lounge was bursting with potential, but much of that got killed by being off schedule. I think this could’ve been one of the best events at the con if they had been given their own room, instead of having to shuffle the VAT Room around to turn it into a lounge.

I have been to several AWAs before. While I had fun, I don’t feel as though this year’s AWA quite lived up to last year. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but something just seemed off in the atmosphere… Possibly because it’s been such a rough year for so many people, what with the hurricanes and so on.

Murph
I think AnnaMay hit the nail right on the head. . . it was awesome. . .but there was something in the air that one couldn’t quite make out. . . it could be just last year was the 10 year anniversary so they decided to blow it out hardcore but. . i don’t know. . .

There was a lot of things i wanted to do but I spent my whole weekend side tracked ( 2 hours of talking to greg ayers and two hours of hanging out with steve bennett) so suffice it to say. . .wasn’t a lot that i got done that i wanted to get done. . . bebop lounge was awesome i only wish that it had its own room maybe like that little one that the ball was held in last year. . . they had awesome music and i guess everyone expected the jazz fusion crapola that everyone seems to like so much.

The dance in the main room that greg ayers died. . . lets just say he is one of the best D n B dj’s i have heard in a LOOOOONG time. Also, A very friendly and cool guy. . . i cant wait to see him at the florida cons next year. . gonna be awesome.

In conclusion. . . i really loved awa. . everything was good with only some minor. . . .burps so to speak. . . but all in all. . it was still the best time i have had so far this con season. . . of course i’ve only been to anime express, afo, and awa this year. . so i missed one of the ones i wanted to go to, metro. . dag burnit anyways. . that was my time at awa

MFDOOM
AWA 11 for us living on the Gulf Coast can be summed up in one word… AWESOME

For us peeps at Miso it was a HUGE relief to be somewhere and not worry about MREs or water or evacuations. Hurricane Katrina was reality for many of us who made the trek to Atlanta, but as soon as we got there; from thursday to sunday was complete bliss.

One of the highlights for me …I got to play pie plate with Peelander Z. Those guys were totally awesome.

AWA 11 was just what many Miso members needed during these post Hurricane Katrina times…come to think of it Hurricane Rita was hitting the coast that weekend. So many of us, in the middle of anime heaven, had one eye on the weather channel and the other eye and hands on anime goods!

Convention Report: Anime Festival Orlando
Written by Vinz

Anime Festival Orlando took place on the weekend of August 5th to the 7th, marking the sixth installment of one of Florida’s largest anime conventions. In the increasingly crowded and competitive Florida anime circuit, AFO has built a respectable reputation as one of the premiere conventions in the state. Anime Festival Orlando 6 was an enjoyable affair, with an attentive and eager staff, fun guests, enthusiastic attendees and interesting events marred only by problems beyond the control of the convention.

After moving around for the first few years of its existence, AFO seems to have found a permanent home at the Wyndham Orlando Resort hotel, located along a major roadway not far from world famous theme parks. The hotel boasts a large convention center with several large meeting areas, as well as three pools and other amenities that many convention-goers took advantage of during the weekend. It was also conveniently located within walking distance of many different fast food establishments, a consideration for the budget conscious anime fan.

The convention center itself was roomy enough, with plenty of space for the crowds to move up and down the halls. Although there were occasional traffic snarls due to cosplay photography, that is an issue symptomatic of any convention. The con center was nicely air conditioned; a relief to cosplayers in heavy costumes, as the Florida heat and humidity was intense over the weekend. Parking was plentiful and free, although latecomers faced a short walk to the con center. The hotel staff was generally unobtrusive, although AFO shared space with a wedding over the course of the weekend: another case of convention centers patrons making strange bedfellows.

Guests for the con included a strong showing from Harmony Gold, the holders of the Robotech franchise. Chris Sabat of Full Metal Alchemist fame, as well as Lex Lang, Sandy Fox and the ubiquitous Steve Bennett were also in attendance. Aside from their usual guest panels, the guests participated in other aspects of the con—notably the extremely personable Bennett who was often sighted at the pool or mingling with attendees.

The quality of the Dealer’s Room is usually a matter of opinion to each person, but AFO’s was comparable in size to most Florida anime conventions.

Two of the premiere events at AFO were convention standards: a cosplay and a costume contest. The cosplay took place Saturday night and was judged by guests Sandy Fox, Lex Lang and Chris Sabat. In a departure from most cosplay contests, each entry was immediately scored by the judges on stage and a running total was kept. Each entry was ranked on a score of 1 to 10, and the judges added their own comments as they revealed their score. Although this method of judging eliminated the normal wait for the audience, potentially there could have been some hurt feelings for less than stellar acts. However, the judges kept their comments mostly constructive and positive, barring a last minute remark by Chris Sabat intended to rile the audience up more than lambaste an entry.

The costume contest was helped along by extremely humorous commentary by Tentacle Chris, a well known personality at Florida anime conventions and a fixture on SciFi Zone Radio. Chris’ lively emcee act kept the crowd well entertained while focusing attention on the cosplayers.

To keep people entertained in their hotel rooms, anime was broadcast on closed circuit television. The animes shown were an eclectic mix, but a glitch with the computer system running the shows resulted in an episode of Winamp TV, and the subtitles were difficult to make out in some programs.

Other events at AFO included game shows, super robot panels, quick draw competitions, voice acting workshops and the extremely popular Panel About Nothing. As is the case with most conventions, although the panels and events were usually well attended, many attendees were simply glad to be with new and old friends and wander the convention. The game room proved to be a strong draw throughout the weekend, with Halo, DDR and the increasingly popular Naruto GC game usually the centers of attention.

Cosplay was not in short supply at AFO, with Naruto still in the running for the most popular choice among cosplayers. Long time fan favorite Final Fantasy was well represented, but AFO cosplayers represented a wide variety of animes as well as the occasional EGL outfit.

Despite months of planning, nothing as large as an anime convention goes off entirely without a hitch and AFO was no exception. One of the most highly anticipated events of the weekend, the screening of the Most Extreme Elimination Challenge (MXC) video, was delayed until the very end of the con due to a series of accidents and technical difficulties. An anime-themed spoof of the Spike TV mainstay MXC (which in turn is a spoof of the Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle) the AFO video featured bizarre and painful contests and humorous intermissions poking fun at situations common to conventions. All the while, the commentators searched for convention drama, with frequent jabs at the online blogging site Livejournal. Originally scheduled as a marquee event early Saturday night, the video was not shown until just before closing ceremonies Sunday afternoon. Even as the video played, the staff was forced to contend with last minute technical problems.

Two other eagerly anticipated events suffered setbacks as well. Anime dodgeball was unfortunately cancelled due to hotel management concerns, leaving a substantial crowd bitterly disappointed. However, the would-be players did not let the cancellation spoil their weekend, and most went back to the convention to find other activities. The Saturday night 1980’s themed dance, sponsored by Wasabi Anime, had to endure a fire alarm and the subsequent evacuation of the building. According to Wasabi Anime members, a fault with the fog machines led to the false alarm. The dance continued after the building was cleared by the fire department. Minor delays plagued a few other events, but the staff was usually up to speed on the changes and did their best to ensure a smooth transition. Lastly, an ice cream social on Thursday night for pre-registered guests drew few people outside of staff members. It was a solid idea that simply needed more promotion. Perhaps next year other events will be scheduled to entice convention attendees to drop by.

Overall, AFO 6 was a solid success. Combining a location with easy access to the amenities convention attendees crave with a good hotel and good events has consistently meant AFO will rarely disappoint. Here’s looking to AFO 7.

Written by True Anime Junkie

Saturday – 07/02/05: Getting up around 6 am, I showered before heading out for the con with my friend Kevin at 7am. We got to the con a little after 8 am and headed for the pre-registration line which was fairly long by that time. While waiting in line I dropped my new camera. It survived. but now it has a nice dent on the corner. Everything seems to still work on it. We got our passes and walked around checking out what was going on at the Marriott. There was a 24 hour arcade set up, so we played a few games. Then we went to the Tokyopop panel at 10AM. There are some pretty cool manga coming out soon. I then proceeded to check out the dealers room. It was very large and very crowded. People were shoulder to shoulder. I really did not find much I was interested in, considering lack of money being a factor. However, I did pick up some nice Naruto, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke pins. I also picked up some AX stuff: pins, shirt, mug, and keychain.

Then it was off to the ADV preview panel. The guys from ADV always have a good panel. There was no more news on the live action Evangelion. They did say that Evangelion will be coming to cartoon network within the next couple of months. They also hinted that the anime network may be coming to satellite TV. Most importantly, the anime network is now supposed to be showing all shows in subbed and dubbed, everyone should be happy now. I can’t wait to get some form of cable/satellite again.

I also had some questions answered about how DVDs will be released. As you know they have been releasing a lot of the older series in brick pack format or slim-pack sets for a third of the cost of buying the original individual volume DVDs. Here is how it will work: New series are still going to be released in the single volume DVDs first (which may come slim packed soon, they said it was not 100% decided yet because of retailer objections). Then about 2 years after a series has been out and depending on its popularity, they will then release the series in one of the cheap sets. Here is the difference though, the single volume released DVDs come with extras (interviews, etc.) and inserts (posters, booklets, stickers, etc…), but the cheap brick sets will not have any of these. So basically if you can wait two years after a series is licensed and released and you do not care about having any of the extras, then the cheap sets are for you. I would expect the single volume released DVDs to start holding their value and possibly going up in value one day, but that will greatly depend on how many they produce of each volume and how hard they are to get. The guys from ADV also hinted at the possibility of a series being available for download in the future, of course you have to purchase the download. They had a session of stupid fan tricks for prizes, very funny. Kevin won a prize (Gantz DVD) to not sing. The game of musical chairs was great.

After the panel I walked around, mingled, and took pictures. We then went and checked in at the Hotel and went and grabbed some lunch. After lunch I walked around the con and headed back to the Dealers room, the pins I already mentioned I bought between the two trips to the dealers room. I did see a cool predator cold cast from Japan. I seriously considered getting it, but it was $500. It was a predator riding on a home world horse (predator horse). It was signed and numbered and only 500 made. It was about 18 inches tall, overall a really nice piece. Since it was so large (how to get home?) and I really did not need to spend the money, I passed on it. There was also this awesome life size metal sculpture of an Alien warrior. If I had $4000 to waste and a way to get it home, I would have got it.

Then I headed to the ADV ultimate fan service panel. They showed a lot of funny previews. The two that stick out in my mind was the live action comedy that used mannequins and the extras off of the Madlax DVDs. They were both hilarious. Kevin won another damn prize, he must have the luck of the Irish.

After that I walked around a bit and took more pictures. Then I headed back to the room and we hit the hot tub. We hung out in the hot tub for about an hour, just talking to some other con goers. We discussed the norm: anime, sci-fi, and Bruce Campbell. One good thing about cons is you get to meet a lot of new people with similar interests as you. ^_^ After the hot tub we went to see a showing of Spriggan in the big film room, but they changed it to some dog anime. That did not interest me, so I walked around a bit and hit the arcade before I went back to room and to sleep

Sunday – 07/03/05: We got some breakfast at the hotel restaurant and headed over to the convention center. I walked around taking pictures for a little bit. I then headed over to check out the artist alley. Kevin went and got in line for the Maaya Sakamoto concert around 10AM. I picked up a few Naruto prints, a few sketches, and some bookmarks. I spent the rest of the morning taking pictures. I got in line with Kevin around noon. There were some cool guys in line with us. We all just hung out listening to anime OSTs and reading manga. A couple of guys had PSPs, I know I want one now. The PSPs have nice video playback quality. One of the guys had, I think, 26 episodes of a series on a 1GB card. Kevin and I took turns holding our spot in the line, and it was a nice spot at the front. We were in line until a little before 4PM, then they started sitting everyone. We got some nice seats in the third row. They gave out some nice concert programs with an autograph insert (not an original). The concert finally got started a little before 5PM. I have to say I really enjoyed Maaya. I love the fact they did not drown her voice out with the music, like so many American performers do. Of course they did not allow any photographs or any type of recording.

After the concert I headed down to the artist alley to pick up a couple of sketches I commissioned. I was getting hungry so went to Jack in the Box or should I say “Jack in the Crack”. After eating that gut busting food I stopped by the room and headed back to the con. Along the way I met a real nice and HOT Californian girl. We talked for a bit and parted our ways. Then I happen to come up on the great Tetris Battle Royale, it was the highlight of the con. LMAO!! The winner was the blue T shaped piece; the loser was the red L shaped piece. I got the last five minutes of it on video, which I hope to spread on the web here soon. I think there was a different tetris battle earlier in the night, but I believe it was totally different pieces.

I then headed over to the arcade and video area at the Marriot. That’s where I discovered the great chocolate factory (well I actually discovered it on Saturday night but I did not play it). You know the claw machine filled with sugary snacks. Before too long there was a large crowd around the machine. We were all working together to fill our sugary needs. I also caught a couple episodes of Petit Cossette and Ninja Scroll in the video room across from the arcade. After dealing with a contact falling out of my eye I headed back to the room dropped of all my sugary snacks and tried to take a break in the hot tub. Within five minutes of getting in the hot tub a hotel employee threw everyone out. Really why should they close the pool area at night, that’s the best time. After I got into dry clothes I went and checked out the dance room. I really was not feeling it so I headed back over to the arcade and played the candy game again and some shooter game, can’t remember the name.

When I had my fill of the arcade I headed over to where the tetris fight had been earlier. There was a game of Hide and Seek going on, so I got in on that. Con goers sure love free sugary snacks, especially drunk ones! We played that for about an hour, we they started playing capture the flag. That was a lot of fun. While I was using my ninja skills in the bushes I just about stepped on some people doing it in the bushes. I guess people will do it anywhere. I played until about 4AM, then I headed back to my room to sleep. I do not know how long the rest continued playing.

Monday – 07/04/05: We did not do too much Monday. We got up, packed, and checked out of the hotel. We then stopped by the arcade for a bit before we went to the Evangelion 10th anniversary panel. After the panel I headed to the artist alley again to pick up another sketch I commissioned. After that we left and headed to Kevin’s parents place. They had a cookout at Kevin’s brother’s house which is right next door to his parents. After the cookout we all went to a school on a hill/mountain behind Six Flags (Magic Mountain) to watch fireworks. That was so cool. You were able to see the entire city from there. There were fireworks going off all over the city and four major shows fairly close to where we were. The Six Flags show was really cool; the fireworks were going off at eye level. I took some photos and video.

Overall Opinion: It was a great trip. I loved the con, I will go again. The only down sides would be: the long flights (with the layovers), all the long lines for all the major events at the con, and not enough info in the con program. When I do go again I will leave earlier, try to go with or meet a group out there, and just have even more fun next time.