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| Report from AnimeExpo 2008 | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 7 2008, 04:02 PM (115 Views) | |
| Stryyder | Jul 7 2008, 04:02 PM Post #1 |
Forum Cynic
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Well, for those of you who noticed, I have been completely gone since wednesday, at my yearly excursion to AnimeExpo. For those who don't know, AnimeExpo is the largest Anime convention in North America, hosted by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). In past years it was held at the Anaheim Convention center which was perfect because of the size and design of the hall, as well as hotel proximity. Last year it was in Long Beach and due to logistic problem was very taxing, with a poorly designed hall, expensive hotels and the fact that most areas where lines had to form were outdoors in the blazing summer sun. This year however, it was held in the Los Angeles Convention center. A huge, hall, which accomodated not only the main convention sections (registration, Exhibit hall, Artist hall, Art Show, Panel rooms, gaming rooms) but also all the extras that were usually located in the meeting rooms of the nearby hotels (arcade, screening rooms, etc.) and all INDOORS. As well, the 3 main events, AMV contest, AX Idol, and Masquerade (costume contest) were held in the spacious and beautiful Nokia theatre, which just months ago played host to the season finale of American Idol. Of course with everything there are downsides. For this year there were one or two. Because of the sheer size and urban design of LA the hotels were at least 1-2 miles away from the hall. This was taken care of however, as the convention employed 24 hour shuttles to and from the convention center. We're talking large Coach USA type buses. Another downside was a lack of affordable food in walking distance. There was a Dennys nearby but that was about it, and always crowded. For me at least, everything else went off without a hitch. Here is a day by day of my con experience. Day 0 - Well, the convention didn't start till thursday, but Rider and I went up on Wednesday morning for 2 reasons. 1) Registration - We had already preregistered online, but you have to get a badge to show you are attending to get into any of the convention events. With 40,000+ people moving through there in 4 days it is a nightmare to get through the lines to get your badges on actual con days. Last year we got in line at 7 a.m. (reg opens at 8) on day 1 of con. We stood there for 2 hours and moved a grand total of about 30 feet in a 200+ foot line. Luckily we found out some of our friends were at the front of the line. This year however, we went to the special preregistration line on Day 0. In and out in 30 minutes. 2) AMV Meet and Greet - Every year, the AMV creators (and friends) have a meet and greet on day 0. This year Rider decided to take on the challenge of coordinating it. Just 3 or 4 miles from the center was Little Tokyo mall, which contained a great Karaoke buffet place. Generally you would have about 4-6 people with laptops showing different videos to everyone but we were fortunate enough to get the restaurant's permission to hook ours up to the TV they had there and ran videos for over 4 hours. Everyone had a blast and we got to meet a lot of cool people that we ended up hanging with for most of the con. Day 1 - Well, badges in hand we were able to sleep in (as much as excitement would permit) and make our way over to the convention in time for Rider to audition for AX Idol, a singing and voice acting competition. She sang 1 minute from "Y'know" the opening theme to Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 for the judges (voice actors including Vic Mignogna). She was a little shaky, but sounded great, and the judges gave her plenty of compliments on her singing and her pants, which she has painted with the main character from Mushi Shi. Sadly she didn't make the top 5, but it was fun, and then we moved on. We made our way into the dealer hall, a huge panorama of vendors selling this that, and the other thing for generally cheaper prices. Sadly after 5 minutes we realized we had other places to be. We made our was to the first panel for AMV creators. Just some information on technical things and some Q&A. Lot of good info. After that we went back to our hotel to get ready for the AMV contest. I changed into my Cosplay (Ginko from MushiShi which went over very well, pictures later). We went out to go to the Theatre then realized I couldn't take my prop, so we had to check it at the Baggage check (ripoff) and went to the contest. After a few lukewarm years this competition was truly memorable. I'll try and put up a list of the finalists and winners later. Rider's video got a good reaction but didn't make any awards, she had some stiff competition. After that we played with the idea of meeting friends at Dennys but were too tired and simply got some sleep. Day 2 - Once again, didn't sleep in much, lots of excitement. This was the only day I did my cosplay all day. Pictures! And a pic of the actual character here No good pics of his box online, but sufficed to say I made an accurate representation of it. Made entirely by hand out of 1/2" and 1/4" birch with real leather straps. about 20-30 lbs at final weight. Got plenty of people who asked for my picture which is always a blast. Spent another 5 minutes in the dealer hall then went to try out the new DBZ card game, made by Bandai, which is pretty much a clone of their naruto game. On the game side, many booths had playable platforms of Burst Limit up but I didn't play it. Anyways, after that we went to the second AMV panel, which gave us some more advanced tips and tricks, as well as the announcement of the AMV winners.
After that we went to Denny's with friends and then back to sign up for Cosplay Poker. We both lost rather early and then went back and slept. Day 3 - Another day of fun. We really had nothing to do on Saturday so we simply wandered. We went into the dealer hall and bought some stuff. I found a model kit of the "Swordfish II" Spikes fighter ship from Cowboy Bebop. We also went into the Artist Alley and looked all through the fanart and art show. I picked up some cool D. Gray-man character art and a button of Allen Walker (which got lost). Rider picked up a drawing of Misa from Death note with miniature versions of the others all around her. She was holding Light in her hand, Rem was flying by her head, L was sitting next to a big slice of cake and Ryuk was biting an apple design in the tablecloth and crying. After everything closed we sat around in the halls taking pictures of cosplayers then went back to the hotel. I sat around and put together my Swordfish model and she went back to watch the new Eva remake movie 1. More sleep after that. This was the day we had our run ins with the VAs recounted a few posts down. One this I forgot to mention was that Mike told us of a secret easter egg in mushi shi. In Ep 7 he played a man who was chasing a mushi that looked like a rainbow. The character's father (Chris Sabot) had touched to Mushi and chased it ever since, but then was bed-ridden, so the son went to catch it for his father. If you go to the scene select menu and down to the 4th scene of that ep, you can go to the right where a hidden icon is. It simply shows a screen that says that Mike dedicated that ep to his father who had passed away. Day 4 - The final day. Such sadness. It actually started out pretty badly. Around 6 am we woke up to noise in the hotel hallway. I figured it was someone horsing around so I ignored it. Rider got up to tell them to keep it down and heard a girl yelling about someone robbing her. Rider phoned security who was up in a few minutes. Long story short, a guy was hanging around the hotel all night, harassing guests. He came up to this girl and said he'd shoot her if she didn't give him all her money(he didn't have a gun). She yelled for help and her cousin came out of his room and held the guy down. Another guy came out, thought it was a fight and broke them apart. The robber ran off, dropping keys and a cell phone(possibly his). They caught him in the lobby and she went down to ID him. No permanent damage, so all's well that ends well. We couldn't get back to sleep and wandered over around 9 and sat in line for the vendor hall after getting some food. We waited about 30 minutes and went in at 10. For the next 5 hours we went systematically booth by booth throughout the ENTIRE hall, stopping for food and to rest our feet halfway through. As the hall was closing at 3pm we finished the last few booths. We had tons of stuff, new gundam models, Ryuk bookends, manga, a set of 2-3 inch rubber Dragonballs, a few Sanji figurines, some death note gashapon and more. We wandered around looking for food and then went to closing ceremonies. We bid fareway to our "con posse" and returned to our boring lives, lol. All in all, my best con experience to date. More to come, stay tuned Edited by Stryyder, Jul 11 2008, 03:37 PM.
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| Luna | Jul 7 2008, 08:59 PM Post #2 |
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Super Saiyan
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Man it sounds like loooads of fun. I really need to try and go to a con sometime. I've always wanted to. |
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| Stryyder | Jul 7 2008, 10:45 PM Post #3 |
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Forum Cynic
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I'll be honest, we spent in excess of $1500 for this week of fun. 800 for hotel (4 nights plus excessive parking fees), 100 for badges, at least 50 in food and about 700 in merch. But it is money well spent for 5 days of such amazing sights, sounds and memories. Anyways, here is a full list of the Amv contest and I'll add a few little notes on what I thought of them. Action 1) Title: "Endless Frontier" Anime: Lost Star Star One - Set Your Controls Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=157330 Review: A vid by my friend Ryvannis (all names are online handles). So hard to find good Outlaw Star Vids. This one was much fun to watch though I wouldn't call it an all time favorite. 2) "Sousuke's Changes" Anime: Full Metal Panic Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Song: Army of Me - Going Through Changes Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=152255 Review: Don't remember much of this one. I thought it was a bit cliche and forgettable, but I'm not that familiar with the anime or music sources. 3) "Redeem Us!" Anime: S-cry-ed Song: Within Temptation - Our Solemn Hour Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=156050 Another person I know by the name of Hika Yagami I believe. Love this song, not a big fan of Scryed, but a good vid nonetheless. 4) "Be A Man" Anime: Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann Song: Donny Osmond - Be a Man Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=158077 Review: For some reason anime+disney song=Pure win. IN 2004 with Disney in D, a naruto vid to One Jump from aladdin and now this. One of our new big con friends Nighthawk spliced this masterpiece together and is well deserving of his 2 awards (above). 5) "Baccano Swing!" Anime: Baccano! Song: Jumpin' Jimes - Swing Shift Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=158773 Review: Great vid by vet Kagato AMV (See Bride of Berserk on A-M-V.org) Gangsters and Demons and Swing Dance, nuff said. 6) "Freedom" Anime: KARAS Song: Blood-stained Child - Freedom Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=160413 Review: Not much for this one, cliche action vid. 7) "Amnesia" Anime: Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie Song: Jimmy Sommerville - Amnesia Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=151215 Review: No.....more....Utena. Drama 1) "Deadline 24" Anime: Gunslinger Girl Song: Jem - 24 Info: ? Review: I am so pissed about this one. Decent vid but they stole my idea! Well, not intentionally since I never posted the idea but still, it's the principle! (I'm being facetious. Pretty good vid, I can't say much because I am biased by the ideas I had for it.) 2) "The Distance Between" Anime: 5 Centimeters Per Second Song: Vanessa Carlton - Thousand Miles Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=158258 Review: Always loved this song. Great Piano. Decent vid. I am so glad to see some romance in the drama section and not the angsty vids that so often permeate it. The effects seemed a bit overused at times. 4) "Moving You" Anime: Howl's Moving Castle Song: Coldplay - Move You Info: ? Review: I have to say, the creator of this vid, MisterFurious, has always gained my respect for his amazing vids (Signal To Noise from 2006 mostly). I wasn't too crazy about this one. It seemed a little too basic and Coldplay is just so emotionless. Considering they chose this one over Rider's Howl's video I just can't see why. 5) "Falling Dreams" Anime: Kingdom Hearts II Song: Within's Temptation - See Who I Am Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=156961 Review: Overused Media, overused song (3rd year in a row), decent vid, but not too memorable. 6) "Farewell" Anime: Saikano Song: James Blunt - Goodbye My Lover Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=148528 Review: Honestly one of my favorite videos of the contest. I am a big detractor of James Blunt but he shined in this. Great romance, great drama, beautiful choice of footage, and it made me want to instantly go pick up Saikano. If you get any video, get this one. 7) "Escaping But Not Far" Anime: Deathnote Song: The Used - The Bird and the Worm Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=146967 Review: Another one I had seen before. Rider went up against it and prevailed at Katsucon, but this vid is the best deathnote vid I have ever seen. Comedy 1) "Catch Me If You Can, Zenigata" Anime: Lupin the 3rd Song: Brad Paisely - 5th Gear Info: ? Review: I've always had a place in my fandom for Lupin and I am always happy to see Country in an AMV. This one was great at the opening and the ending, but the middle got quite monotonous. 2) "Ouran High School Never Ends" Anime: Ouran High School Club Host Song: Bowling for Soup - High School Never ends Info: ? Review: Ouran is easily becoming the new huge anime and this vid catches the spirit of the show amazingly. So much fun to watch. 3) "Life Sucks" Anime: Elfen Lied Song: Dennis Leary - Life's Gonna Suck Info: ? Review: Elfen Lied = Freaky, Dennis Leary = Amazingly funny. Both together are freakily funny, but not necessarily in the best way. Not the best match up, but a couple chuckles in there. 4) "Anime Girls Need Mood Rings" Anime: Fruits Basket Fullmetal Alchemist (TV) Love Hina (TV) Mew Mew Power Nanaka 6/17 Pretear Rurouni Kenshin (TV) Wedding Peach Song: Reliant K - Mood Rings Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=148600 Review: Another by my friend Hika Yagami, one of my favorite bands, and a great rounded video. I can't explain it, you just need to watch it. 5) "Nina's Smile" Anime: Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: STARDUST MEMORY Song: Stephen Lynch - She's Got a Smile Info: ? Review: I never had heard of Stephen Lynch, but now I'm interested. Gundam videos are always interesting, this one was hilarious. 6) "Bustin" Anime: Final Fantasy Advent Children Song: Ray Parker - Ghostbusters Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=156084 Review: This, for me, is the most creative I've seen in years. I'm glad that, even though it didn't win its category, it still got some prizes. 7) "The Harassment of Kyon" Anime: Melancholy of Suzumiya Song: Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=158967 Review: What do you get when you have a lightly Yaoi video in a crowd filled half with Yaoi loving girls? Best in show. I've seen the first DVD of Haruhi, and I am truly creeped out by Yaoi fanatics, but I have to say, this video was truly hilarious. AMTV-Pro 1) "Distorted Love" Anime: Le Portrait De Petit Cossette Song: Skillet - Whispers in the Dark Info: ? Review: The creator asked Rider to review this vid before she submitted it actually. Pretty good video, got us into Skillet, but unfortunately she won't upload it to the net for fear of people stealing it. 2) "Lovestruck Radiance" Anime: Ah! My Goddess Song: Michael Mansion- Let Me In - Darwin Hedgestock Remix Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=158307 Review: While technically well done, I'm not a big Trance fan and I didn't really enjoy the match up of the music with such a great series. 3) "A Mild Syndrome" Anime: Higurashi Naku Koro Ni Kai Song: Chaotica - Unstable Info: ? Review: Don't really remember this one. Kinda Boring, a little cliche. 4) "Rainbow Revolution" Anime: Various Anime Song: Flair - Brave New World Info: ? Review: Again technically brilliant, but not my particular song style favorite. Definitely worth the win though. 5) "One-Eyed Fish" Anime: Mushi-Shi Song: Nightwish - Last of the Wilds Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=157061 Review: Rider's vid. When she pitched me this idea, I had no idea how she was going to take a fast paced Celtic song and make a laid back series like mushi shi fit, with NO WORDS. She pulled it off in classic style though. A beautiful and fun vid to watch. 6) "Attack of the Otaku" Anime: Lucky Star (TV) Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, The (TV) Ouran High School Host Club (TV) Song: Jenny Rom - The Game Of Love (E=MC^2 Mix) Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=154127 Review: Recipe - take the 3 most fanfavorite anime, mix together with crazy seizure inducing effects and a DDR song. End product, a fun vid, but watch it twice in a row and you may get motion sick. 7) "Condemned Memoir" Anime: Elfen Lied Song: The Birthday Massacre - Blue Info: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/members/me...fo.php?v=151101 Review: I was already tired of Elfen Lied by now, this one was decent but a bit cliche. Oy, that was a lot. I'll fix the shortened links when I get a chance. |
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| Son Goshin | Jul 7 2008, 11:12 PM Post #4 |
Playoff Mutton Chops
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Man, sounds like you gys had an excellent time!  Wish I was there, lol! The "One Eyed Fish" vid is pretty cool though, I gotta say, and your cosplay looks pretty cool Stryyder, where is he from? So did you guys get to talk to Vic, or any other voice actors? Because Vic is an awesome guy. And Luna, Ohayoocon is in January, so you should go to that con. Becuase as you can see by Stryyder's review, cons are awesome, and are definitely something anime fans should experience. 
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| Stryyder | Jul 8 2008, 03:25 PM Post #5 |
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Forum Cynic
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January eh? I may have to make a vid for that. I won best upbeat at last years OhayoCon (though I wasn't there) for my "She's a ....Lady?" vid. My character is Ginko from the series Mushi-Shi. The manga and anime won several awards in japan. It was released by funimation in the past year and is quite intriguing and visually stunning. Funny you should ask about VAs. Didn't get to talk to Vic, though he was a judge when Rider sang for AX idol. We kept bumping in to Mike McFarland though(voice of Master Roshi, Yajirobe, Jean Havok and tons more). I saw him at Little Tokyo on day 0, we spoke at length with him on Saturday, he complimented my cosplay and even tried to call Travis Willingham (voice of Ginko, as well as Roy Mustang) but couldn't find him. We got some pics with him and then Rider found Caitlin Glass (voice of Winry Rockbell and Yakumo Tsukamato) and I got a pic with her. Got a pic with Greg Ayres (Voice of Chrono from Chrono Crusade, and Negi of Negima) who Rider had seen in the lobby of the hotel we stayed at and then got Mike to sign my new "Capsule Corp." t-shirt. I also saw Luci Christian (voice of Asuna in Negima and Tenma in school rumble) but didn't get to talk to her. All in all, probably the most VAs I got to talk to in one weekend. Edited by Stryyder, Jul 8 2008, 03:26 PM.
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| Son Goshin | Jul 12 2008, 12:17 AM Post #6 |
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Playoff Mutton Chops
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Dude, that's pretty awesome. You really got to mingle with them. Vic's a real nice guy if you ever get to run into him though, probably the coolest VA I've ever met. Mike McFarland is cooltoo. That's really awesome he complimented your cosplay. He's another funny guy. I remember at ACEN 2007 when he was being inbtroduce in opening cermonies, the fire alarm wnt off and he says something along the lines of, "Wow you guys really don't like me that much so you set off the fire alarm, eh?" 
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| Stryyder | Jul 13 2008, 10:24 AM Post #7 |
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Forum Cynic
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Yeah, Mike's great. I have seen him at pretty much every convention I've ever gone to. The first time I met him was about 6-7 years ago. It was after the 2nd or 3rd set of the DBZ card game came out. They were doing a demo down in orlando and I volunteered to help out. Mike was there with Josh Martin (voice of Fat Buu). A few friends got him to sign their cards and he wrote little funny captions on them. They had a panel on day 2 to introduce the voices for the upcoming dub of Ouran High School Host Club and apparently when they introduced Mike he came in wearing a dress, lol. (apparently Host Club is about a boy's club and a girl joins by pretending to be a guy.) We met Vic for a minute or so last year, he signed the pants that Rider had painted Ed Elric and Roy Mustang on. (Travis signed them when we went to see FMA the movie in the theatre.) |
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