Fanime report part 1: random thoughts.

[elwen]

[This is sort of the "everything else" post -- everything besides some extended babbling I will be doing about fandom, using my convention purchases as a springboard.]

So, general thoughts: as always, Fanime is a nice opportunity for Bay Area fans to gather, show off their cosplay, buy some official goods and fanart, and not spend 50% of the con waiting in lines. Unfortunately, it is still very weak on structured programming, especially guests. I only sat through one panel in its entirety, and even that one was only so-so. I probably should have gone to see Kiuchi Hidenobu, but even he can't compare with the big big-name seiyuu that show up at AX. Still, since it's a local con, on a holiday weekend that doesn't typically find me busy, it's worth the while.

Short, specific thoughts:

• Masquerade:
  
  • It went quite smoothly this year, I thought. No repeated, full-length Mermaid Melody songs, and no light-up Gundam getting all the awards. Except, I don't know who got the awards, because that part was ridiculously rushed, and half of the winners were announced by group number only. But most people had left by then anyway.
  
  
  • It's sad that more groups did the Haruhi dance than did Caramelldansen (y'know, the Uma Uma thing), at least by my count. Watching a group of Suzumiya Haruhi cosplayers do the Haruhi dance is cool only once, but Caramelldansen is awesome always. At least IMO. :] And the person who did the best Haruhi dance was cosplaying Ino from Naruto. D:
  
  
  • I still think getting the Civic Auditorium for the masquerade was one of the best decisions Fanime ever made. It's basically the perfect size for the event, and with the two big screens on the side, pretty much everyone can see what's going on.


• AMVs:
  
  • Again, it went prety well compared to previous years. I don't know how they selected the finalists (?), but there was a good variety with a minimum of repeated series.
  
  
  • These are the videos I particularly liked:
    [I'll update with links as I find them.]
    
    Drama/Romance:
    Unbreakable (Ginban Kaleidoscope) to Unbreakable, by Firelight
    I See Someone Else... (Ouran High School Host Club) to Stars, by Switchfoot
    Love Rush (Ah! My Goddess, Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits) to True To Me, by Metro Station
    
    Comedy:
    Code Monkey (Black Heaven) to Code Monkey, by Jonathan Coulton
    Ouran Spectacular (Ouran High School Host Club) to Spectacular, Spectacular (Moulin Rouge)
    The Harassment of Kyon (Suzumiya Haruhi) to Girlfriend, by Avril Lavigne
    
    [I missed most of the action ones because I left for a few cosplayer gatherings, and I wasn't particularly impressed by the ones I caught, so no recs there.]


• Cosplay:
  
  • Lots of [too much of?] Bleach, Naruto, Advent Children, Ouran, D.Gray-man, Vampire Knight, Phoenix Wright.
  
  
  • Yay for Dynasty Warriors, Saiunkoku Monogatari (very few, but I got a picture of an Eigetsu), Lucia from Venus Versus Virus, A. something (not oryzae) from Moyashimon.
  
  
  • I guess the big new show to cosplay was Guren Lagann, especially since there were a bunch of Gainax guests. Too bad I haven't seen it.
  
  
  • I thought there would be a lot more Code Geass than there actually were. We may have walked past a few Lelouch's, but they don't stand out much, and they may actually have been Shinsengumi (?) from Gintama. Other than that, all I saw was a Kallen today. No C.C. And, most surprisingly to me, no Zero. :(
  
  
  • I really want to cosplay next year. I miss doing it. Now that I have short hair, I need to find some new possibilities. Some ideas I had:
    
    • Hei (Darker than Black) - Fairly easy cosplay (just a black trenchcoat), but the mask makes it recognizable. Plus, I didn't see anyone dressed as him, and I like him (and the series) a lot. On the downside, he's not the best character for a girl to do -- especially since I'm not completely flat-chested -- and I don't know how well the mask would work with my glasses.
    
    
    • Aika (ARIA) - She cuts her hair short halfway through Season 2, after which her hairstyle is more or less what mine is right now. ARIA cosplay is relatively rare, and I think it'd be fun to try making her uniform. I don't know if I'd want to try making her oar, but that could be a nice touch. Only downside is that it would be a lot more interesting if I had an Akari and an Alice, too.
    
    
    • Kallen (Code Geass) - She has short hair and no bangs; I'd just have to figure out how to make my hair temporarily pink.
    
    
    • Honami (Rental Magica) - Okay, so I'd have to grow my hair back out for this one. But my sister and I were thinking we could get a Rental Magica group together and do Addie and Honami. I get to be Honami since I wear glasses. Though I'd rather have Addie's summoning symbol than Honami's mistletoe.
    
    Choosing a series that's not overdone is an important factor to me. Other than that, it'll come down to my commitment and sewing skills, really.


• I was really disappointed that there was so little Geass art in the Artist's Alley. If I had known, I would have scrounged together some references and commissioned something. [Not sure what. C.C. and Kallen glomming Lelouch?] Not all that much Geass stuff in the Dealer's Room either.


• Compared to AX, Fanime's charity auction is really pathetic. I guess it goes back to their lack of guests, which translates to lack of $50K Howl's Moving Castle sketch.


• Is Geass just not as popular as I thought? My running theme seems to be "not enough Geass". The first season finished in July last year (or, really, in March), so it's not like it's too new...


• I picked up two new [well, new to me] series to watch: Black Blood Brothers, and Prince of Tennis. Yes. I will become a PoT fangirl now. I watched a little bit of the National Tournament Semifinals arc, and it was pretty good. Plus, it has Okiayu-sama!

Pictures soon, I hope. And last year's pictures. (Yes, I know, I suck.) Also, a Scrapblog. :]