Anime Expo 2011: A Picture Adventure

This is me. I tried to frown, but it didn't work.

First, let me apologize to the people at AX who had to see my ugly mug.  Second, I’d like to apologize in advance for not taking enough pictures.  The third mistake is that I shouldn’t have ever been born.  The fourth is that I just made a lame SZS reference and nobody will get it.

Also the pictures are huge.  But I’ve already shrunk them by 50%.  Imagine how big they were before.

DAY ONE

After a day of standing in the pre-registration line for two hours in the hot SoCal summer sun and browsing the entire exhibit hall and buying cheap manga and getting really tired and a lot of stuff happening, I ended up at the Danny Choo panel.  I don’t like Danny Choo, my friends don’t like Danny Choo, and Danny Choo doesn’t like Danny Choo.  So in short, I don’t know how I ended up there.

Danny Choo talked about life and how to build a resume and blah blah blah

It got really boring and my feet hurt so I didn’t want to go walk around to find something interesting.  So I started taking pictures of my shoe.

This is an action shot.

So after a while, I got tired of taking foot/shoe pictures and decided that my feet wouldn’t get any more interesting.  Of course, they were still far more intriguing than Danny Choo’s life lessons panel, but I still got bored.  I wandered around until I found a room showing Ghost Stories dubbed.

Later I went to the Maon Kurosaki mini-concert because my friend wanted to go.  Why else would I still be hanging around in the convention center at 11 PM?  What a stupid idea.  I don’t even like Maon Kurosaki.  I should have ditched him and gone to the Nirgilis concert instead, but I was dumb and decided to go along with what he wanted to do because I’m a total dumb dumb.

Afterwards, I met female (!!!) Pyro and Medic.  Dunno why they were still around at midnight, but it was nice seeing TF2 cosplayers (maybe free to play got peoples’ attention).  I also saw a heavy, a female scout, a couple of medics, lots of spies, etc. but no Soldiers or Demomen.  Bah.

Speaking of cosplayers I didn’t see, here’s what you all should have cosplayed as:

Maybe I could/should have expected this, but there were NO Mikoto Misaka cosplayers. NONE! AT ALL! I know Railgun/Index isn’t exactly geared towards women, but for a convention with tens of thousands of people, you’d expect to see at least a couple Mikoto cosplayers. What’s worse is that there weren’t any Eureka cosplayers either! I saw an Anemone/Dominic couple, but no green-ish haired goddesses graced my eyes.

You people!  I blame you people!  Go dress up as Mikoto!

I’m thinking of crossplaying Mikoto next year because this current state of affairs has left me in despair.

DAY TWO

I wanted to see the Production I.G. panel from 9 – 10 am, then I wanted to hurry over to catch the second half of “A Survey of Anime Opening & Ending Themes” (Alex Leavitt‘s panel).  After that, I was planning to hang around at the Exhibit Hall until lunch, and then I would go to the “Anime Club How-To” panel to see how my college aniclub could improve.  By that time (3:30 pm), I would go around with my friends until the aniblogger meetup at 6:30.

I got to the convention center at noon.

Apparently, there had been a huge deal about a bomb threat and people were talking in hushed whispers about the legendary anibomber who wanted to ruin anime expo for us all.  There was a suspicious package in the dining area, so the LAPD bomb squad was rushed in and people were shooed (evacuated) out of South Hall.  After a while, the suspicious package was no longer suspicious and the anibomber threat subsided.

I was still at the hotel, though.

But at least I saw this tank.  I prefer Neotanks, though.

So instead of following my brilliant plans, I ended up wandering around the exhibit hall until 3:00 pm, when I decided to go see the Gonzo panel.  I didn’t bother to look at the little green chunk in the schedule titled “LASTEXILE: Fam, the Silver Wing World Premiere,” so I had no idea what the panel was going to be about (Nyanpire, maybe?).

It turns out that there was going to be a world premiere showing of a new season of Last Exile right before the Gonzo panel.  But luckily for me, anibomber threat happened and I managed to stumble into the Last Exile screening, which started half an hour late.

The people hosting the panel/screening were really anal about cameras, saying that if somebody was caught recording the episode, he/she would be banned from Anime Expo… forever!  Plus the screening would stop and nobody would get to see the show until it aired in October.

Anyway, the episode was pretty cool stuff.  Fam and other girl take on two battalions of battleships and manage to survive and rescue two princesses!  I haven’t watched Last Exile before, but from what I could tell from this screening,

And at least two people thought the same thing!  Usually, nobody retweets what I say unless they’re stupid or crazy or extremely handsome.  Two retweets is statistically significantly different from the norm of 0 retweets, so I assume Fam was really freakin’ good.  Look forward to it in Fall 2011!

So after my awesome cool Gonzo adventure, I met up with some guys from the internet and went to the Bandai panel, which was almost completely comprised of two guys saying “look at this preview.”  Stephanie Sheh went on stage and looked stupid, too.

I don't remember seeing the guy third from the left. He must be Kanata or something.

After that, the event that everybody was waiting for happened.  I was hanging around in West Hall, waiting for the aniblogger meetup/dinner when I saw a group of mismatched people standing awkwardly in a circle.  There were Asians, Whites, and Shinmaru all standing in one place.  I knew I had found my group.

After waiting a while, a huge mob of anibloggers appeared (I assume they met separately and talked trash about us lower anibloggers).  Eventually (an hour later), we set out for dinner!  And by dinner, I mean expensive food truck grub.  But at least I got to take a picture of anibloggers taking pictures of canon_chan cosplaying/crossplaying.

Also zzeroparticle was standing next to me and I didn’t know who he was but he knew me.  Go figure.  Also there was a gigantic white guy.  I don’t know who he is, so please come forward if you’re reading this, gigantic white guy.

On another note, the Kanata guy in the picture above is apparently ToastCrust.  I thought ToastCrust was the aforementioned gigantic white guy.

I didn’t spend much time awkwardly socializing with the anibloggers because I had to go… to the HATSUNE MIKU CONCERT!  After all the anibloggers who were going to the Miku concert had left!  Maybe I should have gone with them.

I’ve only listened to one Miku song a single time: World is Mine.  I found it annoying and more annoying, so I don’t listen to Vocaloid songs now.  They’re dumb.

Now if you think that was a buildup to say “this concert changed my mind,” you’re wrong.

The concert went something like this…

Once we got in, the first thing my vocaloid fan friend said was: “wow, that screen is tiny.”  And it was.  It was 100%, real, genuine life-size.  Except in the Nokia Theater, life-size means pint-sized for everybody not sitting in the first three rows.

Somebody died and Dannychoo was in charge for emceeing the event and blah blah at least he didn’t tell us how to build a resume.  Once he finally got off the stage, Miku started singing but there was no Miku on stage.

Right after the first song, Miku appeared and “World is Mine” came on and

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

please somebody make it stop

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I couldn’t hear for the rest of the night.

Most of Miku songs left me confused.  I’m a guy who doesn’t listen to or like Vocaloid songs because they sound strange and pierce my eardrums.  So imagine being in my shoes, listening to Miku sing songs about pop or poop or whatever…

Needless to say, this concert didn’t convince me to become a hardcore Miku fan.  Sure, I think she’s cute and I think it’s an amazing phenomenon… but her songs are screechy and are about bowel movements rather than melodic ones.

On the concert itself, though: The atmosphere was crazy.  You always hear people talk about “electrifying atmospheres” at concerts, but the only electric atmosphere I ever believed in was the electric field around Mikoto Misaka.  But this Miku concert was insane!  People were waving their glowsticks out of time and jumping up and down and screaming like monsters (see picture #2 for accurate representation of fans).

I felt like crying at times because I was so happy to experience this electrifying atmosphere and because of the pain from my broken, bloody eardrums.  I think that if this were a HALCALI concert or even a Nirgilis one (gah, should’ve went to that one…!!!), I would have broken down in tears.  It felt great to be at such a huge concert for a virtual idol who doesn’t exist and sings higher and faster than human ears were designed to handle.

I guess this means man has finally overcome his evolutionary barrier.

DAY THREE

I don't know if zzeroparticle wants his name shown.  Maybe I should black out his face too.

I got up at 9:00 am and managed to get my lazy friends out of the hotel by 10:00 am, and we got to zzeroparticle’s panel just as it was starting.  Because I cannot find Shinmaru’s shoddy recording on Youtube and zzeroparticle hasn’t posted about it yet, I’ll just put some comments on the panel here.

After the panel, my [non-aniblogging] friends told me that it sounded like a lecture and that much of what zzeroparticle said was quite obvious.  I found it a little different than that.

Pros

  • Lots of music.
  • Zzeroparticle tried to explain how the music helped whatever anime it was in achieve a better mood, tone, creepiness, etc.
  • Mostly songs from obscure shows that I barely recognize.  Like Aquarian Age and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette.
Cons
  • Mostly songs from obscure shows that I barely recognize.  Like Aquarian Age and Le Portrait de Petit Cossette.
  • No songs that I love.
  • I just don’t like most of Kajiura’s music.  It’s probably because I connect her to Kara no Kyoukai, and I hate those movies.
  • Zzeroparticle didn’t talk about some anime/music he mentioned (Pandora Hearts and a few others) and tried to analyze Aquarian Age’s music without having watched the show.  Bad!  Bad bad bad!  Mentioning obscure shows is one thing, but mentioning obscure shows and then trying to talk about them without seeing them first is another!
  • I’ve never watched Mai-Hime or Mai-Otome.

Yeah.  But at least I went and listened to music that’s not by HALCALI.  I wish HALCALI would come to AX one of these years.  I really love that band.

So afterwards, my friends wanted to leave and I ended up ditching the Day Three aniblogger meetup, but whatever.

The Nirgilis panel later that day was really low quality, but it turned out to be great fun!  The guy hosting the panel was all sweaty and nervous and couldn’t ask any good questions and even admitted he was nervous (never do that, public speaking people!).  The translator talked really softly far away from the microphone so nobody could hear what he said, but he was a cool guy.  The members of Nirgilis were really laid-back, friendly, and all-around awesome people.

When the Nirgilis folk tried to say that their song “sakura” was inspired by opera, the translator said “Oprah,” and that really broke the tension.  Things went smoothly from there.

What really surprised me was that Yuki (furthest right in picture above) was a huge Nichijou and slice-of-life comedy fan.  She listed Lucky Star, Azumanga, and Nichijou as her favorite shows.  If anybody was there, I was the guy who yelled “Nichijou!” and clapped when NOBODY ELSE DID.  Bah, AX attendees!  You people need to watch Nichijou and dress up as Mikoto.  Learn to anime omg

Everything turned out okay in the end, though.  Two people who went up said they were Nichijou fans as well, and one Asian guy said his favorite show was Eureka Seven and his favorite airing show was Nichijou.  I feel like I could really get along with that guy.

I went to the Durarara!! panel.

It sucked.

I texted my friend and he said Durarara!! was a “girl anime,” and from what I could tell at the panel, I agree.  So many Crispin Freeman fangirls.  There were even Walker fangirls.  Who the hell likes Walker?  He’s the most side of side characters!

Bah.

also I saw a death note

Later, we went to the Maon Kurosaki concert, which was a big fail:

Actually, my tweet doesn’t do the mini-concert enough justice.  The concert on Sunday was forty-five minutes long (half the length of the “mini”-concert) and had only one song that Maon didn’t sing on Friday night’s mini-concert.  I didn’t even have to go to the concert itself after going to the better mini-concert.

Also for some reason the staff at the Maon concert were even more anal about cameras and stuff than at the Miku concert.  I had my camera in my backpack in the Miku concert, but the staff at the Maon one told me to “take it back to the car.”  Since I didn’t drive to AX and the hotel was half an hour away, I couldn’t get in.  Luckily, my prescient friend realized the concert was going to be a huge flop and a total waste of time and decided to take my camera and went to browse the exhibit hall.

Because Denny’s was super duper crowded for dinner, I couldn’t make it to the noitaminA panel – which I really super duper wanted to go to.  Later, I found out that the panel was a super duper letdown (they only showed previews and announced licencing of noitaminA anime), so I’m now super duper glad that I was eating my skillet at 8:00 pm instead of sitting through a bunch of trailers.

And then I sat through 3 hours of Disappearance.  By the end, I was itching to get up and run around… but I ran into lvlln.  So instead of running around to get rid of the jitteryness in my legs, I talked with him about Haruhi in general for a while and then waited for the shuttle for a while and rode the shuttle for a while and by the time I got back to the hotel, it was 2 am and I felt so tired and pooped and bad.

DAY FOUR

I didn’t do anything on day four.

Also I’m tired of typing this post.  I hate long posts so much.

Just look at more pictures and stuff.  Hopefully your computer will have frozen by now.

Day Three: South Hall.  Not nearly as crowded as on Day Two, but still…

Day Two: I was talking to anibloggers when suddenly HOLY SHIT YOTSUBA OH MYG ODD

Day Four: I was talking to friends in the Artist Alley when suddenly HOLY SHIT CUTE 4CHAN ASIAN YOTSUBA OH MYG ODD SHIT OH GOD MY HEART

semi-not-really-obligatory loot pic

P.S.:  I spent a lot of time on Days 2-4 asking for Mikoto Misaka commissions.  Too bad NOBODY KNEW WHO SHE WAS, or what series she was from.  Artists are the dumbest people.  They draw mainstream crap and think they’re otaku, but they ain’t half as immersed in anime as I am!

But really, I expected some of the artists I asked to know Railgun.  None of them did.

I did get a commission from a friend of a friend, though.  I actually got him to draw both Railgun and Eureka (he knew both of them!).  To be honest, I didn’t expect a very good drawing from him, but it turned out quite well (see above).

P.P.S.: I wrote this last sentence just to get over 2700 words.  2713 word post, hooray!

P.P.P.S.: To any and all of you who’ve stuck with me and read this post, thank you.  There are craptons of AX posts all over the internet (like over at Anime Instrumentality, Anime Diet, Anime Yume, and other Anime ____ blogs), and I appreciate you wasting ~15 minutes reading this.


48 Comments on “Anime Expo 2011: A Picture Adventure”

  1. Shinmaru says:

    I stuck around for 15 minutes of the Durarara!! panel and couldn’t take anymore. So much screaming, my god. Also the amount of spoiler bombs dropped was really weird. Never really seen an American company panel where they just assume that everyone has already watched the anime even though the DVDs were only just released, and it’s barely started airing on TV. (Yeah, it was out on Crunchyroll, but still …)

    Also, I recorded on zzeroparticle’s Flip camera, so that’s why it’s not on YouTube yet. So cease spreading your vicious lies about my recording failure! I don’t have anything fancy enough to record anyone.

    P.S. I look like a dumbass in this photo my god

    • misaki says:

      I should have left, but one of the people in my group was a fangirl and oh my god.

      I also thought the spoilers were really weird. At the panel, I wasn’t sure when the Durarara!! DVDs were released, so I assumed they came out a while ago… (maybe they’re indirectly supporting fansubs and torrents!)

      Oh, so you’re pushing the blame on somebody else, eh? I see. I get it…

      P.S.: You looked really out of it that entire day (well, the portion of that day when I saw you). Luckily, I went through the entire exhibit hall on Friday so I seemed a bit more energetic the day after.

      • Shinmaru says:

        I think the DVDs aren’t more than a few months old, although they’re all out now.

        And, yeah, I’d spent basically all of the previous two days walking around everywhere (Day 0 was especially terrible because I had to go back and forth between my parking spot and the hotel a ton), so I was absolutely wiped. I have no idea how I could still walk around by Day 4, haha.

  2. Michael says:

    If I ever go to a major American anime con, I’ll see to it that I’m gonna cosplay as Misaka.

  3. Awww, you mean your friends weren’t ready to kiss my feet after the panel? I-I-I’m crushed! But yeah, part of the goal was to expose people to some of Kajiura’s less-mainstream fare (gotta keep up my hipster creds), and I guess that worked if you’ve never heard of some of those before. :p

    It does make me wonder what the best way is to run a music panel though. Hmm.

    • misaki says:

      You showed a pretty wide range of works, actually. According to Wikipedia, Kajiura is a hipster at heart – I haven’t watched the majority of anime she’s composed music for. (So I guess my accusations are SLIGHTLY without merit.)

      On the flip side, it’s easier to appreciate music that you’ve heard before. It’s also easier for the audience to understand what the music is doing in the anime if they’ve watched the show before. I liked how you had clips of anime like Noir and Madoka Magica to show – it was quite a step up from just music and explanation.

      …now only if the clips had worked!

      Also my friends thought you were young so that makes up for it.

  4. ToastCrust says:

    Wow, I look so unhappy and spiteful in that picture as Kanata.

  5. Mushyrulez says:

    Really? The most mainstream animu in my school seems to be raildex, but then again there’s only one person who watches anime besides me and I don’t look like an anime watcher. Also, he’s a retard.

    >all raildex fans are retards?

    ax looked pretty poop :v

    • misaki says:

      AX was THE SHIT, yo!

      Railgun/Index is popular among otaku/weeaboos/whatevers – mostly anime fans. But it’s a really shounen series, with yuri tones, big breasted women, and big battles and stuff. So Railgun/Index cosplayers (not crossplayers) are pretty much nonexistent.

      Another approach is to see how people view Railgun/Index. I haven’t seen it on any “top ___” lists. It seems to be more of an enjoyable watch, but not a “classic” anime or something that people would absolutely love. Even I don’t enjoy the series that much, despite my undying devotion to Mikoto.

      And as for why artists don’t know Raildex… I have no idea. Maybe they’re just stupid.

  6. Yi says:

    I read the whole thing even though I have no interest in conventions. This actually makes me want to attend one.

    • misaki says:

      Thanks! I’m amazed people can read though so much of my rambling.

      You should go! It’s an amazing experience, even more so if you find people to go around the con with (like anibloggers and/or friends).

  7. kevo says:

    I think I burst out laughing in more than one instance while reading this post. I love the awesome Miku concert pics. At least one person in the world is in agreement with me on that topic. Kinda glad I didn’t go. One of my roommates, _SiN, sold his Miku ticket for $120 and bought a BlazBlue joystick pad. During the concert he was in the hotel playing fighters and mumbling “who the hell is Miku?”

    And I’m in that pic, yo. It was nice meeting you, even though I said like 5 words to you total.

    • misaki says:

      More context for the third miku pic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0-2lzA7_Cg Imagine watching Miku having a seizure on stage in a bright green dress and her hair tied up into a bun while singing that. Oh God.

      I really should’ve sold my ticket. I saw people buying them for $80, but $120? Wow. I could’ve bought a Mikoto figure with that profit. regret regret

      Wait, so you’re the one to the left of ToastCrust? I thought that was lvlln, but I guess I just suck at face recognition.

      Also I will socialize more next year. Hopefully.
      I will crossplay as Mikoto, too.

  8. Seinime says:

    “Anime Club How-To” panel to see how my college aniclub could improve <- This.
    Fffffff my club sucks need to take over ffffff-
    See you next year.

    • misaki says:

      Wow, it’s nice to see you again! (I don’t see you on Twitter that much)

      My club also sucks, but it’s not like I’m going to take over – I’m the antisocial asian guy who goes only because I don’t have time to watch anime otherwise (and partly because it’s the only time each week I get to see canon_chan’s weeaboo face). As an example of how much the club sucks: one night, we watched Gakuen Heaven.

      Also YES, you’re coming to AX next year? Awesome!

      • Seinime says:

        Yep, I have revived thanks to summer season and more free time.

        Maybe I won’t take over, but I sympathize with you. I’m antisocial as well unless I know someone, otherwise I’m super shy (as you will see on the 1st day I meet you) and they were showing old anime like Slayers or Haibane Renmei. Not that those weren’t that bad or anything, but I felt it wasn’t a good icebreaker/get all impressed about anime for newcomers (on the day UBW came out too, I was raging so much but I made new friends by bringing my laptop and having my own private viewing with some people. +1).

        And yep, planning out costs now. 100$ entry + 300$ plane ticket round trip + 150$ hotel stay (must arrange with a group somehow) + 400$+ to bankrupt self on = gg at the moment.

      • misaki says:

        Summer has revived me, too. We are so summerfaggy.

        On my personality: I tend to speak my mind when I feel like it, and I don’t care if what I say is strange or rude. I’m shy and relatively antisocial towards people I just meet, and I’m really loud and outgoing when I’m with my close friends.

        On aniclub: It’s hard to choose what anime to show, though. My aniclub showed Genshiken at the first meeting – a somewhat standard (?) choice, I guess. The thing is, I HATE Genshiken. Gah!

        My aniclub’s biggest problem is that it’s a group of friends watching anime together. It’s hard for a relatively antisocial guy like me to fully enjoy an aniclub meeting because of this.

        If you buy a 4-day AX pass now, it’s only $45! Also, ask around on Twitter for hotel rooms – I know canon_chan was offering a room for about that much ($150/four days). But don’t get scammed or tricked into rooming with five big, buff men.

        You could also go to a con closer to where you are. A couple anibloggers go to Anime North (in Toronto!) every year.

        …though Anime Expo is the place to be. If you’re cool, that is.

      • Seinime says:

        Lol, I don’t mind if you speak your mind at all. I have a friend just like that. He’s coo’.

        ————————–

        Yeah, I get the same feeling from aniclubs too. Maybe I’ll try again next year.

        ————————–

        I’ll buy a Premier package this month. Heard good things about it. Maybe somehow you and I can sneak in early 😀 I can make LA since it’s closer than Toronto, orz. I heard AX is the biggest one? In N. America, at least. And yep, thinking about joining a hotel room like that. Can’t wait :3

      • misaki says:

        One of my high school friends has tried to convince me to buy a Premier Fan ticket, but I’m sticking with my regular 4-day pass. I’d rather buy half a figure with that $55! Also, I’ve heard that Press people get in early. The guys at Anime Diet, The Nihon Review, and Anime Instrumentality all got Press badges. bah.

        Yeah, AX is the biggest one. It’s almost a tenth the size of Comiket!

        P.S.: W-Wait, I thought you went to UT? Maybe I’m mixing you up with somebody else? garlsddklfbd

      • Seinime says:

        Haha, I get what you mean. 55$ = lots of manga when I heard that manga cost 5$ a volume. I’ll think about it; you guys will probably be chatting during the lineup right?

        And darn all those press people and their interviewing and skipping lines saljfksjsf. I’ll probably buy some stuff, but some part of me feels like visiting the rest of LA as well.

        P.S. I go to UBC, close though 🙂 Toronto -> LA is ~700$ plane ticket though so asdf.

      • misaki says:

        By lineup, do you mean the line going into the convention center? That’s the biggest incentive for me to get the Premier Fan ticket. This year I waited for hours under the hot sun barely talking with my friend. I was hot and he was hotter (wearing three layers of costume), so we didn’t want to talk or think about anything besides going into the air-conditioned hall.

        I don’t really know much about LA, tbh. I’ve lived here for nine years, and I haven’t surfed, seen a movie star, or gotten shot in South LA yet. You should go around and see the sights, though! It’s quite an interesting place (from what I’ve heard!)

        Oh, damn it. Canada is such a mystery to me. It seems that eternal went to both the Toronto anime con and AX this year, so just coming to AX should be no problem for you!

    • Seinime says:

      Yep, I’m not that big a fan of lineups. And it’s hot there, you say? Hmm, I’ll think about it some more.

      Haha, I’ve heard the same. Maybe I’ll visit Universal Studios/Disneyland or something like last time. Or walk around and visit UCLA where my friend is (who is coming with me, hopefully).

      Toronto’s a good place, but it’s got cold weather. It’s nice here in Canada 😀 which also means there’s nothing interesting here. Mehhh. And yep, I should most definitely be able to come next year. 19 years old = parents don’t care about me anymore YEAHHHHHH ;A;

      P.S. Come onto Google+, there’s tons of people here already~ D:

  9. Seinime says:

    Oh, and one query: estimated costs to get there? Not counting entry fee/mass spending on stash.

  10. Seinime says:

    P.P.S. Lol’d at Miku concert part. imo covers > Miku herself but still meh. Ok, I’ll stop now.

  11. Valence says:

    Seems nice. Singaporean anime festivals, ironically, invite bloggers from overseas ._.

    Look on the bright side though. Although there weren’t any Mikotos , there wasn’t a Kuroko..was there? Or else I’m crushed too.

    • misaki says:

      Actually, there was a Mikoto (see above comment). But yeah, there were no Kurokos! Or Accelerators, or Toumas, or Indexes! Or anythings!

      Wait wait anime festivals there invite bloggers? I wish AX invited me!

      • drmchsr0 says:

        Don’t be too excited, though. The most exotic aniblogger we had was from Finland, and well, most of the time we invite people from SouthEast Asia.

        However, I am working on GOING TO AMERICA AND JAPAN AND STUFF.

        Also Yuki got a head injury during the Tokyo earthquake and was resting for a while and stuff. It’s a bloody miracle she’s alive and kicking, to be honest.

      • misaki says:

        I get the impression that there are loads of anibloggers in Singapore/that area (though not nearly as much as California), so you should be fine!

        I thought Kajiura was fine during the earthquake…? I seem to remember seeing her tweet about being a-okay. Though I might be confusing her with somebody else…

      • Valence says:

        Mostly cosplay bloggers, i.e. cosplayers who run blogs like Alodia and people like alafista if I’m not mistaken. Meh. No such things as panels though D=

      • misaki says:

        @drmchsr0: oh, damn it. Yuki from Nirgilis, yeah. Don’t mind me, I’m just a dumbass.

        @Valence: No panels? That’s tough. So your anicons are more like big meetups, then?

  12. Bethany Beach Vacation Rentals says:

    Maybe its because Miranda Kerr is pregnant?

    • misaki says:

      Insightful comment, Bethany Beach Vacation Rentals! I never even considered that Kerr’s pregnancy could have a significant impact on my Anime Expo experience, but now I see that it could have been the deciding factor in my enjoyment at AX.

      Thanks for the heads up!

  13. Seems like you had lots of fun! I sorta wish I could go to a con but I have no money. That and I have no money *BA DUM PSH*

    I wandered around until I found a room showing Ghost Stories dubbed

    YESSSSSSS!! My fav character is Main Chara’s little brother (the one who always screaming/panicking) “EHHHHEEEEHHH AJWE JKLA JLK;FAW J;KLEW” HAHA, YESSSS MMMMMM TOO GOOD!!! Wish I could buy myself a copy but I have no money *BA DUM PSH*

    Dunno why they were still around at midnight

    You should’ve asked them *wink wink*. Also, aren’t you supposed to hit on tons of chicks and totally get away with it? SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO who’d you bring back to your hotel, HMMMM!??!! Shinmaru, perhaps? =3 (Also LOL why do you keep making fun of him!?! If you hadn’t realized, he’s the only one there with facial hair, and we all know what THAT means!)

    I was the guy who yelled “Nichijou!” and clapped when NOBODY ELSE DID.

    EW WHAT A FA-….FANTASTIC PERSON!!! Misaki/Mikoto/etc, if by chance we are to meet, consider your hair sniffed from your ol’ pal J159! BELIEVE IT!!!

    …so you got any money? *BA DUM PSH*

    • misaki says:

      Earn money! Get a job! Dig around in trashcans for food! (that’s what 0rion and Guff do, anyway)

      Yeah, the little brother is pretty hilarious. He starts off speaking somewhat coherent English but by the end of the first episode, it’s clear that he needs to be sent to a psychiatric hospital.

      Ewww, GIRLS? I only brought my high school friends back to the hotel. One was a guy and one was… was… a female. Oh god, what have I done…

      Shinmaru commented that he looked really dumb, so I’m not letting go of that! Also he was practically the only guy at the aniblogger meetups whose blog I regularly read (besides zzeroparticle and the Nihon Review guys… but in the latter case I don’t know any of their names!)

      I would do it again, too! It was strange that only I clapped and cheered for Nichijou when so many of the people who went up asking questions later said that they loved Nichijou. Also no sniffing. I know you! First the hair, then the upper lip!

  14. OH AND THAT YOTSUBA MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! Can I have the non-50% version? Please? :>

    • misaki says:

      Unfortunately, I don’t believe I have the 100% version (3000×4000) anymore. But then again, that big version was just a super-grainy 2x version of this one!

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  16. […] full-scale rundown of exactly where I went, what I saw, and how I felt (see Anime Expo: 2011 and 2012) isn’t what I’m going to do here. Such a post might be interesting and would […]


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