Animazement 2008
Animazement was a blast! Ashley, my sister, and I had loads of fun, though this year’s con seemed lacking compared to the last. The dealer’s room surprisingly didn’t have much merchandise of stuff I’m into (Ace Attorney, Disgaea…even Gurren Lagann and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei). The artist’s alley mostly made up for it though, as we had plenty of talented people attending. It’s also very clear that we need to move to the new Raleigh convention center, since I heard that there was a ~30% increase in attendees this year. And you could feel how packed it was!
As you can see above, Ashley did a phenomenal job on my costume. She even had time to whip together a Cooking Mama costume for herself. I’ve looked around to find myself in some cosplay photo galleries only to realize I probably should have chosen a more flattering pose than attempting Godot’s “Objection!” position. I was flattered to see that not one, but two groups of Ace Attorney cosplayers were seeking me out to either join the contest or something. To which I responded to both with “Very no.” I was however stoked to pose with Akiko as Edgeworth. Ashley and I have already decided that we’re going as Team Rocket next year. We’re not sure how we’re going to do Ashley’s hair, but we do plan on hijacking my sister into being our Meowth.
Swag: As I said, there wasn’t much to tickle my fancy, but that wasn’t to say that my fancy was left untickled. Most of my loot consisted of figures, of which I’ve been accumulating a nice collection of this past year. Of that booty, I scored a 1:8 scale Haruhi Suzumiya, and a handful of trading figures including Jennifer from Disgaea, Ibuki from Street Fighter III, and Edgeworth and Godot, both from Ace Attorney. Godot was an extra-sweet victory, since there was only one booth that sold Ace Attorney trading figures, and I’d grabbed the very last one, only to find him inside!
Other things I bought while here were assorted things from the artist’s alley… Homemade buttons, magnets, etc. I also picked up some adult doujinshi manga, for shits and giggles. They were remarkably cheap and where else are you going to find such a selection of bizarre fan-crafted smut? I came ever so close to acquiring a copy of the Segata Sanshiro game for Sega Saturn, but negotiations on the price fell through. Perhaps another time, but for now it is not meant to be…
I promised myself for years that I’d get around to seeing Phil’s Anime Hell event. Two and a half hours of brain-twisting videos; the audience reactions being just as entertaining as the images on screen. I will make a habit of this. Had it not been for Hell, I might have volunteered to help run the COUp video room. But signing up for that will be my promise for next year. Some of my friends signed on for some painfully long shifts. I’d like to do my part to not only contribute to the con, but also spend some time with them.
The game room sported some awesome head-to-head “candy” style arcade cabinets this year. One had Street Fighter Alpha 3, which of course I sank my teeth into. I didn’t win, but I fared better than expected. I also played a few rounds of MvsC2 (didn’t win, but gave the guy a run for his money until a Time Over) and Melty Blood: Act Cadenza (kicked quite of bit of ass there). What brought joy to my heart was seeing about six kids (ages 8 and under) crowding around the games in the arcade cabinets. Ah, to be that young again…
All in all, we had loads of fun. I ended up going home with a LOT of leftover cash, which I suppose is good. I have other things I should probably throw money at. Thankfully, I don’t have to head back to work until Wednesday, so I have some time to recover from the post-convention blarghs.
