Cosplay and Conventions AX2003 (pictures and all!)

Ok, here's the thought, since all these pics I have scanned are at the outside about 50k, I'll post a series of pics with explanations, anectdotes and other such about the Con, If this is inappropriate, please delete the thread, if it works, go ahead and move it to a forum where it'd be best suited.

-UK
~~~~~~~~~
acting on his own=trouble

 

Opening ceremonies anyone?

Thursday morning saw me in line with hundreds of anxious anime fans waiting to pay the registration fee, some of them already in costume. And some really fun ones at that. Several InuYasha cosplayers, a Dan (of StreetFighter fame), Vash, Legato, I can’t remember all of them, but there were quite a few I wish I’d gotten pictures of, regrettably I missed the opportunity. We finished up registration (myself and the group I was with) and had some time before the opening ceremonies, so we split up to look around. Kogarashi and I went to go find some people to take care of art show registration for her and AX idol registration for me. Eventually she left as our paths went separate ways in the search. Turns out that the AX idol people weren’t set up yet so I wandered back up to find our group at the opening ceremonies.

Opening Ceremonies
I don’t really feel like going into a lengthy description of the whole of it, so I’ll just put up a few highlights, not in any semblance of actual order.
Yuki Kajiura (composer of .Hack and Noir Soundtracks) filled in the eye of a Daruma statue for good fortune.
Koushi Rikudo (Author: ‘Excel Saga’, ‘Holy Brownie’, and several other manga) had the most uproariously funny introduction with some prominent sections of animation taken from Excel Saga episode 1. Imagine the possibility for comedy in that and you’ve just about got it.
Kazuki Yao (Voice: Dark Schneider from Bastard!) introduced himself properly as Kazuki ‘YAO’ not ‘Yakuza’ with his Hawaiian shirt and shorts. Definitely the most energetic guest when it comes to working a crowd. He made a fun announcement at the closing ceremonies.
A guest visiting from an animation school in Japan, brought with him a short done by his students, ”When I woke up, my top half was a dinosaur’s.” Altogether a very amusing piece where one morning a man wakes up and finds (on looking in the mirror) that the upper half of his body now resembled a T-Rex’s upper body. Antics ensue and continue all the way to where he and his wife finally come face to face… perhaps I’ll write up a more detailed summary of that sometime.
And because it’s fun to mention, when Goro Taniguchi got up and they mentioned his work as the Director of Mugen no Ryvius (Infinite Ryvius) I somehow wound up as that crazy guy in the audience. Y’know, that one that hears the name of their favorite series and screams the series name at the top of his lungs before anyone else gets to it?
And, for good measure, here's the one picture I took at the opening ceremonies, the guy I saw with the "Watashi wa Ecchi" headband (I'm perverted)

 

hee hee

Following Opening ceremonies, I wandered my way down to the dealer's room, to browse, yes... I've never been to a con before this, so I'm wondering just what it's like. I wandered about, got free posters, saiyuuki pins, those enormous Tokyopop bags, manga samplers, made an impulse buy, won a free T-shirt (a really nice Risky Safety shirt). Yes there were crowds, yes I hate crowds, but yes, there was tons of anime and manga and related products. Oh, and a huge poster on the side of the bandai theater (where they were showing off stuff they've licensed and giving away free Witch Hunter Robin shirts for watching) Seeing the series this one was, I couldn't resist.

 

Cosplay!

Ahh, the cosplay, it's inevitable that you'll find tons of this at any Con. But these three girls were just too cute to pass up a picture of. As far as I can figure, these girls are cosplaying characters from Tokyo Mew Mew. I haven't seen it, so I can't tell.

 

Well, here's another phenomenon that happens often at conventions, so I hear, there's often a place where cosplayers just... gather... I think it's even designated for the purpose. This time, it seemed to be on the path of a hotel cart, they were always driving through at the most interesting times. There are a few pictures from this place, you'll see them as I continue with this report.

This group in particular formed when a few Kenshin cosplayers saw each other, then started posing for pics, then more showed up, I think this picture is about midway through the gathering.

 

More cosplayers! I had to add these girls, well... the two on the outside... The American girl in the middle kinda just jumped in. The reason being, well... they were japanese and I had a fun little conversation with them... they didn't speak any english. People always seemed amazed when I spoke... probably because I had a horrible accent or something, after all, how rare is Japanese speech at an Anime convention?

And as a side note, see that building on the left? Other side of the palm tree from the girls. That's where I was sleeping for the con.

 

Now, for a post with an unrelated picture. I, for some unknown reason, decided to go off and compete in the AX Idol contest (like American idol, but a whole lot more otaku friendly) Well, anyhow, this was the first year they did it, so suffice it to say that scheduling was a mess. Well, I joined in anyways... selecting my performance piece 1½ days before the competition... a poor way to start. Anyhow, it was a nervous time as we waited behind the stage for our chance to perform in front of an otaku audience and a group of judges. Among them, 2 american voice actors, an audience member who decided to be the self-styled 'Simon' of the competition and 2 japanese individuals.. I forget who they were... I'll try to look it up sometime soon enough. Anyhow, many people got up, many got down dissapointed, some crying... it was sad... I was extremely nervous. So, paper trembling behind my back, I fumbled through the monologue I chose. And actually... it came off better than I'd hoped... by the judges reactions, that is... The 'Simon' of the group seemed surprised/amazed that I wasn't from England... what with the accent I used for the piece... that was worth all the embarassment. Anyhow, that covers that contest. No, I didn't win, no, I don't know the people who won... sorry!

But now for a picture of cosplayers from Star Ocean EX!

 

UK: the obsessed?

Time came and Taniguchi Goro and Kuroda Yosuke had a panel of their own. Director and Screenwriter for Ryvius & Scryed, Screenwriter of Trigun, Excel Saga, Onegai Teacher, Onegai Twins... the list goes on... sure I'm gonna miss that... NOT.

Panel started fairly normal, people stumble in, sit down, the guests enter and sit down at a table on a stage (yeah, I was on the front row, so, that was good stuff). Then, something odd happens. Taniguchi and Kuroda decided they didn't want a formal panel. A few of us get interesting looks on our faces. They come down, grab cordless mics... and break it down into probably the slammin'est groovebeat of all time! (um, no... and yes, that was intentionally out of date) But they do go out in the audience, talking directly to the fans, often sitting down next to/near us while answering questions... heh heh... there's a picture on another fan's site that has the back of my head with Taniguchi Goro in the aisle near me, he sat down right next to me shortly after that.. that was.. very interesting.. and altogether very cool. I have greatly increased respect for these two following this Con.. however... well, we'll get into the other bit later in this report.

Anyhow... Pic!

 

And here's a treat. Another picture of Kuroda (on my right) and Taniguchi (on my left). Oh yah, and me, not shrouded in shadows. however, sporting all the effects of a few days sleeping in the bed of a truck following a long drive.

 

Ah yes, more panel action. This time it's the panel of Watanabe Misa-san. Indeed, the most charmingly 'cute' guest of all at this con. She spoke that type of Japanese that just makes ya feel... warm & fuzzy inside. The panel was coated with all sorts of fun stories from the recording room. Stories of everyone planning a joke on someone else in the cast, only to find out, that they knew, and the whole event becoming a great friendship bonding event. The panel was overflowing with cuteness... I couldn't help but ask for a picture afterwards... now, this time... just ignore me and look at the guest!

 

WARNING! the following is considered dangerous material

I will not be held responsible for anyone looking at this picture. I saw this... cosplayer from behind in the dealer's room.. but I spared my camera, and hoped everyone else did too... but they didn't, so now the adventurous suffer! MUAHAHAHAAHA!

Now that the danger is over.. .Take a look at this Yomiko Readman Cosplayer!

 

And more Cosplayers! A particularly good Escaflowne group, by my reckoning. Enjoy!

 

Waiting in line for a Rikudo Koshi panel can be tedious, so, why not pass the time by posing as Chloe from Noir?

BTW, this is the best Noir cosplay I saw

 

And for fans of Azumanga Daioh, a cosplayer of Sakaki-san showed up, very nice.

 

Now this fellow was interesting, I ran into him several times through the con, The only Nabeshin with his own *REAL* afro. Oh yes. Turns out we had quite a few series in common.. he ended up taking my email addy so I could send him lyrics for a song a friend of mine had transcribed. The Afro song! He's intending on singing it at future Cons... I look forward to it.. should be fun.

 

Note, I'm still waiting for the Rikudo panel at this point. Who do I see? A cosplayer... of the animated reprisentation... of the original caricature... that Rikudo Koshi drew of himself in the dust jackets of his Manga Excel saga. Wow... that's a stretch. Anyhow, there were two of these guys! Each with his own sign hanging from his neck... this really is a herald of what happens in the coming Panel.. although I hadn't guessed it as of yet.

 

Now for the Rikudo Panel Proper, you see.. what I didn't expect.. but what I should have expected.. was that most people would be asking questions about the Anime... does anyone else see the problem with this? *blinkblink* what gets me more is when they ask questions about Puni Puni Poemi... Ok.. if you don't get it, don't worry, this panel report isn't for you anyways.
Anyhow, I got to ask two questions, actually...
1) Where did you get the idea to make a doujin of your own manga?

the answer: Rikudo-san simply put his finger to his mouth and said "SHHHHHH!!" I later got a picture with him and I doing that side by side... I wish I'd brought my sketch book, then I could have gotten a sketch from him!


The second question follows another one where he was asked where he got the names for his characters. It turns out they were derived from the names of buildings within the city he lives.
2) Are the character designs for Excel saga in any way related to the buildings you got their names from?

answer: no... he simply drew them up from his vast imagination. well, it was an interesting question nonetheless.

notice how similar he looks to his caricature? no? no surprise, he's gained some weight since then.

 

Thinking about that reminds me that I didn't mention what happened at the Taniguchi/Kuroda Panel! I asked the 2nd question..

"I thought the music selection for Ryvius was perfect for the series, I wonder what your favorite music is?"

The answer: Both Taniguchi and Kuroda had a tough time of this one. First we got a short explanation of how they came to select the music they did. At first the music was going to be all in the Hip Hop vein. Then they decided to add Classical music to it, the reason why wasn't explained, but that's not important, I certainly agree with their decision on that. Eventually Taniguchi told us that he was quite fond of most any kind of music. Kuroda volunteered that he'd grown up in a music store, so he too also had a wide and varied taste in music.

The following picture has nothing to do with that, but hey, this guy needs no real introduction!

 

All this talk about Taniguchi and Kuroda leads me right to the next panel I attended.. which was specifically about Infinite Ryvius and s-CRY-ed... heheheh...

Anyhow, after Bandai announced all the spiffy things in the limited edition s-CRY-ed box and the up and coming Ryvius limited edition box.. I couldn't help myself, I had to have the first question this time. Again Taniguchi and Kuroda moved down among the audience, again I was on the front row. Again my hand shot up like a rocket with a question. This time, Taniguchi looked straight at me and said "ah, yahhari ne..." "ah, as I expected." The question wasn't very important, more just a curiosity I had about the name Ryvius... it turned out true, Ryvius is derived from the ancient Leviathon. So they handed me some really cool clearfile cards.. one of which I got signed by Taniguchi later on.

This brings me to an interesting note... These two probably thought I was stalking them by the time the con was through.. as I think I made clear, they had come to recognize me on sight by the second panel. Even outside of panels I'd just run into them by accident occasionally. Usually led to an ackward moment followed by a warm smile and a hello. Like I said, my respect for these two has increased quite a bit from this Con.

On to another series note. The name s-CRY-ed (sukuraido), Taniguchi and Kuroda disagree on the meaning of this name, actually. Both of them agree on the first 2 parts. Su being from the kanji for 'naked' or 'exposed' kurai being from the english 'to cry' but the last 'do' is where the disagreement comes in. Taniguchi says it means 'anger' but Kuroda says it means 'people'. so.. either 'Naked angry tears' or 'Naked Human Tears' are valid meanings. Either way, I'm coming to quite like that series too.

You just might notice Taniguchi looking directly at the camera in this picture, I'd just stood up to take the picture before the panel began... and I'd already been identified... ack!

 

Moving on, I think I'll give all of you a tekst break with this fun Lime-chan cosplayer!

And no, that red half circle above her head is not part of the costume... I had no idea I'd lined it up like that... it's part of the building, honest!