A-Kon 16 (2005) Report!
Well, it's time to tell you all what I thought of my first A-Kon. I've been to two other anime conventions (AnimeFEST! 2003 and 2004), so I have some material to compare.
:FRIDAY:
My mom, friend, sister, and I all arrived at A-Kon. We struggled to find registration. When we did, we were much dismayed to find a gigantic line. However, my mom (who's been known for these kinds of things) accidentally figured out how to get them much sooner with her credit card. We hopped out of line and got things started.
The sheer hugeness of A-Kon startled me. I understand a total of 10,000 people were in attendance. We bumbled around the dealers room and peeked into some panels and anime. I got to meet my favorite artist, Arik Renee Avila, in the dealers room. He knew who I was because of all the e-mails I sent about cosplay stuff (I enjoy cosplaying as his characters). D7Studios, his company, gave free posters, lanyards, and folders, all with his incredible characters. We then decided to get in line for the ZZ/Kumiko Kato/Dream concert.
Concert: Well, there was no line. They just packed in as many people as allowed. People near the stage were packed like sardines, and people waaaayy in the back just stacked up chairs and watched. The disorganization and stalling of it all really got on my nerves. The MAX concert at AnimeFEST! 2004 was much better. Every person had a chair and could get a clear view of the concert. The ZZ concert was just...loud.
I'm sure many of you know about the injuries that happened during the concert. Well, the singer from ZZ tossed a big beach ball into the audience, but it hit one of the glass chandeliers above the stage. Shards of glass injured two people. My mom (who was outside of the concert hall), upon hearing this, became worried and sent search parties for us. The first guy we didn't trust, but the A-Kon security guy seemed credible. We left the hall during the concert to meet our worried mom.
Later, we went back into the concert (this time sitting in the back, which was much nicer) and watched Kumiko Kato and a little bit of Dream. We then became tired and went home.
:SATURDAY:
The best day. We all arrived in our costumes and immediately went to sign up for the cosplay skit competition. We had a dance routine planned out set to the popular DDR song "Butterfly" by Aqua. We had a short wait in line and got everything taken care of. Then, the pictures began. Most people had no idea who my sister (Rith from Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata/Tears of Blood) and I (D7 from D7Peacemaker: Prodigal Child - by the awsome people at D7Studios) were. However, many people recognized my friend (Sakura from Tsubasa - Resevior Chronicle). We went over to the dealers room and showed the D7 guys my costume. They were near-ecstatic. The loved the details and such on my costume. We took a few pictures and went on our merry way.
We met some people who were dressed as favorite characters. We met a really talented girl crossplaying (Let's just say that if the costume WASN'T crossplayed, THEN it would be wrong...) as Calintz (same Video game as my sister's costume). We also met another Rith. As the day drew on, it became time for the cosplay.
The total disorganization was near-appalling! We all were crowded near the Concert Hall doors. Then, we all had to be moved near the autograph tables. We all had to line up and wait until they called our numbers. We were told to keep a piece of paper when we registered for the cosplay as it would be asked for... No one ever said anything about it. I expected them to make us perform the cosplay before the actual presentation in front of thousands of people...it never happened.
What's even worse was their badge policy. My friend (dressed as Sakura) lost her badge. When she went to beg for a new one in front of the TV camera, they asked for no proof whatsoever of her ever actually buying a badge. They didn't even ask her if she got a one-day pass or an all-weekend one. This means that any hobo on the street can buy a Genki Gang hat, stroll in, tell the staff that he lost his badge, and he'd get one, free of charge. In fact, many places didn't require a badge, like the autographs, Exhibition hall, and the Artist Alley. scream A-Kon must lose a lot of money every year...
Anyways, it was time to cosplay. They had a really great MC this year. Some of the cosplays were pretty good. Others.... wellll...
Well, the dance went beautifully. There were no mistakes except for a dropped fan. I will never forget that extatic roar at the end of the cosplay when we finished with our huge butterfly fan-finale. xd
Anyways, we won Best Stage Presentation. Yeah, I can't believe it, either. 3nodding
