Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Other Cons
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3376: Please Note: Part 1 of this blog series on Anime Conji started with Part 1. Followed up by Part 2. Today, my youngest son, Vinnie, will be posting his 'take' on the 2nd Day of the 2011 Anime Conji, which was his 1st Day at the this con, and was actually his 1st time ever at a true 'anime con'! BTW... You can still take in the 3rd & Final Day today, March 27th at this con! See the bottom links of this post to see the event location, programs, etc. ----------------------
This blog post will cover the general theme of the Anime Conji and some events in specific. The second day of the con was my first, as I was in school and not with my dad on Friday. When he went early on Friday morning to attend the Conji, he picked up our press passes so we were readily able to just join in on the fun today. I am composing this blog on my iPod Touch while waiting in line for the evening's masquerade. This will be one of the events described later in this blog. Well, now onto the actual read! The general theme of this Anime Conji is exactly what you might expect - it is filled with Anime and Manga themed clothing, art, and anything else you can think of. There were many interesting costumes worn to represent characters in
One of my favorite events of Saturday was listening to the band Secret Samurai, (top photo at right of this blog), at Charlie's Plaza in the Town and Country Resort. They are a band of surf music with Eastern influences. I found their music to be quite soothing, yet fun and thrilling. My dad and I were so impressed, we just had to buy one of their CDs. We bought their newest album, 'Zanshin', which I'm sure my Dad and I will be listening to back & forth to the Anime Conji on Sunday! They played from 12:00 pm until 1:05+ pm, and this was one of the few events we both wanted to stay the whole time that the panel/activity ran. (You can see their upcoming concert schedule here.)
The panel: Writer & Artist Collaborations was presented during 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. I found it interesting as the presenters were talking about their own experiences through their ventures of creating a webcomic. (See their site: Strawberry Scented Burnout.) They described how they created it, and were able to build it to what it is today. Afterwards, writers and artists were encouraged to exchange business cards and ideas with one another, which made it feel like what a convention really should be - a place to gather and socialize. (See 2nd photo down from the top right of this blog post for pic of the panel.)
There were some interesting costumes, and some that I haven't even seen or heard about. We stayed around here for awhile, as we were listening in to a band while looking at the amazing costumes worn here. My dad and I then went to the Mochi Maids Café, where we were served a delicious dinner, complete with a dessert, (see third photo down at the top of this post). It was served to us by people dressed as maids and butlers, which almost gave it an elegant feel. My dad and I enjoyed a chicken curry, and finished with a sweet chocolate cupcake topped with tasty chocolate syrup. Boy, did we feel we had it "maid"! There was also Café entertainment which included multiple games, and a dance that was put to Japanese style music. It made the waiting, caused by the café's popularity, easier to be comforted with when waiting for our food to be served. Also, as this was their first time doing this and we were one of their practice groups essentially, they gave us the meal free of charge. However, they greatly appreciated any donations given.
As this had happened, the show was thus running late. It was 15 minutes after the supposed ending time when we decided to leave, as the judges had not made their final decisions yet. At this time, the half time show was just ending. Here is more information about the half time show. It was a magnificent half time show hosted by the same Mochi Maids from the Mochi Maids Café. It was fun to watch and was similar to the style of dance they performed in the Café. That was my favorite part of the Masquerade... Really! Considering I couldn't see much else, being in the back of the room and too many taller heads in front of me...! However, even with the so-so late running masquerade... I greatly enjoyed the Anime Conji, and I am glad I got to attend. I give this convention a comic book grade of Near Mint Minus (NM-), a 9.2 out of a 10.0 grade scale. By the way, I will not be blogging about the 3rd and last day, although I will still be attending the Conji. However, my dad will be doing a part 4 of the Conji which will be a wrap-up of the events. Be sure to look out for it tomorrow! ~Vinnie! --------------
Here's just a brief outline: Come to the 2nd annual Anime Conji Returns: the Saga Continues! Three days of Art, Music and Cosplay celebrating Japanese Animation and Manga. We will have everything you would find at your standard anime convention PLUS MORE! Events: Musical Guest of Honor: Steam Powered Giraffe EXCLUSIVE FOR ANIME CONJI!!!! Mochi Maid CafeFairytale Burlesque Discounted Hotel Rooms At the Door Rates: $50.00 (full weekend badge) Here's the Facebook Event Page so YOU can check out the latest updates! Here's the Facebook Fan Page so YOU can become a 'Fan' and be interactive with others! Here's the web site for Anime Conji for even more info! My own Facebook Fan Page will be posting additional pics in the days to come, so that you that those of you that aren't able to attend, can see what happened! Again, My Thanks to Hector Reyes for bringing this 2nd Annual Anime Conji to my attention! If you and / or your friends have interest in Anime... And are close to the San Diego Metro Area THIS WEEKEND... Here's YOUR chance to check out a fun anime con! At least on the LAST Day... Today! ~Michael D Hamersky
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Welcome to my take on Anime Conji Day 2!
My dad and I viewed a panel about making, using, and wearing props and accessories. It talked in depth about each of those topics, and I found it quite interesting what trouble most of the cosplayers go through to make their costumes. You have to make sure any weapons are equally weighted on both ends, otherwise it will be quite uncomfortable to carry. I also found it interesting when they were talking about proportions, as it made me think of poor costumes I had seen at earlier events due to lack of equal proportioning. A good example would be if one dressed up as Sephiroth from the Final Fantasy series. He has a sword that is longer than he is tall, so when building the sword, you must have it longer than you. A 5 foot tall man will need a 6 foot long sword, but a 6 foot tall man will need a 7 foot long sword to be proportionate to the character. It greatly matters on the proportions. 
My dad and I got the chance to view the game room which was great fun. They had many platforms of games to play, including XBox, PlayStation 2, Wii, and GameCube, all the way to SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). People were also welcomed to bring any handheld games to play with others in the room. They also had tournaments for some of these games, such as the new Pokemon Black and White for Nintendo DS, SSBB (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) for Wii, and Halo Reach for XBox 360. There were many more game tournaments as well; 7 to be exact. However, they did have an entry fee of $2, but they did offer prizes to the winners. 
In the Charlie's Plaza area of the resort, they held a place for cosplayers to walk around and model for pictures if asked. 
The masquerade was fun to watch, and had a wide array of characters spread between the 15 entries. However, the line to enter the room that was hosting the masquerade was extremely long and led outside of the building. It was 46 minutes after it was supposed to start when everyone was finally in the room being seated. 
Thanks Vinnie! So for those of YOU that haven't been to Anime Conji before... What's been happening at this year's con? And what's left for today... Sunday the 27th?!
My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and the archived blog posts, now over 3,375 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!
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So yesterday, (Friday), I drove down to the 2nd Annual Anime Conji. Unfortunately it was pouring rain in the early morning drive. Not good for the 1st day of a convention that is held at a hotel setting, where the panels & events are held either in different rooms you have to access by going outside, or events that were scheduled to be outside. But this being my first 'official' Anime Con, I still wanted to go on the first day!
Again, the staff and volunteers made the line workable and those in line where I was, were very understanding. If you are going today, (Saturday), or Sunday, please allow enough time to either get registered or pick up your prepaid membership badges!
After that I took in the 'Steam Powered Giraffe' musical group, which I watched for a short while, after it took a while to set up. 
While there, I attended panels / programs that both of them either were panelists or presented at. Carolyn is shown to the left during a Hogwarts presentation.
My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,374 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!
Yesterday morning I woke up to the news that Elizabeth Taylor had died...
