Anime Expo 2009
The four days at Anime Expo 2009 sure flew by fast, but I’m not sure if it would be better if the event lasted longer. Last year’s experience played quite a role in my decisions and actions this year. For example, I brought a bigger tote bag to be able to fit in the AX booklet, papers, and a thin bath towel. AX 2008 taught me that the air conditioning inside the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) was often uneven and too strong while it was hot outside, so I wore summer clothes and sometimes a jacket. The towel was to cover my legs when the A/C made it too cold during the panels.
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Day 1 – Thursday, July 2, 2009
Due to trouble sleeping the night before, I had trouble getting up. Actually, I was afraid to get out of bed after getting sick during AX 2008, partly due to lack of sleep. The traffic to downtown Los Angeles was still bad, even after the morning rush hour. Since AX 2009 and my school clerkship locations were all in the same area, I decided to pick up my clerkship file at the off campus clinic and turn it in at my school’s extension campus first. That took about an hour, so by the time I reached LACC, it was almost 11:00 A.M., and the place was already crowded.
I had to ask for directions to the registration and badge pick-up area since the location and paths were different from last year’s. I really hated having to go outdoors, especially when it was hot. Though I found what seemed to be the shortest line, it still took quite awhile. I finally received my badge, and was free to roam around.
I asked about cosplay gatherings to learn that they weren’t an official part of the AX schedule, but set up by fans, so they didn’t have any schedules. Fortunately, none of the Day 1 cosplay gatherings interested me. By then, I realized that Origami would be almost over, so I decided to forget about it and have lunch before AMV 101 Workshop at 12:30 P.M. The panel speakers were funny, but I think they wasted too much time with jokes, and I didn’t really get to learn how to make AMVs, except starting out with Windows Movie Maker.
I arrived at the karaoke room a little before 3:00 P.M. to check out the event and possibly meet Whitelilacs. I then got talked into participating in the Karaoke Contest. They had some technical problems during registration and the contest. I decided to sing Melodies of Life by Emiko Shiratori from Final Fantasy IX in the preliminary round. I messed up on the rhythm for I kept singing too fast. I wasn’t expecting to make it into the semifinals in the first place, especially when I didn’t want to stay late. Whitelilacs was a good singer, and she introduced her friends, Hatsumi-chan and Tweetychick630, who were also good singers. They deserved to win, and also informed me that I could print out a cosplay gathering schedule at the AX website forums.
After announcing the Karaoke Contest semifinalists, I left in an attempt to meet up with others from LJ and Xanga, but no luck, especially since the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley closed at 6:00 P.M. To avoid rush hour, I waited till after 7:00 P.M. to leave, but the traffic was still bad. I found and printed out the cosplay gathering schedule later.
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Day 2 – Friday, July 3, 2009
I thought the panel, Dreams to Reality: You Too Can Travel Japan! was at 10:00 A.M. instead of 9:00 A.M., so I arrived about 20 mintues late. I am just careless and forgetful. Still, I picked up good information from the panel, which ran overtime, so not everything planned was presented. I stayed in the same room for Introduction to Anime/Manga Studies, but it ended up not being useful to me, so I left early, and went to peek at the Manga Cafe.
I returned from lunch at Denny’s a little before 1:00 P.M. to find the Scavenger Hunt line insanely long, so many of us couldn’t participate. Hearing that it would also be packed the next day, I decided to totally forget about it.
The Pokemon cosplay gathering was held outside, where it was hot, and it also became crowded, so it was not easy to take pictures. A few times, I almost lost my balance and fell because of people crowding and somewhat pushing me.
After the cosplay gathering, I explored the Exhibit Hall, then Artist Alley, where I met Remi_chan, Kuroi_rubyheart, and _Rakugosha_. With _Rakugosha_ was Melancholista. They are all good artists, and from them, I learned more about the new popular anime series called Hetalia Axis Powers. Through _Rakugosha_ was Melancholista, I also met Way_to_the_dawn. After the exhibits closed, I met up with a friend from college.
I was surprised that the traffic wasn’t bad. I later heard that many people had the day off, because it would be the 4th of July the next day. Later, I downloaded some Hetalia episodes, but the subtitles weren’t showing. Since I felt a little dizzy and weak, I decided to bother with it another time. After last year’s experience of having to lie down for awhile on Day 3 of AX, I got scared, so I decided to take medicine for my dizziness.
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Day 3 – Saturday, 4th of July, 2009
It looks like preventing a repeat of what happened last year backfired, because though the medicine helped with my dizziness, the side effect was drowsiness, resulting in trouble getting up, so it was almost noon when I arrived at LACC. That’s why I missed my planned morning events, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Intermixi Japan Tours, and the Naruto cosplay gathering. After eating at Denny’s, I called some LJ and Xanga people to meet up with, but I was able to reach only <a href="http://sleepy-akira.liv
ejournal.com/profile”>Sleepy_akira. It was nice to finally meet her and her friends though it was short.
Fortunately, the Super Smash Brothers Brawl cosplay gathering wasn’t as crowded as the Pokemon one yesterday. After hearing so much about The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, I figured that a good way to learn about it was to attend the panel at 3:00 P.M. The line was long, and we had to be seated in the order we entered.
After wandering around the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley, I decided to call those I couldn’t reach earlier. That was when I realized that I had saved and dialed the wrong number for one of the people because I was only again careless, and had looked at the wrong lines in my address book. I quickly dialed the correct number, but no answer. I began to worry if something happened to the people I didn’t meet, or I did something to make them not want to meet or communicate with me. I also realized that it was my fault for being so caught up with school and other things that I didn’t inform anyone about going to AX until the last minute. I at least hoped everyone I didn’t get to meet was all right.
By now, my legs hurt from all the standing and walking, and I also felt exhausted so I decided to leave since none of the evening and night events interested me. Besides, I had some things I needed to do after getting back to my apartment.
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Day 4 – Sunday, July, 5 2009
Due to trouble getting up again, I arrived about half an hour late to Origami. Still, I was able to enjoy folding a few things. AX had a last minute change in the schedule, which was Animation on the Cheap at noon. However, the previous panel went overtime, so it started half an hour late. I left early again since it wasn’t helpful, especially since I can’t afford to buy Macromedia Flash.
I ran into another friend from college before the Final Fantasy cosplay gathering at 2:00 P.M. It was scheduled to be indoors, but ended up outdoors. Fortunately, it wasn’t as crowded as the previous two I went to. The line for Zelda: Mythbusters was too long, and the exhibits had closed by 3:00 P.M., so I left AX 2009 a few hours before it ended. After I got back, I fell asleep until the evening.
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Though I had a good time, I didn’t find it as great as AX 2008. It could be because they didn’t have as many interesting things for me. Missing events and being more crowded could have played a role too. They also had repeats of some of the panels I attended last year, so I didn’t bother with them this year, except for Origami.
Another reason could be that last year was my first time attending AX, and things are usually more interesting and exciting the first time. From experience, I have realized that I usually enjoy something the first time because it’s new, or the second time because I am more familiar with it. After that, the fun seems to decrease, so I’m not sure if I’m going to AX 2010. My schedule will certainly play a big role in my decision.
I’m glad that at least I knew more about cosplay gatherings so I could get pictures. It was also nice to meet new people. I wish I had met everyone I wanted to meet, but I later found out that the busy schedules and being unable to reach one another was the cause of not seeing many people. I’m glad it wasn’t because something bad happened to them. Maybe we could meet up some other time.