Anime Expo 2011
Due to my laziness and irresponsibility, I ended up with a rushed schedule and missing some planned events at Anime Expo (AX) 2011. I guess I was afraid of getting headaches and dizziness from lack of sleep again. I had faced some interferences as well.
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Day 1 – Friday, July 1
I had wanted to wait until the morning rush hour was over before I started driving. In 2009, I had arrived a little before 11:00 A.M. on the first day, and it didn’t take too long to check in and pick up my badge. However, when I arrived at about the same time on Friday, July 1, 2011, the line was very long, and it took almost two hours to get my badge. Even worse, they made us wait outside in the heat, so I had to take off my costume at times.
Some people in the group in front of me was complaining to one of their members, "Nice going, Mr. Let’s-Leave-at-8:30!" I couldn’t believe that the line had gotten so bad in just two years.
The badges came with a bag of junk. The only thing I found useful was the Program Guide. At the main events ticket booth, I learned that the tickets for the AMV Contest had been sold out about 15 minutes ago. That was another reminder of my stupidity and irresponsiblity: I should have rushed more or left much earlier.
They were behind schedule on many events, so the Hetalia History panel started later than 2:30 P.M. The talk about Prussia and the Seven Weeks War was confusing, but that’s how most of history is to me. I had to leave soon for the Pokemon Cosplay Gathering at 4:00 P.M.
The cosplay gathering was as crowded as ever, and it was impossible to get everyone in one picture. Several times, I had to hand my camera to someone else, because dressed as a random Pokemon professor, I was going to be in the shots of human characters, non-playable characters, and Pokemon professors with starters .
At 6:15 P.M., I enjoyed the panel GameTrailers.com Presents Pop-Fiction though it wasn’t quite what I expected. I walked down the street afterwards and had dinner before I drove back to my apartment to find that my newest hamster had escaped from her cage and was hiding, so I had to spend quite a bit of time getting her back in.
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Day 2 – Saturday, July 2
I met up with a friend before heading for the Final Fantasy Cosplay Gathering. Though it wasn’t as crowded as the Pokemon one, it was still hot and hard to take pictures. There were quite a few different costumes since 2009, and no one dressed as characters from FFXII.
I finally had a chance to check out the Exhibit Hall, but only got through half of it without even visitng the Artist Alley, because the Hetalia Cosplay Gathering was at 2:00 P.M. This one was really difficult to get shots since many people were in the way.
Some countries had only one cosplayer, and the one for Egypt announced, "I stand alone!" making people laugh. I had to leave the gathering halfway through for Chibi Masquerade at 3:00 P.M.
When they gave me directions for waiting, I selfishly complained, "Outside again?"
They apologized, "Sorry."
As the directed others outside, I impulsively blurted out, "I hate the outdoors with a passion," and they replied, "We all do," which I doubted since many people seem to like the outdoors.
I know I am a very self-centered and unreasonable indoor person, but as I headed out the door, I thought, ‘They really don’t care about people’s health and comfort. Some people physically handle certain weather conditions.’
Due to running behind schedule again, Chibi Masquerade had to be cut short though I did enjoy seeing all the different costumes and performances. I then decided to go eat at Denny’s.
When I returned to the LACC, I had to find the end of the long line for Naruto Shippuuden: Dreamers Fight – Sneak Preview by Thousand Pounds Action Company. Luckily, I was one of the last ones allowed to enter. People were clapping and cheering throughout the live action video of Naruto vs. Rock Lee. Thousand Pounds then showed us other live action videos, and I left. There were still many people standing outside, saying that there should still be space for them. I told the staff that there was enough standing space for several more people before I left for the night.
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Day 3 – Sunday, July 3
I had planned to attend Anime Expo 20th Anniversary Panel and Origami, but ended up missing them because I was lazy, irresponsible, and couldn’t get up. Besides, I didn’t want to risk getting headaches or dizziness from lack of sleep for several nights in a row. I also wondered why they didn’t have as many Origami workshops as they did in the past.
They were behind schedule as usual, so I Wish my Life was a RPG had just barely started when I had to leave for the Naruto Cosplay Gathering at 1:00 P.M. As expected, it was crowded, but they ran the gathering well, especially by organizing groups and having us wait in the shade. It was still hard to get everyone in a single picture. There was even a baby cosplaying Baby Naruto as well as a lesbian marriage proposal.
Afterwards, I got through the rest of the vendors in the Exhibit Hall, and got a picture taken for CrunchyRoll. Halfway through Artist Alley, I had to leave for Survival Japanese at 5:00 P.M. This was began more on time than the previous programs I attended, and also ended early. It was a lot of information, but the slides were e-mailed to us. I then had to meet up with my family somewhere, so when I got back to my apartment, it was somewhat late. In this case, oversleeping and missing the morning events might have turned out to be a good idea.
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Day 4 – Monday, 4th of July
After reading about Azumanga Daioh for a long time, I decided to check out the anime. I soon left to finish checking out Artist Alley, and finally meet Dyaoka. She is a good artist and was nice, too. I also bought a few small, cheap things before the Exhibit Hall closed for good at 3:00 P.M.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was crowded, and seeing that it was
the same as the downloaded copy I watched, I exited the room to allow more people to enter. That was when I saw that there was a line. With nothing else to do, I left AX 2011.
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I’m not sure if I will attend Anime Expo in the future. Though I had a good time and enjoyed meeting friends, AX 2011 had too many people for me. Every program involved waiting in line, unlike in 2008 and 2009. It was also exhausting, and interferences made it worse. Planning my schedule and following it was stressful as well. I also
wish the Exhibit Hall would be open later than 6:00 P.M. since there are a number of evening and night programs. The crowds and having to often be outdoors makes me not want to attend AX in the future. Still, the four days flew by fast, and I wish we could have more days.