Anime Expo 2012 – Part Two of Two
By apathylad 3 Comments
You can read my previous blog about my attendance on Saturday over here.
Although we left the convention earlier on Sunday than we did on Saturday, we still saw some new cosplayers, and I attended a couple new panels. My friend Mario originally paid for a one-day pass, but he enjoyed Anime Expo enough to pay for an extra day. Thankfully, he didn't have to buy an entirely new pass, and only had to pay a $20 difference, as if he was “upgrading”. We started the day off by trying to go to a panel about how to dance like a J-Pop star, but then found out that what was listed in our books was canceled. We were mostly separated, because had his LiSA concert, Mario wanted to photograph more cosplayers, and I was still sore from the day before, so I spent the afternoon attending a Final Fantasy panel, and a panel about building and growing an online community.
Personally, the cosplayers I found on Sunday were more amusing to me than Saturday. I was glad to see a few cosplayers from Tales of Graces, and found a creative Amaterasu suit, where the girl would essentially “transform” by getting on a crawling position. Because there's so many people at the convention, there will likely be some great costumes you won't see. There may even be some people you recognize from the internet! I randomly found JesuOtaku from ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com roaming the floor on Saturday, and Rocco from Mega64 on Sunday. Rocco said he would force me to see his panel when I told him I wouldn't be able to make it.
Around noon, and even though I told myself I wouldn't do this, I bought some food from the food trucks. Yes, it's pricey, but not as expensive as the food within the convention halls. On the plus side, there were some trucks handing out free energy drinks to everyone, so that was pretty cool. But yeah, if you ever plan on going to a convention, be prepared to take cash. It'll go to parking (we paid $15 a day for the parking structure within the convention center), food, and anything else you may want to buy from the vendors. I even bought a Garrus figure from one of the vendors in the Exhibit Hall after the guy pointed out it was his last Garrus figure.
The Final Fantasy panel wasn't too interesting, to be honest. People were lining up pretty early, and it was sorta cool to see Final Fantasy fans sit around their favorite and least favorite Final Fantasy titles, though. One guy went around and started asking people individually about what their favorite Final Fantasy title was, and tracking the answers with his phone, but I'm not sure what the final tally was. The guide suggested that the panel would be an overview of how the series evolved, but really it was just a quick PowerPoint retrospective of the series' history. Final Fantasy does have an interesting history, but the panel didn't convey how the series has improved, rather, it just pointed out the changes over the years.
The last panel I attended was about building online game communities, and I saw a couple people I recognized. StreetPass LA, AngryBananas, and a couple other sites talked about their gatherings and possible launch parties they may hold in the future. I'll consider going to some of these in the future and possibly even blog about them.
That about wraps up Sunday for me. Soon after the panel ended, ESREVER called and wanted us to head out to the airport. It may have only been a year since my first convention, but I've gone to quite a few since that time. Because of all of different people involved, and because it is such a different environment, I can see myself going to more of these in the future. It's the same event, but attending it with friends and seeing people from around the world makes it a different experience. Heck, maybe next time I'll attend a convention as a member of the press or as a cosplayer!...Okay, probably not, but it's a possibility.
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