Saturday = AWESOME.
Ah, Animania... you made this Saturday the best Saturday of my LIFE.
I arrived sometime after 10 in the morning, having gone there via train. Dad accompanied me up until the queue; I didn't preregister, so I had to get a day pass. Fortunately it went quickly and smoothly, and after getting the pass - and a showbag - I went on my rather nervous and shocked way. I'd never seen cosplays in real life before, let alone so MANY.
First stop was the Dealer's Room and the Game Room. My initial reaction to the Dealer's Room was, "I can't get anything! I didn't bring my entire bank account! Wait... I don't HAVE a bank account." After a while of standing there and watching stuff (including some pwnful DDR players), I went back outside... and saw people descending a staircase. So I went up that staircase.
The main hall was showing Fate/Stay Night, so I watched it with random intervals in between. (If I'd have known where the Activity Room was earlier I'd have watched Mushishi instead!) During these intervals I would wander around, and I came to know that the floor had a Karaoke Room (some of the singers were REALLY GOOD). Eventually I went back inside, only to discover someone who went to the same school as I do... she recognised me. And our first reactions were along the lines of, "I didn't know you liked anime!"
We sat next to each other for the duration of Animania Olympia. First there was "Clans of Warriors", which was like Simon Says, except that there were two poses (Ninja and Samurai) - and if the hosts said, "For the win... Samurai!" then the Ninjas would have to sit down. The two finalists from this did the next activity: "Live Dubbing". They wound up doing a very funny Cowboy Bebop dub in which Spike eats... brown... stuff. Next was "Deaf, Dumb and Anime", and finally there was "Wot Is It?" In between these activities, and as prizes, the hosts would throw Madman CDs and pocky into the audience. I didn't get any pocky.
I accompanied my acquaintance as she, I and some people she was with - presumably friends - went to the Food Festival to get lunch. Naturally we didn't buy anything, but I did get a neat photo of myself.
Afterwards we went back inside, and I... lost this acquaintance. I didn't see her for the rest of the day.
But I did get to see two Twilight Princess cosplayers: Zelda, and Link... Wolf Link. I got to photograph them, too. Some of my favourite cosplays in the whole convention.
Sometime after this, I went into the Activity Room, where they were learning the Hare Hare Yukai dance (from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). I joined in for a little bit... man, that dance is hard! But it was fun. The best part was that at one point, the guys playing the video (and teaching the dance) decided to play the video in slow-mo... and tried to sing it in slow-mo as well... in the end we decided it's easier when played at normal speed!
Needless to say, all that dancing left me exhausted and sore, so I went to get my backpack. I'd left it close to the base of the staircase, but when I got there... no backpack.
Uh oh.
My family was waiting outside of the town hall (Animania's held in Sydney's town hall). I got outside and told them of my predicament. They suggested that I ask about lost property... but I was too chicken to ask. =_=
After going back inside (and declaring that I hated stairways), I found a vending machine and got myself a quick lunch of potato chips and a bottle of water. My mother rang to ask me if I'd found my bag; I said no, and that I'd get looking. So of course I didn't; I just went on my way.
Back downstairs, I got myself volumes one and two of the Ouran High School Host Club manga. Shortly after: another phone call, suggesting that I meet my family AGAIN. I was getting frustrated by now, so I just sat down and read the Terms and Conditions on the pamphlet. Yet another phone call. This time I snapped, and just hung up on mum without saying a word.
So I went upstairs to watch the cosplay. I arrived in time to see the last few solo cosplays, and the beginning of the group acts - this included skits, of course. Partway through, I began to feel horrible. I knew what that feeling was...
So I missed out on photographing one cosplay group just to write an SMS to my mother: "Sorry I got mad."
Sometime later, I began to wonder about my family, so I went back downstairs, and outside. There they were, with... my backpack.
My mother was just about to send a reply to what I'd written. Nonetheless, I apologised in person, and they accepted it (I'm glad they can understand when their kid acts rashly). So there, a happy ending to that trouble. And with a massive weight lifted off my shoulders, I went back inside, one last time.
I watched the rest of the skits. One which particularly stands out to me was called "Circus Homonculus"; it was a Lust cosplayer and an Envy cosplayer (both characters from Fullmetal Alchemist), and they did a dance of sorts. The Envy was so acrobatic it was incredible!
Speaking of dances... after the skits, they had performances from Dancekool Studio. Awesome performances. And then they announced the winners of the cosplay contest.
And the winner of the best technical work on a cosplay? Wolf Link.
I actually went, "Woof! Woof!" out loud when the cosplayer went off the stage! XD
Afterwards I talked to some of the cosplayers, including said Wolf Link cosplayer. Then, I left the building for the last time that day, rendezvous'd with my family, ate at McDonald's, and went home via train.
Now, as I finish typing up this report, it's in the morning on Sunday, after a sleep. My back was tortured by all the standing, my wallet is almost empty (didn't help that I was on a tight budget), and I've got the first two volumes of Ouran close to me.
Aside from that upset, and the tortured back, I think I can safely say that the 29th of September, 2007, RULED. Next year, I'm going to preregister.
I arrived sometime after 10 in the morning, having gone there via train. Dad accompanied me up until the queue; I didn't preregister, so I had to get a day pass. Fortunately it went quickly and smoothly, and after getting the pass - and a showbag - I went on my rather nervous and shocked way. I'd never seen cosplays in real life before, let alone so MANY.
First stop was the Dealer's Room and the Game Room. My initial reaction to the Dealer's Room was, "I can't get anything! I didn't bring my entire bank account! Wait... I don't HAVE a bank account." After a while of standing there and watching stuff (including some pwnful DDR players), I went back outside... and saw people descending a staircase. So I went up that staircase.
The main hall was showing Fate/Stay Night, so I watched it with random intervals in between. (If I'd have known where the Activity Room was earlier I'd have watched Mushishi instead!) During these intervals I would wander around, and I came to know that the floor had a Karaoke Room (some of the singers were REALLY GOOD). Eventually I went back inside, only to discover someone who went to the same school as I do... she recognised me. And our first reactions were along the lines of, "I didn't know you liked anime!"
We sat next to each other for the duration of Animania Olympia. First there was "Clans of Warriors", which was like Simon Says, except that there were two poses (Ninja and Samurai) - and if the hosts said, "For the win... Samurai!" then the Ninjas would have to sit down. The two finalists from this did the next activity: "Live Dubbing". They wound up doing a very funny Cowboy Bebop dub in which Spike eats... brown... stuff. Next was "Deaf, Dumb and Anime", and finally there was "Wot Is It?" In between these activities, and as prizes, the hosts would throw Madman CDs and pocky into the audience. I didn't get any pocky.
I accompanied my acquaintance as she, I and some people she was with - presumably friends - went to the Food Festival to get lunch. Naturally we didn't buy anything, but I did get a neat photo of myself.
Afterwards we went back inside, and I... lost this acquaintance. I didn't see her for the rest of the day.
But I did get to see two Twilight Princess cosplayers: Zelda, and Link... Wolf Link. I got to photograph them, too. Some of my favourite cosplays in the whole convention.
Sometime after this, I went into the Activity Room, where they were learning the Hare Hare Yukai dance (from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). I joined in for a little bit... man, that dance is hard! But it was fun. The best part was that at one point, the guys playing the video (and teaching the dance) decided to play the video in slow-mo... and tried to sing it in slow-mo as well... in the end we decided it's easier when played at normal speed!
Needless to say, all that dancing left me exhausted and sore, so I went to get my backpack. I'd left it close to the base of the staircase, but when I got there... no backpack.
Uh oh.
My family was waiting outside of the town hall (Animania's held in Sydney's town hall). I got outside and told them of my predicament. They suggested that I ask about lost property... but I was too chicken to ask. =_=
After going back inside (and declaring that I hated stairways), I found a vending machine and got myself a quick lunch of potato chips and a bottle of water. My mother rang to ask me if I'd found my bag; I said no, and that I'd get looking. So of course I didn't; I just went on my way.
Back downstairs, I got myself volumes one and two of the Ouran High School Host Club manga. Shortly after: another phone call, suggesting that I meet my family AGAIN. I was getting frustrated by now, so I just sat down and read the Terms and Conditions on the pamphlet. Yet another phone call. This time I snapped, and just hung up on mum without saying a word.
So I went upstairs to watch the cosplay. I arrived in time to see the last few solo cosplays, and the beginning of the group acts - this included skits, of course. Partway through, I began to feel horrible. I knew what that feeling was...
So I missed out on photographing one cosplay group just to write an SMS to my mother: "Sorry I got mad."
Sometime later, I began to wonder about my family, so I went back downstairs, and outside. There they were, with... my backpack.
My mother was just about to send a reply to what I'd written. Nonetheless, I apologised in person, and they accepted it (I'm glad they can understand when their kid acts rashly). So there, a happy ending to that trouble. And with a massive weight lifted off my shoulders, I went back inside, one last time.
I watched the rest of the skits. One which particularly stands out to me was called "Circus Homonculus"; it was a Lust cosplayer and an Envy cosplayer (both characters from Fullmetal Alchemist), and they did a dance of sorts. The Envy was so acrobatic it was incredible!
Speaking of dances... after the skits, they had performances from Dancekool Studio. Awesome performances. And then they announced the winners of the cosplay contest.
And the winner of the best technical work on a cosplay? Wolf Link.
I actually went, "Woof! Woof!" out loud when the cosplayer went off the stage! XD
Afterwards I talked to some of the cosplayers, including said Wolf Link cosplayer. Then, I left the building for the last time that day, rendezvous'd with my family, ate at McDonald's, and went home via train.
Now, as I finish typing up this report, it's in the morning on Sunday, after a sleep. My back was tortured by all the standing, my wallet is almost empty (didn't help that I was on a tight budget), and I've got the first two volumes of Ouran close to me.
Aside from that upset, and the tortured back, I think I can safely say that the 29th of September, 2007, RULED. Next year, I'm going to preregister.