Rewind back to May 27. Kunicon Atlanta 2005 started that Friday and would continue into Saturday and Sunday. Due to various reasons involving work (yes, I apparently have a real job), birthdays (yes, the 28th was my birthday), rides, and other such inconsequential things, I was only able to go on Friday.
I had been to one Anime convention before, and that was one day of last year’s Anime Weekend Atlanta. To be honest, there are some fans in the fandom that can scare me. Girls who glomp random people; Naruto fanboys unique enough to have nerdcore rap songs made about them; the Yaoi fangirls–and boys; that creepy guy who tried to defend his lolicon magazine reading habits to me out of nowhere.
Of course, I stood there with a Brachio Morpher on. Sue me, but dressing up as Dr. Tommy Oliver from Power Rangers DinoThunder can pass. All it is is a black shirt, glasses, a certain hairstyle, and nobody will notice you. Well, except for two fans of the show, it’s passable.
I would like to assume that Friday was just the kickoff day for the Con and that things picked up after that, but as it stood Friday was rather slow. Not that it was far from fun; I loved beating people at Marvel VS Capcom 2 in the gaming room.
Anime Hell was the lone show I got to catch. Barring some technical difficulties, it certainly was well put together (excluding the inclusion of the ridiculously funny–but not anime–Sockbaby) and had some hilarious moments.
I did manage to sit in on a webcomic how-to session near the tail end, as I’d like to get my project off the ground sometime. Informative, but much more for the art side of things.
The dealer’s room, ironically, is where I spent most of my money and time. After checking around, I bought the Hanzo Steel from Kill Bill, a few of the Nintendo Mario Stage dioramas, and a few posters which may or may not be postable on Toon Zone. While I saw some stuff I was interested in (they had an OS-tan figure… ), prices held me back (… for $100+?!?).
Speaking of holding back in the dealer’s room, I was talking with a friend and thought I saw someone familiar. Remember from my reviews how I just had finished Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time? One of the special features was Tiffany Grant showing off all her Asuka stuff.
Yeah, there was Tiffany Grant. After asking if it was her (I didn’t want to seem like a total all-knowing fan to someone if it wasn’t her), I got to talk to her for a minute or two about it (I didn’t want to seem like an obsessed fan), admitting that my favorite character was Asuka. She was glad that I finally got to see it, pointing out that with recorded mediums, unlike stage and theater, they’ll always be there for someone to check out.
Remember how I brought up “holding back in the dealer’s room”? Yeah, Matt Greenfield was walking around. If you know my Eva reviews, you know how tired I got of his spoilers. Yeah, I didn’t say anything.
Slightly sad not to see any tables from the anime companies there (I, for some reason, held out hope that FUNimation’s Lance Heiskell would be there to have another discussion over Apocalypse Meow!), but they may have shown up later in the weekend. (Given that a Kiddy Grade commentary session was scheduled later, someone from FUNimation was there). Also, I was definitely sad to see that the bikini contest (yes, you had to be dressed as a character, I believe) was pushed back a day. (I did see a cabbit in a bikini… a cabbikini?), But I understand things happen. I also believe the Inuyasha commentary was cancelled due to talent not showing up, but given my relative disdain for Inuyasha, it’s all for the better.
Kunicon was definitely worth visiting one day, but I wonder if I visited on the right day. Still, I believe my trip to Anime Weekend Atlanta may have spoiled me on anime cons, as I want to go to this year’s more than ever now. Bigger dealer room, more companies, etc.
But hey, I now have more fanservice of Eva, Tenjho Tenge, and Ghost In The Shell on my walls. That’s good enough, right?
