ANIMANIA 2006 DAY 01

ANIMANIA 2006 DAY 01

Arrived at Town Hall at 10 am. The entrance was moved again this year so was initially hard to find. When in doubt follow the Ouran cosplayer. Walked down the queue to find the end. Exchanged a few words with Ian, an old co-worker, who was standing in the door sales line.
Eventually i got to the end of the line for pre-reg.

Mein gott!
The line went all down that street and wrapped around the corner at the end of the block.
It took me a whole hour of waiting in line before I got to the entrance.
From the entrance, they funnelled people towards the cloakroom then to the vendors hall. It was absolutely packed. There was a massive rush for the Tamarket and Madman stalls. It was virtually impossible to even get close.

It was considerably hot inside the vendors hall, something I didn't notice until I went upstairs. Dropped by miyukiko's table to say hi, then went exploring to familiarise myself with the hall and the changes to this year's fest.

Stalked the Artist's Alley. Bought prints from my two favourite artists, Nadia and Heise. I hope Nadia finishes her One Piece calendar next year. Ordered a bunch of prints from Heise so that I could pick up the next day since I was too lazy to carry much. Dropped by Miyu's table later on to get her gorgeous Kurama and Kurapika. Got a bajillion badges and bookmarks....well maybe not a bajillion but a fair few.

Screenings weren't all that interesting this year, or were something I had already watched, so I went back down to the vendor's hall to stalk in search of cosplayers, since the lighting down there was much better.

( Pheer my improved ninja photo skills. )

Stood gawking at the DDR for a while. I like watching DDR but was a wholly engrossed spectator this year. Someone got an AAA score.

Went to lunch. Tried the turkish bread thing. It was really nice. Also had okonomiyaki at the Hontou stall. Bought 2 boxes for the family at home. Bought a weekend's supply of green tea and ramune. My bag got quite heavy then. Going back inside, I staked a spot in the hall in prep for the cosplay later on and settled in for Duel Artist. As always, that was a lot of fun.

Cosplay this year, for lack of a word was AWESOME! The quality of the costumes, the skits, the amusement factor, etc, was simply excellent. I was a bit disappointed at the missing presence of Naruto cosplayers, cause I definitely thought there would be more this year considering the Australian release. Oh well.
The skits were excellent, one of my favourites being Kyouraku, Byakuya, and cameo appearances. "Why do you get the pink haori?"

I think Alphonse had to have been one of the best and 'authentic' as well. Using steel, apparently it's tin, he literally clanked on stage. Gundam Seed Destiny seems to be this year's 'it' thing. There were 3 Lacus Flyne's this year, one Meer and a whole bunch of other characters.. There was also an awesome catbus from My Neighbour Totoro. I was quite annoyed at the person who sat in front and beside me. The one in front kept on standing up to take photos and blocked not only my view but everyone else around. And the one beside me, kept jostling my arm everytime he adjusted his camera. This was really quite frustrating since some of the pictures I took became blurry. It didn't help that the stage had pretty harsh lighting. I'm sooo investing in an SLR next year. I would use my trusty manual but then I'd have to hire a darkroom, which I'm too lazy to do, and to be honest, I've forgotten what chemicals go where, etc. I suppose I could get it developed but that's too much effort as well....I wouldn't be control how I want it to look.
I'm really disappointed that I couldn't get a decent shot of Goki's Transformers outfit, the detailed Jin-Roh, the Tekken group (who pwn btw), the Ouran Host Club (awesome doesn't even begin to describe their skit), the lovely gorgeous Kamui and Fuuma, as well as the SWAT team/Columbian drug lord.

During the cosplay intermission, there was an Iaido demonstration, which was a bit lengthy but really interesting. But some of the comments from the audience around me were extremely inappropriate. People! Although, it's live steel, they have training and won't let go of the katana so don't start prophesising that the audience will die.

After the cosplay, I watched Animania Fusion before remembering that I had to go to Kinokuniya before they closed, to place an order for Cast Prix 2.

So endeth the first day.



Animania 2006 Photos Day 1 Saturday
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ANIMANIA 2006 DAY 02

ANIMANIA 2006 DAY 02

So onto day 2 of Animania.

The pre-reg line was processed much quicker. I was in the hall by 9:55am.

Met up with Jess, Andy and Sam who were cosplaying Star Ocean EX this year. Woohoo! (They're the ones in the middle)

I started on my stalkage for photos. Unfortunately unlike Saturday there weren't many wandering about the vendor's hall. Pity that. Although it was by far much easier to get to the vendors this time. I was contemplating the Mezzo DSA collection when I remembered that I was going to pick up my order from Heise.

Picked it up then got lost strolling through Artists Alley again.

Damn ebbil artists!!!! *shakes fist* I bought more prints, bookmarks and keyrings.

Went to lunch. Was third in line for takoyaki. Yum! It tasted so much better than the ones at the Hinata. Note to self: drag arccie soon. Also tried taiyaki, chocolate of course, although the seaweed bean was quite nice.

Went back in and caught the Madman panel. Woot! Trinity Blood manga to be released Febrary-ish 2007. Finally!
Then staked out my spot for the cosplay as I watched Duel Artist. God, I love this part. Gorgeous, slick art. The chicken one was awfully good.

( Sunday's cosplay...Bonta-kun, Air Gear, Hard Gay...Oh MY!!! )

The dancekool performance was really great. Really effective and simply wonderful to watch. It was such a pity that wasn't scheduled for Saturday when there was a not only full but jampacked house.
Sunday overall, was much more laidback as compared to Saturday. There were a less people but it was such an easygoing day.


NOTE: They're totally amateurish but if anyone wants any photos in a higher res, let me know.

Animania 2006 Photos Day 2 Sunday
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