ANIMANIA 2006 DAY 01

[kieslin]

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.

This group were really nice and had a really cool music orientated skit.


These guys were as elusive as who they were cosplaying. Honestly it was like I'd finally find them, then they'd fade away into obscurity.


This cosplayer ( I think her name is Rena, if I remember correctly) always has gorgeous costumes. It's not all that noticeable but her wings are quite a bit intricate and actually shimmer in the right light.


And here is Michael and friend. I asked for a photo and we were both like 'OMG, I know you!' XD We see each other occasionally and I totally didn't recognise him. Then again, he had no face and I doubt anyone would be able to recognise him much. It's a pity I won't be seeing him at Supanova but best of luck with your HSC!!!


My first thought was...OUCH! I mean, there's a significant stiletto heel on his boots. If I wore something with that much heel, I'd trip and break my neck. His costume was an interesting crossplay.


Miyu's group. They looked totally awesome. I meant to get a better picture but got sidetracked. DDR is ebbil.


I know I've mentioned somewhere, of my irrational hate of Esther, but look! Trinity Blood cosplayer. Pity I couldn't have a picture taken with her as Abel. But I'm thinking of revamping my simpler priest!Abel to something close to the manga/art with his battle clothing.


I was looking for this guy everywhere. He was cool, hamming it up for the photos as well as on stage.

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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Comments

[xxxkbunnies.livejournal.com]

Damn I'm so sad I missed it! Great to hear it was fun this year.

But yeah, Rena's costumes are AWESOME and she's very nice as well. (I know her from the cosplay meetup).

Now I have to make myself an awesome (I'm aiming for horror-themed) costume for Supernova ;)

[julzbat.livejournal.com]

Will be expecting to see you there!

[arccie.livejournal.com]

Juliet...!
Where's the time machine?
I really really want to have been there with you.

Who's Michael dressed as?
*waves hand enthusiastically*
Seconds the irrational prejudiced hate of Esther (and most other female characters)

The d.gray-man group look really really good.

You went in an old costume didn't you?
Soo...where are the pictures of you?

The field trip was well field trip like and involved 5am mornings, rodents (live), rodents (dead, and squashed), birds (live and dead...a real mystery there as there were 3 in a row that didn't have a single cause of death sign on them), scary midnight walks in the dark (with a spotlight and a crick in the neck, or alternatively mud and cowpats), uncomfortable seats...and a semi-decent meal plan.

On a plus note, I finised the firstbook of the David Weber trilogy.

[julzbat.livejournal.com]

XD.

Michael is dressed as a Dark Priest and his friend is an assassin from Ragnarok Online.

I went as myself/otaku on Saturday and was a random Benibara fan on Sunday. I was originally going to go as Ranka, but I'm hopeless with bandannas; then I was going to go as Mori in the same episode, but I have long hair and didn't have the right shoes, so I settled a little in between both and lo and behold...the birth of a random Benibara fan.

*promises to wear the outfit on our next trip*

The field trip sounds...interesting.
I do hope there was some crack!filming of the Blair Witch Project to go with the scary midnight walks. Oh wait, there were cowpats... >_<

Cool you finished Oath of Swords. I found the third book under my bed so we'll exchange when next we meet.