Going to the AniMegaCon was really a last minute idea I had for a lazy Sunday afternoon. I had contemplated going to Friday, and then Sunday earlier this week while doing my weekly comic book shopping, but decided my plans were a little thwarted by work calling me in. So, with Friday past, then working again Saturday, it seems Sunday was the real only feasible day to see this curious expo I knew very little about.
When I say I know nothing about AniMegaCon, what I really mean is, I don’t know shit about anime in general. I watch very little of it, I find some of it entertaining, sometimes, and haven’t seriously been into a series since Trigun, so I’m a little rusty.
The Con was friendly though, easy to traverse, and had plenty of opportunities to do anything anime. There were three panel rooms, 24-hour card and video gaming rooms, mega events rooms, and an exhibitor hall complete with artists alley. The most peculiar smell was coming from the 24-Hour Card Gaming Room which probably housed people who were there for the whole 72 hours of the con. The smell can only be described as spices from the orient, BO of a bath house combined with the tears of broken dreams.
The 24-Hour Video Gaming Room was less busy and less smelly. The room was almost broken in sectors between fighters, fps, dancing, and brawlers. I attempted to play the group of guys you see in this picture on Modern Warfare 3, they were playing some strange 3rd person rule and wouldn’t allow me to join. I guess the big guy in a gaming blog shirt isn’t welcome to beat down noobs…
Besides a good number of panels to attend, one that caught my interest was “Project Cosplay”, a chance for veteran cosplayers to show their talents. The costumes you see in the picture were done in an hour, AN HOUR! That’s some incredible talent.
An anime expo wouldn’t be complete without, well, 24/7 anime marathons. I dropped in to watch B Gata H Kei – Yamada’s First Time, didn’t “get” any of the humor, and promptly walked out.
Of course the real reason for anyone to go to AniMegaCon is for the scantly clad, cosplaying women. Maids, street fighters, and the like were all there, ready to show off small portions of skin to prompt male, or female interest. Heed my warning though, cross dressing is a common practice, so look before you leap.
Sora from Kingdom Hearts 2 to made an appearance. His key weapon was actually up for purchase from one of the many vendors at the expo.
I have no idea who this chick is. She was in a bikini and had a gigantic gun, so I took her picture.
J-List had their own booth and were selling hentai books and translated PC games. The amount of hentai at AniMegaCon was kind of surprising to me, they actually had hentai marathons in one of the largest halls every night from 1 AM to 6 AM. Nothing says uncomfortable like watching anime porn on a big screen, in a huge dark room, with a bunch of horny strangers. But I understand it’s part of the culture, and you really can’t turn down a mouse pad with boobs to ease your carpal tunnel.
Out of complete coincidence I managed to get this picture with Quinton Flynn, the voice of Raiden from my favorite gaming franchise of all time, Metal Gear Solid. I showed off all of my MGS tattoos, none of which Raiden, and talked about his newest project, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. From Flynn’s mouth to your ears,”I’m still recording for Rising, my part will be done probably at the end of September.” AWESOME!!!
AniMegaCon claims to be “The Universe’s Largest Anime Convention” and I’m not going to say it’s not, because I haven’t been to any others, but Sunday’s turnout was looking a little grim. Rumor had it that a few exhibitors and artists in “Artist Alley” had packed up after Saturday because they were either out of stock, or not selling enough of it. Everyone was more than willing to have their picture taken, and besides the douches who didn’t let me play MW3 with them, every one else was extremely nice. I’m unsure if I looked like I knew anything about anime, but the whole experience was rather enjoyable. I’m sure next year I’ll get a three day pass so I can partake in the after parties, raves, hentai viewings, burlesque shows, and karaoke. AniMegaCon, we’ll meet again next year.
A complete gallery of pictures can be found on our Facebook page here!
Burke
Back to the Farm.
Burke
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I work too damn much. Didn’t even realize this was here last week. :/
Guess I’ll just have to hit it up next year.
Next time you should stop and chat with us longer! Hope to run into you again =)
Oh noes! You caught me drinking my coffee! It ruins the whole illusion! Lol. Thanks for posting our pick! I love that you caught me and Constantine with our drinks. Random cosplay pics entertain me to no end.
I really liked the pic also. It’s fun giving the cosplay a little extra play.