The long and wordy road

[melcreada]

Well, I'm back from Animefest. With the exception of one rather upsetting incident, I had a blast! Am SO glad to be home, though. Really.




At first glance

I left town as soon as I got off work on Friday, at 10 a.m. I took my time driving to Dallas, trying to conserve gas and relax. As a result, I was able to look around a lot and sigh nostalgically over the entire corridor I used to travel so often (good Lord) 10 years ago. I was traveling with the windows off and it was bloody hot until a heavy but quick shower around Waco cooled things off. Yay!

When I arrived in Dallas, I promptly got lost trying to get into the hotel because the traffic was off the hook. It took me about 30 minutes to get my bearings and find my way back. I valet-parked and headed in. The hotel was swarming with search-and-rescue police and firefighters from Nevada and California, most of whom came in their own cars to help with the evacuees from Katrina (being housed in the Reunion Center directly across from the hotel). They were all very polite and even investigated our events with a frank curiosity and friendliness that won over lots of con-goers. I myself pet a search-and-rescue doggie! The pooches were lovin' the attention.

My hotel room was gorgeous. Huge, fancy bed. Mini French doors to the bathroom. Tres swanky. And while the con was the second smallest I have ever been to, it was incredibly well-run. Most things started on time. I stood in line maybe twice. At registration, there were two people ahead of me. They didn't even check my receipt; it took me less than 5 minutes to register! All the anime rooms showed what they were supposed to when they were supposed to. I guess it's easier to do all this since it is so small, but it still impressed me. The con staff was friendly and well-informed overall. So, many bonus points for all that jazz. Extra, extra bonus points for the insane laughter brought on by hearing, every so often, someone in the crowd bellowing, "Leeeroyyyyyyyy Jenkins!" And if you don't know what I am talking about, check it out here or here.


The panels

I went to both of Watanabe's panels and they were great! He is an unprepossessing man with a slight build and glasses, relaxed in jeans and a t-shirt. He was actually in the room several minutes before anyone noticed.

In the first panel, he talked about his directorial credits (namely Macross Plus, Bebop, Animatrix, and Champloo) and fielded questions. The best answer he gave was the one in which someone asked about whether Spike's personality was already formed in his mind or whether it grew as he was making the series. He said that in many ways, he had Spike with him since his childhood, like an imaginary friend who grew up with him. Making Bebop was like telling his longtime friend, "Okay now I am going to make a series for you." *wuvs him* He also mentioned Lupin as an anime that influenced him when he was younger and I was all, "Take me now!" *cough* J/K

The second panel was even better, as he actually showed clips from Macross and Bebop and talked about some of his experiences therein. People had lots of good questions, although we got the ubiquitous, "Are you going to create a sequel to Cowboy Bebop?" and "Is Spike really dead?" To which the audience groaned and Watanabe looked both amused and pained.

The final panel I attended was 3 PhDs discussing themes in Miyazaki movies and the future of Studio Ghibli. Scholars discussing Miyazaki = super nerdy happiness to the extreme! I was quite enthralled because I geek that way. An interesting thing we discussed was the ending of Howl's Moving Castle. Their consensus was that at the end Sophie was neither young nor old; she was middle-aged and that it didn't matter to either her or Howl because that was the age she was most comfortable at. Which was probably the most logical take I've heard on her silver hair transformation, but I am still not buying it. Probably because I am a hardcore book fan and keep trying to press book! canon into the movie. *push, push* Overall, a fantastic discussion with three people who love Ghibli stuffs.

The autograph session

My first line! I waited a little over an hour for Watanabe. I was able to give him my gift, but alas, he did not open it. The translator was explaining to everyone that Watanabe-san had just gotten off a plane and they were trying to stop the line and let him rest but he wanted to stay longer and sign more and I thought that was awfully sweet. He is a music freak (should have guessed) so I think a better gift would have been some ranchera music for his eclectic collection. But, oh well. I got his siggy on a piece of museum board, so I might mount it with a sketch or similar.

The anime

I actually watched some anime, which is something I haven't done at a con for awhile. I saw a few episodes of Midori Days which was just weird and funny. The doll collector otaku reminded me a little of JP and now I must show him the series because I giggled incessantly. I also started to watch Samurai 7, a futuristic/fantasy/sci-fi take of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. It was gorgeous animation and interesting, but by this time it was very late and I had had several rum and cokes and was teh sleepy so I didn't stay long.

I enjoyed Tsubasa Chronicles, although the animation was kinda eh. Something about it seemed cheap and sloppy. I think I just had a higher expectation of it. Very romantic and cute, though. I also saw some of Maria-sama ga Miteru which I believe translates to 'The Virgin Mary is Watching' or something like that? I enjoyed it, although it moves slowly and it struck me as a watered-down, white-washed version of Utena, what with the ruling Rose girls and the barely-concealed lesbian undertones.

But, hands down, the best anime I saw all weekend was Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, the second installment of the series. It was effing HILARIOUS! Take out the serious, sci-fi backstory and you are left with the fun of going to school with Kaname and Sousuke, a fantastic pairing of opposites if I ever saw one. Sousuke has to be the best clueless hero EVAR. Just a lot of fun and laughter during that one.

Opening Ceremony/Cosplay

Ramen & Rice performed at Opening Ceremonies and before the concert and they are just awesome. I got a lump in my throat when they played selections from Mononoke and Spirited Away. Like I've said before, Hisaishi's music is just MADE for string instruments. *wuv*

Cosplay was pretty good, considering the size of the con. I actually didn't stay for the awards, but I thought the best costumes were the group dressed like Malice Mizer (?). Freaky goth pirates! Their group was just amazing. The quality and detail was very professional.

The best nerd!moment of the night, however, came when a Team Rocket/Picachu duo did a 'How to Regain Your Popularity' skit. They made several good jokes but the crowning one was when the Dragostea Din Tei song came on and she started making like poor Gary in his webcam video and THE WHOLE AUDIENCE started punching their fists in the air in time with the music. I laughed until I thought I would fall out of my chair. Never has a moment of nerd solidarity been so pronounced. Woo! If you don't know who Gary is or what the Hell I am talking about, go here. Just great, great stuff.


The concert

The concert was awesome but short! Maaya sang for just under an hour. Was it the same at Expo? Still fantastic. You could tell she was a little nervous. She started out singing kind of low, but at the end she was really belting out the songs. She sang only stuff from anime, so that was a bit of a bummer because I love her other jpop, but when the strains of Kiseki no Umi came on, I got the shivers. I love that song.

Maaya is so wee and cute! And spoke mainly English. The crowd (maybe 800 people because the room capacity was about 1000 and it was not filled) was giving her a lot of love. So it was great. *bliss*

Auction and the Art of War

And now, for the crap part of my trip. Let me just preface this by saying that I went to the art auction mainly out of curiosity. The proceeds were going to charity and I went with a set amount I wanted to spend and an amount I could afford to spend.

At first, it was great fun. I never understood the fuss about Scott McNeil, but as the first guest auctioneer of the night, he was fantastic, funny, charasmatic. He was doing what a charity auctioneer should be doing: dogging bidders to pay the highest possible amounts to raise money. After he left, the auction lost some steam.

So, I was hanging out and finally, near the end, a piece came up that I had seen and liked. It was Rinoa from FF VIII. She was sitting in profile, wearing Squall's jacket, with an image of a wing painted on the wall behind her. A lovely photoshop (?) print. Well, at around $40 I went ahead and entered the bidding. A young man behind me bid $45. When I went to $50, he started begging the crowd for money. And a few people gave him dollar bills.

Well, I should have just let it go, but it got my back up. Not fair! So, I raised the bid again. Well, the crowd did not like that. At all. So the call went out for money again and more people were handing this kid money! So now I felt completely isolated and hurt by the whole thing. It wouldn't be the first time I stood alone against a big group, but it shook me a bit. I bid my max and by now, some guy was collecting money for the other bidder so he managed to top my bid by $5.

Wanting nothing more than to flee the room in utter mortification, I shook my head as the auctioneer looked over at me. Then, from the front of the room, a man came down the aisle and handed me $20. I was just. So. Touched. I wanted to cry. I could feel my eyes burning and my face turning red.

Then one of the guys helping run the auction (take note, he runs Anime Owns You in Ft. Worth) ran down the aisle and gave the other bidder $20 as well. By now the crowd was in an uproar. Angered, the original gentleman came down the aisle again and gave me another $10.

By this time, I thought the majority of crowd was going to drag me out of the room and lynch me. The anime store proprieter came back down the aisle to give the other bidder another $20. THEN a pretty lady in the aisle in front of me turned around and gave me another $20. You should have heard the yells.

I sat there, unable to decide what to do. I could have been a bitch about it and waaay overbid the guy, but I didn't want to spend that kind of money. At the same time, I was having a hard time justifying backing out because of the two uber-kind people who had stepped in behind me. So, just as I was contemplating and the kind lady was digging into her purse again, the auctioneer bowed to the crowd's chant of, "End it!" And he ended the auction for a little photoshop print at $135. The bidder was so thrilled, he rolled up the aisle and promptly hit his head on the metal leg of a chair. And, yes, I giggled.

I also got up immediately and returned the money to the lady and gentleman, thanking them profusely for what they had really offered: sympathy and support in a room that was basically against me from the get go.

I was upset, even though I know better than to take this personally. I mean, those people don't know me from Eve. I kind of wish I had been a bitch about it, but in the end I'm glad I wasn't. A guy sitting in front of me turned around and called me classy and the girls sitting next to me said the whole thing about giving the guy money in the first place was fucking unfair. So that was nice too.

I find it (sort of) amusing that I have been in bidding wars that have topped $1K and yet was so mortified over this little ordeal. I'll try not to let it get to me too much. However, if any of you are interested in boycotting Anime Owns You in Ft. Worth, let me know and I'll get the ball rolling. LOL!

And so ends my adventures in Big D. I'm glad I went. I would probably go again, especially if Monkey Punch ever agrees to return. ^____^

Good night all.