by Marcio Guastavino

Yeah yeah, bite me. So I didn’t update yesterday. Well now you just get more to read right!? So let me start with our day two. More cosplays than the day before that’s for sure. It almost seems like everyone that checked out AM2 decided to come to AX the next day instead. This made for a much more packed convention hall. Panels were harder to get in to (we only got to really check out one the whole day) and the dealer’s hall, regardless of it’s spaciousness, was crowded. The Kalafina concert was going to go on that day and one of the VA’s (voice actor) from my favorite series was going to have a panel. UNFORTUNATELY, there was an incident involving a box left unattended….which led directly to a bomb threat. Or so the rumors suggested since we couldn’t get a straight answer ourselves. This left have of the convention center, specifically the West Hall, completely surrounded by LAPD’s finest looking into the matter. Not that it tool long, but all the panels were either canceled or moved to another time and the whole incident caused fans to pile up in the main hall which was insanity at it’s best. So no voice actor for me, and I’m sure a few were disappointed in what happened as well. Better safe than sorry I suppose.

We did get to check out one panel as I said before and it as the AMV Iron Chef. Basically you have three guys trying to make an AMV in front of the audience, where the audience are the ones picking the anime to mix and match to the song chosen. The anime’s were all preset, so we couldn’t really choose one off the top of our heads, but it was a good list nonetheless. The song they chose was Scorpions “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, so no issue with that. We had to skip out early before the AMV was done, but from what was seen it was going to be a masterpiece! Props to the guys who put it all together. I’m sure it takes patience to do one at home, but imagine in front of an obnoxious and impatient audience. That was basically what our day two was in a nutshell.

Day three brought on the realization that the Miku cosplay was clearly the most popular this year. Not surprising seeing that the Miku concert was one of the main attractions at this year’s AX. If I had to make a top 3 for cosplays I’d say:

1) Miku (Vocaloid)

2) Hetalia

3) Pokemon

All others were close, but on a head count that’s what we came up with.

Onward we went once again into the dealer’s room and off to look for more interesting sites. The funny thing about AX is that you never know what to expect. Cosplayers are crazy people, they WILL go there, no matter how insane it may be. Vendor’s will too…well, price wise at least. Everyone should know that unless it’s crazy rare you should save the shopping for the last day. Vendor’s have to go home and they don’t want to take all of the stuff they brought to sell with them. So on the last day it’s much easier to haggle and in many cases you’ll find great deals on stuff that would have cost more on the first days. If you’re feeling hungry, please don’t eat at the convention. I mean…the only way it’s worth it is if you don’t want to walk down the street for food, but I promise that it’s not worth the money you’re paying no matter how you justify it. Three bucks for a CUP of fries, four bucks for a slice of pizza and 8 bucks for a small burger that you could probably get for a dollar at any other fast food place. Yeah it ain’t no gourmet, that’s for sure.

This year we didn’t really aim to get into the Masquerade, not because we don’t think it was going to be good, but because we didn’t want to spend any money getting in. I doubt press badges would have done the trick anyway. We did check out the Taiko drumming and must say that was one of the most entertaining panels/workshops that was on this year. The pieces that were played were awesome and the audience participation was great. Especially because they had at least have the room able to participate. I swear I’m never going to get the rhythms out of my head for the practice drumming! It was well done and at no point was I bored. Good job guys , I will definitely go back next year! So now I’m back in our home contemplating tomorrow and knowing full well that it’s the last day and I have return to my everyday boring life. Bleh, someone make next year come faster! I will make the most out of tomorrow and Im sure we’ll get a ton of final pictures and videos. Let’s hope there are dedicated cosplayers who will be there even if it is our nation’s independence day!