ConnectCon is over for this year. Not too much to say about it this year, except there seemed to be more people than ever! Last year I saw a 10th and an 11th Doctor, but this year, Doctors were all over the place! And TARDISes and Daleks! And Doctor Who panels! A sudden explosion of interest in Doctor Who. Also, there were fireworks. As for webcomics, I got signed books of Beartato and Cyanide & Happiness. So jump on ahead to see my pics. There’s a lot of them this year! To see my descriptions, hover over each image. What’s your fav/most hated pic?

Thumbs up, you’re ready for your closeup, Hello Kitty!!

Can you spot the Hello Kitty posing for pictures in the image above?

Beartato is drawn by this guy.

This guy had nothing to do with the convention!

Yesterday, I happened upon a steampunk gathering in Hartford. I took some pics, of course. Steampunk cosplayers like to pose just like anime cosplayers! See more below:

First, a little about the con, then more cosplay pics below. At ConnectiCon this year, I attended an interesting panel on Kawaii Anime and Culture in Japan, which featured Minoru Ohno. He produced anime, such as Creamy Mami and Minky Momo, and is now a professor in the Department of “Culture and Communication Activities” at Shokei Gakuin University. In the panel, we learned how kawaii refers to things which are tiny, little, cute, pretty, lovely, sweet and adorable. Much of the info presented in the power point was derived from surveys of students at Shokei Gakuin with their take on the meaning of kawaii. A few academic works by Japanese scholars were also referenced, but overall the presentation was not that in-depth. As expected, a lot of the examples focused on anime Mr. Ohno had been involved with and also some random pics of modern kawaii fashion. I’m not sure if they have done any deeper research and were only presenting a simplified version of their subject, or if this represents the extent of their work. He was asked about moe, but Mr. Ohno’s career in the anime industry occurred before moe developed. He did offer the explanation that kawaii refers to outward appearances, while moe involves more the feelings being evoked. But on the whole, he was clearly very old-school and probably does not approve of late-night anime for older kids and adults. He voiced strong support for family-centered anime produced primarily for children.

Hetalia Madness

ConnectiCon is a multi-genre convention, with a big emphasis on web comics, gaming, etc.. Another panel I attended was about the pioneering horror/sci-fi author H.P. Lovecraft. It was a solid introductory power point presentation and featured, among the four panelists, an author who writes stores in the Cthulhu Mythos. Much of the rest of the con was spent walking around. Among the cosplayers, there were a number of girls carrying the flags of different nations. Later, I stumbled on a whole group of these squealing Hetalia Axis Powers fangirls having a photoshoot. They kept calling for different countries so they could get pics of different favored pairings. I was also sad to see that Sasuga Books is closing (this was the bookstore’s last con and they had little stock left). I heard another dealer talking about the bad market for anime retailers. I guess there will be fewer anime merchandise dealers at cons in the future. I did buy some stuff: some Aria DVDs, and plush Yoshi and Toads from Mario. Also one figure: Mio from K-ON. Now for more pics:

Selty

Beaker

Soul Eater group

Kid Ed

Jessica from Umineko

Rosario + Vampire

I think this one was a guy

Trix Rabbit

Lucky Star

The Tenth Doctor

The Eleventh Doctor

LOL, it was over capacity!!!

I went to ConnectiCon on Saturday and took some cosplay pics. Not too much to say about the con (maybe I’m getting too jaded?). The convention was noticeably bigger this year, spilling over from the convention center to some rooms in the hotel next door as well. So below I have LOTS of pics and a few comments!

Wow, scary!!!

Yay, It’s Rena!!

She was at an artists alley table and she said she didn’t have the whole costume on,
but I wanted another Vocaloid pic!

I like this Soul Eater cosplay (above) and the great pose,
but the Maka skirt is WAY too long!
To really inhabit the character, girls need to have a True Maka skirt!!!
Now check out BELOW!

This girl has a TRUE Maka skirt, just like the character!

I think this was a Pikachu-Soul, because,
in addition to the hat, the costume had a tail!

Big Card, Board- and Tabletop Miniatures gaming room

I left home at 8AM, picked up my friend Matt, and by 10 was in line to register at the convention. The subway ride was entertaining, because we got to hear a bunch of loud-mouthed otaku know-it-alls discourse with each other about English dubs vs original Japanese and other such subjects ^_^ The line took two hours. I had worried about how bad the lines might be, given the horror of last year, and yes, I’d thought of leaving a lot earlier (but it was just way too early for me!). However, while longer than I’d hoped for, two hours was still a lot better than the huge line of 2008. Looks like they gave up on whatever computerized system they used last year, so it was a big improvement!

So, after the line, it was time to eat and we met up with Omo and two of his friends. I noticed that the central open area of the mall, which is next to the convention center, was open this year and cosplayers were gathering there in large numbers. I went back later in the day, but there were not so many interesting ones and it was chilly, so all my pics were taken inside!

After lunch, it was time to line up for the Kalafina concert. This was really the main event of the con for everyone I was with there. I haven’t watched Kara no Kyoukai yet, but the night before I listened to the songs on YouTube. The line was long, but there was room for everyone. From my seat, a platform with a cameraman on it blocked my view of one of the three Kalafina girls, except when she moved around (lol). Also, large screens sometimes showed what they were doing, which was mostly swishing their goth-style skirts around.

Before Kalafina came out, there was an opening group called the Video Game Orchestra. The music was good and the group, which included a chamber sized orchestral ensemble and a rock band, had a lot of energy. But since I don’t play many video games (except Pangya), most of it went over my head.

The concert seemed to be over and everyone was heading to the doors. I think a lot of people had left when the girls came rushing out again for their encore! One of them shouted out “Wait!” which was very amusing. For the encore, they brought out Yuki Kajiura, who spoke about how the girl’s voices complimented each other. She accompanied them on the keyboard for two last numbers.

Omo and his friends missed the the encore, because they rushed off to get in line for Kalafina autographs! Unlike the others, I didn’t have Kalafina merchandise to get signed, so I went off to look in the Dealers Room. Matt stayed and went through the line twice, because Omo, who went off to the Funimation panel, had left him a CD to get signed by Kajiura. It was an old Aquarian Age CD and I hear that when Kajiura saw it, she commented that its owner must be really hardcore! LOOOL

RAN_RAN_RUUUUUUU

The Dealers Room was huge, but there were not that many people in there anyway (maybe they were all lining up for the Masquerade?). I bought a lot less than at previous cons, getting one Gurren Lagann book and trading figure. That was it! After that it was time for dinner! The nearby Japanese noodle place was too crowded, so I brought everyone to a Thai Restaurant across from the convention center. It was fun to watch Omo and his friend try to reconstruct the order of songs from the concert–these guys are very hardcore Kalafina fans!! After dinner it was time to head home!

The convention this year avoided the huge lines of last year (the line was confined to ONLY one room). People were well-behaved. I did not see a lot of wild tweens running around and glomping each other. I did not go to any panels or check out the Artist Alley, but everywhere I did go, the maturity level seemed high. But I am getting a little tired of the whole convention thing, so who knows if I’ll go next year or not. Anyway, thank you Kalafina!!

Hinano told me that Toradora was bad, but I decided to watch it anyway. I was expecting an episode about a tsundere, but I think my DL got messed up, because the episode I got was about a guy with a looks of a delinquent who lives next door to a girl who’s always going out exploring! Didn’t we have enough of that with Kurenai??? I might give it another few episodes, but Dora is so genki and supportive of her friends that I see no display of tsuntsun-ness yet! And I had no idea that Kugimiya Rie knew Spanish!

Above are the Maka and Soul trading figures and the Kaz (with Dolfini) and Brie (with Papel) key chains I got at NYAF. And in my previous post I neglected to mention that Iron Chef Morimoto was at NYAF. While, I didn’t see him (and the line for autographs was long), but I was able to eat at another Iron Chef’s restaurant, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill.

And check out the Anime Blogging Panel!

EDIT: I’ve decided, partly for my own reference, to include some links about the panel. They are worth checking out:
AnimeDiet’s first post on the panel
Ani-Noted
A Commentary on the Anime Blogging Panel Video
Omo’s Transcript
Almost Like I Was There
It’s A One Liner: Blogger Panel

NYAF was so awsum!! Oooops, don’t want to sound too much like a Middle School kid! But it was a way fun time, yay! (oops, I mean It was a pleasant convention experience). And I was on an anime blogging panel (which is somewhat amusing given my recent lack of regular posting, but whatever). I think the panel went well and it was recorded, so I’m just waiting to see how it came out! My bad cell phone pictures have already appeared on Twitter, but on the second day I took pictures with my regular camera, so please read on to check them out and read about my experiences in New York!

There’s always someone trying to “gayass” people at cons these days!

On Day One (Friday), I arrived at the Javits Center after 1:00, quickly got my badge and joined Hinano, JP, Moy and Omo. We went off to GoGo Curry for lunch (danGO danGo). Then back to the con to look around the dealers room. And that was basically it–a rather slow first day, but I got to meet two other bloggers and look around the dealers room when it was less crowded. Afterwards I walked around the city a bit, stopped in at Kinokuniya, and had a late dinner at an Italian restaurant . I have to admit that I am a little disappointed in Kinokuniya since their move from near Rockefeller Center to the new Sixth avenue location. It’s obviously a much larger space, but while the manga area has become more of a focus, I think they have neglected the English-language section. For instance, they certainly don’t have the wide range of Japanese literature in English (including many hard to find books) that the old store had. Also, their extensive collection of Go strategy books (danGO) has not survived the move either.

Haruhi Dancing.

Day Two (Saturday) was the main event. I looked around the now packed dealers room and took some pictures. Then it was time for the blogging panel….

Getting ready for the panel: the equipment!

There was a decent turn out for the panel. There were some other bloggers there. NyaChan was there as Hatsune Miku. Omo and Moy were in the front row, watching something on a laptop before the panel started. Mike from AnimeDiet showed up with his friend and set up a camera. Another guy introduced himself as SDShamshel of Ogiue Maniax. I also saw a guy taking pictures during the panel and I assumed it was Scott from animealmanac, but he left before it was over and Hinano never noticed him. ^^;

Upper Left: Moy and Omo; Upper Right: Miku and Maka; Lower Left and Right:
JP really loved that Yakitate Japan Manga!

I could tell you how the panel went, but everyone will get to find out when the video is ready! After the panel, Hinano went through the dealers again with JP, me, Omo, Moy and Jamie trailing in her wake. I bought two more Pangya keychains and the small Maka and Soul figures Hinano wouldn’t buy (they were expensive!). I also saw some of the Spoiler Panel (I won’t spoil the blogging panel for all of you, though :P). Dinner was at a Korean BBQ place with Hinano, JP and Mike. On the way there, I got to talk to Mike, who recently finished classes at a seminary, about Henry Ward Beecher and Jonathan Edwards. I decided not to return to the con (it was a long walk!).

Mike setting up the camera.
I think that’s Hinano’s biggest fan just behind his shoulder on the right!

Another reason I didn’t go back was because I wanted to go to an exhibition of Chinese paintings at the Metropolitan Museum. On Sunday I didn’t return to the con either, but went to see another exhibition of Chinese painting and calligraphy at the China Institute.
Below are more cosplay pics from the con, including several from the Soul Eater photoshoot:

JP: Yawn

Yes, it’s time for the New York Anime Festival! And you can all check out my updates on Twitter!