it was good. i liked it. i had fun. i found enough stuff to fill my days with, and so what if they only sold 400+ admissions. no problem. you got a feel for all your fellow con goers. it was as if we were all part of something special, and like we were all family. when you met someone, tomorrow you could still find them.

you have a game in their room?

cool. can I play?

sure. hey, aren't you so and so?

yep.

and so on. it was what can only be called cozy.

we were there mostly to see mari iijima. i know, she goes to every con in california. but we still like her. ^_^

nothing really happened on the first day, but then it was the absolute beginning for them. first year, first day. i wasn't expecting them to do things right. the dealer's room was fine. kind of small, but with a nice selection. there were trinkets galore that seemed like worthwhile purchases at the time. . .

( and the next day you scream, 'OH MY GOD, I BOUGHT CRAP!! —jason )

the ddr tournament started late and ran into the opening ceremonies. . . i still got there in time to flubbing about trying to see which of the guests of honor were actually there, and i also saw the taiko group, which was just unbelivably good. they also gave us free sushi. ^_^ of course, i avoided the karaoke panel.

that was the first day. i looked at it and pronounced it good.

on the second day, the manga drawing panel started a little early, but i was getting used to the relaxed atmosphere anyway. the hayes man did the best he could.

(huh? —chris )

iijima-san running around was a nice bonus. i got a couple good pictures of here just hanging out. her panel was all right, and her concert was good.

then i went to the anime trivia game. ^_^ i got second place, but i think my prize was the best. i got the lain cyberia mix cd, and you know how we i360.com staffers worship lain. the first place guy got an X vhs tape and free admission to next year's animagic.

masquerade rehearsal was done rather quickly, and so I had a feeling it was going to stay short and sweet and not carry on like a certain other con's. i was right. ^_^ the cosplay itself was good, except for the lights, which made good photos impossible. i took some anyway, which should be up soon.

the 21 and under dance was all right. the dj started off kind of cold, but warmed up as the night went on, and we didn't have to throw him out and take over, as it turned out.

and that was the second day for me.

on the last day, you always go to the dealer's room to bargain as best you can and to see what you absolutely must have at any price. that's what i did, anyway.

i missed the anime music videos because i was watching the live-action version of city hunter, starring jackie chan. horrible, but worth it, if only for the one sequence near the middle where he finds himself inside the street fighter 2 game. . .

the dub your own anime panel with toshifumi yoshida was great. we sat in there dubbing favorite Ranma characters and saw just how bad our voices really are. (yes, we did do a worse job than viz. . .) closing ceremonies could have been longer, but they were nice.

i looked back on the third day and said it was good as well.

and next year, we'll have fun. . . ^n_n^

—aldo