I arrived in San Francisco via a red eye flight from Southwest. While I had a safe and pleasant flight, my Thursday evening flight was delayed due to Obama's presence at SFO. Unfortunately, any planes bound for San Francisco had to be grounded until further notice. Fortunately, I was able to make arrangements with my host for Thursday evening for airport pick up at 12:45AM. When I arrived in San Francisco, even flights that were leaving the area were delayed because the planes would not be able to take off until Obama left SFO. 

Despite a rough travel time from airport to airport, I managed to make it safely back into the city by the bay. I spent most of Friday just gallivanting in the rain through Union Square taking a look at all the shops including Harajuku Hearts, home of Angelic Pretty USA. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. I took home the coveted Vanilla Neko print from Angelic Pretty. 

Rain, rain, and more rain! Saturday of Animation on Display was defined by attendees taking refuge in the indoor mall of Japantown. Thankfully, because Japantown is very much spread out, this did not allow the hotel to overcrowd. However, good luck trying to find a place to sit. Check in went smooth. There was no long lines to retrieve a badge - just grab and go. 

Unfortunately, because of traffic due to the rain and finding a decent parking spot in Japantown's garage, we missed a few good panels offered in the morning like How to Run a Cosplay Gathering, Voice Acting with Cristina Vee, and Convention Going 101. These would have been fun panels to attend, however, I have a feeling this won't be the last time I'll be seeing these panels. 

I also ran a panel at the convention called "The Sailor Moon Spectacular: Class of 1995." I could not think of a witty title for the panel to describe a panel solely dedicated to the history of Sailor Moon's North American adaptation and fandom. It is planned to be called "Moon, Prism, Poptarts!" for future conventions. I was quite surprised that the room was filled with gentle Sailor Moon fans who can recall the Americanization. I covered Sailor Moon's beginnings as a Toon Makers property with a live action franchise to the time DiC decided to pick it up. I went over changes in translation for American audiences - including a few hilarious clips to show how ridiculous these adaptations were (ie: Zoisite going through a gender switch). The best part was when the audience sang along to various songs from the North American Sailor Moon soundtrack. People laughed at "It's a New Day" and rooted for the princess in "Carry On." The point of the panel was to relive memories with fellow moonies with the anime that got us into otakudom. 

After the panel, Claudine and Vince invited me to go to lunch with them at Izumiya. Claudine recommended trying their okinomiyaki. I tried their seafood okinomiyaki and it was very delicious. Not to mention, the green tea was free.

Speaking of exploring around Japantown, I also checked out the New People mall. The New People mall opened a little over a year ago. It is very much known for the Baby the Stars Shine Bright boutique. Paula (PMX) and I checked it out. We were very much impressed by the variety of clothing selection - blouses, jumper skirts, socks, hair accessories, etc. Visiting this boutique is any Japanese street fashionista's dream.

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