The Scarlet Rhapsody kicked off another day at Arisia by waking up bright and early taking the Green Line to the science ficition convention. On the train, we contemplated getting a hotel for the next year. It was 9AM and we were just barely up. Jared donned his infamous Dick Tracey cosplay. Eri Kagami went as Fluttershy, the loveable shy pegasister from My Little Pony. However, she did bring in her masquerade cosplay to change into. After stopping by the Starbucks at the Westin (the only Line Con at Arisia), the team was just about ready for another day of presentations and nerdy social affairs.

Clamp: The good, the bad, and the strange by Jared
This was the third panel I was involved with during the convention. This panel involved heavy discussion about different anime and manga versions of Clamp titles. The focus was not only on the popular titles, it also explored less popular titles and the many titles that did not make it to the US. The panelists also discussed their favorites and least favorite titles, as did the audience. It was a nice trip to the strange land of Clamp and everyone enjoyed the experience.

Anime 101: My kid is watching what? by Jared
This was a different kind of panel instead of the standard discussion this was an attempt to define the most important terms in anime and otaku culture. This time both Scarlet and I were on this panel to define terms and recommend series that connected to those terms. I have never been involved in a panel like this before and it was a fun experience tasking my mind to define terms and reference series that I usually take for granted. Hopefully the audience learned something new about anime and hopefully some lesser known series will get a little more love now.

Super Robot Anime by Jared
This was the second panel I moderated and it was an almost chronological discussion of the history of the super robot and to a lesser extent real robot genres of anime. The panel began with the roots of robot anime in the 1960s and moved into the Go Nagai era and onward. The majority of the panel was a fun discussion, but things got a little heated when opinions clashed about modern robot anime. However, it was all in good fun and everyone had a good time discussing giant robots.

Positive Representations of Women’s Sexuality by Eri Kagami
Arisia has a huge girl power presence. It's not surprising that the programming would have a huge plethora of feminist themed sessions. In this particular panel, a handful of female erotic writers talked about their background and what got them into writing about the sexy side of human nature. Some were comedic and relateable - one writer talked about how she related more to male torch songs in Broadway musicals - and some anecdotes were tragic as one talked about surviving and coping with a traumatic experience in college. The panel critiqued mainstream works such as 50 Shades of Grey and also talked about lesser known works. It was interesting to be in a room with literature enthusiasts that had interest in smut written for and by women.

If you like X you might like Y Anime by Jared
Tthis anime panel was built around recommending older or obscure anime based on people’s taste. The audience had many different questions and the panel did their best to come up with as many suggestions as possible. The only bad part of the panel was when an audience member attempted to troll the panel. However, it was handled deftly and the panel moved on to more real questions. There were plenty of people taking notes and by the end the panelists kept suggesting shows to those who asked after the panel.

Masquerade by Eri Kagami
'I come from an anime convention background." I don't usually say this phrase when entering a costuming contest outside of Anime Expo or Anime Boston. Competing in a science fiction / fantasy convention is a different animal, but in a good way! Entering masquerade at Arisia is exciting. I like the fact that the staff is held to a professional standard - it's almost like performing for actual live theatre. First of all, they give you a rehearsal slot. Not only you get a feel for the stage, you also discuss what your lighting cues are and what lighting will compliment your costume the best. There's a ton of technical consideration in Arisia's masquerade. Another thing that differs from Arisia masquerade is that when you are backstage, you are feed savory treats from the hotel (ie: cheese platter, vegetable platter, endless water, etc) and you have a personal staff member attending to your needs. You are assigned a "den" - unlike anime cons, you aren't sat in rows and columns, rather you are placed in semi circles with cosplayers - this really accomodated for cosplays that were large and bulky.

I entered my Super Sailor Moon at Arisia's masquerade. I just did her"I'll punish you" speech from the 90s anime. Skits were very simple - a majority of veteran costumers did stylized walk ons. Instead of lining up walk-ons and have it set to a single music track, these crafty projects were displayed like pieces of moving art set to music that matched the costumes. Highlights of this masquerade included Roman Gods and Goddesses (with Pluto getting the shaft), Samurai Iron Man, Disney's Rapunzel, a ballroom dress inspired by the Death Star and Darth Vader, The Year Without Santa, etc. There was a ton of creativity flowing in the masquerade green room. The set up made it easy to socialize and make friends with cosplayers.

Doctor Who Party by Jared
It was a bit of a surprise to be invited to the Doctor Who party, but it was a nice way to spend some time during the evening. The party took place in a suite with one room featuring a Tardis console and classic rock, while the other room had a bar set up and a table selling light up cups for donations. It was a fun party and everyone had a good time talking about various nerdy subjects. It was a fun party and I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had other obligations.

The Best and Worst of Hentai by Jared
It wouldn’t be a wild convention without a hentai panel. This time the panel had a group of four guys who discussed different aspects of the genre. They went into their favorites, series they suggested people stay away from, and even defined some of the terms. There was also some audience participations with people yelling out titles or scenarios they had interest in watching. While it may not have had the laughs of some hentai panels it was nice to see a more serious look at animated porn. The panel made a nice ending to the day.

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