To put things nicely, Anime Expo 2005 was horrible. Tom and I agreed that this was not our favorite AX, but at the very least, we found ways to have fun. AX had its ups and downs. Leaving the con, I thought to myself that the con was just okay, nothing special, save a few highlights such as the ballroom dance. As I am flipping through all 420 pictures I took, it brought back the good memories of AX05. Nothing was done in vain.

Anime Expo had it's low points. I will be blunt in this part because there were several things that bothered me during the convention. One cannot stop Anime Expo's growth, but there were plenty of friends that I wanted to see and get to know more. Sadly, I didn't get to see friends like Kimi and Mich (Ramen and Rice), Michiru, Laura (Sugar and Spice), Jim, Angela, Jeanie, Gomu Gomus, Jenna, and many, many others as much I as I wanted too. The dollfie gathering was far from pleasant. I felt like I did not belong there. I wanted to know more about these Asian dolls. Perhaps the one thing that bothered me the most is that, the friends I did see and wanted to hang out with, wanted to get wasted. Again, I felt left out because I was underage and I know Tom is strongly against underage drinking.

I think Claudine and C. J. said it best. Everything and everyone felt so distant. There were people we wanted to see and things that we wanted to do, but by day two, we felt so drained. This was not our favorite Anime Expo.

I will say that the ballroom dance was the main highlight of Anime Expo. The ballroom dance allowed Tom and I to forget our worries and dance the night away. While the ballroom dance could use some tweaking, this is one event I would like to see grow in future years. The masquerade this year, despite what I have heard prior to Anime Expo, was very well done. I was totally impressed by this year's entrants. All of you deserve something!

Disneyland really made the fourth of July weekend special for me. Tom and I were lucky to bypass traffic security and sneak under the white rope so we can enjoy our anniversary fireworks. We are unsure how celebrating the fourth would work out next year, but fireworks always have special meaning to us.

It has crossed our minds that Anime Expo may not be a go for next year. However, we are willing to give it another chance. We might be able to do Los Con this year (depending on transportation) and Anime Los Angeles next year (This year, it was either Mystery Beach House or Anime Los Angeles. After Tom was sexually molested by drunken Asians, Anime Los Angeles is the lesser of the two evils).

Overall, Anime Expo had its ups and downs. I missed seeing friends, and yeah, convention drama sucks. However good points like the ballroom dance and Disneyland allow me to forget those sad times.

And here's a video that shows a fluffier side of Anime Expo 2005:

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