Echoes in Eorzea by Dame Aznable
I stopped by the Final Fantasy XIV panel because I started playing the game a few weeks before the convention. While this was a spoiler panel, I don’t think this was going to ruin my enjoyment of the game. The panelists cosplayed from Final Fantasy 8. They talked about how XIV is a tribute to all previous incarnations of the Final Fantasy universe. Each section talked about themes and how each game is paid homage to within the online game.
PS: I’m a Black Mage on Coeurl.
PPS: I’m a White Mage on Cactuar.
Maid Cafe by Dame Aznable
I don’t recall Anime Boston having a maid cafe before. The maid cafe was right on the first floor by security check in. You had to make a reservation per guest for a timeslot to attend the maid cafe. Food was convention center hot dogs, super sweet boba tea, and mochi donuts. I had the hot dogs I wasn’t too impressed, but the boba and donuts really fit the saccharine environment.
The maid cafe, due to social distancing, performed like a cabaret. The maids sang anime songs from the 2000’s. They also did a few idol dances while the audience enjoyed their convention center tier food. The maid cafe has potential. This was a good start. Hope to see this make a return next year!
The Day The Kids Sat Still by Dame Aznable
I accidentally stumbled into this panel while chaotically wandering in the evening. The opening to “Pole Position” drew me into the ballroom. This was basically a late night “let’s remember our childhood in the 80”’s panel with a focus on Saturday morning cartoons. The openings were played while the panelists talked about memories and fun facts about each toon. This panel had a good vibe; it was nice to not feel like ancient amongst the zoomers and to share the same nostalgia with other people in the room.
If you stumble across panels by Tinfoil Pyramind Heads, I would highly recommend checking them out. They’re a great and entertaining group for late night shenanigans.
Fandom as Coping by Dame Aznable
Oh my god. This panel did it right. For once, I appreciated the fact that panelists who were running a mental health themed panel had official certification and it was mentioned in the panel description! Anyway, this panel featured practicing mental health professionals talk about comfort characters and parasocial relationships with fictional media. Each panelist talked about how their comfort characters have validated their experiences struggling with mental health.
The panel also featured Dr. Scarlet of Super Hero Therapy. My big takeaway from this panel was Dr. Scarlet’s method of “What would your favorite super hero do in a stressful experience you are facing?”
Audience members were invited to speak into the microphone to share their comfort characters and media. I had mentioned how my comfort media has changed over time and has worked for specific moments in my life: Utena for coming out as a sapphic, old school martial arts movies for pandemic coping, etc
Anime Boston’s Slumber Party was a night time event where attendees can decompress watching anime and coloring
This was a late night panel that allowed me to be introspective. I begun my own self reflection on how fandom has been a part of my coping mechanisms. And thankfully, the panel also talked about having a healthy balance of coping and not falling too deep into it wherein it becomes addiction.