Friday was a fairly light day for Anime Boston. Upon entering the Hynes Convention Center, you were greeted by security for bag inspection. Prior to con, attendees grew worried that this might bring back memories of Line Con. However, going through bag check was no different than going through bag check at Disneyland - open up your bags, check, move on through, etc. Of course, the bag checks were enforced by the MCCA, not by Anime Boston, due to the recent terror attacks. Things were getting started at the con around noon. For the most part, people just wandered around and lined up for the dealers hall to open up.

Cosplay Death Match by Lisa

Loud cheers, excited clapping, lots of laughter, and epic dance-offs... These are some aspects of AnimeBoston 2013's Death Match, hosted by the amazing Seto Kaiba, on Friday of the convention! This year was only the second year for the AnimeBoston Death Match, but due to the huge crowd at the event, I am sure it will return again in the coming years. Characters from anime, video games, TV shows, and more faced off in duels; the outcomes of the duels were decided by the audience members' screams and cheers. If there was a tie, the tiebreaker would be a dance-off, a pose-off, or a rock-paper-scissors contest. Without a doubt, the audience wanted dance-offs as the first tiebreaker before moving onto the others. Some people were paired into teams, but others also battled it out solo. Just a few of the amazing characters competing in the event are: Danny Phantom, Asuna and Kirito from Sword Art Online, Connor from Assassin's Creed, and Korra from Legend of Korra. I was really excited to be selected as a part of the Death Match again, and it was an exciting experience. It was just as fun to be on stage as Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) as it was to be backstage watching the battles play out (and of course, grow hoarse from cheering for my fellow cosplayers)! If you would like to watch the Death Match, you can see the complete event here. You can also find Death Match photos from the official AnimeBoston photo gallery here.

Artist Alley by Scarlet

Artist Alley was held on the second floor next to main events. It was held in a large space where there were plenty of room to walk around and peruse through prints, jewelry, and random knick knacks. As a (classicly trained) Lolita it was really nice to find some Lolita hair accessories and necklaces. There was also another booth that sold Sailor Moon jewelry and accessories. As an Eternal Sailor Pluto cosplayer, I found a time key like the one Chibiusa uses in the anime. (Unfortunately it broke during a photoshoot later in the day) Other interesting knick knacks included Sailor Moon coasters, cutie mark iron on transfers, car decals, original Lolita dresses and tights, and a giant Arbok cosplay.

Art Show by Scarlet

Very few anime conventions have an art show available. The art show is usually connected with the artist alley. Usually, it's a gallery that showcases works by fans for fans. Fans can place biddings to take the pieces of art home. I saw several hairpieces that looked like origami roses that you can use for everyday wear. The magical girl fan in me fluttered when I saw a print that showcased all of the lead magical girls then and now. There was a beatiful art peice of Makoto Kino from Sailor Moon donning a green kimono and her signature rose earing. The style was inspired by The Girl the Pearl Earring. Other than the art display in the artist alley, there was also a row of artwork inspired by Tales of the Yokai on the third floor. These were entrants in the art contest.

iDolm@ster: Panel for You by Scarlet

This is the second iDolm@ster fan panel I ever sat in. I was wearing Azusa in her Cute and Girly outfit. The panel was hosted by two guys dressed up as Producer-san. Two guys hosting the iDolm@ster panel in suits looked pretty legit. The panel went over the history of the franchise as well as running through each of the idols in 765 Productions. The panelists even had the arcade game cards to show off after the panel. The panelists also shared some interesting trivia and fan made videos. Plenty of "producer-sans" were in the audience; we groaned at Xenoglossia and laughed at the Chihiya x Haruka fanmade video. In the end, there was a poster giveaway. I ended up winning the poster for dressing up like Azusa.

1000 Paper Cranes for Boston Strong by Scarlet

Because Anime Boston took place a month and a half after the marathon terror attack, Anime Boston and New England otaku thought it would be a nice idea to create a shrine that had 1000 paper cranes. You could do this at the top floor of the Hynes Convention Center. Despite the MCCA requiring security check points into the Hynes, this was a nice way to reflect and use Japanese culture in a positive way to do something nice for those affected by the tragedy. As each day passed, the amount of cranes inceased. Truly a nice guesture by the New England otaku community.

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