After a good night sleep at home, I decided to jump start my day by cosplaying as Fantine from the Les Miserables anime that was released back in 2007. I started the day by listening to the 10th anniversary concert recording of Les Miserables to get myself in character. I left the house at around 9:30M to hit the 405 freeway. After brushing myself up at the cosplay repair stations' one mirror, I was able to make to the con just in time for masquerade orientation.
Cosplay Hang Out - Pool Deck
This is pretty much the place to be for cosplay photos and hanging out with people. Thankfully, it was not as crowded as it was last year where it nearly felt like a fire hazard in the making. These were you would find the cosplay gatherings for specific series or just to witness the typical cosplay shenanigans. There were signs posted on what gatherings would take place on the pool deck. Anime Los Angeles is credited for being a cosplayer's con. This is the main hub where people just hung out and mingled. The pool area is also one of the badge only zones, but there was the occasional tourist relaxing by the pool during non-peak hours.
Convention Tables
I did more exploring on the second day. A few of my friends were running tables at the con. There's one new con that's taking place in Little Tokyo in the spring called Ninja Con. Additionally, Anime Expo was giving away hats and taking feedback from last year's Anime Expo. It was really nice to see all the con tables in one concentrated place. It gave me an opportunity to see what's next in Southern California. Other local events, Pacific Media Expo, Anime Conji, and Equestria LA had tables set up where people can ask questions about what each event has to offer. While this was a nice set up to have in the hallway, I was turned off the the exhibitor that was manning the Bak Anime booth. A colleague and I were talking about New York Comic Con and the exhibitor interrupted our conversation by going into a ranom rant about New York Comic Con. Not only this was rude, but unprofessional.
Convention Suite
Also known as where to get the free food. I only stopped by on Saturday morning because I was jonesing for a soda. It was not as crowded as previous years and you can easily walk in and out. The convention suite was located right on the pool deck, so you could grab a snack and eat it the lounge chair area of the pool deck. You can get simple snacks and a PBJ here if you were feeling hungry. Sometimes, the convention suite can surprise you in what they are going to serve up next. Otherwise, a very friendly staff at the convention suite!
Karaoke
Otherwise known as Broadwayholics Anon. Everytime I stumbled in the karaoke room to kill time, there was always someone singing something from a Broadway show - Phantom, Little Shop of Horrors, Jersey Boys, Rent, etc. I will admit, as much as I'm not into Homestuck, it was really amusing seeing the fifty shades of grey kids sing "Seasons of Love" on stage. I wanted to go up and do The Boy from Oz, but the wait is really long. Expect a 30 to 40 minute wait on almost any given time during karaoke. However, mega props to the tiny Asian gal who was running karaoke. Every now and then she would go on stage and sing selections from "Cabaret" and she had the vocal chops to prove it. Someone give her own concert at this con and stat.
Artist Alley
Artist Alley has always sparked a bit of contreversy. ALA has a lottery system on which artists are let in rather than a first come first serve sign up. I was never a huge fan of this system because I feel it cheats out other artists would want to sell. Suffice to say, I felt the Artist Alley was a downgrade. I really felt like I was seeing the same thing repeated over and over again. While there was the occasional Lolita booth, there was nothing really different and nothing really stood out. Even smaller conventions have much more variety of products (ie: jewelry, clothes, cosplay accessories, fashion accessories, dollfie clothes, beauty products, etc) at the Artist Alley.
Dealers Hall
In contrast, I did enjoy the dealers hall. I really felt that this was the best dealer's hall Anime Los Angeles has ever had. There was a variety of different vendors from dvds, Lolita accesories, cosplay accessories, anime goods, and more. If you are into nendroids and poseable figures, there was a healthy variety of them. I was half tempted to pick up a Yukiko nendroid at the dealers hall. However, I visited a vendor that sold historical / fantasy type of clothing and ended up picking up two fans for my Yukiko cosplay. The spacing between the aisles was nice and it was never crowded or cramped. I never felt that I was claustrophobic. While the dealers room is tiny, do expect to find a few things that you have ben looking for here.
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