Dealer Hall / Artist Alley by Eri Kagami
The dealers hall and artist alley were combined into one in the basement area of the Long Beach Convention Center. There was plenty of room to walk and to peruse. The small size of the con did help. The artist alley consisted of three aisles of local artists that sold prints, keychains, jewelry, scarves, homemade soap, Lolita accessories, and more. I ended up buying a tri-corner Lolita hat. The dealers hall section was also located here. Though Anime California is a small con in a convention center, there were still a variety of dealers to check out. I liked that there was a booth that sold Osomatsu-san sweaters. This was heaven if you were a figure collector; one dealer was having sets of figures with exclusive con deals. You can also find your usual artbooks and weaboo swag here too. Overall, the dealers hall / artist alley was a decent set up. It will be interesting how this grows in future Anime California events.

Tea Party Rules by Jared
While many anime conventions have Japanese tea ceremony panels this convention featured a European style tea party panel instead. The hosts dressed up as Alice and the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland and stayed in character the whole time. This added some levity to the panel while also showing how not to do things. The people who got there early had the chance to sit at tables with tea pots in oder to practice this tradition while the rest of the audience could watch and learn. This was a fun panel and turned something that could have been a dry subject into a very entertaining learning experience.

Moon Prism Poptarts by Jared
The Scarlet Rhapsody staple panel returned to Southern California with a large audience. This was our revised version of the panel that not only expored how Sailor Moon came to North America, but also how it was edited all around the world. The panel then moved into the fun clip show where several old commercials and promos were showing. It wrapped up with the epic 'She's Got the Power' scene from Sailor Moon R. While the audience was happy with the panel there were a few hiccups. First the equipment had problems and we had difficulty keeping our sound volume up. The second issue was an audience member that decided to interrupt on several occasions, but thankfully that did not lead into any drama.

Con Suite by Jared
This was one of the few anime conventions that offered a con suite.  This is a room where attendees can pick up some snacks and drinks to recharge throughout the convention.  This room had a table set with various snacks from crackers and cookies to gummie worms and chips.  Theyhad a second table set up with all available drinks, when you point one out a staff member would head into the back and get a cold drink.  The room also had a screen playing anime, when we arrived it was playing Goldenboy, a classic that isn’t appropriate for all ages.  The staff had to stop the show at a couple different points in order to check if everyone was over 18 so they could continue the scene.  Overall, it was a well done con suite and helps set the con apart from other smaller events.

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