All of Monday's pictures were taken on Jared's camera. For Monday, we decided to cosplay from Legally Blonde: The Musical. After getting packed for our flight back to Long Beach, we arrived early at the Cashman Center. We also ran into a group of Pheonix Wright cosplayers. Harvard Law versus Pheonix Wright. Go! However, one must assess if Edgeworth is gay or European.

What Jared Did While Victoria Was At Masquerade

While Victoria ran off to the singles masquerade I decided to scout out around the con to see what I could find to do on day three. Surprisingly there was a good amount of stuff to still do. I decided to begin with the Art Gallery. I had seen the signs on the previous days, but hadn’t taken the time to go in and take a look. I was rather impressed by the gallery. Everything from Castle of Cagliostro to Totoro to Memories was on display and it was a nice distraction from the standard hustle and bustle of the con.

After leaving the Art Gallery I returned to the exhibit hall to check out the gaming area. I had not had much time to game (other than the occasional DS sessions throughout the con) so I figured now would be a good time to do so. When I got to the gaming area I saw that the Street Fighter IV tournament was already underway. It was fun to watch for a bit, but I was a bit more interested in the arcade machines set up near the gaming area. As I am a big fan of Marvel vs. Capcom I was happy to see the machine waiting there for me.

After that I wandered the exhibit hall for a short time looking for some last minute deals then I returned to the main hallway to play some World Ends With You while waiting for Victoria to return from the singles masquerade. I saw some great cosplayers at this time, but due to my camera being used by Victoria I could not get any extra pictures. However, I did not have to wait too long for Victoria to return and we got back to doing what we do best.

And Back to Victoria

I decided to attend the singles masquerade. I figured I should give the singles masquerade contest a try since a few people described Anime Vegas contestants as young, talented cosplayers that just come out of nowhere that you have to ask yourself, "Where have these guys been?!" Cashman Center staff did not let press in until about 12:45PM. Though the event was originally scheduled for noon, it was running an hour late. However, as soon as everyone was seated in the spacious theater, the show got under way.

We had the judges introduced to us as well as the Anime Vegas chair saying a few words to the audience. It was nice to know who was judging the singles masquerade contest. It was also nice to know what their credentials were. For some masquerades, I have to question what kind of experience some of the judges have other than cosplaying for X amount of years. All singles masquerade entrants can be seen on the Anime Vegas 2009 Youtube Playlist.

I did not stay for the awards to be given out. I already thought that everyone did a good job and each performer deserves some sort of recognition. I stopped by the Cosplay panel since the exhibit hall was closing. Most of the attendees were gathering around the narrow hallways creating an otaku shanty town. The Cosplay panel was nice, cool room where veteran cosplayers shared tips, tricks, and answered a few questions from aspiring costumers.

We were also let down that the Yuri For All Ages panel was cancelled at the last minute. It would have been cool to know much more about the Yuri fanbase and fandom. Specifically, we were much more curious as what they meant by "all ages" since Yuri is most associated with prurient girl on girl themes. Instead, we went upstairs to the Future of Anime Voice Acting panel. Some of the original panelists were unavailable to speak, but we had Jonathan Osborne, Jonathan Klein, and Jerry Jewell speak on behalf of the anime voice acting industry. The panel also did not damn fandubs and amateur voice acting. Klein compared fandubs to the likes of fan films - delightful hommages to a fandom.

Jonathan Klein summarzied the future of voice acting the best in this clip:

We also had a delightful surprise when Laura Post (M in Tweeny Witches) show up and say "hi." Laura Post is now a professional voice actor. She attended my Voice Acting panel during Anime Central 2002 and that's how I came to know her (and get her into a little hobby known as "amateur voice acting"). It was very nice to chit chat with a few professional voice actors during our visit to Anime Vegas.

As Anime Vegas was winding down, the otaku shanty town started to exponentially grow. Either people were waiting for closing ceremonies to start or were just looking for a place to hang out. Hence, this is why I think Anime Vegas needs to accomodate a larger space for the future for the halls can be less crowded to move in and out, and be much more spread out so attendees can sit down and chill for a bit.

Some people were just making their own fun by playing anime style charades.

Oh, and Jared took these photos.

The truth was, all good things must come to an end. Even the party has to die down some time. Austin was hospitable enough to drive us to the airport so we can catch our 6:15PM flight back to Long Beach. It was time to say "bye bye for now, Anime Vegas!"

We took one last shot at the 4 Queens hotel and casino before our official departure. Luckily, we were able to get through the airport without any traffic or problems getting through security. For a holiday weekend, it felt like a normal travel day. We made it in time for boarding for our pleasant flight back to California.

Pictures are copyright by Scarlet Rhapsody. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Diablo. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.