It was like any other lazy Sunday. Tom and I decided to go into our Cowboy Bebop costumes. Of course, Tom cosplayed as Spike. I cosplayed as Faye from the Ballad of Fallen Angels (ep 5) episode, sans the jacket. It was already 80-something in Long Beach, no time for more clothing! The very first thing we did was head over to The Pike at Rainbow Lagoon. I wanted to introduce Tom to Island's (aka Dr. No's Secret HQ) since it's a SoCal joint. Luckily, we were one of the first ones in. After lunch, we went to Candy Bouquet to get our free chocolate truffles. Candy Bouquet was giving out free candy to cosplayers throughout the weekend. In addition, my high school friend, Jesse Amos (representing Movin' 93.9) was also present for Sunday's Anime Expo. Tom and I showed him around the area.
Tom and I stopped by a traditional Japanese dance class. I thought it was a nice change of pace to the mainstream events. While we didn't participate, it was nice seeing a little bit of culture.
Sunday was our chance to do Dealers Room shopping. Typically, we like to spend our Anime Expo Sundays shopping. Unfortunately, our favorite booths were not easily visible- Tokyo Pop and Viz. Viz always had the best interactive events and freebies. Tokyo Pop always had the best manga deals, as well as releasing manga before their street date. The best part about the Dealers Room this year was the Geodude people running around the hallways and antagonizing Ash / Satoshi cosplayers.
| Victoria's Swag | Tom's Swag |
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Fruits Basket bracelet + Kyo ears for Tom from Cosworx + Rabi en Rose stationery set. |
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Soundwave Transformer Figure |
Also present with us was Cosette (MSD Mika) cosplaying as Momo Hinamori from Bleach. Tom, Cosette, and I relaxed in the Hyatt. The smoldering sun was too intrusive when getting decent cosplay shots. Besides, a nice helping of ice cream from the Hyatt's Tides restaurant was what the doctor ordered. We took several shots of our Cowboy Bebop costumes. Luckily, the Press and Industry room had bottled water and snacks to keep us going on this hot summer's day. Tom also joined Press and Industry staffers in a game of Shoot the Water Bottles.
In summary, the Dealers Room was nicely spread out. Yet, I do advise if you see something you really, really like, get it right away. The Momo Hinamori pins that I wanted to get for Cosette sold out! I got a $5 off coupon from ADV. When I came to pick up Angelic Days 1 and 2, they were gone!
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