We began our Fanime adventure in the early afternoon. Jared and I decided to help out a local charity (Santa Maria Urban Ministry) right before the start of the con. How is this connected to Fanime, you ask? The charity center works with Second Harvest, an organization that Fanime has used in their charity auction to raise money to provide food for the less fortunate. The charity site was within walking distance from Fanime, and since not many events were going on before opening ceremonies, Jared and I thought it would be nice to give time and support to a noble cause that the convention has supported over the years.

We returned to the convention just in time for the start of opening ceremonies. The kickoff took place on Stage Zero. Unlike most conventions which host opening ceremonies in the main events hall, Stage Zero is an open stage area in the middle of the convention center. Thankfully, this year, Fanime was smart to have a two way traffic walkway. However, this walkway should have been enforced more to keep people moving. It was not uncommon during the weekend to see people just stand there.

However, opening ceremonies went on without a hitch. Mr. Wendell Nacnac introduced the guests of honor. It was a treat to see the Queen of Akihabara, Momoi Halko, be peppy and bubbly on stage again. We also saw Ric Myers, Ryan Gavignan, Jonathan Osborne, Daisuke Ishiwatari, Toshimichi Morio, and Flow on stage. LMC made a video appearance because they were not present for opening ceremonies. Just like that, Fanime was in full swing. Even before opening ceremonies, Bart (Team Misaki) already mentioned the cosplayers were beginning to gather in great numbers.

Cosplayers were starting to pop up all over the place. Jared and I went to Original Joe's earlier for lunch. During the day, Jared decided to cosplay as Keitaro (Love Hina). What was special about his Keitaro cosplay is that he had a stuffed Tama he took along with him. While we were dinning at Original Joe's the waiter teased us that he would kick us out if the turtle made a mess. Good to know that this classy restaurant has a sense of humor!

We checked out the dealer's hall. The biggest complaint about the dealer's hall is that it was hot and stuffy inside. At times, it was pretty crowded and it was likely that there was overcrowding at a booth. For example, if you wanted to take a look at what dvds are available, you had a wall of people right in front of you. Some of the dealers were friendly, others were not. However, in my first visit to the dealer's hall, I found a new cosplay related company to spend my hard earned cash at. Epic Cosplay specializes in heat resistant fiber wigs. In other words, the wigs are easy to style, maintain, and last for a while. The booth also provided a computer in case you had to look up reference photos for a character you wanted to cosplay as. I needed a new wig for Lei Fang for the fighting games gathering. Luckily, Epic Cosplay was very helpful to find the right wig for me. Many thanks to one of the customers who braided my wig on the spot. What is great about these wigs is that they come in a variety of colors, but the best part is that this company caters to fans to support their eccentric and creative hobby.

Later during the day, we had an interview with Reuben Langdon. More on that interview can be read here. We also ran into Deb who was cosplaying as Nanako from Persona 4. After the interview, we just rested up in the hotel room for tea.

At around 6PM, we decided to hit the main fountain plaza to take photos of cosplayers. Most of the panels that we were interested in did not happen until later that night. We hardly stepped foot in the general plaza area because it was pretty crowded compared to previous years.

At 6:30PM, the fighting game gathering happened. B Sapphire coordinated the gathering. She brought in special guest Ric Meyers for group shots. This was a mild surprise because rarely, you would see guests of honor pose at a cosplay series photoshoot. The only complaint I have about this gathering is the way it was set up. The sun was too bright on our eyes and if you look at the photos carefully, the shadows of the photographers were looming in our shoot. Despite the technical issues, it was fun getting martial arts advice from a guest of honor and then beating him down afterwards.

The gathering began to wind down right after the Street Fighter group shots.

Deb and I were cosplaying from Dead or Alive 4. We found a Kasumi and a Bass to pose with. By this point, people from the fighting game gathering began to wander off. So, the four of us made our own impromptu gathering.

Deb forgot to pack her denim jacket for Hitomi. Luckily, Hitomi has a variant of her outfit where she is not wearing the jacket. I wore Lei Fang's seventh costume in Dead or Alive 4, otherwise known as her waitress outfit.

We decided to take a few more single shots in the Hilton lobby. We were just killing time before the swap meet would open up again for the night.

Of course, violence is bound to happen to Keitaro when he is surrounded by girls from fighting games, especially from the likes of Tecmo's disregard for gravity.

For the next part of the night, we had doll gatherings and a panel to run during the late hours of Fanime. More of that can be ready in Jared's account of Friday evening.

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 Ear Wig Factory. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.