I'll admit, I had my reservations about Fanime's maid cafe. In 2009, a few of the off duty maids were not so nice. Jared and I asked if it could be possible to make reservations at the maid cafe because we know how long the line can be. We were given a hasty and tactless response. That experience turned us off from attending the maid cafe. However, I am very glad to report that this year's maid cafe was a very positive experience. In all of my years attending Fanime, this was the first time I went to the maid cafe. In solidarity, Jared and I cosplayed as Walter (Hellsing) and Mitsuki (He is My Master) in solidarity of serving the upper crust.

We went to the maid cafe right before closing time. Our maid was the adoreable Momoichi. What I liked about the maid cafe is that it was a very relaxing enviroment. It was a nice getaway from the chaos of the cosplay gatherings and crowded hallways. The music also helped create that soothing atmopshere. Momoichi also drew a picture of Jared and I during our stay. This was a pleasant experience, and it is one that I would not mind doing again. Fanime really knows how to run an authentic Akihabara maid cafe without it looking like an anime escort service. Many thanks to the maid cafe staff!

Jared and I went around the convention center. It was not as crowded as before because everyone was at the masquerade. I stopped going to masquerade for a while since I cannot take the sounds of screaming fangirls whenever there is a yaoi themed skit on stage.

However, during the 6PM hour, Rob Miles invited me to participate in the Stage Zero Fireside Chat. I really did not know what this panel was going to be about until I grabbed my seat on stage. As everyone was introducing each other, Rob Miles made mention that the panelists made up of local Bay Area fans who have had a great impact on anime fandom. "This was probably one of the largest collections of mostly local pro-level fans pulled together at one time in recent history. I was totally amazed to see so many," Rob wrote on Facebook. We talked about our experiences and how we made it to where we are. I talked about the development of Scarlet Rhapsody and doing convention reports. Ray Nagar talked about World of Anime as one of the first anime radio shows. Jonathan Osborne talked about his experience in voice acting and how to network with voice actors the right way (ie: not handing a demo to Vic Mignogna). It was such a great honor to be on stage with these people.

Everyone on the panel had advice to give to any fans who wish to pursue a hobbyist related career. The panelists agreed that it is best to follow your heart and to keep doing what you're doing. It is also important to never give up on your dreams. This was a positive experience and I would not mind doing it again.

The next Stage Zero event was the Fanime 7'O Clock News which had updates about the the convention and how things were going.

After sticking around Stage Zero, Jared and I went to grab dinner at the Affinity restaurant in the Hilton. Though it can be pricey ($15 for a burger and fries; including tip and tax), the Affinity does have a menu specifically for Fanime attendees. One can order a soda, sandwhich, and chips for $5. It was very nice of the Hilton to have this deal with the con attendees, though the Hilton has had problems with Fanime Con guests in the past. This year, anyone who stayed at the Hilton had to sign a waiver just in case if any damage is caused to the room.

There was also another doll gathering on Saturday evening. The doll gatherings were small and humble. However, they were not as huge as previous years. The tradition is to keep the doll gatherings at the Marriott lobby, but doll owners felt that the space was smaller than usual. We remember having a bigger table and more sitting space from previous years. I did not bring out my dolls for this meet up, but I enjoyed looking at other people's dolls.

We also found a few fans make chalk drawings outside of the convention center.

Saturday evening was a great time to hang out with friends. We took this opportunity to hang out with my San Francisco State University chums. One of the joys of any anime convention is reconnecting with friends that you have not seen in a while, or only get to see once a year. My friends and I recollected on inside jokes and old memories from university. Thanks for the food!

I did some more exploring around Fanime. I checked out the karaoke room. I love doing karaoke whenever I can, but I found out there was a four hour wait if I wanted to go up. I always like checking out what songs the karaoke department banned this year. This time it was the American Pokemon theme and "Still Alive" from Portal. I did catch a few buffoons singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan.

Masquerade was letting out at around 10:30PM. A few of the contestants had already left the area right before it was time to announce the winners. We talked to a few people who watched masquerade. Sakura Mikage informed us that a majority of the skits involved lots of dancing. Not many skits used the yaoi-as-a-punchline trope this year. Had I known this in advance, I would have attended masquerade. I do not mind watching dancing skits, I see dancing all the time whenever I see a Broadway show, so I cannot complain there. However, others have also agreed that this year's Cosplay Spectacular was indeed spectacular.

Not many entrants showed up at the convention center for post show photos like previous years.

Emerald took photos of Jared and I in our maid and butler cosplay. The nice thing about the He is My Master cosplay is that I can magically transform to any of the three main characters whenever I feel like. This time, I just took off the wig and became Anna.

The Marriott lobby is one of my favorite places for photo opportunities. There are many backdrops to work with and the lobby chairs and tables are very classy.

It even works for Spike Spiegal (Cowboy Bebop).

We decided to call it a night. Since it was later in the evening, the elevators were not as busy. When we got to our floor, we were greeted by an inebriated Tony Stark who had one too many at Fanime.

Saturday was a mellow day, but we still managed to have fun. Mellow days also mean no big surprises or nothing was done in a rush. Again, it was a great honor to be a part of Stage Zero's Fireside Chat.

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.