It's time to rock your cosplay best and dance the night away at the formal ball! Jared gussies up at Pokemon boss, Giovanni as Eri Kagami dresses up as Usagi Tsukino in a rare variation where Usagi attends a formal ball at the embassy and has a bit too much to drink. Katsucon has many a night life programming. If ballroom dances are your thing, there's that. Industry panels and 18+ panels still run into the very wee hours of morning.
Formal Ball by Eri Kagami
Once opening ceremonies cleared, everyone was getting prepared for the annual formal ball. The ball usually takes place on Friday night. People are encouraged to dress to the nines for this event. Cosplayers bring formal interpretations of characters, or people just wear something formal and elegant for this night time event. Jared wore Giovanni from Pokemon and I wore Usagi from the episode where the sailor guardians attend a formal ball in season 3 (aka – the one where she gets “juiced’). Music selections were mostly a mix of waltz and swing. There was enough space on the dance floor to accommodate everyone; it did not feel cramped, even when performing larger, complex swing types of moves. There was a mix of anime and typical big band music played at the formal. Overall, it was a nice time out; an alternative for us who prefer something a bit more classy as opposed to a rave.
Official Sailor Moon by Eri Kagami
While Katsucon is a fan run convention, there’s a bit of industry presence at the mid-sized convention. VIZ’s Charlene Ingram presented what’s new with the Sailor Moon release. What was covered in the presentation were bonuses for the second dvd set of season one; we got to see footage from Sailor Moon Day at Anime Expo. There were a lot of highlights of cosplayers and interactions between fans and the new cast. In between showing bonuses, we were also treated to a few trivia questions. If someone got a question right, they won the latest dvd set. Additionally, we also got some cast announcements as to who would be playing Alan, Anne, and Sailor Chibimoon. Charlene was very thrilled to announce Sandy Fox as Chibiusa, the pink haired spore, having cited Sandy Fox’s performance in the Disgaea series. We also found out that Ash Ketchum’s voice actress, Veronica Taylor, would be voicing the space time sailor guardian, Sailor Pluto. We also had a Q&A with Cherami Leigh, Cristina Vee, and Robbie Daymond. Whomever asked a question also got a signed postcard from the cast.
Mash and Peas: How to Cosplay by Jared
Prop making is one of the more difficult aspects of cosplay. There are many things required to make good props and this panel showed how to make a personal dummy mold of your own body for the sake of making costumes and armor. This dummy would provide a more customized build so that clothing that needed to be more form fitting would look better than if it was done to just match plain measurements. Surprisingly the process is quite simple it just requires extra hands and the right tools. It is great to see well done ‘how to’ panels that anyone can easily do.
Snorlax’s Leftovers: Champions by Jared
One of the nice things to have at a convention is a good restaurant connected to the hotel or convention center. The little pub in the hotel is one of those really good locations. The place features a decent sized menu mostly featuring pub standards like burgers, clam chowder, and fish and chips. While not the cheapest of places some dishes like the chicken fingers can easily feed two people. If you are looking for a good place to eat while not leaving the convention this is your best, and pretty much only choice.
The Pokemon Gathering by Jared
While there were a couple Pokemon gatherings I attended the Friday night gathering by the fountain. Going as Giovanni in his Origin variant I had fun showing off my suit and smirk with other rockets and gym leaders. There was a good mix of costumes from all the different generations and the hosts kept everything organized and made it fun for everyone. One of the best parts was seeing the various gijinka versions and all the creativity that went into those designs.
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