After perusing the tiny dealer's room, we visited our friends at the Anime Los Angeles table. Did you know Anime Los Angeles is having a dance on Day Zero (January 1, 2009)? Many thanks to Chaz for providing free water and free snacks. For the most part, we were socializing with people on the Artist Alley patio. We were talking musicals. It was very refreshing to talk about Assassins, Spring Awakening, and Legally Blonde in an Avenue Q and Rocky Horror infested world. Hey, we even did a few rounds of "Mama Who Bore Me" and "Totally Fucked" from Spring Awakening. This is what fandom and pretentious geekery is all about!

The main plaza was hosting the bands again. This time Johnny Yong Bosch's band, Eyeshine, was up to bat. After listening to a few of their tunes, I prefer Johnny Yong Bosch as a musician than as a voice actor. He seemed pretty lost on the topic of voice acting at his panel, but his eyes shined whenever he talked about his music.

Then it was the masquerade check in. Of course, it was just nice to sit down indoors and talking to other cosplayers entering the masquerade. It was fun seeing old friends that we have not seen in years (Kitty!) and meeting new friends (Anza and Maguma).

After masquerade check in, we decided to take pictures of our Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl group. We did a quick run through while we still had time. Tom decided to add an introduction to the skit to practice his monologue skills. Jill was a last minute addition to our skit. She played Raichu, because Volkner needs an electric type to battle. Deb and Tom worked on their lines because they were going to be using the mics for the most party. Honestly, we were not aware of any time limits, but we managed to keep it short, sweet, and simple. We weren't going to for a three act opera.

Tom, Deb, and I wandered around for snacks. It would be unknown when we would have dinner. Come 6:30PM, we had to report back to the masquerade green room. During that time, Tom and I taught Deb how to Bend and Snap. It's a tactic that works on any straight guy. It didn't get Stan's attention.

The last feeling I experienced masquerade at the green room was tension. You could feel the competetion vibes. However, MikomiCon did not have any of that. It reminded me of Anime Expo 2001 where we a good majority of us did not think of masquerade as a competition, but as a group of geeks who just want to have fun on stage. I really liked hanging out backstage and meeting new people. Tom had fun playing with the One Piece zombies. It was refreshing to talk about the joys of Log from Ren and Stimpy. I really felt that there were no pretentious vibes and everyone was being supportive of each other.

The only thing I would change is masquerade having a video cast in the green room and adding security to the green room. There were non-masquerade cosplayers going in and out of the green room. It made Deb feel very uncomfortable that anyone could just walk in and walk out.

Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl was one of the last acts. Kyle Hebert introduced our act. It was time to grab the mics and get center stage. You can watch our masquerade skit on youtube. Video Link.

All I can say is that the best part is the audience reaction. Tom performed the skit with his eyes closed to match Brock's eyes. We entertained the masses, and that's the real reward. MikomiCon had some great costumes and sketches. Maguma, Anza, Li, and Sai danced to "Danjo Danjo." There were awesome Trinity Blood cosplayers. Zany-chan belted out the opening theme to Yu-Gi-Oh and a Cagali cosplayer showed off her lungs of steel to Aretha Franklin's "Respect." The zombie cast of One Piece did a very smooth tribute to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." There were plenty of awesome acts with awesome people.

And word on the street is that voice actress Marianne Miller wants my Manolo Blahnik boots, my skirt, and Stan's Volkner hair.

Masquerade halftime consisted of a martial arts demonstration (Video Link) and Kyle Hebert hosting a "Kamekameha" contest.

Feeling very hungry, Tom and I decided to hit Red Robbin, since there are none in my area. It was a good dinner to wind down the night. We really did not know what to expect. Stan, Deb, and Jill were back at the con to wait on the awards. As Tom was getting the bill for dinner, we got the call from Deb. "You're not going to believe this," said Tom. "We got Best of Show!" Everyone in the group was in a state of shock. Stan was about to leave masquerade as they were about to announce Best of Show. We thought that some of the other acts were better qualified for Best of Show! What can I say, we were proud to have pulled this off.

We drove back to CSUN. Stan and Deb were in the parking lot ready to greet us with victory hugs. I think I glomped Stan too hard to where I fell and hit my head on the pavement, but I'm okay! We won random swag from Viz, a $100 gift card, and a blue ribbon to denote our awesome rank as Best of Show.

As I was recovering from my fall, we all sat down to see if we could recover from the shock. However, even through it was 10PM, the night life was still alive. You could either hit the dance or party with the pirates at the rum party. By this time, we were all tired and overwhelmed about this twist of events.

We stayed at Julia and Caitlin's house for the night. Deb was playing Brawl to show off Snake's codec calls. Meanwhile, I had a good night sleep.

Pictures are copyright by Traveling Valentine. If we 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 Mr B.