I really didn't know what to make of Mikomi Con. I always looked at it as one of those small university cons that came and went. The last time I heard about an university con was Anime Destiny in 2005 that took place in UC Berkeley. Most convention veterans gave it a low rating and mentioned that no one missed anything. Even the week before MikomiCon, I really did not know if Mikomi could match up to Recca Con's party friendly atmosphere (Diablo Valley College). There are more and more "n00bs" to the scene. Time after time, friends and veterans would talk about the changing face of the anime convention scene. Where's the fun? Where's the love? Where's the fandom?

MikomiCon was the big surprise of 2008. Tom flew in from San Jose to attend this event. Julia and Caitlin talked me into going to event. It was choice between Autumn Dream and MikomiCon. Since we all agreed that Autumn Dream is basically AniMagic on life support, Mikomi was the obvious choice. My original intentions were to go just to hang out with friends, maybe enter masquerade as a solo act cosplaying from Princess Tutu and dancing to Cassie's solo number from A Chorus Line.

2008 had plenty of blessings in disguise, but MikomiCon was the biggest small con that ever could. We had no idea that we'd expect a great con. I guess that's what happens when you have low expectations. I'd advise pre-registering for MikomiCon, it's worth the price for a weekend.

There was always something happening and always something to do. If the music in the plaza was too loud, you could relocate to the grassy area or just go indoors to chit chat. There were not many yaoi fangirls or random acts of immaturity. I was surprised to find that it was easy to talk to anyone. Maguma hit the nail on the head nicely - we're friendly people, sometimes we're caught up with other business, but that does not mean we're pretentious people.

I was amazed at the guest of honor line up. It is unheard of, at least on the West Coast, that an university convention can have many famous voice - Rob Paulsen, Kyle Hebert, Johnny Yong Bosch. Then again, we're not far from Hollywood!

The masquerade was run very well. I still remember the days when Joel was a rapping Gundam. Both directors did a great job pulling off the show. My only complaint is that the green room needed extra security and possibly a videocast of the show. Have someone by the double doors checking badges and verifying if they're in the show. It was very easy to walk in and walk out. Otherwise, it was a splendid experience on stage and behind the scenes.

Our group is still in shock on our Best of Show honor. At most, we expected a Judge's Award. Deb was in tears when she heard the news. None of us have achieved a costuming honor this high. Honestly, we thought the Street Fighter or the One Piece group deserved the Best of Show title. Otherwise, on behalf of Traveling Valentine, we would like to thank the judges for their choice and thanks for the swag!

I don't usually do panels at anime conventions, but I went to three different panels - Johnny Yong Bosch, Kyle Hebert, and Bang Zoom. The last two kept teasing the voices in my head telling me to pursue voice acting. If only I had the money for a Bang Zoom workshop!

Most of all, thanks to all of my friends who made this experience all the more memorable. Other than winning Best of Show, my favorite part of Mikomi Con was the random karaoke madness on Sunday. It's been a while since I've had this much random fun at a convention. I really look forward to more crazy adventures. Of course, many thanks to those I had to video tape for my class assignment. Many thanks to all my friends for being awesome people.

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