Mikomi Con posed many questions post-con: James Wong and Stephen Chow, what did you guys do to my childhood?, What are the ethics behind ghosting an event?, Which is superior - There Will Be Brawl or Stupid Mario Brothers?, What's a "mikomi?," and Kitty, is that you? No seriously, what is a "mikomi?"

Mikomi Con has good intentions - a simple college anime club hosting an anime convention. It felt much more like a gathering with events going on than an actual convention. My main issue with Mikomi Con is that they attempt to stretch a day's worth of programming into three days. Many of the attendees complained there was not much to do at all. Though I was busy on Saturday with masquerade judging, Mikomi Con was a relaxing event that allowed me to hang with friends that I do not get to see on a regular basis.

Stan, Shane, Sarah, and others said that the karaoke room from last year converted into the official Rock Band room where attendees can rock out on vocals and their instrumental counterparts. The game room was full of Smash Brothers Brawl good times. The tiny dealers hall had a few good finds. Unfortunately, though I did have the money, I walked away empty handed only because I was saving money for New York Anime Fest later in the week. However, there were plenty of good DVD scores - Gunslinger Girl box set ($15), xxxHolic individual DVDs ($5), Black Lagoon Geneon release ($55), and much more. Artist Alley had a pool of talented artists. I ended up buying a comission piece of fan art based on my original design for Gijinka Persian.

The event that attendees raved and raged about the most was the DragonBALD Evolution roast by Kyle Hebert. Fans of the original series could now sit through this eye poison with the aid of Kyle Hebert's hillarious commentary. If this event is at a convention near you, do not miss out on in. We were thinking about skipping out on Sunday, but when we heard about Kyle's roast, we thought it would be an event worth going to.

My main suggestion to Mikomi Con is to rethink the format of the convention. Stan suggests to go for the Japanese summer festival style - like a mini Nissei Week. I would suggest that events should be panned for two days - Saturday and Sunday. Begin with AMVs on Saturday morning, followed by masquerade, and followed by Rum Party and or the dance later in the evening. I also missed the character cafe. I thought this type of programming was really cute. It reminds me of Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Resort where Disney characters would interact with you. For those who feel that the maid cafe format is leaning towards sexism, the character cafe is a nice and PC friendly event to add back on the track. $20 for a two day event does not seem that bad. Adding incentive with the badge - raffle tickets, free soda, free water, etc - would also be nice as well to further prevent ghosting.

Being a part of Joel Carbajal's masquerade staff was very enjoyable. I would not mind doing it again. Hats off to the staff for keeping cool when everything at the 11th hour was going insane. I am glad we kept to a level of professionalism that seems to be lacking in most major masquerades. Hats off to the contestants. I really did not feel any tension or drama between any of the groups. It was great seeing people getting excited to go on stage and do their thing.

Mikomi Con has much potential. I like the small convention atmosphere. The location is very nice, perfect for photoshoots. The location also has many rooms for main events and live programming. There is much potential for Mikomi Con for growth. I really love this con for sentimental reasons and I really would like to see this event become better and better. Here's to Mikomi Con 2010!

Many thanks to the Scarlet Rhapsody crew for being a supportive team! If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at v @ scarlet-rhapsody.com.

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