Written by David Nolen | 09 June 2009

Since I had such a great time at ACEN last year, I decided to go ahead and attend this year. Like last year, I attended as a member of the Press, which enabled me to film and photograph events in ways I otherwise would not have been able to as a regular attendee. This is important when one considers how many events I've actually started filming on a regular basis at the various conventions I attend; almost all of which I've made available via bittorrent. It's irked me considerably that most of the video taken at these cons seems to disappear down a dark hole into shear nothingness, despite the number of people I see taking video…especially at the larger conventions like Anime Expo. Thankfully with the advent of Youtube and various other online video services, people are beginning to transcode and upload their videos; most famous of which is American Cosplay Paradise who has actually gone back and begun making available video from about '99 on.

This year, to facilitate said video recording, I finally managed to acquire a decent quality 32 GB SDHC class 6 card from Transcend (which you can probably get cheaper elsewhere honestly). Depending on the video quality setting, HA or HG, I can record for about 4.5 to 5.5 hours respectively. Coupled with VW-VBG6 battery which powers the camera for about six hours (the VW-VH04-K attachment is required for this huge ass battery), my biggest gripes about camcorders are no longer an issue. Now, all I find is that I need better low light recording capabilities and better white balance handling. Panasonic's newer line of camcorders addresses this problem, but it'll be another year or more before I acquire one. Reason being that while the HDC-TM300K is an awesome camera that improves the features I want improved, the internal solid state hard drive (which is what I've been waiting for) needs to be about twice the size it is now to make it more appealing than just getting an SDHC based camcorder with a 32GB SDHC class 6 card. At present, this is a far less expensive device that is far exceeded by the quality you get.

It also helps that I discovered, after nearly a year of hacking and cursing at barely functioning software, I found out that the camcorder does indeed work as it should. There's no weird jitters and glitches between where it stops one file and starts another. No, those come from the software used to process the files…software that is completely incapable of properly joining two or more M2TS streams correctly. This came about when I grew sick and tired of Sony, Pinnacle, and even AVIDemux's complete inability to process the files correctly anymore. Things like random frames in random places, sound out of sync with video, eight hour encoding failures, lack of file-type support for whatever reason; you know the stuff that makes software like this actually useful. So, I tried to join the individual MTS (M2TS is the same file-type, and the two are completely interchangeable near as I can tell) streams using a program called tsMuxeR to avoid some of the problems the other programs were having when I tried using them to join the files. When I did that I found that all the lost frames, sound sync problems, and various other assorted oddities vanished. The video and audio were completely contiguous…there were no problems at all. With that situation mostly solved, AVIDemux became far more useful than either of the two commercial applications in that it allowed me to save MKV containers with video files using nearly whatever compression and aspect ratio I wished while keeping the audio the native AC-3 5.1 surround sound it was recorded in. Still, AVIDemux needs to get its act together and include full support for the H.264 format because that's what most camcorders are recording their video at anymore.

Needless to say this means I had to go back and re-encode the video I've taken to date with this camera at some future time. I look forward to putting these lessons learned to good use when I begin transcoding down the video for the events of this year.

Day 0

Day 0 begins like any other would for a convention about a thousand miles away: with a plane ride. Like most plane rides, I find the best way to spend them is asleep. Arriving at the Chicago International Airport, I went ahead and phoned my sister who was to be attending the convention with me this year and had booked the room. My sister actually works for the hotel chain that the convention is attached to, so she was able to acquire a room for us at a substantial discount, though there was some temporary ambiguity on which Hyatt we'd be staying at. Fortunately it was the one attached to the convention center and not the one a few blocks away which simplified matters considerably.

Taking the shuttle to the Hotel, I again considered this would be the first time any member of my family would have attended something like an anime convention. Slightly more worrying was the fact this would be the first time that one would ever see me in this environment. I don't want to say my family is close minded, but there are levels of weird I try not to subject them to. On the other hand, my sister is a bit of a fangirl herself, but living in backwoods Illinois, she can't really indulge in it, so she was the perfect one to invite to an event like this. In that respect, I was also looking forward to having her to hang around with this con.

Like last year, Moonie was to be attending and would be rooming with us as well. Admittedly this was a unique experience, for though last year I roomed with nothing but girls, this year I was rooming with girls who knew me pretty goddamn well, and honestly it turned out to be a lot of fun. However, I'm pretty sure by the end of this convention my poor sister was hating life in all its forms as we walked her into the dirt. Let that be a lesson to everyone: WORK OUT! With an emphasis on cardio! Get those knee reinforcements if you need them! Otherwise you wind up begging for death at the end of three days of being on your feet for 18 hours at a time.

Last year, convention check in was marred by someone hacking their computers and crashing their databases from what I heard. This year, there didn't seem to be any complaints or hold ups at all from what Moonie and my sister told me when they went to get their convention gear. I suppose it helps that they mailed the badges early this year, and all you had to do was, in fact, go check in. As for me, like last year, I was stuck without a badge 'til the following morning. I did take the opportunity to find the press room and hand my convention videos to the press coordinator (who I hope remembered my instructions on how to handle that hard drive as it is a hardware encrypted device) since he requested some video the previous year. I'll be doing this from now on, or at least until I quit recording video.

Then it was off to Mitsuwa to get some munchies and get something to eat. I did manage to snap a few photos before we headed out. Photos like this lovely C.C. and then this beautiful elf here who are, in fact, the same cosplayer. She was telling me that her pretty black dress there got ripped and she wouldn't be able to mend it until later…so she wound up having to get into this outfit. I hope she managed to effect repairs as that was a gorgeous cosplay…which is a helluva sight with a fine looking cosplayer in the outfit like her.

Last time I went to Mitsuwa was morning of Day 1, so none of the restaurants were open, and we had to cut our visit short since opening ceremonies would be happening an hour or so later. This time we went at night on Day 0, so we managed to take our time and even eat at the restaurants there in the store. I wound up getting some of those bean paste cakes and Jasmine tea. Also, we managed to get my sister to try some of that soda with the marbles in them, and I think she liked it. There was also the bread store, which is actually a store on its own within the Mitsuwa main store. I'm not a fan of the flavored bread myself. Which is not to say it's bad, but I don't go out of my way to get it…for some reason it's just one of those things I won't try to kill someone over…like those bean paste confections. They did, however, have those damn green tea cheese cake things which forced us to retreat in a hurry or else gobble the whole thing. It may not have a lot of stuff I like, but that cubby hole has some deadly secrets lurking in it.

Supper consisted of spicy Ramen…the real stuff, not that instant noodle junk one finds in every supermarket. It had a real boiled piece of pork in it as well as various other ingredients I couldn't identify. Mostly because I ate it too quickly, heh. Moonie was busy with her Ramen, but only ate about two-thirds of it, leaving me the boiled egg which was quite yummy. My sister had gotten a Korean seafood pancake thing…of which I wound up eating half of. Seriously, just 'cause I'm a guy the girls must think I'm a living vacuum cleaner. It was good though, and my only regret was that I couldn't eat more.

Took my sister and Moonie on a leisurely stroll through their book store where my sister marveled and gushed over the various Japanese books and manga on display. Watching the shoujo sparklies quite literally flying off her, I quickly came to realize I'd have nothing to worry about concerning her acclimatization to the fandom. Keeping her from going after everything shiny…that might be the actual problem. Though admittedly I knew she wouldn't be near as bad as her boyfriend who would likely park himself in the dealers room for four days and just marvel at all the cool stuff.

We were forced out by the store closing; which is ironic since we were about to immerse ourselves up to our eyeballs in everything this store carried. It was for the best though since we had to go back and prepare the game plan for the following days to come. There would only be a little bit of time for that after some picture taking of the Day 0 cosplayers hanging out in the lobby.

Day 1

The interesting thing about getting up on Day 1 of any convention is that you're always ready to go. Everything is about to start, and it's all so exciting that we can't wait to begin. This will be the only day you're not pulling yourself out of bed because there's something you want to do, but are so tired it hurts. This is one large reason you work out with an emphasis on cardio, or if you carry around several pounds of camera gear for hours at a time (like myself) you have to work strength training into cardio. It will make the days more bearable and the wakeups far easier.

First thing on my list of things to do was getting my press credentials taken care of. There's actually a somewhat draconian list of things to fill out and send in for an Anime Central Press Pass. To whit: A letter of introduction and a letter of intent (on the company letterhead), samples of work, fill out the request form, a business card, and proof of readership. ACEN is a decent convention, but all of the above screams the shotgun method of qualifying applicants. Then again, I guess if you do go through all of the above, that's indicative of really wanting this. I'm just curious as to how much of this is really evaluated when considering applicants…or if it's just a matter of HAVING it. Regardless, I found all of it to be irrelevant this year, since whatever database they used to track applicants was nonexistent, and pretty much anyone who came in and requested a press pass with some credentials got it. Looks like they put our names in a database they had running right then and hopefully they'll begin grandfathering people in like they do at Anime Expo. Fanime should probably think about this as well, since it would save everyone a lot of time and hassle. On the subject of Fanime, another press guy and myself got into a discussion about their new press registration system, and had a bit of a laugh about it…more on that when I get to the Fanime report.

After that, I had a couple hours before opening ceremonies, and spent it walking around taking pictures like I normally do. This year I have to admit, while there were a few panels that interested me, there didn't seem to be any that really demanded my attendance. Which is fine, the pocket guide that was provided showed when the main events would occur and reprinted the cosplay gatherings from the Cosplay.com forums. This is the first year conventions have really paid attention to the gathering lists that I could tell. I don't recall ACEN doing this last year, and I know that Fanime and Anime Expo were half assing it the past couple years, but this year ACEN included it as part of their literature and Fanime had the damn thing posted all over the place.

As a small aside, I'll reiterate a lesson learned from last year. If you're going to change a gathering, not only do you update the website, but you also go and inform con ops, and then change EVERY SINGLE posted flyer. You don't just change one flyer that will miss the lion's share of people, and you certainly don't change it fifteen minutes before it's supposed to start. The Dead or Alive XBV crew at Fanime did this last year, and only one or two photographers managed to find them. Lord only knows if they lost any cosplayers that were going to attend. Fortunately this hasn't happened this year; at least not for ACEN or Fanime. Expo…we'll see.

On my way to the Dealer's hall to meet with Moonie and my sister, I managed to attend the latter parts of the Higurashi gathering which was rapidly turning more and more psychotic as time went on. For those of you familiar with the series, you're probably laughing your ass off at the poses you see the Keiichis, Mion, and Rena striking on a couple of those. Admittedly the idea of a couple of Keiichi's beating Mion and Rena to death at the same time tickled the funny bone of a very dark and evil part of myself as well…truly I had to keep from giggling maniacally in order to hold still for those shots.

Inside I find that Moonie has been giving my sister a tour of Lolita fashions which I found to both my amusement and joy that my sister found them quite intriguing and pretty. I had noted to her a couple of times that she'd look cute dressed up in a frilly dress such as the ones the Lolitas wear. I had also mentioned to Moonie that if she could help me hold my sister down we could probably get her into a dress like that, heheh. Fortunately we didn't have to resort to something that would get me seriously injured. In fact, her first question was something to the effect of, "So, what's my costume budget?"

Lolita clothing is not cheap, to put it mildly. I quoted her a number I was willing to put down to get her a dress. The look she gave me was priceless…I wish I could have taken a picture of that. I know what she was thinking: I was already giving her my old tripod for a birthday present (since I had gotten a better one); why in Hell would I be giving her something of this nature? The answer: partly for that very look on her face and partly because I think she'd be cute in it. So, we went back through a few dealers to find one she liked. There were no dressing rooms, which is odd, as I know I've seen them set up before, so we just wound up putting the dress over her already existing clothes. As I suspected, she had the basic figure to wear just about anything on those shelves. We narrowed it down to two, a Wa Lolita outfit and a Gothic Lolita outfit. I think the Wa Lolita outfit was giving even her cavities, and she really is more gothy and punky than anything else, so she chose the Gothic Lolita outfit. At this point, I had to jet. Opening Ceremonies was coming up and I was going to film it.

They let us set up in the back this year, and even provided power for us in case we needed it. Sure, power was simply a surge suppressor unit plugged into the same outlet their sound system was currently using, which would have necessitated us to be right beside the sound stage, but it was the thought that counted. Only real rule was that if we weren't going to hang out in back, that we do not block the foot traffic lanes, and keep about six feet from the front of the sound stage to facilitate this. There was also no flash photography, etc, etc. You know the usual stuff a member of the press must abide by. ACEN is one of the best informed, internally contiguous, and friendly conventions I've ever seen…more so than I'd even think is possible. Internal communications, intelligence, and professionalism are well in evidence; especially when I just can just ask someone about something, and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll find someone who does.

Opening ceremonies wasn’t quite the rock concert it was last year. People were sort of…I got a real vibe of ‘tired’ for lack of a better term. There was some dancing and the rest of what went on last year, but not nearly to the unbridled energy that was the hallmark of last year’s opening. Still it wasn’t too bad, and had the standard announcements, introduction of guests of honor, and what not. I managed to record it all, but admittedly, I was quite happy to get the back to the convention proper.

Having a hotel room right there at the convention is a convenience no one who works there can do without. Lugging around a few pounds of camera gear for hours on end, while doable, is something most would wish to avoid. Dropping off my tripod and video camera at the room, I started heading back to the Dealer’s Hall, where I would meet up with my sister and Moonie again. On my way there, I was, of course, side tracked by various cosplayers, including this one. I want to say this is Rydia from Final Fantasy 4, but there are enough differences that I’m not entirely sure. Regardless, this is one of the best Final Fantasy cosplays I’ve yet seen, and I’m very happy to have gotten such a wonderful set of pictures of it.

I get into the Dealer's Hall...finally...and while taking a few more pics am finally tracked down by Moonie and my sister who has actually changed into her little goth loli outfit. As I strongly suspected, she was exceedingly cute, but surprisingly a natural at posing for the various individuals who asked for her picture. Yes, I took a picture. No, I'm not going to share which one it is, but I will say it's one of those in that collection. We walked around for a bit in through the Dealer's Hall and Artist's Alley, checking things out. I was rather disappointed myself; no one was selling any of the more recent Masterpiece Transformers or even the Henkei series. Also, that company that sold those fat plushie animas wasn't there this year...and I wanted to get a frog. It looked like I wasn't going to get to spend a lot of money no matter how much I wanted to.

This was also to be a busy day since both the Fashion Show and the Concerts were to happen later almost back to back. We barely had enough time to eat some bad Convention Center food (shit should be banned...at least they had sloppy joes for the required protein) before it was time to head back and get in line for said fashion show. Or at least, for my sister and Moonie to get in line...me, I got to go in and set up early being press and all...after I went up and got my video camera and tripod again. I admit to a certain feeling of guilt that I had about that situation, but then I remembered I was going to be standing up for however long this event lasted, and even sharing the video with anyone and everyone who wanted it, so it didn't bother me for too long.

First thing to do was find out where we could set up. Those who were taking pictures had a spot in front, but those of us who were taking video could set up in back, just as long as we followed the rules from before. Interesting to note, the Tech Gendo had one addition to the rules concerning the fashion show that was an offshoot of what he'd seen happen before at other events: don't photograph the pantsu! Yes folks, apperently there were a couple of press guys who would do whatever they could to get the panty shots...I assume they were ejected forthwith. It's really easy to do up there above the press area on the stage completely unobstructed so it was going to happen no matter what...a casual flip of the skirt at the wrong time at the wrong angle would cause that. It's an easy thing to correct with modern cameras too, you just delete it. However it's easy to see when one gets an accidental shot...and when one is GOING for those shots. Many of those girls are NOT above the age of consent to add an extra level of fucked up to it.

Like the Lolita Fashion Show from last year, it was pretty short, though longer than than said Lolita Fashion Show. Also, it was far more varied with a lot more participation from various individuals overall. Everything from Punk, to the various Lolita styles, to Gothic Aristocrat, to various styles I had no idea were being tried. Another addition I rather enjoyed was the inclusion of male models and male clothing. Even though I personally wouldn't be caught dead in most of those outfits for men (seriously, a short white guy with no hair who looks like he bench presses a tree? No, us Nordic-Irish descended mother fuckers do not look good in most of that), I do admit to liking the overall aesthetic of a lot of them. Some others...not so much, heh.

The Fashion Show ended with a question and answer session like the Lolita Fashion Show did last year. However, it wound up being a lot less formal in that the various models came out on stage and were answering questions from a group of people who had come up to surround them. I tried filming some of that, but they weren't using the microphone anymore, and I had to drop stuff off to get ready for the concerts. So I packed my stuff up and headed up to do just that...and possibly get something a little more substantial to eat. Again, I recommend getting some MRE's...they'll save your life at a convention.

I had two options here. I could go to the concerts or I could go to the panels on how to take better photographs. I truly considered going to those panels since I had a lot of experience in taking both good and bad photos at a convention. Thing is, that was what actually made the decision for me too. Short of tips on setting up a booth in the corner for professional photographs (like some people DID), I could probably run that panel. It seemed like a better idea to opt to take some pics and wait for the concerts to start. It was fortunate I'd taken a quick trip to the press office before hand to clarify the status of press at the concerts since everyone else needed tickets (and they were required last year). We just walk in, and our press credentials would be enough to gain us access, but we could only take pictures during the first three songs of the M.O.V.E. concert and flash had to be turned off.

So I walked around, took some pictures. Like this one of of Misty from Pokemon. That particular pic convinces me I need to get an external flash for my camera. Also, there was this pic of Naga the White Serpent. This woman was both Mikuru and Naga from last year, and I'll be damned if I didn't see it until later. I had promised myself I'd ask that girl out for a drink if I saw her again, and I didn't recognize her until later when I was examining the picture! As I was told when I admitted this later...EPIC FAIL! Yes, this was an Epic Fail on my part. Oh sure, I know that there's about a 99.997% chance of being turned down, but that's not the point. The point is not to let an opportunity like that pass you by...fear profits a man nothing. In the final analysis, it would have cost me nothing either way. On the other hand, there's no profit being an inattentive dumbass either, and that's what I was this time around. I'll ask next year...see how that turns out.

The time for the concerts rolled around so we lined up to get in. I could have gone to the front, but honestly I didn't know too much about the bands playing, and I hadn't spent as much time with Moonie and my sister as I'd wanted. We found a spot to sit down in, and out on stage came a band called the Slants.

What can I say about the Slants? For starters, I didn't expect them to rock nearly as hard as they did. They rocked hard enough that I actually wound up buying their album the following day. Their music is a fusion of a lot of different styles; in fact I don't recall their songs actually followed any particular style theme, as one song would sound one way, and another song another way. I also found it amusing watching the band play with the balloon that the audience kept bouncing on stage...and was bouncing around well into the M.O.V.E. concert.

The M.O.V.E concert was magnificent. I didn't realize who these guys were before, but I recognized several of their songs that had been used in various anime that we've all seen I expect. Their lead male singer, Motsu, specializes in rapping, their lead female singer, Yuri, specializes in traditional vocals, and DJ T-Tashiro appears to be their electronica wizard...and that's it. A three man band, and they were amazing to listen to. Like the Slants before them, they were dancing all over stage and playing with the balloon and the audience...'til it finally broke (almost made it to the end, too). I think my sister was getting a little winded by this point, but she stuck it out while Moonie and I kept going, but she did enjoy it, and for that I'm glad.

At the end of the concert, we had to file out so they could get the room ready for Anime Hell. We took this time to head up to the room, rest a bit, eat some food, and generally relax for awhile, since it was going to take them a bit before it started. This is something everyone should do at their cons...REST and EAT and DRINK when you can. At the beginning of Day 1, even before we went out into the main part of the Hotel Lobby, there was already one guy getting taken care of by EMT's on the floor. We had to be escorted around through a couple of back ways since he collapsed right in the middle of a main thoroughfare. Do not be like this...it's not a pleasant experience. Pace yourself, eat, drink, and for your own sake, SLEEP at least a few hours a night.

Even with us hanging out as long as we did, we still had a bit of a wait out in the line. It didn't help that it started sprinkling...almost to the point of raining before we got in. None of us got sick, but I don't know about anyone else. Chicago rain in the middle of the night is not fun, but at least it wasn't snowing or something worse. We did get in however, but we wound up having to sit on the floor...which is not good for someone like me who isn't as flexible as he used to be, heheheh.

Anime Hell has evolved into something that's almost an interactive game with the audience. They show clips of various things they've discovered, various updates, like the new Dr. Tran, and some older things. Then they start with the random people they pick out to come up and pick a number for a clip to play. This is important to note, because of all the people they picked (though I'm not sure this one was random) they picked an Indiana Jones cosplayer who comes up tot the stage and then asks his girlfriend, IN FRONT OF OVER A THOUSAND PEOPLE, to marry him. Enter then, this cute bookish girl cosplaying Sailor Mercury (fittingly enough) who stomps up, and I figured she was going to beat the piss out of his kneeling-with-a-ring ass. Lucky him though, she kisses him and accepts to a thunderous applause.

My sister has to bail towards the end, being nearly dead on her feet and nodding off during the Anime Hell presentation. Moonie and me manage to stick it out 'til the end, both of us hoping that the next presentation will be Redeath Redux. Unfortunately it's not. I nearly stayed anyway, as it was Fanboy Bebop, but I just didn't feel up to it as I really wanted to see Redeath Redux. With that, our day had ended, so we got up and headed back to the room to prepare for the following day...then crash and burn.

Day 2

I swear, getting up early on these conventions almost makes me wish they weren't as much fun as they are. The pain one is willing to subject themselves to at one of these things would be one helluva study for someone deeply into S&M. Pinhead would sport wood under that leather outfit. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not getting too old for this.

Then I hit myself with a blunt object, and continue to scourge myself for heresy.

I was actually invited to check out cosplay chess in the monring, whose pictures start here on page 11 and continues on to page 13. I found it rather amusing to be honest, a perfect study in controlled chaos. I found it even more amusing to see both who and how they chose what character would be what chess piece. Only thing I didn't catch was how it was chosen who'd play the game, though I suppose that wasn't quite as important as everything else. I arrived in the middle of one game managed to stick around to see its completion and pieces being chosen for the next one. There was much to do though, so I didn't stay to see how this game turned out.

The only event I was concerned with was the Masquerade. Most everything else going on was panels that, while they looked amusing, I wasn't that interested in. This situation left me some time to allow The Dark Priest to make an appearance at ACEN, tour the dealers hall and pick up a mana bottle, and attend several gatherings.

Take the Senshi for instance; for some reason I often seem to attend their gatherings despite not liking the anime/manga very much. I even pointed some of the girls to the gathering after exiting Cosplay Chess, one of which was even kind enough to take a pic with The Dark Priest…really I need remember to keep my hood tail down.

The largest of the gatherings I went to, which was the Bleach gathering that starts on page 19 and continues on to page 28. It certainly filled up nearly ten pages, heh.

I was also invited to what was actually a semi-private Code Geass photoshoot that took place in the park across from the convention center. I admit to very much wanting a macro lens for shots like this, as I was barely able to get them all in the spread out shot, even pulling as far back as I could. However, with the trees and grass in the backgrounds, I managed to get several very beautiful nature themed shots, which I always rather enjoy. One of these days I need to find some cosplayers and get them into the deep woods for some really good ones.

However, the highlight of my day checking out gatherings was the Rozen Maiden photoshoot which starts on page 36 and ends on page 39. I haven't seen a really large gathering of Maidens in awhile, and seeing the shear quantity and quality of what was here was a memory I'll treasure for quite some time. Only problem was the guy who set this up did not take charge of the poses, groups, and whatnot. With no one doing that, and all of them kinda milling around waiting to be told what to do, I wound up stepping up. Pretty much all those pics there were directed by me. I do not say this with pride exactly, as I wish I could have done better, only that I did so because someone needed to. So if you were there, I hope I did a good enough job and if you were one of the Maidens, I hope you enjoyed the gathering and was happy with my direction.

I find it amazing just how much time can be taken up just doing this, because at this point, we were getting close to the time where we needed to eat before the Masquerade. Like last year, we ordered some Chicago Deep Dish Pizza…the kind with the cheese under the sauce, yeah! The pizzeria that was providing this had passed out fliers to the convention goers the day before, so you know those guys were making a shitload of money at this convention. Considering the relatively long lead/wait time for this pie, one can only imagine. It was good though…real good. Even if it wasn't, I was going to eat it anyway; I needed fuel for one of the more grueling parts of the convention, which was the filming of the Masquerade.

As before, Press was immediately let in to set up. I and another member of the Press set up right behind all the chairs. He set up right next to the sound stage, and I set up a few feet to the left (if you were looking right at the sound stage). Battery life and modern sound recording have made the requirements for power strips and sound boxes nearly a thing of the past, but they did provide these items in case we needed them, for which I am grateful. Admittedly their sound is probably so much better than ours.

This was my sister's first convention, and this would be her first Masquerade. I was quite curious as to what she'd think of it. Sure I'd provided her with DVDs of some of the other cons I'd attended, but to see it live is an experience like nothing else. Still, I'm again grateful it was her; any other member of my family would be in serious culture shock right at this point.

I'm again amazed at just how much ACEN does that no other convention would. The dance party before the Masquerade on stage was back, which by itself was awesome, but now had an extra level in funny considering there was this twelve foot tall Generation One accurate Optimus Prime on stage dancing the robot. The cameraman behind me stated if his chest opened and the matrix popped out, he was done. No prizes for guessing what happened, since Prime was the first walk on skit. They even played "The Touch" while he did it. Him walking off the stage was an event in and of itself.

The two ladies who hosted it last year were back, only this time they were dressed as Gourry and Zelgadis from The Slayers, and damn but did they look the part. Hell, they even stayed in character through most of the skits, which while not quite as wrong for the most part as they were last year, were still quite fun regardless. And seriously, best Optimus Prime costume ever…that had to count for something. My only real problem was that everyone who couldn't sit down started crowding around me, to the point of being unable to move. My tripod was kicked a few times, and even hooked once...and it's not like that damn thing isn't visible.

The half time show was too damn short, despite being amusing. We had a skit with the aforementioned girls playing Gourry and Zelgadis being joined by various other members of the Slayers cast. Then there was the skit about the Green Zyu Ranger being sued for Puddy assault, which was insanely hilarious. After that, however, the place went back to the Dance Party ACEN, complete with the human snake going through the crowd. You'd never see this at any other convention, and to be honest, that's a fucking shame. To see people just having fun like this is unprecedented. What's more, when the MC's came out and stated they needed people to sit down as they were about start announcing the judging...and people just filed back to their seats. No destruction, no getting out of hand, no protesting...just everyone taking their seats once again.

I'll say it again, ACEN is the best convention I've ever been to, and it's moments like this that make it so.

What to say about the judging? Well, the girl playing Taiga from Tora Dora, who was running the hall cosplay competition, was INSANELY cute, and went to great lengths to point this out at every opportunity. To whit, "Who are you going to believe? Cute loli? Or..." as she points to the cosplay coordinator, "guy dressed in black?" Yeah, I nearly lost all my teeth. Also wound up with another marriage proposal on stage...in front of the girl's PARENTS! Talk about putting her on the spot...hope that boy knew what he was doing and this is how she wanted it. Everything else was pretty status quo, and so without much more fanfare, the Masquerade was over. We were filed out so the place could be made ready for the Soap Bubble Rave...which I was looking foward to.

Small problem with the Soap Bubble though. It didn't start 'til about 2 A.M. It was supposed to start at midnight. Having been running pel-mel through the day almost non stop, I was honestly not up for waiting for this damn thing to start...even though I did check several times before giving up about 1 A.M. We were going to need to get up and get packed up and checked out before about 10 A.M. so it was probably in our best interests to get some sleep...which Moonie and my sister decided to do a bit before. I finally followed suit having given up going to the Soap Bubble.

Day 3

This day started out with a semi mad rush to getting our stuff into our vehicles and checked out so we could enjoy the final day of the convention. It's honestly pretty typical of this one, and we were certainly not the only ones doing this. It'd be almost cathartic to just sit there in the parking lot and watch this mass exodus of people. Up and down stairs, up and down the elevator, to and from their cars...thousands upon thousands of people just vacating the premises, but for those last few hours left of con. As for me, I wound up having to put my stuff in Moonie's vehicle, then walk up and grab other stuff for my sister and Moonie who had already grabbed what they could to bring down. Though you try to limit it to one trip, it never works out that way for some reason. It occurred to me right then that I hadn't taken a single drink of alcohol all con, despite having brought the Captain Morgan's Captain's Select...which is a little too good sometimes.

After getting our stuff into the various vehicles, I set off to the dealer's hall for some final day shopping. My sister accompanied me for a couple of hours, but was eager to get back to southern Illinois, due to the fact the place had been hit by an inland hurricane and she was rightly worried about the people there, though she'd been in near constant contact with them. She stayed up north at the convention when it hit because it would have been rather unintelligent to be driving into a disaster like that unprotected and not part of any planned rescue operation. Also, no one in the area was seriously hurt, and they quite frankly told her at this point there was nothing she could do…just stay there and be one less person to worry about. Still, with things calmed down now, there were things she could do to help. I offered to stay and help if needs be, but received an emphatic no, that they had the situation under control. I'm still a little concerned, since they were without power for a long while (and they do live in Tornado Alley) so if anyone knows of a decently priced 1000W generator, let me know. After that two hours though, I walked her to her vehicle, said goodbye, and sent her on her way. I know she enjoyed this convention despite the natural disaster her neck of the woods experienced and the fact we walked her into the dirt, heh.

On the way back to the dealer's hall, I ran into a most intriguing sight. Nabeshin himself was posing with several other similarly dressed cosplayers and stayed there for quite some time with them, evidenced by the pics continuing on 'til page 44. Also, I'm not sure, but I believe the lady here and here was also a guest of honor, but I'm uncertain who she was. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to play with Nabeshin, and really that's what these conventions should be like. ACEN is great for not only the Guests of Honor coming out and hanging out, but that the fans don't behave like total lunatics, swarm, mob, and what have you when they're around. Everyone has a good time, and I can't stress enough how important this is.

Admittedly the dealer's hall was a bit of a disappointment to me this year, since it really had nothing I wanted. Still, I picked up some reading material from Antarctic Press's booth including Pirates vs. Ninja 2, which I highly recommend, and Heaven Sent, which at first glance looked to have a bit of that 'Oh! My Goddess' vibe, but turned out to be one of the worst things I've ever read, and should be reviled at every conceivable opportunity. If anything, that's understating matters.

Actually, you wanna know something? It pissed me off so badly, I think I'm going to review this vile little gem after I'm done with this report.

As with all the conventions I go to, I try to make some time to visit the Lolita gathering. This one took place right outside the dealer's hall (pics continue to the end), and seemed to be set up more in the way of a Tupperware party with trades and money being exchanged for clothes and accessories, both brand and hand made. I found the whole thing fascinating from a sociological perspective.

I would also like to say that this Mizore cosplayer (from Rosario + Vampire) was so tooth achingly cute I nearly died of diabetic shock right there. She has about four more pics there…go on, take a look. Don't say I didn't warn you.

As with all things though, eventually it had to come to an end. I spent the remaining time I had with Moonie at the AMV contest before I had to take the shuttle to the airport, and from there, back to San Diego.

ACEN is still one of the best goddamn conventions I've ever been to; if not THE best convention I've been to. The people are friendly and excited, and quite well behaved, the staff are some of the better informed and better coordinated convention staff that I've seen at any event, and the events and convention management overall show a seamless efficiency that all melds in an overall positive experience of a quality that none can forget. There were hiccups, but what event of this size doesn't have those? It wasn't like there were people and situations designed to stifle enjoyment, like what you find at Anime Expo from time to time. It certainly isn't impersonal, like what you see at Comic Con either; staff are easy to see and are happy to assist. The convention goers want to be there, and maintain enough of their cognitive functions for the most part, to know how to have fun in an intelligent and controlled manner, even and especially with the guests of honor parading around out in the open.

If you want to have a fun convention, this is one that fits that bill. In fact, it can be reasonably said that it doesn't get much better. Still, it is quite busy, so you'll be busy for the most part too…but then, you don't go to conventions to laze around…unless you're going to Fanime, which is fun too, heh.

Damn good convention! Here's to hoping that we have many more years of this sort of experience!