Well, Anime Boston has come and gone, and I've had to integrate myself back into the real world.
It's a sad time for everyone.
I had a lot of fun at AB this year, although perhaps not as much as I had expected. I can't really put my finger on the exact reason for it, but I think part of it had to do with being unable to attend all the panels I was interested in, with the exception of the Doujinshi Culture panel, which was very good.
As far as cosplay goes, I would say it was a success. I loved wearing both of my costumes, and a lot of people took photos of me and my friends. I even got a ticket for the judge's hall contest... too bad you need three to get a prize ribbon. Oh, well. Maybe next year I'll hang out in the hallways posing more often. :3
Mike's Ashitaka costume turned out great, if I do say so myself. My boyfriend helped out (time crunch, don't be too shocked) by wrapping the sword handle and making the sheath. Mike showed up with his own bow.
The Pillows put on a really great show on Saturday, despite the concert itself being very far behind schedule (reason I missed one of my panels ._.). It was kind of ridiculous how long we were kept waiting, and that they didn't even start letting people in until 3, which is when the concert was supposed to start. This was bad planning. I enjoyed watching Luv & Response as well... can't go wrong with choreographed dances. They were too r&b for my taste, though. I'm more of a straight pop fan in that category.
Anyway.
I heard about... and saw a little of... the astronomically long registration lines. To anyone who had to wait in that melee, I feel really bad about it. It couldn't have been fun, and I'm sure you missed things you wanted to do. On behalf of everyone, I hope - and pretty much expect and demand - that AB gets it right next year. Six computers to register tens of thousands of people is unacceptable.
I saw many good costumes at the convention, but as I'm still having camera issues, didn't get to take many photos. I'll have to rely on my friends' few pictures to show some of the costumes.
For now, here are some pictures I've gathered off the internet and my friends of all of us in our various costumes. The photo above is me as Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere (her formal outfit), which I wore to the formal ball on Friday and just walking around Sunday.
[Left] Me as Suigintou. [Right] My boyfriend as Phoenix Wright (plus glasses), with a Mia and Maya we bumped into at the Pru.
[Left] Mike as Zabuza from Naruto. After a year, the sword needs some touching up, but it still looked pretty damn cool. [Right] Mike (the other Mike) as Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke.
The protagonist of the first story, Valkyrie Gwendolyn is the younger daughter of the Demon Lord Odin. When her sister Griselda is killed in battle, Gwendolyn inherited her crystal-headed sphere known as the Psypher spear. Gwendolyn then found herself caught up in her father’s plot to gain control of the Crystallization Cauldron, and is sent away to trick the fairies and their agent, the Shadow Knight Oswald.
