Memories of Fanime Con '01: TTTom's Entry     3/30/01: The first day at FANIMEY2K1 Almost didn’t happen. It was the last day of class and I had not one, but TWO finals. To save time, I had planned to take my exams in the Wolfwood costume I finished yesterday. But carrying my cross to class would be overkill in hoping to do well on the finals (even for religious studies class) so I would have to dump it in my car. And my cross was too large to fit inside my compact car. Since Wolfwood isn’t Wolfwood without his cross, cosplay Friday was officially scrapped. My final final was scheduled to end at 5PM. Con pre-reg ended at 6PM. That’s bad. I finished at 4PM. That’s good. I got lost driving to con. That’s bad. But I found it eventually. That’s good. But I couldn’t find parking. That’s bad. In the end I managed to find a space and got registered. I requested a Wolfwood badge but ended up with “Dual” (What’s “Dual?” Is it tasty?). I decided to raid the dealer room before anything else (smart move). I bought some animé for my distribution list (I’ll expect donations towards the end of the year) and some merchandise for myself. I missed the cel-painting panel and the DDR room was crowded. Not that it mattered, I can’t paint and the arrows always distract me on DDR. I wandered into a panel of US seiyuu. There sat Amanda Winn Lee and Tiffany Grant, Rei and Asuka from Evangelion. Tiffany was in a Chocolate Misu costume, another role she played. The two promoted the Eva movie they dubbed and talked of the difficulties of voice acting. I paid attention until my lack of eating took its toll (I fast before exams and in general). Amanda had a laugh from my fainting spell and I got noticed (if only I was conscious to make a better impression). I got a nice shot of Tiffany/Chocolate after the panel. Between photographing cosplayers (photography motto: shoot first, figure out what character it is later) I eventually made it to the video room. I usually ignore video rooms. There’s much more to do at con and I can always watch videos at home. But that day I knew Evangelion: Redeath would air and I had to see that parody after seeing their vision of the eleventeenth Angel last year (PIKACHU!). After laughing through that I was treated to Fanboy Bebop (“Fushigi Yugi? It’s like Escaflowne with twice the length and half the IQ”). Thank you, Studio Sukodei. I got word that a meet the guest session was scheduled that night. It wasn’t an autograph session but it gave me time to converse with the guests on a somewhat personal level. But more important, FREE FOOD would be served (No more fainting). Tiffany was alone so I spoke with her first. I got info on getting a job at animé companies and how it is to voice characters. The Studio Ironcat boys were being wild and crazy guys. Mari Iijima was her nice, sweet self. Amanda was as hyperactive as her voice acting (Oh, the power of Ginseng). And the other guests were friendly and ready for questions (Like “Who are you?”). There was the Utena director guy, but I didn’t care much for him so I ignored his table. I bumped into a well-made costume pair from TRIGUN. Well, I was impressed. The dance looked canceled so I went home to exchange cars for cross transport the next day. Considering the weight of my cross and how much walking I planned, I added a few wheels for convenience. 3/31/01 Drafted at FANIME I arrived way too early and had little to do. The DDR room was still crowded (Don’t you people SLEEP?) and there wasn’t much in the video room since I didn’t arrive early enough for the music videos and parodies (I’m a sucker for fan projects). Some people actually acknowledged me as Wolfwood and not some guy in a cheap suit carrying a giant paperweight so my costume couldn’t have been that bad.   I got in line for a Masquerade ticket. People suggested I use my mobile cross as a ram to push to the front but I used it as a shield to avoid getting pushed back. I had to get two tickets because I needed a seat for my cross (leaning it on the aisle is a fire hazard). I hope I won’t have to buy two plane tickets for my AX appearance (“Can’t we just tie it to the top of the plane?”). Talk about being in the right place at the right time. After the tickets acquisition I saw some girls. One was dressed as Dominique the Cyclops. I felt like chatting to kill time until the line to the dealer room dwindled (it wouldn’t). That’s how I met ARC. I think it was Kuroi who requested my presence for their skit. I never could refuse a cute girl’s request (TTT’s definition of a cute girl: one with a request). And it turned out the TRIGUN pair were part of the skit. Before the entire group assembled I was free to pursue my favorite con activities: roaming, photographing, and posing for photographs. I got lost and roamed into a Christian convention held at the same time and place as FANIME. At FANIME my giant cross represented “Wolfwood.” At the Christian con my giant cross represented something else and I didn’t want to find out what. I did get some compliments on my carpentry. But one Christian guy got on my case. He lectured on how animé was a bad influence and I’d burn in hell for blasphemy. Really, I’m going to burn in hell for many reasons; blasphemy is a minor offense. And this guy was starting his diatribe on FANIME grounds. I wouldn’t mind being chewed out at the Christian con area since that wasn’t my place. As much as I wanted to chat, I was late for skit preparations. My friends on FANIME staff covered my escape (Thanks Eric and Denny). Preparations were slow and stressful. But at least they finished. The rehearsal was a rush job and we practiced in a small elevator room. Come Masquerade time we were crammed into an even smaller room backstage. During my stay I finally understood the meaning of CHAIR. Soon (meaning a couple hours later) ARC finally to perform. All our effort, practice, and preparations would narrow to this point.  The lighting and sound guy screwing up at the beginning was a bad start. But the skit went on. I couldn’t tell if the audience laughed at our gags or our screw ups. At least they laughed. I gave it my best for my part (all 5 seconds worth). Luckily my cross collapsing (followed shortly by my own collapse) was offstage so the audience wouldn’t start shouting CROSS. Despite our errors, or maybe because of them, we got the most humorous award. It was better than the tension award. I wasn’t aware of the photo op for receiving the award so I didn’t come to claim. Sorry, SU. I got to try out eating again after the Masquerade. It was okay, but hopefully it won’t become a habit. There was the dance to attend. Unfortunately, all they had was hip-hop, my 2nd least favorite dance style. I hate dancing to deafening music that can’t be differentiated from the previous deafening music played. I’m very old fashioned.  I didn’t find any parties and contemplated leaving. But by now it was about 3AM. If I went home I’d have enough time to shower and drive back. It’d be easier if I stayed. Fortunately ARC was very charitable to get my cross and later myself to share a room. The only issue was that I toss and turn in my sleep VIOLENTLY (I’ve injured at least three people unfortunate enough to get close to me while I slept). I also tend to sleepwalk. But certain conditions were met in the room that would ensure an uneventful night’s sleep. 4/1/01:And so it all ends Wow, I slept peacefully for the first time in two years outside of class. Five hours sleep was reduced to four thanks to Daylight Savings time. There wasn’t much for me on the last day. I guess everyone-the guests, the attendees, and the staff-finally lost steam. But it usually happens after so many days of work.  After driving ARC to an ATM (we didn’t get lost!), I went to autograph sessions. Tiffany Grant autographed a couple videos and my cross. I also received her autographed portrait. The entire Studio Ironcat crew autographed a graphic novel they published. And My FANIME shirt was autographed and sketched on by several others. It turns out con guests actually liked our skit. I think Steve Bennett actually judged in favor of us. Most of the last day was spent lounging and chatting. I remember being asked to promote animé to a couple of newbies, but they caught me at the wrong time (still tired) and they were the wrong gender (male) to make a request to me. The dealer room was spacious, as there were fewer customers. That’s good, but it also meant less merchandise available. They had cute turtles for sale, but I didn’t know what they were. But after watching Love Hina, I kick myself for not buying one. Closing ceremonies were decent.  I agree that it was a great con this year. Several items were raffled off.  The most interesting item was the box that held the prizes. After it was emptied, the audience rallied to get the box raffled off. Otaku can be crazy sometimes. I heard the winner of the box was genuinely thrilled to receive it. Several ARC people wanted dinner after con. I got invited and decided to meet them at the restaurant since I have my own car and I like being first at a meeting. Usually when I venture to a new place, I get lost as bad as Ryoga. The restaurant was a new place to me. Draw your own conclusion. After my quick drive to Valco, realizing that there are no Japanese restaurants in Valco (no Todai yet), driving to Valley Fair, remembering that they meant to meet at the Japanese restaurant NEXT to Valco, and fighting traffic to get to Valco again, I arrived in the middle of the ARC dinner. Like I said, I have a really bad sense of direction. This dinner proved educational. It was first taste of Sukiyaki. And it would prove to be my last (I don’t eat much meat). Also was noted that A: I was the oldest in the current group; and B: the females were much younger than I thought (this will be a recurring theme between me and them). And ARC thought I was much younger than I really am. So to make a long story short (too late), this year’s FANIME was a lot more fun than the last one (I was new to pre-reg and the fact it was a three day event). I got to cosplay, do a skit, do an award winning skit, and meet some new people. It was a small sacrifice of cash, sleep, and fashion (I wore the same pants and jacket three days straight, but I had three spare white dress shirts). Looking forward to FANIME Y2K2 later and AX sooner (still have to deal with transporting the cross). Personal Statistics of FANIMEY2K1: Amount of money spent: $250 (and it’s all tax deductible for me) Rolls of film used: 3 (one per day) Total hours of sleep: 7 (6 subtracting from Daylight Savings) Number of elevators I summoned: 9 Number of elevators my cross and I could actually board (so many people already inside): 3 Number of bakas who ran into my cross despite my warnings of “Giant heavy prop has the right of way:” 2 Number of people who thought I’d make a better Carrot Glace: 2 Number of requests for me to be a crucified Carrot Glace next con: 3 (Maybe…) Chocolate breakfast bars (emergency rations) eaten: 4 Number of times I compared the taste of a chocolate breakfast bar to paper: 4 How many people can cram into an 8x8 dressing room: At least 10 Number of Wolfwood’s present including me and Kasou: 7 or 8, depending on sources. Number of “collapses” after realizing the girl I was talking to was underage: Still counting… This diary is: Finished Time for a: Virgin Pina Colada  The Legal Stuff ARC is ©2001 to the anime club AF^2.  All rights reserved. Anime Realm Cosplay (ARC) and all its members is a registered trademark of the AF^2 and all its members.  All pictures and characters cosplayed as are registered trademarks of their respective owners.  Copyright information is based on real ones on Square Co., Ltd. products. Distributed by the AF^2, Angelfire, and the World Wide Web.  WARNING:  Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. In English:  All the people we cosplay as and all the  pictures on this page belong to their respective owner.  ARC takes no credit for anything not done by us, so please don't sue us, as we don't exactly have any money anyway.  ARC belongs to an anime club called the AF^2 so don't go stealing any of our stuff either.  So on and so forth, you get the picture.  Just don't steal anything off this page, got it? This corner is hosted by Angelfire. Gomen nasai!  I know everyone hates the banners, but it's the best we could find so please don't complain!  ^^;;