Anime Expo 2012

I just got back from Anime Expo, well I didn't just get back but I did go. I won't be sharing a lot of cosplay pictures but I will post some in order to pad out this post.

I got a 4-day pass but only attended the first three since the last day never has anything interesting and I was pretty exhausted at that point. There was a big turnout this year. Usually the first day is kinda slow but there was still a lot of people. I went there early since there was a certain event I wanted to go to.

Yep. I just HAD to go since it's Muv-Luv.

I guess you could say I'm a fan.

I was waiting in line right when the line first formed, which was when the panel before it first started. It was well worth it since I got to sit in the front row.

In front of the swag master himself.

Ayami(right) was pretty adorable during this.

The panel was just an introduction to Muv-Luv and some thoughts on the upcoming anime. Nothing of much worth except certain anecdotes of production.

I did, however, make Yoshimune Kouki laugh during the panel. Since a lot of people were being stupid and yelling stuff out at random times. Just like any panel. It all began when ayami was introducing herself to the audience in english. She was doing pretty well until the end when she finally got nervous and stopped. I, acting like the silly person I am, yelled out "大丈夫！" and Kouki said under his breath, laughing, "へへー、大丈夫。" Made my fucking day. Yes, it really did happen.

Immediately after that was the wait for the Fate/Zero finale screening/Q&A. I knew that I had to get in line right away since Type-Moon has some very dedicated fans. Sure enough, the line was already getting long. I wasn't at a bad spot since the line got extremely crowded at the end. My seat wasn't too bad considering the place was packed. No cameras were allowed but I did see a lot of people taking pictures. I didn't want to risk it. The panel started with Koyama Rikiya, Aoki Ei, Kondo Hikaru, LiSA, and Kajiura Yuki coming on stage along with some really good Fate/Zero cosplayers behind them. I really wish I got a picture of this. They introduced themselves and then left so we could see the finale. Watching the final two episodes back to back on the big screen with thundering speakers was a really great experience. Obviously better than watching it at home. After that there was a Q&A with Aoki Ei, Kondo Hikaru, and Koyama Rikiya. A few interesting questions, such as the coincidental air dates, which turned out to just be coincidences according to both director and producer. Of course, it wouldn't be a ufotable panel without mention of a Heaven's Feel adaptaion. The answer was the usual, "there are no plans." Koyama was ignored until they finally asked him a question at the end. He should've been asked more since he can really draw a crowd.

After the panel was the usual hanging around along with all the cosplayers. Eating lunch and then hang around some more. There wasn't anything else that interested me that day.

Well, there was this interesting situation.

Which, apparently, drew a huge crowd. Don't worry, it's just Spider-man and panda chillin out.

Posting this for skype friend since they wanted to see it.

Day 2 came and straight to the exhibit hall it is. I browsed through most of the booths and bought stuff at some. Some places were cheaper than others but that's to be expected. All of this was to waste time before we lined up for another panel.

Yep, a continuation of the Q&A from the day before. I lined up pretty early so I got to sit in the second row.

Please excuse my shitty camera.

More questions, which consisted of not just Fate/Zero but their other works as well. There was also mention of Heaven's Feel...., again. This time they asked, "If you were to adapt Heaven's Feel..." Apparently they got tired of hearing this so Kondo decided to play dumb and say "What's that?" The guy asking the question went along with this and proceeded to describe Fate/Stay Night. Kondo then ended with, "This work sounds very interesting. If you know where to buy this, I'll certainly try it out."

Their faces when asked difficult questions. Every question was difficult.

There was a raffle at the end, which let you be first in line to get their autograph. They chose around 30 people as winners....., and I was one of them.

I really don't know how to feel. I really wasn't expecting this but I guess it's cool.

After that, it was just more wandering around the exhibit hall and hanging out with the cosplayers. I pretty much did all I wanted to do that day and everything else didn't really interest me.

I didn't catch too many Touhou cosplay but from what I saw, they weren't that great.

Day 3 started off with a lot to do. I wasn't planning to do much but I decided to go to the Production IG panel on a whim. I had no idea that they were going to give out free stuff. The speaker was pretty generous with giving people free stuff and it got kinda chaotic at times. She would ask a trivia question and if you got it right you would get some autographed merchandise and if you got it wrong you still get autographed merchandise. There was a guy who answered wrong and decided to leave right away so the speaker stopped him and asked, "Are you leaving? Why are you leaving?" "Because I didn't win anything..." "Oh, okay. If I give you something will you stay?" Of course, he got something. The panel itself was just a showcase of current and upcoming Production IG titles. Oh, and Satou Tatsuo was sitting with the audience in the front for some reason. Yup, lots of fun.

After that was the Madhouse panel. I didn't take any pictures for some reason even though it was allowed. It was a Q&A with Asaka Morio, Hamada Kunihiko, and Tsunoki Takuya. They were asked a bunch of questions about Chihayafuru and Cardcaptor Sakura. They did ask about Kaiji season 3 but they only said that they would love to work on it but didn't know if there were any plans. There was also mention of Chihayafuru season 2 but they said they had no idea if they were going to be involved in it or if it was going to a different studio. This news made everybody kinda sad.

After that I saw some anime being played at some of the video rooms as well as buying more things at the exhibit hall. Again, I was wasting time before I lined up for the premiere of Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse.

 I got there two hours early and there was already people waiting around for the line to start. The panel before it was a stupid naruto panel and the line was enormous. It took a while for them to leave so we could start lining up. This came back to haunt us since the premiere was delayed by more than an hour. We were all getting anxious and the line kept getting bigger. It didn't take long for "FUCK NARUTO!" to start getting thrown around. I was the second person to say that. I then suggested we start a chant. Nobody knew what to say so I belted out "MUV LUV MUV LUV....." The people around me followed and the hall got quiet for a second. I stopped since I got tired and I guess everybody followed.

We were finally seated and I got second row in front of the screen. No cameras were allowed. The premiere fan line, which is pretty much the 'let me cut in line because I payed more' line, was pretty big so a lot of the good seats were taken but I still had a good view. Also, before the presentation started. I managed to wave my hand at Yoshimune Kouki since nobody else knew it was him. He waved back even though he was probably busy walking back and forth. I was surprised to hear that Kuribayashi Minami and ayami were going to perform live for us. I sat in front of the screen, which meant I was little away from the stage but I still got an okay view. After they performed, the anime started.

They played the first two episodes back to back and it was all anime original. It gave me some insight on how people were trained and the world before the BETA came to attack. It was nice to see everything animated but there was a lot of misplaced directorial decisions. Some stuff came off as really cheesy and there was also some minor things that only a fan could catch. I would say that the first two episodes were okay. It tried too hard to please both fans and newcomers but kind of fell flat on its face at times. It wanted a Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited feel to start off with and slam you with Alternative type twists. But it doesn't really work that way. It was okay and I appreciated it for insight it gave to the universe it takes place in. We'll have to see how the rest of the series turns out. The end was followed with an encore by Kuribayashi Minami.

AX was fun though it wasn't the best. A lot of stuff happened and I met a lot of people. It's the only time of year you could walk up to a random person and start talking about anime. I'm kind of sad that it's all over but good things aren't meant to last. I hope you guys enjoyed this stupid long post.