Anime Expo Convention Report (Thursday July 4 - Sunday July 7, 2002)

"It's awesome, awesome, awesome. It's so awesome!"
-- Zero Enna from Candidate for Goddess (Pilot Candidate)


He's sooooo right!!! AHH!!!! We had so much fun at Anime Expo! Wai!!


I finally finished my Sailor Mercury costume Friday afternoon and was so hyper that night that I didn't get to sleep until 1 or so. Then woke up around 4:30. ^^;; But I got up at 8 to get ready, took the ceremonial self-pictures, and left at 10 to meet up with everyone. They were late, as Court-chan had warned me, so instead of meeting at 10:30, we met at 11.


Anyway! I finally met Pipsi-chan, Brian-chan, Mikee-chan, and Kristi-chan! Eric-chan was there too, dressed as...well...nobody...just random stuffs put together. As well as Pipsi-chan's little sis, Jenn, and her friend Laura.


Who went as who:
Ami (me) = Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon)
Court-chan = Lady Une (Gundam Wing)
Pipsi = Asuka (Evangelion)
Brian = Shinji (Evangelion)
Kristy = Utena (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
Jenn = Sailor V (Sailor Moon)
Laura = Sakura (Card Captor Sakura)


So! Now to continue!

Once the two other cars showed up and I was introduced to Pipsi-chan and everyone else, I got into her little red Honda Civic in the back next to Eric-chan with Court-chan in front of me. It was a fun ride down to Long Beach, lol, we had a gal look in at us and give us the "look," hehe.

When we parked around 1 and walked up to the Westin to meet up with the rest of the group. I took a pic of Court-chan as Une in the lobby and then we had to go back to Pipsi's car to get her cell phone. And on the way we saw a Zechs...and my tiara fell off because it was so hot...

Finally, we got back to the Westin and took a group shot and then went inside to get our passes.

Thank goodness we did the pre-register. With 9 people all we had to do was pile up our 25 bucks each and then get our passes, their holders, and our bag of freebies and we were out of there in about 5-8 minutes. No lines!


Off to the Convention Center!

Already we were having fun! Lol, it was great! Posing for pictures already! We got into the line for the Exhibit Hall and started to take pics of other peeps as well as have ours taken. Oh, that's so much fun!

I have pics here of:
~Princess Serenity & Tuxedo Kamen (Mask)
~Card Captor Sakura with the Flower Card, Kero, and Eriol (which Pipsi and I ran to take and she lost her shoe coming back ^_^)
~Dilandau & Van (Wai!)
~Sailor Venus (tall, leggy, beautiful Japanese gal!)
~Pipsi-chan & Brian-chan (in their matching outfits, kawaii!)
~Stormtrooper (yes! The City of Hope peeps were all in Star Wars outfits)
~HEERO!!! ^_^ (no I didn't glomp him..."It'd look stupid for Sailor Mercury to be glomping Heero Yuy...")
~TIDUS! (W00t! I didn't think I'd gotten a pic of him cause I never said, "can I", but! He's full body in the back of the Heero pic! Dude! Court-chan!)
~We saw a Shinji in the traditional Eva outfit, but when we called over to him he just glared and kept walking...Mean Shinji
~Two gals came over and one put her head on Court-chan's shoulder and they were loving her costume! Lol, they had their video camera/camera so it was kinda scary
~Sailor Saturn (I waved to her cause I saw her all the way across the walkway, and she came over and we ended up taking about 10 group pics with her cause peeps came over)
~Tenchi (we finally got inside the CC)
~Eternal Sailor Saturn & Moon


The Exhibit Hall was packed!

So many things to buy! We had some guys take our "video pics" and some other random peeps (I had my first guy ask if he could take a pic with me ^^;;). We made the complete rounds of the Hall (Court-chan and I accidentally wandering into an 18+ section ><), and after seeing several Sailor Moons and every single booth (including signing up to win a free trip to Japan & seeing part of the Escaflowne movie on a TV) we finally got something to eat...passing by the "Mean Shinji!" I had bought only 3 things: a $5 car decal of those tree spirit thingies from Princess Mononoke (you know, the clicky guys!) and two Gundam Wing CD's (Operation 4 & The Best Collection w/ songs from the series, Endless Waltz, & the Blind Target radio drama). As well as getting 5 free mangas (2 of the #3 Nadesico, #13 Nadesico, #3 of The Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, and #8 The Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch.

At the stand where they had a portable DDR game, a guy with his camera in hand came over to Court-chan and I and said, "You're Sailor Mercury right?" I nodded and then he looked to Court-chan, "And you're Colonel Une. Your hair's not puffy enough." And then walked away...That was mean...we thought he was going to take a picture, not criticize! Anyway, it's a cartoon!

We got to the end of the Hall where the exit was and saw another Star Wars person! This time a "Stormtrooper ghost" as my mom called it. Indeed, a strange costume, but it was kewl. Mikee was infatuated with his speaking and how a light lit up when he talked. ^_^ Mikee even pulled out his lightsaber (why he had it...I have no idea!) and went to "attack" him and the guy "shot" him and he fell on the ground. ^_^

We left the Hall, after Pipsi dropped her bags and spilled tons of stuff... and went out into the Corridor.


The picture Corridor is more like it!

We all finally left the Exhibit Hall after 1.5 hours (it was around 3:15), and the picture fest began again!

Immediately, I saw an Emerald (from Sailor Moon, Esmerodo...or whatever the Japanese is!) and a Sailor Neptune & Uranus! I got a pic of Emerald and then the Neptune & Uranus came over and we all got excited and had Jenn (Sailor V) join us to take a group shot. Little did we know how long that would take!

My gosh! We must have had 10 people come over and take pics! I swear they took so many! Hehe, it was so neat. Neptune & Uranus...dude, they're so pretty! They were some more of those tall, leggy, & beautiful Japanese women that were perfect for the part. While I was all flipping out over wanting their picture, they were wanting mine. ^_^ Sadly though, I swear I took a full body pic of just them, but I don't have it here...oh well, I may just be thinking of when I took pics for this old guy who wanted his pic with them. ^^;;

Then we went back over to the group and a guy came over and took pics of every single one of us (with a pro-looking camera) so I'm hoping it's a website guy!


Onto the Game rooms.

After a quick bathroom stop, where a gal (with the most adorable chibi g-boy pins on her bag!) told Court-chan and I about a woman in the "Anime Challenge" who couldn't get Gundam Wing from the clues: space colonies & big mobile suits/mecha. >< That's sad...and why was she up there if she didn't know what Gundam Wing is!!! *cough*

We made our way upstairs to the Dance Dance Revolution room and sat down in back. The game was specialized with theme songs from popular animes. Eric went up to play and then they said, "Okay, the guy in the green shirt (Eric) is the last one." Yay! So, he went up there and went through the songs...poor Eric...none were from the mixes he's played on. So, he picked the Evangelion theme. *face faults* Almost everyone in the room did when the arrows started coming up on the screen! They were going sooooooooo fast, he just turned around, almost giving up, and then some people yelled, telling him to turn around. It had slowed down, so he finished the song out and Passed! Big applause from everyone! Before we left I ran up a few rows and asked a Van to take a pic of him. Dude *drools* as in Van from the Escaflowne movie where he has no shirt on...

Heh. ^^;;

So, we left cause they were done, and went downstairs and went into the Tabletop Gaming Room and just looked around. I called Mom to check-in. Lol, it was so loud, I couldn't hear what she was saying.


Out of Doors

We wandered outside through one of the center entrances and ended up right in front of a video camera ><;; Eventually, we figured out that we were going to go to the arcade in the Hyatt and began going over there. Lol, we saw the group of a Yuna (FFX), Squall (FF8), Cloud (FF7), & Auron (FFX) that just kept getting stopped for their pictures to be taken. ^_^ Kinda like Pipsi & Brian. Lol, we couldn't go very far without someone taking a pic of our Asuka & Shinji.

As we were about to go into the Hyatt, there was a Sailor Mercury coming out! And not far behind was a Noin! ^_^ Court-chan had her pic taken with Noin and then Jenn took mine with the other Mercury. Aw, she liked my costume and asked how I did my boot covers. I told her I made it with a pattern from Faerie Fingers, but it was neat to be asked about my first costume ever!


The Hyatt was full!

Finally, the three of us went inside and then looked around for the others. We kinda freaked because we couldn't see them in the lobby, but then I saw Kristy's hair (the wonderful pink-orange) outside the doors and we went down and out. Aw, there they were, right by Mario, Zelda, and Link. I wanted a pic of Link for Tobi, so I asked if I could have one, and then Zelda and Mario joined him for a "funny" pic. Link's blowing on his whistle thingy (ocarina) and Mario and Zelda are covering their ears. ^_^

Heading back inside we saw a really great Peach costume from Mario...and then looked closer...it was a man. *shudders* O.o You could barely tell, until you looked "there" and "they" weren't there. -_-; *runs from the topic*

We got past that and then went downstairs to the Arcade, going past the fan artist’s tables. Court-chan and I got a drink and then we all watched the DDR peeps for awhile. One guy was doing a really easy song and acting like it was really hard. >< But then there was the guy that did 3 songs...all very fast! Literally, my jaw dropped when he went. Pipsi, Brian, Eric, Court-chan, Jenn, & Laura were all going to do it, and then we saw the line...The line of coins on the machine was huge! So, we left, passing by a group taking pictures of the two Kimahri (FFX), very nicely done might I add.

Going up the stairs we saw a great Rei Ayanami (Evangelion) that had been standing/sitting in that lobby forever! I don't think she ever left. Lol, Pipsi & Brian wanted to get a pic with her, and she was excited and wanting a pic with them. ^_^ So, they did. Then I grabbed a shot of a nice Sailor Saturn before we went upstairs. Lol, she said that she wished she had her camera so she could get a pic of Pipsi & Brian. ^_^ Told ya they were popular.

We got up another level and ran into the other Colonel Une that we'd seen earlier in the day along with Noin again. Court-chan took her pic with the other Une and then we went upstairs again.

There wasn't much up there, I grabbed a pic of a Li Syaoran (Card Captor Sakura) and he took a pic of me, and then we headed back down.

Yay! The City of Hope Star Wars peeps were right there by the stairs! Mikee pulled out his lightsaber again and attacked Darth Vader (a very tall Vader ^_^) and I snapped a pic. Then Princess Leia came! I got a pic of her, too.

A Sailor Mars came in and I took a pic of her with her camera and then one with mine. Lol, and then a guy came over and asked for a pic with me. ^^;; I'm like, sure whatever.

We started to leave the Hyatt, but then ran into the Emerald we had seen earlier (who had come with the awesome Rubius that we saw while waiting in line, which I forgot to mention) with her Prince Diamond (Demando)! Wai! Court-chan would've glomped the 'Prince' if it hadn't been a woman. ^^;; They took their pictures and then we finally got out of the building. ^_^


Outside again.

So...we left the Hyatt and saw...a Sailor Mars...that was a man. *gags* Oh boy...

Once outside of the Hyatt we began to head over to where the Exhibit Hall line ended. Jenn was whining to go back because she hadn't spent enough money...or something like that. Since we weren't guaranteed to get in since it was closing soon, we were eventually able to drag her away.


Masquerade?

We tried to check on the seats for the Masquerade at (5, 6:30, 7?) but were told that they had to be pre-bought. What? Ugh. Oh well, so we left.


Karaoke...open mic?

The Regency had the karaoke going on so we went over there. Lol, we passed this old lady (grandma age) and she gave us the "up and down" and the "look." It was so funny!

Going upstairs we went into the karaoke. The first group of 3 girls weren't bad...but the second guy... He did a J-rocker (Japanese Rocker) person, had a group of friends in the front row who waved their red-headed J-rocker plushies, and...he humped the mic pole. EWWWW!!! Ugh, that totally grossed out the whole group and we all left.


Starbucks!

There was a Starbucks a couple/few blocks away so we walked over. Going past the old lady again who was with another old lady. This time she looked as if she was going to "cross" herself (you know, the Catholic: forehead-down-shoulder-shoulder).

Everyone was giving us strange looks as we walked. A Hitomi (Escaflowne movie) was right near us and we walked with her for a bit. She was off to get the car so she and her friends could leave. On the way she told me...a bit too much about her family...I grabbed a pic of her when we got to Starbucks and she went on.

Inside we ordered and, since it was my first time there and I don't drink coffee (therefore why I'd never been to Starbucks), I bought part of Court-chan's Caramel Frappuccino and then drank the last quarter or so. Lol, Brian took Court-chan's Une glasses and put them on, so I have a pic here of him looking like Harry Potter. They took a pic of Court-chan and I and I had a sip of Eric's Vanilla Creme (non-coffee) Frappuccino sine I didn't like the Caramel.

Everyone except for Court-chan and Eric left outside and chatted with a gal about anime (she had no idea what it was and we explained what it is and what we were doing there dressed as strange characters ^_^) while we played with her black Labrador puppy.


CC Corridor again.

After Court-chan and Eric finally came out, we made our way back to the CC (and I tripped on a concrete planter...baka).

Once back there, (after seeing a big brown box costume that peeps said was on Japanese TV) we all sat at a table and watched people go by. Our feet were so tired! We saw the man Sailor Mars again, an awesome Mihoshi (Tenchi Muyo) who was totally in character, the Prince Diamond and Emerald who had changed into their Sailor Uranus and Neptune costumes, a gal in a "magazine dress," and had two older men hanging around and asking questions. Court-chan exchanged web addresses with the Diamond/Uranus and Emerald/Neptune. The "magazine dress" gal was so cool! She told us that she had taken the covers of the free mangas and magazines that she'd gotten at cons and made them into a dress! I've got a pic of here.

We went down to the place where I'd seen them selling t-shirts, and of course they were closed. I grabbed a pic of a gal Duo who I'd seen around all day but never take a pic of. We hung around down there a bit more and then headed upstairs for the Escaflowne movie that started at 7.


The Movie fiasco.

Waiting upstairs outside of the room where it was to play, we got a bit bored. So, I took pics of Pipsi and Brian (again? Don't' ask why because I don't know ><), Jenn, and Kristy. I had someone take my pic (she loved my costume *smiles*).

Finally at 6:55 someone from the con staff came out and told us that we: couldn't see the Escaflowne movie today because they had already played it that morning when one of the projectors broke down. So, instead (after much complaining -_-;;) we saw Sakura Wars: The Movie. Jenn loved it, the others hated it, and I didn't love it, but I didn't think it was the worst I've ever seen. It was hard to follow though, since none of us have seen Sakura Wars the series.


Wandering.

Leaving the theater we ran into Zechs, Noin, and Colonel Une! We'd seen them all day separately, but they were finally together! We got a shot of all three together (Zechs & Noin back to back holding hands and Une next to them). After that we wandered around the grounds.

We tried to see the Masquerade again, but even the live feed rooms were full!

Heading back to the game center, we were quite...off...hyper...or whatever! We ran, jumped, and did the Sailor Scout power ring! I started that (Mercury) and Pipsi (Venus), Court-chan (Mars), and Kristy (Moon) all joined in! *giggles* Fun!

It was pretty deserted, but there was still a big line for DDR so we just went back over to the Westin to wait for her parents since it was around 9:30.


Chase Tidus!

Guess what? As I mentioned earlier when we were standing in line to get into the CC I saw a Tidus but never asked to get a pic. Well! We saw him crossing the street to the Westin and I flipped! We couldn't get there in time so Court-chan yelled "Tidus" but he didn't hear and kept going. As soon as the light changed, Court-chan and I ran across and into the Westin. No luck. He wasn't upstairs, downstairs, or outside. So, Court-chan and I sat down in the lobby with the others. We/they talked for a bit and then an Anthy (Revolutionary Girl Utena) came in and Kristy freaked! Lol, it was so cute. They took a pic together and we left when Pipsi's parents came at 10 (Pipsi, Brian, Court-chan and I in Pipsi's car).


Homeward bound.

We met with my dad at a hospital and discussed going back the next day to get t-shirts. Finally, I said bye and got into Dad's car. Pipsi's license plate is so cute!

On the way I chatted/rambled/babbled Dad's ear off about the con and got to bed some AM.


The Next Day.

Court-chan, Brian, and Pipsi went back on Sunday to buy t-shirts. They were in costume and DDRed since not many peeps were there. Those that were there though, loved it! Since the episode that Pipsi and Brian's costumes were from was a favorite of most of them and had a DDR-like game in it.

They got shirts. Mine's a medium though, so it's a pool or sleep shirt...even adult smalls are huge on me. ^^;;


Summary:
- We had an awesome time!
- I had 63 pics taken of me.
- Court-chan had 49/59(?).
- Pipsi & Brian had 150+ (prob 200+)
- Eric had 0. :-(
- I took 41 pics
- It took me 1 month and 11 days to write/complete this con report. -_-;;