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June 22, 2008: AnimeNEXT '08
It was, overall, rather good. Many people thought the Dealer's Room (which is where I spent most of my time) wasn't all too satisfactory, but I thought it was quite good. Overpriced for the most part, but still good. (Simple [white text on a black shirt] shirts for $25?)
I was looking at shirts; two in particular:
Shirt #1: Black shirt, white text, reading, "No. You can't has."
Shirt #2: Navy blue shirt, with Hatsune Miku on it.
I really couldn't decide. The guy there said if I bought both ($20 each), he'd give them to me for $35. It was my first day there, though, so I didn't want to spend that much yet on two shirts. Little did I know, that was an awesome deal. He wasn't there the next day when I figured this out. I wound up getting neither shirt. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll definitely take advantage of any discounts.
There were grab bags, too -- $20! And inside each bag, there was a $50+ value of stuff worth. I thought that was pretty awesome. So, I lifted up a good number of bags, looking for the heaviest one. The one I picked had a Ryuuk box (which had been opened previously; I forgot to go down and get it replaced. -_-), a Samurai Shamploo shirt that's really big on me (also forgot to ask for a different size. XD), and cute cat ears!
I was gonna buy another one the next day. I was lifting them again, when this really, really cute guy (can't help myself) comes up to me while I'm in my pajamas, syrup stains on my shirt, and goes, "I'm skeptical of this. It seems like a good deal, but they're probably just putting stuff in there that they can't sell." I was like, "Ohmygod." Needless to say, I didn't get another one. Instead, I got a Saber Collector's Figure for $33. I think that's the better buy, eh? . <3
/is a total Saber fangirl.
The cosplayers were absolutely wonderful, and so was the Cosplay Masquerade (totally worth waiting in that huge ass line). I'll download some videos of it off of YouTube (my camera holds 44 minutes of really tiny video footage, and I wasn't too close to the stage) so you can see some of the better performances. Not to say all of them weren't amazing (Let me tell you, I liked a -lot- of the 26 or so shown), but linking you to twenty-something links will not get the best ones watched. Thus, the awesomeness of animeNEXT '08 might be lessened in your eyes.
1. Dance: featuring Avatar
2. Exhibition skit: featuring Ouran
3. Dance: featuring multiple Soras, from KH2
4. Skit: featuring KH2 [When
the blue haired one whisperes to Nel, and thrusts back and forth to let the audience know what he's whispering about.
Don't know if you guys could see that. XD Also, at the end the pink haired one goes, "I'll kiss it make it better?"]
Gasp.
Anyway.
The dance (what most people call "The Rave" [tradition at animeNEXT and mangaNEXT], was something I didn't enjoy this time. At mangaNEXT '07 I absolutely loved every moment of it! However, mangaNEXT was much smaller than animeNEXT. AnimeNEXT's rave was way, way crowded, and way smelly, and... man, I couldn't even walk in there, really. I spent two minutes in there, tops, and walked out.
I heard from a lot of people it was fun, though; my friends in particular. I think I enjoyed staying in my hotel room (Embassy Suites, man!) and hanging with my friend Christina more, though.
Oh. One bad thing: the sheets on the pull-out-mattress gave me an
allergic reaction on my legs. T___T And, Embassy Suites charges -per-
computer for internet! -Not- per room! That's messed up. It doesn't say
that anywhere before you buy it.
... except maybe in the super long Terms of Use.
Sigh.
But anyway -- I thought it was pretty awesome; I enjoyed my experience thoroughly. (Even if I forgot to bring waterbottles and food from home and had to pay for all that junk all three days myself. XD)
-calculates-
Ticket: $45
Room money: $55 (per person in the room)
Money I withdrew from my bank account: $140 (I actually only spent $120 after everything. >>)
So, it was a good $220 spent. ^_^
//EDIT -- How could I forget? Artist's Alley was AMAZING, as always! That's where I always spend the most money. Er, rather, that's where I always buy the most stuff. So many things that I wanted, but I had to stop myself before I bought everything. Last year, when there were tons of stands selling buttons for $1 (this year I saw buttons for $4. I was like, are you kidding me? I want Lulu and Suzaku buttons, but not for $4...), I bought about ten or fifteen. So did all of my friends, hehe.
I'm always shocked at how much I buy. The creativity these artists' have... Aahh. Bless 'em all.
One thing that sucks though, but is understandable -- you can't take pictures inside there. Er, well. I wasn't sure. So many good cosplayers were in Artist's Alley when I was there, and I couldn't ask for their picture because I didn't know if you couldn't take pictures -at all-, or just not of pictures. I played it safe.
Go check out the cosplay pictures. :) I look forward to mangaNEXT 2008. :)