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2003 Anime USA Con Report by LS

Friday, November 21, 2003

For LLL and I, Anime USA began with us braving 5 p.m. DC rush hour traffic heading out to Tyson’s Corner. We actually got to the area pretty quickly – and then sat in traffic with the hotel in view for about 15 minutes as we slowly inched our way forward. The total lack of signs designating where exactly the hotel entrance was did not help things but that’s Virginia for you. The MUs(1) plus Sanzo arrived at the con early to register, set up the art table, and make sure everything was prepared and perfect for Saturday sales. At least that was the plan. Between trips to the store, making copies, working on last minute creative inspirations, and the endless wrapping of worry dolls, they did not get there quite as early as planned. And so, when we finally arrived, LLL and I found them: endlessly wrapping worry dolls, working on last minute creative inspirations, and basically trying to make sure everything was prepared and perfect for Saturday.

So we made it to the hotel, registered, managed to find our room in the strange, circular hotel where elevators didn’t necessarily go to all of the floors and stairs went up into dark and closed off hallways. The creative people stayed in the room being creative – ISOE sketched, Duo wrapped and Sanzo beaded, while LLL and I went down to check out the con. The art room was unusual in that it was the first time I had seen one with so few works of fanart and so many original pieces. At least 85% of the pictures were original works in the fantasy vein. The quality of the artwork displayed there was amazing. There are apparently a lot of local artists who contribute to AUSA. The dealers’ room was small and not all of the dealers had set up yet. There was not much diversity in goods generally speaking and you really had to look to find the small stock of unusual items that were there. It was mostly DVDs, videos, toys, licensed manga, the usual. One dealer noted that the manga publishers had not sent them the latest shipment so everything they had was what was already available in stores and on-line – nothing I hadn’t already ordered. I hoped that the bishounen pin dealer would be there on Saturday so I could add to my pin collection.

As we were wandering, we ran into DC and Sharon. Sharon informed us that she had already cleaned the dealers’ room of any Prince of Tennis merchandise that they currently had (TeniPuri being LLL’s and my current obsession). LLL and I vowed to beat her to the Katsucon dealers’ room at all costs. Eventually LLL had to leave to go to a dinner with the other members of the fanfiction panel that she would be participating in on Saturday and the rest of us got things ready for tomorrow. Later that night, as ISOE continued to sketch, Duo kept wrapping dolls, and Sanzo finished beading, I pulled out the computer and LLL and I watched some of our favorite TeniPuri episodes. Even the others were pulled in against their will (no one could ignore our squeals of kawaii-ness at the antics of the boys) and glanced at the screen every now and then. It’s still hard to believe that such a shoujo show started out as a shounen show. The manga-ka and producers obviously came to realize the power of appealing to the fangirl.
________________________________________________________________________________ (1) The MUs are comprised of ISOE and Duo. How did they get that name? Well, they both have the sign of the OX under the Chinese zodiac, see, so they’re cows, right and they are both creative, so they’re creative cows, right, and cows say “moo” so they’re moos, and moo is also MU so . . . . errrr, right. Just go back and read the report.

Saturday, November 22, 2003

We did not make an early morning of it. LLL left for her 10 a.m. fanfiction panel after extracting a promise from Duo to bring her food. The rest of us eventually made our way downstairs to discover that we had been robbed. Duo had bought a cow print tablecloth and put it on the art table last night and now it was gone. While the MUs and Sanzo went to put their items in the art show, I talked to the hotel to find out if one of the staff had moved the cloth. Alas, it was not an honest mistake on the part of the hotel staff – some idiot had actually stolen the tablecloth. Who in the world would get off on taking a cow spotted tablecloth? [One customer suggested that it was someone looking for cloth to match the décor of his or her living room – LOL!] LLL, Duo and I were doing Gundam Wing, (and even ran into a Sally) that day so LLL was dressed as Hilde, I was Dorothy, and Duo was Duo. So ISOE, who was dressed as Haruka from RahXephon, made a sign requesting the return of the MU2 tablecloth or else Dorothy would come and get the evil fiends that took it.

I went to the dealers’ room again – still no bishounen pin dealer, unfortunately. Since I have not had a chance to watch either Saiyuki or Naruto, there was not much there to interest me. The artist and doujinshi dealers that I first met at Katsucon 2002 and then again at Y-con were there however and since they do commissions and special orders and ended up taking most of my and LLL’s money at the con, I must give a shout out to them. If they can find the doujinshis I requested and make a TeniPuri pillow for me, they will be my new best friends.

Anyway, while ISOE manned the table, Duo ran out to make copies of the pieces that ISOE had finished the night before and Sanzo and I enjoyed a free breakfast. It was courtesy of the hotel to apologize for a problem with the phones that we had experienced the night before. Sanzo and I then manned the table while the others ate. It was actually rather fun sitting at the art table. We were in a great location, right by the registration table. Of course that meant that some people started standing in line in front of us to register and we doubled as a con information booth but it did allow for good foot traffic and an excellent people-watching vantage-point. I kept being mistaken for the artist and, for those few seconds before I had to disabuse them of that notion, I could imagine that I was actually able draw more than stick figures.

We all took turns sitting at the table so that everyone would get a chance to take breaks to explore the con. There was a lot of interest in Duo’s FURBA T-shirts and requests from girls and women that the designs be put on baby-doll or tank/spaghetti strap style. The worry dolls were also big hits with everyone. ISOE’s flat art garnered a lot of interest as well. I love how she draws the Fruits Basket characters. The InuYasha picture where Rin is braiding Fluffy’s hair ridiculously cute and was one of the things that drew people to the table. The other thing that drew people was Duo. Yes, once again Duo had a fangirl (and boy) following. Add Sanzo to the mix and we were surrounded at one point. The fans would be there, I would leave, be gone for quite a while, come back and the fans were still there. They may have left for small increments of time but they always came back. There was even one persistent fanboy. He wanted to get a hug from Dorothy. Dorothy, of course, does not lower herself in such a fashion. Being the kind and generous person that I am however, I did allow him to lick my boot. I am nothing if not giving and sensitive to the fans’ needs.

I spent most of the time people watching. There were TONS of Naruto cosplayers and Final Fantasy too, and one Wolfwood with a Naruto . I saw one TeniPuri player – she was dressed as Ryoma and was adorable. Another girl had a great California Mountain Snake costume, Daryl Hannah’s character from Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Since most of our time was spent at the table, I only went to one panel that afternoon. There were two panels that I had wanted to attend, the Kendo Demonstration and Japanese Mythology, but they were at the same time, of course. LLL and I ended up going to the Kendo demonstration. The George Washington University Kendo Club was doing the demonstration. There were six members there, five men and one woman. The first demonstration was of the art of drawing the katana and was done by two of the club members. The girl, who was apparently a Kenshin cosplayer, still had the cross-shaped scar make-up on her left cheek. That added an additional dimension to the demonstration. Afterwards, the other members demonstrated how hits and points are scored in kendo. The three major hit points for scoring are the head, the wrist and the stomach. Finally, 4 of the club members engaged in a kendo match. It was fascinating to watch. I didn’t realize how exciting it could be – it literally made my heart pound. I would love to see a real match. Watching it up close and personal, I realized how strenuous it is, how much strength and endurance it takes to play kendo given the gear and the power behind the moves. I kept getting flashes of Kenshin, Kizuna, Kare Kano and every other reference or instance of a Kendo match from anime that I had ever seen and suddenly I was there. It was a great demonstration. I heard later from Sharon that the Japanese Mythology panel was also wonderful – very informative and well run. **Sigh** Maybe one day at one con, all of the panels I want to go to will not conflict with each other.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the art table. We had some great customers. There was one young boy who really liked ISOE’s drawings and wanted an InuYasha picture, preferably of InuYasha killing Kagome, whom he hated (and with that American voice, who can blame him!) He kept coming back to the table but each time ISOE had left to do various things. I had to promise him that she would do the commission and would make it look very realistic but not to count on the killing-Kagome part. Then there was the little girl who loved Ayame (the character, not LLL) and insisted that her mother buy her the Ayame T-shirt, which she did, and then the wonderful woman also bought a Furba shirt for herself and a few other items as well. It’s great to see parents encouraging and even sharing in their kids interest in anime as opposed to the “ani-what?” reaction so many of us face.

MU2’s first day at the art table ended well. ISOE had two commissions plus sales and Duo had sold many of the shirts and dolls. We even got our tablecloth back. We had received many comments and wishes of good luck from con-goers that saw of “return the tablecloth or else” sign. Finally, a girl approached our table, cow spotted cloth in hand, and told us how she had liberated it from those who had taken it. The MUs were grateful for the cloth’s return. And we made sure that we took it up to the room with us that night.

After dinner, LLL and I went back to the dealer’s room in a final attempt to find anything TeniPuri that Sharon may have missed but the DJ dealer hadn’t restocked since Y-Con (seems there is no demand for TeniPuri on the East Coast – well we demand it!) and there were no pins or plushes. So filled with disappointment, we were on our way out when, from the corner of my eye, I saw a guy unpacking a box and caught a glimpse of the Seigaku Regulars. I grabbed LLL and swooped down on the guy – he was still unpacking so we waited there patiently. I was determined that I was NOT going to leave the con without having bought something Prince of Tennis so I ended up with several nice Seigaku pencil boards and one of Fudomine. Was happy.

After the art table had been packed up, LLL and I went up to the room and were joined by Sharon – DC pleaded fatigue and went up to her room. Could she possible have been sick of hearing us gush on and on and on about TeniPuri? No, I’m sure that wasn’t it! The three of us paged through our DJs, watched TeniPuri, and discussed our love of the show. We left the room to go to panels around 10 p.m.. LLL went to Translating Manga and Sharon and I went to Planes, Bullet Trains and Taxis. The description said that it would be about how to visit Japan when you have no money. That was inaccurate. It was basically a slide show of pictures one military guy took while he was in Japan with comments by others who had been there. The slides were nice however, and offered a basic view of what the city and other parts of Japan looked like. A little slice of life as it were. Then back up to the room to watch more TeniPuri. Sanzo went to the cosplay, Sharon eventually returned to her room, ISOE and Duo went to Kinkos to make more copies and LLL and I watch TeniPuri. We fell asleep to it in fact (not obsessed much, are we?)

Sunday, November 23, 2003

ISOE and Duo were too tired (so they claimed) to do Furba so it was just LLL and I as Hatori and Ayame on Sunday. That morning was spent packing. We went down and set up the art table again since ISOE had to hand out the commissions she had done. The two kids were very happy with their art pieces. The first was just of InuYasha – no murdering of Kagome was depicted. The second commission was for a picture of Yuki and Tohru. Amazing how ISOE managed to get them in the same picture, even sitting on the same piece of furniture, yet they were sooooo far away from each other. **hee**

LLL and I made one last trip to the dealers’ room where I broke down and bought several DVDs even though I could have gotten them on-line. By then it was time to pack up the table, change, load up the cars and head for the art auction. The auction was relatively low key. There were a lot of kids at the con so prices did not get ridiculously high for the most part. The only MU2 piece in the auction was ISOE’s Sad Hatsuharu in Snow, and that became subject to a nice bidding war. Go ISOE! For the most part, however, prices stayed low. I got two pictures that I didn’t need but they were both dragons so oh well. LLL allowed herself to be outbid by a little child and then tried to say that she really didn’t want the picture and could always get it off Kitsune’s website. This after saying how she believed that one should bid on pictures to help out the artist rather than just buying off the website. The auction ended without too much drama.

That morning we had said goodbye to Sharon and DC. After the auction, Duo, Sanzo and ISOE left to head back home. LLL and I stayed to go to one more panel – Japanese Culture in Anime. The panel was very interesting and basically addressed how certain things in culture are reflected in anime, how certain anime conventions reflect real like and what both mean. Of course, as I write this I can’t remember a thing that was said. Help me out here LLL. The panelists (the same ones who were in the Japanese Mythology panel BTW) talked about the various holidays like the significance of White Day, that Christmas is more of a romantic holiday than a religious one and that during Golden Week Tokyo is deserted because everyone leaves to go on vacation. The most interesting bit of information was that a person answers the phone by saying “moshi moshi” because that is a sound that only a human can make and the person is assuring the other person that he/she is a human and not a kitsune or other trickster spirit. Cool.

The end of the con was rather anti-climatic. After the panel we just left since there was really nothing else to do. But it was nice to see everyone and hang out. Besides, this con was really all about the MU2 art table and the success there so way to go MU2 and thanks to all the wonderful people who came by to chat and especially to those who came by to buy. Here’s to even greater success at Katsucon.