Anime Central 2004

The approach of this year's ACen was a very hectic time for me. Instead of preparing a single costume (half piece-meal), I went in for sewing lessons and sewed 3 costumes for myself and Kelli from scratch, plus a couple of plushie accessories to boot. When doing this, not really starting to sew stuff until the end of February is not recommended. So, I went into the con this year, very stressed out and sleep-deprived, but nonetheless it was still a very enjoyable weekend! ^^ The other difference was in my group of friends. Tara and Kevin opted not to attend this year, and Chris joined Artist Alley staff, so we didn't see much of him. I ended up attending more panels by myself this year.

Friday

We got a bit of a late start in the morning, and together with rainy weather = bad traffic, didn't arrive at the convention center until opening ceremonies had begun. I was wearing my Anzu costume and Kelli her Mai costume going in. After a bit more than an hour, we had our badges and began looking through the dealer's room. After picking up some artbooks and pins, it was late enough to check into the hotel room (first time we didn't have ANY hassles from the Hyatt!!!) and then I ran to the wig workshop. It was run by Emily DeJesus and Monica Rial, and was very funny and informative. Then, I stayed for the first part of the costuming workshop before I was panel-ed out for the day. We finished up the day with pizza and Mario Party 4 before going down for Midnight Madness, but actually watched an hour of Anime Hell before it started. Still, it was worth it, Nescaflowne was soooo funny!

Saturday

Woke up as early as we could and tried to get ready on time for some panels, but it took a bit longer than we thought. Kelli donned her Mai costume again, and I put on my Kagura Sohma outfit, and Elon his Kyo Sohma clothing. (The Kyo can hardly be called a costume, it's all street clothes.) Kelli and I took some cosplay photos in the lobby and Elon went to buy stuff before we went to lunch at Denny's. There were a few con-goers there, but not so many cosplayers, so we did get some funny looks. In the afternoon, we went to the Scott McNeil and Brett Weaver panel and then Kel and I went to take more cosplay photos. But, we lost track of time and I didn't get back for the Chris Patton panel! T.T We did, however, get back in time to line up for the masquerade. They filed us around outside to wait, but the line sort of merged, which gave people who were behind us in line, places in front of us! o.0 Still, besides running *late* and having to wait outside when it got chilly, it was good. Got decent seats and the show was entertaining. The skits themselves rarely seemed long, so I didn't mind the whole event overall. On the way back to the room, we ran into a group of Utena cosplayers and THERE WAS A MIKAGE COSPLAYER! Yes, I got his photo and it just made my night! (I'm such a Mikage fangirl!) The others went to see Kiddy Grade in the video room, but I'd already seen it, so I stayed in the room to read my xxxHOLiC manga.

Sunday

Tried to get up for the anime music video contest replay, but that didn't happen. We were moving very slowly at this point. Yes, we're old! I put on my Eri-chan costume and had fun carrying around my Nyarr-chan plushie. In the hallway, Kelli was saying "Nyarrrr!" and someone we were walking past replied "Jellies!!!" which I thought was quite funny. ^^ Checked out of the hotel room early and packed stuff into the cars on the way to a final dealer's room trip. After that, we decided just to leave. It was noon, we weren't going straight home, and Kelli had a 3 hour drive ahead of her. We stopped at the Japanese market, Mitsuwa, for lunch and browsing. Yum, yum, yum. Got curry udon for lunch and finally had a bubble tea! Mango lychee is very tasty and sweet. We also bought some more pocky and looked through the bookstore and toy shop. A nice way to cap off the anime weekend.

Kelli in her Mai costume	In my Kagura costume	Kyo, my LOVE!	We went to lunch at Denny's	What would Mai eat?	Yuki! Yuki! We love Yuki!
Mai poses with some Duel Monsters	Taking in some DDR before trying to defeat Kenshin	Very nice Deedlit cosplay	Scott McNeil wearing a cowboy hat	Sugar and Spice as a lovely Utena and Anthy duo	Shounen-ai for the otaku guy
Princess Zelda	Mikage! *fangirl squeal*	My Eri-chan costume	Sad but true- our 2004 group shot was just 2 of us	Nyarr! Jellies!

All photos on this page taken by Beth and Kelli.

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