Convention report: AnimagiC Sunday

Hello dear readers!

Here follows the last part of my AnimagiC reports about the photoshoot-Sunday.
Although it already was the last of the three days I wasn't that exhausted like the years before on Sunday... I had asked a friend whether she wants to accompany me, and she was very enthusiastic about the idea and immediately agreed. She also guaranteed she would take loads of photos of me, and I was quite happy to have found somebody who would have enough patience with me xD
I decided to wear my Pirate Lolita outfit, and I also invented a new coord: My mother just had bought fitting shoes I borrowed from her, and so I could wear my striped AatP socks for the first time although I already possess them for over a year. At the end my Mum bestowed me the shoes because I have scratched the heels and she can't wear them in the bureau anymore... What a strange way to get a new pair of shoes xD But I'm quite happy about it because they really look good and are very comfy to wear the same time~
Nevertheless at first I have worn my AatP boots, but I took shoes and socks with me so that I had the possibility to change. And at the end it was the right decision, although my bag must have weighed over five kilos with everything I needed...

We arrived around the same time like on Saturday, at 11am. At first my friend wasn't sure whether she should buy an outdoor ticket, but at the end she decided in favour of spending the 10€. I don't think this ticket is worth its money at all because you can't do much with it: You just have access to the area with the outdoor stage, the Dunkelsüß tent, CosBase and catering service - but also the food is way too expensive, in my opinion. But at least we had free toilets then, that would have become a problem instead xD

We took out the convention booklet and planned our day: At first I showed her the area, then we went to the riverside of the Rhine for taking some pictures and for seeing all the other cosplayers around. It's quite impressing that we managed to take almost 170 photos just of me xD Most of them look the same and aren't that cool, but at least one photo was worth being edited and uploaded here ^___^

The only pity was that it started to rain then... No, it didn't rain, the clouds spilled their whole load; we almost needed an arche! And we stood there in the grass under a tree with just one umbrella, and the ground got muddy and my shoes and bag looked like complete sh*t after x___x Now it was the right decision to have the possibility to change half of the outfit, and I have the feeling that the socks-shoes coord is the more popular version - now people started asking me for photos, and I felt flattered when even the serious press and two professional photographers asked me; one of them even had a reflector with him! Although I don't know where the photos will be published I'm quite happy that I haven't had styled up myself for nothing~ The only disadvantage of the outfit change was that I now had to carry the boots in a plastic bag in my hand, they weigh quite much after a while...
I also took a photo of me at CosBase again, but the one above is much better ^__^

We had to wait for a while until the photo was printed, and we enjoyed just walking around the area and watching all the people and taking pictures. It was the right program for Sunday and I enjoyed the time, it was no stress at all~ In the afternoon I haven't had the motivation to take more photos of myself at all, but luckily we were done in noon time already.
We watched the cosplay show on the outdoor stage for a while, but we got a bit bored by it and decided to go to McDonalds to eat something. On the way back to the area we found a shop on the street that sold lots of Anime and Manga stuff, especially lots of stuffed Pokémon! *___* Oh, I could have bought them all, but because I already had bought three plushies at this convention I convinced myself to let it be... There will come enough other occassions where I can buy toys ^__^ And I was really captured by their huge box with Pokémon figures... They literary had all Pokémon, not only the most popular ones! I found all my lovely favourites - but seriously, I don't have the space and use for them, they just would be dust collectors on my desk... So at the end we left without buying something, I was proud of myself! ^___^

Back at the area we made fun of watching the show of the Japanese musician milktub who gave a concert at the outdoor stage - Japanese Rock'n'Roll is quite hilarious xD It's not my style of music, I must confess, but it was funny though - especially when a crew member asked us whether we want to move a bit closer to the stage so that it would look like he has more fans xD Because we were friendly people and in a good mood we did so.

With Ayumu and Megu of ZWEI

 I was very surprised when I suddenly saw the two girls of ZWEI in the crowd in front of the stage, attending the show of their colleague ^__^ they were very chilled and agreed to take photos with everybody who asked them, isn't that cool? So I also did and was quite happy after~ I forgot to do the victory sign, but who cares ^___^;

We haven't stayed too long anymore: I took my photo from CosBase and we walked around again and watched the Luna Haruna performance for a while, but then decided to go home. We needed to take the tram, but luckily nobody glanced at me stupidly and we had our peace. In general we also wanted to go to the Bonn comicshop because we thought it would be open because of the convention, but unfortunately it wasn't...

It was only around 6pm when I arrived at home, but it was absolutely okay because I had enough time to rearrange things etc. I also put together all stuff I had bought and am very satisfied with the outcome~

From left to right: The bat plushie, a Woobat, the Kaomoji ball, the Nyanpire shirt and the signed Manga with autograph card ^___^ Not to forget the photobook, of course!

As a final conclusion I must admit that I had lots of fun this year, too! The organization and venue is the best such a convention can get here in Bonn, and although you always have some stupid people around most of the visitors and especially the crew members are chilled and good-mooded! They created a unique atmosphere and I want to thank the organization again for making this three-day fun fair possible. Every year again with pleasure~ ^___^


Thank you for reading!
Junsui~

Convention report: AnimagiC Saturday

Hey guys ^__^

Today the report of the AnimagiC Saturday follows!~


Of course this day was more interesting and I started at 11am. I had styled up myself a bit, but also tried not to overdress: I wore my black-red dress with my beloved varnish boots~ I intended to represent a self-invented demon character, and because it possesses horns I weaved four ram-shaped horns with my hair ^-^ when you use wire and fix the ends with gel glue they really stick in their position, and I haven't had problems the entire day~ Somebody has asked me how I managed this - only with help of wire, magic xD

My outfit (Photo by CosBase.de)

This day I had lots of things on my to-do-list, and after shooting a photo at the photographer stall CosBase I entered the hall for a signing session of the mangaka Kamineo. I brought my edition of the Manga "Alpha²" with me and already queued before 12am with some other people, and I needed until 12.50 until it was my turn... But it was incredible to observe how she sketched one of the characters in less than two minutes on the first page! She also signed a photo card I took with me, and successfully and happily I left ^__^
Now I had time until the Lolita fashion walk at 4pm, and I took a walk through the market hall again, but then discovered the Nintendo 3DS with Pokémon Y and tested it - mon dieu, it's just too awesome! Honestly, I was so captured by it, I really want to have a 3DS and this game now xD I'm already searching for them on eBay, maybe I'll be lucky and find a good one~ Especially the function where you can play with your Pokémon like with your dogs at Nintendogs at the end convinced me of the revolutionary character of this game ^___^

After a while I went upstairs to Manga Hamburg again and tried out another style of sketching: I created a normal pencil sketch and worked with twelve different grey shades to "colour" it - seriously, the outcome was fabulous! I never had thought you can create so vivid pictures just with pencils! Because I always have loved the pencil as my first drawing utensil I'm even more fascinated by it now and will definitely work with this technique more~
As a thank I left my sketch there and added some kind words in face of the good organization, and they said they would add the artwork to their gallery ^__^
Then I left the sketching school and returned to the Nintendo 3DS - haha, in the meantime somebody has continued playing the game and trained my Pokémon, the first one already had evolved xD I spent some more time there until I went outside for the Lolita fashion walk.
When walking through the market hall I had a funny experience: A vendour offered me a free booklet for using it as a fan because it was very hot inside. I denied and said I don't need one because I have a real fan in my bag, and he was like "Okay" - but then turned around the booklet and offered it to me again with "Booklet?" I laughed and then agreed, but actually there was just nothing interesting in... But it served well as a fan ^___^
I also started talking with him for a while, and he reported about the effort of unpacking all the Mangas from the boxes etc.; it needed from 8am to 1pm without a single break! He also told it was surprisingly empty this year, especially in Saturday afternoon prime time. But the rush at Friday noon must have been a catastrophe, even worser than the other years... It was very interesting to get these background information, especially because I'm thinking of contributing to the crew members next year.

After this chat I took the photo shown above from CosBase and went to the Lolita fashion walk. This year all models have worn handmade dresses from Japanese indie brands because the reseller Lorina Lidell made the import possible. These dresses are also cheaper than the brand ones and very beautiful indeed! Even the Japanese singer Luna Haruna participated in the fashion walk because she wears Lolita fashion for herself.

"Shades of Wonderland" photobook

After the show the Dunkelsüß base organized a giveaway where you could win a copy of the huge photobook "Shades of Wonderland" by Werkbank 030. I also participated and left for a concert of the Japanese duo ZWEI at the outdoor stage - they were really good and I liked their show, especially when bassist Megu ran off the stage directly through the crowd, followed by the staff xD They did their best to make fun and create a fabulous atmosphere, but then it started raining that heavily that I escaped into the Dunkelsüß tent. I waited until the winner of the giveaway would be announced, and they pulled the lucky person - but the first four (!) persons weren't present, most likely because of the bad weather... But the fifth person was there - it was me! I was absolutely dumbfounded and over the moon, but I felt a bit unpleasant and observed when everybody looked at me when I took the copy... It weighs 3,5 kilos! I already had heard about the book, but had no real idea of how the final result looks like - but it's really cool and serves very well for explaining Lolita fashion to people who never have heard about it before. Some of the models and even Luna Haruna have signed the front page, it's a really unique copy~

With the signed first page~

Luckily it stopped raining after a while and I left the tent for entering the Anime cinema: They showed "Blue Exorcist: The Movie" I definitely wanted to watch because I really like the Manga. But it was already so full, it didn't seemed as if I would be successful to get inside anymore... All the other waiting people tried to convince the staff we could stand in the back etc, and finally he agreed and let us sit in the middle floor between the seat rows. So I also got a quite good place in the front center on the ground and had a good view~ I enjoyed the film and especially liked the animation technique; it really has improved within the years, compared to the ancient Anime I knew from my childhood days xD

It already got 8.15pm when the movie was over, and because nothing interesting was going on anymore this evening I decided to go home - after playing Pokémon some longer, of course xD In general I had intended to also watch the real movie of Black Butler, but waiting until 10.45pm would have been too long and boring... That was how the Saturday ended.


It was a really cool day indeed, especially because of the "Shades of Wonderland" copy I've won ^__^ big thanks to Dunkelsüß for making this miracle possible~ I was very satisfied with the 41€ I've paid for the two-days ticket, and I have managed to look through everything I wanted to see inside the hall in time before it would have been too late on Sunday.


On the last day photo sessions followed~
See you there!
Junsui

Convention report: AnimagiC Friday

Hello, dear readers~

Today I want to report about the latest event I attended: The AnimagiC 2014! It was my fourth full year there and I enjoyed it quite much~ Let's take a closer look on what has happened ^___^

Around beginning of August every year it's AnimagiC-time, and this year the weekend really hit the first three days of the month. In the biggest heat of midsummer thousands of freaks dress up themselves in mostly different costumes, and I always wonder how the thick ones survive... It's lots of fun every year, or lots of stress and work, depending on how you see the point.
I started the convention days quite relaxed this year and haven't stressed myself too much: I dressed in my usual bat outfit I always wear on concerts; it was short and light enough for these deadly degrees up to 29°C x__x;
I arrived at 1pm and of course had to queue for the entrance; it's the same annoying procedure every year... It was around 2.10pm until I finally got into the area. At least the hall already had opened and I rowed myself in the quickly moving queue, and I also got inside faster than I had expected I would. But of course it quickly filled and became absolutely overcrowded, also as every year... I walked through the market hall and just took a quick look at all the stuff that was sold there, I knew most of the products already. But I have recognized they had rearranged some stalls: For example the Manga figures were changed with a stuffed toy stall, and there was a new stall of an Anime publisher I never have heard of before. Moreover I discovered a 3D printer where you could create yourself as a figure, but it's quite expensive with 199€ for a model of 15 centimeter size... I wonder whether somebody has used this occassion at all.
I haven't had too much time to creep through the hall before I had the first show I wanted to watch: At 3pm the showgroup "K!seki" performed a self-written comedy/action piece: "Pokémon - The APokélypse". I enjoyed sitting down in the first row of the balcony of the main concert hall from where I had a good view. I made lunch break in the meantime and ate my whole lunch packet - I was a bit worried I would get hungry again too fast, but at the end it was no problem at all. The amplifiers were too loud, but luckily I had my earwax with me and then the sound was okay - I already knew this problem because the acoustics in the hall isn't the best... I followed the piece for 50 minutes, but when I had eaten up everything and relaxed a bit I lost the interest and became a bit bored; it wasn't that exciting anymore... So I left and went shopping with more tranquility now. I found a funny purple bat plushie I had to buy for 19€, and I carried it around with me the whole day in front of me because it just fit very good to my outfit that day ^____^
Of course I also entered my favourite stall of NeoTokyo: They always have some interesting CDs and clothing, and last year I have spent more than 100€ there xD This year they had an awesome SEX POT ReVeNGe coat I instantly fell in love with, but it was a bit too expensive with 129€ because I wouldn't need it for a special reason... But I found a hilarious pink T-Shirt of "Nyanpire", and it didn't need long until I got captured by this trend and had to buy it xD it was absolutely worth its 25€ because it's made of high quality cotton and fit me very well~
And they had two copies of KAMIJO's "Moulin Rouge" - damned, but I already had offered my one at CDJapan before... Here it would have been cheaper. But at least I haven't had to pay additional fees and customs duty, so the prize was the same at the end.
Happy because of this second good offer I passed by another plushie stall, and they sold a strange stuffed toy that just looks like a white ball with a Japanese emoji face... It was so weird but kawaii the same time that I just had to buy it, too xD it only costed 5€ what is quite cheap for these conditions, and I'm really happy I've done so - I really have started to like this Kaomoji plushie very much by now ^__^
I was surprised that the cosplay stall haven't sold the normal catears this year... They only had plastic ones, but usually the fluffy ones are the money-spinners. I also wanted to buy a pair, but I didn't like the plastic ones and got rid off the idea. So I already was done with my intended shopping tour, and I withstood lots of other buying temptations!
Then I thought about what to do next until a concert from 6pm to 7pm, and I decided to go upstairs to Manga Hamburg. I like this Manga art school I already knew from the last two years, and also this time I sat down and just started sketching a bit... The results weren't that exciting, but one time I used their huge range of copic markers, that was awesome! I've inked one picture with 20 shades of grey~ (random with the title xD) At the end I literary spent over three hours there and forgot the time, so I missed the concert... And after that I was quite tired and the market hall already closed their gates, so I decided to go home because nothing interesting was on my program list for this day anymore.

The AnimagiC leaves you with an overload of impressions every year, especially at the first day. I must confess, I was too lazy to take photos - also because I haven't seen many awesome costumes and was a bit disappointed; all other years people have made more effort in dressing up. Moreover most cosplays are from series I'm not interested in, in general Naruto and One Piece, and I hardly found a really good dress at all that day. I think this year less visitors attended the convention at all, maybe because of holiday time or the high degrees (although I think last year was even hotter...) So I wasn't completely disappointed, but also not highly excited, it was average. But it was the right decision not to overdress because I wouldn't have been in the mood for photos... and it worked, literary nobody asked me for a photo, phew! ^-^
That was how the AnimagiC Friday turned out - and I was even more curious how the Saturday would be!~

The next report will follow soon, see you there!~
Junsui