[Con report] AnimeReactor 2003 - For Every Action....

My first anime convention, the inaugural of AnimeCentral, took place
at the Holiday Inn Rosemont back in April of 1998.  I had been given
less than a weeks' notice; an email from one of my sempais alerted me
to the event, and as Konatsu-chan was visiting Clan Kenzan at the time
(and over my birthday, no less!), I had nothing better to do, and so I
went.  The rest, as they say, is history (albeit unrecorded history,
as I did not think to put together a con report at that time)

So as we prepare to attend our fourteenth anime convention, the
inaugural of Anime Reactor, being held at the Holiday Inn Rosemont,
it's hard not to draw comparisons.  Even the name, although it's
supposed to convey a sort of atomic power, also suggests that this is
'reacting' to something that ACen lacks.  It's as if this convention
were announcing, "hey, we're starting out in the same place, but we're
gonna go in a WHOLE different direction!"

So here I am, curious as to what that direction would be.  *What* is
AR reacting *to*?  *Will* it be so different from its competitor,
ACen?  And *how* will it differ?  That's what we're about to find out.

I should point out that I'm probably reading too much into things. 
When I first encountered the Anime Reactor website a year and a half
ago (well, that's *one* difference from ACen.  Of course, I've gotten
a lot more savvy about looking for convention info since then), I
wrote the organizers, asking them this exact question, 'what are you
reacting *to*?'  They seemed nonplussed by the question, as, of
course, that's not what they *meant* by 'Reactor'.  Ditto when I
encountered their advertising booths at ACen and AIowa; they also were
completely unaware that ACen had started out in the same venue they
had chosen.  "It was available, and it was cheap," was the response as
to why they'd picked the Holiday Inn.

Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me.  The folks I've seen advertising AR
have in fact been... different... from the old style otaku of the
early days of fandom.  First of all, they're younger than myself (a
feat that gets easier every year, to be sure).  Secondly, they have
all been of what one might refer to as 'minority groups.'  And I hope
that by pointing this out, I don't sound like some kind of bigot. 
It's just that it's hard *not* to notice.

The fact of the matter is, it just used to be so *rare* that an
American otaku would be anything other than a white collegiate (or
slightly post-collegiate) male.  The last few years have seen a great
number of females joining the ranks, but it's still been largely a
white (and Asian, but since they started this, they can hardly be
considered a minority, now, can they?) population.  But AR's visible
staff have, as far as I can tell, all been either black or Hispanic. 
Maybe *this* is the difference they're referring to.

Of course, to the average Japanese, we're all gaijin, so it doesn't
matter, right?

Enough speculation, I suppose: time to find out what makes Anime
Reactor so different.  Or whether there IS something that does that at
all.

FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2003

One thing that *will* be the same as the first ACen: we're going to
commute.  Dan-chan's irritated enough that we're planning on having
him babysat throughout the weekend; the least we can do is spend the
evenings with him.  We're still debating whether or not to get a pass
for him to join us at the con on Saturday.  Unlike say, Rachel Wilde,
he hasn't taken to the anime scene very well; subtitles are difficult
for him even still, and the conventions take Mommy and Daddy away.

Clearly, the two conventions a year we already attend are enough, as
far as he's concerned.  But we have curiosity to satisfy.

On the other hand, enthusiasm is in surprisingly short supply.  Maybe
it's the fact that we've had trouble coming up with babysitting for
the weekend (scratch that, people - we've had no success whatsoever). 
Maybe it's the fact that, being this close to Halloween, we have
costume issues to deal with that have *nothing* to do with cosplay
(like I said, Dan-chan's no otaku; he wants to be a Lego minifigure,
actually).  Maybe it's having to deal with the lousy parking rates
that every place in Rosemont charges, especially if we have to pay
every time we come and go, be it to pick Dan-chan up from school if
need be (and it looks like it will) or to eat.  Maybe it's the fact
that the sempais haven't shown up: they're taking a 'wait-and-see'
approach to this convention; if it succeeds, maybe they'll be here
next year.  If not, well...

Of course, how's a convention to succeed if *everybody* takes such an
attitude?

At the same time, my sempais aren't the only ones we don't expect to
see.  You may or may not have noticed, but there has been no mention
of AnimeReactor on the FFML in the days and weeks leading up to it.  
Without a cattle call for panellists, there'll be no fanfic panel, and
really, that's the main draw as far as writers are concerned.  We're
just not their target audience, it would appear.

So we're not going there to see or be seen.  It leaves one just a bit
cooler towards it (through no real fault of its own).

***

After a thirty minute drive from the Ucchan (I thought it used to be
twenty.  Urban sprawl, I guess), and some confusion getting a parking
space (the attendant tells us to get passes at the concierge that will
allow for in-and-out privileges), we pull in to the back of the hotel.
 It's quiet as we slip in.

Too quiet.

We come across a couple of girls chatting at a cafe table; one of them
spots the Utena and KareKano buttons on my jacket, and offers to buy
them.  Well, at least we know we're in the right spot if someone
recognizes this stuff.  I turn down her offer, and she seems
disappointed until I explain that they're handmade, and easily put
together.  Thus cheered, she leaves us to our search for signs of life
around here.

We do a full circuit of the ground floor before coming across the
preregistration desk.  One explanation is that it's been five and a
half years since we've been here, and that's fine.  The other reason
is that there's no line by the desk; in fact, nobody waiting at all. 
That's not fine.  The good news is that we get our badges, our
booklets, and other goodies in jig time.

Konatsu makes several observations as I comment on how few people
there are here as compared to ACen98.  First off, the inaugural ACen
had been held over Spring Break, as evidenced by the fact that my
Kunoichi and Dan-chan had been out of town, training at Clan Kenzen
whne I was signing up.  More trenchantly, Konatsu points out that in
that day, there were no anime conventions between one coast and the
other to speak of.  AnimeCentral was breaking new ground, in a new
territory, and the response showed a hunger that Middle America had
for anime at that time.

So does this mean Middle America's hunger has already been sated?

***

Maybe it's just that early.  Not too far from where we originally came
in is the Artist's Alley, where a few artists are set up, but most are
still *setting* up.  Among them is one Erika Door, whose name sounds
familiar...

It's Konatsu who remembers the stuffed PeroPero we ordered ACen and
never received (we'd seen Erika at AnimeIowa, and she offered to make
us a second one free of charge, the original apparantly having been
lost in the mail)  This time, it appears we should have remembered to
email her about it a week or so ago, so she could have brought it. 
It's finished; it just hasn't been mailed yet - especially since,
having just moved, she doesn't know *where* her local post office is. 
She tells us that she'll send it when she finds out, and we thank her
and move along.

Konatsu is tempted by a table offering a limited edition volume of "A
Fan's View."  Essentially, it talks about cosplay, and the various
inidividuals and groups who've made their name doing cosplay at
conventions throughout America.  How limited is it, might I ask? 
"Eight copies," replies the fellow at the table, "That's when my
printer conked out, and I haven't got a chance to get the cartridges
replaced."  It *is* a lovely book; Konatsu flips through it (and finds
an article on Erika, by the way), looking for a friend from small-kid
time who's joined up with the Not Ready for Bandai Players.  They
aren't listed, and my kunoichi sets it down with a shrug.  "Someone
else will want it more than I do."

***

It's barely been an hour that we've been here, but it's already time
for the opening ceremonies.  Far be it from me to miss 'em, given the
chance.  The stage is alight with florescent tubing designed to
resemble power rods, spotlights seting in a trefoil setting, a ceramic
plasma light set atop a spinning column, all to give the place the
whole nuclear look.

Let's hope no one from Greenpeace shows up.  Or that any of the guests
object.

Actually, Bob DeJesus is quite impressed at the setup, while his wife
Emily quietly thanks everyone for inviting them.  Steve Bennett bounds
onstage, scanning the audience for distant relatives (evidently, the
Bennett family originally hailed from Chicago, but that was a
generation or two ago), and announcing that Ironcat is back, having
released their first volume since The Troubles this summer, a
Digi-charat manga as it so happens.

Retouch artist Dan Nakrosis considers it 'nice to be appreciated' for
his very behind-the-scenes type of work, while Jay and Phillip Moy are
impressed to be guests as well: "Usually, we just come to these things
as fanboys ourselves."  Tokyopop writer Jay Torres also expresses
pleasure at being invited, while toy designer Daisuke Kobayashi is
*very* enthusiatic in his greeting (come to think of it, the only
other Kobayashi I know is the girl who plays Puni Puni Poemi - you can
see the family resemblance).

The staff of Bungie Studios, Chicago natives all (albeit transplanted
to Redmond, Washington, to work on X-Box games), are glad to be back. 
At least, so Lorraine says:  Robert and Shi Kai Wang don't say much.

James attempts to introduce the next guest as a MAN-ga artist, and the
audience breaks into laughter as he ridicules his own mispronunciation
with a redneck-style monologue: "Ah jest luv that MANga, 'speshly that
thar HEN-tah stuff..."

Finally, Sachi Ochimizu is introduced, and in contrast to James'
redneck impression, expresses her pleasure at being here in very
formal terms.  Her editor, accompanying her, seems equally ill at
ease, despite a better grasp of English than most Japanese guests. 
She states that her job is hardly glamorous enough to merit an
invitation, but will do her best to be worthy of the honor.

It's at this point that the next guest is introduced, with no small
amount of fanfare or reaction: Amanda Winn Lee.  Loud and boisterous
as ever, she announced that she is really *psyched* to be back in
Chicago, especially since (she admits) having been banned from some
other convention for one thing or another.  She vows, however, that at
AnimeReactor, her behaviour will be "beyond reproach."  As she says
this, she strips down to her infamous red bra (Konatsu points out that
it's more a light rose color; so, maybe it's faded in the wash since
'99), and literally *bounces* (we're talking Gainax bounce her,
people) to her seat, to an enormous roar from the crowd.  Yeah, AR is
different from ACen right there.

So who's gonna follow that?  James introduces Tetsuya Aoki as a big
guy, and coming from him, that's saying something.  And he's every
inch as advertised.  But what really gets the crowd going is his offer
to pass out copies of his manga to everyone for free.  Granted, the
ovation doesn't quite surpass Amanda's, but all things considered,
it's darn good.  James:  "The traffic around *someone's* booth just
increased a thousandfold..."

C.B. Cebulski is introduced as the 'driving force behind Anime
Reactor,' and speaks of his work at Marvel Comics - Marvel?  Isn't
anime big enough by now that we don't need to appeal to fans of the US
comic industry as well?  But he points out how Japanese artists have
inspired American artists and vice versa, and speaks of the need to
bridge the gap between the two artistic cultures.  Well...

Before Mia Yazawa is introducted, staffer Leah Lawson is asked to take
a bow for her set design, and after some coaxing, she rises to
applause.  Ms. Yazawa then comes out to admit - in English - that she
is very nervous about her first time in Chicago.  I wonder if our
"Gunsmith Cats" reputation is back, after a peaceful decade in which
the world knew us as the home of Michael Jordan.

And it occurs to me that at least one of my sempais will be
disappointed at having missed out on meeting the creator of Wedding
Peach.

Artxilla shows up, looking well-stocked on street cred.  Not the sort
of folks you'd've expected to see as the creators of the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles comic - especially since their movie was rapped
by a *white* guy.  This is their first foray into the anime convention
world, although they insist that they've been heavily influenced by
the anime style.  They invite the audience to visit their booth in the
dealers' room, and James seconds this:  "Spend a lot of money.  If the
dealers are happy, then there's gonna be another AnimeReactor.  If
not, well..."

Tsutomu Nekai delivers a poker-faced greeting suggesting that he's
been drinking beer after beer since arriving in Chicago, and gets a
laugh and a big hand.  Finally, Kia Asayama, now on his fifth visit to
town, jokes about 'Porn-Boy' (our MC, James) asking him where he
wanted to go when he got off the plane: "Shopping?"  "No way, man. 
I'm forty years old!  I've outgrown those toys!"

Well, not entirely.  He still makes a living off this stuff, after
all.

***

And speaking of shopping, we figure we might as well take a turn
around the dealers' room; the video rooms won't be showing anything
that piques our interest until 1:30, when Read or Die is scheduled. 
The room is pretty well stocked, to be sure, with everything but
customers at the moment.  For their sakes, I hope that doesn't stay
this way.

It does give Konatsu, who can be a real social butterfly at times, a
chance to chat with the vendors without too much interruptions.  One
gruff fellow standing behind a table full of VHS cassettes talks about
his recent conversion to anime - it would appear that his grandkids
got him into it shortly after the last ACen.  Since he's a comic shop
owner, this wasn't a large leap, and leap he did, with both feet,
going to GenCon and so forth, and taking the tapes off of
manufacturers' hands in bulk for what amounted to $1.50 per.  Selling
them at a measly $5 each, he makes a handy profit even if he doesn't
sell all that many.

We talk about the fate of VHS in the wake of the DVD revolution, and
while we agree that the tapes still have their place as long as
recording on them is comparatively cheap and easy, we all realize they
are going the way of the dinosaur, just like vinyl records and audio
cassettes.  The question is, how long will it take?  His partner says
two years, he counters with ten years.  In any case, he's got time to
unload the collection before him.

Although perhaps not time enough.  A customer comes up, asking if he
has any Vandread on tape.  Sorry kid, that was only released on DVD.

***

As we continue to kill time by wandering through Artists' Alley yet
again, Konatsu makes a discovery about AnimeReactor - they don't have
a consuite!

Actually, that isn't so surprising.  The first ACen didn't have one
either; and maybe the layout of the hotel, with the cafe pretty much
right in the middle of the ground floor sort of precludes it in any
case as a place for congoers to hand out and (if they can afford it)
eat.  But we've probably gotten spoiled by AnimeIowa's lavish (for
their size) spreads, and for that matter, ACen's figured out how to
put them on, too.  A convention doesn't feel complete without a place
to snack and socialize.

Of course, who's to socialize with?  And in any case, at least AR
isn't touting a consuite and then not actually having one, like
OhayoCon did in their first year.  Which is worse, omitting any
mention at all of one, or advertising one and not having it?

***

With one less place to visit while we're here, we head downstairs to
check out what other programming is going on.  Konatsu peeks into the
video game room.  The place has none of the huge lines that plague
ACen; in fact, there's hardly anyone in here at all.  There turns out
to be a reason for it, besides the obvious lack of attendees: apart
from the PlayStation hookups, all the machines are charging for the
privilege of being used.  Well, forget *that*...

***

We slip into the main screening room as Infinite Ryvius comes to an
end.  We've heard plenty about Read or Die, and are anxious to see
what it's like.  The room is set up with chairs to accomodate over 300
viewers, and there's barely a dozen of us in here.

It may explain why, as 1:30 comes and goes, Infinite Ryvius gives way
to... another episode of Infinite Ryvius.  Now, I've read the synopsis
of IR somewhere along the line, recently, and under certain conditions
I might enjoy it.  But quite frankly, we're here to see something
else, and this is a bit irritating.  We walk out.

My normally mild-mannered kunoichi is actually peeved enough to head
to the registration desk and complain.  It's not like it would
inconvenience a whole lot of viewers if the schedule were more proerly
hewed to.  The poor folks at the desk really can't do much but shrug
and offer apologies, but not much in terms of explanations.

We spend enough time at the desk that by the time the dust settles,
the new episode of IR is just about over.  Maybe now, we'll get
satisfaction - although, considering we have to pick Dan-chan up from
school in an hour and a half, maybe not.

In fact, definately not.  It's another episode of Infinite Ryvius. 
That's it.  It's 2 pm, and we've nothing to hold us here.  We might as
well go home and get ready to pick Dan-chan up and... whatever.

***

We drop by the concierge to ask about in-and-out parking fees.  While
we admit that we're not actually staying at the hotel at all, the girl
at the counter still hands us three blue slips, one for each day, to
hand to the attendant so that he'll give you the receipt back so we
can re-enter without paying.  Now, that still means parking is $10 per
day (hey, this is Rosemont - they gotta squeeze the money outta you
one way or another), but considering that otherwise, the one-time rate
jumps to $13 after a two-hour stay and $17 after twelve hours
(assuming we ever stay  for that long at a time), this *saves* us some
money.

***

I don't recall if it was Greg, Travis or Zen who asked me why on earth
I would buy stuff in the dealers' room at the inflated prices they
charge.  I *do* recall replying that it was the only time I actually
*thought* about purchasing anime, and by then, I was sort of in a bind
as to where else to *get* anime from.

Not so as a commuter.  All I have to do is go home and get online.  At
half.com, they tell me that if I'm willing to wait for the time it
takes to ship, I can get the entire series of FLCL online for the
price they're charging in the dealers' room for a single 2-episode
DVD.  Needless to say, I snap it up.

So you see, I *can* be a shrewd shopper.  I just need the opportunity.

***

Konatsu's already hungry as we make plans to pick Dan-chan up, and for
that matter, so am I.  Since I've closed the Ucchan for the weekend,
the grill's not available for making okonomi-yaki.  So we do the next
best thing: we head to Mitsuwa, and make it an early dinner.

Ofukutai is open for business, and I do love their takoyaki (sure, it
takes a while to cook, but it's worth it, people!)  Dan-chan likes the
children's set ramen, and we place our orders.  While we wait, we
watch the television broadcast of the Japan Series.  It's a tape delay
re-broadcast of the final, where 'my' hometown team, the Hanshin
Tigers, win all the marbles for the first time in I don't know how
long.

Konatsu points out that it's probably a good thing that *the* local
team, the Chicago Cubs, *didn't* make it to the World Series. 
Otherwise, there would be just that much more apathy for AnimeReactor
to face.  Cold comfort for my tastes; I just hope the Yankees lose to
the Marlins in fewer games than we did, just so we can say we gave the
future U.S. champs the best run for their money.  (Incidentally,
although it has nothing to do with the convention, I am curious as to
whether Osakans have the same 'second-city' antipathy towards Tokyo as
we Chicagoans have to New York City.)

As long as we're here at Mitsuwa, we might as well pick up Pocky and
other snacks to tide us over once we get back to the con, and cheaper,
too.  We figure we'll need to conserve funds, as registration at the
door for the full weekend is $40 - ten bucks less than we paid for
*both* of our admissions.

***

But surprise!  When we get there, the guy at the registration desk
asks Dan-chan's age... children's discount, maybe?

Like fun it is!  He's *free*, 'cause he's under twelve.  Well, hot
dang.  He gets his badge, we thank the fellow, and head on in.

As we do, though, I finally find a familiar face in this unfamiliar
crowd - Pearson Mui, fellow six-time ACen veteran, photographer, and
major collaborator to Undocumented Features, among other works. 
Ironically, he arrived here at about the time we were giving up and
leaving.  He tells how he's blown a sizable amount of his budget for
the next two weeks at the Artists' Alley - primarily a UF-related
picture for Ben Hutchins showing Kozue Kauru in the cockpit of her
fighter (do I remember this right, Doc?)  I let him know about the
parking arrangement - he'll need to save some dough where he can - and
he's grateful, as he was just about to head out for dinner at home. 
Doc gives me a money-saving tip of his own - it turns out that, while
the video game machines *do* charge, they require nickels instead of
quarters.  I didn't know you could *do* that.

Well, when Konatsu and Dan-chan and I head down there later, we see a
kid feeding quarters into Puzzle Fighter, and, after some observation
(trying to pick up on the rules and whatnot) Konatsu decides not to
attempt it.  Not for two quarters' worth, anyway.

***

It's more or less six o'clock by now, and we decide to check out
whether the dealers' room is still open while we have the chance.  It
is, and they let us in - evidently, they're not closing for a while. 
It's certainly busier than when we were here last, that's for sure.  I
get waylaid by a dealer in an Azumanga apron (which I think I've seen
before at ACen, come to that) who claims to have H doujinshi from any
series you can name, and at reasonable prices.  I can't resist. 
KareKano doujinshi?  Reasonable?  I try my hand at 'stump the doujin
man'.

And lose.  Between three series, I end up dropping $60 on five
doujinshi.  Oh, well...

Even as we wrap up this transaction, the announcement goes out
throughout the room that "the dealers' room is now CLOSED!  Go home!" 
Well, gee... it's 6:18.  What kind of time is *that*?

And in any case, we *don't* leave, not just yet.  Dan-chan is in line
at one booth (yes, there's a line.  A nuisance for the customer,
perhaps, but a good sign otherwise) and begging for a soot creature
from several different Ghibli fims.  Ah, what the heck - we get it. 
It staves off getting tossed out unceremoniously.

***

Konatsu is interested in a panel entitled "Straight Eye for the Queer
Guy."  Ya gotta admit, a title like that is pretty damned intriguing. 
As it turns out, the folks setting up the panel admit it's just the
yaoi panel, which we're *not* particularly interested in.  Meanwhile,
the folks running something called LARP are preparing to move out for
the yaoistas' sake.  LARP?  The heck's that?  Oh, live action role
playing.  They do make an effort to interest us, but frankly, our D&D
days are long behind us.

As we exit the room, we encounter a girl in a high school uniform
from... "Oh, no.  This isn't supposed to be from an anime.  It's from
when I was going to school in Nagoya."  It's her actual school
uniform.  Imagine that.  She and Konatsu chat for a while, as my
kunoichi's spent time in Nagoya as well; some place called Tsumago, if
I recall correctly.  Turns out, the girl (who I should point out, is
every inch a gaijin) has since earned a degree in Japanese, and is
working on another in Animation.  Very impressive.  Although, I didn't
know colleges offered courses like that.

***

We decide to head upstairs to wait for the Terrell Show to come on. 
We plant ourselves in what we consider a pretty good spot in the main
programming room, ply Dan-chan with a pad to draw on and some pencils,
and sit back and wait.

Since Dan-chan's happily occupied, I take the opportunity to peruse
the doujinshi.  It turns out that one of them has a scene featuring
Aya Sawada and Rika Sena.  Paul Corrigan, call your office.

It takes a while for us to notice it - perhaps we're inured to Other
People's Music, and have learned to tune it out with time and practice
- but it's hard to ignore the *language* of what passes for elevator
music here.  I prefer not to comment on the musicianship of rap, which
could lead to some nasty arguments, but the fact that every third or
fourth word is one or another of George Carlin's infamous Seven Words
You Can't Say on Radio/Television, along with another word that
apparantly is okay for *one* ethnic group to use, but which would get
me beaten to a bloody pulp if I used it, starts to bother us.  Even
Dan-chan is upset: "Stop saying those naughty words!" he shouts at the
speaker system.  I'm proud of him that he knows these words aren't
proper, but since *we* don't use 'em, where'd he figure out about them
in the first place?

***

Finally, Terrell comes out and explains the rules of the game. 
There'll be two teams of five otaku competing over twenty
anime-related questions in three rounds.  Straightforward enough, but
now the twist - there's not so much a prize for the winners as a
penalty for the losers.  A kind of 'Fear Factor' thing going on, if
you will.  I'll explain this in a moment, but first, our contestants:

The red team, calling itself "Four Guys and a Transvestite," is in
fact anchored by a familiar face from AnimeIowa: CardCaptor Will. 
Picture a young (if slightly less athletic) Scottie Pippen dressed up
like Sakura, and you're reasonably close; he doesn't have the shock
value of Sailor Bubba, but he'll do in a pinch.  On the blue side,
they have a central figure dressed in camos, with an unlit cigarette,
carrying a sign (which becomes their team name) reading "Will Teach
for Pocky".  I think the guy's supposed to be from GTO, but the Pocky
reference - and the fact that, with his glasses, he more resembles Kei
Kusanagi than Great Teacher Onizuka - lead me to think of a very
different teacher.  Great Teacher Onegai, perhaps?

The questions are not particularly easy, and the two teams combine to
answer less than half of those in the first round.  Blue argues that
their buzzer doesn't function, but tests show that it works just fine
(although Red has to hit theirs in order to reset both once the test
is run), all of which prompts a fair amount of mockery from Terrell. 
He's very in-your-face about everything, and I am damn grateful I
didn't consider trying out for this little contest.

Particularly once it gets to the penalty stage.  Blue teams loses the
round, and two of its members are required to drink a random
concoction that ends up combining... sloppy joe mix, vinegar, and
wasabi.  One fellow actually manages by holding his nose and taking
small sips, but when Great Teacher Onegai tries to power it down, it
won't stay there.  Worse yet, when it comes back up he doesn't turn
his head *quite* fast enough; I'm not sure, but the reactions of two
of his teammates suggest that he might have nailed them to some extent
or another.

Dan-chan is going into *conniptions* at this point about how *mean*
the host is about all this.

Blue gets its own back for round two (despite only answering four
questions correctly - once again, you can see this is a tough game
just for that), and is no less vigorous in its pursuit of punishment. 
Clam chowder and tunafish might go together, but not cold, not pureed,
and *not* with caramel sauce.  Still, the two chosen victims bear up
manfully (kind of odd, considering one of them is the aforementioned
CCWill), even going so far as asserting - well, the one fellow does,
anyway - that "this is actually pretty good."

I think his taste buds may have been shot off in the war or something.

The third round has Terrell wading through the audience for questions,
and there's a fair amount of 'stump-the-panel' going on (although the
one audience member offering a Ranma question when Terrell
specifically asked for an Evangelion question gets his share of
abuse).  Terrell has a preference for the ladies with questions,
though I'm not about to let him sit next to me so I can quiz the teams
on Aya Sawada's pen name - if for no other reason than his own safety,
as Dan-chan's getting furious about his treatment of the contestants.

It gets worse when Blue team loses a second time, and is faced with
the Ultimate Challenge.  I'll get to that in a minute, but first, an
explanation.  Dan-chan *hates* the color red.  With a passion.  He
doesn't even like to see a red team win.

For what it's worth, I had forgotten this, too.  I thought he was just
going into convulsions over what exactly the Ultimate Challenge
*was*...

...a bowl of chitterlings (or is that spelled 'chitlins'?).  

Every ethnic group has its one thing in its cuisine pantheon that is
revered, and yet left uneaten.  For the Scots, it's haggis; for the
Nordics, it's lutefisk; I haven't figured out about Japanese cuisine,
and frankly, I'm in no hurry to find out.  For the Afro-American, it's
this.  Really, it probably wouldn't be so bad for our contestants (all
of whom are white, as it so happens, and therefore presumably
unfamiliar with the stuff), except that Terrell takes pains to explain
*what* they are.  I won't go into details, but will refer y'all to a
comment by Bill Cosby why *he* doesn't eat chitlins: "There ain't no
food in that part of the pig; matter of fact, I think someone's
misspelled that word!"

Actually, Dan-chan's not the only one taking this poorly.  When
Terrell asks for the two victims, the one girl of the entire lot gets
pushed forward.  She doesn't take too kindly to this (it doesn't help
that it was one of the Four Guys), and she grabs a pitcher of water -
several of which are on the table to help the unlucky swallow their
pride *and* their poison - and heaves it at the fellow volunteering
her.

By this point, we're so busy trying to calm Dan-chan down that we
don't even catch whether or not anyone actually does eat the stuff,
although Terrell reluctantly offers to take a bite himself.  I'm on
the verge of taking Dan-chan and leaving the con for the night when he
flops down, exhausted from his little tantrum, and Konatsu offers to
watch him as well as the Otaku Big Date, coming up next in this room.

***

Meanwhile, I head downstairs to Steve Bennett's cel painting panel. 
Now, I'm not much when it comes to art.  I'm decent at calligraphy,
and I can paint reasonably well, but you'll damn well never see me at
a table in Artists' Alley or anything.  So why am I down here,
listening to Steve talk about his days of learning how to *really*
draw?

I probably should be embarrassed to admit it, but what I really am is
curious.  Tonight's class is specifically *hentai* cel painting.  So
how's the man gonna handle this crowd?

Actually, he doesn't let us get down to work straightaway; that's not
the Japanese way.  For the first forty, fifty minutes, he talks about
his experiences when he was first learning how to draw ("I was a Type
A artist: the type that thinks they're hot stuff, 'cause everybody
they know tells 'em so."  The other type, B, are the sort that thinks
everything they ever do is crap, and those that say otherwise are
either blind or just trying to make them feel better - which doesn't
work)  Apparantly, for the first several weeks of a month-long
apprenticeship with a respected Japanese animator, he did nothing but
menial household tasks.  When he finally was presented with pens and
paper, he was asked his favorite character (Lum - Urusei Yatsura was
big at that time) and least favorite (Mendou) - and then ordered to
draw Mendou a thousand times.

Steve was halfway through the stack before he realized: "This guy's
trying to pull a Miyagi on me!"

And to a certain extent, he's returning the favor to us by talking for
the first forty, fifty minutes of this (supposedly) hour-long panel. 
Impatience will not get you there, he says, Slow Down.  Besides, it's
not as if anything else is scheduled in this room afterwards, so we
can paint as long as we think we need to (or *can*, given the need to
sleep and what not)

Anyway, hentai.  Yes, painting hentai cels *is* different, and not
just for the obvious reaason of subject matter.  Certain techniques
are different for this genre.  Particularly in the use of white paint.
 Steve hems and haws about this particular issue, leading us to draw
the obvious conclusion.

We're wrong.  It's not about bodily fluids (at least not the one
*we're* led to believe)  It's a question of sheen.  Take a typical
cute-girl drawing, ratchet up the light/shadowed areas, particularly
skin, and suddenly she acquires this glistening aura of sweat or oil
or whatever and goes immediately from 'cute' to 'sexy'.

Apparantly, glasses are a big turn-on, too, Dorothy Parker
notwithstanding.

Anyway, I pick a reasonably tasteful shot of a girl in a babydoll
leaning forward (Steve offers apologies for not having any shots of
handsome men, but, as he insists, "I like girls, after all."  Just
'cause he *can* draw Mendou doesn't mean he *wants* to, after all),
and get to work.

Next thing I know, it's past 11pm, Dan-chan's looking over my
shoulder, and asking "Is that a picture of Ukyou?"

"Uh... no.  Just a girl..."

"Why's she in pajamas?"  Fortunately, Konatsu is short behind him, and
spirits him off to the video game room again.  Evidently, they'd
bailed out on Otaku Big Date early on in the program, as the language
was getting every bit as salty as the music that had preceeded the
Terrell Show.  They've been playing video games (on someone else's
nickel, literally, to start with - so now we know all the games run on
small change, at any rate) ever since, but Dan-chan *is* getting
curious, and both my kunoichi and I *are* getting tired.  Besides,
I've got *most* of it done: apparantly, it's rare that anyone every
finishes a cel in these sorts of panels.

As I'm preparing to pack up, Steve suddenly recognizes me.  Without my
traditional cap or "Ucchan's" T-shirt, I'm a bit incognito, but with
the three of us all together, he remembers.  Thus outed, I offer my
apologies for not having gotten him his okonomi-yaki at AIowa, which
he brushes off.  "There's always next year, right?"

***

We attempt to check the schedule on our way out, although the pile of
papers on the by-now deserted preregistration desk are all Friday's. 
The list posted outside the main video room, however shows very little
of any consequence, or at least, nothing requiring that we bound out
of bed early in the morning and make a mad dash to the hotel.  So we
head home, pile into bed, and decide to let nature take its course.

SATURDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2003

Of course, this means that it's almost 10am when we get up, and -
after bathing and breakfasting - past 11 by the time we head out.

Actually, we're not yet underway even once we're underway.  Konatsu
woke up wondering about a Halloween costume for Dan-chan for some
reason, and having hunted one out of storage, Dan-chan insists on
wearing it to AnimeReactor today.  It's a pirate costume, but to the
best of my knowledge, he won't look like anyone from One Piece.  He
points out that a lot of the people who do cosplay dress up as video
game characters; he *does* look like a character from his Lego
computer chess game.

It's not quite the same thing, though.  Like I've said before,
Dan-chan is no otaku, nor does he understand the "rules" of these
sorts of things.  Nor does he care to.  But for now, he's happy; who
am I to mess that up?

Well, not entirely happy.  He decides that the costume needs
something: specifically, an accessory like a dagger or cutlass.  So we
stop at Walmart to pick one up.  Now, it's true we could pick
something like this up at the convention; there's at least one dealer
offering live steel for sale.  Do remember, though, that Dan-chan's
only ten, after all - no age to be messing with real weapons. 
Besides, it's a cheap costume, why go overboard (although that might
be appropriate, considering the maritime nature of the costume) with
this?

***

We finally arrive around noon, and despite what I've just said about
the dealers' room, that's where we head first thing.  And it's pretty
crowded at this point.  I'm not about to lose another round of 'stump
the doujin man,' but I do buy a few manga volumes here and there:
Azumanga and Futaba-chan (Ironcat seems to have stopped issuing the
monthly comics somewhere into the sixth or seventh volume).

***

Our next stop is the video game room, and while most of the consoles
are busy, no one's playing Puzzle Fighter, which is clearly Konatsu
and Dan-chan's favorite.  So we play a round, and Konatsu beats
Dan-chan, Dan-chan beats me, and I beat Konatsu.  So who's the best
player, here?

We also discover a nearby PlayStation console vacated, so Konatsu and
I take a shot - literally - at a garden-variety shoot-'em-up, complete
with handgun controllers we fire at the screen.  Yes, I know we're way
behind the curve when it comes to video games, so what?  We still have
an old Atari 2600 we treasure at home.

We don't get far, although I vastly outpoint my kunoichi.  But when
Konatsu lets me play the game solo, I barely register the *losing*
score on our joint game.  "Well," 'Natsu-chan shrugs, "it's nice to
know I was necessary."

***

We've missed the first five episodes from this morning, but we drop in
on something called "Neighborhood Story."  I don't know how recent a
title this is, but it has an old-style appearance to it.  Maybe it's
the clothing styles, which seem vaguely reminiscent of the late
sixties/early seventies here in the States (of course, Japan has been
known to be behind the fashion curve on occasion.  And there are
always the occasional retro fads, after all).  Maybe it's the fact
that the lead character looks a lot like Sana-chan, if blonde and
slightly older (although not grown up in any sense of the term, if you
ask me).  Maybe it's the washed-out backgrounds, which make it look
like an anime take on 'Schoolhouse Rock' without music.

The characters are mildly amusing, but apart from Jiro (who's clearly
a type B artist), most of them are annoyingly self-centered.  Maybe
it's what comes of attending a school for artists - they all have that
irritating artistic temperment?  Anyway, it doesn't capture our
imagination the way we thought it might, and Dan-chan, never much for
reading subtitles, is thoroughly bored by it.  So we leave after
watching an episode and a half.

***

As we wander about the lobby, we run across a woman with a black
Labrador retreiver at the concierge.  Konatsu-chan has this thing for
dogs (much like Sakaki-san and cats - only my kunoichi knows how to
handle 'em without getting bitten).  Turns out, Lady is a guide dog in
training, and her name certainly fits her.

Both Konatsu and Dan-chan pet Lady quite thoroughly, while we chat for
a while.  Lady actually becomes the least of the topics.  Yes, the
woman is here because of the the convention, although not for herself.
 Her nephew is a rather freshly-minted (ie, within the past year or
two) otaku, and she's here for his sake.  She doesn't know much about
the scene, although she's amused by the cosplayers.  She expresses
concern, however, about the subject matter in some anime titles and
series.

Now, I understand that anime has a reputation outside of being rather
excessive on the violence and the sexuality from time to time, so I
offer to address her concerns.  After all, the fact that anime
addresses more complex, grown-up situations is part of its appeal, to
me, over American cartoons.

It turns out it's the latter of the two issues.  Granted, her nephew
is about fourteen or fifteen (judging from his brief appearance to
tell her about the stuff in the dealers' room - he's a reasonably
friendly sort, but clearly eager to dive in as opposed to chatting
about it), and knows everything about sexuality "or so he thinks," the
aunt adds sardonically.  But she'd rather he not be exposed to *too*
much just yet.

Personally, I prefer sex over violence any day.  Some actress once
complained that a scene in which someone's breast is hacked off merits
an 'R' rating, whereas once in which a similar breast is kissed gets
slapped with an 'X', and I couldn't agree more.  But I do understand
her concern.

Does she have any particular examples?  As a matter of fact, yes:
there's this one show where the girl's a computer, and in order to
switch her on, the guy has to reach between her legs... "Oh!" we
laugh, "Chobits!"  We do a bit to distinguish between 'ecchi' and
'hentai', and how Chobits falls into the former, milder category. 
Sure, Hideki seems to wind up in compromising situations with Chii -
and he's certainly a red-blooded male, after all - but all in all, he
knows right and wrong, and does his best to do right by Chii, even
though she's 'only' a persocon.  We do advise her to screen series as
she comes across them; bottom line, a well-informed parent is the best
defense against kids seeing what they shouldn't.

Besides, doesn't it help if the two generations share the hobby?

It does cross my mind, once we part company, that if she was talking
about 'Buttobi CPU' aka 'I Dream of Mimi', that'd be a whole different
thing - one that she ought to be concerned about.

***

In Artists' Alley once again, and Dan-chan is fascinated by a series
of sculptures of bugs, many of which light up.  However, they run
somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-$300, and we don't have that
kind of cash (and I doubt that any of the artists are equipped to take
plastic).  Kami alone knows how much he's asking for the full-size
alien female statue, complete with illuminated tubing and a spherical
implant filled with bubbling liquid that - now that I think of it -
looks rather womblike.

Dan-chan is upset that we spend so much money on ourselves as opposed
to him.  Part of that is because anime doesn't interest him to begin
with so why would we spend as much on him here?  On the other hand,
it's not like he has nothing from today's excursion; we point out the
three cloisonne pins (Kuroneko from Trigun, and the Cat Bus and Jiji
from Studio Ghibli - he's into cats, in case you wondered) as evidence
that we're just as willing to spend on him as ourselves.

***

Speaking of spending money, Dan-chan's also getting rather hungry, now
that it's mid-afternoon.  We're concerned that the café's prices will
be exorbitant, given that we're really rather isolated here in Hotel
Alley - the nearest actual restaurant is about a mile up the road (and
it's a Denny's).  But for six bucks for a sandwich, chips and a drink,
it's not *that* bad.  And as neither Dan-chan nor Konatsu know exactly
what they want on their sandwiches (and when they *do* decide, both
have to be made a la carte, as the exact combinations aren't on the
menu), we make the staff work for it.

I've noticed that, among the televisions they have mounted on the café
wall, at least one of them is usually tuned to the Cartoon Network. 
And accordingly, this means that once in a while, they're playing
anime in here as well.  Perfect.

Only they're not at the moment.  Something called 'Sitting Duck' or
some such, followed by 'Scooby Doo.'  It's enough to hold our
attention, when we're not dealing with making sure we don't miss our
mouths with our food.  Konatsu points out that for once, Velma's
wearing a T-shirt instead of her traditional sweater.  It's still
orange, though - some things *must* remain constant.

***

It turns out to be a pretty efficient approach; by the time we finish
eating (and I polish off the first of the two Futaba-chan graphic
novels), it's barely a half-hour before the first cosplay starts.

AnimeReactor's approach to cosplay is a little different from most:
they've split it up between walk-ons (which they've entitled 'Anime
Fabulous,' like a fashion show) and skits ('Cosplay Idol').  In all,
they have cosplay scheduled for the next four or five hours.  Good
thing we've just eaten.

The twenty-minute wait eventually stretches to fifty minutes (well,
that's one thing that doesn't change no matter *what* con you go to, I
imagine), and Dan-chan crosses the hallway to find a comfortable chair
rather than standing in line (or, in Konatsu's case, sitting on the
floor).  In rather short order, he's asleep.

Which, naturally, would be our cue for the line to start moving.  I
scurry back and *carry* him into the main room.

***

Despite the line, there is no orderly filing toward a seat here. 
That's in large part because there is no shortage of decent seating. 
The stage has been configured into a sort of catwalk, and the
contestants enter fom backstage, walk past maybe five or ten rows of
seats, strike a pose, then turn and walk off stage left.

That about sums up the activity for the next forty minutes.  I take
two whole pages of one-line-per-entrant notes, but between the fact
that I recognize so few of the costumes (like I've always said, I will
never get into all these video game characters, and Final Fantasy
continues to dominate the lists), even with the occasional nudge from
Doc to assist my identification.  It doesn't help that the girl doing
the MC duties is difficult to hear and understand, although she does
her level best to maintain a continuous fashion-show patter as each
individual or group comes out.  And finally, the edge of the catwalk,
where everyone poses for pictures (and there's a lot of flashbulbs
going off here and there) is far enough from the main stage as to
leave the contestants in darkness - you're gonna *need* them
flashbulbs, boys.

There are a few highlights: a guy dressed as Akane twirls Mallet-sama
- and drops it; Dr. Tomoe (Sailor Saturn's father) *boogies* onstage; 
Rabi-en-Rose is introduced with "who doesn't love a cute bunny girl?";
one Vash gets a big enough hand that he forgets which way is offstage,
while another one strips down to a series of leather straps crossing
his torso (to huge screams); someone shows up dressed as the
Rocketeer, and while it's not an anime (is it even a comic book
character?), one can appreciate the work that went into it; several
no-shows in a row begins to irritate the MC, and she makes her
aggravation known; Haruko Haruharu *charges* down the catwalk,
brandishing her guitar as if it were a bo staff; the main cast of
Trigun is introduced with "collect all four!"; and Belldandy wraps up
the show with another screaming ovation.

***

The announcement goes out that they need to clear the room for Cosplay
Idol.  Should have figured they wouldn't let us stay.  So we slip out
as quickly and unobtrusively as we can, expecting to find a line
already forming.

There isn't one.  So I plunk myself down to wait, while Dan-chan finds
that same comfy chair he slept in earlier.

Doc drops by with a picture he's gotten from Artists' Alley: a
character from the video game Metroid looking at Tomb Raider's Ms.
Croft and uttering, "Lara who?  Never head of you."  Since even *I*ve
heard of her, I can appreciate the humor.

Seems Doc's been keeping busy today.  Not only has he spent time (and
money) at Artists' Alley, he's been out helping folks who he's found
playing Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby.  He explains that he's got something
called an Eon ticket, allowing the systems to link or some such.  I
confess, I really don't understand much of it, so I find myself
smiling and nodding at his enthusiasm.  He admits that he hasn't seen
anyone else familiar here besides ourselves.

As we chat, we can hear the occasional applause and screams emanating
from the main room.  Did we leave too soon?  Well, if by that one
means we're missing the awards ceremony, yes.  I poke my head in to
see Haruko walk off with her guitar and her prize.  But as I barely
recognized half the entrants, it'd probably do no good to relate the
winners even if I *had* stayed for that.

***

The contestants filter out of the main room, and I get tired of
waiting - there's no line forming behind me, at any rate.  I will say
that, while some costumes gain a lot from an up-close look, some...
don't.  An example of the former is Erika Door, who's apparantly yet
another Final Fantasy character.  What sells the getup are these
elaborate tattoos running from her neck down to her cleavage (and
apparantly, beyond) as well as on her arms and on her exposed right
buttock.  Believe it or not, she claims to have drawn them on this
afternoon with a Sharpie pen (although the drawing on her rear is
actually on pantyhose, as she couldn' otherwise see what she was
drawing).  Very impressive, but not something you can see from the
crowd.

On the other hand, a girl dressed with black wings a la Morrigan
really impressed Dan-chan, who's gone nuts over the character after
all the time spent playing Puzzle Fighter.  But when we catch up to
her, we discover she's not Morrigan at all, but rather a bird from Pet
Shop of Horrors, a pet gone horribly wrong.  Turns out, her blouse
isn't actually pink, but (I presume fake) bloodstains.  Dan-chan
recoils.

We do run across a girl dressed as Yukino Miyazawa, in crisply pressed
uniform, holding a stuffed PeroPero (not one of Erika's creations,
mind you - she'd sewn this one herself.  It looks a little flattened,
but the way she's holding him, it might be considered
understandable)... and with red eyes, even!  This girl *is* a
perfectionist - and therefore perfect for the character.

Of course, to some, Dan-chan is no slouch in the costume department
himself.  He's still young enough that, even if it isn't an anime
character he's dressed up as, he's still cute enough to photograph. 
As evidence of this, a pair of *very* scantily dressed girls (they're
portraying Violet and Lily from 'Miyuki-chan in Wonderland') ask to
take *Dan-chan's* picture.  Pity that he's also a little young yet to
be truly enthusiastic about the opportunity, but I suspect that if he
was like that, he'd cease to be cute, so there you are.

Actually, he's not the only non-anime pirate wandering around. 
There's a girl dressed up as Johnny Depp's character from 'Pirates of
the Caribbean,' and based on the movie still she has with her, she's
not too far off.  Except for the voice, perhaps.  What's really silly
about her getup is that she and a friend are sitting in the hall,
*begging* for a handout in order to go out and get Chinese food.  What
kind of pirate does *that*?  She should just *take* the money from
folks!

***

Konatsu checks the schedule once again, and points out that the
Cosplay Idol isn't scheduled to start until 8pm, not 7.  So that's why
there's no line.  But what *else* is there to do, especially since we
expect a line to build up by then?  A Chii and two guys wearing caps
resembling the 'atashi' character from Chobits meander in, so we
follow.  Turns out, she was announced during AnFab, but didn't have
her costume together, so she didn't show up.  In fact, the Black Chii
counterpart is *still* trying to get her costume together, back in
their hotel room.

Since no one makes a move to throw us out, we plant ourselves in some
*choice* seats, and wait.  A staffer *does* come by, but only to say,
"Hey, I've seen you guys at Anime Central, haven't I?" and to make
sure that we're having fun here at AR.  The staff is nothing if not
solicitous.  And at any rate, sitting here beats standing around in
line any day.

We offer the fellow congratulations that the population has picked up
from Friday morning.   Apparantly, the con was counting on the fact
that Chicago city schools were to close at noon yesterday, but there
wasn't any noticable effect.  Basically, the upsurge came at about
three or four, more in line with the suburban schedule.

***

Unlike AniFab, Cosplay Idol has very few entries - nine in all, to be
exact - so there's no need to rush through the skits.  In fact, to
slow things down further, the guest judges are going to be offering
on-the-spot reviews, a la the Gong Show - and probably just as
objective.

While some of the judges barely register as they're introduced (one of
the Moy brothers, I believe, simply points out that "this is my first
time, so please be gentle"), most of them do their best to leave an
impression.  Steve Bennett makes his usual pronouncement of "Let's
have some FUN!", while James throws a shoe into the audience for some
reason (heckler?) and Terrell threatens any bad skits with leftover
chitlins.  Leave it to Amanda, however, to really steal the show: she
literally bounces onstage, and attempts to fly off, landing in a heap
beside the judges' table.  She's okay, apparantly, and husband Jason
shrugs as he's introduced, "how do you follow that?"  He's had at
least five years to deal with that question, though; you'd think he'd
have figure *soemthing* out by now.

It's clear that this is going to be more a matter of pure
entertainment than serious cosplay evaluation, I suspect - especially
since the judges have made it clear that bribes will not be turned
down.

***

Our first contestant is the guy dressed in Akane's gi.  He claims he
just got fed up with perverted martial artists ("especially that City
Hunter fellow," which gets a chuckle), doused herself with Nannichuan,
and is now in search of a good woman of 'her' own.  A girl in the
audience offers herself, but unfortunately, Akane doesn't hear this. 
And it costs him dearly; Steve, in particular, mentions he would have
given him twice the score he had if that offer had been acknowledged
and accepted.  As it is, he gets no score better than a five.

This is followed by two girls in Final Fantasy X gear (one is
introduced as a 'femme Cloud,' whatever that means), complete with
huge mother swords, and they proceed to hack at each other with them,
pausing to complain about broken nails, the impracticality of their
high heels and finally, "Why are we fighting, anyway?" "It's Final
Fantasy - what else are we supposed to do?"  At this point, a guy
shows up from backstage in similar gear: "And to save me, of course!" 
The girls look at each other for a moment, hack the guy down, and walk
off arm-in-arm.  Steve gives the yuri goodness a ten, but most of the
others give them sevens.  When it's pointed out that the girls are
sixteen (well, one is - the other's eighteen), Jason replies that
"That makes it better!" and gives them an eight.

The next character onstage is a fellow in a Texas football jersey
(what anime is *he* supposed to be?  And he's not making any friends
with this crowd by announcing that "the [White] Sox stink!") answering
mail: "Dear Strongman, what do you think of anime cons?"  And as with
the Sox, he insists they stink, too.  But at least he gives a reason:
it's all the cosplayers out there.  Sure, you have girls that dress
like the Sorceror Hunters (as they wlak onstage), but you also have
the likes of CardCaptor Will (ditto).  At this point, Will deals out
the 'Windy' card, and his petticoats fly up - with Tomoyo eagerly
filming the result.  Unlike Tomoyo, Terrell and James are absolutely
grossed out by the implications, and between them, give the skit one
and a half points.  Steve, on the other hand, gives Will all the
credit in the world for having the balls to get onstage and do that,
while Amanda simply admires Will's legs.

Dr. Tomoe is up to his old tricks; trying to manufacture an evil
Senshi, he creates Sailor NeoGermany, a burly fellow in a sailor fuku.
 At least you can't tell if he has a Bubba-like beard, since he's
wearing a black, red and yellow mask a la the Masked Rider (hell, for
all I know, Matrose neoDeutschland might very well be an East German
woman)  This Sailor isn't very cooperative, though - Tomoe is
threatened with "In the name of Der Speigel, I will punish you!"  To
combat this, Tomoe switches to Plan B - chugging some sort of Hyde
formula.  Two problems with that, though.  One, the cosplayer can't
down it in one gulp - or at any rate, can't keep a straight face - his
inadvertent spitting on the judges costs him.  Two, as Sailor Germany
puts it: "Why do these transformation sequenses have to take so damn
long?" just before he punches the mad doctor's lights out in
mid-trasformation.  Several judges refuse to give high scores because
of a lack of 'boobage,' as one puts it.  Sailor NeoGermany offers to
strip, but is turned down.

Two characters from different Final Fantasies - Riku from X, and a
heavily costumed Gogo from VI - get down and funky, but the only sound
is from the boombox they're using as dance music.  The joke? 
Eveidently Gogo has some sort of mime command... hence, no lines.  It
doesn't work for me (not being into Final Fantasy), but several of the
judges get it, and as a result, it scores well above CardCaptor Will
and company.

The next one captures Konatsu's fancy, and I don't know if that should
worry about that or not.  Basically, it's Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, but
he's all grown up.  And a pimp, complete with feathered hat emblazoned
with the same crooked 'C' logo that used to be on his baseball cap. 
Pikachu herself - yeah, she's a she - is his skimpily-dressed 'bitch'.
 Two characters (from Lodoss War?  Damn, but my notes are really
squirrelly, here) request 'Pika-ho's' services, but Mack Daddy Ash
claims she's reserved - for the judges.  But he does have others in
his stable: how about... CardCaptor Will?!  Several of the judges
short the skit of a ten simply for Will's appearance - they just can't
get past the crossdresser, for whatever reason (Konatsu suggests that
perhaps Ash should offer a actual girl in a future sketch, but one
dressed up as - and properly shaped for - Jigglypuff.  I think that'd
gross the judges out every bit as much, frankly - but then, that's the
whole joke either way).  Steve, however, gives a ten *for* Will's
nerve - he refers to Will as 'the Kevin Bacon of cosplay' - as well as
for Pika-ho's, and I quote, 'bling-blings'.  Others dole out high
marks simply for the bribe itself - and Pika-ho' makes good, snuggling
with most of the judges (I don't think she bothers with Amanda).

Another videogame sketch, but not using videogame characters this
time: InuYasha is playing a Gameboy (wonder if Doc Pearson managed to
upgrade it for him?), and not even the monk Marago can rouse him.  On
the other hand, Kagome can do it - with Pocky, you perverts!  Speaking
of perversion, two girls dressed with black wings (demons or
batgirls?) come out, pleading to bear the monk's children (Kagome's
response: "InuYasha, kill!"), but the monk is asking someone *else*
"Will you bear my children?": Steve Bennett.  "I've been asked many
things in my life, but..." and he gives them an eight.  Other judges
grade it well, too; I think the Pocky they're handing out has
something to do with it.

The Bakuretsai Hunter girls are back, and now I'm recalling a few
hours ago when they showed up in the video game room looking for a
fanboy they could abuse during the cosplay.  At the time, one fellow
expressed interest, but admitted it wouldn't go over well with his
wife, so... (well, neither part of that should surprise me, anyway) 
Turns out, they weren't kidding about the 'abuse' part, as they
introduce their 'Pain-in-the-Butt' workout program.  Their victim -
er, customer - clad in a karate gi, climbs onstage, and they order him
to do jumping jacks and military pushups.  And as he doesn't perform
fast enough for 'em, they start whipping him (hence the 'pain in the
butt' title) and even once kicking him in the groin (now, I know girls
aren't always as familiar with all of the male anatomy, but I'm pretty
sure that's NOT the butt), to the audience's shock - and later
laughter, as it turns out their patsy included a protective cup in his
costume.  They also wind up hauling Terrell onstage, and make him do
situps - they don't kick him, though, despite some other judges'
encouragement.  Despite (or perhaps because of it), he gives them a
ten, as do several others, either for the serious amount of fanservice
this delivers, or the fact that otaku-boy has given his all (they
don't know about the cup yet).  Steve's ten, in particular, is a long
time in coming, as he's videotaping the shenanigans.

This isn't an easy act to follow, but at least there's only one group
that has to.  Vash is carrying Wolfwood's cross for some reason (maybe
this is a spoiler for the second half of the series I haven't
watched?), when he discovers he's being followed by a ghost - or at
least, a guy in a sheet.  Turns out, it's Wolfwood, with a message
from the beyond... which he never gets the chance to deliver, as
Haruko Haruharu struts onstage, guitar on her shoulder like a baseball
bat.  Peering at Vash, she delievers her verdict: "oooh, red
leather... how original."  At this point, the group is joined by Dark
Vash, who shoots Haruko dead.  But since Dark Vash stripped to the
waist for AnFab, the judges clamor for an encore.  He obliges, but the
skit gets docked because they have to *ask*.  At least one judge would
offer more points if *Haruko* would strip; she takes off her jacket,
but the pullover isn't particularly conducive to getting farther. 
Oddly enough, it is Amanda who gives them the lowest score (a seven;
good, but not good enough to beat the PitB Workout), prompting Dark
Vash to assert that "Tiffany [Grant, Evangelion co-star] would have
given us a 9."

"Tiffany," Amanda counters, "is a bitch."  

After the laughter dies down, she quickly recants and acknowledges
that she and Tiff are, in fact, good friends, and she admires her
work, et cetera.

***

The judges congratulate themselves and AnimeReactor for the best
cosplay they've ever seen.  I'd argue that, but when Steve clarifies
(ungrammatically, but who cares?), "the funnest, anyway," I fold. 
It's been an amusing spectacle.

Now it's time to announce the winners.  Konatsu and I have been
keeping track of the scores independantly, so we know how it's gonna
turn out.  In third place is Mack Daddy Ash and 'Pika-screw,' as
Amanda refers to her.  Terrell takes the moment to apologize to his
girlfriend backstage for any, ah, reactions to Pika-ho's getup

The Bakuretsai Hunters are called up next, which puzzles me. 
According to my calculations, they should have won.  They don't seem
to notice (who's gonna do the math while they're in competition? 
That's just distracting) or mind.  Otaku-boy in the karate gi does
have a request - ice, for where he was kicked, to renewed laughter. 
Steve offers him a bottle of Miller Ice.  So close, and yet...

Vash and company are called up, and as they are, the MC offers her
apologies.  Apparantly my math wasn't off after all.  Still, second
place isn't so awful, although Dark Vash is still in a competitive
mood: he does a sort of dog-crawl move onstage, as if to challenge
otaku-boy.  He's up to the challenge, as it happens: he strips the top
of his gi off and attempts to copy Vash's moves.  Not a bad ending for
such a raucous event.

***

We hang out in the video game room until it's supposed to close,
playing the shoot-em-up console we'd seen yesterday.  We're having a
ball, until someone clears their throat behind us.  When we turn
around, we discover a line of at least five others waiting to play.

Aw, geez!  Why didn't you guys say something sooner?  We drop our guns
and make a break for it.

Outside the game room, I run across Erika Door yet again, this time
asleep in a chair.  Well, not exactly asleep... more like 'full':  a
deep-dish Chicago-style pizza at 11 o'clock at night will do that to
ya.  We talk about our individual convention experiences: her with the
cosplay and artist circles, I with fanfiction.  Apparantly, we've both
been going to many of the same cons, although she started later than I
did (not by much, though - AnimeIowa98 was her first experience). 
She's also been further afield, having gone to some of the east coast
conventions that I haven't had time or inclination to bother.

When I mention that she transacts business at these cons (as opposed
to myself, a mere fan), she points out that it's not always
profitable: in fact, here at AnimeReactor, she's just managed to clear
the price of the table and admission.  Still, it's better than I do. 
She asserts that anyone can be an artist with sufficient practice,
which I find hard to agree with (or maybe I have a different type of
artistic talent - writing - which isn't nearly as marketable).  But my
reply that I haven't the *time* to practice is shot down: "Hey, I have
a day job, too, you know."

Dan-chan, meanwhile, wanders into a nearby screening room, and when we
follow him in, we find he's willing to settle in for a while; a
rarity, given the subtitles (which he still chooses not to read)  On
the other hand, it *is* Lupin III.  So we grab seats and enjoy the
rest of the show.

***

As we leave, I decide to drop by the main programming room.  The
program lists something going on there that they've entitled the "Den
of Sin."  Granted, we probably can't take Dan-chan in there, but why
not check it out?

At least he won't be bored waiting for us; outside the room, we
encounter Lady and her mistress yet again, and while Dan-chan and
Konatsu pet her within an inch of her life, I check out the place.

It turns out to be little more than the usual after-cosplay dance,
although the actual dance floor is well tricked-out with black light
and anything that reflects it.  Several of the guests of honor are
seated onstage (they wouldn't dismantle that elaborate setup just for
this), but they don't seem to be all that enthusiastic.  Maybe they've
been short on sleep, too.

On my way out, I notice the volunteer in the Security t-shirt.  Was I
supposed to have been carded?  I ask him about the schedule; according
to the convention program, wasn't there supposed to be something
organized in here?  "Yeah," he shrugs, "they had more stuff planned,
but it was decided that in the interests of this being a family con
and all that..."
 
It gives me pause.  After stuff like the Terrell Show and all that,
it's a bit late to go for the 'family' label.  And at this hour of the
night, one would think they'd be able to dispense with 'family'
programming in any case, especially considering that he *is*
inspecting IDs as people go in at this point.  Oh, well... if that's
what they want to be now, that's their prerogative.

Actually, at some point down the line, Dan-chan darts in past the
bouncer, which merits the poor fellow a dressing-down from another
staffer: "What was that that just went by?"  I hope the guy doesn't
get into *too* much trouble, as Konatsu and I run in to retrieve our
errant boy.  But he's just staring at this light and that, and even if
something salacious *were* going on, he wouldn't likely notice a
thing.

More than any concerns about exposing Dan-chan to anything he
shouldn't be, we need to get home and get some rest for tomorrow. 
Besides, I don't really want to head home in the wee hours of the
morning, when I might be too drowsy to drive.  Best to head home
straightaway.

***

Not that we go to bed straightaway once we're home.  I start Googling
for Puzzle Fighter, as Dan-chan seems quite taken with it.  Turns out
it's been made for PlayStation; unfortunately, it's not being made any
longer.  Well, there's probably eBay, at any rate - and it's not like
we *have* a PlayStation in any case.  We'll get back to this some
other time.

SUNDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2003

Actually, there *is* one shrewd thing about AR's choice of time slots:
Daylight Savings Time.  We 'fall back' in the wee hours of the
morning, and gain an extra hour of convention in the process.

Well, some folks do.  We just gain the extra hour of sleep.  Or is it
an extra hour to rummage around the house looking for Halloween
decorations?  Because once again, we don't get back until about 11am. 
Not that it's a great concern - Sundays are usually slow, what with
people recovering from Saturday's activitys and what have you.

Actually, it's kind of weird as we take our usual first turn around
the dealers' room; we see a fair number of people with 'Sunday'-only
passes.  Of course, those *were* a steal a $10 (compared to twice that
for either of the other two days), but how much is going on today
after all?

***

Back to the video game room; at least, Dan-chan is guaranteed to enjoy
his time here.  The PlayStation consoles are all gone, but there's
still Puzzle Fighter.

Did I say he was guaranteed to enjoy himself?  I take it back, as he's
not too happy about losing to me.  But even so, he's no happier to see
me lose to a twelve-year-old that challenges me in turn.  Thankfully,
Konatsu is an expert at calming him down.

Several guys are in the middle of the room, playing hackeysack with
spare nickels.  The coin spins and sparkles as they kick and knee it
around, but it never quite touches the ceiling in its flights.

Elsewhere in the room, a fellow lies sprawled spread-eagled on the
floor.  Konatsu comments wryly, "ah, the effects of DDR on a body." 
Indeed.

I wander out of the game room momentarily, and spot a girl with a sign
pinned to her: "Make your mark on me."  On closer inspection, it turns
out that her hooded sweatshirt is covered with drawings made in either
a grey or silver pen by various artists and would-be artists
throughout the convention.

Upstairs in the café, a couple are chuckling over a Quicktime film
about a coffee bean raid: this red bean invades a party with all sorts
of brown beans, and starts shooting up the place.  I see the last 15
minutes, but there may have been a lot more to it; the guy tells me it
took nearly three years to put together.  Impressive, but I can't
imagine dedicating that much of my life to this sort of thing.  Maybe
I should just be grateful that others are willing to do so for my (and
everyone else's) enjoyment.

By Artists' Alley (where some folks already seem to be working on
taking down their displays), a girl plays with juggling sticks, and
well enough to garner a small audience.

Outside the dealers' room, one version of Nicholas Wolfwood's cross is
leaning against the wall.  "Please give this cross a good home," a
sign pinned to it reads, and includes an AIM address; evidently, the
folks who built this thing want to know what becomes of it.

Within the dealers' room, I take another chance at 'stump the doujin
man.'  This time, I win; he has no Abenobashi doujinshi, but he
recalls having seen a very nicely drawn one several times (and when he
describes it, I recognize it myself).  He also has no Ukyou doujinshi,
and in fact, he'd sold out of Ranma½ stock way back on Friday.  He
does point out that, back in the day, there were several doujin
circles who did Ukyou hentai almost exclusively (and one that,
apparantly, still does).  I grimace when he mentions that most of them
involved Ryouga - I've nothing against the lost boy, but I haven't
anything *for* him either - and he offers to look for scenes with 'me'
and 'my' spatula instead.  Nothing with 'me' and Ranchan, eh?  Still,
I take down his Internet particulars, and admit that I'll consider it.

***

Heard en route back downstairs: some fangirl dreaming of a live-action
version of Initial D starring Vin Diesel.

***

Did I mention that the escalator has been out since the wee hours of
Friday morning?  Well, it has.  I just walk down 'em to get back to
where Dan-chan and Konatsu continue to play games.  Right next to them
are a pair of girls duking it out on DDR - they're both working on
perfect combinations of well over 250 straight moves.

You know, I'm starting to suspect that the whole purpose of those
machines is to turn everyone who plays 'em into Pink Lady, boogieing
with that robotic precision and all.

***

It's barely after noon, and I check out the video schedules.  Two of
the rooms are playing live action stuff (Great Teacher Onizuka, and
Lone Wolf and Cub): that means only half the screening rooms are
actually playing anime at this anime convention!  Not only that, the
live-action stuff is playing in the larger of the rooms.  Not that
they need it: GTO's pretty sparsely attended.

***

We'd like to stay for closing ceremonies, but frankly, it's two hours
away, and there's nothing much to do here until then.  Not only that,
the fact of the matter is that the Art Auction is to be held "at the
closing ceremonies."  Does this mean just prior?  During?  After?  I'm
all for auctions, but generally I don't have the scratch to
participate by the end of a convention.  And I'm not much of an art
collector to begin with, anyway.

So, do we stay or do we go?

"Personally, I think we could watch more anime at home."

"Yeah, that'd be good."

We go.

***

It's a gradual departure, though.  We make one last stop by Artists'
Alley, where we encounter a fellow dressed as Drunken Ryo (or maybe
it's just sleep deprivation) who gives us the skinny on the games
we've been playing all weekend; something to think about hunting up on
eBay or some such, maybe for Christmas?

Also on our way out is the registration desk, and I stop by to ask:
how'd AnimeReactor do as far as turnout, anyway?  The girl with the
Hello Kitty hat shrugs, "Well, we broke a thousand."  There haven't
been a lot of preregistrations here, though - not that this worries
the pair at the desk.  Most of the registrations for this year were
done online, and they expect the same for the coming year.

We don't make any effort to buck the trend, ourselves.

The last person we run across as we leave the hotel happens to be
James, the organizer of the convention himself.  "Did'ja all have
fun?"  Yeah, we did, believe it or not.  We tell him how we miss the
fanfic crowds we normally hang out with, "yeah, a lot of the old otaku
are probably taking a 'wait-and-see' attitude to this, see if it
catches on."  For what it's worth, the dealers came away happy, so
there'll be another AnimeReactor next year.

"You signed up?"

We don't have the heart to say "no" outright.  As much as every
convention needs the support of anime fans, some just aren't for
everyone, and not everyone can support all the cons in their area -
we've even missed KazeCon entirely already.  Two is generally enough
for us, and we can't see jettisoning either of our old standards for
this one.

***

As promised, we do wind up watching more anime this afternoon once
we're home than we have throughout the convention; about four episodes
of Haunted Junction.

Well, Halloween *is* just about upon us, after all.  Might as well get
into the... ah... spirit... of the season.

***

Those of you checking the dates have probably noticed by now that
neatly four weeks have elapsed between the convention and this report.
 It's been busy at the Ucchan, and that's part of it, but that's not
unusual.  I should be able to work through that.

What's really kept this thing down is a general lack of motivation. 
Sure, I'd love to sell this event to y'all, especially since it would
mean I'd see a lot more of you at next year's Reactor.  But while we
*did* enjoy ourselves, we honestly couldn't say it was all that
different from any other anime convention we'd been to in the past. 
And what differences we did notice hardly recommended it for the
future.

I wish AnimeReactor every success, really I do.  But if it succeeds,
more likely than not it will be without me, without Konatsu, and most
likely, without the fanfic community at large.  It's a pity, but that
is how I see it.

Itsu mo,
Ucchan  ^_^