OMG, where to start! God, I hardly even remember what I did first!
Wait, that’s not true… the first thing I did was go and register at the media office to get my pass. It was here that I once again got to meet up and see Louisa and Charlie from last year. That’s right – Charlie!! That Charlie!! You guys know Charlie, right? The one who got me hopelessly hooked on One Piece.
Well, he once again earned a place in my writing, since he moved heaven and earth to get me an interview with J. Michael Tatum!!!! Who is J. Michael Tatum, you ask? Well, he is a prolific voice actor from Texas , having voiced such iconic characters as Kyoya Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club, Sebastian Michaelis (the butler) from Black Butler, and – my personal favourite – Doumeki from xxxHolic!!! I have made my love of Doumeki very clear in this blog space before, so I’m sure at this point you can imagine how excited I was!
Okay, I have to slow down. I’m using way too many exclamation points.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in…
Nope, can’t hold it in:
*SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!*
These, of course, were just some of the main highlights. I also got to go to a host club, of sorts, got to see Sailor Moon Battle Chess, see some amazing Cosplayers, watch some anime I haven’t purchased yet, learn about the start of the convention and the ins and outs of how it works, learn about the style and culture of actual male hosts in Japan, and just enjoymyself surrounded by fellow otaku!
Needless to say, it was a packed weekend, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I will retell one story from the Masquerade, witnessed by one of my travelling companions and photographers.
First, a quick description of what the masquerade is, for those who don’t know. For all of the convention’s participants who dress up in cosplay, there is a sort of talent show/fashion show where they can compete for the best costume. You have to sign up ahead of time to participate, and you have to get your tickets as a spectator ahead of time as well. This is because it is the most popular event at the convention – by a long shot.
So, this year, one of the entries was a pair dressed as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, dancing a waltz as the well-known piano theme played. All of a sudden, there were some scratches as the music was interrupted, and a voice came over the system. It was a male voice, saying: “My partner doesn’t know about this, but I actually have another reason for being here. I’m here to ask her to marry me.” He then gets down on one knee and pulls out a ring.
This, my lovely readers, is Otaku love. The audience went wild, Sailor Moon went into hyper-embarrassment-mode, and she also said yes. I wish I had been there, but I’m glad I at least got to hear the story.
In the next couple of weeks I’ll be bringing you other stories about the con, and links to articles about my interview with J. Michael Tatum, the resurgence of Sailor Moon, and maybe even about Cosplay culture in general.
Let me know if there is anything else you guys want to hear about!
Until then,
Jya ne!
