General thoughts about Sakura Con 2003: First off, organization was non-existent. It just *wasn't* there. So with the exception of perhaps the AMV contest and the dance, we sort of ended up not knowing what we were doing until a few minutes before. Like Nagahama's panel, which was originally scheduled for Friday afternoon, then Sunday morning, then, wait -- he wandered into another autograph session (can't blame the poor guy, he was probably bored) so let's goooo and get him to sign stuff before other people find out~~~ XO

Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy it. Despite having no Ishida Yoko (;_________;) there were still the standard con events, like cosplay and AMVs, the dance, the dealers' room. Plus, it was con -- there's something really nice about wandering around and feeling out of place because you *aren't* in costume. XD (Neko-chan mentioned how there was still that reflexive reaction to Turn Around and Look whenever you saw someone wearing bright clothing ... even when we were in Red Robin for lunch, after we left the hotel. XD;;) I feel a bit bad about the non-con-goers who were probably scratching their heads (and/or hiding their children) at the sights and sounds of otaku at play. Not to mention the poor hotel staff, who'll have to deal with the towels we used during cosplay prep, or the lingering scents of unwashed bodies in the dance hall. ^_^;;

(There are not so good things about being among a large group of otaku, however ... such as going into the artists' showcase room and hearing a very loud and persistent group of girls behind you squeal repeatedly over the picture of Lina in "a-SOO-ka's" plug suit. >_< Urge to kill ... rising ...)

Anyhoo, specific stuff -- dealers' room was as we expected, despite the fact that the SakCon staff NEVER ACTUALLY POSTED THE EXHIBITORS LIST ON THEIR SITE. XO US Anime was there, though, and that's all that really mattered to me. XD;; I can't really complain about their selection, because they had several boxes of doujinshi, but ... all but one of the RuroKen yaoi was SanoKen, which of course is not a problem -- but it was almost entirely MO Dorigumi, and I'm not really a fan of their style. No Sannasubi. T_T Some Yami no Matsuei, Escaflowne, of course lots of Gundam Wing, and Gravi ... They had some Yuu Yuu Hakusho, but it sold out before we got there -- to staff and dealers, I assume, because we got in with the first group on Friday morning. (Am going to just assume there was nothing by Private Label or Tohru Azumi, because ... because otherwise I might cry. ^_^;;) They *would* have had Saiyuuki, but the guy in charge of packing FORGOT THE BOX WITH THE 'S' SERIES. ("Yeah," the guy says, "so we don't have our Saiyuuki, or Shaman King ..." Me: "You had Shaman King??" O.O) Though at the very least, it was fun to hear the guy 'advertising his wares' ... "Red hot yaaaooooiiii ... Get them with their pants off ... HOT GAY PORN!" XD;;;; (Sayeth one of the security guys: "I've been getting complaints from some of the other dealers that you're annoying them. Keep it up.")

As for the other douj -- kept on the other side of the table to protect the sensibilities of some of the rabidly-hetero-fanboys, I guess -- it was overwhelmingly hen. I swear the yaoi side had less explicit stuff than this. :P I did get what I believe was the only gen RuroKen book, at least, an early one by Yamaguchirow ... but NO VIOLENTLY HAPPY. T_T I asked the seller why they don't bring more non-hentai, and he said it "sells terribly at cons." *hissgrowl* (I briefly considered promising to buy out their entire collection of gen douj if they brought it next time, but. ^_^;) And of course there's the Amazing Switch-Cover Furuba Douj. We were so happy to find Fruits Basket books that hadn't already been snatched up by the staff, especially this one whose beautiful cover had a lovely group picture with Tohru, Yuki, Kyou, and Momiji ... until we got back our room and actually flipped it over. And found out it *wasn't* gen. @_@ So from the front, it's "Aww, how cute!" and from the back, it's "WTF!?"

The main events were somewhat disappointing in terms of content, though I've sort of come to expect that. ^_^; We missed the cosplay contest, though from the bits we saw on the re-broadcast we didn't miss much. O.o No karaoke contest, either. AMVs were on Friday -- decent, but nothing outstanding. They need to have a giant spoiler warning at the beginning, I say. ^_^; I also think there needs to be a rule that for an "Action" entry you have to actually accomplish more than splicing a bunch of flashy violent scenes together, setting it to heavy rock music, and shoving it at a willing audience. ~_~ I actually ended up voting for the least action-oriented video, a Read or Die one that was more about Yomiko pining after Nancy than any action. But that was fine by me, because I like Yomiko. ^_^ In the Drama category, I chose -- brace yourself -- a Seisou Hen video! Because it was nicely done, and the scenes they chose were vague enough on the plot that my mind wasn't screaming "Canon rape!" the entire time. (Am I bitter? Of course I'm not. XD;;) It actually made me ... kinda ... like Seisou Hen. o.o! Anyhoo, there was also a Comedy category, in which my vote went to a video entitled "Pikadiator" -- because Pikachu speaking with Russell Crowe's voice is just too much fun. (Also, the only other movie parody vid, one with Eva and The Messenger, had Asuka as Joan of Arc. It seemed undecided as to whether it was supposed to be amusing or offensive. XP)

The dance on Saturday was better than I anticipated. Or perhaps that's because I was expecting something like a high school dance, and that's what it was. With better music, of course. I missed last year's masquerade ball terribly, though. :/ (They did play the waltz from FFVIII, at least ... the only problem being that Dianne was the only one who actually knew how to waltz. ^_^;;) I missed having my usual dancing partner, too, because I was reduced to inflicting Eric with my limited memory of swing. But we tried valiently. ^_^;;

(I'd also like to note that "Yakusoku wa Iranai" is an impossible song to dance to. It's not slow enough to slow dance, nor does it have a discernable beat for steps. A gorgeous song, of course, but simply incompatible with any sort of physical, dance-like movement. O.o)

Cosplay in general was good. The funnest part may have been dressing these two up. XD It has been decided by the kitty and myself that we too shall cosplay next year (and yeah, I know I said that *last* year, but) ... the only problem is who to do. The thing with a Misao costume is, though it should be relatively easy in terms of finding materials and sewing patterns, I don't relish the prospect of running around in shorts and a sleeveless gi. At least if we go as AzuDai girls, we can use their winter uniforms. ^_^; I've been somewhat intrigued by Pai Meilin's Lotis outfit from Alice 19th, though ...

As for today, it's just been slow and sleepy in general. ^_^; The temptation to just crash was strong, and I know at least I gave into it, as soon as I got back into the dorm. First order of business after that was a shower to wash off the lingering otaku funk; and after that, I have been unreservedly unproductive, and in constant denial of the return to class and the real world tomorrow. XP

That's about all I can glean from my sluggish, sleep-deprived brain. There are various other things of note, such as the family cosplaying Akazukin Chacha (with a BABY WOLF-VERSION OF RIIYA XO) ... or the freaky conga line at the dance ... or the fact that I didn't see nearly enough of you (I say self-endangering DDR contestants should be held responsible for their own injuries XP) ... but I'll stop. I might even turn in early tonight. We'll see. ^_^;