AnimeLondon - Cons & Cosplay - Anime North 2007

Preloiminary report

Fridays at Anime North yield as many pictures as Saturday even though it's only half a day. Expect me to be busy, busy busy with con pictures.

Friday's Gallery

Caught the 8:30am bus out of London early though there was already a lineup. Surprisingly we all fit on one bus. Priestess was also boarding after waiting in vain for a frined to show. All told there were 7 or more people heading to Anime North on this bus. None but two and myself had any clue how to get up to Anime North.

I help direct a trio fo girls to subway station then went back to check on Priestess. She had someone picking her up so I hurried to catch back up to the three girls. I meantion the trip was long and they should take a break. TTC has no washrooms that I know of and prices of what food there is is steep at none o the stops along the way. I ended grabbing a transit map for them and noting the stops and busses to take.

I finally for to Casa Nina, a bed and breakfast I have been using for years for both Anime North and Fan Expo. It was to my surprise that owner was planning to sell the building. This news is sad that this may well be the last time here. The place is always a warm atmosphere and Sandra my second landlord and friend.

I unpacked my clothes and tried to see if I could get a wireless connection. No luck. Still I'm able to write my report for one time while stuff is fresh in my mind. I'll have to check for wireless conneciton somewhere nearby so I can upload.

I made quick rounds in the neighbourhood for WiFi spots with little results. The local library was yet to have WiFi while they didhave internet access. Second Cup has WiFi for a price. The local internet has no wifi spot. It did give me a chance to see the neighbourhood with their front lawns in full bloom.

I headed out about 2pm for Anime North to the long bus ride. Having read the newsletters I headed to registration after a much needed pit stop at Tim Hortons. The line up at the time for pre registration was long compared to no lineup for registration at the time. I immediately begin to check out the wrestling demo near the registration. Somehow in that short time, my con badge vanished in a matter of minutes. I retraced my steps to no avail. Lucky with the lack of registration and the staff who I just registered with still there, I was lucky to get another badge. Any other time, I would have been fubar. I t did leave me with settled feeling which caused me to be parnoid about my badge and my gear.

I manage to meet with one masquerade staff which directed me to the table to were I could get a wristband for Saturday's masquerade. I decided to then go through the artist alley to see old friend's of the 4 Koma Project. With funds being tight I could not run 4 Koma at AnimeNorth this year. Instead I handed out blank pages with the instructions that they could just do some 4 komas with friends and keep the results. What I might do is those artist's can post their 4 Komas on their sight and I'll link to those 4 komas.

The dealer's room was it's usual busy state. With the initial lineup gone, the path to the dealer's room snaked with posts and ropes. A single person in a wheel chair approached while I walked through the maze. I lift up the barrier so he didn't have to take the long way through.

My search for a Ermine plushie from Mahou Sensei Negima proved fruitless. Though it di yield finding Dragon Mango's booth. It was good to talk to Mark Spague once more in person. I mention the possibility of resurrecting the podcast with the success of our past president with Kung Fu Action Theatre. Though at this time, it isn't the top concern at this time.

I got a burger at Harveys. Though there was a long lineup, it moved quite fast. I devoured the burger and headed to the Doubletree for the skit night.

Later on I managed to catch some of the cosplay chess going on before the Skit Night. Skit night, being my first time at this event resembled moe a dance number of Anime North than performance of skits. Still it was entertaining and brief. The host was witty and more up to the genre of Anime than the hosts of past with the exception of last year's host. It was also a time to work out the whiteout problem with last year's video. I found the AE setting of spotlight got rid of the problem without the neutral density filter I had but forgot about. My switching of tapes and batteries were more clumsy but there was less pauses between skits to quicky change both tape and battery. O coures, this adds one more level of editing to be done later.

Skit Nite's Gallery

With Skit night being so late, it was pointless to head back to the Artist's Alley or the TCC. I went over to Tim Horton's for a coffee then waited for the bus. Once again, I met Nightko and this time we were able to catch the bus together. He pointed out an error in last year's con report. The problem of having to wait until after the con is over to remember everything. At least the new to me laptop has helped in this.

About 1 AM, I made it back to the house where I was staying. I transferred the day's pictures and video to the laptop and backup hard drive. Having backups in two locations is the smart thing since no telling what can happen at a con or with your equipment. I have had flash cards fail so making daily backups at cons is a MUST. With fatigue setting in from a busy Thrusday running around getting things ready to go to the con, I was more than wiped and simply crashed on my bed.