Anime Boston – Post Con Snippets

It’s been about a week since Anime Boston 2007 came to pass, and post-convention funk has already seeped into the souls of most of us. However, I’ll take the time to touch upon a few things that I personally can report on in terms of my opinions about this, the convention’s fifth year of existence.

As this was my first convention, I was unable to attend any of the panels or workshops due to my inexplicable need to whore around in cosplay. There were plenty of great costumes that were featured, but of course these were drowned out by an oversaturation of Bleach, Naruto, and Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy groupings. This was their year, as it will no doubt continue to be for some time and there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that. It’s just a wee bit disheartening to see unique and beautiful cosplay of Count D from Petshop of Horrors being overshadowed by a man in a very uninviting Tifa costume.

What I found interesting was right outside the artist’s alley, there was a table set up which had a projector being aimed at a sheet on the wall behind the table, and was featuring the Japanese release of the new Bleach game for the Wii, Bleach Wii: Hakujin Kirameku Rondo. This game featured you fighting your opponents with swords, which you used by slashing using your wiimote. This was the first game I’d seen using the wiimote in such a way, and actually garnered my admiration quite a bit. Of course, it was also amusing seeing people practically have seizures using the wiimote to hack away at their enemies.

The Dealer’s Room in one of the meeting halls was, from what I understand, larger than it had been in the previous year. Beyond the dozens of tables featuring anything from die-cast models of Gundam figures to manga and plenty of hentai, the room also featured the Art Auction, where artist submitted their art pieces for people to bid on. Despite the large area of the room, it was still close quarters trying to maneuver between tables and rows. Again, this was not helped by the sheer amount of people, but that’s the price you pay. Beyond the overpricing of say, Masterpiece Megatron, but that is neither here nor there. I managed to pick up an Axel figure from Kingdom Hearts 2. It was too nifty to pass up.

The experience was intense. From watching Batman get his groove on during the Anime Rave, to seeing Darth Vader walk around in a Sheraton robe drinking out of a martini glass, the whole thing made me feel amongst my own. This is, of course, with the exception of the incredible amount of people walking around with cat ears. I honestly thought people were joking when they claimed their numbers, but now I am all the wiser. Regardless, Anime Boston very much made for a memorable time and something I will be all to excited to do again next year.

Until then, See You Space Cowboy.