Ani-Com 2008!!!

I can't believe its been a year since the last ani-com!!! (here's my pictures from that one - pt 1, pt 2)  もう一度アニ・コム時です！すごい！香港のとても大アニメと漫画会。もう一年出た！（享年のイベントの写真： pt 1, pt 2）。一年間から、一寸忘れた-とても人一杯にイベントですよ！

Its only been a year, but I forgot one thing about last year's ani-com...

How insanely crowded it can get -

you couldn't even get to the venue without wading through a huge crowd...  full of obstructions and jams of all type...

in this case someone decided to give away free drinks in the middle of the pedestrian bridge...  i like the outfits... but i wasn't going to stand in line to get a drink. (oh, did i mention it was Hot AS HELL all weekend...)　暑いから、お外でキャンペーンガール無料飲み物をくれた。

I met with PemaPema-chan for lunch nearby and then made it finally to the front entrance. 

Luckily for me i was able to sign up for a press pass, so I avoided the insanely long line for ticket holders to get in... 

and it felt even more crowded than last year...   chock full of booths and displays and shoppers and browsers and cosplayers...  you name it... 　人とても一杯だった。

Optimus Prime was there too!  (they did a pretty good job making this... especially considering that these kinds of trucks don't even exist in Asia...

Oh wait, whats that causing all that commotion in front of the truck?  Its the highlight of Ani-Com... the geeky's wetdream if you will...  girls in costumes!

In this case Transformers Inspired costumes...

The one on the left is some sort of Starscream-inspired outfit, and yes, the girl on the right is a very creative expression of  Soundwave.

As you can see,  they were getting a lot of attention...

I've never been to E3 or the San Diego Comicon,  so I can't compare, but I'm guessing the HK Ani-com has at least as many, if not more of these guys running around with cameras snapping pictures of all the girls... 　(whether they be promo girls hired to be there or just enthusiastic cosplayers).

Here's perhaps an even more extreme case...  worse than the paparazzi at a movie premiere! (for some X-box 360 girls... who weren't even hot...) :-P

Sorry,  i used to live in Japan... I've got high standards for my campaign girls! 

It was insanely crowded, so I didn't stay too long, here's a few more photos on my way through towards the exit:

Fans line-up to get an autograph from some famous Japanese manga artist... the sign that guy's holding up says 'no picture taking',  he would hold it up in the way any time he saw someone aiming a camera... 

(cause taking a picture steals some of your soul?)

I took this one just for Justina

Oh, some familiar names!

Outside in the lobby,  there were lots of cosplay people showing off their work and posing for the camera guys:

one of the fancier sewing jobs i saw... 

As i don't watch much anime, i don't really know what this is supposed to be (other than two girls with unnaturally bright hair...)

These girls were getting a lot of attention:

Got my attention! ;-)

I have to give this guy the Etchy's Choice Award for the fanciest costume... he pretty much made himself a full suit of armor...   Was it worth the trouble?  well he seems to have attracted a nice female friend with his superious costume skills...  good job! 　一番すごいなコスプレー人をと思います！何漫画からですか？（僕は漫画とアニメあまり知りませんが。。。）

Long time etchy blog readers know about my unhealthy interest in maid cafes...  so I had to stop and take a picture of this girl... (she was pretty cute too!)  but Etchy's not really in to the goth types...( gothlolior not) sorry girl on the right... :-P

僕はメードオタクから、この可愛女の写真を撮れなければなりませんでした！

Before leaving,  I stopped to check my email using the free wifi in the convention center.  it turns out where I was standing was the 'Cosplay corral'  for all the cosplayers to prepare and wait for their costume competition rounds or something... there were literally hundreds of people in all sorts of costumes.  Some were sitting on the floor relaxing, some were chatting and taking pictures...

Some last minute preperations...

Most were relatively unremarkable, so I didn't take out my camera... til I saw this oddity:

これが何？

When I first saw him his back was turned I just saw a white robe and pointy white hood and thought -

"Holy shit, there's a guy who did cosplay as a member of the Klu Klux Klan!"

ＫＫＫを知っていますか？如何してＫＫＫ風を着ますか？

Then he turned around and I realized he was wasn't dressed up like a KKK guy....

  Instead he wearing some kind of medieval knight's outfit.... complete with sword....  and a klu klux klan hood... 何ですか？騎士ですか？ＫＫＫ騎士？アニメのキャーラークたーですか？

Not a really smart knight either... he was trying to fan himself to cool off despite being entirely covered from head to foot in a costume...  and he was wearing glasses under his hood. 

Is this some kind of anime character?  Can anyone clue me in?!?

Things got even funnier from there - He tried to sit down, but about half way down he realized that his 'suit of armor' costume was too tight and he had to stop and struggle to stand back up again...

I caught this photo of him in mid-kneel... Dude -. you'll never make it as a medieval racist if you can't kneel down to get knighted!

He was talking to some of his other cosplay friends, some of whom were dressed up like commandos of some sort... after a minute he went to join them in another part of the lobby...

Any he brought one guy's H&K G3 over with him..... how chivalrousof him...