M.H. AND BLACK SEVENTEEN DO ANIMAZEMENT
Brought to you by: The Space Pope
Where were you on Memorial Day Weekend 2007? Having another boring cookout in a family member’s backyard, catching up with relatives you don’t remember the names of? If so, then you missed all the fun at Animazement 2007! Luckily M.H. and I are shunned by our families, so we had no prior obligations and were free to immerse ourselves from head-to-toe in anime goodness. And we have the pictures to prove it! Below, find some pictorial evidence of the highlights of Animazement 2007, through the eyes of the most underrated anime reviewers on the internet. *cough*
PIMPIN’ DA SHIRTZ
I had special shirts with the site logo and front page banner made for the convention. M.H. and I both wore one on Saturday and Sunday. We were recognized by exactly zero people (however, one really drunk guy thought he recognized us as Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, so it wasn’t a total loss). Although, the voice actors and other guests were impressed with the graphic when I had one of the shirts signed on the last day. My ego got bigger, and I was happy.
MST3K
We were lucky enough to catch up with Tom Servo and Crow before the Mystery Science Theater 3000 A Go-Go event, and they were gracious enough to pose for a photo. Sadly, M.H. and I couldn’t muster enough stamina to stay up for the midnight start time (must have been something in the Green Tea Pocky), and we missed it. So, once again, we put off work on a MSTing. What else is new?
MINGLING WITH THE STARS
From left to right: Toshifumi Yoshida, Michihiko Suwa, M.H., Craig, and Satsuki Yukino, during a photo-op after the Inuyasha panel. Luckily, the Inuyasha panel did not make me want to fall asleep nearly as much as the actual series did. It was worth sitting through just to hear Yukino, the voice of Kagome, belt out her trademark, “Osuwari!”
WITH APOLOGIES TO INOUE-SAN
Sadly, M.H. and I could not get a photo with our favorite guest, voice-acting superstar Kikuko Inoue, as she declined to have any photographs of her taken. So, we had a friend of ours from the UNCW Anime Club pose in her stead. Hopefully, next year we will be able to replace this picture with something that actually has Inoue in it. However, if she happens to see this picture, she will probably never come to the United States again and very possibly may sue us. I have done a bad thing.
GLORIOUS SCHWAG
Here is a photo of a figurine of Mizuho Kasami of Onegai Teacher that I purchased from the dealer’s room; one of the many items that made me so glad I got a raise last year. I was even able to get it signed by Inoue. I remember saying to M.H. after the autograph signing, “Buhh huuuhhh guuuh duh huhh huuuuhhhhhhhhhhh…” Then I think I blacked out for a little while. But I’m okay now.
ENJOYING THE FESTIVITIES
M.H. having a good time. Either that or he was still drunk from the night before. I’m thinking a little of both.
FEEL GOOD STORY
During the Anime Music Video Contest, the majority of the crowd broke out the cell phones and waved them in the air during this particularly sappy video. It was quite a spectacle, and probably mortified the creator of the video. It’s a good thing the vast majority of contestants were not present. Meanwhile I, one of the few video creators that were present, won nothing. To that I say, “Code Monkey not feeling so great.”
BOXY BROWN
Okay, so it has nothing to do with anime. But many aspects of pop culture were given their due at the convention. I should have known liberties were being taken when I saw the Burger King sneaking up behind Captain Jack Sparrow.
I WATCH THE PLACE WHILE THE MASTER IS AWAY
Apparently, M.H. and I weren’t the only ones having fun that weekend. When we got back to M.H.’s apartment after the last day of the convention, we found his cat Aya making a nest out of a couch cushion. As M.H. said repeatedly while I was there, if Aya wasn’t so cute, she’d have been dead long ago.
COSPLAY COMPLEX
What photolog of an anime convention is complete without a gallery of cosplayers? Below are a few of our personal favorites. In the interest of protecting the privacy of our fellow anime geeks, their faces have been blurred where applicable. Too bad for you guys, because the girl who dressed up as Rikku was freakin’ HOT!!
So that, in a very brief nutshell, is the adventure of M.H. and Black Seventeen at Animazement 2007. A good time was had by all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this became a yearly tradition for the two of us. So, if you should find yourself at Animazement 2008, and you see two very homely looking men with shirts that are clearly promoting a website no one has ever heard of, take a moment to say hi. And if you happen to be Kikuko Inoue, please, please, please can we have our picture taken with you?!
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