This... Is... Expo

In the many years since Anime Expo first begain in 1992 I have never been to one. This year I was going to be in Los Angeles on travel for work, and I was able to extend my stay a few days and try to make it for once. I was also hoping to find some more artists for the game projects in the artists alley.

It took a lap around the Convention Center to find the line for people who hadn't pre-registered. It started in the the parking lot, it went to the end of the parking lot, and doubled back.

Camera time says this was taken at 1:06 PM, it was after I'd already been in line a while and decided to show folks just how long this line was.

As we got closer to the building we saw this Cloud cosplayer, this sword was really heavy, he made the thing from 12 gauge steel.

Looking down over the Line for Registration was this Captain Jack Sparow, perched atop a bridge across the street from the Convention Center. He was the first of many Captain Jack's we'd see today.

Being a Gundam fanboy for many year I had to take this guy's picture, though try as I might I can't tell you what rank he's supposed to be because he's not wearing any. Hmmm maybe its time I tell google to index my Gundam Ranks page.

Ok, here we have Anko and Kurenai two Jonin from the Hidden Leaf village fighting with their Kunai knives, over what I wonder? Who gets the last cup ramen?

Ok, this is the line wrapping around the convention center, we're on the far side of a little circle that runs in front of the building. Camera time 2:09 PM

This is a cosplyer as Itachi and someone he's with. For the benefit of people who weren't there he had crazy red contacts, though I can't get close enough to see if they were Sharingan contacts or not.

Look everybody its Domo, kind of an animate block with teeth. There was a kid dressed up in cardboard boxes as the mighty robot Awesom-O, and another kid as a well done box of Pocky.

There was a cosplyer dressed as Master Roshi from Dragon Ball Z, but I couldn't get a good picture of him I was standing to his side and didn't want to leave the line.

I asked this guy if I could get a picture of him as he was walking by the line, even though he had his helmet off, and stuff... He was kind enough to oblige me.

Camera time 4:23 PM we were just under the overhang at the Convention Center main entrance.

I put away the camera while running through registration, there was a guy on staff dressed up as one of the Warriors, you know from the 70's gang movie 'The Warriors' and I really wanted to get a picture for one of my players who brings it up whenever we play Morrow Project. However, not wanting to hold up the line, I didn't break the camera out again until I saw the folks outside registration doing the 300 Cosplay Camera time 5:04 PM

During the day I saw lots of Final Fantasy and Naruto characters that I'd have like to have gotten pictures of, but shooting from the twisting registration line is a crap shoot. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Right after the Spartans picture I turned around and took a shot of the people stil left in line, camera time 5:05 PM

I walked from Registration over to the Promenade where Artists' Alley was and hoped to find some new artists, and catch up with somebody I met last year. I got a powerade to help deal with my mild sunburn and hours of dehydration, then I walked up and down the Artist's Alley exactly once, by the time I was done it was 6 PM, I was still worn out, my feet hurt, and the concessions people were packing up, worse yet, the Dealer's Room was closed.

I walked my exhausted self two blocks down to the Metro station and hopped onboard a train bound for LA.

To be continued... Day Two