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| Oni-con 2005 |
| After 3 months of planning, we did it. Larry, me, and Bill packed everything into our car and we drove the 5+ hours to Houston, Texas for Oni-con. As we were pulling up to the hotel, we heard the Oni-con radio spot begin. They were talking to Vic Mignogna and Alyssa - the con's director. Vic was entertaining as usual and we had a good laugh before we went to check into our hotel. While we were trying to get situated in our hotel room (housekeeping had left a vacuum and a cart in there) I spotted Mandy, one of the Risembool Rangers I've talked to on-line quite a bit, waiting to check in. I went over to say hi and met Laura, also a Ranger. They told me they'd call on Friday to meet up. The early registration was cancelled due to the fact they didn't have their computer with the information. (Why they only had one is beyond me.) So we decided we'd have to get up early for registration. Okay, I'm going to go ahead and give an overview of Oni-con, becuase there was a lot more involved in what happened there. There were several ways it was different from A-kon. 1- It wasn't as big so there weren't as many panels, or booths in the dealer's room. However, we did notice that we got better deals than we ever had at A-kon, which is why we ended up buying so much. Believe it or not, when we put it all down to take a picture, the swag covered our entire living room rug. 2- Oni-con was only in its' second year I believe. It was very disorganized and nothing started on time. (But at A-kon 15, nothing started on time either.) The staff is also very young. Not saying young people can't do amazing things. It's just, they weren't as prepared as we see at A-kon. In all, it is a great first con... A-kon can be quite intimidating to a first-timer. After the weekend was over, we decided that if we have the money, we will go to future Oni-cons. It's a great place to get less expensive swag. The room rates aren't insane, and with only a 5 hour drive, it's a nice weekend getaway in the first place. Okay, now into what happened at the Con. Registration started at 8 am... they were still very disorganized. We decided to chill and walk around until the Opening Ceremonies. Opening Ceremonies - First off, it is a bad idea to have Opening Ceremonies at 9 am when registration only started at 8 am. The audience was scarce, the voice actors and other guests were sleepy, and the rest of the staff were still running around getting prepared and dealing with registration. However, the voice actors were good sports and all showed up in their pajamas (which was so cute). There were a few who weren't told and showed up in their normal clothes. My favorite pajamas were Mike McFarland's. He had an Oscar t-shirt that said 'I love trash'. It was bright yellow and at the end of introducing himself, he said, "And Yes, this is my favorite t-shirt." Before the opening ceremonies started, Larry caught a few of them napping in the seats. First Voice Actor Panel - After the opening ceremonies and anime password, we headed to the first voice actor panel of the convention. It was a blast. As we waited for Kira Vincent-Davis and Chris Ayres, Greg Ayres entertained us with his jokes and complaints about the hotel. He announced that it would be cheaper for him to park across the street at Six Flags than to park in the hotel parking lot, which was $20 a day. Also, he talked about the terrible accomodations at the hotel. (It was really bad. It was as if they hadn't prepared at all for such a crowd. There was nowhere near enough hotel staff to take care of everything.) The voice actors at the first VA Panel were Monica Rial, Greg Ayres, Chris Ayres (and his monster cup), Kira Vincent-Davis, Jamie McGonnigal, and Dan (I never caught his last name, but he played in Robotech.). After the panel, they had an autograph session. The Rangers were there, Mandy and Laura, along with two other rangers, Kristy (Clex) and Jamie. We got a couple of group pictures. For one of them, Chris Ayres was waiting to walk by and we told him to get in the picture. It turned out really cute. Funimation Panel - Well it was sweet and sour in a way. Sweet in that they revealed a lot of new merchandise coming out. Mike McFarland flipped over the "I Love Kyo" pants. Hehe, I think he would look good in them. They also revealed a Fullmetal Alchemist watch that is coming out. It has the correct date engraved in it, and the chain seems better as well. Okay, the reason it was sour was because they had an announcement for Oni-con, but Lance called them and told them not to make the announcement. *cries* It turns out, the next thing they announced was Negima. We had been waiting for that to be acquired, so it stunk that they didn't make the announcement at Oni-con. Instead, we had to read it through animenewsnetwork.com Game Room - We tried to get into a game in the game room, but we could already see how it would be (and was) for the entire con. The controllers never switched hands and no on had the nerve to step up and make the idiots take turns. So a handful of people played, while more crammed into the room wanting a turn, and never getting one. The Oni-con staff SHOULD have had someone there to ensure equal chance so that more people could play. In the dealer's room, we bought all three seasons of Red Vs. Blue and I bought a Khimono, socks, and the traditional sandals. It was part of an anniversary present I was working on for my husband. The rest of the day we rested, since Saturday is the biggest day after all. Saturday was the most... exhausting day ever. It started with Fanboy Feud, which I got picked for. My team didn't win, but when hearing everyone's background in anime, it isn't surprising. We had the better 'family' though. The other team had a weird mixture of relatives, if you can call it that. It was great to hear the cheers when I introduced myself as a Risembool Ranger. I knew at least there were some friendly faces in the audience. And I won't even report on the AMV contest. It sucked. I had entered 2 videos, one in the amateur action section. The winner for that section seriously sucked. It didn't even get much applause. Anyways, about that time, so much had sucked that Larry and I went back to our hotel room. We were about fed up with everything and may have left right then, but we didn't for Bill's sake, since he had never been to a con before. As it turns out, I'm very glad we stayed. Larry and Bill went to hang out at the dealer's room and I stayed back in the hotel room. We agreed to meet up at the next voice actor panel. I decided I wouldn't feel any better just sitting there dwelling on it, so I decided to pack up the video camera and still camera and head outside. Talk about miracles, while I'm walking around taking pictures, who should I see but my friend Fitz! He taught me to fly RC airplanes several years ago and last I heard he had moved to Houston, but I never dreamed I'd run into him. I hadn't seen him since I was about 4 months pregnant (and my son is nearly 3 years old now, to give you an idea of the time difference). We stood there and took pictures of people walking by and talked a bit, catching up. He hadn't met my husband yet so we headed to the second floor to the voice actors panel where I was to meet Larry. Second Voice Actor Panel - It took us a while to get there because Fitz hadn't gotten pictures of most of the cosplayers I already had. When we got there, I introduced him to my husband. Then, I saw two cosplayers dressed as Rinoa and Squall from Final Fantasy VIII. I remembered that a couple of Rangers said they would be there and that they would be cosplaying as Rinoa and Squall. (And I think they did an excellent job with their costumes.) When they popinted at my Ranger pin, I was sure it was them, Lumanboy and Blackkittygamer. They were a cute couple. It was adorable to see a Ranger couple cosplaying together. I can't wait to be able to cosplay with Larry, but I don't know when that will be. *pout* The voice actors at the second VA panel were Kyle Hebert, Doug, Xero, Taleisin Jaffe, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Luci Christian and Jamie McGonnigal. We had planned to go to the cosplay contest afterwards, but since the autograph session lasted into the cosplay contest, we didn't make it. I was determined to see Vic so that I could show him my Vic plushie that ~snowtigra on DeviantART made for me. Also, I wanted to finally get a picture with him. 3rd con's a charm, I guess. I also got pictures with Taliesin Jaffe, Mike McFarland, and Jamie McGonnigal. So by the end of the day, Larry and I were both in very good moods again. Vic asked the Rangers to come and keep him company at the Charity Auction, so we decided to go. Charity Auction - I had a feeling we'd end up buying something, but I never figured I'd end up with something I love so much! It is a Girls of Anime Calendar. Almost every picture is signed. Yeah, 2005 is almost over, but I'm going to frame the pictures, and give some away as presents. I showed my sister the calendar (she loves Ai Yori Aoshi) and she couldn't believe how little I paid for it. At the point they auctioned that, the VAs voices were all very tired, so they let a staff member do that one. The VAs were all very careful with the items, but that guy was bending it, handling it very roughly. I was freaking out! You don't handle something so roughly that you're trying to sell for it's collectors value! Bill was waiting for something else, so I went ahead and took the calendar to the room while Larry and Bill stayed at the auction. Larry said I could hang out with the Rangers that night if they were doing anything, so I called them up. They said they were going to play Scattergories but that Vic wasn't with them. I was kind of glad because I could be relaxed. Even though Vic's a nice guy, I'd feel more restrained if he was there, especially since it was Scattergories. OH MY GOODNESS! The Rangers are as crazy as they are in the chat room! Hehe, actually, it was a lot of fun and the perfect ending to what turned out to be a great day. I didn't get back to the hotel room till around 3 am. It was great to hang out with the Rangers. I only wish I'd gotten to spend more time with them. There aren't many girls in my area that are into anime... So I don't hang out with girls very often, and I had forgotten how much fun it could be! After staying up so late, there was NO way I was getting up at 8 am. In fact, I slept in until 10 o'clock. It was great! Anyways, due to the sleepyhead (me), we missed the Big Voice Acting Panel. It's okay though because we caught the first two and that's more than we made at A-kon. So, we went to the Dealer's Room. I took this chance to go buy Larry's Anniversary Present. I combed over the whole place twice before I decided. Since I've already given him the present, I can write what it is. It was a Fullmetal Alchemist clock with Roy on it (He was cosplaying as Roy). I had the guy double-bag it and then I put it in another bag so that Larry would be surprised. Later, I contacted Travis and asked for a huge favor, which I still can't believe he said yes. I mailed the clock to him, with all that was needed to send it back. He signed it and sent it back, just in time for our anniversary! Larry absolutely loved it! Travis is such a nice guy. I've decided that there are a lot of nice voice actors. Anyways, back to the dealer's room. We got a phone call from Jamie asking if we had any pain meds because Vic had a headache. Fortunately, I always carry a variety of pills because I tend to get headaches, stomacheaches, and a variety of other aches, at the most inopportune times. So we met them down in the lobby to give Vic his choice of meds. Excedrin Migraine, that must have been an awful headache, poor Vic. After that we went back to the dealer's room to finish up buying everything we wanted. Fullmetal Alchemist Panel - ***Spoiler Coming Up*** I'm really wishing I hadn't gone to that panel. I love Fullmetal Alchemist and I love talking about it... WHAT I'VE SEEN OF IT! However, the rule was they could talk about anything showing on TV. Thanks to that, and this one moron who wanted to talk about it in detail, I now know that ... (Don't read any further unless you've seen Episode 25) ... Hughes dies. Now I've seen it, got someone to tape it for me. And I didn't shed a tear! Which is SO unlike me! So... I'm really upset now. After that was spoiled I stuck my fingers in my ears and hummed for most of the panel. I don't care if I was annoying, I am not ABOUT to let anything else be spoiled. Because of that we're now getting our family to tape Fullmetal Alchemist so we'll be up-to-date as far as they're concerned. But really, I think the DVDs should be released before it comes out on AdultSwim, cause that sucks for us who don't have cable, dish, or anything! *steam coming from ears... pant.. pant..* That reminds me, as shy as I am, I don't mind telling a guy to zip it who is spoiling the whole thing in the middle of the hallway... and LOUDLY I might add. I shouldn't have to sit there covering my ears. If he wants to be a spoiler, and others want to let him, they need to go somewhere private to do it. ESPECIALLY at a Con. LOL -- I really got carried away with this. Fullmetal Fantasy - What can I say about Fullmetal Fantasy? If anyone hasn't seen it yet and has the chance to... GO! It's not very long, but it's funny and well worth it. It was what started the talks of going to Houston in the first place, since I missed it at A-Kon 16. After Fullmetal Fantasy, I hung back with Laura and Mandy and waited for the Fuhrer to be free (Vic). It took a while, but we finally got a moment and we got to take pictures with him. Since I had already had one, I just wanted a group shot. I said goodbye and went to the room. I was sad, but it has to happen I suppose. We were getting ready to go to Olive Garden when the phone rang. Mandy and Laura wanted to meet us at Olive Garden *squee*. Olive Garden - Oh I had so much fun! The first thing they do is offer us a free sample of this DELICIOUS wine! I wish I hadn't had to drive... Though, since I hadn't eaten anything yet, it still made me feel pretty good. Larry and I actually held off a little on the cuddliness. We don't like to gross people out unless we don't care whether they get grossed out of not. Hehe, at least we're considerate though. Anyways, Olive Garden was a blast. Afterwards, we said bye and headed back to the motel and got ready to leave the next day. When we got home, I put on my Khimono and we went to show it off to our family. Also, we had to pick up our son Tobias who was staying with my mother while we were gone. Those shoes are HARD to walk in on gravel though. Over all, I would say it was a great weekend. Oni-con definitely won't replace A-kon. But if we have the money, it will be a nice little con to go to in the future. I just hope next time they can get a different hotel! If anyone wants to see the rest of the pictures you can go to http://www.photos.com/cutetexasaccent. |
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