This year my group get some press passes, which really don't give you many benefits, but they, we had separate registration where there was no line. The past couple years it seems a significant portion of our days had been spent waiting around in very long lines, and the lines this year only grew longer with over 44,000 attendees. Every workshop quickly filled to capacity.
AnimeExpo featured 4 main video rooms playing a little bit of something for everyone. Waking up early to watch Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on the big screen was a treat.
I started my AnimeExpo experience by catching part of the Moi dix Mois concert, a visual key group staring Malice Mizer's Mana. It was a very visually stimulating show, and Mana's guitar with its embedded pulsating red cross was pretty darn cool. I also attended the Morning Musume concert the following day. The girls were cute and all but I was ready to move on after a few minutes of ear drum abuse due to the extremely loud and high pitch voices yelling into the microphones.
There were plenty of great workshops to attend from basic origami, glow sticking, traditional Japanese dancing, and para para dancing to improving such artistic skills as drawing, sculpting, and voice acting. Para para dancing was something not offered before so my crew and I hit that up. Very silly, very fun, and a great workout too!
The arcade this year was the best yet with many of the hottest games like Initial D 4, Tekken 6, Guilty Gear XX AC, and BlazBlue. I was low on cash so my quarters were invested in Metal Slug 6. The arcade was always full of life at all hours of the day.
The main events this year included Battle of the Bands (I did not attend), AX Idol, and the always popular Masquerade. AX Idol had some great talent this year unfortunately I can't really remember the details due to my brain being full of painful memories from this years horrible and entirely un-noteworthy Masquerade. Over 50 contestants showed up, and almost everyone left before the judging took place. The best costumes could be seen in the crowded halls of the convention center.
That wraps up AnimeExpo 2009. See you next year!
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