Hi everyone, Marina and Danny here with his blog entry on Otakon 2011!  This is an anime convention that took place in Baltimore, MD from July 28th to July 31th, 2011.

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I went down to Baltimore on Thursday, even though the convention didn’t officially start until Friday.  I picked up my pre-registration badge and walked around the area, checked out some of the people already cosplaying and had my first beer of the weekend.  Here’s the Thursday pics.

A nice casual start to the con huh?  It’s good not to overwork yourself from the beginning~

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I probably ended up drinking the most on Thursday night though.

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Eh?  Oh, I see… moving onto Friday…

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So Friday was certainly exciting being the first day of the Con.  Everything was out in full force, from attendees, to cosplayers, to events, even the heat!

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Attendees numbered 31,348 and temperatures went as high as 101 on Friday!  How was it inside the convention center Danny?

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Not too bad since most areas were air conditioned, but with all the people in there, it wasn’t exactly cool.  I felt for all the cosplayers fighting the heat in their costumes!

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That’s certainly understandable.  Check em out in the Friday gallery!

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Look at all that cosplay!  Danny, you also have some videos to share from Friday don’t you.

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I attended two fashion shows on Friday.  One is the Sixh fashion show and the other is a “ultimate lolita fashion show.”  The first was the Sixh Fashion Show featuring the designers IBI and MINT.

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Sixh is a fashion line that unites visual-kei artistry with the imagery of popular host and hostess clubs.  They are also a band with the same name, with IBI on vocals, MINT on bass and NARI on guitar.

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Next we have the Lolita Fashion show.  For those who don’t know, “Lolita fashion is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period… Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub styles and has a subculture that is present in m any parts of the world.”

There were several designers featured in this show.  This video is of Yuuki and his brand Little Macaron, who I was able to meet and hang out with!

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Wow, all the dresses are so pretty!  Danny, did you have any favorites?

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ONE PIECE~!

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Huh?  Oh~ the one piece dress!  Yes, that one’s very cute.  The dress and hat go well together and the bow is s-

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ONE PIECE~!!!!

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You only like it because it’s about anime huh?  Did you like any other dresses besides that one?

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DRAGONBALLLLLLL~!!!!!!

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Moving on.

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I also attended two rave parties that the convention hosted.  The first on Friday, the second on Saturday.  Each day had a variety of different DJs playing music.  The video you see here is of DJ Saolilith.

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DJ Saolilith is a cosplay DJ from Japan who performs popular anime songs!

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Next we have my Saturday gallery!

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Another full day huh?  I believe Danny was supposed to see Makoto Shinkai at a Q&A session on Saturday?

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…I…I wasn’t able to go…

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EHHH?!?!?! Why not?? Isn’t he one of your favorite animators?

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……………………………..I overslept and just missed it.

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………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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…………………………………………………………………………………………

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………………………………………………………………………………………really?

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Yes.

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Well, hopefully you’ll get another chance to see him!  In the meantime, check out Danny’s video on the second rave of the convention!  This time featuring the DJ duo “Monsterz Under The Bed.”

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Looks like a fun time!  How was the rave Danny?

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Oh… it was fun…

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Don’t mind him… .um, enjoy the Sunday gallery!

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And finally, we have our last gallery, all of the items Danny picked up at the con!

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O yeah!  I picked up some great stuff, especially the one “special item~!”

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Brought your mood right back up huh?

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So what’s this “special” item you talked about?

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While searching for something to buy, I found a small booth that sold something that’s far more rare and amazing than what any of the other booths sold!  Authentic drawings the original animators drew for anime, straight from studios in Japan!  I picked up a packet of genga from the series Zero no Tsukaima, featuring Louise, the main female character, who’s voiced by one of my favorite seiyuus of all time, Kugimiya Rie~!!!

Genga means “original image” in Japanese and is a term for the refined key frame images that key animators (gengamen) draw for animation.  Some people use the term for any pre-douga work (douga is finished drawings that are used to make cels).

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Here’s some pics of the genga.  I also found the exact cut this genga is from (00:45-00:51 ep 11 season 1)!  You can see how the animation and pictures match up exactly~!

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Wow, it’s really nice to see the final version!

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It feels great knowing you own a real piece of the animation like this for a series and character you love.  Especially for me as an animator who’d love to make anime like this in the future!

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This was a long blog, but thank you to everyone who stayed till the end to read!

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To end this post, here’s a video with all three openings of Zero no Tsukaima.  Enjoy~!

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Till next time~!!!

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