ANIME NORTH 2005
PAN'S CON REPORT


THURSDAY


The Early Bird

Anime North tried something new this year. Instead of starting on Friday, they had a Thursday night event at the hotel for people who had pre-registered. This way, anyone who pre-registered could come and pick up their passes a day early.

And so, come Thursday evening, the hotel staff at the Doubletree got an early preview of the people they'd be dealing with all weekend. Many people, myself included, checked into the hotel a day early, which gave us the opportunity to check things out in advance.

I got to the hotel just after three in the afternoon on Thursday. Needless to say, with the festivities scheduled to start at seven, I got there a little on the early side. It worked out though, and it gave my friends and I ample time to check into our room and get settled in.

In the evening, con-goers appeared. A giant line formed in the hallway of the lobby of the Doubletree for people waiting to confirm their registration. This line was long because more people showed up than the Anime North staff expected.

I took photos of some of the cosplayers and stopped to talk with some familiar faces. I was asked a lot of questions about where everything else was going on. According to Anime North, there were supposed to be festivities Thursday night, but they were nowhere to be found.

The pre-registration was a great plan, but like many great plans, there was a flaw in it. The Anime North staff were not expecting as many people to show up on Thursday night. Moreover, the Doubletree was a new location and the staff were still working like mad to set everything up when people began to arrive. These things combined to make Thursday night somewhat less than what was promised.

However, there was still a meet-and-greet of sorts in the lobby restaurant and the con-goers seemed to be having a good time. Moreover, they all saved themselves a long wait in line on Friday. All in all, Thursday night turned out to be a good idea. ^^


Two Hour Trip to the Ice Machine

If Thursday showed anything about me, it showed how easily distracted I am. Around five in the afternoon, I told my friends "I'll be right back" and went for a walk. Half an hour later, I was talking with John Martin about everything from action figures, to sentai, to even the monorail at DisneyLand. Then I somehow ended up in the lobby talking to a group of girls who were waving at every person that passed by them. While with them, I spotted someone tall with pink hair and ran off to tackle Brad. I ended up talking with him, meeting Kris, and watching Brad's luggage. (Don't ask.)

I eventually ran into Kevin and went to visit the main stage as it was being put together. The construction people were amusing to listen to, and at some point I realized that I had been gone for a long time and needed to go back up to my room. ^^;;;

(Another amusing thing about getting there early on Thursday was that there was a conference for some union going on in the hotel. I got asked if I was there to vote a few times. ^^;)


Setting Up

My hotel room was a story in itself. My bro, Chapel, had brought his laptop and was watching DVDs and playing solitaire at the same time. The room was constantly filled with electronics, costumes, wigs, and luggage. Even with only two of the people in the room cosplaying, it was still a mess. But I'm tangenting.

My friend, Becky, dressed up in my Eiji (Prince of Tennis) costume. Why she did escapes me, but she made a better Eiji than I did so it was fun to see her running around. I put on my Hiroki costume briefly and our friend (and my partner in crime) Blue Rose came with us downstairs to snap some photos and enjoy what was left of the Thursday night festivities.

We ran into Lionel Lum of Usagichan (one day, I need to tell that man how much I admire him), and I got to see Super Uber Nice Anime Guy (he gave me a ZyuRanger blaster! ♥). After things began to wind down, we grabbed Chapel and went out to dinner at one of the restaurants across the street. We had a rather relaxing night, which was nice considering what was to come on Friday and Saturday.


FRIDAY


Hit and Run

Because we were already checked into the hotel, Friday morning felt a lot like a convention Saturday. Instead of getting there mid-afternoon to check in and wait in line, we were ready to go by just leaving our hotel room. It made staying an extra night well worth it. ^^

I changed into my Flamedramon costume and went with Blue Rose to take photos. I ran into Kris again. She was dressed as Mariah from Beyblade and did an awesome job on her costume. Since I was cosplaying a Beyblade character on Saturday, I had my eye out for other Beyblade cosplayers all weekend.

Blue Rose and I headed across the street to check out what was happening at the Toronto Congress Centre (TCC) and to take some photos along the way. This year's Anime North set-up was a lot nicer than last year's. Last year, the panels and other events were at the Renaissance hotel, which is across the highway and about a fifteen-minute walk away from the TCC. This year, the dealer's room and artist's alley (as well as the contest stage and other events) were at the TCC and everything else (panels, masquerade, etc.) were at the Doubletree. Best of all, the Doubletree is located just across the street from the TCC, making it easy to get back and forth. All and all, I liked this year's setup for the convention a lot more than last year's. ^^

Of course, many people didn't take the crosswalk and instead j-walked. I found this mildly amusing, since it's a bad idea to j-walk on Dixon Road, and because watching cosplayers almost get run over from a hotel room window looks a lot like a bad version of a Frogger video game. :/ No one (OK, maybe one person) was hurt too badly.

On the plus side, the Dealer's Room was spacious and didn't feel that crowded. Also, registration was painless compared to last year and the lines were surprisingly short. ^^


Must be Santa

On our way to the TCC, Blue Rose and I ran into Santa Claus. We shouted out to him, and he proceeded to open his bag and throw toys at us. Blue Rose got herself a blue elephant and I got a little plushie of my own. ^^

It was so random and amusing that it was definitely one of many highlights of the weekend. Blue Rose kept telling people that we had met Santa and that he threw toys at us. Trust me when I say that when people ask you how your day is going, that is not the answer they expect to hear. XD


Skitting Around

A good four or five hours on Friday night were spent rehearsing, waiting and performing in the skit contest. It came complete with panic attacks, running to the lobby and back to the green room a few times, and other random adrenaline rush events that only come with performing.

Hanging around in the green room was fun. Those performing in the Skit Contest had some seriously awesome costumes and ideas. It was nice to get a preview and see them up close. ^^ (*waves* Hi Archy!)

Sadly, I missed watching most of the Skit Contest, but I should be getting video footage soon. I can't wait to see it. I hear it was (pardon my French) trčs awesome this year. ^^

On the random side of things, my friends Jen, Becky, Sakura and I were in the same course together at UofT last year and all had the same TA. After we performed, guess who showed up? You should have seen us freak out. We screamed "BARYON!" and scared the guy. We were all in costume, which probably threw him off. Well... he always knew we were weird. Now he knows we're even weirder. ^^; But it was still awesome to have our favorite TA show up. :D


Robtastic

Last summer, Blue Rose and I attended Anime Evolution in Vancouver, British Columbia, and had an awesome time. It was there that we first met voice director extraordinaire Rob Bakewell. It was awesome to meet him, so when we spotted him at Anime North, we just had to go and say hi. ^^

We talked for a bit. He told us about his con so far and about Hikaru no Go being licensed. He held some panels over the weekend. We were sad that we didn't get a chance to attend them. Rob is such an awesome guy. ^^


You Are Not Here

I was cosplaying as a humanoid version of Flamedramon, Becky did Biyomon, our friend Bianco did WereGarurumon and Mage made a cute Gomamon costume. On Friday night, Bianco and I went over to the TCC to find Mage. We found her and took some photos together. I ran into a girl I see at a lot of cosplay events. (Me? Bad at names? What gave you that idea?) She took some photos of us, and a lot of Bianco. ^^; I took some photos of Mage, and then we realized that we needed to be back at the Doubletree for a panel.

Getting to the hotel wasn't as easy as it sounds. I know way too many people, or rather, too many people know me. ^^; I was stopped a few times on our way from the Dealer's Room to the hotel. I feel bad since I wasn't able to stop and talk and had to run away. Well, there's that and my habit of taking a photo of anything cosplay related at a convention. At some point, Mage took my camera and dangled it in front of my face to get us out of there. ^^;

Finding the panel was also difficult as the panel room wasn't where it was supposed to be. Or rather, it was, but then we were told it was not. We found more of the panelists lost in the halls and ran around for a few minutes, but made it to the panel late, but in one piece.

The panel was on how to form and maintain a successful cosplay group. It had reprehensive from three Toronto-area groups: Boxed Rice Productions, mBrosia and SMA. I knew most of the panelists and went to show my mBrosia pride. Actually, most of the mBrosia members were in the audience, which lead to some amusing events, like all of us (including Jen and Lauren, our two representatives on the panel) pointing in the air at the same time. Mage was a panelist on SMA and raised a lot of great points about the nature of cosplay groups.

All in all, it was a good panel. And there were Prince of Tennis cosplayers sitting behind me. What more could I ask for? ^_~


Vittling Around

After the panel, I went around and took more photos. I was also stopped by someone who I recognized but couldn't put a place to. He turned out to be the brother of someone I went to highschool with. I knew the guys who were with him and talked to them briefly.

I also ran into Scott McNeil. We did our customary secret handshake before he was swarmed by fangirls again. ^^;

Somehow, I ended up sitting with Jen, Lauren and Hannah. Jen, Lauren and Hannah had the most awesome costumes this year. They dressed up as Knuckles, Tails, and Sonic (respectively) and man did they look awesome! Anyway, I ended up sitting with them and Twitchy (don't ask) and ate their timbits and talked for a bit. Twitchy was random and amusing. He took a PS2 out of his bag and put on Lauren's Tails ears. It was amusing and a nice way to unwind after such an action-packed day. ^^

I found Kira in the lobby sewing Scott McNeil's shirt (don't ask), and ran into an Ayame cosplayer dancing to violin music being played in the lobby. And when I finally returned to my hotel room, I found some new additions -- like a crate of "Vittel" water from France on the floor. You've been vittled, indeed.


3AM Wake-Up Call

At around 2AM, our friend Rin (who was staying in our room with us) went downstairs to see a friend. At 3AM, I got out of bed, looked at the clock, and realized Rin was still not back. There was almost no chance that she was in trouble, but since we love Rin and worry like that, Kira and I got out of bed and went looking for her.

So there I am at 3AM, complete with pajamas, bedhead and blurry eyes stumbling down the hallway of the hotel with Kira. We get three meters from our hotel room, and what do we hear?

"Pan? Is that Pan? Hey it is! Guys come take a look at this!"

All I can say is "bad timing". Kira laughed her head off as I slammed the elevator button hoping it would come faster. In retrospect, it was really quite funny. ^^;

We found some friends of ours, and not ten minutes after we returned to our room, Rin came back. ^^;


SATURDAY


Beyblade is Surprisingly Popular in Canada

On Saturday morning, Blue Rose helped me get into my Mystel costume. Mystel is one of the lesser-known characters from Beyblade G-Revolution and I fell in love with him (and his costume) after only one episode. I put a lot of work into my costume, and I am thrilled at the result, so wearing Mystel all day on Saturday was definitely awesome. ^^

Ironically, the first cosplayer I ran into on Saturday morning was the other Mystel cosplayer at the convention (and to my knowledge, the only other Mystel cosplayer to date). I had met her on Friday and squeed at her then. It was nice to find her again and I got some photos with her. I liked her costume, and was pleasantly surprised to see another Mystel there. ^^

There was supposed to be other Beyblade cosplayers on Saturday, but by the time I got to the TCC, most of them were gone or had changed out of costume (little Brooklyn and Brad, I'm staring at you two). Heh. ^^;

I did find some other Beyblade cosplayers throughout the day though. And Glay changed into her Tyson costume for a few hours and I got a pic with her. I also managed to scare a Rei cosplayer and hang out with Janine, who was my Brooklyn. All in all, a successful Beyblading mission.


No, Gir, that's an Airplane

Anime North took place by Person Airport. It also took place directly under a landing path. This is amusing because every few minutes an airplane with fly by overhead. From our hotel window, we could even watch them land.

I had fun taking photos of the airplanes. When I heard one coming, I'd look to the sky and try and snap a photo. ^^;


Revenge of the Red Hat Ladies

The TCC also had another convention going on during Saturday and Sunday. I'm not sure what it was (Blue Rose tried to explain it to me and failed), but it involved lots and lots of old ladies dressed in purple wearing red hats. So just in case you thought the cosplayers weren't weird enough, imagine a sea of old ladies in red and purple.

They were staying at the Radisson hotel right next door to the TCC, and every so often, you'd see this line of purple and red between the hotel and the TCC. It was almost scary. The inside of the Radisson was scarier and filled with them. Some of them asked me what was we were doing there. Some AN attendees wondered if they were part of AN. All in all, it was very amusing indeed. X3


YTVing It

I was approached a few months before Anime North and asked to make Paula, the host of Vortex, a costume for Anime North. The costume I was asked to make was of Ming Ming from Beyblade G-Revolution, who is voiced by Sugar from YTV's Zone.

When I was called on Saturday to meet up with the YTV crew, Paula was wearing the costume and looked so cute in it. I'm so happy it worked so well. ^____^

Long story short, Paula talked to me about cosplaying for a bit and we took some photos. It was a short, but very very sweet visit with YTV. Plus, it was awesome to be Mystel and stand with a Ming Ming. ^_~


Awesome Possum

Like most of my time at conventions, most of Saturday was spent taking photos of cosplayers. Along the way I did run into some awesome people -- some I recognized, some that recognized me. It was grand. *luffles you all*

I also ran into some of my friends from highschool. Two of us ended up ambushing a Naruto cosplayer in the dealer's room and being the dorks we are. Plus, it was nice to see everyone. ^^

It was in the dealer's room that a random lady approached me and asked me if I made my costume myself and if I was entering the masquerade. After I answered her questions (yes, I made it myself, but I don't enter masquerades), she handed me a ribbon and told me she was a judge for the hall cosplay awards. She liked my costume and congratulated me, while I stood there dumbstruck. This was the first time I ever won an award at a convention. It was such a random and wonderful surprise. ^____^ Thank you, judge lady!

I also ran into the brother and sister I met last year. They were dressed as female and regular Ranma, and I talked to them briefly. They're really awesome and it was nice to see them again. ^^

My friends Becky and Sakura were working at the KikiWai table over the weekend. Blue Rose and I went to visit them a few times. Becky and Sakura cosplayed Syaoran and Sakura from Tsubasa. A lot of my other friends were cosplaying from Tsubasa as well (Rin was another Sakura, Holly did Fye, L and Bianco both cosplayed different versions of Kurogane and both Amelia and Bonnie cosplayed Tomoyo). I went to the CLAMP photoshoot in the afternoon to snap up some photos. I just love CLAMP costumes. ^^

And before I forget, earlier in the day, I ran into Twiggy. This means nothing to most of you, but I've wanted to actually meet her for awhile. We took some dorky photos together. :3

Earlier in the afternoon, I also ran into the wFL crew (much love to you guys~!), saw a bit of J-POP Idol and bought some art from Tokiyoh.

I'm skipping over tons of stuff, but so much happened. Just know it was a lot of fun~! ^^

And I got to bond with my true love -- the FedEx box! ♥

Please Ignore the Signs

Something amusing happened on Saturday. Due to shoving too many people in an elevator at a time, one of the elevators at the Doubletree broke, so they put up a sign. The sign was misleading and made it seem like all the elevators were broken. By the end of the day, con-goers had fixed the sign.

It was so amusing, and on the plus side, a lot of people got a workout using the stairs.

Speaking of signs, I also found all the people (that includes me) lounging on the grass outside of the TCC amusing, since it was recently sprayed with pesticides and was covered with "do not walk on the grass" signs.

Mute Masquerade

This year was a lot of firsts for Anime North. For the first time, they had a wristband policy on masquerade seating. If you wanted a seat, you needed to get yourself a wristband during the weekend. This meant that people didn't have to wait in line to get into the masquerade.

Thanks to video equipment, there was also a live video feed so you didn't have to get into the masquerade to watch it. They also had a delayed feed broadcast to the hotel rooms in the Doubletree.

My friends and I decided to stay in and watch the masquerade on the screen. They ended up showing the skit contest and an interview thingy beforehand, but it was all without sound.

They eventually started showing the masquerade, but only entries fifty-four and up had sound. They aired the entries with sound on loop for the rest of the weekend. Hopefully, by next year, they'll have it all worked out so that the entire thing can be broadcast throughout the hotel with sound. ^^


The Real Link

In the delay between the time the masquerade aired and the broadcast, Blue Rose and I went to Amanda's room to visit her. We ate some food and talked while watching the mute broadcast of earlier con events. And then there was a knock on the door.

So, I went to go answered it. I opened it to find a Link cosplayer standing it front of me. Without thinking, I lifted up my camera and took a photo.

From behind me, Blue Rose and Amanda asked what was shiny enough for me to take a photo of at the door. And trust me when I say this Link was very shiny.

It turns out that the Link cosplayer is a friend of Amanda. Let me tell you that he is one amazing Link. His costume was amazing! He showed us his sword and shield. (FYI: His shield is made out of the same metal tanks are made of, so in the case of a nuclear holocaust, the only things left alive would be cockroaches, twinkies, and Link.) And I'm pretty sure his costume is worth more than my university education. *_____*

When he took out his ocarina and began playing tunes from the Zelda games, I ran off to find Becky since she is a huge Link fan. I called Sakura and told her to send Becky to Amanda's room. Becky couldn't understand why, but when we dragged her out of the elevator and to Amanda's room, her face lit up. ^^

We hung out there with Link for awhile and learned more about how he made his costume. Both Becky and I agree: he is one very very very shiny Link! *___*!


NINJ4S are Everywhere

Later that night, in the lobby of the convention, there were t-shirt ninjas sneaking along the walls. Every so often you'd see a ninja go by, followed a few moments later by another ninja, and then another. For people who made their costumes out of t-shirts, they were great. ^^

So of course, I had to make my own ninja. I dressed up my pal Kevin (by that, I mean I stole his shirt and wrapped it around his head) as a ninja who could only communicate through charades and had a stuffed dog as a weapon...

...what?


Dance Dance, but no Revolution

I stopped by the dance for a bit. I met up and hung out with some friends. Soon after, a lot of people started leaving the dance. It turns out they were announcing the winners of the masquerade and that they do this every year. A lot of people left the dance during it though. And some other people thought the dance was over and left without even going in. ><;;;

But the dance did get started again. Some lady gave us glowsticks, and I dragged Becky through the crowd. I ended up sitting down on the floor with some of my friends and talking before heading back upstairs and wasting three hours before going to bed.

Oh, and some guys tried to kidnap my brother and throw him in the swimming pool, but who really cares about that? ^_~


SUNDAY


Plan? What plan?

On Sunday I dressed up as Hiroki from Lead (I love this costume~!) and went to the lobby of the Doubletree to wait for some people. While I was there, I ended up talking to a girl. She doodled a bit and I was impressed by her skill. Without knowing it, she drew a character that looked a lot like Kamio from Prince of Tennis. ^^

It started to rain and since the people I wanted to meet were across the street at the TCC, I waited for the rain to stop, found Blue Rose and we went over there. We ended up running around and taking photos, with some random conversations thrown in here and there.


This has Nothing to do with the Actual Convention

At some point (I think it was Sunday when it happened... but does it really matter?), I got a call from Chapel informing me that some of the guys locked themselves out of their van. Don't ask, but this has happened in my circle of friends way too many times to be healthy, and I seem to be the one that knows how to get the keys out (at least from older cars). I was with Bianco at the time, and after grabbing a hanger, the two of us headed to the parking lot.

By the time we got to the parking lot, the crisis was averted, so we went back into the lobby of the hotel. I ended up giving the hanger to a cosplayer I recognized and running off to take photos. ^^;


Mmmm... Chicken

Blue Rose and I ended up going out to lunch with some members of mBrosia and the Millennium Group. (We pretended Blue Rose was Becky, but that's another story.) We learned a lot about the Millennium Group and got to meet its members.

Turns out that they're from Nova Scotia and fly out for the convention. They have awesome skits and costumes, and are equally awesome people, so it was great to get to know them a little bit over lunch. ^^


Lockdown, a Marriage, and a Word from our Sponsor

By the time lunch was over, the convention had already started to wind down. I ran into some of my friends upstairs and after talking to security for a while (hi, Ben~), I left to go up to the hotel room. I found a keycard taped to a lampshade and fixed part of my costume. On the way back downstairs, I ran into Becky and the two of us ran into our friend Daniel and the one and only The Real Link.

Then security came running by telling us to stay put. It was basically a lock down, but it ended quickly and we were free to move again. I ended up proposing to Link, and he agreed and became my fifty-third husband. ^^ (Pan loves Link, yes she does~)

Afterwards, I headed back upstairs and met up with my friends again. We hung out until the convention basically ended.

All in all, Sunday was relaxing compared to the high-pace of both Friday and Saturday. It was nice, and gave the convention what felt like a natural gradual end.

It was sad to see Anime North end. It went by so fast, but I had a ton of fun and gained a lot of memories. Overall, Anime North 2005 rocked! :D

I'd be sad about it, but then I remember that there are only twelve short months until Anime North 2006. ^_~