asian-invasion

I had the story of everything noteworthy that happened during this day but the computer ate it. Lost. Gone. Two hours of writing disappeared. I’ll now attempt to tell the tale with photos.

Saturdays at our hotel meant breakfast with their mascot, Mr. Bite. Of course I wanted pictures.

I wonder if the guy in the costume was more enthused about getting pictures with the rest of us. I still need to show this to Jessica (right).

Everyone separated again and went about their plans. My wife and I didn’t have much of anything set up aside from the Masquerade rehearsal and performance later that evening. We did, however, manage to see the Q&A with Japanese seiyou (voice actor) Kappei Yamagichi and see a few amusing photo shoots.

I don’t know if this person camped out here all day for photo ops, but many were had.

Bow down to your Penguin Master…or else!

Here is the best shot I could get of Kappei Yamaguchi (Ranma 1/2, InuYasha, Death Note). He was a funny guy.

Metal Gear Sonic. By the way, if you’re not familiar with the game Metal Gear Solid, this is what you see on screen when the main character (Snake) communicates with his commander, Otacon. Otacon…Otakon…get it?

A group of Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumaiya cosplayers.

Where were these people for Friday’s Ouran High School Host Club photo shoot when I was Beelzenef?

This scene should be self-explanatory.

Bleach photo shoot. The older guy in the middle is the first ever Court Guard Squad 1 Captain I’ve ever seen played…bravo!

A couple of Narutards find themselves in the wrong photo shoot.

Best…shot…ever!

It was nearing 6:pm and time to line up for Masquerade. We decided we would be there to entertain rather than compete. Our sketch idea wasn’t the most original, not many people recognized our characters (Rozen Kreuz Orden members from the anime Trinity Blood) and our presentation was never actually rehearsed, but we weren’t the worst of the lot. The event was held at the First Mariner Arena, a major live venue in Baltimore, and thousands of people came to see what we and the other 35 or so groups had to offer.

My wife and Masquerade partner, “teh Kitteh.” She only puffed (as opposed to smoked) cloves for the character.

After we were finished there, it was 10:pm so we headed back to the BCC. By this time, we were both sick and she was tired of walking. I wanted to cap off the evening with “Voice Actors After Dark,” which is a Q&A panel where the participants are encouraged to have a few drinks before answering questions. It’s always fun times, although my wife decided she had to retreat to the bathroom and call a friend of hers. I waited outside for about a half-hour before I gave up and went into the panel. To my surprise, she didn’t seem upset at all when I came out that I attended without her.

We wandered back to the hotel room and found our 17 year-old comrade, Jenni, snuggled up with a guy we’d never seen or heard of. If you knew her, you’d understand our surprise. I ordered food for some of us in the room because we were craving. Jessica came in a while later and had apparently messed her injured ankle up further earlier during the day. Alex returned some time after that and had informed us about an accident on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (between Baltimore and Salisbury) which had closed down traffic to only one lane. Guess which side that ended up being on? Tune in next time and find out.

After I had packed most of our stuff for the journey home the next day, I had food and took in some Shin Chan on TV. Again, sleep wasn’t plentiful but it was enough to get me through. Wait until you hear about the wretched trip home…