Sakura-con 2003 Report

      This year’s Sakura-con was most certainly the best one to date.  With a bumped up
 attendance, and a “40%” upgraded staff attendance, what was I to expect?  Well right as
 I entered the convention, I was greeted by the staff with smiles and support.  They escorted
 me down to the Green Room to receive my press badge, and continued on helping me get
 all my stuff together for the con.

      When I entered the Dealer’s Room, it looked very organized and set up for the people
 to easily navigate around the room.  The staff was only letting a strict amount of people into
 the room as well, letting the room be as un-crowded as it could be.  The room was also full
 of everything I needed, and I was never let down when I asked “do you have this?”.  This
 was a real delight, and a real helper on my headache.

                                   
 

     As I continued through the con though I continued to see more and more cosplayers as
 the day commenced, and I actually ended up going through 2 memory sticks of pictures
 there were so many.  I was surprised to hear there was a “Hallway Cosplay Contest”, in
 which you could actually win a prize just for walking around in a costume.  I thought this
 was an ingenious idea, and I actually was thinking of putting on a sailor fuku for a prize
 of some sort...

                                   
 

One of the cutest cosplayers I saw at the con, Sumomo-chan!

                                               
                                                        Gotta love people with weapons taller than themselves

web-comic “Megatokyo”.  It was extremely lively and very informative into the life of the
 comic, and it’s characters themselves.  The new “Broken Miho” picture was unveiled, and to
 my surprise turned out very differently then I expected.  The background was very colorful
 and a perfect fit to the picture and environment.  I can’t wait to buy the poster when it’s
 finally released, and as I heard, the poster shown at the panel was auctioned off at
 $850.00, though I was not at the auction to get the final cost.  From what I heard at the
 panel though, the poster will be available on ThinkGeek.com on May 15^th or so!

                                    
 

     I continued on to the lobby to grab some lunch (cause I'd already walked around enough
 and wasn't going to walk a block or so to the Denny's), and I really have to say the food
 was almost perfect.  I say almost perfect because my food was late, and it was a Turkey
 Club!  I shouldn't be complaining THAT much though, because the food made me want more.
 Lots more to be exact...

      After lunch I got to go play some games and watch some anime in the numerous rooms
 they had set up in the con.  It was really enjoyable, and I ended up getting used to the
 smell of 50 people sweating in the room the size of my living room.

                                  
 

More cosplayers were swarming the con, and I was starting to get scarred of what they
 were starting to dress up as.  I saw 4 Chii's, 3 Vash's (all-time low), and too many cat-girls.
 My all time favorite though; Nabeshin from Excel Saga!

                                  
 

     The Cosplay was finally about to come-up, and I was getting my stuff ready to record.
 Only problem; I didn't bring a tripod.  This was a really crappy thing to happen, especially
 because recording a 3 hr. cosplay with your hands will make them numb (which it did).  I
 ended up getting the best ones done and compressed so I was happy.  It also helped that
 the staff was really nice.  They actually escorted me to the front row; I felt special.

                                  
 

One of the funnier cosplays from the "Vancouver Cosplay Association"

                                            
                                        These people were nice, they brought the Dating Game to the Cosplay!

      After the first-half of the cosplay was over though, we got a few treats that were made
 JUST for the people at Sakura-con, and at first, I was really excited about it all.  We got
 a little 8 min. clip from a voice actress of the anime, "Fruits Basket", though we had to wait
 for the translation till AFTER the video was over.  Then, after that, we got to see a special
 trailer for an anime that was coming out in Japan.  Sounds good at first, though the tech
 crew didn't seem to know how to use a DVD player, as they showed the trailer a good 3-4
 times over again.  Other than that, everything ran perfectly, and I was truly impressed.

     Overall, the con was a great experience, and I'll most certainly come back next year.  I'm
 actually already planning for next year, and have a whole $0.13 cents saved!  Seriously
 though, I absolutely suggest anyone in the area to come to the next year's convention, and
 I hope to see you all there!

                                          
 

Click picture to download

[SAKURA-CON 2003 VIDEO // 1hr 9min : 79 meg]

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 (c) 2003 - Joshua Brougham - 3Xn Productions
 
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