Stone Cold Bootlegs
AniMaine Day 2: Saturday, November 11th
Saturday morning. Usually, mornings during the con require some help, so some caffeine to get going and some pills so my back doesn’t get sore. We got showered and dressed and there was one of the highlights of AniMaine for me, the free continental breakfast buffet. Eggs, sausage links, muffins, hash, and all the juice you could drink. Yummy fill-you-up kind of food that as long as you do not overdo it, keeps you going during the entire day. Good stuff.
We headed back to the room as I got changed into my Mirakoshi Kabuki gear. I didn’t get any pics of myself this year, but here is what I mean:
Once geared up and ready to go the first panel was “How do we Define Anime?” with Chris Perry, one of the AniMaine founders and staff chair. This panel is both informative and a mental exercise that makes you think. There are a lot of things that are anime-inspired, but in the end, the question is left open for YOU to decide what anime is.
After that in the very same room was Fun with Fan Savy. Fan Savy is an internet show that is hosted by someone I have been friends with through AniMaine and have watched since episode 1. This was their first ever panel, so I had to be there and glad I was. They showed episodes, some con tips, and tricks, as well as a couple of rounds of mad libs. Fun with Fan Savy is not a misnomer. I had fun! You can check out their adventures HERE on Youtube. Great work Fan Girl and Fan Guy!
Then it was off to another one of the panel rooms for “The Evolution of Anime Dubs” with the Dub Talk Podcast where we sat around talking about Anime dubs over the years. Good memories of the USA Cartoon Express (look it up kids. That’s the good shit) and Toonami and learning some things as well. You can find those fine folks HERE on Youtube. Good group. I recognize their faces from AniMaine past but did not know about the show. I do now!
Same room again as it was titled an hour with Jeremy Inman, but Anthony Bowling was joining in as well. I am not complaining as once again these two did a great job of telling stories from voice acting, Jeremy’s background as a Firefighter (!) and just having lots of fun, again, lots of shrimp and cow jokes.
After that had finished to two of us killed some time, once again in the infamous “Underground” before it was time for MY PANEL. “Damn Write! You can get paid for writing!” I only got 4 or 5 people, but I had returns from last year. I still got a solid hour out of it (and more actually) answering questions and talking about the many ways you can make money doing this to various degrees. Great time and glad I could help.
By this point, it was getting into Saturday Evening. And if you’ve read my reviews of AniMaine over the years, you know what that means? BOOTLEG BOMBER!
For those that are unfamiliar, Bootleg Bomber is a staple of the convention. Greg Ayres and con chair Colin Harvie set this up with a panel to watch out for bootleg merch in anime and why it is bad. Then, they destroy bootlegs. In year’s past, they’ve used A steamroller, a pinata, an industrial blender, fire, and a deep frier, this year? LIQUID FUCKING NITROGEN. Bootleg goes into the freeze, then we watch go into many many pieces usually at the hands of Greg. He was having A LOT of fun shattering frozen bootlegs. A fake Figure, A set of fake cards, DVDs, and even a bootleg anime wallet all got the cold bath and was had fun watching it all become garbage. No ouchies, very safe, but it lets out the destructive part of us and for a good cause. Spread the message that bootleg Anime is BAD! All the while that this was going on, all I could think about was that old song by Rainbow:
Once that let out I didn’t have much on the schedule I HAD to do. Greg was hosting his RAVE upstairs and even the staff was getting a little sluggish. My back was aching so I sat down in the hallway and chatted with friends for a few hours. This is the kind of con where you can do that. It is a friendly convention and we like making friends and checking in on Friends we have to make sure they are doing okay. Make New Friends. The staff are people and they are not above anyone else at the con. Approachable, helpful, and they are there to have as much fun as anyone else. There is not a disconnect there and it is a big reason I go every year.
I also snapped some cosplay pictures wandering the halls a bit. Looking sharp gang!
Haley and Megan from the Staff, and unfortunately I never got the name of the Miku. Great work!
With Saturday night being wrapped up, I got out of my costume because my feet hurt, my back hurt, and that facepaint itches like a bitch when it dries. That took some work getting that mess off and I didn’t get all of it. I did some more putting around and talked to people before getting some food from out stash and getting some sleep.
We got one more day of con coverage coming soon! In the meantime, read a book!
RT Gomer Productions 