Ohayocon 2010 – Or, My First Con

Feb 10, 2010 by Joshua    No Comments    Posted under: daily life

I apologize to any regular readers for my absence. I could say that a series of complications have prevented me from updating over the past few weeks, but that is not entirely true.

What is true is that I spent a weekend at Ohayocon, an anime/manga/video game convention, where I cosplayed and attended a few panels and took some pictures. I would now like to share my experience with you. Hit the jump below to read more (note: This post contains several pictures).

It was my first experience at such an event, and I shared it with my friends Jeremy:

Devin:

and Devin’s friend Candy and her boyfriend Stu:

If it isn’t evident from the pictures, the four of them went as characters from Left 4 Dead – Jeremy, Candy and Stu were hunters and Devin was Zoey. I was the odd one out, dressed as a generic steampunk fellow one day and as No Face from Spirited Away (my Halloween costume last year) the next day. I don’t have any pictures of myself in the steampunk get-up, but I do have this humorous photo of Jeremy wearing my top hat and goggles:

To summarize the experience, I felt a bit out of place. It seemed that the average age of attendees was in the teens, and I become a bit uncomfortable around rabid fans. The main draw for me, aside from hanging out with good friends, was the opportunity to see all the elaborate costumes that people constructed in an attempt to bring the fantastic into reality. The following are photos I took at the event of various costumes:

A shot at the main lobby from above

Their backpacks had changing lights and made the appropriate noises.

A shot from the trade room. Apparently pictures were not allowed. Oops.

A shot from above. Yes, that is a rainbow flag that reads "YAOI".

Jeremy thought it would be a good idea to take a low-angle picture of my mask.

This lady had a Sims diamond mounted to her head. Awesome.

An area was roped off for dancing. Here, we see the Caramelldansen.

It wouldn't be a costume event without the (full) Blu team.

Dang, I wanted a clear shot of that guy. He pulled off a great Vash the Stampede. With him was also a spectacular Seras from Hellsing, seen here carrying a huge gun.

If the Celtic raptors from Halloween have proven anything, it's that great costumes are made better with kilts.

One of my biggest regrets of the weekend was that I missed a great cosplay based on the music of the Protomen. They posed for an impromptu shoot in the food court while I was in the bathroom. Fortunately, Devin took pictures, and she was kind enough to let me share them:

THE STAND.

Their guns lit up. Also, I think that green guy is supposed to be Joe (or Gutsman).

The shield clinched it. Otherwise, it would just be a Megaman cosplay.

I also wish I had taken more pictures. I didn’t capture anywhere near the scope of costumes and insanity witnessed at the con. I guess I didn’t learn from Halloween that it is difficult to juggle a camera while wearing multiple layers with no pockets, all while people ask to take my picture every few minutes. The attention was fun, though, and I appreciate Jeremy and Devin for putting up with me whenever I had to stop for photos.

For anyone who doesn’t care for this sort of thing, don’t worry. I will (hopefully) return to my normal level of nerdiness soon.

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