It's been less than a month since my last convention, and another convention had already appeared at the end of October. October seems to be the convention season for Auckland! Anyway, knowing it's me, you'd probably guessed that I go to every convention possible. This one is no exception. So, enjoy the photos (and my story, if that interests anyone).

Day one started at 8 in the morning. Auckland has a pretty small population so conventions are rare and far between. And so when a convention does appear, everyone of my age group ends up going. This convention isn't really an anime convention at all. It caters towards nerdy interests in general, so you'd most likely be looking at lots of Dr. Who and Star Wars and whatever. The atmosphere is pretty casual, which attracted a lot of people. The entrances were packed.

Inside the convention centre is the usual stuff. Like the past five or so years, there's a Call of Duty pavilion which doubtlessly attracted all the kiddies. There's quite a big area for Magic (and they were handing out free packs, too), but I wasn't interested. I had totally forgotten how to play Magic since I last played it in Seattle. There's also a lot of stalls selling things ranging from T-shirts, bootleg figurines, DVDs, and T-shirts. Mostly T-shirts.

I had to go catch up with two groups of people on day one, which made things really really tiring. I got exhausted very quickly, although in retrospect it was really nice hanging out with them, since we go to different schools and don't have much time to talk anymore. The first group were cosplaying as the guys from Payday and they did a really nice job of it. They also told me it was the cheapest one possible because everyone has suits, and they only needed to buy the mask. So many people ended up taking pictures with them, which goes to show how popular Payday really is.

I hanged out mostly with a friend who came dressed as Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. Tokyo Ghoul has been really popular this year. Its popularity is almost rivalling that of SAO and SnK, which as usual seem to be literally the only two things 90% of 'anime fans' here have watched. So anyway, there were quite a few Kaneki, and he ended up being interviewed by Sky TV along with five other ghouls. He told me how awkward things got when the reporter asked them 'What's your favourite sci-fi?' The response: 'I don't watch sci-fi, I watch anime! And my favourite anime is Kiss x Sis'.

I was very disappointed with the shops there. A few of the figurine shops displayed genuine figures but sold only bootlegs. And those bootlegs were also sold at a price much higher than what you'd pay for genuine figures from Japan. The sad thing is that this tactic seems to have worked because most of the stores are doing it. The few stores that actually sell real figures (mostly prize figures) charge a ridiculously high price for their merchandise. 

I was looking at a Kotobukiya Ichika figure (from Ano Natsu de Matteru), for example, and they said it was going to 200 dollars, which apparently is already 'half price'. Then after a series of 'negotiations' with the Indian store owner, the shop-lady said I could have the figure for 170. The figure is worth less than half that price if you buy it from AmiAmi. I find their behaviour pretty despicable, to be honest. It's quite sickening.

Some of the cosplayers this year had been very good. I think they were the same cosplayers from the last convention I went to. Well, at least the pretty ones were the same. The cosplayers had been very friendly in general, which was nice, although the fact that I didn't look like a fat four-eyes constantly sweating and moaning 'I love anime' probably helped. The reason why I mention this is that there was actually guy there who looked and behaved just like that.

League of Legends had been so huge at this year's convention. Riot is just really really good at marketing, I suppose. They set up a pretty elaborate stage in a huge room, well decorated with lights and big posters of the sexier champions. The crowd was very enthusiastic, partly because the guys there were literally throwing out codes to free champion skins. The sad thing was that the LoL stage was set in the same place as the amateur wrestling stage, and no one could hear anything because the crowds were so damn loud.

So at the last convention, I bought a couple of laminated Love Live posters. The guy who drew them set up a stall at this convention as well. When I got there, the guy was drawing on his little notebook. I didn't want to distract him so I talked a little with his friend. Both were from Taiwan, I think, and were very lanky. Apparently their posters sold quite well, despite the fact that most people here were probably more attracted to Eri and Nozomi's beauty than actually being Love Live fans. He was really surprised that I followed this blog. I told him that he should be more confident in the future, which kind of made him happy, I guess. I bought two more posters from them. I'd rather throw my money at a talented artist with a future than at bootleg figures.

When I went out I saw a girl in a Madoka costume, holding her father's hand. I think that scene summed up the entire convention pretty well. In the end, it's just a bunch of nerdy children with their parents who knew next to nothing about what the next generation is into.

The convention spanned three days - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Originally, I only wanted to attend on Saturday. Well, on Saturday night, I read the guy's blog and it turns out he was going to draw me a picture of Honoka (I told him she was my favourite Love Live (I lied)) if I decided to attend. My friend was going to attend on Monday as well, which gave me an excuse to get my free drawing. Well, I paid a 21 dollar ticket for it. So technically it was a pretty expensive commission.

I was already suspecting some things when I saw a 'Do it for her' image being posted on his blog (with Eri pasted all over). Then I started investigating and found out that the guy is in fact a frequenter of /a/'s drawfag and Love Live threads. It truly is a small world! It's moments like this when I realize that just talking to someone opens a lot of doors. I was quite amazed, really. 

So on the next day, I went and picked up my drawing. While he drew, his friend and I had a short conversation about seasonal anime. We agreed that KimiUso is the best anime of the season and that KyoAni's Amagi Brilliant Park has potential (I had the impulse to say 'KyoAni finds a way', but then I cringed internally because to use a meme in real life is social suicide). I told him that I watched Wake Up Girls as well, and he said that it had potential. I added that Yamakan's execution ruined WUG. 

Meanwhile, the guy worked on the Honoka drawing while playing an episode of Horizon on his PSP. He looked very dedicated. It's not surprising, because it's easy to see from his blog posts that he's an insane Love Live fan. Almost obsessive. It was a shame that the noises from the LoL stage made it hard for us to continue our conversation, but it was a nice talk regardless. It's not often in this world that you get to have an anime conversation with someone who has watched as many shows as you have. I think the guy will go far. Perhaps very soon, we will see his doujins being sold at Comiket.

So yea, that's the end of the convention. I don't think anything interesting will happen during the remainder of the year. My exams are coming soon, and next year I'll be interning abroad, either teaching English or doing civil service. I feel that my life is slowly unravelling and that an adventure is awaiting me. I had been feeling quite depressed since the semester started, but for the past few weeks, I've felt a lot better than before. Hopefully it stays that way.