Team Sonic Dominates Akiba Fest Cosplay Contest!
This past Wednesday was Anime FX’s “Anime Event” Akiba Fest. Team Sonic decended upon Akiba Fest and picked up first prize in the group cosplay. Great job, NiceGai, Blondie, Lycoris and Paul! You all seriously made this night. I will have many pictures to share, as I’m sure many of you are dying to see more of me in my Amy Cosplay.
Event Recap:
I don’t think I’ll be attending many more Anime FX events. At least, that is, not as a cosplayer. There was a great bit of disconnect in the organization of Akiba Fest which was disappointing.
- Sign in: Running the desk were two teenagers. At one point one of them yelled “Have your drivers license ready!! You aren’t getting in without a driver’s license” to which understandly the entire line freaked out. Women in full cosplay rummaging through their purses, people complaining they left their wallets in their car. What tweedle-dee meant to say was “If you don’t have your pass, have your drivers license ready.”
- Release Forms: All cosplayers were required to sign a release form since they were being taped. This is standard practice. However, otherwise professional looking release form was riddled with egregious spelling errors. I’m not talking “were” as opposed to “where.” I mean they FUCKING MISPELLED “APPEARANCE!” Glad I made an “aprearnance” at Akiba Fest. I later found out the footage was to be used in some capacity by the discovery channel. That’s a bit of “acceptable” deception. See, the release form was for Ten Bu productions, an Anime FX company. It authorizes the use of sound, likeness, image for anything they deem and are not legally required to list all or any of the intended purposes of the video. But if you want to come to an event like this, you pretty much have to sign it.
- Scheduling Disaster: Their sound guy was late, happens to the best of us. I’ve worked many events were things like that happened. I watched as staff scurried trying to mitigate their loss of time but generally freaking out. It kicked the entire schedule out of order, which wouldn’t have been too much of a problem if I wasn’t required to stand in a stuffy backroom in my Amy Suit for 3 hours. Our 2 minute sketch was cut down 30 seconds. That would have been O.K. too if someone had informed us sooner than when we stepped out onto stage.
- Pimping Scions? This I honestly don’t get. Such ugly cars. What do Scions have to do with Anime? How about some corporate sponsors we give a damn about?
Overall the event was not anything super exciting or special. It felt like a big commercial for Anime FX and Ten Bu productions.
How’d you guys enjoy it? Was the food any good? I was too busy sweating my ass in costume to try any.
JAN. 1. 2007 EDIT:
Cosplay.com forums thread about akibafest
http://forums.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=97779&page=3
Feedback about the event starts at page 3. It seems I was not the only one disatisfied with the event.
-Ataru
