Given that this was a startup, I didn’t set my expectations very high. The venue itself wasn’t extremely large, so space and attendance would be limited. With that in mind, I set off last night after work to sample the offerings.

The Great Wolf Lodge is actually a family resort/indoor water park. It has a hotel, restaurant, and caters to families with younger children. The con itself was contained in the conference area of the resort, meaning there was minimal disruption to the lodge’s normal activities. There were two smaller rooms for panels, a large room for main events, and a vendor area. There was also a small nook set aside for various game systems.

The above photo was what greeted us when we went through the front door. Registration was in the main lobby and was run pretty efficiently. The organizers must have had some experience in the past, or had figured out how to handle the traffic.

While the lobby remained mostly clear on the first day, it quickly became the center point of any mass cosplay photo op. It was the only space large enough that could hold people. Going outside was pretty much out of the question, as temperatures in Charlotte hovered around the 40 degree mark during the day and dipping below freezing after the sun went down.

The vendor area had about a dozen different sellers peddling various wares from swords to clothing. One seller had a small stock of bootleg CDs and DVDs, which was a bit disappointing. At bigger conventions this is usually more common, but with a smaller group like this, I wonder if it’s possible (or feasible) to police such things? Only one seller really had a selection of figures, although not extremely large. One thing that struck me as odd was the types of merchandise being sold. While there was your typical Shonen Jump and Final Fantasy paraphernalia, there was also a surprising amount of Sailor Moon goods. For a series that hasn’t been on air in almost a decade, that’s pretty odd.

Since there wasn’t a huge variety of newer stock, not much caught my eye. I did score one figure for my collection… Holo from Spice and Wolf.

At first I was wondering why she came with an extra set of arms. Once I got the box open, I realized that she was completely cast off-able, and could be displayed nekkid. Not quite sure about that…

In all, the first year of Ichibancon was a great effort. Hopefully, this year’s success will lead to future growth and return in subsequent years. One thing the organizers may want to consider is having a dedicated cosplay meet up area. That way, crowds don’t gather in the central area and cause trouble for folks trying to get from one side to the other.

I’ll be going back tomorrow afternoon for the last bit of the event. There is an Asian BJD panel at noon, and Rin will be attending it with me. Hopefully she’ll have the opportunity to meet others like her and share stories!

Yep, for your amusement, I had a conversation with my cat this morning. I think she was hungry.

…moving on…

I got home from work today and found a nice big box from RightStuf.com. I was expecting something from them today, but I didn’t expect something quite so large. When I picked it up, however, it weighed almost nothing. That pretty much ruled out anything like DVDs or manga, which meant that it could only by the ARIA lithograph that I ordered. Either that or it was a big empty box…

Ever since I saw the shipping notification, I was a bit puzzled. From the description on the item page, I really shouldn’t have this in hand yet…

Date Available – Dec 8 2009

Poster

Media – Poster or Wallscroll

Product Availability – Pre-Order, Not Yet Shipping

Despite that, I had a big giant box that weighed almost nothing. No use arguing with an item description, it was time to crack the box open.

It looks like it was very well packaged. It was surrounded by foam padding and the box was reinforced on each size with additional cardboard. I’m sure it’ll come in handy in a later project. Sophie, of course, is extremely curious about the new item.

Here it is, out of the box! The foam that it’s sitting on is from the box. I’m sure that’ll get recycled at some point as well. The print measures 20” x 16′”, which should make it easy to frame (unlike some other things I have). I’ll need to hit the craft store sometime this week and get something to put it in. I already have a spot picked out for it!

The other neat thing about the print is that it was created as a limited run by RightStuf. This means that they’re all individually numbered and have a certificate of authenticity attached. Mine is number 21 out of 250. ^.^

It’s a beautiful print and should look good in my collection. I’m hoping these sell well and a couple more get released!

Before I go any further, yes, I did spend way too much money on toys when I was overseas. Fortunately, my plane ticket back was already paid for, so I couldn’t have wound up like Piro and Largo. Now, after some wait time, here’s the unveiling of the loot from Japan!

And what a pile of loot it is! Going from top to bottom, left to right, here’s what’s in that juicy picture:

• Suzumiya Haruhi no Yutsu PS2 game, with SP Haruhi Figma
• Figma Drossel
• Fujibayashi Kyo, from Clannad
• Figma Konata Izumi – Summer uniform version
• Fate/Unlimited Codes PS2 game, with SP Saber Lily Figma
• Natsuki Kuga, from Mai-HiME
• Saber Lily, by Good Smile Company (new release!)
• Yoko Dollfie
• Narusegawa Naru, from Love Hina
• Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ 2010 calendar (from TGS)
• Original set of production notes from Mai-HiME, Episode 18
• Original set of production notes from Aa! Megami-sama II, Episode 9
• Original set of production notes from ARIA (unknown episode)
• Original set of production notes from ARIA the Natural, Episode 10
• Original set of drawing instructions for Karin (presumably used by artists working on the series)
• Production sketches for Kimi ga Nozomu Eien
• Original sketches, backgrounds, and animation frames for Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou ~Quiet Country Cafe~ OVA 2

Not pictured:

• AQUA vol. 1 (Japanese language manga)
• Lucky Star walking guide 2009 ed. for sights around Washinomiya (obtained from cafe at Washinomiya Shrine)
• Various swag from TGS
• Various swag from Microsoft Japan company store
• Do As Infinity’s new album, Eternal Flame
• Kuraki Mai’s new compilation album, All My Best
• Charms from all the shrines I visited
• Snacks (all of which have been eaten)

While most of the stuff I picked up is pretty standard fare (figures and such), a couple things in this pile really stand out as unique. First and foremost, Yoko. She was made available earlier this year as a limited item, and I managed to score a brand new one from one of the various Mandarake stores inside Nakano Broadway. She did cost me a pretty penny though…

My absolute favorite pickups though, were the various original storyboards and production sketches. These truly are one-of-a-kind items. Even with those as photocopies, there is evidence they were actually used in the creation of the show, as most of them carry doodles from their owners (the one for Aa! Megami-sama, for example, has “I want steak” written above Peorth’s head).

If you zoom in on the image on the right, you’ll see it’s for this scene… Pretty cool, huh?

I’d also picked up similar packets for ARIA and Karin.

Of all the ones I got, my favorite is the set of concept sketches for the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou OVA. While the others were photocopies, these are all original pencil drawings from (presumably) the original artist, Ashinano Hitoshi. When I first saw the packet sitting in the display case, I thought to myself “I know who she is, but why?” Upon asking the shopkeeper, he started to say “Yokohama…” and my eyes immediately lit up. There were two sets of drawings here, both for different shots in the same scene out of Quiet Country Cafe OVA2.

These are relatively cheap collectibles, considering how much other things like figures and dolls cost. Each set of production notes cost around 1000-1500 yen and the YKK production sketches cost 4000 yen (it came with a lot of pages). For one-of-a-kind items, that’s a steal!

For more loot pictures, hit up the full gallery!

View Full Album

Total price for everything: $118.91. Not bad for that many DVDs!