ANIME NORTH 2014 DAY 3: Scorching Conclusion

Sunday was the last day of Anime North 2014, and it was absolutely scorching out.
Weather: 24′C, Clear Skies, a little breezy
Individual and Photo-shoots Photography Below!
I hate to admit it, but I was a ball of sweat and every time someone had hugged me I would get so flustered because even I felt like I must feel gross and I would stand awkwardly instead of hugging back. *HEADESKS* WHY EVA!!!!! WHY WOULD YOU NOT RETURN THE HUG?! WHY AM I SO AWKWARD? Oh well, I can’t go back into time. Actually it is one of my biggest regrets when I had the chance to have a picture with another Noragami cosplayer, Kofuku (YEAH I FOUND MORE NORAGAMI CHARACTERS ON SUNDAY! Pity we didn’t have a photo-shoot, though I honestly probably wouldn’t know what to do since I have always been behind the camera).
Despite the fact it was ridiculously hot out, (even at 10am in the morning, when I had arrived- (I MANAGED TO AVOID TRAFFIC TODAY! THANK GOD! Everyone was having that problem)) I dressed up in my Hiyori cosplay once again, and this time, I had better luck with people recognizing me. I can’t remember whether I mentioned in the first entry, (I’m too lazy and tired to check) but I think the main reason why most people didn’t recognize me was because I was wearing Hiyori’s coat for pretty much the entire day on Friday because it was cold out (I even had the scarf on). Anyhow, there were a lot more Noragami cosplayers today as I have mentioned in the above, Kofufuku and Daikoka (together), King-Of-The-World Yato (in his cape and all) along with Hiyori (but I was heading out so I wasn’t able to snag a picture of them) and best of all, I FOUND NORA!!!!!! FUCK YEAH!
After missing two major photo-shoots I wanted to attend, I scurried around the convention and managed to cover The Tales Series (eg: Tales of the Abyss, Exillia, etc…), Full Metal Alchemist (though I could barely get a few shots because it was so crowded and the people in front of me were so tall I was standing on my tippy-toes with my lens over their shoulder trying to get the shots- hell, after going through the pictures, I am SHOCKED how many actually turned out pretty good. MY EFFORT PAID OFF!!!!) Ib (though sadly I didn’t stay for long because I was dying from the heat, there was no shade there), Sword Art Online, Sailor Moon (as it was late in the afternoon and the third photo-shoot of the entire convention, it was only natural not to see a large gathering, BUT I STILL GOT SOME, SO MISSION ACCOMPLISHED), and then hurried over to Free! and caught the last five minutes of the shoot. Once I finished my task of covering the photo-shoots, I went and got myself some ice-cream (god I needed it (fun fact: Some ice-cream trucks are actually 50 cents cheaper than others), and the along with a solo photographer whom I had encountered during previous shoots, I headed to the dealer-room to cool off and buy the prints I wanted. After we separated, I returned to the Crunchyroll booth where I turned out to have been eligible for a free t-shirt the day before because I am a premium member, but alas, I was too late! But I was able to at least get a raffle ticket!! (Not that I won, BUT I WAS SO CLOSE THOUGH TO WINNING THAT NENDOROID FROM CHARIOT (BRS)! THREE NUMBERS OFF, THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAPPENED TO ME IN A ROW! FFFFF—–)
With only an hour left till closing time, I then returned to the dealer’s room see if there were ANYTHING I wanted to get my hands on. I decided that I wanted a pokemon plushie and kept on going in circles seeing what was left and what were the prices. I was then left to make a choice between Vaporeon or Umbreon. I ended up getting Umbreon because it just happened that way. I really want to get myself a Vaporen plushie in the future though, and maybe Glaceon though weirdly enough Glaceon and Leafeon are made smaller than the rest of the Eevolutions… Weird…
With that, I returned to the Crunchyroll booth again where the rest of the people whom I have met hanging around there at the livestream had gathered together again. I have to say it is a great place to be because it gives you a chance to socialize with people, or at least makes it easier without it being awkward. It was surprisingly a fun experience.
Overall Anime North 2014 was a lot more festive than it was in the past. After having attended the convention for four years, I can see how much it has grown. While I did have my own down times (but I mostly blame that on being overtired because I had a busy week before I came) I still managed to enjoy myself and I don’t regret going again. With so much improvements with the actual size of the convention which helped create a larger and better dealer room as well as the artist alley, Anime North is definitely going in the right direction. However, after my experience at Anime Boston last year, I definitely felt that Anime North was lacking something to make it a more memorable and exciting experience (but that might be because I’ve been there so many times now). I think the only thing Anime North needs now is more big anime/licensing companies coming to Canada. I know that a lot of the companies consider it to be out of their budget, but there is definitely an audience seeking out for it. The Aniplex’s Industry panel was completely packed and while their announcements weren’t exactly news (for me at least), at least they have come to Anime North and made the guy hosting the panel had a lot of energy and knew how to hype things up, so for that I am grateful. Hopefully their presence will encourage other companies to drop by because they will certainly receive full house attention as well.  Another thing that I think is very important is having the Anime Industry have a retail spot in the Dealer’s Room like at Anime Boston (that is, if they come at all). Admittedly, (though this is more a personal preference) I think there could be also some guests improvement because for crying out loud, Anime North has like the same guests almost ever year, and it becomes boring because there isn’t someone new to look forward to. Once is great, twice is fine, but three to four times in a row? That’s pushing it. Switch it up a bit.
But at the same time, Anime North sets a great example that a convention can provide photoshoot schedules as well as where they are going to be taking place! I mean, they had even SIGNS TAPED TO THE TREES SAYING WHAT PHOTO-SHOOT WAS GOING T HAPPEN WHEN AND WHAT DAY!!! I don’t know about other conventions because the only other one I have been to was Anime Boston, but if a convention you go to doesn’t have a photo-shoot schedule, you should seriously recommend it because it will make the photo-shoots all the more valuable, especially for those who aren’t aware or don’t check the convention’s forum.
This is my fourth year attending Anime North, and I am happy to be able to recommend it once again. But I will say this, Anime North is definitely not for everyone. Review your preferences of what you enjoy or want to experience while attending an Anime Convention. If you like just having fun, shopping, attending and participating in photo-shoots, and going to mostly fan organized panels and screenings, this is the place for you. If you’re looking for big industries announcements, bigger and more famous guests, as well as English-dub premiere screenings, I think you are better off saving up to attend conventions like Anime Boston, Anime Expo (or any of the top largest conventions in United States) for those types of features. Of course these things can change, so when you’re looking up conventions, be sure to check out what kind of activities and events they hold that you believe will have the most fun at.
Below you can find and enjoy the pictures I have taken! If you plan to repost anywhere, Please credit by linking back to the entry/this blog. NO HOT-LINKING!!!!