And so my brain returns from Anime Expo 2009 (part 1)

Anime Expo has come and gone again, and like the years before, I staffed in the infamous Access Control, aka The Red Vests. Over my 5 day reprieve from reality to help organize and also enjoy AX, among one of the biggest events were guests of honor Daisuke Ishiwatari and Toshimichi Mori, figure heads of the Guilty Gear series and the new Blazblue game. There were a lot of interesting booths in the dealer's hall, including a large enclosed booth called, "Manga Gamer" and the long awaited english localized Tatsunoko vs. Capcom game over at Capcom's booth.

Ishiwatari-san and Mori-san

The day of the big Ishiwatari, Mori panel, I was working the dreaded registration hall. At roughly 9:30am, it was a good time to ask my squad lead for time off. Staff do encourage us to enjoy AX to it's fullest when we find the time, and for staffers to enjoy panels during their shift, we fill the spots with volunteers, or green vests. So I ask for my leave and presumably left my position in the hands of some green vests. Upon arrival of the panel, probably over two or three hundred people had arrived before me and gotten in their seats.
I took me seat, next to relative normally dressed attendees, though I could see the occasional Ky cosplayers or (ack) Bridget cosplay. The entrance of Ishiwatari and Mori was met by a storm of applause a barrage of flash photography. As they settled down in their seats we got the gist of what everyone was here for; Q&A. There were a lot of good questions, both as being genuine inquisitive, or getting a lot of laughs. My favorite for example, was directed at Iron Tager, a character from Blazblue. His unique power let's him magnetize his opponents in order to draw them closer to him. One smart person however, asked how he's capable of using a cell phone (from his win pose) if he's magnetized. Another interested thing is that Mori-san, the creator of Blazblue, pronounces it Blaze-Blue. However, every time someone at the mic pronounced it Blaz-Blue, the room filled with the loud murmurs of people in hushed, but heated argument, obviously in reaction to why the person pronounced it so incorrectly.
After the panel, everyone was invited to the autographing session being held on the opposite end of the convention. Around 100 or so people had shown up and I received a ticket marking me as the 70th in line. There were plenty of people just getting autograph boards signed, but also Guilty Gear fans getting Guilty Gear games signed, posters, and art books as well. Unfortunately, the line was cut off at around number 50 and I was left out to dry. Luckily, two other staffers were with me in line, and as they tried exerting some staff privileges, I joined them, and luckily, became the last three people of the day to get autographs from Ishiwatari and Mori.

From AX 2009

From AX 2009