Anime North 2008

The cardboard box with "Gundam" on it was me XD I was aiming to make people laugh, and I made a lot of people laugh

i can't believe that for the majority of fans for this sort of scene are Caucasian. furthermore, it scares me that people are so into this sort of thing to the extreme as to dress up and actually brave the world outside their houses to participate.

i dont know if i should commend them for their bravery or just laugh.

I haven't been to one of those in YEARS. I went to the first couple of Anime Norths, when they were tiny and held at the Michner Institute, Downtown.

Ya, they kinda scare me now...

@ kris.w:
maybe just do neither and not judge?
and maybe they're mostly caucasian because we're in... canada? if you went to akihabara, they'd be *gasp* japanese!

it's just silly, thats all.
please dont get too offended or on the defense.

i made the 'caucasian' point because as far as i know, this is something that evolved from Japan originally. it's interesting how its transcended and seems to be so well recieved with mostly caucasian kids. I actually saw 2 young boys get on the bus from Wilson station late on Friday night. one of them was a bit tubby,long uncombed hair and had a beard - he was carrying an anime doll of some sort. his companion was skinny, equally long and unbrushed hair,wearing a fishnet shirt, skinny jeans with chucks and....cat ears. yes thats right, cat ears. you have to be pretty proud of yourself to be wearing such a get up at 1am in that area.

all the power to you interesting if not alienated and socially awkward (i would imagine), youth...

I do not agree that otaku are alienated (Can you even say that with 14,000 people around you?) Some of the smartest kids i know are Anime "freaks" they may act strange with their groups but in a situation that calls for it most are mature. And why not have culture of some kind in North America? A lot of the world tries to emulate us, why not let people emulate them for a change? It reminds me of Japanese rap videos (Man are they bad).

@ ohayoo gozaimasu

Sure, it's silly. But so are Leafs fans painting up their faces and hollering like idiots at games. Or heavy metal fans costuming it up on stage. Pick your stereotype, and to each their own.

Cosplaying origins had their start in North America at Science Fiction conventions. Then it got picked up in Asia and the words 'costume play' came into use. So really, it's actually an amalgamation of both sides of the ocean.

Mostly Caucasian my foot lol. I've been going since 2003 and I see a mix of every single sort of fan- it's definetely not majorly Caucasian.

That being said, I actually recognize that description of that person you said with the cat ears- I actually sat next to him at one point and overheard that he had no hotel room, so he had actually stayed up all night on rockstar drinks and kept going in the morning. A bit scary.

Our group had hotel rooms and we hit the hay relatively early. Cons have every single kind of fan, from the socially awkward to the socially happy. Going is actually quite liberating- and to each their own with their hobbies.

If it makes one happy, and it isn't bothering anyone, go ahead and do it. And people may learn skills in the process. I know I picked up propmaking skills and costuming skills, which I use on shoots, as well as photography skills as well.

Cheers.

Hardly mostly caucasian but does it really matter. Its a hobby convention where everyone with the same interest is having fun. Is it seriously that necessary to think too deep into it. Everything taken to extreme is scary. The end

I slept all of 5 hours during the WHOLE con. So am i extreme? i was talking and having fun with people at 4am at dt.

It was an awesome con.
Ps im the one in the last picture @ the right

Just imagine it as a HUGE halloween party where everyone has the same interests. Cosplaying looks funny out of context (having a gundam on the ttc can get quite a few stares) but really they're not trying to be judged by the public and just want to have a good time.

good to see Harry Potter fans at the con too!

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Naburoo_9/cosplay/Anime%20North%2008/?action=view¤t=P5241175.jpg

I wasn't there for very long - and for that matter, I didn't get past the parking lot - but I've got to say that Karuson's Gundam box was the highlight of the con. I even took a picture for those that missed the majesty of the Box.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h101/PresidentRalph/GundamBoxGuy.jpg

@ Andrew
Lmao awesome picture, I think I have a new display picture on cosplay.com

Was riding with friends in their van on Saturday.

One of them saw these people in costumes walking on Airport Road and cried out, "Look, illegal aliens!"

We had a good laugh.

harry potter fan, the characters are from Ouran High School host club XP
but i do remember seeing some harry potter cosplayers @ AN

I used to go to Anime North, mainly for the dealers room, but with comic stores like 1,000,000 comix now selling manga at US cover, often without taxes, it's hard to justify spending $40 to go to the con, and not save any money in the dealers room. The dealers are not allowed to carry imports anymore either, so you can't buy anime and manga that won't get licensed in North America. The anime they show at the con is about 1-2 years old, only recently licensed stuff. Gone are the good old days when Anime North was tiny, not under the publisher's watch, when they could show fansubs, and imports could be sold.

The con was so much fun. Everyone I met there were so nice and everyone enjoyed themselves. but I just hope that they overlook what happened at the dance saturday night and hold another dance next year. >:

btw, I'm in the first picture, wearing a black and white dress squinting at something near the front. :P

Well I'm appalled that someone who is so young can be so inhibited and limited. My brother started with Anim? North when they met once a month at U of T and now my daughter and many of her friends get into it. You can say whatever you want, my experience of Otaku is that they are really good friends. People feel safe at these events, I've seen car accidents and my daughter said someone collapsed on Saturday night and each time everyone jumped in to help. It's a really nice change from the usual "don't get involved" of big cities like T.O. I'd rather a gathering of thousands of Otaku, a name I use with respect and affection, than a colliseum full of sports fans any day. And what's wrong with taking the qualities and good points of another culture and adding it to your own? If you read manga and know something of the history, you know that it is far more than Western style comic strips, it has a strong positive social message and helps people learn to build good social netowrks of true supportive friends. I know I've met so many parents of other Otaku who see the same thing I do. Reign on Anim? North.

I was there on Sunday! Possibly the best day of my life. So many people wanted free hugs and pictures! Did anyone see the tall, scary guy in a suit and briefcase with the jet-black skin and red eyes that stared and followed you? O.O

Hi ^^
I thought your blog entry was enjoyable.
I wish I could have made it to the Saturday concert.
It looks like you had fun though.. so that is good. It is always best with friends :)
Ive never been to any other convention.. it might be neat to see others --- I am very attached to AN though..

Hey Karu, why does caucasian presence surprise you? There are still a lot of us in Canada. I saw plenty of non-caucasians, it might just be the photographer's bias. To be honest, these costumes aren't bad but he must have purposefully avoided taking pictures of the better cosplays. I saw some amazing ones for Bleach. I find a lot of the best cosplayers tend to be attractive-looking asian groups in a lot of cases, but maybe that's just me.

Bravery's nothing to laugh at, it takes huge guts and love for anime.

I didn't see any collapsing or accidents... I have to wonder if that wouldn't happen is people got more sleep, lol. I'm not one to talk though since I only slept a couple hours one night.

haha u were the gundam box..saw that pic on alotta sites

+1. Who more? :)

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