Aged AB Post

So this post has been sitting in the posts box (ha ha >_>) for months, so I'm finally going to publish it now. I don't know why it's been sitting there. Maybe because the photos weren't ready. The photos still aren't. That will be the next post ^_^;

School is keeping me busy!

Anime Boston was pretty interesting this year. On one hand, it was totally awesome as it usually is. They fixed all the dumb stuff that happened last year with the long lines, etcetc. I actually did almost everything I wanted to do and didn't feel like I wasted time sitting around at any point. I went to some really cool panels, traded lots of stuff at the swap meet, and got some good stuff in the artist alley and dealer's room.

However... and maybe someone can back me up on this... the air about AB this year was... strange. It's difficult to describe. It just had a different feeling. Maybe it's because more high schoolers and less older people are attending? I rather hope that isn't the case... it's great to see so many people getting into anime, but I hope the older crowd doesn't feel shunned from this kind of event. I also hope they don't target con activites more and more at highschool-aged people in particular... it's nice to have a balance!

And is it me, or was there so much less cosplay and more goth/punk/lolita wear? That stuff is cool, too, I just felt like I wasn't seeing the cosplay.

It's sort of strange how anime and cosplay trends and popularity fluctuate so quickly... I guess as more people get into anime, they move on to the next big thing, and skip over the previous ones. A lot of people didn't know who I was (Haruhi Suzumiya!) even after I told them. Last year, there were so many Haruhis around I about lost my mind.

This year, it was a bit difficult to pick out one or two major cosplay trends. I noticed an unusually high level of Vocaloid cosplay, and lots of Pokemon (especially Pikachu girls in short skirts...). I saw some really great cosplay throughout the con, and tried to take as many photos as I could.

I also had a conversation with my boyfriend wherein he brought up an interesting point... maybe some people are cosplaying, and I just can't tell because I'm unfamiliar with the characters? Or because the characters wear fairly normal clothes, have normal hair, or are gothic/lolita/punk and I think that's just how they dress? This could be true I guess. I don't really know if that accounts for the difference.

Everyone I spoke to who attended the con agreed that there was a strange aura about it this year. However, I still had tons of fun... I hope you did, too!