March Toronto Anime Comic Cons

So I just realized that Hoobystar changed the name of "March Toronto Anime Con" into "March Toronto Comic Con." It must have something to do with the copyright issues and claims they had with Wizard World's Toronto ComiCon back in March 2011. I guess the December Toronto Anime Con's name is changed to Toronto Comic Con from now on too.

Link to a related Toronto Star article: Con Wars aren't so comic to the companies involved

March Toronto Comic Con 2012

Hobby Star hosted Toronto ComiCon, also known as Toronto AnimeCon, this last Saturday. Oie Lin and I got there at 10:30 AM and there was already a long line-up at the ticket booth. There was only one line that consisted of both people with pre-registered papers and people waiting to buy tickets at the box office. It took awhile before the line was split into two, but that was after the box office was opened at 11.

We got to the show's main floor around 12 PM and the first thing that caught my eye was this guy:


When we got into the dealer's room there was... a large Batman car!!


*Insert Batman theme song* Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na, Batman!


When I took the photo above, I wanted to insert a speech bubble with something random written in it. This is all I have to offer:


There were tables in the hallway outside of the dealer's room that promoted a few organizations and entertainment. The first table at the end of the elevators (the entrance to the convention's main floor) had Christian Potenza and his workmates having a meet and greet. The Ontario Ghostbusters were at the other end of the rows of tables.




Upon leaving the convention around 1 PM when it was getting crowded, I took two pictures of some of the main floor from the elevators.


Storm Troopers get their own photoshoot screen background! :D Maybe there could be specialized ones for Anime North this year. Hm... That's an idea: a room full of different backgrounds on screens for people to take pictures with. I'd prefer setting up scenes with actual items than a background image of them, but it's more cost-effective as a simple background screen. Maybe.

At the end of the day, this was what I brought home:

Two issues of Aliens, two issues of Stranger, and a one-day ticket.

Conclusion: This year's annual March HobbyStarCon was small and sweet.

Conventions, Conventions

_{This post is a follow-up to Where did TAC go?.}

A few of my friends mentioned that the dates for the next March and December Toronto Anime Con (TAC) were released a few weeks ago on Hobbystar Marketing's website. TAC's going to be on Sunday, December 12, 2010 and the weekend of March 19-20, 2011.

I didn't get the chance to attend any conventions this last summer, so I want to be there for both TACs.

March Toronto Anime Con 2010

There were either more cosplayers than I expected or I was too focused on the cosplayers. Many of the faces I saw I've seen at other conventions. I suppose TACs target only locals.

Most of the people there sat in groups on the floor, some occasionally danced, and others displayed a free hugs campaign. MTAC was pretty much how other TACs are: small and simple. Other than checking out the dealers room and attending some of the activities they held, there's not much to do.

My friend Jennifer and I ended up walking down the hallway and back again about 6 times looking for something interest to do or to watch. With my sister, Jennifer and I watched a bit of Anime Flash and Win, Lose, or Draw.

I took a lot of pictures, but I didn't notice that many of them were blurry until I got home to load them to my convention collection. (>_<) I need to work on keeping my hands still. I noticed that there were a lot of people with video cameras. It was so hard to avoid them! It's like every move you make gets recorded by someone.

The video-slideshow:


I believe I am not getting better at these video-slideshow things. ("._.) At least the ending's brief.

Conclusion: Small conventions are more fun when people engage in self-made activities.

March Toronto Anime Con 2007

(I'm going to be adding comments in brackets in my old posts from my old blog about my time in conventions.)

The first free convention I've ever attended. I was very excited to be there. Since it was free entry, my whole family attended. (Oh no.) My father kept taking pictures of people without asking them first. (He was raging with the camera in hand and people were raging at him.) XD We only had 2 hours there, so I decided to find and take pictures of all the Sasuke (Naruto) cosplayers at the convention with Madeline. Not surprisingly, most of the Sasuke cosplayers were female. (Sad to be you you creeper.)

Conclusion: I'm a creep at conventions.