The AX Report 2003
by Xoth, Master of Black Magic
Day 4+: Let’s Ditch
The AX Report 2003
by Xoth, Master of Black Magic
Day 4+: Let’s Ditch
When Day Four of AX ’03 dawned, one FFML-AX tradition remained
unfulfilled. Well, actually two remained unfulfilled, since I don’t count Day
Three’s four o’clock “lunch” as our traditional group meal. But since most of the
group was heading home this day, we would have to omit that one. Fortunately, the
other tradition was easily maintained; that morning we piled our purchases on one of the
beds and took photos to remind ourselves just how broke we all were. As we pulled
out our buys and stacked them up, I was somewhat amazed to realize how much I’d spent:
practically nothing in comparison to some of the others. :D It made me feel a
little bit better knowing that no matter how much I had blown that weekend, my fellow
FFML/AXers had blown much more. At any rate, we rapidly covered the bed with
expensive Japanese crap and even more rapidly snapped our photos before the mattress
springs gave out.
| With that out of the way, we decided to take one last trip to the dealers’ room. Not that we were expecting to buy anything else, as that would have necessitated a second photo session to cover the additional purchases. No, it was more a sense of nostalgia than anything that prompted our last dealer room jaunt. We simply wanted to take in the sights of exhausted booth people catching up on sleep, the last few desperate shoppers combing through the dregs for final-day bargains, and those stubborn Day Four cosplayers seeking out those with a few frames left to shoot. Such are the bittersweet reminders of the impending passing of another convention. Of course, while I was busy pondering these things, the others wandered off to bargain-hunt. Thus abandoned, I decided to have lunch. The exhibit hall happened to have along one wall a snack bar, where I picked up a hot dog and a drink for an almost reasonable price. As I ate, I thought some more, and I realized there was one more thing I had neglected this year. I had not visited the AX Art Show, the con’s juried exhibit of fan-made artworks. As a supporter of the visual arts (morally, anyway), I resolved to correct this oversight posthaste. So I finished my repast and hastened to the Marriott, where the art show was located. But alas, what was to greet me there but a hastily scribbled sign which read, “Art Show is now closed.” I had procrastinated for too long, and the gradual but inexorable demise of the convention had deprived me of this exhibition. I cannot properly put into words my displeasure at this turn of events, but let it suffice to say that I was ever so pissed. |
The finest work of art that I saw at this year’s AX Art Show. |
used napkin discarded by guest of honor Mahiro Maeda. Do I hear 16? |
But when we got back to the hotel, it was time to separate once again. While Lor and Siren headed to a karaoke party to close out the con, I opted for a more official send-off and returned to Main Events to watch the closing ceremonies. Once again, I was early, but this time around there were no lines of impatient fans outside; indeed, I was able to waltz right in to a half-empty (at best) hall and grab a seat for one of the most interesting events of the convention, the charity auction. Why interesting, you ask? I’ll give you two reasons: 1) it confirms that not all obsessive fans are nearly-broke college students, and 2) bid wars are fun when you’re not one of the bidders. Of course, it’s not like eBay, where bidders are racing against a clock as well as each other, but live auctions offer a different kind of drama. Since they have no time limits, bid wars can go on and on until someone comes to his or her senses. And believe me, the 2003 charity auction saw more than a few of those. I found it truly amazing, and even a bit scary, to see what people would pay for even mundane items donated and/or autographed by guests of honor. Like they say, it was for a good cause, the City of Hope (a hospital/treatment center for various serious diseases), but man, I hope that the bidders were fully aware of what their account balances would be after all their con expenses. |
After this came the Society for Promotion of Japanese Animation’s industry awards. While not as glamorous (or as attended) as the Academy Awards, it, uhh—well...had similar categories; for instance, the Best Male and Female Character awards. Being a Miyazaki nut, I was delighted to learn that Haku and Chihiro from Spirited Away were up for those respective awards and disappointed to see the prizes go to other characters. The movie did, however, win for Best Movie, U. S. Release. I suppose that that, plus the Oscar for Best Animated Film, were adequate accolades for Spirited Away. But the real winner at the SPJA awards was the .hack series, which took home a bunch (so to speak). Once all the awards were handed out, all that was left was closing ceremonies. First, they once again announced the winners from the Masquerade, AX Idol, and the karaoke and AMV contests. Next came the tally of money raised for the City of Hope. Between attendee donations and the aforementioned auction, Anime Expo raised just over $74,000 for the charity; not bad for a bunch of socially impaired pop culture addicts, eh? Anyways, after the SPJA rep handed over the giant check, the guests of honor then came out to give their closing thoughts and fondest regards to the small but still admiring audience. Finally, the daruma was brought out again, the second eye was painted in, and Anime Expo was done for another year.
Obviously this meant that I was now left to seek entertainment elsewhere. I mean, I could have just stayed in my seat and tried to will the convention to continue, but well, after a while the convention center staff putting the chairs away began giving me strange looks. So reluctantly I gave in to reality and slouched back to the room. I suppose I could have wandered around to see if any con-goers were throwing room parties in a futile effort to delay the inevitable, but I didn’t. What can I say; when left to my own devices, I’m pretty clueless. Anyways, once more I resorted to watching television in the room. First I caught the conclusion of the movie Independence Day, and then I turned to a sort-of coincidence that made me smile. It was Adult Swim time on Cartoon Network, and what happened to be on but the Japanese animated series Trigun. I stayed with Cartoon Network for a while, and then I turned to HBO Family just in time for the last half or so of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Okay, so it wasn’t the best movie; yet, perhaps watching an anime dub and then something related (distantly) to Final Fantasy was just what I needed to ease me out of the FFML/AX mindset. If nothing else, it was better than the cold leftover Chinese I had for dinner.
|
Later, as Aki and—the soldier dude, what’s-his-name, were making their descent into the crater, Siren and Lorinan returned from their karaoke shindig. We planned next morning’s trip to LAX and went to sleep shortly thereafter. At 6am, we were awake again and, after washing up and changing, we began cleaning out our room. Surprisingly, not much had been left behind by our previously departed roommates, so we made pretty quick work of it. By 7:30 the three of us were loaded up, checked out, and on the road. An hour or so later, we arrived at the airport, said our goodbyes, and headed for our respective gates. Of course, it wouldn’t have been a true LAX experience without some inconvenience, so I ran into a bit of trouble, first in finding the self-service baggage check, and then in waiting in the very slow and fucking HUGEASS line for the security checkpoint. Since I was hoping to have plenty of time to catch breakfast before my 10:30 flight, this line was easily the most irritating wait of my entire trip (and that’s saying something). Fortunately, I got through with little less than an hour to go, so I hurried to the terminal’s food court and managed to get my breakfast in about a half hour. But then airplane maintenance and storms hanging around my destination, Chicago O’Hare, delayed our takeoff by over an hour and a half. Figures. |
..... .....
from LAX. |
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