Comic Fiesta 2008 – Day 02

If I were to have it my way, every post's OP image would be Ranka.

More behind the scenes stuff. Was here most of the time the previous day, and here I am again, to relish the two figurines I had sought after so badly.

For those who were converging the figurines booth, they may have noticed that a particular one seemingly never left its packaging. It actually has, but both Setsuna and I concluded that if Nanako ever left her box, she would be "taken home." Don't mind me as I write up on an impromptu figurine review below:

As you might have already known, I was not able to afford both her and Shiki, so I had my friend buy it himself instead, and from first hand experience, I for one, can tell you that molesting PVC never felt this good.

Even if you aren't already a lolicon, seeing Nanako would probably just bring it out of you, as she exudes this alluringly innocent charm due to the nature of her pose, when seen through a lens. It's the only figurine I'm aware of that comes with its own set of pillows, not to mention the fact that her ears and tail have a fur-like surface that's just so enticing to caress.

The detail on this is far exceeded my expectations; They even carved in a loli cameltoe for the vigilant. I long for whatever which lies beneath this thin veil of cloth.....

If only I could share the same praise for Shiki. For the most part, she is an excellent figurine, though she seems a lot different from the prototype release, in regards to her facial expression; It initially had this feint smile that's absent in the final release. Still, it looks great as Shiki stands out with her elegance that's rare among the other moe moe bishoujo figurines.

And back to our scheduled programming:

Kurogane trying out Grand Theft Auto IV on the only rig I've seen so far that has been able to tame that one beast of a game. On a side note, I too, can run it on my laptop, but not without toning it down the point the graphics resembles a badly rendered San Andreas. And by run, I really meant being able to only launch it, as I coulnd't manage a decent framerate for it to be playable at all.

Grand Theft Auto IV's requirements have left me in despair!

Oddly enough, this person isn't overly upset about it.

Much better.

Hands off Alto-hime, Sheryl!

Emma cosplay, only because that's what real maids actually look like :(

Doc Ock and his fetish for tentacles.

I didn't think it was possible to pull off a decent Siegfried cosplay using this material for his extremely bulky armor.

It's hard to tell, but Tianzi here is actually very short and has a childlike demeanor to her, though she's unfortunately not loli.

It's rare enough as it is to see some MGLNS cosplay, but a good Hayate no less. Funny that she rues not being able to imitate the pose below due to the floating Book of Darkness:

Two of my favorite dudes from Tales of the Abyss plus the third person who's also judge for the solo cosplay competition.

The trap twins from Black Lagoon, whom I still find difficult to differentiate, although no prizes if you can tell them apart here. :P

I only spotted one other Lelouch on that day, but I prefer the Warlock version.

A cluster shot before the competition commenced. Funny story; Some wench of a cosplayer who wasn't participating nor is part of the staff told me and Kurogane off for taking this shot. Bitch please. I like how she went "I saw that" as if we were sneakily taking photos of cosplayers down to their nickers or something. Well, actually I knew ahead of time from the committee members, but Kuro didn't and I hate the way she was being so high handed, so I kept this shot just to spite her.

Qualified judges I'm sure.

Missed this Shana among the crowd for some reason, so here she is. Thankfully nicer looking than AFA's Manshana.

Clone spotted.

Setsuna Says:

This be the first CF that i attended and it was absolutely FABULOUS. I do have a few gripes though.

1. Hall lighting: yes i know it has been complained about till no end but it is still really bad. And as for those who would want to comment that if we wanted better lighting we should have arranged our own shoot. Do remember that not everyone has plenty of free time and it is difficult to get such a large concentration of good cosplayers in one place.

2. Cosplay competition (solo) : yes i do realize that it is difficult to fit in >50 cosplayers but having three of them on stage at the same time and having them strike poses in such quick succession makes it hard on the photographers (press included) to get a good shot.

3. The emcee: they were funny but some of their jokes went overboard. Throwing the word lolicon around in the hall is not a good idea. Though i do admit i am one.

4. Invasion: Its not fun to be invaded by a wall of fans when you are supposed to do your job as a press photographer. Please make the demarcation clearer next time.

Now for the good stuff:

1. HOLY SHIT SO MANY BOOTHS: Yes, i rather liked the booths. Their products were of reasonably good quality and low price. I bought quite a few items including some prints and badges.

2. LION on stage. or rather Sheryl on stage: it might be blasphemy in this blog but there is no denying that the Sheryl cosplay by skye was awesome. FYI she is the same Sheryl in AFA08 that wore the Diamond Crevasse concert gown if memory serves.

3. Great committee members and organizers who actually listen to the complaints/requests of press photographers and fans and actually acting on them. I really liked it that they worked on the photographer's requests. Some events treat photographers like dirt.

4. Cosplay : I am really pleased to report that the lack of Naruto and Bleach has been greatly felt and it has made this event greater by 500%. Appearances of rare cosplays such as Yagami Hayate from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha further increased the win factor by 300%. Lastly, the appearance of Macross Frontier cosplayers ( a few of which i recognised were from AFA08) has upped the WIN factor to >9000.

Shin Says:

In addition to the stuff I mentioned the previous day, I've only another two things to cover regarding this year's event. The sound system was pretty bad, as at times it bordered deafening levels while on certain occasions, the thing just choked with static. Again, I've a bone to pick with the committee as they needed better crowd control. As soon as the competition beginning, people were swarming to the stages with their cameras, and the press members found themselves jostling for room with the public, though this was resolved only later. I can't think of anything else at the top of my head for the time being, but it doesn't matter that much, since it was great overall. Stay tuned for Setsuna's Sheryl Omake post!

P.S Cosplay Winners Are As Follows(for some reason I don't have photos of each individual)

Best Cosplayer: Skye (Sherly Nome from Macross Frontier)
Honourable Mention: Zend (Nemesis from Resident Evil 3)
Honourable Mention: Dusty (Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2)
Best in Hall: Pinky (Ashura from RG Veda)
Best Group Cosplay: D. Gray Man Group

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