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| Swimsuit Contests, Panels, and Con Plague |
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| Arrrrrrr! |
I apologize for the delays I had recently in writing the last two parts of this article. With school winding down that means one thing; finals and portfolio revisions. At any rate, forget all of that nonsense and stare at those way cool pirates up there. ARRRRRR!
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| I don't know what the hell is happening either. |
The start of Day 2 was a rough one for your favorite convention covering journalist. As soon as I woke up I could tell that I was sick. Stuffy nose, sore throat, and sneezing. This was going to be a long day...
I rolled out of bed around noon made my way to main events where I found my dear old friend Adam MC'ing "Cosplay Chess", a game where
cosplayers take on the roles of living chess pieces. It's kind of like that scene at the end of the first Harry Potter but with less ginger maiming.
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| Fancy lolita lady being fancy. |
The game progressed at a riveting, lighting fast pace (read: I think my beard may have grown a tad during this time) until finally a winner was declared. I can't tell you who that winner was, however, as I honestly don't know if Adam nor his opponent knew themselves. In any case, it seemed like the chess pieces had fun participating, and that makes it a successful event in my book.
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| We all just pawn in game of Andrew Hussie. |
Later on, once again in main events, Chris Rager & Chris Cason conducted a Q&A panel together. The two brought out a good showing and convention attendees posed a lot of the typical questions: "What made you get into voice acting? What was your favorite role? Can you say something in (character)'s voice?"
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| Chris Cason (left) and Chris Rager (right) answering questions. |
I don't blame people for asking these questions, but I always feel a little bad for the voice actors that have to answer the same questions over and over. To their credit, neither one of them seemed annoyed by questions that I know for a fact they have been asked before, which is a show of professionalism on their part.
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| Oh you! |
The panel went over really well, and these guys definitely seemed like veterans when it came to answering questions. The two also went in depth about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of voice acting and the industry in general. Some of the highlights included:
- Chris Cason pointed out that in the world of voice acting, for every role they get there are probably 4 or more that they don't get.
- Rewrites mean more work, but also additional work and paydays, so they're not necessarily a bad thing.
- They believe that society has changed and therefore anime is less censored/restricted today because of that.
- The CW has very strict censorship rules.
- Shin-Chan, despite rumors to the contrary, is written out beforehand and not ad-libbed.
- TV networks (Cartoon Network, CW, Nicktoons, etc.) often dictate changes to a show rather than the studio itself.
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| Chris Rager's Holy Roman Empire impression will haunt my dreams forever. |
- Chris Rager has had a successful comedy career in Dallas.
- Rager should NOT ever play Holy Roman Empire from Hetalia. My ears have heard the evidence to support this claim.
- Rager's mother told him that he should "stop playing games and watching cartoons because it won't get him anywhere".
- Cason was a big fan of Starblazers and Robotech growing up.
- Cason enjoyed Team Four Star's series "DBZ Abridged" and most DBZ voice actors do, too.
- Rager is a part of a comedy troupe called "Section 8 Comedy". The group edited together an episode of Scooby Doo that he described as funny but definitely "not for kids".
- Directors are akin to "seeing eye dogs" who "help guide actors through the dark" and find their best takes.
After the panel wound down, the main events room would be transformed into the center stage for the cosplay contest. I decided to do something different than I usually do at conventions, and instead of covering the actual cosplay contest proper I wanted to get some behind the scenes shots of the contestants before they made their way on stage to be judged by the masses.
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| Last minute adjustments. |
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| Facing judgment! |
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| Aww right! |
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| Talking shop. Cosplay shop. |
Several convention goers showed up to take part in the contest. Winners were determined by both the staff of the convention and the attendees themselves, with separate prizes being given out to 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place winners.
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| Cease your adorableness immediately! |
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| End of the line. |
The cosplay contest was followed by yet another contest; this time of the swimsuit kind. Once again, resident MC and all around nice guy Adam was around to host the event in the pool side area. To wrap up my Day 2 coverage, I present to you a few shots I managed to snag from the competition:
For the full gallery of Day 2 photos, click here!
COMING SOON: Day 3 - Wrapping Up & Looking Forward
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