Fanime 2006: Truly, A Convention for Fans

By Christine Scott
August 1, 2006

Fanime. It manages to lure me back, even after I've moved 600 miles away. It's like a delicious snack — you keep returning for more. You can hide it in the deep recesses of your cabinet, but that siren-like call is impossible to ignore. And this year's Fanime was no exception.

Fanime's Gaming department this year rocked my socks. With one room set aside for table-top gaming and an exhibit hall set up for arcade games and LAN tournaments, the gaming was non-stop. During the wee hours of the morning, I could wander in and try my hand at air hockey or play a few hands of poker. The table-top room was slightly too
small for my tastes, but any overflow was easily re-located to the near-by Internet Cafe.

Ah, yes, the Internet Cafe. This was a new feature to Fanime this year, and proved very popular. Having a space set aside for people to use their laptops, away from the throngs of congoers, was very convenient and the staffer that came up with the idea should be given a gold star.

Another addition to Fanime this year was Stage Zero. Stage Zero was added so that different programming concepts could be tested for future cons. Still in its infancy, Stage Zero has a few kinks to work out. It has a lot of promise, though, and I look forward to seeing how it develops over the next couple of years.

The halls of Fanime were full of amazing cosplay. A lot of northern California cosplayers attend Fanime to show off their latest costumes, and they were out in full force this year. Oftentimes, the costumes were so splendid that there were throngs of photographers blocking the pathways, and the cosplayers would hold poses for ten or fifteen minutes before they could continue on their way.

Speaking of cosplay, Der Cosplay, Fanime's costume competition, ran very smoothly this year. The competition ran according to schedule, and the contestants served up some hilarious skits and some gorgeous costumes.

Fanime's AMV competition also ran sans hiccups. The 24 theme amused me greatly, and many of the entries were highly entertaining. Major kudos to the Fanime staffers who oversaw the AMV competition. It was very well executed.

In the past, MusicFest, Fanime's concert, has been the major draw for me. This year, not so much. This year, the big draw for me was hanging out with other attendees. If I wasn't having a blast at the dances, I was chilling in the hallways, just chatting with other attendees. Every year, it seems I make a couple of new friends at Fanime.

And I plan on continuing the tradition.