Later today, FanimeCon 2012 in San Jose, CA officially kicks off. I had a chance to go down later in the evening yesterday and see how things were looking. At the time of arrival, there was a monstrous line that was cut off at about 7:30PM which wrapped around the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The number of persons in line looked to be well over 1,000 with many towards the back of the line having to wait up to 2-3 hours for a pre-registered badge. Things were worse when the power went out for much of the San Jose area which crippled the convention center and sent queue estimates from various individuals upwards of four and a half hours.
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Even with the massive snaking lines, there were many upbeat individuals, excited to be attending the event. To pass the time, scores of people pulled out their handheld gaming devices which mostly consisted of Nintendo 3DS systems. Those without systems peered over the shoulders of those who did and kept busy glancing at the minor entertainment. Others looked on at the many cosplayers that dotted the queue.
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Those that managed to snag their badge or were turned away after 7:30PM headed over to a nearby hotel for the swapmeet. One of the hotel’s ballrooms was lined with rows and rows of sellers trying to pawn off anime, manga, video games, and other random knickknacks spread out in small spaces on the floor. Few items were a bargain, but there were a few deals to be had including one individual who managed to walk out with a Virtual Boy in a hard shell case for a mere $25. Along with the regular US region games and toys were imports. One seller had the floor covered in Super Famicom games. Even with the lack of sales, it was hard to keep myself from spending money. However, I did cave in when a seller had a sealed pack of Kid Icarus: Uprising promo cards from Comic-Con 2011 for $1.
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As the exit beckoned me, one Link cosplayer caught my eye and started to play his blue ocarina with a delightful melody from the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; a calming melody to have in one’s mind heading home.
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Keep an eye out here for more photos and coverage of FanimeCon 2012!
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