YES! YES! IT'S TRUE THE CHRISTIAN, HOME-SCHOOLED OTAKU CAN FINALLY SAY SHE HAS GONE TO A CON! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Regaining Composure) Ahem. Yes, I am aware that Zenkaikon was about two weeks ago, but well, my posts take FOREVER to write. Well, lets have a look at the Japanese Word of the Day.
Japanese Word of the Day: Zenkai {Pronounced: Zen-k-high} (Full-force; all-out; full speed)
Zenkaikon is the main Con for the Philadelphia area. Until recent years, Zenkaikon has been held in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It moved around a bit to Valley Forge and Oaks, PA; and then, last year, it was announced that Zenkaikon was moving to Lancaster, PA, which happens to be... PRACTICALLY THE HOME-SCHOOLED OTAKU'S BACKYARD! The event ran from March 22 - 24 and my humble self was lucky enough to attend (with a VIP pass).
Zenkaikon 2013's guests of honor included actors such as, John de Lancie, Richard Epcar, and Ellyn Stern (the latter two of which the Home-schooled Otaku did not see AT ALL, though she did almost walk straight into John de Lancie, and catch some of his Q + A Session). Other guests included, "geek specific" comedian, Uncle Yo; Steve Yurko of the Unofficial One Piece Podcast; and certified kimono consultant* and Edo Tsumami Kanzashi* artisan, Kanawa Kuniko-sensei.
Now, the Home-schooled Otaku would love to show you some pictures of the event (And her Bellatrix Lestrange cosplay*), but sadly this is not possibly as she was not afforded the luxury of a camera.
So the Otaku will simply have to settle for giving you a walk-through of her weekend.
As you may have deduced, this was the Home-schooled Otaku's very first Con experience, and she was not disappointed. Having survived her weekend on the traditional Con-goer's rations (granola bars, beef jerky, Gatorade, and Pocky), and about 5 to 6 hours of sleep per day, I am proud to report back to my readers: It was GREAT.
The Home-schooled Otaku's weekend started with her waking up at a considerably earlier hour than she is accustomed to, and being ferried into Lancaster by her mother, accompanied by her two companions. We then had to wait in the lower lobby of the Lancaster Convention Center for about twenty minutes until the Prop Check was set up and one of our party (who was dressed in a Zabuza cosplay) could pass through into the convention proper.
With time to spare before the start of the first workshop I wanted to attend, the three of us popped into the viewing rooms to catch some snippets of Black Cat, and Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple.
Sadly the Home-schooled Otaku was not able to attend the Opening Ceremonies for Zenkaikon 2013, because she was in the Edo Tsumami Kanzashi workshop trying to compose an adequate plum blossom hair pin under Kanawa Kuniko-sensei's watchful eye (without getting too much rice starch adhesive on her fingers.) Ironically, the best Kanzashi in the class were crafted by two men in their twenties.
With a significant free gap before our next event, we decided to view the video's entered for the AMV contest. Though she was unable to view the Awards Ceremony the following evening, the Home-schooler must give credit where credit is due: some of the nominations (particularly in the Action genre) were truly impressive. Others, specifically those in the "Annoying" division, lived up to the title of their category.
Here, the Home-schooled Otaku and her sister parted from the third member of our party and headed up to watch Kanawa-sensei dress one of the convention staff in the traditional formal garb for a Japanese man (albeit in Hakama* that were about two inches too short for him).
We then headed downstairs, regrouped with the third member of our party in the main event hall and patiently awaited for John de Lancie's Q + A session to end so Uncle Yo could get up on stage and say "SORRY" to every political party, minority, and clique; every person or group of people of every race, sexual persuasion, religion, profession, special needs disorder, psychological disorder, philosophy, colour, creed, gender, social standing, walk of life, and nationality (Even, if reluctantly, the French); to all the Elves and Orcs and Dwarves and... uh HOBBITS; to EVERY Trekkie, Whovian, Potterhead, Twilighter, Narutard, Avatard, and BRONY*; and to EVERY facet or sub-division of Geekdom or Nerd-kind THAT HE HAS EVER OFFENDED ON ANY OCCASION ANYWHERE. You may have noticed that he forgot HOME-SCHOOLERS. I take this as good thing because I know that it happens to mean that WE CAN TAKE A STUPID JOKE (I know because I'm Home-schooled*). Amongst other rants in his routine, Uncle Yo also pointed out the reason why Sonic the Hedgehog should never run as fast as you want him to; that someday Pinkie Pie will end up on Applejack's sofa with pixie stix shoved up her nose, that Sailor Moon took WAY too long to change into a pair of boots and a bell; that the most recent trilogy of Batman movies would have been soooo much more interesting had Dr. Seuss done the screenplay; and that middle-aged women who watch The Big Bang Theory DON'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT GEEKS AS THEY THINK THEY DO.
The Home-schooled Otaku was expecting all of this. And she also knew - somehow she just KNEW - when she and her sister sat down smack in front of the stage, that at some point Uncle Yo was going to jump down off the stage and shout something in her face. What she was not expecting was that what he shouted would be "HAVE YOU ACCEPTED PRINCESS CELESTIA AS YOUR PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR?!!!"
As you can imagine the Home-schooled Otaku began to positively shriek with laughter. She looks forward to the day that she can go on YouTube, find a recording of Uncle Yo at Zenkaikon 2013 and listen to her own maniacal cackling.
After Uncle Yo was finished inflicting his comedy upon us all, The Home-schooled Otaku and her sister headed to the One Piece Podcast Panel. Now, the Home-schooler is perfectly willing to confess that her knowledge (and consequently her sister's as well) of One Piece is minimal, at best... but as Steve Yurko was forced to brave the horrors of Zenkaikon alone, and we do happen to appreciate his coming to PA, we thought we could at least show up and hear what he had to say. The crowd was a tad sparse, but I'd say the quality of the cosplays and devotion of the attending fans more than made up for that.
Our first day at Zenkaikon ended with us being very tired and, in my sister's case, rather cranky. She said she didn't think she liked cons very much. The Home-schooled Otaku's sister, you see, is something of an introvert. She doesn't like big crowds, and she DOESN'T like to get up early. She's also not used to being shamelessly and unabashedly geeky.
On Saturday morning, after we'd managed to chisel ourselves out of bed, the first panel we attended was focused on Saturday morning cartoons from the late 80's and early 90's. Though this was a little before the Home-schooled Otaku's generation, she and her companions did enjoy it immensely. She also had the Thunder Cats theme stuck in her head for the rest of the day.
Zenkaikon was also the Home-schooled Otaku's first real-life experience with the Hetalia Fan-base. Again, she was not disappointed. She and her sister attended a Hetalia trivia game panel hosted by Ukraine Belarus, England and China (cosplayers). Prussia and Punk Rock England both let loose their sonic screwdrivers; Hungary left Austria for the man with the Golden Wok*; and thanks to some technical difficulties, no one who was in attendance will ever forget which three countries make up the cooking club ever again. Only one serious comment was posed to the panel - one pertaining to the series not explaining and exploring the motives and catalysts leading up to WW2. It was explained that Hetalia is a comedy series and doesn't really focus on the darker aspects of the historical references, because that isn't the point of the series.* However, a serious answer was given, and that was the end of the matter. In all it was a fun panel, and the Home-schooler hopes that the next time she gets an opportunity to attend a similar event, she will finally have pulled together that Greece cosplay she's been dying to do. (I JUST NEED THE ORTHODOX CROSS, DANG IT!)
The Home-schooled Otaku's next event was a manga workshop in which she got some pointers on how to actually draw hands. The following time gap was then filled by watching the unadulterated tackiness that is the English Dub of Buso Renkin.
That mattered little, however, as it was immediately followed by a screening of the unadulterated BRILLIANCE that CLUE. Clue is, in the Home-schooled Otaku's favorite movie EVER. EVER. Most of the people who walked into the screening room left as soon as they found out it wasn't anime. Those who remained, decided to stay put as soon as the opening credits ran; and so much the better. Even though I have seen the movie thousands of times; even though Madeline Khan's "Flames... on the side of my face" speech never gets old.and even though hearing Eileen Brennan spaz out is always funny, for some reason, watching a brass candlestick fall on Tim Curry's head is just funnier when your surrounded by a bunch of like-minded, geeky people in cosplay. Everything - even movies you have loved for years and know by heart - is more fun at a con. Don't ask me why. That's just how it is. Watching this movie was probably the Home-schooled Otaku's favorite part of Zenkaikon 2013.
NO! Wait! I tell a lie. Clue was great, and certainly very fun, but it has to be given a second place ribbon, because of what the Home-schooled Otaku experienced next.
The same screening room was the showcase for Zenkaikon's review of some of their favorite AMV's from previous years and other cons. Though there were some technical difficulties that forced the crowd to listen to the opening strains of"Be Prepared" from The Lion King (which was set to an Ootori Kyoya AMV) about ten times, there were some truly amazing videos. One of these (incidentally the last one the Home-schooled Otaku saw before she had to leave) was for "My Last Day", an anime movie about the Crucifixion of Christ, seen though the eyes of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. This video, set to "Already Over" by Red, had a profound emotional impact on the Home-schooled Otaku and her sister, and both were reduced to tears a little less than half-way though. When the video was first shown it was very controversial, but despite the content, they decided that the quality of the video itself merited a second place prize and an over all Best Video in the Drama category. This AMV's presence at the Zenkaikon made the Home-schooler feel a little less guilty about skipping Church the next day and it was a very influential part of her very first con.
Much more influential, I must say, than the Religion in Anime panel that the Home-schooled Otaku and her sister attended the following morning. Granted, it was the presenter's very first panel, but suffice it to say, Her Home-Schooledness was not impressed. The featured religions included Shinto, Buddhism, Roman Catholicism and, of course, Jashinism. The reason why I listed Roman Catholicism specifically is because that is the only denomination that was featured in the animes that were given as examples (Blue Exorcist, Trinity Blood, etc.) and the panelist herself was raised in a Roman Catholic family. The Home-schooled Otaku is a Protestant herself, and cannot stress enough that Catholics do have practices and beliefs, and even a mythology* that are not followed by many other denominations. Catholicism is, however, probably the most widely practiced denomination of Christianity in Japan and, frankly, the only one that has the... flair shall we say, to really suit the plot of an anime.
The section on Shinto mythology was a little more satisfactory and was supplemented by a clip from Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke. This was followed by a short segment on Buddhism.
Alchemy was also covered though it is not a religion, it is a pseudo-science. Hearing someone try to explain the Alchemy featured in Fullmetal Alchemist when that person only has a vague memory of watching the "Original" [fabricated] Fullmetal Alchemist* anime, and who hasn't read the manga at all is, quite frankly, a good occasion for a face-palm.
Lastly, if you ask me, Jashinism, and its presence in one of the most well known animes in history, deserves a good in depth analysis and explanation, not just a quick glance over like the one you give your non-otaku friend who wants to know just what the heck a "Jashin" is.
Having whiled away the time watching xxxHolic, the Home-schooled Otaku attended her last event at Zenkaikon 2013 was a Japanese Language and Culture workshop. Though she didn't really learn anything that she didn't already know except the difference between the particles "wa" and "ga", it was a very good workshop, and the Home-schooled Otaku is glad she went. One exercise was a game of twenty questions, in which a victim - sorry, volunteer had to guess what anime character they were by asking yes or no questions in Japanese. The Home-schooler was actually one of those volunteers. The questions I asked were probably ones other people may not have thought to ask, such as "Watashi wa kowai desu ka?" ["Am I scary?"], which was directly followed by "Watashi wa Kakko ii desu ka?" ["Am I attractive?"] and "Watashi wa yasashii desu ka?" ["Am I kind?"]. Even after the first to questions got a "yes", and the last garnered a "NO", The Home-schooled Otaku still couldn't guess that she was supposed to be Yagami Light.
My weekend was littered with many fabulous and inspired cos-plays such as a superb Captain Jack Sparrow, an ingenious Invader Zim, and a 10th Doctor that looked a little too much like the real thing for comfort.
Though as always, there were some cos-plays that were so prolific, I hope I never have to see them again: There were innumerable Hatsune Mikus, countless Pikachus... AND IF I EVER HAVE TO SEE ANOTHER HOMESTUCK TROLL AGAIN, THEY WILL RUE THE DAY THEY DONNED THE CANDY CORN HORNS!
Just kidding.
My weekend at Zenkaikon 2013 was truly amazing. The Home-schooled Otaku was very happy she had the opportunity to attend, and she sincerely hopes that she will be able to go next year. Hopefully with some cos-plays of her own.
Footnotes_____________________________________________________________
Kimono Consultants: As with most traditional Japanese practices, even dressing in Kimono is an extremely complicated and time-consuming undertaking. As the number of women in Japan who have the knowledge and ability to dress themselves in kimono without assistance is gradually declining, the services of a professional kimono consultant or dresser is required. Kimono consultants study at colleges specifically founded for the job such as the Sodo Reihou Kimono College.
Edo Tsumami Kanzashi: Kanzashi are traditional ornamental hairpieces and hair pins. Today, Kanzashi in a traditional style are only worn by Maiko [apprentice Geisha], because they can only be worn with a traditional hairstyle. However, Kanawa Kuniko-sensei crafts contemporary pieces using traditional methods in a bobby-pin format. Maiko-san change their hairpins according to the flowers of the season, so Kanawa-sensei taught us how to make hairpins with an ume (plum blossom) motif to match the month of March, when plum blossoms bloom. Were it April, they would have been sakura (cherry blossoms).
My Bellatrix Lestrange Cosplay: to be featured in a follow-up post.
Hakama {Ha-kah-mah}: An article of traditional Japanese clothing that resembles a pair of wide-legged trousers.
Brony: A Brony (Plural: Bronies) is a person of the male gender (of any age, creed, color or sexual persuasion) who happens to be a die-hard fan of the My Little Pony Franchise.
Home-schoolers: The Home-schooled Otaku did point out to Uncle Yo that he failed to include home-schoolers in his apology rant. He replied, "Home-schoolers? No. Never: they never deserve it.
In spite of this, as I mention above, I know for a fact that Home-schoolers can take jokes, because even (if not especially) HOME-SCHOOLERS make fun of home-schoolers. So take THAT, Karl <---[Uncle Yo's real name]
The Man with the Golden Wok: China. this is a reference to China's technique of fighting other countries with a wok and a ladle.
Serious Questions About Hetalia: It should be noted that asking a serious historical question in a room filled with fan-girls in cosplay (most of whom are Yaoi fan-girls) is not strictly tactical, nor is it a very wise thing to do. Though, there is the possibility that the point of the comment was to see if any of the fans in the room were actually aware of the dark, unpleasant and true events that led up to and ran through out the World Wars, and other conflicts depicted in the series. I am aware of these causes and horrors, and China did reject a question about the Opium Wars with England because she'd just learned about them in school and didn't want to talk about that subject. If you look at Hetalia fan-art, much if it focuses on the drama and darker aspects of world history, so the Home-schooled Otaku feels safe in saying that many Hetalia fans are indeed aware of the catalysts in many of history's wars.
Judeo-Christian and Catholic Mythology: The CHRISTIAN Home-schooled Otaku uses the term "mythology" very loosely, and only for lack of a more suitable word.
Some facts: Despite there being many angels in the Catholic Bible, Michael and Gabriel are the only ones that are considered Canon by Protestants. All the others are exclusive to Catholic texts | Lucifer and Satan are considered to be separate entities by Catholics, but Protestants use both names to refer to the same fallen angel | The name Lilith is used in several animes with Christian mythological themes, but she is never mentioned in the Bible - she is, in fact, a female demon (and/or vampire) from Jewish mythology.
Original Fullmetal Alchemist: There are two anime adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist. Because the manga wasn't very far along when author Arakawa Hiromu was approached for the first series, almost everything in the so-called "original" anime was fabricated and does not hold true in the manga. Plus, from what I can tell, the ending sucked. Unlike in the second (and in my opinion MUCH BETTER) anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Brotherhood, unlike the first series, takes almost no departures from the original storyline of the manga: though some panels and details were excluded, no details were added and none of Arakawa-sensei's Alchemical laws are changed. The ending is also far more satisfactory.
