Scififantasyanimeman’s super-awesome Kumoricon 2009 photos

Hey there sci-fi, fantasy, and anime fans this is Scififfantasyanimeman. I’m back home and I’ve got some great photos from Kumoricon 2009. And I’m putting them up here for youto see and show you just how awesome Kumoricon really is. For starters for those of you who haven’t seen my Kumoricon 2008 photos I should explain what it is. Kumoricon is a convention for fans for Japanese animation. It takes place here in my home the great city of Roses Portland, Oregon! Kumori by the way is Japanese for cloudy (Rather appropriate considering the weather we usually get out here.). Anyhow Kumoricon 2009 took place this year at the Hilton hotel and Executive tower in downtown Portland. Unfortunately I was never able to get a photo of it, ugh such a fail! Anyway Here’s the photos from 2009. I should also tell you I quite by accident erased a photo, it was a shame because it had in it a lovely lady who was a Youjimbo (Samurai/Security) she was wearing a short red kimono. I apologize ma’am and to my other subjects in the photo. And as for the lovely Youjimbo lady I’d love to see you at Kumoricon next year and get a picture of you and perhaps chat with you. Next year the badge name I plan to use is the same one on the Kumoricon forums. Also for this year I decided to expand the pictures to make them more visible. And as before I’ll be telling the stories behind these pictures.

For Kumoricon this year I decided on a change of pace. I actually rented a costume from a place called Helen’s Pacific Costumers on NE Glisan st. here in Portland. After getting my costume I arrived at the Hotel. It was Friday, September the 4th.  First thing I did was get my badge. Thank goodness I chose VIP because the lines were a killer. I actually met the VIP coördinator for Kumoricon, and I can say Jaz was quite helpful. I think I got on the good side of the Kumoricon staff because anticipating how late registration could go I bought a couple containers of Folgers coffee from a grocery store near my home. Anyway after getting my badge, I got my room, and got into it after some difficulty. After getting settled and donning my costume I went out to eat. I went to a place called Pizza, Schimizza near the hotel and got a piece of (Surprise, surprise) Pizza. I’d actually promised myself I’d visit this place when I found out it was near the hotel because I’d heard all sorts of good things about it. And I wasn’t disappointed. Anyway after getting some food with my digital camera and a larger gigabyte chip within I went cosplayer hunting. In the course of my safari this group caught my eye. As with last year I politely asked if I could take their photo. It always amazes me how you can get farther in this life by simply being respectful towards others.

Wocka, Wocka, Wocka! No I’m not doing a  Fozzie Bear impression that’s actually the sound Pac-Man makes when he’s eating dots in the Pac-Man game. As you can see I met a cosplayer who dressed up as the legendary video game character. Let’s just say that I’m old enough that I remember when Pac-Man first came out. So this brought back memories from my childhood of playing the game at grocery stores and arcade alike. The construction of the costume was pretty good I thought but then again if you know how to do cosplay, Pac-man is actually a very rudimentary character, but no less fun then way I see it.

This was the picture that followed the one I accidently erased, ugh again such a fail! Anyway I asked this lovely woman if I could take her picture for my blog and she was more than willing to oblige. If I’m not mistaken based on the lighting it’s was late Friday night when i took this picture. The lovely female Youjimbo in the short  red kimino I talked to told me she appreciated that I asked my subjects before taking their pictures. I told her “I pride myself on courtesy.” As a martial artist and a man it’s the only way to live. Anyway as far as this subject goes I appreciate her enthusiasm and coöperation.

As I stated in my 2008 photos there are many legendary figures in the Kumoricon Universe. On Saturday, September the 5th, I had the priviledge of meeting one of those figures. I give you in all of his Heavenly Glory (Take no insult Catholics and Christians) the legendary figure, the Pope! This gentleman I’ve seen at two of the four Kumoricons I attended. I ran into him before opening ceremonies. My first thoughts when I met him in person was that he’s a good man and the sort of person I’d want watching my back. As I understand it he also has relatives who do the martial arts and that’s definitely awesome in my book.

As I sat down to enjoy opening ceremonies my keen eye found this delicious Charizard beauty. I believe that she was part of the staff for this year. A number of people were taking her picture, not that I blame them who wouldn’t want a picture of this lovely lady dressed as Charizard from Pokémon. At Kumoricon a number of people dressed up as Pokémon. Pokémon is an insanely popular anime that if I recall correctly is going on it’s 5th or 6th year. Still I have heard a number of people complain about the state of Pokémon. Such is mentioned on PaldinCecil’s Youtube channel webisode of “Anime that jumped the shark” from Kumoricon 2009. Check it out when you get the chance.

 I’m not exactly sure which anime these guys are from but they were pretty good in my opinion. So I decided to take a picture of them. It should be known that when this was taken it was actually raining outside. I believe this was the first Kumoricon I went to that had rain. Fortunately the panels and events were inside but between the day trippers and everything else that was going on things got a little crowded. I suspect that in the not too distant future Kumoricon will be taking up residence in the Portland Convention center.  That would be nice because there are a lot of restaurants and such built into the convention center. Anyway, until then. Still neither rain, nor sleet, nor even snow will keep me from getting my Kumoricon pictures.

Okay I first spotted this cosplayer when I was coming down from my room on Friday night and mentally kicked myself for not getting his picture then. However Lady Luck gave me a second chance and I took her invitation. This gentleman here is dressed in full samurai armor  I actually learned bought it from a family in Japan that’s been making armor for 15 generations. I couldn’t help but think “Wow, that’s older than a lot of things even this country if I’m not mistaken. Now that’s definitely what I call a family tradition.” Also I learned this gentleman is actually a biker as well who if I recall has a Harley Davidson of his own. I think he and my stepfather would get along  just fine since they’re both Harley fans.

“Wowsers, now that’s what I call an axe!” I thought when I spotted this cosplayer wondering about. I’m not sure but I believe this one is dressed as one of the characters from the anime computer role-playing game Kingdom Hearts. This fellow’s axe not only looks like it could bring the house down with a rocking performance, it also looks like anyone who gets on this fellow’s bad side will get physically shredded by this dangerous looking musical instrument/weapon. Keep on rockin my good man, keep on rockin!

When I asked these cosplayers to pose for a picture I had no idea of just how awesome this one would turn out. Here we have two mighty warriors locked in mortal combat, but who of all people should decide to interfere but the Full Metal Alchemist Edward (Call me short or anything like that and you’re so dead) Elric. You probably noticed I took a lot of my pictures on the second level of the Hotel. I thought it was probably the best place for me to take the photos that I wanted. Sometimes that’s just the way the pocky (A cookie-like biscuit with chocolate or strawberry frosting on it) crumbles.

Okay I admit when I saw these crazy cosplay outfits I thought, “Oh my God, I have got to get this on camera.” And that’s exactly what I did. I think the rightmost anime character is some kind of monkey a kind of weird martial arts monkey but then again Kumoricon is known for its fair share of strange and wacky characters. And beside him another anime character who looks ready for battle. I believe this photo I took was sometime Saturday or Sunday (Probably Saturday. I’d have a better memory of it except I fell behind in my work, fie, and for shame on me. Anyway I’m still grateful to these cosplayers for their coöperation.

Here’s one of my celebrity photos for Kumoricon. Ladies and Gentleman I give you being shot with one of the many characters she voiced, the lovely and the taleneted…Cynthia Martinez! That’s right she’s a voice actress and the character she’s posing with is from one of the many anime shows she did, Slayers. I had the chance to ask her some questions and I learned she actually started off in the music business. As I understand it she’s working on an album right now. After hearing her as a certain character in the show Tactics I let her know that her performance in the last episode was one of the most heartwrenchingly awesome performances I have ever seen. She’s very energetic and giggles a lot indicating a good nature. She’s also the mother of three children. So you have to be energetic to keep up with that brood. I’m pleased to say that I got her autograph in my program book Miss Martinez  I thank you for the autograph and the picture. Good luck to you lass.

Ladies and Gentleman once again i give you my E-mail buddy PaladinElric known on Youtube as PaldinCecil. This year for Kumoricon my e-mail buddy dressed up as Keele, from Tales of Symphonia. The character was really weird and an annoying player (I mean a womanizer). As I promised I managed to make it to two of the panels he did The Anime List and Anime that Jumped the Shark. check them out on Youtube as soon as you get the chance along with his other stuff. I’m hoping to either see him next year or go up to Sakuracon in Seattle to see him and find out more about Kumoricon’s older Northern cousin.

Ladies and Gentleman in a rare change of pace I give you, yours truly Scififantasyanimeman. As I explained I rented a costume from Helen’s Pacific Costumers on NE Glisan in Portland. It only cost me $50.00 for the weekend so in my opinion it was well worth it. After two years of going as an original character I wanted to try a different approach. And I must say considering I am a martial artist the concept of going as a ninja somehow seemed appropriate. The outfit did get a little hot. But fortunately since I shower every morning it wasn’t too bad. It turned up to be one of the best moves I ever made. I became one of the champions of rock, scissors, paper when I defeated my pirate opponent at the Random panel of Doom, and even had a couple of sets of cosplayers take a picture with me in it. To those who asked me to pose with them I’m very grateful to you, and thank you.  And a special thank you to PaladinCecil for aiding me in getting this picture. You’re a true friend PaladinElric I’ll see you again someday my friend.

Sorry if the picture’s too bright. I foolishly shot into the sunlight. I’ll never do that again. Anyway After the weather had cleared I went to the park block that was just a block up from the Hotel and found this large group of cosplayers about. As always I asked this group politely if I could take their picture. And to all of you who were in that group that day despite the light I’m grateful to you for agreeing to pose for a picture in my blog. As you can see the ground is still kind of wet, it’s to be expected since the rain storm that hit the Portland area finally ceased. And I admit it was nice to get out of the Hotel and get into some of the leafy and evergreen park blocks.

Ladies and Gentleman these two young ladies you see here are the local leaders of the faction/fan club the Risembol Rangers. As I explained in my 2008 photos the Risembol Rangers are a club that’s fans of voice actor Vic Mignogna. I waited in the background on Sunday and listened to them and what they had to say before snapping a picture of the leaders of this group. I happen to know that there are members of the Risembol Rangers who are members of another fan club/faction. I’ll take more about them later. But be rest assured I will because I’m fair and balanced.

Ladies and Gentleman here’s my next Celebrity photo. He’s a local celebrity here in the city of Portland, i give you Public access T.V. producer, sleight-of-hand master, and faux fool “Working” Kirk Reeves. Let not this man’s appearance fool you. For beneath that gentle goofball frame lay the mind of a comedic genius. He has a public cable access show here in the Portland area called “Low Comedy” it’s really random stuff but also very safe for the whole family. I met him at Orycon 30 and was surprised to see him at Kumoricon. He was entertaining people and handing out business cards as he wandered the convention. Working Kirk Reeves is truly a great force for tickling the funny bone with his foolish man act.

Now for the last celebrity photo. I give you people I’ve seen in action since I went to their first panel 4 years ago. I give you…The Random Panel of Doom! At this panel absolutely anything can happen and usually does. It was here that I received my championship in the rock, scissors, paper battle of Pirates vs. Ninjas. They even have a game called Bigger or Better where they send someone out to grab something that’s bigger or better (More valuable). I remember at one point they brought in a street cone, which they had to give back. I was afraid at that point that the panel would be shut down. When the Kumoricon head of operations came for it he made it perfectly clear the look the Hotel staff gave him was priceless. Humor is such a subjective and funny thing. Anyway it should be known that the gentleman who looks like Lupin (pronounced: Loo-pawn) the III, from the anime show of the same name won’t be back next year as his Japanese studies in college will take him overseas. All I can say is good luck to you pal and to the rest of the random panel I hope you enjoyed the pocky I gave you and I hope to see you next year.

This young man here is dressed as Urahara Hattinclog (Not ure if I spelled that right). He’s a character from the Anime series Bleach. This guy admitted there was someone who had a better cosplay of this character but I chose him. And when I choose a subject and get their permission to take a photograph I stick with that subject. And to the gentleman who cosplayed as this character, my good fellow you did just fine in my opinion and were very convincing as Urahara. And for the picture you did just fine my good fellow and I’m very grateful to you for this picture. I hope to see you again next year.

You remember when I spoke of the other fan club/faction. Well in fairness and balance I give you their leader. She kind of looks like a taco or something. Anyway she is the leader of, the mini-skirt army. They’re a fan club for voice actor Travis Willingham. The mini-skirt army has to do with a comment Travis Willingham made when he played Roy “The flame Alchemist” Mustang in the anime series Full Metal Alchemist. The comment I believe went “All female officers will be required to wear…tiny miniskirts!” Hence the mini-skirt army. There’s a friendly rivalry between the two. The heads of the fan clubs, Vic Mignogna, and Travis Willingham see to that. I’m grateful to the head of the Portland chapter of the mini-skirt army for allowing me to photograph her. But sorry Rangers and Mini-Skirt Army members, I must remain neutral, fairness and balance.

Monday was a big day for me. My Taekwondo school performed that day. As soon as there are some pictures I’ll see about uploading them on to my blog. Anyway after that I changed into my street clothes and went to a panel called Anime that Jumped the Shark (See: PaldinCecil’s Channel on YouTube). Afterwards after some waiting I got into Cosplay Chess where I took a couple picture. Cosplay chess is basically chess where people dressed up as anime characters are moved across a chess board. I’ll admit these pictures aren’t the greatest but I did get in late so I had to take what I could get. Anyway the chess pieces were controlled by two people on the stage. It was good clean fun and I thought it a real hoot.

Here’s the second of my two cosplay chess shots. A good photographer is patient learns when to snap a photo at the right time. And my gut was telling me this was the right time. As you can see one of the Cosplayers whose back is turned is playing Lelouch/Zero from the anime series Code Geass. At this point the cosplay chess game was starting to wind down. As I said I found the whole thing to be a real hoot. Kumoricon with a lot of it’s events and panels really knows how to put on a show. But then again that’s what the con is about isn’t it having fun? At least that’s the way I see it.

For my last Kumoricon Photo shortly after leaving Cosplay Chess I did some wandering when this piano playing cosplayer caught my eye. I believe they’re dressed as Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club. As with all my subjects I wish to thank this one for their coöperation. Shooting cosplayers with my camera is always a boat load of fun. Loading them up on to my blog to show you the viewing public, is priceless.  I did stay for closing ceremonies unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a front row seat. I’ve mentioned this to Kumoricon staff and i will admit some of the Hotel staff, and I’ll not name names out of courtesy were just a trifle rude. But as I understand it Kumoricon is doing it’s part to fix things and I understand the hotel is working on fixing things on its own end. Oh well no such thing as a perfect convention. Anyway it’s nice to see that both sides are working to fix this year’s bugs so to speak.

Well there you have it folks there are my Kumoricon 2009 photos. And just so you know Kumoricon 2010 will again be held at the Hilton Hotel and Executive Tower downtown. Hopefully things will run smoother than before. And hopefully next year I’ll get a shot of the hotel for my blog. I’ll update this entry when I have the exact dates on when Kumoricon 2010 will be held. Though I suspect I’ll be making more blog entries before then. Well until next time this is Scififantasyanimeman saying I will see ya’!

(Author’s Note: Thanks to PaladinCecil for pointing out that his character was actually Keele not Zelos. and thannks to Lt.CommanderRitchie on the Kumoricon forums for pointing out that their character was from Kingdom Hearts and playing a sitar.)

~ by scififantasyanimeman on 09/13/2009.