Report of AG Mixer 2003

AG (Anime & Gaming)Mixer was one of those cons that could HARDLY be labeled a con; except for the fact it truly was because a bunch of cosplayers were waiting near the elevator. ^_^

This “con” was part of the Nisei Week festival in which they had anime booths and gaming booths set up as part of a way to support anime and Japanese gaming. It was a first year event so they wanted any anime fan support; this included cosplay!

AG Mixer however was a bit of a surprise to some: the con was COMPLETELY outdoors, and since the con was not made well known to the audience of Nisei week, there was no actual sign saying “AG Mixer here,” or something to that effect. There were about four booths dedicated to anime and then a car hooked up to play DDR-that’s so much as the “exhibit hall” was for AG Mixer. The rest of the booths were all related to different aspects of Japanese culture, as they were a part of Nisei week.

The booths themselves didn’t interest me and I wasn’t going up to buy anything anyways (saving money for college textbooks ya know), I was up there for the cosplay!

Cosplay.com in association with AG Mixer put on its first year “Cosplay contest!” This was a way to really beef up promotion of anime and gaming! Prizes included posters, trophies and for the grand prizewinners in each category (Best in Show Presentation, Best in Show Craftsmanship,  & Best in Show) a free photo shoot from cosplay.com! If you’ve seen the photos on cosplay.com, you can see why this is such a highly coveted prize!

Well I can vouch for the most part that people who participated in the cosplay contest were members of cosplay.com and it showed as we all gathered in this supposed “changing room” and realized all the familiar faces!

Up until the time of the contest, it was basically a cosplayer’s hangout: chitchatting, helping people with their costumes; some even practiced their skits in the neighboring rooms. We were also “kindly” reminded that we should drink water throughout the day because it was hot. Well duh it was hot -_-;

I wasn’t participating in the contest (since my costume was commissioned) but I sure was able to take pictures (check out the gallery)! My heart however went to those who had to perform on that SMALL, TINSEY WINSEY stage! Apparently when they were setting it up earlier in the morning they could never finish it! Well it somehow worked…even though a few people got hurt!

As far as competition goes, for a first year con, it wasn’t half bad! There were mostly walk ons, but that was ok! A few walk ons did win! Most of the skits were comedy related, and the one my sis Sana-chan was in was definitely cutesy!

My surprise was that she won Best of Show; she was included with Sailor JAM-boree to make “Yur mom” cosplay! I was really excited and happy for her, especially since she redid her Summoner Yuna costume.
Everyone who strutted their stuff were all winners because of their ongoing dedication and willingness to cosplay! The cosplay show REALLY made the event, and I was tempted to call it AG Cosplay! There was a HUUUUUGE crowd that just sat on the streets to watch; some of them knew what cosplay was, and others were just curious attendees from Nisei.

After the contest, there was some goofing around in Adella’s Aeris costume (my sis looks just like Lenne AND Adella hehe), and then we headed out to dinner with Ashley and Skye. We ate at Joy mart, a REALLY good Japanese restaurant in Little Tokyo. I wish I had more time to site-see at Little Tokyo however my mom wanted to get home, and we were giving Bri a ride.

All in all it was a VERY fun event because I was able to see everybody from AX and CC one last time before I go off to Pepperdine! I hope some improvements for next year that AG will be INDOORS instead of out because that sun was unbearable!

For those who weren’t sure whether to go or not, well, GO: if for anything the cosplay, because it shows the love and support of anime.