My Draft Summary :

Anime North 2002
The return to Donut-Con.
May 24-26, 2002 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In traveling to Anime North 2002, I returned to a sort of beginning.  Two years ago, I took the journey to Anime North and formally covered my first convention.  In returning in 2002, I’ve come full circle. 

It would be difficult to ask for a better weekend for a convention.  Bright blue skies, cool weather and a brisk breeze graced the convention.  Only a small spot of rain fell on Saturday, and even that served to give us some variety, and a beautiful sunset.

Stepping back into Toronto is like stepping into a land that’s both the same and very different.  Our drivers keep having to remind themselves of kilometers, not miles.  Organizers of strip clubs browse the street advertising their locales.  Mountain Dew, staple of the average convention attendee, has no caffeine in Canada.

Some people disliked my review of Anime North 2000.  My reviews have always been from a personal point of view, shaded by my own experiences and biased by my personal preferences.  My perspective on conventions has changed in 2 years, but I still stand by my review of Anime North 2000.  My review was done from the perspective that I had at that time.  

That being said, it was my past impression of Anime North that convinced me to attend in 2002.  Anime North was remembered with fond memories, and I encouraged many of my acquaintances to attend this year.  It did not disappoint.

Regretfully, I spent as much time outside of the convention grounds wandering Toronto as I did attending the convention.  What I did see of the convention, both positives and negatives, I will discuss in my full convention report.   This convention provided a decent haul of photos.   I also look forward to the shout outs, a small crew of people helped make the convention worthwhile.

Enjoy the coverage : and remember, never forget to have fun!

Doc
 

Shoutouts :

Quote of the Weekend : "What the F*$K does Double Green Mean??!"
Moment of the Weekend : Japanese guests singing "Secret Asian Man!"
Bad Joke of the Weekend : "Bukake Man Strikes again!"

Conventions are never any fun if you attend them alone.  Anime North was no exception.   Here’s where I comment on fellow conspirators that helped make Anime North a wonderfully relaxing experience.

Octavian  :  Thank you for driving around tirelessly.  Through teamwork and sheer stubbornness, we managed to get misdirected only once during the entire trip, on the last day!  Wasn’t it nice to have your own bed, even if I kept waking us up at frighteningly early hours?  :)

Zoe : Yay for the sleepy Zoe-chan!  Its always great to see one of my “con-daughters”, although I never had the opportunity to properly feed you.   Lookin all stylish in your pajamas, I’m thinkin, “I want a Chibi-Zoe UFO-catcher doll for my desk!”  :)

Jupe : I’m glad we finally got to spend a little time together!  Enraged monkey-Jupe scared me a little bit – but didn’t make me regret staying with you Thursday and Sunday night.  Thank you for giving us crash space, the con probably would not have been affordable otherwise!  Good job with Guest relations with AN, obviously Psydoll and Senno Knife enjoyed themselves.   Your cat scares me though.

Canasian : Bukake man strikes!  Remember, Johnny Standard Time is only accurate when everyone drives like a madman, which we DON’T!  You did a great job shuffling guests around and leading herds of people around Toronto.   Thanks for the tour of the Pacific Asian Mall.  (Not to be confused with W.C. Mall)

Jason B. : “This is Pacific Mall!!!! Not White-ass Cracker Mall!!!”  Wrong man, just wrong.  Don’t worry, you’re one of us, Asian brother! ;)

Jinnai John : mmmm, DDR 7th Mix.  :)  Glad you made it to the con after all.  We didn’t get to talk too much this con, but you did manage to impress with your DDR skills.  Now if only we could have completed BR Tag! 

Alex : Thanks for co-hosting us before and after the con!  I’m surprised you managed to wake us up Monday morning, I’m sure we all looked like zombies to you.

Jon Hawk : Circle Jerk?  [evil grin]  You’ve got a quick wit and the physical slapstick to follow it up.  Can we hire you out for comic relief at the next convention?  We could pair you with Bukake man.  The tour tagline could be, “Have Hawk, will Swallow!”  ..  Just kidding.  Don’t ride Norm so vigorously, he was looking excited.

Norm : I realized what was wrong with the convention.  You never pulled out the DDR pads in the room!  You never taped the pads down!  What happened?  Did the world go through a paradigm shift when I wasn’t looking?  Oh, and don’t ever hump my knee again, I’m horribly scarred from that event.

Jetto Black  : Hey, it isn’t just any average con that someone draws on your head, then eats “LuckNuts” off of it, right?  Now if only we could market those, we might make enough money to rig us up with cameras for life.. ;)

Steve Bennett : Many many thanks for adulterating my sketch book, and getting the Japanese guests to do the same.  Thanks for embarrassing the daylights out of me by introducing me to the guests as “Secret Asian Man”.  Its not every day you get a Japanese band singing “secret Asian man” in a Vietnamese restaurant to an American born Chinese in Canada!  Feel free to do it again sometime.  :)

The Japanese Guests : I don’t think they’d see this, but nods to Nekoi and Senno Knife and the other guests.  I owe them some pictures, which I will be sending out as soon as possible.  Its also frightening what you’ll learn every day : Nekoi (Psydoll) showed us the incredible tarnish removing power of Louisiana Hot Sauce!  I’ll remember that next time I chug the stuff.

Anna Neko-Chan : Hey, I’m glad we got to hang out more this con!  Feel free to use me as a pillow anytime, I enjoy it!  I must be an old letch, why, I could be 32 years old or something!  ;)  You can rest on my shoulder, just don’t push anything in when it’s not meant to be pushed.  ^_^;  

Stick and Bunni : you two weren’t at the con but you deserve shout outs nonetheless.  Thank you for keeping us company Thursday, and letting me crash Monday!  You’re moving to Norway!  My goodness, good luck!  [sniff sniff]  I’ll be sure to visit!
 
 
 

Alright, that's it.. Come back later... :)