Jonas Took on Anime North (and won!)

Anime North 2008 was a blast! I don't think I’ll ever see that number of happy squeeing (literally) people. It was crazy! Last years attendance was 13,500 but this year’s numbers aren’t out yet. 250 tables of pure anime memorabilia, and that's not counting Artists Ally! And it was PACKED, taking three separate locations for all of it. The Congress Center for the main part, the Doubletree International Plaza Hotel for events and Renaissance Toronto Airport Hotel for Yaoi North.

Friday:
We got there at around 12:30, but we weren’t supposed to check in at the hotel till 3. So they where really nice and let us into the one room they had ready, so we took all are stuff there. Oh and just so you have some idea of how much a disaster this was, there are 10 people shoving all there bags into on hotel room...it didn't look like a hotel room any more.
After that was done, we waited for people to get into their costumes, and went to the Congress Center to register. The hotel was like a block away so it was perfect! It tool like have an hour to get through the line and get the passes, but luckily no one had to get a weapons check, or it would have been so much longer.
So after registration we walked around taking pictures (i filled me camera ^_^). Then we went back to the hotel to get drinks and food. The way back blow my mind; the hotel was suddenly full of cosplayers! Every elevator was packed to capacity, the look on the faces of the normal people staying there was hilarious.
When we got back to the Congress Center the line for the dealers room had wrapped around the building! We where lucky enough to be in the second grope in. It was amazing!
There was also wrestling by the main entrance, we watch a little of it, because watching big messily guys dressed up like power rangers trying to beat the crap out of each other was hilarious.

Saturday:
We where back in the dealers room by 10:30. The crowd was a little thinner then it had been on Friday, but it seamed that the number of people grow ever have hour. So after shopping me and the Sarah's went to watch the Cosplay Chess (A chess mach using people in cosplay as chess peaces. When one has to kill the other they walk off the board and duel in character). I have all but 2 of the duels on video!
More shopping and picture taking took up the rest of the day.
That night we when to the Doubletree and watched a comedy montage, it was hilarious. We got back to the hotel around 11:30, and just hung out for the rest of the night. All day and night both sides of the highway where lined with cosplayers going back and forth from the convention and the hotels.

Sunday:
Check out time was at 1, and oh my god, was it hilarious! The elevators where full of cosplayers ready to check out and got back to the dealers room for one last time.
Not much was on in terms of event, but i was left behind at the dealers room when every one went for sushi. T.T so it went back to the hotel and waited under a tree, taking pictures of plains for an hour. The ride home was quite, every one was so tired. I got home around 5 with: 6 poster, 2 hats, 3 plushies, 2 shirts, a bag, 3 buttons, 4 dangly things, a dog cuff, a finger claw, 3 memory cards worth of pictures and $55. All in all I think I did ok. ^.^

I can't wait to go nest years, I'll just need to make sure I have a costume.