I just got back from Ani-Magic 2009 (Autumn Dream X) at Palmdale this past weekend. USA Musume was invited back as Performing Guests of Honor. I got to spend the weekend with umigoddess, sakurae, hichan, muralasa, and kixies. waynekaa made an enthusiastic Emcee for the Masquerade again. The audience was so energized by him. As a whole, USA Musume got to perform 5 different songs in our sparkly Peace costumes. Yes, I finally got to wear my Peace costume at last! You wouldn’t believe how long I waited for this moment.
During the middle of our half-time performance, Ani-Magic Convention Chairman Revell Walker expressed his gratitude of having us as returning guests for many years. As a token of his appreciation, he handed each and every single member of USA Musume a trophy. I was practically speechless on stage. Thank you, Revell! Consequently, USA Musume also presented him a gift too. We had a t-shirt that every girl signed, and Revell’s name was spelled out in gold letters on the back.

USA Musume with convention chairman Revell Walker


Ani-Magic Trophy


The Palmdale Hotel had the perfect setup and layout for Ani-Magic. The con still carried the Cosplay Under the Stars tradition with an outdoor stage and pool in the background. The scenery was beautiful. Ani-Magic was very lively and packed this year. The attendees were friendly as well. I actually saw a couple of great skits this year. Palmdale was excellent because there were plenty of restaurants and stores nearby.
When I first started cosplaying 10 years ago, I didn’t know anyone other than my roommates at UCIrvine. Ani-Magic was the place where I met lots of cosplayers which would have been difficult to do at a large convention setting. I eventually became friends with many of you on my LJ friendslist, got to do Masquerade skits, and joined a song and dance troupe. I shall never forget where it all started. This was probably one of the best Ani-Magic experiences I ever had.

Current Mood: happy

I had such a blast at Ani-Magic 2009 (Autumn Dream X) this year! The convention totally exceeded my expectations. The Palmdale Hotel was an excellent location. The con had such an amazing turnout. More details later!

Current Mood: surprised

Here is my second set of Harry Potter cosplay pictures that I took at Dragon*Con 2009. Enjoy!

Draco, Cedric, Cho, Harry, Fleur, Hermione, Viktor, and Luna


( The magic begins with pictures beneath the cut! )

If you would like to see my first set of pictures which was the Yule Ball, you can find them here:

http://mandymitchell.livejournal.com/409793.html

Current Mood: happy

I took so many pictures of Harry Potter costumes this year that I had to make two separate entries. I wanted to post up Yule Ball pictures first because it was the highlight of my Dragon*Con experience. This entry mainly focuses on Harry Potter costumes at the Yule Ball on Sunday night of Dragon*Con. The Yule Ball gets bigger and better each year!



( Lots of awesome Harry Potter costumes beneath the cut! )

Current Mood: cheerful

Friday night
-I roamed around the Marriot with slave_to_anime and ran into people who I knew. I had drinks with daenerys, Brian, and their friends at the High Velocity bar.

Saturday
-I cosplayed as Cho Chang.
-I got to take a picture, get an autograph, and shake hands with Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy). He’s very humble and down-to-earth.
-I had dinner with ninja_kitsune, Chapman, and Gump at the Pacific Rim Restaurant. The food was delicious!
-I watched the entire Dawn Look-Alike Contest. Anthony Daniels (C3PO) was hilarious as the MC! The contest had dozens of beautiful entries. Congratulations to daenerys for capturing 3rd place and to all who competed!
-I wandered around the Marriot as Belle, and I tried to take pictures of as many good costumers as possible.

Sunday
-I attended the Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) panel and taped a few clips of the interview.
-I had a blast at the Yule Ball! ninja_kitsune cosplayed as my Ravenclaw brother Chad Chang. I could never take enough Harry Potter cosplay pictures. Thriller dance for the win! jkg_vader, rgusmc1, and jainamsolo were amazing!
-I spent my last couple hours of Dragon*Con at the Marriot and ran into the rest of the West Coast cosplayers and photographers. lionboogy’s Bumblebee was paired up with another Bumblebee. hybrid_twist’s ShamWow cosplay was Wow! We took a large West Coast group shot.

Everyone in this picture is from California. That's not including the rest of the West Coasters that made it to Dragon*Con this year. Our crowd is getting bigger!


Monday
-Why does Dragon*Con have to end so soon?

Current Mood: excited

Dragon*Con was a blast! Words could not even describe it. You just have to be there. As a sneak preview of some of the awesome stuff that goes on, I taped a video of jkg_vader, rgusmc1, and jainamsolo doing the Thriller dance at the Yule Ball. Enjoy!



Thanks to jkg_vader, I finally got to meet Hot Sirius!

Current Mood: indescribable

Along with ACP cosplayers, I got to participate in Funimation's promotional event for the US premiere of Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.0! We took turns recreating classroom scenes as Eva characters. Attendees win a free promotional Eva autograph card if they played Pictionary or Hangman with us. Time flew by really fast because we had lots of fun!

genjitsu with his army of Rei clones


Eva cosplay group


( More fun Evangelion cosplay pictures beneath cut )

Current Mood: pleased

Happy Birthday to chase_the_bunny!

I kept debating on which worship song I should share on this special day. At the very last minute, I'll have to go with my favorite worship song of all time. It's called "In Christ Alone" by Stuart Townsend. In this video, you can listen to the song, read the lyrics, and watch scenes from The Passion of the Christ all at the same. Personally, I think it depicts the true meaning of Easter very well.

Current Mood: happy

Thanks to lovemeeko and ladydemando for originating the once-in-a-lifetime idea and coordinating the Disney Princesses skit almost four years ago at Comic Con! Seriously, it was the most epic San Diego Comic Con Masquerade skit to be a part of ever! I uploaded the video onto Youtube about three years ago, and I'm amazed to see how it reached over 1 million hits just last month. The video is still as popular as ever. Long live the Disney Princes and Princesses!





For a photo gallery:
http://www.mandyscosplay.com/disney.php?set=disney

Cast:
Fairy Godmother - cosplaykitty
Snow White - lovemeeko
Ariel - aznaphrodite
Cinderella - a_siren
Belle - mandymitchell
Aurora - haremqueen
Princess Eilonwy - babysnowleopard
Megara - maryssa
Pocahontas - bluejeans07
Mulan - Jenn
Esmeralda - phavorianne
Jane - Emi
Alice - bri_baby
Wendy - ladydemando
Prince Philip - Mike
Shang - hakaider
Peter Pan - Andy
Aladdin – Tony
LA Aboretum photoshoot:
Tinkerbell - tokyokitty

Current Mood: happy

I just booked my plane flight for Dragon*Con 2009! I'm totally looking forward to Dragon*Con already even though it's just April. This horrible spring weather needs to end already.
It looks like I'm not going to San Diego Comic Con after all because I'm going to be attending another wedding that same weekend. I love weddings! I'm not going to miss fighting the crowds at SDCC anyways.
I'm sooo looking forward to the Morning Musuume concert at Anime Expo this year. It's about time they perform in the US. I'll finally get to see them sing and dance with my own eyes!

Current Mood: excited

Happy Birthday to slave_to_anime! May you have a great one!

Current Mood: cheerful

Time to jumpstart my creative juices. I haven't used the right side of my brain in a while, but I'm pleased with my results.

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Aristocrat

93% Elegant, 41% Technological, 53% Historical, 20% Adventurous and 11% Playful!

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

Current Mood: creative

Happy Birthday to kuronosho!

Happy Birthday to scruffyrebel!

Happy Belated Birthday to hybrid_twist!

I uploaded the third performance by the Jem Jam at JemCon 2008 onto Youtube. Basically, it's the extended version of our skit that we performed at the San Diego Comic Con 2007 Masquerade. We even featured new costumes and new cosplayers in our skit. It was a truly outrageous way to finish the night. Enjoy!

JemCon 2008 Jem Jam Main Performance


Cast list:
Jem - haremqueen
Jerrica - lovemeeko
Rio - Mike
Kimber - mandymitchell
Aja - missbandotaku
Shana - tsukinobara
Raya - phavorianne
Danse - babysnowleopard
Pizazz - a_siren
Roxy - cosplaykitty
Stormer - scruffyrebel
Clash - tokyokitty

Current Mood: satisfied

Here's the second of the three videos that are uploaded so far from JemCon 2008. This song features a dance solo by Danse. Enjoy!

Danse Solo - When It's Only Me and the Music


Cast list:
Jem - haremqueen
Danse - babysnowleopard

Current Mood: enthralled

I finally got around to uploading the first of the three Jem Jam cosplay performances from JemCon 2008 onto Youtube. Many thanks goes to the guys from i360: slave_to_anime for digitizing the video and chase_the_bunny for taping the performances as well as the lovely ladies and gentleman who performed. Of course, Kett Robbins, the con chair, for inviting us in the first place. Hope you truly enjoy the video!

Jem Jam - It Depends On the Mood I'm In


Cast list:

Jem - haremqueen
Kimber - mandymitchell
Aja - missbandotaku
Shana - tsukinobara
Raya - phavorianne

Happy Birthday to lionboogy!

Current Mood: jubilant