The Cosplay Cuties once again made their way to Rosemont IL for the ever popular and growing Anime Central. This ACen marked the Cuties' 5th year together and their 5th ACen. Sadly, veteran group member Mary couldn't attend. But the Cuties' friend Casey was more than happy to fill in for her. The size that ACen had grown to amazed the Cuties and they had a wonderful time meeting friends, cosplaying, and attending events.
Samantha, the Cuties' leader, was in charge of photos and the skit and cosplayed as Crimson Cat Shadow from Shadow Lady and a winged version of Myoubi from Alichino. Sunny, who was either attached her cell phone or to Samantha's side brought back her Rei school uniform from Evangelion and was a dark version of Myoubi from Alichino. Casey, our honorary member, was an artbook version of Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth and a purple Myoubi from Alichino, and could be seen wandering around with her sister Claren (who was an adorable Selphie from FFVIII).
All the Cuties made it down to the hotel on their own this year. Samantha was finishing 2 college exams and began the process of moving out of her dorm Friday and Sunny had a job interview. We met up late Friday evening at the hotel and checked in. We didn't have any problems with the room this year besides the front desk misspelling Samantha's last name and claiming we must have a room at the other Hyatt. Thank goodness for confirmation numbers. Sunny and Sam were very happy with the room and location, they didn't have to use the elevators once that weekend. Samantha was fortunate enough to catch the end of registration and got her badge but Sunny would have to get up early Saturday to stand in line and get hers. Yet another lesson as to why one should pre-register.
Friday evening Sam donned her Crimson Cat Shadow and wandered the halls with Sunny. We ran into Casey and her group and said hello and made plans for the next day. Near registration Sam spotted the simply amazing Paine (FFX-2) done by Little Star and said hello to her fellow cosplay.com member. It was right around the same area that she ran into ParnsAngel from cosplay.com too and the two got to talking. They were both disappointed that they wouldn't be able to get photos together in their Shadow Lady costumes, because of Parn's busy costume schedule. But Samantha was very enthused to be able to meet her online friends in person. It wasn't long before Sam ran into her friend Jake, who is setting up a new convention in the Rosemont area, Kazecon. Everyone talked and met random con goers who passed and Sam posed for photos and said hello to Eurobeat King, also from cosplay.com.
Sunny and Sam eventually retired to their room and showed each other their masquerade costumes, since neither girl had seen each other since around January. Sam put on her poofy Myoubi skirt and modeled it for Sunny and the two joked that it looked like an Irish dancer's skirt because of the Celtic-like designs. So Sam amused Sunny with her own version of Irish dancing inspired by a fellow student in one of her acting classes. Sam also battled with the confusing alarm clock while she played with Sunny's Myoubi headband.
Saturday morning Sunny was up remarkably early so she could stand in line for registration. Sam managed to get a little more sleep before she put on Crimson Cat Shadow again and went to find Sunny. Samantha then headed to the masquerade sign up to meet Casey and to check in the group. Casey and Sunny both eventually showed up and the entire group was very pleased that Sam had registered their skit online. All the masquerade spots had been filled. We were all very sorry for the cosplayers who were turned away; including a group of our friends from high school who had prepared an entire dance routine and had registered online, but do to a mix up couldn't participate. The check in went smoothly and we were quickly finished and ready to have fun.
Samantha and Sunny went back up to their room so Sunny could change into her Rei outfit and then the two made the trek to the dealers' room. Much to Samantha's chagrin it was a surprising long walk, and her platform boots weren't being too kind. The two girls did a lot of shopping and said hello to their boss and friend Steve at Anime Pavilion. Near the I. C. Entertainment booth Sunny and Sam had their photo taken by a newspaper reporter too. After spending quite a bit of funds, and Sunny picking up a very odd stuffed animal affectionately referred to at "the Pea" the girls headed back. They stopped in to check on Casey and Claren and then made a trip down to the fountain area for photos. The two groups split again and Sam and Sunny wandered into the Megatokyo panel. Samantha was more than happy and poor Sunny didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about most the time.
The early afternoon was spent wandering, taking photos, and making random stops in the room. Samantha ran into another Shadow Lady and had her picture taken with her but it seem that the poor girl had no clue as to who Samantha was dressed as. Actually, the entire weekend there were very few people that recognized Sam as Crimson Cat Shadow. But the costume still seemed popular none the less. We ran into Brendan, Finiack, and Pat of old Otaku no Radio fame and talked a little bit. Eurobeat King who had been treating us like models all weekend, taking our photos so often, was delighted to see Sunny in her Rei outfit and got a photo with her. Finally, in the late afternoon Sunny and Samantha switched over to their Myoubi costumes. Samantha discovered that her wings, though she loved them, were very troublesome in crowded areas. We had a delightful little photo shoot with Eurobeat and then relaxed in near the fountain (that wasn't working) for while.
Finally we stopped upstairs again to regroup. We ate a little and Sam went over to help Casey get ready and to practice the skit. Sunny eventually joined the group, still attached to her cell phone, and we all practiced. When we headed down to the masquerade we were astonished at the mass of people trying to get in. We had heard that Casey's sister and father couldn't get in but we later heard they did, and actually got great seats. Casey's mom, was affectionately called "Mom" by all the masquerade staff and they let her in the green room with us because she couldn't get a seat in the masq. The staff for the masquerade this year was really really really great. The whole set up was amazing and ran very well. The whole process has improved by leaps and bounds since the year they had us wait outside in a wet tent. There were chairs and even a huge screen for us to watch the masquerade on as we waited. This year there were even a set of craftsmanship judges waiting to judge all of us as we lined up. It was amusing because they kept joking and saying they were sorry because they kept lifting up parts of skirts to check the hemming and seams. When we were actually lined up to go one of the Japanese guests stopped us and had their translator ask us if they could take our photos. We were more than happy to oblige.
We were all nervous but our skit went well. Our skit was like an infomercial for the wish granting services of the Alichino. Samantha and Casey cooed to the audience about how the Alichino understood they have problems, wishes, and that people don't really need their souls. “We want your soul!” Sunny was our cute sign girl who held up a warning sign as Samantha quickly listed off the side effects of services like a medication commercial. It was short and sweet. Not the most amazing skit of all time but it served it's purpose. We were happy for all the winners. The mirror Chiis and the Paine more than deserved their awards. But we were a little amazed that certain groups didn't win. Like the simply amazing Bloodlust group.
The rest of the evening was spent wandering around. We congratulated Little Star and had our photo taken with her and then took to pushing our way through the crowds. Samantha and Casey wandered together, taking photos, and Sunny went back up to the room to grab her cell phone. Samantha and Casey found a permanent spot near the bulletin board and talked with a lot of people. Jake, Brendan and company, Eurobeat, various other photographers and people. Sunny joined the group again, phone in hand, and we were all surprised by the fire alarm. We eventually dutifully left the building only to go back inside a few minutes. Casey's mother found us free soda, a huge box of cookies, and carrots and we had a little picnic near our bulletin board. Finally, very late in the evening we left for our room. Sunny and Sam changed and began to pack their car and settled in for the night/early morning.
Sunday, Sunny and Samantha headed down to the Kazecon panel and listened to Jake in our corner with Brendan. Jake informed the room that Brendan, Sunny and I would be working on the Kazecon dating show and we dutifully waved. The entire con seemed to be coming along well in the planning process and we were excited. We bid our goodbyes to Brendan afterward and proceeded to check out and say good bye to Casey's group. The check out line was so big! But, fortunately it moved quickly.
After another quick round to the dealers' room, and a good bye to Steve, Sunny and Sam hit the road. We were following directions but somehow ended up at O'Hare airport, again! Thankfully Sam remembered there was an exit specifically marked to Milwaukee after the terminals and we did manage to find out way home. In record time at that, thanks to Sunny's mad driving skills.
In the end we had a spectacular time. The masquerade has improved notably and the size of ACen is simple astounding now. The moving of the dealers to the actually convention center was a wonderful idea. While it was a hike to get there, there was enough room and that's what counts. Samantha was ecstatic that she could make the Megatoyo panel too. We all loved seeing online friends and making new ones. The Cuties had a great time, and as always, we look forward to the next ACen. Maybe next year, we won't get lost during our trip at all. *crosses fingers*
Leave us a message or say hi in our TagBoard box that made the move from our last ACen review page! Please be respectful and courteous to The Cuties and other users.
Our Shout Outs:
Little Star - Your Paine was amazing! You deserve the award. Hope you have the same fortune in your furture costumes.
ParnsAngel - You knew who I was! *hugs* Your costumes kicked ass too. Loved your Charlotte. We will get Shadow Lady photos together sometime!(Samantha)
Jake - It was fun seeing you pimp out Kazecon. You rule!
Brendan - It was nice to see you again. Best of luck in your radio show. Can't wait to work with you at Kazecon.
Steve - We still love you Steve and we love working for you.
Peter Zimmer - Finally see you again! Stupid college getting in the way.
Eurobeat - Thanks for making us feel like stars.
CosplayCuties.net - Our main domain!
A Fan's View - Everyone knows and loves Kevin's site.
Cosplay.com - Cosplay photos galore and convention photos.
Anime Pavilion - Our boss Steve's store.
Anime Central - The Official Page
Kazecon - Another con we will attend.
Stray Radio - Brendan and company's new radio show.
