ANI-MAGIC 2002 Memories

Welcome to the nt2099 Cosplay Underground's "Ani-Magic 2002 Memories" segment.

Before I go on, I just want to say that the quality of some of the photography in this gallery is not as good as our Fanime and AX photos. This time we compressed the photos a bit more to quicken load time and also we didn't have the use of the 6 mega pixel digital camera (owned by Peter who couldn't make it because he had classes to attend), thus we had to use our 1.3 mega pixel digital cameras.

Anyway, the following photos are among the many hundreds of photos that we (kndy, Bangzx, Eric and Sherwin) took during the Ani-Magic 2002 convention in Lancaster, California.

Instead of putting the cosplay photos up the way that most people do with theirs, I take a different approach to our cosplay photos. I like to graphically tweak the photos and visually capture your attention. As my friend Hiroshi would say...."have a fun" with them.

It was our first time to attend Ani-Magic 2002 and we a fun time. I never have been to a small con since Fanime 1 and so I got to see first hand how this con has grown. Many people I talked to have called Ani-Magic a "Cosplayer's party" and in a way I have to agree with that term.

Although the con is not as big as Anime Expo, Fanime and other larger cons...being at a smaller con gave me the opportunity to meet more new people, to hang out with friends that I met at previous cons and much more. Also, if you wanted to get to one location to another and back to our hotel room, it only took a matter of minutes. I just liked how quick it took for me to get the extra batteries that I needed for my digital camera or my video camera in three minutes without waiting for the elevator. These are the positive things that I enjoy about smaller cons especially with Ani-Magic because the rooms are so close to where the action is happening.

Main Photo: Feat. Siren, Photo L: Dennis A. Amith (kndy) with Lily and Kie Gruenke (The Neko Twins) - Plug: Read the Neko Twins cosplay interview, Photo M: Eric & Bangz, Photo R: Sherwin.

As with most small cons, especially newer ones...you do experience things that you wish will improve the next year and Ani-Magic has the potential to grow more and more with each year. So, I look forward to coming back in 2003.

What can I say about the city where Ani-Magic is being held. Lancaster...what an interesting area. I didn't get a chance to see much of the town but on Friday afternoon, I went out with several visual kei cosplayers to a nearby restaurant for dinner and judging by the stares from the many restaurant patrons...it was as if Hell hath come to Lancaster. What an interesting afternoon.

So, many stories but I'll probably save that for the Ani-Magic messageboards.

There are so many people that we would like to thank for making our first Ani-Magic experience enjoyable and without listing any names...please know that we thank you. Also, to AM staff, thank you for your help.

Last, thank you to many of you who gave us a chance to take your picture. Enjoy!

Ja mata na. - Dennis A. Amith (kndy, kndy2099)