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Before heading back out to the courtyard, I pass by these Japanese ladies dressed up as Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) and Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter) from SAILOR MOON!
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Veteran cosplayer Dia looks absolutely breath-taking as Elodie, an original character developed by Imp17 (Kyung-Joo Lee, a Korean graphics designer best known for her work on the EZ2DJ game)!
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This exquisite costume itself, though, is inspired by artwork from popular Korean game developer Hyung-Tae Kim (famous for MAGNA CARTA), a frequent contributor to Imp17's site!
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The temperature is soaring off the charts, and it might just be due to the sizzle & spice from this ultra-hot pairing of Warrior Rikku (FINAL FANTASY X-2) and Beatrix (FINAL FANTASY IX)!
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I pretend that my camera accidentally malfunctioned the previous time around so that I can take another photo, but Rikku catches on to my plan and teases me with a knowing grin!
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Continuing a tradition that started back in 2001, Sinclair and I gather up into one big pile the many signed items that we (including Lisa) amassed over the weekend. Then we could take a snapshot of all our new treasures for posterity!
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Despite being dead tired (following a late-night screening of Spiderman 2), I wearily pull out all my signed production cels as well in order to complete the picture (but only after some nagging from my roommates)!
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Exhausted or not, I still stumble out of bed early next morning in order to make it to the open autograph session! Seki Tomokazu and his NADESICO persona Gai would never forgive me if I quit now, so I got to show some guts and represent!
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Okouchi Ichiro glances at my bloodshot eyes as if I'm about to pass out & start daydreaming about flying schoolgirls with flapping pigtails, just like "Osaka" did in AZUMANGA DAIOH (which he coincidentally scripted)!
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Satoshi Nishimura offers to throw some jabs to my forehead to help me stay awake! As the director of HAJIME NO IPPO, he practices at the boxing gym owned by the manga creator Jyoji Morikawa. This way, he is better able to realistically animate the punches and other sequences during the bouts of the anime!
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Although she's missing a pair of green hair clips and needs shorter locks, I believe that this cutie is cosplaying as Chise from SAISHU HEIKI KANOJO (SHE THE ULTIMATE WEAPON); but if anyone ever rags on her accuracy, she can easily claim to be Seiko from the same show instead!
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Nyo? I'm surprised to find Gina Jaio from the Sailor Jamboree cosplay troupe dressed up as Dejiko, since she typically favors Sailor Moon or gaming characters for costume ideas. But after spotting her passing out flyers for Brocolli (which produces DI GI CHARAT), the confusion clears up instantly!
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This is for my pal Jon, who has been secretly harboring a huge crush on Gina... ever since he saw her in her alluring FFX-2 Yuna idol costume last year! Unfortunately, Jon could not be found at Anime Expo this year due to a pre-planned exile to Malaysia! You don't know what you're missing out on, buddy!
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Paying homage to perhaps the most lovable villainess from SAILOR MOON STARS, this fan girl seeks to make her Sailor Iron Mouse as wickedly adorable and faithful to the original as possible! (But isn't that evil Senshi supposed to be insanely short? With those legs, apparently not!)
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I'm sure that there are plenty of other guys around here who would be more than happy to give you their "starseed" (or whatever it is you're looking for), but I'm not just going to give mine away that easily, you know! A dude has to have standards!
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Escaping to the Geneon booth, I collect my final autograph of the convention from GUNGRAVE character designer Shino Masanori! Meanwhile, Brandon Heat gives me a cold stare while Mika Asagi playfully bats her lashes in my direction!
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Geneon is great with handing out beautifully illustrated signboards for their guest signings! These signatures from Masanori-san and Tomokazu-san (who voice acts for Brandon Heat) go very well with this image of Beyond the Grave!
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Phew! It's been a long 4 days, and I think that Lillith from DARK STALKERS 3 ~ VAMPIRE SAVIOUR has arrived to finally put me to rest! I just hope there are pillows wherever she's taking me...
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Fading in and out of consciousness, the only words I vaguely remember from her is something about corsets being the perfect gift for "that special someone" this upcoming holiday season...
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Inspired by the other sign for Jon, my travel companions and I decide to deliver a similar message to our good friend Brian, an AX staffer who helped us a lot over the weekend. He'll be shipping off overseas for the military and sadly will have to miss AX next year!
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With her flight departing in less than half an hour, Lisa (with Sinclair in tow) sets a brisk pace through the airport while I have to dodge and weave past security just to take this photo!
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Man, I really hate good-byes! Why does all this fun have to end so soon? But wait a minute! Why are you two giving me such weird looks? You're saying that we can really start all over again? How the...? Oh yeah, I completely forgot...!
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