If Cosplayers could be household names, it is undoubted that Maguma would be the talk of California. From hosting panels and Cosplay events to having an instantly recognizable presence on 4chan’s Cosplay image board (/CGL/), you don’t get much more celebrity status then he already has. Maguma has Cosplayed in a wide variety of heavily photographed costumes, such as Gray Fullbuster (Fairy Tail), Gurren Kamina (Gurren Lagann), Lambo Bovino (Reborn!), Protoman.exe (Mega Man), and Dark Ryu (Street Fighter). With attendance and participation throughout the California convention scene, from Anime Los Angeles to Pacific Media Expo, if you’ve been to...
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Among the anime discussion panels, previews, nerd dating and J-Rock concerts, tucked in a small corner above the main convention floor two contestants played a mighty game of chess. This was no ordinary game, however, as the pawns, knights, rooks and royalty all towered some five feet above the black and white cloth board. For this was Cosplay Chess – the Cosplay equivalent of Harry Potter’s Wizard’s Chess, but better, since every piece had its own unique personality.

A line of eager attendees wound around the second floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center, framing a large swath...
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All conventions tend to have their problems and people to complain about them, but few hold as many as Anime Expo 2010 did. While the more seasonal convention goers that only attend 1 or 2 major conventions a year seemed to be able to handle the recent changes at Anime Expo, regular con attendees, dealers, and even staff made very audible cries of distaste towards the way things were being run. Whether it was the complaints against the location, costs, or management of the con, it could be heard all over by a wide range of attendees.

Some of...
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While other parts of the expo may not have held up to previous years, the tabletop gaming room of Anime Expo 2010 was second to none. Split up into two large rooms, one for daytime gaming and the other for late night, this was the best place to relax and enjoy oneself out of the entire convention. Furthermore, with countless competitions, room for casual play, heavy prize support, and Wizards of the Coast present in an official capacity, you simply missed out if you weren’t spending some part of your weekend there.

Wayne Phelps, manager of AX’s tabletop gaming room,...
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Our man, BigWhite Bazooka, took time out during this year's Anime Expo to capture the flavor of the convention...or at least what goes on in and around the halls. What you'll see is a compilation of our shoots, our friends and our good times. AX was a blast for those of us involved in the project and we wanted to share a small piece of that fun with you!
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Cosplay gatherings are a wonderful way for Cosplayers to mingle and interact with their peers in between conventions. Some can use the chance to trial run new Cosplays while others just take the opportunity to have fun and meet new people. This theoretically works perfectly in Oceanside, a location set softly between San Diego and LA. Hazel Chaz, the Chairman of Anime Los Angeles (ALA) and gathering’s organizer, chose the location after much consideration of parks and places around the Southern California area. Chaz believed that Oceanside’s great location within Northern San Diego County, nearby Orange and Los Angeles...
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