Fanime's a good time to reflect on how lucky we are here in California. I heard a bunch of comments this year on how we lived in some kind of cosplay utopia, and it's completely true. I think that we take that for granted -- I've lived here all my life, and I don't even care that much about cosplay. (My dark secret is revealed!) But I've got a lot of friends who cosplay, and take cosplay photos, and it's true that this is probably the most supportive place for that hobby on the planet. Even in Japan -- it's different, I'm told.
Fanime was good for cosplay this year. For us, that's kind of important.
And it's not just the cosplayers. This is a good place for photographers. We've been doing this for a long time, and we remember how things used to be. The credibility that good photographers have in this community was hard-won, and evolved over a very long time. At some point, we fell into a symbiotic relationship, and everyone's richer for it. Other conventions, it's not the same. Not as advanced.
That's probably mostly because there's something happening every few weeks. A good costume might get debuted at ALA, get polished at the annual hanami, and finally wow all comers at Fanime or AX. It's certainly a punishing schedule, and it may be a bit of an arms race, but there's no arguing with the costumes. There may be a human cost, but the people involved pay it gladly.
Of course, you can't cosplay all the time. (Please do not send evidence to the contrary.) I haven't even talked about the guests. Fanime has its friends -- there are people we've gotten used to seeing, and they've gotten used to seeing us. Yamaga's been attending Fanime longer than I have, and Momoi Halko looks set to become a regular. Their panels were fun, and the Momoi Quest (attend her events, collect stamps) was really cute.
But the most important thing about Fanime's always been seeing your friends and catching up with them, and so I find that I increasingly don't have much to say about the events of the con. It went well and everyone had fun, and that's a wonderful thing.
One point worth mentioning, though -- Fanime's also nice because it runs practically 24 hours a day. There's always something going on, and if you feel like pushing yourself, you can go way past your operating limits. I recommend it -- it's worth doing, if only to remember how crazy you used to be.