Another thing: it is recommended that you check out the Anime Sekai booth while at the con, as they tend to have a nice selection of figures (including Figmas and Nendoroids).

Given my con experience, I've seen Servo dressed in other outfits (from Lina Inverse to Edward Elric).

You're not the only one happy to see that cosplay, as I was in line for the Dealers' Room when I saw them, and those who were in line as well were also excited to see this type of cosplay.

Also, congrats to Paperman for winning the Best Animated Short Oscar (the first win that, not including Pixar shorts, Disney has had since 1969).

Just a little warm up for next month, as I'm planning to take a day trip to Cloudsdale Congress, a MLP convention in the Washington D.C. area.

Actually, despite some of the things I heard concerning the people of the BBYO, I didn't have any real issues their attendees, (their staff, on the other hand, was something that I had to bring up to the Katsucon security).

When it comes to conventions, here's my comments on each of the subjects.

In terms of what to buy and how much cash to bring, outside of some anime titles that I plan to buy (which I do budget into my spending amount), most of the purchases I make at an anime convention are usually impulse buys (with me not knowing the price until the convention itself). However, it is still useful to "shop around" and compare prices before making a purchase. As for how much to bring, it's best to have a decent amount of cash with you (at least $200 in a check card and $100 in cash), especially given what the room may offer.

Preparing for a con: There's two main ways I do this. First, I try to keep track of what I'm buying before the con (and the week after the con) and budget myself so that I can afford those items and still have enough money for the con (if not, I also have some "emergency" money in my bank account that I can use). Second, one thing I do to ensure that I have cash for the con is wrapping coins and saving up dollar bills, with me cashing them in the day before the convention. Believe me: there's a lot of cash that can be used just by saving all your loose change.

Carrying my purchases: Usually, since I have a family member drop me off at the con (I don't have a driver's license), I end up carrying my stuff around for most of the con until a family member comes to either take me home for the night or get a bite to eat. However, when it comes to Otakon, I do sometimes return my stuff back to my hotel room when I get a chance to do so.

You're not the only one dealing with bootlegs here.

First, at Anime USA, I picked up a Snow Miku 2011 Nendoroid figure, only to discover a couple of days later that the figure is actually a bootleg (this explains why I haven't done an Anime USA report yet, as that is my only figure purchase at the con).

That's not the only bootleg problem that I have, as I've starting to have a feeling that the Konata Nendoroid figure that I picked up at Katsucon a few months ago is a bootleg as well.

When it came to my area (Clinton, Maryland), the hurricane was pretty much gone by Tuesday morning (with things being back to normal on Wednesday). The real mess in our area was the freak storm that happened a few months ago (which left a lot of places without power for a few days).

Noticed that just now.

That is most likely someone in the background walking by. Given how big Otakon is, you can probably see other cosplays in the background (either walking by or posing for another picture) along with the main person that I'm trying to take a picture of.

Owning the first five volumes of the manga, I checked them out to search for more music references. Of what I skimmed, I know that there's a lot more t-shirts with musical references in the manga (including Nine Inch Nails, Basement Jaxx's Kish Kash album, and Rephlex Records). Also, Ana's pet dog is named after former RHCP member John Frusiante.

It's interesting to see this be brought just one day after I ordered the regular-sized Nendoroid of Yune from Hobby Search (will likely have pictures of that figure when I get it next week at the earliest).

As someone who is a fan of animation in general, I do keep a look out for older titles, and that includes anime (with me picking up the GE999 DVD's this past year at Otakon).