By Mark Rodriguez
Day 2 had a bit of a late start for us since it took us a while to check into our hotel.... and even longer to find a way from the hotel to the con. Luckily the con started at noon anyway so we didn't miss all that much. It looks like even when you have paid for all 3 days and already have your badge, you still have to get back in line like everybody else to re-enter the building. Johnny also found out the hard way that even if you exit the building for a bit to grab some food at the food truck, you have to get back in line to get back inside. This is understandable due to security but it is still a bit annoying at times.
I got to get an autograph and take a picture with Sonny Straight and he was pretty cool. He was only taking cash so he actually waited til I ran to the ATM to get some money and then let me rush right back to him without having to get back in line. He was pretty cool and I remember him from Anime Vegas. The lines for Sabat were insane and went all the way to the entrance of the dealers hall but I was able to come back later and get his autograph too.
The Vintage Vanilla was super amazing over at Wild Bill's, to the point that everyone was flocking to that flavor instead of the others. They ran out of that flavor twice. I managed to snag a LVL Up Expo shirt and a cap though while I was trying out the other flavors.
I also got to meet Stephen Stern, one of the creators of Zen The Intergalactic Ninja. I remember seeing the old NES game of his back in the day and he was glad that I remembered his character. We had a little chat on how Zen got started and what he was actually doing now (to my surprise, new Xen stuff is still being made today). I bought a Zen comic, which he autographed, and he gave me a free comic also autographed. That was pretty cool.
Other interesting things that went on at the con were me trying out oxygen, apparently a more cleaner and purer form of it compared to the junk you'd breathe in Las Vegas, (but I didn't feel anything different) and me checking out a Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo gaming tournament. We of course, also got to check out some more wrestling. It had a match that was some sort of crazy tag team battle royale. It was insane and the action got real close. Like sometimes they'd knock a wrestler down and they'd land right next to you or in an empty chair in front of you, and it's awesome. There was so much insanity happening all at once, it was hard to keep track of it all and it was glorious.
Johnny spent most of the con watching a panel on anime voice overs. Basically people would come up and read lines, either seriously or goofing around, and the panel host would edit them in the actual show and play back the finished product afterwards. Even though it's not anime, there was much love for Avatar and Korra, as many scenes from those two shows were used. I have to say, whether they were playing their roles seriously or jokingly, they were very good at it, especially when it came to matching the lip flaps.
We also saw a comedy competition and weren't prepared for what we saw. Seeing we were at a con, I was expecting geeky themed comedy, but no, this was straight into hardcore comedy that I wouldn't have been able to share on social media without repercussions. It was probably one of the few if not only panels there that would have been considered an 18+ panel.
The con started to wind down and we headed back to the hotel. After exploring the hotel and casino for a bit, we decided to grab some dinner and get some rest for the final day of the LVL Up Expo. Overall it's been a great con, though the lines to re-enter the building and dealers being a giant maze were still annoying.
Day 2 had a bit of a late start for us since it took us a while to check into our hotel.... and even longer to find a way from the hotel to the con. Luckily the con started at noon anyway so we didn't miss all that much. It looks like even when you have paid for all 3 days and already have your badge, you still have to get back in line like everybody else to re-enter the building. Johnny also found out the hard way that even if you exit the building for a bit to grab some food at the food truck, you have to get back in line to get back inside. This is understandable due to security but it is still a bit annoying at times.
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| Sonny Straight is the voice behind Krillin from DBZ and Maes Hughes from FMA |
The Vintage Vanilla was super amazing over at Wild Bill's, to the point that everyone was flocking to that flavor instead of the others. They ran out of that flavor twice. I managed to snag a LVL Up Expo shirt and a cap though while I was trying out the other flavors.
I also got to meet Stephen Stern, one of the creators of Zen The Intergalactic Ninja. I remember seeing the old NES game of his back in the day and he was glad that I remembered his character. We had a little chat on how Zen got started and what he was actually doing now (to my surprise, new Xen stuff is still being made today). I bought a Zen comic, which he autographed, and he gave me a free comic also autographed. That was pretty cool.
 |
| Stephen Stern, creator of Zen: Intergalactic Ninja |
Johnny spent most of the con watching a panel on anime voice overs. Basically people would come up and read lines, either seriously or goofing around, and the panel host would edit them in the actual show and play back the finished product afterwards. Even though it's not anime, there was much love for Avatar and Korra, as many scenes from those two shows were used. I have to say, whether they were playing their roles seriously or jokingly, they were very good at it, especially when it came to matching the lip flaps.
We also saw a comedy competition and weren't prepared for what we saw. Seeing we were at a con, I was expecting geeky themed comedy, but no, this was straight into hardcore comedy that I wouldn't have been able to share on social media without repercussions. It was probably one of the few if not only panels there that would have been considered an 18+ panel.
The con started to wind down and we headed back to the hotel. After exploring the hotel and casino for a bit, we decided to grab some dinner and get some rest for the final day of the LVL Up Expo. Overall it's been a great con, though the lines to re-enter the building and dealers being a giant maze were still annoying.
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