MangaNEXT was run by the same people who run AnimeNEXT, in the hotel AnimeNEXT used to use. It was basically very similar to AnimeNEXT, only a bit smaller (since this was it's first year) and with a more manga slant to it. With that in mind, I tried to pick a costume I hadn't worn much that was from my favorite manga.

As I had gotten violet colored contacts recently, but hadn't had a chance to give them a test run yet, I decided to wear my miko robes and be Hino Rei from Sailor Moon. Let me tell you, taking the subway, and then walking, and then taking an NJ Transit bus, all in full kimono, yukata, and geta, was VERY interesting. And, I got a lot of interesting looks that I tried to ignore. AND I tried to hide the fact that I was reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" while online--I wasn't reading it to complete the look, I swear! I was just in the middle of reading it.

I remembered the hotel from the first time I went to AnimeNEXT in 2004. Right away, the first person I ran into was Carrie, dressed as Lacus from Gundam Seed, which seemed appropriate as she was the first person I met up with at AnimeNEXT this year. She looked adorable! (But then, she always does. Except when she looks sexy.)

I checked in, got my badge and my bag of goodies, and decided to take a look around. The first place I went was to the dealer's room, just to see if I'd run into anybody I knew, and to check out the local wares.

My favorite, by far, were the Ninjas versus Pirates T-shirts, cleverly designed so that one T-shirt had the Ninja checklist winning, and the other, the Pirates. Brilliant, Fanboy. BRILLIANT.

It turned out there wasn't a lot more to the con (that I could find) other than a Artists's Alley, that I would return to later, and a few event rooms, so I headed back to one of the event rooms to attend a first ever for me: an Anime Dating Game, played entirely in character!

Not knowing a lot of characters from newer anime, it was a little hard to tell what was going on, but from what I gathered, Athrun Zala from Gundam SEED Destiny was the bachelor, and Carrie as Lacus from Gundam SEED Destiny, Anna as Lunamaria from Gundam SEED Destiny, and Sakura from Card Captor Sakura were the three anonymous eligible bachelorettes. I forget who emceed the event, but D.J. Ranma S, dressed as a Black Mage, served as overall stage hand, and "divider" to keep the lucky bachelor from seeing the contestants. The entire game was played in character, and was really very amusing. And, of course, Athrun Zala ended up with Lacus.

The game being over, I had time to just hang out, finally get a chance to sit and talk with Mo for more than five minutes at a time, which was absolutely wonderful, meet some of her friends (including the cool guy with the tail, who's name I have unfortunately forgotten), and see some of the people who were coming in to sign up for the hall judging (I believe) of the cosplay competition. For a small con, there were still plenty of really very well made costumes.

From there I decided to finally check out the Artists's Alley, especially Carrie's booth. Now, normally I don't buy artwork myself, but I still enjoy looking at it--being a (quasi) artist myself, I know talent when I see it. And there was a lot of talent at MangaNEXT! And, of course, getting to see all the new things Carrie makes--she seems to add new products every year--was a lot of fun.

It was around this time that I ended up making my first ever purchase (not counting Hime-chan's sourcebook that I bought at Otakon last year) in an Artists's Alley. As Carrie and I were sitting there talking, one of the straps of her Lacus costume suddenly popped! (I don't have Jedi powers, I swear!) I, not being a seamstress, didn't have any sewing materials on me, and Carrie's were back in her hotel room, and she really didn't want to have to run all the way back there and risk a "wardrobe malfunction", so Crissy's MacGuyver like brain kicked into high gear. Glancing around the Artists's Alley, I noticed a booth selling Sailor Moon fanart made into buttons. Score! I ran over, bought a Sailor Mars one (because even in a crisis, I have to support my girl), and pinned Carrie's strap back into place. Voila!

(Okay, so maybe that wasn't all that MacGuyver like. Cut me a break here--I wanted to be a hero to a pretty girl, okay?)

I also met Carrie's brother Dylan, who looked awesome in the costume she made, and her friend Tom who, as Hunk from Resident Evil, had real army (if I remember correctly) gear with him, who was a lot of fun to talk to. I must remember to bring business cards to give out to everybody I meet at these things so I can keep in touch!

Here I also ran into Janice, who I hadn't seen in AnimeNEXT, and B-chan, who...I can't remember the last time I saw B-chan, but we talk online and meet for lunch sometimes, so at least I get my weekly dose of sexual androgynous ambiguity. (Say that three times fast.)

The Artists's Alley also segued seamlessly into the gaming room, so I walked over to check out what they had set up there. They had one TV playing, if I remember correctly, AMV Hell, which startled, pleased, shocked, and baffled me. I need to remember to download these and watch them, they were outstanding and wrong on so many levels. Most of the games were ones I wasn't really interested in, but I did go toe-to-toe with Ranma on an old Ranma fighting game. I held my own, considering I had never played before. :)

I was pretty hungry by this point, so I ran (and by ran, I mean, walked as fast as humanly possibly in fairly uncomfortable wooden Japanese shoes) across the street to the deli, where I ran into Jesse again, and Charles. It was nice to just sit down with them and talk for a while about whatever popped into our heads, although at some point I think the conversation wandered over to Star Wars, thus reinforcing our geekiness.

After eating, I went back to the game room so I could hang out with Doc and his friend, I believe his name was Bill, who was so...sarcastic without being cynical, if you can imagine that, and so inoffensively offensive that the two of them contrasting (Doc is pretty idealistic and optimistic without being naive) had me in absolute stitches. As it was getting dark, and we still had a long way to go, Doc decided to accompany me most of the way home so I wouldn't get jumped by any creeps. All in all, I had a great, very laid back time, and I would've gone back the next day or two, if I hadn't sucumbed to the plague again. I'm not sure if fall cons hate me, or New Jersey cons in general, but I do know that it'll be a red letter day when I finally make it to all three days of an anime con in Seacaucus. Ugh. Anyway, I'll try not to let that ruin what was a really enjoyable, albeit brief, con for me.