Roger's Adventures at the 2015 Emerald/Sakura-con-bo

It's that time of year again.

Sorry this took so long gents. A while ago, I had a long two weekends at back to back conventions both taking place in Seattle. But I'm finally ready to tell you all about it. So lets get to it.

From March 27-29, we had Emerald City Comic Con. Personally, I'm pretty new to the convention scene, only starting to go to them last year. So far this is easily the biggest convention I've been to yet. A huge attendance, tons of comic writers and artists, fan art, panels, and tons of big name celebrities. Just to name a few of the people I got to met briefly: Janet Varney (voice of Avatar Korra), Steve Blum (voice of Amon, Mugen, Leron, and everyone else) Huberto Ramos (Amazing Spider-Man artist) Kelly Sue DeConnick (writer of Captain Marvel, which Marvel will be making a movie of some day), Anthony Mackie (Falcon in Captain America: Winter Soldier), Kevin Eastman (creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and the grandfather of comics himself, Stan Lee, and yes I did fork over the $70.00 to get his autograph.

But to bring this back to One Piece, I suppose there's only one name worth mentioning...



Mike McFarland

You'd be hard pressed to find someone who works harder in bring One Piece to the States than this man right here. As the show's ADR Director and Line Producer, Mike is right at the helm making sure the show sails to American audiences both faithfully and competently. He has a strong hand in  the shows casting as well. That's why none of the actors playing any of the Straw Hats have ended up saddled with secondary roles (unlike Dragon Ball Z, in which Chris Sabat got stuck playing half the cast) giving them far more space and range to work with their characters.

On top of all that, Mike is known for several voices himself. His debut role being Master Roshi in Dragon Ball, but in One Piece he's played the voices of a few animal characters such as Eyelash (the camel from Alabasta), Yokozuna (the frog from Water 7), as well as the newly recruited Marine, Petty Officer Helmeppo. I think there was one other role he did for the show, but I don't think it was all that important. Um, who was it again...
  


Oh...right. That guy.

In all seriousness, Mike noted during his panel* that he has found time outside his busy schedule with all the anime he works on to watch a little further ahead in One Piece. Specifically he mentioned being in the middle of the Impel Down arc, which means he is now well aware of the massive amount of Buggy shenanigans that are coming his way.



You're gonna have a LOT of work to do, Mike.

*I was hoping to find a video or recording of Mike McFarland's ECCC 2015 panel online to share in this article. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in my search. I know at least one person filmed it, so if anyone knows where to find a decent video, please share a link in the comments below.

Emerald Con certainly was a blast, and it was absolutely amazing seeing Mike and all these other awesome celebrities, but definitely pricy. Not to mention it seemed more family oriented, with larger crowds, but not quite as many cosplayers. Well, fast forward a week and a bucket of bleach later, and we are once more unto the breach. My second forte to what was originally my very first con last year.

Sakuracon

With our powers combined...

...yeah, we wish.

I don't know what it is about the gamer and anime crowd, but they always seem more passionate than standard comic conventions. The cosplays are more vibrant and expressive, and there's always a larger variety of characters and personalities. And while my Scientist Peter Parker outfit at Emerald Con was recognized by one or two people, mostly people just thought I was Dr. Horrible. But both my Oustet Island Link (from Wind Waker) and Sabo cosplays at Sakuracon were recognized and well received by dozens of people, which is always fun.   

Anyway, like every year, there are photoshoots for all the biggest games and anime series run by the veteran cosplayers, so I made my way to the One Piece photoshoots on both Friday and Saturday, and as usual, the fans did not disappoint.



Yup. A whole year, and we're still in Dressrosa.

So the Sabo, on the left, that's yours truly. The Sabo on the right is Sai, who was surmountable in helping make these events run as smoothly as they did. Not only that she let me borrow half of her fire for several of the shots. In addition to us, this was probably the year more Revolutionary characters arrived than ever before, I suppose this could have been planed, but it makes sense given their increase in activity and involvement in the story as of recent.

"Those who wish to join the fight for freedom, board our ship."

Also, can't get over how awesome Dragon looked especially.

So... I could be here all day talking about the fans, but perhaps I should wrap this up with what I do best. So here's Roger's Top One Piece Cosplayers of Sakuracon 2015
(no particular amount or order)


Hack

This was the same guy who came as Admiral Fujitora Last year. Once again some amazing work.

Davy Back Fight Luffy (and co.)

Always fun to see all the more unique iterations of our favorite characters.

Zoro

Congratulations on having just the right genetics that make you look so much like the character, it's frightening.

Law and Corazon

Sai, the other Sabo I mentioned before, also did an excellent Rocinante, as seen above. I couldn't help but find the irony that the character who possesses the Silent-Silent devil fruit power was the one yelling to get everyone in position for the shoot, quite humorous.

Monet

So... Monet is still a bit upset with me because I put her in my Top 5 Scariest Characters list and not in my Top 5 Beautiful Women list, so maybe that's why she's blocking herself from my shot. Turns out her cosplayer had her own criticisms about my character [Sabo], not being too fond of his sudden resurrection from the dead, feeling it was gimmicky. Fair enough. Despite how she felt, she still was impressive looking. Though hopefully she can get over it if I thought there were a few that were just as if not more impressive.

NEVER!!!

[Sigh]...

Bellemere, Nojiko, and Nami



The adorable level, it's OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!  

And the #1 Best One Piece Cosplayer of Sakuracon 2015 Goes To...

This was probably bound to happen. I have maybe said a few unkind things about Princess Shirahoshi in the past. Specifically, rating her Reason #1 in my list of  Top 5 Reasons Why Fishman Island Flopped, and possibly at one point calling her, quote, "The worst character Oda has ever created." Those were some pretty harsh words I will admit. Now, feel I wrote plenty of detail to support my claim in my article, however, that is not to say others aren't free to opposing opinions. Shirahoshi was ranked 28 in the most recent popularity poll, so clearly many others see something in her that I'm missing. So, in an attempt to show I am in no way biased in my choices, Shirahoshi was the genuine article, and a clear choice for the Top One Piece cosplayer of the day. Many kudos go to her boyfriend as well (as seen above as Lucy), who rolled her into the photo-shoot on a wagon and lifted her up onto the platform with his own two hands.

And that's about as close to being here all day as I am going to get. If you were at Emerald City or Sakuracon this year and have some fond memories or personal favorite cosplayers or celebrities you ran into, please share below. The thing I cherish most about these events is the chance to interact with fellow fans like myself.

And if you still want to see more from the One Piece photo-shoot, be sure to check out Jason Standiford's professional photo work at his page, Standiford Photography at www.standifordphoto.com The gallery password is Sakura-Con.

Until next time, I'm Roger, and have a SUPER Day!