This past weekend I decided to be a huge nerd and attend New England's greatest anime convention of the year, Anime Boston. I feel like a complete nerd just for saying that..... Anyway! Ashton and I pre-registered on Monday and picked up our member badges on Thursday to prepare for Friday/Saturday and not have to wait in the long registration lines in the morning.

I was SO EXCITED.

Friday morning came and I rode into work with Ashton and hopped on the T from Quincy into Boston by myself. I had to switch from the red line to the green line at one point and almost got off at the wrong stop until I saw the orange line out the window! Haha. Upon arrival, I was in need of an energy boost so I grabbed a raspberry/strawberry smoothie from Tossed, and headed to the line for bag checks. I looked around and noticed almost everyone else had some sort of caffeinated beverage in their hand... so many forms of coffee/energy drinks/sodas!! After making my way inside I immediately pulled out my guidebook app and set up my schedule of panels that I didn't want to miss and set reminders: 10-11am Postmodern Anime, 11:30am-12:30pm Making Web Comics 101, 2-3pm Fundamental Anime, 3:30-4:30pm Pirikapiri lala! Mahou Shoujo Panel and 7-8pm Battle Royale and the Hunger Games: A Comparison. I used my time between 12:30-2 to check out the Dealer's room (where about a million vendors of all things anime/kawaii/Japanese-inspired set up tables and talk you into buying their cool stuff!) and briefly met up with Kerrie (one of my coworkers). I did not buy anything at this point, I just walked around to visit all the tables and see what they had to offer since I knew I'd be back later. I did the same thing in the Artist's Alley after the Mahou Shoujo panel ended at 4:30. The Artist's Alley is similar to the Dealer's room except everything being sold up there is all handmade and includes a ton of original fanwork. I was so jealous and wished I could do what they were doing: creating unique pieces that they love and selling them for a living. Items included artwork, jewelry, plushies and other stuffed toys, original comic books and manga, 3d paper origami, scarves, keychains, buttons and pins, cosplay costume accessories and so much more that my pregnant brain can't remember right now! I met up with Ashton just before 5:30 and we made several rounds in the Dealer's room and Artist's Alley again as well as attend the Battle Royale/Hunger Games panel. Knowing we'd be back the following morning, I only picked up one item each from the Dealer's room and Artist's Alley. I picked up a deck of playing cards featuring my favorite magical girl series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, from the Dealer's room and a print of original fan artwork that included a mash-up of characters from six Studio Ghibli films from the Artist's Alley. I had breakfast and was snacking all day and bought a giant pretzel, but by the end of the last panel at 8, I was exhausted and HUNGRY. Ashton and I headed to the food court and I'm embarrassed to admit I had my heart set on a burrito all day long so when Ashton didn't want to wait in the line at Qdoba I nearly cried! He immediately changed his mind and we waited in line, lol.

Saturday we drove to Quincy again and took the T together into Boston. We missed the first panel we wanted to go to because the line to get in was too long (1:30-2:30pm Words Unspoken: Studio Ghibli and subtle visual storytelling) so we only ended up attending one panel for the day (3-4:30pm Beyond Miyazaki: Politics and Philosophy in the Films of Studio Ghibli). We ended up meeting up with three more of my coworkers, Matt, Dominic and Chris, and browsed the Dealer's room and Artist's Alley together. At the end of the day Ashton and I selected three more art prints (San from Princess Mononoke, Chihiro and Haku from Spirited Away, and Totoro and chibis from My Neighbor Totoro) and of course a Totoro plushie for the nursery! (plushie is shown at the top of this post)

I love all of the colors and different art styles and I can't wait to hang them up!

When we get everything set up and these are hung on the wall I will be sure to post some pictures. :)