Well, as one of the long-running lurkers on the FFML,  I figure that I need to
contribute something to the list, so I kept a journal about Anime Iowa, which
finished up yesterday.  Here are my thoughts.

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Hello to all of the FFML from Anime Iowa (well, I'm staying with a friend in
Coralville, Iowa, but it's close enough.)  I'm working on a diary of this
convention in its second year, so with borrowed laptop in hand (or in lap), I
thought that I would share my experience at the con.

Thursday, September 17

Well, the convention won't start until Friday, but I thought that since I was
on vacation, I'd get to Coralville/Iowa City early.  Driving up from my home
in the Champaign, IL area was pleasent thanks to listening to the sweet tunes
of Maison Ikkoku (my favorite anime music) and Kimagure Orange Road (just
found out that AnimEigo had charged the second installment to my account.
YES!)  The only interesting things happening to me were that I left behind my
schedule (I swear that its a family trait), and that I ran into a fellow
Urusei Yatsura fan at a rest stop southeast of Galesburg, IL (well, he was
wearing a Lum T-shirt; it was a dead giveaway.) ^_-  For the rest of the night
I just hung out at my friend's place, reading recent fanfic, and trying to
hash out an idea for a fanfic.  It just might be on the list sometime in the
near future.

Friday, September 18  (music tonight from Urusei Yatsura)
		Well, it's a start...

Well, the convention started today, and for the first day, I can say that I
had a good time.  First, I went to the Iowa City Radisson (aka the Highlander
Inn) to check in for the convention and to find my friends Ucchan and Rae-san
(some on the FFML will know who I am talking about, and for the rest, suffice
it to say that not only are they friends of mine in anime, but also from
college.)  I also ran into another old friend of mine from Normal, IL.  (Hi,
Becky.)  Went to see a Miyazaki movie before the opening ceremonies (one of
the few that I haven't seen.)  Later on I had a nice chat with Nick Leifker (I
was trying to get some pointers on fanfiction writing), and also briefly
talked to Richard Lawson (when's the next part of Life So Dear coming out?).  

I had a short talk with Steven Bennett of Studio Ironcat before the opening
ceremonies, mainly him remembering me from last year's con (it's good that he
remembered me, but it could've been bad for me.  Not sure.)  The main rumor
about Steven was about the artwork he did for the convention t-shirt, but he
denied that the piece was done intentionally (the ecchi aspects were all
coincedental, according to him.)  That subject reappeard in the opening
ceremonies.  Other highlights of the opening:

Robert DeJesus doing his best (or worst) Clinton imitation.
Kuni Kimura (of Studio Ironcat), as translated by Kevin Bennett (same company)
Steven Bennett apologizing for his younger brother and Kuni
Amanda Winn Lee's joke involving the male anatomy
Jason Lee's commenting on policing Amanda's fun (more on that later.)

Well, I checked out the dealer room before the opening, but all I found was
stuff that I told myself that I would get later on.

Now here's my restaurant reccomendation when you are in the Iowa City area.
Our little group weht to a Japanese place called Sushi Popo, located in a
strip mall off of Mormon Trek Blvd.  It was rather cozy, and the food was
excellent (I had miso soup, softshell crab, and chicken teriyaki.)  The
service was also very good.  It was not easy to locate at first, but it was
worth the effort to find it.

Not much else to say about the convention, since I'm not staying on-site,
except that there was a rumor going around the gaming room about Amanda Winn
Lee.  (Let's just say that she does have a reputation.)
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Saturday, September 19
	One day and three rolls of film later...

Saturday was a very interesting day at AI (at least for me.)  I actually got a
late start on the day (trying to save up for the TCAMS (Twin City Anime and
Manga Society) party that night.  I hit the dealer room after getting to the
convention site, finding a couple of soundtracks that I was looking for (one
was Detective Conan.)I caught part of the fansub ethics panel, which discussed
some of the trends in the anime fandom community and their relationships with
the various companies where fansubs are concerned.

The first highlight was the fanfic panel, hosted by Mark Engels.  Some general
comments about the panelists:

-Greg showed off his briefcase that he claimed was shrunk after washing it.
^_-
-I definitely need to search out for some of the Sailor Moon fanfic that Anna
Johnson has written (haven't seen it on the list myself, but she did provide
the address.)
-Some extra commentary was provided by Travis Butler and my friend Ucchan (I
can't wait for the continuation of that Ranma/Laughing Target fic; I was told
that since I forwarded the idea to Ucchan, I was given a guest shot in the
piece.  Tragic tale for another day.)
-I finally got to meet the legend (somewhat to me, since I haven't written
fanfic) that is John Walter Biles.  To say that I admire his writing is an
understatement.  Nice guy.
-Just to let people know (and I hope that this doesn't get me tempbanned), the
troll formerly known as Gubby was only hinted at in the two hours that the
panel met.  I found it to be rather stimulating.  BTW, a story related to the
panel (and fanfiction in general) should be appearing in a webzine called
Anime in America.  I don't have a URL for it, but it is hosted by Geocities.
If I find the address, I'll pass it on to the list.

After more shopping and taking pictures of people in costume, the time came
for the Guest of Honor banquet.  More fun between Steven Bennett and Robert
DeJesus (apparently there was an informal pool party Friday evening in which
Robert DeJesus ended up in the pool with all of his clothes on, since Steven
Bennett was asking for a spare pair of shoes for Robert.)  Amanda Winn Lee
came to dinner sporting a pair of sunglasses (maybe a bit too much partying
for her?)  And Kuni Kimura and Steven had somewhat of an arguement (all in
good fun.)

Cosplay came next.  Richard Lawson entered, doing an impression of the Blue
Thunder, (or was that the Overhead Lighting?)  I was impressed with all of the
costumes.  (I'll see if I can post some of my favorites in the near future;  I
just need the cash to get my three rolls of film developed.)  And to top that,
Richard had the high bid to get the first shot at the P-chan Pinata (one blow,
goodbye.  And he even gave a fine Kuno line as he struck the telling blow to
the pig. ^_-)  After that the TCAMS had a Mystery Anime Theater Party,
featuring some of the worst in anime.  (Personally, I left after the first
part of Otaku no Video; I'd had enough.)

Well, one more day of con-going.  And then its back to the real world.  (Last
week of vacation of the year for me.  *sigh*)

Sunday, September 20
	Home again, home again, jiggety jig.

Well, Anime Iowa is long over, and I'm finally settled in at home.  So what
happened?  Well, let's see,...

Not much.  I got Steven Bennett to draw an image of Lum on my convention t-
shirt, put in a couple of bids at the art auction (got none), picked up a Ryo-
Ohki doll for my sister (budding anime fan and a lover of rabbits), and got a
group shot of a couple of friends of mine with me.  Not much to speak of.
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Well, that's all for the second Anime Iowa.  Next for me: 1999's Anime Central
(I can't afford many anime conventions.)  I'm glad to have met some of those
on the FFML whose stories that I enjoy to read.  Hopefully it should help in
inspiring me.  

And that's the way it is.  For Anime Iowa 1998.

James Holzhauer (aka Tobimaro [Ton-chan])
    ---see you around the FFML
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