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Last night I had my first ever taste of the wider anime/manga community. I had no idea there were so many otakus in Southampton alone!

Waterstones was hosting Tokyopop's ReCon, and I tripped along with a few friends. First off the bat, I was blown away by the queue. Much larger than I imagined, and that was only a fraction of the total number of people.

I took the opportunity to test drive my second cosplay outfit, Kimura from Azumanga Daioh (a series that I currently have a mild obsession with). A pretty simple job that. Grey suit, round glasses, open mouth. And to top it all off... My very own Father Hat, so that I could pull it over my face and freak everyone out! twisted Although I didn't actually do too much of that. Luckily, the costume seemed well received, and I can't wait to method act Kimura at the London Expo next month!

The shining jewel in our crown however, was a member of our party dressed as the Advent Children version of Cloud Strife. No, scrap that; he WAS Cloud Strife. Down to the last detail. A really beautiful costume. He even wielded the impressive First Tsurugi sword, which he made out of foam. The poor guy had to deal with fangirls asking for photographs all night! But I think it was worth the sacrifice!

We also had the girl who made my hat dressed as Yomi from the second culture fest, in her own hat and waitress uniform. VERY cute.

Seeing so many cosplayers has made me want to come up with a number of reserve costumes for any other cons I may go to. The latest one I came up with was Noriyasu Seta from Love Hina. I think I could pull him off extremely easily. When I have the money, I'm going to go shopping for suitable clothes and a lab coat. Not sure how I'll manage the massive bloodstain though! rofl