The Dealer's Room

When the main room was being prepared for sessions, or when folks just felt the urge to spend money or wander around aimlessly, most of them wound up in the Dealer's Room. Those who live in the Midwest sometimes have a harder time finding those anime and manga collectibles, but the Dealer's Room was amply stocked with a supply of imported Pikachus, CDs, and other merchandise.

Top left: AnimeVillage waits for the doors to open. Top right: A rare moment of calm in the Dealer's Room. Bottom left: People managed to pack their way into the Dealer's Room to buy their favorite stuff. Bottom right: Some dealers had very customized transportation.

Autograph Sessions

Fans wait for autographs from Sonoda Kenichi, Yoko-o Daiken, and Kotobuki Tsukasa.

Of course, many fans were eager to stand in line for a chance to get an autograph from their favorite guest. Anime Central used a ticket system and allowed each attendee the chance to get an autograph from the guest(s) of their choice. Since many of the guests had concurrent autograph sessions and time was limited, attendees had to make careful and sometimes hard choices.
It was also interesting to note the differing speeds at which the line moved. Mr. Sonoda, who has been to several anime conventions in the United States, has to be one of the fastest artists around. He was cranking out signatures and sketches at breakneck speed, while some of the other artists apologized for being "slow."

The End

By Sunday afternoon, many of the attendees were heading to the local airports to brave the weather home, hoping for better luck on the return leg of their trip. Sunday afternoon's events were the art auction and the closing ceremonies.

Top Left: And the final item is announced. Bottom Left: The item is shown several times during the bidding war. Right: "I spent how much?"

The art auction saw several signed prints come and go, as well as a few rather unique items. However, the item commanding the highest price was an uncut sheet of the first series of Ani-Mayhem cards, signed by the Guests of Honor who had art included on the set. The fiercest bidding war of the auction ensued, with the price jumping from $50 to $250 at the beginning, and ending with a final bid of over $600.
After the excitement of the auction, the Guests returned to the stage to close out the three days of anime festivities they had been a part of. After that, there was little left to be said, and the attendees began their journeys home, no doubt with their wallets empty and luggage full.