Chibi Pa 2009 Recap

The first thing I noticed was that at least half the attendees were in costume. Half being a generously low estimate. Some of the costumes were very intricate and well-fitting. Some, not so much. There was a surprisingly low overlap of character emulation. There were two or three people dressed up like Naruto (the best emulation pictured to the left), and that's an extremely popular anime. Most of the cosplayers even acted in character. Suffice to say, I did not envy the people responsible for judging the upcoming cosplay contest. It would have just been too difficult.

Some of the events that took place included a Nerf war, where teams armed to the teeth with foam bullets hunted each other down for epic one-on-one warfare; lots of anime viewings; a hentai costume contest (which was actually kind of a disappointment. It needs work to make next year's better); spontaneous duels with foam weapons; a sake-tasting panel; and several raves. There was also a room with a separate itinerary for furries and some kind of console gaming set up somewhere. I didn't have any interest in either, but it's worth mentioning.

This man is ready to slug someone... with foam ammunition.

Aside from a couple of awkward email exchanges and a handful of people who IM me on an inconsistent basis, my interaction with the furry community had been pretty much naught. I do have to say, though, that I can say nothing ill of the furries who attended Chibi Pa. For one thing, none of them did anything creepy. For another, none of them were too nervous or stuck-up to rave with me-- a complete newbie to raving. Though I suppose if you're going to walk around in public wearing animal ears and a tail, you're not going to be think you're too good for anyone else; nor will you be too self-conscious to do anything.

Girls like this are real party animals.

In short, I had a great time and I would recommend this convention to anyone who would find it practical to attend next year. I spent too much time enjoying myself to adequately document the event, so go look at what other people covered: