My friend Rob crashed at my place the night before insisting we wake up by 7:45 so we could get on the road and get to Novi, Mi early (90 minutes of driving, maybe more). We get there at 9am and the damn thing isn't even open yet!! I give Rob the evil eye as so dope dressed in yellow tights and a red mask passes out his small press comic "The Cardinal", Rob and I figure I can work this idea into my D&D campaign.

10am the doors open and we rush the video booths!! Anime, Sentai, the new Godzilla movie!!

What was scary was every anime booth was also selling bootleg japanese wrestling, nnamely big blue clamshelled copies of the Matsunaga/Crocodile Death match. One kid asks a dealer if the match is good... I step in and give him the lowdown on Matsunaga's tail grab on the baby croc and prevent the scumwad bootlegger from making a sale. I hit the table of a friend of mine and he swaps me all of the hot new anime series "Berserk" (new as in anything from 1997-2000) for copies of Misawa/Kawada History. Rob is stunned as he buys the episodes of berserk he doesn't have and ten other tapes. I scour around and bAM!!Every dirt wad is selling Japanese copies of Dragonball and Dragonball Z. I shake my head in disbelief as people scramble to get these things even though the street legal versions of DBZ are hitting this fall. Right next to DBZ is the largest selection of bootleg ECW tapes AND japanese porn!! (YES!! AKIRA FUBUKI RULEZ!!)

We scour around awhile, I pick up the swank "Milk & Cheese" bath towel and marvel at some dude's coool Flaming Carrot costume. We get set for Dirk Benedict's appearance when the announcement comes that he won't be there (I'm a huge Battlestar Galactica mark). Rob and I debate staying around to harass Johnathan Frakes and figure our energy is better spent going home.

This con is a bust save for Berserk, the towel and the Gatchaman soundtrack Rob spotted for me. Waaaaay to many bootleggers taking advantage of kids, especially for bad Big Japan and IWA tapes.

James
 

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