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Sakura-Con 2011: Thursday & Friday

For the past seven years, I’ve gone out of my way to make sure that I’m able to attend Sakura-Con in downtown Seattle. As you probably know by my previous convention coverage, I love photographing cosplayers, and this is certainly a great place to find them. The 2011 came to a close earlier this afternoon, but I’ll never forget any of my fond new memories at the northwest’s biggest anime convention thanks to my handy digital camera. Hit the jump to see over 170 photos that I managed to capture during the many hours I spent on Thursday (Day Zero) and Friday (Day One) at the Sakura-Con anime convention.

THURSDAY

After picking up my badge, Tuxedo Mask became the first cosplayer I photographed at this year’s Sakura-Con.

*CHOKES* I shouldn’t have insulted the Force…

Hope and Lightning relax during the calm before the Sakura-Con storm.

The Vocaloid known as Haku Yowane.

Ezio plans on using a mace for his next assassination attempt.

The snooty vampire Rachel Alucard from BlazBlue.

A closer shot of Rachel’s umbrella, a cat named Nago.

Furries are more than welcome at Sakura-Con.

“KARP KARP KARP KARP KARP!”

A pair of maid cosplayers.

Professor Layton needs two Lukes to solve his latest case.

Ms. Spencer plans to educate Candy Cane by taking her on a field trip to Sakura-Con

Noble Team’s Jorge-052.

Signs like these were placed around the escalators to help prevent traffic jams caused by cosplayers and photographers.

I could photograph Lambo…

…or I could get a shot of the Bovino Family reunion!

Yoko and Inuyasha compare weapons.

I’m going to guess that this is Mario’s old “pal”, Wario.

A Final Fantasy VII cosplay group shows off their Materia.

Fujin ditched Raijin to become a solo act.

Two of the Mushroom Heartless from Kingdom Hearts.

A cosplayer with a neat deadmau5 mask.

I could use some help identifying this character, which reminded me of Jubei-Chan.

The final photo from Day Zero was also unfamiliar to me, but the costume was too unusual to pass up!

FRIDAY

The first day of Sakura-Con always starts with a bang, so I made sure to get to the convention center as early as possible.

Kon from Bleach was very popular with photographers and attendees.

Fullmetal Alchemist’s Alphone, complete with glowing red eyes.

Hei and Yin from Darker Than Black.

Here’s some more furry fun!

Hsien-Ko granted Ezio a chance to inspect her claws.

Noel and Ragna from BlazBlue.

A pair of Links have linked up.

Seattle was the destination for this year’s BioShock family trip.

Vegeta charges up his power level.

The classic 32-bit incarnation of Vincent Valentine.

Sam Fisher had a hard time sneaking past the cosplay photographers.

Macross Frontier’s idol singer, Sheryl Nome.

Kiki had to make some deliveries at the convention center.

Asuka shows no mercy when berating poor Shinji.

DOMO-DOUKEN!

Tinker Bell searches for a vendor selling fairy dust.

The evil Scanty was working for Funimation as a model.

Phoenix Wright never objects to a photo op.

CC and everyone’s favorite Pizza Hut mascot, Cheese-Kun.

Ravers gotta rave on!

Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass lead him to the exhibits hall.

FemShep reaches her romantic peak with Garrus.

Pyramid Head is on the hunt for new victims.

Bonta-Kun from Full Metal Panic.

Sanrio’s classic Little Twin Stars have come to life.

The heroic Kuro, as seen in the Katamari Damacy sequels.

Zach, look! It’s Francis York Morgan and the Raincoat Killer.

A cosplayer showing Eggman’s feminine side.

Hsien-Ko protests to Capcom in order to get her friends added to Marvel VS Capcom 3.

A fairy guides Midna around the convention center.

Midna soon assumed her imp form in order to blend in with the Digimon.

Tali’s pilgrimage has lead her to Earth.

Here’s something for the ladies.

Vote for Mike Haggar or you get the pipe!

Officer Jenny takes a pause from patrolling the convention.

Suzuka from Angelic Layer.

Two spokesmen representing the Lastwear clothing line.

A band of survivors finds solace from the wastelands of Fallout.

Aladdin and slave girl Jasmine.

Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth were sharing lunch out on a bench.

A purple unicorn experiences Michael Jackson on the Kinect.

Albert Wesker has made amends with his former STARS rivals.

Goku prepares to teleport.

Future Trunks journeyed back in time to 2011.

Sajin Komamura no longer feels the need to hide his appearance from the world.

San Diego Comic-Con sensation Jessica Nigri as Panty.

Scott Pilgrim ROCKS!

A Creeper from Minecraft lurches through the halls.

American McGee’s renditions of the Cheshire Cat and Mad Hatter.

Vanille is ready for battle.

Nearby, I soon found her costar, Sazh.

A tech-priest from Warhammer 40K’s Imperium.

Cobra Commander plots his latest scheme for world domination behind some curtains.

Another Sazh, who shows off his little Chocobo buddy.

Lee Chaolan prepares for battle with Bob.

Zoey takes the lead role in the latest Left 4 Dead scenario, which is set at an anime convention.

Dr. Black Jack is in.

Where are your Cheetos, Mr. Cheetah?

Bullet Bill and Blooper show off their mad In the Groove 3 skills

No Face and its second mouth.

Navigator Nami from One Piece.

Someone must have spread some weed killer around the con since there weren’t many Poison Ivy cosplayers. A shame!

Porcine World War I flying ace, Porco Rosso.

Jin Kisaragi faces his destiny in the form of Hakumen.

The Warrior of Light arrived after hearing about Garland’s possible presence at the con.

“Run run run as fast a-” GOTCHA!

Morrigan passed up a chance to be in Dragon Age 2 in order to stop by Seattle.

A robot waved to attendees exiting and entering the building.

This fellow’s doing some serious trolling!

Armor King got all up in my face when I requested a photo of the masked wrestler.

Hakan prepares to oil up.

Could this be a Van Helsing cosplayer?

Crimson Viper versus Chun-Li.

A Sword of Truth cosplayer posing outdoors.

I was following a Ryoga when I went around the corner and noticed that he vanished. This little black pig was there, though.

Buddy Christ will always be your friend.

The true ending of Ico has the pair escaping to Seattle.

Uh oh… I think I startled the Witch!

Devil May Cry’s Lady and Dante.

I wonder if Gilgamesh grew weary of hearing people yell, “GIRUGAMESH!”

TOASTY!

Briareos Hecatonchires from Masamune Shirow’s Appleseed.

Samus wants to claim a bounty on Berserker Rikku and Yuna.

An excellent Princess Ruto and Link.

Kimahri Ronso fiercely defends his bag.

Statler and Waldorf were busy laughing at various Sakura-Con shenanigans.

Jack Skellington considers making Sakura-Con a new Halloween Town holiday.

LeBlanc and Seymour from the world of Spira.

Stocking and Panty, minus Garterbelt.

Master Chief calls in a big game hunter to help exterminate the Covenant invasion.

One of Jim Cameron’s Na’vi buddies.

Samurai warriors who unfortunately weren’t affiliated with Koei.

The official booth of Geek Girl Con, an event happening in October at the Seattle Center.

Kenpachi has no problems getting the ladies.

Mmmmmmm… delicious Cup Noodles!

Selphie ventures outside of the Garden with Rinoa.

A jolly fellow in a giant blue mech suit.

To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that this cosplayer is Gabrel Belmont.

Lady Deadpool from the canceled Deadpool Corps series.

Royal cosplayers who were a favorite target of cosplay photographers.

Mr. Satan and his mighty afro.

A new compilation of Final Fantasy VII cosplayers.

Isaac Clarke is ready to deal with any Necromorphs at Sakura-Con.

Yoshi decided to try out a more revealing wardrobe.

“GET OVER HERE!”

Mr. Mackey and Ms. Choksondik were spotted on a date at the con.

I believe that I saw this great Skull Kid last year as well.

A Metro Cop from Half-Life, complete with a voice changer that distorted his speech.

Kasumi wasn’t kicking high today.

I think she was one of the Vocaloids, but correct me if I’m wrong!

Sonic the Hedgehog and his famous friends.

The anime version of Witchblade.

Man Chun-Li has some silky smooth thighs.

I think that she was another Fallout cosplayer.

An adorable giant dusty bunny from My Neighbor Totoro.

Interestng medieval fashions.

Bad Girl disapproves of Travis Touchdown’s antics.

Phoenix hangs out with a female Green Lantern from Sector 2814.

Honda teaches their ASIMO robots to wield katanas.

Hard Gay thrusts for the amusement of the crowd.

Raptor Jesus graces Sakura-Con with his holy presence.

A dinosaur armed with a sword.

Shinken Red, who was a favorite among the Sentai crowd.

Liger Zero from Zoids.

The Digimon known as Renamon.

Georg Prime and another of the Queen’s Knights from Suikoden 5.

The Cactuar was making a mad dash for the exit.

Sisters Griselda and and Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere.

Despite being battered and bruisd, Ippo refuses to throw in the towel.

Numerous sightings at Sakura-Con prove that Slender Man is not an urban legend.

A group of Black Rock Shooter cosplayers.

Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

San, one of the stars of Princess Monoke.

I declined a game of frisbee played with Xena’s chakram.

Greedo decided to give the con a look before tracking down that Solo guy in the Cantina.

MEOW!

Okay, Vash! We’ll do whatever you say, just don’t hurt Kuroneko.

Final Fantasy XII’s leading bishounen, Vaan.

Barry Burton, the MVP of the entire Resident Evil franchise.

The Catbus was absent from Sakura-Con but this interesting kitty was spotted on the skybridge.

Zelda has formed an evil alliance with Zant and Ganondorf.

Princess Peach and Daisy were kindly handing out Super Mario Bros. fruit snacks to their subjects.

A nurse from Silent Hill, who had quite a bit of difficulty seeing through the mask.

Fleet Street’s most famous barber, Sweeney Todd.

Jack Sparrow took another wrong turn and was lost in the courtyard.

A scene that will soon play out in the Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition DLC.

Noel tries to keep that kooky Taokaka under control.

Tekken’s Heihachi Mishima.

Foamy the Squirrel loved flipping off photographers.

Another set of Stocking and Panty cosplayers wears sunglasses at night.

That last photo concludes the first installment of my Sakura-Con 2011 event coverage. Check back over the next few days for the next two photo blogs, especially the massive post that will document my findings on Saturday.