Has anyone here been to an anime convention?
- Thread starter KnoxUK
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I went to two in Paris. Paris Manga which was... literally a huge shop. And Japan Expo (the biggest anime con in France), I even went cosplayed as Felix Argyle! I didn't really enjoy it though. It was very hot and crowded, of course. The con was filled with shops and I didn't see much small artists so I was sad. I didn't go after that and it's now been 2 years. Maybe I just don't enjoy cons, but those were not that great compared to what I've heard. I mean I saw some of my favorite youtubers from afar, but that was about it.
2kimi2furious
Sleepy Bear
I went to one in high school. I enjoyed it at the time, but looking back, it was pretty cringey. I was pretty cringey too. I went to another in my early twenties to meet the voice actors from the English Cowboy Bebop dub. That one was a lot better because we weren't interacting with too many people apart from a few vendors and the actors. My friend and I had become old curmudgeons by then, lol.
I've been to a couple, only because my friend had an artist booth there so I went to support her. I'm not really into anime anymore so most of the time I didn't understand what was going on besides recognising a few classic cosplays. I probably wouldn't go unless I knew a friend was going or if I was using the convention as a meeting point to meet some gaming friends I met online. If I recall correctly, my first attempt to meet a member from here we planned to meet at a convention :'D
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I used to go to Otakon in Baltimore, MD every year from about 2003-2011/12. I'm not really a convention person because I get panic attacks in crowded spaces, but it was a tradition for my husband and he wanted to share it with me. The first year was really difficult for me, but I learned a lot of techniques to help me cope better in the future. Plus, my husband was super helpful and willing to walk away from lines or whatever if I needed to just get out immediately.
Other than dealing with crowds, I thought the convention itself was a lot of fun. My favorite part was the costumes. I've always loved costumes and it was fun to recognize the characters and take pictures of them. I even started cosplaying myself after a few years.
The merchandise was also really cool. I got to buy things that I could never find where I live and would cost a fortune to ship from Japan. I also liked the artroom where amateurs displayed their work. I even bought a few figures and art prints from them because some were seriously that good.
In the evenings, they had a masquerade where attendees performed skits or participated in costume contests. That was always fun and we never missed one of those events. We still love to remember some of the random things that happened during the masquerade, like when this one pretty girl came out on stage in a perfect Ciel Phantomhive cosplay and a guy from the crowd shouted, "I'd go straight for you!"
There are also concerts, Anime Music Video contests, and artist/voice actor signing sessions, plus panels for all sorts of things that anime fans might be interested in. I guess it depends on what you like and what anime convention you go to, but you can always check out the website on the con to see what they have planned and who will be there as guests to figure out if you want to go.
We stopped going mainly due to financial reasons and now life has kind of gotten in the way of us going back, but sometimes we still miss it.
Other than dealing with crowds, I thought the convention itself was a lot of fun. My favorite part was the costumes. I've always loved costumes and it was fun to recognize the characters and take pictures of them. I even started cosplaying myself after a few years.
The merchandise was also really cool. I got to buy things that I could never find where I live and would cost a fortune to ship from Japan. I also liked the artroom where amateurs displayed their work. I even bought a few figures and art prints from them because some were seriously that good.
In the evenings, they had a masquerade where attendees performed skits or participated in costume contests. That was always fun and we never missed one of those events. We still love to remember some of the random things that happened during the masquerade, like when this one pretty girl came out on stage in a perfect Ciel Phantomhive cosplay and a guy from the crowd shouted, "I'd go straight for you!"
There are also concerts, Anime Music Video contests, and artist/voice actor signing sessions, plus panels for all sorts of things that anime fans might be interested in. I guess it depends on what you like and what anime convention you go to, but you can always check out the website on the con to see what they have planned and who will be there as guests to figure out if you want to go.
We stopped going mainly due to financial reasons and now life has kind of gotten in the way of us going back, but sometimes we still miss it.
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I've been to quite a few! They're very fun, but I guess compared to any convention they can be expensive, so make sure you bring plenty of your own water/food.
Ladydestani mentioned a lot of good points! In that be sure you check out the cons website for important panel information/famous guests.
(The best photo op I've ever gotten was with dante basco aka Prince zuko lol he was super nice)
Ladydestani mentioned a lot of good points! In that be sure you check out the cons website for important panel information/famous guests.
(The best photo op I've ever gotten was with dante basco aka Prince zuko lol he was super nice)
MelloDimensions
Fine like whine
I didn't attend one necessarily, but I was a security guard for the building that held one.
Oldcatlady
A young cat lady
Yep I went to one earlier this year for the first time. Tbh I was kinda disappointed, the lines were soooo long. So I ended up just walking around the shopping/art booths with my friend. Then we went to get lunch somewhere else and couldn’t find parking in the centre where it was held for like 30 mins. It was raining pretty bad that day too so we just gave up and went home lmao
Highlight of the day was buying some Hakuoki merchandise (always wanted to get some kind of otome game merch) and taking a picture with proZD
Highlight of the day was buying some Hakuoki merchandise (always wanted to get some kind of otome game merch) and taking a picture with proZD
MarzipanDragyn
Determined Designer
I've only ever been to Comicon and Scarefest, once each, but I feel like going to an anime-specific con would be a lot of fun!
Reading through all of these comments are really interesting.
The shopping side of it interests me mainly because I'd be able to acquire Gumpla models. (Ordering it off amazon has a crazy shipping price and it takes a month at the earliest)
Cosplay does sound like fun, though I don't watch much anime. I wouldn't know who to go as. I suppose I could go dressed as a budget gun-dam covered in box cut outs. I'd be The amazon/cocopops gundam!
My main worry would be the hygiene in the environment, I hope it won't be as bad as I imagine it would be. :S I'm hoping on going to the con in London in February.
The shopping side of it interests me mainly because I'd be able to acquire Gumpla models. (Ordering it off amazon has a crazy shipping price and it takes a month at the earliest)
Cosplay does sound like fun, though I don't watch much anime. I wouldn't know who to go as. I suppose I could go dressed as a budget gun-dam covered in box cut outs. I'd be The amazon/cocopops gundam!
My main worry would be the hygiene in the environment, I hope it won't be as bad as I imagine it would be. :S I'm hoping on going to the con in London in February.
I would love to go to one specially with a friend or partner. Specifically the anime expo. I've lived in LA for 27 years and never been to the anime expo and its just in dtla v.v. but in reality its the money. Though I don't know how I would deal with the crowds. I hate really crowded places and everyone always talks about how conventions smell like armpits. Wear deodorant please @ men specifically!
I went to many growing up because I had female friends into cosplay ! I've never gone to comic oriented ones, but I'd actually like to go to those.
For anime ones, I've gone to a couple major ones and a lot of smaller ones held at campuses and the like. I didn't enjoy my time at them, but it was moreso the people. There are A LOT of creeps at those events, like lots of men who secretly snap photos of women and who will follow girls around from a distance. Since I always went with a group of girls, I noticed SO many creeps.
The merch section is cool if that's your thing, I'm always amazed by just how many things can be turned into anime merchandise lol. Also, every one I went to had game rooms and libraries that were all manga, that was pretty cool. There was also contests for cosplaying and dancing, I think, too. And the campus ones held ballroom dances, but you had to be dressed a certain way. I think there were rave ones too that allowed anyone, but I never went.
For anime ones, I've gone to a couple major ones and a lot of smaller ones held at campuses and the like. I didn't enjoy my time at them, but it was moreso the people. There are A LOT of creeps at those events, like lots of men who secretly snap photos of women and who will follow girls around from a distance. Since I always went with a group of girls, I noticed SO many creeps.
The merch section is cool if that's your thing, I'm always amazed by just how many things can be turned into anime merchandise lol. Also, every one I went to had game rooms and libraries that were all manga, that was pretty cool. There was also contests for cosplaying and dancing, I think, too. And the campus ones held ballroom dances, but you had to be dressed a certain way. I think there were rave ones too that allowed anyone, but I never went.
I love going to anime conventions so much! Cosplaying is a ton of fun and it's a great way to meet new friends who have the same interests as you! Depending on the anime convention you go to, most of them usually have a big dealer's hall or artist alley where you can buy lots of cool things! cx I think the only thing that sucks about big anime conventions like Anime Expo is where it's so crowded that it's scary, especially when people don't use deodorant ; __ ; Pet peeve.
i've been going to otakon every year since like 2014! i don't know if i can really compare it to non-anime cons since the only other cons i've been to have been arkansas anime festival+katsucon (other anime-aligned cons) and awesome con (more oriented around western pop culture stuff) BUT in comparison to awesome con they're pretty similar just based around different things. otakon has a really nice system for volunteers and i've been volunteering to get in free the next year since i was old enough (2017), i think i'm gunna pass next year tho cuz now that i can afford to just pay for a ticket and i'd like more time to do stuff around the con.
i like exploring by myself but i think they are most fun when you have a friend to walk around with! i like panels and dressing up and activities lik the gaming room n all that stuff but my favorite part is usually going around the merch and artist areas for a few hours :3
i like exploring by myself but i think they are most fun when you have a friend to walk around with! i like panels and dressing up and activities lik the gaming room n all that stuff but my favorite part is usually going around the merch and artist areas for a few hours :3
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