I was wondering abot any good anime conventions to go to. I think i read somewhere that Katsucon, I believe, is a pretty big one. Are there any others?
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I was wondering abot any good anime conventions to go to. I think i read somewhere that Katsucon, I believe, is a pretty big one. Are there any others?
There's a lot of conventions to choose from, and which ones to go to depends on how much money you have and your location. I always suggest start with whatever is local. If you've got the money and a good reason for it, try going to the really big ones in other states later.
I'm actually NOT a big anime fan by any means. I just dabble here and there. However, every year I go to Seattle's anime convention Sakura-Con*. It's the biggest one held in the Pacific Northwest (though I'm not sure how many the PN has in general), and it's not cheap unless you preregister far in advance; buying a full-weekend pass on Friday at the convention is $60 (after a long, painful wait in the line).
This is really the same with all kinds of conventions, especially the bigger ones. However, a lot of cool options are available to those who choose to participate. Here's a few:
Artists Alley. Usually just a room with a bunch of tables set up with various artists who purchased them for the weekend to sell their wares. Prints, bookmarks, sketch commissions, whatever they're up for. I always go and get some commissions done because I love seeing other people draw my characters, and some artists I love to watch online but are difficult to get commissions from because they're so busy come by (like Emily Warren, from Chicago) for the weekend.
Dealer's Room. This is actually one of the main reasons I even go at all. You can buy ALL sorts of stuff here, depending on the size of your convention. Anime on DVDs, manga (both cheap old-school ones and new ones - sadly I couldn't locate any Sailor Moon manga, but they told me that's because the company that printed them apparently died? I DID get a Sailor Stars wall scroll though!! :D anyway), J-Pop and J-rock stuff, plushies, toys, collectibles, art supplies... Copic's North American distributors always go to SC, and they offer them at a discount (and when those things cost about $6 a pop and can only be bought in one store in Seattle [an inconvenience when you live in a city 40 minutes south of it and rarely leave it], you really learn to appreciate it). This year I also bought a $6 fake gun that lights up and makes obnoxious and loud noises. Mainly because I wanted to bring it to work with me. http://tk2a.nytsoi.net/Smileys/phpbb/emot-awesome.gif There's also a lot of rad people you can meet there; as always, the Penny Arcade guys had a table there, and me and my friend (who is a coworker) gave them free passes to LaserQuest. Sadly, though, we arrived far too late to receive the free waffles.
Anime Theaters and Manga Libraries. They have rooms and times where they'll do showings of episodes or movies of the anime nature, and places where you can sit and read from the donated books they carry. There's also small rooms where you can auction off your art or buy others', and various other little things to attend.
Cosplay. This isn't an event so much as... just... dressing up in costume. A LOT of the costumes you'll see there will be mediocre or crappy, but a surprising amount tend to be pretty good! Some people go all out and spend hours and days working on all the little details, and it really shows in the result, too. There's also often a cosplay contest (this year they had the people dressed up as the characters perform skits, which me and my friend got REALLY bored by and left early).
Gaming. At SakuraCon they dedicated half of a floor just to gaming rooms and sessions. Of course the only one I was interested in was the old-school gaming room, but the damn kid got on the Super Mario when I looked away while I was waiting for the woman before me to get off. Drat!
Remember, the bigger it is, the more expensive, but more you'll find to do there!
Some tips for the casual and serious con-goers:
- Always go with friends**. It's not only more fun that way, but a lot safer. Like it or not, a LOT of weirdos go to conventions, and never go into places where you'll be alone like the hotel stairwell, or accompany strangers to their rooms. This may sound like common sense, but a lot of people get caught up in the process of meeting new friends! When I first went to SC, I couldn't understand the sheer paranoia my parents felt about letting their 14-year-old go alone, but now I totally agree.
- Bring plenty of cash. Now, don't overdraw your bank account and take out a huge loan or anything and then bring it all at once, but you're going to find a lot of things you'll want to buy that may not be available the next day. At SC, they were selling some nice kimono, one on sale for "only" $350. I only brought about $90 with me, but it's not like I was planning on buying one of those, so I was fine. Guard your wallet, though. Credit cards are useful if you have them, but keep in mind that a lot of the vendors won't take anything but cash. They'll love you if you pay in $1 bills, though.
- If you decide to cosplay, bring a small sewing kit. Little tears are bound to happen to your costume. In fact, bring some replacement buttons and rhinestones and maybe some cleaning stuff, too; you'll need it by Saturday night. Don't forget to Febreze your costume every day, because even if you shower every day it'll still start to smell.
- Wear deodorant. This isn't for you so much as for everyone else around you. There's enough stinky anime fans in the world, let's not add on to those numbers by amassing in groups.
There's probably more to say, but this window's been open the last 2 hours because I can't stop multi-tasking.
*I don't just go to buy things, but also to meet up with some friends from Canada that I never get to see except when they come down for the weekend to go to SC.
**Not long ago there was a situation at Ikkicon, a small convention in Austin, where a 15-year-old girl was nearly abducted by a man in a stairwell, and was only released when a group of people saw him (he is - or was - in the military, I think the Marines more specifically. For those of you who aren't aware, the military is very strict on laws, this man is in VERY serious trouble, far more than a civilian ever would be.)
Thank you Ill keep that in mind. And I have been to a convention once Dragon-Con it wont be my last either because i liked it alot. I will serch in my area i think there was one but im not sure thanks again!
I too am interested in anime cons. I'm really trying to go to anime expo this year, buts it's in California, and that's a little far from me. And the problem is that my friends are way too flaky for me to plan anything. But for now I'm gonna go to Youmacon, which I believe is the only one in Michigan, but I hear is very nice and continues to grow each year. But one of these days I'm gonna make it AX!!!!