What happens at a convention? Just wondering cause I've never been to one..

[Azula, The Sorceress]

What happens at a convention?

I am just curios never been to one, what kind of atmosphere is it, cause I am one of those shy pious types but I would like to try going to one, it's just that I want to know what to expect, like how crowded it might be and all of that.

[Kaleohano]

Booth Babes



and then there is meaningless other stuff like merchandise sales. Advertising for different shows and books. Usually theres a room with a massive projector where they'll play trailers/teasers for new things to come or sometimes even show premiers. There will be actors, authors, voice actors, directors, etc... signing things for fans. As far as the mood, they tend to be pretty crowded, but they're one of the few places where you can really be as free and weird as you want because people will like you for it, no matter how weird or obnoxious you think you may be, there is several people there who are even more so. It doesn't matter how you act, you'll very easily blend into the crowd.

[Zainox]

Kaleohano pretty much nailed it. Especially with this~

but they're one of the few places where you can really be as free and weird as you want because people will like you for it, no matter how weird or obnoxious you think you may be, there is several people there who are even more so. It doesn't matter how you act, you'll very easily blend into the crowd.

I was shy at first, but everyone is just so cool and casual. Plus there are HEAPS of people that are probably just as nervous or as shy as you. It's seriously so easy to talk to people there. At first I used to be dead quiet in lines, just chilling with my mates, now I get in there and talk with EVERYONE! Remember, people there share your interests, so it's not exactly hard to talk to them about something.

It will be busy as hell though, and you can wait in lines for AGES to get into events.

[Jon Snow]

is there a specific con that you are looking into by chance? each one has different history/size/things they offer so each experience will be different (though at the same time almost the same)

I went to my first con this past year, Tsubasacon in Huntington, WV. It's a small con when compared to others but they had a good bit of panels and a nice sized merchandise room. They also offered a game room with numerous consoles and games, even many exclusively sold in Japan with their voice overs, kanji and everything.

Lines were long as can be for many things but if you know the schedule and what you want to do ahead of time, you can plan things out and avoid waiting for hours to get an autograph or sit in on a panel, etc.

At Tsubasacon they actually had a guest speaker the night before closing ceremony who gave a speech to the attendees. She was stating how bullying affected her and others and talked about how attending the con for...10?15? years really helped her connect with like minded people. She even presented an award to the staff. (also many of the attendees were in tears by the end of it.)


to sum it all up. You can be 150% yourself, people are nice, people love taking pics of cosplay, very crowded, a bit costly. if you plan on going to one save up a year ahead of time and book a hotel close to the con and early

[Kaleohano]

Kaleohano pretty much nailed it. Especially with this~

Personally, i thought booth babes was the most significant point i made.

[Zainox]

Personally, i thought booth babes was the most significant point i made.

The picture wouldn't load for me. D:

[Digimon_Sommelier]

I've never been to a convention either.

[Riverflower]

I can't find any conventions around here
Maybe I should plan a trip elsewhere, and try to attend. Sounds like fun

[Kagome]

I've been going to anime cons for--8 or 9 years now.

There are ALWAYS a shet ton of cosplayers, Everywhere. Photo ops happen all the time. And mini-larps too. There are events coordinated to cosplay as well, the Hall Cosplay contest, the Masquerade, Dating-Game, shiz like that.

They have all kinds of panels too. Informational ones, fan driven ones, game-show panels, panels where you get to meet and greet and ask famous people in the industry shiz.

There's the dealers room, where everything anime/manga, video games and a bunch of Japanese related stuff is always sold.

There's the video game room-where you can go and play with hundreds of gamer fans. They have tournaments through out the weekend too.

Famous people from the industry are always invited: voice actors, artists, producers etc. And they almost always have a J-pop/J-rock band performing at some point.

Its a great place for an otaku to go for a weekend and meet new people that are into the same stuff you are. Make new friends face-to-face, and get more immersed in the Japanese animation culture~

That's what happens at them,