What are your experiences like when you attend a con?

[ginga123]

Whether it's your first con or your fiftieth, everyone has experiences that make each con they attend memorable. Was there anything good or bad that stood out for you? Did you make new friends or connections in the dealer's room, artist's alley, etc. which led you to getting the most out of what you really came for? Did you meet any voice stars that you'd thought you'd never meet in person? Panels? The list goes on. This thread is designed by Cutie and me to get others to share these thoughts and experiences.

For those who have yet to read my RS blog about my con experience, Anime Blues Con not only was my first con but also the first ever held in my hometown.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/20 ... im233-nia/

To make a long story short, and to avoid repetition from my blog, I was maintaining anoniminity throughout the con until some non-cel collecting otakus discovered my RS identity and my website-- thanks to my friends and an artbox originally intended for signatures only. Now, I have a new otaku FB fan [kid you not.]

[Keropi]

It's a shame that we rarely get much convention talk anymore. The discussions are basically private now and have been for some time.

Was there anything good or bad that stood out for you?

What I liked about them:

1. Meeting people I knew online.
2. The exciting atmosphere
3. Talking to the fans there.
4. The gaming panels - well...I would have attended them if the lines weren't so long.
5. Seeing the cosplayers
6. Seeing the guests in person.
7. Getting autographs in person.
8. Having fun with my friends there.

What I didn't like about them:

1. Long lines to register or attend panels/shows - especially outside in the sun on hot days.
2. Evacuating buildings.
3. Loud rude fans.

The dealer's room at AX is cool, but I haven't felt like flipping through a dealer's cel folders since 2000. I see how the booth looks like and then I move on.

I did like seeing those fifty and sixty-something year old cosplayers at AX. That one sixty-something year old guy looked like he was dressed as a wizard! He had a staff too.

[cutiebunny]

The one word I use to describe my convention experience, regardless of the convention, is 'lines'. As in autograph lines, registration lines, panel lines, concert lines, charity auction lines, food truck lines, bathroom lines, etc. I am always in line for something. Each year I ask myself why I bother with lines. Then I open up my B4 case, look at my pretties, and tell myself that I can survive the ordeal again.

I think each convention has a certain 'feel'. There are some that are campy, others that are too commercial and varying degrees in between. I've attended only a handful of conventions, but here's a short description of my experiences on them.

Sakuracon - Cookie Cutter Anime Expo wannabe, minus the majority of collectors. Most attendees are under 25, and many of these are quite newbie-ish when it comes to autograph sessions. Those attendees that are more dedicated seem almost more desperate to obtain *anything* that their favorite Guest of Honor touched, hence why the charity auction prices go for outrageous amounts. $250 for a signed omake cel of Sailor Moon? WTF. Panels were campy and those I went to featured unprepared staff. Staff can be a bit high strung, but if you know the head honchos, they'll help you out. The location is very nice, though, and since everything is connected to the airport, you can concentrate on spending the majority of your funds into anime stuff, and less into hotels, food and car rentals.

Fanime - Very competitive. California has a lot of sketch collectors with big purses, and this convention does draw them out. Throw in a couple of big names and watch the frenzy unfold. However, despite the fact that charity auction prices can break many a bank, Fanime usually invites less pretentious guests, meaning that they are willing to go that extra mile for fans. Fanime attendees tend to be regular California convention attendees, and they're a very close knit bunch. While this means that you'll generally have good company while waiting in lines, it also means that everyone knows what you're after and the amount that you're likely to bid for it. Parking is inexpensive compared to other conventions as there is a lot of privately owned lots all around, allowing you to book a room far away from the convention without seeing sticker shock.

AM2 - For a newcomer, it packs a big punch. If you want the type of quality, one-on-one experiences that were common at well known conventions in the 1990s, AM2 is for you. Cheap prices and high quality guests. I can't say enough positive things about this convention, despite the fact that Ruby will blow 99% of the bidders out of the water at the charity auction. Not a lot of cosplayers, but, it was a small con.

Anime Expo - A love/hate affair. Everyone goes to AX - it's like the anime version of ComicCon, minus the price tag and 100K plus attendees. Every year, I find something that manages to irk me with AX, but every year, I find myself going back again. It's one of those conventions where you put your big girl panties on, pack a few waters, snackies and COPIC markers, and hope your patience and wallet don't get violated too much. Industry and guest related panels are usually very well done. Staff range from very friendly to ubber authoritarian. Everything around AX is overpriced, and expect to not only pay $$$ for a hotel room, but also to park your car there.


Friend-wise, I think I've made very few. Yes, there are some people that you'll get along with and talk with outside of the convention. But the majority of the people I meet are what I call 'na-CON-ma', after the Japanese word for friend/ally, 'nakama'. They're your con buds. While you're in line, they'll talk to you and hang out with you. Some of them may be willing to do things for you, like hold your place in line while you buy a drink, go out to lunch with you or fill you in on some con-related information they heard. But really, that's the extent of it. Despite feelings of a con bond, you won't hear from them again until the next convention rolls around again. I also think that a lot of it has to do with the competitive nature of collectors. As with sketch/cel collecting, once people view you as a threat, the likelihood of them wanting to cooperate with you goes down. It's important that you realize that there will always be someone out there that can spend more than you. Instead of being a jerk about it, talk to them - congratulate them on their win, talk to them about their collections, etc. You never know when one of them will be willing to help you out, or stand aside and allow you to win.

Guest-wise, as grumpy as he was this year, I have to say that, hands down, Mamoru Yokota is one of my favorite guests. Rarely do you find a guest that is willing to draw detailed sketches. Even more rare is if they're were willing to draw sketches for all 50 autograph line attendees in a small, stuffy warm room...for five hours.

[Shampoo]

Glad to hear you had a nice time ginga! ^_^

First cons, in IMHO, are always a make or break since they
leave you with a general impression of how most run.

Heres my short list of my pros and cons from going to them
for 10 yrs:

pros:
-Seeing my friends. Such as my AB/forum/dealer peeps who
are also my offline/real life friends not "con" buds.
-Enthused fans all around! Hard to not smile and be happy
among other anime geeks.
-Dealer's room and artist alley. Ooo shopping!
-Industry/Music Guests! Especially the ones that "want" to
be there, as opposed to "have" to due to being a
studio employee and/or contract.

cons:
-Lines Lines Lines! AX badge pick-ups are the worse
that I've been stuck in.
-Rude as fuck volunteers. In other words, 16 yr olds who
think they wield autocratic powers vested to them by a shiny laminate.
-Clueless as fuck volunteers. Excuse me, where is panel room 3B
located?....UUhhhhh I dunno.
-Charity auctions. I never been to a con where I had interest
in any of the items, but low and behold the cons I cannot attend
have the sweet swag.. argh! I'm cursed.

So far I've been to these cons in the US:
-Megacon
-Anime Festival Orlando
-Jaccon
-Nakacon
-Motaku
-Anime Weekend Atlanta
-Anime Expo
-Nebraskon
-Anime Fest Dallas
-Anime Day
-A-Kon

One day I hope to make it to Sakura-con, PMX, Fanime, and Otakon!
Especially Otakon, I wish Icould go this year! I hear nothing but
wonderful things about it from friends and acquaintances that
have gone. If anything, Maryland crabs would definitely play a part
of the con weekend if I went lol!

[genomexec]

I have maybe a unique experience since I've been going exclusively to Otakon for over 10 years.

I have once attended a smaller con (Anime Mid-Atlantic, in maybe 2001 I think) and I don't think it was for me. I like the complete immersion of Otakon that comes with being utterly surrounded by fellow fans. That feeling is perhaps the most important con element for me. I want to feel transported into a world where there is a sense of unification between everybody there, even complete strangers.

I always attend with two extremely close friends. We all live in different cities now, so a big part of it is hanging with these guys.

Despite the fact that Otakon is very large, I do not stand in line much. We always arrive a bit late to avoid the badge lines, and we avoid the hot ticket events mostly, like the masqerade and most autograph sessions (unless it's someone too completely awesome to pass up). We realized that we'd rather see/do lots of little things than one or two big things in the same time period.

Our day is usually comprised of dealer room excursions (we are obsessive about finding good deals), checking out random stuff in the video rooms (we vowed to give everything 10 minutes to hook us; if it doesn't we move on to the next video room), walking into random panels, fan parodies, etc., checking out the video game room, etc.

We love it!

[GuyvarIII]

I think my favorite Anime convention experience was at PMX in 2005. I got to see Koichi Ohata. Even though he was there to advertise “Burst Angel”, when I brought up my “Cyguard” (a one-shot OVA from 1989) cel for him to sign, he immediately recognized the show and drew a great image of Saldo on it.




While nothing since has reached that same Fan Boy level for me, I enjoyed my Anime Expo experience this year. I went and got one of those free after 3:33 exhibit hall passes on Sunday. Because it was the July 4th weekend, the drive to Downtown LA only took me 8 minutes, and I parked for free on the street.

The amazingly short drive time meant I got to the line early. After 3:33, I was only in line for about 5 minutes. Even though there were a lot of people, I was taller than most of them, and could easily read the booth row numbers. I didn’t have any problem navigating the exhibit hall. I got to see Rick Alonso of Anime-Link, and got some great reasonably priced cels.
These cels include the following:

[Sky Rat]

Hm, well, I have had the experience of dating someone I met in line for the LARP at a con several years ago....that didn't last too long, not an experience I especially recommend haha.

The biggest draw to cons for me is how much I enjoy cosplay. I love having an excuse to dress up in costumes and be around tons of people without seeming too weird

I don't really have the patience for lines, so unless there is a really special guest I care ton about (really that's only happened twice in about 10 years for me...Seki Tomozaku was the guest I was most excited to meet) I don't bother waiting long for anything. I spend most of cons just aimlessly wandering about and talking with friends. My first several years I used to buy a lot of things but that's really tapered off, and I hardly get anything anymore. I just like the atmosphere of being surrounded by anime.

I do remember how starry eyed I was at the first con I ever went to. It was like being transported into a magical reality.

I've been to Otakon and Katsucon (every year since 2001) and Yaoicon (just once since it's so far away from me.) Otakon is definitely my favorite, although I do like the experience you get when the con is held in a hotel and can run 24/7 without you ever having to leave the building (which unfortunately can't happen with Otakon since it's in a convention center and has to shut down late at night.)

[Keropi]

Yeah, if I go to Anime Expo next year and if it's still held at the L.A. Convention Center I'll probably go later and try to register around 2:30PM to 3:30PM on the first day since that's when the line died down the last time. Also 2PM and later was when the registration line outside fell into the shady area. So instead of standing out in the sun for awhile I could just stand in the shade instead. By 3:40PM on the first day, the line had completely disappeared so all I had to do was walk right up to the computer, type in my name and pick up my badge two minutes later.

No line. No sun. No standing around. It was great.

But if it is somewhere different then I might have to learn the tricks all over again.

Maybe I'd even check into the JW Marriott Hotel FIRST at 4PM to drop off my airplane carry-on bag of food and THEN go register. Then I would save on food, not have to carry it around and also not have to stand in line since registration didn't end until 6 PM anyway.

[Sui Kune]

I only go to Sakuracon due to a number of factors, but I really like having a once-a-year con experience. It allows ample time for me to make new costumes, recover physically (I'm quite pathetic health-wise, and have bad feet to boot, I was in horrible pain after waiting in line for Kotono Mitsuishi's autograph), and just relish it. Plus I just don't have enough cosplays out to rotate so they'd wear evenly, I sweat profusely so I need to do that to avoid lasting damage. XD;

However, I don't usually have friends. I am close to one attendee through Pokemon toy collecting, but it's usually just me and then time with my mom in the area outside the convention center. This year though Cutiebunny came, and man it was the best con experience ever. I was floored at how kind she is, and how I could chat with her for hours. I'm so used to not having IRL friends, so I can't even describe how amazing it was.

Overall, despite what shortcomings it has, I always look forward to Sakuracon as my once a year escape. I've never had a horrible experience (and hope to keep it that way), it has just enough to keep me entertained without either overwhelming or boring me, and the dealer's room I love looking through even if there's not much I want to buy. And hell, this was where I bought my very first cel and started it all, so I'll always love the con. The location of it is also the best possible scenario for someone like me with chronic fatigue, EVERYTHING is within 1-2 blocks at most.

[JWR]

Well what we enjoy the most from going to cons is seeing the friends we know as well as meeting new ones.

From attending Comic Con in San Diego for 20+ years we go to meet and become friends with many artists when they 1st were starting out and became well known. As a result we have been able to have some once in a lifetime experiences. We found ourselves once in Neil Gaiman's hotel room with 9 other people as he read the 1st 3/4s of the book he was working on Coroline. At around 2 AM he finished with "and thats as far as I got when the train arrived in San Diego". We had to wait 3 years till the book saw print and then later it was released as the animated movie.

[sensei]

I used to go to Otakon regularly, but the heat, the walking, and the sensory overload got to me. As a seriously hearing-impaired person, I have to rely on little ridiculously expensive technobeans that you poke inside your ear canals, and even though they are designed to prevent further damage by filtering out loud noises, the experience inside my brain when they "max out" is not pleasant. (Kinda like a blender going off inside your head.)

For the last three years I've gone to AnimeNext in Somerset NJ. My daughter is part of the staff, and it has stayed modest in size and each year a little better organized. I like the panels, which have collectively moved toward a serious and mature approach to understanding and valueing anime, and the really good ones that have lots of clips introduce me to types of anime and specific titles that I'd otherwise not know about. And I enjoy the chance conversations in the hall with people who notice the character on your t-shirt (I make a lot from art in my collection, and gravitate toward interesting but little-known series). The cosplay is also enjoyable to watch, particularly people who have put together recognizable versions of characters off the beaten track. (I had a great "chance conversation" with a very credible Batanan from Hyper Police who was stunned to see that I knew at once who he was.)

I don't like getting shoved and jostled in the Dealer's Room, but I understand why it happens: everyone is looking for THAT manga or action figure or body pillow, and often as not isn't watching where that plywood sword is arcing when they turn around. And I don't like it when one company locks up the rights to show sample anime and runs the same ole same ole stuff that was hot in 2000-2005. I seriously want my time back for some of the stuff I've watched at cons, and would have much preferred a preview of newer stuff like Kore wa Zombie desu ka? (the clip I saw in the "Good Bad and Ugly" panel was a hoot: it, along with Wolf and Spice illustrated "the Good." Come to think of it, W&S was another series notable by its absence from screenings.)

Above all, I hate it that no dealer (not even Asylum Anime) ever brings cels to the AnimeNext dealer's room.

Just my 50 yen.

[Keropi]

Yeah, I really miss the days when you could go to AX and watch something that a lot of people in the room hadn't seen yet.

Although if they tried that now the room would be too full to get in without waiting in an unbelievably long line. The room would be packed and you wouldn't be able to read the subs because someone's head would be blocking the way in front of you moving back and forth like a railway sign from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. So it would have to be done at a smaller convention. But a smaller convention would be less likely to do something like that so we're back to square one.

It's that or stadium seating, but you don't see too many of those.

I think there's something to be enjoyed from smaller conventions...even if you don't get all the things you want from them.

[graymouser]

I mainly go to San Diego Comic Con since it is by far the most convenient (about 15 minutes away). I enjoy the dealer's room and I get to see Rick (Anime Link), Ed (Noonchester) and Nichibei (occasionally others when they are there). I hate lines/crowds, but fortunately the organizers at Comic Con are amazing at keeping things running smoothly considering the 125,000 or so attendees. Still, I rarely go to panels or autograph sessions because of the sheer number of people present. I spend most of my time in the artists' sections and shopping for Christmas presents.

I have also attended YAOI con a few times. The experience there is a lot different than while at Comic Con or any of the other anime conventions I have been to. Unlike the other cons where I spend a lot of time looking for artwork, I tend to wander around looking for fresh reading material or just people watching. I will attend 1 or 2 panels, but most of the time they do not interest me much. Since the con is a lot smaller, it is also a lot more pleasant to go to the video rooms.

[syan]

Con time is when I catch up on my reading while in lines. I like attending panels, getting autographs from the Japanese guests, and checking out the dealers and artists. I've attended Katsucon (hopped up on cough syrup), NY AnimeFest, AWA, AX, and Otakon (my usual go-to con). I just survived my first Comic Con with the insane lines (missed out on Game of Thrones, but made it for the Walking Dead and Big Bang Theory).

Overall, I enjoy getting lost in the large crowds. I usually find something new, be it a show or artist, that I enjoy as well.

[ReiTheJelly]

It's been about 12 years since I started attending anime cons. I'm honestly not as enamored of them as I once was, to be honest.

The Pros:
* seeing RL friends who live far away
* being surrounded by geekery for an entire weekend
* artists' alley
* Japanese guests
* seeing all the great costumes
* being able to present panels on things I care greatly about

The Cons:
* sometimes the lines can get ridiculous, especially if the convention staff are not prepared for the number of people in the line.
* rude volunteers/con staff
* rude con-goers. Especially the teenagers who are there w/o any parental supervision. They just see it as a weekend where they are "allowed" to be insane.
* seeing all the bad costumes
* not having my panel room set up properly (or having the location change w/o anyone telling me! *I'm taking to you, Katsucon!*)
* lame dealers (I realize part of the draw of the Dealers Room is the instant gratification, but do some of these dealers honestly think none of us shop online and know how much imported items actually cost?)

So far, I've attended the following cons:
* JAFAX
* Otakon
* Katsucon
* Anime Expo
* Canadian National Anime Expo (now called Fan Expo Canada)
* Sakura Con (I was not impressed and will never go back)
* Youmacon
* Motor City Comic Con

I'd love to go to:
* Comic Con
* Anime Weekend Atlanta
* Anime Central (although, I have heard this is a terrible con)
* One of the 18+ or 21+ cons (I think it would cut down on my aggravation with stupid teenagers)
* some foreign anime conventions; I've heard Australia has some pretty good ones