What are conventions like?

[CreatureArt]

I live in New Zealand. With a population of just over 4 million, we don't have a big anime/manga scene, and we don't have many conventions.

The one we DO have - Armageddon - is largely focussed on movies and sci-fi, with some gaming, comics and manga thrown in. We might be lucky if there's three tables of New Zealand artists/creators selling their stuff.

BUT I've heard a lot about some of the Conventions in America. Apparently there are artist tables that you can book and set up with your artwork and stuff? What sort of numbers are there of attendence and stalls?

Basically - what's it like to go to one of the big cons? I'd love to hear all the details -- and dream of going to America one day to attend one.

[SolidÃ…rmor]

Well, I know of 2 big cons. here in the Dallas area.

1) A-kon: which can have more than a few thousand people attending through the full 3 days. The artist room the last time I went was pretty huge...basically the size of a ballroom is reserved for that particular part of the con.

2) Anime-fest: this one isn't as big as A-kon, but it was a blast going to this one as well. I took pics at this one, my wife with Monica Rial...so if anything we will be going to this more than A-kon...just for the fact that it's a little smaller. And not so "commercial".

[ashfire]

Well as a attendee and a staffer at cons it depends on the con you attend.
I have been to cons where I attended for just a day and it was for a few hours. The first was Otakon here in Maryland. That was a couple of times before I joined a anime club and when Otakon moved to the convention center in Baltimore I stayed with the club in a hotel for the three days of the con. I can remember when Otakon was smaller than it is today because it was held in a hotel convention center. Now you have multiple hotels and a new one being built next to it, around the the convention center for all the attendees to have a place to rest between the times the con runs.
The next con that the club went for was Animazement in Durham North Carolina which is in a hotel convention center. There are other hotels close for attendees that can't afford the hosting hotel's prices. It started as a three day trip to travel to N.C. but later we added a day so that we could travel the five hours by car to Durham and be there to meet the guest of the con for first attendees and would be ready for the first day of the con all fresh for the day after a good nights rest.
Now the last day of the con it was a rush to get out of the hotel by noon so as to not have to pay for another day to stay and to head home.
The con is held near Memorial Day so Monday is a day off from work. People got to rest up before back to work.
I have not been to Animazement in a few years because our club broke up and I have no reason to attend.
Now I am a staffer for Neko Con (Medical/Security) since I went to the first show I attended. It was by accident I got be a staffer. They needed someone who was a fully trained medical wise so the club president told me they were looking for people. So I volunteered and heve been doing it for nine years.
Now Neko Con started small too in a hotel and is now in a large convention center in Hampton, Virginia.
I spend five days there helping setup the con and because staffers have a after the con dinner.
Its a four to five hours drive there. Plus I don't have to rush to get out the hotel the next day.
There is a change when a con starts small and grows. Otakon its hard to get from one area to the other because of the number of people in the hallways. Number of people allowed in panels. Lines to get in something. Times for what you want see or do if there are two things you want to see at the same time. Cons I have also been to for a day are Anime USA and Katsucon which are half an hour from my house. Katsucon is in February so attending for me depends on the weather because of my job depends on being called in if the weather is snow or freezing participation.
But Katsucon moved to a hotel in upper Washington D.C. which has little parking so I don't attend now.
Anime USA started small and now moved to a larger hotel convention center where Katsucon and other cons have started.

[meboeck]

I've been to Otakon, which is one of the biggest cons. There are a lot of rooms showing different tv shows and movies, and there's a really big dealers' room and artist alley. There are artists set up all over the artists' room selling drawings, plushes, buttons, etc., and to one side there are things set up for auction. Those are all the main details of the artists' room that I can think of.

[silver_wolf454]

I went to Anime Fest in Texas this year. ^o^ It was a blast. It was also my first Con so I was realy excited.

[Ingemar]

*steps on soapbox*

People, THE DEALERS' ROOM IS NOT A ROOM! It is an Exhibit Hall. Hall. HAAAALLLL, as in a massive space.

Calling the exhibit hall a "room" is like calling the QE2 a "boat." Minus the charming British understatement.




That said, I've been to Comic Con and Anime Expo, where the exhibition halls for both are massive, moreso for the former.

[Alexander]

Speaking as an anime fan, it's heaven. XD

Well, I've only gone to one, Anime Iowa since it's so local, but still amazing. The cosplayers from every series I knew of and beyond, the stuff (lots of stuff I might add), the feeling of just being in a community that actually shares your interest.

To put it simply, it's an incredible amount of fun and one you need to experience to really get a full taste of what it's like.

[ashfire]

*steps on soapbox*

People, THE DEALERS' ROOM IS NOT A ROOM! It is an Exhibit Hall. Hall. HAAAALLLL, as in a massive space.

Calling the exhibit hall a "room" is like calling the QE2 a "boat." Minus the charming British understatement.




That said, I've been to Comic Con and Anime Expo, where the exhibition halls for both are massive, moreso for the former.

Well! It depends on if its a small con or a large con.
I can remember at Neko Con where it was just a meeting room or two for the dealers room. Now we use a hall big enough to play basketball in it and have seating.
Now Otakon dealers area uses part of the exhibit hall of the Baltimore Convention Center while the rest of it is used for the artist and gallery area, gaming, and main events and theater one.
Now the week before Firehouse Expo used the whole exhibit area from front to back for the exhibits. We are talking fire engines, ladder trucks, rescue trucks, ambulances you name it it was in there.

[dyzzispell]

I went to Anime Next in Secaucus, NJ this year. It was my first time at a con and I was only there for an hour or two. Basically went to see the dealer room and artist alley. It was fun, but the number of people cosplaying was a little scary... XD
This December will see the first NY Anime Festival in New York City. My friend and I are going to have a table at Artist Alley! I'm excited, but also nervous because I've never don't anything like it. I wanted to have the first chapter of my manga completed but I'm just doing too much at once so it'll have to debut next year, probably at the next Anime Next!

[ADXC]

Well I doubt my anime con can compare to y'all's big cons, but I do like mine a whole lot. I go to Animazement in NC, which I find really fun to go to each year. But Ive only gone 2 times to it, so I don't know if I can offer a lot of wisdom like the others who have already posted here. Luckily my con is at the end of the school year in May during exam time. Heres my schedule I go to school take what exams I have to take, I might even be exempt from the second exam so I might get out at like 10. Then my dad and I head out to Durham, find the hotel where we stay, note we never actually stayed at the hotel where the con was held at although I would really like to. Then we head to Animazement, get our passes, go on to do a ton of stuff.
1.We first take a trip around the whole con just to get the basic idea of where to go at certain times.
2.Check out the art gallery, we see great art there in which some day I hope to buy.
3.Go down Artists alley, which is really fun. I sometimes find stuff here which are made by die-hard fans.
4.The dealer room, need I say more? Well alright, I buy tons of anime, manga and various other stuff like t-shirts, pocky(Of course), and this year I bought me a sword.
5.Go to the opening ceremonies, see the guests and what naught. Next year I intend on getting there earlier to get more autographs.
6.Watch the AMVs, thats really cool.
7.Go eat something.
8.Go to various panels, workshops, and other type stuff.
9.Check out the game room and see what the other people are playing which is usally fighting games and DDR.
10.Get autographs when I can.
11.Get pictures of people cosplaying, I hope that I can cosplay in the future.
12.Follow mosts steps over again for 3 days until the end of the con.

I may have left out some things, but thats mostly what we do. Have fun at an actual anime con in the future CreatureArt!

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I've only been to Animazement so far as well (though I'll be going to Anime USA later this year), and animedude summed the bulk of it up pretty well.

The one thing I would add is that your individual convention experience will depend GREATLY on the people around you, both who you actually go with and just who's at the con in general. Having cool people to hang out with can make up for all sorts of problems with the events themselves, but it rarely works the other way around.

[ADXC]

Yeah, also note don't take your sister or your mom to an anime convention unless they are VERY openminded. Because anything can happen at anime conventions, just like what happend to the Phoenix Wright panel which was at 1 am in the morning. Shoulda known it would happen because it was so late. But my love for PW clouded my judgement. Luckily my sister and mom didn't come that time, otherwise who knows what they thought. But in the end my dad told them about that, except this time mom thought it a shame for it not being totally about PW instead of being mad at us. Also don't go to Anime Hell. Its pretty much pointless in my eyes. AMVs, yes. AH, no. And also don't go to any musical type plays, they are a little funny but are extremely crude. Blitzkrieg might know what Im talking about. *Points to the musical "It seemed like a good idea at the time."* But there was one funny line I will remember, "Get your anime crap here, your anime crap!" And then the dude pours out just one box anime stuff onto a table, and people snatch the stuff up.

And still I press warning onto you who have yet to go to one of these conventions, be very diserning to what you go to and what you do not.

[Alexander]

I took my mom to my first Anime con this year.

She said we were the 21st Century hippies.

WE ARE NOT HIPPIES! We're just...living in our own little world and ignoring society. :3

But at the same time, my grandma wants to go next year and cosplay with me. I repeat, my grandma.

Yes, she's the living Madame Foster. XD

[CreatureArt]

YOUR GRANDMA IS AWESOME, ALEXANDER! \(*O*)/

Thanks Animedude. I'm hoping to make it to Armageddon in NZ, October - hopefully there'll be a good anime atmosphere there, even if its relatively small.

Thanks, everyone! Wow - I can't believe how big some of those cons are! One day I'll definitely trek my way up to the Northern Hemisphere to experience it.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Having never been to one of the big huge cons, I can't really speak from personal experience, but my friends who've been around more tell me that they're not as fun as the smaller ones. However, that's because they place as much emphasis on the people aspect as I do. With a big giant con, you get teeming crowds and higher chances for riff-raff. The smaller ones seem to be better for promoting a close-nit community... or so I'm told.

I took my mom to my first Anime con this year.

She said we were the 21st Century hippies.

WE ARE NOT HIPPIES! We're just...living in our own little world and ignoring society. :3

But at the same time, my grandma wants to go next year and cosplay with me. I repeat, my grandma.

Yes, she's the living Madame Foster. XD

You know, I've made comparisons between Otaku and Hippies myself. Obviously, direct comparisons don't work (Nature? Who cares! I've got a computer!") but the whole subculture with our own distinctive look and interests and gatherings does sort of recall the more idealized memories of hippie-dom.

Yeah, also note don't take your sister or your mom to an anime convention unless they are VERY openminded. Because anything can happen at anime conventions, just like what happend to the Phoenix Wright panel which was at 1 am in the morning. Shoulda known it would happen because it was so late. But my love for PW clouded my judgement. Luckily my sister and mom didn't come that time, otherwise who knows what they thought. But in the end my dad told them about that, except this time mom thought it a shame for it not being totally about PW instead of being mad at us. Also don't go to Anime Hell. Its pretty much pointless in my eyes. AMVs, yes. AH, no. And also don't go to any musical type plays, they are a little funny but are extremely crude. Blitzkrieg might know what Im talking about. *Points to the musical "It seemed like a good idea at the time."* But there was one funny line I will remember, "Get your anime crap here, your anime crap!" And then the dude pours out just one box anime stuff onto a table, and people snatch the stuff up.

And still I press warning onto you who have yet to go to one of these conventions, be very diserning to what you go to and what you do not.

VERY good point about being discerning. There's a lot of stuff out there that you don't want to be a part of, though just how much depends on the individual con (When I registered for Anime USA, I realized that the badges would have age indicators on them to keep underage attendees from entering "certain panels." Made me appreciate Animazement a lot more)

I think you also hit the nail on the head regarding Anime Hell. I just don't see why those are so popular, they're not even very anime related any more. (As for the musicals, I agree with you in general, though I have to confess that I found that Evangelion musical kind of funny)

Also, I feel like I should apologize for the Phoenix Wright panel being so late. I was kind of involved in the Bad Jmusic panel that went right before ^^;;;

[Doubleshadow]

There was a con. held in the city were I did my undergrad. degree. I did not discover its existence until my fourth year attending said university even though it was held four blocks away, to indicate how small it was. It was four rooms and a hallway, each room about the size of a fast food restaurant. There were maybe 150 people there. One friend of mine from my physical chemistry class was helping run it (he knew nothing about anime or manga, just a good managerial type), and another was running a table with t-shirts for the game he made. Tiny little thing, that con. But, it was fun playing video games against my friends.

[SolidÃ…rmor]

There was a con. held in the city were I did my undergrad. degree. I did not discover its existence until my fourth year attending said university even though it was held four blocks away, to indicate how small it was. It was four rooms and a hallway, each room about the size of a fast food restaurant. There were maybe 150 people there. One friend of mine from my physical chemistry class was helping run it (he knew nothing about anime or manga, just a good managerial type), and another was running a table with t-shirts for the game he made. Tiny little thing, that con. But, it was fun playing video games against my friends.

This reminds me of how A-Kon use to be. Small and fun...now it's SO "commercial". It's gotten so bit that sometimes you just feel lost in the crowd. I even got to meet Fred Perry, Ben Dunn, and a few others at like A-kon 2 or 3. It was held at a really small hotel that I need to call to get directions too...rather hard to find. lol Not to mention I don't believe in traveling across the nation to go to a con. If it's not held in my home town then it's not worth going to, in my opinion.

[ashfire]

I guess I would say a con depends on the people that run it.
For some its organized confussion to others it runs like clock work.
Doesn't hurt to find some people that would like to start a con. After a while once one starts it can pickup steam and grow like most of them have.
I been to a panel at Neko Con when it was small and they said a con may lose a little money when they start but it may gain it back and grow more every year it keeps going.
I think there are sometimes three now on any given weekend here in the USA.
If you have ever checked out http://www.fansview.com Kevin Illard can be at one con taking pictures of people cosplaying jump on a flight to the next city for a con there take pictures and then jump on another flight to the next con in one weekend.
I don't think he has ever flown over to other countries to a con but I know he stays busy.
I think its a honor to have your picture on http://www.fansview.com in a cosplay outfit.

[ADXC]

@ BlitzKrieg1701-Ahg, that was you! Nah, just kidding. I think the panel actually started at like 12:15 and then ended at 1:30. Thats what I meant. Oh did you know that I was on the jury! It was so cool, they gave us apple juice but really though if you were there, you would not want to drink the apple juice. But at the end I helped say the defendent was NON-Guilty to help out Mr. Phoenix Wright. Did you go to that DBZ panel? Cause in my opion that was one of the best panels. I saw the american voices for adult Gohan, the narriator(Later in the show), Goten, and the Japanese voice for Gotenks. I even got autographs and a picture with me with them! I also did a dubing workshop, now thats some serious fun there. I can still remember it too, it was inuyasha about the episode Kagome goes back to school for the cultural fest and there are mushroom demons. Anyways there was a black guy who voiced Inuyasha and instead of saying a really long word for the mushroom demon, he said "Thats a black mushroom thing!" I just simply cracked up after hearing that! Oh and did you see the stand out side the video room number one I think, which was beside the gift shop, they had christian pamplets. I was most certainly impressed. And I thought the convention to be great overall. I can't wait for next year.

[agasfas]

I have been to 3 conventions in the past two being in Austin, Texas.
I consider myself the average anime fan whom occasionally sit down and watch new series . So to me, an anime convention is more like a culture shock to me. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it is a very different culture sort of speak.

There are usually panels consisting of voice actors/actresses, artists, game designers. I believe many conventions also get special musical guests. I think most anime conventions also have gaming rooms and anime viewing rooms. Though, aside from the many cosplayers I think the best part of an anime convention is the dealers rooms filled with all the random anime and Japanese merchandise.

Conventions are always fun and full of adventure, but I don't think I could see myself attend more than one day. It can get pretty expensive and the panel guests usually just rotate around.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Animedude90:

You mean Room 3? The little one in the little side hall right after the badge check? That was me! Eer, US! Me and a bunch of my friends from church ran that room all weekend! Glad to see we made an impression!

[ADXC]

Yeah thats the place. Say was that you I spoke too? Hmm, I think it was either Saturday or Sunday that I came by. But I do remember picking up all the pamplets because of all the bountious informaton y'all had. Plus I do remember picking up a CAA invatation sheet that was yellow which lead me to this place. Seriously at the time I didn't know there was such a place as CAA, but thanks to the Lord I eventually found it!Although I don't know why I never tried to google a christian anime forum though. But one thing I didn't like about the convention was the lack of the quiz bowl they had the year before, but I did go the Japanese Jeopardy game on Sunday which was almost equally as fun. I remember the fourth round was just regular english speaking and I being in the audience blurted out the answer. And then the person who was asking the questions looked back and said for the audience to not reveal the answers to the contestants. It was funny.

@ agasfas- What?! You just have to go to all three days to get the full experience! Although by sunday most people are gone and the people there smell like they haven't taken a bath. Yeah you need to at least bring $250 to a convention, so start saving up for the convention a couple of months ahead of time. I usually bring $250 due to the fact Im lazy, but this time Im going to start saving March three months before the next convention here in NC.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Well, I was at that room just about every waking hour that I wasn't at a late-night panel, so it's a pretty safe bet you talked to me! I actually THINK I remember you, but once you start getting around Sunday, anime convention memories start to get a little... unreliable, ya know?

And you're right about needing more than one day. There's just so much going on, I can't imagine trying to get the most out of a convention in less than a weekend. Still, if you've got to pick one day, I'd say Saturday is your best bet. The first day still has a lot of people arriving and trying to get set up, whereas Sunday is the land of the unwashed zombies.

[Alexander]

I have to agree about smaller cons being more fun. The only con I'll probably ever go outside of Anime Iowa is Nan Desu Con or Otakon. I love the non-commercial feeling, and if that's the case with the super cons like AX, then no thank you.

Another thing I have to mention is that small cons also have special themes to them. Anime Iowa mixes in farming with Japanese culture as an example.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Forgive me if I've been misinformed, but isn't Otakon kind of the peak of big commercial cons?

[ADXC]

OFF TOPIC-I remember you saying you were from some church but I forgot which one, maybe if you told me I think I might remember that it was indeed you.

Sorry y'all for getting off topic. Its just when you see someone in real life(Probably to never see them again) and then stumble upon them on the internet its pretty weird.

[ashfire]

Well I just learn of a new con in my area. T-Mode being held at the Hilton in Arlington, VA. I didn't even know about it until I just checked A Fans View convention schedule. It just started today, but I have other things to do this weekend to attend.
From what they have on the schedule I am surprised I had not heard of it.
There are some Japanese comedy and singing groups.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

"T-Mode"? That's a new one to me, too.

(It IS weird, isn't it? And it's Faith Baptist Church, by the way)

[ADXC]

Yep, I belive you said your church was in Youngsville. Well then happy day, nice to meet you for a second time!

Are you going next year and if so are you going to be in that same spot next time? Or maybe I'll just look for the christian pamplets table and you might be there! (I don't know, I'll see how it turns out.)

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I doubt we'll be at a video room again. We only barely were able to come up with enough people to keep it running this year. I'm gonna still try to do SOMETHING next year, though; probably with the face painting we were doing at the table.