Since we were big Nintendo fans, obviously we had a subscription to Nintendo Power. It must have been in one of those issues that we learned about a traveling show that Nintendo Power was doing. I honestly don't remember how I learned about the event, or being excited for the event, or anything like that. Give me a break, I was seven. But I do remember a lot about attending it.

It was set up much similar to PAX, except on a much smaller scale. There were dozens and dozens of televisions set up, each with an NES hooked up to it. I remember playing Wizards and Warriors, Mega Man 2, Super Mario Bros 3, and walking through an entire room set up with Game Boys. My memory is a little hazy on this part, but I think there were people dressed up as Link and Zelda as well. Or maybe my cosplayer memory wishes that was true.

Exactly when this event was is kind of hazy. It was sometime around 1989 or 1990. I thought that one of the big things about it was the Game Boy had just come out, or was going to be released soon. And although I'm pretty sure it was the first time I played SMB 3, I thought it had already been released at that point. But, SMB 3 was released six months after the Game Boy. So far, searching Google has turned up no history of this event.

This event most likely started my love of attending conventions. Being in a room and seeing dozens video games, lots of other fans having lots of fun, and the newest technology was a great experience. Even though I was only seven years old.

In less than two weeks, I will be attending one of my favorite conventions, PAX East, for the fourth time. I'm sure as I walk in and see hundreds of video games, thousands of other fans having lots of fun, and the newest technology, it will remind me of my first "convention" experience ever.]]> http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1469/How_did_it_take_this_long_for_a_con_to_get_sued_for_selling_bootlegs Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2849/ http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1469/How_did_it_take_this_long_for_a_con_to_get_sued_for_selling_bootlegs Funimation is suing a convention over counterfeit items. If you haven't, the basic story is that Funimation has filed documents against Miller Isaiah Timmons and ten others associated with his businesses for repeated sales of counterfeit and unauthorized merchandise at the Animeland Wasabi convention.

Animeland Wasabi was held just this past weekend and is one of several conventions and businesses run by Timmons. Funimation says its requests to stop the sale of the counterfeit merchandise sold at the convention were ignored.

Also of note is that Tom Croom of WasabiCon and Green Mustard Entertainment (which is not related to Animeland Wasabi) issued a cease and deist notice to Timmons in 2012 and Croom is discussing "filing a complaint and taking further legal action".

People have seen counterfeit, bootleg, and other knock-off items at conventions for decades. There has always been a fear that the relevant authorities would show up and shut everything down if bootlegs were found, but there are no reports of this ever actually happening. Still, many conventions have policed their own dealers' rooms out of a sense of doing the right thing and supporting the industry if not out of fear of being shut down. However, unscrupulous or ill-informed dealers and conventions have gotten away with it for so long that it's odd that it has taken over 20 years of anime conventions before this sort of legal action has happened.

Over the years, I had heard people talking about how various government agencies (including the FBI, US Customs, or police) never bothered investigating bootlegs at conventions for all sorts of reasons. The rumors were that anime cons were "too small to bother with" or "the government offices are closed on weekends during the convention". There were also rumors about a dealer or two at some convention somewhere that was hauled out in handcuffs for selling bootlegs, but those rumors always turned out to either be false or the result of something else unrelated to bootlegs.

So what ultimately had to happen, you wonder?

In a statement, Funimation's legal department said:

• Sales of unlicensed and counterfeit goods happen at almost every convention. Sometimes convention management is extremely proactive in preventing this. Other times, we have to get involved and be rather demanding about compliance. With Animeland, even the fans and dealers were reporting infringement to convention staff, but the head of the convention refused to do anything whatsoever to remedy the problem. That's where we have to draw the line

It appears that Animeland became the target due to repeatedly hearing about infringing merchandise and Animeland ignoring the requests. As the first convention known to be the subject of legal action by any anime company, it seems likely that Funimation would like to make an example out of Animeland. In fact, I believe that just by filing legal documents against the convention, Funimation is going to make a lot of conventions that may have previously turned a blind eye toward bootlegs reconsider their position and actually start to pay attention to what their dealers are selling.

As of this blog post, no updates have been made to the Animeland Wasabi site post-con. Animeland has also previously run conventions in Henderson, NV, Albuquerque, NM, Tuscon, AZ, and Bloomington, MN. Animeland Otaku Mex in Albuquerque is currently the only remaining Animeland event with 2013 dates announced. There is no word on how this may affect that convention or any future Animeland events.

Fortunately for anime fans, all of these Animeland events are held in locations that have other conventions you can visit.]]> http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1467/Cosplay_and_Real_Life Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1467/Cosplay_and_Real_Life "What are you making?"

I get asked this question sometimes when I'm buying fabric. When it's near Halloween, it's easy to say it's for a costume. But what about the other eleven months of the year? Usually, I say it's for a dress. Because that's easier than saying that I'm a cosplayer and having to deal with the follow up.

You see it on the faces of people who find themselves near convention centers during an anime con. You see them point at the "freaks" and whisper about them. About how we're "weird" and "losers" and should get back to our parents' basements. It's easy to know that a friend won't think of you differently when you tell them about your hobby. No true friend would do that, and if they do they're not really your friend (cliche, but true). But what about acquaintances, networking contacts, clients, and distant relatives?

I know, I know, I could face it like the adult I am and just tell people what I do. But think about it - when you're outside the amazing world that is conventions and costumes, it's not the easiest thing in the world to explain to people that I like to dress up like comic book and cartoon characters. Even reading that last sentence sounds silly.

Most people I know and interact with on a regular basis don't know what I do for a hobby. I have a specific filter set up on my Facebook account so only certain people can see when I post about conventions or cosplay. Outside of my convention friends, I'd say that maybe 10% of my friends know that I do this, and that's only because they're into nerdy things like Doctor Who or Star Wars and its easy to explain to them. As for the other 90%, I know that none of them will think less of me if I told them. My coworkers know, but I work at a company with a lot of nerdy people so it was easy to bring up. My husband's coworkers don't know and almost all of his friends don't know.

I was at a party several months ago, and my friend who was hosting introduced me to someone who does costuming for theater group he is in. My friend doesn't know that I do costumes, and all I wanted to do was talk about costuming with his friend. But I was too nervous to bring it up. I was afraid that she would turn her nose up at me about it, although I doubt she would have.

Why should I be apprehensive about this? I mean, look at some of the stuff I've created. I look at what my skills used to be, and what they are now, and I'm proud of myself for what I am able to do. There has yet to be a time where I tell someone I know what I do and they think less of me. And at the same time, whenever I show them what I have created, they are always impressed at my skills. But then I think back to the looks and sneers I've gotten from strangers while attending conventions. The people who lean out their window and yell "freaks" while con attendees are hanging around outside. The hotel employees who treat you like one of the herd and can't wait till you leave.

Then I remind myself that those jerks are the minority. I've had many awesome conversations with people who are genuinely curious about the conventions. I was surprised once when the shuttle driver I had from BWI to my hotel at Otakon was a big Bleach fan. I've seen hotel staff members dress up while conventions were in town.

Will I answering people truthfully when they ask me what I'm making when I'm at the cutting counter? Or when people I just met ask me what I like to do for fun? Probably not. But will I start being more honest with people I do know that I go to conventions and do cosplay? Maybe. I might start with getting rid of my "Geek-Friendly" Facebook filter and posting some pictures of me.]]> http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1466/Costume_Overload Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1466/Costume_Overload Arisia and Katsucon was enough time to make three costumes. Elizabeth is an idiot.]]> Katsucon 2013, I had planned to make Fuu from Magic Knight Rayearth and Princess Pluto from Sailor Moon. Both costumes are part of groups: Shiva and Gale will be joining me as Umi and Hikaru, and I'll be part of an entire Sailor Moon princess group. I am super excited for both, especially the MKR costumes because we've been planning to do these for years and it's never come about until now.

I started buying materials last fall, and I already had much of what I needed for Fuu because I had been planning to make it for such a long time. Then I heard about a group of Sakizou art costumers who were getting together at Katsucon. I had wanted to do the Coffee design forever, and decided that I could add that to Katsucon no problem. I already had most of the materials at that point.

However I didn't start working on any of these costumes until after Arisia in mid-January, because I made two new costumes for that con. Which was two weeks after my wedding, and I had no time to work on costumes in the weeks leading up to that.

I mapped out everything I needed to do, and got to work a few days after getting back from Arisia. Then thing started taking longer than I thought. And I discovered more things that I needed to do to finish the costumes. But I was on good place.

Then real life kicked in. I cut my thumb with a kitchen knife and needed stitches. I had parties come up that I needed to attend. But I had the weekend before Katsucon completely clear, and I was going to go to my parents house to work on things with my awesome mom.

However, a huge wrench was thrown into that. The Thursday before that weekend, my mom went into the hospital. Then we got hit with a massive snow storm with two feet of snow, and road travel was banned for a 24 hour period. I hunkered down and worked on stuff during the storm, but without the help of my mom, I fell further and further behind. But she's doing better, which is way more important than any costume.

I now have just two nights left to work on things. Fuu is almost done, I just need to add some sashes and style the wig (which I'm going to do in the hotel room). Coffee is at a point where I can wear it, but if I have the time I'd love to add more details. Pluto is my big project tonight, finishing the lining, hemming, and adding the sheer pieces. Then I'm done! Except for packing. Which I haven't started yet.

I regret taking on so much in such a short amount of time, but I am excited to wear these new costumes. Sometimes I feel like because I got into this hobby at an older age than most other cosplayers, I have to do as much as I can before I start getting older and my choices become limited. But I also need to keep myself sane and make sure I'm not overrun, so I can relax and make sure I have time for other things, like reading or doing laundry.

Now I have to keep reminding myself that I'm only allowed to make one new costume for my next con, PAX East. However, there are three that I want to make and I can't decide which one...]]> http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1465/The_2013_Convention_Season_is_Underway Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST http://animecons.com/blog/post.shtml/1465/The_2013_Convention_Season_is_Underway Arisia, held at the Westin Waterfront in Boston. It was my sixth time attending, and I love that my convention season starts with this con. It's a sci-fi/fantasy convention, but it has lots of other influences as well. I like to consider it one of those "all things geeky" cons, which are my favorites.

Once again, the AnimeCons.com crew and I got a suite and hosted a couple of parties, which is always fun. Because the masquerade was moved to Sunday night, we held our closed party on Saturday. Unfortunately that meant we had to compete with all the other big name parties, but we had a solid group. We keep learning new things to have more awesome parties. We're going to apply to have parties again next year, so hopefully we'll see you there!

I had a blast entering the masquerade again. Even though our original idea didn't happen, my friend and I used costumes we made last fall and ended up with an honorable mention for craftsmanship. There were some absolutely amazing entries and I love masquerades that are focused on the costumes, and not a talent show. It was also nice to have something that caused me to miss that horrible, horrible AFC Championship game. Thank goodness hockey is back now.

Costuming wise, I made two new costumes - Belle from Once Upon a Time and Catelyn Stark from Game of Thrones. I also re-wore Zatanna from DC Comics, Hawkeye from The Avengers evening gown, and Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica. I also packed Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter and Queen Emeraldas, but ended up not wearing them. That's one thing I like about driving to conventions - you can pack as much as your car holds and you don't have to worry about weight limits.

The biggest thing that's happening to anime conventions is the influence and insurgence of non-Japanese fandoms: Doctor Who, My Little Pony, and Homestuck being the biggest ones. There's also Star Trek, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Battlestar Galactica, X-Files, and dozens more. Some attendees have been fans of these things for a long time, some are just getting into them now, but you definitely see them everywhere at anime conventions. Anime conventions are at a head with these other fandoms. There's nothing wrong with these interests and people are welcome wear or celebrate whatever they like. The question is, should anime conventions continue to focus solely on Japanese art, culture, and media?

That's really a question for another blog, but if you're interested in other fandoms besides anime and Japanese video games, check out your local sci-fi/fantasy convention. Many have been around for a long time, such a Boskone, held in Boston, which will be holding its 50th convention next month. You may feel young there, as many of their attendees are getting older, but they really do love to see new people getting into fandom, attending the conventions they love, and keeping everything going.

Those are the reasons why I love Arisia. I have some fantastic friends who I only see at that convention. They've been around the convention scene for years and years (some for decades) and have tons of awesome stories, and they're a blast to hang out with. So if you want to expand your nerd horizons, or if you maybe are feeling like an AARP member at anime cons, check out other types of cons. FanCons.com can definitely help you out there!

2013 is off to a good start. Will I get past my ridiculous 13 cons from last year? Probably not, but it will be up there, especially as I find out more and more about local sci-fi/fantasy and comic book conventions in the New England area. If you see me at a con this year, please say hello!]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1464/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2012 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2809/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1464/Ten_Largest_North_American_Anime_Conventions_of_2012 In the last 12 months, there were an amazing 449 conventions listed on our site featuring anime programming. That's up from the 396 we listed for 2011 meaning that there was, on average, about one new convention every week!

In terms of attendance at conventions, AnimeCons.com has continued collecting attendance figures from anime conventions around the world and we list them on this web site. All numbers reported here and elsewhere on this site were reported by the conventions themselves. We do not take numbers from Wikipedia unless they are accompanied by a link to a reliable source. (However, since we get most of our numbers direct from the conventions' staffs, Wikipedia often cites AnimeCons.com as the reliable source for its data.)

We run down the ten largest anime conventions in North America during 2012 in the first weekly episode of AnimeCons TV, so you should check that out. We've listed them here as well:

1. Anime Expo: 49,400 warm bodies
2. Otakon: 32,724 warm bodies
3. Anime Central: 24,316 warm bodies
4. Anime North: 22,385 paid attendees**
5. Anime Boston: 22,065 warm bodies (21,587 paid attendees)
6. A-Kon: 21,982 warm bodies
7. Sakura-Con: 20,214 paid attendees
8. FanimeCon: 21,000 estimated warm bodies
9. Anime Weekend Atlanta: 13,472 paid attendees
10. Katsucon: 12,614 warm bodies

It's interesting to note the large gaps between the attendance numbers of Otakon and Anime Central and then between FanimeCon and Anime Weekend Atlanta.

Although we had mentioned in AnimeCons TV that we did not hear from AnimeNEXT, they did report 9,850 attendees shortly before the episode was posted. We still have not received numbers from Anime North** or Ohayocon*, which are both candidates for the list.

Ohayocon has since reported 12,500 estimated warm bodies (12,198 paid attendees) and would be ranked 11th. Anime North also reported numbers after the initial publishing of this list and they are listed above.

Canadian anime fans should not worry since Otakuthon and its 11,000 attendees is also quite impressive. Also worth noting are Youmacon with a count of 12,156, Anime Maturi reported 10,422 attendees, and San Japan and its 9,464 attendees.

Last year, MomoCon made our list, but their attendance actually dropped to 8,600 in 2012 because they changed from a free convention to a pay convention. However, 8,600 is still quite an impressive attendance count.

The above list only includes conventions that are primarily anime conventions. This means you won't see large conventions like San Diego Comic-Con or Dragon*Con included. Also, we only list conventions for which we have attendance numbers and put the list together using numbers available as of press time. (...although some conventions seem to wait until we publish the list every year and then send in corrections.)

Next year, we're considering also running down the top rated conventions of the year, so get yourself an account on the AnimeCons.com Forums and start rating conventions you've attended!

You can see the AnimeCons TV 2012 Year in Review as part of our December 2012 episode. Don't forget to watch our rundown of this list in our podcast as well. You can subscribe to AnimeCons TV using options on our Subscribe page.

* UPDATE: Since this article was originally published, Ohayocon reported 12,198 paid attendees with an estimated warm body count of 12,500 in 2012. This is up from their estimated warm body count of 11,000 (and 10,610 paid attendees) in 2011. The list above has been updated to reflect this change.

** UPDATE 2: We heard from Anime North about 24 hours after publishing this article. They reported 22,385 paid attendees and the list above has been modified to reflect this number.

Patrick Delahanty is the creator of AnimeCons.com and executive producer of AnimeCons TV. He is the host of The Chibi Project, Anime Unscripted, and is one of the founders of both Anime Boston and Providence Anime Conference. Patrick has attended over 100 conventions, cosplaying at most of them.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1462/CampAnime_2012_Report Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2736/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1462/CampAnime_2012_Report CampAnime. The idea behind this unique con experience is that it's held at the Camp Woodstock Conference and Retreat, a YMCA run campground with cabin and lodge facilities situated by a large pond in the woods. Now, I will admit that when I first heard of this idea I was a little skeptical. Cosplayers and other con-goers running around outside with trees and dirt and bugs and whatever weather happens along? Our culture has such a reliance on technology and such a reputation for being so called "indoor kids" that the idea of running around a campground was hard to picture. But then, one also has to remember such activities as weekend long outdoor LARPs and on-location photo shoots are just as significant aspects of nerd culture, so clearly there is in fact a sizable market for such an event.

Camp Woodstock is by far one of the most rural locations I've ever been for a convention, but I would not for a moment say that is a bad thing. The drive to Woodstock Valley was very picturesque and the campground itself is a very nice facility, including cabins which CampAnime attendees could rent for the weekend. (Renters must be at least 18 or accompanied by an adult.) There were also several lodges with programming and a sizable dining hall which also hosted the dealers' room and artists' alley. The one issue with the campground, however, is that it is very large. Unlike at some cons, where large chunks, if not all, of the panel programming tends to be in one centralized location, the various lodges were several minutes walk apart. This made it difficult to make it from one panel to the next if you wanted to see two back-to-back events. It didn't help that signage was not the best, so in my first hour on site I had to wander around trying to figure out where everything was.

These issues of space and poor signage compounded another, much more serious issue: a number of panelists simply did not show up to run their events. The few who did, namely Steam Funk Studios and the group running Cosplay Court Case, were fantastic with very entertaining and popular events. I also found a very informative boffer weapon building workshop as well. Several other panels I tried to attend, however, were nothing more than empty rooms. Eventually I gave up searching (Why wander half way across the campground for something that may not be happening?) and settled with the aforementioned panelists I knew were reliable.

I am not sure what caused the problem of so many missing panelists. I heard there were some confusing last minute scheduling changes. There was also the obvious issue that some locations were difficult to find; impatient panelists may not have been willing to wait for audiences. On top of that, the few staff present did not wear any sort of identification or clearly make their presence known so it was impossible to track them down without walking all the way back to the registration table.

CampAnime was not all bad, however. Attendees I spoke to who managed to find the outdoor activities when they were going on (among which included archery, a zip line, and use of the pond) really enjoyed them, and the programming I did catch was very entertaining. I also was impressed with the dealers' room and artists' alley; though small, they were diverse. Meal tickets for the dining hall were inexpensive and I even saw mention on the schedule that a birthday cake had been ordered for an attendee who'd announced via social media that the con would fall on her birthday.

All in all, I think CampAnime was a good idea after all, even if the thought of a campground does not initially mesh with that of a nerd gathering. Some aspects of it as a convention, however, were poorly executed. I truly hope the organizers are able to bring it back next year. First years are always tough with growing pains and a lot to learn, more so for some events than others. This may have been a rough start, but I have hope that CampAnime isn't yet down for the count.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1460/ConnectiCon_2012_Convention_Report Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2696/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1460/ConnectiCon_2012_Convention_Report 2004. It was the convention's second year and I went down with a fellow Anime Boston staff member to promote Anime Boston 2005 and collect pre-registrations. At the time, it was a small event held at the University of Hartford, but it went pretty well and everyone seemed to have a nice time. I can remember sitting at the Anime Boston table and looking over to see Bob May and Peter Mayhew signing autographs and ending the day by watching the cosplay contest.

Fast forward 8 years and I'm now attending my 9th ConnectiCon. It has been held at Hartford's Connecticut Convention Center ever since the convention center opened in 2005 and the convention now hosts over 10,000 attendees who are a cross section of fandom. ConnectiCon isn't just an anime convention, but also caters to sci-fi, fantasy, and comic fans, furries, and gamers as well. The convention also has a well-deserved reputation for being friendly to web comics.

Throughout the years, ConnectiCon has seen some good years and some bad years. Unfortunately, this 10th year was one of the bad ones.

In the last few years, ConnectiCon has seemed to suffer through some growing pains. As the convention grew, it continued to be run as if it was a small convention. Naturally, as a convention grows, you would expect the staff to grow proportionally with the organization structure adapting as needed. Yet if you look at the ConnectiCon program guide for 2012, you can find the chairman, Matt Daigle, still responsible for 4 other positions rather than delegating them to others. Staff have continually mentioned to me over the last few years how they have to go through him for approval on many things, so it appears there continues to be a bottleneck there. From the staff list, there doesn't appear to be a whole lot of growth over the last few years either.

Now that this year's convention is over, the floodgates have opened on the Internet. The thing that most attendees on various forms of social media appear to have an issue with is the attitude of some this year's convention staff. Now, I've been to over 100 conventions and seeing people complain that staff was rude is really nothing new. Normally, it seems to just be an issue of someone saying, "Stand against the wall" instead of, "Could everyone line up against the wall, please?" However, not only have I never seen so many people with similar complaints at a convention this large, but this is also the first time that I have actually witnessed rude staff with my own eyes.

On Saturday afternoon, there was a photoshoot for Doctor Who scheduled for 3pm. A group of about 50 people met up at the bottom of the stairs by registration. It wasn't long until the group's organizer arrived and informed us that we would be heading downstairs to the ground floor where ConnectiCon staff had said we could assemble for photos. Less than a minute after we got there, the group's organizer was told by several convention center staff members in suits that we were not allowed to gather there. While I was not able to hear the conversation, they drove her to tears in under 30 seconds. The convention center staff directed us upstairs to the ballroom level, so we all followed their instructions and headed up. The group found an open area against a wall and began to pose for photos. At this point, I was joined by my AnimeCons TV co-host, Elizabeth.

After getting through a few groups of photos, we heard shouting. This was not simply a raised voice to get the attention of everyone over the crowd noise, this was clearly angry rage shouting like you might hear if someone was about to murder someone. The hair on my arm stood up and my eyes opened wide as I looked over at Elizabeth with surprise. It only lasted a few seconds and then the person came into view as he stormed through the middle of the photo shoot and off to the left. He was a bearded man in his mid-30's with dirty blonde hair wearing a ConnectiCon staff black polo shirt. Unfortunately, he was not wearing a badge or we would have reported his name and completely unacceptable behavior, but all we can do is give a description. There is absolutely no excuse for anyone on staff to go into a full-on rage at any attendees.

I found out later that the convention staff needed the Doctor Who group to move so that they could have an event line in the space we occupied, but at no point did anyone on staff ever address the crowd. I certainly was not aware we were in the way. There was nobody in the area before we arrived and no indication that it was going to be used for a line. Had someone on staff stepped forward and addressed us in a polite manner, we happily would have complied and found a new spot. Unfortunately, the only indication we got that there was an issue was the raging staff member, something I had never seen before in a total of over 300 days spent at fan conventions.

Unfortunately for ConnectiCon, this was not my only negative experience of the convention.

In last year's review of the convention on AnimeCons TV, I spoke about the masquerade running long due to lengthy host segments in between every performance. Not only did that continue to be a problem this year, sending the masquerade nearly an hour past its 9:30pm end time, but it was decided (against the advisement of the masquerade organizer) to show music video winners between some of the performances. Usually conventions will use these to stall while the masquerade judges deliberate on awards. However, since there were only a few videos left to show during the judges' deliberation, they ran out and had to stall while the judges quickly finished selecting the awards. As a result of the masquerade running late, Super Art Fight, which was scheduled to start after the masquerade, ended up starting much later than planned.

As I indicated on AnimeCons TV last year, this is a very easy problem to fix. If you see the masquerade is running long, cut out the between-performance banter! And, of course, the music video winners need to go back to the end so that the judges can use that time to decide on the masquerade performance winners.

This year, the dealers' room was reduced in size and moved to the back of one of the exhibit halls. This meant that one of the convention center's concession stands was located inside the dealers' room not far from the entrance. This might not seem like a problem...until you buy food with your arms full. The tables for eating were on the other side of a wall and the dealers' room exit was on the opposite side of the room. If you wanted to get from the concession stand to the tables, you had to walk through the dealers' room and then back through the online media guest area, fighting crowds the whole way. I pleaded with the staff at the dealers' room entrance to let me and my armload of food through, but she was having none of that and made me walk around the long way. I won't fault her for following orders, but the ConnectiCon organizers really should have given more thought to traffic flow before placing the dealers' room exit as far away as possible from the concession stand. If they allowed two-way traffic or moved the dealers' room away from the concession stand, it wouldn't have been an issue.

Another problem which ConnectiCon suffers from is an apparent stagnation with its methods to deliver information. The web site doesn't get updated as frequently as some other conventions, but it was a lot better for 2012 than it was for 2011 when it hardly got updated at all. However, the ConnectiCon Twitter hasn't had a post since December. The convention's printed program guide seems to be mostly a copy-paste job every year since 2009. (It's pretty obviously using the same steampunk interior design ever since 2009's steampunk cover.) It even still has my same bio reprinted every year which has become more and more out-of-date. I've actually been surprised to find in the program guide for at least the last three years since it hasn't been included on the web site and nobody's ever asked for an updated copy.

One improvement this year was the availability of a "pocket program guide" that contained schedule grids for the weekend. However, they must have large pockets because this 9"x4" guide unfolds into a giant 24"x36" sheet. Some of the schedule grids use rather large fonts, so the whole thing probably could have been made smaller and more convenient.

It would be nice to see ConnectiCon follow the lead of other New England conventions like Anime Boston, PAX East, and PortConMaine and use Guidebook to provide online schedules via smart phones.

At the very least, it would have been nice to see maps of the facility on their pocket program guide...especially since, for some unknown reason, ConnectiCon has decided to not use the Connecticut Convention Center's room numbering and went with its own numbering scheme. This means, for example, that Panel 6 isn't in room 6...it's in room 21. By renaming their rooms, they have invalidated all of the convention center's signage and made it harder to find the programming.

For several years, I've been saying how ConnectiCon just doesn't seem to learn from its own mistakes. Perhaps it isn't even noticing them. With a lot of negative feedback coming in from attendees, hopefully this is the year that they'll take notice, fix the problems, and come back stronger for ConnectiCon 2013. That's why I'm writing about them here. I'm not trying slam the convention. I said wonderful things about it in our podcast back in 2010, but I feel I need to help them realize where the problems are so that they can be fixed!

The convention certainly wasn't all bad. I enjoyed hosting Anime Unscripted with some of the voice actor guests, I had fun judging the masquerade, meeting other cosplayers is always a blast, and Elizabeth and I thought the Community panel was "coolcoolcool". I know a lot of the staff members personally and they work hard to put on a good convention. I also know it breaks their hearts to hear so many people saying negative things, but ultimately there are problems. The problems are not insurmountable. With just a bit of spit and polish, I'm certain the next convention will see a remarkable improvement.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1461/AnimeNEXT_2012_Convention_Report Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2694/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1461/AnimeNEXT_2012_Convention_Report AnimeNEXT in Somerset, New Jersey to revisit the largest fan-run anime convention in the New York area.]]> Location and Venue
AnimeNEXT 2012 took place at the Garden State Exhibition Center, DoubleTree Somerset Hotel, and Holiday Inn in Somerset, New Jersey, about an hour southwest of New York City.

The surrounding area of the convention center is pretty sparse. The convention was held in the area with a lot of office buildings and hotels, however commercial places like restaurants and stores were only a short drive away. With several hotels in the area, it gave attendees many options and price points for hotel rooms. There was tons of free parking at the convention center and DoubleTree, as well as overflow parking at the nearby office buildings. For those without a car, the convention provided a shuttle to areas with restaurants.

The Garden State Exhibition Center was rather basic, hosting just registration, main events, dealers' room, artists' alley, and an arena where things like boffer battles and stilt demonstrations were shown. It was a large open area, with curtains dividing the different sections. This meant that if something was going on in main events, the sound would easily spill into the other parts of the center. There was also a cafe, with a decent selection of food, including some healthy options like wraps and salads. Most of the remaining programming was held in the DoubleTree which was connected by an outdoor covered walkway.

Gaming programming, including video games and card games, was held at the Holiday Inn across the street from the convention center. Although I understand why additional space was needed, there were no crosswalks to help with the safety of pedestrians over the busy road. The main crossing point for attendees was next to the entrance of the convention center. With cars going in and out, other road traffic, and pedestrians crossing the street in several locations, at times it was a bit treacherous, especially at night. Hopefully something like a crossing guard or flashing lights can help to keep attendees safe.

There were many areas to hang out with friends outside of the convention center. There were several grassy areas between the convention center and DoubleTree and it was well shaded by trees, which helped in the warmer-than-normal June temperatures. Outside the front of the DoubleTree was another grassy area with lots of trees and a pond with a red dock, a perfect location for cosplay pictures.

Many outdoor areas helped to alleviate the crowding by giving people a place to hang out in a wide open area. However, if it had rained, the con would have been in big trouble, as there was not enough indoor space if everyone had to be inside. Luckily there were only a couple sprinkles on Saturday, but for part of the day it looked like it might rain heavily. I had a similar observation when I last went to AnimeNEXT 2008 at their old location, which they left following that year due to the venue being too small.

Programming
For its size, AnimeNEXT has a great amount of programming. There were six panel rooms, a smaller main events room, and a few screening rooms. There was also a manga library. Although there seemed to be a great mix of programming, nothing really stuck out to me.

AnimeNEXT also had some western programming on their schedule. Personally, I don't mind seeing that one the schedule, but with "anime" in its name, it does seem out of place. If they want to have more panels on My Little Pony, Adventure Time, and western video games, then maybe a name change is due? There's nothing wrong with having this type of programming, but to me it makes more sense if the name and mission match the programming provided.

However, figuring out exactly what was going on wasn't easy. The con had a list of panel descriptions in the program guide and they also had a schedule grid handout. Not all the panels on the grid were in the program guide, and not all the panels in the program guide were on this grid. A supplemental "daily newsletter" type handout with panel updates would have helped in this situation. It also was frustrating at times because the listings in the program guide didn't have a day or time. I saw something I liked, I had to scan the schedule looking for it, sometimes coming up empty if the panel ended up being taken off the schedule between the guide printing and the con.

Main Events
The main events area was somewhat small for the size of the convention. It was also in the same open space area as the dealers' room and artists' alley. With only curtains separating the rooms, it led to lots of loud sound pouring into both areas when something in main events was going on.

Due to the lack of room inside the building, the lines for main events had to be outside, where there was no cover from the sun. This could be result in many problems for the convention if con-goers aren't prepared to wait outside for a long period of time. If it had rained, it would have been disastrous. There was also a lot of confusion prior to the masquerade regarding the line, concerning where the line would be and when people could start lining up. I didn't experience this, but a senior staff member came on stage during the masquerade and apologize sincerely to the attendees for the situation, which was a very nice gesture.

The masquerade itself was a little above average for the quality of the entrants. The "Best in Show" winners had a skit that was about four or five minutes long, which would usually be obnoxious, but they were well rehearsed, had great material, and really shined on stage. I didn't want it to end. There were also several other quality skits, including an entire Sailor Moon group dancing wonderfully to the K-Pop song "Gee." Although there were only 14 entries, the event went really long with witty banter in between skits (including one of the hosts as Aerith often being killed then revived, until the last time when Sephiroth kills her for good). But then, after the skits and hall contest walk-ons, there was a greater than usual amount of filler. There were the AMV winners, then the host as Aerith performed four songs, then the hall cosplay awards, then the masquerade awards. The host had a beautiful voice and performed very well, but I think they could have cut one or two songs from her set. It also took a very long time for winners to come up on stage from where they were, sometimes a few minutes. That doesn't seem long, but it adds up.

Cosplay chess was set up strangely, with the pieces in the middle of the floor in front of the stage, with seats set up around it. It made it very difficult to see the action that was going on. However the players were fantastic, and I greatly enjoyed Luigi's Brooklyn accent and attitude during the match.

Dealers' Room and Artists' Alley
Both were very standard for anime conventions. As many conventions are starting to do, the dealers' room had one entrance and one exit to keep the flow of traffic moving in one direction. However the entrance to the dealers' room involved going outside the convention center and around to a side door which was not marked with signs until Sunday. Also, at times during the day the room reached capacity and attendees had to wait outside in the sun for their turn to get in.

The artist's alley was full of talent, but was set up strangely. The entrance was in the center of one side, imagine 6 o'clock on a clock, while the exit was set at the right, imagine 3 o'clock on the same clock. This resulted in more traffic for one side of the alley than the other. Also, tables were set up strangely around poles, which blocked some of the tables. Hopefully next year the con can find a way to make sure no artists are hidden from view.

Overall
While attending in 2008, I observed that most of the problems were with the venue. Again in 2012 at a different location, the problem once again is mostly the venue. I don't even want to know what would have happened if it rained, but I hope the convention had a contingency plan in case it did. I know if it did rain, I would have stayed in my room because there is no way the convention center and hotel could have held all the attendees that spent most of their time outside. It was also difficult sometimes to grasp what was going on between the program guide and the schedule grid, leading to less activities to do.

Unfortunately, there isn't much of an upgrade for a location, so AnimeNEXT will have to continue to use what they have to the best of their abilities.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1459/2012_World_Cosplay_Summit_US_Preliminaries Tue, 17 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2691/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1459/2012_World_Cosplay_Summit_US_Preliminaries Katsucon. The competition had be previously held at AM2 in 2011, Fanime in 2010, and New York Anime Festival in 2009 and 2008. In 2005 and 2004, preliminaries were held at Anime Expo. The winner pair from the US preliminaries will go on to Japan to compete against other teams from across the world.

The WCS was created to promote international exchange through the Japanese youth culture of manga and anime. The event is hosted every summer by TV Aichi in Nagoya, Japan. In 2011, seventeen teams competed, and team Brazil were crowned the winners.

I have been to dozens and dozens of masquerades at anime conventions large and small, and this was the best costume contest I've ever seen at an anime con. I've seen hundreds pictures and videos from many masquerades I haven't been to, including Worldcons and Costume-Cons (where many of the entrants have been costuming longer than I've been alive). Many of the performances I saw at the preliminaries could have a shot a best in show at either a Worldcon or Costume-Con. The combination of craftsmanship, performance, hard work, and dedication was evident.

A total of twenty-two teams competed in the preliminaries (although one had to drop out before their performance due to illness). Teams had to consist of two people cosplaying from the same series. On Friday they were judged on craftsmanship, then on performance when on stage Saturday night. The source material of the teams ranged from video games to anime, well known and obscure, with lots of amazing detail put into their costumes and practice put into their performances. Videos of the performances can be found at ACParadise.com (along with videos from the masquerade).

The judging panel consisted of past US members from 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2010. This was a fantastic choice of judges because they've seen the finals first hand and know what is successful there and what isn't. They must have had a very, very difficult decision, but I think they choose their first, second, and third place teams well. Any of the top three teams would represent the US well at the WCS. All three were very dramatic, engaging, and could be enjoyed by not only those who knew nothing about the source material, but those who knew nothing about anime and masquerades as well.

Third place went to Bejitaballs Cosplay, who chose Revolutionary Girl Utena for their skit. They had a gorgeous backdrop which lit up. At first it seemed like it was just a backdrop to set the mood, but it also hid Utena's Rose Bride dress. I've seen a lot of quick changes in masquerade where costumes come off, revealing another one underneath, but this one had Akio putting the Rose Bride dress onto Utena. The orchestral version of The Rolling Stones' "Paint it Black" was a great choice of music to accompany their performance.

Second place went to Cupcake Cosplay, who chose Ah! My Goddess for their skit. Their costumes were among the best of the entrants, flawless with amazing details. They had two pillars embedded with hundreds and hundreds of lights, that lit up in time with the music, creating a cage for the evil Morgan to entrap Belldandy. They also used ribbons and beautiful dancing, combined with amazing music, and it was evident that the pair spent many hours practicing. The end was amazing, as Belldandy's wings expanded upwards as she broke free from her cage and defeated Morgan.

First place went to Coconut Bubble Sex Cosplay, who chose Princess Tutu for their skit. The presentation started with Rue in a beautiful gown on stage, with a curtain behind her. She opened the curtain to look at herself in the mirror, and then when she turns her back, Princess Kraehe appears in a haunting light, and then disappears when Rue turns around. This game of cat and mouse with the mirror goes on as the music intensifies, until Kraehe reveals herself to Rue and comes out from behind the mirror. Kraehe, performing amazing en pointe ballet, overpowers Rue and places her behind the mirror, representing the internal struggle of Rue and Kraehe. From the audience, the mirror effect was amazing, with a sharp contrast between Rue's reflection, and Kraehe haunting behind it, creating a very chilling performance. Unfortunately, the effect wasn't as strong in the video.

Many congratulations to Coconut Bubble Sex Cosplay on their win. Diana and Katie will no doubt represent the US well. The WCS US Preliminaries will be returning to Katsucon next year. They have created a Twitter account and Facebook page to report on their preparations and from their upcoming trip to the WCS.

With the bar raised as high as it was by this year's teams, I can't imagine how next year's teams will top it. If you are at Katsucon next year, make sure you check out this event. ]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1457/Tips_to_Avoid_Con_Funk Fri, 29 Jun 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2679/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1457/Tips_to_Avoid_Con_Funk Here are a few simple tips as to how.

First: Make sure to shower (with soap!) throughout the convention weekend. I don't just mean before you leave home, but at least every other day, or more if you've been sweating a lot. Certain conditions, such as warm temperatures, wearing heavy or non-breathable fabric in costumes, or significant physical exertion like at dances will cause you to sweat and get smelly a lot faster. Please, if you go to the dance, remember to shower after! Not only will showering keep the Con Funk off, but it will wash away germs and keep you healthy.

Second: Don't forget deodorant. Now, to be clear, this is not an "either or" situation--deodorant is NOT a substitute for showering. You should do both! Deodorant, as well as perfume or cologne, is not a cover-up. Trust me, BO smells no better, and sometimes worse, when mixed with flowers. Speaking of which, if you choose to use perfume/cologne at a con (and I'd really advise you don't), make sure not to apply too much.

Third: Wear clean clothes (and/or clean costumes) the whole weekend. This is, in my opinion, the biggest offender that goes unnoticed in the fight against Con Funk. Even if you wash the sweat off your body daily, your clothes absorb it too, so you really need to pack accordingly. If you're attending the con for multiple days, bring enough clothes to last you that long--including costumes! Especially if it is a costume that you are likely to sweat a lot in, like one of those Organization XIII cloaks. If you insist on wearing a costume multiple days, make sure it's still smelling nice before putting it on.

In addition, between cons please launder your costumes! I understand there are a lot of costumes in cosplay that simply can't go in the washing machine, but there are other options: you can hand wash and line dry things, or get them dry cleaned, or if they are really so delicate you can't do either of those options at least spray them with Febreze as a last resort. No amount of time in your closet will take smells out on their own.

So, to summarize: 1) wash yourself--with soap; 2) use deodorant; 3) wear clean clothes and launder your costumes between conventions. Do yourself, and others, a favor and please follow these simple tips so you can avoid contributing to Con Funk.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1455/Five_Things_More_Anime_Conventions_Need Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2635/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1455/Five_Things_More_Anime_Conventions_Need Schedule time for panels to clear and set up
Many conventions schedules have panels running back to back, for example "Cosplaying 101" is from 2pm - 3pm, then "I Don't Understand Evangelion" is from 3pm - 4pm. This is the easiest way to show timing on a schedule, however if "Cosplaying 101" ends at 3pm like the schedule implies, there is no way "I Don't Understand Evangelion" can possibly start at 3pm. The "Cosplaying 101" panelists need to pack up, attendees need to gather their stuff and leave, and often attendees want to talk to the panelists afterwards. At the same time, attendees for "I Don't Understand Evangelion" will need to come in and find seats, and the panelists need to set up. The bigger the panel room, the more time this takes.

Programming staffers need to put a buffer time in between panels. It can be as short as 5 minutes for small panel rooms, or as much as 15 or 30 minutes for huge panel rooms. This also gives time for attendees to go to another part of the con to attend another panel. Also, if there are tech issues (for example, computer won't connect to projector), this gives staff a chance to get it fixed without cutting into the panel time.

If it's easiest for a con to make a schedule and not include the transition time, that's fine. If you have panels on the hour, it looks strange to have tiny spaces for just a five minute break. Just be sure to tell panelists they will need to finish before the actual end time, whatever time the con feels appropriate. They will need to adjust their presentation as needed. This should also be printed in the schedule so that attendees are aware of it as well.

Ticket the masquerade and other big draw events
Chances are the space you are holding your main events will have fewer seats than your number of attendees. Not all attendees will attend the masquerade or other big events, but it is very likely that you will have more butts than seats available. Also, people will line up early for these events. They don't necessarily want the best seats; they want to make sure they actually get a seat. Also in most function spaces, maintaining a queue with hundreds of people makes cat herding look easy.

An easy solution to this is to give out tickets or tokens ahead of time to those who want to attend. However, if you are going to use this method, make sure you put this information in as many places as possible. Even if you did it the year before, not everyone attends every year. Put it on your web site as an announcement before the con. Put it in your program guide and if you miss the printing deadline for this, put it on the printed schedules you give out. Put up a sign at registration so people can see it while they get their badges.

Have more adult oriented programming - but not that kind
Even though anime conventions seem to be dominated by teenagers, there is plenty of adult oriented programming at conventions. However these usually mean it will be something with hentai, lots of cursing, or both. These are definitely popular panels and a mainstay at conventions. And they should definitely be there.

However, there are other types of adult programming. Think more thought provoking, not just discussing which characters are most awesome or cutest. Perhaps some panels that the parents of attendees can attend where they can learn about what their children are watching. Look into inviting local Japanese or Asian history professors to talk about what Japan was really like during the time of Rurouni Kenshin or Inuyasha.

Provide your host hotel with more business by creating 21+ events with cash bar services. This can be just a lounge area or there can be music and dancing, comedy, or even something like speed dating. (However, beware that adding alcohol to just one event at your convention may significantly increase your event insurance fees.)

Defy the notion that adult programming is only sex and swearing. Give your older attendees something new and interesting to do, instead of bored because they don't want to go to panels aimed at fangirls.

Set up areas for photos and lounging
Nearly every convention has problems with crowding at some point. Function areas can have bottlenecks areas, a line can take up traffic space, people want to take pictures of cosplayers, and friends want to chat. For those last two, conventions can help out by provided space so it's not done in the middle of the hallways.

An area for photos can help with two things. First, it can be a place for cosplayers who want to have their picture taken to just stand around and pose and people who want to take pictures know to go there to find cosplayers. Also, in the weeks leading up to a con, attendees will plan times and places for cosplay groups from certain shows to gather. These are really fun ways to meet other fans and cosplayers with like interests, but they can also attract dozens of attendees. Although these gatherings are often done by attendees and not convention staff, make sure your attendees are aware if there are places they should be doing this or places they shouldn't be doing this.

It's not just cosplay groups who want to meet up, but old and new friends need places to chill, sit, and chat. Identify areas of the convention where this works, like a lobby, or where it doesn't, like a busy hallway. If the con is at a hotel, make sure off-limits areas, such as lounges where they serve food, are well marked. However, negotiate with the hotel to see if attendees can use the areas to hang out anyways so there aren't crowding issues. If there is a specific area in the convention that can create bottlenecks, like a narrow hallway, make sure there are signs that indicate that this is a no stopping, no picture taking area so that traffic doesn't get tied up.

Thank attendees via the web site
It's disappointing to go on a web site a few days after the con is over and the first thing on the page is a last minute announcement that was posted the night before the con started. It's even more disappointing when it's been weeks and there is still nothing new posted.

Attendees spend lots of time and money going to a con. They need to take time away from work or school, plan hotels and transportation, save money for food and the dealers room, and make their costumes. If they had a good time, they also want to attend next year. This is your chance thank your fans for coming, and to provide dates and location of next year's con so that attendees can plan to come back.

You're tired. Your staff is tired. You all just had one of the busiest weekends of your life, and there's still loose ends to tie up after the event is over. However, it looks unprofessional when two months after your con the most recent information still says "Schedule updates!"

Take 30 minutes at some point before the con and make something ahead of time. Simply thank your attendees for coming, thank your guests for coming, mention next year's dates and location, and provide a method for attendee feedback (feedback@ is a good email address to use for this purpose). Work with your webmaster to get this in place before the con so that it goes to the web site with a push of a button.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1458/Katsucon_2012_convention_report Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2598/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1458/Katsucon_2012_convention_report Katsucon with fellow AnimeCons.com staffer, Doug.

Katsucon is one of the longest running conventions in the country, first starting in 1995. Since 2010 it has been at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, right outside Washington, D.C.

Location
National Harbor is an amazing area. It's a very new development in the D.C. area, next to the Potomac River. It feels like the combination of a upscale small city's downtown area and an outdoor shopping mall. There are several hotels along with lots of shops and restaurants. However, most of the restaurants and shops are on the upscale and expensive side. If you've ever been to the Prudential Center in Boston, it's very similar except it's outside instead of inside (and there isn't the benefit of an inexpensive food court). There are inexpensive food options, namely a Subway and Baja Fresh, but most places were sit down restaurants where even salads and sandwiches would cost you more than $12. My favorite part was easily the Peeps store.

Venue
Katsucon is held in the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, which opened in 2008. The Gaylord is hands down the most beautiful convention venue I have ever been to. If you're a cosplayer, this is a dream hotel for photography. The photographers have figured this out too, because I have never seen so many cameras at a convention. Everywhere you looked, people were carrying huge lenses, stabilizers, and reflectors.

The hotel has a huge open atrium, where three of the walls are the inside guest rooms with balconies that look down on the three main levels. The fourth wall is a huge glass window, looking out on the harbor. The main floor consists of the front desk and a dimly lit lounge area. Above that is a gleaming white open area with a few trees and a white gazebo. The gazebo is an amazing backdrop for pictures, especially because of the huge glass wall far behind it. The bottom floor is like a little indoor village with a couple small buildings with shops, a sundry shop, and a few restaurants. There are also tons of plants and trees, stonework, and a beautiful fountain. From that level, you can go outside and walk all the way down to the water, and the beautiful decor continues with gorgeous landscaping.

The convention center is connected to the hotel on all three of the main floors, allowing lots of ways for people to get from one to the other, eliminating bottle necks. The con was laid out nicely with most panels on the third floor, main events and remaining panel rooms on the second floor, and large rooms such as registration, dealers room, artist alley, and video games on the bottom floor. The hallways were huge and I rarely ran into problems of crowding, only during the time between when panels let out.

Even though the weather was unseasonably warm and people were able to go outside, the hotel is a perfect location for a winter con. If the weather were typical northeast bitterness, con goers can stay inside and the open areas and details keep you from feeling trapped indoors.

Programming
The convention schedule was released less than a week before the con, which was a little disappointing. The way the schedule is listed online is very helpful, and accessing it on a mobile app was also helpful, especially because it had real-time updates with schedule changes.

It wasn't just the late release of the programming schedule that was disappointing. Panels running late into the night is typical of a con, but the types of panels they had late at night were odd. Usually you see 18+ programming at those hours, but they had panels such as "Nintendo: Entertaining Since 1889" and "Analyzing Anime 101" which were both at 2am. Also, panels started as early as 7am on Saturday and Sunday. I find it hard to believe that many attendees would want to get up that early to attend any type of programming.

The schedule was printed on a huge pocket program that could be easily folded and placed in a purse or a pocket. The map on it was very helpful and easy to read and you could figure out where everything was. However, the schedule was listed by room then time, which is not a good layout for a schedule at all. People want to see what panels are running at a certain time first. A grid isn't completely necessary, but panels should be listed by time first, room second. Also, the policy of needing a wristband to see 18+ programming would have been good information to list on the pocket program, not just buried in the programming guide.

The programming itself was pretty standard. There was a good amount of panel rooms for the size of the convention. The program guide didn't list who the panelists were for all the panels, only if it was included within the description. I think it's important for guides to list who the panelists are so attendees can know that a panelist they like is holding a panel, and conversely avoid those by panelists they don't like.

The video game room was a good size for the convention, although maybe a little on the small side. It had the usual console games set up on tables, which were widely spread out. They easily could have added at least 50% more TVs and consoles, but the availability of the equipment might not have been there. I was very excited to see several Japanese music import games, which I love. At first I was disappointed to see that you had to pay for them, but it was only fifty cents for a play. Also, that helps with people hoarding the machine and not allowing others a turn. The games also require maintenance and are not easy or cheap to fix if something happens to them. I would love to see these arcade games at more conventions.

I was disappointed by a lack of other games, like table top, board games, and CCGs. These have become very popular at conventions, and there was definitely space for it in the video games room. The video games room ran 24 hours, but it also shared space with the rave, which sounds odd. I wasn't at the rave, but I can imagine the sound from that would overpower the video games.

Main Events
One of the big events this year at Katsucon was the US preliminaries for the World Cosplay Summit. Because it was held separately and on the same night as the masquerade, I was afraid that the masquerade would suffer in skit quality. That was not the case. The masquerade did have its usual share of bad skits, however once it got to the journeyman division and then the master division, they picked up in quality. The highlight was the Ocarina of Time skit that won Best in Show, which did a summary of the game in about three minutes. The half time show was a wonderful samurai sword technique demonstration from Samurai Dan and his assistant, who is also his wife. Their amazing technique was mixed in with classic husband and wife humor. They would be a great guest to have at any anime con.

The major downside of the masquerade was the delay in starting it, which from my impression came down to seating. The schedule listed seating beginning at 4:45pm and the masquerade starting at 5pm. Even if seating started at 4:45pm, there was no way everyone would be seated by 5pm. Seating started at 5pm and it took forever, and the masquerade didn't start until 5:45pm.

The masquerade did end on time, which helped because there were less skits than usual, no doubt because of the World Cosplay Summit. Seating for that did begin on time, however the event itself was delayed and it started about 30 minutes late. It was definitely worth the wait. Although there were a few mediocre presentations, the competition was the best I had ever seen at an anime convention. I think any of the top ten could have walked away with Best in Show honors at either a World Con or Costume Con. The top three were incredible, the best skits I've ever seen at an anime con. The winners, Coconut Bubble Sex Cosplay, performed a skit from Princess Tutu, complete with an amazing hidden mirror effect (much more effective from an audience perspective than on the video) and one of the entrants dancing en pointe as Princess Kraehe. I was blown away by their entry and their win was well deserved, although second and third place were strong competitors as well.

Dealers' Room and Artists' Alley
The dealers' room had the usual convention merchandise, and I found myself in a weird funk not wanting the buy anything. The only thing I bought was the newest release by FUNimation, Princess Jellyfish, which was available for purchase before it was available in stores. The room was laid out in four aisles and was often crowded with people.

Alternatively, artists' alley was very open, with lots of room to walk around. There were many talented artists in many different art styles. Strangely, the con set up backdrops in this room for cosplayers to take pictures in front of. Although the space was there to do it, I found it a strange place for this because cameras are often discouraged in this area because many artists don't like attendees taking pictures of their work.

Overall
I had a fantastic time at this convention. Although I found myself scratching my head at times with some of the things the con did (they way the schedule was listed, the masquerade delay), those issues were small enough to not affect my experience. I already plan on attending next year, and I am extremely excited to do so.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1453/How-to-Guide_to_Cosplay_at_Conventions Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2558/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1453/How-to-Guide_to_Cosplay_at_Conventions Do I need to wear a costume to the convention?
Not at all. You can definitely enjoy a convention without dressing up.

What do I do if I want to take a picture of a cosplayer?
Simply ask if you can take their picture. Almost always they will say yes - cosplayers love to have their picture taken because it shows that people like their costume. However, please be respectful if they say no. They may be in a rush to meet someone, go to a panel or judging, or something else. Also, don't ask if someone is eating. Chances are they may not have their whole costume on and they want to take a break and relax for a few minutes.

When you take the picture, take a second to make sure that you aren't blocking the flow of traffic. Also make sure that you aren't in front of a big window or anything that might cause glare and ruin your picture. After you take the picture it's nice to thank the cosplayer.

I want to wear my Star Trek/My Little Pony/Batman/Avatar/Doctor Who/Harry Potter/Original Character costume to an anime con, is that okay?
I'm of the mindset that you can wear whatever you want to an anime convention, including costumes of Western origin. When you think about it, we're all just nerds in costume, so what's the big deal if you want to wear something that's not Japanese? Don't worry if some people make a big deal about it. Wear whatever you want.

However, most anime convention costume contests require that your character be of Japanese origin, so be sure to check the rules before entering.

How do I make a costume?
See the article So you want to be a Cosplayer? to learn all about that.

I can't make a costume to save my life! Is it okay if I buy one online?
Absolutely. Not everyone has the time to sew a costume, or their skills may not be good enough yet to make what they want. It is not a bad thing at all to buy your costume online. Again, don't worry if people make a big deal about it. Cosplaying is about having fun.

However, do not say you made the costume when you actually bought it, and whatever you do, don't enter it in any craftsmanship judging. That is cheating.

Can I buy a costume in the dealers room?
Maybe. It depends on the convention and what dealers they have. You have a better chance of finding costumes at a larger convention than a smaller one though. Check the dealers room listing for the specific convention you're attending to see if there are any costume vendors.

Should I bring things like a needle and thread with me?
That and more. Every cosplayer should pack a "Cosplay Repair Kit" whenever they are going to a con. See the article What to Pack in a Cosplay Repair Kit for a list of suggestions.

I don't have a hotel room. How can I change in and out of my costume, and what do I do with it when I'm not wearing it?
That depends on a few things. If you have a car at the convention, you can store your costume in there when you're not using it. Also, if you have a friend with a hotel room, ask (before the con) if you can use it to change and store your costume when you're not wearing it. If neither of those options are available, I recommend wearing a simple costume that can easily be worn all day without needing to change, or doesn't take up a lot of room so you can put it in bag when you're done.

What is a masquerade? What is a hall costume contest?
A masquerade is a convention's costume contest that involves going on stage, showing off your costume, and in most cases doing a short performance. Entries are judged on craftsmanship and performance. Before going on stage, either earlier in the day or the previous day, you have the option of having your costume judged for craftsmanship. There the judges will look at your costume up close and you tell them how you made your costumes. Performance judges will watch your skit as you perform and judge on what they see.

Hall costume contests are judged on craftsmanship only. These are usually done on Friday and/or Saturday during a convention. There is no onstage performance, but sometimes you have the option of walking in a fashion show during the masquerade. Winners are usually announced after the skits at the masquerade have performed.

If I wear a costume to the convention, am I automatically in the contests?
No, you have to sign up for them (see next question). Some conventions have ribbons that staff members give out to costumes they like, but that is different from entering contests and are just for fun.

How do I enter the costume contest?
Even if you only have a slight interest in entering, check out the rules for the contest online as soon as you can to see what they are. The rules vary from convention to convention, so make sure you read them thoroughly. Take note of any starting dates and deadlines for signups. Big conventions can fill up quickly, but often smaller conventions still take entries at the convention.

What is Cosplay Chess? Dating Game? Court Case?
Cosplay Chess, Cosplay Dating Game, and Cosplay Court Case are various types of cosplay events that anime conventions have. These feature cosplayers acting in character and interacting with characters of different series.

Cosplay Chess is a form of human cosplay, where the characters are formed into two teams, which are controlled by two players, usually two more characters. When a piece takes another piece out, the others move aside and they "battle" on stage. It's very entertaining to see all the different characters from many different series interact with one another.

Cosplay Dating Game is based on the game show The Dating Game. The contestant must choose between three bachelors or bachelorettes, however there is a curtain between them, so they don't know who they will be picking. They ask questions to the contestants, and then pick the one they like best. There is often an 18+ game done as well, which features yaoi and yuri pairings.

Cosplay Court Case puts a character on trial for a crime. There is a judge, prosecutor, lawyer, and witnesses - all cosplayers, usually from different series.]]> http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1454/What_to_Pack_in_a_Cosplay_Repair_Kit Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST http://forums.animecons.com/showtopic.php?tid/2517/ http://animecons.com/articles/article.shtml/1454/What_to_Pack_in_a_Cosplay_Repair_Kit Every cosplayer should pack a "Cosplay Repair Kit" when going to a con. Don't depend on your hotel roommates or friends to have what you may need. You can also be a hero to your not-as-prepared friends by having these things on hand. If you're flying, be sure this is in your checked baggage, not your carry on. Some of these things might not be okay to bring in a carry on bag.

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
  This is the best thing to bring in your repair kit, as it can fix a lot of things and it can do it fast. You might make a lot of new friends if they find out you have one of these with you at the con.
• Scissors
  A definite must need, in case you find unclipped threads or need to do a last minute wig trim. You definitely don't want to be without a pair.
• Safety pins
  These can be used in a pinch to keep costume pieces in place that otherwise won't. Keep some in your bag or pinned inside your sleeve for problems that develop on the con floor.
• Fabric glue
  There are different types of fabric glue, so pay attention to what you pack. For quick fixes, use a quick drying glue, but the hold may not be as strong as a glue that can take several hours to dry.
• Fabric tape
  An alternative to fabric glue. Good in quick and simple fixes, but don't rely on it to be super strong.
• Fashion tape
  This is different than fabric tape, and is a must need if you are wearing a revealing costume. Use this to keep your costume in place on your body.
• Velcro
  If you need something removable, use Velcro instead of glue or tape. Be sure to give it time to adhere to the fabric before using it. You can buy it in strips and small circles and squares.
• Needle and thread
  If you have the time to make a more secure fix than fabric glue and fabric tape, use the needle and thread to make repairs. Pack colors that are in your costumes, as well as basic black and white.
• Hooks and eyes, sew on snaps
  Similarly to needle and thread, if you have time to make a more secure fix, use these notions instead of Velcro.
• Wrinkle releaser
  Ironing is best, but if you need to get a wrinkle out quickly, use this. Just follow the directions on the bottle.
• Stain remover
  Stains unfortunately happen. These likely won't get the whole stain out, but they might help enough to make it wearable. Follow the directions on the bottle.
• Hairspray
  Keep a travel sized bottle of aerosol hairspray in case your wig needs some last minute styling. It can also help with static cling.
• Extra wig cap and hair pins
  In addition to the ones you pack with your wig or wig supplies, keep extras in your repair kit in case you or a friend forget them.