Anime 2006 Anime Conventions

[the_sixth_child]

I hope this is an ok topic, I for one am not very good at finding info on anime con's so this is where people tell and ask about anime conventions!

[r2vq]

I try to go to conventions every year. Though, I never like leaving my city.
So, I only go to Anime North or CNAnime. Both of these are Toronto conventions that are pretty large.

Anime North takes place in May and has had guests as popular as Midorikawa Hikaru. It's purely an Anime convention, but has had the slightly annoying problem of taking place in a convention centre... and the hotel accross the street from it. This reequires the patrons to cross the road whenever they wish to access a specific event that may not be in the first building.

CN Anime is a lot larger than Anime North, but that's because it's comprised of not only Anime Fans. It's combined with the Science Fiction, Horror, Comic Book, and Gaming conventions. It's a lot more commercial than Anime North, which is fan run, and has a lot of booths from companies like FUNi and Geneon. They've had guests with Anime also, but their biggest guests are usually the science fiction guests. They've even had William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Patrick Stuart.

-Arvi

[hitokiri battosai]

I live in Virginia. We don't really get any good conventions here. Every once and a while we get a good one, but not very often. It pretty much sucks to like to go to conventions and live here. The last convention we had here was Nekocon in November of 2004. It pretty much bites pretty bad.

[haru sakurai]

i will be attending Sakuracon 2006, which is at the Seattle convention center this year, on March 25-27

i'll hopefullly be attending A-Kon in Dallas, which is in June sometime. *crosses fingers*

as of yet i don't have anything else planned.

[bellpickle]

[SIZE=1]Is anyone planning to attend ACen 2006? It's a relatively large anime convention in Rosemont, IL, close to the O'Hare International Airport.

I also hope to attend Otakon 2006, though it seems unlikely.[/SIZE]

[celestialcharm]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][QUOTE=r2vq]I try to go to conventions every year. Though, I never like leaving my city.
So, I only go to Anime North or CNAnime. Both of these are Toronto conventions that are pretty large.
[/QUOTE]

I drove past Anime North. My mom had to go to some party in a hotel around there. I saw a whole lot of cosplayers! I could tell that some people from my mom's gala or whatever was wondering what was going on.

The only con I went to was CN Anime. It was really fun. I liked the show on the Saturday night, and getting free Pokemon cards. I got a "unkown forces" pin too. I didn't even want to play in the tournament, but my bro, his friend and the sign up person suckered me into it. I love free stuff too much. Then, my bro and I took a pic of a guy who plays Tukok, from Star Trek for our sister.

Well, I'm going to CN Anime which is from Sept 1-3. I might get suckered into going to Anime North, but it depends on if I have enough money by then.[/COLOR]

[Guest Mythology]

Does anyone who reads this know if there are any anime conventions in Ohio if there are tell me not to sound like a begger I NEED TO KNOW!

[Yukina123]

Haha. We had our first anime convention here in Utah last year!!! ^_^ It wasn't very big, but Bonzai Anime or something around there held it and it was pretty populated. I hope we have it again this year. Best of luck Otakons! Oh, hey....where is that gonna be this year?...Thanks!

[Flame_Alchemist]

I live in the UK and we get no anime conventions here at all, not one! So I have never been although I would really love to go to one they sound awesome.
I was hoping to go to an anime convention soon but I don't know anything at all about where they are held or even what the dates are. I think I'll have to save up some money and make a trip to one of them either this year or next year. If anyone would suggest some places for a good anime convention I would be very gratefull.

[Guest Toast]

Yeah I live in Baltimore(maryland) So I go to Otakon. wootness! Hey is their anybody that goes to anime expo? If so what is it like?

[the_sixth_child]

Anyone have info (guest, panals, etc...) on Anime Central 2006? I checked out the main site and it had nothing...

[Solo Tremaine]

[QUOTE=Flame_Alchemist]I live in the UK and we get no anime conventions here at all, not one! So I have never been although I would really love to go to one they sound awesome.
I was hoping to go to an anime convention soon but I don't know anything at all about where they are held or even what the dates are. I think I'll have to save up some money and make a trip to one of them either this year or next year. If anyone would suggest some places for a good anime convention I would be very gratefull.[/QUOTE][COLOR=#503F86]Yes, we do. There's Ayacon in Warwick, sometime in August, and the guys who organise the [URL=www.londonexpo.org]London Expo[/URL] are planning an entirely anime-based event sometime in July, as well as having their Anime Villages at normal Expos. And there are more, smaller, local events from time to time, too.

Despite living in the UK, I'm hoping to fly out to California later this year to attend a few days of the Anime Expo in Anaheim. Should be fun if I can manage it ^_^[/COLOR]

[Guest Stafal-chan]

Umm.... are anime conventions anygood??? i kno i saw weird pics of ppl who dress up as anime characters and i dun wanna be insulting to anyone if u do this but uh... TT_TT they scare me... but i dunno i've never been to one(just seen pics of some)...maybe i'll look into one... hmmm...

[r2vq]

People who cosplay can seem pretty frightening, but I enjoy them because it's a chance for me to find a thousand other people who share an interest in anime with me. Even if some people are dressed rather extremely, usually the people at conventions are even nicer than people in my classroom. Not only that, the convention is a unique experience that you really can't get anywhere else.

A nice thing about conventions is that there are a lot of anime-related events, like Q&A sessions with voice actors and directors (English and Japanese), or Anime screenings. Another great thing about conventions is that there are a lot of artists that sell anime fanart in many different forms of prints. But a lot of my friends use conventions to find official anime at discounted or bargained prices.

-Arvi

[Morgan-Chan]

I'm going to MTAC in april!

[url]http://www.mtac.net/[/url]

[Shaholl]

I went to Anime Central 2005 on a whim and was so amazed. The people. The Hall of Stuff to Buy. The Masquerade! I was in such awe that i started planning for 2006. The only thing that's going to be different for me this year (besides the fact that i have a costume ready) is that i'm going to pre-register for it. I don't want to wait in line for 3 hours+ again. :animeangr
Gads, that line... Got to the end of it, went around a corner and found... *drumroll* the other half of the line... :animecry:

[the_sixth_child]

[QUOTE=Shaholl]I went to Anime Central 2005 on a whim and was so amazed. The people. The Hall of Stuff to Buy. The Masquerade! I was in such awe that i started planning for 2006. The only thing that's going to be different for me this year (besides the fact that i have a costume ready) is that i'm going to pre-register for it. I don't want to wait in line for 3 hours+ again. :animeangr
Gads, that line... Got to the end of it, went around a corner and found... *drumroll* the other half of the line... :animecry:[/QUOTE]


Holy wha! I should do that :animeknow ! Pre-register that is...once I get the ok from the perental unit :animecry:

[Liam]

Some of the cons don't even really have to be anime based to have a huge anime turnout. In atlanta we have Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) and we have DragonCon.

Although DragonCon isn't based on anime (It's Gaming/Scifi/Fantasy/Comics) It usually has a large Anime turnout. There's usually a few web comic artists, a few screenings of anime, and a butt load of cosplayers. (I hated having to break it to the guys that were tetris pieces that they were russian in orgin, and not Japaneese. LOL they tried so hard) Then there are TONS of vendors there. If your intimidated by Cosplayers But not stormtroopers, (there were 31 in full costume at the parade) I would suggest trying to hit up a con like that first.

[Shaholl]

[quote name='the_sixth_child']Holy wha! I should do that :animeknow ! Pre-register that is...once I get the ok from the perental unit :animecry:[/quote]

Just so you know, even with pre-registration, you'll still be in a very long line. It just won't be as long as the non pre-registration line. :catgirl:
On a stranger note, you will see many a strange cosplayers. For example, I saw Raven from Teen Titans. I also saw the African-American version of Rurouni Kenshin, who happened to be a pretty cool guy. He thought I was someone in an anime he had once seen (I was dressed like I usually am: Jeans, t-shirt, combat boots, and trenchcoat). I even saw someone in a full-size Chocobo costume! The head was on a pole so the guy inside it could make it "look" at people! However, this wasn't the strangest thing I saw at Acen 2005. While waiting in line, I saw someone dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. I even videotaped him on my camera. :animeswea

[Lord Dante]

I will be attending The London MCM Expo this may. The MCM expo isn't a pure anime convention, although it has a rather large anime section, called the Anime village. However the people behind the MCM are planning a pure anime convention in august 2007 - Anime london.

[ManjoumeThunder]

[COLOR=Blue]I'll add some info if that's alright with everyone here. I live in the greater metropolitan area so for those of you who don't understand what that means I live in NYC. NYC isn't really known for too many anime related conventions. We use to have the Big Apple Anime Fest but after the 2003 convention and all it's problems it ended up closing.

However soon after that I discovered a convention 10 minutes outside of New York in Secacus NJ. The name of the convention is Anime Next I've been going for 3 years so far. This year it'll be located at the Medowlands Expo Center from June 16th-18th. So for anyone around that area interested in this con there you go.

Also in NYC there's the annual NYC comic con, this happened last weekend but I didn't attend. Since it's more comic book related but there are anime panels and guest there too. I ended up not going though but from what my friends tell me it was pretty fun. [/COLOR]

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Lord Dante']I will be attending The London MCM Expo this may. The MCM expo isn't a pure anime convention, although it has a rather large anime section, called the Anime village. However the people behind the MCM are planning a pure anime convention in august 2007 - Anime london.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Yeps. If I can manage it, I'd like to get to those two as well. Although the May dates are looking rather hairy for me...

I'm also travelling out to California in June/July to attend Anime Expo 2006 in Anaheim, California. It'll be my first time in the States, and the biggest convention I'll have ever been to, heh. Here's hoping it's good fun ^_^[/COLOR]

[Monkey_Orange]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]I will be attending [B]SakuraCon[/B] in Seattle, WA this coming spring break. And then I will be attending [B]Kumoricon[/B] in Portland, OR this summer.

My goal is to someday make it to either [B]OtakaCon[/B], [B]AnimeExpo[/B], or [B]Big Apple Anime Fest[/B]. Someday...someday :D [/COLOR]

[Maneki Neko]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Does anyone know about anything in the Coloradoan area? I live in a really small town about three hours from Denver and I was hoping there would be something close. I've never been to a con, but I really would like to go to one if I can.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Panda]

I love attending anime conventions!

My plans for this year start out sounding like I am stalking Monkey Orange. I am attending Sakura con in Seattle for sure. I already have my hotel and pass to get in! I can't wait! Also on my list is Kumoricon (Portland, Oregon), Anime Evolution (Vancouver, BC), A-Kon (Dallas, Texas) and, of course, my annual trip to Anime Expo in Anaheim, California. I definitely have to meet up with Solo at AX. I think we should plan a theOtaku.com gathering. A meet and greet if you will.

I would love to attend an east coast convention but haven't decided which one to attend yet.

As for finding conventions in your area you can always check out the monthly convention lists I post in the news section of theOtaku.com. Towards the end of the month I list all the conventions taking place for the coming month plus their websites so you can get more information. This list includes conventions outside the US. Using "Goggle" with the words "anime convention + (your state)" usually produces results. Most states have at least one convention a year.

As for cosplayers, I do not see them as being weird. They are showing their fandom. Keep in mind many of these costumes and props are made by the cosplayer themselves. That is totally amazing to me. The hours of work, the craftmanship, the dedication....it's all to be admired. Some people show their fandom through drawing fan art, cosplayers show their fandom through costumes. To me it's just another form of fan art.

Cosplaying allows you to instantly find someone who likes the same anime as you. Let's say you really love FLCL and you see someone in a FLCL costume...you know you will have something to talk to them about. Last year at Sakura-con there was a guy cosplaying Amarao, my hubby went up to him and said: "Those eyebrows." and without missing a beat he responded: "What about eyebrows!". After that we started chatting about FLCL and his costume, he posed for a picture for us and we had a nice time. If he had not been in costume we would have never known he was a FLCL fan.

(steps off cosplay soap box)

The main thing I love about going to conventions is meeting up with other people who "get it". They understand how great anime is. Being surrounded by people who feel the same way is amazing. Entering the Dealer's Room and buying rare imported items. Attending panels where you can learn more about anime and manga. Viewing rooms where you can watch, in many cases 24 hours a day, anime episodes. Getting autographs and pictures with voice actors and manga-kas. Gaming, concerts, contests, Japanese cultural classes, dances, manga library, Artist's Alley, karaoke, swag (free stuff).....There are so many things going on at conventions it would take me hours to type out everything!

If you can attend a covention I recommend going. Just remember:

-[b]Pre-registration is a must.[/b] It will help cut down on your time in line and be cheaper than buying your ticket at the door.

-[b]Take a camera.[/b] You never know when you are going to see an amazing costume or your favorite voice actor, manga-ka, Japanese musician.

-[b]Comfy shoes.[/b] You will be doing quite a bit of walking and standing. If you talk to any of those EGL girls they will tell you that those super high platform boots are killer on the feet.

-[b]Money![/b] No matter how much you take you will wish you had more when you enter into a Dealer's Room filled with stuff to buy.

-[b]Snacks.[/b] Buying food around or at many convention centers can get pricey. Taking your own yummies will help you save money.

-[b]Cell Phone.[/b] If you are going with friends a phone is very helpful. At large cons getting separated from your group of friends will take you hours to find each other.

-Have fun but make sure you [b]sleep, eat and shower[/b]. Conventions can be a bit overwhelming. Trying to decide what you want to do and not having enough hours in the day to do it all in. Some people don't sleep for days, other forget to eat (except for the Pocky and Ramune they bough in the Dealer's Room) and the worst, they forget to shower. H.O.B.O. which stands for Horrible Otaku Body Odor (also known as "Otaku Funk") is the horrible smell that some people get after several days of not bathing. Unfortunatly some people are too caught up in the convention they forget personal hygene. Say No to H.O.B.O.!!!

I think those are the main things to remember. I love attending conventions. In addition to all the stuff I listed it also gives me a chance to meet the friends I have made online. I love being able to put a name (or screen name) and face together. If I know you are going to be at a convention I am attending I will meet up with you. Just shoot me a PM or email. :animesmil (On a side note, always be cautious when meeting someone for the first time. Make sure you are always in a public place with others you trust around you.) I usually meet up with new people then together make a run through the Dealer's Room.

Conventions are great fun. Great fun indeed.