My first con!

[phyco126]

So me and my friend went to our first Anime Convention in Denver. I can't say it was worth the $40, the place was shoved in a small banquet area of a hotel. For being a nice upperend hotel, the staff (aside from the Bartender) was rude, and gave all Con goers dirty looks. The con was fairly unorganized, and I probably didn't even need to pay the $40, as the con staff was letting people without badges in anyway. Only one staff member ever checked for badges, but they didn't remove you if you didn't have it, just tell you that you couldn't see the show.

However, the girls made up for it, but too bad they were horribly underage (a standup comedian, Uncle Yo, made fun of this). Still hot though. Rawr. The comedian also made up for it, too bad he was only on stage for 30 minutes. Other than that, not worth the $40, and I'm sure we (my friend and I) could have done far better on the organizational part. The gamer's room was VERY small, and looked like it was throw together with old school TVs from 30 years ago, different sizes, makes, models, etc.

Anyway, it was a nice introduction to a Anime Convention! I can't wait to go to more!

Edit: I'll be uploading the picture up later tonight or tomorrow after work.
Edit2: Its Uncle Yo, not Uncle Yaio, sorry!

[Nobiyuki77]

However, the girls made up for it, but too bad they were horribly underage (a standup comedian, Uncle Yaio, made fun of this). Still hot though. Rawr. The comedian also made up for it, too bad he was only on stage for 30 minutes. Other than that, not worth the $40, and I'm sure we (my friend and I) could have done far better on the organizational part. The gamer's room was VERY small, and looked like it was throw together with old school TVs from 30 years ago, different sizes, makes, models, etc.

Anyway, it was a nice introduction to a Anime Convention! I can't wait to go to more!

Edit: I'll be uploading the picture up later tonight or tomorrow after work.

This is a major reason I don't go to Anime Cons anymore. People have constantly advised me to find a fangirl at one, but these days the fangirls are all jail bait and that's just going into bad bad territory (especially because sadly, jail bait has a long history of being insanely attracted to me... it's a long story)

[phyco126]

http://phyco126.com/pictures/dcon2009d1.html

Nobi, I know what you mean, and those who don't understand, will once they see the pictures.

[Kizyr]

Eh, small cons can be hit-or-miss. AMA is small and not run too well, but it's in a convention center (instead of a hotel) so the staff is fine. MAGFest appears small, but it's amazing and incredibly well-run (about 1300-1400 attendees). Katsucon is mid-sized (around 10,000 attendees total) but is poorly-run in some respects, decent in others. Otakon is large (over 30,000) and is well-run in some respects, slightly disorganized in others. DragonCon is huge (50,000-100,000?) and is run like clockwork.

What you described is a good reason not to bother with this convention next year. But you may want to look for others nearby--or a few states away. It'd be worth traveling to California or the East Coast to go to the larger ones there. KF

[phyco126]

I would like to try to hit up Otakon (spelling?) at some point in the future. DragonCon I've heard of, but only by name. Otakon, I hear everything about that place, haha.

[Werefrog]

I would like to try to hit up Otakon (spelling?) at some point in the future. DragonCon I've heard of, but only by name. Otakon, I hear everything about that place, haha.

That's the right spelling. It's a portmanteau of the words otaku and convention. I've only been to Gencon which is really more of a (non-video) gaming convention, but they had some anime stuff too. Generally, I had a good time. Got some swag, played a few card games that I'll probably never would have played otherwise. Saw a woman who used to go to my high school dressed as something called a "booth babe" for something called a "Star War." Oh yeah, saw and mocked (when we were out of earshot) Gary Gygax (late creator of D&D and known fan of the fez). Yeah, I would say it was a good time.

[Guild_Premier_Ghaleon]

Yeah, first time cons can fall short of what you expect more often than not. I've been to two cons myself, Anime Detour and Kakkoi Con. Anime Detour is going on its 6th year now I think, and I've gone to every single one. The first year was so well organized and just planned out to perfection, so Im gonna be going as long as they offer it. Or at least for as long as I'm stuck up here in Minnesota. Also went to KakkoiCon. Probably wont be going again. It was the first year they were running it and it just seemed horribly rushed. They didn't even have the video rooms set up until Saturday evening(It's a three day con), kinda lame considering it is a convention for anime. Also, the panels weren't all that interesting, and half of the time the people putting on said panels didn't even show up. It was just a lackluster attempt, though I certainly appreciate the effort. Had a good selection in the dealer's room I guess. And Tiffany Grant was there.

[Nobiyuki77]

I would like to try to hit up Otakon (spelling?) at some point in the future. DragonCon I've heard of, but only by name. Otakon, I hear everything about that place, haha.

Otakon is fun, but also very crowded. I've gone several times (5 or 6 times). It's funny how in just a few short years the attendance went from just over 10,000 to nearly 30,000. The convention center's a nice little place though, I've got some good memories of that one. ^_^

[A Robot]

Statement: My first con was getting you weak-minded meatbags to believe I was harmless.

[phyco126]

Go choke on the Conficker Virus. HUMANS WILL RISE!

[jay_are]

I went to my first con ever, last weekend!!!
And boy do I regret not going to them before!!
I had tons of fun. Everyone seemed nice and there werent as many narutards as people usually think there would. Well I didnt buy too much stuff but i had an overall great time there seeing people! And the place was big, we could explore everywhere XD

[Ruby]

Gather around children, it's story time.

My first convention was Katsucon 5. (1999) To give you an idea how long ago that was, Katsucon 15 occurred last February. It was one of the most awesome times I had ever. The hobby was a lot smaller back then. I mean, this was back when about all the anime you could catch on TV was Sailor Moon and Ronin Warriors. Anime didn't get it's "big break" until Pokemon "invaded" the country if you recall. The program book for Katsucon five was a small book in black in white, very amateurish. But the next few year their budget went up and things got bigger when I went back for Katsucon 2000. I also went to Neko-Con R and Neko-Con 3 around that time. Needless to say I loved going to the conventions and had a great time when I went, especially for the cos-play portions. Or maybe it's just because I'd never been to anything like it. I stopped going for a few years but went back for Neko-Con 6 and Katsucon 10.

At Katsucon 10 myself and a third of the convention came down with "the plague" and we were totally incapacitated from vomiting. I had to call home and get someone to come up to Arlington and drive me back home because I couldn't drive myself back home without vomiting. Oh it was so bad I was out of action for a week and the medical ward was overflowing with people. I remember that year I was in one of the "gopher rooms" and some guy thought I'd been drinking strawberry daiquiris and I couldn't get him to believe me that, "No, that's the hamburger with ketchup I had for dinner yesterday." I wonder if he believed me when he saw every third person getting ready to leave the convention leaning over a trashcan. Going down an elevator from floor 13 to the foyer praying, "Please don't let me throw up in this elevator!" is a unique experience. XD

After that I stopped going for a while but went back to Neko-Con 10 and 11. I'm hoping to get over to Anime Mid-atlantic because I just haven't gotten a chance to goto many conventions this year. I would recommend going, they can be lots of fun. I've literally got piles of great pictures to share from the conventions, especially since I got my digital camera, including a short clip of a pack of cosplayers doing a "Caramelldansen" conga line down the escalators at the Hampton Roads Convention Center. ;p They're not all the same and many of them are very very fun and there's just a wonderful energy surrounding most conventions.

PS: If you ever goto one of the many conventions held at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City (Arlington, VA) do yourself a favor and DO NOT STAY AT THAT HOTEL. The staff is rude, the prices are high, and the service sucks. The Courtyard Mariott right next door is much better, had a much nicer staff, and last I checked their rooms cost less. There is one thing true about Phyco's post: Sometimes the hotel staff can be damn rude to convention goers. Most of the times those hotels loose the business but the Hyatt Regency just seems to keep that service despite everything. Must be the facilities they have there.

[phyco126]

Truth be told, I'm totally inept at making any fun for myself at social events. I end up just sitting/standing around uncomfortably, which often results in sticking out like an elephant in a herd of kittens. This results in me becoming even more uncomfortable. My bestfriend seems to be more outgoing, but neither of us did anything at the con. However, throw me in a group of people I know, trust, and am comfortable around, I can always loosen up and have a heck of a time. I wonder if that was the case, I would have enjoyed myself? I can't say, it was too horribly crowded and I hate rude people who don't give you the time of day.

[PrettyGirlJean]

As Kiz said most cons are kind of hit or miss. There's a lot of pros and cons for small and large cons alike too. I've been to quite a few cons myself, I started going to Otakon in 96 and went every year for quite a while first just randomly choosing events that sounded interesting, but I have to say that once I decided to set up shop in the artist alley I really found my niche. I've been to a couple of Neko cons, went to one or two Katsu's, I even went to one in Raleigh, NC (Oh god never again that 14 hr drive with mr smelly person next to me was pure torment... Ruby I feel your pain!).

I went to cons a lot more when I was younger I think because it was so new and I was really into anime a lot more back then. For me at least if I hadn't found my love for the artist alley I probably would've stopped going. It can get really stressful going too with the funds and transportation and whatnot. But I can say that no matter what kind of time you have good or bad it's always memorable to say the least! Stupid people at Otakon TOTALLY spoiled the last Harry Potter book for me those little jerks x( I think one of my most fond memories was when I cosplayed as Luna and got chill for a photo shoot with all the other awesome Lunar cosplayers.

Oh yeah Phyco, in this pic: http://phyco126.com/images/DSC_0073. Those peeps are dressed as Zero and Yuuki from Vampire Knight. I was on an anime vampire phase for a while, it's a decent enough story. The singer for the ending themes is a guest at Otakon this year Kanon...something, I can't remember her last name ^^;

[phyco126]

Thank you so very much Jean! I'm updating the website right now.