hello! my partner and i are planning on traveling more next year, specifically for conventions out of state. (we live in mississippi, so that’s pretty much what we have to do regardless lol) we’re regular attendees of kamicon and plan on going to momocon next year, AWA is on the docket for next year as well. what other cons are worth the drive/flight? thank you as all much!

So. I finally got a job that lets me travel for free, and I never use said benefits. I’m a huge weeb (kinda) and I really wanna go to more anime conventions in the USA! I live in South Florida, so I’ve been too all our good ones like Megacon Orlando, Holiday Matsuri Orlando, Supercon South FL, and of course, my literal favorite and ALWAYS the first convention I recommend to people (I could talk about how much I love this con all day) METROCON Tampa. But, I want to go see cons elsewhere in my home country! If you have any recommendations, it can be even more locally known cons in your state, PLEASE DROP THE SUGGESTIONS BELOW! I’m talking, I wanna hear about your small Pennsylvania anime convention known by only the locals, too! Not just big cons!

Links to their Instagrams or webpages are also MUCH appreciated! And, if you are going to said con in 2025, and would like to meet up there, I’ve been on the lookout for more Anime Con friends for group cosplays and such!! Let me know!

Has anybody had issues receiving their mailed badge? I am traveling 10 hrs to the con and my badges tracking hasn’t updated since 11/20 😭 I have to leave early thur morning. Has anyone had this issue resolved in the past? I emailed support but now I’m panicking because my best friend got hers and she lives 15 mins away from me 🤦🏻‍♀️

I plan on riding my motorcycle to ALA (at the Long Beach Convention Center) and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions for where I should park it?

Hey everyone! First time getting my own room this year and I'm looking to throw a party. Does anyone have any ideas for essentials besides the obvious like drinks and cups? I already have speakers, party lights, maybe tapestry for the room, and possibly a table for games like beer pong. I'll love to hear any creative ideas and any must needs

Why is the Dokomi in germany so early? It usually was at the end of June/ beginning of July.... now its at the 06-08 June.

Is there a reason for that?

I'd really like to go therre next year, but I can't if its this early. :(

Hi! I haven't been to a con in almost a decade and I've been getting nostalgic for them recently. Would anybody here happen to know if there are any "old school" style cons that are still popular/regular in the UK? It doesn't necessarily have to specifically be an anime con - fantasy, comic or catch-all nerd stuff are all good.

By "old school" I mean: community run rather than corporate, 24h events (as in panels scheduled round the clock, the event as a whole would ideally run 48h+) and a disinhibited rather than sanitised culture. Basically the exact inverse of Comic Con. Also, the more banter-heavy lecture-style panels, the better. Don't care much about celebrity guests.

The US has DragonCon as a notable example of what I'm thinking of. But I'm not looking to travel abroad. I've heard Kokorocon might be similar (could anybody confirm that?), though they've already sold out tickets for next year. I'm located in the northwest, so if something happens to be close by that would be a plus. Cheers!

I own an anime convention, and do charity at the convention for a local children’s cancer hospital. Personally I do not want to have any politics conversations on convention side (meaning you of course can have political conversations, we just have none as a business), like not talking about politicians, policies, name calling, laws, wars, ect. I personally want my convention to be a safe space away from all that pain and anxiety where people can express themselves.

However, I do believe the gender you are should NOT be political, so I totally have LGBTQIA++ people who both work with us, and host panels.

I also will ban people for hate speech, bullying, and other unacceptable behaviors.

Personally my mother always told me “you can only control what’s in your little 6 square feet”, I now took that comment and ran with it. I can’t stop wars, but I can help those around me feel safe, and get the help they need.

How does this make you feel? Should I strive to be more political? Should I just continue helping locally? How can I help stop the anxiety’s of things we can’t change?

Hello reader,
Thank you for tuning in, i hope you can help me (F21) with the following situation.
I met the most handsome, charming guy (M21) ever in my life 13 months ago at an anime con. For one and a half months it felt like heaven, we texted a lot, called a few times in the evening and met up in a club together with our respectable best friends. We shared a lot of in my eyes in genuine conversations like grewing up in the same culture from a different country.

One time, I invited him and his best friend over to my former apartement where I was living alone after my ex and I broke up a few months ago.
The four of us cooked together and had a lot of fun (with a little alcohol). Then, I cheesily invited him to my bedroom, we did the thing. Was up to this point one of the best nights of my life, probably still is.
We talked the rest of the night while hugging. I never have felt this kind of joy in my life.
As you can probably tell, after this I fell very hard for this guy and ignored every raising red flag like I am colourblind and I deep down could not accept that he had the twisted personality he had.
To name a few:
-- He cheated on his gf with me
-- he gaslit me and managed to seperate me from my environment
-- he said: "I never thank nor apologize to anyone"
-- I made him a confession powerpoint in our native language (i grew up bilingual, so I tought myself how to spell and write by myself) which he laughed at and described as "broken" (since I made a few spelling errors) which completely shattered my heart into millions of pieces.

Up to this point, I only had my ex with thom I spent a 4 year relationship prior. So I am very inexperienced and have extremely low self-esteem thanks to a very difficult upbringing. As soon as I realised how much my mental health declined while talking to him, I forcefully and very very messily broke off contact with him, his best friend and a lot of other people. My mental health hit rock bottom, i cried a lot. Ate virtually nothing and completely neglected myself.

Luckily, I was able to start therapy with an incredible therapist who helped me tremendously, since I could start to understand the root cause of my emotions and had a save space to work on myself and this messy situationship with a pro! Since 10 months, I chose to stay celibate and prioritize myself for the first time.

My problem is, I would love to go to an anime convention again because this brought me a lot of joy and used to be my biggest hobby in my leisure time. I did some semi-professional cosplaying back in the day.
However, as much as I would love to go, dread and anxiety are my constant accomplice while thinking about joining another event. My cosplay circle shattered and I would have to start all over again and go alone at first to meet new people. I have purposefully avoided going for a 10 months.
I thought about joining n.e.e.t, since then I would be able to go anonymous, however this guy is actually part of them.

What should I do now? General advise is also very much appreciated.
Today, I saw a picture of him again which triggered a lot in me and made my day go down the drain.

Please be kind in your replies. I genuinely don't know what to do and feel very miserable :/.
Thank you for reading

TLDR: horrible situationship left me broken. We shared the same hobby and I want to return to it, yet I anxiety is telling me hell naw.

Theres just a few questions I wanted to ask previous volunteers.

-it mentions on their website as staff being "long term" (whatever that means). I mean its volunteering, surely they dont mean the volunteering staff is long term right?.

-Video interview? What stuff do they ask there?

-How "serious" is it. I dont plan on slacking off by any means but im deathly afraid that ive signed myself up for something im greatly unqualified for. The apply qualifications dont mention anything really other than age and some work experience to apply but im just so anxious.

-Would love to hear tips and insight as a previous staff volunteer.

(This is my first time properly using reddit please dont kill me)

Edit I did the interview! They were all very nice and I did the best I could. Thank you to the people who replied. :))

Hey everyone! So, I’m diving into the world of convention merch, and I need your honest thoughts. What are you excited to see more of? What’s something you’re tired of seeing everywhere? Personally, I gotta admit, I'm a bit over seeing Genshin Impact merch everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s insanely popular, but it feels like it’s all you ever see.

So let me know—what’s been your favorite merch / IPs from cons? Or what would really make you excited to stop by a booth? I've gotten so tired that I might as well make a booth with the merch that I want in Cons, cuz they aren't what they used to be anymore. If I sell, I also I want to make sure I’m bringing stuff you guys actually want, not just what's trending (unless it really deserves to be!).

Going to sakura con in Seattle and the place were staying is a bit far from the center if I ride my board there is it ok to be strapped to my backpack

Someone stole some money from a vendor and now everything is closed.

This is very sad and I feel bad for the people who came late. Hopefully they find the culprit.

I am planning to sign up and play some commander at Anime Frontiers in Ft Worth on Saturday

What should I expect for the players?

Is anyone else planning to play?

I'm planning to attend in 2025, and it's my first time going.

What's Japan Expo like? What are the best nearby hotels? Is it better to get one of the nearby hotels and walk to the convention center, or to get someplace further away and take public transportation or an uber to the event every day?

Thoughts, opinions?

Sorry if this isn’t allowed but I was hoping to get some information. My 13 year old son is super into anime. I don’t know much about it myself, but I am trying to connect with him on that level.

For Christmas instead of getting him gifts my wife and I are playing with the idea of taking him to Japan. I would like to take him to places anime related while we are there.

Is there a convention or something during the summer months I should look into? Or places/cities we should go to? Sorry for my ignorance, any information is super appreciatd.

I’m trying to find as many anime conventions being held in Southern California in 2025. Here’s a list of what I’ve found so far (I know I have two Vegas cons on it but they’re within driving distance of where I am.). Any one know any others?

- Anime Los Angeles, Thursday January 9th. (Already bought)
   - Anime Impulse Los Angeles February 15-16 (Already bought)
   - Tsumicon Las Vegas March 14-16 (Maybe)
   - Anime Las Vegas March 29-30 (Maybe)
   - Anipop San Diego May 3-4
- Anime Riverside May 31- June 1
   - Touhou Fest June 14-15
- Anime Expo, Thursday July 3-6,
   - Ronin Expo TBD
- Anime Impulse Orange County August 30-31 (Already Bought)
- Anime Pasadena November 8-9
- Anime Expo Chibi tbd
   - San Diego Anime Convention tbd
   - Sugoi Saturday (Free)
   - Animarketplace tbd

I usually hit Nekocon in VA, a relativity small con with only 6-7k attendance according to Wikipedia. And I'm looking for something maybe a little larger in the VA/DC/MD area. I've been to Katsucon a few times and have enjoyed it but some of the people I go with aren't as comfortable in such crowded spaces so I'm in search of something less than Katsucon but larger than Nekocon. Any suggestions?

af is around the corner and wanted to ask around and see what the nightlife is like. i went last year with my roommate (first year of cons ever) and we mostly kept to ourselves, not staying out much later than dinner. this year we are bringing another friend and wanted to make some friends and maybe do some light partying/hangouts in the evening. i know they have an after party off-site, but it’s got a chunky cover charge for something i don’t really see people talking about. are room parties in the hotels by the restaurant district more common, or is this just a quieter con in the evenings?

This will be my (26) first time going to Anime Weekend Atlanta. I’ve only been to one other con before this, which was DragonCon for one day. I’m going all 4 days to AWA and am wondering what to expect? Will there be any rave parties in the evening, or is everything a toss up due to the venue change? I’m just excited to go back to a con and be surrounded by nice people I can yap to again!

Hello everyone. First time poster here

I am working on a post apocalyptic samurai build for these two events coming next year. At part of my character, I am planning to bring with me an airsoft gun. Possibly an Ak47 or a shotgun- either one I would plan to make sure they aren’t metal or wood. Now I know we can’t bring functional stuff but I have seen a few people dress up militarily a few years ago at the Long Beach convention center for ALA. if anyone have gone or with knowledge, can you guide me on how to prepare ?

Any groups or chats somewhere that are setting up for cosplay/fandom meetups for this con in Fort Worth?

My first time attending this con and haven’t seen much chatter about it.

I’m fully aware of the scheduled meetups, on the app, but was wondering about smaller meetups that didn’t make it on the schedule.

Okay, so i’m planning on going to Anime Frontier next month and i’m in the process of booking a hotel for my friends and I.

Only problem is my friends and I are all 20 years old so we technically won’t be able to book the room. We’ve checked airbnb and vrbo for places to stay and honestly a hotel that has affiliations with the convention it’s the cheapest option, by quite a bit. Especially considering it’s a walking distance from the convention center so we wouldn’t need to pay for parking.

Any advice? Are the parking places near fort worth convention center cheap? I’m from HTX so I’m used to $40 parking near George R. Brown Convention Center for Cons like AMAT.

Im interested in going. Ill probably be going solo, mostly just want to have fun and meet fellow weebs. Probably hit up the after parties too. What are your thoughts on AnimeFrontier?

So I was able to book 2 rooms for 2 nights at Hyatt Regency Minneapolis for Detour via group code. If I wanted to add let's say a Thursday night next through the whole weekend, and contacted the hotel to modify/add the extra day, would that be possible without resulting in losing either room? (I read before that they wouldn't guarantee keeping rooms if the dates are extended past the 3 day offering under the group code, unless I'm mistaken??)

Just wanna make sure.

My daughter is 13 and has never been to an anime convention before. We live in Alabama and have a few in surrounding states we could drive to but I don’t want them to be a let down for her meaning they’re small and not much to do/see. Can anyone recommend one that would be good for a teen girl?

Normally I don't make a dedicated thread about recent cons I attended (went to 6 cons this year) but I felt one for Youmacon 2024 (YC24) in Detroit last weekend was necessary as a follow-up to the YC23 drama thread last year. TL;DR: Good con, and it was an excellent step towards restoring their reputation.

#Praise

I didn't go to YC23 due to all the drama, but went to YC24 after they changed their management and specifically outlined an improvement mandate. This was my first time at any YC. My team and I hosted our gameshow, Anime Speedtune, and we had a great time meeting new fans. A video of that is here. But personal things aside, here's what I found great about YC24:

• Huge, spacious venue: First thing when I arrived at the venue (Huntington Place) was marvel at how large it was. It's the largest con venue I've been in. It's even larger than the Javits Centre used for Anime NYC. YC was using about a third of the available venue space. Why did this con ever use 2 venues when Huntington Place is this huge? The new management correctly realized that 2 venues was just a complete waste of money. The vendor hall was very, very, spacious.

• Panel acceptance: I heard that YC accepted virtually every panel proposal, and thus the schedule had all sorts of panels. This is a much better stance than some other cons. (For example, Anime North nearby in Toronto is run by radical leftists who have openly stated that they will reject panels covering Rurouni Kenshin and various other anime, because they think sending "a message" is somehow more important than making fans happy.)

• Panel reimbursement: This was one of the primary issues that was addressed in the mandate, and YC completely overhauled it. Panelists were immediately paid out in USD cash after their panels were done. A painless process that was done in under 10 minutes. Bravo.

• Communication: E-mail communication between staff was excellent, though in my case they personally apologized for not being able to meet most of what I requested (see criticism below). I was also in their Discord chat, and communication between staff and attendees seemed very timely and professional. They didn't wield their presence like authoritarians.

#Criticism

You'll notice that there was almost zero negative buzz about YC24 on social media. That's because it was mostly uneventful. Also note that negativity is contagious: if an anime con is poor, those who never intended to go in the first place will dogpile on it for social media attention. (The YC23 drama attracted a number of people who listed their Facebook location profile as California.) Of course, YC24 wasn't perfect. No con is. Here's some constructive criticism that perhaps the con could consider for next year:

• Poor panel credit: In order to get a full 3-day pass refund, panelists had to do 4.5 hours worth of panels. That is even worse than Anime North, which requires 4.0 hours. This caused the schedule to fill up with many 1.5-hour and 2-hour panels which were obviously stretched out and could've had their content presented in 1 hour. Cons need to strongly consider just providing a pass refund for 2.0 hours, or rewarding the best panels with additional credit.

• Gameshow scheduling and equipment: YC had a large amount of gameshows, which was great. However, they were scheduled all over the place in various rooms instead of having a dedicated gameshow track and gameshow room. The room that my gameshow was in didn't have player monitors available, so my team had to bring our own monitors. Only one projector screen was provided instead of two, so those sitting on the right-hand side of the room needed to crane their necks. In addition, we were only given 20 minutes of room setup, so we had to do most of the setup outside the room on a bench. Finally, YC did not provide any prizing whatsoever. Overall, YC needs to further invest in gameshows. They could do this by providing prizing, have a dedicated gameshow room to not confuse attendees as much, and to furnish that room with better equipment. I've already provided the YC panels department with this feedback.

• Poor arcade: Last year's arcade was rhythm game heaven with over 60 different cabs. This year just had a DDR and SMX cab shoved in a corner. Total disappointment. YC did say that they went over budget last year and had to scale down the arcade for this year.

• Food prices: They were obscene. One vendor was selling whole pepperoni pizzas for $40 USD ($56 CAD), or 2 slices (1/4 pizza) for $13 USD ($18 CAD). Picture here. Outrageous, but attendees were actually buying it. I decided to not eat anything and wait until I went across the border back to Windsor, where I bought multiple KFC chicken sandwiches for $5 USD ($7 CAD) each and enjoyed them on the train ride home towards Toronto.

Can't promise I'll go next year, but if there are no scheduling conflicts, and if the panels department becomes more accommodating, I'll strongly consider it.

Is anyone going to Holmat this in Orlando, Florida this year?? I want to buy the 100$ badge but don’t know if it’ll be worth it since I’m only planning on going for two days.

Piggybacking off that guy's question on Navy Pier; I've always thought New Haven is a great area and way better than Hartford. Had the pleasure of passing through there for a train transfer during Connecticon and it was really just a touch of magic. Was really surprised to see that there aren't any cons going on there. Is there a lack of venue or popular support in the area for something like that? Does it lack the proper amount of housing for tourists? Real curious to know if anyone has to scoop on something like that.