Survival Tips for Your First Anime Convention

Many fans of anime find enjoyment in attending anime conventions such as Tekkoshocon and Otakon. Anime conventions are places where fans of anime cancome and not be ashamed of their love for various Japanese cultural experiences such as the Lolita fashion or cosplaying characters from anime shows they enjoy. For every anime goer, there is always that first anime con which can be a shocking experience if you don't know what to expect. I sure didn't even though I was with an experienced con attender. Here are some tips to survive your first anime convention.

First thing is to pick one that is smaller like Sangawa project (18+) or Kuriko Festival. They are small and can give you an idea of what goes on at a convention, but isn't as big as Tekko or Anime USA and some of the other conventions. Going to the bigger cons first you may become overwhelmed. I did when I was Anime USA for my second convention. So many people, so much to do and see I ended up going to the hotel room a few times just to get away from things.

Secondly go with some friends if possible someone who has been to a convention before so they can help guide you and explain some things that you may not know such as the maid café. I didn't know what it was when I heard of it. Having someone else there helps you feel more comfortable and well gives you someone to talk to other than wandering around aimlessly through panels and other events that could be happening at that specific con.

You should look at the convention's schedule before you go so you have an idea of what panels you want to go to or if there is a guest speaker such as Dan Woren (Robotech, Bleach) that you can get a signature. There are so many different things going on at the same time that if you look at the schedule before hand you can plan out your weekend. You will also see what panels they are having such a Gaia, Lolita Fashion, Anime panels (specific shows), videos, cosplaying tips, and so much more. Panels help you learn more about the culture, and leanr about something you might like to do. For example at Sangawa Project I learned about Lolita fashion and its something I am looking into becoming a part of the Lolita community.

Understand cosplayers is an important things. Anime conventions are known for people who dress up as various characters: for example I will be cosplaying Kiara from Samurai 7 and Gumi from Vocolaid. Others play people from video games such as Final Fantasy. The main thing to understand is cross-playing as well. You will see people dressed as different genders such as women playing male characters and yes...men playing female roles such as Sailor Moon. At Anime USA there was man-belle. It is a part of the experience. Many players are happy to allow you to take a picture, but ask them first. It can be annoying to have people randomly taking pictures of you without asking first.

Many anime conventions offer a game room with video games, Magic: The Gathering, tournaments in video games. Going into the game room the first day is okay, but come the second day and the room will smell like feet, so unless you like the smell of gym socks by all means go into the game rooms. Some like Anime USA had board games in another room which smelled a lot better probably because there wasn't many people sweating in the board game room. There was also people who taught new games such as Munchkin. I never knew that game until I went to Anime USA.

This is probably the most important part...Beware of lurkers or otherwise known as neck breathers. This is the guy that follows people around generally pretty women (or women who follow cute guys) and getting so close you can feel the heat of their breath on your neck (hence neck breather name.) Some lurkers tend to put down other cos-players costumes while theirs is the most hideous thing you ever seen. Some lurkers try to act as if they aren't a lurker. Although I have seen a lurker admit to being a lurker when he was asked.

Anime conventions are fun to attend and allows you to make friends with other anime fans from different places. The first convention might be a struggle because there is so much to take in, and this was just a small article with a few tips based on my own experiences, but there is more that could be said of the different people you would meet at an anime convention (yes I know someone who is writing a book based on the people you met). In all fairness the experience is based on which conventions you choose to go to. Some cons are better than others, some are bigger and have to do and experience. Smaller ones are good to start out on, or if you want to be adventurous take the dive into a bigger convention like Tekko. Hope to see you there.