| An Introduction
to Anime Conventions
Years ago, there were only anime conventions once in every few months.
In the past few years, there's been a huge explosion of anime conventions
across the United States. Today, there is usually an anime convention
scheduled every weekend!
Anime conventions are generally held in hotels, and sometimes convention
centers depending on the size of the event. There are a few anime conventions
that are held in the Ohio area right now, Ohayocon,
which ran for two years in Cleveland, is now going on
in Columbus (January 6th-8th 2006 at the Columbus Convention Center).
There is a convention, Colossalcon,
in the Cleveland area that is supposed to be all anime at their June
2005 event. Two or so hours away in the greater
Pittsburgh
area
is Tekkoshocon,
which usually happens in March. Also in Ohio is Ikasucon,
going into their second year in Cincinnati this July. And lastly, Sugoicon,
which is held on the northern border of Kentucky, in the Greater
Cincinnati
area.
The length of most anime conventions is usually 3 days:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Most conventions kick off opening ceremonies
at mid-afternoon on Friday, with The video rooms starting earlier. Saturday,
is usually open all day, and most anime conventions usually wrap up Sunday
around 4pm.
What to do at a con: Cosplay (see
cosplay page) is a popular event at any anime convention,
however there is much else to do! Here is a brief list of several things
to do at anime conventions.
Video Rooms: There are usually
anywhere from 3-7 video rooms, all that play anime or live action anime
related films for most of the weekend. This gives attendees a chance to
see new shows that they haven't seen before, and also the chance to see
old fan favorites. Some anime conventions even have rooms that run 24
hours a day!
Panels & Workshops: are also a great thing
to visit at conventions. Workshops usually involve hands on learning of
something anime related, like how to draw anime, how to make cosplay costumes,
or anime model building (not just Gundam models though.) Panels are discussions
where fans and prestigious guests of the anime industry in both Japan
and the USA can interact with one-another. Anime conventions are really
good places for anime companies to speak at, and announce new titles that
they pick up for release in the USA.
Autograph Sessions: Most conventions have a
guest of honor either from America or Japan. Otakon had over 10 Japanese
Guests of honor this past year. Aside from seeing a concert or attending
a panel for your favorite artist, voice actor or singer, you should also
try and get their autographs. Sometimes it may involve a wait in line,
but to have an autographed poster or CD at home is a good thing to show
off to your friends.
Music Video Contest: This is a collection of
music videos that are made by fans. An anime music video is usually
a
mix of popular modern day music, and anime video footage. These contests
can run anywhere from one to three hours, and have different categories
of videos, like: Drama, Comedy, Action, etc..
For more information on anime music videos, making them, downloading
past videos, and information from past contests, please consult this
fan source:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org
Video Game Room: With the growing gaming craze
in America, due mostly to the success of the Playstation 2, Xbox, and
Gamecube, the video game room is a place for gamers of all shapes and
sizes to gather for a weekend of fun and excellent competition. Here,
you can play some of the hottest new import video game titles, and old
favorites as well. The highlight of Video Game Rooms at anime conventions
recently has been Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR for short. DDR is a dancing
simulation game that started in Japan, and has made it's release now in
the USA as well.
Dealers Room: Now that you
are a fan of anime, where can you buy merchandise, DVDs, Videos and other
anime related goodies? In the Dealers room of course! The size and variety
of the dealers room at every anime convention is different, sometimes
ranging from 5-200 dealers! Each dealer has a unique mix of anime related
merchandise available for purchase. You can see what you are looking at
before you buy it, so it is better than buying or ordering online. You
can also haggle with dealers to try and get the best price possible on
what you want, since you are dealing with the dealer in person. Just make
sure that you save enough money to get some food and get home!
Hall Cosplay Contest: A gathering
of costumers in a large hall. Usually, people are judged at random, or
assigned in numbers. Normally, there are no performances, but expect to
see a lot of picture taking. Hall cosplay is a good time to get together
with other costumers and share tips and ideas.
Dance: The dance (or dances), take place in the
evening following the last main event of the day. DJs play dance music
and the party gets started. At some conventions, DJs even play all Anime
or Japanese pop music! The dance is a great way to hang out and have
fun
with your friends at the end of the day. Mike (from our staff) DJ's as
DJ Maiku at a lot of area conventions.
Admission: The admission price
for most conventions usually varies. Packages are: three day tickets for
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or simple one day passes for any of the three.
A three day pass can cost anywhere from $25 to $50. One day passes are
usually about $15 to $25 dollars. You can usually pre-register for a convention
through the details listed on their convention web site (for a list of
anime conventions: try http://www.fansview.com/consked.htm
they have links to all the anime convention web sites.) When you register
at the convention, or check-in for pre-registered attendees, you will
usually receive a packet containing a program guide with exclusive details
about the convention, a pocket guide with schedules of events, and sometimes
some promotional materials. Some anime conventions have even had free
posters and DVDs in their registration packets!
Convention Reports:
There are quite a few web sites that take pictures and give written accounts
of anime conventions. Some of the more popular ones are:
Fansview - http://www.fansview.com
Linus Lam Network - http://www.usagichan.com
Cosplay Lab Reports - http://www.cosplaylab.com/pastcons.asp
Anime-Source
- http://www.anime-source.com/banzai/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=397
Orobouros - http://www.orobouros.net/
Anime on Location - http://animeonlocation.com/
Please check our Links page
for listings of other conventions and events that include anime programming
in Ohio.
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