First Anime Convention

[Sheenar]

Hey you guys,
Next weekend (Oct. 19-21), I will be attending my first ever anime convention!!! (Oni-Con in Houston, TX)
Do any of you old-timers have any pointers/tips for a novice conventioner (is that right? What do you call yourselves?)?
I'm so excited!!!!

[Bap]

Bring lots of money. D:

[Mimiru14]

Hm..pointers..I'd say get your schedule early.There's gonna be alot of things to do.Oh yeah..the buddy system never fails

[ADXC]

This has been cut and pasted from another thread on CAA. The reason is because Im just too lazy and don't wish to retype everything over again.

I go to Animazement in NC, which I find really fun to go to each year. But Ive only gone 2 times to it, so I don't know if I can offer a lot of wisdom like the others who have already posted here. Luckily my con is at the end of the school year in May during exam time. Heres my schedule I go to school take what exams I have to take, I might even be exempt from the second exam so I might get out at like 10. Then my dad and I head out to Durham, find the hotel where we stay, note we never actually stayed at the hotel where the con was held at although I would really like to. Then we head to Animazement, get our passes, go on to do a ton of stuff.
1.We first take a trip around the whole con just to get the basic idea of where to go at certain times.
2.Check out the art gallery, we see great art there in which some day I hope to buy.
3.Go down Artists alley, which is really fun. I sometimes find stuff here which are made by die-hard fans.
4.The dealer room, need I say more? Well alright, I buy tons of anime, manga and various other stuff like t-shirts, pocky(Of course), and this year I bought me a sword.
5.Go to the opening ceremonies, see the guests and what naught. Next year I intend on getting there earlier to get more autographs.
6.Watch the AMVs, thats really cool.
7.Go eat something.
8.Go to various panels, workshops, and other type stuff.
9.Check out the game room and see what the other people are playing which is usally fighting games and DDR.
10.Get autographs when I can.
11.Get pictures of people cosplaying, I hope that I can cosplay in the future.
12.Follow mosts steps over again for 3 days until the end of the con.

Yeah as Bap said bring TONS of cash. You should bring $250 at the least to get the stuff you want although you might find all the stuff you want thats less than that. Be very diserning of which panels you go to because there might be some content that you might think to be good. Actually its most definite you will run into the "wrong" crowd, so let the Lord guide your path. And as Mimiru said get your schedule early and plan ahead of all the activities you plan to do. It may seem constrictive but if you wish to get as much as you can from this convention plan ahead!

Thats about all I can think of at the moment so I hope you have fun, Sheenar!

[Debitt]

Bring your own food, unless you'll have a car on hand, or unless you know cheap places to eat are nearby. Prices inside the hotel/convention center = deadly. I didn't have any of my own food when I went to ACen, and nearby food was sparse. I subsisted off of my friend's beef jerky and Pringles. >>

Plan out what you want to do in advance, so you don't miss anything/know when you'll be sitting around going '>:[ I AM BORED.'

Most cosplayers are cool, be nice to them. Ask before you take pictures. Don't violate personal space without asking, don't touch things before asking, etc. Basic courtesy, really, but you'd be surprised at how personal space goes out the window at times. Also. Cosplay meet-ups, where cosplayers lump together based on series/interest are cool, too. Even if you don't cosplay, it's fun to sit back and watch what happens. :3

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Looks like you've got about all the essential tips you need right here (especially regarding money and food). All I would add is stay aware of what's going on around you at all times. Conventions are crazy places, and there's a lot to keep track of at once. If you're not paying attention you could miss out on something really cool... or get swept up in something really NOT cool.

[nanikore]

Take showers

[Puguni]

Bring lots of money. D:

SPEND IT WISELY.

[Alexander]

And don't let crowd overwhelm you. Unless it's a con with more then 10,000 people. Most have a cons have a very strong community feeling, so don't feel too tense or scared being around so many new people.

[Sheenar]

I am now back from Oni-Con! I have many stories to tell of the convention this weekend! But I am really, really super-tired, SO....I'll tell you later.

[ADXC]

Can't wait!

[ilikegir33]

Hey, my first con was the A-Kon in Dallas!

[Sheenar]

I promised to tell you guys about the convention. I will, but I'll just have to give you the main highlights. I really "should" be reading for class --I have about 85 pages to go for tomorrow!

The convention was pretty fun. I found that I strongly dislike screaming fangirls. Lots of weird/cool people and costumes. Lots of immaturity (man, was I ever like that when I was that age??). LOTS of people trying to pet my service dog. (And crying out "Doggie!! every few seconds) It was annoying at first, but then my friends and I started having fun with it.

"What will happen if I pet your dog?"
My friend Debbie: "She will bite you." ("Debbie!")

"Is that a dog?"
Again, Debbie: "No, it's a child cosplaying as a dog."

I had a guy walk up to me and say the following:
"I bet you really appreciate the anime-dubbing process!"
My friends and I looked at him weird for a minute and then figured out that he thought I was blind. (I wear glasses!) So I explained to him why I have Pebbles. I was glad to b/c he was being nice.

Many people got offended when I told them they could not pet Pebbles. They would give me a look and walk away. Pretty funny, actually.

And Pebbles handled all this craziness like a pro!! She looked at the people calling "Doggie!" like "Hey! I'm working here!" and just kept on walking.


We went to some panels about voice acting and getting into the business. (My friend Autumn is a Theater major and an aspiring voice actor.) I enjoyed them too.

But the huge highlight of the weekend was Vic M's (guy who played Ed --can't spell his name) panel on Christianity in anime. He talked about Christian themes in anime and how God loves sinners --and how churches that don't are not following God. It was amazing how God has given him this great ministry. He got to share the Gospel message with so many people that day. It was so encouraging to see God moving in a place that is often so dark.
(A really cool part of this is that there was NO screaming at this panel. Just reverent silence. People asked questions and there was really good discussion. The total opposite of the FMA panel!) It's amazing to get to see people hearing the Gospel message!!

Anyway, it's almost 11 and I really need to read...I have to read William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" by tomorrow...

Good night!!!

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Glad to hear you had a good time!

Yeah, the immaturity levels at conventions are kind of a low point. WAY too many people use cons as an excuse to try and do all the stupid stuff they can't get away with in real life.

...and I'll try to contain my jealousy that you got to go to Vic Mignogna's panel. He's pretty much my hero.

[ADXC]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Yeah some people at the convention are annoying but thats is one of the things most memorable about these conventions. And the craziness as well. Some times the best or most enjoyable things at an anime convetion are the things you don't plan on doing or experiencing. But you should always plan on what things you plan on doing with a little craziness in between.

[~darkelfgirl~]

Lucky you. I've never been to an anime convention because when it's coming I never hear about it till the day of the convention.