Con to Con or to Meet Editors?

[Moonlight Soldier]

I haven't gone to any, I actually didn't know about cons till about 2 or so years ago when we had one in my city and I didn't know about it till afterwards... which sucked, and by afterwards I mean like 5 months afterwards :// ...

I would love to go to LOADS of them though, for the whole thing. Meeting editors would be nice, but I also would want to meet other cosplayers (who maybe don't edit =D ), take pictures, visit panels, and buy lots of things =3 AND cosplaying =PP

Not sure where you are exactly, but I've been to Animethon and Otafest and they're both pretty small in comparison to the bigger U.S. ones.

At the Alberta ones I usually just stalk Vlad, peruse the dealers room/artist alley and take lots of cosplay pics X3

[trythil]

[ngsilver]

When I first started going to cons I was really excited to go to as many events as I could. The AMV contest was always my favorite spot though. My first ACEN (04) I spent a lot of time however in the Con Suite (you know, back when they had one) listening to crappy karaoke when not at panels and video rooms. Sugoi-con 03 I spent most of my time crusing the halls taking pics of all the pretty cosplays cuz' my friend Vicman I went to the con with wouldn't shut up until I took a pic of every hot girl in skimpy clothes we could find. Then there was the DDR.

As I started attending more cons I started doing other things. Just kind of depended on the con. I started staffing, which I think kind of helped with the boredom at some cons namely ACEN, since I've yet to not staff Youmacon and honestly without the VAT programming at Youma I probably wouldn't go. Though I think I've mainly moved on to attending cons to hang out with friends I generally only see at cons. It's where I get stories such as Sacralige-con, The Legend of Drunk Naked Bear, Jesus Jeff, 100$ Milk Shake, making out with Kit, OREGANO!, ect...

Now, most of the time I spend at cons when I'm not staffing (which is always AMV related) I'm either there for AMV related things or to hang out with other editors and friends. AWA is one of those cons where I can go and just talk in person with other editors I talk to on line and watch AMVs. So yeah, that's mostly what I really do at con. Go to AMV events and then go hang out and drink with other peeps.

Well... except for Colossalcon... or Hot Tub Bar con... or waterpark con... whichever name you prefer... There... well... I mainly just go to drink. Death by Chocolate in a re-fillable cup... WIN!

[ZephyrStar]

I would have to say all of the above. Most of the years I have gone it has been for other AMVers and the contests and panels, but I would always swing by the dealer's room a few times, and maybe check out some of the rooms that are playing anime/movies. I would have to say 90% of it was seeing my friends/AMVers. Though last year, AWA was kinda low key, so I got to walk around and check out a lot of stuff I don't normally check out, and talk to a lot of people I normally wouldn't have had time to talk to. I spent a lot of time in the artist's alley just talking to artists (since I am one and always wanted to do the alley, but haven't yet), and I also spent a bit of time talking to some cosplayers with fantastic steampunk outfits. I want to do steampunk, or more accurately dieselpunk sometime. So that was cool. Yeah.

[Otohiko]

I enjoy participating in convention events, but if my friends (mainly other editors) are also at the convention, I'll usually spend more time hanging out with them. As of last year though, I've been able to add (Pokemon) Cosplay Hunting to my activity list, and if I see a cool or rare Pokemon costume I'll abandon whatever I was doing to snap a photo (unless I don't have a camera, which drove me crazy at ANorth this year). One time I waited outside the restroom for close to an hour because I saw an amazing Lugia go in there. She never came out.

Lugia disappeared behind the water closet.

[dj_ultima_the_great]

Well, I go to ACen every year (for the last six years), and while I'm typically in the artist's alley or dealer's room, I did make sure to attend the AMV showing the year that my video made it into the contest. I did see some editors at an AMV panel, but I couldn't talk to them. I'm fine with people once I'm introduced properly, but I'm ridiculously nervous and shy about approaching someone in the first place.

Another year, I showed up to an AMV show about halfway through and stayed 'til the end, hoping I would catch a bunch of editors on the way out. I only know a select few of you by appearance, but I recognized Koop, so I figured I was in the right place. I was introduced to some people briefly (sorry, I don't remember who; it was years ago), but I tagged along with Kit and the group for part of the day. Kit loaned me some stuff at one point, but aside from getting it from him and giving it back a different year, that's the last contact I had with any of you. I've only submitted one other video to the contest, and it didn't make it in, so I didn't go to the showing. I haven't been to a contest showing in a couple of years.

Hm... how do I put this? I don't want to sound negative, because it isn't really. It's probably best to say that I'm better in text than in person. I'm a very awkward person by nature, and I think the relationship that I have with the community and its members is best kept at a distance. If I ever make something contest-worthy again, you might see me at an ACen showing. Just keep your sights on the edge seats of a row for the shifty-eyed blonde who looks like she's about to leap out of her chair and run.


- Jen

[Chained(E)Studio]

Not sure where you are exactly, but I've been to Animethon and Otafest and they're both pretty small in comparison to the bigger U.S. ones.

At the Alberta ones I usually just stalk Vlad, peruse the dealers room/artist alley and take lots of cosplay pics X3

I did some searching and found it! Its called " Nishikaze - Lethbridge's Anime Festival", is the one that gets held here where I live =P I am not sure if it happens every year though... I haven't been to Animethon, or Otafest, I should maybe go to them since there are only between 2-4hours away xD

[Scintilla]

I know this topic is a little old, but I feel compelled to post -- I've been feeling for a while now like Cyanna and I are some of the only East Coast AMVers from our "generation", if you will, who still go to cons to run around doing con stuff that's not AMV-related.
Don't get me wrong: we also try to fit into our trips to Otakon and AWA as much hanging out with friends we don't often see as possible. (I have to try to get to a dinner with other AMVers at Otakon next year. There's a lot of younger faces I want to properly meet!) But still, the amount of programming we want to take in is usually massive.

@Fay-Sa: I do video game rooms because at home I don't have anyone I can play Puzzle Fighter or (especially) Melty Blood against. And anime screenings, at least comedies or insanely popular series, are a totally different experience at a convention than at home or in a small club -- effervescence is a factor:

• What we saw of Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi at Otakon 2003 or 2004 was so hilarious in that crowd that I picked up the whole series.
• The dub premiere of Hellsing Ultimate vol. 4 at Otakon 2008 gained so much more impact from being on that huge screen with that huge sound system, plus hundreds of fans erupting in cheers at the particularly badass moments.
• The dub premiere of Axis Powers Hetalia at Otakon 2010. Just... the dub premiere of Axis Powers Hetalia at Otakon 2010. The screaming fans, the singing along... that room just radiated good feelings.
• The dub premiere of Trigun: Badlands Rumble at Otakon 2011. At home this movie would have been barely worth renting, and I say that as someone who enjoyed the TV series and whatever parts of the manga I could actually follow. With a con crowd, though, it's well worth it.

I always try to create a plan of attack for each convention we're going to as soon as they put up a tentative schedule. Oftentimes, there's so much stuff we want to see and do that there's not much time for food, etc.

What non-AMV-related stuff did we do this year? (Not counting dealers' room and video games.)

• Animazement: JOUJI freakin' NAKATA (= the reason we went in the first place), karaoke contest, Anime Hell (recommended!), Sgt. Frog voice actors panel, Masquerade
• AnimeNEXT: Fan parodies panel, Type-Moon panel (in appropriate costume), Fanboy Soze fan parody premiere, karaoke contest, Masquerade, Anime Press Your Luck (recommended!), Anime Parliament (recommended!)
• Otakon: Anime Parliament (recommended!), Otaku Idol, Trigun: Badlands Rumble, Iron Editor, fan parodies

... Of course, this might not work so well for people who don't still actually watch animé.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Well, plenty of people still watch anime - just not dubs.

[Magnus]

For swedish conventions, I mostly go to hang out with friends I know also will attend them (between 50-80 people. no joke.) and to enter their AMV-contests. For most of the cons I hang out with various people from around the country I don't get to meet too often, and other than that I go to see any live-band performances that might occure. Sometimes I meet other editors, but hobby ain't so big in sweden - or rather there aren't many big names really

I used to go to cons more when I was 13-15, now they would bore me if I wouldn't get to meet those awesome people I usually don't meet.

Your american cons sounds fun though, especially the hotel part... lol