ECHO l Thursday, June 4, 2009 Page 5

Good, bad and ugly of Anime conventions

ANIME, continued
from Page 4
lar masquerade, which features
skits done by con attendees,
and of course, the nightly rave.
Another great, if obvious fact
about anime conventions is
that you’re among like minds.
Think about it. When you go to
an anime convention, you are
joining hundreds, if not thou-
sands of other fellow Otaku
from all areas of the country—
and some of them even come
from overseas—to celebrate
the existence of your common
ground: anime, manga, and
video games. It is for this rea-
son that so many people who
are hardcore fans of any of the
above topics are able to make
more friends, or have an easier
time doing so, at Anime con-
ventions than anywhere else
they may go. I’ve met a number
of new friends at gatherings in
Anime conventions and we
now stay in touch through the
Internet, planning to meet up
at one convention or another.
Some of them have even found
romance through such chance
meetings (Aww, how sweet!).
The Bad
If there’s one particularly an-
noying thing about cons, it’s
definitely the lines. Any sea-
soned con-goer will tell you
how much it sucks to wait hours
upon hours upon hours in the
hot sun just to pick up your
convention pass. Even those
who plan ahead of time and
pre-register (and therefore get
their admission at a cheaper
price) are not exempt from
this, considering many people
pre-register for conventions
like Otakon. As a result, pre-
registration badge pickup days
often see a multitude of attend-
ees waiting to enter, sweating
in the uncomfortable heat, and
finally rejoicing once the line
gets moving and they can fi-
nally get their con badge in the
comfort of the hopefully air-
conditioned convention center.
But even within the con itself,
there are lines. Lines for the
masquerade, lines for concerts,
lines to get into the dealer’s
room, lines for food, lines for
the bathroom, lines for screen-
ings… everywhere, there’s
lines, lines, lines! These are
pretty much unavoidable,
though, and most con-goers
have come to expect this of any
convention they go to. Many
typically pass a long wait in line
with a handheld video game, a
manga, or some other sort of
time-waster. It certainly helps.
And if you’re stuck waiting out-
side for your badge, definitely
bring plenty of drinking water,
because passing out in the heat
is going to be very inconven-
ient.
Once you’re inside the con-
vention center and the conven-
tion itself is underway, con-
goers may have to deal with an
even bigger array of potential
problems. One of these is the
staff. Now, I’m not saying that
all staff are bad, (I myself am
going to be part of security staff
for Zenkaikon in November at
the Valley Forge Convention
Center) but the saying “Abso-
lute power corrupts absolutely”
has credence when it comes to
some staffers. While many con
staff members are generally
nice and helpful people, there
are others whom upon being
bestowed with power over con-
vention operations go on a
power trip and will reprimand
con-goers and boss them
around for the slightest, most
insignificant reasons. My
brother had the misfortune of
experiencing this firsthand dur-
ing Otakon 2007, when con
staff made him put his prop
gun back in the car simply be-
cause the stock could extend
and retract. A friend of mine
even had part of his prop gun
break when the staffer han-
dling it and inspecting it tried
forcing something to go wrong
and therefore be declared a
‘moving part’. It’s people like
these that drive attendees away
from conventions, and if they
can be avoided, by all means do
so.
Convention-going as a whole
presents the challenge of ex-
pense. For a typical weekend-
long convention, there’s a lot of
costs involved. Travel expenses
have to be considered first,
since you need a way to get to
the convention, whether by pri-
vate or mass transit. Then
there’s lodging, since pretty
much all conventions and their
host cities don’t allow camping
out in front of the convention
center. Prepare to allocate
funds for food as well, since
even Otaku march on their
stomachs, and one does not live
on Pocky(a Japanese snack)
and Ramune(a style of Japa-
nese soda) alone. You also
need to be able to pay for at-
tending the convention, or all
this planning goes to waste.
Pre-registration is recommend-
ed, as the price is usually
cheaper by several dollars. And
then if you still have any money
left, set aside spending money,
because one is bound to want
something from the vast mar-
ketplace known as the dealer’s
room. Be wise about your
spending, or you may dig your-
self into quite deep a financial
hole.
There’s also some inevitable
riff-raff amongst a convention’s
attendees. In particular, one
See ANIME, Page 8

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