I’ve historically gone to Katsu and Ota and a bunch of small local east coast cons. I’m open to traveling pretty much anywhere in the country and even might use it as an excuse to travel somewhere new since I tend to stay on the east coast for the most part.

I will probably try to apply to host a panel if time permits. That would be new for me but I teach art locally so I think it would work out ok.

My favorite parts of cons are art adjacent panels
looking at fantastical cosplay, and meeting new people. I enjoy AA but by the time hotel food and cosplay is paid I usually only allow myself a small budget for shopping. Plus I have almost 25 years of anime merch I’ve collected 😅😬 Ultimately I have to take into consideration how many pins and charms one girlie can have really

Great chance to meet the department heads and sign up to volunteer

Hello, I haven’t gone to many conventions but I wanted to give volunteering a try and wanted to get some insight before I give it a try.
It seems fun, being able to support a convention/community.
Wanted to see if it’s worth doing than actually attending, do you get the option to check out the convention sometimes? are you able to volunteer some days and just attend the others? Is it hard to get accepted to volunteer. Is it good place to get to know new people or is it constant labor? (Which both is fine)
Any insight or opinions would be much appreciated.

I was thinking of volunteering for Anime Los Angeles in January but any information is welcome!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I want to go to an anime event before the end of the year but I’m not sure which is a better choice. I’d love to go to both but I don’t wanna spend all that money on gas.

I haven’t been to either of these events ever. So I’m not sure what happens other than a general idea.

I know they’re both probably have vendors and voice actors. But is there anything that differentiates them from the other? Just to make my decision easier on which one to go to.

Hi! Zooming through an intro, I’m Spot (co host) of an upcoming MINI con. My partner and I are looking for your input!

If you were looking to OR have hosted a panel before at a anime (or something similar) con, what do you expect from the organizers?

Ie. size of the room, where the room is located, equipment, allocated time, who brings in the audience, anything you can think of! (We have the basics down like obvs tables, mics, etc) but we wanna learn from you guys.

Thank you in advance!

I'm 19, studying in uni: I love JJK, Death Note, NANA, KNY, Apothecary Diaries, Tokyo ghoul, Kotaro Lives Alone, and Cyberpunk - i am about to start watching AOT, Blue lock, Kamisama Kiss, Ouran High School Host Club, and more (would love recommendations!). I love Suguru Geto (jjk), and since it was one of the first anime I watched during COVID, it has a special place in my heart. I used to cosplay back in 217-19, but stopped when i entered high school. I got back into it in 2024, and ive done cosplays like Sukuna, Geto, Toji, MaoMao, Mitsuri, rize, and so on, but i really want to go to a convention, and I'm not sure how to get into that scene! i would appreciate any help or suggestions (i dont have Discord but am willing to make one!) how do i find cons near me, and were can i make friends to attend these events with?

this is a general question for any kind of art-based convention, really, but I was wondering if I could get an art book signed by a panelist who worked on the project as a character designer. I'm not sure if this is allowed, and my specific convention website doesn't have any answers to my question. let me know if anyone has any info on this, thanks!

I'm an Atlanta local. Maybe I'm getting a little too old for a convention but last time I attended AWA was '22 and... let's just say it was very poorly run and a nightmare.

Just one example but on the first night, fire department showed up and forced them to close the registration. This included pre-registration line. BUT they only announced it ten minutes before they closed the lines. They later deleted the post after backlash.

I've heard they've improved after they switched venues but I'm unsure if I want to go back.

Also on the side note, I keep hearing the old venue hated AWA but unsure if this is true.

Hey! Is anyone planning on going to Mirai Con? I’d love to get to know some people before the event so I have some familiar faces there! :D

thinking of volenteering for 2026,

how diffrent is it from normal hospetality?

how long are the shifts?

do you get free access to the rest of the con for volenteering?

do you get to keep the maid outfit?

Its my first convention ever and i will be alone on saturday (on sunday i am meeting online friend tho i dont know if we will be together whole day) and i am really really stressed. I am a very shy person and i genuinely want to cry bc i am so scared, its tomorrow and i was sure that i am meeting that friend both days but yeah. I dont know what to do to avoid it being super awkward, anyone has any tips?

For anyone who has attended many conventions or is knowledgeable, which conventions tend to have the largest number of voice actor guests? I mainly go to cons to get autographs.

That and maybe finding friends, but I've seen very mixed thoughts on that subject.

My first Anime Convention my favorite part was Artist Alley, unless there is some segment for alternative Japanese fashion like San Japan has I don't have any other interest in cons. I'm not really that into panels or paying $50 to meet a popular voice actor.

I completely forgot about San Japan which seemed worth going to, but there is another one coming up that isn't as grand. I'm not sure if it's worth driving out there though if I'm not interested in the guests?

I've always loved the artist fandom stuff, but even that Im a little wary about as my first con was a local one where I got a knockoff nendoroid, a cute claymade chibi necklace, and a dream lol

I do know a very legit figurine shop is going to have a booth there, but like... I don't know who else is going to be a vendor there. I don't want to look at mostly upcharged knockoff merch or amazon ordered tapestries (😔 I got scammed with that too, but at a mall and not a con. Lesson learned.)

Hi all, im kind of exhausted right now, please excuse any mistakes. So I went to my first ever convention, anime or otherwise, today (it was so local saying what it was would definitely dox me, i don't think anybody travels to go to it) and I was disappointed with many things, the biggest being that the 2 VAs I was super psyched to see had canceled a week ago, and the only place they decided to say anything was one facebook post and then they continued advertising their appearances on their website and everywhere else. This con was 40 dollars for a one day ticket, and the literal only thing to do was buy stuff, every guest except for two had pulled out unadvertised, there were 3 scheduled activities per day (2 of them being photo ops and one of them being, surprise surprise, canceled) and there were maybe 30 people there total.

Where my issue really arises is that everybody was really nice, i got compliments on a shirt i had never heard anybody talk about before, one of my coworkers was there, and as somebody with severe social anxiety it was probably the easiest it had ever been to talk to strangers for me. So I don't want to just remember the bad parts, but it's hard to overlook such a letdown. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

Hello! I've decided to go a con next year and I have a few questions.

1. Is It Worth It Going to Two Anime Cons?

So i was doing research and I have 2 cons that happen near me, Anime Boston and Anime NYC. At first I was only going to do Anime Boston before I found about the on in NYC, They seem to be nicely spread out to the point I could probs save enough for both. However I wondering if its worth it to go to both or just pick one to save money.

2. How Much Should I Save?

I was wondering how much I should save up as Its my first time ever doing a con, travel shouldn't be an issue as i'm close enough to pay a small bus fare for both Bos and NYC. However I want to know how much its going to cost with everything.

3. How To Find Good Hotels?

I wanna know you guys have any good tips for hotels!

4. Transportation

what are some modes of transport I could take to take me there and back? (i cannot do a car rental i dont have a license)

5. How Do I Get A Friend To Join Me?

I have a small friend group and only 2 or 3 are as into anime as I am and I want one of them to maybe go with me as I don't want to go alone and I am 18 and would be during both cons so I would feel safer if some one came. and also more is better!

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

It’s my first time going to Dokomi next year.

Does anyone know if I buy the Dokomi 3-Day ticket, normally this is isn’t attached to a specific person, can I technically bring a person on Saturday, and another person on Sunday?
or is that not allowed?
Thank youuu!

I just moved to the US 2 months ago so I dont have much ideas about how cons work in the US, Ive go to cons at my country before but its not really easy for me here, also how do I have friends to go to cons with? I dont know many ppl here. Oh Im in California but pretty far to any con in LA, any other con I should take a look at?

Hey! I was wondering if anyone is going to FujoCon in March next year on the saturday? I'm from the east coast and was going to go with a friend but she sadly can't go anymore? I'm going by myself now and was hoping to make some friends to hang out with while I'm there!

So I have been going cons for about since 9th grade that was 4 years ago the first time I went it was fun, cute but as I went on I didn’t really make any friends there which was fine but now that I’m out of school my friends are all gone and when I went to an 18 plus con I have never felt so out of place. And stayed to myself. The problem is there’s one in November (18+) in Colorado but even if I go there the rules that I made for myself is basically keep your head down and eyes down basically don’t do anything so you can’t get in trouble. Because I can’t ever be myself around anyone. Because I’m so different than everyone not just because of my disability. It’s because the way I am I just can’t be myself I feel like I always have to put on a mask on my personality and can’t do anything around the cons.
Please help me and give me some tips

Hi just wondering anyone from toronto ever fo to otakuthon? I want to go, but I don't have my driver's license yet and im not sure how easy it would be to get a hotel room or Airbnb. I was thinking of using the viarail from toronto to get there but I'm still not sure about getting a room. Also weird question, but anyone ever try a rv to there?

PS if you guys take visa rail or soemthing do they allow 2 giant luggages? That's where im planning to do some armor cosplays.

Hi! I'm Samuele from Italy and I go by Black Vultures as my artist name. I am looking for more events in the UK as I am really enjoying the vibe and the people who come to buy from my stall.

I got into Birmingham Animecon and London Animecon (I'm there for the weekend actually) but I'm also super anxious about 2027 cons and I am trying to find valuable ones.

I have been very unlucky with MCM as I never got selected, i will keep trying but I need a safer bet. and I am looking for more info on Animeleague possibly in London. any suggestions or personal experiences are welcomed! thank you!

Hey there! I wanna attend DoKomi in Düsseldorf, Germany, next year, but I have a problem. My AppStore on my iPhone shows me that the DoKomi app is unavailable in Romania. Why?! Why would it be unavailable when the con also has a lot of international attendees from across Europe and not only?! Is the app available in other countries, too? How could I get the app?

hi guys, kind of a touchy subject in the artist alley community

From an artist point of view, what do you think about people making the same theme as another rally that is being planned ? For example you organize a "Hatsune Miku" rally with your friends, but then another group also makes a "Hatsune Miku" rally

What do you think of this situation and how would you solve it? I'm saying this because from a visitor point of vue, having two teams with the exact same rally theme can be so confusing !

on a second note : i'm asking the question because my table mate organized a stamp rally around a certain theme. she organized it months in advance, the amount of people required was full. Some people came to ask "hey, can we do another XX stamp rally?" and she said "no, it would be confusing for attendees, but ultimately i can't PROHIBIT you from doing it, i dont have the monopoly"

turns out a few days later, that same person who came to her had announced that she organizes a XX rally... not only that, but also 2 people from my friend rally also joined the other rally!

i don't know i think this behaviour is a little bit disrespectful... what do you think? please be educated and respond calmly in the comments even if you strongly disagree 🙏 peace

There’s not a lot out there about it. Just curious of people’s past experience and if they are going!

Edit post con: unless you have a group of friends and enjoy things like a gaming room would I find coming to this con interesting. Everyone was super nice, we got pictures from lots of people, and it wasn’t crowded at all! We just didn’t spend as much time there as we hoped.