Your First Convention?

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- September 2, 2012 at 2:55 AM
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Kiyami
Participant

*shrug* Maybe there are members here who have never been to an anime (or even Sci-Fi.. Comics..) convention, so if we tell interesting stories about our experiences, it will be encouragement. Or perhaps we just have stories.

:Tenchismile:

My very first convention was MangaNext in 2008, Somerset, NJ (Wayyy up north). I had wanted to go for a long time, and I was aware of a small convention about an hour from my University, so I went by myself for the first two days of the con. My first ten minutes wandering around, checking out the sights, I walk by a group of three guys and make eye contact with one of them who invites me to sit down… and I end up playing Mah-Jong with them And I got to hang out with them here and there the rest of the convention. I went to a few events, workshops and bought things I didn’t need (First con, have to buy cat ears). Oh and it was also Halloween… Did I cosplay? Not really, but I had an odd pirateish outfit with a bunch of stuff from Hot Topic. Though small I saw a lot of neat cosplay, and everyone there was really friendly. It left me with such a warm, fuzzy feeling that I decided to go to more cons .

Since then I have been to many others and I expect to go to conventions for at least another five years. Why give up something fun?

*pass the mic*

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- - September 2, 2012 at 8:51 PM
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  jgzinv
  Member
  
  Well I guess my first convention was Ohayocon in 2006, it was small. We happened to be going to Columbus anyway as I’ve got family up there. Dropped in looked around… can’t say I was all too impressed.
  
  Went to Acen in Chicago next and pretty much felt the same way, it was larger had more space and stuff, as well as more crowds. Did get to meet one of the old DualFans there, aamishi, who was part of the con admin staff. Was there for a panel on how to run a panel. Mostly I gained the impression a con was just aplace for people on the internet to meet up in person and spend money of stuff that could be found else where cheaper.
  
  Flew out to Anime Expo, hotel and all. Had again, pretty much more of everything. Did get to meet a few more of the Dualfans, just about had a heart attack as UPS did their best to lose all my Dual collection that I shipped cross the USA. Worked as a volunteer, cosplayed as the con mascot, sat in on a couple panels and saw the AMV contest. Got to talk to the original founder of AX, via an arranged meeting. Pretty much stuck to a schedule and came home.
  
  Mostly I went to try and figure out how to run a con in each instance, didn’t know anyone particularly. Came, saw what there was to see and went.
- - September 4, 2012 at 1:35 AM
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  wwwwhhhhoooo
  Moderator
  
  Ah, my first con (wasn’t that long ago actually) 😆
  
  It was November, 2010. The weather outside was chilly, but what did reach my ears? Word of an anime convention in not-so-far away Omaha. Having never braved one, I gathered what willing companions I was able (three of us total) and we were off! Oh, the myriad of cosplayers! The obscure-topic panels! The plethora of commission artists and collectors selling their wares! It was alot to take in at first, but being NebrasKon (it’s not a very big con, in a good way) in no time at all I got used to the layout of the convention and had a great time talking to random people I had no connection to, save for our desire to spend the greater part of the weekend absorbing an atmosphere of anime (no, I don’t mean body-odor, which can be an issue sometimes at some cons, I’ve heard, but not so here anyways).
  
  They had an amv contest; I entered (after a stressful, last-minute conversion to the appropriate file type) and I didn’t even qualify, but did I care? Nah! It was fun to participate and to watch the finalists amv’s on a big screen amongst fellow fans.
  
  Following year: 2011. I was going to be ready for the amv contest this time!!! In addition to the amv contest as well, I really looked ahead to see what events they had planned, guests lined up and to generally get prepared for this venture.
  
  AMV contest: :washu: I won! Best in comedy! I was so stoked! Not just winning, but seeing people enjoy my amv and on top of all that, it was a TENCHI amv! (which btw, Tenchi anything at this con the times I’ve been there is exceedingly rare, no cosplayers, amv’s etc.)
  
  Then I got to actually meet and chat with Chris Sabat, Tiffany Grant and Keith Silverstein!!! Chris hates being asked to do TFS quotes, Tiffany is just about the nicest person you’ll ever meet, and Keith–well, I heard this story and…let’s just say I’ll think twice before going to a certain tropical island 😆 It was my first experience actually meeting voice talent I’m familiar with in person, and needless to say it was amazing!
  
  So, this year? (2012): been falling behind on amv’s, hopefully I can whip up something by November, but seeing the guest list so far ~~http://www.animenebraskon.com/guests/” class=”bbcode_url”>~~http://www.animenebraskon.com/guests/ you can bet I plan to be there!
- - September 4, 2012 at 6:34 AM
  - Quote
  Ryokos Stepdad
  Member
  
  Anime Central in 2008. Frequently referred to as Linecon ’08 due to the fact all registration information was lost and we had to wait in line for 6 hours for badges.
  
  Yeah, lesson learned. Preorder when you can, just make sure you can go first (Youmacon ’11, the con that wasn’t for me. Best Western Bastards…)
- - September 4, 2012 at 3:18 PM
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  chucklocker
  Participant
  
  My first (and so far only) con was actually not that long ago at all. It was Otakon 2012 in Baltimore.
  
  It was a lot of fun because I got to meet up with a member of the forum (mittens) and see a lot of really cool cosplayers and panels. The highlight was definitely being at the FUnimation panel when they announced that Tenchi Muyo! was FINALLY being released in its entirety! Other than that, I really enjoyed searching the dealers room for cool things, even if they were over priced it was still awesome to find cool vintage stuff that I had never seen before!
- - September 27, 2012 at 12:46 PM
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  DarkPatu
  Member
  
  My first con ever was Dragon*Con back in… oh hell, 1997? ’98? I went with my mother’s ‘renaissance troup’ and spent most of my time playing D&D, snatching up magic the gathering cards that were left from the big tournaments and oggling all the costumes. A chainmail bikini is a hell of a thing to see when you’re fourteen. imcryingsomuchplz
- - June 23, 2013 at 10:52 AM
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  NinjaboyMMGN
  Member
  
  Over here in Australia we have very few conventions the main one is Supanova and that was my first ever convention. Was kinda shitty for me too… I went with only $50AUD and that doesn’t get much. 😥
- - July 7, 2013 at 8:27 AM
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  wwwwhhhhoooo
  Moderator
  
  ~~NinjaboyMMGN wrote:~~
  
  Over here in Australia we have very few conventions the main one is Supanova and that was my first ever convention. Was kinda shitty for me too… I went with only $50AUD and that doesn’t get much. 😥
  
  Australia eh? Awesome! Silly question, but did you guys get Tenchi on cable back in the day?
  
  Also, conventions are indeed a black hole for your money, I’ll admit that, but something about the vendor experience–being able to talk to the vendors, running into some old-school Tenchi fans who know the intrinsic value of what they got (not just Tenchi-wise)–is more fun than online shopping for me, plus there’s the instant gratification factor that I’m a sucker for.
  
  But yes, money pit indeed
- - July 13, 2013 at 4:38 AM
  - Quote
  NinjaboyMMGN
  Member
  
  ~~wwwwhhhhoooo wrote:~~
  
  Australia eh? Awesome! Silly question, but did you guys get Tenchi on cable back in the day?
  
  Yeah we had it. was on Adult Swim and Toonami on Cartoon Network.
- - November 12, 2013 at 8:50 PM
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  The_evil_Genius
  Member
  
  My first con was Anime USA in 2007
- - February 24, 2015 at 2:29 AM
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  Coyla
  Participant
  
  My first convention was Anime Boston in 2008! iloveit1 I cosplayed as Yukina from Yu Yu Hakusho! I love that anime. I used to binge watch it with my sister. I remember getting stopped a lot and getting a lot of pictures taken. I was only 11 so it was really overwhelming, haha! But it was so much fun, and I’ll never forget it. I’ve been going to AB every year ever since. I met a lot of nice people and added a lot of them on Gaia Online. And Neopets. Oh man. Those were the days.
- - February 24, 2015 at 11:10 PM
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  Kerbs
  Participant
  
  Oh man, I don’t even know what year it was, probably 2002 or so. Went to Anime Iowa for quite a few years! Went as Rouko from Fushigi Yuugi (couple of friends went as Nuriko and Kourin). Through the years I did Dita from Chobits, San from Princess Mononoke… gosh I can’t even remember some of them.
  
  Mostly we just liked to look through all the cool stuff for sale, drink ramune, try to recognize people’s costumes. Sit and watch AMVs…
  
  Coyla, I was super into Neopets and Gaia too!! Do you still go on gaia? I have so much stuff just sitting in my account, it’s probably worth a ton, but I’m not sure I’d wanna sell it.
- - January 29, 2020 at 8:22 AM
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  iMistress
  Member
  
  My first convention was Oz ComicCon Brisbane in 2014. Absolutely loved it and have been attending multiple conventions pretty much every year since. I’ve met several people including actors from Marvel, Once Upon A Time, and Wynonna Earp, and I’m planning to meet many more.
  
  Unfortunately I’ve not met anyone that also likes Tenchi Muyo at any cons as of yet, but the next con I’ll be wearing Tenchi Muyo stuffz to see if I attract any Tenchi fans lol.

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