On Conventions and Cosplay: A-kon 25

Hello, everyone! It’s taken me a while to really get going with this blog, but my attention was a hundred different places over the past month or two. My biggest distraction was A-kon, an anime convention I’ve attended every year since 2004. This was the first year I tried cosplaying, so I spent a lot of time leading up to the convention working on costume-related things. I’m not a seamstress and don’t have much experience with hand-making things, but I altered a skirt, added details to a shirt, and created accessories for my cosplay. My friends and I cosplayed our own versions of princess from Adventure Time, and I was Raggedy Princess.

Kuroshitsuji cosplay group.

Me as Raggedy Princess.

Cosplaying was an interesting experience. First of all, it took me so much longer to get ready in the morning than it would have if I’d just been wearing regular clothes. Heck, even if I had worn something special it still would have been less time consuming. I think I went into it with the mindset that I knew what I wanted to do for my makeup, and didn’t have to worry about my hair because I’d be wearing a wig, and I knew where everything was going to be. Surely, it wouldn’t take that long to get dressed. But it did, and I was relieved to be ready for the day. Unfortunately, my skirt started out a little on the large side, I lost about seven pounds prior to the convention, and I decided to wear shape wear, so my skirt didn’t want to stay where I wanted it to. This kind of made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but the skirt was still a lot of fun to wear. I was a little disappointed that only a couple people recognized who I was supposed to be, and one of them only after standing there with me for several minutes. However, I had a feeling that might be the case since Raggedy Princess doesn’t seem to be a very prominent or popular character compared to other Adventure Time princesses. Either way, it was a fun and different experience, and cosplay is definitely something I want to do more of. We’re already planning to be kawaii witches next year, and I might do an anime character as well. We’ll see.

View of the atrium from outside our room.

Regarding the convention itself, my experiences over the last few years have been pretty different compared to what they were before. My first time at A-kon, back in 2004, was full of activity. Lacy and I went alone. We didn’t have any friends staying with us, and we attended panels, checked out video rooms, and shopped. We attended our first j-rock concert, had our pictures taken with the band, went to their Q&A, went to the dance, and stayed really active throughout our time there. Even in subsequent years, we found a lot to do. Over the past few years, I’ve cared less about the bands that have attended, and A-kon doesn’t seem to invite many Japanese guests outside the bands. Lacy and I were talking about how awesome it would be if they invited some Japanese voice actors. Even some smaller conventions have a lot of Japanese guests, so I’m not sure why A-kon doesn’t. Then again, I’m not an expert on planning or managing such things. Anyway, there were many years that we had upwards of eight people staying with us, making things crowded and noisy. There was drama and disagreements that made enjoying the convention a bit difficult at times.

Last year and this year there were just four of us, and it was nice. It’s not that I don’t love my other friends who stayed with us in the past, but it’s wonderful to have more space, to not have to wait for six other people to shower, and to not feel quite as left out of conversations because you’re shy and awkward…even around people you’ve known for ten years for some reason. The past two years have also been more about shopping, wandering around the main convention spaces, and lazing about in the hotel room. It’s fun being able to just hang out with people you might only see once a year, but part of me wants to do more, like those first years. I think cosplaying is one step in doing more at the convention, but maybe next year I’ll attend some panels or workshops, go to the dance again, or check out the concerts even if I’m not familiar with the bands. Shopping is ridiculously fun for me though, and here’s this year’s haul! Don’t let the toys and plushies fool you, I’m totally an adult!

Clothes and shoes for Clover, and an outfit for Rikkit!

Kawaii grab bags! Includes stationery, stickers, memo pads, etc.

Plushies! Small clip-on deer and spider, a larger fox, and an Enderman from Minecraft. Also, an art book of 30 princes and princesses in the style of Adventure Time, a mini print of Badou from the anime Dogs, a super adorable eyeball necklace, kangaroo rat and coffee cup stickers, a fluffy moon pin/hair clip, winged star hair clip, and red cat ears from Yaya Han's table. The little paper on the bottom left is a "Rumor of Adventure" from The Happy Grackle Trading Venture. It cost a quarter and reads, "They say a trio of Devils, or at least Very Unwholesome entities of some sort, agreed to enhance the old brewman's ale for five years. And verily, that devilish ale is better this year than ever before - yet what will be the price, when the devils come to take their due? And who shall pay it...?" Favorite purchase? That guy at the back of the table...

Mephisto Pheles (Ao no Exorcist) DFX figure that I've wanted since I saw it! This was a game prize in Japan, and not something made for sale/order, so I feel lucky to have found it. :3 He's so cool!

Excalibur (Soul Eater) cosplayer.

Overall, I love A-kon. This year was a vast improvement to last year, where it felt like the majority of my time was spent in lines. Lines for registration! Lines for the dealers room and artist alley! Lines everywhere! Things went much smoother this year. We didn’t have to wait in line at all to get into the dealers room, and that helped prevent a lot of frustration. In general, conventions can be a mixed bag. People are annoying and inconsiderate. They get in the way, say stupid things, and behave badly. Con staff can be loud and disrespectful, treating con-goers like idiots who don’t know how to follow instructions; to be fair, some of them really don’t know how to follow instructions. Sometimes you encounter people, whether they’re other cosplayers, convention-goers, or artists in artist alley who just don’t seem very nice (or happy to have your business!). However, conventions are also exciting and interesting. There are things to see all around you: fabulous, elaborate costumes, detailed artwork and figures, eye-catching displays, and people who look like they couldn’t be happier than they are in those few days among friends and strangers with common interests, having fun and being themselves. It truly is a great thing to see, and I honestly don’t think I’d be who I am today if I never decided that I wanted to attend an anime convention. It may sound silly, but it’s true. So if you ever doubted wanting to do something like this, just give it a chance. You may find something you never knew you needed.

Strangely,

Chantel