Favorite Conventions this Year and Next.

>>9228250
I usually only go to 3, but I go all out for 2 of them. Anime Los Angeles is an awesome party con so I get a hotel for that, Anime Expo is close enough to me to commute and that's also fun (although it's getting too big), and the last one that's next weekend is Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo. I normally only go one day in a laid back cosplay since it isn't a huge con but still a ton of fun.

Colossalcon used to be my favourite, but its getting too big for my tastes so this year was probably my last. Best part about it was that there was always something to do. One of my biggest problems with cons is that I'm not really into a lot of popular and newer stuff so I usually don't care about panels and end up holed up in the hotel room. The Kalahari has the waterpark, arcade, and petting zoo. In terms of actual con stuff like panels, guests, and cosplay it's not spectacular. Game room has been improving but Dealer's Room has been rapidly spiraling downhill. As for value, I'd say its decent if you can get a room at the Kalahari, but that's becoming more and more impossible.

I live in a dry state as far as cons go and every other con I've been to has been shit (Ohayo, Ota, Sugoi, and tiny new cons), so I can't really do a top 5. Gonna try ACEN next year though.

>>9228250
Anime Expo is without a doubt THE best anime convention in the United States, bar none. There is a reason why it is the biggest, because it is the best.

>>9229396
I feel like the cosplays at Anime Expo are always some of the weakest compared to what people wear to other cons

I went to Comikaze for the first time last year and fell in love. Its a super fun convention for comic fans, but sadly I can't go this year and I'm super bummed.

I also really love Wondercon, but I'm not a fan of it being in LA. I hope it moves back. I was also kind of unimpressed at last year's cosplay but the con itself is always pretty fun.

I only really go to Southeast cons, but MomoCon is my fav. I did go to Otakon this past year an think it's an object very good con but it's a bit too crowded and chaotic for my liking.

I'm pacific northwest, but in a place where I have to travel 5+ hours for any con with over 1K attendance.

I do Sakuracon ever year, which I really enjoy, and Kumoricon when I can afford it. I've really wanted to do Emerald City Comicon, but the multi-day passes sell out to fast for me to grab one, and the single day passes aren't worth traveling for.

Kami-con. Its not a giant con, but it is one of the few cons that always has guests I like, always has something to do, and usually is very interactive.

Katsucon is my fave. Cosplays tend to be a+

Favorite con has to be animenext and kotoricon, both in nj

I love kotoricon because its a nice small con with a bunch of fun panels like a larp danger room, pokemon tourney, smash tourney, nice arcade area, nice general panels and the dealers and artist alley are great. Also their end shows are usually great.

I love animenext because of the huge arcade room they got in atlantic city, good Cosplays, nice panels and honestly the end of the night rave was a blast.

Image related is from animenext

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>>9229708

Shit couldve sworn i pressed it

>>9229511
ECCC isn't even close to being worth it.
Along with shutting down at 7 or 8 PM every day, the guest list is usually pretty mediocre and you get a lot of the same vendors as you do at Sak and the passes are more expensive.
PAX is allegedly the best of the three but good luck getting in. I've never been able to.

Do you live on the peninsula or something?

Out of this year Ive been to Anime Los Angeles, Katsucon, Sakuracon, Fanime, Anime Expo, and Rose City Comic Con.

So far I'd say Anime Expo was the best of all of them. It was my first AX so I cant attest as how it was to years past, but day 0 pre reg went pretty fast which was great, and even though the badge was expensive I feel I more than got my money's worth. From the insanely cool dealers hall, to the fun sets in the entertainment hall, and of course panels, it was a hell of a good time. Runners up for best was probably Katsucon and then ALA.

Worst one for me this year was Sakuracon. I never really get the hype behind it, like it wasnt a /bad/ con per se, but it wasnt really entertaining. Not many of the panels entertained me, the cosplay was over all disappointing, and the dealers hall and artist alley didnt impress me at all. Ended up leaving early on day 3. But I think thats north west cons in general for me. I love the environment and feel of California cons a lot more, even if I do have to fly down for them.

>>9229810
Sakuracon has been going south since they banned the swimsuit contest. That clusterfuck was the only thing that made the weekend truly worthwhile. The only reason I keep going is because it's 40 minutes away and it makes me feel better about myself.

Is Katsucon worth a couple grand in plane tickets and lodging and existing in Maryland for 4 days? That and AX are two I really want to check out at some point if I can find the time.

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>>9229822
Yeah I remember enjoying it a lot more in its years past. Part of it is I'm also just not super involved with the north west cosplay scene anymore. I dont really know a lot of people up here these days so I dont have many people to hang out with at north west cons.

I'd say yes, at least once for Katsucon. The location itself is amazing. I mean you always see photos of the gazebo of course but its a great place to just hang around. There's like a little tiny village in that there hotel, all of it great photo shoot area if you're into cosplay. And the cosplay is stunning. I saw stuff there on day 0 that blew away day 2 stuff at most other cons. Even though it is Maryland in the winter, really dont have to leave the hotel. In fact I'd recommend not leaving the hotel unless you have to. Fucking evacuation was cold as balls this year. I'll also note I found it really easy to make friends at the con. I went knowing pretty much no one but left with some great friends who I cant wait to see at the next Katsu. Its also got a really great game room as well as good paneling and exhibit hall. Didnt buy much though since I didnt want to worry about packing it for the plane home.

Eurofag here. My favourite ones are by far DoKomi (Dusseldof, Germany) and AnimeCon (Den Haag, Netherlands).

It's amazing how DoKomi keeps developing each year. Not just sizewise, but also entertainmentwise. I've been going there since 2010.

At AnimeCon I really liked the main music guest (fripside) and general atmosphere. Also the location is great.

From a NorCal perspective
>Wondercon
great. probably a little biased cuz friends live in tustin/santa ana and it's easy to turn it into a week.

>SDCC
was okay. would be good if not for outrageous everything prices and 3-4hr lines minimum. been going for about a decade.

>Fanime
Good but never really great

>Anime Expo
haven't been since 2009

>ALA, comickaze, etc
never been

>>9229822
Couple grand in plane tickets? Where are you coming from?

>>9230181
A couple grand in plane tickets/lodging and I'd be flying from Seatac.
When I flew to Boston about 10 years ago the plane tickets were something like $700 apiece but that was probably because it was around the 4th of July. Just looked at AA for a ballpark price and it's less than $500 to get from here to DC and back but I want to stay inside the hotel because fuck the east coast in February and that's $300 a night. I'd want to get there on Day 0 or maybe even Wednesday so that's around $1500 just on the hotel.

Overall I guess I'll just have to see where my finances are when the time comes. I can absolutely afford it right now since I'm leeching off my parents like a piece of shit but that's likely to change within the next year.

I've done 'em both before and enjoyed them both before, but if I had to pick between ALA or Katsucon, which one should I go to?

i want to go back to AX

Dragon*con is forever my fave. It helps that I prefer sci-fi/video game cons to anime ones, but there is pretty much no possible way to get bored at Dragon*con. There's a wide variety of tracks, each with a huge number of panels, and the cosplay is always a tier above other local cons. It's never not been a great time, even if you're not much of a partyer (like me).

Stuck in Texas so I've basically got shit choices. I really like San Japan for their artist alley.

Colossalcon is the con I consistently have a good time at every year. All my friends go, drinks in the hot tub or just around con is always fun, and the cosplays are great. As a photographer I always have loads of fun shoots all weekend. Host hotel is hard to snag, but the actual con costs aren't too bad. Food i'm told is pricey but it never feels like it is to me.

Katsucon is a close second. AA is usually pretty good, I love the location, and again, lots of good cosplay to shoot. Super busy con for me, but lots of fun. You'll have to walk outside for food most of the time, and prepare to roomstuff if you're not keen on paying out the ass for hotels should you not have booked early.

Dragon*Con is probably third. I like the older crowd feel to it, and while I didnt shoot as much, I still had a really good time. And it's just a HUGE con with something to do all the time.
Expensive con and hotel, but was very worth it. Food is easy and not too expensive in the area though!

>>9230114
Tell me more about DoKomi?

How dependent are these con on being language-savvy?