Top Ten Favorite Anime Conventions

Been there, done that. Those four words summarize my experience attending 38 anime conventions since 1997, except that I didn't sing in karaoke, staff or volunteer, dance in the rave, and sell in the dealer's rooms. However, I danced in the black & white ball and I sold in the swap meet. I walked at the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival's grand parade for six years.

I attended anime cons in colleges, small hotels, a retail mall, and convention centers. I attended anime conventions from the three digits to the five digits 50,000 plus attendance. I remember dealer's room sold anything anime and video games from Japan. Today's dealer's room sell mainstream goods since anyone can buy Japanese goods online. And I remember there were waiting lines to enter the dealer's room.

I experienced my share of good conventions and bad conventions. I attended Anime Expo 2000 at the Disneyland Hotel. Worse anime convention ever. I was lucky one of my friends worked at Disneyland for an internship. He had a car and drove us to restaurants and grocery stores. He knew the park and saved our asses. And I was lucky to watch the anime music videos at the standing room only section. To be fair, Disneyland was mostly at fault, not Anime Expo staff.

One of my favorite anime conventions was Fanime Con 2005, number 4 in my top ten. It was the first time I wore a cosplay (i.e. wearing a costume), hosted a panel, attended a cosplay gathering, and met new people and made new friends. Some of those new friends are still friends with me today. Most people thought Fanime Con 2005 was terrible. I agree. I was in the minority. It was a good con for me. It all comes down to what you make from the convention.

Times have changed. Those who attended conventions in the 1990s to the mid 2000s know what I'm talking about. There are more rules and bigger crowds. Gone are the days of do anything as long as nobody got hurt. The organizers are justifiably concerned about lawsuits. Where are those 1990s anime fans today? I think they still exist. Few attend anime conventions because they have new priorities. Am I implying something reminiscing my favorite moments? Here are my top ten favorite anime conventions:

10. Anime Expo 2011. I place Anime Expo '11 at number ten because I want to tell everyone I attended the Mikunopolis concert. Otherwise, I was sick throughout the con and I met very few new people. Almost all the costume gatherings were terrible.

9. Fanime Con 2003. The only complaint was the event took place two weeks before Anime Expo. There were no lines entering the dealer's room.

8. Anime Expo 1999. My first Anime Expo. It was memorable. The dealer's rooms was huge. I watched the debut of Cowboy Bebop. I attended the charity auction. My friends were cool in my hotel room. The Anaheim Hilton was beautiful. It was my first and only time I entered the old Anaheim Convention Center.

7. Fanime Con 1999. My first experience with 24 hour video programming. I slept for two hours on Sat and Sun because I wanted to watch lots of anime. I didn't have a hotel room meaning I drove back and forth from home. I ate with my family for dinner on Sat night. I told them to pick me up because I didn't want to lose my parking spot in front of the hotel. Thanks goodness I had a cell phone.

6. Japantown Anime Faire 2004. I debuted my cosplay Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. It was the first time I wore a cosplay in an anime convention.

5. Fanime Con 2004. I watched 17 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist during the Midnight Marathon. I stayed awake during the entire marathon. I said, "I'm going to cosplay Edward Elric" after episode #8. Furthermore, Fullmetal Alchemist saved me from quitting anime.

4. Fanime Con 2005. It was time to open up and do new activities: cosplay, talk to people, make friends, host a panel, play poker, and attend a cosplay gathering. Fun, fun, fun.

3. Anime Expo 2006. One of the last opportunities for anime attendees to goof off at the convention. The dealer's room occupied two exhibit halls. CLAMP was a guest of honor. Membership badges were mailed. It was the last time the cosplayer Man-Faye was able to attend officially. He was banned in 2007. 2006 is my all time favorite Anime Expo.

2. Fanime Con 2010. Another good convention from start to finish. The fun times from 2009 continued in 2010. I stayed at the Fairmont for the first time. I earned the most money at the swap meet. The black & white ball was bigger than 2009. I spent a good amount of time with all my friends.

1. Fanime Con 2009. The perfect convention. It couldn't get any better. Cosplay, being with people, photoshoots, making new friends, cosplay gatherings, perfect weather, black & white dance, swap meet, etc.