Anime USA: Fun and Fandom > Hiccups

by Pres James

As you may be ramping up for the year's worth of conventions, planning out what you will and won't hit throughout 2013, don't forget to leave room in the schedule for the later cons: like Anime USA which is getting bumped way up to September 13-15. At AUSA 2012, fans converged for a weekend of socializing, gaming, watching, and lots more. And me, well, I got the chance to take a look around my first anime convention in years.

The distinctive torii of Anime USA marks the transition from
mundane life to the fan-dominated con (photo by James)

This was Anime USA’s first year at the Wardman Park, and it showed. The con seemed unprepared for how to use the larger space, and in addition to a woefully confusing layout, there was a lack of signage to direct people around the new area. A friend of mine, dealing art in the Artist’s Alley, had even taken it upon herself to start drawing some banners and signage to help people out.

I even saw a few veteran attendees wandering around and looking confused, which is never a good thing. In addition, while there was more interior space to be used, the change in venue and bump in attendance brought another issue to the fore: parking. Pack as light as possible and plan to metro in because if the con continues to grow, there won't be parking for miles around the Washington Marriott Wardman Park. It wasn't exactly a good first impression.

A breathtaking outfit (photo by James)

Once inside and having acquired a map and a badge, though, one thing immediately grabbed my attention, and that was the costuming.

Woah

As I said, I’ve been to a number of anime cons in the past, but it’s been a few years. It seems like the arms race has escalated since I was a regular attendee, because the number of costumes I saw that would have been prize-winning masterpieces, had they been worn to, say, Otakon 2008, were staggering. Expertly sanded fiberglass, injection-molded props, and intricately detailed tailoring were the norm. I was blown away. Not only that, but the innovative adaptations that attendees made to character designs were better than ever. An Avengers/Sailor Moon crossover? Why not?

The dealer’s room was impressive as well, though its content definitely shows the trend that the industry is moving in. As opposed to rows and rows of booths selling DVDs, a few video games, and some Gundam model booths, this one had much more handcrafted apparel and imported accessories.

After all, anime fans are used to downloading and streaming their favorite shows now. Who buys DVDs anymore? I imagine the trend toward tablets affected the amount of manga being sold, as well. If you wanted to pick up a model kit, a sword, or a pair of electronic cat ears, though, they had you covered.

Ezio being super sneaky. (photo by James)

Speaking of cat ears, I think the real proven winner of AnimeUSA was Neurowear, the company behind the Necomimi brainwave-activated electronic cat ears. They were everywhere. In the dealers room they were selling the ears, in the artist’s alley they were selling custom-made ears to slide onto them, and, of course, in every part of the convention people were wearing them. You couldn’t go a few feet without hearing the distinctive whirr and click. When the creator of these ears comes out with a matching tail (which he claims is in the works), expect those to be an equally big hit.

While the video game room seemed a little small for a convention of this size, it was certainly well-attended and well-stocked. Add the moderate tabletop and board gaming room conveniently located right next door, and attendees always had something to do - I was certainly never bored. In the end, the content trumped the hiccups of the new venue.

I haven’t been a regular attendee of anime conventions since about the time I graduated from college. They may have changed, but I think they’ve changed for the better. The culture feels friendlier, more helpful, and more constructive than ever before. Based on my experience here, I think it might be time to break out the sewing machine, paint some props, and jump back into the colorful convention world.

Well done, Anime USA. I'll see you next fall.

Note: Pre-registration is already open for Anime USA 2013, and the price might jump up after the January 31 early bird deadline.