Roger's Declassified Anime con Survival Guide

Oh, the good ol days of Dressrosa before Bird Cage happened.

Welcome everyone. I'm Roger, and we're back with another segment of Roger's List. Last month, I gave my scoop of all my ins and outs at my first anime convention. Today, I would like to go over a compiled list of things I've learned and some pieces of advice that I would like to give to anyone attending these in the future. Of course I'm not the kind to tell people what they should and shouldn't do. After all, there are really no rules at an anime convention (besides the obvious: be polite, don't bring real weapons, get your hand stamped before you go to mature panels, etc.) so in keeping with my pirate lifestyle, think of these more like guidelines than actual rules.

Here is my list of ways to make your convention experience as enjoyable as possible.



1. Bring a Friend

That's my good pal, Vash the Stampede there. He has gone to these conventions for a few years now, and has finally convinced me to attend one. It's always nice to have a buddy system in case one person forgets something and you have someone to cover for you. He forgot his camera, but I was able to get some photos for him. An example of this was when we ran into Wolfwood here. And it's not like you and your friend have to be attached to the hip the entire con. Vash and I split up on several occasions to do our own thing. We just made sure to keep in contact and know where to meet up when we had to.

I also think it is an additional bonus to bring a friend who is new to this experience. In this case, Vash was the Veteran and I was the new guy. For next year, I already have a friend who is interested in going with me. He goes by Yen Boogie, a talented popper (you know, dancing) who also happens to be a huge One Piece fan. He's considering going as either Zoro or Crocodile, but that may change. We will see. Here's his page with some of his work, if anyone's interested: https://www.youtube.com/user/venomschild0

2. Take Multiple Pictures

Why?

That's why.

I really wished this photo of me doing the Super Pose with Mr. Seitz turned out a little less blurry. In fact a lot of my photos from the first day didn't turn out very clean, which is a shame. I didn't think to check the settings on my camera or simply just took two shots of everything to maybe get a clearer picture.

But yeah, if you are the kind who takes pictures from your smart phone as suppose to an actual camera, just something to consider.

3. Beware of People too much in-Character

Come on Guys! I missed the third episode of Season 4 to be here.

 Again, my photo of these guys didn't turn out so well, so this is courtesy of SharcTank.com

Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome when fans get really into their characters, after all that's part of the fun. But sometimes if you're not ready for it, they can be scary. Take these Game of Thrones cosplayers. I tried to give Joffery a complement, but he just got all upset that I didn't call him King right away. Seriously, I don't know what the big deal is. I'm the King of the Pirates, you don't see me complaining if anyone forgets.

So maybe it's not "Beware," just "be aware," if that makes any sense at all.

4. Costumes are a Work in Process

Now that's what I call a friend.

I'm as new to this as anyone, and I can tell you that costumes are almost like pieces of art: they are never finished, just abandoned. But even so, you got to be prepared for anything. Something might rip. A button could fall off. You may need to touch up your scars and tattoos. Fortunately there is a craft room at the convention designated for these very circumstances They have sewing, makeup supplies, and experts if you need assistance.

Besides, you may have just wanted to go to the craft room because one of the girls there was dressed like Lulu from Final Fantasy X, and she was pretty hot. (No I didn't take a picture, too bad. You just had to see her for yourself.)

5. Set a Budget

A Quiet Afternoon__by Finni

That there is a beautiful piece of artwork that my friend bought for me at the merchandise center. I can't wait to frame it and put it up in my apartment. In fact, there was dozens of fantastic fanart and prints for display at the convention, and honestly, I spent probably more than I should have on just fanart. So many of these prints stores use their "buy 2 get one free" policies to goad you into buying more, especially if you want to get souvenirs for all your friends and family: one for your sister, one for your brother, one for your brother's girlfriend, one for your guy friend whose a Robin fan, one guy friend whose a Nami fan, one lady friend whose a Zoro fan, one for your roommate whose a Naruto fan, and before you know it, you've spent over $200 on merchandise.

And the best tip I can give for, if only to myself, for my next trip to Sakuracon...


6. Slooooow Down

See? Kotetsu here totally get's it.

This was a big one for me, because for my first convention, I'll admit, I was a bit overwhelmed: running everywhere trying to see and attend everything. Sure, I saw a lot of cool people and had some fun conversations with other fans, but honestly, I couldn't tell you any of their actual names or remember where they're really from. There was an actual gathering of all the One Piece fans on the first day just to get together and meet up, and I totally missed it. I mentioned in my last article that these conventions are really all about the fans. This is your chance to commute with others face to face and make some lasting bonds.

Because let's face it, no matter how quickly you try to run around the convention and see as much as you can, you are NEVER going to see everything. There's always going to be that one thing you look up about the convention online after the fact and be like, "I was right there! How the heck did I miss that!"

Okay, one very last tip for this years Anime convetion guide:

7. Remember where you parked.

Oh, wouldn't you be surprised.

I kid you not, I actually had a Zoro moment when my friend and I got lost on our last day, trying to remember where I parked my car ship. It's kinda funny looking back on it, but at the time it was frustrating as hell, especially when we found out we were just looking in the opposite direction.

Anyway, Seattle is a pretty huge city, with the convention center being smack dab in the middle of the downtown area. To put things in perspective, it makes Portland look easy. A simple fix of writing down the street corners or marking the location on a map, and you can save yourself a whole lot of agony.

And that's all the advice I have to give. If any of you readers out there have your own past experiences at conventions with some survival tips of your own, or if you were at Sakuracon yourself this year, feel free to share in the comments below. Until next time, I'm Roger, and they just made the list.