During my trip to the US last month, I was finally able to go to my first US nerd convention! It was called the Midwest Anime Con (I'm more of a comic book nerd, but what the hey. You take what you can get.) I was so excited. I've been to cons before but I always imagined US cons to be a level higher. And when we got there, it really was! Even though my cousin said that it wasn't even that great a con, to me it was still pretty awesome enough already!
Here's how Midwest one-up-ed cons I've been to in Manila: (Also, get ready for a massive photo dump!)
1) The hall is so much bigger! There is one place for all the merchants but scattered across the convention center are halls for food, table top games, video games, show screenings, art exhibits, concerts, panels/talks, cosplay photography, hell, there was even a place for karaoke in this one! It was a fucking CAMPUS!!
2) They've got dozens and dozens of panels! And the topics' coverage is ridiculous! From normal sounding ones like breaking into comics, and starting in Cosplay, to the more absurd and oddly specific topics like dealing with internet hate, fandom debates, how to DJ, weirdest Japanese commercials, funniest comic book reviews, samurai swordsmanship 101, voice dubbing, feminism in anime, etc. You really need to plan out what you want to go to, because all these cons happen simultaneously and in different locations. You even have to consider the time to get from one hall to another!
And this is just page ONE!
3) There are so many special guests! Internet sensations, famous voice actors, cosplay icons, kpop and jpop artists, etc. Sure we have those in Manila, but not to this degree. We have maybe 4, 5, major guests? They had 30. And this was a "small" con!
4) They've got a booklet! For schedules and maps!!! FUCKING MAPS! That's how big the place is!
5) There's a cosplay party at night. These nerds rave after a long day of shopping and paneling and taking photos. Wasn't able to go to this one though. Next time, maybe.:)
6) The entrance comes with free "ramen" and soda! (Their "Ramen" is our instant cup noodles. Don't get too excited. But still, FREE FOOD.)
7) They had a Maid Cafe and Pachinko games; not sure if that's a regular thing, but it was cool that they brought those to a con.
8) The cosplay is a step higher than what I've seen in Manila. We can recreate a character accurately, for sure, but they make adjustments of their own to classic designs. During our visit, I saw an obvious trend of steampunk-ing cosplay, for example.
Steampunk Rangers and Cosplay Moses.
Looks familiar but I can't remember who this guy is. Still a cool cosplay though!
...nose bleed.
And my two favorite cosplays...
Robin, Bane and Heisenberg!
9) There were some merchandise there that I've never seen sold in our cons! See photos below!
Celebrity masks...'coz that makes total sense.
Toys galore!
We also noticed that there were a lot of stalls selling original artwork - print outs you can frame or post on walls and the like.
Some sample prints.
And a lot of stalls for the steampunk enthusiasts!
Leather fetish!
And check this out: REAL SWORDS!!!!! They're based from famous fictional swords, but those things were heavy! And some of them were actually sharp!
Would have taken one home, but we had no idea how we'd get it past airport security.
That's all the differences I can think of at the moment but I'm sure there are a lot more awesome things US cons have that we don't. YET. But we're steadily catching up! I'm excited to the local Geek-dom! It's already a lot bigger than ever before, and we're just growing even more!
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