End of year approaching way too fast edition
Here's some of the cosplays from Anime Houston: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Y17TWFX-TA0SqVudBxmHAWGoVpPkiOw4The photographer gave me the drive link
Anyone going to Anime Frontier?
Anything to report from Anime North Texas? Interested in hearing how it's been going, especially when it seems like the con was put together in a rush. Just about all of their guests were announced in the month leading up to the con.
>>10883635This has been common with anything associated with Ikkicon.
Are there any decent smaller, more regular events in Austin? The other cities have the Yumicon people doing events, Club Kaiju, Anime Village Festival, and other one off events.
Anybody doing big TexasComicon this coming week?
>>10883764Anime Alliance of Austin on Facebook runs small meetups and events regularly. They have six upcoming events on the calendar for October.If you’re into J-Fashion, Okashicon runs a few events per year, though you’re better off just joining the ATX comm.
>>10883602I am, but I live in FW so there's no real drive distance and also want to buy stuff at the vendors. They usually have good stuff. It's corpo though. Don't know if I'm doing the cosplay contest this year, though, I got nothing new.
>Nine posts>Seven events mentionedSeems to further confirm what I've already felt, that the Texas "scene" is pretty fragmented. And with that, I'm throwing another one into the mix: Waifufest. The owner's a pretty cool guy, but apparently he hasn't even announced a date yet? If I catch him at any cons in the near future, I'll ask about it.
>>10884063They did. Renamed to KimochiiCon, May 17th to 19th at Embassy Suits by Hilton Dallas Frisco Hotel + Con center.
>>10884069Wait that's WaifuEXPO that renamed, I might be retarded, you decide.
>>10884069>>10884072Yeah, Waifufest is in Houston. If you even occasionally go to cons, you've probably seen this guy before. He runs the "Where Da Waifu" clothing stand
kek, it looks like Ecchi Expo has closed their Austin branch and is now opening a new one in Dallas. As an Austinite, I hate to say it (due to how few anime cons are happening in Austin nowadays), but GOOD RIDDANCE!! The two shows they had in Austin were mired in controversy/drama and had some glaring issues (mostly tied to the first-year one). On the contrary tho, their San Marcos and Denver shows seem to not have any major problems, so I guess those will keep happening.I'd much prefer Ushicon to be Austin's own "18+ anime con". Now if only they could come back home instead of hanging around in San Marcos...
>>10883602>>10884058Is Anime Frontier good? Thought about going
>>10882693Did anyone here end up going to Y2Kon, and if so how was it? I was busy that weekend and couldn't go, but also it's mainly a western cartoons con so I wasn't really interested all that much even though I wanted to go.
>>10884162If you like spending money on merch you can buy cheaper online then it's worth it. Vendors hall and artist alley are always pretty stacked. Not a lot of programming/panels besides a handful of industry and guest stuff though. I like it for the location and the cosplay scene is pretty good.
>>10883602Finally participating in the cosplay contest wish me luck gulls
>>10884369Best of luck! Having done it last year at AF, it was pretty stacked, but you got this.
>>10884396Thanks gull.I was backstage anon from last year. It was really inspiring to see you guys up there. If you see someone inordinately into Gengar, say hi!
>>10884683Oh! I think I remember you posting before. Sure will, gull. Last year a Deku won, think it'll be a JJK or something else that'll be big this year?
>>10884710Me ofc :^)I don't think the judges are biased towards a series but I'd be willing to bet that someone could pull out something from CSM (full chainsaw devil for example) and sweep it.
>>10884194I guess that's a no from /cgl/ lol
>>10883602Yep, now that Afest is functionally dead it's the only good con left in DFW so I might as well go (I did have fun the last 2 years)
>>10884063It's really weird to me that we have megathreads when 3 of the cons in our state are larger than most cons on this board that get their own dedicated threads
Anyone going to Dallas Fan Festival here in a week? I've never been able to have the full con experience so I'll be there the full three days. Definitely going to the karaoke afterparty on Friday.
>>10886457And yet despite that we have basically no posts
>>10886566Yeah I'll be there in the afternoon on Saturday and I'm going to attend the karaoke as well with some friends. I was waiting to decide on if I'd go or not based on the panels they'd have but at this point I have enough friends going that it'll be worth it either way.If you see someone in Gengar attire say yo. I'd be cosplaying but I have too much other shit going on that weekend to worry about it.
>>10886606Most of the cgl trash talkers aged out in attending cons.
>>10886699Which is funny because I am by all accounts 'too old to go to cons' from their trash talking nature. It was probably just insecure projection.Not sure if I'm going to keep my hotel room for Frontier but I'll go to the con regardless.
>>10886566Dunno if you are here anon but I'm >>10886631This con kind of sucks. I'm glad I'm here because I have friends exhibiting and it's nice to support them, but the con hours feel pretty off (they close REALLY early) and the whole thing is basically the vendor hall. I want to withhold full judgement but right now I'm thoroughly unimpressed.The con karaoke was nice though. Bit of a small venue and a little hard to find, but at the very least we didn't need to drive across town or get shuttled like other cons I've been to.I don't think I saw you there but if I did let me know what to look for on Saturday.
>>10887484I was in the Gengar Hawaiian in case you happened to see me.
>>10887484I'm in the same boat as you since this is my friend's first convention and his first time cosplaying. The rave on Thursday night was pretty decent though not at the size of Akon/San Japan.>>10887485I was at the bar when you came over during Karaoke to grab drinks. That girl who song the MGS3 Theme was really good among a few others.
>>10887485>>10887512My eyes did not functiom because I did not see the Gengar print. I was John Constantine at karaoke. I had a blast last night. I will be back at the con in a couple of hours. Woke up in someone else's place and had to get some water, coffee and hooch in me to recover. I'll be dressed as a shitty Ken (Barbie) today.Yo, Snake Eater gal kiiiiilled it. My homie in my hometown is a huuuge MGS fan so I had to send him a vid.
>>10887512>>10887559I know we basically didn't talk but everyone at that Karaoke was pretty great so if you guys happen to be at Anime Dallas or Anime Frontier it would be cool to hang out again.Overall the con was very boring and even the cosplay "exhibition" itself was hardly a highlight. I felt pretty bad for Charlotte (but her panel and running the events wasn't bad at all).They desperately need better panels at this. The Irving convention center is nice and the upper floors seem to have plenty of space for more activities to run simultaneously. It's hard to tell exactly what the organizers are trying to achieve with this con given it's in the same area as FanExpo (and is run by the same people).Also parking was hell. I'm taking DART next time.Overall 5/10 I'll probably go again next year if it shows signs of improvement and make sure to take DART. Hopefully they'll expand the panels and perhaps have a game room.
>>10887843NTAYRT but its fucking hilarious you mention the convention center is nice and has space but from A-kon being there this year, last, and NEXT YEAR, I can tell you there are limits to that space pretty quickly. Maybe not for Fan Festival but still!
>>10887512>>10887559hey gulls, what's your opinion on people who can't sing doing con karaoke? i sound like a dying banshee and feel like i'm hurting people's ears, but i still like karaoke, kek. is it frowned upon to karaoke if you have a high, shrill, grating voice?
>>10887484>the whole thing is basically the vendor hallI feel like that's where conventions are headed, unfortunately. I've been seeing more and more conventions pop up where the schedule will maybe have two panels going on at the same time if you're lucky, and most of said panels are industry/guest panels, not community panels. I get that community panels are somewhat obsolete with the modern internet being a better way to discuss anime with other weebs, but it's still sad to see them go since without them cons tend to devolve into anime-themed flea markets where there's also a rave. A lot of the people that go to conventions these days will often show up with their only concrete plan being to dick around in the vendor halls looking at things they could have bought from Amazon, and then once they've done that they just wander around, very few people look at panel lists ahead of the convention and make plans surrounding them before showing up.>>10887845ICC is a very nice venue if the event you're doing fits inside it. A-Kon is getting too big for venues twice the size of ICC, but they decided to cram it into the ICC anyway since A-Kon didn't have too many options, resulting in the current fire hazard con it's been for the past few years.
>>10887895>very few people look at panel lists ahead of the convention and make plans surrounding themthis may be true for small corporate sellout cons like fan festival or frontier, but it's definitely untrue for larger, longer-running cons with devoted yearly attendees. san japan and a-kon both had people lining up well in advance for fan panels to ensure themselves a spot, and many panels filled to capacity. even smaller cons like ikki and colossal had sizable fan panel presence. >community panels are somewhat obsoleteyou feel this way because you're in dfw. dfw probably has the highest concentration of shitty, soulless vendor-hall based cons in the country. just curate your con experience, and skip out on the normie-targeted corporate circlejerks.
>>10887900>ProbablyNo, it *definitely* does. Considering DFW had AT LEAST 15 cons last year, that might make it the most anime convention-dense area on Earth
>>10887895It was understandable for 1, maybe 2 year for contractual reasons and after 30 I wouldn't have booked it in any place larger than ICC, but holy fuck having it next year there is just negligence going forwards.>>10887902hell does it. I only go to Frontier bc they have the best of the trash around, and A-Kon at least still has panels
>>10887913Akon is cockblocked from moving to the KBH due to Fan Expo. Akon had a chance to share the space with Dreamhack in 2020, but then the pandemic ruined all those plans. Fan Expo is actively trying to destroy Akon by all means possible. This has been confirmed. It's a bloody mess.
>>10887937funny then, bc i doubt A-kon will be bothered just sitting in ICC until end of time. Yeah it won't grow but unless there's an actual fire, which also causes ICC to be a casualty as well, A-kon will survive. If anything would have killed it, A-Kon 30 was it. They're still alive tho so.
>>10883635ant was ass, nearly nobody there
>>10887937>Fan Expo is actively trying to destroy Akon by all means possible. This has been confirmed. It's a bloody mess.Fucking why?? What do they want, more attendees??? They don't rent enough space at the KBH for the ones they already get. I went on Friday this year and don't plan on going back. Packed to the gills and HOT.
I guess there won't be any conventions till next year, huh?
>>10888309The company that owns Fan Expo actively attempts to crush any direct competition in all markets they're in. They want to be one of the goliaths of shitty massive cons. They view Akon as one of those threats.
>>10888310There are tiny shitty ones around the state, but TX con season doesn't generally start until around ikki.
>>10884369same imma make obanai if i dont procrastinate, seeu thereGRJ8K
>>10883602I might, depends on what the weather looks like. It's about a two hour drive and I have no patience to make it in rain or worse.
Anyone been to Anime Dallas? Not expecting much but thinking about going this year because of Billy West.
>>10888956Yup, I'm staff againSee ya there anon
Happy November, Texas Thread!
>>10890105shut up
>No one mentioned Oni-Con yetIt's fucking dead isn't it ;_;
>>10890867People still show but no one talks about them.
>>10890126No, (YOU) shut up!
>>10890867Oni-Con hasnt been popular for five years
>>10891248Same shit every year. The beach smells like trash. Not even the locals care for it.
>>10882693Anime Frontier Schedule is already up. It seems? they have more panels than last year, a start.https://animefrontier.com/programming/#/programming/byVenueApparently there are two after parties but I cannot figure out where.
>>10886457I tried to get a San Japan thing going the past few years but nobody seems interested on this board anymore.The entire board is just pretty much dead at this point. It's not like the other threads fare much better, that cosplay isn't consent thread has been up for how many months now?
>>10891282Seriously?
>>10891473i mean i guess people like to dance, I don't know what the fuck that is even, or what 12th street stage means.
>>10891473A lot of cons have that one room dedicated to dance panels. They're fairly popular.
>>10891549>>10891560It seems like they currently don't have a rave any of the nights but have a bunch of dance "panels" during the day. It's weird for a 8-10pm cosplay contest that they are calling a masquerade. Usually masquerade means rave but the description says cosplay contest.
>>10891561Frontier never has any night stuff. It's an expo more than a convention.
>>10891562Ambersand on 7th Street had a Kpop rave on Haloween so hopefully they have something similar the same weekend like Dallas Fan Expo and have an external rave.
>>10891561They do have raves but you have pay to attend. People can't seem to find that info.
>>10891561Masquerade has never meant rave? If anything it's meant "formal ball" at past conventions.Pretty glad I'm not going anymore honestly. The schedule is nothing but Kpop panels and licking cosplayer asses, nothing substantial at all. They have zero events besides the cosplay contest and idol fest, no concert, and the raves/"after parties" are an extra cost on top of an $80 badge. Not worth the ANYC copy-pasta.
>>10891561>>10891567>>10891582>>10891587Found the info by digging their IG and cross referencing the dates. It's worse than A-kon 30 in planning holy shit. Club Kaiju is for Dec 8th at the Ridglea room, which is 10 minutes by car on the I-30. The other one is ALSO at the same place next night. Found the link on their site too.https://animefrontier.com/after-parties/
>>10891560dance panels are one thing, but it's literally all kpop.
Are there going to be any room parties or meet ups at Frontier?
>>10890867The dealer room was kind of dead this year, but other than that, it's good as a more chill, laid-back con. After years of going to AM at its peak popularity and A-Kon at the horribly undersized ICC, it's a lot more relaxed, which is both an advantage and a detriment.
y'all think it'll be cold at AF? having been in Texas my whole life I'm fully expecting the classic swing of 70+ with some humidity or 50's all day unexpectedly. Trying to plan my outfits around the weather but too soon to tell, especially with beginning of December
>>10884158What went wrong with Ecchi Expo in Austin? I just learned about the Expo and I am sad that it is no longer in Austin.
>>10892161nota but ecchi expo seems like a good idea on paper but so far Im hearing nothing but hangups about its running. It seems like they need to take a page from porn conventions in figuring out how youre suppose to run those things. And you do need to increase security.
>>10892161The first-year con had the issue of being at a poor venue. Basically, the venue (a hotel) was in pretty rough shape after the pandemic (proper maintenance hadn't been done probably due to them hemorrhaging money during the pandemic), and with the contract having already been signed (right about when the pandemic started), the con owner's hands were tied on that one and had to somehow deal with the issues that arose from that. Other issues I saw were stolen art being sold and there being very few doujinshis there, but I regard those as minor in comparison to the venue issue. Overall, I give the con owner a pass on this one since it was a first-year con coming out of the pandemic and the issues were mainly out of his control, HOWEVER, it's the second-year con that's making me not want to support Ecchi Expo anymore.Full Disclosure: I did not actually attend Ecchi Expo Austin (actually in Pflugerville) Year 2, but from what I've heard, a lot of bad things happened. Things like sexual harassment/assaults happening (one instance of it even happening near the con owner), guests being treated poorly/not being paid, and I think the cops was called at some point to deal with some drunk people. AND WHAT DID THE CON OWNER DO ABOUT IT? He doubled down on not being accountable for the stuff the con should be accountable for! By blocking and censoring voices of criticism and dissent on social media. Least of all, releasing a retaliatory statement on the con's Discord server denying the allegations and ultimately pinning the blame on the other "Ecchi/Waifu" 18+ cons in Texas. Granted, this isn't as bad as the issues with Anime Matsuri, but it was enough for me to withdraw support for Year 3 if it even happens. Anywho, I see Ecchi Expo leaving Austin as them running away tail between their legs from dealing with the controversy that may linger into their third year, and I'm kinda glad that they did.
>>10892284Anyone who knows anything about Josh, the company owner, knows this GIF is true.
>>10884329the programming this year is trying to be a little less corpo & more fan-oriented it seems. i got accepted for two music related fan panels this year but i haven’t received any info on getting my panel badge lol
Could I get some opinions on places to eat in the vicinity of the Fort Worth convention center?
>>10892728Sundance Square (Convention Center):Little Red WaspGraceBranch & BirdHoyaWicked ButcherInstanbul GrillToro ToroFlying Saucer Draught EmporiumWaters RestaurantCamp Bowie Blvd (Friday Rave):Lucile's7th Street:Hatsuyuki HandrollsMagnolia Street:Wabi HouseSouth Main Street:Nickle CityPanther City BBQBrix BBQCoco Shrimp
>AF is in 2 weeks >no one has gotten their badge mailed in >no response from customer service >the site says the badges were going to be mailed the first week of November Is it over? I think I’m gonna call my bank to cancel because I don’t really want to wait in line
>>10892778I got mine the week before the con last year and people have been getting them in the mail today, it's not the end of the world. If for some reason you don't get it before the con there's an exceptions desk you can get it from.>>10892598You pick up panelist badges from that exceptions desk, too.
>>10892778I was con staff last year and we pushed people through the lines pretty quickly, especially if you already had a badge or were will-call.
>>10883602I amalso my first time cosplaying
Anime Dallas was fun! Dunno if any of your gulls went to the MHA TTRPG room but that's where I ended up spending most of my time.I'm taking my cosplay to the Anime Frontier competition so wish me luck!
>>10893477What was it? Glad you enjoyed and see you there.
>>10893483I'll say after Anime Frontier because it's not done yet.It's from LoZ though.
>>10893477>>10893631i'll be cheering for you anon
>>10893477Nah it was shit the cosplay convention there is always shit the judges are retarded bitches and mean fuck them
>>10892161Fandom Events is always sex trafficking girls at every fucking con they do, it's annoying.
>>10893631i also will be cheering you on, if there is space in the contest roombtw if you didnt know the 'rest room' for contestants i think is second floor right of the main ballroom
>>10893635Woah anon, calm downDo you have a story you can share?
>>10893675I don't do cosplay contests. I just don't like the people who do the cosplay judging there. They're bitter and rude to anyone who tries to do the contest and is pretty.
>>10893733Well yeah they always have the same three costhots judging all their contests because the coordinator pulls in her friends to be guests and judges even though none of them actually make their shit. Pick better cons, anon.
>>10893764Meh I have been to most cons in Tejas and sadly they are mostly shit outside of the big onesAnime frontier was kind of okay last year so maybr I will enjoy that
>>10883602So I live in Austin and have been seeing this con everytime I buy Gunplay... Is it worth it? Not terribly expensive but I got no one to go with cause I'm still new to the area. Drive 2 hours just to stay in a hotel...? Someone throw me something to make con friends and learn to foamsmith my way to Gundam Cosplay...
Weather looking to be pretty mid 60's for the entire weekend, possibility of rain on Sunday, so should be comfy. Likely windy though.
Anything in south Texas soon?
>>10894006Seems a gaming con in January at Mcallen and a small one at Edinburg.
>>10884369Me too, it'll be my second cosplay contest and I'm looking forward to it, so I assume I'll see you in the beginner category as well.>>10893946I'll be stomping around there as an almost-Gundam on Saturday, and an actual Gundam cosplay is very high on my to-do list.
>>10894108I already leathersmith on top of random other shit why not add foamsmithing and be a fucking robot towering above ppl... Childhood goals accomplished.
>>10894108>>10894152Hit enter to soon... But wait what do you mean Gundam like?
>>10894006Ikkicon at the Kalahari Resort in January. It'll be at Round Rock.
>>10894153It's big, bulky power armor that has had people call me a Gundam a couple of times
>>10894243Seeve is that you
>>10894245:^)
>>10894251:^)
someone going to frontier please report on the omega nest
What time do things wind down in the convention center? If I go eat dinner is there time to do anything after?
>>10894993The convention closes essentially at 7pm but they have panels that can go until 10pm. There is a shuttle that will take you to the 9pm-2am rave on Friday/Saturday.
>>10894996Thanks, I reckon I'll squeeze in what I can and then eat.
>>10894998If you can make it to the Idol Festival that is the highlight for tonight besides the Fat Albert Meme panel and rave. If you see the red shirt guy with a ponytail, feel free to say hello.
For the anon who's competing in the cosplay contest, let me know which character you are so I can post edited images.
>>10895065I was the fencer stomping around
>>10895092I saw you! Also holy fucking shit dude 50 lbs of costume? I give you credit that's crazy. I didn't stay to see who won but I knew I was rooting for you. Went to go for the fucking shuttle but the shuttle was a meme, it went like 2-3 times and could hold only 11 people. I uber'd over.
>>10895122Thanks man, it was absolutely too much weight but the whole experience was greatI wanted to go to the Saturday after party, but I was a little tired for some reason, but the shuttle was just as much of a meme on Friday
>>10895092I appreciate you coming out and competing. There were a lot of people who thought your costume was the star of the show.
>>10895092>>10895141I apologize anon that these are the only two "decent" pictures I got of you. I hope to see what you do next con season here in Texas.
Never gone to Anime Frontier, never going I'm disappointed at how small it was, the dealers room was pretty barren, the artist alley was small, the game room was ghetto and there was barely any panels
>>10895124E D F!!!! E D F!!! E D F!!!It was a great Costume, also was that fucking Gundam walking around that was like 10 feet with Amuro and Char handlers, if that shit becomes the norm I'm not sure what the fuck is next.>>10895146Ok this is fucking gotta be a troll, here's my (You), the DEALERS room was barren? The Artist Alley with like 26 fucking alleys was small? A-kon, the 3rd/4th largest anime con in TX still had like 4 fucking alleys of artists and 6 of vendors. Panels you might be somewhat right about, but the corporation con that has fucking 2000 dollar gunplas is probably lacking in shit to buy.
>>10895149not lacking in shit to buy, rather, fuck
