AnimeUSA, The Little Convention that Could

There seemed to be a lot of negativity about this convention. Most of it was because
the staff was forced to move the event to a smaller hotel, due to contract negotiations
falling through with the original hotel. As a result, many of the dealers backed out,
and many fans opted not to attend.

It was an afterthought of mine to go. I made no hotel reservations, didn't
pre-register, and contemplated going for only one day. Plus, it was the weekend
directly after Anime Weekend Atlanta, and I thought I might be too wiped out to attend
this weekend. On top of that, I made several unsuccessful attempts to find the hotel
itself, prior to the convention. I even failed to find it on Friday. It was with a heavy
heart and an overflowing bladder that I decided that it was time to retreat, and came
to the conclusion that the street planning in the DC Metro area was evidence of the
high availability of crack cocaine. But, there was still Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday morning, I still had my doubts about going. It was either go look for the
hotel again, or go to work. And then I came to my senses. I got into my trusty, rusty
Suba-chan, and set my sights on Crystal City. There would not be any returning in
defeat this time. The road that I'd been down so many times before, seemed to roll out
before me endlessly, as if road crews magically added several miles overnight.


Saturday, 12:00 pm: I finally get to the hotel, with shocking ease. Amazing how
daylight makes finding places easier. Just as amazing, is how much easier it was
when I finally looked at the map on their web page. I pull into the underground parking
garage, and what's this? There's parking spaces! Lots of them! I get a space near the
elevators, and upon seeing other otaku, I felt I was in the right place. Went upstairs,
and asked the first con-goer in sight where registration is. More upstairs. The
registration table was sighted quickly. I spot the video program, and look over to see
what I missed. A few things, but not something I couldn't live without. Ah, this is
nice... The music video contest is today! I didn't miss it after all! Plus, there were a
couple things I wanted to see on Sunday, so it was enough to justify getting a full
weekend pass. The program book is primitive; six photocopied pages stapled at the
corner.

12:10: Into the dealer's room I went. Wow... There's seven, maybe eight dealers in
here... Most of them fairly local. Ah, there's some Slayers CDs at yonder dealer. Low
on cash. Ick. But I have just enough spare change to get them. I see an ATM run in my
near future, but... Time to check out the theaters.

12:30: Drawn in by a magical girl show with a twist, "Tonde Boorin" and I'm enjoying
it. A girl is chosen to be a champion of truth and justice, and to do so, she changes
into... A pig. Yes, a pig. I look over the video schedule in the dim light. Wow... Lotsa
goodies, leaning noticably towards shoujo. Not bad, especially for only having two
theaters. Ah, Slayers Excellent... I'm gonna have to stick around for that later tonight.

2:00: Decided that I didn't want to touch my credit card for this convention, and since I
didn't think the dealers would accept pocket lint, there was no choice but to leave the
hotel for an ATM run. This time, I was going to play it smart, and walk. I wasn't
worried for losing my parking space, it was just easier to leave Suba-chan sit.
Thoughts while walking outside: Something's not right here. Where in hell is the D.C.
traffic!? Navigating Crystal City on foot is disturbingly easy.

2:30: Got more Slayers CDs! Yay! Well, missed the Captain Tylor movie, and I'm
interested in what Hyper Police is about. I like it...

4:00: Time for the Music Video Contest. So far, everything is running on time. Well,
there were a couple glitches early Friday, but those have been ironed out nicely. The
music video contest goes just as well. Sure, there were a few snoozers, but there
were also some genuine masterpieces as well. I never thought that "Why don't you get
a job" by the Offspring could go so well with Evangelion footage. The contest runs for
two hours, just as the schedule says. Gendou would be proud.

6:00: Time to go out again, this time for food. Damn I'm hungry. The ATM I went to
earlier was in the Crystal City underground mall, and I figured there had to be a food
court in there. Naturally, there was. Normally, fast food doesn't hold me over long, but
a Double Whopper Meal pretty much fills me up for the rest of the day, no matter how
hungry I am. I eat my quasi-food in a secluded area of the food court, enjoying the
antics of a large group of kids on a field trip from Indiana.

6:40: Returned to the hotel, and wondered what to do. I could go to my "room" (my car)
and listen to my CDs, but since I had plenty of time for music on the way home, I
decided to check out the con suite. It's close to ground level, and it's simply a regular
room put to the job. Maybe four people there; they're sitting on the beds. Not bad
though. I pour myself a cup of Dew and join into the conversation of past con
experiences.

7:20: The Cosplay is due to begin in only ten minutes, yet I'm confident I'll get a seat.
I head down, and discover that while there is a line, it really isn't much of a line. I
spend time by chatting with one of the artists.

7:30: Officially, the Cosplay begins. It doesn't take long for the introductions of the
guests and judges, and quickly enough, the skits begin to roll. In about a half an hour,
all fifteen acts are done. I look around the main events room, and while I'm only ten
rows from the stage, I'm also closer to the back. There's still room for people to come
in, if they were so inclined. I estimate the Cosplay was witnessed by less than a
hundred attendees.

8:45: The judging and awards took longer than the actual Cosplay. And now it's over.
Wow.

Cosplays: IMO, they really shouldn't run over three hours. The attention span of the
average fan is stretched thin enough as it is.

9:00: Settled in for the Rourouni Kenshin OAVs, and I end up sitting on the floor if I
want to see anything at all. Still a good show, nice and darkly toned.

10:30: Time for Slayers Excellent! A lot of the people in front of me were only there
to watch Kenshin, so they leave, letting me get a much better seat. The room refills
quickly. But hey, it's Slayers.

11:30: Ah, that was great. I'm really beginning to like Slayers. Next up is the Spriggan
movie, but since I no longer have the old second shift stamina, it's time for me to get
home, if I want to be awake for the one and a half hour drive. This hour of the night is
pushing it as it is.

Saturday reflections: So far, for a first-run con, this one is going pretty damn good.
Most of the video programming is running on schedule, and except for the music video
contest, there was enough seating for anyone who wanted to go. I went home that
night practically in a state of bliss.


Sunday, 10:30 am: After fighting some fog in the Waynesboro area, the rest of the trip
went easily, and I arrived back at the hotel.

11:00: There was a panel on fandom I wanted to attend, but that was cancelled, and the
Studio Ironcat panel was held instead. It was quite informative, and I learned another
meaning of "masturbation art", which is not exactly as it initially implies.

12:30 pm: Went back into the dealer's room, and got a couple magnets, and a box of
Pocky.

1:00: Decided to settle in for a nice, hefty dose of "Card Captor Sakura" for about three
hours.

4:00: Time for the feedback panel. There were some minor suggestions, but other than
that, there were no major gripes. It was a very casual panel. There was no regular
seating arrangement. If you wanted a seat, you pulled a chair off the stacks and there
was your seat.

5:30: Well, AnimeUSA is officially over. The trip home begins.

Sunday reflections: Lots of new faces to me. I know a lot of them were at previous
cons, but I never really took notice of them until now, since I didn't bring anyone with
me, nor did I see any high-profile fans. Well, Steve Bennett recognized me. I feel good
about that. Certainly, there was planning to it, but what really made this a good
convention for me, was the whole impromptu feel to it, as though suddenly a
convention sprung forth into this hotel.


From what I saw, this was a decently run convention, despite some of the hurdles in
planning, like the emergency hotel change within months of the convention. The fact
that it's a first-run con makes it all the more impressive. Granted, there wasn't a
large amount of things to do like any of the bigger conventions, but it didn't have the
problems of bigger conventions like seating or scheduling. When they come around next
year, I'll be here for it again.

Lessons learned:

When the web page has a map, don't ignore it.
Judge not a convention by the size of the dealer's room.

Highs:

Meeting new friends
very casual feel to it all
always found a seat in the theaters

personal high point: Watching Slayers Excellent

Lows:

getting lost repeatedly while finding the place
not being able to attend on Friday

Main complaint: having to leave and go home...

Next up on the menu:  Neko-Con R!
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