Forum - View topicRegistration for conventions?!?!
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Lone Wolf and Cub
 Posts: 301 Location: tumbleweed, South Dakota |
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Hey all i'm a new member on these forums, but have been a fan of anime since 96 or so. This fall i will be attending my first convention in Denver Colorado called Nan Desu Kan. I have some questions about conventions, and was hoping you knowledeable people could answer them for me.
My first questions is about registration. Do I have to pre-register just to attend the convention? It's not that big of a deal, I'm just really curious. My second question is what are cons like? I know about co-splay and and panels and all that, but what does it actually feel like to attend a con? Give me your stories and stuff of your fav cons, and what was so great about them. I'll be taking my college anime club to this convention, so any knowledge that anyone is willing to impart to me is very welcome indeed. Thanks in advance 
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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You don't have to pre-register to most cons in order to go to one. Pre-register is to be certian you get the tickets *some cons have to have a limited amount of people* and usually it costs cheaper to buy through pre-reg, and sometimes you get extras.
What's it feel like? I feel... so excited when I go that I forget to eat. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7344 Location: Maine |
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The feeling really depends on the size of the con. My first con was PortconMaine back in 2002, a small local con that at the time was being hosted at a local university (it's moved to somewhat bigger venue since). It was comfortable, friendly, very personal setting. Then a month or so later I hit Otakon for the first time. Big difference! It was huge, overwhelming, almost intimidating, but FUN! I find at big cons you get a different type of fun out of it, it's kinda like that rush skydivers get, scary at first, but you just want to keep doing it over and over again.
Emerje |
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Lone Wolf and Cub
Posts: 301 Location: tumbleweed, South Dakota |
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ahhh i see. Well based on what the two of you said cons are so much fun that you either forget to eat, or don't want to, and that while the size can make it intimidating, it is still a rush. I'm really excited now, and I want to go more than I did before.
One last Question for anyone: Is it good to buy at cons? Meaning are prices and good and is selection good? Thanks again for you replies
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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Nan Desu Kan is actually my favorite con. I think it's not so much because it is the closest to me, but because I like it's ability to adapt and handle growth pretty well. It's still one of the smaller cons though, so if it's your first convention, it probably won't be too intimidating due to size. To top it off, my first anime convention was NDK 2000, and I've gone each year since. So I suppose I'm a little biased.
Depending on what you'd like to do, keep in mind that pre-registering has a couple of very solid benefits. First of all, you will get preference to the dealers room when it's first opening up. It's a bit of a hassle to have to wait around if others you know are able to get in. Secondly, you will pay a cheaper rate by pre-registering instead of having to pay "at the door" so to speak. The only down side I've noticed is that they aren't as well organized in handling the pre-reg lines as some other conventions. Speaking in reference to the dealers rooms, I'd suggest you look for items you aren't normally going to find elsewhere first. Many import character goods can be found, while you will still have the sellers of DVD's aplenty. After you have your fill on those (shitajiki, lami cards, keychains, pins, artbooks, etc.) - and yes, I do promote Animeten - then I'd suggest you start pricing around... It makes no sense to buy the same $30 DVD you can get for $30 at your local Suncoast. Some places will have items discounted, so it's a better to really look around first, but keep in mind, that item you wanted may be bought by the time you get back. In attending your very first con, I'd say the feeling is a little bit of anxiety, mixed with a little fear. Fortunately the staff at NDK are pretty good about things. I'd strongly urge you to attend the opening ceremonies, as they will go over a few things that are helpful to know, especially if it's your first convention. I'd also urge you to go to NDK's webpage as there is plenty of useful information there as well. I don't feel like hunting around at the moment, but last year, part of my club held a panel at NDK in "how not to make a donkey (ass) out of yourself" If I can find some of the information on some of the stuff we discussed, (if I can find the tape too, I still need to send it to the con chair  ) then maybe I can post some of the finer points we went over. A lot of people don't listen to con etiquette.
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Lone Wolf and Cub
Posts: 301 Location: tumbleweed, South Dakota |
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wow..con etiquette huh? I did not know that such a thing even existed, but yes I will attend the opening ceremonies. Since this is my first I want to try and attend as many things as possible, and I really can not even express how excited I am to meet Crispin Freeman. He is my favorite NA voice actor, and I love the fact that he will be at my first con.
Thanks for the tips on pre-registration, and I'm trying to get all my members to get back to me so that we can hopefully get a good group rate and get some rooms reserved for all of us. The dealers room sounds awesome, and I think what I will mainly be looking to buy at this con is the imported stuff. Things like wallscrolls, and keychains and other miscl. entities. So I guess since you have been going to this con every year since 2000 that you will probably be there this time too right? Have you ever co-splayed? Is it really as fun as people make it out to be? I want to dress up, but I don't want to make an ass out of myself. Anywho, thanks again for all of your very useful information. I'm really looking forward to Nan Desu Kan now 
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Godaistudios
Posts: 2075 Location: Albuquerque, NM (the land of entrapment) |
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I actually did cosplay when I first went (as Wolfwood no less.) It's fun to do, and I may do it this year, depending on how much time I have to get a decent costume together.
Honestly, the only tip I have about cosplaying is to make sure you have no projectile weapons on it, remember that any "weapon" will have to be "peace" bonded, and if you are really overweight (like me) you might want to keep in mind your costuming choices with your body shape... (I know it's a shame to say, and some people may be offended (or hurt if you are overweight) by me saying this, but I never want to see a +300lb 5'3" Chocolate ever again.) Seeing costumers that weigh two to three times more than what the original character would weigh in real life irks me just a bit. Sorry about my rant. In the end, just go pretty much as whoever you want if you want to cosplay.
Anyway, unless something utterly devestating happens, odds are that I will be there again this year as well. Crispin is pretty cool, so I'm glad for you on that end. Conventions are fun, and there is a reason why people still go back to them. I am afraid though that Cornered Angel is right on one point he made about Acen though. Even for myself, it is a place for socializing. I get to see friends there that I only see once or twice a year, so it's one of the reasons for me to go. This is necessarily a bad thing, and it's also one of the reasons why I was involved in running two panels at NDK last year. It made me feel like I was contributing to something instead of just hanging around.
Oh, and some pre-etiquette info for you: http://www.ndk.cc/faq/ndkomake.html |
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