Rizwan Merchant

Otakon 2008

After many years of anime and manga fandom, Otakon 2008 was my first con experience. It was suitably impressive in scale, with over 26,000 attendees wandering the halls, many in elaborate cosplay. It also boasted hundreds of different scheduled events, from anime and live action screenings to panels and workshops and concerts. There were tons of interesting things for your average diehard fan to do, but unfortunately not so much for an overly discriminating fan like myself.

MechaCon IV

I’ve attended MechaCon at the Hilton Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana for the last three years now, having only missed its premiere in 2005. However, before I go on to discuss MechaCon 4.0, I’d like to spend a moment highlighting something about the convention that originally gave me an immense feeling of pride (other than the pride I felt in it being in my small hometown, of course)…..

Katsucon 14

Chaos. It’s the term I affectionately use to describe the cons I go to, and for the most part, its pretty accurate- not much else can describe the experience of the noise, color, and sheer activity of an anime convention. Even the tiny cons I attend are usually a mess of people running around, back and forth between buildings. This was my first time at Katsucon…..

Anime Matsuri 2008

Anime Matsuri 2008 is a two-year-old convention based in Houston, Texas, run by Emotiongear, the parent company to Anime Matsuri, Showdown Championships, and Import Reactor. Ever since its conception in 2007, Matsuri has strived to set itself apart from other anime conventions by taking events from its child companies and implementing them into Matsuri, such

Baccano!

Twenty characters, two nonconsecutive centuries, one giant story.1711 – A shipload of alchemists sailing on the Advenna Avis summon a devil that gives them the Grand Panacea, the prevention and cure to every human ailment – including death. Where the elixir and the immortals wind up after that is anyone’s guess…1930 – The Prohibition is in full swing, and the transcontinental train The Flying Pussyfoot…..

Anime Boston 2008

Anime Boston was (not-so) affectionately referred to as Line-Con 2008 this year, and I’d have to agree. As this was my first year attending Anime Boston, I had to take it on the word of staff and other attendees that last year’s registration and pre-registration lines weren’t the 10-hour monstrosities that wound throughout the halls this year. While the pre-reg line didn’t quite reach the 10 hours that the regular registration line did, my friend and I did

Otakon 2007

For yet another year, Baltimore hosted the largest Japanese animation fan convention on the East Coast, Otakon, on July 20th through the 22nd at the Baltimore Convention Center (BCC). The attendance topped 20,000 eager participants for the fourth straight year, a testament to the con’s staying power and the loyalty of the fans. As always, there were many different things to see and experience, ranging from industry panels where companies……..

Oni-Con 2007

Oni-Con 2007 marks my second Oni-Con attendance, my first being in their inaugural year of 2004. Right off the bat, the improvements of Oni-Con from their first year to their fourth were very evident. Everything was top notch in their new venue, the George R. Brown Convention Center, which was more than spacious enough for the task. However, while the improvements were amazing, there were also some major let-downs this time around.

Nan Desu Kan 2007

This September 2007, my husband Kyle and I attended our fourth year at Nan Desu Kan (or, commonly known as NDK). NDK has been hosted at the Denver Tech Marriott Hotel for the past two years now. It’s always a pretty popular convention, and was claimed this year to have been the best in the region. We always have a good time at this con, and because it was really my first time staying the whole weekend I’d have to say that it was……

Anime Expo 2007

July 2007 marked my sixth consecutive Anime Expo (AX), which was an unusual year for several reasons. It was the first time in five years that the con was held at Long Beach Convention Center, rather than the more spacious Anaheim Convention Center, since the Shriners took over the ACC for Fourth of July weekend. It was my first year at AX without my usual convention companion, who is in Germany for the summer.