Saturday and Sunday I'll be heading to my first Anime Convention.  I've NEVER been to one before (been to indie comic and video game conventions but nothing of this size) so for all you people who've gone to huge conventions, what can I expect?  I plan to take A LOT of pictures and writing about it for my Tuesday GW article, but other than bad cosplayers and weeaboo shit, what can I expect at these things?  Any tips you guys want to share?  Courtesies or special anime etiquette I should know?  Lingo or jargon or fucking Japanese words I should memorize before attending?  CLOTHING??? This is a pretty alien thing to me and I don't want to be the faggot that stands out (I'm black, I'll be standing out already).

To make this a worthwhile topic, discuss cool conventions or shit you've gone to.  I went to Transformers convention in Hong Kong and it was... a unique experience.  Kaworu would have enjoyed it.

Theres going to be alot of freaks, and alot of anime fans gathered together taking photos. It has a totally different vibe from large comic conventions, as these people have pretty much created their own sub-culture to indulge themselves in.

Wear whatever you want, but for best experience wear any shitty costume based off anything relating to animation, video games, or technology. You're going to have to be familiar with terms such as "groping" "free hugs" and "Haruhi Suzumiya dance".

Other than that, if you lay low you should be able to survive.

I've been to alot of conventions, as far as I can remember in order:
Anime Expo 2002, DigitalLife, NY Comic-Con, Wizard World Philadelphia, Big Apple Con, Super Mega Show, DigitalLife, Big Apple Con, NY Comic Con, Big Apple Con, Chiller Theatre, Wizard World Philadelphia, San Diego Comic-Con, DigitalLife, Big Apple Con, Monster-Mania

Recently, I've started going to these places mainly to build up my autograph collections, in conventions specializing in guests and stuff however, I usually have to pay. However in the bigger cons and in booth signings, they are usually completely free. San Diego Comic-Con was a blast, however it was one of the most frustrating, most tiring, most busy ass cons ever. For 5 days I'm going around checking schedules, hogging more bags and poster tubes then I can carry, trying to use my time efficiently and scouring the HUGE conventions floor trying to figure out which signings are taking place at where. Unfortunately I missed a shitload, as I cannot be in 5 places at one time.

I prefer smaller cons, however they always lack the guests and freebies that bigger ones have. The larger ones usually frustrate me more unfortunately.

my god i have no idea what i'm getting myself into.

okay, training time!  for the next 5 days i'm going to hang out at 4chan's anime board, eat pocky, and torrent every anime i can find.  before the con i'll buy one of those naruto headband thingies and really huge, orange rock lee tube socks.  i'll also have a camping backpack because i plan on nabbing as much free shit as possible.

alright guys, pray for me.  if i come back alive i swear i'll have tons of awesome cosplay pictures for GW to laugh at.

I went to one when I was like 13-14'ish. The only thing I remember was there being this event where cosplayers would re-enact anime scenes on stage. To narrate and monitor the show, they got some fat bearded guy who knew absolutely nothing about anime and was probably just looking to make a quick buck. That was pretty entertaining in itself.

Scene: Bunch of cosplayers running around on stage and trying to be hyper like in whatever show they're immitating, before running off stage.

Fat bearded guy: Okaaaaaaaaaay... Um yeah, so that was.. um.. yeah. So next up is.. jesus christ you people are insane.

Oh, and that someone had a pretty sweet predator costume, but that was about it.

I could barely stand my school's anime club... so no... conventions aren't for me. I am most likely going to start going to some anime/ comic conventions just to meet up with some people though.... since the creators are cool as hell unlike most fans.

God I hate fucking otakus. Why can't there just be "people who happen to like anime"
I used to go to conventions (Because I had a stand in a few of them, where I got to display my robot collection) and we basically laughed at the cosplayers and faggots dressed in black under 40ºC... Then I stopped going altogether because I grew up and ceased to care.

motion: if marcus doesn't take pictures of himself in cosplay he gets banned.

I agree with the above post.

I think you should also check out 4chan's cosplay board as well as their anime one. Why? because you will see everyone who posts there inperson (they are like a disease which jumps from town to town, con to con. They live and feed off their precious animes, but they are also fucking boring as a plank and conversation should be avoided at all costs)

(also dude transformers cons are my worst nightmare. I HATE Transformer fans, and I can't even go to collectormania without hearing about five fat men in their 40's quoting Optimus prime as if it's poetry, I don't even wanna try a TF specific one!!!)

God I hate fucking otakus. Why can't there just be "people who happen to like anime"
I used to go to conventions (Because I had a stand in a few of them, where I got to display my robot collection) and we basically laughed at the cosplayers and faggots dressed in black under 40ºC... Then I stopped going altogether because I grew up and ceased to care.

Heh yeah what a bunch of losers *goes off to play Magic: The Gathering with his robot toys*

Don't be dissin on mtg.

I watch more anime than is healthy, but I don't like the idea of going to a convention.  The thought of dressing as someone I'm not is illogical to me.  You'll never be that character, no matter how hard you try to look like them.  Since they're largely cast in Japanese first for their voice, you'll probably never sound like them either.  Perhaps I just don't see the point because I never got a kick out of Halloween, either.  I think I stopped going around on Halloween at about age eight, perhaps younger.

i am immediately looking up anime conventions in scotland i am going to attend

edit: okay we have one every two years in scotland and it isn't till november so i'm widening my search to britain

They happen fairly often in London

Heh yeah what a bunch of losers *goes off to play Magic: The Gathering with his robot toys*

I watch as much anime as a "regular" person watches TV. (And in return watch very little TV)
Why would this make me a loser while a person who wastes just as much time watching NBC/FOX/Whatever is not one?

The reason is very fucking simple: STHEREOTYPE. Somewhere along the line the otaku (And by extrapolation, anyone who likes anything japanese, because obviously only american shit is fine, even if I am not american and thus liking something american/british/japanese is the exact same shit for me) became a stupid sthereotype.

I don't cosplay, I don't eat pocky, I don't dress in black, I don't dance to J-POP, I don't wear goth makeup... I HATE the otaku sthereotype... I say I hate otakus because those I call by that name (especially in my country) are people that in fact, actively, do everything in their power to conform to that sthereotype... And many people in 4chan are the same way.

ok dudes I am not one of them STAY ON TOPIC nazis. but Arguing other the nerdyness of animeness and anime liking is totally retarded and beyond geeky and makes the ones of us here who argued why Superman would rape goku seem posatively hunky in comparison.

(Read: don't even bother starting it)