Pack the Cars, buses and trains! Anime Convention season is here!!!

Yup! It's Anime Convention time!! If you're an otaku that lives on the east coast then you're most likely waiting anxiously for Otakon. Otakon is the biggest anime convention along on the east coast and is definitely getting bigger and bigger as the years go on. Apparently it started off as a small convention in State College PA but it exploded into the insanity that it is today. One event that attracted a hhuuggee amount of people into downtown Baltimore was the news that L'arc En Ciel, a popular and well known Jrock band, would be performing at Otakon in 2004. From the stories I've heard from friends who went, the line stretched on for blocks.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you love anime and you're room is stocked better than most stores then you have to make the unforgettable journey to a convention at least once in your life. What sets anime cons apart from sci-fi and fantasy cons is that the whole venue is devoted to anime and video games that otaku play and love. There is LARP (Live Action Role Play), Anime Music videos(AMV), and all day anime screenings. The convention lasts over the weekend and usually has a Japanese artist do a concert for one evening during the weekend.

Some bands who have crossed the atlantic or Pacific oceans to perform at these events are Mucc, Despairs Ray, L'arc en Ciel, Kalafina, and Duel Jewel; to name a few. By doing these performances the artist expose themselve to an american public and gain a few fans in the process.

Some of the biggest cons in the US are; Anime Expo (San Diego, CA), Nekocon (Hampton, VA), Comic-con International: San Diego (um..San Diego, CA), and Otakon (Baltimore, MD). The bigger the convention the better the vendors are as well as the performers. Oh! And apparently if you stay and help the vendors clean up you can get free stuff! Don't know if this is true...but it is confirmed from one who went to a con last year.So Good Luck... :)

Anime Convention are super fun and you can buy awesome stuff from kimonos to Japanese music albums and cheap/rare anime & artbooks!!! So much yaoi!!! >0< but anywayz... :). If you can afford the registration fees (from $40-$70) than cover transportation then definitely go and enjoy this event. You'll leave with memories you'll never forget as well as memories you'll want to forget! One word "Fat Faye"...