Surviving Anime Conventions Part 3

I was honestly going to write about cosplay meltdowns today but I decided not to. Cosplay is fun, but not necessary to enjoy a good weekend. I also don’t have enough experience with making my own cosplays to start giving out actual advice.

<insert image with caption “I gotta get my street cred up>

Instead we will discuss more room etiquette and how to NOT catch Con-Plague because that’s what I’m good at!

Room Etiquette

In an earlier post I talked about what to do when rooming at a convention, today I am adding to that. You know all about broke friends and sleeping arrangements. Now get ready for:

• WASH YOUR ASS! This should go without saying. There’s no reason why you can’t shower in a hotel room that offers you soap and water for bathing. You have everything you need right at your disposal; this is a ball I can’t believe some of you drop every fucking year.

You don’t have any excuses. Not staying clean spreads germs and starts pandemics. I have this theory that a zombie apocalypse will start at an anime convention because some jackass didn’t wash their hands. Don’t be that jackass.

• Stay organized! Don’t leave your shit laying about. Repack your suitcase, bring hangers to use that closet space! Put your clothes in the drawers where the tv stand is! Don’t trip! You’re an adult!
• Get some sleep! Your body doesn’t work the way it used to. You will surely die if you don’t sleep! I usually recommend 6 hours MINIMUM for full grown adults. I personally clock in around 8 because I can’t function after around 23:30 or so.
• Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water and throw a mini Gatorade somewhere in there. You’ll function at full power if you hydrate properly.
• Bring cleaning supplies! Those glasses in your hotel room aren’t as clean as you think! Bring some dish soap to clean your dishes at the hotel room. Housekeeping does their best to come to every room but even they miss details. I personally bring:

-dish soap

-Lysol

-Febreeze (to freshen up the sheets)

-paper towels

• Agree on a room temperature! I haven’t run into this too much since I usually have enough blankets for whatever the room temp is supposed to be. If some people get colder more easily, make sure the room is a comfortable temperature. Usually I go 5-10 degrees colder than the hottest temp outside for summer weather.

• Store your props carefully! This also goes without saying. You want to avoid breaking precious cargo? Don’t leave it out if you can help it!

Plan Your Con Days!

Usually a con schedule is released a few weeks in advance to attendees. This should give you enough enough time to decide what panels you want to show up for. Most of these can be split into a few sections:

• Workshops (cosplay how-to’s, writing, networking, programming)
• Viewings (watching anime episodes, movies, line dubbing)
• Concerts/Contests (sometimes involves standing and jumping
• Game Rooms (usually sitting, but depending on what kind of games you play; your activity level will be different)

With this information you can choose how to spend your day. Most people go Hard Mode™️ on Saturday Night where there’s the most activity and use Sunday for the recovery day.

On Saturday there’s usually the rave, cosplay contests (final round), and concerts. If you plan on staying up for these activities you’ll usually want to go easy during the day so you have energy to make it through the night. Wear your best (read: comfortable) shoes and get hydrated because you’ll need it.

Last Day Damages

At first I didn’t say this because I didn’t think I needed to; but after thinking about it I’ll say it: don’t damage con property! This includes your hotel room, elevators, hallways—ALL OF IT! Just Google “Katsucon Damages” and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. For backstory: Katsucon 2016 had HELLA damage. I’m leaving it at that. Click the link for yourself.

I’m not sure how it happens but people get a few days off of work and the temperature rises a few degrees and suddenly a bunch of ya’ll lose your gotdamn minds. I’m not sure what’s so fun about punching holes in doors or slapping the back of exit signs but our hotel prices keep going up and that’s going to be a problem really soon. Like…six months from now scratch that and make it 3. I’ve already seen ACen room prices ticking upward and security is getting tighter. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

Check Your Ego at the Door

Ever since people started dressing up in costumes it seems like somebody had to ruin the fun for the rest of us. If you’ve been alive long enough you’ll come to notice that dressing up as your favorite character isn’t quite as fun as it used to be.

Why is that?

Short answer: egos.

Cosplay is often a place where people get to show off their craftsmanship and sewing skills. And why not? Nothing says you love a character like emulating them as much as possible! Normally this is fun! But somewhere along the way people got sidetracked by their own egos.

Have the same costume as someone else?

Someone “not your aesthetic” wearing a costume you don’t think they should be wearing?

Someone getting more attention than you?

Cosplayer doesn’t want to shoot with you or be your significant other?

Lo and behold the spirit of strife and suffering is upon you because you can’t mind your own business!

Nothing ruins a good time like some elitist acting like the Cosplay Police™️ saying shit nobody asked for. Nobody. Nobody wants to hear your opinion on their cosplay! Unless they’re in competition, you shouldn’t be giving out unsolicited opinions. You don’t like it? Move on. Close your eyes. Fuck off to nowhere.

Don’t comment on people’s bodies. Don’t comment on their ability level. Don’t compare cosplayer’s to each other. Don’t comment on cosplayer’s skin color. Don’t comment on cosplayer’s weight.

Read that bold statement above. Memorize it. Write it on index cards. I don’t care what you do, you’d better be able to say this shit in your sleep. Stop fucking with people. I don’t know when some of you became such dramaholics and general festering piles of garbage but it’s time to put an end to it. There will be a day one of you puss-oozing ass clowns will be forced to swallow your teeth because you messed with the wrong person.

Leave people alone. Swallow that ego before it gets too big and you choke on it. At some point you will be force-fed your own words in the forms of: screen shots, video recordings and lawsuits. Good fucking luck lying your way out of a court hearing when your own Facebook posts, Instagram comments, and Tweets come back to haunt you. Keep your words soft and sweet everybody!

By the time you hit 25 you’re too grown to be playing these telephone games and should already be an expert at minding your own business. If you can’t keep your (trash) opinions to yourself and enjoy the weekend like a normal person, do you really need to be at a con? If you constantly find yourself in drama you might want to rethink your life entirely. You can’t be around people without rumors starting up maybe you need to…go somewhere else?

Sendoff

Life doesn’t end at 25 but criminy it can feel like it! You can still have fun at anime conventions even if you can’t do a steady diet of ramen and Jack Daniels. Part of it is knowing your limits and weaknesses and working around them.

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