Project A-Kon will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first anime convention I ever attended way back when I was in high school and first heard about conventions where people would gather to talk and enjoy a shared love of Japanese anime, pop culture, and other things that overlap with that, such as video games and comic books. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure to make many excellent, wonderful friends, meet some really amazing people, and share in something that I am incredibly passionate about. A-Kon especially is where I’ve met some of my best friends, people who I feel very much have improved the quality of my life and of myself as a person by being a part of my life.
Thursday night is always kind of the quiet, slow burn before the show explodes. The line to pick up badges is long, but not nearly as long as it’ll be tomorrow. People are walking around in costume, but there aren’t that many yet. For the most part, people are happy to be here, happy to get those last few stitches into their costumes or to comb the hair of their wig, and if you’re like me you usually gravitate towards the bar as a place to people watch and take care of any last minute work you have to do.
There’s a sort of game I like to play as well, the night before a convention starts. When I go down to the bar, I always make it a point to sit near people who are not obviously with the convention. 9 times out of 10, it turns out they have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on around them, and they are usually very interested in why Jessica Rabbit is eating a salad over there in the corner while a guy with a long blonde pony-tail and long red jacket (Edward Elric to those familiar with the character) is drinking beer with Goku while they watch the Spurs/Heat game. Or something to that effect. They always wonder what’s going on, why so many people are dressed up, and how it feels like they’re in a different world all of the sudden.
There were two pilots, in town for the evening, that I got to have just such a conversation with. It’s an absolute joy for me to engage with these people, and to tell them about how wonderful and amazing conventions like A-Kon are. Because nobody cares what color you are, who you’re attracted to, who you voted for, or who you worship (or if you even worship anything). None of that stuff matters. For young people,, especially those in high school, conventions like A-Kon are a great place where they can express themselves and the love they have for anime and pop culture in an environment that is completely accepting of such expression. There’s no fear of reprisal or ridicule for liking anime and video games. What’s great too, is when I talk to people who are not part of what’s going on around them, who have no idea what this is all about, they always seem really interested in it, and there’s usually overlap with parts of their lives. The two pilots I met last night, who had no idea what they were watching, had played D&D before, and one had a daughter who was a huge fan of Sailor Moon. It’s always fascinating to me to watch these peoples reactions to our conversations, and they always leave happy, often excited even, to go and see more of what A-Kon or other anime conventions are all about.
So A-Kon’s a show that draws people of all ages, of all backgrounds, and encourages us to celebrate these things we all love and enjoy with each other. This show has been around a while too. Celebrating its 25th year, even for people who are long time anime fans, A-Kon is an excellent convention to attend and an even better ‘starter’ convention for people looking for their first anime experience. The show is entirely contained in the Hilton Anatole hotel, it’s new home starting last year after leaving its long time location in downtown Dallas at the Sheraton, adjoined to the Dallas Convention Center. With panels from FUNimation, voice actors, writers, artists, and scholars covering a wide array of topics, there’s something for everyone at A-Kon. There’s video rooms, dances and raves, gaming of all variety, and of course convention staples like the Dealer’s Room and the Artist Alley.
There was a masquerade ball this evening, as well as a few other programming events that A-Kon has organized to give early attendees something to do before the show kicks off in full on Friday. This is kind of exciting to me, and I hope that it keeps growing and continues to be a part of the overall show experience as the years go on. A-Kon looks to be a great show this year, and I’ll be giving you a day by day report of all my adventures here (and even a few interviews if schedules allow). So look forward to my coverage of A-Kon 25 the rest of the weekend!
