Thoughts on my first trip to Kumoricon

[PaladinCecil]

This year was my first trip to Kumoricon and I wanted to say that it was an awesome experience. I started attending Sakura Con in '03 and have attended it three times and the memories I had there made me want to start attending more anime cons and I must say that I'm glad I made that decision. Kumoricon was as great an experience as the experiences that I've had at Sakura Con and I plan on attending Kumoricon on a regular basis. There are so many things that just made me as comfortable as I am at Sakura Con (and Kumoricon despite being a smaller convention even has some edges over Sakura Con). I met a lot of cool people that I connected with and I also like the number of people who attend the con. Attendance is not big, but it's not small either. It's a very comfortable amount of people. Even though I like both Sakura and Kumoricon equally, I can see why a lot of people prefer Kumoricon over Sakura Con. I also like the fewer restraints there. It sucks that you can't have signs at Sakura Con (I can't understand why) and I thought it was cool seeing people with the cool signs they had. I also like how Kumoricon has so many more conveniences than Sakura Con. The events are easier to get to and admission is cheaper. Plus, it's even easier to get rooms. I got my room the day before the convention started and I also like the unique panels the convention has.

Question for other con attendees: Who all has attended both Kumoricon and Sakura Con, which one did you attend first and which do you like better, or do you think they're both pretty equal?

[Menchiburger]

Sakura-Con '04 was my first con and since then I've been to Comic-Con, Sakura-Con '05 and now Kumoricon. I did like that Kumoricon was smaller: The atmosphere was more relaxed--At S-Con you have to stand in line for hours to get a cosplay skit ticket, and then stand in line for hours again to get into the event, while at Kumoricon I walked up a couple hours before the event, got my ticket, and stood in line for maybe an hour before the event (but I was number 47!), so I could have waited to get in line even longer had I wanted to.  All events, really, seemed easier to get into, security wasn't in people's faces for the tiniest things, and everything just felt very--serene, or at least as serene as a con can get.  However, I did think the quality of the skits and AMVs weren't as good, though maybe it was just a bad year, and no dealer's rooms can ever compare to that of Comic-Con, but even for Kumoricon I thought the dealer's room was very, very small.  I guess to sum it up, I like K-con's atmosphere much, much better, but I like Sakura-con's quality a bit more--but since S-con has several years on K-Con, I can't begrudge K-Con for that.  So I think they're both pretty equal.

[Sesari]

Sakuracon '04 was my first convention, so I guess I'm still somewhat of a newbie. This year's Kumoricon was my first visit to Portland, and I really did honestly enjoy it. To each of the three conventions I've been to I've gone with some pretty hardcore con-veterans who've familiarized me with most things from the start, and have been able to help direct me towards what was fun, what was not, what was worth waiting a while for, when to shop, etc. etc.

I've got to agree with PaladinCecil about the attendance being kind of relaxing. I liked the smaller community in a way, but if there were particular people that I wasn't particularly fond of, I seemed to keep running into them. Not a big deal, though, and certainly not something under the staff's control.

For the most part, the staff was polite and helpful, although I kind of got the feeling that at least a handful of the folks working there didn't want to be there at all, or just didn't like talking to strangers. (From what I witnessed, anyway)

This was also my first time actually attending a panel, and I was thoroughly impressed with Dr. Levi's presentation. Sure, we got a little sidetracked and it eventually turned into the audience talking about their personal experiences rather than Dr. Levi being able to finish her slides, but we were scheduled for an open discussion anyway... I just wish it would have happened when it was supposed to instead of beforehand so we could've heard all of what Dr. Levi wanted to say.

We were also very impressed with the room the exhibition hall was held in. The variety was a little limited, but it was spacious, much more so than Sakuracon's buyer's room, which was a definite plus. My friends and I spent a little time selling in the artist's alley and were regretting not having some hand-held or electronic fans handy, but otherwise we had a blast.

Anyway, all in all, both Sakuracon and Kumoricon have their pros and cons. I know this doesn't really answer any questions, but I liked them equally. One thing I can say for sure though is that I absolutely adored Portland itself. Did anyone get a chance to stop by Powell's downtown while they were visiting? Biggest used bookstore I've ever seen. It was marvelous.  :wink:

[Rushifa]

I've attended the past Kumoricons, as well as Sakuracon '04 and Anime Expo '03 (or '02, I can't really remember), and so far I think Sakuracon was my favorite.  This Kumoricon felt a little lacking for me, but I think that had something to do with having not been staying in the hotel.  While at the other cons (not counting Kumoricon '03, since it was in my home town of Eugene), I've been in hotels, and it really adds to the whole con experience.  That said, I was very happy with the dealers room, but it felt like there wasn't all that much going on throught the day.  There were some highlights, like the cosplay and the bakazoku pannel, but overall it felt like there was lots of down-time when nothing really interesting was happening.  I was also disapointed that so few people entered the cosplay or the art gallery.

[mightycrouton]

This was my first convention, and I think I've mentioned that too many times for my own liking.

Only less than two months ago I was like "Eeeww.. Convention people... dressed up as cartoons. Yuck. God. Never would be there!"

My friend tried to convince me and I nearly didn't go, but my family told me I should so I did.

Best decision I've ever made in a loooong time.

I'm very much a Closet Otaku. I try to keep my fandom away from others. Hell, after I got back from the convention, people were asking me where I went and my reply was:
"A retreat"

I'm still shy about sharing that with others, but despite that... I am so cosplaying as a Female Solid Snake complete with a cardboard box this upcoming Sakuracon =)

[Hermisia_kitty]

Good to know there were other reluctant con-goers.  Up until like 10 AM saturday morning, I didn't know if I wanted to attend.  Thank goodness I made the right decision.