Zenkaikon 2012: Miyu's convention report

Okay, I really shouldn't be writing about my Zenkaikon experience on a Sunday afternoon, since I'm ripe with post-convention depression. Zenkaikon 2012 was only a two day con this year, and since it got started at 3pm on Friday, it was kind of actually only a one-and-half-day con, so I feel like the con was finishing up as it was getting started. I came into this con a little nervous after seeing the "convention map." It was basically two big "trade show" rooms, and a couple of smaller "panel" rooms off to the side. One of the larger show rooms was the dealer's room/artist alley, which got closed off after 6pm on Friday and 8pm on Saturday, basically condensing everything into the one main room, where the concerts/raves were. Needless to say, sound bleed was not only an issue, but was expected. The good news however, was that the wide open space seemed to work to an advantage that the room never got too crowded. Even the rave had an "openness" to it, which seemed to minimize the likelihood that you'd be forced to smell other people's "con funk."

I didn't take many pictures. This was at 2pm on Friday
before the convention started. Note the wide open space;
it never really got too crowded in here which worked to
the convention's advantage.

Aside from the line for people who did not preregister, there was never really a "wait" to do anything. No dealer's room line. No lines for concerts or events. Plenty of space to sit. Since the majority of the "happenings" were in two big rooms, you really could do "everything," or at least bounce in-and-out of events if you didn't want to commit to one thing for too long, which is essentially what I did.

Half the fun of a convention is the fun you make for yourself. People were constantly "hanging out" outside the convention center and dancing and making their own fun. There was a steampunk violinist and an accordion player walking around on Friday, and Nate and I did a "renegade performance" on Saturday night as Yuki Yuki Yasumi (I'd really love to see some of those pics). The weather was perfect for "fooling around," and my favorite moments of the con were just standing outside and meeting people.

Here I am with one of the many "Homestuck" cosplay groups
enjoying the perfect weather.

Outside of the convention my friends and I ate some pretty good meals. Saturday we made the mistake of eating (or should I say over-eating) at Max and Erma's, a burger place in the convention-area complex by the Oaks Regal. It was a truly awesome 10 oz. burger and I had to carry that "food baby" around with me the entire rest of the convention. The night before we over-indulged at the Bob Evan's right next to the Hampton hotel in which we were staying.

Anyway, as for the convention itself:

Artist Alley/ Dealer's Room

I spent a lot of time (and of course money) in the dealer's room/artist alley. It was a well-balanced dealer's room which had a little bit of everything. I constantly had to walk through it to see my friends who had an artist table, which meant I was making impulse buys the entire convention, none of which I regret, except maybe the $5 melon pan. I ended up with a new anime bath towel (Heaven's Lost Property), anime bag (Heaven's Lost Property), a really really soft Totoro pillow, some figurine from some game/eroge that I didn't recognize, and my first ever piece of My Little Ponies merchandise, a Twilight Sparkle shirt (I guess I'm out of the Brony closet now).

Cosplay:

In the hotel without my wig. My arms are getting
too big for "crossplay." We were joking that I
should paint myself green and do a Hulk-schoolgirl-type
mash up.

Generally, there was more cosplay on the full day, Saturday than on Friday. I debuted my "incomplete" Nurse Witch Komugi costume. It was missing the jewelry, name tag, and stockings (I'm glad I didn't have them actually, it would have gotten too hot).

"Wait until they get a load of me." Here I am freaking out all the "normals" at  Max and Ermas., in my magical nurse costume.

I also went without the shoe covers, since they wouldn't fit. I made the mistake of wearing these "santa boots" (which were slippers) on Friday and the convention center floor tore up my feet. Friday, I did my standard short-sleeved fuku, with a wig that was just a lot of parts put together. I was a mess, but that didn't stop people from wanting pictures :).

Full body of my Komugi work-in progress costume.

Nate, of course, wore his steampunk work-in-progress costume, which just gets better and better as he continues to add to it.

Steampunk and Asahi Black (Kuronama).

Events/rooms/panels:

My favorite time at the convention might have been on Saturday night during the rave when the game room cleared out enough that you could basically get a spot on any game without a wait. I played Street Fighter vs. Tekken for the first time, and got to try out a good deal of the characters. The game room never seemed too crowded, but I felt it was lacking in "niche" tittles (No SHMUPS, fighting games that weren't mainstream, etc.) However, it covered "most" of the bases for current "competitive" games. 

The concerts and the raves were, well, "unavoidable," since they filled the main-event room with music. This was not necessarily a bad thing, since I enjoyed the acts and the DJs; but if you were in, say, the game room, you were basically at the concert or the rave too. 

I only got to access two panels late on Saturday night. One was a crossplay panel (surprise suprise), which for some reason was 21+, even though there really wasn't anything "adult" about it (unless you count "binding," the guy didn't go into any details about "tucking," so I don't see how it was "adult."

The other was the hentai panel right after it. I walked right in on it while they were showing some Yaoi, and didn't stick around because some of us were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. It was probably one of the funnier hentai panels I've "stumbled into." 

There were a number of things I didn't get a chance to do. I didn't get a chance to table top game with my artist friends, or sit in and watch the karaoke contest, which I chose to sit out of this year. I did get to meet the winner out in the parking lot and we jammed "Eyes On Me" (Faye Wong) which was random and fun (even though I forgot some of the chord changes on  my ukulele). I missed the masquerade too, which seems to be a trend for me. I also missed the fashion show.

Overall, it was a fun convention that seemed to attract a good number people, but it wasn't over-crowded. Zenkaikon bills itself as being a family friendly convention, and I met a bunch of "moms" bringing their younger kids to a con for the first time. One mom was talking to me about how her daughter was dressed as "Sealand" from Hetalia and how she got to go up on stage during the panel. It's nice to see some "new blood" at the conventions, and Zenkaikon this year was definitely a good atmosphere for first-timers. The small size of the space made it impossible to get lost, unlike some of the larger "maze" conventions that attract 20,000 or so plus people.

I did feel "old" at times, since the rave was all younger people. At least it was a good crowd that didn't start any problems that some raves have been notorious for.

Granted two days was too short, but the location next year in Lancaster seems to be promising. There is a promo video already up on you tube hyping the new location. I'm already excited!