Nekocon 2013: Hello Kitty, Networking, Fangirls

Nekocon 2013

On the first weekend of November I like going to an anime convention called Nekocon. What I like about anime conventions is that I get to meet geeks who love anime, do not mind walking around in costume (rather that costume covers them completely or barely), and generally don’t mind acting like fools.  This is a place where I can be myself and enjoy the wackiness of other like-minded geeks.

Panels and Anime

There were a lot of panels and events to go to this Nekocon.  Some panels I skipped over others.  This year I wanted to learn about networking and finding out how my target demographic thinks (I have an indie game development website called Dark Siren Games).

“How to Make Your Nerd Job a Reality”, “Girls Can Be Heroes Too”, “Yaoi 101”, and “Hello Kitty Birthday Party” was some of the most informative and fun panels I have been to.  The best advice I got for making my dream job a reality (making indie games, selling my artwork, and meeting fans of my work), was to sit down and draw and never stop drawing.   

I have been hearing about Free for a very long time now.   Apparently the first season is already over with, there’s a live action version in the making, and this show is aimed at the often forgotten fan girls. Me,  being the target demographic, I happily ignored the anime’s flaws and enjoyed the humor and tons of eye candy.  There will be a review for this anime soon.  The best part about watching Free at Nekocon was that I got to watch this anime with a ton of other happy fan girls.

Tournaments, Dolls, & Meeting Like Minded People

Tournaments are normally a competitive atmosphere where the players are skilled, the judges have the games fully updated, and everyone can bring their controllers. Unfortunately Nekocon tournaments have none of these qualities. I had to play UNPATCHED Injustice: Gods Among Us on a crappy Xbox 360 controller, in a room full of 97 percent of button mashing scrubs. I was the only one who ever wagered on purpose, blocked, didn't save my meter for a super, and gave the tournament winner a real fight.

After the "tournament", I took out my frustrations on whoever played Injustice in the game room (with the help of my arcade stick) making sure to destroy their hopes and dreams of playing the game in the process.  Out of my rage, I cleared the Injustice section twice, had people afraid to pick up the controller and face me, only three out of ten people beat me, and I manged to introduce a person to my fighting game scene.

As far as I know, Otakon is the place to be for good tournaments at an anime convention.  Next time I go to my fighting game scene, I'm giving someone a hug.  

My Video about My Time at Nekocon 2013:

Possible Manga to Review

This was a nice Nekocon.  I hope to go to more conventions in the future and post my experiences here.

Of Anime and Video Games