New to the anime convention world?  This guide will take you through the basics of anime conventions,  with special attention is given to the needs of cosplayers, and to answering concerns parents may have about the potential dangers present at conventions.  Section one covers pre-convention preparation including finding and registering for a con, budgeting and cosplay planning.  Part two covers the day of the con's arrival, including packing, surviving the registration.  Part three deals with convention conduct and behavior, including navigating hazards in the halls, making friends and dealing with the quirks of convention otaku.  This is just a practical guide to con planning and behavior: for information about the events, programming, areas and shopping available at cons, see earlier chapters of Conventions 101.

Section 1:  BEFORE THE CONVENTION:

1) Picking a con
2) Pre-registraiton
3) Event registration
4) Hotel Rooms
5) Cosplay Planning Timetable
6) Common Cosplay Planning Hazards

PICKING A CON

You should always judge an anime con by two things, its web page and word of mouth.  Anime-cons.com has reliable information about and links to pretty much all anime conventions, as well as info on guests and acts that frequent cons.  It is important to remember, though, that all cons have particular characteristics and specialties which aren't always made clear on their web sites, and are best learned by asking others who have attended before.  Most cons are general, but a few specialize in one aspect of fandom, such as shoujo, yaoi, amerimanga or online comics.  The largest cons have the biggest budgets, which usually means the most impressive Japanese guests, but smaller local cons are friendlier and less overwhelming, and they are better for meeting fans and clubs active in your home area and making long-term friends.  The larger a con is, the more will be going on at once, so at a smaller con you may find gaps between the programming that interests you, while at larger cons you more often face the frustration of having to choose between multiple events going on at the same time.  Often, though, the best part of a con is not the any aspect of the con itself but experiencing it with a friend, so given a choice I always prefer to go to whatever con my friends are also going to.

Remember, there are cons out there for things other than anime.  Larger comic book, science-fiction and fantasy themed cons are common across the US, and many are older than any anime cons.  Frequently these cons have an anime room, some anime sellers in the dealers' room and other anime programming, so if you can't find an anime-only con near you, you may want to look for a more general con.  These cons can also be good for families who have some otaku members and other members who may not be into anime but do like old-school sci-fi.  Simply google your hometown or nearby cities plus the words "con" "convention" "sci-fi" and "fantasy" to see what you can find.


PRE-REGISTRATION

Virtually all conventions require you to register and pay to attend.  You can usually register online many months before the convention itself, and online registration usually gets a discount of $10, $15 or even $20.  Some conventions let you register as a group, and offer group discounts as incentives for anime clubs.  Preregistrations are usually not transferable or refundable, so be sure you want to attend before you register.  You can register most easily online, or but many cons send representatives to other nearby cons to accept registrations in person.  Online registration (and its discount) usually stops a few weeks before a con, so be sure to register in advance.  Conventions also accept registration at the door, though this is more expensive.  On very rare occasions a convention will meet its quota and stop allowing at-the-door registrations, so if you want to be 100% sure of being admitted you should register in advance.

Whether you register ahead of time or at the door, there will be a very, very long line to pick up your badge.  The length of the line is variable, but you should not be surprised by a wait of one to three hours, possibly longer.  The lines for people who registered in advance is separate from the line for at-the-door registration, and the at-the-door line is often shorter, but both usually have a long wait.  When you pick up your badge, you will be required to present a photo ID to verify your identity before they give you your badge, so be sure to bring one – you don't want to wait in line for three hours only to be turned away.  Most important, sometimes the con has no choice but to have part of the line wait outside, and in extreme cold or heat this can be a health hazard, so check the weather and make sure you dress appropriately, and bring beverages in the summer.  Many people wear their costumes in line, but you should think carefully before planning to wear a costume which is incompatible with the day's weather.  At Otakon 2006 more than twenty people (out of a crowd of well over 10,000) were taken away in ambulances after fainting in the registration line on an exceptionally hot Friday morning – all were fine after resting and having some water, but it is still important to be careful.  Sunscreen is also a wise precaution.  ADVANCED ADVICE: Some conventions let you pick up your badge on the evening of the last day before the con, usually Thursday – this is an excellent idea since the line will be shorter, and you don't have to sacrifice several hours of the convention to wait in a long line. 

Left:  A fraction of the pre-reg line at Otakon 2004.  This was taken on the Thursday, before the con, and represents less than a quarter of those who had the foresight to pre-register.

EVENT REGISTRATION

Some events and activities at conventions require you to sign up or apply ahead of time to participate.  Others allow at-the-door entries, but give priority to those who register ahead of time.  If you want to enjoy every aspect of the con, you will want to make sure to register in advance for any activates you intend to participate in.  Advanced registration will usually be an option Masquerade and other Costume Contests, Artist's Alley tables and Art Show space, Karaoke contests, and game shows like Cosplay Human Chess and the Anime Dating Game.  Entries in the AMV contest must also be submitted ahead of time, and some other contests also require this, though it varies enormously from contest to contest and con to con.  Advanced registration for programming is almost always conducted online.  Some events tend to become full, and stop accepting registrations after a certain point, especially the Masquerade and Artist's Alley, so if you want a space you should check the web page early and frequently for registration information.  There is no pattern to how early or how late conventions will accept event registrations.  I have seen Masquerade registration six in advance of the con and fill up within three weeks of opening; I have also seen registration open only a few weeks before a con and never fill.  The record is probably Artist's Alley registration for Anime Boston 2006 which filled up five minutes after the registration form went online – for this reason cons sometimes announce ahead of time when registration is going to open so people can lurk online and snag spaces.


HOTEL ROOMS

Some convention attendees commute, but many stay in hotels, which allows you to stay later and arrive earlier than if you have to drive.  Pretty much all conventions make arrangements with all the nearby hotels to reserve rooms at a reduced rate for attendees.  These rooms can be reserved through links on the convention web pages, but they tend to sell out quickly, so it is best to reserve them well in advance.  Getting a reduced convention rate does NOT mean these rooms are cheap, they are usually still quite expensive, but they usually do allow extra people to stay in a room without extra charge, so you can usually share with several friends and save money, so long as you are willing to camp on the floor.  If you have no roommate to share a room with, you can often find one by posting on Cosplay.com or the online forums associated with your convention's web site, but you must always be careful when planning to share a room with strangers.

Right:  The view within a hotel room during Onna! 2005 – close quarters and buzzing with activity.

COSPLAY PLANNING TIMETABLE

It is vital to plan ahead when making a costume for a convention, since few things will sour your mood at a convention like watching all the other cosplayers display their work while yours is at home half done.  While it is entirely possible to make an entire costume in the week before the con, it is easy for things to go wrong, and even if things go right you'll usually be exhausted at the con, and more exhausted afterwards when you come home to a mountain of work you put off while making the costume.  Costumes vary enormously in how much time they take to make, but I usually try to start a costume six months before a con if I want to be absolutely sure I can finish it WITHOUT sacrificing any of my other fun activities or getting behind on my work.  Two months is enough for most costumes if you're willing to give up your other hobbies, but I don't recommend it.

When planning your costume, always make an inventory of your costume and put the costume items in a list in order of priority.  Make the most vital items first, like pants and shirts, leaving outer garments and accessories for later – if you don't finish them in time you can still wear the basic costume, then finish the rest for another con.  It is also vital to figure out early on which items you will want to order online, so you can order them in time.  Frequently eBay is the best source for unusual costume props, but eBay auctions can take 6 days to end and another week to ship, so you need to budget two weeks to be certain any eBay item will get to you in time.  Always order your wig early if you are using one, so you have time to order another if it turns out to be disastrously wrong.  ADVANCED ADVICE: Cosworx.com and other major cosplay supply companies are always swamped in the 2-3 weeks right before major cons like Otakon and Anime Expo, so if you need to order from them, do it in advance.

A final vital step which many cosplayers skip is to test your finished costume at home before the con.  Frequently there are small errors in costume construction which are impossible to spot until you wear the costume, but which will make it look bad, hurt you, or even fall apart after some wear.  Two days before the convention, put on as much of your costume as you have finished and wear it, not just for a few minutes, but for a few hours.  I like to wear mine on a walk to my local anime store or bookstore, which simulates the wear and tear of wearing it around a con, and lets me show off my work and meet fun people who spot me among the manga shelves.  After a little trip like that, all the little glitches in the costume design will become clear, and can be easily fixed at home – if you wait until the convention to discover that your Sephiroth boots give you blisters or your Faye Valentine top rides up and exposes a bit more than you'd like, you'll be very, very sad.

Left:  Ginza (from Speed Grapher) having her way with Saiga: it takes clear fishing line, body glue and sewing her into the bodice to keep that top up – you don't want to wait until the morning of the con to discover this about your costume.


COMMON COSPLAY PLANNING HAZARDS

The first goal of cosplay is too look like the character, but the second is to be able to enjoy a con in the mean time.  There are a few planning errors which people often make while concentrating on look over utility. You will want to have pockets in your costume, to carry your wallet and keys – if your costume doesn't have them, you can often add them without changing the look.  You will want to have a bag to carry bigger things, and it looks silly if Integra Hellsing has a Hello Kitty backpack – review the series you're cosplaying and you can often figure out what kind of bag your character caries.  You will want to go to the bathroom, so make sure your costume does not prevent this.  For complicated costumes involving leotards, adding a snap closure to the crotch will let you go to the bathroom much more easily.  You will want to be able to sit down – if your costume makes this difficult, practice until you figure out a way to at least lean on a chair and rest.  Your costume should not draw blood – if this is a risk, pad the rough edges with tape or Band-Aids.  Finally, scanty costumes frequently have "structural integrity issues," which can result in a costume slipping enough to expose part of your body which it shouldn't.  This is bad.  If you fear a costume might slip, use spirit gum or another form of body glue to secure it in place – clear bra straps and fishing line are also good for securing anatomically-awkward costume.

Temperature is another big issue.  In service of their art, cosplayers do not shrink from wearing a bikini in February or a wool overcoat in August, but that doesn't make us immune to heatstroke and pneumonia.  Most scantily-clad characters put outerwear at some point in their series, and most characters who wear a coat take it off at least to sleep or shower.  Find out what your character wears under or over his or her normal costume and prepare that too.  That way if you find your teeth chattering or you start to pass out in the registration line, you'll be prepared to strip, or throw on a coat, without breaking character. 

Left:  Image from an Elegant Gothic Lolita photo shoot.  While the model’s depiction is rather impressive, note the snow encrusted background, and the fact that this was taken in temperatures that were well below freezing!  Don’t try this at home, kids!

BUDGETING AND TRANSPORTATION

Cons are expensive.  Setting aside the $45 to $60 registration fee, there are many other wallet-eating gremlins lurking at cons.  Eating is a big expense, since convention center and hotel food is overpriced, and even the nearby restaurants tend to be steep.  Packing a lunch can reduce this cost, but you should still expect to spend at least $20 a day on food, more if you need caffeine regularly.  Parking near hotels and convention centers is frequently expensive, so you may need to budget upwards of $15 per car per night for that.  Public transit can save you this expense, but you have to be sure to carefully wrap cosplay weapons while taking them on busses and trains – on airplanes you need to check them.  Cosplay is frequently expensive, as anyone who has tried to make a costume knows, and however much you spend on your costume, you must also budget extra for last-minute expenses as you inevitably discover you need more safety pins, new makeup or a new wig cap right before the con.  Finally there is the Dealers' Room, where any otaku can easily spend hundreds of dollars in only a few hours.  However disciplined you may be, it is usually no fun to go to a con knowing you can't spend ANY money in the Dealers' Room, so I always recommend checking your finances and bringing at least a little spending cash so you won't go home frustrated.

That's it for now, but look for our next installment: The Con Arrives!