2012 Anime and Comic Conventions


One of my favorite experiences of the year is attending an anime or comic book convention. It brings joy to my heart to go to a place where people can go together for the common love of anime, manga, video games, comic books regardless of social status, education, ethnicity, and religion. Starting this weekend is the beginning of my incredibly packed year of attending these conventions. In these conventions I go as an executive representing Anime Expo, but I also go as a general fan to do cosplay photography, hang out with friends, and make new friends. Without further ado, here are the conventions I will be attending for 2012.

Conventions I will be attending (barring any catastrophic events):
  • Anime Los Angeles (January) - Saturday
  • Wondercon (March) - Friday
  • Anime Conji (March) - Saturday
  • Anime Expo (July) - All Convention
  • Comic Con International (July) - Saturday
  • Comikaze Expo (November) - Saturday
  • Pacific Media Expo (November) - Saturday
I will be attending these eight conventions as part of my convention circuit for 2012. It starts with Anime Los Angeles in the beginning of the year. After that is a fairly long period of rest, which is helpful since I am working on my Master's Thesis, which isn't coincidentally based on anime conventions. My list of conventions gets very intense on the weekend of March 16th where I do two conventions in one weekend. These two cons are also around 120 miles apart so I will be doing a lot of driving that weekend. The convention block gets very busy in July where I dedicate an entire week to Anime Expo and in a couple of days I will be driving to San Diego for Comic Con. After that period is a long period of rest until Comikaze Expo and Pacific Media Expo for the month of November. While I am doing eight conventions, the conventions are also spaced apart giving me plenty of time to relax so that I do not burn out. The list consists of 3 comic book conventions and 5 anime conventions.

Conventions I may attend:
  • Fanime (May) - All Convention
Due to the very long distance of Fanime from where I live combined with the uncertainty of my class schedule in the time period in which the convention is held, Fanime is a big maybe. Even if I can get a hotel room and find people to carpool with to save on costs, my school uncertainty makes it hard.

While my convention lineup is packed, I would like to point out that there is one convention that I am not going to. It is not because the distance burdens me or that I somehow dislike the venue, the reason I am not attending this convention is because I am banned/blacklisted from this convention due to my executive position running Anime Expo. It is unfortunate that I cannot go to this event, so if you need a cosplay photographer during this event, I will gladly point to someone who is not affected by this issue. On the other hand, if you want a cosplay photographer for all the other cons that is listed, please contact me at kriszphotography@gmail.com.

This year looks like an amazing year for Anime and Comic Conventions. This incredible lineup of conventions is quite possibly one of the most packed schedules of conventions I have ever done. With that said, I have spaced it out enough that I do not get burned out from attending these events. If you attend these events, don't be afraid to look for me and say hi. Hopefully in the future I can expand to conventions across the United States and Canada.

Comments

amateur_cameko said…
You could squeeze in the London MCM Expo in May...I'm thinking of doing that if my Olympics plans fall through...I'm not sure which event is cheaper...
January 7, 2012 at 7:57 AM
Anonymous said…
Ugh!! Why would someone ban you from their convention. You are one of the nicest photographers in California.
January 10, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Angie Woo said…
Unfortunately I won't be going to Anime Conji since I'll probably be working on Fridays and I won't be cosplaying at Wondercon. I'm actually going to Sakuracon and Fanime but the next con I'll see you at (in cosplay) is Anime Expo!
January 11, 2012 at 8:26 PM
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