Haven't seen the Texas thread in over a month, so I guess I'll make one since I'm a frequent poster in themUPCOMING EVENTS (that OP remembered about): Anime Frontier - Dec 6 to Dec 8 Ikkicon - Jan 10 to Jan 12 Weebcon - Apr 18 to Apr 20 A-Kon - lolDiscuss topics about Texas cons here, such as why Anime Frontier decided to give a bunch of people free Sunday passes
I can see why you'd give people free Sunday passes because it helps the dealers, drives up numbers, panels aren't usually worth a damn on a Sunday anyways, and it might drive return congoers the following year.Do you think anyone usually buys Sunday only? It's why the 3 day pass is usually the cost of 1.5 days early on.
A-Kon is dead. Why do people think it's coming back? The investors took all of the money left and then bailed.
>>10942301Honestly I'd prefer Akon stayed dead than hosting at the Irving Convention center again desu.
what's the best day to go to anime frontier?also is it a good first convention?
>>10942322I would say Sunday if you just want to shop, but any day seems fine to me.
>>10942303Will Weebcon be the next con that dies in Irving?
>>10942322Rule of thumb usually is Saturday for the best experience of conventions, though the other anon is right - Sunday best for shopping and deals and Friday if you KNOW what you want and will pay anything for it.
>thinking about going to Frontier to do some photography and shopping>check weather forecast >cold on Friday >rain on SaturdayGuess I'll wait a couple more days before deciding to buy a badge. Hopefully the forecast changes on Saturday, otherwise I suppose I'll bet on Friday and hope people will be comfortable with doing some shoots outside.
what time should I go to frontier on saturday, is it hard to find free parking?
i live like 20 minutes away from where kalahari does bullshit with ikkicon
>>10942398kek, it's 5 minutes for me, can walk there in about 40 minutes. Assuming Austinite, at least we still have anime cons in Austin proper with Ushicon coming back and KomoriCon still in its early years, just as Dream Con leaves to be Anime Matsuri's biggest competitor in Houston.
>>10942402I'm hoping this finally kills AM. It would be a glorious day.
>>10942453one can only hope
Steers or queers?
>>10942387Free Parking for downtown Fort Worth is easy. They have three parking garages around it that are free. Free Parking NEARBY the con center? No way in hell. Sorry hoss.>>10942460Both, Queer Steer.
>>10942491what's the go to free parking spot?
>>10942398ikkicon is so ass now i haven’t been since it changed to a water resort. im going this year but i haven’t been to a con since before covid and the vibe has definitely gotten worse from observation
>>10942492have yall never been to Sundance Square for real? 401 Calhoun Street in fort worth, Saturday sunday all day free, but Friday only free starting 6 pm. The other two garages nearby actually require payment. This one is WAY THE FUCK out there, 13 minute walk minimum, but at least yall got food nearby
>>10942322>>10942326>>10942336If you're going on Sunday, see if you know anyone who's going on Saturday only since a lot of Saturday-onlies got free Sunday passes emailed to them.>>10942330Weebcon seemed like they were doing fine when I went last year, and I haven't heard anything about them being out of money (though I think the funko pop store that was organizing the con closed down). The reason A-Kon died at the ICC is because their finances have been in the red ever since they got screwed over by the FWCC in 2018, they should have closed the convention when the covid lockdowns postponed the one in 2020 and it's a miracle they survived all the way until 2023, especially with how bad the con was at the ICC.>>10942377>rain on SaturdayI'd go anyway; I've seen weather forecasts in north Texas being wrong about rain so many times in the past five years that I feel like it's pointless to depend on them. Unless rain is pouring outside your window already, assume there won't be rain that day.>>10942402>just as Dream Con leaves to be Anime Matsuri's biggest competitor in HoustonHow are they already changing locations again?! I still remember when they were in Arlington for like a year, this might be their third city in five years. Do they just keep getting in trouble with whatever venue hosts them, or what?
>>10942502>Do they just keep getting in trouble with whatever venue hosts them, or what?They keep growing leaps and bounds. They figure out how to package an anime con to black people so now people fly in from all over. They sold out of passes last year as they got to be too big for the Austin Convention Center
>>10942502>How are they already changing locations again?! I still remember when they were in Arlington for like a year, this might be their third city in five years. Do they just keep getting in trouble with whatever venue hosts them, or what?In the case of Austin, it's because the Austin Convention Center will be undergoing renovations (including some demolition) in 2025, so not their fault they needed to change locations this time. If RTX were still alive, this development could've been what ended them after this year.
I usually park in the free-weekend garage right next to Bass Hall and the Cheesecake Factory. It's about .5 mi from the convention center. Will that be feasible this Saturday?
who’s waiting in line rn?
Nah this shit's too larpy Plus apparently they don't let realistic gun props in, what a shame
>>10942588
none of the fags here know what azumanga daioh
>>10942594>what azumanga daioh is
>>10942588this you nigga?
>>10942594Oldfag detected
>>10942598azumanga is more relevant than ever in zoomer week culture
Anyone else pregaming for the after party?
>>10942614>not pregaming before panels.
AnimeFrontier was pretty cool. This was only my second anime convention. I found the convention center easy to get around and the maps were really clear (except there being a middle floor that is for staff only for some reason? is that common in conventions venues?). The only things I was pretty bummed by were:>not enough interesting panels/meet-upsIt had some good ones, and I liked that they put the meet-ups in one giant location. That is good planning. I was kind of surprised by some of the choices, like 'Super Smash Bros. cosplays' or 'Trigun cosplays' (is Trigun that popular? maybe I'm out of the loop). >it felt too coorperateThere is probably a better word for this. The panels were the actual animators and producers came were extremely bland. Like why did you bring them out here just to say they liked this show? Like let them talk about specific stuff they worked on or be more free and personable. The one guy hosting the panel even sounded like he was just reading off a card the entire time. And then one panel they shooshed them off stage to show trailers for upcoming shows that I think were already shown below. Oh, can't froget to advertise the merchandise booth for the second time! Really? Just bring these people out of the country to talk about stuff we already know? Felt very weird and useless. I was wanting some behind the scenes stuff, personable stuff, etc. There were a lot of advertisments and things too. The Gundam base was a let down too besides the giant Gundam statue (which they could have easily just plopped outside the store).The actuall atendees and staff were nice though. I liked that at least.Maybe I'm spoiled and/or should have tempered my expectations though. I'm not into vtubers, genshin impact, or love live (which seems like the big focus), so maybe I just felt a bit left out too. It was pretty fun otherwise though.
>>10942682>AnimeFrontier was pretty cool. This was only my second anime convention.I personally thought it was mid, but if you thought it was cool then you're probably gonna have a blast at your next con because a lot of them tend to have more stuff to do than what was on display here. This convention felt like the logical extreme of my perception of conventions over the past ten years going from being primarily fan gatherings to being primarily pop-up anime malls where there's also a rave. Compared to the last convention I attended at the FWCC (which was A-Kon 2018), I felt Anime Frontier under-utilized the venue; for example, AFAIK the round section of the FWCC was closed off as opposed to A-Kon using it as a giant area for all the video game stuff.
>>10942502>I'd go anyway; I've seen weather forecasts in north Texas being wrong about rain so many times in the past five years that I feel like it's pointless to depend on them. Unless rain is pouring outside your window already, assume there won't be rain that day.Ended up going yesterday and I'm glad I did. Was a little cold out but still plenty of cosplayers out and about and got some alright pictures and did all the shopping I needed to do. A friend even came along last minute and entered one of the game tournaments so it was a win-win, soon as I heard the rain start coming down over in my neck of the woods today I felt even more justified in my choice. Hope I can go to more stuff next year, I was just pretty lazy this year and only went to weebcon for a day. Need to try going to one or two cons out of town since DFW is basically dead now it seems.
>>10942687That is good to hear! I only went to SanJapan before, which was amazing. I figured maybe it is because this one felt 1/3 the size smaller in size and scope than SanJapan. I felt like I was missing out on things at SanJapan while this one felt like I was going 'oh I missed/forgot about that panel... oh well'. But I'm not sure if that's the normal convention expeirence or not.Yeah, I noticed that giant room was closed off too. I snuck a glance into it when one of the doors opened up and saw a big stack of chairs inside. I guess that is where they threw all the chairs in (which I also noticed felt like seating was something the con was a bit short on).
>>10942594>no azumanga daioh >no lucky star>no lainits over for oldfags
>>10942596nah I was dressed as one of these niggas from 86
Sunday was pretty fucking busy so clearly giving out those free passes helped. I love the impromptu hallway jam sessions some folks did, and also love that this year they used the hallway for photo shoots. ALSO FOR THE LOVE OF LAIN THANK YOU FOR MOVING THE DANCING AWAY FROM THE ESCALATOR.
I'm writing this in the hopes that I'll remember next year to not stay at Aloft during Frontier.
>>10942845What happened?
Anime Frontier was pretty chill this year, Tekken tournament was a bit early for me desu. But there some nice paswg cosplayers.
I'm not seeing much hype for Ikkicon despite it being less than three weeks out... What happened here? Like, I'm starting to get the feeling Kawacon might actually steal Ikkicon's thunder this time, with it being the weekend after Ikkicon and having better guests overall so far. The only lightning-in-a-bottle I see Ikkicon having left is that damned comedy show, which will probably end up carrying the con for me like it had a couple of times in previous years.
>>10943781Ikkicon seems to remember that they have a con around November. This is not helping on the hype. Kawacon is the little con trying hard to tell people that they exist. People are noticing.
>>10943781>>10943834IKKICON IN A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKSWHOS ATTENDING?WHAT ARE U WEARING?WHAT ARE U EXCITED FORRR????build hype pls pls pls plsas for me, this will be my first ikkicon since pre-covid, everything seems so different.
>>10944106>WHAT ARE U EXCITED FORRR????I'm excited for **WHEN THE SCHEDULE FINALLY DROPS**. ANY DAY NOW!!!
>>10944112Seriously, this convention has gone so downhill. Do they even want to make money nowadays?
>>10944112So the preliminary schedule is actually out on the website under the "Know Before You Go" tab (why they didn't just call the tab "Schedule", like in previous years, is beyond me). The 2 2hu panels could be interesting tho since Ikkicon hasn't gotten 2hu panels in a long time, other than that, it's looking a little underwhelming until more of it is filled out.Now for a little speculation... it's early so grain of salt pill, but there are weather forecasting models out there starting to show that it could get really cold (temps in the teens in the Austin area) before and during Ikkicon. Got me thinking what a blow it would be to Ikkicon if we somehow got significant ice accumulation right before the con kek
so they finally posted the schedule but they posted it as a link in the discord and it's not on the website yet https://zurl.co/ev7bK i made it into a png though so here it is finally
>>10944264Do you know if a badge is required to get in the con? I haven’t been to Ikki in awhile but it used to be that they only required badges for panels and artist alley. This was pre-Kalahari days though. Does anybody know? Thank you desu
>>10944296yes a badge will be required and they have all entry points with people sitting to make sure you have one.
>>10944245Local weather stations are picking up on the possibility of wintry precipitation happening right before the con. It will probably be freezing cold (before and during Ikkicon), but not as cold as I was talking about here. Keep monitoring the weather gulls
>>10944511I work/live here and it's actually freezing bad. I can already tell it will be like last year's ikkicon where it was so icy cold you start to tear up from how bad it is. I would 100% bring jackets or blankets y'all. better to be prepared...
Between San Japan and Colossal Texas, which is historically better/has more gulls?
>>10944607San Japan if you actually want to go to a con, Colossal if you just want to party
>>10944648is there not much partying at san japan or are you saying that because colossal has the rave in the waves
>>10944653Basically this. You can't party at San Japan hotels unless you go to the Friday night club, Saturday rave or on the Riverwalk. The afterparty at the Kalahari is the only redeeming factor at an otherwise tiny con.
>>10942166are there any txcons left that appeal to weebs or is it all normieshit now. last con i went to barely had anything that wasn't a western franchise.
