One year after moving to Holland Park
Animecon 2013 is over. They left their familiar surroundings in Almelo to give room for growth in the World Forum in The Hague.
It has been an interesting convention. This was the first time I didn’t cosplay on Saturday. I was going to do the cover girl of the art book One Voice by Shunya Yamashita. Unfortunately everything didn’t get finished in time.
This was the 10th time I visited the Animecon. For a while I was thinking about stopping visiting conventions and this one in The Hague really made this final.
Good things about the Con
– Deshima Sounds were the best few hours of the con. My friends and I had loads of fun dancing. The vibe was good. It did get a bit sweaty after a while, but that didn’t spoil the fun.
– The dealer room was very spacious. The dealers and the artists were mixed again and because of the space there never was a queue.
– The Theater room. It was very spacious and the lights were amazing.
– Cosplay prop rules. The organization was really lenient with the rules. You could walk around the convention grounds without gophers bothering you about your props.
Things that need improvement
– It really missed the vibe it had in Almelo. In the past it felt like you were part of a small and exclusive group. In the World Forum they grew from 2800 to 4500 visitors. This was noticeable; it felt very massive and impersonal.
– On Friday a prom/gala was organized. So I got a nice dress to go all out on this evening. The music was terrible. I thought the whole prom was overrated anyways because people had too romantic expectations of it. But it sure could’ve been nicer.
– It was damn cold! Don’t know what they did with the air conditioning. On Sunday it was nice and sunny outside while inside it was freezing. Especially the first part of the entrance. Because of this, I didn’t mind that much that my cosplay wasn’t finished.
– The elevators of the hotel. They just had 2 for 12 floors; it was always a long wait.
– The game room was too spacious. It didn’t have that cozy feeling that it always had. I have to admit it also has less sweaty-geek-smell. But I guess that was part the game room
– Lighting! As a photographer I hardly took any pictures because the light at the convention was terrible. In Almelo there was a park nearby. It’s strange that they had set up special photo spots at a place that was so dark. These spots were only usable for photographers with their own light set and wanted to take the trouble putting it up. I’m lazy, so I didn’t.
Small things that make you happy
– My Ivy picture was part of a cosplay wall in the main hall.
– My Ivy cosplay also showed in a video at the closing ceremony of just one of the four cosplay pics.
– It’s great seeing everyone again. It are you guys that make this weekend happen.
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We want more, we want more!