by Ryan Mathews

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August 1998

Well, I'm back! Another July, another pilgrimage to Southern California. Yes, another Anime Expo has come and gone and once again, I was there. After the near-disaster that was last year's con, I'm pleased to say I had a great time this year, or at least as good a time as I have at any convention. People ask me why I spend $450 to fly to a convention halfway across the country when there's so many great cons within driving distance. Sometimes I wonder myself.

Such as when I'm standing in insanely long lines for hours waiting for some event to start, having no clue as to what going on at the front of the line. It was enough to make me wonder if perhaps I'd flown too far west and had landed somewhere in Russia. This atmosphere was enhanced by the volunteer security force, to whom I affectionately refer as "line nazis". Giddy with their first taste of power, they bark out commands and accept no dissent. My favorite "line moment" was waiting for the masquerade when, after waiting for an hour or so, the line began to move, to the cheers of the crowd. The line moved forward about 50 feet or so and then stopped. After they'd gotten our hopes up, we then held there for another ninety minutes. Only when I got to the front of the line did I finally figure out what had happened. All they'd done was let the front of the line into the building, but not the room. As we stood (and sat), we were treated to odd looks by people arriving for a religious convention next door.

Fortunately, this year the line had a happy ending, as everyone was seated and enjoyed a great show. After an hour and a half of costumes, I think most everybody had forgotten the wait, or at least weren't angry about it anymore.

I'm also happy to report that the world's otaku seem finally to be getting the message about personal hygiene. There were far fewer instances of "elevator stench" this year. Anyone who's been to a con knows what I'm talking about. To paraphrase the famous commercial: "Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish you had a fire hose?"

This is my seventh Expo (I've been to them all), so you'd think I'd have some great stories to tell. Not really. If you want cool con stories, you'll have to talk to my friend Eric. He can tell you how, at one con, a voice actress came to his room and more or less stripped to the waist so the guest of honor could do body art on her. Where was I, you ask? Uh, asleep. It was 3:00 AM. See, the problem is, I'm kinda boring. I don't drink, and 2 in the morning is my limit before I'm used up. I find that many cool con stories involve early morning hours and intoxicating beverages, so that pretty much rules me out.

Of course, my lack of partying usually means that I have fewer run-ins with hotel security. People who tried to have parties at AX allegedly had an awful time. For that matter, it seems that every dang con I attend has problems with the rent-a-thugs shutting down parties. It happened at Anime Central as well, and was reported to be the source of a falling out between convention and hotel.

No, the closest to a "cool thing" that happens to me at conventions is the panels I sit on. I've never been to a convention where I haven't been on at least one panel. This year it was the fan-fiction panel once more, another lively affair, if a short one. There was supposed to have been an "Anime On-Line" panel as well, but everyone was outside, waiting in line for the masquerade, so that was canceled.

So anyway, to answer the question: why do I make the trip to SoCal every year? Well, partly to meet all the folks I only see at cons. Then again, many of those guys make the trip to Anime Central or Katsucon, so I see them there. No, I think the main reason is because... well... because it's Anime Expo! It's The Big One! As much as I've enjoyed the other cons I've attended, they feel like club meetings after I've been to Expo. You haven't lived until you've been in the "dealer's room stampede", as 900 to 1000 people leave the opening ceremonies and rush to impoverish themselves. 4500 people were there this year. The video rooms were all huge theaters. The smallest sat 400. The largest was as big as the main hall at some of the smaller cons. The dealers room went on and on and on.

Does this make it more enjoyable than a smaller con? Of course not. I've had some of my best experiences at the smaller cons, mainly because all of my friends were there. (Most can't afford to fly to AX.) What Expo's size does is to make it different from other cons. Anime Expo's location makes it different as well for this Midwesterner. Chicago and D.C. aren't all that different from Ohio, but Anaheim sure as hell is.

Anime Expo is a unique experience, and if you can afford to check it out at least once, you should.

On to this month's column!!