#samuraicon

Was #Pidge today with @zhellyzee as #Shiro at #samuraicon 😘 #Voltron

#lgbt #Pride #cat loaflings ready for #ohayocon & #samuraicon! https://www.etsy.com/shop/nightengaleneedles?search_query=pride+cats

hail Green Mario our dark lord and master

I'm at #Samuraicon and taking #commissions ! This little guy is fully inked and ready to go to his new home #animeconvention #wendigo #characterart #monster

im lonely

HAPPY BIRTHDAY #VOLTRONHunk! Come check out our huge cuddly #voltron #yellowlion plush in honor of his birthday! Today ONLY, all purchases of Voltron lion #plush or pins come with a free Hunk pin while supplies last! At #Samuraicon , find #NightengaleNeedles right in front of the dealers room! (at Crowne Plaza Columbus North - Worthington)

At first glance this years Samuraicon, held at the Crown Plaza Worthington didn't seem to have much to offer to the already over saturated Anime con scene in Ohio, but closer examination revealed a young convention with a lot of potential if the right decisions are made. I have not seen the actual crowd count but it was definitely small, an issue that could be remedied by perhaps scheduling a couple of weeks earlier or later to avoid being overshadowed by the larger and already well established Ohayocon. The ticket prices were reasonable and single day passes were available with an option to upgrade by just paying the difference should you decide to come back for more (we did!) The Artists alley was full of high quality offerings including not only print art but also plushies, wearables and jewelry, comics and more. Some of the Artists I noted also had booths at Ohayocon at the same time, or had been there on previous years. Some others were new to me. They seemed to have plenty of space for their wares. The Artists Alley was set down the hall along the walls, something that has both advantages and drawbacks. One big advantage is everyone walks past your table multiple times increasing the chance of sales and to a lesser degree you aren't being rushed to leave your table at the end of the day for the room to be closed (or in the case of some cons, used for more panels and events). The disadvantage is, the table needs to be torn down nightly and reset each morning. The dealer's room was spacious and had room for many vendors, but there were only a handful in attendance. Again, they were familiar vendors, some that I happily purchase from whenever I have the funds. They were permitted to offer the Japanese snacks and drinks everyone has been missing from some of the other cons in recent years (I've heard a few different reasons, most prevalent being that the venue did not all it because it affected food sales in their establishment. I can say for certain that that rule has not been enforced equally for all cons in these spaces.) and one vendor in particular had Specialty photo booths and UFO machines that could be played with tokens bought at their booth. We tried out a UFO with Vocaloid figures and with the encouragement (and extra help) from the vendor won a very nice prize (we did spend about $20, but the figure bought outright goes for close to $40 including shipping online). I would like to see more vendors available, particularly with apparel items. Maybe something in theme with the conventions name? I typically will peek into the arcade, see the crowd of people waiting their turn for a few minutes of play and then duck out again to go find something better to do than stand  around a semi dark room full of noise. At a lot of cons I've gone to you may have a few new or different games available and the rest would be standard home platforms with the same games you have anywhere (and a few have been nothing but these platforms) which is fine if you don't have these games at home, or would like a chance to play against some new opponents, but I really like old school arcade games and trying out new things. I'm told some of the bigger cons have gotten the type of gaming I prefer, but again, they are BIG and crowded so there's little chance I will hang around. Samuraicon had the right kind of gaming and even when busy you did not have to wait long for a chance to play, nor did you feel rushed to get out of the way because of a line of people waiting their turn. There was an abundance of rhythm based games with enough variety to make you want to try them all. Reading Japanese would have been helpful, but it didn't take long to sort out what a game was about even if you couldn't read the instructions. A couple of games actually had my friends and I wishing we owned them ourselves. The panel list was a bit weak. There were a few really good sounding panels concerning martial arts, folklore, some specific anime, voice acting, resin casting, etc. But there was also what seemed to be an over abundance of 18+ panels relatively early in the evening. There's nothing wrong with having 18+ panels, there are plenty of adults who come to conventions who would like to discuss certain not-so-child-friendly topics amongst themselves, or who like some ribald humor, but there needed to be more of the general panels. I did not make it to many panels this convention, but those I did make it to I certainly enjoyed, two of which were being presented by Samurai Dan. For those with an interest in the martial arts, or even those who just like to listen to a speaker with a quick wit Dan will not disappoint (even when an unfortunate accident limits his ability to present his material. Hope you're feeling better soon Dan!). I would have liked to stop in to the cosplay contest or maybe a few more panels, but I fell short in the sleep department and that wasn't going to give me any more leeway. Sunday was claimed by another convention for the sake of doing some purchases not otherwise available (sorry, no review for that one, other than the Artist's Alley and Vendor's room we didn't actually attend anything.). I think next year I will look into doing panels and possibly, if I can juggle it, doing the Artist's Alley as well (Maybe, we'll see). I do recommend Samuraicon for a fun and more relaxed convention. With a little time and fine tuning I think they could possibly make something different enough from the run of the mill anime con to shine amidst the many and possibly become a don't miss event.

Last day for us in the #ohayocon & #samuraicon Artist Alleys!