The title of this is what I asked myself before I went, keep in mind I NEVER been to an Anime Con before.
Not to sound heartless but it seems to focus on anime related merchandise as the Dealers Area was HUGE, it took of 3/4 of the space in the convention hall they were using. You could find just about anything you can think of.
They also had an area where you could play fight with padded sticks.
As to the rest panels and shows, not to forget autographs
Anime Midwest had The Nostalgia Critic, and his was the longest line.
So what do I think draws people to these cons. In brief cosplay with your friends, as well as other cosplay players. Quite a bit of that was going around.
As to how many or at least what percentage was wearing costumes. This will surprise you less than 10% at least at Anime Midwest where I was.
Any surprises, a couple. First of all there were only 2 dealers even selling anime on DVD/Blu Ray, and there was this 1 dealers selling retro games. No imports and surprising nothing all to hard to find either. There was also a dealer buying Magic the Gathering cards.
So was it worth the $40 I paid to get in? Nearly, although I did enjoy myself, and I did buy a few things. Even went to a panel or 2. I don’t think I will be coming back…at least not to Anime Midwest. You would be surprise for what reason, namely I went alone. It seems anime cons are most enjoyable when your with friends.
Furry Times 