Hard disclaimer: there was ONE year where I didn’t go to an event before 2021 but I will explain why.
Since 2007, I have gone to some kind of convention or expo, mostly centered around nerdy things like comics and gaming. Conventions and expos have such a fun atmosphere to it; everyone is excited seeing the cosplays, fans rushing to panel rooms, and people talking to vendors. So in this post, I want to go through memory lane and share what events I’ve gone to through the years. This post will only cover 2007–2013 as going through all the events would be way too long.
2007
So 2007 was the first year I went to a convention and that was Anime Expo in Long Beach, CA in July. My friends and I only went for one day which was a Friday. Honestly, I can’t remember much from the event. I didn’t take pictures and the only thing I have from it is an art print of Death Note from Artist Alley and of course my badge. I also remember randomly getting a ticket for the S.K.I.N. concert. It was basically a visual kei super band which included Gackt and Miyavi. I had no idea who they were at the time but I had a blast.
We also went to another event called Pacific Media Expo or PMX for short. This event was held in the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel in Los Angeles and I think it was sometime in the fall. PMX was centered around all media in Asia but majority of the attendees fell into two groups: anime fans and visual kei fans. This was also the first time I got an anime plushie which was of Light from Death Note.
2008
This was the first year my friends and I spent a few nights in a hotel for a convention. In this case, it was for Anime Expo 2008. AX 2008 was the first year it was in the Los Angeles Convention Center. We stayed at a hotel a few blocks down the road and had to take a shuttle to the convention center. At the time, hotels didn’t have microwaves in the rooms and if you wanted one, you’d have to pay extra. So my friends and I snuck in our own in a big box and hid it under my friend’s cosplay stuff. This was also the first time I entered in an anime music video (AMV) contest. I actually made it to the finals and my video played in the Nokia Theater (now called Microsoft Theater). It was one of the coolest moments of my life.
Fall of this year, my friends and I went back to PMX again. Not really much went on but I did find videos of my friends and I doing dramatic reading of a book we were reading in our AP English class. No, I am not sharing that video; we were so lame!
2009
My friends and I were seniors in high school and we needed something to do before the impending doom that is AP tests and graduation. So in January of 2009, we went to an event called Anime Los Angeles or ALA for short. This event was held at the LAX Marriott. It was our first time going to this event and it was a lot of fun! It was much smaller than Anime Expo but it still carried the same atmosphere. The main area people gathered was in by the pool of the hotel which was great for cosplay shoots and gatherings. It was obviously geared more towards anime so we stuck with this and dropped PMX.
After we graduated high school, we knew it was going to be harder to get together to go to these events so we HAD to go to Anime Expo 2009. We didn’t really do a lot of crazy and new things but some highlights I remember were the Code Geass and Air Gear gathering. The Air Gear gathering ran longer than it did and the Ouran High School Host club group was coming in to take over the spot. There was this random dance battle to see who got to stay. It was a fun little competition and we (the Air Gear group) left after having some laughs with the Ouran group. The Code Geass gathering was memorable because the show had just started airing on Adult Swim so it was a large gathering. We started off inside but more and more people showed up so we had to find a new area outside.
2010
This is one of my most memorable events of my early years going to conventions. As with the start of the new year, I went to ALA. For this event, I went with two of my friends, one who I went with in all previous conventions and another who I’ve known for a very long time. The Air Gear gathering was another one of the things most memorable to me. I also got to be a finalist in the AMV contest for this event and won Creator’s Choice in the drama category so that was cool!
A few months after this, two of my friends and I flew up to San Jose to attend Fanime, which was held at the San Jose Convention Center. It was my first and last time going to this event and was my first time actually traveling for a convention. The best moment of Fanime was that we got to watch FLOW perform and then attended their panel the next day. It was probably the closest I’ll ever get to them and it was amazing. Little did I know I’d see them again years later…
Despite us being geographically separated due to college, my usual group ended up going to Anime Expo again in 2010. We ended up getting a much closer hotel, the JW Marriott, so it was easier for us to go to and from the venue. It was literally right across the street. I remember waking up earlier to wait in line for the Eri Kitamura and Yuri Horie panels and was able to get both their autographs on my Tora Dora CD! Aside from seeing all my friends again, that was the highlight of my con experience.
2011
This year started to be a little slower when it came to conventions. The first convention I went to was Anime Central in Rosemont, IL. For this event, I went with my boyfriend at the time (now husband), Ray. We only went for a day and I remember mostly waiting in line for it. This was also the first and last time I went to the event, but I do want to go back again for it.
That year, I also went to Major League Gaming (MLG) 2011 in Anaheim, CA. It was my first gaming event. I definitely felt out of place because competitive gaming was still new to me. Most of the attendees were competitors and not many were there to spectate like me. I also dragged my brother to this event who had very little care in the world for it but it got him to go outside.
2012
Ok so remember in my disclaimer where I said that there was one year I actually didn’t go to an event? Well this is it, 2012. This year, Ray and I had a little stay-cation at Disneyland. I also took my brother to California Adventure as his present for graduating elementary school. I kind of flew through my money on other trips this year. Plus, I just started a part-time job so it was hard for me to get some time off. Moving on.
2013
My first event in 2013 was a return to MLG Anaheim. I mostly went alone but did meet up with college friends. Honestly, I was there to watch Call of Duty but most of my friends were either into StarCraft 2 or League of Legends. I wouldn’t say it was really memorable aside from meeting influencers in the gaming world.
2013 also marked my return to Anime Expo. I roomed with one of my friends who I used to go to AX with and her boyfriend. I don’t really remember doing much and I didn’t take as many photos. My badge was only for a Friday and Saturday but I think I only was there for the Saturday. It was still really fun to come back to this event. I missed seeing my friend and it was so nostalgic being back together at a convention.
Final Thoughts
Alright so I’m going to end my post at 2013. I want to consider 2007–2013 my early years of being a convention attendee. There were a lot of cringe-y pictures and videos I combed through to jog my memory of these events but at the same time, I miss it. They were simpler times where we were young, fresh out of high school and free to do stupid things. I honestly can’t believe some of these pictures and videos are over 10 years old!
Anyways, for next week’s post, I’m going to focus on 2014–2017. While there are only 4 years, there were a lot of events I went to so I will see you all back here next Saturday!
