Con Review gives readers the quick need to know run down of major geek conventions and expos, with ratings and basic reviews that highlight the best of each con while giving you a reference to look back on as you decide where to make your geeky vacations of the future.

Con Name: Anime Conji

Location: San Diego CA

Dates: March 16th-18th, 2012

Ticket Costs:

3 Day Badges will be $50 at onsite registration

1 Day Badges are also available

$20- Friday, March 16, 2012

$30- Saturday, March 17, 2012

$20- Sunday, March 18, 2012

Website: http://www.animeconji.org/2012/

History: Anime Conji is run by a group of local San Diego fans who have a passion for anime culture and volunteer their time, energy, and effort toward putting together a great and unique convention. They have an interest in providing entertainment for like-minded individuals, and who better to bring the fun than the fans themselves? Their goal is to promote fandom culture as a whole and to foster the subculture of the anime fandom in San Diego and beyond. The convention serves as a place to celebrate, share, and appreciate Japanese animation, manga, music, and its associated cultures.

Major Guests:

Jacob Grady

Robert Trebor

Jon Allen

Todd and Crystal Graziano

David Gallagher

 

Major Exhibitors:

JS Anime

HobbyFan.com

Soy Fashion

Villanous Lair Comics

Butterfly Frillies Corsets

Young Productions

Fakku

Violet Tea Society

 

Review:

The Price and Venue-

Anime Conji is a fairly affordable con, only costing around $50 for a three-day pass. The hotel rooms were reasonably priced at just around $100 a night, with the discount for attending the convention. Parking was $4 a day, with in and out privileges if you told them you were staying at the hotel, but it was still an unfortunate $12 extra just for parking at the hotel of the convention. The actual hotel itself, The Town and Country Hotel, seemed to be a popular destination point as two conventions were being held there at the same time. Anime Conji had the honor of sharing the hotel with a teacher’s convention taking place the very same weekend. Finding registration without knowing the layout of the hotel was slightly difficult because of this, as we could see very few signs. The signs we did find were handwritten and slightly hard to follow. This was also complicated by the fact that the convention took place on the opposite end of the hotel from previous years. Throughout the con it was easier to learn where things were. Although it was slightly spread out, there were only a couple of different places people gathered for panels or events. The panels and showing rooms were, for the most part, easy enough to find. There were a few panels that were, for some reason, away from the bulk of the convention and were hard to track down though. But with the help of the map and some fellow con-goers, we were able to find everything we needed.

 

Panels, Events, and Activities. Oh my!

Throughout the three-day con, there were many things that a con-goer could do. The panels were fun and exciting, but the enjoyment level varied from panel to panel and your own interest level in the material. There were panels such as an Adventure Time panel, the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic panel, Anime Last Comic Standing, Team Lift XMA demonstration, the Robert Trebor (Hercules and Xena) Q&A, and even some 18+ excitement with the creator of Fakku.com.

There were supposed to be two different burlesque shows, but unfortunately the girls got sick and the “Gamer Girl Burlesque” show was cancelled. However, all was well when the Fairy Tale Burlesque show was put on! There were four different beautiful girls putting on this show, and throughout the entirety of the performance, there were many different costume changes. Some of them included: Panty (from Panty, Stocking, and Garterbelt), Rainbow Dash (From My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Samus (from the Metroid video games), Mars (from Sailor Moon), and also awesome costumes that ranged from Little Red Riding Hood to a sexy, independent Amazon woman. There was no nudity in the show, but the girls did strip down to their sexy lingerie. They used props such as hula hoops and fans in their production, and all in all it was an arousing experience.

Team Lift XMA, a stunt team that is based out of Southern California, focused their panels on martial arts stunts and free running/parkour. It’s creator, Dustin Breiter, along with the rest of the group: Erik Grongberg, Anton the Anton, and Dave Bloom, did several panels throughout the weekend and put on a fabulous performance on the last day of Anime Conji. They showed the crowd not only what each move they were doing was, but then put on an unscripted fight scene for the rest of us to enjoy.

The Fakku.com creator, Jacob Grady, had some fun things planned for his panel. Not only did the audience get to see sexy pictures of naked women and men in precarious sexual positions, but we also were in for a treat with his hilarious banter and his own narrative to go along with the pictures he showed the audience. Jacob shared with the crowd his favorite hentai and explained why he enjoyed each one of them.

The Sum of the Con

There truly was something for everyone at this convention. For the Pirate in you, the Pirate Rum Party dedicated themselves to show you how a “real pirate” parties and gambles. Or, for the more gentle reader, maybe the lolita and other Fashion Shows were more your style. The dealer’s hall was large enough to accommodate the number of exhibitors and their products. Art and personal creations lined the walls while inside companies sold their goods. Speaking of goods! The Conji Swap Meet, which was on both Friday and Saturday, was a perfect place for people to sell their old stuff, or to pick up some new things for a fair price.

Since the con was over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, one would assume there would be a multitude of fan (hotel room) parties, right? Well, the fan parties were sadly scarce, but the ones that were going on were going hard and were well attended. Cosplayers were a dime a dozen at the con, with many ponies and Adventure Time crews running around. There were quite a few good cosplays, and outstanding ones were easy to find as they were all over the place. All in all, Anime Conji was a great place for fans of anime, cartoons, and all other things Geek to meet up and have some fun.

 

Rating:

Anime Conji was a fun little convention to attend, that allowed you to get away and hang out with other, like-minded people. The most exciting part of the convention was meeting all of the other Geeks, cosplayers, and small business owners. Although the con was pretty awesome, there was a downside in the lack of communication between all of the staff members. Hopefully next year they will be a bit more organized and make sure that scheduling mistakes and badge errors do not happen. The costs weren’t bad, and there was a lot of fun to be had with all of the dances, panels, sellers, and entertainment. Although the venue was a little hard to figure out at first, and some scheduling and administration issues happened, all in all Anime Conji was a great convention and I would definitely attend again next year. Conji earns a 7 out of 10 for its rather enjoyable 2012 year.