T5W#252-Top 5 Best Way to Host an At Home Anime Convention

I hate bringing up the current state of the world right now, in general it just sucks.  And yeah, part of that includes the fact that all of the big summer conventions (Anime or otherwise) have been cancelled.  Anime Expo, San Diego Comic Con and yes Otakon, all of them wont be happening until 2021.  But, one advantage to living in the digital era, as opposed to if this were happening 50 years ago, we can all still stay connected via video chats across multiple social media sites and preloaded communication software.  My point is, just because we cant have our normal conventions, doesn’t mean we can have them in another way.  So on Today’s Top 5 Wednesday, I’m letting you in on the Top 5 Best Way to Host an At Home Anime Convention.  A lot of these are probably common sense if you really think about it…but it’s been weighing on my mind anyway so I’m gonna talk about it.

#5-Movies or TV Marathon

 

 

Chances are you’ve been doing a lot of this on your own already.  Between Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and your own shelf of Blu Rays and DVDs, there’s Anime at your fingertips 24/7.  Anime Conventions host screenings all the time.  Though unless theyre a big premiere or a screening of a classic, it’s likely you pass on them because…well you can watch Anime at home and youre at a con to hang out and do more than just watch Anime.  Pick a marathon of episodes from a certain series or a late night double feature to share with the friends.  After all, this is reason why you likely became friends in the first place: bonding over continuous marathoning of Toonami or bootleg VHS/DVD classics like Dragon Ball Z, Escaflowne or Gundam Wing.

#4-Host a Couple of Panels

 

Everyone has something to say about a particular topic in Anime, Video Gaming or nerd pop culture.  Time can be set aside between you and your friends to occupy a swath of time with separate presentations.  Personally, I’d like to host a History of Gundam panel.  But the skies the limit on this one: Magical Girls, Naruto, the history of Makoto Shinkai, theories on postponed but still forthcoming Anime projects, cosplay in the works (more on that in a sec).  So long as you’re passionate about it and want to talk about it, there’s nothing that can go wrong with what you choose for a panel…the technical side of the presentation though you might have to get a little creative with.

#3-Show off some In Progress or Complete Cosplays

 

 

God only knows cosplayers out there have more time on their hands than ever before to work on new projects.  Sure going to get new materials might be tough but without any con crunching in the foreseeable future, it’s a chance to take a step back, breathe and reassess what characters you want to bring to life.  This could also go in the “Panel” category above but I count it as separate because Cosplay is an important element of the Anime Convention going experience.  You could pull out some old classics to show off an pose in or feature a brand new one your were saving for a con this year.  Heck, do a Cosplay livestream so you can chat while you work on a project.  It’ll probably mean a lot to have people cheering you on and expressing how they cant wait to see you and your newest cosplay in person.

#2-Show off your old merch

 

 

No Dealers Rooms sucks…a lot.  Personally, I was looking forward to getting my hands on a couple of new titles that I intend to review here on the Blog in the far future.  In light of what we don’t have, why not just show off what we do have.  How much Anime merch have you procured over the years?  From Blu Rays to Manga to Plushies to Statues to Cosplay Accessories, it’s time to dig it all out and set up a display of your own.  Take friends and viewers through a history of your con going experience through the items you’ve collected over the years.  I’m sure some mean a lot but others mean far more.  Every item has a story, why else would you have gotten it if I didn’t mean anything?  Of course, if you’ve been looking to get rid of a few items, you can always host an auction and see who might want to add your item to their collection.

#1-Let people know it’ll all be ok

Everyday it’s tough knowing what’s going on in the real world and worrying that things will never return to normal for a long time.  Personally, the most important part of doing this Online Anime Convention experiment is to let people know that it wont be forever until we see each other again.  While just talking can be a bummer because of social distancing, the day is gonna come when we can return to a convention and hug the living heck out of everyone we know and probably don’t know.  Anime Conventions are safe spaces for me, havens I love going to, to get away from the pressures of reality and enjoy the worlds I love with the people I love.  I don’t see why the same kind of heartfelt experience cant be recreated with a few computers, a webcam and a good internet connection.  I know plenty of online communities have done this already to varying degrees of success…maybe it’s your turn to give it a try too.