San Japan- Anime Convention

I had an amazing time at San Japan 2018. This anime convention is held yearly in San Antonio, Texas. I have been to this one multiple times and seen the convention grow. The three-day convention has panels, performances, gaming, special guests, and night events.  The convention also brings my friends all together. I sometimes run into people from college and high school. So here and there I’m surprised by a familiar face.

The registration line didn’t take long at all despite the many people that were present. In the exhibit area there were games, an itasha car show, and tables for people to relax. They brought in a ton of music games like Dance Dance Revolution, Jubeat, and many others. They also had pachinko machines and other Japanese arcade games.

Itasha Cars

Itasha cars are cars decked out with character decals and merchandise displayed. There is a local group of itasha owners that take their cars to conventions. They also have a designer on their team that can be hired to do custom decals.

Shopping

The artist alley and dealer’s room are full of anime goods! It is overwhelming at first because there is so much to see along with the awesome cosplayers walking through. It is fun chatting with some of the artists about their work. I personally collect pins and keychains from the artist alley. So I’m always looking for my favorite characters to decorate my ita bags with. Every year there seems to be a trendy item that many people buy and carry around. This year I saw many people with colorful whale shark plush toys from the dealer’s room.

Gaming

Upstairs they have a retro game museum and a gaming room. The retro game museum is fantastic because you can play some of the games. They have old computers and early consoles on display. The gaming room is large! There were new consoles, pcs, and an area set up for tournaments. My friend and I watched the finale of the Mario Kart 8 tournament.

Concerts

I went to 2 concerts! Friday was the Youtube concert. Youtubers that sing cover songs from anime and games were invited to perform. The line up had Dagames, Caleb Hyles, Richaadeb, Or3o, and CG5. They gave an energetic performance with a mix of original and cover songs. They were a joy to watch and I hope San Japan has concerts like this in the future.  Afterward we lined up to get their autographs and take pictures.

Deadlift Lolita is a metal duo that are also professional wrestlers. Their concert had a huge line-up of people! They danced, sang, and screamed on-stage. Then suddenly two local San Antonio wrestlers appeared on stage. They insulted Deadlift Lolita and the audience. Then a wrestling match began and they took the fight into the audience. Some people gathered around them and followed they fought while others rushed forward to the stage. It was an amazing concert and I had never seen wrestling in person. I had the joy of meeting Deadlift Lolita for the autograph session. They are so warm and charming in person. My friend and I also saw their Q&A panel where we saw their silly sense of humor and their positive impressions of San Antonio.

Idols!

I attended the Texas Idol Festivall for the first time. It is an event for people that dress up, dance, and sometimes sing. The music is usually Asian pop and music from anime (such as Love Live and iDOLM@ster).  It is inspired by the idol industry in Japan. Some performers were in a group and others were solo. What is unique is that the audience waves penlights during the performance to cheer on the performers. My friend, Mahou Bunny, debuted as an idol so I went to cheer her on. It was fun to see and I became a fan of some of the performers I saw. I even bought a penlight for the occasion.

I had epic fun this year and now I’m very exhausted! It was great seeing friends and also meeting random people in line.  If you are more of a gamer than an anime fan you would still enjoy the gaming areas available, the cosplays, merchandise, and the music. San Japan has a lot to offer so if you have the chance to attend you will be glad. Have you guys been to conventions in the past? I would love to hear about it.