187 photos in 3 sub-albums
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MAGFest 2025
159 photos
MAGFest 2025
This report will be a little short because this year I was only able to hit up MAGFest for a day. My previous years' reports will tell you about the convention itself in more detail if you are interested. Since moving to the Gaylord National Harbor, MAGFest has really solidified as a very exciting, reliably, and fun long-weekend adventure. It's mostly the same year to year, but that's a good thing. The main draw is for music and gaming fans to have a big event to indulge in their interests. The game room, well, the "main" game room is huge, with all kinds of video games from today all the way back. It also features tons of novel independent game systems, including quite a few that are on extremely specific hardware, built as one-offs, just for that game. You'll really never see these anywhere else in the world. There's plenty of more traditional gaming, too. Those who want can set up a PC in the upstairs ballrooms, on what may be the biggest LAN you'll ever see in person. Then there's plenty of boardgames in the boardgames room and plenty of options for table-top RPGs. That said, there's a huge focus on modern (5e) Dungeons & Dragons, which cuts both ways. Good luck finding people interested in other, less-well-known RPGs, and good luck getting a spot in one of the Dungeons & Dragons events, since they fill up almost immediately. In fact, that tends to be the case with any event at MAGFest. It's so big and popular, any of the advertised events will probably fill up with those who planned out their whole weekend in advance. Along those same lines, MAGFest is the way most conventions are these days. Compared to the heyday of fan conventions, people are not that sociable and you won't meet many new people unless you've signed up for the same event and assigned to the same table.
On the flip-side, with MAGFest having such a huge focus on gaming, it is much less crowded than Katsucon, which is held in the same location. For cosplayers, who of course tend to lean heavily into the gaming side of costuming, this does make the beautiful atrium and fountain area much more accessible. The early-January dates of MAGFest mean you're not going to get some of the spurious warm days that Katsucon sometimes does. That said, even this year the temperatures were sometimes just hospitable enough for people to venture outside. So this year, I focused a lot on just doing cosplay photography. (Actually, I spent most of my time off site with out-of-town friends there for a day.) My Katsucon reports go into much more detail on the photography side of the locations, so in summary, the lighting and backdrops are great at the Gaylord. There's also a lot more room there compared to Katsucon, so getting photos is a lot easier. I was surprised that for the relatively small amount of time I was there but not eating or gaming, I still got quite a few photos!
During conventions at the National Harbor, I tend to stick close to the action unless there's good reason to venture far away. The MGM Grand is just a bit too far away to be immediately accessible, but the shuttle (free) or uber/lyft (small cost) will get you there quickly. It's a good spot for those who want the upgraded features of that hotel. A few friends stayed there overnight between Friday and Saturday to visit the show, so I went out to lunch with them there. The MGM can be iffy for cosplay photography, but it's certainly possible. More importantly, there's quite a bit of good options there, and many of them fairly priced for being part of a huge tourist attraction. (Nice thing about casinos is that they know they'll make up any losses on amenities with gambling.) Next time I have a chance to spend a whole 5 days at MAGFest -- arrive a day early to really kick things off as soon as it starts -- I'll probably venture back there.
Of course, with just a day trip, I didn't get to see MAGFest at night. In the past it's been an almost different convention. Game in the day, party at night. Some do both, others choose one but not the other. It's a pretty solid party atmosphere, and that draws a lot of people, making all the local accommodations sell out quickly. So in contrast to Katsucon or Otakon, if you really want the full MAGFest experience, you'll want to stay locally for the whole weekend.
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Katsucon 2025
678 photos in 4 sub-albums
Katsucon 2025
Congratulations to Katsucon on 30 amazing years. Conventions tend to just go by year now instead of a sequential count, which is a bit of a shame, since this 30th event is something to celebrate. For a bit of historical context, Katsucon started in 1995, admission for the weekend was $30 (about $65 in current year dollars), and pulled about 500 attendees. Today, the main events room alone holds well over 500 people; More like 5,000-plus, ten times the original attendance. Though exact figures aren't available, attendance is around 20,000 people. It's been quite a journey, and Katsucon feels special as a convention, not just for it's history, but for growing up to be a very big "small con" event. Most historical conventions have either closed up or leaned heavily on industry support. Katsucon remains a very fan-focused event, and has a great venue for exactly that purpose. This is a good contrast to Otakon, which is geographically very close and takes up most of the Washington, DC, Convention Center. Otakon has a very large industry presence. In that way, Katsucon and Otakon complement each other very well, both providing a distinct experience in a major world city.
Katsucon's setup uses both the Gaylord National Harbor convention facilities and the attached Convention Center facilities. Though with 20,000 attendees or so, crowd control will always be an issue, no part of the convention is too far away or too hard to get to. The hotel part includes plenty of socializing areas, like the middle-of-the-atrium fountains, but also some relatively reasonably priced dining options inside the hotel. The large hallways of the convention center, with huge windows, also invite quite a bit of opportunity for socialization. Many a good conversation can be had sitting along the walls between official convention events. Weather permitted, as it often does in spite of the convention's mid-February dates, the outdoor areas between the hotel and Potomac river are also very accessible. For those willing to venture just a bit away from the hotel, there's plenty more dining options, a few shopping options (drug stores, etc.), and bars. Should you be inclined, the MGM casino is still close enough to be convenient for those who want the luxury rooms or gambling experiences to be found there.
Likewise, the programming reflects fan-driven interests, though of course there's a lot of overlap between what is currently popular and what industry is pushing. The hotel-side meeting spaces are almost all dedicated to various fandom panels, meeting almost every possible interest from cosplay to gatcha-gaming to gunpla to history. The only downside to the broad variety of panels is that the rooms tend to be a bit small for a convention with so many attendees, and the popular panels can quickly fill up. But most panels feel personal, open, and inviting to attendees -- unlike the kind of gigantic auditorium events you may be used to from Otakon or Anime Expo.
Katsucon has it's big side, too. The dealer's room and artist's alley take up most of the huge convention center exhibition halls with tons and tons of dealers and artists. The very last hall is used for registration; a good choice so that the very long lines can be managed without too much spill-over into the hallways. Attendees are recommended to come on Thursday evening to pick up badges if at all possible. As efficient as the registration system is, with this many people it will take a while if you arrive during peak hours. For the major events, the main event room, located fairly conveniently on the middle floor in the middle of the convention center, easily holds around 10,000 people, or about half the convention if needed. The space is turned into a rave area in the evenings, which allows plenty of space (for better or worse) for those who attend. A fairly recent addition is the availability of lockers at the end of the convention space hallways. This is a much better way of handling bags than either returning to a hotel room (which may be far away or at best difficult to access during peak elevator times) or leaving them in a pile in the hallway. For some people, the rave/dance is the big event; the convention very much becomes focused on parties after dark.
During the daytime, the atrium lets in lots of great light for photography. Many conventions are set up such that you'll almost always need a flash indoors, but the Gaylord has great lighting most of the day, until about 5 pm when the sun sets (it is February, after all). I'm quite fond of stepping down a 50mm f/1.2 lens to really get some great portraiture. Other photographers use wide-angle lenses to capture cosplayers' whole outfits despite the crowded conditions. The irony is that with such great lighting and environments, Katsucon draws a lot of cosplayers looking to really showcase their latest creations. Both the atrium and fountain area can get excessively crowded at peak times. Many cosplayers intentionally get up at the crack of dawn to use the area in the early early morning for this reason -- or stay late on Sunday to use the area when it's less crowded, or arrive Wednesday to use it on Thursday before others arrive. So if you're seeing amazing photos come from Katsucon without crowds, know what to expect. As is common now with a lot of conventions, Katsucon does provide large group meet-up spaces for cosplay and puts them in the schedule. However, these are all fan-organized and as such entirely subject to last minute changes.
Most of the guests are local industry, many of them those who long ago (not to make us feel old, I swear) were "just" attendees and learning how to make their hobby a career. This is a nice addition to all the very explicitly east Asian-oriented focus, and really helps connect the fans with western-hemisphere talent and leaders. With the influence of the western marketplace becoming more and more relevant to the anime and gaming industry, this is a nice way to get a fuller picture of the state of the industry. As a bonus, many western guests have worked in Japan and east Asia and can better speak about the industry from personal experience without the need for translation (or industry PR interests). Guests this year were: Bill Butts Aaron Dismuke Chris Hackney Yaya Han Carrie Keranen Ryan Colt Levy Kyle McCarley Landon McDonald Xander Mobus Jez Roth Michael Sinterniklaas Abby Trott David Vincent Sarah Wiedenheft Lex Winter and Suzie Yeung
And you can always find the staples of video games and board games at the convention, too. Some games even have lessons scheduled, such as Riichi (Japanese Mahjong) though they do require sign-up ahead of time. The scale is much smaller than at a dedicated gaming convention -- MAGFest is held in the same location about a month earlier. But they make a nice option for those whose interests span into anime-adjacent hobbies. Katsucon has also been hosting their own maid cafe, which follows the type found in Japan as closely as possible given the convention setting. Entry is timed (instead of queued as in Japan), but inside you get a variety of game and food options, plus the quintessential "chiiki" (Polaroid photo) opportunity. All activities cost money, but the experience is about as close as you can get short of going to Japan and visiting a maid cafe. Another major difference is the hours of operation: typical maid cafes in Japan will open in the later afternoon or evening, whereas the Katsucon maid cafe event is during the morning and afternoon. It's well worth a visit if you're interested!
For those flying into the convention, Washington DC Ronald Regan airport is by far the closest, and the one that is viable to cheaply taxi or uber from. (Well, relatively cheaply.) However, both Dulles (in Virginia) and BWI (in Maryland) service the DC metro area. Depending on when you get tickets and where you're coming from, those airports may be significantly cheaper without being significantly harder to access. Regardless of how you get to the area, public transit to the National Harbor isn't the best. You can take a bus, though by far the most popular options is by car; uber/lyft are entirely possible options if you don't drive and park yourself. Parking is mostly available in the National Harbor, though the "good" spots will disappear by Thursday evening and overall you can expect to pay around $100 for the weekend -- more if you use the hotel lot for all four days. Unlike Otakon, there's no good metro option for the National Harbor. Even so, plenty of people do commute in to the convention. For those looking for a good day or two of activities, this is a great option. For those looking to really enjoy the party scene, you'll want to stay in a nearby hotel. The hotels will sell out very quickly, and even non-associated hotels and accommodations (local VRBOs and AirBNBs) will sell out quickly. If you don't mind losing easy access to your accommodations, Virginia has a few decent options for hotels that are ultimately cheaper (once you figure in uber/lyft costs) than staying on-site. But beware -- you'll get what you pay for, and some of the cheapest options nearby are the kind of places you really will want to read up on before choosing. So all in all, depsite feeling like a small convention, Katsucon is plenty big that unless you plan on doing it as a day-trip (which is still a great way to attend), you'll need to plan well in advance.
Despite being a "small convention," Katsucon draws in quite a few non-locals and international attendees, too. Part of this is certainly thanks to Washington, DC, having three airports and frequent flights to every major country in the world. In addition to many Canadians, you can meet quite a few European attendees, too. And as for locals, with the capitol being a very international area, there are many Asian ex-pats who come to Katsucon, as well. Like most anime conventions, Katsucon has expended well into anime-adjacent hobbies and fandoms, and plenty of other east Asian pop culture and enthusiasts are found, as well as plenty of scifi/horror/fantasy fans and even a few cross-over events. To bring things back full-circle, over the last 30 events, Katsucon has really found it's rhythm. While some years go smoother than others, each event is a solid con experience. The staff has figured out what works and what doesn't -- except for still trying to manage the atrium, which is probably a lost cause -- to make the convention appealing and enjoyable for everybody. You can attend for just a day or make a whole vacation out of it. Despite being so close to such a similar convention (MAGFest), it's a very unique event and offers quite a bit a different experience. And for having so many other conventions in the area now, Katsucon has stood the test of time.
Katsucon will be returning in 2026, to the same location, February 13th -- 15th. While I currently expect to attend, my life is taking me to Japan to live! At least for a while. This website has been my personal history, chronology, and report on 26 years of anime (and other) conventions. Though the desire to attend my "local" conventions will never die, life might shift my opportunities, and hopefully I'll be able to bring coverage here of Japanese events as well. So if this ends up as my last Katsucon report, it's been an absolute blast, tons of fun, and every other event I attend and report on, I'll have to compare with Katsucon.
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Anime Expo 2025
121 photos in 4 sub-albums
Anime Expo 2025 Photos are still being edited. More to come soon.
This report will definitely be a bit different. One, the last time I went to Anime Expo was in 2006, so it's been nineteen years since I've been. Two, the main goal of my trip was to hit up two vTuber concerts, Fantastic Reality and Virtual Vacation. Three, with so much to do at Anime Expo and my own focus shifting away from cosplay, the pictures are much more of figures and events. The galleries are split up between cosplay, figures, and others, though overall I took far fewer pictures than I would otherwise expect — around 600 vs 3,500 for such a big, long convention. So much was very different from both the past Anime Expos and current other conventions, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I would absolutely go back, though overall I don't feel I missed out on that much over the last almost two decades.
The most important differences between Anime Expo and other American anime conventions are the size and corporate support, which go hand in hand. Anime Expo is one of the longest running anime conventions in the United States, the biggest by attendance numbers, and likely one of the best funded by sponsors. As a non-profit, you can look up the financials and see income (not profit) in the tens of millions. These together will explain a lot about how Anime Expo has some of the best programming and worst problems of any anime convention. Companies pump a lot of money into anime expo to get exposure and generate interest, which gets more people to come, which in turn gets more companies to pump money into the expo. Just as a visual aid, I took the geographic footprint of Anime Expo and compared it to (my reasonably guess) at the geographic footprint of Akihabara. Anime Expo actually comes out slightly ahead, though of course the density of Akihabara is an order of magnitude bigger.
The programming at Anime Expo is comparable only to the kinds of events at San Diego Comic Con or the Leipziger Buchmesse. Studios looking to drive up interest in their shows and products come and bring their producers, directors, and voice talent. In the exhibition hall, companies pull out all the stops to bring huge displays, many of them interactive, and tons and tons of merchandise. There's tons of freebies, next to a lot of convention exclusive merchandise. Even with the huge size of the convention halls, lines for each booth end up being capped to a certain size, and will immediately fill up again as soon as more space is available. That said, other than some genuinely limited (e.g. numbered out of, say, 200) merchandise, most booths bring plenty with and will restock during the weekend. So don't be discouraged from heading in and trying your luck. At the same time, you can be pretty sure that popular items will be sold out by Sunday (the last day), so hitting up the exhibit hall early is a good idea if you have a shopping list.
Anime Expo also features an entertainment hall, which in practice isn't that different from the exhibitor's halls. It's the west hall of the convention center, while the exhibitor hall is the south hall. The original idea seems to be to have interactive exhibits with limited merchandise in the entertainment hall, and direct merchandise sellers in the exhibitor hall. But with so much demand for space, both tend to be almost the same. There are also a pair of axillary halls in both the South and West halls, used for artists' alley. Just in terms of shopping and such, you can spend the better part of a day exploring and shopping. All the halls are connected, so going outside is not necessary.
Anime Expo is so big that it takes over several huge city blocks. Though the convention center is fairly well connected, the additional hotels and event spaces require leaving and re-entering the convention areas. Two venues required separate entry: the JD Marriott Ballrooms and the Novo. The main events area had its own convention space sectioned off. The gigantic Peacock Theater and the Anime Expo Live area were a combined controlled access area, though the Anime Expo Live attraction also had part of the convention center parking lot and streets. One very positive thing about Anime Expo is that food, entertainment, and nightlife are all directly part of the convention. While part of the LA Live area is still publicly accessible with plenty of restaurants and bars, Anime Expo takes over large outdoor areas and puts up quite a few food options (mostly food trucks) and some 21+ areas, too, beer included. Plus two different performance stages with bands playing throughout the whole weekend. Though you can expect to pay quite a bit, this really makes Anime Expo the best supported convention (at least that I've been to) for ease of access to food. Many people used the easy-to-access food to get their lunch or dinner to-go while waiting in line.
Speaking of, Anime Expo is going to be a stand-in-line-a-lot convention. This shouldn't be too surprising given the size and popularity of some guests. Some smaller events are accessible by walking in, but for anything taking place in a room with designated queuing areas, you'll want to show up an hour in advance, two hours in advance if you want to be guaranteed a seat. This is especially true for the Novo, where their stricter entrance policy has everybody searched and passing through metal detectors. It's about three or four times slower than any other entrance, so plan accordingly. Additionally, most venues do not clear between events. So most panels will already be at 50% capacity before the people looking to enter for a particular event start to show up. The good side of this is that if you get in early, you can enjoy the prior panel. Or in some cases, might want to see back-to-back panels and be able to queue up only once.
While managing around 150,000 attendees is never going to be easy, Anime Expo still makes plenty of avoidable mistakes, largely due to miscommunication. For example, the Persona Music panel at the Nova reached along the whole convention center. Novo and AX staff weren't clear on if the room would be cleared between panels. Some in line were allowed in (out of the heat) only to be sent out — and possibly the back of the line — before the panel they were going to attend started. Others were allowed to stay inside. (The time between panels can be an hour or more.) The Kaiju No. 8 panel had a similar problem. Audience was told to vacate, then told they could stay. So the whole lobby was packed with people going both directions at once. The rest of us were stuck outside much longer than necessary. AX staff then created a new line in parallel to the existing line, meaning most of the people already in line were cut by other attendees — at the behest of staff. The Peacock theater is huge, so it's not too much an issue of getting seats, but it's frustrating to line up orderly only to be cut in front of. At that same panel, once entry began, AX staff was directing attendees towards one door, while a venue staffer, not ten feet away, was directing them to a completely different entrance. With so many attendees, efficiency is really key. And AX doesn't seem to have that nailed down at all. One final bit of irony regarding lines: AX pushed the "stay hydrated" message hard, as they should given the heat and long lines in the sun. But they also would not allow even water to be brought in from outside. Most places had water of some sort available inside, but the mixed messaging is frustrating.
The panels themselves, once you got in, were amazing. The Frieren ~Beyond Journey's End~ panel featured some live music composition demos by composer Evan Call. The Dangers in My Heart panel had two producers and the character designer, who (digitally) drew a sketch of the main characters eating In-n-Out Burgers. The My Dress Up Darling and Call of the Night panels both featured the main character's voice actors, who all were very much in their roles (or perhaps cast because they're naturally like the characters). No photos or video are allowed during these panels to keep the experience unique — and draw people to the convention next year to see for themselves. These are also ultimately commercial panels to drive up interest. It works great, but it's about as impersonal as you can get. There's rarely a live Q&A session or anything of the like. However,some of the panels do feature giveaways or raffles for some unique items. If anything, meet and greets at Anime Expo are not at panels, but at the affiliated booths in the Exhibit Hall.
My main goals for the convention were the two vTuber concerts held that weekend in LA, though not officially affiliated with Anime Expo. First was Fantastic Reality, which featured eight vTubers (Ironmouse, KAF, Mint Fantôme, JKT48v, CottontailVA, Isaa Corva, and Derivakat) each doing a few songs each at the Vermont Hollywood. The venue is standing room only, though the front area was sectioned off for VIP ticket holders. This event was a bit more like an exhibition with the different artists each showing off their particular skills. It started with an EDM DJ vTuber, had plenty of different pop or pop-related songs by most artists, and an orchestral finale by IronMouse. This event did have a live band accompanying the vTubers, which was a nice mix of talents. Saturday was Virtual Vacation, featuring Nimi Nightmare, Dooby3D, Ashton Marten, and Hyuni, and presented by oshiSPARK, the same organizers who put on Fantome Thief's Revenge in Atlanta (during Anime Weekend Atlanta). This was more of a full concert, with each of the performers showing up solo, in pairs, for songs, and for MC segments. Nimi Nightmare and Dooby3D brought new 3D outfits to the show. The MC segments featured a lot of on-stage interaction. It was a great event, starting late to allow those from the Dodgers baseball game (which had a hololive crossover event) to get to the show. It was exceptionally well done.
In summary, Anime Expo has certainly earned the title of "best" anime convention in America. That's not to say it's the best in every way. It certainly has its share of problems, some avoidable (bad communication among staff) and some not so avoidable (high travel, food, and hotel prices). It's also not a very relaxed convention; I saw fewer cosplayers than expected, and they tended to either be there professionally, or wearing comfort-oriented cosplay. (Compare this to Kastucon which is almost a cosplay showcase convention.) You'll get experiences at Anime Expo you won't get elsewhere. But it will probably be draining, and after several days of waiting in the sun for hours, most people will be glad it's done and over with. On the day before the convention started, I overhead a con veteran giving a newbie advice: "don't worry about FOMO, there's no way to you could do everything." Anime Expo requires planning and a schedule and sacrificing some comfort. With 150,000 people there, you can't count on running into anybody without definite plans. It's definitely a much different experience than other conventions. Absolutely worth going to, and I intend to return next year if it's reasonably possible.
Anime Expo will presumably return July 2nd though 5th, 2026, to the Los Angeles Convention Center