Oh hey, it's the last weekend of May. Guess that means it's time to gather with ~20000 other nerds and converge upon the TCC and Doubletree.

I'm not much of an anime person, and lately I haven't even been as much of a gamer as I should be but whatever, there's nothing like the feeling of being able to let out your inner nerd in a sea of like-minded individuals who won't judge you, at least not for being yourself.

The schedule's up here, and if you're around you should check out some of my panels! I'll be running Final Fantasy, Nostalgia, Battle Royale, Video Game Soundtracks, and The World Ends With You. Grover's making an appearance at FF and VGM too.

So who else is going? What are you going as, if anything?

If there are enough people from MI, maybe we can get a meet online. I'll leave my obligatory Chat plug here, and if you're showing up you can pop in and talk AN.

It's going to be my first time going. All I've been told is to take lots of pictures and plan yourself. What else can I expect?

I just got back from prereg. The weather was pretty awful, but from what I can see the forecast for the next three days is going to be gorgeous. It's usually disgustingly hot but we're looking at 12-17 and sunny skies, which might seem cold but will probably be comfortable when you factor in the heat of twenty thousand weaboos around you. Plus I don't feel as bad wearing leather gloves as required by my costume.

Also, I saw some girls from Mac a few people in front of me in line, one in a grey hoodie and one with a maroon umbrella. I would have said hi but the guy behind me started chatting me up--in the off-chance you see this you should post or whatever.

As for what to expect, your friends were right. Plan your day based on the schedule above (you'll get a paper copy too) to try to avoid downtime, but even if you run into some wandering around taking pics isn't even that bad. Lines are going to be awful, so I'd try to get there as early as possible to register, with the same applying to food when you dine out.

I had a hard time adjusting to asking strangers to take pics of/with them, but I got used to it and it's actually flattering as long as you're not gropey/creepy/holding up a crowd. Other than that, all I can say is to make the most of your experience; I've yet to meet someone who's gone and didn't enjoy it.

For someone who is only interested in purchasing merchandise without much hassle, which day is the best day to go?

Arrived at Congress Centre at around 4:50pm. Left with my pass at 7pm. The line was ridiculous, and the weather was awful. Coldest anime north :(

Tuturu~. Haha. Nice avatar. Steins;Gate was awesome.

I've never been to AN, and I've always borderline wanted to go, so post pics and talk about your experience, people.

Originally Posted by Scurvette

For someone who is only interested in purchasing merchandise without much hassle, which day is the best day to go?

On Sunday you can haggle with the dealers sometimes to get discounts since it's the last day, and overall there are less people on sunday I think. You might not get the pick of the crop though, probably best to go on saturday if you're looking for things that might get sold out quickly. Friday would be best for absolute first choice, but last year it was intensely crowded and the lineups were ridiculous, so it would be a hassle.

Not going this year x( mostly due to the high cost. my friends and I usually pre-reg for saturday and take the GO bus there, so it ends up costing us around 65ish dollars just to get there and get in. And since nothing changes from year to year, we just didn't feel like ponying up the cash (as much as this has become a yearly tradition for us).

I always hope that the dealers will bring more new/current series merch to sell, but the past few years they've only focused on bleach, naruto, vocaloid and dgrayman so there's literally been nothing to buy there. the only redeeming qualities of AN for me are the artist alley and the cosplayers, but I'm not willing to pay 70 just for that.

Hopefully next year will be better. And maybe I'll cosplay then

TIPS for first time goers:
1. Pack a lunch, it's less of a hassle than having to wait in long lines at the fast food places near the congress centre.
2. Drink lots of water and don't get dehydrated. they usually have free water stations set up in the congress centre/doubletree hotel so help yourself.
3. Ask people before you take their pictures. you'll get a better picture than a secret shot and if you decide to upload your pictures on the AN facebook group/cosplay.com thread later, I'm sure the cosplayers will be grateful to have posed pictures of themselves
4. Don't buy an item in the dealer's room as soon as you see it. go around to the different booths. Often they will be selling the same merch at different prices and you don't want to get ripped off.
5. AN is a great place to buy manga and DVD sets because there's no tax and you're usually charged the cheaper US cover price.
6. Try to look online on amazon/ebay for things in advance so you have an idea of what prices are like for the merch you want, especially things like bags. you don't want to be ripped off by feeling pressured to buy there.
7. the doubletree bathrooms are much cleaner and there are no lineups.
8. for the love of god, don't lose ANYTHING, especially your driver's license/wallet/AN pass.
9. pack light if you're commuting by GO and don't have a car to store things in. You don't want to be dragging around a DSLR and 6 lenses, especially if it gets hot. Also, don't bring a bulky backpack because it's really crowded in the dealer's room so you'll be hitting people with your bag all the time.
10. PROPER FOOTWEAR. an absolute necessity. you'll be walking for 90% of the time, so make sure your shoes are comfortable.

and yeah, definitely get there like 2hrs early, even if you've pre-registered. the lineups become massive.

I'll be going for a bit on Saturday to meet up with friends, I'm not sure if I'm actually going to go into the conference centre though

Who wants to go?