I was surprised by the many differences between Japanese and American convention culture. The first major difference between Japanese and American convention culture that I noticed was the ticket price. A single day pass for AnimeJapan was only 1,600 JPY (~$13 USD) rather than the $30-$50 per day in America. Similar to when you buy tickets for most events in Japan, you do so through a machine at a convenience store. There were some options for AnimeJapan tickets besides konbini though.
I didn't expect or consider how industry-heavy a convention in Japan would be. There didn't seem to be anything like the fan organized panels that are popular at foreign conventions or an artist alley. It mostly felt like a huge dealer's room full of booths set up by animation studios and companies that make games and merchandise. There were still performances and panels but it was missing the fan organized element that's so prevalent at conventions outside of Japan.
I was happy to see so much Love Live cosplay because it's one of my favorite recent anime series. All of the cosplay was really good too. There weren't any of those silly cosplays that were clearly thrown together last minute but in some ways I missed it. I liked this one area where cosplayers were posing against backdrops and photographers could come take their photos.
I just realized the other day that I had never posted these photos and written about AnimeJapan but thought it was appropriate to do anyway because of all the conventions this season. I decided to go to Otakon for the first time this summer. Will you go to any conventions this summer?
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