The Lessons from AnimeFest 2015

I’m back from another AnimeFest. This year was actually a lot of things. I got to spend it with friends I don’t get to normally and I got to panel for this convention for the first time. This year was conflicting. It was very polarizing. The highs were amazing but the lows were rather awful in places. Luckily, as per most conventions there good times seriously outweighed the bad so here are the things I learned from AnimeFest this year.

1. I may actually be more extroverted than expected. That however doesn’t take away that I am still mostly introverted.
2. There is really one great unifier and that is RuPaul’s Drag Race. It was the one thing all of us could agree on the entire weekend.
   • Seriously, the UN just needs to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race. The world’s problems would just stop instantly.
3. Sufficient yelling into a microphone can conquer most types of music.
4. Modern print comics are 80% advertisements for other comics or TV shows about comics.
5. People that start up a mafia around the waffle maker, making deals and agreements while bartering off positions in line during the hotel’s breakfast are terrible, awful human beings.
6. Daiso is literally the most magical place in the entire world.
7. Hotels with kitchens are really only made for the purpose of being able to make cupcakes in the middle of the day while waiting for costume pieces to dry.
8. You can charm someone nearly to death and have that super charming encounter become fangirl fodder.
9. There is a way to make a plastic cake smell like an actual cake.
   • This cake will also get more attention that you as a cosplayer and that’s pretty okay.
10. If you meet the artist that is behind one of your favorite comics it’s absolutely socially acceptable to be a sniveling ball of adoration.
11. Whataburger is extra delicious at 1 AM.
12. If you find a mysterious dufflebag by the bushes of your hotel that even the hotel’s native feral cats avoid, you should avoid it, too.
13. If you have friends that still play the same trading card games as you there will be elaborate deals made for cards.
14. Mario Kart can make or break a friendship.
    • Really any game that pits people against each other. I’m looking at you Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 4.
15. A very cute dog may entirely take over your panel: that is more than acceptable.
16. The blue microphone is the best microphone.
17. I apparently look absolutely adorable on 10 hours of sleep in 72 hours and at 12:45 AM and I have pictures to prove it.
18. If you have a winning formula, there’s no reason to change it.
19. Paneling is still one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my adult life.
20. Some vendors will sing for you if you buy their products.
21. You can still be classy and drink champagne out of a plastic cup.
22. Apparently the products I use on my face are likely going to be the death of me.
23. Some hotels have secret doors that lead out onto the roof. Do not go out onto the roof.
24. After a weekend of incredible stress, fatigue and a few small friend fights that were quickly resolved a slice of rainbow cake is the most satisfying feeling in the world.

I remember mostly singing into the wee hours of the night “My boat is the best.” a stolen reference from our time spent watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. I remember abandoning my costumes for jeans and feeling even more acceptable in my skin than ever. I remember busing home listening to the same 5 songs for 5 hours while my bus sped down the highway. I remember the skylines changing and the parking lots giving way to prairie. The praise I got from my panels. The hugs, handshakes and pictures. I had a really good time during the times that were good and looking back the times that were bad really only were because of a few variables that can be changed. So while this AnimeFest was muted in comparison to the others, I still had a great time.