Katsucon 2024: A Truly Serendipitous Weekend

• Author: Kennedy (Red Bard)

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

Introduction

My attendance at Katsucon 2024 was a fairly last-minute thing. I hadn’t really given it a thought, let alone considered it as something that was even maybe happening until November 2023. While I was still in this early and uncertain pre-planning phase, I emailed the convention to inquire about press badges. However, I wouldn’t receive a response. I thought nothing of it, and assumed I must’ve missed the window to apply for one. It would have made sense, as the con was only three months away at that point. Ultimately, though, the planets aligned for me to be at the event, so I purchased an attendee badge and got ready to experience my first Katsucon.

Fast forward to February 16: the first day of the convention. Badges were mailed to attendees in advance (which, by the way, I love it when cons do that), but the expectation was that you’d get a lanyard at the show itself. So naturally, when I arrived that Friday morning, I decided that my first course of action was going to be finding a lanyard. But almost instantly upon walking into the Gaylord—before I could even see the legendary gazebo—my eyes were instantly drawn to a Star Blazers—I mean, Space Battleship Yamato cosplayer walking around with a massive replica (which they told me they made over the course of several months) of the Yamato, which was being wheeled around with a speaker playing music from the show. In less time than it takes to cook popcorn in a microwave, Katsucon was already proving to live up to its reputation as a major cosplay event. 

Incidentally, this would foreshadow much of the rest of my weekend: whenever I tried to go somewhere else, I’d need to give myself extra time because, inevitably, I’d run into a dozen cosplayers whose pictures I simply needed. It was over this weekend, for example, that I saw what were without question the largest emergency cosplay repair medics/booths that I’d ever seen in my life. I don’t want to make it sound like no other con has a ton of fantastic cosplay, but the high caliber and high frequency with which I saw it at Katsucon, even just walking through the halls, astounded me. 

But getting back to my current situation: I needed a lanyard. I was seeing people walking around with their badges on lanyards, so the evidence suggested that there were lanyards somewhere!

So where are these elusive things?! 

After walking around aimlessly for a while (I told myself in the moment that I was familiarizing myself with the venue—which, to be fair, I wasn’t not—but let’s be real, I was lost, and having a fun time looking at all the cosplay) I finally resigned myself to ask the volunteers at whatever informational booth I ran into next. And whether by pure coincidence or divine providence, this would end up being the press services booth.

“Excuse me, uh, where can I find a lanyard for my badge?” I asked the volunteer at the booth. “Oh, you can find them on a table in the registration area, which is this way,” she pointed toward the registration area, “Is there anything else you need help with?”

In fact, I realized, since I was here anyways, there was something else I was wondering about: press applications. After all, I probably missed the window this year, but what if I’m able to go to the con again next year? If the universe was going to place me at the press services booth anyways, I figured there was no harm in asking: “Actually, yeah—I sent in an email wondering about press applications a few months ago. I didn’t hear anything back though. I guess I was just wondering if I sent it to the right email address, and when the window for press apps usually is?” Puzzled, the volunteer asked where I sent the email to, and I told her.

“Hunh. Yeah, that’s the right email address. That’s weird that nobody got back to you, I have no idea why that happened. Sorry about that,” she said, visibly confused. “But if you’re still interested in doing press, we’ve had a few people drop out at the last minute, so we have some extra press badges available. Do you still want one?” A few quick Discord messages to Samantha Ferreira—Anime Herald’s owner and editor-in-chief—later, this same volunteer was indeed giving me a press badge, and sending my phone number to the managers and handlers for guests who might be available for interviews during the con. Ultimately, this would result in interviews with Greg Ayres, Paul St. Peter, and Griffin Burns. 

Super secret internal Anime Herald communications

While I’m not a convention press veteran like Ferreira, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’ve worked enough events as a member of the press to know that this isn’t exactly a normal way that people usually go about getting press badges, and even now, I find a lot of humor in this whole situation. But, however weird and unlikely the circumstances leading to my having it, the fact remained that I had a press badge around my neck and interviews in the process of being scheduled. And thus, I continued to wander around the con.

Incidentally, I never had a boring moment simply letting my feet guide me throughout the weekend. At any given moment, one could see several dozens of professional photoshoots happening, and more than once I wondered if it was possible that I was at the most photographed anime con perhaps anywhere. Never before in my life had I seen so many photos of different subjects in the same place being taken at the same time, and that says a lot because I’m not exactly new to cons in general. The whole thing evoked images of a glamorous red carpet event, with beautiful costumes and the ever-present sound of a dozen cameras clicking at any given moment. It really made me wish I was cosplaying as well—and perhaps, if I get to go again next year, I will. But I digress.

Friday: Exploring The Gaylord

After a bit of wandering, I made my way toward the dealer’s room and artist’s alley, the entrances of which were right next to each other. The con had a system set up where people who spent extra on a VIP badge could get in an hour before everyone else, so they had their own line. 

More specifically, for adults, depending on how early or late a person registered for the convention, a weekend badge for Katsucon in 2024 cost between $75–$90. While expensive, this is on par with other larger cons (as I type this, I stare longingly at an old mailer for A-kon 2008, which advertised pre-registration being $35—$50.77 when adjusted for inflation—before February 1). Meanwhile, a (weekend long, adult) VIP badge was $175–190. According to Katsucon’s site, the VIP badge came with benefits including—but not limited to—a souvenir bag, access to a VIP lounge, front-of-line privileges (or to be more specific, there would be a separate line for VIP badge holders that got to enter first), and early access to the dealer’s room and artist’s alley. And press badge holders, I was quickly told, got to share in the front-of-line privileges and early admission into the merchant areas. So, alongside the VIPs and other members of the press, I was able to go into the artist’s alley and dealer’s room an entire hour before the rest of the con. 

And oh dear lord, what a revelation this was.

To call these areas “empty” would be an exaggeration, but during that first hour on Friday, they were certainly the emptiest I’d see them for the rest of the weekend. I’m not usually a huge shopper at conventions, nor did I have anything that I was specifically seeking out that weekend. But for those who are, I can easily see this perk being a game-changer, as both rooms (the dealer’s room, especially) would be remarkably crowded for the rest of the weekend. 

Incidentally, this is probably as good a time as ever to talk about just how much stuff was in the dealer’s room. And I don’t just mean stuff as in, merchandise—although there was plenty of that, too. No, what I mean is that the dealer’s room wasn’t just a dealer’s room: it was also where a number of voice actor guests set up their autograph booths. Similarly, it’s where Chaotic Harmony’s booth—and by extension of that, the autograph session/photo-ops with musical guest, visual kei band XaaXaa—was as well. There were official booths for other anime and fandom-centric cons like Otakon and AnimeNYC, as well as mermaid convention Syren Symposium. Perhaps uniquely, there were also a number of photoshoot setups—something that I remember having a good chuckle at, as though to say, “Only at Katsucon.” Although, to be perfectly candid with you, I’m not sure if it’s only Katsucon that has these set up in their dealer’s room. But, at least anecdotally, I don’t think I’ve ever seen photoshoot setups within another con’s dealer’s room.

After wandering around the con’s shopping areas for a while (and taking plenty of cosplay photos along the way) I decided it was time to sit down and go to a panel—namely, I went to Sail the Seas: Fansubs Impact on the Anime Industry by Alien Tofu. Which was, as the name suggests, a panel on fansubbing. In particular, the host discussed things like why it was so prominent for so long, the process of how things were fan subbed, terminology that was often used, and so on. My favorite part of the panel was where the host played a clip from a Sailor Moon S fansub VHS, which contained things like translators’ notes before the episode. I could be wrong about this, but I believe this is the very clip we were shown (if it’s not, it was at least something very similar to this).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6yeVaTULLc 

Other panels that I attended throughout the weekend included (but not limited to) Ranting, Raving, and Rolling Thunder - An hour with Greg Ayres, and Cloak, Dagger, Kimono, Katana: Spycraft And Other Dirty Deeds In Animation presented by Wandering Perspectives (which would also be at Anime Boston a month later). Speaking of: naturally, Wandering Perspectives—aka Brian T. Price—also brought Bad Anime, Bad! with him to Katsucon. And of course—I mean, how am I supposed to resist the siren song of Bad Anime, Bad! when I see it’s there?

While not a panel, this is also as good a time as ever to talk about Friday’s Cosplay Met Gala. Inspired by, well, the Met Gala, this event featured cosplayers showing off original cosplay designs that flexed their creativity, craftsmanship, and more. The main event—which had the cosplayers walking down a makeshift runway (a part of the floor sectioned off with tape)—was fairly short, but it was unforgettable all the same. In both their design and execution, every single costume was breathtaking, and highlighted the immense talent of their creators. In future years, I’d love to see this become an even bigger event, and on a proper stage with all the fanfare and big lights that this unique extravaganza deserves.

But for as fun as the panels and the Cosplay Met Gala were, I’d be lying if I said my favorite thing on Friday was anything but the XaaXaa concert. Despite being a visual kei fan, I somehow wasn’t familiar with XaaXaa prior to learning they’d be playing at Katsucon. But I started listening to them in the days leading up the con, and seeing them live in all their chaotic, electrifying glory cemented it: I’m definitely a fan now. And I was far from the only fan there—not only was the concert itself packed (or at least, it looked packed from my vantage point), but I think the longest line I saw all weekend was the line for photos and autographs with the band on Saturday. Suffice to say, this concert was a fantastic note on which to end my first day at the convention.

Saturday: In the Swing of Things

While the XaaXaa concert was, in all likelihood, the biggest highlight of the event for me in general, that isn’t to say that there were no other events that stood out over the weekend. In particular, the Embassy of Japan was present at the show, and hosted a number of cultural events, two of which I was present at the following day: the J-pop dance workshop, and the taiko drum show. The taiko drum show is exactly what it sounds like, and was a wonderful cultural celebration. The workshop, though, will require more explanation. 

Confectioners haven’t found a sugar coating sweet enough to successfully mask my awful dancing “skills.” But while I was never any good at them, I still learned my fair share of anime dances back in the olden days (for example, Hare Hare Yukai, Motteke! Sailor Fuku, Saikyou Pare Parade, etc). So a J-pop dance workshop sounded like it could be a fun way to spend an hour—and, spoiler alert, it was.

The event began with some background information from the host about J-pop and what we’d be doing. From there, she invited everyone to the floor, and section-by-section we were taught Ran Sensei’s choreography to the first chorus of Idol by YOASOBI—Oshi No Ko’s opening theme. Until the end of the workshop we would perform at a speed that was at least somewhat reduced, as the song is very fast. We all got to burn some energy, and those who stuck around at the end to fill out a quick survey about the workshop received some cute stickers.

My other highlight on Saturday was attending a When They Cry cosplay meetup—not as a cosplayer, but simply as someone who adores When They Cry, and was excited to chat with other fans and get some pictures of When They Cry cosplayers. Admittedly, it was hard to go into the meetup without elevated expectations. Not only because of how much great cosplay was at Katsucon, but also because even by the time I started walking to the meetup I’d already seen someone cosplaying as Featherine—a character who, in all my years of congoing, I’d never seen anyone cosplaying as in person. And somehow, my expectations were still wildly exceeded. Not only did I see a ton of excellent When They Cry cosplays, but I saw characters from Umineko and Higurashi, and for the first time in my entire life, I even saw a lone Higanbana cosplayer—the deepest of deep cuts.

There’s something genuinely fun about attending cosplay meetups even if you’re not in cosplay, as it’s a great chance to meetup with other fans of whatever series it is you’re celebrating. This is especially true for series on the more niche side like When They Cry (or the works of Kotaro Uchikoshi, a meetup for which I attended the next day). There’s an invisible sense of camaraderie that’s stronger there than anywhere else in the convention—like, not only do we all like anime, but we all really like this specific one(s). They’re simple events, and often organized by miscellaneous congoers, but they still stand out to me as among the most fun. 

Sunday: Dawn of the Final Day, Or One Weird-Ass Bag Check

Overall, Saturday was a fun and productive day. It was certainly not as eventful as Friday was, but there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Sunday, however, would end up being a bit weird. Like many other attendees, when I left the con that day, I was going to be headed for the airport. Therefore, I needed to bring my backpack and suitcase—which was actually a carry-on bag, but I digress—with me. Remembering the concert on Friday, I planned to leave them at the bag check. But when I arrived at the con on Sunday, I was shocked to learn that… bag check wasn’t in operation on Sunday? Except it was? 

…What?

The situation confused me greatly at the time, and even now, I’m still not sure I understand it correctly. So, take this with a grain of salt, but my understanding of the matter is that the bag check that was being done through the convention (the bag check that concert-goers used on Friday) wasn’t in operation on Sunday. However, the Gaylord offered a bag check service to con-goers that they could use instead. While I’ll add the asterisk that I wasn’t staying at the Gaylord, I still feel the need to note that I didn’t see this service advertised anywhere. Rather, I heard about it via word of mouth, from other attendees. Whether this is something that happens every year that I—a first timer—was simply not privy to, or if this really was something that was just really weird and disorganized, I still have no idea. All the same, I wish this information were made more clear to me sooner.

Anyway, this bag check was located at the end of a hallway, which is to say, it wasn’t immediately obvious it was there. Or at least, it wasn’t to me, who admittedly, wasn’t as familiar with the venue as I’m sure plenty of other con-goers were, and wasn’t exactly what one thinks of when one thinks of secure bag checks. Some venue employees took your bag, put it in a row, and it seemed to me like you just kind of had to remember where your bag was—at the very least, that’s what I had to do. I don’t recall a ticket or anything else denoting which bags were mine being given to me/taken by the employees who were there, which makes me really hope that my experience is atypical. Luckily, I still got my bags back at the end of my day without issue, but I wish there was more security/organization, as it’s easy to imagine the many ways in which someone could’ve taken advantage of this.

In any case, most of my Sunday was spent doing things I already described, so I’m going to fast forward to closing ceremonies. Rather, I’d like to draw attention to a specific announcement that was made during closing ceremonies: that it’s possible that attendance could be capped in 2025. Bearing in mind that the con hasn’t reported its 2024 attendance, I can at least say that whatever it was, it was definitely crowded. So this news doesn’t entirely come off as a shock to me.

I don’t know this for a fact, but at least anecdotally, I think just about every con that I’ve gone to in the past two years has experienced significant growth. Anime Boston 2024, for example, had to cap attendance for the first time since 2004. Perhaps this recent attendance boom initially came from people eager to leave their houses as lockdown restrictions eased, and is now coming from their maintained attendance as well as folks bringing their loved ones with them. 

Or at least, that’s my theory.

I’ll be very curious to see if Katsucon decides to cap attendance next year or not. The venue is popular amongst its attendees, and there’s no way the con organizers don’t know this—which is to say, unless they have a major reason to, I doubt that either the attendees or organizers want Katsucon to move any time soon. And capping attendance is the only way to reconcile a growing attendee base with a desire to stay at the Gaylord.

My overall verdict on the con, though? It’s very fun, and I understand why so many people look forward to it every year. Katsucon offered a good mix of fun panels and events, and it’s certainly the place to be for anyone with even a passing interest in cosplay. Easily my biggest criticism with the con is the issue relating to Sunday’s bag check. But, aside from that, nothing negative stands out. It’s still too early for me to know whether or not I’ll be able to go to Katsucon again next year, but as it stands, I’m certainly hoping I’ll be there.