This year's Shoujocon blew away the last years. The hotel was magnificent and the fans were equally magnificent and plentiful. This was a real anime/manga fan con with workshops, panels, and shoujo series that many fans would never get the chance to see, since many shoujo series are not given their proper due and exposure here in the States.
The con contained your run of the mill Art Show, Cosplay, Panels, and Karaoke. But what set the Shoujocon apart from other cons was the promoter's dedication to aspiring mangaka and animators behind the scenes, into the belly of the industry, with panels like Breaking into the Biz, Voice Acting 101, and the Many faces of Shoujo. There were also workshops on Toning in Manga and Cel Painting.
The promoters of the con really made sure fans were educated and entertained to max, as well, with panels and workshops like:
And of course there was plenty of anime to view over the two-day period with thirty-one must-see shoujo series, including two magnificent and well-drawn series; CLAMP's RG Veda and Angel Sanctuary, plus the utterly ridiculous and addictive Tenshi ni Narumon (read the review in this month's issue of BANDWIDTH).
Also on hand were several Shoujo professionals including mangaka Hitaka Ryo, doujinishi creator Kurata Katsumi, voice-over actors Mandy Bonhomme (Garzey's Wing, Slayers, and Revolutionary Girl Utena) and Crispin Fremman (The Slayers, Record of the Lodoss Wars, and Angel Sanctuary), plus the author of Image's Distant Soil, Colleen Doran.
BUT there was one thing that was off, and that was the situation with the dealer room. Yes, this year's dealer room was larger with many great items for sale (I got a pair of those cute oversized socks seen all over anime/manga/manhwa), and a great section just for adult anime fans, but the line to enter the room was ridiculously long. I waited about 20 minutes to get into the room, and many people waited longer than that. I understand the cautiousness about having a larger room, due to money restrictions, but next year there needs to be a larger room, especially since the dealer room is the main attraction of any convention.
O>verall, the Shoujocon was great and I cannot wait until next year! I highly recommend that if you are an anime/manga fan of any genre you check out this convention. To all those who want to know more about the events or are interested in participating in next years' convention, visit the official Shoujocon site.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JenniferJ@ybfree.com.