WASTE OF MONEY: YuleCon 2009 and Other Anime/Manga Conventions
Posted by logun on December 1st, 2009It’s time for another episode of Waste of Money.
Today I’m going to rant pointlessly about:
YuleCon 2009 and Other Anime/Manga Conventions
Even in this economy, there are certain items/services that we can’t give up. Food, shelter, gasoline, DVRs, iPhones, high-speed Internet and other necessities. But it’s times like these that we look for the best deals, shopping by store brands instead of the good stuff, or settling for just a 3G instead of the 3GS.
Now comes after Shelter, before Love
And if comic books are part of your necessities, you go to comic book conventions. Now let me make a distinction here: comic book conventions are not what I’m going to destroy in this article. Comic-cons are good and pure and well worth the price of admission. At a comic-con, you pay roughly $5-10 at the gate, see a few “celebrities” of the art world and walk by more than a few tracers. You get shit-tons of comics for 25 or 50 cents apiece and pick up bootleg copies of fan-made trailers like Grayson and the popular Batman: Dead End.
Yes, that's Batman fighting a Predator. Now go watch Batman: Dead End
These beautiful rooms full of not so beautiful people are not the object of my derision, nay, my hatred-fueled wrath. That insufferable gathering would be The Anime/Manga Convention, specifically this year’s YuleCon in Fort Worth. Now I’ve given you my reasons as to why Comic Cons are great. And in theory, Manga Cons should be exactly like that, but with weirder costumes, cheap manga comics, bootleg DVDs and, most importantly, smokin’ hot Asians:
The Dream
Unfortunately for anyone not living in a fantasy world of their own making, this is not to be the case. First off, it cost 25 bucks just to get past the gate. Let me say that one again: TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS (AMERICAN CURRENCY) JUST TO GET IN! Money that could be better spent on any number of things like: Movie night for two, a rather large steak for one, 100 comic con comics, 3 regular priced paperbacks, half a tank of gas, or, according to a very disturbed friend of mine, an hour with a one-legged prostitute in Las Vegas who goes by the name Ilene.
So what does this princely sum buy you? Is it lower prices? Hell no! The graphic novels, movies, boxed sets of anything, toys, plush dolls, costume pieces, crappy jewelry and “limited edition whatevers” were all either regular price or overpriced, because some jerkwad basically wanted me to pay for his rented booth. However, the sad, dead-eyed stares from creepy costumed people were free. I’ll admit that some of the homemade costumes were nice, but I didn’t pay to see what they could do with a needle & thread, a dream and more free time than they know what to do with. And most of the costumed were, let’s just say, not exactly cut into the mold of super heroism.
The Reality Sets In
And somehow, it gets worse:
I don't think this Princess is getting rescued
And sometimes funny:
Are you watching kids?
But mostly sad:
The Killer of Arousal for a Minimum of 6 Months
These are just a few of the denizens to be spotted at any anime convention. Other than that, you might get to watch some live action role playing:
Ummmmmmm....Pass
And other than grabbing a reasonably priced hot dog and chips, my tour of the SadCon/MoneySuck was over in about 20 minutes. So please, let this be a warning to all of you. Your money will be taken, your dreams will be crushed and your nightmares will feature garishly dressed undesirables. Stick to the Comic Cons and pray for a better world.
–
- The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
- Halloween Costumes That Accentuate Your Penis
- LivePrayer.com Birther Contributions
- Personal Urns from Cremation Solutions
- Axe Body Spray
- Olive Garden
- Creed Concert Tickets
- Harem Pants
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Creed’s New Album
- Rollerblades
- The Beatles Remastered Catalog
- George W. Bush Commemorative Merchandise
- Fast & Furious
- Snugglette
- Truck Nuts
Tags: 2009, anime, comics, con, Fort Worth, japanese, manga, money, naruto, otaku, sailor moon, waste, waste of money, yule, yulecon
Needs moar info, less wharrgarbl.
This post was good, not great. Simply because I felt cheated, just like you, “logun” felt cheated by YuleCon. Cheated? Why, you ask?
Well, as of Tuesday December 8, 2009, the link you advertised as the ever popular Batman Dead End is NOT WORKING!
It’s been fixed, so now the article is great.
[...] YuleCon 2009 and Other Anime/Manga Conventions [...]
[...] YuleCon 2009 and Other Anime/Manga Conventions [...]
[...] YuleCon 2009 and Other Anime/Manga Conventions [...]
Really dude? Really? You’re basically telling folks all anime conventions are crap based on a baby one that was only in its second year? I’ll admit, it had it’s flaws and plenty of them, but would you rather go and pay 2x or 3x the amount and go to a bigger one where things are a lot WORSE (A-Kon 21)?
Plus, you don’t seem to understand: anime conventions are not just about getting stuff. It’s also about getting a chance to show off what you can do with a needle and thread, see what other people can do, and make friends with people who not only know what you mean when you mention anime/manga, but who can also recommend some new ones that can be amazing. And one more thing: compared to a LOT of the big name anime conventions, this one had fairly cheap prices AND a more interesting selection.
I’d ask you to hold off on final judgment for a few years, but as you have already preached to the three people who read this, I’ll just hope there are people with enough sense out there to realize that nothing is ever truly flawless, and damn sure not amazing, until it’s had a chance to grow.
I hope I DON’T see you there, logun. (Though I do agree on one thing: don’t go to more than MAYBE 2 in a year. They eat money faster than anything short of an addiction, crappy car, or a casino)
-Sarah
Sorry, I shouldn’t rant on someone else’s opinion, but that was a low blow. I look forward to very few things in a year, and with 2 of them anime conventions with my friends, it hurt to see someone say all anime conventions are crap.
Again, sorry for having ranted.
-Sarah
Sarah,
No need to apologize for ranting. Logun ranted and you ranted right back. It’s all good.
Thanks for reading ITE!
As an avid con go-er, I feel it my duty to report to friends and poissible attendees the full stories of comic/anime cons. For you to call you Yulecon like that, not cool. And you didn’t even give enough reasons why THAT con isn’t worth it. oh, yea, $25 to get in DURING THE CON WEEKEND. There is pre reg. You buy tickets before the con for much cheaper. What about other “local” cons you could be having valid points for? Akon anyone? Almost $70 for the same amount of days, more or less the same concept, and filled with rude staff, a few thousand too many con-funk con-goers, and the “right” to overcharge on dealer room items for a con’s name brand? Please.
Local comic cons don’t smell like roses either. But admitedly I’m more knowledgable of anime cons.
Yulecon can’t control the fact that several of it’s attendees may not be leggy Asain chicks just like how Akon can’t control the fact that they lack substance. Consider your other factors as well. Yulecon = 3 year Akon = 21 years. your cons that you seem to be used to = perfect. reality = economy sucks.
As for food, why eat at a hotel? Seriously? You rant about money so much, you should ALREADY know.
my point; why call out yulecon? What have they really done to you?
I’ll admit I hate seeing people dress like that (really fat people in bikinnis and stuff) but anime conventions are fun in my opinion
There’s lots more stuff to do rather than buy stuff in the dealers room. Honestly, Yulecon would not be the convention I recommend for you. I’d recommend AnimeFest or A-kon. Mostly A-Fest because it’s a family convention. But also, you can go to pannels of your favorite voice actors or see showings of anime. I usually don’t buy things from conventions because of the price, (and because I KNOW I can find it cheaper somewhere else) but in my opinion, conventions are fun. Comic conventions (like Comic-con) look fun to, but most people don’t read or know any comics anymore. Also, Yulecon is a very very VERY small con. Not many people go to it and you can see what’s there right when you walked in. I was disappointed myself when I went this year, but A-kon and A-fest were far better than yule. Yulecon doesnt hold a candle to them. Anime conventions are great and a realy cool way to make friends 
But also be on the look out of weird people (like fat pedos or really weird people that like to talk randomly about something that angers them or trying to make a point) That’s my opinion and ranting 
-G
I’m not sure what comic cons you go to but DragonCon in Altanta, Georgia is $120 for 4 days. That’s just the membership. Comic Con in San Diego, Cal is $150 for 4 days. Just saying. I attend at least two anime/manga conventions a year – Oni Con and Anime Matsuri being my two favs. I pay usually no more then $30 because I prepay and attend with a large group. Maybe you just haven’t found the right con for you. We went to a small one last month and it would be great for beginners. Some are just that. They are new and need to iron out problems and grow. The large comic cons that I go to, I’m sure they had problems in the beginning as well.