Even with the friends to talk about your favorite nerdy shows, it’s even better to get out and travel to a convention to meet new people, buy merchandise of your favorite shows and dress up as your favorite characters. Trust me, it sounds like a fantastic time.
On April 5 through 7, the Winthrop League of Extraordinary Characters embarked on a weekend-long trip to Columbia, South Carolina to attend the anime convention known as NashiCon 2019. The convention provided multiple events for attendees in the LOEC to attend, including panels, meeting the actors of their favorite shows, buying merchandise and having fun. The vice president of the LOEC, junior fine arts major Kier DeLong, noted how this event is the highlight of the student organization.
“It’s our largest event we plan throughout the year and it’s a big priority for the club. The LOEC wants to provide our members with as many opportunities to learn more about and experience anime, comics, cartoons, and other media. The convention provides the perfect place to do that,” said DeLong.
Among the attendees for the LOEC was freshman Forest Grant, who enjoyed his first convention with the variety of events that the convention had to offer.
“At the convention I did a lot of things such as play in the arcade, buy merchandise, and play tabletop games. The arcade had a lot of fighting games and shmup games, especially DoDonPachi, which I played 3 times,” said Grant.
DeLong noted that their selection of which members could go on the trip relied on prioritizing recurring members of the club and club members that haven’t been to a convention before.
“When picking the members to attend, we look at whether or not a member attends our meetings frequently (rather than being a drifter), if the member is in good standing, and whether or not it would be a member’s first convention. We try to bring as many first-timers as possible,” said DeLong.
One of the highlights of conventions are the panels, which can range from the guest voice actors talking about shows they worked on or fun events, such as a dating game where attendees got to dress up as their characters and compete to find love..
“The most memorable experience was doing the anime dating games. They were a lot of fun and I hope I get to come back next time as a different character,” said Grant.
With planning logistics such as paying for the weekend tickets, hotel costs and various expenses, the head council for the LOEC work very hard to provide students with a safe and unforgettable weekend filled with excitement.
“I always get excited whenever the council plans the convention trip and I get even more excited the closer the date of the trip becomes. It’s the biggest highlight of my spring semester. I’m sure it’s a big thing for them too,” said DeLong.
With the trip, the LOEC members were able to share and interact with each other on attending fun events, placing video games and seeing people dress up as characters that aren’t just limited to anime and video games.
“I think anime conventions are enjoyable for people into nerd culture because it’s not limited to *just* anime. There was tabletop games like DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) there, comic book and video game merch, and there was also a large variety of cosplays. I saw one person dressed as the clown from ‘American Horror Story’ and another as Shaggy from ‘Scooby-Doo,’” said Grant.
For new or returning members alike, the annual convention trip is an important draw for people interested in sharing the shows and games that we grew up with and hold a special place in our hearts.
“I highly recommend that anyone who has any interest in anime, cartoons, video games, or any sort of character-driven media to attend a convention at least once! It’s an amazing experience and you’d be surprised how fun it is to dress up as your favorite character and explore,” said DeLong.
