Show Report- January 2012

Lisa Ortiz, voice actress

IchibanCon is a small anime convention in Charlotte, NC.  Last year we did very well at this show, but this year it wasn't quite as good.  There were a lot of changes this year, and I think many people weren't as happy with the show overall.  The biggest drawback was that the Artist alley didn't have its own room, it was in the hallway.  Hallway AAs never work out well for us.  Some people say it's better for them, but it seems to us that with a dedicated room, you get people who are there to buy, not just people walking by to get somewhere else.  Also, there's no security in the hallways so we worry about leaving things overnight.  I know that next year they are planning to change locations again, so we may just sit it out until it regains its footing.

Ohayocon is a medium sized anime convention in Columbus, OH.  This was our first year going after hearing good things about the show.  We did well, and really enjoyed ourselves.  We didn't think we would know anyone, so it was a nice surprise to run into several of our friends there.  Ohayocon was in a convention center, with the AA directly above the dealer's room, in an open loft style room, where we could look down onto the dealer's room, and they could look up at us.  We really liked the layout.