I’m not sure what an anime festival is, but I’ve been to a bunch of anime conventions.

Most of them aren’t strictly anime. They will have an anime theme and a bunch of Japanese-themed entertainment, but you will find Trekkers, Whovians, Marvel/DC fanatics, Star Wars people (Warsians? I feel like that never caught on) and everything in between. People go there and play D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and other card/tabletop games. If you’re lucky you might find a more niche one like Cyberpunk or Starfinder. And those guys love teaching newcomers!

One thing I’d say is Do. Your. Research. You will want to know what amenities the hotels have. If you can find one with a kitchenette (stove and fridge), you can bring in food and cook in your hotel room/suite and save a ton of money. Yes the room will cost more per night, but you need to know two things. One, how expensive food is around the convention due to the scarcity caused by the demand. Two, how much food you’ll need. If you bring in a cooler with milk, eggs, and some other stuff, and get it into the fridge, and you can just make all your stuff? You will save a ton. But you need to know what they have. Also if they do breakfast buffet in the morning, that’s a huge plus. I would say go down there and focus on protein (eggs and meat, plus fruit juice for energy), and then throw a bunch of carbs (muffins, toast/bread, bagels) on a plate and exfil that up to your room. Snack on it throughout the day. If you’re an anime nerd, you probably love ramen. Ramen is super easy to make in a hotel room if you have a microwave. It’s not the best for you, but hey, you’re on vacation! If you do need to order, tip your delivery driver well! Driving through con traffic is hell. Better if you can avoid takeout/delivery entirely though.

Of course you’ll want to get autographs and such, but it’s better to make memories. Autographs are getting really fucking expensive. And really, what’s the point? Honestly. It costs you nothing to say hi, and at times, the guests will have no line and they’ll be bored. Playing on their phone or whatever. Go up and tell them you appreciated them in something. Strike up a conversation. If they don’t have someone with them, ask them if they wanna grab a coffee — or, if you’re feeling lucky, a drink at the bar. (Just be careful with this.)

There are people at anime cons way cooler than voice actors, though. Cosplayers themselves are generally pretty cool, but I go for the artists. Some of my favourite artists have staff, so you might not even meet the artist. Be aware of who’s staff and who’s an artist. They’ll usually tell you. I’ve met staff where the artist isn’t even there. I’ve met “staff” where the person selling is actually the mom and the dad, and what you thought was their little bratty child on the iPad ignoring you, is actually the artist! In any case, I feel like connecting with the artists is one of the coolest things you can do there. I also have way too much anime art…