Taiyou Con 2017: In Review

Taiyou Con 2017 was one of the most pleasant experiences I have had in some time. The staff, albeit a bit untrained, was very polite. As I struggled to locate where I could check in for both Press and Panelist they were more than willing to guide me to the various registration areas. While I can appreciate separation of service (after all, waiting in generic registration for a Press badge is never fun…especially when such badges are usually NOT at normal registration areas) it was INCREDIBLY confusing at this event. Despite my frustration I found the staff dedicated to assisting me and, in the end, more than accommodating. I would definitely give the Taiyou Con volunteers an A for effort in customer service.

Once badged up I gained some familiarity with my surroundings. I located a map and memorized the three key locations for this event:

• Panel Rooms
• Exhibitor/Vendor Hall
• Cosplay Gathering Areas

Panel Rooms

Albeit spacious, these rooms were VERY difficult to locate. The rooms in the main convention center were located in the halls and back of the center so after some wandering I was able to find the panels I had interest in however; there were ALSO rooms in an adjacent ballroom building (which was NOT labeled on the exterior). These ballrooms required a lot of searching and it ended up causing a decrease in attendance to these panels as most attendees (at least those I spoke to) thought that programming was only located IN the hotel and IN the main convention space. I know my panel suffered (only ONE person showed up which is not something I am used to (I fill ballrooms on average of 350-400 people) so it surprised me) and I heard complaints from others of the same problem.

So as far as panels go, while there was a GREAT deal of variety, unless the panel was in the main building most people were not aware that other demos/events/discussions were taking place. This puts panel location in a solid C range for me but Taiyou made up for this frustration with their AMAZING vendor/artist/exhibitor hall.

Exhibitor/Artist Alley/Vendor Hall

I met some lovely artist in the vendor hall. Some were cosplayers, some were illustrators and others fabricated lovely art work using just paper and shadow boxes. One such artist truly captured my attention by using 3-d paper Dioramas to demonstrate his talent…

Another artist was not only an illustrator but a fantastic costumer…

The activity in the vendor hall was fantastic and there was SO much to see! Here’s a photo of my fellow FGN enthusiasts snuggling excitedly with one adorable plush…

Cosplay

A convention is incomplete without cosplay these days and boy were there some TERRIFIC cosplays at Taiyou Con this year. Here is a gallery of just a FEW cosplayers I was able to stop and photograph while attending this event…

In Summary…

Between the guests, the panels, the cosplays, the gatherings and the vendor hall this convention, though small, packed a punch! Since I cannot seem to put into words just HOW much fun this event is here is a little video to help you better understand WHY you MUST attend this anime con in 2018. Happy cons and FAN GIRL ON!!!