A-Kon is the biggest, longest running anime convention in Texas. With that comes a lot of perks, such as notoriety in the anime scene, being able to get better venues because of your long track record, and potentially attracting higher quality attractions. But the flip side is that you also have incredibly high expectations from your constituents and a lot of pressure to outdo yourself. So how did A-Kon 2015 fare?

Food

I’m sorry, I love food, so it comes first. I think maybe A-Kon read my review from last year because this year’s food situation was FAR better than last year’s debacle. If you remember, A-Kon 2014 was full of coupon systems, strangely regulated food trucks, and a corner market charging over ten dollars for rice an avocado.

This year, however, most everything was fixed. The dumb coupon system has been removed, allowing instead a smooth line of people herded through each of the food sections with a few cashiers at the end. You know, like a legitimate, sane convention with subpar food selection.

The food truck situation was also drastically improved by not only adding more trucks, but separating them into different sections of the building. Typically if one side was crowded, the other was a pretty reasonable size, meaning there was no shortage of cheap food options.

And of course the price gouge-y place was still there. Not much you can do about that aside from protesting the Hilton Anatole. I just wanted to shake some of the people in line and say “YOU CAN GO GET A PIZZA OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW FOR HALF THIS PRICE. PUT THAT BACK, YOU FOOLS.”

Con Logistics

A-Kon has had growing pains since its switch to the Anatole. The first year saw gargantuan lines with unreasonable wait times just to get in to the dealers room. Since then, the lines have been mostly streamlined, leading up to this year, in which I never stood still on my way in. Instead of one straight line in to the dealer’s room, the long hallways to that area of the building solidifies into one snaking line structure at peak hours so that you never get the feeling you’re stopped. It’s a great idea and it seems like A-Kon finally got this one 100% right.

Where they are still having problems is their layout for Artists Alley and the Dealers Room. You see, unlike a lot of cons, Artists Alley can only be accessed by badge. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you can only access the Dealers Room through Artists Alley. I’ve ranted about why Artists Alley shouldn’t be badge-gated, so let’s talk about the major problems having Artists Alley as a doorway introduces.

At first glance, it seems like this decision is a great one for artists. By forcing people to walk through a room of great art, chances are that dealers on the shortest path from the opening door to the Dealer’s Room connection got a rise in profits as people saw something they normally wouldn’t. And maybe people that usually skip Artists Alley decided to have a quick jaunt around the room before trying to go buy a kigu. However, the fatal flaw in this plan lies in building codes.

The Dealers Room and Artists Alley are essentially one giant room divided in half, meaning both halves have to share capacity, and since Artists Alley comes first, guess what side got shafted? I’ve heard from no less than two people that the Dealers Room was far less busy than it has been in the past sheerly because of capacity issues. Now normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but in both Dealers Room and Artists Alley, there was enough room to sit down against the walls very comfortably, so at any given time, there were at least thirty people sitting down or playing DS by a wall. I’m not advocating against breaks or talking with friends, but there are so many other places to sit and hang out that aren’t going to stop people from making money. Take it outside, bucko.

Vendors

On the subject of dealers and artists, this year actually saw the most high quality businesses and artists we’ve seen at A-Kon. Though the dealers roster didn’t change much, it was enough to make an already great dealer’s room just that much better. In particular, a video game business from New York City made an appearance toting a bevy of rare games for all consoles at reasonable prices. I picked up a sealed copy of Final Fantasy VI, my all-time favorite game, for the Super Famicom for only $40. Dang.

The artists in Artists Alley were also top notch, featuring a wide range of styles and fandoms to choose from, even ones that are pretty obscure. I was able to find no less than six different Ace Attorney prints when usually I’d be lucky to find one. And this applied to so many different fandoms from Fire Emblem to Supernatural and Sherlock. If you’re looking for a high quality Artists Alley, look no further.

Events

The offering of events was pretty standard. There was a rave, a hentai panel, an art auction, and all manner of panels about different fandoms. The amount of panels was slightly more than usual, but nothing intensely awesome. The rave, by all accounts, was okay, but not as great as it had been in previous years. This may be because the DJ was playing more Trance-style music than dance, but I heard that from enough people that it seems noteworthy.

Art auctions are a big draw to anime conventions for me. I’m a big fan of original, high quality art and it gives me an opportunity to support artists and also feed my urge for gambling/auction. What, I’m human. Naturally, since this con is the biggest in Texas and so many people come from all over to go to it, I assumed it would have an incredible art auction. Unfortunately, that assumption was incorrect. It cordoned to a tarped-off section inside the game room that featured six or so walls of art whereas a convention like Anime Fest, which has fewer attendees and has been running for far shorter, has three to four times that art. It was a huge disappointment. I know art shows are mostly supported by the artists submitting art to them and that’s not something A-Kon has control of, but it was still a bummer.

Cosplay

A-Kon is one of the conventions people in Texas brought their A game to, and it really shows. Not only costumes of the highest quality, but all sorts of different fandoms too. There was even a Jack Skellington in his Sandy Claws outfit complete with giant stilts. It was super awesome. One of the best thing about having so many cosplayers together is that there can be massive groups of one particular fandom, even the smaller ones. The size of the Legend of Korra group alone was big enough to write home about. If you’re a cosplayer or a cosplay enthusiast, you’d be remiss to skip A-Kon.

Amenities

A-Kon works hard to make sure you don’t have to leave the convention for anything. That’s great because there’s nothing really within walking distance as far as food goes. There’s a few places down the road, including Rodeo Goat which has damn good burgers and shakes. Seriously, if you’re ever in the area, give them a try. Other than the odd burger place, there’s not really much. Except for the king of all restaurants.

Medieval God Damn Times.

A-Kon may be worth it just to be next to Medival Times. Seriously. Their food is great, their drinks are great, and the show is fantastic. Yes, it’s pricy. But if you time it right and keep your eye on coupon code sites, you can get up to half off your ticket, bringing to down to a slightly more reasonable $35 or so. Maybe I just love Knight Fights, but Medieval Times and A-Kon sound like a damn good weekend to me.

Conclusion

Should you got to A-Kon if you’re in Texas? Absolutely. The growing pains since moving to the Anatole have all but disappeared. Food is readily available at reasonable (or not so reasonable) costs, hotels are plentiful, dealers and artists are both high quality, and cosplayers step their game up. There are still a few things that need work, but all in all, A-Kon provides high quality entertainment for a reasonable price.