Hey guys how’s it going? Today I would like to write about my personal experience at Anime Matsuri Houston that happened recently. This post will be a play by play of my adventures with some photos to correspond.
First, before I explain what I did, I want to thank the Anime Matsuri Press Coordinator for the opportunity to attend this convention as press because although I have attended some conventions before, they are very small so attending this one with a variety of guests, exhibitors, and fans of all kinds of life was a blast. Now onto the adventure!
Travel/Accommodations
First, my best friend @clubzipadee went with me to the convention and for us personally Anime Matsuri is about 30 minutes away from us. Because of that, we were able to drive to the convention and only attend Saturday and Sunday (work was in the way for the rest of the convention but next time we want to attend all four days). We also spent the night at the Marquis Marriot Houston so that we were able to maximize the days that we were there and as far as our personal agenda for the convention, it was the best place for us.
At the Convention
Exhibition Hall
After going through the preorder/will call registration line (Honestly if you guys don’t know if you want to go for one day or not or need to pick up your ticket ahead of time, have everything ready, the line moves fast but it takes time. Pick up your ticket day of the line is smaller) We explored the exhibition hall and to be honest this is where I spent most of my time. There is a ton to see and find, and so many different people to meet as well. I was also suggested by my friend Kidc_ex (he’s well-seasoned in conventions) to not buy anything the first time I walked the hall. I definitely agree with that advice, however with how crowded it was, I would recommend it to be the first thing too but more in the morning we came in the early afternoon before lunch.
Food Truck
For Lunch, we decided to walk the Food Truck row outside of the convention center and I will be honest, I wished there was more variety than what was out there, but I was pleasantly surprised who was out there for food including the Teahouse for Bubble Tea (unfortunately the line was too long for us plus we were hungry). Personally, we got OH MY GOGI for their fries etc. They were fine and it tasted good, the only issue I had personally was the owner that was in the truck was more biased toward people that had more items and my order almost got skipped. Because of that, it took way too much time for me to get my food and I almost missed the next event. Thankfully I was able to eat it quick.
Cosplay Contest
This was my first cosplay contest I have ever gone to, so I was not sure what to expect. However, I think for me personally, I enjoyed it, but I think the Emcee was a bit meh. When it came to the camaraderie of the audience with the music and other questions, I had a ton of fun. Nevertheless, it seemed like there were too many pauses and too much stalling to prolong the contest despite there being a ton of contestants. I am definitely going to keep the contest on my list of events though.
Artist Alley
After the cosplay contest, I met up with ClubZipadee and we visited the Artist Alley briefly and I will be honest, I enjoyed my time there, but I was a bit annoyed that some of the people who would be in the artist alley were considered exhibitor instead (this is just me being picky though because my prior experience with conventions have them combined). I also will have a separate blog post discussing Artist Alley and a few small businesses that I want to help. I hope you guys check it out too.
Break in Between Events… Food and Hotel View
After going to Artist Alley, we took a break and had dinner brought into the room since we were connected to the Saltgrass at the convention center. I know for us personally we needed at least a little break throughout the weekend and the Marriot and Saltgrass was perfect for it. However, with it being an intense weekend, I would recommend ordering it online and picking it up rather than ordering and waiting. I loved the view we had plus the room was nearly perfect (I wanted a microwave, but you know that’s again me being nitpicky) but overall, this was perfect for the evening.
Self Defense Panel
After dinner, I had a difficult time deciding which panel I wanted to watch, and ultimately, I chose the panel from Detroit Urban Survival Training about basic self-defense skills especially ones that not many people know. I also loved that there was personal one-on-one attention between all of the participants especially when there were questions on different situations and movements. Overall, this was very informative, and I highly recommend.
K-pop Love….Dreamcatcher!!
The last part of my adventure at Anime Matsuri was that I visited the Dreamcatcher booth without anyone being around on Sunday morning. As someone who dove down the k-pop rabbit hole and not being able to attend the concert, being able to do this plus write out a personal message to them on their fan wall by myself was just amazing. I highly recommend if you are a big fan of a certain fandom and they have a huge booth, to visit it that way if you can.
Haul
Loungefly Backpack and Wallet
This Loungefly Backpack and wallet were items that I bought from the 3knuckleheads vendor (fantastic vendor with a variety of fandom accessories). This was my biggest splurge but highly recommend their company. However, please be careful with other vendors when it comes to Loungefly. They price guage a ton so please do your research. Luckily for me I had done some research already plus had a friend to help.
Merch from Mimopuffs
I got a ton from Mimopuffs especially since they have a ton of different merch and fandoms. For me personally, I’ve been following this shop for a long time, and this was my first purchase. It was absolutely worth it, and they had a ton of deals. Highly recommend.
Enamel Pins from Fantasychibipins
This is a shop I have also been following a long time and because of that I have a ton of merch from them. However, these were mostly Con exclusives and pins I did not have. Highly recommend fantasychibipins and her merch. They also had a ton of deals as well.
Posters & Fairy Tail Display Box
I got all of these posters and Fairy Tail box from one booth (I unfortunately did not get their name or business card) But I loved their booth because of the variety of animes that were in there plus their posters were on a great deal. The posters are also in clear sleeves so perfect for storage. Highly recommend this shop!
Stickers
The other vendor I spent a ton of time at was a vendor called JS anime (no business card unfortunately) But their goal is definitely to have something for everyone in their booth. For me and my friend, this was definitely the case for us, and I went nuts with their stickers especially because some of the anime they had were not at any other booth. They also had items non anime related that were also amazing such as plushies and dungeons and dragons’ dice. They only do conventions though, so if you see them, please get something from them!
Acrylic Stands
A lot of people pick up figures at anime conventions and although I am someone who loves those, lately I have loved getting acrylic stands because of how beautiful they look (and how 3D they are). I got these two from separate stores one MDZS or Heaven’s official Blessing (they all look the same to me right now, but I love their aesthetic) from Fantasychibipins and the other is from JS Anime with Carole and Tuesday with the two main girls on them. They both look great and perfect for the shelves without too many pieces (but be careful with their clear backing). They also are quite a bit cheaper than figures.
T-shirts
Last but certainly not least, I bought three t-shirts during this con two of them are from Anime Matsuri themselves with their jersey style shirts which feel amazing and unique from any shirt I have. The other is from Apocalyss Art which was an artist alley vendor that I discovered Sunday Morning. Her Friend who was manning the booth at Anime Matsuri and I had a long conversation about the art and how close we lived (maybe we could hang out sometime who knows) but I loved all of the art from her as well so highly recommend them as well.
Wrap-up and Reflections
Overall, I had a really fun time and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to the Anime Matsuri press team for the opportunity to attend this convention. I have wanted to go to an anime convention for a long time and with all of the stars aligning this time plus not wanting to go by myself for something so huge. I also appreciate my friends and fellow content creators who encouraged me to apply for a press pass. Going to my first Anime Matsuri was a fantastic experience and my friend and I would love to extend our time next time we go. I would highly recommend attending this convention if you can and I hope you have a fantastic experience like I did.
Have you guys been to a Convention? What did you guys think of posts like this? Let’s talk about it!!
If you want to support me and also want to request a specific blog post, please support me on my Kofi account: https://ko-fi.com/christinasushirainbow27269 . I would appreciate it but there is no pressure at all. Thank you in advance.
Sushirainbow 