[San Diego Anime Con ’24] Debut

I arrived in San Diego in the evening at the Legacy Hotel and Resort. I had later learned that this was a Christian run resort and retreat center. It appears they also rented out this space to us, the deviant otaku. Already, there was some kerfuffle checking in. My party had already checked in and I was to pick up my hotel key to park my car. The hotel desk said that they had not checked in, but they already did. I kindly asked for a temporary key card to let me park my vehicle – after all, I wouldn’t want to block the main entrance. After some sweet talking, I was able to get settled in. I already knew that this location, while claiming to be on holy ground, was bad news.

I did not attend the Friday festivities as I got into San Diego later in the evening. I decided to practice for my debut with Angel Hearts in my hotel room. Saturday morning was mostly focused in on preparing for the Angel Hearts performance during Idol Hour. This featured Freyja and Melly Mimi, two idols that we featured when I co-ran LA Idol Matsuri. Right before the show, we were treated to Galactic Journey, which covered old school anime tunes! 

Idol Hour was well attended with a room full of wotagei carrying light sticks. Angel Hearts did their routine featuring Para Para and Super Eurobeat tunes. It was a thrill to make my debut as an idol with Angel Hearts. 

I did some exploring on Saturday before Cosplay Wrestling Federation. The dealers hall was small; reminiscent of the small hotel anime conventions prior to 2020. I loved that there was a shop called Weapons Grade Waifus that had Gunsmith Cats, Gunbuster, fanmade merch. It made my oldtaku soul very happy. Otherwise the dealers hall had your selection of Gundam model kits, figured, posters, and anime books. Simple variety for a small conference ballroom. 

There was always something going on at San Diego Anime Con. The main plaza was a nice place for cosplay photos. If you had December holiday themed outfits, the Legacy convention center already decked the halls with Christmas balls. Sometimes you could hear a live orchestra by the fountains or see the line snaking around the convention center for the maid cafe. 

The artist alley was spread around the convention; it was fun to see artists that I don’t normally see in the Los Angeles area. Genshin, Honkai, and popular Vtuber charms graced each booth. A few voice actors from anime (Jon Allen, Emily Sun) also tabled here. I was curious about the escape room, but I didn’t have time. 

I peaked into the hentai room. It was empty when I went in on Sunday. There were a few hentai artists, but you wouldn’t believe what I saw there – King of Fighters ‘98. Because when I think of adult entertainment, I think of King of Fighters. I was tempted to try it out. No one was there to judge my lack of abilities in fighting games, but I had to get going on other commitments.

Cosplay Wrestling Federation was held in the main auditorium. We had a full stage at our dispense. We also had a full audience. I made my CWF debut at San Diego Anime Con, and I decided to enter in as Sailor Mars after a successful bout at Sakura Con and LA Comic Con this year. We were going up against Soldier from Team Fortress. We had American Goku (boo!), Bandit Keith, Shadow the Hedgehog, Ashley Williams, and I battle it against Soldier. It was a close one between Shadow, Soldier, and Sailor Mars. The belt went to Shadow. 

Nightlife at San Diego Anime Con is there, but it’s also not there at the same time. The con started at 1PM on Sunday so there was plenty of time to party with friends at this hotel con. Sadly, this did not have the party atmosphere of the previous Handerly Hotel which had karaoke, dances, and 18+ late night festivities. One of our hotelmates ended up getting drunk with voice actors and VTubers. 

Foodwise, while there were a few restaurants on the Legacy Resort and Convention Center area, you either had to Door Dash or walk down the street to get food. I went to the hotel restaurant, which was a fancier affair, but my spaghetti and meatballs was decent for the $20 I spent. Cosplay Wrestling Federation had a breakfast get together on Sunday at Waffle King, given that the convention Sunday hours started at 1PM. I always love going to Waffle King anytime I have an event in Mission Valley. They really seem to like the geeky community. Our crew also started drawing their interpretations of the Waffle King. We were so proud of our work, we were looking for staff to post it up on the wall. 

Despite the convention taking place at a venue owned by Christians, we did not receive any harassment or judgment from Sunday church-goers. While the venue was nice, made for nice photos, many of us agreed that we missed the Handerly party atmosphere. 

Before proceeding, Content Warning: Mention of panic attack

Finally, I presented my panel on The Fangirl Diaries. While I hate to end this report on a sad note, I had to peace out San Diego Anime Con early after a panic attack triggered by an angry convention attendee who had expected my panelist team to offer mental health counseling on the spot, taking away time from others who had questions about anime fandom at the turn of the millennium. We were being pressured by this irate attendee to offer free emotional labour on topics we were not equipped to handle. We had kindly suggested perhaps the irate attendee talk to con-ops or someone on staff to guide them to resources. When this irate attendee was not given the answer he wanted, I had asked him to leave. My boundaries and patience were tested. He then started cursing and threw his badge at our panelist team. I went into panic attack mode. The good news, staff and my friends were able to help me get to a safe place. When I reached home, I received an email from staff checking in on me to make sure I got home safe. While I wanted to stick around and check out the last part of the cosplay contest, for my mental health, I needed to get back home. I appreciate that the staff was able to handle this with empathy and no-judgement. This is something that I wished more convention staff had. I had then learned that this individual has been banned from all events ran by San Diego Anime Convention.

Overall, San Diego Anime Con, was very good to us performers and panelists. We appreciate the opportunity to perform and present to the San Diego anime community. San Diego has been the comic book town. Yet, San Diego also has a prominent anime community. I hope future years consider a venue where we can have more Sunday morning programming and late night fun. Many thanks to the staff for making this happen for Angel Hearts, Cosplay Wrestling Federation, and The Fangirl Diaries. And to Angel Hearts and to Cosplay Wrestling Federation – friendships like these are why I keep coming back to conventions. I hope we can keep entertaining you all for years to come! Long live all the magic we made.