Even though Nan Desu Kan had similar atmosphere as to some of the small southern California conventions out there, it felt like I stepped into a whole new territory. There was something unique about this convention, something that made me really enjoy this event. However, this joyful uniqueness came with few disheartening flaws.

Right off the bat, I noticed lot of child cosplayers. I think, out of 6 years I’ve been to conventions, this was the most child cosplayers I’ve seen in one event. This definitely is a proof of the family friendly environment of NDK, especially considering there is a bar serving alcohol right across from artist alley. I’m sure they had to pull lot of strings to make it happen, such as wristband for 21+ cosplayers so that they can drink freely (although that really wasn’t necessary since the bartender does check ID). But it was definitely nice to see a con where kids can roam around without parents having to worry too much.

For small convention, the events had lot of flares to them. I can’t say much for their cosplay masquerade since I missed it, but their AMV had plenty of presentation. Each AMV came with title screen where it states the name of AMV, series it is made up of, editor’s name, etc. They really put some thoughts into presentation and I think it helped make AMV event more enjoyable.

Their guest lists were extensive for con of its size as well. I was quite surprised that they got Rika Matsumoto (voice of Satoshi/Ash from Pokemon, Kamen Rider Ryuki OP performer), out of all the guests they had there. NDK also had several VA guests, including Todd Haberkorn of upcoming Soul Eater anime. Yes, I was surprised to see Kyle Herbert there as well. But I think Rika Matsumoto being there was biggest news of them all.

As much fun this convention was, it had few glaring flaws. The main problem was the venue it was in. Now, this isssue has been beaten to death in various forums and I do understand there is irreversible circumstance behind it. But it did affect lot of issues. For a convention of 6,000 (estimated), there were not a lot of rooms to move around, especially around artist alley area. This problem also helps out another problem, which is teenagers running around wild. OF course, there is no control over high-school hormone tidal wave, but bigger venue could prevent these kids bumping into fragile cosplays. I already had a friend of mine break her butterfly wing because a kid ran into it wild. I understand that NDK locked that place until 2011 so this particular problem couldn’t be helped.

Staff inconsistency could use improvement. Now, several staff members that I came across were nice people. As a matter of fact, one staff member that was cosplaying as Engineer from Team Fortress 2 was very nice enough to escort me and my friend to where Karaoke room was. While there were awesome staff members like that, it seems not so much for others. Many cosplay forums already has post where staff members were rude to them, and this also happened to SR’s own photographer Caitlin. Apparently some staff members screamed at her and such, which shows that there were some staff members that ruined many people’s con experience.

As I said in podcast review, this is a great con for what it’s worth. Nan Desu Kan is probably the best con in Colorado. But is it worth going out of your way to attend if you’re not in Colorado? In most cases, no. Even though this con is in its 11th year, this is still quite a small con. Considerable lack of things to do really dampens the con appeal beyond the rocky mountain border. I attended because I had friend here, and that was good enough excuse for me. If you’re reading this and you live in CO, I don’t need to tell you twice. If you live anywhere else, think really hard before you buy that plane ticket to Denver and I mean REALLY hard. Unless you have friends there or until this con gets more things to do, there is no reason for you to go out of your way.

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