Hey, I just wanted to post that the next convention I will be visiting is Animazement in Raleigh, NC. Has anyone else ever heard of that one? 

https://www.animazement.com/

Looks like a lot is still TBA, sounds like fun though. Do you know what they usually offer?

They have voice acting guests from both sides of the ocean, Japanese cultural guests for things like traditional music and rakugo comedy, and fan panels. In a few instances they do have some smaller industry panels, sometimes even Japanese, and occasionally concerts.

Sounds pretty interesting!

I don't do much traveling (for several reasons), but one thing I've been hitting every year since 2017 is the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, WI. Pop culture, anime stuff, retrocomputing, video games, and - the biggest reason I attend - pinball. If you bring an arcade machine to offer on free-play mode, you get free admission and access to the arcade party Saturday night. I've been bringing my Undertale custom pinball since 2019 and have learned that it has actually lured a few new people to attend the show.

Last year I wore my first (primitive, per my mom's admission) Mikoto cosplay. This year I'll be dressed in Version 2.0, and excited to see if anybody recognizes it. Got a few double-takes last year, so we'll see.

That is so cool, I'll look into when it is and maybe I'll attend some time. Probably not this year but I can see that being in the future as I've found myself doing more pop culture cons than just anime. How tacky would it be if I get caught humming "Pinball Wizard" in the pinball area? I love that song.

"From Soho down to Brighton, I must've played 'em all!"

Some pinball people actually get tired of the song, since it comes up a lot, but I don't mind it at all myself. Though honestly I can say I like Elton John's cover of it more than the original version by The Who. Also, the pinball area is pretty noisy, so I especially think nobody would mind in that case!

This year it's April 24-26. Friday usually has a lot less stuff going on, hence it's called Preview Night, and many people just spring for Saturday/Sunday. Friday is setup day for game bringers, though, and the arcade is open for those people all day.

For the last few years there's even been a dedicated area for homebrewed games. Mine goes there when available, alongside some interesting other custom project games. Like Cuphead, Sonic Spinball, Ghost in the Shell, and an interesting original game called Trashland with an insane layout that has at least 4 separate physical levels, I recall. And it sounds like if I ever finally get the time and motivation to design and build Black Cat Showdown, then you'd have an actual chance of playing it IRL!

Been awhile since I've been to one. Usually a good time here in the midwest though.

Someday, I'll try to dare walk around with a SFW Inyouchuu shirt or something. If you know you know... lol

We gotta get you that "Tentacle" one haha.

Funny thing is, we've actually been talking here about doing some custom show merch based on my own stories/video content, which also means some meme references to the Inyouchuu Let's Play that I eventually plan on bringing back in perhaps a more condensed and curated form. The "Cryberry" being the first thing that comes to mind.

The end of April is too soon for this year, but maybe I can shoot for next year.

First/last con I went to was AX 2022, miserable experience lol. would love to go to another though