By: Peggy Sue Wood

Kumoricon 2023 – DraftBy: Peggy Sue Wood

TL/DR

This is a small-scale event with lots of people. You could purchase a ticket for one day and tour the exhibit hall in a few hours with more than enough time for panels. 

This convention is good for first-time convention goers, particularly if you are not great with being in large crowds and struggle in long lines. Be warned though, there is very little cell service at this location!

Size and Scale + Food Alley

Location: Portland Oregon, Convention Center and Hyatt Hotel – November 17 – 19, 2023. 

Size: It has shifted from being mid-tier to small-tier in terms of scale. I did ask around about it, but none of the staff that I spoke to seemed to know. Based on venders assessment (the ones I spoke to at least), there seemed to be some bad-press lingering from the last convention that prevented venders from wanting to risk a potential loss of income in case attendees did not come. Some also seemed to believe there were conflicting values at play between convention administration and the individual venders. As far as I can tell you, I believe that the convention staff and administration are doing the best they can and seem like reasonable, harder-working, and passionate people when it comes to caring for and putting on the event. The venders too are making this a very positive place for attendees. 

Health and Safety Policy

Masks are optional. In terms of safety, I felt fine, even in the surrounding areas of the venue. For example, myself and a group of friends walked back late at night from dinner to the hotel and had no significant run-ins or problems. However, it’s evident that the surrounding area has experienced a decline compared to previous years.

Vender Hall

The usual space allocated for vendors seemed noticeably reduced, and the dominant presence was that of the vibrant and bustling Artist Alley. In the back was space dedicated for the voice actors and, divided by a set of black screens were the spaces allotted to the gaming area, which appeared more spread out than before. 

Artist Alley 

Despite expectations of a larger Artist Alley, its actual size came as a surprise. It was, roughly, five aisles in an “L” shape, and this unexpected scale left myself as an attendee surprised considering that last year I repeatedly became lost among the aisles. Still, there was great variation in the collection of artists and some had a surprising mix of materials (though, this could be because some artists split booths). For example, one of the people I attended with found Haikyuu!! fan art keychains at a booth that seemed to be selling some Rated M art. 

Cosplay Areas

While walking around the convention space, I was unable to find any specific areas designated for cosplay. Though I did see cosplayers making their own spaces in the main hall where the Kumoricon shop was found (right in front of the Dragon Boat Cafe, which is part of the convention center). On the upside—despite the amount of cosplayers and lack of cosplay photo-space, there were minimal blockages caused by cosplay, which was a positive aspect of the event.

Presenter Experience

I presented five panels this year at Kumoricon, and all were successful in my opinion. I even got to read some of the feedback, which all appeared positive. The Manga and Comics session, in particular, had considerable attention and generated numerous questions, which was fantastic and one of my favorite presentations overall. 

The best part was getting to connect with attendees after–so, thank you to everyone that came up at the end to talk to me! I loved getting to hear from you and to discuss the topics presented on! 

For myself: I think that, on two of them, I need to be better at my timing as I did end up cutting a few short to leave time for Q&A at the end. I will continue to work on improving, everyone, and thank you so much for your support!

For those interested, you can view my presentations here (and read my script in the notes section under each slide):

Anime Blogging Basics Bootcamp https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1DyuNGJPNRm4du_pTIL-6jKqZ_qvSJnTG/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109028846234695529861&rtpof=true&sd=true 

How Fan Content Creates New Fans & Other Important Information! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1pCOc13nmGrT-R16k0ticvaDcljochrOh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109028846234695529861&rtpof=true&sd=true 

Virtual Tourism With Anime https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qYGIS5e2O8oHxqZAp5t3zBb6XmF5S1wG/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109028846234695529861&rtpof=true&sd=true 

Manga & Comics: A Different Cultural Base https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dSw09wnh1nQL80AVnQjbmPxwv8mCSYhZ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109028846234695529861&rtpof=true&sd=true 

Entering Anime & Manga Studies https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lRJefZ-dsUXX9lVvp7hDpQ7L4zWs5TOE/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109028846234695529861&rtpof=true&sd=true 

Overall (Food, Entertainment, etc) – Attendee Experience

Guest speaker Alisa Freedman delivered several presentations once again and they were all wonderful. I attended the Women in Japanese Studies panel and found it insightful and informative about the history of the field I hope to enter. My friends that attended with me went to some of her other panels over the course of the weekend too, and all of us felt like these were some of the best panels we got to enjoy during the event. I also attended a few other events/panels, all of which were engaging and—in my opinion—well chosen panels to have at the event. 

The event hosted a decent number of people without being overwhelming, meaning that the lines would go very quickly. The longest bathroom line I waited in lasted only two minutes, which is a very short wait for those of you that do not attend anime conventions regularly. The food line, when stacked, also progressed quickly. I would barely have time to refill a drink before my order would be ready. 

The Dragon Boat Cafe served good food, not great but not bad—making it somewhat —reminiscent of cafeteria food. Additionally, I purchased the convention refillable cup for $20, which provided purchasers unlimited drink refills throughout the 3-day event. This was a worthwhile purchase for me, considering how much I drink tea and water in a day.

Lines were, overall, relatively short which made this a really pleasant convention. 

Final Judgments

Venue: 4/5 – Little to no cell service through the space.

Staff: 5/5 – Excellent work!

Organization, Layout & Management: 5/5 – Very little waiting

Organization, Media Use: -/5 – Cannot judge as I did not look up the media and marketing before attending this convention

Attendance: 5/5 – Had a lot of fun.

Affordability: 4.5/5 – The ticket prices seemed reasonable given the size and scale. 

Overall: 4.7/5 – Will return next year!

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Copyedited by: Krow Smith | @coffeewithkrow