By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Attending a small anime convention can be a mixed bag—you never know if you’re stepping into a hidden gem or just paying for a glorified meetup. Unfortunately, Banzaicon leaned more toward the latter. While the passion was there, the price tag didn’t quite match the experience and so I want to discuss this convention in a way that is different from how I would normally go about it. I don’t want the price alone to define the convention as a bad one, and I hope to provide a fair perspective for readers like you.

Look, I want to be honest here. I was ready to pack it in for the weekend on Friday night following the wrap-up of my panels on Day 1. I filled my programming commitments, I bought some merch, and I probably lapped the area seventy times. This convention was small—like, micro-small—and there was not much to do.

It felt more like two large rooms and a hallway when walking around, though we are really talking about split ballroom for vending and a game room, a hallway for artist alley, and three rooms for panels, one room for con operations, and another room for the Chalk Twins (shout out to them, because they’ve been at several of these small events and it is impressive every time to watch them create a whole piece of art that becomes a blanket by the next con).

Fellow attendees were all friendly, the cosplayers put in amazing effort (as always), and there were some fun moments connecting with others through casual chats. The love for anime was undeniable, and it was great to see people come together to celebrate it.

One thing that stood out to me was the unusual panel scheduling. It had 18+ content scattered throughout the day rather than reserved for nighttime, and this meant that all-ages panels also extended into the evening. Typically, adult content is scheduled later to help prevent younger attendees from viewing unsuitable content, while all-ages panels take place earlier in the day/evening. Was it odd? Certainly. Still, that doesn’t mean it was a bad choice.

I actually think the mixed scheduling might have worked in this context, given the limited number of events and activities at this convention. The programming choices were solid and I will give props to the programming team. Several panels I peeked into had a decent turnout, with some filling a third or more of the room and others even packing the space—an impressive feat for a small event like this. The panel titles were also engaging, and clearly labeled/easy to find.

Meanwhile, the Artist Alley showcased some talented independent creators, but it was limited to just 5-6 artists and about 8 vendors in the vendor area. If you enjoy supporting small artists and local vendors, this was one of the convention’s stronger points because despite its small size, the selection was well-curated, making for a quality, if lean, shopping experience.

I can’t say the convention was bad, and I don’t want to imply that. I’d love to say it was good… but one major issue tainted the experience: the price.

This event is part of a three-convention chain (Ichiban, Banzai, and Triad Anime). If you buy a season pass and attend all three, the cost is likely justifiable. However, for a single-day pass, the at-the-door price was $35 on Friday. Given how quickly I was able to see everything, that didn’t seem worth it. Saturday, the price jumped to $48—almost $50—which felt even less justified.

I enjoyed Day 1. I arrived at 2 PM when the con opened and left around 7 PM after my last panel, having felt like I’d seen everything in those five hours. Day 2, I returned mainly to support a friend presenting and to participate in activities like the Otaku Ribbon Game (hosted by convention staff it seemed) and a Pokémon trainer game hosted by The Nerd Out!—both were fun, and I earned plenty of ribbons while enjoying conversations with fellow players. However, even with these experiences, I wouldn’t consider a $48 ticket worth it.

That’s not even factoring in the hotel itself, which was understaffed for the event and whose restrooms smelled, featured several broken toilets and an overflowed one, and had flickering lights that caused me to have a migraine. Meanwhile, while the restaurant’s food was great, it wasn’t worth the 1.5-hour wait I experienced on Saturday. The hotel knew this event was happening—and my table was left asking ourselves why not schedule more staff for the weekend when you knew the event would be taking place? Why not check that the bathrooms are ready to accommodate as well? The answer to which we will never know.

At a lower price point, this could have been a fun, casual event for local anime fans. The Sunday price of $22 would have been more appropriate, in my opinion, across all three days as at-the-door pricing per day—still a little high for what was offered, but reasonable given the setting. I can see myself spending $22 for an afternoon like this. I mean, I could even see myself purchasing a $60 weekend pass if I thought it would be really good, as a $20 breakdown would feel worth it for the social aspect. However, $48 for a single Saturday ticket simply didn’t match the experience provided.

My badge as a panelist was free, which is a new thing offered this year from the convention team putting together these cons, but I have to look at the prices to consider this when reviewing for attendees who likely do not plan to be paneling, especially if they decide to charge panelists for tickets again in the near future. To be fair, I’ve heard this is usually a bigger convention. It’s managed by the same team behind Ichiban Con and Triad Anime Con, like I said, and I understand that running a convention isn’t cheap. Still, there’s a fine line between covering costs and overpricing an event that doesn’t deliver enough.

Would I attend again? Maybe for a single day. However, even that’s a tough sell considering the travel time to the convention and the con’s size compared to cost. In the end, what was advertised as a solid convention felt more like a “micro” con, and for an event of this scale, the ticket price was simply too high for what was offered.

After considering everything, I find myself unable to recommend this convention—whether to newcomers or seasoned con-goers. The only exception would be for locals who don’t have to travel far, and even then, only for a single-day pass on Friday or Sunday, when the cost ranges between $22 or $35.

It’s just not worth it to me, and I truly hate to say that but I think it is important to say especially knowing that many convention attendees come for the experience while working with limited funds.

I firmly believe in fairness when discussing events like this. Criticism should never be unkind, especially toward those doing their best, which the team behind this convention is definitely doing, and the bad should always be balanced with the good. There was a lot of good at this convention. I loved how open, warm, and friendly the community was to each other. One of the biggest strengths of a small, cozy convention like this is how social it can be, bringing people together in a way that larger events often can’t. However, I also recognize that social interaction isn’t the only thing people look for. Attendees come for panels, merchandise, activities—things that help make the day feel worthwhile.

Small conventions absolutely have value—they rely on local support and provide a great opportunity for fans to connect in person. If you have a free afternoon, and the time to spare, this can be a decent convention to attend for a day or afternoon on the lower-price point days. However, if you’re a first-time con-goer or even a seasoned attendee looking for a worthwhile experience that delivers good value for the cost, this likely isn’t the convention for you and it isn’t a convention for me either.

Growing up, conventions were rare experiences for me. I certainly wasn’t crusading through a convention a month like I have been for close to 8 months now. We didn’t have the money to go often, and even as an adult, I’ve only started attending more events in recent years as a result of trying to get my research out into the world. When I was younger, if I had the chance to attend a convention, it was a carefully planned, special occasion—sometimes saving up for months to make it to a big event like Anime Expo or a local con as part of my birthday gift for later in the year. I know that I am not alone in this experience as I’ve met several people who told me about how they saved up for months to attend their first convention—like Anime Town Greenville or an event like this. Almost all of them told me they researched reviews, like the one I’m writing now, before buying tickets.

That’s why I have to be honest: based on what was offered for the price, this isn’t a convention worth planning as a major event. I can’t recommend it at this time as a result; however, I sincerely hope the convention addresses some of the issues I observed so that I can give it a more positive review in the future.

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee