By: Peggy Sue Wood | @pswediting

Last weekend, MomoCon marked its 20th anniversary at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, drawing thousands of attendees for a celebration of anime, gaming, and pop culture. Founded in 2005 as a student-run event at Georgia Tech, the convention has since grown into one of Georgia’s most beloved and well-established anime conventions.

This was my first time attending MomoCon, and I made the most of it—packing my bag after work on Thursday and heading down for the Memorial Day weekend. I was there Friday (my FLEX day, when I can work from anywhere) and Saturday, and it was an unforgettable experience.

Since moving to South Carolina, adjusting to a new environment and community has been a major life transition, so unexpectedly reconnecting with people from my past felt both comforting and grounding. It also spoke volumes about the size and scope of MomoCon—how far-reaching and connected the convention scene truly is.

MomoCon itself was impressively expansive. It seemed to take over Building B of the Georgia World Congress Center, spanning four floors. I found the layout to be thoughtfully designed, with plenty of walking space and ample rest areas, making the flow of foot traffic smooth and the experience comfortable. I’d definitely consider this a large-scale convention—larger than Kumoricon, but not quite as massive as Anime Expo.

This year’s milestone celebration introduced something new and exciting: MomoCon’s inaugural Academic Symposium, held on Saturday hosted by Dr. Susan Noh, an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Oglethorpe University. (She noted during the convention that she’ll soon be transitioning to a new academic position, so that affiliation may change soon as a heads up!) This is where I spent most of my Saturday, as I presented once in morning during the 11:30 AM panel, “The Potentials of (Re)Presentation” and again at 2:30 PM for “Entering Anime and Manga Studies.” The former of which I presented a sort of lightening talk with a group of other panelists, and the latter of which I presented with the Symposium’s host, Susan.

Susan was a fantastic host—warm, insightful, and incredibly generous with her time and knowledge. Meeting her, and co-presenting during the closing session of the symposium, was a true highlight of the weekend. Our session, structured like an informal office hours after our brief presentation, focused on the theme of entering anime and manga studies and encouraged dialogue among aspiring scholars and fans alike.

The symposium itself was a resounding success, in my opinion. It was thoughtfully curated and inclusive, bringing in graduate students, undergraduates, and instructors like myself to share our work in a very supportive environment. The goal was clear: to explore the evolving intersections of Japanese pop culture and global fandom in a collaborative, academically grounded space. I think it went very well. The turnout was huge too—especially for a new event that was not heavily advertised. If you want to check out the CFP (Call for Papers) as an example of what was used to pick options for the event, please do so here: https://www.cfplist.com/CFP/43313

Seeing the success of this academic component has truly inspired me. I think I might reach out to a few local cons and ask if we can host a symposium like this at another convention here in SC. Events like this set an important precedent in this field, showing how conventions can blend entertainment and scholarship in meaningful ways. I’m seriously interested in organizing something similar in the near future, and in continue to help JAMS with theirs as well as Susan potentially next year!

Let’s move on though, shall we? Final Judgments:

Venue: 4/5 – Venue was the perfect size for the size and scale. There was ample seating, ample food offerings, and diversity in choices. I loved that there was cell service everywhere I went, even in lower levels. Sadly, the majority of the escalators were down the whole time I was there, which created a lot of bottlenecking. There were also issues with the elevator wait times, which presented some timing issues for those in wheelchairs, so accessibility could have been better but was ultimately pretty well done. (I also would have preferred more water stations.)

Staff: 5/5 – Polite and helpful.

Organization, Layout & Management: 5/5 – Everything was well spaced, in my opinion.

Organization, Media Use: 4/5 – Could have been slightly better. There was a big push for attendees to download the app, but it was not that helpful.

Attendance: 5/5 – Amazing turnout.

Affordability: 4/5 – Food and water is overpriced. Ticket prices seemed acceptable given the size and scale.

Overall: 4.5/5 – A great experience and good for first-time large-scale convention goers. A “must-go” event of the year if you are local to the area!

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Copyedited by: Katherine Cañeba | @kcserinlee