October 19 - 21, 2018

This was the third time we've attended Anime USA and I continued to be impressed at just how well run and organized of a convention this is. After going to Anime USA back to back in 2017 and 2018 it is going to be very difficult to return to a bigger con like Otakon - it is so nice here to be able to see and do everything we want without feeling overwhelmed by the amount of attendees. We were really looking forward to this year because we wanted to see Crispin Freeman again, who we last saw at Otakon in 2013. When we first arrived at the hotel the first thing we did after checking in was join Monica Rial's autograph line. We really liked the way they handled autographs this year by getting the guest's name checked off an autograph card when you received their signature. This was probably to keep it fair so everyone would have a chance to get an autograph, but I could also see how it could also be fun to collect them all and try to get the card filled out by the end of the weekend. Monica Rial was super friendly, and she was nice enough to let us take a photo of Sebby with her. This year Sebby's cosplay was from the video game Day of the Tentacle, where the character of Laverne dressed in disguise as a tentacle with a costume made out of an American flag. Our mom made his costume the day before the con!

Throughout the weekend we also saw both of Crispin Freeman's panels, which we enjoyed very much. He is a very intelligent and articulate guest who always gives very thoughtful answers. It was fun when he got to talking about things he felt passionately about and also seeing him interact with the attendees. Jim Cummings' panel was really special because we had never seen him at a con before, and he was really funny in his answers and when he turned the questions back around on the people in line. When looking through his list of voice work it was crazy how many things we have seen him in - his characters were a big part of our childhood! We also caught the end of Monica Rial's acting workshop and attended the Requium for Konami panel we saw a few years back at Otakon. We were also able to take part in two of the workshops - we made Time Cats and Traditional Bamboo Amagatsu dolls - both of which were really fun to make. It was nice being in the same hotel as last year and getting to discover some more of the restaurants in the area when it wasn’t snowing!

Memorable Moments

• Meeting Monica Rial and getting her autograph and a photo with Sebby
• How organized the autograph lines and system were
• Crispin Freeman panels
• Jim Cummings panel
• Time Cat workshop
• The 90's nostalgia booth in the Dealer's Room
• Sebby's Day of the Tentacle cosplay

Photos