Youmacon 2012

I've been itching to get out of town and lucky for me, I managed to find a very inexpensive flight out to Detroit to visit Youmacon, one of the three largest anime cons in the Midwest states (or perhaps it should be called the Great Lake States ?). Besides Youmacon, there is Ohayocon in Columbus, OH and Anime Central in Rosemont, IL.

Check out my video and more on Youmacon after the jump ....

Youmacon started in 2005 at Troy, Michigan and quickly outgrew the location in three years, moving to Dearborn, MI for the next two years. The first year when it moved to the current GM Renaissance Center (RenCen) in Detroit, the attendance jump from around 6,000 to over 9,000. I've been hearing about Youmacon for the past few years when I visit Anime Central so when I saw that flight deal, I snagged it !
First, I felt there was some disorganization with pre-reg this year. Although I personally wasn't here last year, I talk to many people and the general consensus is that pre-reg was taking too long. The wait time this year seems to run between 2 to 4 hours. It was easier to purchase registration at the con than pre-reg - I've heard at con reg took like 45 minutes. When I got back to the RenCen from Cobo where the artist alley/dealer/panels were held on Friday afternoon - there were still lines ! 

The program book didn't arrive until late Friday and they ran out pretty quickly. They didn't have maps available (though they are in the program book) so it was a bit hard to find things especially for the first timer like me.
There was also problems with the hotel rooms but truthfully, that came from the hotel itself so I can't fault the con for something the hotel is doing. For the record, I stayed off site at another hotel so I never went into the elevator or had to wait for an elevator and never had a wristband.
In the years before, the artist alley and dealer hall were at the RenCen but with their attendance increasing, it was harder to managed the crowd so this year they've moved the dealer hall/artist alley and some panels over to Cobo Center which is located half a mile away. Don't let the number scare you - it really isn't that bad. I walked back and forth a few times on Friday - it took about 10 minutes to walk the distance. There's two path - walk by the river  or walk on Jefferson St.  My suggestion when it gets dark is to take Jefferson St. as there are more people traveling that path. You can also take the People Mover - not exactly a subway train but more like an airport monorail that goes in one direction. It costs 75 cents (though there is a weekend pass you can get) and it is about 3 stops down from the RenCen. When you return though, it'll go all the way around since it is one way.

People warn me the dangers of Detroit but I felt pretty safe. If you keep common sense, walk with a group, you'll be fine. I checked out Greektown and wander about the city for a bit on Sunday.

( see more photos of Youmacon, to go ; http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCJaYx2 )
My suggestions for those attending Youmacon for the first time : really explore the RenCen. Since it is a group of towers, everything is layout in a circular fashion - and it is very easy to get lost. It took a while to figure out how to navigate the floors of the complex. On the first floor there is a huge food court with your name brand fast food chains like McDonald's and Burger King but there's some local  ones. The RenCen is great for photo shoots - the nice lighted panel walkway is always useful and there's different types of background of concrete to different color painted walls though it may be hard to shoot in the well-traffic areas. RenCen has their own security and they're not gonna let you set up tripods and lights. The few photographers who have lights I talked to, told me they just kept moving. If they were asked to leave, they set-up somewhere else.
This is one of the more fun cons I've visited. On Friday I cosplay as Brief from Panty & Stocking, got my photos taken and basically ran around. On Saturday, I just set-up my photo booth and took cosplayer's photos - no charge. My nights were spend running into old friends, laughing, meeting new people and yeah, I had fun !

I didn't attend masquerade, the concert, game room or panels so I don't have much to say about that - though I love how on the panel rooms in the RenCen, there's a sign set-up with the list of panels. Unfortunately, they didn't do the same at Cobo and it was a bit hard to navigate. Signage people ! Signage !

I can definitely see in the future the con pretty much moving over to the Cobo Center sort of like how Anime Expo, Otakon and Anime Central are - dealer/artist alley/panels/events in the convention center, then when that closes, gaming, dance and all night event are held over at a neighboring hotel.

I don't plan to be back for 2013 - I'm gonna give it time to adjust to the new location but based on what I saw, I have high hopes this will become a bigger better convention down the line. I'll definitely be back.