Hey everyone I’m Monica Rial.

Welcome to the Anime Event Lounge!
I know some of you are probably wondering, “Why is Monica Rial welcoming us to a convention site?”
Well…As a voice actor for ADV Films I have attended over 50 anime conventions across the US and internationally. It may be even more than that but I’ve lost count.
So, I kind of know my way around conventions.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear about this site! How cool is it that you can promote your con for free?! No matter what size it is!

I thought I’d go ahead and tell you some of the tings I love about cons…no matter what size they are…

-They’re a great place to meet new people that are into the same things you are.
-You can pick up a new hobby like cosplay or fan fiction.
-You can play some of the coolest new video games straight from Japan.
-You get to see the newest anime releases!
-There’s always a dance! It may be a 3,000 person soirée at a big con or maybe 5 guys and a boom box at another con. Either way it’s always awesome!
-There are cool guests to meet. Whether you love manga authors, or voice actors, or artists, or J-Rock bands…there’s always someone at a convention that’s fun to talk to.


Now I know there are some of you that haven’t been to a con yet.

WHY?! These days it’s almost impossible to live in a place that DOESN’T have an anime convention.
Things sure have changed.
*insert crazy old lady voice here*
I remember back in the day when it was a big deal to go to a con. You had to get a flight, a hotel room…
*end crazy old lady voice*

Now they’re everywhere!

So here’s the deal…now that you’ve got the Anime Event Lounge there’s no excuse for you not to get to a con!
In fact, I know it’ll be so easy for you to find a con that I’m gonna give you a few ‘newbie’ pointers.
You’ll hear these things over and over at every con you go to so you might as well start listening now.

#1- Always eat! Remember that pocky and ramune do not a balanced breakfast make!
Try to eat something green and something that used to be alive at least once a day. (Except you vegetarians…just green will do.)

#2- Drink lots of water! Playing DDR for 5 hours at a time will dehydrate you. I’ve seen too many people ruin a perfectly good con experience cause they’re dehydrated. (It makes you really sick.)

#3- SHOWER! At least once a day please! This may seem like common knowledge but at a con people seem to forget that soap’s their friend. You’ll know them when you run into them…the people that have worn the same costume all weekend and you can smell it. You can see Friday’s dried ketchup stain and today is Sunday…Yeah, you don’t wanna be one of them.

#4- If you are of drinking age…Drink responsibly. Yes, most conventions are one big party but nothing kills the party quicker than someone being rushed to the hospital because of alcohol poisoning. Also, remember that drinking can make you do crazy things. I’ve seen too many people freak out at cons because of what they did ‘under the influence’.

#5- If you are under the drinking age…Don’t drink! I know I may sound like your mom but I’m looking out for you on this one. There’s nobody more hated than the underage kid that kills an otherwise awesome party. You don’t want to be the focal point of a bunch of pissed off fan boys. Trust me, I’ve seen it!

Okay, now that you’ve got some pointers pick a con! Any con will do!

After all, I can honestly say that in all the years I’ve done conventions…I’ve never been to a bad one.

Of course, that has a lot to do with the amazing people who run conventions!
Just so everyone knows, the staffs of anime cons don’t make money off of the cons.
The registration you pay goes to paying off this year’s convention and preparing next year’s con.
They run conventions because they love anime as much as you do! So big props to all of the convention staff on this site! Ya’ll rule!


So in conclusion…The Anime Event Lounge rocks! You have to check it out! If you don’t I’ll find you and attack with my leet ninja moves! (Okay, so maybe that last bit was going a little too far.)

If you go to enough cons you’re sure to bump into me somewhere along the way!

See ya on the con circuit!

-Monica Rial-