Animazement 2024 was an excellent reminder as to why, after only attending once last year, AZ is my favorite convention. The wonderfully positive energy is all around the Raleigh Convention Center. While clearly geared towards appreciating anime and Japanese culture, they make sure there is something for everyone. I was particularly amped for this convention because of my own cosplays, but also because of all the new fandoms I know I’d see a lot of! Namely, I was excited about all the Hazbin Hotel hype. My friends and I were doing a big group on Friday and my dear friend, Bow, was hosting a Hazbin/Hellaverse meetup. Other things I was excited to see included Trigun, Baldur’s Gate 3, The Amazing Digital Circus, and much more. But above all else, I was excited to see my friends and explore the convention.
Last year, I made sure to do a good mix of everything. This year, I didn’t really get to any panels, but I did get to see a lot of cool things. A big highlight for me, as always, was the Masquerade. Even when I don’t know the majority of the characters being portrayed due to not knowing much about gacha games, I had a blast watching everyone perform. It’s one thing to see everyone’s hard work on their costumes, but to see them put so much effort and passion to step into a character they love’s shoes is another thing entirely. My favorite performances included a Howl and Sophie (Howl’s Moving Castle) dance to ‘Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy’ by Queen, and a hilarious and exciting skit and dance battle done by a group of Sonic cosplayers. If you happen to be reading this and know these are your performances, please know that you totally crushed it. I talked about both performances a lot after the con.
Something else I loved watching was Cosplay Chess! I went to see some friends participating, but the whole thing was so cool. It’s another instance where cosplay becomes more than just an outfit and makeup. It’s about embodying something you love, and sharing that with other fans and Cosplay Chess nails it. I often talk about conventions being a place of magic because of the interactions you get to witness. Whether that means forming friendships over shared interests, somebody meeting their heroes and inspirations, or witnessing John Cena scream at Elasti-Girl over chess moves. Conventions are the closest thing we have to truly stepping into different worlds for a day or three.
But let’s talk about my con experience from beginning to end!
On Friday, I cosplayed as my favorite grumpy bartender, Husk from Hazbin Hotel. As I mentioned earlier, there was going to be a Hazbin Hotel meetup that day. I was very excited to see the meetup now that the show is officially out. I was not prepared for the sheer volume of people that showed up. I truly commend Bow and the con workers who were able to organize the meetup AND troubleshoot it when the rain started pouring. I was also grateful that everyone was doing their best to keep language and behavior relatively family friendly. It’s no secret that Hazbin Hotel is a show geared towards an adult audience. However, it doesn’t stop minors from interacting with it. Bow tried to make the meetup 18+, but due to Animazement regulations, this wasn’t allowed. To counter that, Bow asked that everyone keep things clean. Luckily, everyone was on their best behavior. The meetup was huge. I can’t stress enough how impressive it was that it ran so smoothly. It was a beautiful moment of shared joy, and a triumph of organization all in one.
After the meetup, a few of my friends and I wanted to check out the game room. Game rooms are always a must for me at conventions. Sometimes I just do a quick walkthrough, play a few rounds of an old favorite, or try a claw machine. Sometimes my friends and I play a Japanese variety game for hours. Animazement’s game room is definitely not something to shake a stick at. The convention center ballroom it’s in is big, and air flow and conditioning is clearly prioritized inside. The layout is good for all the different kinds of games they supply. There’s room for dancing, spectating, waiting for the machine you want to be empty. I had a lot of fun playing a 1v1 shooting game in a tournament style with my group. My friends had a blast playing Rockband, and I had a blast watching them. Rhythm games are just not for me, but I was prepared to be a dedicated groupie for my friends. One thing I didn’t get to was the VR experience they were offering. There was a horror challenge involved though, so I’m a little sad I missed it. People really looked like they were having a spooky fun time. The game room is also a very fun place to just people watch. I like seeing the games people gravitate to, I like seeing them have fun and laugh, and I mean— I can’t help but enjoy the intensity some people can feel for games. I can definitely get that way. I did have a chance to lock in to a few rounds of Ms. Pac-Man. There’s nothing like being hyped up as you absolutely obliterate those ghosts.
I spent most of the evening winding down in a hotel room with some of my friends. I made myself a few drinks, ate pizza on the floor, and let myself just tune out and enjoy light conversation for a while. Eventually, we changed into some new outfits and headed to the rave. The nightlife at Animazement wasn’t my favorite. I’m not big on EDM anyway, but I still respect the hell out of everyone who was making that event possible, and I loved seeing the crowd get into it. I was disappointed to see that the only bar available was upstairs in the mezzanine instead of in the hall where the party was. Though, I understand that maybe that is impractical for safety reasons. I also think there should be a few more accessible water coolers placed in the hall. There was only one so it always had a line. Hydration is definitely a priority, especially when alcohol, exercise, and heat are involved. I still had a lot of fun dancing with my friends, but the entire “after hours” scene just wasn’t my bag.
Saturday was much of the same, though with a lot more money being spent. Since I was not encumbered by wings, I was free to explore the artist alley and dealer’s hall, and man, did I. I was so overwhelmed by the massive amount of artists and vendors. There was so much to see. I was enamored. I felt like I couldn’t possibly give the love and attention to everything I wanted to, and that made me feel bad. I was worried for the state of my wallet. I didn’t get one whole aisle in before I spent $60 on some gorgeous Tears of the Kingdom art. Seriously, go check out @nimtzart on IG or at nimtzart.com. They are such a talented human. I immediately bought frames for the Link and Zelda prints I got from them. I also got tons of other cute little things, and some gorgeous Baldur’s Gate 3 and Trigun prints— just like I wanted! I definitely think the artist alley was the place to be. There were so many gifted individuals with a spectacular array of different art and products for everyone. I could have easily spent so much more money.
Something I have really enjoyed about Animazement both years is the food options. I’ve been to a lot of cons where the options were: 1. Walk to a nearby fast food restaurant 2. Bring your own food or 3. Eat the overpriced mediocre food they sell in the exhibit halls. Animazement, however, also has food stands in the upper levels as well as a line of food trucks with a variety of options outside the convention center. Sure, it can add up and still hurt the wallet but you get a good amount of food and there’s really no way to be disappointed. I was genuinely so well fed the entire weekend. I really appreciate Animazement for going that extra mile for their patrons.
The rest of my Saturday was spent taking pictures, chilling before Night Life Round 2, and then enjoying Night Life Round 2. I admittedly was in and out of the dance more that night, but I remember feeling like the energy was overall better. I wish the two nights had been different in terms of music and general vibe as opposed to basically being the same thing. The EDM rave can happen on Friday, and Saturday could be more of a jukebox dance party. Especially considering that the convention is about anime culture, I feel like they’re really missing an opportunity to play music from anime in that setting. I know the congoers would go crazy for it, and there’s hardly a shortage of options even just considering some of the bigger series names. There’s so many ways in which I think this convention clears other ones like it or in the area, but this is just something I’d like to see be changed a bit.
Sunday is, of course, always the chilliest day of a con. Everyone is tired. The hours are shorter. There’s that looming sense of doom that is tied to saying goodbye to people you love and getting back to real life the next day. There’s definitely been con Sundays where I said “screw it,” and did not put on the cosplay I planned or anything. Sunday of Animazement 2024, I did manage to get in cosplay. It didn’t last long, but I got in it. I was Leorio as part of a big Hunter x Hunter group, and I loved it so much. I’ve always wanted to cosplay Leorio, and I felt so cool. We took a bunch of fun pictures, people got excited and stopped us a lot, and it was relatively comfortable to wear. That being said, I did rip my wig off as soon as I could.
Before I ripped my wig off though— the group had to go do something. We all waddled down to the autograph area to meet the incredible and incomparable Keith Silverstein. My friend Brooke was cosplaying Hisoka for our group, so it was definitely mostly for her but a lot of us were excited for different reasons. We got to stand at his table and talk to him for a few minutes, and he was so sweet. And he got so excited! He loved seeing everyone, and he loved talking to us about other characters as well. I had to take a minute to talk to him about Lupin the 3rd, and I could tell it was something he doesn’t get asked about a lot but really enjoyed doing even if he isn’t THE Lupin voice. He also took the opportunity to praise Tony Oliver and Sonny Strait for their work with the character. I love when I get to talk to a voice actor I admire, and it is truly a sweet shared moment to treasure. If you ever get a chance to even say hi to Keith at a con, I highly recommend it.
I want to take a second to just say thank you to the people who made my Animazement 2024 so memorable. I know I’ve already talked a lot about the staff and my friends, but seriously I can’t talk about them enough. My friends are the best support network. They provide me with so much joy and love and comfort. I always come away from these conventions feeling warm and refreshed, and that’s because of them. The staff at AZ are all superstars. They run the whole operation with beautiful efficiency and care. Of course, thank you to The Variant for the wonderful services they provide all weekend to congoers and for giving me this space to express myself and to connect with others. I adore you all, and I am so happy to be a part of your little family.
I am so excited to go back to AZ next year. I already have some cosplans set, and I know that it’s only going to continue to grow and evolve. In the meantime, please follow me @sonnyaliencosplay on Instagram and Tik Tok to see what I’m up to! My next cons are Mad Monster Expo in Concord and DragonCon in Atlanta. See you soon!
