We LOVE anime conventions! To us they’re like small meccas filled with people who are just as nerdy about anime and manga as we are. They’re the one place where you feel like you can be your true self without having the fear of being judged. The community is diverse and growing in numbers each and every day. Granted there are a few cons that may need to re-evaluate themselves in terms of the message that they’re trying to portray, but all-in-all anime cons are awesome!

Since 2008 we’ve been going to one of the largest anime conventions on the east coast known as Otakon. Back then we’ve never even heard of an anime convention, but being the anime fans that we were we decided to check it out. All the way up to its final year in 2016, we’ve been going to Otakon in Baltimore (now in D.C.) for eight consecutive years. It was also during the 2016 year that we were about to discover a new con home. After Otakon’s last ride in the Summer of 2016, we’ve set our sights on one of the best up-and-coming cons we’ve ever gotten the chance to be a part of! That con, was Animore!

With Otakon out of the Baltimore area all together, it seemed like the anime convention scene was nothing more than a dry wasteland. Though 2016 was its last year, it also gave birth to a new convention that has a more relaxed feel – a more family feel. Animore is one of those conventions that is hotel-based (meaning that everything is one one floor, but the area is huge!), treats their guests and attendees like family, and even helped get us more exposure in the convention scene. In fact Animore is the first convention where we debuted as D&A Anime Blog! One of the best memories of the con was almost getting snowed in during Snowmageddon 2016; where fans and guests alike were ‘seemingly’ trapped inside the hotel among 3 feet of snow.

It may be a small convention with an attendance of around 2,000 or so people, but there’s plenty to do as well as plenty to see (now that we’ve got inside connections of course). This is also one of the conventions that has the most creative panels that we’ve ever gone to, in fact we’ve even had the privilege of doing a few panels ourselves back during last year’s con! Although its only going on 5 years old, Animore is one of those cons that gives you that old-school convention vibe; like back in the late 90’s (early 2000’s) when anime was just starting to grow in popularity, so only a few hundred people actually attended. The hotel where the convention is held is the Hyatt Regency of Baltimore, which has gotten slightly larger since its renovation back in 2018.

Even though it may not hold a candle to Otakon’s large following and attendance, we see Animore as a convention that wants to stand out and be more inclusive of its fans, guests, and attendees. They treat them like family, and everyone these has a great time! For this review we give our NEW home convention…

4.8 / 5 Stars

The con itself is still growing, but I think it will one day turn into something amazing. There’s a certain spark about it that we can’t really put our finger on even to this day. One thing’s for sure, we will continue to establish our presence (as well as our connections) there for as long as it is in Baltimore!

That will do it for this post but until the next one, stay nerdy! 😉