The convention ended up being kinda meh. It's a bit disorganized. When I arrived Saturday morning during set-up hours, the convention organizer wasn't there, and no one else knew what table I was assigned to. So, forced to wait around until the head honcho finished his breakfast, and was willing to come down with the table assignment sheet. This seriously peeved me off--it usually takes me 2 hours to beautify my table. I also found it strange how other staff members feared the organizer like some kind of god. The two volunteers in the vendor room were unwilling to call him a second time because they were afraid "Naru will get pissed." Huzzawah? Ugh, so then I started getting pissed. If I pay that kinda price for an artist table at a small convention, I expect to be catered to. ;D
When he did show up, the organizer boasted an expected attendance of around 2100, twice as much as last year. That didn't happen. In the end, I overheard the final count was about 660? I think this is the first anime con I've been to where the attendance dropped from the previous year. My sales definitley showed it... I was debating whether to sell at this con or a local show called DotCon, which was on the same weekend. I made a profit this year at Naru2U, but if both cons happen at the same time next year, I'll probably stick with the Toronto one. They're both small, but I wouldn't have travel fees for DotCon.
The attendees were super nice at Naru2U though. I got some lovely comments, met some nice people, and saw some great cosplay.
A Ukraine (from Hetalia) cosplayer bought my big Russia plushie to match her costume. So I had to take her picture. Her outfit was super cute.
Another thing I also enjoyed about this con was the 24hr manga library with comfy couches. Since I was only in Ottawa for one night, and the closet hostel was 40min away by bus, I decided to just stick around the con all-night, suck it up, and make use of the con badge I had to purchase with my artist table. When I was half asleep in the manga library, attempting to read vol. 2 of Nodame Cantabile, I noticed people starting to snooze on the couches and chairs. I had already claimed a couch for myself, so I just fell asleep, too. Yay! Most 24hr conventions I've attended never let you sleep in their event rooms, and will shake you awake if you do. Believe me, I've tried--many times.
So yeah, there's a brief overview of my experience at Naru2U this year.
