When I saw the guest list at this convention I just had to get a ticket and see if I can meet these people; however, I didn’t realize just how much the Anime Milwaukee disappointed me. I thought I was going to be excited going into this convention but all I really felt was dread and it didn’t even have anything to do with the event. This meant that this convention had to really impress me in order to re-ignite my passion for going to this events.

Artist Alley/Vendors

There was not a lot of room so there was a pretty limited amount of space, even so there was some pretty awesome stuff. It’s easy to complain that there wasn’t much there; however, it was a really small room and they packed in a lot in a little bit of space but still left plenty or room to comfortably be able to shop and browse merchandise. There was a little bit of variety in the artwork; however they had to set up their booths in the halls outside of the vendor’s room so there wasn’t much artwork at all to choose from. Again, the space was used well and there was a decent variety with what they worked with. The only problem was just the amount of space they had but they used literally every open space possible for shopping that didn’t compromise the ability to move around.

Panels

I really enjoyed the panels. This was one of two conventions that featured the main cast of #SailorMoonCrystal and it was awesome seeing a panel with all of them on stage. They had a nice selection of anime to watch in the viewing room, even got my fiance into a few shows. The panels I went to were full of energy, every last one of them. The people doing the panels knew how to engage an audience and every panel was so much fun.

Guests

There were only a few voice actors at this convention but the people who organized this event knew how to make it count. The five people they got were the sailor scouts of Sailor Moon Crystal, yes they even got Kate Higgins who has appeared in about two conventions since 2009. Not only were the guests awesome, but they had several signings throughout the weekend. I was very pleased with the guest list and how it was utilized.

Staff

If you’ve seen my previous reviews you’ll notice that this is the first time the staff got their own section. The staff was amazing and made sure the lines were capped for autographs when they knew how many people would be able to get autographs, and even made makeshift vip passes for future autograph sessions for people who didn’t get an autograph. The staff really deserve credit for working hard to ensure that the guests all got autographs and they were quick to change things if needed. For example on Friday, or so I was told I wasn’t there on Friday, people could get two autographs free and buy additional ones. On Saturday they limited it to two item max because the lines got a little long. The staff really worked hard and I think they set the standard for staff at all conventions.

Final Verdict

This convention was so much fun and it restored my excitement for conventions in general. The guests were amazing, the vendors, while small, optimized the space that they had available, and the panels were exciting. If anything, I would say this convention needs a bigger venue to really maximize it’s potential and boy does it have potential. I’m going to keep an eye on this convention as a possibility for next year.