So I didn’t go to this event last year because I had too much going on around the same time, but this year it moved to a new venue and to a new month so I had to see how successful this move would be. Now previous years I’ve had some issues with the crowding so one of the key things with the event’s move to the Georgia World Congress Center I really wanted to see if there was more space for the event and how well that space was used.

Lets start with the guests. As always this is a key motivator for why I travel nearly five hours to attend this event. It includes notable names in the anime industry like Kaiji Tang, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Alex Organ and a wide variety of voice actors, musical artists cosplayers and more. One benefit from the venue change is the amount of space given to the signing area for the guests. The guests were all put into a room with all of the games and so not only were they very easy to get to but there was more than enough space for massive lines. I also want to point out how diligent staff was at managing the lines as there was almost always someone near the longer lines to help keep things moving, keep people from blocking walkways and answer questions.

Moving onto the vendors and I think this was the area that saw the most improvement from the venue change. There was plenty of space to walk around and I was even comfortable taking photos of cosplayers in the venue hall. Something I did only sparingly before. The vendor list was also amazing as I got to see some old favorites like Brother Ming and Loading Crew Crafts, new favorites like Chunky Tomato and more. I even found Xenoblade Chronicles art and a Xenoblade coin. So money was spent this weekend.

The panels were also fun as they had your standard Q & A panels, concerts, a slew of interactive events and more. I also think panels were easier to find here than in previous years as I think the new venue is easier to navigate around. I also did the Fire Emblem cosplay photo shoot and one thing I want to point out is there was a scheduling issue where the convention had two photo shoots scheduled at the same spot at the same time leaving one of them to find an alternative spot for photos. Not a major issue but a very inconvenient one.

Even though I have no real concerns with how the event went it felt like not all of the Anime Weekend Atlanta experience came with the move. In every year prior I felt like I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted to do no matter how long I was there. This year I felt like I needed no time at all to see everything I wanted to see. It just felt like everything was amazing but there was less of it across the board. In previous years I found slews of exclusive merch like challenge coins from companies like HIDive, beautifully crafted sets for photos and had one of my all time favorite memories where I got to play Super Smash Brothers with voice actors. What I got was an amazing time but minus those top tier amazing moments I’ve grown to expect and their absence was noticeable.

So overall I had a lot of fun at this year’s Anime Weekend Atlanta. The move proved successful as the space made everything at the convention far easier to do. There’s no real problem with how everything was executed; however, it just felt like this year there was less of the convention than what I’ve come to experience in prior years. I think a lot of that has to do with the venue change as transitions like that can be a process. I’m hoping that next year we get to see more of what makes this event as amazing as it is while maintaining the benefits of the additional space, but where it’s five hours from home I don’t know if I’m coming back next year to see if that’s the case.