Yaoi-Con 2008 | A Celebration of Male Beauty & Passion in Anime & Manga

I'm one of the MANY people abandoning AX after it's decision to move to L.A (That and forth july weekend no way I'm getting off). Everyone just laughs hysterically when they think of AX a 24 hour convention in that city. Plus the hotel prices are murder, I'm just a lonely cashier making meager wages.

But I am not here to complain about AX.

I want to ask you people, WHY should we choose Yaoi Con? I want to go cause I hear WONDERFUL things about it. (Okay mostly cause no kids, I hate kids.) However I have to convince other people that this is the con we should go to.

So I really want to know, what made YOU choose Yaoi con? Why should I drag my navigator to Yaoi con? (And probably land us in the wrong city as I always do)

Well, I've flown in from the UK for it for the last three years, and am again this year, so if anyone's an avid fan... (Seriously, I've spent somewhere around $3500 just on flights!)

Why Yaoicon?

First off, the people. My first con was AX (flew in for that too), and personally, I found the atmosphere to be a little cold. I had fun, and met lots of new people, but there was always a certain air of distance about the place. Yaoicon has nothing of the sort, though - even queuing up for registration, there was a feeling of friendliness, of warmth, and inclusion. It may well be because We're All The Same (yaoi fans~), but it's an undeniable factor, and I think is the first thing anyone would tell you about the con. The people fawking rock, and are the single biggest reason for my constant (and expensive) returning.

Secondly, the events. In Bishounen Bingo, and especially the Bishounen Auction, Yaoicon has two events that're pretty much totally unique to them. Some cons have apparently tried to copy them, but have dropped them again because they flopped, whereas YCon's succeed year on year. The auction is probably the highlight of the convention - pretty/hot boys go up on stage, perform an act (song, dance, striptease, whatever), and then get auctioned off to the highest bidder, who can enjoy their company for the evening (the contract generally lasts until around 2-3am). The money raised goes to the convention, and the acts themselves are superb - some of the boys put on genuinely professional-quality performances year on year. There's also a nice diverse range to choose between - varying tastes are accounted for!

There are also the usual events (AMVs, Masquerade, numerous panels etc) which are all of a very high quality too, and the convention also provides a manga library for you to simply sit and read for free (whether this is a common feature at other US cons, I really don't know).

Those are the major selling points for the convention - amazing people, fantastic and unique events - but that's far from an exhaustive list. I'd better leave things for other people to say too!

LOL I'm sold now to convince my navigator. I was watching some vids on youtube and I think I burst my gut laughing. Witch ever con we land at (I'm hoping yaoi) I'm going as Sai from naruto (Yeah I know i have a jello gut, but meh no rolls yet) and my navigaor is going as Sephiroth with her dollfies.

OOOOOOOOOO I so want a yes answer from her!

Well, because it's sexy/perverted/fun/awesometacular/weird/funny/orgasmic/and made of win and awesome.

If your Navigator is a BJD fan, then that's probably a very strong reason to bring her. Yaoi-con has one of the strongest groups of BJD enthusiasts that I've seen at -any- convention!

Other strong-points of Yaoi-con:

1: The only Masquerade left that's at all reminiscent of Fanime's old "Der Cosplay" in the way that the acts are no-holds barred and the audience and players alike are there to have fun and enjoy the fandom.

2: The Auction. This is a bit hard to explain to a newbie, but think of it as a cross between the Chippendales and Star Search.

3: As you've noted, the AMVs are fabulous! Again, no holds barred makes all the difference, and the fact that Y-con is an 18+ con allows them to have a lot more breathing room with the "rating" of the videos. :3

4: The community: I've said this time and time again. Yaoi-con has the strongest and most roundly fun community of any convention that I've been to. Ever. The fans are all good people (with the occasional bad one, but that's literally below 1/1000) and they are all very, very fun.

5: The convention, as a whole, has a lot to offer that simply no other convention does. From the panels to the live programming (Auction/Bingo/Closing Ceremonies) to the contests to the Dealers' Room to the Artists' Auctions, you will see a lot here that you simply won't find anywhere else. It is, very much, a mature con, both in the content and the more refined setup that you will find.