Blog | Zenkaikon, A Philadelphia Area Anime Convention

Greetings, Zenkaikon attendees! As the first day of Zenkaikon V comes to a close, we hope that your experience at the convention has been awesome so far! Needless to say, things are just getting started.

While Zenkaikon is, as a whole, a family-friendly affair, some of our events, videos, and panels are not suitable for all attendees. When completing registration, those attendees 18 years of age and older MUST get outfitted with a wristband (which will only be granted when you present a government-issued ID):

This wristband is a pass into ALL events marked with an “18+” in your program guide. Do your best to keep the band intact throughout the convention; if wear or showering get the best of it, visit the information table (or simply ask the assistance of a staff member) to get a replacement. Again, replacements will only be issued with appropriate ID.

If you do NOT have a wristband, you will NOT be permitted into events marked with an 18+. The presence of bands will be checked by the staff members running those events, so any attempts to be sneaky will not succeed (nor will they be appreciated).

Greetings, Twitter users! Be sure to use the official Zenkaikon hashtag whenever you tweet about goings-on at, or even your thoughts of, Zenkaikon V. The official hashtag is:

#zenkaikon

Staff, guests, and attendees alike would certainly like to know how people are enjoying the convention, both during and afterward. By signing all convention-related tweets with the Zenkaikon hashtag, you and I both can easily create our own all-Zenkaikon Twitter feed! Maybe we can all make new friends with fellow convention attendees whom we have yet to meet!

Hey there, Miso users! Zenkaikon has TONS of videos that will be screening at all three days of the con! Be sure to not only check in when you are enjoying Bamboo Blade, Ranma 1/2, FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, etc., but mention that you are enjoying the offerings at Zenkaikon V! Of course, if something is not yet on Miso, you can add it yourself so that you and others can add it to your library.

If you’re unaware, Miso is a Foursquare-esque site that allows you to “check in” whenever you are watching a TV series or movie. Doing so allows fellow Miso users to see what you are watching and allows you & others to comment on it. Creating an account is easy and free; simply check out their website at http://gomiso.com for details.

Hey there, Foursquare users! Now you can check in from this year’s convention! For those of you with GPS-enabled phones, simply search for “Zenkaikon V″ once you are in the hotel; for those of you who check in via your phone’s web browser, perform a search for the same term once you arrive (be sure to change your “current location” to King of Prussia, PA (or Valley Forge, PA) prior to doing this). Since this is a brand new Foursquare venue, everyone who checks in receives 5 additional Foursquare points upon arrival!

Here is the direct link to the venue: http://foursquare.com/venue/18257096

For those of you unaware, Foursquare is a nifty little website and application that allows its users to “check in” to various venues and events they go to. Setting up (and maintaining) an account is free. Like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms, you can make and accept friend requests with fellow users; checking into venues allows you to see who else is currently present and how long ago they checked in. You can also link your Foursquare account to your Facebook and Twitter feeds, thus allowing friends on those platforms to see where you are. In fact, Facebook’s application “Facebook Places” uses Foursquare for its operations; if you have a Facebook account, you have a Foursquare account!

Now, some may view this tool as a form of “stalking.” Rest assured, it is not. First of all, only your Foursquare friends can see where you have checked in, and again, you add/approve those friends yourself. What’s more, a series of settings allows you to keep your check-ins private from select (or all) of your followers. Also, you must manually check in to each venue/event; your fellow users only see your most recent check-in, whether it was five minutes ago or five days ago.

When you check in, let us know what you are doing! Are you at a movie screening? Meeting an artist? Let us (and your fellow attendees) know!

At Zenkaikon, our goal is to ensure that a great time is had by all. Seeing as how 2011 marks the fifth consecutive offering of the largest anime convention in the greater Philadelphia area, it’s safe to say that this goal has been repeatedly met. While gathering a healthy dose of guests, vendors, and activities under one roof is a key component in meeting that goal, we must also establish a series of rules. Most, if not all, of the rules outlined on the convention’s website are common sense and not exclusive to Zenkaikon: be cordial to fellow attendees, don’t damage hotel property, no attempts at Human Transmutation without a Philosopher’s Stone, etc.

This year, Zenkaikon is enjoying a third day of operation for the first time in its history; presumably, this will be the case next (and each subsequent) year. We con attendees are used to 362-363 straight days of our collective interest satisfied (at best) in small doses. When Zenkaikon opens its doors, however, that period of time comes to a dead end and we are met with 72 hours of anime in every form. Sports fans have multi-month seasons for their interest to be sufficiently satisfied; we anime fans have 2- or 3-day-long conventions (on average) once a month or so, only a handful of which we can afford to attend. We want to squeeze as much enjoyment out of this extremely limited amount of time as possible, for our next foray might not come for weeks or months. Thus, things like, oh, the proper care of our bodies tend to be pushed to the back burner of our consciousness.

Thankfully, an unwritten rule governs this phenomenon.

The 5-2-1 rule.

What is the “5-2-1 rule,” you may ask?

5 – Get at least five hours of sleep each night

Well below the 8-hour standard, it is encouraged that you sacrifice at least 15 of your 72 hours at Zenkaikon to the Sandman. High levels of energy are prominent at anime conventions and we don’[t want to rob Zenkaikon of that trait by turning into a bunch of costumed narcoleptics mid-Saturday. Not even fans of the rave are exempt from this rule; only actual insomniacs and members of Zenkaikon staff are. Besides, after spending several straight hours in the thick of an anime convention, any and all dreams you have while you rest will be AWESOME.

2 – Eat at least two meals per day

Again, we bend the “3 square meals a day” rule a little bit and insist on two. And no, a can of Red Bull with a side of M&Ms does not count as a meal. The convention center and its adjacent hotel feature a selection of restaurants, while a free shuttle bus will take you to the nearby King of Prussia Mall. As the East Coast’s largest indoor shopping center, it certainly counts a wide variety of food places among its tenants. Even Chick-Fil-A.

1 – Take at least one shower each day

This is priority. You’re supposed to have 8 hours of sleep each night; we settle for five. You’re supposed to eat 3 meals a day; we’re happy with a double visit to Burger King. But when it comes to hygiene, we will not budge. Even if you only take three showers all year, take them all this weekend. Zenkaikon V features a video game room (hosted by our good friends at Nexus Gaming Alliance), complete with a variety of games; do you really want to enter a confined space that also contains a hardcore DDR fan who has not lathered himself/herself up since Thursday? Conventions get crowded; please have respect for your fellow otaku and have one shower (or bath; your choice) per day.

The 5-2-1 rule: 5 hours of sleep, 2 meals, 1 shower EACH DAY. Learn and live this rule. Doing so will help not only you, but your fellow fans, enjoy the entirety of Zenkaikon V.