Greetings, anime/visual novel fans! Clannad Man here, back from a windy Canadian weekend. Aieon and jakeman95 mentioned that someone should write a post about our experiences at Anime North 2013, so I got on it.

Here’s the tl;dl version:

Friday (May 24th): Arrival (12pm) / “Our rooms won’t be ready until 6pm?” / Aimless Wandering / Autographs / Nominoichi

Saturday (May 25th): Morning Brunch / Workout / Various Panels & Photoshoots / Review Notes / Key Panel Time! / 13-Man Dinner

Sunday (May 26th): “You’re kicking us out of our hotel room an hour early?” / Maid Café / Dealers Room Deals / Panel & Rest / Departure

Here’s the fleshed out version:

Though some of the locals arrived on Thursday to pick up passes and prepare for the convention, most of our party arrived on Friday. Those that arrived in the morning and early afternoon were treated with a several hour wait to get checked-in to our rooms; this would have been really frustrating except the convention didn’t start until the late afternoon. Some members of our party, including Dark_Sage , Curser656, and those with media passes, attended the opening ceremonies while the rest of us either went to get autographs or set up for the Nominoichi (swap meet) event. Most of us didn’t attend panels that evening due to there being lots of things coinciding with one another, so we grabbed a bite to eat when we could and called it a night.

Saturday started off with a couple of the guys going off to get brunch, including Aieon & Jake. Others, including IrieNaoki, spent their time being entertained at the maid café and attending panels. Since I only saw two panels I was particularly interested in over a several hour period, I decided to utilize my time by reviewing for my presentation while exercising in the 24-hour fitness center. (Though the hotel was at maximum capacity, it was deserted, leaving me with a nice place to think and relax.) After a few hours, I decided to grab a bite to eat since I hadn’t yet done so that day. Appalled by the exorbitant food prices, I found a Mexican restaurant selling “Big Ass Burritos” at halfway decent prices, so I bought one. (Turns out that was a good decision, as two of the adjacent restaurants served undercooked food which induced vomiting.) I returned to my room to meet up with my fellow panelists, but they were at a panel, so I decided to attend a Key photoshoot. Though it was listed as a Clannad shoot, several people cosplaying as members of the Little Busters showed up as well, setting the scene for what would have been an incredible crossover-battle. Alas, it was not meant to be, so I headed back to my hotel to rehearse with jakeman95 & Aieon.

When we arrived at the DoubleTree presentation plaza about 20 minutes early, I think we were all a bit surprised by how long the line length had already become – it had already extended beyond the rooms for two other panels, around a hallway corner, through a set of double-doors, and into the main plaza area. From what I’ve been told, many people had to be turned away, even though the room was over capacity. (For some inexplicable reason, the only other Key panel at the convention (on Angel Beats) was scheduled at the same time as ours, so those that were turned away at least had a viable alternative.) There were also some minor audio issues for the first minute or so of the presentation, though those were solved relatively quickly. To clarify some of the comments I’ve seen floating around: yes, we had prepared a two hour presentation which had to be condensed into 50 minutes due to a decision by the Anime North program organizer, yes, our presentation was flanked before and afterwards by My Little Pony panels, and no, we were not permitted to even suggest switching times with the second MLP panel despite there being no panel being scheduled after their event.

That being said, the crowd seemed very positive throughout our hybrid presentation-panel. Some laughed, some cried, and many cheered when we got to a section they liked. It was a real pleasure to have been able to moderate this talk on Key with Jakeman and Aieon, and the icing on the cake was having members of the audience come up to us afterwards to tell us how they enjoyed it as well. Several audience members took photos and video, so once I receive the different video feeds, I will modify them and have the full presentation posted.

After the presentation was over, we spent some time speaking with members of the audience and accepting in-person submissions for the Key 15th Anniversary Letter Project. That was followed by a 13-person dinner at the local Boston Pizza which included just about everyone from the Doki party. The night was finished by watching the latest episode of Shingeki no Kyojin with sporadic gripes about the internet being down.

Sunday seemed like it would be a relaxed day… that is until hotel staff began calling rooms and knocking on doors telling their guests to get out hours before the scheduled checkout time. Those with late afternoon and evening departures ended up dumping our bags in TheThing’s/Pitchblack’s room, leaving them no room to walk. (Sorry guys!) With bags safely stowed, we each went our separate ways. The maid café was a popular attraction with some members of our group returning several times. I met up with a Komari cosplayer (Cloudy) who attended the Key presentation and walked around the Dealer’s Room and Artist Alley until a panel on Steins;Gate started. I also briefly stopped by the Anime North fashion show before finding Irie lying down on a couch in the overcrowded lobby of the Toronto Airport DoubleTree. We finished off the afternoon at the AN Charity Auction before I gathered my things and made my leave. Those that remained for the evening ate sushi at a local Japanese restaurant, and by Monday, everyone was already on their way home.

Opinions regarding the convention varied greatly, from Irie’s, “I love it! This is the best convention I’ve ever been to!” to Dark_Sage’s, “[This] con is beyond salvation.” Ultimately, I believe the level of enjoyment we got from the con was proportional to how well the events were planned which we attended and who we had the opportunity to spend time with. Even though I was preoccupied preparing for my panel to attend many panels or events, I enjoyed spending time with members of Doki and discussing impressions of Key works with other fans. It was a joy to be around everyone, and I hope there will be another opportunity to meet again soon!