Looking for Opinions on going to fanime alone

[Tsuruneru]

Hello,

Long story short, i would go to fanime every year since maybe 2012 and get a hotel room with a couple friends and cosplay. This year i don't have any friends and also very anti social. I'd just cosplay and walk around without talking to anyone but then become a little Jealous of those who have friends that go together. :P

My question is, is anyone else going alone or have gone to conventions alone and how was it for you?

[Kite]

Well it does get a little lonely when you walk around on your own.

But it's easy to strike up a conversation with lots of people with plenty of interesting things to talk about.

Just a matter of what you are aiming in terms of experience.

[Tsuruneru]

Honestly just the basics. Im too much of a wuss to walk up to anyone and start a convo. The only time someone would talk to me is to ask to take a picture when I'm cosplaying but that would be the end of it. But yeah basics like, how does one feel when they are alone for the full weekend, what do they do and how long are they there per day. I'll be cosplaying Friday-Sunday and just walking around or the arcade. Not a solid plan by myself. Thanks for replying btw.

[Kite]

Well I either look for something interesting or do something interesting. Generally to amuse myself.

Panels are a good place with a limited amount of people to do some socializing with a subject you might be interested in.

Is there a particular reason you're not with your friends this year?

[Tsuruneru]

Yeah thats mostly the arcade for me unfortunately. Outside of there, not much else interests me. I think panels are also very limited this year too? The socializing is a me problem for being antisocial.

I would only go with my friend who id also room with but this year he just mentioned that its just him and his girlfriend rooming together this year. I'd assume its to lower chances of contracting covid but since then he hasn't really replied to me. So im assuming ill be going alone and just walking around or in the arcade.

I feel like i should have prepared by going to the movies alone or something :P But yeah just was a long shot to see how others feel or what they do when at conventions by themselves and are too nervous to talk to other attendees.

[Kite]

Well yeah. You do get the feeling of being lonely when you're just wandering around without an objective in mind. I felt that way a few times hence why I plan out my weekend to know what I'm doing. But it's also about testing your limits. You might find something of value when you step outside your comfort zone. It's why I try doing different events like masquerade and panels. Thus it's important to remember we're all at the same convention and we're all nerds here. No need to be afraid to share what you like there.

[Tsuruneru]

I'll need to see what they have. Last I checked, the events this year didn't catch my interests. That's a me problem. But if I do the basic dress up and walk around and do nothing else I'll need to get over it. Thanks again for your input.

[Kite]

Best of luck and hopefully you find what you're looking for.

[JavaMoon]

Pre-COVID, I've been going alone to Fanime for many years now (post-college). The people that I used to go with either moved or moved on from anime in general but I still liked to go for a handful of personal traditions that I liked to keep. Anime Hell, Studio Sokodei, people watching, checking out the video rooms, browsing the dealer's hall and gaming room. Stuff like that.

It was always a bit weird. The general population would all be around the same age range and I got older and older as the years passed. It gets harder and harder to keep up with all of the latest shows, so a lot of the cosplays and merch I see just goes over my head because I most likely haven't heard about it or know about it. It's been a bittersweet thing for me. I go, I enjoy it, I do what I want to do, but I often feel disconnected from it all. Like an alien or an outsider observing it, you know? That doesn't necessarily bother me, though, so I can't say you'd experience the same thing as I have.

If you go, just do your best and have as much fun as you want to. I personally am not going this year because I don't feel comfortable going back to pre-COVID conventions with COVID still very much around and causing trouble. Maybe next year things will be a bit better, but no con for me this year. First time since around 2005/2006 that I haven't gone.

Good luck to you! Stay safe out there!

[FilthyRevenant]

Long story short of when going solo:
You have the most freedom of choice. The major caveat is you cannot the share the thorough experience you preferred with others in doing so. After all, everyone here has a variety of reactions toward a myriad of events.

[Nina Star 9]

I've done cons solo before, and while it's a weird experience to not have anyone as a built-in group, it can be fun if you know what you're doing and go in with a bit of planning.

I've done both "staying in a hotel with people but we don't really hang out at the con itself" (did that pretty much every con before I started going with my partner) and "hotel room alone," and the latter is the weird one, but it's fine. Being able to just go back to the room and take a nap if you need without worrying about other people? That's really nice haha (Plus it's easier to host people for hangouts since you have so much space if that's what you're into)

It's too late for this year, but my tips are these:
- Plan to go to events. If you find yourself bored, just go to whatever panel or video room or whatever you find even remotely interesting. Plan to see a band you aren't familiar with, or go to a guest panel even if you aren't super into their work, or the Masquerade even if you don't normally go. Find things to do. Karaoke is my top choice, but I'm a karaoke junkie from way back haha
- Make sure you have downtime to just wander. It can be a lot of fun to just wander the halls, people watch, take your time in Dealer's or AA, etc.
- Find ways to meet people. Strike up conversations in line, or join in games in the game room. Wander around and look for cosplayers and talk to them. Go to cosplay meetups for series you like, even if you aren't in cosplay yourself, just to see what people are doing and maybe meet some new fans. It will take some work if you are as shy irl as I am, but you can meet some good people this way!
- If you cosplay, either schedule photoshoots ahead of time or go fishing for photogs. Often there are photographers waiting around the outside portion of the convention center looking for interesting people to take photos of. Go strike up conversations with them and make yourself available for photos. This can be a lot of fun just to see how many photos you can get taken of yourself and show off for a bit.
- Pamper yourself a bit. You don't have people you're with to worry about what you want to eat for dinner, or finding a table large enough at a restaurant? Go and eat a nice meal by yourself to relax. Does your hotel have a pool? Go swimming or laze in the hot tub. Go do a sheet mask in your room between events. Hell, find a nearby nail salon and treat yourself to a manicure (I don't care your gender you deserve a mani/pedi).
- If you know people who will be at the con, even if they are only acquaintances, find ways to meet up and hang out. Don't be the clingy person who won't leave a group alone, but meet up for a bit or grab lunch or something together with social media mutuals or other people you may want to see or possibly build a friendship with but aren't going to spend the whole weekend with
- If you're really bored, make scavenger hunts or games for yourself. You can probably find con scavenger hunt lists online, but if not, do things like try to find the cosplayer or merch from the oldest series you are familiar with, or count how many people are cosplaying [insert series] or [insert genre] or whatever else. See if you can find certain con cliches, like someone eating Pocky or drinking Ramune on the con floor. Try to take a picture of a cosplayer with a wig of each color of the rainbow. If you think about it, you can find fun little activities to give yourself.
- If all else fails, bring a portable gaming system like a Switch and sit down in a corner and play a game for a bit