Anime Festival Orlando is a fantastic event where you get to meet up with old friends you’ve been in high school and college with, and get to know new people because of their love for gaming and anime. While Megacon may be big and many people from out of town come to live the excitement, AFO has its own charm and atmosphere. As in an old TV comedy series in the years of Robotech and Transformers, AFO is the place where everywhere knows your name (or your cosplay), because your costume looks great.
After 15 years, (we should say Happy 15th Anniversary, right?), what could be what keeps the convention going? I must say I’ve had lots of fun throughout the years at AFO, so I thought why not share some of the coolest pics. In my case:
- Meeting people dressing up as new anime characters is always a plus. People I talked to say they prepare their costumes with months in advance, and many do participate at the costume contests. I’m thinking about cosplaying one day.
- Being introduced to anime I may not be familiar with. Though checking out trailers of new anime is cool, seeing the reaction of people in the same room when watching anime not available in US TV and in its original language (just subtitled) makes your viewing experience more exciting.
- Learning more about the life of the people who brings us the voice of our favorite characters. It was only last year at AFO when I found out that Tony Oliver, the voice of Rick Hunter in Robotech, is Latino. I grew up watching the sci-fi/action anime, but never thought a Latino was behind the voice of Hunter. Oliver was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Seeing people I know sharing their art at the convention.
Professional comedians at AFO. Need I say more.
The Raves.
A One Piece fan, aka, Marquis M., Assistant Editor at ElMundoTech.com.
Though last year’s convention took place somewhere else due to a renovation, AFO returns to its permanent home at Wyndham. So, in a way, it may feel like the old AFO, but I wonder if there’s anything new we can expect.
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