This year’s Genericon is very special to me. 10 years ago, I had traveled to RPI for the first time to experience this maelstrom of all things anime, sci-fi, and geekery. Genericon is my home away from home for one weekend a year, and for each year after, I’ve met people that are absolutely dear to me, & I would do it all over again. Keeping personal views aside, I will attempt to be as objective as possible while I review this year’s convention, so let’s not waste anymore time and check out my review for Genericon 32.
Good Points
As usual, one of if not the best things about Genericon is the people. From the staff, to the vendors & artists, and finally to the convention goers, it’s so nice to meet people! It was great to meet new people, and to talk to them about what they’re into and whether or not this was their first. Just as cool was bumping into people I already knew, and many of them had some fond decade/decade + memories of the convention as well. Though I didn’t get to host a panel this year, It was still cool to see the staff & volunteers buzzing around, helping out panelists, and appearing to know what they’re doing.
The venue for Genericon is always a plus. There’s the Great Hall, Schoolhouse, the building across from the Great Hall (Forgetting it’s name at the moment), the Armory, and the cafeteria of the student center. Thanks to the expansion in recent years, the whole event feels much larger than before. On top of that, because of the new running time rule (Read “Okay Points” section for further details), the rooms were cleaner than they ever were in prior cons. On a more personal note, wandering around the convention area felt like the same path I took a decade ago.
Panels & events are always one of this convention’s strengths, and this year was no different. There was cosplay chess & cosplay deathmatch, Anime Burger Time, an 18+ My Hero Academia panel, and plenty of others delightful things to watch. There was also the gaming rooms (Traditional & console), and the video rooms showing of anime & science fiction movies. There was also the Starbucks in the Great Hall, and you had the Student Center opened up for everybody to use. Some things were definitely better than others (The Kirby Panel was.....short, to say the least), but it’s great to see such a variety of things for convention goers to participate in.
Lastly, I want to talk about Genericon 32's atmosphere. I know that sounds odd, especially since I’ve never actually talked about it (Please read my previous Genericon reviews, as I might be wrong about this), but it’s something I want to comment on. A full decade of this convention really acts like a time capsule of sorts. From the first all the way to this past weekend, each & everyone felt like a statement of geek culture at that moment in time. For 2019, there was a really weird feeling for me when I entered the hollowed halls of RPI. For me, Genericon 32 felt like a decade ago all over again. I felt warmth, love, confusion, sleep deprivation (Curse you 5-Hour Energy!), and all other sorts of things. For anyone who came for a decade like me, you’re probably feeling the same way.
Okay Points
Perhaps one of the biggest changes to Genericon this year is that it’s no longer a straight 48 hours like it has been for ages. Instead, things run until 1 A.M., and then things are closed so the con staff can go through each room & clean up so things looks good, not to mention take care of issues that might have cropped up. On the one hand this is awesome! Things become more presentable, and anything that might have broke/worn down can get fixed. On the other hand, Genericon not running for 48 hours straight might be a turnoff for some, especially longtime con goers. I’m genuinely very neutral on this: one the one hand it’s great that the convention is taking the initiative to improve the experience, but on the other hand I will miss having 48 hours of fun. This change will definitely have people talking for quite a while, and it’ll be interesting to see where people end up on this topic.
Bad Points
I only got 2 points to talk about here. 1 minor, and one a little more major. Let’s go with the minor one first: the “Empty” feeling of Saturday, or more specifically Saturday night. Due to the earlier closing time, it seemed like panels & such were shifted around so much that Saturday & Sunday switched places for the weakest day of the con. Again, I really felt that this effect only came up Saturday night, but you get what I mean.
The other point is a little more shocking to me, and that’s the lack of dealers this year. It’s not that I couldn’t get anything, cause I definitely was able to (Heavily MTG oriented this year, some ramune & pocky, and 1 manga of......adult orientation). It seemed like this year that there weren’t as many as there normally was. In certain circumstances I understand why (Camp Anime didn’t have their manga & anime selection due to a car issue, but had everything else), but the variety of products to purchase appeared to be smaller. Ironically, the Artist’s Alley was normal, although 9 times out of 10 I never buy anything from that part of the convention.
Bonus *
Like I said above, this is my 10th straight Genericon, which means I’ve been coming to RPI for a decade to experience this with some many other geeks, nerds, otakus, metalheads, you name it. 10 years of memories, and they all mean so much to me. Some of these landed around times in my life where I’ve been going through some rough emotional patches, then there are others where everything has been all right with the world, and there were a small few where things were just.....there. The point I’m trying to make is that Genericon is one of the most beautiful things that have blessed this Earth, and is a great way for me to push out any negativity I might have welled up over time. I love everyone that reads this, and I look forward to seeing all of you for 10 more years.
Overall Impression & Rating
Genericon 32 brought back so many memories for me from a decade. Awe, wonder, amazement, happiness, etc. It did have a dent or two, but it was definitely a blast! To anyone who were not able to come.......Genericon 32 was great!
Genericon 32 gets a 9 out of 10. A tiny bit of dirt on it’s face, but dammit if things weren’t fun!
So that was my review for Genericon 32. An absolute blast of a con, and is a perfect launching pad for the next 10 to come. With this out of the way, there’s one last bit of business to attend, so see you all on the 28th of this month for the conclusion to Mini Month!
*
Only doing a bonus for this year. I do plan on doing one for Connecticon, but that’s gonna be in a few months.
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