I was looking forward to this year’s explosion of all things cosplay, anime, and partying quite a bit, and I came out of it mentally refreshed! To be honest, I think this year’s con was about as close to perfect as it could get for not just me, but I think for a lot of you as well. Is this the first time that I don’t criticize the convention, and give it a perfect review? Well, read my review for Katsucon 2026, and see for yourself!
Good Points
As usual, the Gaylord is a perfect venue for Katsucon. An absolutely sprawling hotel that has continued to blow my mind since 2020 when I first started going. Granted, the decision to move from physical money to card is it’s only fault to this day (I’ll talk about that a little later), everything else is still great. All of the food is still delicious, you got multiple stores & kiosks with a variety of goods & services, the rooms are always spacious no matter what kind you’ll get, all of the spaces in the atrium are just perfect for pictures & photoshoots, and the hotel staff & security are super helpful despite some of us con-goers being a little out of our minds. I genuinely can’t think of any other venue that could contain the insanity that is Katsucon, so good on you Gaylord for keeping us around!
The Cosplay continues to blow my mind each & every single year. From absolutely elaborate outfits, to more humble designs, it’s amazing at just how much variety you can find here on every day. Everybody gives it their all, and if there is any kind of elitism at all, you never see it or never hear it. Not only that, but there’s a big vibe of respect I feel when two different skill level of cosplayers come together. There’s no apparent arguments or snide comments, as the two just seemingly get along. Here’s just a hint of the photos I took!
Panels & Events are always something special to witness during the convention, and I don’t know what kind of energy was pumped into the con’s veins, but all of the panels I went into were packed & the attendees were paying a lot of attention. I admit there were times where I looked at my phone a little too much, but outside of those times my eyes were glued to each & every presenter. My two particularly favorite things to see was the analysis of Korean Culture through Kpop Demon Hunters, and the incredibly fun Drag Show that was late Saturday night, where all of the Drag Kings & Drag Queens put on a hell of an event. There was one last year, but for whatever reason I didn’t go see, but apparently it set a good precedent, and it might be a possible permanent fixture from here on out!
The Drive down to Katsucon, kinda like in 2025, was nice! Though the ride took a little longer than expected for me & the group I was with, going down took a little over 6 hours, which included 3 stops (1 of which included getting gas) & a little bit of traffic when we got closer. It’s such a drastic change from when I first came down from Upstate New York in 2020, which took about 9 to 9 & a half hours. Such a big improvement!
Pre-Reg Line, like last year, was fantastic. I’ll repeat it again in a moment, but the convention moved it over to the ballroom, and while it’s a more compact, everything still moved smoothly! All of the staff I ran into while I was in there were nice, friendly, patient, and helpful. Hell, all of the con staff I came across were fantastic!
Okay Points
Honestly, I don’t have much to say here. About the only things I can put here are the change in registration area to the ballroom , and the scanning of the badges. In the case of the former, I can kinda see why. With the giant leek from last year, it made sense to have the artist’s alley larger incase it happened again, and fortunately it didn’t. As for the badge scanning, I kinda get that too. The convention doesn’t want someone with a fake badge to come in & do lord knows what, and the system they implemented was actually kinda cool! That being said, there were way too many staffers & security scanning the badge, and again I understand why, but it was insane to see how much it was going on.
Bad Points
Kinda like above, I don’t really have much to say here. This year’s Katsucon was so good, I really didn’t have anything bad to say. My only personal issue I had, and this will sound weird, was the fact I had absolutely horrible sleep in my hotel room! I don’t know if the hotel changed the mattresses & pillows from last year, but I had a hard time sleeping for pretty much the whole weekend, save for a little bit going into Sunday from Saturday. If anyone else had the same issue as I had, please let me know.
Now, one thing I will bitch about is all of the shitting going on this year. I don’t care if it was a dude doing it, or a chick, I don’t care! There’s a reason there are bathrooms all over the convention center & hotel for a damn reason. Don’t shit in the Gazeebo, or any of the bushes, or on the damn floor, and ruin people’s fucking time! THANK YOU!
Actually, there is something else to bitch about, and that’s the damn card machine on the fritz! Going on since 2024, the Gaylord’s shift to card cash only bugs me, and that was especially true for me this year. Everytime I tried to get a card, the damn thing didn’t work. Sure, I had my credit/debit card with me, but I didn’t really want to use it! Friday it didn’t work, Saturday it didn’t work, and on Sunday it was broke! Leave a comment if you think the hotel should go back to cash!
Final Thoughts & Rating
Katsucon 2026 hits the ball out of the park! Some small blemishes for sure, but holy hell did this one feel special. Kinda like when I was talking about during the panels & events portion of the review, there must have been some kind of spark shoved into the convention’s engine, and given new life that just blossomed everywhere. A bunch of the panelists noticed this, and I think a horde of the convention goers saw this also. If this spark can stay lit for the next few years, then I got a feeling that Katsucon will never be forgotten!
Katsucon 2026 gets a 9.5 out of 10.
And that was my review for Katsucon 2026. Damn good in practically every way, it’s a testament to the legacy of being just over 3 decades old that people still remember how great it is. Small dents not withstanding, I will continue to come to the wildest con of the East Coast until I am unable to. So, I’ll get 1 more post out before February ends, and then it’s time to start working on fixing up posts from 2015!
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If you’d like to read my review of last year’s Katsucon, click on the link below:
Katsucon 2025
Also, if anyone can get me in contact with the host of the Drag Show, I would greatly appreciate it!
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