Kogaracon and their Asian Food Festival is back for 2024 with more food, guests, and attendees walking around the Middlesex College venue for a day of anime and fandom fun! 

Kogaracon’s  2024 dates happened to land on May 4th–a day many geeks fondly know as Star Wars Day. 

I went with one of my friends for the con and after a speedy registration process, we sat and were glued to our seats throughout a fantastic panel called Virtual Panel Theater. The panel kicked off the event on a solid high note.  

Virtual Panel Theater was created in the pandemic. This particular presentation  chronicled the 40-year history of the manga and film Nausicaa, which is considered to be the first Studio Ghibli work.  The presenter fused a professionally made documentary-style video with in-person commentary. 

The passion the presenter had for this film showed through his detailed analysis of the film that ranged from music, historical inspirations, and showcases of concept art. I was glued to my seat and look forward to seeing future panels from this presenter. 

I helped out with a Jeopardy Panel right after the Nausicaa presentation, hosted by a fellow admin from NJ Geek Guild Inn! I manned the technological aspects of the panel and got the projector connected to the computer. It was our second attempt at this panel. We had a full house and standing room! 

After the two panels, I met up with my friend and we both got lunch at the food trucks. There was certainly an increase in food truck options; the two of us browsed the various options. We ended up picking up a twisted potato from none other than Twisted Potato themselves! I also picked up fruity bubble tea from a nearby stand, a  nice sweet combo to the salty snack! 

My friend was knee-deep into the artist and dealer’s room. 

The room was small but also well-varied. It had your expected fair of fun goodies like keychains and prints, but also a lot more items such stationary and pencil cases. 

Allergies were kicking my butt that day. In the fuzzy headspace of brain fog, fatigue, and clogged sinuses, I had frequent breaks from the main con area and decided to make my way a bit off course to play some video games. 

 But I couldn’t find the video game room. I tried to look for the video game room with help from maps provided by the convention. I  was in a similar boat to other attendees, who struggled to find the video game space. Signage was improved this year through maps and outdoor floor signs, however additional signs–perhaps even arrows beyond the ones in the con floor area may be needed. Signs on the panels doors with a schedule of events can also prevent potential confusion.

I did finish up the con day with one last run in the artist alley and made small purchases: a  bunny magical girl pin for another friend by AppleMinte, and a Kirby sticker book by Newtsdoodles to showcase my sticker collection.

I wanted to enjoy as much of the con as possible beyond the main con area but finding the activities beyond autographs, main events, and panels was… tricky.

Still, I stayed right up until past 5 when I grabbed dinner;  the con showed little signs of slowing down despite its 7pm end time. We finished up Kogaracon, prints and pins in our hands, and had a hearty meal at the local H-mart food court.

The con, much like many others I review, is growing exponentially. There’s also a possibility for Kogaracon to become a two-day event! Kogaracon actively listens to attendee feedback and interacts with attendees. Feedback and attendee interaction is a  important aspect of running a con that I commend the staff for. After all, input cons improve and grow even more! 

I look forward to Kogaracon each year and am thrilled for 2025’s event.