The Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC) was my very first convention, and I am pretty damn glad that I started out by going to such a mindblowing convention. It certainly did not hurt that I got a press pass as well (which I rubbed in the faces of some of my friends that I saw at the convention, admittedly). Being a member of the press, I was a bit nervous; I’m not exactly used to stopping various people to take pictures of them, handing out business cards, and conducting interviews, especially with celebrities. That feeling of uneasiness quickly passed once I learned just how nice all of the guests at MTAC were. Everyone seemed excited to have their pictures taken, the cosplayers and merchants were more than willing to answer any of my questions, and even when I awkwardly handed out business cards to people they were very friendly and seemed genuinely interested in checking out 2 Shots of Geek. My only complaint is that some people seemed to be professionals at needlessly taking up space in narrow walkways, so it was a bit tough to maneuver from place to place once things got crowded, but that happens at just about any place with excited people moving all about (and school).I visited several panels over the course of MTAC and learned plenty of new things, had great laughs, and even became introduced to new anime that I shall be sure to check out (and possibly review) sometime in the near future. My personal favorites were the “Gods of Japan”, “Psychology of Anime”, and the “People of Colour in Anime” panels. I especially enjoyed the last panel because it introduced me to this video:
The smell of hype was in the air all over the place at MTAC, especially during the ceremonies, special events, and in the digital gaming room. Both the opening and closing ceremonies made my blood boil with excitement thanks to the awesomely legit dubstep (because, really, so much dubstep is just overrated nonsense), the awesome announcements, and Conkitty (chou-kawaii~). The Blitzball tournament and Cosplay Sit-Out contests were pretty exhilarating as well, and you could hear shouts of victory and cries of defeat just about any time one entered the digital gaming room where people played Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and 64, and the classic game: Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I’m still kind of bummed that I didn’t enter the UMVC3 tournament, and if not for it being Easter on Sunday I for sure would have attended the rave, but stuff happens.
There really is not all that much I can say about the dealer room aside from it being FREAKING AWESOME! As soon as I entered the doors I had a nerdgasm/geekgasm due to all of the precious merchandise and etsy crafts being sold. There were plushies, bags, jewelry, figurines, DVDs, outfits, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards (ah, the memories), WEAPONS!, and plenty of other objects to be sold. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money at MTAC, but I have absolutely no regrets.
All in all, my experience at MTAC was epic, for lack of a better word. I had fun the whole time, saw some awesome cosplay outfits (check out our album on Facebook), learned lots of things, and raised my power level by several clicks. Most importantly, I spent all of that time surrounded by people that are just like me and share my interests in anime and video games and take it to the extreme levels that we are all proud of. I cannot wait to attend MTAC Devil’s Dozen next year (as well as the Geek Media Expo in October of this year!). Get hype for anime!
Be sure to leave a comment on your own experiences at this year’s MTAC in the comments section below. We at 2 Shots of Geek would love to hear from you classy ladies, gents, mutants, saiyans, demons, gods, anthropomorphic figures, aliens, and more!