AMKE 2023

Anime Milwaukee might just be one of my favorite cons. There’s something about it that puts it in kind of a Goldilocks zone - big enough that the vendor hall has plenty to offer and the raves are lit, but not so big that I’m totally overwhelmed. It’s outside of Chicago, which (for me, at least) makes it feel like an adventure, but it’s not exhausting the way that roadtripping to DragonCon in Atlanta is. It also seems like everyone that I know attends, so I get to spend a lot of time hanging out with con friends. I mean, it is in Wisconsin the dead of winter, but I guess you can’t have everything.

Last year my friends and I stayed at the host hotel, which was lovely - theoretically you could spend the entire weekend indoors if you wanted to, taking the sky bridge to the convention center and avoiding the cold. We left room arrangements until the last minute this year, though, and ended up getting an AirBnB close by. While we did have to drive between our accommodations and the con, it ended up working out pretty well for us, since we had more space and more amenities at a lower price.

I’m not much of a panel girl, but they had some great guests this year, including a mix of popular voice actors (Martha Harms, Jason Liebrecht, Susie Yeung, Robbie Daymond), talented cosplayers (Phil Mizuno, NipahDUBS), and great musical guests (Burnout Syndrome, L.A.V.A.). The highlight for me, though, was the Saturday rave. I didn’t go to the one of Friday - I’m a sleepy bitch, what can I say? - but Nocturnal Underground on Saturday was an absolute blast. I have to admit, though, that I’m always jealous of the folks who dance onstage; I think next year I’m going to have to audition!

I didn’t get a ton of photos from this con, but I was really pleased with all of my cosplays. Some of them I’d worn before - to AMKE, even! - but had made improvements upon, while others were pulled together from items in my closet. My most popular cosplay was the one I had the most trepidation about wearing, though: Ryuko Matoi’s battlesuit from Kill la Kill. Skimpy costumes are nothing new to me, but this one is next level, requiring some vigilance to avoid overexposure. It was such a blast to wear, though, and once I got past the initial “omg, I’m almost naked!” feelings, it started to feel almost empowering, not least because people were literally lining up to get a picture with me. And, even better, my friend Rainey dressed up as Ryuko’s bestie Mako - life imitating art!