G&C Podcast - Episode 274: Anime Boston 2026: Bringing Back The Convention Shuffle!

[00:00:00] Hey everybody! On this episode of Gaming and Collecting, me and Alex are talking about our recent trip to Anime Boston. Talking about the cons, some of our experiences, some of the merch we picked up, and just general thoughts on the convention as a whole. But, anyways guys, on with the episode.

[00:00:40] No! How you been? So much stuff done this weekend, but at the same time I feel like I didn't fully enjoy my week. You know how that happens? I'm aware because you did a lot of it at my house. Yeah. And I was thinking, kind of stuck there the whole time. Well, it happens. What was that?

[00:01:12] A twisted tea. You're drinking alcohol?! Wait, I'm sorry. It's a twisted tea. Wait, wait. Extreme! Wait. Something's missing. Why are we doing this from the start? We're gonna start it early today. Uh... There we go. Uh... Yeah, I'm drinking... It's... It's... It's a... It's a sundae. What's extreme about it? It's 8% alcohol, I guess.

[00:01:41] I guess that's more... I feel like a twee is usually like 5%. Yeah. Um, I bought these because... What's funny is like... They were extreme! No, I... It's hilarious to me because this is like the total polar opposite. I went with Alex food shopping yesterday because she had to go to Walmart and she needed a bodyguard because she's afraid of Walmart. Um... I am. Which is fair because... But I spent a hell of a lot less money on my groceries. Well, here's the thing. Like, I...

[00:02:09] I live from a different viewpoint where I just buy less. I buy less so I can have the things I want. Um... But it... They're both... Both ways are valid. You live... We live our own lives. Um... That being said though, I'm frugal at the liquor store. And... These were on sale. So... And it was 24... It was a 24 pack for like... Like... A discount. I was like, fuck it. I'm not picky. Um...

[00:02:38] So yeah, I played this. I bought this. And they're... I don't really know what's extreme about them, but they're fine. Um... Not a huge Twisted Tea fan. It's fine... It's good if you're at an event and you can get one of those mega cans because they're fucking huge. And the last year... The tall cans. Yeah, when I went to Bristol with our mother... Um... That was cool because that track like literally like there's like just like... An entire area where you can just chill right next to the track and you can just buy beer and hang out.

[00:03:09] And uh... I just bought one of those and me and mom just chilled. It was nice. Um... Do you remember the Twisted Tea meme? No. So for like a while there was like this meme that the Twisted Tea, those big cans were like the best weapon you could have. Mm. Because there was a video of like... Oh yeah! That guy... It was like... Yeah, some guy was like robbing a liquor store and this guy had a Twisted Tea and just bashed it over his head. I remember this now.

[00:03:38] And that was like a big meme for like the longest time. It was like one of those memes that was really dumb but like funny at the same time. Well, it was funny when you didn't get the context of it and you were like why? And then you see the video and you're like oh! Oh! Yeah! But um... They're fine. Give us a fact. Life's better with a twist. I'll take it. That's pretty good for you.

[00:04:05] Uh, what's your drink of choice today? Water. Water from my sippy cup! No wait, my water bottle! Oh, you acknowledged it. No! It's just cause you always call it that it's a water bottle! Alex, there's nothing wrong with it. So you don't spill. But I could very easily spill. I could tip it this way and it would all spill out. Don't even play with that.

[00:04:35] I will laugh so hard when that backfires. No, this water bottle has survived many a time. I've been in the car and someone slammed the brakes in front of me and my backpack's gone flying. So, and it's never spilt. I think it's broken my... Well, not broken, but... Slightly scuffed my work laptop. Cause I put it right on top of it. But I'm never expecting me to like...

[00:05:04] To go shoot it across the car! Oh. But yeah. This is my old reliable water bottle with skulls on it and stickers. And a U-Tried sticker. And a U-Tried sticker. That my friend Chris gave me! When I was struggling at work. And you know what? Well, cause today I saw him. So we were... He tells me all the work tea. Uh, from when I'm gone. And he's like, yeah. This place really went downhill after you left. I'm like... They didn't listen to me.

[00:05:34] I tried. I tried to save that place, but... It can't be saved. Yeah. And unlike where I work, um... It doesn't have a billion dollar industry that people can't help them. Some of them play tied to it, so... Yeah. Maybe, I don't know. I don't really know what they did there. You don't wanna know. I'm not gonna go into it because then it would be very recognizable and I am publicly... Yeah, don't dox us. You like to do that. No, I'm not gonna dox us, but uh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:06:04] It's funny though, cause like, I'm still very well liked there and people miss me. And I miss the people there. You're still liked where... You're still liked where... You're still liked by the few people that remember you at where I work too, so... But... Oh! You wanna see... So I haven't seen my friend Chris in a while. Um... After... Okay. So he got me Christmas presents. Oh yeah, cause you haven't been able to bike it cold because it's been cold. Yeah, cause it was a terrible winter. So...

[00:06:33] Still kinda cold. He got me this little Mow Mows... Oh, that's amazing. A pocket fairy purse! With like a bunch of Mow Mows and a pocket fairy item. So it's probably gonna be like my new con bag. Uh, but I love it cause it's like a perfect size. And then... And it's got Best Girl on it. Then he got me... This... Little Nero enamel pin. Oh, that's fun. He got it for my like... Cause I did the cosplay of Nero. Uh... And then...

[00:07:03] He got me this little... I think it's a sticker? Or a bookmark. But it's a little free-written... That's fun. Bookmark... Sticker... And then... Cause I got him a Christmas gift too. So he said, it's a challenge and I got you more things. And I said, how dare you? Uh... But then he got me some new bike gloves. They're pink. Nice. I still remember when you were anti-pink.

[00:07:33] Yeah, I like pink. It's fine. All girls go through an anti-pink phase thing. It's not even about the color. It's about the context around the color. I know. I just remember that phase so much. And it's just so funny now being like... Oh, it's like, ah, that was a phase. Alright. Um... And then... He got me... For my next bike-a-cole when I do get a bike-a-cole. He got me these, um... They go... They're the tire caps.

[00:08:04] They have the tires for inflating them. They have little... They have little duckies! They have little duckies! I gotta fix the one on my current bike because it popped out. I need to glue it back. Um... But it broke. I have these for a future bike. Nice. But yeah, it was super sweet. So Chris, if you're listening, because sometimes he does listen, his favorite part is the intros. Thank you so much. I love my little... I love everything. It's wonderful. That's fun. Speaking of... Isn't this the cutest? It is.

[00:08:33] That is so cute! Speaking of Mau Mau, me and... I just recorded Geek Addicts right before this. Geeky boys! And we did our episode, we were covering the Anime Awards, the Crunchyroll Awards. Um... We basically made the point that it's like... We're pretty much convinced that My Hero and Demon Slayer are gonna sweep every category they're in. Just because it's a popularity contest. But, um... We've also just like accepted the fact that Mau Mau is probably gonna get the Shaft again.

[00:09:03] She better get Best Girl. I hope so, but there was some people in there that I'm like, eh, we'll see. Unfortunate. But, um... We also pointed out some of our gripes with that thing. Like, the, um... The supporting character category. We had... Me and, like, Matt were like very much like... Because they had Bakugo in there. And me and Matt were like, he should not be in this category. He's a main fucking character. Yeah! That's actually a really good point. Also, Jin-shi was in there. He is a main fucking character.

[00:09:33] There was like so many main characters in there. We're like... The only, like, the correct main character for Apoket Theory was, um... Lolan. Yeah. Yeah. She was the one that actually we could have accepted there. Yeah. Um... We pointed that out. The other category that, like, annoyed us a lot was the Protect at All Cost category. Which... To be... Which we pointed out the fact that Anya's probably gonna win it regardless, because she wins it every year.

[00:10:03] But, um... The fact that Mau Mau was in there annoyed us, because Mau Mau can take care of her fucking self. Yeah, she can. She'll poison you in herself. The character that willingly, like, relishes in drinking poison. Mm-hmm. I don't think she needs protection. Mm-hmm. Um... And then also Midoriya was in there. We're like, why the fuck is he here? Mm-hmm. People find him adorable. I don't know. He fucking has...

[00:10:30] I think they looked at the Protect at All Cost as just, like, a cuteness. You know? But I agree. I feel like there was better choices. We took it a little, like, literal in a lot of cases. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But yeah, we basically... Me and Matt were both, like, 100% like Mau Mau's best girl. And when we were picking, we clicked on her for the vote, and then, like, the face of her with her goofy smile popped up. We're like, oh, that's even more of a reason to pick her for best girl, right there. Mm-hmm.

[00:10:58] Well, not even just best girl, best main character. Yes. Because she is. Best lady. I was also amazed how many times I voted for Don to Don this year. Hmm. I actually voted... My voting was actually pretty diverse, I will say. Well, I didn't vote for anything I didn't see. Mm-hmm. See, the way me and Matt did it was we both did our votes. Like, I did the actual votes on my computer because I was there. Matt said the things he picked. Mm-hmm.

[00:11:26] And then we kind of were discussing what's most likely gonna win. And we basically assumed any time Demon Slayer appeared, Demon Slayer's most likely gonna win. I don't know, though! Yeah, that's true. That fan base, Alex. There was a lot of people who super loved Demon Slayer, but there was also a lot of us who were like, eh, they fell off the hype train. Yeah, but it's... I was never on the train. I wasn't either.

[00:11:55] I think that's why we don't see it that way, but me and Matt were really realistically kind of like... Because realistically, the anime awards are literally a popularity contest. So we kind of were like, yeah, probably most people are gonna just vote this without even actually giving a shit. Did you see, though, who one of the presenters is? No, who? I think the presenter for anime of the year is The Weeknd. Cool.

[00:12:21] I saw that, I was like, that's so random, but maybe he's an anime fan? I thought it was funny. We also pointed out, though, like how, like, one of the things that annoyed us was so many categories would have, like, multiple of the same show. And I'm like, variety guys, come on. Yeah, that is one thing I will complain to when I was doing it. I was like, like, really? There was good shows that came out that deserved it. Like Campfire Cooking. It's more nominations.

[00:12:50] That's probably gonna win the best isekai, because the rest of that category was... No, the only one who was close in my books was Bureaucrat to Villainous Dads and Reincarnated. Alex, I pointed that out as that was one that probably had a chance, but then I also pointed out it's a high dive show, so I'm... So no one's probably saw it. There's that in, I wouldn't be shocked if Crunchyroll stacks the votes against the shows that aren't on their service. Yeah. Because I'm...

[00:13:19] I want to think it's fair, but I'm a little pessimistic there, because there was a couple Netflix shows, too, here and there, that I was kind of like, these probably aren't gonna win. I'm glad they're here. That was the only high dive show, I believe. I think there might have been one other one. Yeah. Um... You'll be happy, though, for... I did vote One Piece on one thing. The best Japanese voice actress. Because me and Matt were like, um...

[00:13:48] Because we don't watch subs, we were kind of like, I have no idea who to pick here. And we were kind of debating on things, and then I looked, I'm like, oh wait, Luffy's Japanese VA. She's done the work, she deserves it. He's a queen! She... She deserves it. I'm like, she's still doing this to this day, she gets it, so I voted for her. Yes, nice. Because I looked literally, we were about to skip it, and I was like, yeah, I'll pick one just out of principle, I guess. And then all of a sudden I was like, wait a minute, Luffy's voice actress.

[00:14:17] She's done the work. And I was like, vote gave it to her. But, um... Yeah, the Crunchyroll Awards. They're probably gonna be bullshit. Everyone's gonna probably complain when they come out. I know all the solo leveling fans were complaining. They're like, why is it not nominated? Because it won for it last year! Also, it's in like, seven other categories. None of which I don't think it's gonna win, but... Reawaken...

[00:14:44] Reawakener might win for best, like, opening, but... I don't know though, I think there was better openers. Not that I don't like that song, but... That was a pretty stacked category. Like, I still think, um... The Don to Don opening is gonna win. Like, that's my personal favorite. What was that? What was in that category again? It was that... The one that was like... I found odd was Witch Watch. It was like Witch Watch, um... Witch Watch actually does have a good intro.

[00:15:12] I don't know, I luckily watched it, I wasn't that impressed, but that might just be taste. Um... Oh, the My Hero Academia one. Um... One of the Gachi Akudas, but Matt... Matt had said it was the one that he liked less than the other. See, that's the one I liked more though, so... That's fair. Um, but also music... Music is super... Oh, also, um, Apoc there, it was one of the other ones, I believe. Best anime song. It was best opening. Best opening. Because that was another category farther down.

[00:15:42] Oh. Let me go back. Let me go back. Best... Opening... Trying to find... Best opening sequence? Yeah, the sequence, which is the... Oh, okay, so that's not the song, that's actually the intro itself. Well, it's the song combined with the, um, opening. Oh, see, I put, I put, uh, hugs, because that intro is just so good. Like, the art behind it too?

[00:16:10] I'd never seen it, so I, I, I did not vote for anything I didn't see. Well, yeah, that makes sense. Trying to see. Which, which meant the isekai category. I voted for Buzenshu just out of fucking like, whatever. And we both were like, why is Kono Super here? Like, why is that there? Because... There's so many isekais they could have chose. That's how much, how that's so trash so many of them were. I know. I know. Like, so many were not good. Like, I need to look at the isekai one again. Yeah.

[00:16:39] It was Kipfire Cooking, the Bureaucrat, the Disney one, Zenshu... 3-0. And Zenshu, I feel like, is a stretch. It's an isekai, technically. Um... It's not like the typical. The, I... My thought, well, actually, because I, Matt, Matt had actually brought up at one point, he's like, Zenshu might have a chance for some of these. I'm like, Matt, no one has given a crap about Zenshu since it ended. Like, it's literally the flash in the pan anime. I know.

[00:17:08] Which he kind of was like, yeah, that's true. Yeah, because a lot of the stuff... I mean, I voted it for like, best original anime, but I hadn't seen any of the other ones. Yeah, that was my, that was my same exact... Yeah. And the same with the new series. New series was tough. Because I had watched most of those. Yeah, um... We also thought Ongoing was a weird choice, because the fact that, like, they put My Hero in there, even though that's technically over. Not really Ongoing anymore.

[00:17:37] Well, I think... I don't think it meant, like... Is Ongoing a category? I don't see that. Yeah, it's one of the earlier ones. Best Ongoing. Because One Piece is in there. I don't see it. Oh, Best Continuing. That's what it is. Oh, Continuing, yeah, that's what it is. Well, I think it's more of like... I know it's like the final season. Well, we also... Because it's been an ongoing series. Yeah. I think that's why it was in there. I guess. Because like...

[00:18:05] Well, yeah, because it was like Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, like, Season... Yeah. Well, I think that's that. We also pointed out though that Solo Leveling was in there and that does not currently have a confirmed third season. So like, is that technically not going? Yeah, but it's going to get one. Like... Not anytime soon because A1... Not... Yeah, of course. But all of these are gonna have... Well, I mean, you know which one I chose. Yes. One Piece! The show I joked is never gonna end. It will.

[00:18:33] No, we're getting closer in the manga too. So... We're getting there. But, um... Yeah. Speaking of anime, I... Today was my catch-up day where I caught up on all these things. The ongoing shows. Yeah, I guess it was also my catch-up day, but in a different sense. But you go first. Uh, I... Basically, I went through all my ongoing animes I've been watching so far. I finished Freerind. I was really sad that it was over because it was just a delightful experience the entire way through. The, uh, the most recent episode was like super wholesome too.

[00:19:02] So it was like really... Like, it had a lot of like... Freerind Himmel stuff and it was like... This is cute. Like... I don't want it to end. Did you get married? No. Uh, no. I'm poor soul. I'll never recover. Nope. I finished that. Um, I finished, uh, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Part 1. Um... I will say the final episode was really fun. Like, the fight was really awesome.

[00:19:30] I still don't really give a crap about what's going on. Um, but the final fight... The final episode revolved around the guy from Zero. Mm. So, and it was a lot of... Basically, he just fought the entire time and it was fun. Um... So that was a good ending to the first half. Uh, watched the next episode of Vigilantes. That series is still really fun. Um... My Hero might be better than the actual series itself. If any of you ask.

[00:20:02] Um... And then I watched the next episode of Oshinoko. Uh, which is still fun. Nice. So yeah, I'm just catching up on everything. I gotta watch... Start Dorohidoro Season 2. I'm waiting for it to all come out. You're gonna have so much stuff when you finally start watching anime again. Well, no, I have been watching anime. I won't remember. I watched all of Hunter x Hunter. Well, you've watched older stuff and then you're watching One Piece now. Yes, I'm catching up.

[00:20:31] Cause now I'm into the content that... The new One Piece content that I'm catching up on. Yeah. So it was a catch-up weekend for me too. I know, I'm just saying like you've got like stuff like... Cause you never finished my family. I'm still salty about that. I'll finish it! Well, the thing is, is I'm just gonna go back and re-watch it from the beginning. And then finish it. I'll finish it later! I will! I just wanna catch up to One Piece first. You have to re-watch all of My Hero 2, cause I know you're gonna do that.

[00:21:00] Yeah, I'll do that too. But that, I'm probably gonna put on hold for a bit. Because I just don't feel like watching My Hero. I think after... After this... So you're gonna just leave that final season on like hold for like eternity. Yeah! I did that with Attack on Titan for so long. Well, you did that with like the final two episodes. Yeah, the final two. Which was like a season with how long they were. Yeah, well I'm getting caught up with One Piece. Cause that's like my true love.

[00:21:30] And I'm just like, oh, I miss this so much. I love that boat. Well, especially because season two... Yeah, I love that boat. Even though like recent... The episodes I'm on like the... The strides haven't really appeared that much. Cause it's been like other stuff going on in the world. But it's cool to see Shanks actually do something. That'll show how far behind I am for some people. But hey, they're caught up with... They're caught up anime and...

[00:22:04] Manga wise. Well, I mean they're caught up with the Japanese. So at least there's that. With the manga? No, the dub. I meant the dub is caught up with the Japanese. Oh, okay. Yeah, I was so confused. I'm like, the manga is not caught up. I was... I flubbed my words. Yes, the English and the non-English are caught up. It's so funny though, because if funny had just gotten the dubbing rights to begin with, they would have been caught up so long ago. Yeah, but they did eventually. It's funny.

[00:22:34] It's just so funny that they had to like restart and like go... Because they had that four kids experience. You're a green cat with a top hat. Sure am. What am I? You're a purple cat with an antenna. No, I'm not. How dare. No, I'm not. I'm not playing this. So yesterday we...

[00:23:03] We had an old-fashioned Walmart encore dinner. Yeah! That was actually really nostalgic. That we used to have when we were kids. Our dad... Dad would always... Well, because when we grew up... Dad made a lot of... Made most of our dinners. Because he got home earlier than our mom. So... And like, because like sometimes I was going right to dance or something. Yeah. So I needed quick dinner and stuff.

[00:23:32] So we had a good encore dinner. Tater salad and pasta salad and... It was good. Um... It was good. And then we watched... But we ate too late and my tummy hurt. Yeah, we did. Because I like fell asleep on the couch. It was bad. We did also watch... Alex finally watched K-Pop Demon Outters. I did. I finally got that off my bucket list. And I thought it was really good. It is a very good movie. I don't think it's as amazing as everyone is acting like it is.

[00:24:01] But I did really enjoy it. I think a lot of it is... It's kind of what I was saying last night with... I just don't think there's been... An animated movie... That has been just really phenomenal. Like in terms of quality animation... In a while. Like I just don't think people have seen it in a while. Ironically, the last movie that really like... Changed the world was probably the Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. Which was done by the same people. No, yeah.

[00:24:31] But like really... Disney hasn't been doing... I haven't seen a Disney movie in years. Like I just really haven't. What was the last... What was the last Pixar movie? I legit don't remember. That's the thing is like... I just... Because I don't know like... The last Pixar movie I saw was Cars 3. So that tells you how little I pay attention to Disney these days. Yeah. And I think a lot of people have recognized that. And they're just...

[00:24:59] Want content that is... Not trash. Like you know... It has a soul. We don't want a remake. We don't want a sequel that's dumb. We want like new stories in ways of storytelling. And that's why I think K-Pop Demon Hunters was just so special. Because what it was giving a lot of people... Because we also went into it from the mindset of like... We have absorbed Korean media before. So for us it wasn't as much of a new concept.

[00:25:29] But for a lot of people... This was a whole new world for them. You know? Like most people probably only knew... Any sort of Korean media just through like K-Pop. Yeah. Just because there is a lot of prominent K-Pop bands... That do branch over to the States. But you know... I just think it was a unique story. And people were just able to grasp onto it. Better than a lot of the other slop that's been coming out. Yeah.

[00:25:56] The only downside is that like this movie did really well. But then like you're still reminded that... The fucking Mario Galaxy movie. From what I heard... We haven't seen it yet. So we're not gonna get into it. But from what I've heard... It's just like an hour long advertisement. Yeah. And it is already making billions. Yep. That tells you the state of movies sometimes. But at least like... At least like the Mario thing is... At least it's decently animated.

[00:26:25] Like it looks really nice. It is. I'm a little annoyed that like those movies are getting like all the praise. And like the awards and stuff. And then like the Sonic movies are getting ignored. They're significantly better movies. Yeah. Well they haven't really done much advertisement for the next movie coming out. So... Yeah. I honestly say that's probably better because they're... The fact that it's probably gonna do well based just on the sheer fact that those are good movies alone. Mm. Then I... We're getting Amy and I hope they... I hope they make her girl boss Amy and not fucking...

[00:26:56] Yes. I really hope for girl boss Amy and not... Helpless. Sonic! Amy! Not helpless. If I let you out of jail you marry me? No way. I thought I had you that time. Whatever the fuck that was. But... I do hope that she does mistake Shadow for Sonic at one point. If Shadow appears... We don't know yet. I think they confirmed it. Did they? I don't know. You did. I didn't see...

[00:27:25] Um... We know he's alive because they didn't even do the bother with the fake out this time. Yeah. But I really do hope that happens because they just need to full circle that, you know? Yeah. I'm curious what they do. I'm really looking forward to Sonic 4. Hmm. Me too. Yeah. Other than that, um... I bought Poke... Pokeopia or whatever. Pokeopia. I know. Fuck you. Sorry. You're rubbing it in my face because I can't play it! No, Alex, you didn't have to pay $70.

[00:27:57] So... Ew, that was $70? Uh-huh. Welcome to modern gaming. Ew! That's... Alex, that's everything now. Nintendo is charging 80 for some games. Because Nintendo is a greedy fucking company. Okay, I'm good with not having a Switch 2 for one. Yeah. I have... My... My Tomodachi life was only like $60. Because it's a Switch 1 game. Ah... Give it time.

[00:28:26] That's coming out this week. Because they're raising the prices on Switch 1. Alex, it's like $800 to buy a PS5 now. I'm doing a half day on Friday because I'm getting my ducks and vents cleaned. Yeah. Um... And... I can't wait... To have... I'm gonna play that the whole afternoon on Friday. Nice. I gotta play more Pokeopia. I played a bit of it. I find it's interesting. Because it's basically like Animal Crossing meets Minecraft.

[00:28:56] Uh... Meets Pokemon. Um... I'm curious to see. Everybody... Everybody I know is playing it, so... You're gonna play Tomodachi life and you're gonna be perfectly happy. Bill! You have a... You have a gift. You have a new item. No, I don't. It's showing you do. That doesn't mean you have a new item. I don't know what that's... What does it mean? I have no idea.

[00:29:24] I wonder if I click on yours if anything will happen. Nope. I don't know. Either way. Um... Yeah. Um... Should we get into our topic? Thanks so much for listening, you guys. It's been a great day. It's been a great day. We went to an anime convention. We will... We will... Rug you! That's what's going on in your brain right now.

[00:29:53] Just bouncing balls. Um... No, no. Alex, you know what's going on in your brain right now? It's like that Homer gif of like... It's just the clapping monkey going... Like that's... That's what's going on up there. I'm tired! I did a long bike ride! Well, that's... That's fine. Because we're gonna talk about weep shit. Because we went to an anime convention last weekend. And uh... It was a lot. It was a lot.

[00:30:22] It was a lot. We made our grand return. Well, I made my very grand return. Alex was only a slightly lesser grand return. Yeah. To uh... Anime Boston. Which the last time I went was not a good experience. Yeah. Um... I will say this time was much better. Still some things though I want to talk about as we'll go through. Um... How would you say... Because I think I asked but I forget what you said. How would you say this one was compared to the last one you went to? Uh...

[00:30:52] I'd say it was a lot more crowded. Yeah. There's a lot more people but that also just makes sense because... After... As years go by more and more people are becoming fans of anime and... More people are going to anime events too. So it's just growing and growing. Especially after the Demon Slayer and um... Uh... Chainsaw Man movies came out and basically broke Hollywood.

[00:31:21] I do also wonder though... Like... Because one of the things I've noticed with a lot of these events is that like they're growing and growing and growing. But at some point I do feel like the bubble will pop. And like some of the people who were going just for the sake of like following a trend will stop going. See, the only thing I wonder though is like... I was looking around that convention. I did not see a ton of people who felt like they were...

[00:31:49] Everyone who was there looked like they were into it. That was the thing. Well, I have seen some things where people like cosplay just for... Social media. To do it. Yeah, just social media. So I think more of like that. But no, yeah. I mean like... It was genuinely... Really big. But then it also makes you wonder too if like the accessibility of like... At some point it's going to get too big and they're not going to be able to handle it anymore.

[00:32:18] That's the thing. It's getting... It's getting concerning how many people they cram in there and just how... Insane it gets at times. Cause like... Yeah. I still remember my first attempt at going to Comic-Con being sent away because there was too many people in the world. Yeah. Like... I haven't run into that yet with Anime Boston. But... It's getting... But the only difference though with that though is like... That was... You were buying day of tickets. Well, that was the thing...

[00:32:47] You didn't pre-pay for the tickets. You could still buy tickets and they just wouldn't let you in until the fire code would let you in. So it was kind of a case of... Yeah, you could wait here to buy tickets but... You might not even get in. And we were like, okay. Um... Cause there was people who had tickets that weren't even let in. Hmm. Like it was... That was really bad. That was a really... What happened was they didn't plan for the amount of people that showed up. And it was a very... Mess of a thing. They... It never happened that way again from what I remember.

[00:33:17] But yeah, that was bad. Um... That being said though, Anime Boston... I will say the... The... So we've got the pre-bought tickets this time around. Yes. Which I did the last time I went. But... Pre-bought the... Pre-ordered the tickets and had them mailed to you. Well, cause everyone... Most people pre-buy the tickets. I don't even think they let really people buy them the day of anymore. At Anime Boston. But... We... Um...

[00:33:45] I pre-ordered them for Bill's birthday and had them mailed so that we would have them and not have to worry about picking them up. Which was the way to go. Because when we got there... Well, we gotta do the full journey. Cause... The journey started with a... Car ride. I... I... Drove. Cause Bill was driving to Easter the day before. In... Much significantly worse weather. So I don't think you're upset that upset about it. No, I'm not. So I drove. Really wasn't anything too bad on the... Nothing really crazy happened.

[00:34:15] Just typical stupid highway people. We did pee at a gas station. A little... A rest stop. Uh... And it was a rest area that had seen better days. Most of those highway... Like the pike rest... Rest areas are pretty... Yeah. Yeah, they're pretty groy. This one though was probably one of the worst ones I had seen. Like if that guy reviewing the bathroom videos that I showed you recently reviewed that rest area, I think he'd give it a two dumps out of five. Yeah. Um...

[00:34:44] But yeah, it was pretty gross. And then, uh... After that... Because we stopped at the one right before we get off... Well, technically we actually could have stopped at one more, but I thought that was it. So, oh well. Whoops. Maybe the other one was cleaner. But then we got off and we took the green line in and Bill panicked and was like, is this the parking lot? Are we allowed to park over here? And I was like, yes. Yes, we are. Because it was very weirdly laid out. The whole way that parking area is laid out is weird. Yeah. It was.

[00:35:12] You had to drive into like the middle of bumfuck to get into the parking lot. It was so weird. Yeah. Well, and then like, it's also sad too, because that parking lot used to always be free. But people took advantage of it, so they had to change that. Yep. So now you gotta pay for it. Which, I mean, it was $3 for a full day, so I can't fully complain. That's not bad. I paid more for the train tickets. So... Yeah. Um... And then we, uh, we got on the correct train, because there's really only one train to get out. Yeah, to get...

[00:35:40] To get there, it was easy. Um... Yeah. Um... What was funny is like, the trip there was fine. Like, we got seats right away. Like, we... Well, because we were the first stop. Yeah. There was no one on the train, so we got... Sometimes you'll get there and there's a horde of people already waiting, so it's very Hunger Games to get in there. Um... No, but it was... That was all perfectly fine. Getting to Boston was not a problem. Um... And then, this shocked me a little bit. Um... How quickly we got right in to, uh... Oh, yeah!

[00:36:10] Well, because we had pre-ordered the badges, like, we, um, got out of the station, walked up... And then you literally just, like, turn down the street and walk up in the convention center right there. You know what baffled me a little? What? So those... What? The badges were really nice. They were, like, high-quality ones, like... Yeah, they got, like, the actual, like, plastic ones this time. Yeah, that must be how they scan you in. No scanning. Just... Mm-hmm. You flashed your badge and they're like, okay, cool. Yeah.

[00:36:39] They also had those bizarre, like, metal detectors that you just kind of walk through now. Yep. Like, because we didn't get stopped at all. You just walked right in and you were just in. Yeah. Like, we were literally, like, it was that easy. And I was like, damn, they have come so fucking far over the years. But then at the same time, you're also like, is this really effective? Should there be more? I don't know how those things work, to be honest. I'm correct. They looked like just regular metal detectors to me.

[00:37:08] They didn't look like anything fancy. I don't know. Like, I... They weren't going off and I had my metal belt on, which surprised me because usually that sets them off. So I wonder if they're a little more advanced. Maybe. But yeah, we literally walked in, like, because every other time we've gone, they've never let you in that door. But we also, I think the last time we went, well, we weren't able to pre-order. But even when I did pre-order, we got there right at the beginning before people were let in.

[00:37:37] So I wasn't let in that way. But because we got there like an hour after, like 10. Yeah. We got in right before the event halls opened. Which I think was 10. So we got in there like a little before 10, but we just literally went boop, boop, boop. Yeah, we walked right in, which was hilarious because I've never... Well, no, I have had it that easy. When I went to Comic-Con... When we went to Rhode Island? Well, that was a different because we still had a wait in a line. When I went to a Rhode Island Comic-Con, I had by myself that one time.

[00:38:06] I did the pre like early access thing. And because I will call, I literally just got my badge and then just walked right in. It was just like in. It was before it got absolutely insane. Yeah. But yeah, we get in and I immediately knew once we got done, like, oh, this is going to be a lot of people. Hmm. And it was. It was a lot of people. Because we immediately... The first thing we did was we went and peed because... Yes. We have small bites.

[00:38:35] Once you pee once, you have to pee like seven times. It's just how it goes. Yeah. Didn't leave my phone in there. Yeah, we don't ever want that to happen again. That was traumatic on so many levels. Yeah. Oh, man. And then after that, we kind of walked around a little bit and then we realized... We were like... We passed the Artist Alley and it wasn't open yet. We were like, hmm, do we want to do Artist Alley first or do like regular shopping first? Which was on the second floor. And we said, let's go to the regular.

[00:39:05] We made the right choice. Yeah, no, we did. Because I can only imagine how much of a shit show that area must have been later in the day. Yeah. And we didn't really wait for that long. No, we got in that line pretty much right when it started forming. They did the classic thing where they were like, get into threes. Which... Yeah. I remember because they were like splitting up friend groups and I just like was stiff as a wooden move. I was like, nah, you can feel it.

[00:39:34] They were like, I'm not leaving my sister. Which I appreciated. I totally fucked up another friend group by doing that because I straight up stretched them across us. Well, they were fine. I just wasn't moving. I was like, I don't give a shit. This ain't gonna last more than five seconds once we start moving. Well, yeah. As soon as we started moving like it just became kind of a snake.

[00:39:58] Also, once we did finally get in because they were once they opened the doors and were letting everyone in. The way they checked people was so ineffective. Like they were literally just like show your badge and like they weren't even looking half the time. And I was like, whatever. Well, I think they were just trying to see because the badges were color coded based on what you paid for. So like I think we had green and that was just for Saturday. Yeah. And then I think my friend Mark showed me his.

[00:40:30] And he, his I think was like blue. The all. And he had the all weekend one. I think those are blue. And then I think the, the, there was a few that were like just like Saturday, Sunday. Yeah. But like, I think there was probably a different color for like Friday only. So that was probably what they were more looking at. Because obviously you can't catch, but if they can't catch people, they're going to try. Yeah. But yeah, once we were in, we, we got lanyards. Yeah, we did.

[00:40:59] Because we always got to get our lanyards that only get worn once. But it's part of it. It's part of the experience. It's just part of the experience. And it goes with the aesthetic of keeping all the lanyards. Because unfortunately they don't do the, they don't do the sponsored lanyards anymore. Which used to be the favorite part about anime Boston. Because I still have my, my first one was my crunchy roll lanyard. Your high dive one. High dive. I have a Funimation one. I actually, I have two high dives and I have a Funimation. Um. I have two Funimation ones, which is weird.

[00:41:29] I don't know how that happened. Oh no, no, no, no. You know what it was? They were giving them out at a booth and I just grabbed an extra one. Because I used it for my Comic-Con thing like later. Because remember we ordered the Comic-Con badges in the mail. That one time when they did the hard card. Comic-Con badges. Yep. I think my Crunch, my Funimation, my second Funimation one is on that. I think that's what happened there. Yeah. Um. But um. But we got those. And then after that we were like, okay. Manga booth.

[00:41:58] Because there's always this huge one that sells manga. Uh, Bill got lucky. I did not. They. Well. I did not do lucky with any. I only got one volume of manga. I. I spent way too much money on manga. Um. I'm not gonna lie. Um. I know you did. You bought like all of Rene. I know I didn't. Half of it. You bought half of it. I bought a good amount of it. Um. I bought like at least 10 volumes out of 40. So. Mm-hmm. I found that. Um.

[00:42:27] I also bought a bunch of Ranma one half. See I bought like. Mangas that are like from like. That were probably more heavily printed than the ones you were looking for unfortunately. Yeah. Um. I also found the next Oshinoko volume like. Available like. A month in advance. Which was bizarre. But I was like alright. Yeah. I found that. I got Fragrant Flower. Um. Yeah. I got a. I got a whole bunch of manga. Like honestly I bought way too much manga at the start. Cause then I had to carry it around the entire con. You at least have the backpack.

[00:42:57] So. Yeah. That. That clear. Backpack I got at like Richmond Virginia at a race. Or maybe it was Bristol. That's very well. No actually no. It was. It was Bristol. Tennessee. At a race. And I've had that for years. I use it at every sort of event I go to now. And you always put the deodorant on the outside pocket. To assert your dominance. Yes. I'm asserting my dominance. That's a joke I always make. Is that I'll put the. The. The. I have my. Like an old spice. Deodorant stick. That I just will stick in the back. A to use. Cause you need it. Every now and then. But also just to like.

[00:43:28] Just to like. Show my. Just a bit. I'm making a statement. Basically. Well. Unfortunately. Your dominance. Was lost that day. No. To the axe deodorant. There was no. Dominance was not lost. We were both brothers in arms. Okay. We were brothers in arms. Each fighting for the same cause. That was fucking amazing. Oh yeah. Cause he was in a full. Military garb. And he had three. Bottles of axe. Just in the back. On full display. And it was amazing. Yes.

[00:43:57] And he was probably ready to use them at any point. Yeah. We were brothers in arms. We were both fighting the good fight. Okay. And then. We went to. There was another manga booth right after. The one I bought. The one I bought the renee from. The scary. The scary manga booth. No. No. Remember how it was like. There was the big long one. Oh. And then there was the second big long one. I bought all of Ranma at the first one. I found. Fragrant Flower and Oshinoko at the second. And that's where I got. Welcome to Demon's School of Rumor.

[00:44:28] Nice. Nice. And then we went to the. Other one which was. The scary one. Well that one was. It was not along the wall. Like all the other two were. It was like shoved in a corner. Walking through it was almost impossible. Because like. You just kind of get like trapped. And like you wouldn't be able to get around corners. Because there were too many people. The sellers were very aggressive. Yeah. They were too aggressive. And for me. If you're aggressive. It's just like when we went to Rhode Island Comic Con.

[00:44:58] And we wanted to get. It literally brought me back to that. When we wanted to get. Garbage. Cafeteria. Well no. What is it? In a mall. Mall. Garbage mall. Mall Chinese food. Mall Chinese food. And we wanted that. But then they just were like. Come here. Come here. Come here. And I was like. They were even worse. I don't want it. They were like waving you on. And you were like. Yeah. That was scary. And I got flashbacks of that. At that manga booth. Where they were like. Can I help you? Can I help you?

[00:45:28] Dude. Look at this. I was like. I'm freaked out. Leave me alone. Goodbye. They had a policy. Where they didn't really like you. Carrying volumes around. Um. They were like. We'll hold down to that for you. And I'm like. I don't really like that. Cause I can't. The thing is. I'll forget what I have. Like that's the thing. And also. I like to make sure I have all I got. Cause I got. When I grabbed all those. Renes. It literally was a point where like. They were like. Yeah. We can't let you walk around with that much books. And I'm like. I'll spy him then. Just like.

[00:45:57] Yeah. Yeah. Cause I probably could have found the rest of the series. If I looked hard enough. But like it wasn't. Well. And that's the thing too. Like they had a bunch of stuff. But like. They didn't have the space. Badly laid out. Yeah. It was just a really bad booth. That they got. Um. And they were too aggressive. And they scared me. They were. They were straight up carnival walkers. Like they were like. Come on. Step right up. Step right up. I have like my Bulbasaur backpack on. Cause I didn't cosplay.

[00:46:27] But I was like. Oh. I'll at least like wear like green tones. And like. Wear my Bulbasaur backpack. And they were like. Bulbasaur backpack. Bulbasaur backpack. And I was like. Like please. Stop pointing me out. Which made me even more uncomfortable. Cause I'm like. I just want to buy this. And leave. So I didn't buy it. I bought it on Amazon. The volume that I found. I said. Fuck you. I wish I could have looked for more. But they scared me. So I didn't buy anything. They scared you so bad. They made you give Bezos money. Yeah. I did.

[00:46:56] And I scared. And then like. Bill was still in there. And I just walked to a corner. And stood over there. Because they scared. They were just too much. And I didn't like it. The worst too. Was when I was paying. Trying to pay and leave. Um. The way they had their cash register set up. You were basically blocking entrances. And I'm like. This is not a well designed booth guys. They had. Their booth was terrible. Like how it was. Like I mean. Not the. Stuff in it. But just how they had it set up. They had way too many people also in there. Yeah.

[00:47:25] They had like seven fucking vendors. I was like. Which was too much. I mean. I guess. I mean. I was like. This is too much. Bye. I get you gotta sell your shit. But sometimes it's too much. Yeah. It was too much. There was another manga booth. I remember seeing. We didn't go and do it. Because the way it was set up was dumb. In my personal opinion. Um. That one was like from. I think a company though. I. I think so. It was also a smart idea.

[00:47:54] It was just unfortunately for that kind of thing. It was. The. The way it was. I'm like. Yeah. I'd just rather not. It was essentially a booth where they were limiting the amount of people in there. Which. Is nice. That's actually not a bad idea. The problem is though. They weren't timing people. Mm. Cause there was people just hanging out in there. I swear to God. Cause I remember we walked past it twice. And the same people were in there. Yeah. I'm like. Like you gotta like. If they're not buying. Make them move along. Yeah. Like pick something and go.

[00:48:24] Buy something. Or get out. Cause it had a. Oh wait. Finish. And then I'll bring up the other thing we saw that was very cursed. Yeah. Well there was a line. Wrapped around the booth. That I'm like. See the thing is like. If even if I was interested. I'd see the line and just go. No. It's like not worth it. Like it's too long. Don't feel like waiting. Yep. There was also an only fans model selling. Almost naked photos. Full pinups. She sure was. I was like. That's a lot.

[00:48:54] And there was children. Just everywhere. That's the thing that bothered me. Is that like. I get it. Like if. She's a vendor. She probably sold a lot. But like. Pete. There is a lot of kids that go to anime Boston. And I just felt it was. I mean they were. They were censored. But at the same time. They were censored. But still. Like that was. Oh. That was not centered. Like. I don't know. I just. I thought it was inappropriate. For an event that like. Has a lot of kids there. They were. They were censored enough. That they wouldn't get in trouble.

[00:49:24] But not enough for the fact. That there was children walking around. Like holy shit. I just thought it was really inappropriate. Yeah. Unfortunately. I like. I mean. Anime is for everyone. And a lot of families bring their kids along. Like. I just. I didn't. It gave me the ick. It gave me the ick. Anime. Anime is for everyone. But also holy shit. Anime is also not for everybody. No yeah. It depends on. The series. But I don't know. Anime is a literal conundrum sometimes. It's not.

[00:49:54] And I'm not giving the ick. Due to like. The content they're creating. I don't care. Like. I think that's. I think that's fine. If you can make a lot of money. You go for it girl. I just. I give more of the ick. To the people that buy it. To be honest. More than anything. Yeah. I just. I just didn't like. Cause. There's a lot of kids that go there. And I just. I also. I'm also. I'm just also amazed. They gave up OnlyFans model a booth. Like. Yeah. She had people looking. But. I mean Alex. Yeah.

[00:50:24] You know the primary. No. I know. She probably made a lot of money. But. I'm sure she did. And I'm sure she was a nice person. But there's a lot of kids at that con. There's a lot of kids. Also like. Also just like. The people buying that. I'm like. Jesus Christ guys. I was like. Come on. Yeah. What else. What else. Did we see. On. There was. Quite a few figure booths. We really weren't searching for figures though. Mostly just because. No we really weren't. It's gotta be special. Yeah.

[00:50:53] And I can only. I can only buy so many fucking. Your referred figures at this point. Like. And Shuna. And Shuna. Yeah. I didn't see a lot of slime figures. Yeah. Maybe. There'll probably be a resurgence after. Yeah. Cause season. Season four is airing currently. No doubt. Did you see though. Um. Did you see though. People's concerns though. About it. Yeah. They're a little concerned. It's gonna be a little quick. And it's. Well. Also there. I saw people saying they were concerned.

[00:51:21] It's just gonna be a lot of sitting at a table. So season three. Yes. Yes. But also. That's also kind of what the manga is though. Yeah. So. We'll see. But anyways. Back on top. I mean. I'm. I'm one of the people that didn't mind the. The meeting room stuff. I thought it was kind of fun. It was good banter. Just. Just. Put that out there. Um. Anyways. Uh. What else? Yeah. We saw the figures. We did buy figures though. We did. We did buy. One booth.

[00:51:51] We only buy figures. Now. If there's something that. Is like a wow. Item for us. A wow. I think at this point. It's either wow. Items or like we find really cool. Nendroids. Yeah. Nendroids are just. Yeah. Cause I think I'm honestly at the point where I'd rather just buy. Unless it's a really cool figure or buy a Nendroid where you can do so much with. So we both got Nendroids. The thing about Nendroids. Which if I find that Hoshina Nendroid. I will buy it in an instant. But.

[00:52:20] The thing about Nendroids is they're really fun but they are really. They're way more expensive than any figures though usually. But they're also a really good quality. They are. Yeah. So we each bought one of those. I bought. Well Alex bought Asta. Yes. I got an Asta figure. Cause I don't. I don't really have any black clover figures. There's. They only made like two. I think they made two variations for both of them. But it's just a Austin. You know figure. And. I mean. I didn't think they were hideous.

[00:52:49] But I also didn't think they were the nicest looking figures either. And to be honest. I want a Yami Tsukihiro figure. And they aren't giving it to me. And I'm still pissed about it. Yeah. But I do. I did really like that Austin Nendroid. What does the guy. Cause I gave him the big shiny eyes. Yeah. What does the guy need to do to get a sister Lily figure. I mean. What's a guy. What's a lady need to do to get a Yami figure sitting on the toilet. Come on. Yeah. That's his iconic pose. I know.

[00:53:19] I'm just amazed that like. They gave you know an Austin. But then none of like the many ladies. I guess. I don't know. Where is my Mary Leona figure. Where's the Mimosa and Noel figures. We need to make the thruple. I want Mary Leona. Yes. The thruple. Many people do want to fuck them. It's the thing. Yes. But I want Mary Leona. I'm so glad that series. He is the baddest bitch. I know. I'm so glad that series is coming back though. So the fans can actually talk about it again.

[00:53:48] And not just post their soft core porn all the time now. Yes. Basically what it is. It deserves. It deserves an ending. I really hope he finishes it. I'm concerned we're going to get a Hunter Hunter situation here. Hmm. I mean. But Hunter Hunter is coming out slowly but surely. It has been a few years though. It has been a few years. Yeah. His wife is the one pushing him to finish it. I know.

[00:54:16] I really hope that he does finish it. I hope he fit. I hope he just gets to have the satisfaction of finishing it while he's still alive. Yeah. Because nothing is worse than like the Berserk guy. Like that is just tragic. Yeah. Because that one is going to remain unfinished right? No. No. He has his notes. They're still releasing stuff. I just don't know who's drawing it anymore. Hmm. I think the most recent volume did come out recently. Hmm. Interesting. Yeah. But getting back to like the different booths.

[00:54:45] Alex bought Asta. I bought a Mina from Kaiju number eight. Who's one of the. A big ass gun. With a big ass gun and her tiger. Yes. I love Mina. She's a really cool character that doesn't get a lot of screen time in the anime as of right now. She's about to get a ton coming up because there's a reason why she doesn't appear much early on. Because it's all plot. There's reasons. But she's super fun.

[00:55:14] And like one of her faces for the Nendoroid is she's straight up doing the crazy eyes. Like her angry face. Like while she's killing things. And it's like I'm like of course she's going to have that face permanently for the rest of time. And with her giant ass gun. That's why I chose the heart. The sparkle eyes for Asta. Because like it's just a perfect face. The best part about Nendroids is they have so many options and you always pick the one that's like perfectly fits your thoughts.

[00:55:41] Like for the Kagome one I have it's her doing her like determined face. Not her angry face because that was a little much but like I like her determined eyes where she's like ready to kick some fucking ass. Well that's my Aruma one where I gave him his one where he holds his fork and knife and he like just finished eating and he's like, oh, I love food. Because it's a vibe we all should have. Yeah. Well it's like how I gave your her like big smile her like yay I'm happy despite just murdering people. Well I have one.

[00:56:11] It's not a Nendoroid but it's like Luffy in gear five. Oh yeah. It's actually pretty cool because you can he's flexible so you can have him do like the bendy stuff as well. But I love that one. That's probably one of my most favorite figures. Figures. Yeah. Other than that. That's all we got for figures. There really wasn't anything else that was like, wow, we need it. Yeah.

[00:56:39] Yeah, that was we did that other than that though I didn't really buy much I did buy one. Oh no, you did buy an anime. I did buy one anime as well. Yes. I bought the Professor Layden movie. I, I wish I had more money. I'm not gonna lie. I, because some of those anime booths there were so many things I really would have liked to grab. Well, and that's the thing too is that like some of the stuff is becoming so frickin expensive. Anime DVDs have always been expensive but now it's like super apparent.

[00:57:11] We have a visitor. Mr. Oscar. Yes. Of course. It's the whore. He is so cute and we love him. Um, and then I got, um, season one and then the movie forgiven because the dub for season one is on crunchy. I think it's on crunchy roll, but the movie dubs are not really out anywhere.

[00:57:38] So I wanted to finally watch that because it's such a good story. It's a heartbreaking, dramatic drama story, but it's great. Um, there was so many like blu rays though that like, I can tell you that I wanted to spend more because they also had acrylic stands in there. I like really like those too, but I just couldn't, I was spending too much money and I also got to the artist alley. I know. I could also tell though right away that you really wanted those blu rays because like

[00:58:05] usually like if it is the line in there was pretty bad. Like it was people were being, it was kind of ridiculous in there. Um, like I had to bail out cause I bought my DVD at a different booth. Um, I was actually amazed you, I knew you wanted it that badly because I was like, wow, she actually sat through the whole thing. Cause usually if you get, you'll get to a point where you're like, I don't actually want this that much. You'll just bail. Yeah. I wanted it. I want to finally watch that. I can tell. I can tell. Maybe I'll watch that after. Maybe I'll watch that after I finish. I said that was funny.

[00:58:35] Cause I'm like, I'm like, wow, she didn't bail. Usually she'll get overwhelmed and be like, fuck it. I don't want it this badly. Um, here we go. Hello, Mr. Oscar. Say hello, Bobby. He wants attention. So of course he does. I'm giving it to him. Um, he's praying. Yeah. Other than that though, I didn't really buy anything else from there. Cause then we then decided we were hungry cause we hadn't ate anything. All day.

[00:59:02] Um, so we went to, we had to find the restaurant and apparently according to, I overheard the, uh, the, the people in the, in the food area saying this apparently they didn't get a lot of like traction the day before because no one knew where they were. Yeah. Well, I think the problem is, is that you have the maid cafe sign right out front. Never again. I know. Um, they have the maid cafe sign out. Okay.

[00:59:32] I'll put you down. Put you down. There you go. Oh, there you go. Uh, right out front. So it made it look like that that's where it was, but it wasn't where it was like it was, it was there. Um, but it's also like all the content is kind of like, it's like almost like an L. And if you came in like the, the usual way you're supposed to come in, not the way we came in.

[00:59:58] Um, you go through like the shopping area, food court area, and then you get into the convention center. So you walk past and you'll see it. But like where we came in, I, and I think a lot of people also came in. They didn't see that. So they missed it. Yeah. Cause it was like, I knew where it was. Cause like, I've just been multiple times. Yeah. It was just weird. Cause like they had like, they didn't really have a sign that said food that was super visible, but they had like the, the maid cafe signs all over the place. Yeah.

[01:00:26] Um, so we go in though. We got, we got food. We got, um, we got a, I know it was a chicken sandwich. Um, it was good. It was fine. French fries and a monster energy because I didn't know what to get. I panicked and bought it. I got, uh, just French fries and I wasn't super hungry, but I just got French fries. Cause we were going to get a spray. We were going to get food later.

[01:00:53] Um, and, uh, but also like, I never want to like call someone incompetent, but like, Oh my God, this lady could not figure out how to use her cash register. Yeah. I was like that poor lady. Um, she was, she was struggling and I felt kind of bad. Like it was, it was to the point where like, I wasn't even angry. I was just like, I feel bad. No, same. I was just like, this is painful to watch. Cause we were like really explaining. Like, she's like, is it a burnt? No.

[01:01:22] Like, I'm like, I'm not sure. I think so. And she's like, Sandwich. I'm like, yeah, yeah. Just, just, I don't even care if it's the wrong person. I just want to get out of here. And then I just want lunch. Um, but also after that, I'm not sure if you were, you were eavesdropping like I was, but my God, the table next to us was just a fucking shit show. The entire. I wasn't really listening. I was putting.

[01:01:48] So at that point, after I finished eating my fries, I pulled out my DS and I just started doing street passes. Yeah. No, the table next to us was like this family. And I guess like the kids were hungry, but then they did the classic thing where they take one bite and they're like, I'm not hungry anymore. And I guess the kid just threw away the entire meal and the fucking parents were pissed. And I was just. Yeah. I would have been too. Cause that's. It was fucking hell expensive for not great food. I know. And I was just like the whole time.

[01:02:18] I'm like, what? Like Jesus Christ. Like. This is why you tell your kids fucking eat it. Or you don't get dinner tonight. Yeah, pretty much. I was just like laughing. I was so. Also like the tablecloth on the table we were sitting was way too fucking big and I was like carrying it off the table. Yeah. Um, the food was fine though. Like it was. It was just. Overpriced. Typical convention food, but it did. It hit the spot. It got us through the rest of the thing.

[01:02:48] Yes. And then we said, all right, time to go to the artist alley. And then this is where like, so up to this point convention had been pretty okay. Yeah. Like we hadn't really had any major issues. It hadn't been as crowded too. Like. Yes. And we found out real quick why because most of the people were in the artist alley. Yeah. Which I get because like. Honestly, the stuff in the minus like figures, manga and stuff.

[01:03:17] Like the artist alley has the most unique things. It does. Like I would say if I had more money, I probably would have went more crazy in the vendor area just because like I could have had bought so much more manga and so many. But no, we have, we have houses now, so we can't do as be as crazy as we used to be. Um, that being said though, we went, we did eventually go to artist alley. And the funniest part is they weren't even checking people at the door by that point. Cause I had my thing out and the guy didn't even care. I was like, okay.

[01:03:46] Um, holy shit. This was packed. Yeah. It was fair. We were definitely doing the shuffle. The waddle. The waddle. The shuffle was real. Also the stank. The holy shit, the stank. Oh yeah. That's where we really started smelling the wafts. And we were like, the stank was. Also, this is where people just like all self-awareness. As soon as you went in that room, I guess left people.

[01:04:12] We did not hear a single like intercom call the entire con until we get to this room. Yes. So we're about halfway through. I'll go in more depth of the stuff we saw after, but I have to bring these up real quick, like right away, because this was ridiculous. Yeah. We get an intercom call and it's a lady who sounded trying to be chipper, but you could tell it was about to break. Was basically like, attention, everybody. Please don't block the fucking entrances. Yep. That's a fire hazard. Yeah.

[01:04:42] She said it much nicer than that, but like, well, she had very good reason to because like the fire marshal can shut the event down. Oh yeah. People don't do that. So people are just so fucking on a like on self-aware sometimes. And like, well, like the guy who just like literally he's walking in front of us and he just stops in the middle of the aisle way to just tie his shoe. I'm like, and I literally was like, what the fuck dude. And then we like walked around him. But like, why? You were like, come on.

[01:05:11] Because like literally everyone was going around us, but we were stuck behind this asshole. Yeah. And like people start pushing you as you're going, like you're stuck there too. I was like, you fucking idiot. Like, I'm sorry, but like if my shoes untied, I'm going to pull over and find a spot to do it. Not just, all right. Fuck everybody else. Like, yeah, pretty much. Um, yeah, that happened. And I remember I said out loud, ah, the first of our use your fucking brain announcements. Yep.

[01:05:41] Not even two minutes later, another one, which was exactly about the don't stop in the have conversations in the middle of the aisle. It was so funny because you could tell she was being sarcastic as fuck when she said this. She was like, cosplayers, we love you. We're glad you're here. Don't take pictures in the middle of the fucking aisles. Yeah. Outside. Do it anywhere else. Like, holy shit.

[01:06:09] Like, like she sounded like you could tell she was totally like wanted to tell call like you like fucking just like I'm done with that. But she was holding it in. Awesome. Mid when you were doing the whole this. Yeah, it froze for a second and you were like, oh, great. I went to take a screenshot, but it unfroze. So you're lucky today. That's how I fucking felt.

[01:06:37] Cause like, like I'm literally like said it out loud. I was like, oh, the first use your brain announcement. And then like 20 minutes later, I was like, ah, the second use your fucking brain announcement. And I'm sure there were many more. Yeah. We weren't there long enough to hear more. Cause like we literally did the rounds and then got the fuck out. Yeah. It was just, it was so crowded in artist alley and we were just like, I'm tired. The depressing thing that really upset me though, was like, there was so much really unique art. That you couldn't look at.

[01:07:07] You couldn't look at because either there was people camping in front of the booths, which is so common. Or you're just being pushed because like the people behind you are just pushing. They're not going to stop. So you literally can't even like get it. You came in the look to see if there's something you're interested in. Yeah. Um, which was unfortunate. And we're both blind. So even with the glasses, we can't see that gray from a far distance. So we have to get up close.

[01:07:35] And unfortunately too, we're not really in the, the, we're not really in the, the, the look, we're not really looking for like art anymore because we don't have space to hang it anymore. Yeah. We're looking for trinkets. I would, I, yeah, I was much more interested in looking at like the key chains or like the little, the dumb things, like the stuff like that. Cause like that stuff's easier to store, easier to display nowadays. And unfortunately with the way the lines were, it was impossible. It was just impossible. Um, which is a little sad.

[01:08:04] Um, yeah, I felt bad too, because like some of those booths, I, I guarantee you they got nothing, no sales, just because no one could get to them. No. Yeah. Well, especially I felt bad if there was one that was like particularly popular and there was one next to it that maybe wasn't as popular. Yeah. Like, you know that people were standing for their booth, but we're waiting for the other booth, which sucked. Cause, cause it's unfortunately unfortunate thing where they can't stand backwards because you block the aisle.

[01:08:34] So they have to kind of spread to the side. Yeah. Um, I also saw one case of a douchebag taking pictures of art. Um, yeah, which sucks. I know, I know a lot of the cons in Connecticut are very good about shutting that shit down fast. Massachusetts is the only one I've been to in a while. So I'm not sure if it's as big up here. Um, I honestly think it is. Cause I remember the last, um, time I went, they actually announced it at one point.

[01:09:01] Um, but I think it was just so crowded. How could they police it? That's the main thing is like, I honestly think the, the biggest thing that could have helped the artist alley is if they limited the number of people in there. Yeah. Unfortunately, they couldn't cause they, it's just a bad, or it's a bad sitch. If they did like an early access thing, like retro world where at least some people could pay to come in earlier and look around. But yeah.

[01:09:31] Yeah. Cause like even like kinetic on which kinetic on is like the only other con we've been to recently that we usually have to do with the shuffle. Cause retro world, you never do retro. It's really well laid out. Yeah. Um, kinetic on even kinetic on, like we never have issues looking at the art. Like, yeah, we have to deal with the bullshit. Like the, like at any con we can always look. But eventually we can get into there. Like eventually it settles down. Like there's like rush. Like it's crowded.

[01:09:59] We, we went through the artist alley in, um, anime Boston once. And that was enough. We could never like, that's it. It was just, it wasn't fun. Like, cause you know, it was so claustrophobic. Also the other. It was like kind of scary though, too, because like realistically thinking about it, if there was an emergency in that building and the artist, like. Like people would have stampeded. Oh yeah. That was dangerous. Oh yeah. Looking back. Like that's super dangerous how they were running that. It shouldn't be like that. No, it was really unsafe.

[01:10:30] It was so crowded. We went through once and literally it was, we just were like, yeah, we're good. We were kinetic on as much as like a kinetic on. I give crap. Cause they really haven't updated anything in like five years. Um, kinetic on, at least like you go through once you can go through again. Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be cramped. Yeah. You're going to have to shuffle, but at least you can make it through multiple times. Well, and they space things like really well, but also like how they have it. It's also a much smaller convention too, which benefit of the doubt there. Yeah.

[01:10:59] Um, but I don't know. Cause like realistically the amount of art booths that were actually there in comparison to kinetic on was probably about the same, but the spaces are set up way differently. True. But also kinetic on has, is not split. It's the vendor floor is literally art and vendors. Yeah. They just, they just have artist alley instead, which is, which is fine. I don't have a problem with kinetic. I've never, I've never had a problem with kinetic on layout.

[01:11:28] Kinetic on's biggest problem. It gets boring. And there's there's they suffer from a staffing shortage. That is their biggest problem. Um, yeah, this though was just a lot. It it's just to me, what it comes down to is like safety is that like in, if there was an emergency, I don't think people would have gotten out of the building in time. No, probably not. In the artist alley. I think people would have been trampled and someone would have gotten left behind,

[01:11:58] which is a scary thought to think about. But like, if in knowing like the security and how easy it was to get in. If someone brought a weapon in, it would have been bad. Yeah. Like I said, I don't know how. It's a scary thing to think about, but like, that's the, that's the truth. And I don't know. Like I just, I'd rather go to a smaller convention than go to a big one and be not feel safe. Yeah.

[01:12:27] I was happy to go to anime Boston one more time, but I think I'm good. Yeah. Like next year, if we're going to go to Boston, I'm more interested in doing packs next year. Yeah. I'd be just to see it. See that. A lot of our con our podcast friends go to that one every year. So it'd be cool to see them. But, um, go going back to the artist alley though. Another thing that drives me insane about artist alley is the car. I have nothing against cosplayers.

[01:12:54] I'm I love what they do, but if you have a giant fucking sword that makes it impossible to move around with, you might want to reconsider going through there. Cause sometimes I see that I'm like, you are just causing traffic jams. I feel like with people who professionally cosplay, they plan ahead and they know like, okay, if I'm going to have a really big costume, this is not the day I'm going to do my shopping on. And they always make sure to plan it out.

[01:13:24] Yeah. But that's the thing is like, there's so many new people that are just doing it for clout a little bit, you know? And you're trying to go through artist alley as a guy with a giant ass buster sword. And you're like, dude, come on. Or they should have like, I don't know. I don't know how they would manage it, but even like an item check, you know, or something. Yeah. That's unfortunate. It's you can't trust people. And I think it's more of a, one of those things. Yeah.

[01:13:53] Um, that also being said, Oh, go on. Oh, I was good. Well, you go first. And then I was going to suggest that we talk about, you know, at least like not all the negatives. No, no. I wanted, I wanted just, I want to get the negatives out so that we can talk about the cool things we did buy. Yeah. Um, the only other thing this, and this is just a, this is a Boston thing. We're from Boston. We understand. We're from mass, but we're close enough that we understand it. We're mass holes. People are fucking rude in Boston. My God. Yeah.

[01:14:19] Like some of the people like just hearing what they were, how they were treating the vendors. I was like, guys, come on. Yeah. Like, come on. Like we've been, we've been in Connecticut for a few years and I, I know Connecticut is also not great, but like we are at least a little bit nicer down here. For the most part. Well, like, even like we were at a booth and then like, I hear behind me, these people complaining. They're like, Oh, I can't, I can't see because these people are blocking it and we're actively buying something.

[01:14:49] Like one of us was. And then like, they proceed to not let us out. So yeah, we, we turn around and leave. And then they're like, Oh crap. Like it was like straight up. Like one of those, like, like, Oh, we didn't think you'd turn right around to leave and see us look us in the face. Yeah. Like, I'm like, it was just like, I don't know. Like, I feel like people like forget, like, like I can hear you.

[01:15:15] And also like, you're like, I can't leave until you move. So move. Like, also the amount of people just criticizing artwork as we walk by. That pissed me off too. I'm like, if you're here to create, get the fuck out. These are people who are trying to make a living. Like, like, this is my, my thoughts on that are if you're not impressed by the art, don't buy it. Like, don't buy it. That's easy enough. I think it's like people are trying to be quirky and it's just like, it's not fun. You're not being quirky.

[01:15:45] You just sound like an ass. Like, I will admit me and you walk past some of the more like sexual boosts. We always go, Oh my. Like, because sometimes it's a little like, it's hard not to. You're like, Oh, geez. But we're not. Not in like an assaulting way. It's more of just. We're not saying the art shit. It's more of us going. Oh, I mean, the art was probably good, but I was just like, not what I was expecting. I wouldn't, I wouldn't buy it or put it in my house.

[01:16:13] It's always like when I bought that Tifa Lockhart thing and the guy was like, Oh, I, we have some NSFW variants. If you're interested. I'm like, no, I'd like to hang this in my house. So no, no. Okay. So let's talk about the stuff we did buy. Yeah. Should we just start with the Formula One booth? Yeah. Yeah. I think that was like one of the first things we bought. So. I think it was. Cause like, we basically done the first loop and like, we couldn't really look at anything.

[01:16:41] And then we saw, I, I look up and I just see this poster and it's Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc. And I was just like, a Formula fucking one. I was like, Alex, I pointed out cause Alex is an F1 fan now. So, and our mother's a big F1 fan. So I looked over and I just went, Alex, Formula One. And you were like, where? You, you saw it and you just like, we have to just see.

[01:17:08] And then we get up close and they have all of these like key chains and little cars and stuff. I'm like, like, they're just selling straight up Formula 1 merch. Let's look. So we get there and I, we ended up buying these. We ended up buying two key chains for our mother. Yes. For her. Of Lewis Hamilton. Yeah. Because she loves Lewis Hamilton. And there was, we, we each bought her one. That was really nice. Yeah. And then I also bought both the McLaren drivers.

[01:17:38] Yes. Which was nice. And then Alex bought. And I got mine. They didn't have like a little cart, like a little Kawaii Fernando Alonso, but they did have the Aston Martin. So at least I got the Aston Martin car. You were bummed though. Cause you, then as you were leaving, you noticed they had Ollie and you were like, oh, I wanted Ollie. Yeah. But that's okay. Next time or Etsy. Yes. Well, I'll talk about that on our train right back. Uh, but then after that, what do we get after?

[01:18:08] So I, I was really not looking for anything in particular. Um, I found this one other booth that had these really nice, like wooden key chains, like wooden, like wood art. Like that was really cool. They were really tiny, but they were, they were neat. I got a Byleth from Fire Emblem and a, uh, what's her name? A velvet from a Tales of Berseria, which were really fun. They were little pixel art things.

[01:18:35] I also saw it was a, this guy was selling these big, like, you know, the, the beads, like the, the, the, the iron beads. A pearler beads. Pearler beads. Um, they were, he was selling these pearler beads of different characters, like in like pixel art style. And he had persona ones and he had a Yukiko. So I had to buy the, yes. Um, the best part about that guy was he, um, they were like 60 bucks a piece, which, you know, fair. A lot of work goes into that.

[01:19:01] But like, he was like, I was going to buy it regardless, but he was like straight up, like justifying the price. And he was like, he was like videos of him running it over with this car. He had, yeah, he was like, they're indestructible. I guarantee. He has videos of him, like beating him with a hammer, like running him over. I'm like, buddy, you don't even have to sell me. I want the Yukiko thing regardless, but that's fucking fun. Um, like that was, I mean, there wasn't really any that I really wanted, but I can appreciate it.

[01:19:29] He had a lot of interesting gaming stuff. Like it was like one of those gaming booths just in the middle of the anime. He did have some one piece stuff. Hmm. It was good. They were just, if they weren't so expensive, I probably would've bought another one, but I bought the Yukiko. I was like, yes, I need, I need. She's the best girl. She's best girl. Um, I think other than that, did you buy anything else from there? From art gallery? Yeah.

[01:19:57] So I got, there was the booth that had a bunch of one piece stuff. So I got this really pretty, um, thousand sunny enamel pin. Um, which was super pretty. It's on my work backpack. Uh, and then they also had t-shirts that had, um, the, um, Ace, Sabo and Luffy, but as little, all the different versions of Pikachu. So it was, uh, Luffy was a Pichu. Saba was Pikachu.

[01:20:26] And then Ace was Vraichu. Um, and it was just super cute. So I, I ended up getting that cause it was nice. Um, it was, um, embroidered with that design, which was really nice. And I think that's all I got from there. And then I don't, I think that's all I really ended up getting. I, I don't think I really, cause I think we just were like, well, I bought one other piece of art. I bought, um, I found, I bought the one artwork piece because it was, um, it was a case of.

[01:20:57] So I generally, I'm not really a big art guy anymore. Cause I have, you can see in the back, I have too much fucking art. Like I'm running out of places to hang it. Um, I found a booth that had this really nice print of, um, uh, Sawako from Kimi Nita Doki. And you just don't see Kimi Nita Doki art a lot. Oh, that was really nice. You know what the funniest part of that art is though? What? I looked at it now and I just realized it. Um, so it's, it's a bunch of different variants of her.

[01:21:25] Like they did like the, her, her like weird, like chibi fit thing that they do. Um, some of her more iconic faces, like her different looks. One of them is just her. She's given, um, mob, a mob psycho for some reason. Why not? Well, because the other print I got was a bunch of, um, well-known like females from like anime, like Komi's there and a bunch of stuff. Can you hear? A little. Um. He's perfect.

[01:21:53] But, um, the ghost guy from mob psycho was also there and then mob was once again. So I think the, I think the artist was just a mob psycho fan, which is perfectly fine. I just thought it was really funny that I'm like, I was looking at like, why is mob here? Yeah. That's funny. I finished season one. So I did that. She had cool art. She did. No, I really liked, she was really nice. Like I liked her art. That's why I bought, cause I bought the one and I was like, I'm going to buy two. I just want to support her. Cause, uh, a, she, she made Kimi Nita Doki art, which just isn't common.

[01:22:21] And I, I, I, I, did you buy any Kagome merch? There wasn't really any. Yeah. I didn't see any. Makes sense. Oh, Bubby heard that. Bubby heard and he's like, I like Kagome. Alec, we have a podcast on record of you saying she's a great character. So let's not even do this. She is. No, you can't leave me. Um. He can't. He's like purring, but he's actively trying to escape her. Fine. Fine. Fine.

[01:22:51] I don't know what you want. Careful. You good? Yeah. We, we did that though. And then we, and then we, uh, we, we basically had enough by that point. Yeah. I don't think I ended up getting anything else. Um, yeah, I don't think I did. I think that's all I got. It was. We did see the inflatable Pikachu again and we were like, oh yeah. We did. He was very cursed. And also in the back of the artist alley, they had the whole back was all tattoo booths. That was interesting. I wouldn't get a tattoo at a convention.

[01:23:21] That's just, that seems like a, a, a, a, a disaster. I also just, I mean, I get it. Like, cause some people like, I also just, I don't know. We're both in the same point of like, I can't justify getting something. The only thing I could justify is like a memorial to Tilly. But like, other than that, there's nothing else that I'm like, I would want. Yeah. Also, I just, getting a tattoo at a convention, that just seems risky. Yeah. To me, I'm sure they're very qualified though. I don't want to.

[01:23:51] I'm sure they are, but there's so many. It's not even the, it's not even the tattoo artists themselves. It's just the environment. Yeah. There are some gross, I don't want to be mean, but there are some gross fucking people at conventions. No, we smelt some bad stink in the artist alley for sure. Yeah. Um, there, people, I hate you mean. There's a reason people joke about deodorant. There's a reason why I display it proudly on my bag every time I go. People need it.

[01:24:18] Cause some people, they, this is the one time they leave their house a year and it shows. It shows. Huh, Jinx. You owe me a Sprite. Cause I'm not really a Coke fan. Yeah. Where's my Sprite? Next time we get food. But yeah, we proceeded to go back and going back was fun. The train ride. Hmm.

[01:24:46] We, that was a, there was a baseball game, I guess going on at the same time. So we got, when we did finally get on our train, um, it was very full. I almost got closed. The door closed on me and it was, I was like, I was like, I was like, that's great. Um, he almost fell down. Well, yeah, because I, I'd been, I was getting my foot out of the door because it closed on my foot. And I was like, great. Um, and then as I got it out, the fucking train started moving.

[01:25:16] I was like, oh shit. Yeah. Um, we get on and, uh, it's packed cause there's a baseball game going on as well. And a bunch of people coming to the convention. Yes. So we get on the train as a bunch of people are coming off and my God, there was some fucking haters on that train. Oh yeah. Um, cause they were just talking shit about anime fans. It's all like Christ. Whatever makes you feel better guys.

[01:25:43] I'm sure your, your entire personality is fucking baseball. That's fine. That's the thing. Like whenever I see people shit talking, one people's thing, I'm like, yeah, I'm sure your fat is just as cool buddy. Um, granted though, I'm sure that one cosplayer was not being the most, uh, helpful to them. Yeah. Cause there was a, there was a Bowsette cosplayer and, uh, I'm pretty sure the one guy was bitching that the thing was in his face the entire time. I'm pretty sure that probably happened.

[01:26:13] Um, yeah. So it might've been a little justified, but yeah, I'm like, don't, don't get on your high horse. Like I'm sure your hobbies just as cringe. Yeah. So that was funny though. Cause that train was falling apart. Yeah. Yeah. Like the thingy, like the panel above the doorway was just hanging off on one of the sides. Yeah. It was just straight up falling apart. Uh, we did eventually get. Boston. Yeah. We eventually got seats though. And, uh, then we just chilled the rest of the way home.

[01:26:42] And then that's when I was like, hmm, they sell F1 merch at conventions. So do they sell it on Etsy? And that's when I found, I found such great hits hits as a Max Verquacken. Yeah. The duck variant. Max Verstappen as a duck. And then, uh, what was it? It was Oscar. Oscar. Oscar. There was an Oscar in Orlando one. I think it was McQuacken, uh, instead. Yeah.

[01:27:11] And they had a couple, but I was like, I want Alonzo merch. And then I ended up finding this t-shirt of Alonzo doing his dance. Uh, victory celebration. Yeah. And then I, I sent it to our mom and then to like show her, Hey, they have Etsy stuff. And then she, she bought it for me, which was very nice of her, but she did not have to do that, mom. You didn't have to. Um, but then I also sent her some cute Ferrari things cause the Ferrari store is lacking in cute items.

[01:27:39] Uh, and mom deserves cute Ferrari merch for Lewis Hamilton. Um, she has to be a Tifosi fan as long as he's there. So. Yes. Um, yeah. And then we got home. Oh, I did find that Lewis Hamilton sticker. Yeah. Which was him as a ham. Yeah. I saw that. Um, uh, then we got home. Uh, Alex drove. It was very nice of her. Um, you're welcome. And we got back the place.

[01:28:08] I took care of, we, we, we kind of chilled for a bit on unwound. And then we got Jersey Mike subs and, uh, yeah, that place. I love those subs, but my God, that place is a shit show every time we go. Yeah. So we're going to go to a different deli next time we want the same image. Yeah. Um, yeah. And that was, that was about it. Uh, yeah. Anime Boston. Good, good con. Yeah. It was a pretty good con. It was better than 20. It was better than 2020.

[01:28:38] That's all I know. But that also still bothers me because like, it was bad then. And like, I still think like the safety. Oh, I, I didn't mean the safety. Unacceptable. I meant the con itself was better. Yeah. It was definitely better in terms of that, but honestly, 2020, 2020 safety wise actually felt safer because at least they were, they weren't doing a good job. They were just trying to check people. Yeah. This one, they just have, I don't, I will say, I don't know how those things work. They might be really good. I don't know.

[01:29:08] Oh, the metal detector. The, the modern ones. I'm not even like, I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about the fact that if there was an emergency. Oh yeah. Well, yeah. With how packed the artist alley was, if there was emergency and people had to get out of the building, people were going to get hurt. And that's never good. That's unfortunately a con problem that needs, that's, that's not even an anime boss exclusive.

[01:29:28] Well, no, but like at, at Kineticon, I think yes, people still could, but I think there's a, it's set up a lot better where the likelihood would not happen. But it's also how the artist alley was set up. People would be trapped in there. Yeah. It's also granted though. It is a much better convention center. The one in Connecticut. Yeah.

[01:29:55] The one in Boston is like, I wonder if there's bigger, but more cramped. That's the problem. The thing is, is like, it is bigger, but the spaces, the building itself is bigger, but the spaces for actual event stuff are not as big. I think though, it's going to get to the point where they have outgrown that space and they're going to have to move to a bigger convention center in Boston. Or they're going to just start limiting people. Yeah.

[01:30:21] But I, it's probably because like they get locked into a certain year contract. Yeah. It also might be all they can afford. Yeah. That too. I mean, that's a fancy convention. Like, because Bill, that's where worlds was. I know. For Irish fans. It's a nice convention center. It's just, I, I think though, I think anime Boston's outgrowing it. Yeah. They really need to go to the one where Comic-Con used to be. Yeah. I'm not sure. I'm not sure if it's still there. It could be. I haven't been in years, but.

[01:30:51] Well, I think that's where PAX is. Actually. Yeah. Probably. Honestly. Yeah. I believe that's the convention center PAX uses, which is much bigger. Yeah. The event halls are massive. Yeah. But I feel like that's the point where anime Boston is getting where they are going to need a space like that. Yeah. If they want to keep having as many people as they're having, because even like the hallways were crowded. They were like when we were.

[01:31:19] That's, that's partially though. Also just because people are people. No, but like, it was also like, I don't think there was enough space for people. No, there were also, there was like no good, like layouts or maps of showing where, like we didn't get a map. We usually have maps to like lay stuff out. Um, I don't think people knew where shit was because there was like the chill hangout areas. And I saw, we walked past two of them and they were both empty. Cause I don't think anyone knew where they were.

[01:31:54] Yeah. I do think though. Uh, that's about it for anime Boston. I think we want to do try packs, but I want to do packs at least once. I don't know if I'll go multiple times, but I want to try it at least once. I think like I'll do kinetic con, but like in a couple of years, like I want to give it some time. Let's let's take a break from kinetic on for a bit. Um, retro world is obviously still our go-to like that. I'm excited for terrific con terrific.

[01:32:22] I'm very curious about terrific. And then I still would like to do too many games at some point at some point. We just got to plan that one. Yes. Cause obviously these two would need to go to the happy cat hotel. Yep. Or mom comes up and watches and babysit. But, um, yeah. So once again, guys, thank you for joining us on the gaming and collecting podcast.

[01:32:47] You can find the gaming collecting podcast and all the major podcasting platforms and be sure to check us out on the super network. Awesome site with a whole bunch of different podcasts, videos, and blogs. But anyways, guys, once again, thank you for joining us and we will see you all later. Bill tell Bubby that you love him. I love Mr. Bubba. Oscar the Grouch. No, it's not a grouch. I got to wash my hands.

[01:33:17] I got to wash my hands. I was trying to bend his butt and I think I touched the butthole. I got to go. I got to go. And with that, we will see you all later.