Here is my review from my one day visit to Dokidokon.
Convention Type
Anime
When and Where
July 19-21 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Kalamazoo Center
Things to Do/See
Attend panels, cosplay, Artist Alley and vendor room, cosplay contest, gaming area with video games and tabletop games, video game tournaments, manga library, Swordsmanship Museum and Academy, photos and autographs with guests, Harp Twins and Volfgang Twins Concert, Maid Cafe, karaoke, EDM Dance Parties, and team events.
Guests
Voice Actors: Jenny Yokobori, Gareth West
Content Creator – Maisie Lynnie
Cosplay Guests – CERKL Creations, PinkOpal Cosplay, Rebels.Cosplay, MyuuMarie Cosplay,
Uzileks
Musical Guests – The Harp Twins and The Volfgang Twins
Photo Gallery
Click Here
Pros
Everything was held in one central location at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. Depending on your own personal speed limit, everything could be reached within 5 minutes.
Clear signage directing attendees to various destinations.
Very colorful program booklet was very informative with the who, what, and where of all the noteworthy events, panels, and guests.
Sturdy badges that were very durable and tear resistant. I didn’t have to worry about the badge separating from my lanyard by accident. On the back of the badge, hours of operation for the convention and rooms were listed. If you were interested, autograph schedules were listed, too.
Over 50 vendors/artists combined in the vendor room. You could purchase plushies, key chains, 3d printed items, posters, art, and other various items.
If attendees purchased the Dokidokon stein, they could obtain free root beer floats (once a day) at the LFG Gaming Bar which was a few blocks away from the hotel venue.
Outside of the panel rooms, there were visual/video displays featuring the schedule of the panels that were taking place in the room.
Dokidokon continued the trend of West Michigan anime cons featuring gaming as an important part of the event experience instead of an afterthought. The video game room featured console, arcade, rhythm gaming units, VR gaming and pc gaming. Video game tournaments were held throughout the weekend. The tabletop room was very impressive, as well. Game demos were available with volunteers ready to teach/play the games with attendees. And miniature painting was part of the room, too.
The Doki Audio Visual media team had a great setup in the main events room. Three video screens were present on the stage for the audience to utilize if someone’s head was in their way. The audio sounded great, too. I walked away very impressed with the media team set up.
Shoutout to the Emcee of the Cosplay Masquerade because they were very charismatic and funny. I felt that AJ did a wonderful job of entertaining the audience.
I’m glad that live music was included in the programming. Whether it was the Harp Twins/Volfgang Twins concert or the EDM Dance Parties, I appreciated that live music was used to enhance the overall attendee experience.
Team Events – Audio Description Below
Cons
While the program booklet contained an abundance of helpful information, the full schedule was available only online after you scanned a QR code or visited Dokidokon’s website. The printed program booklet did not include a grid based schedule or the descriptions for the other events that were not featured.
While there was an impressive amount of artists and vendors, the vendor room was not big enough for to comfortably accommodate everyone. There was limited space down certain aisles, even during low traffic times, due to uneven spacing between tables. I often found myself avoiding certain aisles due to how cramped the spacing was.
The respective lines for the cosplay masquerade and the Harp Twins concert blocked off elevators and hallway booths due to their lengths. Staff did their best to mitigate congestion and blockages however, it was difficult to navigate through.
I feel that Dokidokon is getting to the point of outgrowing the Radisson Plaza Hotel. If Dokidokon’s attendance levels keep trending upward, I can see a need for a bigger venue space in the oncoming years.
Do I recommend attending the event?
Absolutely. While I was there for one day out of the weekend, I had a great time. I hope it is not another 6 years in between my visits, like the last time.