Do you guys ever feel this emptiness/longing/boredom after a convention? It always happens to me a day or two after a good con experience. I've felt this way after Fanime and Anime Expo this year. :/ If so, what do you guys do to shake off those blues?

I feel it most times. Cons are so great, because it's like our own little world. Returning from a world where everyone understands you can be hard. All I can really do to remove the post-con depression is to wait it out, to be honest. Just be nerdy and attempt to return to your daily life.

I always feel this after conventions. Most of my friends aren't really into anime, and the ones that are either aren't into as many things as I am (So our conversations are stuff are painfully limited) or I never see them. Cons are the only place where I can hang around my fellow otaku and gasm over characters and manga and VA's and stuff without getting a "o_O" face from anyone.

It also alleviates my Social Anxiety Disorder and I feel perfectly comfortable talking to people and goofing around without fear of being judged or embarrassed. Something about being surrounded by my own kind is just so amazingly relaxing and stuff; I don't get that feeling anywhere else, so when the con ends and life makes a reappearance, I get really down.

If your school has an anime club, why don't you join that? I made some good friends that way while I was in college.

But yeah, I understand where you're coming from; a lot of my good friends grew out of anime. Most of the ones that still like anime are friends I only run into conventions. Cons like Anime Expo often feel like mini reunions of sorts to me more than anything these days. That's the main draw for me. The other draw is yeah, being able to openly flaunt your geekiness around other geeks....had a fun time watching the Gurren Lagaan movie in room full of raucous fans.

Yes, it's normal, I think. I always feel a bit sad when a con is over and done with. Sort of an escape from my real life and gives me the excuse to be care free and irresponsible.

I may be the odd man out, But I have only went to one con, but I didnt really enjoy it, The panels and activities were great, as was all the stuff to look at and or buy, But I felt sorta out of place, As if I was TO into anime. I watch anime pretty much constantly, And I got really tired of all the popular filler crap, and no one seems to like the unpopular stuff. And as such I felt awkward and out place if I brought up some odd seires that no one has even heard of much less cares about.

James, it all depends on who you go with. I barely pay attention to the panels and activities. I usually wander around during the day making friends or visiting friends then I get trashed at night and start harassing random people and hitting on random strangers(men and women).

A con is only fun if you make it fun. You gotta bring the fun, the con is just a place for you to unleash it :)

Yeah, same deal for me. I didn't really go to any panels (except the Aksys) one or events aside from the masquerade, but I had a neat time hanging out with old friends and making new ones.

This my Dilemma in real life, I am a naturally shy person, and have problems starting conversations with normal people. And it turns out people at cons are just normal people, I thought they might be more understand or more likely to speak to me, but in reality its just like high school except the cliques involve animes rather then other things. And yes its true, I have to make the fun, Problem is, Im a sheep not a sheperd.

when i go to cons, i go to a few panles but just for a few min
i watch some anime
but mostly i just go around and talk to people
what con did you go to because no one was normal lol, we were all like one family, even though we didnt know everyone lol

One one hand, it can be hard to talk to people and, if they don't know what you like, it can be even harder to find a common point. However, I find that the liklihood that someone will know what I'm talking about or at least want to talk back much higher at a con. I don't go and make a bajillion friends or anything, but I'm FAR less likely to be weirded out talking to someone.

I also do usually travel with at least one friend during the con. We split up to do things, but spend a lot of time together too. That helps me. Sometimes, I want to have that guaranteed company, and sometimes, I want to meet new people or just wander around alone without answering to someone as to what's going to happen next.

Another way to get to know people is to volunteer. Many cons need help from people at the con, without any prior sign up. Volunteering lets you get to meet some of the staff, spend time with the other two people at a coat check, and see a side of the con that some people don't fully appreciate. Plus, it's a decent time killer between panels that often has incentives attached to it. Just another thing to do at a con and try out.

Also, leading right up to the con the con's web site forums are usually crawling with people. Swinging by six to three weeks in advance and just posting things you like and whatever else in related topics could lead to a meetup without the anxiety of "will they even know what I'm talking about?"

This is more of a stream of consciousness post, but that's what you all get! :P

I was like you once. Eventually, I just forced myself to say hi to anyone and everyone I could until I could get over my anxiety of meeting new people. Great conversation opener is complimenting someone on their cosplay. Cosplayers love to talk about their costume. Just keep asking them questions about it.

"Wow, I really like that Vocaloid costume."

"Thanks"

"Did you make it yourself?"

"Yes"

"Fucking sweet. How did you get those LED's to work."

etc.

If you can share your fascination of someone with that person, they'll start to become fascinated by you. Friendship/new girlfriend making 101 :) It's how I found a girlfriend at a con... that bitch broke my heart... but that's not the point! When you're at a con, just pretend you're a kid. Just start blurting out shit that you are always too afraid to say and just tell yourself, "I will most likely never see these people again, or at least for another year and they'll forget about me." Get over your fears and makes some friends :)

If you're a sheep, become a black sheep. Sheep tend to gather around for safety purposes. The black sheep gets hotter than white sheep so it tends to break into the group and push around making a ruckus preventing the rest of the sheep from dying of overheating. Be the black sheep and use your difference to stir things up!

I wish I could, but it only had one anime club and it disbanded after the first year (When I was still a senior in high school). I'm a lot like James; I have a really hard time meeting new people because I'm realy shy and awkward and generally anxious. >__< If the club was still around or got restarted, I'd join in a heartbeat because it seems a lot easier than actually going out and trying to find felow otaku.

I had two friends from other schools that had the same problem, so they just went to our club meetings. Don't know if that's an option for you, though.

But yeah, it never hurts to approach someone and say hi. Like Jinsu said, even if things don't go well, odds are you probably won't see them again. Random conversations are fun. :)

Staffing at a con is a great way to make friends, too.

N: Yes, I hate how depressing things can be after a con. For me I get so excited before the con and have a blast during that when its over I feel like there is nothing else to do.

I'm pretty shy and closed off when not at conventions. The best feeling is when your at a convention because pretty much everyone shares the same interest and most of the people I run into are very nice.

Its awesome but after the convention when the blues set in I just resort to looking through pictures taken. Make a short video for my friends and a separate video for all the cosplayers we took pictures of. That really helps and sharing stories and memories, then start planning ahead for next year ^^

For a sec I thought this thread was about that form of grief pertaining to not jumping in on a really good deal at a vendor's booth or not taking nearly enough photos, but I do agree entirely about being able to be "myself" in a sea of like-minded individuals; that's always one of the nice things about conventions.

As for coping with loneliness or boredom, there's always the internet~

all cons have there boring moments

I've never really felt like this since most of my friends that I hang out at conventions are ones that live fairly close to me. That and I'm usually too tired after a con to want to really be around people.

I also tell you, after running your own convention, it's fun as hell to work with everyone the weeks leading up and the day off but it's also nice to have a break after all is said and done.

Now two months AFTER running a con, yes, then I'm one to start comping at the bit to start preparations for the next year and have to force myself to settle down. >.<