LightCon 2020 – Reflections

Hey folks. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think we can all agree on the strangeness of the past several months. I’ve given myself a lot of grace lately regarding my depression, accepting that unless I’m really, truly upset about something, it primarily manifests as lack of motivation. I’ve had a really frustrating underlying desire to watch a lot of anime that’s been buried beneath an inability to actually click on any streaming services or grab any discs off the shelf. If that sounds maddening to you, well, welcome to the fun that is mental illness – it’s the endless push-and-pull between what you want to do and your inability to do anything about it.

One thing that usually motivates me is the responsibility I have toward multiple anime conventions throughout the year. Having the looming date of an event on the horizon is usually what prompts me to finish up anime that I’ve been watching and to organize my thoughts into something coherent. 2020 has become the year without deadlines; a mass of unmarked time with no big events to serve as signposts in the fog.

As this situation has continued for a longer period of time than anyone could have imagined back in March, there have thankfully been some organizations willing to pull the trigger on modified events. Big conventions like Otakon and Anime Expo have hosted online events, generally free to attend, during their convention weekends. Games Done Quick, which typically has online viewing numbers that vastly outnumber the in-person attendees, has had no issue going fully virtual. And CONvergence is hosting a few (actually, a pretty substantial number of) panels and musical events this weekend, when the convention would have taken place. That said, I didn’t sign up to present at any of these for various reasons. But I did get the opportunity to flex my online panelist muscles a couple of weeks ago at the inaugural incarnation of LightCon – a fully-online fandom convention that a few friends of mine were involved in creating.

For this event I put together a little AMV showing (comprised of AMV’s I enjoyed and thought were fun – no one actually formally submitted them to me or anything), as well as a panel of underrated or forgotten anime that my husband and I have enjoyed in the past. It was stuff I could put together in my free hours with little turn-around time and things about which I could talk about with relative ease. I didn’t think that I missed public speaking that much, but once I started talking about anime I began to realize how big a part those types of activities play in my sense of well-being. It was really special to get the opportunity to just be enthusiastic about something, because even that’s been a real luxury for in these times of Covid-19.

The convention was wholly presented over Discord, which has allowed (for the time being, at least) the ability to stream video/visuals to 50 audience members in a voice chat channel. Because the anime club to which I belong has switched to meetings over Discord until such a time as it’s safe to meet in person again, this was a comfortable fit for me. I suspect if it gets any bigger, though, the panels will have to be switched over to some other platform for next time.

I had a really fun time; mostly it was another chance to virtually hang out with several friends and enjoy each-other’s company for a Saturday. If you’re interested in learning more about LightCon, you can check out their website for info on the things that took place this year, and for any updates about next year’s convention.

If you’re interested in the panels/events, below is some information that should help you out:

AMV Show – All the AMVs happened to be up on YouTube, so I put together a playlist. I chose AMVs from various eras, most of which managed to cultivate an upbeat mood. Some of the AMVs contain spoilers.

The Best Anime You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard of – This was just an excuse to talk about a bunch of anime series that we really like. I’m sure most of these will be familiar to readers here, but perhaps there are a few that will be new to you!

Hold On To Your Smuts! – Our friend Dekarrin provides some wisdom about writing R-18 rated fan fiction (or just fiction in general). Great advice, but the content is NSFW so be sure you’re watching this away from any wandering eyes/ears!

I hope these help to fill the gap for those of you missing the fun of attending conventions in person. I know that it gave me a little happiness boost!