Katsucon

Katsucon, a convention typically held in February, often falls on the same weekend as Valentine’s Day.

Because it’s a local convention held in National Harbor, I’ve made a habit of going for the past couple of years.

With the con approaching this weekend, many nerdy couples are planning on attending it together and celebrating their Valentine’s Day there. So should you do this?

The short answer is no.

Last year, I had the pleasure (if you want to call it that) of attending Katsucon with my boyfriend at the time. I, like I usually do, cosplayed as Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill, with my best friend matching me as Satsuki.

Throughout the con, I got separated from my boyfriend and pulled away for photo shoots, different panels we wanted to go to, etc. My boyfriend also got tired of walking around for so long, frequently taking breaks or going back to the hotel room.

“Julia, my feet are tired; I’m going back to the room with Kyle.”

“Alright, cool. I’m going to go to the game room, so just text me when you come back out.”

Maybe I should have gone back to spend time with him or I could have enjoyed playing Pop’n Music in the arcade game room — which I did.

We spent little time together because we were so busy doing our own things. Our different tastes kept us on opposite ends of the convention. While I wanted to go to a certain panel, he wanted to continue to roam the convention. It made the day much more stressful.

We also decided to just buy each other gifts at the convention, but they turned out pricey and it also ruined the fun of a surprise gift.

I felt bad I couldn’t give my boyfriend the attention he should have gotten because of my convention plans, but at the same time, what we each wanted to do clashed.

I mean, yeah, I looked really good in my cosplay with my friend, but my non-cosplaying boyfriend felt left out, and I feel bad about that. At the time, I didn’t really care, but looking back on it, it was probably no fun for him.

Unless you’re able to agree on a schedule, the convention will probably split most couples up for the day. You’d really both have to agree on panels you’d want to go to together and try to coordinate and compromise to really be at the con as a couple. The convention schedule is available through the Katsucon website.

If you’re both too interested in different things, I’d recommend dinner and a movie instead.