When you go to a convention, what are some of your deciding factors? Do you go to a convention based on what special guests will be in attendance? Do you base it on what shows or games were popular at the time? Maybe, you go to the convention just to party and hang out with your friends. With pop culture or anime conventions, there can be a variety of reasons to attend them, however, with the cost of going to conventions increasing, many have had to pick and choose which they want to attend. Because of this, we take a look at Tekko 2024.

Tekko 2024 took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania between July 18th to July 21st. This year, Tekko welcomed Special Guests Chris Hackney, Jessica Cavello, David Vincent, Emi Lo, Ben Balmaceda, PAiDA, Smuckers, Landon McDonald, and Karen Strassman. Guests attending the convention could buy either a multi-day pass or a Sunday pass; Tekko is one of many conventions that do not sell multi-day passes.

Activities

Thursday

On Thursday, doors opened around 3 while panels started around 5 PM. While waiting for panels to start, guests could choose to check out the flea market or the game room; the game room featured a good variety of arcade games, a console gaming area, a VR Zone, a trading card game section, and a Mega Cat Studios booth. Due to delays, both halls and some of the panels started late. On the first night, guests could participate in Karaoke, Madlibs, Cards Against Humanity, LARP, or hang out in the Anime video room.

Friday

Friday was the first official full day of Tekko. The first full day had eight-panel rooms, multiple meet-ups, the main hall, two video rooms, two LARP rooms, two RPG rooms, and a bunch more activities. Panel three was where most of the game show-style panels were held.

Our Friday afternoon started at 1:30 PM with It’s Not a Phase. Afterward, we moved over to The ABCs of BDSM in Henti; the panel was a bit more tame than expected but still hit some of the milder kinks. After ABC, we moved over to Guess that Anime Intro but left after a few minutes due to hunger. After taking a lunch break, we walked around the dealer’s hall; this year’s dealers’ hall felt like it had more variety than in previous years.

After eating and checking out the dealer’s hall, we then decided to check out Pictionary Air-nime: Presented by Unlockable Content; the way the panelists used the technology to play the game was refreshing and the participants made it rather comedic. Up next was checking out Emo Karaoke for a short stint; some of the participants seemed to try while others tried to make it as bad as possible. We ended the night by checking out the EDM Dance.

Saturday

We started off Saturday strong with Roller Coasters of Japan; with a fun variety of rollercoasters and explanations of the different types throughout Japan, the panel was insightful while also fun. With Roller Coasters ending early, we stopped into Gengar’s Beach Episode but left early once we saw what it was. Since we were with friends, we went back down to the dealer hall to see what else was available and point our friends toward things they might want to buy.

After walking around the dealer’s hall for a bit, we decided to go to Um Actually hosted by Fuzion Games. Fuzion Games continues to keep its games fresh by providing new questions and updated trivia. After the trivia, half of our group went to get food from the cafeteria area while we went to check out Name That Blip! A VGM Gameshow.

After checking it out for a short amount of time, we decided to head over to Cards Against Human with Samurai Dan. During that time, we got the bad news that our one friend had collapsed on the roof and smacked her head when she fell; since we couldn’t do anything about it, we stayed for the rest of the panel but continued to check in on her.  With no response, we decided to head over to Anime Roulette presented by Unlockable Content; the panelist made it so that anyone could play and that multiple people would be able to play by setting a five-question limit.

By the end of Anime Roulette, we were done. The Dance Party was running behind so it didn’t feel worthwhile to wait in line to get in and see if it was any good.

Set-backs

Although the convention started on July 18th, there were not many activities for guests to participate in. Thursday’s events started late due to the previous guests renting the convention center and not removing all their stuff in a timely manner. Because of this, the flea market was delayed and even worse badge pick-up was delayed. On Thursday, some guests had to wait at least two hours to pick up their badge in the hot sun; thankfully, the convention center allowed the line to snake around the convention center in a semi-shaded area rather than fully out in the sun. Sadly, guests were not allowed to wait inside the building which was somewhat air-conditioned.

This year’s Tekko revolved primarily around a beach getaway with all of the badges being beach-themed. Additionally, this year’s Tekko had more of an all-ages theme with each night’s dances welcoming guests of any age to join in. Additionally, the Friday dance featured chairs close to the stage for guests to relax and chaperones to be able to watch without having to participate.

Sadly, our Saturday activities were cut short due to a member of our party being drugged. Now this wasn’t Tekko’s fault, instead, it was more on the David Lawerence Convention Center for preparing food and leaving it out with minimal supervision; even then, it was more on the person who did it rather than the convention center itself, however, they should not have left food out to be easily tampered with. Thankfully, Tekko staff was able to react quickly and get urgent medical help when she collapsed on the roof and hit her head. Because of this incident, we decided not to attend the final day of Tekko and decided to prioritize checking in on our friend.

Is it Worth it?

If you are a fan of anime and just need a getaway, then it is worth checking out Tekko. Just like any convention, always be skeptical about what people give you and it is better to get food outside of the convention vs inside at an increased price. Tekko’s theme was a fun one for the summertime convention, however, many convention guests didn’t create outfits to match the theme.

The late-night panels and activities, except 1, being open to all ages felt a bit awkward especially since there were some guests who were drunk or inebriated. With the city of Pittsburgh having a curfew for those under 17, having unaccompanied children at the convention felt uncomfortable especially when you could tell some were under the influence. Tekko staff dealt with those individuals and any other individuals who were too intoxicated in a polite but firm manner. 

If you plan on going for the three/four days then it is worth picking up a badge. If you are going for only a day, it would be better to split a badge with someone since they do not sell individual day passes.