Ai-Kon 2024

July 12-14, 2024

RBC Convention Centre, Winnipeg, MB

Programming > Events and Panels

Click here to view the Ai-Kon 2024 schedule!

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PANELS:

2004: I Can’t Believe It’s That Old!

Host: Mic

I can’t believe these anime are that old! Join us as we celebrate the 20 year anniversary of some fantastic and influential anime.

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A Short Guide to the Nasuverse

Host: Jonathan

Have you ever been interested in Fate or other Type-Moon properties? Then come watch someone “very” qualified explain how they all connect and where to start enjoying the Nasuverse!

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Ai-Kon Drag Extravaganza: Act 2! (14A)

Host: Ruby Chopstix

Right after the Lip Sync Duels, come party and celebrate Ai-Kon’s Drag Extravaganza: Act 2! Featuring your main host – Ruby Chopstix – and your main cast: Contessa Lestrange, Dirt, Hellen Bedd D’Sloot, Jolean Groundbeef, and Kymera. It’ll be a show featuring Drag Artistry and pure excellence. Don’t forget to bring cash and tip your queens!

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Ai-Kon Presents: The AMV Contest

Host: Ai-Kon

Ai-Kon’s AMV Contest returns for 2024 Main Events! With Y2K being Ai-Kon’s theme this year, we couldn’t think of a better time to bring this back to Ai-Kon’s programming! Join us Sunday & enjoy our top AMV submissions reviewed voted on by Ai-Kon’s Staff ~

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Ai-Kon Presents: The Fashion Show

Host: Ai-Kon

Ai-Kon’s Fashion Show returns to Ai-Kon Main Stage Sunday 2024! Come watch our wonderful models strut their stuff on the runway! We have categories from historically enriched Kimono’s to unique Lolita frills and modern Japanese street styles inspired by your favorite animes and idols! Come cheer on your friends, your favorite looks and enjoy the show with a special opening performance from Galax-E!

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Anime Name That Tune

Host: ChandyRan

It’s that time of year again! Come and test your anison knowledge! Name That Tune will consist of two rounds of four contestants.

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Anime Song Sing Along: The “I Missed Last Year so Let’s Make Up For It This Year” Edition!™

Host: Rosey

We all love singing along to our favorite songs, and anime is no different! From “I wanna be the very best!” to “Sasageyo, Sasageyo! Shinzou wo Sasageyo!”, come sing with your fellow fans and let your voice be heard!

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Argumentative: On the Spot Debates

Host: Rewritten Red

The answers to anime’s biggest questions! Who is the best protagonist? Who is the biggest simp? Whose death was the most deserved? You pick the topic, and five total losers argue about it with no time to prepare! What’s not to love?

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Aria Zero’s Superstar! A Nerdy Drag Show (14A)
Host: Aria Zero and Ruby Chopstix

The iconic nerdy drag show that started at Ai-Kon: Aria Zero’s Superstar! Hosted by Aria Zero and Ruby Chopstix, and featuring a star studded cast of Miss Assuma Gender, Peachy Keen,Traycee, Special K, and Yellow Belle. Do you think you can out nerd your local performers? Don’t forget to bring cash to tip your queens!

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Asian Horror Movies (14A)

Host: ChandyRan & Toukimeiki

Asian horror is scary, we all know that. Come and take a look at some cursed video tapes and see some of the best horror movies around!

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Battle of the Generations – Random Dance Play

Host: illicit dance crew

Get ready for a panel made for each generation of K-Pop! From 1996 to the current day, songs from each era of the genre will play at random. Reminisce on your days as a baby stan, jam out to iconic K-Pop bangers and have fun dancing!

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Beginner Bobbins: Sewing 101

Host: Solhund Cosplay

Want to start sewing your own cosplay, clothing or plushie but not sure where to start? This panel will cover the basic tools and techniques for hand or machine sewing.

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Best Soundtracks of 2023

Host: Kirigen

Come listen and discover some of the best and most interesting soundtracks from last year!

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Crash Course in Competitive Cosplay

Host: Demios

A brief and wild introduction to the world of competitive cosplay, from a beginner for beginners. Learn what to expect as someone new to competing in cosplay and where you can get started yourself!

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Crochet Club

Host: Nagi

Come one, come all, and bring your WIPs for a chance to chill and chat. Beginners welcome with basic supplies available for those who want to try it out.

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Fighting Evil by Stagelight: A Syllabus & Ranking of Sailor Moon Musicals

Host: The Skeleton Crew

One of the lesser-recognized Sailor Moon adaptations are the live musical stage productions (SeraMyu), despite being in continued production since the early 90’s! We’d love the chance to sell you on these unique portrayals of the Sailor Senshi.

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Folding Flowers

Host: Solhund Cosplay

Drop by to fold your very own origami such as lily, rose, crane, cat or other treat to take home. Paper provided.

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Gameboy Music School: 2000s Edition

Host: Mo Keachie aka scatterpattern

Anyone that attended Gameboy Music School last year knows we had a lot of fun. Using a laptop and a Gameboy emulator we will cover the creation of a chiptune song with the program Nanoloop 2.

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Getting Into Gundam

Host: Nick

The Gundam franchise is massive; spanning anime, video games, model kits, and more. Where do you even start? Join Nick for a look over the franchise’s history and to get an idea of how to find a good entry point.

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Getting Involved with Ai-Kon

Host: Benson

Interested in volunteering or taking the leap to be a part of our committee? Find out more about how Ai-Kon works behind the scenes, and how you can help! We’ll also be taking down your feedback to try to make each year better than the last!

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Getting Started in Artist’s Alley

Host: Lor, aka Canephora Crafts

Wanting to sell your art and don’t know where to start? A panel of artists, both highly experienced as well as fresh-faced, are here to answer your questions and give you the 101 on getting started in Artist’s Alley!

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Hanafuda (Japanese Cards) – Learn How to Play Koi-Koi

Host: Paige & Mic

Hanafuda are traditional Japanese playing cards. This panel will teach basic knowledge of hanafuda cards and the popular 2 player game of Koi-Koi. A game of collecting cards and points. Cards will be provided, so “come on” and have some fun!

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How to Start a (Dance Dance) Revolution

Host: Lirodon

For over 25 years, Dance Dance Revolution has been an iconic fixture of arcades worldwide. Join us for a retrospective on its history, and its impact on gaming, music, and anime culture.

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Hyakunin-Isshu Karuta: Japan’s Fast-Paced Poetry Card Game

Host: Dan Allardyce

Poetry is not the first thing you think of when you “card game” or “lightning reflexes”, but it’s true! Come learn about the occasionally frenetic and fascinating world of Hyakunin-Isshu Karuta, and maybe give it shot!

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Ikebana Basic Intro

Host: Zumami Floral

Create an Ikebana floral arrangement with Zumami!

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Is It Masculine to Watch Anime?

Host: The Skeleton Crew

We’ll explore what it means to be masculine (using anime), address the online discourse, search for an escape, & try to answer: what is a masculinity?

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J-Pop Random Dance Panel

Host: urAiDolls

Are you a fan of Japanese pop music? Let’s dance together to our favourite hits from Japan! Dance along if you know the choreography, follow along with the host if you don’t, or just enjoy the good vibes with some great music!

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K-Bops Dance Cypher

Host: Prism Dance Crew

K-Bops is a Freestyle Cypher where anyone is welcome to dance and is set like a street style cypher. Call outs and all other cypher culture is encouraged! A freestyle dance cypher: an open circle is created, and people take turns dancing in the centre.

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K-POP RANDOM DANCE PLAY (W/ TEMPO Dance Crew)

Host: TEMPO Dance Crew

TEMPO Dance Crew is back hoping to bring another fun and exciting Random Dance Play for everyone to enjoy!

If you love K-POP and Dance, then make sure to come join the fun and dance to fan favorite KPOP Songs!

(The Event will be Filmed/Recorded!)

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Kpop: Dance Remix

Host: Jasmin Chong

Come and learn choreography from a popular KPOP song! But you’ll ALSO learn how to break it down, make it your own and dance to music you’ve never heard before. So you’ll never have to stop dancing because “you don’t know what to do next”. Open Level

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Lip Sync Duels! (14A)

Host: Justin Ladia

Two otakus will stand before you… this is their last chance to impress and save themselves from elimination. The time has come, for them to lip sync for their life… to your favourite anime and J-pop songs! Who will slay and who will sashay?

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Lolita 101

Host: Victoria and Jamila

An introduction to Lolita fashion. The where to buy, how to coordinate, and demystify Lolita lingo!

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Lolita Meet & Greet

Host: Victoria and Jamila

A space for Lolitas and those intersted to come together to meet and chat!

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Omori and Why It’s Awesome

Host: Karma Flamand & Lavender Dobson

Do you like Omori? Cool! Lets… do a deep dive or something!

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One Piece Jeopardy

Host: Sabrie

Welcome to One Piece Jeopardy! Do you have the knowledge needed to win pirate treasure? Come down and find out!

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ONE SHOT JANKEN TOURNAMENT

Host: Justin Ladia

“Jan! Ken! Pon!” Compete for glory and prizes in this one-shot bracket-style Rock Paper Scissors Tournament! Not playing? Bet on the winner in this high-stakes game of janken! Who’s going to come out on top?

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Peg City Power Rangers: Henshin!

Host: Peg City Power Rangers

Peg City Power Rangers brings the homage of Super Sentai with live martial arts performance.

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Pokémon and How to Eat Them: Second Course

Host: Pokémon Food Family

Join us in the wonderful world of pokemon! As well as where to find, prepare and eat them! We’ll be discussing delicacies such as Stewed Mareep and the more common Miltank Steak! Sequel to panel of the same name.

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Pokémon Spelling Beedrill

Host: VAKD (The “D” is Silent)

You’ve caught and trained all kinds of Pokémon, but can you spell their English names correctly? Let’s find out how closely you read the Pokédex entries!

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Punch Party Live

Host: Punch Party

Come relax and enjoy listening to band performances of some good ol’ jpop/jrock/anime songs. Punch Party live will do our best to make you possibly feel joy, excited, nostalgic, and fun through our music covers.

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Re:Kanvas – Live Geeky Acoustics

Host: Re:Kanvas

An acoustic duo performing songs from anime, games and the like! (Neir Automata, Kingdom Hearts, ect!)

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Recent World of Sports Anime/Manga 2!!

Host: Jordan Kirby

This panel will take a look at sports anime and manga that have been released since the first time I did this panel (2019). There have been lots of fun,weird, bad, and really cool stuff to talk about. Come by and see if you can discover a new fave!

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State of the V-Tuber Union

Host: The Skeleton Crew

A look at the state of the v-tubing industry (primarily Hololive) post the industry’s monumental popularity boom in 2020.

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Studio Spotlight: BONES

Host: Paige & Mic

Go behind the scenes at one of Japan’s top animation studios. Discover how your favourite anime came to be or add a new series to your watchlist! We’ll spotlight adaptations and notable originals to show why BONES has earned a place in anime history.

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Terrible Video Games 4: The Gritty Reboot No One Wanted

Host: Mitchell Wallace

Join me through a journey of the worst video games have to offer! A showcase of awful gameplay, graphics, voice acting and more!

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The Best Horror Manga (14A)

Host: ChandyRan and Jesse

Do you like to get scared? So do we. Come join us for a deep dive into the craziest, scariest, and most unsettling manga out there.

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The Weird World of Merchandise Collaborations

Host: Kirigen

Gucci made clothes of WHAT? Join us to learn about and explore some of the most unusual official merchandise collaborations out there!

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Tokusatsu Out of Context

Host: RoboRob

It’s already hard to take actors wearing tights seriously. Without context whatever they’re doing it’s a great laugh! Join me as I pick some choice clips without said context and break it down!

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Uma Musume: Run Horse Girl, Run!

Host: Jordan Kirby

Come learn about the massive multimedia franchise Uma Musume: a perfect blend of idols, sports and horses with weird names.

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Video Game Jeopardy

Host: Mitchell Wallace

A quiz show in the style of Jeopardy (I couldn’t afford the rights) all about video games!

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Villainess Support Group

Host: brandy mallory

Reborn as a doomed female side character? Crown prince break your engagement? Time looping? Imperialism in your way? Come learn all about the romance sub-genre of Villainess anime and print media. Save yourself from that twisted fate of beheadment!

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We Love a Meet-Cute! Great Romance Anime from the Past Three Years

Host: Dan Allardyce

Lovers of romance anime — be it drama, comedy or somewhere in between — have been feasting since 2021. Whether you’ve missed a few, are new to the genre or want to be validated, you’ll want see what great shows are available.

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We’re Still Your Parents (LGBTQIA2S+)

Host: The Skeleton Crew

Your beloved Queer Parents have been reborn in a world without queer weeb community. We need your help! Come share your interests & remind us what home is.

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What A Year! Great Seasonal Anime from the Past 12 Months

Host: Dan Allardyce

So much anime comes out every year and it can be so exhausting trying to find the good ones! Whether you can’t keep up, only want the greats or are just starting to get into watching seasonal anime, we’re here to help!

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Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad GWitch?

Host: The Skeleton Crew

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury made shockwaves around the world, and felt focus grouped to appeal to The Skeleton Crew specifically. Let’s gush about those cool robots!

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You, Me, and JRPGs – A Video Game Quiz

Host: Kyle Davidson

This video game quiz is a variety quiz with categories ranging from identifying locations, name that song, and general trivia. The quiz is anime/Japan themed, which focuses mostly on JRPGs, anime-styled games, and other Japan related or developed games.

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18+ PANELS:

Cringe Con(fessionals) (18+)
Host: Lor and Sid

Welcome to Cring Con – the “convention within a convention” where we celebrate all things Cringe, following the motto: I am Cringe, but I am Free.

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Gekiga: An Introduction to Underground Manga (18+)

Host: Mason C.

Behold, gekiga! Manga’s more mature, avant-garde cousin! Audiences are invited to explore the origins of gekiga, major figures of the movement, the seminal manga magazine Garo, and gekiga’s influence and obscurity.

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Hentai Bingo (18+)

Host: Jeff and Emily

Hentai Bingo is back, baby! We call numbers, you call naughty words, people will win naughty prizes! By popular demand, we will have two(!) sessions this year, so no one will be left out! Sponsored by Riverside, it’s bound to be a good time!

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Hentai Kahoot (18+)

Host: renachan

Everyone’s favorite learning game from high school, but you’ll wish you haven’t learned what we’re about to teach you. But if you already knew the answers to these questions… what’s wrong with you!? Brought back for a second time this year in 2024!

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How to Be an Ethical Degenerate (18+)

Host: The Skeleton Crew

TSC will discuss how best to enjoy hentai manga, anime, games, and other media without your crush calling you hentai.

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Uncle Jennah’s Story Time (18+)

Host: Bakajennah

Join Uncle Jennah in an interactive yaoi bedtime story! Get your kigurumi on and join us for mini games and win prizes! It’s a bedtime story you won’t forget, and we need your help to tell it!

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Unpopular Opinions (18+)

Host: Unpopular Opinions

Unpopular Opinions returns once again! Want to argue why Gundam SEED Destiny is good, actually? Why the worst girl is actually the best girl? The possibilities are endless! Come and get booed by a crowd. It rules!

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YouTube Hell (18+)

Host: The Sick Vid Council

Come and see an hour of the absolute worst (and some of the best) that the depths of YouTube has to offer! You will laugh, you will cry, you will cringe, and you will simply be amazed to see what our “favourite” video sharing site has to offer!