MomoCon Is More than Anime in Atlanta

By Nico Bauguss | May 31, 2024 | 9:13pm

Photo courtesy of MomoCon

Anime Features MomoCon

We are now a week out from MomoCon, and with another year behind us, and the excitement of the convention dying down, it’s time to look back at what is still our favorite Atlanta convention. The massive fan convention always kicks off summer in the ATL, drawing in lovers of animation, videogames, comics, anime, cosplay—and really anything that was once considered nerdy. I like to think of it as a convention for all fandoms. It prides itself on being family-friendly and making sure everyone feels welcome every year.

I spent much of this year’s MomoCon in the trading card games area, but the beauty of MomoCon is there is something for just about anyone—from the gaming room to wrestling shows, cosplay competitions, and panels, there was no shortage of things to do this year. Or you can just spend the day shopping in Artist Alley supporting your local creators (a totally valid way to spend your Friday)! We saw great turnouts for the TCG area this year. Beyond the Big Three card games of Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon, there was an incredible event for Disney’s Lorcana over the weekend, and One Piece continues to prove its popularity, threatening to make it a Big Four.

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Cosplayers were out in force as always this year. Some of the biggest fandoms for cosplay were, in no specific order, Frieren, Hazbin Hotel, Baulder’s Gate 3, One Piece and Delicious in Dungeon. We also saw another attempt at the record for the most Spider-men in one place , so lots and lots of Spider-People. Even with certain hiccups with some of the cosplay events, MomoCon has proven again it’s a great place to bring both new and old cosplays for a weekend of fun and photos. Also a quick shoutout to Sarah Spaceman. She ran two excellent panels over the weekend, along with a booth at the con. She was terrific and the highlight panel for us, go follow her.

There were some growing pains, though, with MomoCon’s biggest year yet. One of the main notes people seem to have was the layout. This year the dealer’s hall, the arcade, the gaming area, and the car show were laid out in such a way that you had to enter through the games and walk through everything else to get to the vendor’s hall, and then the artist ally. There has been positive and negative feedback. Some understandably didn’t love having to walk the distance to get to the dealer’s room while others have noted that it provided more space for everyone. I felt like it provided significantly more space in the aisles than I’m used to, but for those with mobility issues, it had to have been difficult.

But that’s a small quibble on what has become a fan favorite convention in Atlanta, and we’ll certainly return again next year.