Print Review: Drama Con volumes 1-3 (complete)

Review Drama Con volumes 1-3 (complete)Written by WarpshadowRating good/ very good

Otaku is it’s own genre now and since that is the case Drama con is a pretty good entry into that genre.

Cristie had never gone to an anime convention before but is Yatta con to sell the manga she made with her boyfriend Derek. Cristie is way over her head with all the strangeness that happens at an anime convention and Derek isn’t helping at all. One especially interesting bit of strangeness is the sunglasses clad smart ass named Matt who Cristie finds strangely attractive even if he consonantly pisses her off.

The so called Otaku genre of manga and anime is growing and Dramacon is a part of that wave. One thing that makes this manga work is the story which doesn’t try to hang it’s hat on clever references and instead opts for a story about the general anime convention experience. Each of the three volumes chronicles the events that happen around Cristie in a given convention allowing for considerable character development especially in later volumes. If I had to make a judgment I would classify Drama Con as a shojo manga although I would say that it is one that is more accessable to the non shojo audience than most. A good example of this is Matt who while he maintains the standard shojo male lead emotional difficulty manages to do this while still acting like a somewhat normal person. Overall I found this to be a worthwhile read for just about any American anime fan that has ever been to a convention.