So, while I know that Anime North is older and bigger (possibly the biggest anime convention in all of Canada!), I'm going to assert that for the international (read: USA) visitor, Anime Toronto is the convention you should plan to attend, despite them being brand new and essentially a baby convention still working out the kinks. The reason is, like with restaurants, location location location. Anime North, despite its size and vintage, is located out in the suburbs of Toronto, practically Mississauga really, out near Lester Pearson International Airport. You get there via airport shuttle bust to one of two hotels in the area and then walk to the Toronto World Congress Centre. It's a dreary, desolate suburb with not much to do, and you have to go OUT OF YOUR WAY to get any sight seeing done in Toronto proper! For the international visitor it has nothing much positive to offer. Canadian weebs seem to love Anime North and put up with its shortcomings as a venue, but I simply cannot recommend it for non-Canadians.
If you are coming from abroad and especially the USA, then you definitely should plan to keep hitting up Anime Toronto instead. The Toronto Metro Convention Centre North Building is a nearly ideal venue, smack in the heart of downtown Toronto with so much to do in the immediate vicinity. It's very close to Union Station (train station, subway stop, streetcar stop) and also to the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the famous CN Tower, which dominates the Toronto skyline....it's a bit of a pricey tourist trap but worth at least a single visit.
Recent Comments