# Oni-Con

Oni-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during October/November at the Galvestion Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort in Galveston, Texas. The name of the convention comes from, "oni", the Japanese word for "demon/ogre".

## Features

The convention typically offers anime rooms, art show and auction, concerts, contests, a dance, a dealer's room, demonstrations, industry guests, LARP, masquerade, panels, video games, and voice actors.

## History

The convention was started by members of an Mallets, Etc., a Houston-based Anime Club. Oni-Con 2004 was held at the Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental. The convention in its first year had an expected attendance of 1,200, but ended up with more than 3,000 attending. Oni-Con 2005 was held at the Park Plaza, Reliant Center. In 2006, Oni-Con had a dispute with the Grand Plaza Hotel in Houston. Oni-Cons 2006, 2007 and 2008 were held at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Oni-Con 2009 and 2010 was held at the Houston Marriott Westchase. For 2011, Oni-Con moved to Galveston, Texas and was held at the Galveston Island Convention Center. Oni-Con 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The convention started a fundraiser in July 2020 for voice actor Chris Ayres, who was suffering from serious health issues.

### Event history

| Dates | Location | Attendance | Guests |
| October 22–24, 2004 | Sheraton North Houston at George Bush Intercontinental Houston, Texas | 3,000 | Greg Ayres, Jason Balduf, Byron Beaubien, Camino, Rodney "Largo" Caston, Mandy Clark, Clover, Michael Coleman, DuelJewel, Tiffany Grant, Yaya Han, Kyle Hebert, Taliesin Jaffe, Lord Katsuhiko Jinnai, Bruce Lewis, George Manley, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, and Shawn the Touched. |
| October 21–23, 2005 | Park Plaza, Reliant Center Houston, Texas | 4,000 | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Tom Bateman, Clover, Consplayers.com, Emily DeJesus, echostream, Kyle Hebert, Taliesin Jaffe, Li Kovacs, Bruce Lewis, Limit Break Cosplay, Mike McFarland, Jamie McGonnigal, Matthew Mercer, Vic Mignogna, Jace Moore, Chris Moujaes, Phantasmagoria, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Aaron Romo, Rooster Teeth Productions, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Kira Vincent-Davis, and Dan Woren. |
| October 20–22, 2006 | George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas | 6,000 | 12012, Alistair Abell, Yoshitaka Amano, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Charles Campbell, Luci Christian, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Clarine Harp, Taliesin Jaffe, Kyle Jones, Brittney Karbowski, Bruce Lewis, Limit Break Cosplay, Sarah Lindholm, Jamie McGonnigal, Matthew Mercer, Jace Moore, Chris Moujaes, Chris Patton, Xero Reynolds, Monica Rial, Aaron Romo, Don Rush, Sailor JAMboree, Carrie Savage, Jan Scott-Frazier, Blake Shepard, Doug Smith, Space Invader, John Swasey, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and David L. Williams. |
| October 19–21, 2007 | George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas | 4,030 | Tomo Asaha, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Clint Bickham, Michael Coleman, Kaylyn Dicksion, Aaron Dismuke, Tiffany Grant, Jessie James Grelle, Clarine Harp, Kyle Hebert, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Taliesin Jaffe, Trish Ledoux, Bruce Lewis, Mike McFarland, Scott McNeil, Vic Mignogna, Chris Moujaes, Chris Patton, Wendy Powell, Derek Stephen Prince, Rentrer en Soi, Xero Reynolds, Aaron Romo, Carrie Savage, Jan Scott-Frazier, Doug Smith, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, Shinichi Watanabe, Travis Willingham, and Toshifumi Yoshida. |
| December 19–21, 2008 | George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas | | Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, echostream, Tiffany Grant, Clarine Harp, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Bruce Lewis, Jamie Marchi, Mike McFarland, Vic Mignogna, Chris Patton, Xero Reynolds, and Jan Scott-Frazier. |
| October 30 – November 1, 2009 | Houston Marriott Westchase Houston, Texas | 6,000 | Chris Bevins, Born, Buranden, echostream, Tiffany Grant, Matt Greenfield, Clarine Harp, Jerry Jewell, Bruce Lewis, Wendy Powell, Xero Reynolds, Satsuki, Carrie Savage, Blake Shepard, Alissa Simmons, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and Twinzik. |
| October 29–31, 2010 | Houston Marriott Westchase Houston, Texas | | Airship Isabella, Almost Angels, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Cason, Samurai Dan Coglan, Gakido, Jessie James Grelle, Samantha Inoue-Harte, Jerry Jewell, Lemon Drop Kick, Carli Mosier, Wendy Powell, Carrie Savage, Ciarán Strange, J. Michael Tatum, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano, and David Vincent. |
| October 28–30, 2011 | Galveston Island Convention Center Galveston, Texas | 7,000 (est) | Airship Isabella, Almost Angels, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Erin "Eri" Brady, The Celestial Rogues, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, The Earthbound Papas, Clarine Harp, Taliesin Jaffe, DJ Jimni Cricket, Lemon Drop Kick, Stanley G. Love, Carli Mosier, Otokage, Rikki Simons, J. Michael Tatum, Nobuo Uematsu, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons. |
| October 19–21, 2012 | Galveston Island Convention Center Galveston, Texas | | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, The Earthbound Papas, Kara Edwards, Clarine Harp, Taliesin Jaffe, Jerry Jewell, Carli Mosier, Jessie Pridemore, Carrie Savage, Rikki Simons, Michael Sinterniklaas, Soup or Villainz, Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons, and YTCracker. |
| October 25–27, 2013 | Galveston Island Convention Center Galveston, Texas | | Alsdead, Dr. Awkward, Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, The Earthbound Papas, Foayasha, Clarine Harp, Taliesin Jaffe, Carli Mosier, Whitney Ray, Saber Tiger, SEC-C Cosplay, Nobuo Uematsu, and YTCracker. |
| October 31 – November 2, 2014 | Galveston Island Convention Center Galveston, Texas | | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Ganglion, Masashi Hamauzu, Clarine Harp, Atelier Heidi, Imeruat, Taliesin Jaffe, April Martin, Carl Martin, Carli Mosier, Benyamin Nuss, Rachel Robinson, and Junko Takeuchi. |
| October 30 – November 1, 2015 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Cynthia Cranz, Clarine Harp, Atelier Heidi, Taliesin Jaffe, Jerry Jewell, April Martin, Carl Martin, Xander Mobus, Carli Mosier, Project BECK, and Rachel Robinson. |
| October 28-30, 2016 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Christopher Ayres, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Critical Hit, The Earthbound Papas, Clarine Harp, Taliesin Jaffe, Xander Mobus, Carli Mosier, Lisa Ortiz, Rachel Robinson, Rikki Simons, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons. |
| October 28-30, 2017 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Aya "Dancing Fighter", Greg Ayres, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, Matthew Erickson, Clarine Harp, Kristen McGuire, Carli Mosier, Lisa Ortiz, Meredith Placko, Rachel Robinson, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Kimura U, and YTCracker. |
| November 9-11, 2018 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Akira, Ani-Mia, Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, Jessica Calvello, Samurai Dan Coglan, Disacode, Clarine Harp, Brittney Karbowski, Briana Lawrence, Lewis Lovhaug, Carli Mosier, Lisa Ortiz, Rachel Robinson, Rikki Simons, and Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons. |
| November 8-10, 2019 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Chris Bevins, Clarine Harp, Billy Kametz, Christina Marie Kelly, Lewis Lovhaug, Carli Mosier, Rachel Robinson, Scarfing Scarves, and Kazuki Yao. |
| October 30-31, 2021 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Chris Bevins, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, Clarine Harp, Kazha, Carli Mosier, Rachel Robinson, and Michael Sinterniklaas. |
| November 11-13, 2022 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Greg Ayres, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, Clarine Harp, Kazha, Lewis Lovhaug, Carli Mosier, Rob Mungle, Mikio Sakai, Michael Sinterniklaas, Sparrowhawk Cosplay, and Viga. |
| November 10-12, 2023 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Chris Bevins, Jillian Coglan, Samurai Dan Coglan, The Geeky Seamstress, John Gremillion, Clarine Harp, Kazha, Lewis Lovhaug, Carli Mosier, Rob Mungle, Rachel Robinson, Michael Sinterniklaas, and Viga. |
| October 11-13, 2024 | Galveston Island Convention Center at The San Luis Resort Galveston, Texas | | Greg Ayres, Chris Bevins, John Gremillion, Clarine Harp, Kazha, Lewis Lovhaug, Rachel Robinson, Oscar Seung, Michael Sinterniklaas, John Swasey, Viga, Gareth West, and YTCracker. |

## Oni-Con Hawaii

Oni-Con Hawaii was a three-day anime convention held during November at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was created by Oni-Con and Babel Entertainment, growing out of the defunct Hawaii Entertainment Expo (HEXXP). The convention featured a combined artist alley/dealers room (marketplace), host club and maid cafe, tabletop gaming, and video games. Communication issues affected the convention including cancelled panels and running out of lanyards. The convention chair of Oni-Con Hawaii 2014 stated that they did not receive the necessary resources from Oni-Con. He also knew nothing of the conventions 2014 plans.

### Event history

| Dates | Location | Atten. | Guests |
| November 1–3, 2013 | Hawaii Convention Center Honolulu, Hawaii | | The Earthbound Papas, Atelier Pierrot, Hiroki Takahashi, J. Michael Tatum, and Nobuo Uematsu. |