Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!

Daku Con may have been back in November, but I am still thinking about it all this time later. As a life long convention goer, I can honestly say it is one of the most unique experiences that a patron can have with your fellow nerds in the Denver, CO area. If you seek asylum in a very open, very sex, identity, and sexuality positive environment, then look no further than Daku Con!

While not the biggest convention in this area, Daku Con certainly has things going for it that no other convention shares. The 18 plus entry is something they utilize to the fullest.

Walking around The Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast with drinks in hand was a lot of fun. The encouragement to let loose, be yourself, and have a good time just feels dialed up here. Only the hardcore convention goers are tapped in to the know about this convention, and with a good word of mouth from the attendees, this experience will be much bigger as the years go on. The crowd is everything, and they just have great attendees there.

The staff was also extremely helpful and in plentiful amount. I found a helpful staff member in almost every area of the convention and that made finding rooms and asking questions extremely easy. You want to be able to easily navigate a convention and ensure you can see everything you set out to experience, and Daku Con makes that very simple. Schedules are in plentiful amount and the attractions they have really learn into the 18 plus portion of the convention’s identity.

Sit down and experience some Yaou X-Mas Songs, panels on relationships, talks on hentai, panels on sex-positive living, or have a nice interactive discussion on waifus/hubandos. 18 plus means no kids underfoot as well, so crafters can get away with quite a bit more in the cosplay realm. It was not uncommon to see attendees running around in themed underwear or banana hammocks, so keeping the kids out of this experience is a no brainer.

The dealer rooms are filled with phallic shaped objects and sex toys. The sexual jokes and inappropriate but hilarious antics run wild in this den of debauchery. Thankfully, the tenants of consent and ensuring everybody is comfortable kept negative experiences at bay. Daku Con staff went out of their way to create a safe and accepting space. The registration table had free gender identifying buttons so you did not have to worry about pronouns all night.

The Raddison itself seemed newly renovated with a very accepting staff. The interior was nice, and the rooms were great, but as this con grows, it will surely have to move to a bigger venue. However this year, the Raddison was perfect for the amount of attendees and attractions that occupied the building. The amount of con goers end up working in the convention’s favor, because you keep running into the same friendly faces which creates a much more intimate experience.

The acceptance of drinking hotel wide was quite the treat. Everybody respected the hotel and the rules, and in turn the staff members gave us plenty of freedom to have fun. Wristbands would allow you to drink while walking around and there was never a moment of hassle or explaining. It all worked out quite well!

There was a lot of great cosplay this year but My Hero Academia truly was the most represented. Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV was also in plentiful amount but the variety was still great! The best parts of a con is dressing us as Kazuma Kiru from Yakuza and Todoroki from My Hero, and running into Guts from Berserk, and Chie from Persona. You wont get an experience like that anywhere else…and throw in an adult crowd and a few drinks and you have endless possibilities of fun!

Daku Con offers plenty of ways to spend time, from the arcade with free games, to the plentiful amount of workshops and panels. You’ll be hard pressed to find a boring moment. The real star of the con was Yokubou Lounge, an 18+ host club that cosplays. The girls and guys there hosted some very memorable panels with plenty of audience interaction, and hosted a game night that was just a real highlight of the whole weekend. Hope you are not easily embarrassed by things such as lubed dildo tug-of-war, and hentai based trivia games!

Friday night they held a wizard ball, like a Harry Potter themed type of affair. It is always interesting getting a bunch of nerdy folk together, but it is the only place a room filled with some of your favorite characters from anime and games belt out Seal’s Kiss From a Rose at 100%. Dancing, drinking, singing, and all costumed up, it was quite the Friday night. Saturday night had the Not-Rave, so there was plenty of opportunities to bust your moves.

Saturday was the cosplay contest, and there were some great entries. A real stand out for me was BB Wolf from The Wolf Among Us. As we awaited the winner of the contest, the contestants called for music and gave us a bit of a dance party to help us through the wait. Everybody was always stepping up to start some fun, and you could find that in every corner of Daku Con.

I highly suggest hitting up Daku Con in 2019. It is something we will surely return to visit, and its something we hope to see more people at. It is an experience worth sharing, and it is easily the most unique and accepting convention in the Denver area.

Don’t forget to check out our photo coverage of the event!

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