Otakuthon 2012

Montréal, Canada

Palais des congrès de Montréal (Montreal Convention Center)

August 3^rd ~ August 5^th

Con size: 11,000 attendees (announced estimate)

Anime conventions; where kids are kids, adults are kids and teenagers are overpowered

By Hofu

          This is my third time at Otakuthon, interesting how I’ve been in a different role for each visit. From regular attendee to volunteer, I’m honored to be Animeseed’s reporter this year.

Some background before I start my day by day coverage; Otakuthon is a relatively young convention. From its first opening in 2006, this bilingual festivity now attracts over 11,000 enthusiasts – which is, for reference, about half the size of Toronto’s Anime North and one fifth of Los Angeles’ Anime Expo.

Now, perhaps some of you may wonder if you’ll find your place in an anime convention in a French city. My reply to that is “absolutely!” In fact, Anglophones are the more prominent of the two. Perhaps due to the smaller online community, otaku culture has yet to inch through the French front line (no French military joke intended, nuh uh). I saved you the trouble and made a tally on the ratio of English to French panel and anime screening. Note that all major events were spoken in both languages. In 182 panels, 130 (71%) were in English and 52 (29%) were in French. In 161 video screenings, the ratio of English to French was the same.

Day 1 – Friday

          I arrived an hour before the opening ceremony after recalling how long the waiting line was last year. To my pleasant surprise, the process seemed a lot quicker this time around, perhaps indicating the success of pre-ordering. For the record, the entry fee for the whole weekend was 50$ (CAD), whereas pre-orders went for 40$ at its earliest.

Right after acquiring my press badge, I lined up for the entrance when a loud cheer announced the beginning of the madhouse. I immediately headed to the main event hall where the opening ceremony was to going to be held.

Much to the delight of the fans, Caramelldansen played and it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the excitement reverberated through the whole convention center. A dance, a skit and a typical introduction speech later, the host eventually called out each special guest to come on stage. Little did she know that the majority had yet to be present, making the situation very awkward as spectators left the room.

I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this.

 

For the rest of the evening, I spent my time at a jujutsu workshop and at the dealer’s room. I’m a fan of niche anime, so the diversity was hugely welcomed. After a few lessons on the way of the samurai, I found myself at the exhibition hall which has been relocated to a much bigger room since last year. The dealer’s room can be divided into two sections: one for commercial

merchandise and the other for fan creations. Once again, English products were more abundant than French ones; unsurprising seeing how some dealers came all the way from Toronto.

The exhibition hall – picture roughly represents 2/3of the entire area.

 

At about 9:30 PM, I decided to head to the K-Pop dance and singing event. Due to missing material however, the performance was delayed for more than half an hour. The host did a good job at entertaining the crowd with trivia, but I had to leave because of another event I absolutely wanted to cover: the annual International Firework Festival at  Jean-Drapeau Park.

If you’re visiting Montreal with your other half, make sure to note this down and show up at the terrace on the top floor for an unforgettable night.   

Day 2 – Saturday

“I don’t always cosplay, but when I do – I’m 8-bit Mario?!”

 

          Saturday was a constant rush for me since I had different matters to attend to. I arrived at the convention around noon, just in time for the Arashi Daikoconcert. The reverberating sound of drums quickly invigorated my tired self. They eventually invited spectators on stage; it was a hilarious sight watching multiple cosplayers hitting the drums in cadence. As I had an hour to spend before the Tomoe Ohmi concert, I walked around taking pictures of cosplays. Now I’m not a big fan of costumes nor am I knowledgeable in the area, but anyone can recognize the amount of dedication put into some of these.

Tomoe Ohmi-san performing Cruel Angel’s Thesis

 

The Tomoe Ohmi concert was astounding, amongst the couple of French lines she learned where everyone d’awed over, the entire house was entranced by her melody. I have the impression that every seiyuu seems to know how to sing Cruel Angel’s Thesis. I’m not complaining though, as it is an excellent song. However, I’d have loved to see her take a risk by performing something new.

Later in the evening, I was on the hunt for food. There is a cosplay café on the top floor, but I wouldn’t recommend eating there more than once – if at all. The portions were minuscule for their price and it didn’t taste great overall. On the first floor of the convention center, there is a Tim Hortons, a sushi shop and a Mediterranean restaurant. Alternatively, China Town is literally minutes away by walk from the center. Returning attendees are seen roaming through the area in cosplay so you won’t feel the least isolated. In contrary, you might be asked to pose for pictures from curious passersby.

The unofficial award ceremony by the Consul General of Japan at Montreal

 

With my energy tank refilled, I attended the masquerade. Being advertised as the main event of the convention, the room was completely filled. As I mentioned earlier, cosplay and skits aren’t big for me and it felt like the better cosplayers didn’t sign up for the show – a shame. The host sounded like a WWE announcer, and overall she did a good job keeping the crowd alive, but it was a bit unnerving. For the unofficial award ceremony, Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal, said (not word for word): “I don’t know the recent trend in anime or manga, as I am old, but I am a man, so I picked sexy girls in kawaii costumes.” Now, I’m unsure if this sends the correct message for Japan, but this man had guts!

I returned home at midnight. The convention was still going to be opened until 6 AM with activities including a dance club, anime marathons and adult games. The latter never sat well with me, but I swore that I’d attend one in the future.

Day 3 – Sunday

          Finally, the last day of festivities – the staff team’s sleeplessness can be seen under their eyes. Right before the opening, a line was formed in front of the dealer’s room for those who intend to snipe merchandise at a lower price. None of that for me though, as my wallet was already depleted.

The main highlight of Sunday was definitely the Video Game Orchestra concert. These professional musicians performed several familiar tunes for the enjoyment of nerds and geeks alike. In the program: Valkyria Chronicle’s theme, Terra’s theme, Super Mario medley, One Winged Angel, Zelda medley and many more!

For the rest of the day before the closing ceremony, I spent my time in the video game hall. This year again, it had been moved to a bigger room, much to the delight of fighting game and RTS enthusiasts. Several tournaments were held over the weekend, namely: League of Legends, StarCraft II, Street Fighter IV, Marvel vs Capcom 3, DDR…

It is with a heavy heart that the crowd headed over to the closing ceremony. New to Otakuthon this year: Pokémon theme karaoke and pop quizzes during the waiting time before a major event – kudos to the staff! Whelp, this about concludes my report. Feel free to message me at hofu@animeseed.com if you want more insights or just visit Otakuthon’s main website.

Overall, if you have never visited this lovely metropolis and are a big fan of anime culture, you should definitely come next year! The convention is held at the heart of the city, with several touristic attractions just minutes away. Montreal is known for its endless festivals during summer, the historical architectures and the open air restaurants all over the streets. See you next time!

Anime Expo 2012
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles Convention Center
June 29th – July 2nd
By Riotblade/AnimeSeed

It has been two years since I’ve last set foot in the Los Angeles Convention Center for the annual Anime Expo Convention.  The familiar sight of the convention center gave me a nostalgic sensation as I’ve quickly shifted my eyes around to be faced with a… giant Hotwheels loop!?  Pinching myself to ensure that I wasn’t dreaming, I quickly looked around and found an explanation for this mythical sight– the X-Games.

For many, an Anime and Extreme sports hybrid convention would be heaven.  However, I assure you that this wasn’t the case.

Trying to mix a group of 50,000 AX attendees with another 50,000 (Guestimate) X-games attendees is like trying to fit a bowling ball into a soda can– it just won’t work.  The surroundings of the convention center are normally wide open spaces, which have given me no problems in 2010.  However, with the presence of the X-games, one of the vital streets was walled off to allow motorcycle races for their event.  Now, why would anyone need to walk out of the convention center you ask?  The most simple answer to that would be: food.  The convention center itself provides mediocre fast food at inflated prices (as expected of convention centers).  However, in order to get to “food that fills you up for a decent price”, some walking is involved.  In order to do this walking, you would need to squeeze your way through the blocked off intersections.  No matter where you go, you cannot avoid the squeeze lines!

Day 0 – Thursday

I decided to go pick up my badge on Thursday, around 3:30 PM.  At this time, none of the lines were particularly long.  Nothing was opened around this time and there wasn’t much to do.  I spent most of my day just roaming around, trying to get a feel for the Convention Center and the area around.  One thing that I’ve noticed was that the Arcade this year was in one of the large convention rooms as opposed to the concourse in 2010.  It was sharing the area with tabletop and console gaming.  Lots of space and a ton of selection for those craving some live multiplayer action.

Day 1 – Friday

Friday was an amazing day.  I arrived at the convention certain at 9 AM and saw many cosplayers roaming around the lobby.  The streets were not walled off yet, which would provide the most relief I would have that weekend.  By noon, the entire lobby was swarming with attendees and cosplayers snapping photos of everything around.  However, as great as I’m making it sound, I was actually quite disappointed that I’ve missed the LiSA press conference earlier in the morning due to a little bit of public transportation confusion.  Panels on this day were in my opinion, non existent as nothing on the schedule piqued my interest.  However, I did end up going to the following panels:

Funimation

Rightstuf and Nozomi

Day 2 – Saturday

Saturday was a really confusing day for many Aksys fans.  The AX schedule listed Aksys as a Monday panel as opposed to a Saturday panel.  However, the Aksys website and booth said that their panel was at 9 AM Saturday morning.  Therefore, when my party reached the panel, it was quite literally empty.  I’ve personally never seen such a low turnout at an Aksys panel.  About 35% of the seats were filled up and 100% of the attendees looking confused.  The Aksys staff were very surprised by the low turnout as well.  The main attraction of the panel was “Virtue’s Last Reward”, which is a sequel to “999″ for the Nintendo DS.

NIS Anime panel was a different type of monstrosity though.  The panel had an amazingly long line, although not the longest I’ve seen.  It was a complete full house, with a wait list for those unfortunate enough to rush to the nearest fast food joint 10 minutes before the panel started.  They went over a lot of their new titles “Natsume’s Book of Friends”, “Bunny Drop”, “Ghastly Prince Enma”, and “Ano Hana: The Flower We Saw That Day”.  For more information on these titles, feel free to give NIS Anime a visit.  The Q&A was rather disappointing as most of the questions asked were better saved for their games panel.

Day 3 – Sunday

The day that I was look forwards to the most.  I was extremely excited over the NIS Games panel as they’re one of my favorite developers/publishers.  The panel was late in the afternoon, which was the perfect time to relax after a day of con trotting. 

NIS re-announced three new in-house titles and shed a little more information onto them.  The titles were “Legasista” (PS3), “Mugen Souls” (PS3), and “The Witch and the Hundred Knights” (PS3).  The president of NIS, Sohei Niikawa was present and broadcasted some videos as well as held a Q&A session.  Siliconera’s Spencer was present as well, announcing “Character Chowdown”, a Japanese language learning game developed in partnership with NIS America.

Highlights of the Q&A

Q: Are you planning on making Disgaea 5?

A: Yes, Disgaea 5 is already in the works.

Q: When will Asagi get her own game.

A: Who thinks Asagi should get her own game?  (In which the audience replies with cheers, and a “Give her a game but don’t put her in it!”)

Day 4 – Monday

This was the last day of the convention.  As much as people wished it weren’t, that fact is undeniable.   The last day of the convention is great for those who are willing to stay and wait for all the shopping prices to go down.  Other than that, snap your last pictures and memories of cosplayers and then maybe attend the closing ceremony.  I didn’t have that liberty as I needed to catch a flight, but it was definitely a fun convention to be at.  I am looking forwards to next year!

Recommended Bites

I am going to close off with my recommended restaurants.

Denny’s – Open 24 hours and a short walk from the convention center.

Daikokuya – If you’re ever craving some of the best ramen the US can offer, look no further.  A short trip to Little Tokyo would yield many rewards.

Panini Cafe – An Italian restaurant a short walk from the convention center.  Provides indoor and outdoor seating and tons of food for a decent price.  Right across from Ralph’s market if anybody is craving for snacks.

Food truck parking lot – My personal savior for this convention.  Food trucks were parked outside a night club’s lot, across from the front entrance of the convention center during the daytime and was providing food for the X-Games (I believe).  However, they may also show up next year for Anime Expo!  Tons of different food trucks, including the renowned Lobsta Truck.  Give this place a whirl if you don’t want to walk too far.

Thanks for reading!

Anime Boston 2012

Boston, Massachusetts

Hynes Convention Center

April 6^{th –} 8^th

By Knightfall

A year since our last visit, my crew and I finally arrived on New England’s holy ground for anime lovers.

Being our second time attending Anime Boston we had no problems getting around and receiving our badges. This year would be different, however, this year I was going to experience Anime Boston through the eyes of a cosplayer. Donning full plastoid armor (The stuff stormtroopers wear), I was ready to get started. Not even having yet step foot into the gates of Hynes, I was already being pulled to the side and asked for pictures. I had a feeling this year’s event was going to be quite enjoyable, not to mention this was my first time cosplaying. I could just feel the EXP rushing in, or maybe that was the pain I felt all over from wearing such a difficult costume. Either way, I knew we were going to have a good time.

Some history before we begin:

Anime Boston was first held back in 2003 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Two years later the location was moved to where you find the event today, the Hynes Convention Center. What started as a gathering of around 4,000 nerds, grew substantially over the years, hitting over 9,000 in 2006! (Yes, that was a DBZ reference).  In 2011, the year I started attending, we already hit over 19,000. Anime Boston was awarded the title “Best Nerd Gathering” by the Boston Phoenix that very year, and again this year in 2012. I certainly enjoyed both years and it looks to me it’s only going to get better in the years to come.

Day 1 – Friday

As mentioned earlier, This was my first time in cosplay. By the time we entered the building it was around 9 AM. I was slightly nervous at first, not knowing what I’d be doing exactly. My costume not being anime related was another concern. I figured the people here are nerd enough to appreciate some Star Wars action. There were quite a few troopers and bounty hunters last year in 2011, so I had that hope.

Behold, not even 5 minutes after entering the doors and walking up the escalator, I was greeted by a member of the Rebel Alliance, who I then forced into submission; Only to be attacked by two Jedi on the spot. Things were already getting interesting and all worries were laid to rest.

The hall was filling up by the minute, cosplayers pouring in from everywhere. I was constantly reminded that I was one of them by all the people coming to me asking for photos. The variety of costumes found at Anime Boston continue to amaze me. From well know anime series such as Naruto, to semi-popular webcomis like Romantically Apocalyptic, it feels like you can just find just about every kind of fan here at Anime Boston.

It was the start of the opening ceremony, at this time most everyone was gathered at the main hall. The con’s mascots, A-chan and B-kun, performed their skit and introduced the con chairs who then gave a brief Anime Boston history lesson and played a slideshow all in celebrating the 10 wonderful years of Anime Boston. Soon after the display of AB’s history the guests for this year were introduced. To name a few of the guests, the Ayres brothers Christopher and Greg, Tom Wayland, Karen Strassman, who is well known for her roles as Kallen from Code Geass, Rider from Fate/stay night and Soi Fon from Bleach. One guest I personally was excited to see was Momoi Haruko, the voice of Rumiho, AKA Faris Nyan Nyan, from the anime series Steins;Gate and Seto San from Seto no Hanayome.

Skipping ahead, we made our way out and headed for the dealer room. I find this to be one of the best places to visit during the con. Something about being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of anime/game merchandise just feels right to a fan such as myself. It’s also a great place to get to know some of your fellow otaku.

By the end of the day, I had been attacked on numerous accounts, posed with some of my favorite characters (or they posed with me), fought off some rogue sith and even found Waldo, three times. Friday was a good day.

Day 2 – Saturday (Night)

There isn’t too much I can say about Saturday, I was only able to stop by later that night around 7 PM. I heard it was a blast and watched some videos on the events that had taken place, it certainly did look fun. This time I was not in costume, I was able to roam freely as I blended in with the citizens and watched some AMVs with them. As late as we were, there were still quite a lot of cosplayers, and I was able to snap a few photos of and with some of them.

This year was full of firsts; I was able to finally check out one of these “18+ panels” I’ve heard so much about. No there were no H- or any other kind of adult material being displayed. Bummer? At least not the one I entered. It was simply an trivia panel with topics that are better off not falling onto the ears of our younger anime fans. I can say it was quite entertaining, however.

Afterwards, we hit the dance party being hosted by none other than Sunohara- I mean Greg Ayres. There were people jumping up and down everywhere. It was loud, it was sweaty, it was dark and bright at the same time, everyone looked like they were having a blast. I simply wanted to experience it at least once. Though not exactly my type of fun, I at least I got to see Vegeta doing the fist pump. We called it a night.

Day 3 – Sunday

Sunday, oh boy is Sunday a fun day. I did end up wearing my costume again, and I’ll tell you never in my life had I been hugged by so many strangers in a single day. There was still time before the main event so we spent it wandering the large hallway just having a good time with the citizens and other cosplayers. I was made to do the oh so famous hip thrust that stormtroopers are apparently known for, instead of for their awesome marksmanship. We still had some time left so we hit the dealer room for a short while. After a few dozen hugs and photos, we made our way to the main event.

The Cosplay Chess game. I believe most everyone could agree this is one of the best parts of Anime Boston. This year was a continuation of last year’s Good vs Evil theme. Some of the notable characters participating in the battle royale for team Good were Roy Mustang, with Major Armstrong and the lovely Hawkeye making appearances as his backup, Lelouch was also a part of team good, though I guess he could go either way, and of course there was Madoka, the ultimate good of the entire universe. Team Evil had quite the lineup themselves which included Medusa, the powerful witch from Soul Eater, the crazy strong “puppeteer”, Legato from Trigun and the extremely arrogant and egotistical, King of Kings, Gilgamesh from the Fate series. The intense battle carried on for quite a while. Toward the end both sides had suffered heavy losses. Just as the tiny Madoka was about to take a heavy blow, she invoked the power of true love and friendship! Suddenly the game was paused and a wild Ash Ketchum appeared out of no where. He took the microphone and asked if his Pikachu could come on stage. It took some time before everyone realized what was going on and even so, I wasn’t sure if it was real. As she came onto the stage and positioned herself in front of him, Ash got down on his knees and pulled out his pokeball, he then opened it up and proposed to her. What do you know, it was super effective! This year was definitely full of firsts for me.

After everyone was finished “d’awwing” and clapping, the battle continued. In the end, the power of love and friendship was not enough to save the world. Team Evil had played it’s final move and made the checkmate. The world as we knew it was doomed. I actually found this outcome to be very fitting since 2012 was the end of the world anyway.

As the large hallway flooded with people, we found ourselves making our way back to the dealer room. Some of the coolest people can be found in the dealer room, myself included; It’s a great place to meet many people who hold the same interests in anime/gaming merchandise, also great for meeting people in general.  This year I decided I had to buy something, I’ve already experienced plenty of other firsts, so why not? After wandering all over and having a hard time making a choice, I saw it, I knew exactly what I was going to get. A tiny Nendoroid Petit of Akemi Homura from the Madoka series. After making such a satisfying purchase, we hit the gaming room. There were computers and gaming consoles everywhere. There were also quite a few DDR type gaming platforms setup, as much as I wanted to try that out while in my armor, the lines felt too long so we just browsed over some of the COD and Counter Strike gaming  going on.

We decided to hit the mall connected to the Hynes next. Many of the Anime Boston attendees were wandering around just having a good time. Visitors of the mall were gathering around snapping photos of a the costumes. I was pulled to the side numerous times and forced to force people into submission. For some reason they really enjoyed being oppressed. As we headed back into con territory, I saw a large figure in the distance walking around terrorizing the citizens. I had to take a look and put a stop to this rampage. Turns out the large figure was none other than the giant robot from the “live action anime” Madness at Mokuba. I watched Kristof in his costume on a few YouTube videos last year in 2011, I thought it was pretty cool seeing him in person at Anime Boston. Still, as a soldier of the Galactic Empire, I had to put him down.

Closing Ceremony:

As much as no one wanted it to happen, all good things must have a closing ceremony, or something like that. As we waited to enter the main hall, many people were still approaching me for photographs, so it didn’t feel very long before we got inside.

Also, Chris Ayres just so happened to be entering the door so I asked him if I could snap a few photos with him. He agreed with no hesitation and even asked to hold my blaster. We exchanged weapons, my blaster for his massive coffee mug, and snapped a few photos. It was awesome.

After A-chan and B-kun performed their final skit, all of the guests were called up on stage to give their farewells. Just like last year, the closing ceremony was finished off with videos of this year’s  winning AMVs. It was finally time for everyone to make their way out and head their separate ways. But it didn’t just end then and there, people were still getting together, messing around, having a good time, photo snapping. After taking part in countless battles of epic proportions, numerous encounters with citizens wanting to store my image into their database, and several dozen hip thrust sessions, I was finally ready to head out.

I found Anime Boston’s 10th year anniversary to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I feel it is only going to get better and better in the years to come.

Having gained quite a lot of popularity in 2011, Anime Boston 2012 saw many of the “Trolls” from the popular MSPA webcomic series, “Homestuck”. I look forward to taking part in Anime Boston 2013 and seeing how 2012 inspires next year’s attendees, that is if the world doesn’t end by then.

Aki-Con 2011
Bellevue, Washington
Hilton Hotel
October 7th-9th, 2011
By MICHI/ AnimeSeed.com

Okay. So. Aki-Con happened and I attended. This was my 4th Aki-Con and to be honest. I wish I hadn’t gone. It was the same weekend that Geek Girl Con at the Seattle Center in Seattle, Washington was being held. But, I went to Aki-Con. I don’t regret the decision. I actually had a lot of fun at the convention. But, I only really went to see a few people that I don’t normally get to see. Bad or good it was the decision that I made.

I attended Aki-Con on Saturday only because of prior commitments and last minute decisions. The convention was held at the same place it was last year, only a month earlier this time. I actually got up to the convention about 11AM and went straight to see my friend Amidoji and Lacey. They finished getting ready and we went down to the convention area.

I got my badge first off. I asked the Pre-Registration people where I would pick up my Press Badge. They told me Registration or to ask Nicole. Well, I managed to find Nicole really quick, as she was coming out of the Registration booth. She told me it was at Pre-Registration. They found my badge, but there was no paperwork to look at, or confirmation that I was really who I said I was and who I said I was with. At least they checked my ID this year. After I got my badge, I finally looked around the convention area.

And oh my god.

Now, my Uncle is a firefighter with the Seattle Fire Department, so I know fire safety. And I swear Aki-Con was a walking fire trap. Their Japanese Temple arches where zip tied to the doors, which would prevent them from closing in an emergency. There where character cut outs that you could stick your face through in the hallways, and the Free Stage in the middle of the first floor. Isn’t the Fire Marshall supposed to come check on events like these?

I guess my inner staff was coming through during the entire time that I was in attendance at Aki-Con. There where a lot of little things that I kept noticing that kept annoying me. The hotel staff for the most part was very rude to many of the attendees. Now, I understand that you have all these underage kids running amok in your hotel. But, this event is bringing you a large amount of money. There where also a lot of kids that where not paying attention to common rules and knowledge.

Several times Amidoji, Lacey and I would get into an elevator and there would just be a kid sitting there. And at least 50% of the time, I would ask them if they where getting off at the next floor. They would tell me what floor and when we got there, I would look at them pointedly. The hotel had a strict rule of only 8 people per elevator and with kids sitting in the elevators; it was hard to get groups up and down to the right floors.

When I went into the Dealer’s Room… I developed a sudden case of claustrophobia. There where so many people shoved into such a small space. It was hard to get around. People where stopping in the middle of the hallways to chat or look at something or take pictures. I don’t believe there was even room to get a wheelchair through the aisles of the Dealer’s Room. I was floored. I did a circuit through the Dealer’s Hall with Amidoji and Lacey and then got the hell out of there.

It was after that we ran into Smidge. And after gathering the Boy, we decided lunch was a good idea. Of course, just as we where finally getting out of the area, we ran into a group of about ten people that I knew and that didn’t know I was going to be at the convention.

The funniest reaction was actually from Shun Hayashi, a photographer (see his work at http://www.silenceral.com) that I’d known for several years. He actually stared at me like I was a ghost. Yes, I am here. Yes I am not in cosplay. Yes, I have a social life Al.

After lunch though… The more that I was in the common convention area; the more I felt the building urge to yell at someone. Or at least yell at a staff member. This is strange for me because I generally keep my cool with staff members of any convention that I attend.

So, Amidoji, Lacey and I retreated to their room for a bit so I could cool down and Amidoji could change back into her Human Luna (Sailor Moon S) costume.

We spent time wandering around the convention, I went off with some friends of mine for a bit just to chill and drink. Mainly so I wouldn’t end up losing my temper at a hapless kid.

After that, I got my stuff, said my goodbyes to my friends and headed off to meet up with other friends.

Overall:

To be honest, I wasn’t at Aki-Con long enough to get the best opinion of it this year. But, I do admit that I wasn’t happy with what I saw. It seemed disorganized and while there was a higher staff presence this year… It didn’t seem to do too much.

As I’ve said before Aki-Con is a good starter convention and a great place to test run costumes. Though in the same vein, Aki-Con is growing very rapidly and it seems those that make all the decisions do not want to admit that. They keep trying to cram too many people into a too small space. I believe that Aki-Con needs to realize that they’re growing and they need to move to a bigger space, even if it means leaving Bellevue.

Yes, the location and hotel is gorgeous, but it’s too small to suit the needs of the convention as a whole. Far too many people come to the convention and far too many people want to continue coming.

Other than hanging out with my friends and seeing a ton of people (though not too many since I had only eight hours and knew half the convention), I did have fun. I talked a lot, I saw a lot. I just wish that it was better managed and in a better location. But, only time will tell.

Kumoricon 2011
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver Hilton & Red Lion on the Quay
September 3rd to 5th

By MICHI/ AnimeSeed.com

Kumoricon this year was a little different for me. I didn’t come with the people I have for the past several years, I staffed and I didn’t cosplay. It was an interesting, new experience for me, but one I did enjoy.

This was my 9th year attending Kumoricon and it’s been interesting to see the convention grow from the first one in 2003 when it was in Eugene, Oregon to what it is now. It still has that small con feel that I know many people crave, especially those of us who attend almost nothing but large (10,000+) conventions.

This year, Kumoricon returned to the 2007 location in Vancouver, Washington and we were in two hotels this year. The Hilton (were we were in 2007) and the Red Lion on the Quay. This is a first for Kumoricon, but it worked out. The convention didn’t seem as crowded as the previous two years, then again, being near Ester Short Park probably helped too. I got to Kumoricon a little before 9PM. I got my badge, got my room key from my roommates and went to dinner with Kato Shiroi and a handful of our friends.

Day One (Saturday) –

For Kumoricon this year, I was the Hall Cospaly Coordinator. That meant I wandered around the convention (two hotels, plus the areas cosplayers hung out) and took pictures of costumes that I liked or where really creative. I also handed out shiny blue ribbons and had people sign release forms. I admit right now that it was hard to cover the entire convention by myself, but I did the best I could.

Now because I did not interact with attendee registration, I have no real knowledge on how the registration staff was, or how fast the lines where. But from Twitter messages a friend was posting, the lines where quick and short, and quite often there wasn’t one.

The hotel staff at the Hilton (where I spent most of my time) was very friendly and helpful, moreso than I felt they where (at another location) last year. The convention staff was equally friendly and made the whole experience that much better.

I took around 60 pictures, 17 of them where group pictures, before I went to dinner with some friends. After that, we went straight to Bressler’s Whose Line is it Anyway? Panel. This was my second year participating and again, I had a ton of fun! And I must say, that Todd Haberkon (guest of honor) makes a fabulous Godzilla movie! The Director of Publicity got him to come to the game for just a bit. He played in a couple of games and one of them was Party Quirks. He was a guest, so his quirk was “You’re an entire Godzilla movie”. I swear the audience couldn’t stop laughing, I know at least that I didn’t. I got to talk to him for a bit afterwards. He’s a really nice guy and just because he’s a voice actor (popular role atm Italy from Hetalia), doesn’t mean he isn’t a person, but that’s another rant for another time.

There wasn’t a lot of adult programming that I was interested in. I wish that they would have had the sake tasting again. That would have been amazing. But, things do change every year, so maybe there will be something that catch my eye. After the Whose Line panel finished, I wandered around the convention for a little bit more, but didn’t see any costumes that really caught my eye. I was getting pretty tired at this point, so away to bed I went.

Day Two (Sunday) –

This day brought about more people and more costumes. I didn’t seem to take as many pictures this day, but I just can’t be every where and I know I missed so many costumes. But I was busier because the panel I was co-hosting was this day. Like every year since 2008, we once again had the Crossplay 101 panel, but unlike previous years, we did not have the Late Night version. This was our third time with the present slide show and I, personally, got feedback from people about how they felt the panel went. I also had quite a few people coming up to me to ask questions throughout the day. I did have to duck out early from the panel.

Because Hetalia is so big right now, the line for one of the panels was huge and needless to say help was needed. I was able to get some help to get things sorted out so there wouldn’t be any fire code violations. From there it was more wandering about the convention, taking pictures of people and just generally remembering why I attend conventions.

This day had higher energy and more people because it is considered the “main day” to attend because that’s when the Cosplay Contest (Masquerade to some) is. It was still fairly easy to get through the convention space. As the weather was gorgeous all weekend, a lot of people where hanging out in Ester Short Park.

The Cosplay Contest Green Room I found was a great place to take pictures of cosplays I absolutely loved and I got to talk with some of my friends. The Cosplay Contest wasn’t as long as some that I’ve been to, and there where some really good skits. But there was also a lot of skits that made me go “Eh?” and alot of dance skits. Anime Hunters did the half-time show. And as always, they delivered. I unfortunately had to leave before the winners where announced (food was needed).

I realized that I did a lot of wandering at the convention this year, as opposed to previous years when I was sitting at the Sakura-Con booth or in the Cosplay Contest green room most of the time.

Around midnight, I headed to the Adult version of Bressler’s Whose Line is it Anyway? Panel. I couldn’t stop laughing during most of it and even when I was in a game, I couldn’t stop. Everything everyone was saying was way too funny. And I was pretty delirious from being exhausted. A good portion of the participants where drunk, and considering we could say pretty much whatever we wanted… It led to some interesting scenes. And I certainly know that the audience was enjoying the adult version of the popular panel. Though around 2AM I finally crawled back to my hotel room and went to bed.

Day Three (Monday) –

Final day of con. I actually didn’t take any pictures this day, as I spent the morning and afternoon with the Director of Programming in Main Events for Cosplay Chess. I sorta lied when I said I didn’t cosplay. I did wear Billy Katagiri from Gundam 00 for all of three hours for Cosplay Chess and just for Cosplay Chess. It was another year of White winning in an epic match of Anime vs Video Games. Next year, we’re shooting for Good vs Evil!

Anyways, before Cosplay Chess, I actually packed up my stuff (just a single duffel) and lugged it down to the hotel front desk. I got it into bag check and was able to get it out again after Cosplay Chess to change into street clothes. From about 1:30 or so on, I was in the Programming Office, working on picking the Best of… For the Hall Cosplay stuff I was in charge of.

Then came Closing Ceremonies… We started half an hour late because we where waiting for a file. Apparently convention attendees can really entertain themselves. Well, once Closing Ceremonies got started and all the official stuff was out of the way, we learned that this Kumoricon was the last one the Anime Hunters would be performing at together. It was a bit sad as the past four years they’ve been a staple at the convention. But, it’s not like the members won’t be around anymore, they just each have their own lives.

Then I announced the Hall Cosplay Best of… Everyone seemed to appreciate the costumes that those of us in the Programming office chose. After Closing Ceremonies, I grabbed my duffel bag from the Hilton bag check and off I went to meet my ride and head home.

Overall –

Kumoricon was a blast. I know a lot of people had decided not to go because of the past two years, but what can you do? I still had a lot of fun and was grateful to each and every person I came across. The panels (those I did go to) where entertaining and fun. I defiantly will be going back again in the future. Kumoricon is chill for me, even though I did staff, I didn’t feel like I was stressed out. It was a nice change of pace for me personally to not spend all weekend worried about cosplay or whether everything I was running would go off without a hitch. And I have started to remember why I love conventions so much and why I keep coming back year after year to them.

Kumoricon is growing and changing and I am excited to see what they have in store for their 10th year in 2012! Kumoricon will be held at the Vancouver Hilton and Red Lion on the Quay in Vancouver, Washington and will be over Labor Day weekend once again. Those dates are September 1st-3rd.