Akicon 2009 Report!
November 6th – 8th
By Krowhop

The hustle and bustle of conventions can at times be overwhelming. There is so much to do and see, and by the time you know where everything is, the convention is over. The press of people and the lack of direction can make any con too much of a hassle to go to.

Akicon, however, is different. Over each doorway there were bold temple arches, proclaiming their contents, with room schedules listed CLEARLY on either side. They all matched, and tied into the overall theme. The atmosphere was so relaxing, and stimulating at the same time, it was hard NOT to enjoy yourself. The stage setup went along with all the rest, adding in traditional Japanese architecture. Even the smaller rooms were thoroughly decorated.

That in itself is enough to set it apart from most other conventions, but there was even more. One of the rooms was specifically set aside for photo opportunities with three different scenes. There was a street shot, graffiti included. On the opposite wall you could have your picture taken with your favorite anime character in a winter wonderland with snow swirling around. In the back of the room, secluded by standing bamboo and a temple arch, was a koi pond with a bridge and traditional garden.

The planning that went into the appearance of the Holiday Inn, where the convention took place, was impressive, to say the least.

The convention was 24 hour, so there was always something to do. Every night there was a concert by a different band, and even one earlier in the day. The bands’ all got together to answer questions in a panel, and to give out autographs. More details on them will be forthcoming in a separate exclusive, so keep your eyes peeled!

The voice acting workshop was a big hit, with those who participated being able to actually have their voices in clips such as Samurai Shamploo , as well as others. Each of the new voice actors received a certificate as well as a copy of the DVD featuring their voice. The audience then received the honor to vote on who did the best, and the lucky winner won a tote bag full of goodies. Michael McConnohie and Melodee M. Spevack taught the class-keep an eye out for their feature, as well!

The other big hit was of course, Ichidan, a cosplay group based out of Idaho. They tour around to different conventions doing plays, skits, panels, and workshops. Akicon hosted their ‘Death Note: The Death Eraser,’ as well as a number of panels, including a bit on ‘Wig Care.’ They are a very close knit and supportive group, numbering in 87 active members, the youngest being 15, and oldest 30. “It’s kinda like a dysfunctional family,” said Kalah, the videographer. There will also be a featured article on them at a later date.

With two movie rooms, three workshops/panels, a reading room, the Main Stage, the Photo Room, Gaming center and the dealer’s hall, the convention was on the smaller end. Despite the size the attendance was optimal, and for a second year convention, the results were good. Next year they are moving the the Hilton in Bellevue, WA, November 5th – 7th. Hope to see you there!

Kumoricon 2009

Portland, OR – Hilton Portland and Executive Tower

9/5-7/2009

By KROWHOP / AnimeSeed.com

 We arrived in Portland just past 4pm on Friday the 4th, the day before the convention started. Despite that fact, there were people in cosplay outfits all over the place. It was amusing for me, who was not dressed up, to watch the reaction of those not involved in the convention. The shock and suspicion are always amusing.
 

 On that first evening, I distributed fliers for AnimeSeed, both in color and black and white, on all 23 floors of the hotel outside the banks of elevators. With 4558 people in attendance, and only 4 elevators, there was almost always someone waiting, and I am sure the reading material was appreciated. There were 30 large fliers that went up, while 60 ½ sheet fliers, and 120 ¼ sheets were placed on window seats, and decorative tables. By the end of the weekend, there wasn’t a single one in site-hopefully this means that people took them, and not the staff. The chances of the first option are greater, as I witnessed the stacks slowly shrinking over the 3 day period.
 

 Over 200 staff members made Kumoricon a success this year, with staff on every floor, at both stairs and elevators, and at other key points, some of whom were just there to answer questions, and direct you if you were lost. At almost any point I was able to see someone from the staff-barring the time spent in the ballroom.
 

 There were 4 floors and the parking garage reserved for the convention-Vendors in the parking garage, the ballroom and console gaming on the ‘L’ floor, anime viewing rooms and the large panel rooms on the second floor, workshops and small panels on the third floor, and gaming tables,  karaoke, and bar on the twenty third floor. The view up there was amazing, and even with the karaoke, it was surprisingly quiet.  
 

 The opening ceremonies took place at 10am on Saturday, and unfortunately, when I arrived there at 10:15 (having had to take the stairs because of the wait for the elevators) the ball room was already full past capacity. Luckily, this gave me time to get in line early for the Anime Hunter’s panel, which was a very good thing. I was about the 6th person in line, or so, and the wait was well over an hour-mostly because the staff changed the time without telling anyone. Despite that fact, people kept coming and coming, lining up to cover almost a third of the floor space on the second floor of the hotel.  As everyone was coming in, Random Dancing Kid was siting in front of a projector screen, whit a laptop connected, so that he could interact with the audience (he doesn’t speak). He asked if there were any music requests (Daft Punk’s Digital Love was playing at the time). Everyone started shouting out their favorite songs, which wasn’t too horrible because only the first 2 rows had filled so far. He looked around, shook his head, then Rick Rolled everyone. Not surprisingly, everyone in the room started singing along.  Then everyone lost ‘the Game’ –which you have also now lost by reading this.
 

 Zach, one of the 2 main characters in the Anime Hunter’s skits, was there the whole time, and while we waited for Dane to arrive. Last minute bugs were still being worked out, with amusing commentary such as “How many Kumoricon Cops does it take to fix a projector?”…the only answer to which the security detail fixing it gave him a ‘look’. I believe the answer was “Ouch.”
 

 There was a slight problem with their video –They were showing episode 5 and the premier of episode 6. The also announced that they already had season two in the works, which is good, as the end of season one is a cliff hanger.  While we waited for it to be fixed, the re-played the ‘rules’ video that had been presented at the opening ceremonies. They had been commissioned by Kumoricon to put the video together this year, and they did an excellent job.. By the time the rules video was done, episode 5 was fixed, and they presented the last two videos of their first season.
 

 After the video’s were done, they did a brief Q&A, telling us a few of their favorite anime (Wallflower-aka Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, Skip Beat, and Pretear.) Cassy, one of the other’s in the group, had 7 different cosplays that she was doing within the 3 day period, while Dane had 4 costumes. Zach was wearing one as well, with the most epic set of wings I have ever beheld.  I had the opportunity to speak with Zach face to face, and asked him what he thought of Kumoricon.  
 

 “Kumoricon is one we’ve been doing for six years, it’s pretty much where we got started. I like it because it has a small town feel, in a big city. It combines the best of both worlds.”  When I asked him about Anime Hunter’s itself, he said, “We cater to the otaku community. It’s all for you guys.”  They will be at Fanime in California next year, and I am looking forward to seeing them again.
 

 Immediately following the Anime Hunter’s panel was Kirk Thornton’s-Even in the same room. The line was not NEARLY as long as Anime Hunter’s was, which really surprised me, considering is resume. At the start of his panel he spoke briefly, but the majority was a Q&A panel. He used to be part of Oregon Shakespeare Fest-and regrets leaving, but had to due to monetary reasons, though he also stated that no voice actor makes enough money to live off of doing just anime. He said his first voice acting role was Wowzer in Sabon Studies.  At the beginning of September he had just started a new role as Stitch in Japan, in the animated series ‘Hamsterville’. Currently, he is also the narrator for Bleach. Within the next year or so he said that there were some HUGE video games that he was going to be participating in, but he could not tell us any more, due to ‘non disclosure agreement’. *cou-callofduty-gh*  He says that he has a lot of fun doing animated comics (found on iTunes). In Superman Red Sun he voiced 18 characters…and the premise of THAT is “What if Superman were Russian?”. Should be interesting. For expedience sake, I will format this section as a Q&A:   
 

 Q: Did you enjoy being the small character in the game .Hack GU? A: Whenever you get to act like a drunkard, it’s flat out fun.  Q: If you could have been part of an anime cast that is already out, what would it be? A: Monster—It’s very psychological.  Q:  There is a rumor about an unconfirmed roll in Persona 4…is there any credence to that? A: I don’t know.  Q: What are your Aliases, and what are their purpose? A: I often have uncredited aliases—they are all from non-union productions.  Q:What was your favorite role? A: Gene (Samurai Shamploo) Don Patch (Bobo-bo Bo-bobo).  Q: Hove you done a voice in Silent Hill? A: I can’t talk about that.   
 

 One of the things that really struck me about the entire time he was hosting the panel was that when a person asked him a question, he gave them his undivided attention, really listened to what they were saying. No matter if the person was an old woman, or the annoying 10 year old kid that always sat in the very front. No question was ‘dumb’, and none was disregarded.
 

 That night was the Last Stop Tokyo and Soul Candy concerts, which due to popular demand I stood in line for 2 hours for. I did manage to get right up by the stage, and captured a 2:30 minute video of Last Stop Tokyo’s performance … before meeting up with some other adults for dinner and drinks. It is always nice to meet other people over 21 at conventions.
 

 There were not a lot of other events until the Masquerade on Sunday night.  The line for it was also very long, and we were almost too late to get in to it. It wrapped around the entire city block, then down into the parking garage as well.  There was a DJ for th e ball, and a lot of people formed the ‘high school cliques’ that are so cliché.  There were a few other groups of adults, and some pretty amazing costumes and masks. Search Kumoricon Masks in the gallery to see some of them.
 

 The rest of the convention was pretty calm, though the international AMV contest was a big hit. The anime viewing rooms were not staffed adequately on Monday, and were somewhat taken over by fans that wandered in-which was not a problem, as everyone in the room then voted on which anime they wanted to see on the big screen. I admit, I am the one that started playing Heroic Age Dub-But everyone else kept it going.
 

 Overall my impression of the convention was the immense press of people. As I said before, there was a ½ hour wait for the elevators at some points, and when staying on the 14th floor, that can become a problem. The Hotel staff even went as far as to make a sign saying:   <Other Guests — Kumoricon Guests> at the lobby level elevator. The 2010 Kumoricon is already contracted to be held at Portland, OR – Hilton Portland and Executive Tower, and hopefully both Kumoricon Staff and the Hilton Staff will have things more organized and worked out. Either way, I will be going next year.

Pacific Northwest’s Biggest Anime Convention

2:04 PM PDT on Sunday, June 28, 2009

By KROWHOP / AnimeSeed.com 

SEATTLE – Every year as the cherry blossoms come into bloom in the Western Washington region, it signals an event that several thousands of people look forward to. Presented by the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association, SakuraCon comes to roost in Seattle.